Obit watch: May 4, 2020.

May 4th, 2020

Maj Sjöwall, co-author (with Per Wahlöö) of the Martin Beck series of Swedish police procedurals.

With their first novel, “Roseanna” (1965), about the strangling death of a young tourist, Ms. Sjowall and Per Wahloo, her writing and domestic partner, introduced Martin Beck, an indefatigable, taciturn homicide detective in Stockholm.
“He is not a heroic person,” Ms. Sjowall (pronounced SHO-vall) told the British newspaper The Telegraph in 2015. “He is like James Stewart in some American films, just a nice guy trying to do his job.”
In terse, fast-moving prose, the couple wrote nine more Beck books, including “The Laughing Policeman,” which won the Edgar Award in 1971 for best mystery novel and was made into a film in 1973 starring Walter Matthau, with its setting moved from Stockholm to San Francisco. Several Swedish movies and a TV series, “Beck,” have been made based on the novels.

Don Shula. NYT. ESPN.

Shula won an NFL-record 347 games, including including playoff games. He coached the Dolphins to the league’s only undefeated season (17-0) in 1972, culminating in a 14-7 victory over the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl VII.
The Dolphins repeated as champions the next season, beating the Minnesota Vikings 24-7 in Super Bowl VIII, the third straight title game Miami had played in; the Dolphins lost 24-3 to the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl VI.
In all, Shula guided the Dolphins to five Super Bowls, including losses to the Redskins (27-17 in Super Bowl XVII) and San Francisco 49ers (38-16 in Super Bowl XIX).

Posted in Books, NFL, Obits, Sports | 2 Comments »

“What you gonna do when you get out of jail?…” part 34

May 3rd, 2020

Science Sunday!

Let’s pick up where we left off with the Bell System Science Series.

The third and fourth films in the series were co-written by Frank Capra and Jonathan Latimer. Mr. Latimer was fairly famous as a crime novelist as well as a screenwriter. (He also wrote the screenplays for “The Glass Key” and “The Big Clock”, among other credits.) I haven’t read any of Latimer’s work, but I have heard the name come up before. According to Wikipedia, he wrote a book called Solomon’s Vineyard in 1941: it was so racy that it wasn’t published in the US until 1950, and was heavily censored at that time.

The third film in the series was “The Strange Case of the Cosmic Rays”.

The film’s screenplay works from the premise that the nature of cosmic rays is a mystery comparable to the great detective stories. A committee of marionettes representing Fyodor Dostoevsky, Charles Dickens, and Edgar Allan Poe is called upon to decide the question.

The fourth film in the series: “The Unchained Goddess”, about weather. Capra produced this one, and wrote the screenplay with Latimer, but did not direct: Richard Carlson did that job.

Apparently, the television ratings for these next two films were disappointing. Capra wasn’t happy either: I gather that he felt the Bell System was interfering too much with his creative vision. He was replaced after “The Unchained Goddess” and went back to directing Hollywood films. His first one after “The Unchained Goddess” was “A Hole In the Head”, with Frank Sinatra and Edward G. Robinson. You may remember that as the movie that introduced “High Hopes”.

But what happened with the Bell System Science Series? Next week: “Produced under the personal supervision of Jack L. Warner”.

Posted in Geek, History | Comments Closed

Obit watch: May 3, 2020.

May 3rd, 2020

Sam Lloyd, “Ted Buckland” on “Scrubs”.

Posted in Obits, TV | Comments Closed

Not part of the main jail feed…

May 2nd, 2020

A couple of things I wanted to make note of, but didn’t want to put in the main video feed:

Great and good FoTB (and official firearms trainer of WCD) Karl Rehn did a really cool short video targeted at newer shooters explaining ammunition (and the various types thereof):

This was done for the Polite Society Podcast, which does, of course, have a YouTube channel.

It’s also worth pointing out that Karl has his own channel as well.

Ryan Cleckner, author of the excellent Long Range Shooting Handbook: Complete Beginner’s Guide to Long Range Shooting, has a playlist on the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) channel devoted to long range shooting. This is something I’ve wanted to work on for a while, and I’m hoping once things get back to normal I’ll be able to pursue that.

Also on the NSSF channel: Bryan Litz, author of Applied Ballistics For Long-Range Shooting 3rd Edition and other related works. I got my copy of Applied earlier this week, but haven’t had a chance to crack it yet.

(I should note that any Amazon links here are affiliate links, and I do get a small kickback if you purchase something through those links. I use those small kickbacks for good, not evil, though others might differ with that assessment.)

Posted in Admin, Bookmarks, Books, Guns | Comments Closed

“What you gonna do when you get out of jail?…” part 33

May 2nd, 2020

There is a delightful book that came out in 2014, and which was adapted into a Netflix series. Five Came Back: A Story of Hollywood and the Second World War is about John Ford, George Stevens, John Huston, William Wyler, and Frank Capra, and their WWII experiences making films for the military. I enthusiastically recommend this book, which is available for a very reasonable price on Amazon in a Kindle edition and used.

I’ve wanted to watch pretty much all of the wartime films Mark Harris talks about in that book, and I’m happy to report that some of them are available on YouTube in very decent quality.

“Thunderbolt” was made in 1944, but wasn’t released until 1947. Harris goes into the reasons for this in detail, but it basically amounted to: the war ended before the film was edited. William Wyler was, shall we say, distracted during the post-production: he’d suffered a total loss of hearing during a B-25 flight (in an attempt to “film more ‘atmosphere shots.'” for the movie.) He did eventually recover part of his hearing, and continued working as a director until 1970 with the help of hearing aids.

I would be negligent if I didn’t mention that, before “Thunderbolt”, Wyler directed what may have been the most famous WWII propaganda film: “The Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress“. Especially since tonight is “12 O’Clock High” night. (Hi, RoadRich! Miss seeing you!)

Tomorrow: Science Sunday!

Posted in Bookmarks, History, Movies, Planes | Comments Closed

“What you gonna do when you get out of jail?…” part 32

May 1st, 2020

Today: what the fark? What the farking fark?

This is an unclassified United States Navy training film from 1967.

Bonus video: since today is Victims of Communism Day, and since this came up in my YouTube recommendations: “Face to Face With Communism”. A young airman discovers the town he’s visiting has been taken over…by Communists!

The YouTube description contains a spoiler, so be warned.

Posted in History | Comments Closed

“What you gonna do when you get out of jail?…” part 31

April 30th, 2020

Have I really been doing this for a solid month?

Looks that way.

I thought today I’d reach back for some rocket geekery.

First up: “The Space Age: Dr. Goddard to Project Gemini”. This is a 1965 film sponsored by the Metropolitan Life Company about the early days of rocketry. Includes some home movies of Dr. Goddard that I think are pretty neat.

Bonus video #1: “Report From Aerojet”, a promo video for Aerojet General, “a subsidiary of the General Tire and Rubber Corporation”.

Bonus video #2: “All Systems Go”, a 1963 NASA promo film about Gemini.

Posted in Geek, History | Comments Closed

Obit watch: April 30, 2020.

April 30th, 2020

Irrfan Khan, of “Life of Pi”, “Slumdog Millionaire”, and various other Hollywood and Bollywood films.

Rishi Kapoor, also a Bollywood actor, but without as much Hollywood crossover.

He came from a long line of Bollywood actors. His grandfather Prithviraj Kapoor was a pioneer of Indian theater and film who founded a traveling theater company. His father, Raj Kapoor, was one of the most influential actors and directors in Hindi cinema.

Posted in Movies, Obits | Comments Closed

“What you gonna do when you get out of jail?…” part 30

April 29th, 2020

Here’s a little bit more Bell System history for you.

“Challenge of Change”, from 1961. I think this is noteworthy as a very early depiction of the first modem (among other things). That punch-card dialing system is pretty neat for 1961, too.

Bonus video #1: This goes out to all the radio people and “Mannix” fans out there: “Mobile Telephones”, or: what cell phone technology looked like in the late 1940s. Show this to your children.

Bonus video #2: “The Far Sound”, a Bell Labs history of the development of long distance service.

Posted in History, Mannix, Phones, Radio | Comments Closed

“What you gonna do when you get out of jail?…” part 29

April 28th, 2020

We’ve heard from various organizations and individuals in this series. But do you know who we haven’t heard from until now?

The intelligence community.

Unless you’re as geeky as I am (or more) you’ve probably never heard of CORONA/DISCOVERER. CORONA was an early satellite reconnaissance program: DISCOVERER was the name of the disinformation program associated with it, which claimed to be a technology development program.

CORONA shot photos on film – actual, physical film. But how do you get the film back from space for development? CORONA would eject a capsule containing the film, which would re-enter the atmosphere…

…and get caught in mid-air by a C-119 “Flying Boxcar”.

Here’s a vintage video from Lockheed of “DISCOVERER”, which (of course) doesn’t discuss CORONA at all. But it does show the capsule retrieval process.

Bonus video #1: “Oceanography: Mining Minerals In The Ocean” from Martin Marietta. This is pretty much what it says on the tin: exploring deep undersea using early remote operated vehicles to find deposits of underwater mineral nodules.

This video also features the Hughes Glomar Explorer. You may remember the Glomar Explorer as “the ship that was supposedly built for mining underwater minerals, but was actually intended to recover the K-129 in Project Azorian“.

I can’t tell when this video was made, so I’m not clear on whether it was pre or post the Project Azorian revelations. I’m guessing it was some time during the 1970s, because that music.

Bonus video #2: from 1964, “Undersea Pilot”, about the Reynolds Aluminum built deep sea vehicle Aluminaut. This doesn’t have quite as many intelligence implications as the other two videos, but Aluminaut did see some military use. (It is a well known fact that it was used in recovery operations after the 1966 Palomares B-52 crash. Some other books I’ve read on Navy deep sea operations in the 1960s and 1970s lead me to believe it was involved in other classified missions as well.)

I thought Aluminaut and Trieste and Alvin were incredibly cool, back when I was in the single digit age range. (I’m pretty sure I read about them in a How and Why Wonder Book, thought I don’t remember which one.)

Posted in Geek, History, Planes | Comments Closed

Obit watch: April 27, 2020.

April 27th, 2020

Harold Reid, leader of the Statler Brothers.

The Statlers imbued contemporary country and folk material with traditional gospel harmonies, helping to usher Southern gospel music into the cultural mainstream while paving the way for the arrival of crossover-minded blockbuster country vocal groups like the Oak Ridge Boys and Alabama.
“We took gospel harmonies and put them over in country music,” Mr. Reid was quoted as saying in the Encyclopedia of Gospel Music.

…

Mr. Reid was the funny man of the group and the creative force behind Lester “Roadhog” Moran and the Cadillac Cowboys, the quartet’s comedic alter ego, which lampooned the sacred cows of country music. Mr. Reid played the role of the drolly outrageous Roadhog Moran both on recordings and onstage.

One of my favorite Statler Brothers songs:

And another, even though the (original) lyrics are a little dated:

All right, one more:

Steve Dalkowski, minor league pitcher. This is actually one of those sad stories: he was famous for spending nine seasons in the minor leagues, mostly with the Baltimore Orioles’ teams. He apparently had an amazing fastball, but was also erratic as a pitcher. (“He walked batters almost as often as he struck them out..”) Supposedly, he inspired “Nuke LaLoosh”, the pitcher in “Bull Durham”.

He also had problems with alcohol. At the time of his death, he’d been in a nursing home with “alcohol-induced dementia” for 26 years.

Gene Dynarski. He was “Izzy Mandelbaum Jr.” on “Seinfeld”, appeared on two episodes of a minor SF series, and had guest shots on a lot of other TV, including multiple stints on “Banacek”…

…and, yes, “Mannix”. (“Fly, Little One”, season 3, episode 21. He’s credited as “Killer”.)

Bruce Allpress, New Zealand actor who was in “The Two Towers” and a few other things.

(Hat tip on the last two to Lawrence.)

Posted in 1970s, Mannix, Music, Obits, Sports, TV | Comments Closed

“What you gonna do when you get out of jail?…” part 28

April 27th, 2020

Did you know that the US Army Marksmanship Unit had a YouTube channel?

I didn’t until the other day.

And they’ve put up their “Basic Rifleman’s Course”, which is broken up into neat 15-minute chunks.

Here’s part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

Part 4:

Part 5:

Part 6:

And Part 7:

Sorry this is so long, but I feel like at least a few of my readers will find these educational. If you don’t like it, come back tomorrow: I promise something that’s not related to marksmanship.

Posted in Guns | Comments Closed

“What you gonna do when you get out of jail?…” part 27

April 26th, 2020

To be fair, these are not random YouTube recommendations. This is something I ran across a few months ago, and that became part of a small project I’m working on. I want to bookmark these here for my own reference, but I also think some of my readers (especially those with children) may enjoy these. Admittedly, they are about an hour each, but that’s why this is Science Sunday. And how long are your children’s normal school classes?

Between 1956 and 1964, the Bell System (you remember the Bell System, don’t you?) produced nine specials about various aspects of science. These were broadcast on television in prime time, and the first couple got pretty good audience ratings.

Frank Capra (yes, that Frank Capra) produced and wrote the first four, and directed the first three.

Geoff Alexander and Rick Prelinger have described the films as “among the best known and remembered educational films ever made, and enthroning Dr. Frank Baxter, professor at the University of Southern California, as something of a legend as the omniscient king of academic science films hosts.”

Here are the first two: “Our Mr. Sun“.

And “Hemo the Magnificent“.

You can also download “Our Mr. Sun” from the Internet Archive.

Posted in Bookmarks, Geek, History, Movies | Comments Closed

Quote of the day.

April 25th, 2020

Apropos of nothing in particular:

“If you were against the New Deal and its wholesale buying of pauper votes, then you were against Christian charity. If you were against the gross injustices and dishonesties of the Wagner Labor Act, then you were against labor. If you were against packing the Supreme Court, then you were in favor of letting Wall Street do it. If you are against using Dr. Quack’s cancer salve, then you are in favor of letting Uncle Julius die. If you are against Holy Church, or Christian Science, then you are against god. It is an old, old argument.”

–H.L. Mencken

Posted in Bagatelle | Comments Closed

“What you gonna do when you get out of jail?…” part 26

April 25th, 2020

I thought I’d continue with yesterday’s theme. I’ve decided that tomorrow is Science Sunday, so if you’re not interested in gun stuff, feel free to skip over today’s entry.

For those of you who are still reading, you might find this an interesting contrast: “Fundamentals of Rifle Marksmanship”. This one is from the United States Marine Corps, and dates to 1999.

Bonus video #1: “Fundamentals of Rifle Marksmanship”, an Army training film from 1971. I’ll warn you: the audio and video quality on this one aren’t great. Really, the only reason I’m putting it here is so that my readers can compare it with the previous video.

Bonus video #2: something a little less military, and a little more nostalgia. “The Making of a Shooter”, a vintage video from the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturer’s Institute (SAAMI). Produced by the Jam Handy Organization, a name that’s probably familiar to MST3K fans and other film buffs.

Posted in Guns, History | Comments Closed

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