Cinema Cycle - Invasion of the Body Snatchers

CINEMA CYCLE

(Cardio Workout And Reviewing Movies At The Same Time)

DATE: 09/29/2014

TITLE: Invasion of the Body Snatchers

FORMAT: LaserDisc

TIME RIDDEN / FILM LENGTH: 1 hour 23 minutes

DISTANCE RIDDEN WHILE VIEWING: 16.8 miles

TOTAL CINEMA MILES LOGGED: 522.5 miles

SYNOPSIS: A small town doctor discovers that his neighbors are being turned into emotionless zombies by mysterious alien seed pods.

CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER: The original paranoia film.  You can’t fight what you don’t understand and can’t comprehend.  

PROS AND CONS: When I was a wee lad, there were two films that scared the heebie jeebies out of me.  The first was the original ‘War of the Worlds’ and the second was this film.  They both imprinted on my young impressionable mind that there were things in this world that could not be fought with guns and tanks.  You never knew what science and the unknown had in store for us. There were things in the universe that we did not understand.

This film is often referenced in association with the ‘Red Menace’ scare of the 1950s.  The seed pods were an allegory for the concept of communism and how that form of political thought would turn us all into mindless automatons.  While that undercurrent is evident in the film I noticed something else as I watched it as an adult.  

The ‘pod people’ in the film are actually quite normal, they just lack emotion and empathy for others.  The protagonist, Dr. Miles Bennell, references this in the film when he states that he has seen this behavior prior to the invasion of the pods.  While running from the invaders Dr. Bennell states that many people throughout his life have ‘let their humanity drain away as they get older’.  In essence, stating that as a society we can become numb and lose our ability to care for others.  Something that is pretty profound in a world of social networking and Fox News.

To read an overview of this project, check out the initial post for this series.

This film is a part of my LaserDisc Collection.

Clicking on the title will take you to the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) entry for this film. 

This film was viewed while exercising on my recumbent cycle.  A summary of my time spent working out on my journey through movie-land can be found on Strava.com.

The summary of the project and a glimpse of what is coming up next can be found on my public LaserDisc spreadsheet.

Cinema Cycle - Slumber Party '57

CINEMA CYCLE

(Cardio Workout And Reviewing Movies At The Same Time)

DATE: 09/24/2014

TITLE: Slumber Party ‘57

FORMAT: LaserDisc

TIME RIDDEN / FILM LENGTH: 1 hour 28 minutes

DISTANCE RIDDEN WHILE VIEWING: 19 miles

TOTAL CINEMA MILES LOGGED: 505.7 miles

SYNOPSIS: Six high school teenage girls have a slumber party and relate the first time they had sex in a series of six flashbacks.  

CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER: High school fantasy and sexual awakenings.  Basically a female version of “Porky’s”, with a lot of skinny dipping and naked breasts.

PROS AND CONS: There are some films that are so bad they are good, or at least entertaining.  Such is the case here.  I would never watch this film again and would have never watched it initially if it had not been spit out by my Excel Spreadsheet that tracks all my media (thanks random number function!)

Everyone that works in the film industry has to start somewhere.  Their first job isn’t going to be on the set of “Gone With The Wind” or “Ben Hur”.  Such is the case here.  Everyone from the director, editor, foley artists, actors, writers, etc… are still learning how to do their jobs on this film.  

The film is stereotypical on every level from the manor of dress, to the acting and the location shooting.  Country bumpkins all smoke corn cob pipes, police are bumbling buffoons, men are sleazy and young girls are all promiscuous, or at least want to be.  I can see where this would be a great film for a drive-in movie back in the late 60s, but that is about it.  Other than something to eat popcorn and make out to, it has no redeeming cinematic or social value.

To read an overview of this project, check out the initial post for this series.

This film is a part of my LaserDisc Collection.

Clicking on the title will take you to the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) entry for this film. 

This film was viewed while exercising on my recumbent cycle.  A summary of my time spent working out on my journey through movie-land can be found on Strava.com.

The summary of the project and a glimpse of what is coming up next can be found on my public LaserDisc spreadsheet.

Cinema Cycle - Mahler: Symphony No.3 / Symphony No.10 (Adagio)

CINEMA CYCLE

(Cardio Workout And Reviewing Movies At The Same Time)

DATE: 09/22/2014

TITLE: Mahler: Symphony No.3 / Symphony No.10 (Adagio)

FORMAT: LaserDisc

TIME RIDDEN / FILM LENGTH: 2 hours 14 minutes

DISTANCE RIDDEN WHILE VIEWING: 22.2 miles

TOTAL CINEMA MILES LOGGED: 486.7

SYNOPSIS: (From Wikepedia)

In its final form, the work has six movements, grouped into two Parts:

1. Kräftig. Entschieden (Strong and decisive) [D minor to F major]
2. Tempo di Menuetto (In the tempo of a minuet) [A major]
3. Comodo (Scherzando) (Comfortably, like a scherzo) [C minor to C major]
4. Sehr langsam—Misterioso (Very slowly, mysteriously) [A minor]
5. Lustig im Tempo und keck im Ausdruck (Cheerful in tempo and cheeky in expression) [F major]
6. Langsam—Ruhevoll—Empfunden (Slowly, tranquil, deeply felt) [D major]

The first movement alone, with a normal duration of a little more than thirty minutes, sometimes forty, forms Part One of the symphony. Part Two consists of the other five movements and has a duration of about sixty to seventy minutes.

As with each of his first four symphonies, Mahler originally provided a programme of sorts to explain the narrative of the piece. At different times, he shared evolving versions of a program for the third symphony with various friends, including Natalie Bauer-Lechner, a close friend and confidante, Anna von Mildenburg, the dramatic soprano and Mahler's lover during the summer of 1896 when he was completing the symphony, and Max Marschalk, a music critic. In its simplest form, the program consists of a title for each of the six movements:

• "Pan Awakes, Summer Marches In"
• "What the Flowers in the Meadow Tell Me"
• "What the Animals in the Forest Tell Me"
• "What Man Tells Me"
• "What the Angels Tell Me"
• "What Love Tells Me"

CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER: A Massive piece of classical music with a full orchestra, soprano soloist and a choir.  Well shot with numerous camera angles and superbly conducted by Leonard Bernstein.

PROS AND CONS: Another one of the reasons that I got into LaserDiscs in the first place was the availability of classical works in the format.  Since I started collecting, I have amassed a large array of classical works and opera discs.  

This is a long piece of music. With the addition of the Adagio movement of Mahler’s 10th Symphony added to the program at the end, it lasted more than 2 hours.  

This work is performed by the Vienna Philharmonic conducted by Leonard Bernstein, neither are slouches at their craft so to critique the quality of the performance would be nit-picking.  It is very good and it is a joy to watch Bernstein conduct. The man really got into his music when he had the baton in his hand.  

To read an overview of this project, check out the initial post for this series.

This film is a part of my LaserDisc Collection.

Clicking on the title will take you to the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) entry for this film.  [Not Available For This Title]

This film was viewed while exercising on my recumbent cycle.  A summary of my time spent working out on my journey through movie-land can be found on Strava.com.

The summary of the project and a glimpse of what is coming up next can be found on my public LaserDisc spreadsheet.

If A Train Leaves Chicago Going…….

I have developed this theory.  We often times see the symptoms of problems and try and treat the symptom instead of addressing the root problem. This is a common practice in today’s society, especially government.  Government loves to treat symptoms, they rarely address causes.  

So the symptom that I have been observing for the past decade or so is the lack of competency and problem solving skills in may of the people under 40 that I come in contact with.  I mean, it has really become noticeable.  I have come into contact with adults that are supposedly well educated that seem to have a hard time solving the simplest of problems and in many cases don’t even see that a problem exists.  

Now before I get to far into this, I have to state that a lot of this is due to my expectation of what others can do and solve.  Not everyone can be a critical thinker, have a super high IQ or be an Einstein.  But even taking this into account, I have been horrified at the lack of problem solving skills in many of my peers and coworkers.  

So that is the symptom, what is the cause?

This brings me to my theory.  I recall there being a fundamental shift in the way students were taught when I was in high school.  Up until the 9th or 10th grade (say circa 1972), we had to provide answers to questions and problems.  Then suddenly, in my sophomore year something changed. When we took a test, there was this thing called ‘multiple choice’ answers.  Instead of solving the problem and coming up with the answer: 1.2278.  We got this;

1. 1.2299
2. 1.2278
3. 1.3333
4. 2.1081

The first time I saw this I thought Wooo Whoo!, even if I didn't study for this test, I have a 1 in 4 chance of getting it right...SWEET!  Since I knew the answer couldn’t be ‘d’, I had a 1 in 3 chance, even MORE SWEET!!!

Many of the students that followed in our footsteps may never have realized the joy and frustration of the dreaded “Word Problem”.  For those that don’t know what this is, it is a mathematical problem in the form of a question.  Questions such as;

“It is 2,500 miles from Chicago to Los Angeles and a train leaves Chicago doing 50mph and another train leave Los Angeles at the same time doing 70mph, how many hours will pass before the two trains meet.”  

No joke folks, we actually had to figure this out and there was NO multiple choice answer.   You had to come up with the number and write it down.

I recall HATING these types of problem, because I could never figure them out.  First you had to translate them into a mathematical formula and then solve the formula.  I recall staying up late with my parents trying to solve these for my homework.  What I didn’t realize at the time is that problems such as these were teaching me to think critically.  I had to solve something.  The thought of throwing a dart at a board and hoping to hit the right answer was not an option.

Why the change to multiple choice?  I assume it had something to do with class size and the ability of teachers to be able to grade more and more student homework and tests.  I used to hand in word problem homework and get an essay back from the teacher (written in red ink) about how I had failed to solve the problem correctly.  I don't believe that is the norm anymore in public school.

So the end result was probably a more manageable job for the teacher and a less well educated, problem solving student body.

How do you fix this problem?  Well, you can’t.  The economy and population size won’t let us hire hundreds more teachers and get class sizes back down to manageable levels.  If you want your child to be a critical thinker today, the parents have to pay for a private school or tutors (or home school the little tikes).  Alas, I am not optimistic about our societies future if my theory is correct.

Ow, and if you want to test yourself, post the answer to the word problem referenced above in comments. It took me about 3 minutes to figure it out. (I don’t expect a lot of responses)

Cinema Cycle - Melvin and Howard

CINEMA CYCLE

(Cardio Workout And Reviewing Movies At The Same Time)

DATE: 09/11/2014

TITLE: Melvin and Howard

FORMAT: LaserDisc

TIME RIDDEN / FILM LENGTH: 1 hour 35 minutes

DISTANCE RIDDEN WHILE VIEWING: 22.6 miles

TOTAL CINEMA MILES LOGGED: 464.5 miles

SYNOPSIS: An easy-going, honest, working class guy picks up a stranger on a lonely Nevada highway that turns out to be Howard Hughes.  He is named in Hughes will 10 years later

CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER: No good deed goes unrewarded, although sometimes the reward is not what we expected.

PROS AND CONS: Based on the true story of Melvin Dummar, who allegedly picked up Howard Hughes in the middle of Nevada and drove him back to Las Vegas.  

I found this film very entertaining on several levels.  Since I just returned from a trip through Nevada, it was interesting to see all the locations that I had recently passed through.  While not intended to be one, this is now a period piece.  The cars, the style of dress and the views of Nevada and Las Vegas are dated and make the viewer long for the good old simpler days.

Melvin, played by Paul LeMat, is an engaging, honest, lovable, every-man, that aspires to greatness, but lacks the knack and ambition to get there.  He represents the majority of Americans that struggle from paycheck to paycheck, with relationships and with his own frustrations.

Hughes, played by Jason Robards, has little screen time, maybe 10 minutes, but makes a lasting impression.  In the end, Melvin is left with nothing more than he started out with but is philosophical about his life and his momentary brush with fame.  After viewing this film, I realized that the world needs more Melvin Dummars.  

To read an overview of this project, check out the initial post for this series.

This film is a part of my LaserDisc Collection.

Clicking on the title will take you to the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) entry for this film. 

This film was viewed while exercising on my recumbent cycle.  A summary of my time spent working out on my journey through movie-land can be found on Strava.com.

The summary of the project and a glimpse of what is coming up next can be found on my public LaserDisc spreadsheet.

The Ground Beneath Her Feet

The Ground Beneath Her Feet

In my constant effort to try and become more educated I have been looking for alternate sources of information outside the mainstream media.  Television and internet information is heavily censored and biased in my opinion and the more of it I watch and read, the more stupid I feel.

In an effort to try and broaden my horizons, I have been reading more books.  Well, not exactly reading them.  I have been listening to them.  Since I don’t have enough time in the day to get most of my work / projects done, sitting for 3 hours a day with a book just isn't an option.  So, enter the audio book.  They have been around for years, first on audio cassette, then CD and finally they are downloadable from the internet onto your phone / iPad.

One of the primary uses that I have found for Google Glass is as an audio book listening device.  I can listen to in-depth political analysis or historical autobiographies in one ear while listening to my co-workers drone on and on about the local high school football game last weekend.  

Prior to diving into internet audio books, I went the cheap route and looked for them in thrift stores.  There are a ton of good audio books on cassette for next to nothing if you have a cassette player.  While they are bulky to carry around with you, my old 98 Ford Ranger has a cassette player built into the dash.  It was this lucky coincidence that landed many a well worn cassette audio book in the front passenger seat of my truck.  

One of the best finds in this genre is the audio book referenced above.  Salmon Rushdie’s “The Ground Beneath Her Feet”.  Based on the stickers on the cassette box, this book once belonged to the Tucson Public Library, and then made its way to the Sierra Vista Goodwill store, where I picked it up for $4.

The book is unabridged and is 20 cassettes long.  That translates to about 30 hours of listening.  I just finished the book on my recent trip to Burning Man 2014.  I have been listening to it all summer long.  

This is a bit of an odd book to describe, since it is fiction.  At first I did not know what to make of it, but as I listened more and more it became rather engrossing.  Mr. Rushdie is considered to be a great author and I would agree after listening to this work.  The premise of the book, which follows pop-stars born in India and raised in England and the United States blends fiction and real life events into a quasi-fictional story.  What was really interesting about the book is how Rushdie does this.  In an almost conscious streaming style he ties everything about western and eastern culture together along with shared human experiences that we all have.  He is able to mine all the aspects of multiple cultures into one long narrative which just went on and on.  In the end, almost anyone over the age of 30 could relate to this work.  

The fact that the whole book was read by a well trained English thespian actor did not hurt either.  

So now the book is probably going to head back to Goodwill to see if anyone else is willing to take on the 20 cassette challenge.  Next up on the cassette player, the life of John Quincy Adams.  

In the long run, this has been a successful venture.  I have learned so much more and understand the human condition so much better by listening to these books than by watching the nightly news or getting my information from the Internet.