Charity Alert: Six charities on one site -- just click to contribute!
Wildlife: Even without his antlers, the buck deer is easy to spot -- he's almost 25% bigger than the others.
Weather: Without more snow this winter, we are going to have conflicts over water this summer -- especially along the Missouri River.
Media Watch: Flash Gordon Conquers The Universe -- actually he just frustrates Emperor Ming on Planet Mongo again. It's episodes 7 thru 12 of the Purple Death series on DVD. The film print was kind of dark and jumpy.
Dr. Zarkov (Frank Shannon)is as much the hero as Flash Gordon (Buster Crabbe) in this 1940 serial, third and last, which incorporated Alex Raymond's "Forest Kingdom," and "Frigia, the Ice Kingdom" sequences from the newspaper comics. Carol Hughes replaced Jean Rogers as Dale Arden, Shirley Deane replaced Priscilla Lawson as Princess Aura, and Roland Drew (dressed as Errol Flynn) replaced Richard Alexander as Prince Baran. It was made two years after Warner Brother's Robin Hood.Raymond, or his editors at Hearst, tapped into the "Rogue of Sherwood Forest's" popularity for Flash Gordon's interplanetary adventures -- thus we see these "Merrie Men of Mongo" in the Universal serial. (Film imitating Art imitating Film -- uhhh, shouldn't we just stick with imitating and leave it at that?)
The ski scenes are pretty good, but the moviemakers didn't have access to Raymond's see-through duds, and as a result,the Ice Queen of Mongo isn't quite so stunning.
I like Jean Rogers' two versions of Dale Arden more than Carol Hughes' secretary-in-distress of 1940. Both actresses sported toned-down looks after Rogers' sex-bomb portrayal in the first series. In Death Ray From Mars, the second series, Dale even saved Flash Gordon's outnumbered ass by some timely bombing from her sparkling rocket ship. That reversal of roles impressed me when I saw it on TV as an 8 year old in the 50's.
Priscilla Lawson's Princess Aura was a spitfire in 1936, but Shirley Dean's was a milquetoast in 1940.
Wednesday, February 09, 2005
Monday, February 07, 2005
Weather: A little snow over the weekend, mostly in the mountains -- more needed, please!
Charity Alert: The Hunger Site -- just click to help somebody.
Wildlife: Our Bald Eagles were perched on the lake when a third mature eagle swept low overhead -- calling out in a shrill bird-voice. I think it was saying "Whazzup?"
In the Community: Today I'm formally submitting my resignation as webmaster for the NW Montana Historical Society. I finally completed editing Flathead Valley Community College's monthly news video too -- it turned out pretty, but it sure was an intricate project this time.
Media Watch: Because of the magic of DVD, and the skip button, I watched all 40 "Secret Rocket Fuel" episodes from the first season of Rocky and His Friends.
Bill Scott and June Foray were fabulous as Bullwinkle and Rocky. Paul Frees was hilarious as Boris, and Ms. Foray was unbeatable in her double role as Natasha.
TV Tome's take on this fantastic series.
Australian actor Keith Scott did Bullwinkle's voice in the CG/Live Action movie a few years back, but June Foray was still around to voice Rocky. (Probably still is!)
Culture Vulture's Review
Producer Jay Ward was the first to use the half-frame-per-second method of animation when he did Crusader Rabbit for TV in the early 50's. If he earned any time in Purgatory for that feat, he won a get-out-of-perdition card for his great satirical cartoons, especially Fractured Fairy Tales, Dudley Do-Right, George of the Jungle, and Hoppity Hooper.
Don Markstein's Jay Ward Page
Rather than zapping commercials during the Super Bowl this year, I just didn't pay attention. Paul McCartney's 4 song set at halftime was pleasant. New England's defense was truly awesome -- 24 to 21 in the Patriots' favor. Philly's Donovan McNabb had kind of a bad night. I hope to see him take the NFL championship one year, though.
Ugh -- BookTV had some right-wing flacks scaring me away, but there was one good show -- Essie Mae Washington discussed her book, Dear Senator: A Memoir by the Daughter of Strom Thurmond. She was interviewed by U.S. Congressman Harold Ford, Jr., who represents Tennessee's 9th district.
Flack#1 -- Charles Murray; His vitae may sound good, but he's a bought-off jerk! -- W.H. Brady Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, DC. Author of ..."The Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life" - co-authored by Richard J. Herrnstein (Simon & Schuster, 1994), "What It Means to Be a Libertarian: A Personal Interpretation"...
Flack #2 -- My Doublespeak Detector pegged on this guy -- maybe I should give him a listen, BUT -- The Open Society Paradox: Why the 21st Century Calls for More Openness -- Not Less from January 30, 2005 Author Dennis Bailey addresses the issue of individual privacy in his book, "The Open Society Paradox: Why the 21st Century Calls for More Openness--Not Less." In it, the author stresses the need to maintain America's policy of openness but to do so while developing the technology necessary to keep track of the increasing population. The author recommends doing so via surveillance, data mining, and biometrics, the statistical analysis of biological specifications and phenomena.
Charity Alert: The Hunger Site -- just click to help somebody.
Wildlife: Our Bald Eagles were perched on the lake when a third mature eagle swept low overhead -- calling out in a shrill bird-voice. I think it was saying "Whazzup?"
In the Community: Today I'm formally submitting my resignation as webmaster for the NW Montana Historical Society. I finally completed editing Flathead Valley Community College's monthly news video too -- it turned out pretty, but it sure was an intricate project this time.
Media Watch: Because of the magic of DVD, and the skip button, I watched all 40 "Secret Rocket Fuel" episodes from the first season of Rocky and His Friends.
Bill Scott and June Foray were fabulous as Bullwinkle and Rocky. Paul Frees was hilarious as Boris, and Ms. Foray was unbeatable in her double role as Natasha.
TV Tome's take on this fantastic series.
Australian actor Keith Scott did Bullwinkle's voice in the CG/Live Action movie a few years back, but June Foray was still around to voice Rocky. (Probably still is!)
Culture Vulture's Review
Producer Jay Ward was the first to use the half-frame-per-second method of animation when he did Crusader Rabbit for TV in the early 50's. If he earned any time in Purgatory for that feat, he won a get-out-of-perdition card for his great satirical cartoons, especially Fractured Fairy Tales, Dudley Do-Right, George of the Jungle, and Hoppity Hooper.
Don Markstein's Jay Ward Page
Rather than zapping commercials during the Super Bowl this year, I just didn't pay attention. Paul McCartney's 4 song set at halftime was pleasant. New England's defense was truly awesome -- 24 to 21 in the Patriots' favor. Philly's Donovan McNabb had kind of a bad night. I hope to see him take the NFL championship one year, though.
Ugh -- BookTV had some right-wing flacks scaring me away, but there was one good show -- Essie Mae Washington discussed her book, Dear Senator: A Memoir by the Daughter of Strom Thurmond. She was interviewed by U.S. Congressman Harold Ford, Jr., who represents Tennessee's 9th district.
Flack#1 -- Charles Murray; His vitae may sound good, but he's a bought-off jerk! -- W.H. Brady Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, DC. Author of ..."The Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life" - co-authored by Richard J. Herrnstein (Simon & Schuster, 1994), "What It Means to Be a Libertarian: A Personal Interpretation"...
Flack #2 -- My Doublespeak Detector pegged on this guy -- maybe I should give him a listen, BUT -- The Open Society Paradox: Why the 21st Century Calls for More Openness -- Not Less from January 30, 2005 Author Dennis Bailey addresses the issue of individual privacy in his book, "The Open Society Paradox: Why the 21st Century Calls for More Openness--Not Less." In it, the author stresses the need to maintain America's policy of openness but to do so while developing the technology necessary to keep track of the increasing population. The author recommends doing so via surveillance, data mining, and biometrics, the statistical analysis of biological specifications and phenomena.
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