The 50th anniversary of man first setting foot on the Moon is close upon us. Looking back at this documentary, it gives an expansive encapsulation of the entire mission from preparation, to lift off, to setting foot on the Moon.  And then there remained the task of managing a safe journey back to Earth.  Mind boggling!  Stunning accomplishment for the United States and the World.  Very cool, vintage documentary.  Relive this momentous event again and try not to shed a few tears when the  Eagle lunar module lands on the Moon.  Joyous!  We should do this adventure again soon!
Have you ever noticed the greatly relied on device used in the movies where a character will emotionally discharge a big gun of some type?  I guess the reaction is supposed to characterize a last gasp burst of attack against a nearly undefeatable opponent (Independence Day: Resurgence).  Terminator Salvation has multiple examples of actors unloading weapons’ magazine after magazine in an attempt to stop a non human juggernaut. To get an idea of what I am referring to, please go to the clip.  You can probably get away with this type of behavior at the target range.
Twisted Russian fantasy film depicting a manned trip to Mars.  Propagandistic in tone in that Russian technology is capable of any space voyage/adventure in these films (see “Planeta Burg”) but the reality is that there was a long record of Russian space mission failures.  It seems that the plot formula in a lot of these films is that the homeland’s advanced technology delivers men to the Moon, Mars, and The Stars, but once there, things become unraveled and life or death situations materialize.  A drama is thus born.  There are no shortage of beautiful and eerie landscapes rendered in shockingly [More]
Make no mistake about it:  everything has a lifespan.  What was once utilized and depended on will one day outlive its usefulness and figuratively end up on the proverbial scrapheap.  The important thing is that it was all fun while it lasted!  Check out the link to a slideshow which shows old derelict forms of transportation rotting in nature. http://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/article/40-eerie-images-of-abandoned-transportation-from-around-the-world/ss-AApLbTy?ocid=spartanntp#image=40 Meanwhile, check out this video from the Explore With Us channel on YouTube as they continue their beautiful pursuit of exploring old mines, Area 51 and abandoned shacks which they scout out on Google Earth.  Good stuff!
An interesting article surfaced recently.  Artificial Intelligence robots being tested by Facebook seemingly began communicating in a language that was indecipherable to the “experts”.  Shocking!!! First off – are there any true experts on any subject, particularly concerning the medical profession, science, technology?  The minute any absolutes or concrete data is laid out to demonstrate our understanding of how the body, nature or the Universe works, it can be retracted with a new theory or explanation to replace the old one.  Oh, really?  Why don’t the experts just admit that they are guessing and don’t actually really know shit? Wow.  [More]
This is a very enjoyable view.  Witness these debauched tales of popular entertainers who liked to party.  A lot!  These were men who made it a habit to indulge and overdue it with the booze, women, lunacy and mayhem.   We get segments chronicling the mad exploits of actors Richard Harris and Oliver Reed.  Then, we move on to Keith Moon, Alex Higgins and Liam Gallagher.  All consummate performers, these lit up characters really enjoyed the element of entertaining and “performing” crazy stunts and otherwise abusing their bodies and reputations all for the benefit of us, their adoring public. Long may their stories of excess [More]
Until Ken Burns comes around to create the definitive UFO documentary, whet your appetite for extraterrestrial visitation speculation with this 1970’s compendium of still photos, film footage and witness interviews. A lot of zooming and panning across still images of alien abductions and weird encounters taking place are in full representation in this film.  Very serious narration bolsters the claims of pilots, military personnel and civilians that they have been in the presence of other worldly beings and craft.  Nice, electronic music flourishes, combined with canned orchestral passages provide the musical bed for this piece.  It all has a very ’70’s [More]
Brief interview with the late Dennis Hopper discussing his troubled time on the set of Francis Ford Coppola’s “Apocalypse Now”.  Listening to Hopper in this interview, it is amazing how much more lucid he was at the time as compared with his binging days of the Late Seventies/Early Eighties when “Apocalypse” was made.  I highly recommend seeking out “Hearts of Darkness”, a documentary on the making of “Apocalypse Now”.  “Hearts” includes a longer take of the snippet of Coppola trying to communicate with a seemingly deranged Hopper on the set of “Now” shown at the end of this interview.  Coppola [More]
A camera set to take photographs at select time intervals catches a strange shape rising out of a lake near Loch Ness.  Is it a log, a large fish, a camera aberration?  You be the judge.  The Internet is just full of such mysterious photos/videos that allegedly show proof of mythic beasts.  One day solid proof of such unusual phenomenon may materialize.
“In Search Of” was a documentary series hosted by actor Leonard Nimoy.  The show ran in the 1970’s and it’s subject matter covered the mysterious, the supernatural, the uncanny and the just plain weird.  Here is a sample episode that pursued the topic of Bigfoot.  I remember watching this program religiously on Sunday evenings and enjoying it immensely.  A precursor to the vast amount of supernatural/docudrama series which populate the cable TV landscape today.  Worth seeking out.