Author: photog

2024 Summer Movie Talk – Part 14

photog Current Events, Movie Reviews, OCF, OCF Classic Movie Reviews, Reviews , , ,

My All-Time Favorite Movies

I won’t make any claims other than these are my favorite movies of all time.  They are not in strict order because that would be impossible to achieve.  And in fact, this list is the most conflicted and unsatisfying.  Basically, this is the end of the world list.  If nuclear Armageddon was to strike and I had to pick the movies for my private collection that I would be able to watch (somehow) for the rest of my life, what would I have to have?  So, of course, this could only be my list.  Your list will differ radically because the list is as much about you as about the quality of the movies.  But for better or worse this is what I chose.  Multiple dates after the movie title signify multiple versions of the story I would take.

Well, as usual, have at it in the comments.

  1. IT’S A GIFT (1934)
  2. A NIGHT AT THE OPERA (1935)
  3. MAN ON THE FLYING TRAPEZE (1935)
  4. GROUNDHOG DAY (1993)
  5. THE BIG LEBOWSKI (1998)
  6. OFFICE SPACE (1999)
  7. THEM! (1954)
  8. FORBIDDEN PLANET (1956)
  9. INDEPENDENCE DAY (1996)
  10. FIREFLY (2002 – 2003)
  11. SERENITY (2005)
  12. TOMBSTONE (1993)
  13. TRUE GRIT (1969, 2010)
  14. BABES IN TOYLAND (1934)
  15. THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939)
  16. THE PRINCESS BRIDE (1987)
  17. THE ADVENTURES OF BARON MUNCHAUSEN (1989)
  18. THE LORD OF THE RINGS (2001 – 2003) all three films in the extended version
  19. BATMAN BEGINS (2005)
  20. THE DARK KNIGHT (2008)
  21. IRON MAN (2008)
  22. CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER (2011)
  23. MARVEL’S THE AVENGERS (2012)
  24. DEADPOOL (2016)
  25. KING KONG (1933)
  26. DRACULA (1931)
  27. FRANKENSTEIN (1931)
  28. ISLAND OF LOST SOULS (1932)
  29. BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1935)
  30. THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH (1934)
  31. SHADOW OF A DOUBT (1943)
  32. NOTORIOUS (1946)
  33. DIAL M FOR MURDER (1953)
  34. REAR WINDOW (1954)
  35. THE MALTESE FALCON (1941)
  36. THE BIG SLEEP (1946)
  37. OUT OF THE PAST (1947)
  38. KEY LARGO (1948)
  39. THE THIRD MAN (1949)
  40. THE ASPHALT JUNGLE (1950)
  41. THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES (1946)
  42. BAND OF BROTHERS (2001)
  43. THE CAINE MUTINY (1954)
  44. MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD (2003)
  45. GUNGA DIN (1939)
  46. TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT (1944)
  47. THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE (1948)
  48. TREASURE ISLAND (1934)
  49. SHERLOCK HOLMES (2009)
  50. SHERLOCK HOLMES: A GAME OF SHADOWS (2011)
  51. CYRANO DE BERGERAC (1950)
  52. SEVEN SAMURAI (1954)
  53. THE NATURAL (1984)
  54. IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT (1934)
  55. A CHRISTMAS CAROL (1938, 1951, 1984)
  56. NINOTCHKA (1939)
  57. A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN (1945)
  58. CAESAR AND CLEOPATRA (1945)
  59. THE BELLS OF SAINT MARY’S (1945)
  60. LIFE WITH FATHER (1947)
  61. MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET (1947)
  62. HAMLET (1948, 1990, 1996)
  63. A LETTER TO THREE WIVES (1949)
  64. THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER (1940)
  65. ALL ABOUT EVE (1950)
  66. ABSENCE OF MALICE (1981)
  67. CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF (1958)
  68. THE STING (1973)

 

Tom’s World – 14AUG2024 – Statues – 2

photog Guest Contributors, Photography, TomD , , ,

Tom | Flickr

TomD

This is Jasper Smith, currently “residing” in Atlanta’s Oakland Cemetery in downtown Atlanta, across I-20 from the Braves old stadium. I don’t have any history for him though there is a Jasper, Georgia, though I have no idea if there’s a connection.. But Jasper sits on top of his very own mausoleum, mulling things over in mild consternation. And who wouldn’t aspire to such a state?

SONY DSC

 

This is one of the shots I took at a museum display of 18th & 19th century French art.

SONY DSC

 

Trisdan De Luna y Arellano, Conquistador and the founder of a Spanish colony at what in now Pensacola in 1559. Funny thing, I did a quick google of him to make sure I had the dates right and the lead article on google was using one of my pictures from this shoot as the lead without permission or attribution. Theoretically, that’s illegal but, I’ve found, common.

SONY DSC

 

This is a near life sized resin casting of a female that I found in the Porch Creek Indian casino in Atmore Al. The Porch Indians are an offshoot of their brother tribe, the BMW Indians. I absolutely do not have the “gambling bug” but my wife does. On the occasion I take her there, I wander around with my camera shooting interesting stuff of which there is a bunch while she’s hypnotized by the slots. The casino staff gets pretty quirky about cameras in the casino until I assure them that I’m shooting the facility, not the people.

And with Strange Aeons Even Death May Die

photog Current Events, Life in Dunwich, Literature, My Fiction, OCF, photog's Corner, Poetry, Science Fiction / Fantasy , , ,

“Ph’nglui mglw’nafh Cthulhu R’lyeh wgah’nagl fhtagn.

In his house at R’lyeh dead Cthulhu waits dreaming.”

 

“That is not dead which can eternal lie,

And with strange aeons even death may die.”

 

After yesterday’s post I received several communications from readers outraged at the manner in which such a venerable and iconic entity as the First Selectman could be allowed to leave this continuum.  Many simply refused to believe the facts such as they are and hang onto hope that Cthulhu lives.  As the quotes above attest there is a tradition that Cthulhu can remain inert for literally billions of years and still reanimate and wreak a terrible vengeance on mankind when the stars align just right (or just wrong).

Well, I will not speculate at this point on the Great Old One’s chances of resuscitation.  As Hamlet very cleverly noted, “There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.”  And if we add to heaven and earth the depths of hell, then we begin to list the span of infinities where knowledge of the First Selectman can be hiding.  And since I already miss the old villain a little bit, I’ll keep an open mind as to his chances of reintegration.  Let’s leave it there for now.

I have finally completed the herculean task to which I was yoked.  My spirit, such as it is, has rebounded measurably and I look around me to see the state of life in the here and now.  I note the same stale prattle about polls and bickering with the names Trump, Harris, Vance and Walz attached.  Frankly all of this is too tedious to even consider.  Let all of that stew for a while.

The summer wanes and school children are already frozen with existential dread at the approach of Labor Day.  But, this time of year is not without its charms.  I was forced to rise hideously early Tuesday morning and so I was out and about before 4:00 am when I happened to look up at the sky and was struck by the brightness of the stars and planets and their inspiring beauty.  If I had not been on an unavoidable mission, I might have stood there for a quarter hour and marveled at this arresting vision.  At that moment I was reminded of this aspect of reality and how these incomprehensible phenomena we call stars can be both the source of our lives and these beautiful beacons that light up the night sky that we so rarely bother to view.  So out of the most tedious and soul-crushing activities it is possible to experience a moment of primal joy and wonder.

But now I’ll spend a day or two catching up with my various duties.  Bear with me as I take up again the reins of my daily routine and restore order to my life.  I must write and trim some posts and schedule them and I must read up on any “news” I might have missed and try to draw inspiration from my surroundings and the important things that need to be said and done.

So good morning!

The Death of a Great Old One

photog Humor, Life in Dunwich, photog's Corner
Farmer Cthulhu in His Fields

All of Dunwich is in shock and mourning.  Today at three ‘clock in the morning it was discovered that First Selectman Cthulhu was no more.  Apparently, it was a self-inflicted accident.  This was the final night and day of his de-lousing treatment and over the ten day he had enjoyed the effects of the boiling sulfuric acid bath so much that some time after midnight he cranked the thermostat on the heater to maximum.  But something went wrong and the bath was turned into an electrolytic cell and Cthulhu was completely dissolved into the solution with only some siliceous fragments left on the bottom of the tank.

The First Selectman’s personal physician; Dr. Fraudulent Practices declared him dead and assured the grieving throng of well-wishers that Cthulhu’s last moments were painless and in fact probably completely unconscious.  Strangely this crowd demonstrated their grief by dancing in circles and uttering what almost sounded like, “Ding-dong Cthulhu’s dead, brush your teeth get out of bed, ding-dong the lousy squid is dead,” to the tune of that song from the “Wizard of Oz” that the Munchkins sing.  Well, different people process grief in different ways.  Possibly these people were just overcome by horrible sorrow and didn’t know what they were saying.  Although they were doing it in three-part harmonies.  Very strange.

Suffice it to say that Dunwich is plunged into solemn mourning and all official activities have been postponed in anticipation of the funeral.  It is rumored that both Joe Biden and Kamala Harris intend to speak at the funeral.  It is believed that Biden will use the occasion to break out his “My Uncle Bosie was eaten by cannibals” story.  And this may cause some controversy because several of the invited guests are themselves cannibals and may take offense.

But the real worry for the funeral is any comments by Kamala.  It is open knowledge that she had a longstanding romantic affair with the First Selectman and if she chooses to speak at the ceremony there is speculation that Mrs. Cthulhu will take umbrage and may possibly eat her.  In and of itself this situation may not seem so dire.  But it would be a shame if Harris’s secret service team got between the two “women” and were themselves swallowed too.  But all things considered it might be a better fate for them than spending every day walking around and listening to stories about yellow school buses from Kamala Harris.

Personally, I cannot yet speak to my feelings about Cthulhu’s death.  It’s too soon.  The amalgam of fond familiarity and cosmic horror is a hard to explain emotion.  You never can be sure whether the appropriate response is a rye chuckle or a panic-stricken sprint for the exit.  Too soon, too soon.

Every citizen of Dunwich will receive a jar containing one liter of the electrolyzed remains of Cthulhu to be treasured and displayed in a place of honor in each home.  The jar will have the First Selectman’s famous motto, “Shut up and second my motion or I will swallow you whole and digest you in my second stomach.”  Words to live by!

The bottle will be made of tantalum to prevent any possibility of breakage or leakage.  The EPA has rated the First Selectman’s remains as a potent compound with a lethal dose estimated in the picogram range.  I have elected to have my share donated to Nancy Pelosi.  I’ll tell her it’s Botox.