Author: Bruce

The King in New York

This weekend celebrates the 80th anniversary of the release of King Kong, which is my favorite movie. I am joining a group of people in New York to be part of the celebrations; a tour of the empire state Building, the sole remaining section of elevated trainway and a big screen showing of a motion picture print of Kong at the Film Forum.

Other stuff as well, but those are the highlights.

Hard to explain why this is my favorite movie, its old and has issues in todays refined cinema outlook. I can remember the first time I saw it at my Grandmothers apartment at the Legion Gardens and i was about 9 years old. Various books and magazines followed and i started collection everything I could find and have a pretty good collection of material.

As a bonus, I am staying at the Algonquin hotel, home of the Algonquin roundtable made famous in the day because of the high caliber wits who held court there.

When i can remember how to post pics here I will.

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Bon Voyage

Well, been too long since I’ve done anything on here. So a brief comment on my upcoming vacation – the longest one I will have ever taken.

Next weekend we leave at 05:00 hrs (not my idea), and drive straight to Minneapolis and after shopping and overnight on to Riverside Iowa, the birth place of Star Trek’s Capt. Kirk, then to Marengo Illinois to check up on the B-17 Desert Rat which is under construction to return to the air sometime in the near future. A bookshop tour of Chicago follows with a stop at the museum to see a Chicago magic display with Houdini’s milk can escape. A run across the states to Boston to see the Lizzie Borden house and the Titanic Historical Society Museum and into Boston. Next down the coastline to Philadelphia to see the ocean liner S.S United States with the U.S.S. New jersey across the river in Camden. Along the route we stop off at Grovers Mill, New Jersey, site of radio’s ‘Panic broadcast’ of 1938, when Orson Welles gave everyone listening the heebie jeebies. Then off to Washington D.C. to see various and sundry museums and Arlington cemetery on the Virginia side. After a bout a week there we go to the Mariner’s Museum in Newport News, and the Fighter factory to see the B-17 ‘Chuckie”, Once all that is done we go to Louisville Kentucky for an SF convention featuring none other than Bruce Campbell, then a rush back to Minneapolis for an overnight then Fargo the next day and then home.

Two weeks will be the longest vacation I have done, so it is interesting to see how I handle it.

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Thunder over Michigan

In the first weekend of August I will be at Willow Run airport just outside of Detroit for Thunder over Michigan, a war bird themed airshow staged there for 15 years now. This year they celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Boeing B-17 flying fortress. I went overboard and bought the ultimate thunder experience package, largely to save myself the hassle of trying to get the various things seperately, but also to participate in the flying formation of B-17s on Friday, which will probably be the last time so many of the make are in the air at once.

I was there in 2008 for a single flight of the Yankee Lady, which is one of two elegant warbirds the museum has (the other is a B-25 Mitchell),  I went overboard in the gift shop and spent a lot to have the leather flying jacket with the plane painted on the back.

There are two groups doing displays of forts that are in the process of being restored for flight status, which if successful will make the flying models total 15, and a ‘new build’ on the horizon will make it 16, but thats under wraps so I can’t be sure what they are working towards.

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Goodbye Stranger

Well, my oldest brother Doug passed away this week at 52. Poor health dogged him for some time so at least he isn’t suffering.

A whimsical sense of humour, he gladly played along in the late 70s with a joke about the rock group Supertramp, where a small number of people were convinced he was Dougie Thomson who played bass guitar for the band. So throughout the area, covers of Breakfast in America are “autographed” on the lower right hand corner, so if they turn up on Ebay perhaps you shouldn’t bid.

Aloha, Doug.

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Phantompalooza 2.5

Winnipeg is unique in its love affair for the movie Phantom of the Paradise (1974-75).

This weekend the people who hosted two mini conventions, which were attended by the stars, are having a wrap up party to sell the dvd documentary of the phenomenon.

I Look forward to seeing some friends, old and new and to enjoy what has always been a fun movie for me; Phantom of the Paradise.

 

Apple crates and Bounce Boards

Like most people, I have a fascination for movie making. Anyone passing a movie shoot stops and gawks at the show. The motion picture ‘Walk all over me’ had a location shoot at work last Saturday and I was tapped to be the building liason for the shoot – a 17 1/2 hour work day.

At first it wasn’t too difficult, the crew were professionals, and they knew how to get set up fairly quickly. Some problems occured here and there, but they were minor enough to not detract from the interest I had.

One scene required shooting the star riding up the escalator, a simple sounding scene that might last for almost a minute on screen took nearly two hours to set up and shoot.

I was quite smitten with the stars stand in who seemed to have enormous patience.

Then I saw the star, Lee Lee Sobieski, who I remember seeing in the horror movie Candy cane. She is quite tall, but with stilletto heels she towered over everyone! Very good natured, and made the occasional quip to lighten tension as the hours stretched on.

The extras had a rough go of it, the nature of the work requiring them to look the same for every shot related to one scene, which could be done several hours apart. There is an army of continuity people who make sure everything looks the same for shot after shot.

When the shooting wrapped up at 4 a.m., I had to escort a few crew members to the Millineum Library parking lot (Downtown at night folks, kinda wild…) and when I returned the cast were gone, so I did not get a chance for a pic with Lee Lee.

Not too sure what direction the movie will take, could be light hearted, but maybe there is an undercurrent to the kinky material I saw being acted out.

Boy, Lee Lee in that micro mini skirt, fishnet stockings and stilletto heels, won’t be forgetting that anytime soon!

April is the cruelest month

The anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic has come and gone, and the interest level has fallen back to the pre -1997 movie level, so it is mostly us history buffs who monitor the press coverage.
It is hard to explain the interest level that I have inthis subject, and I am not sure it can ever be fully understood, but the emotional impact of the story still catches my attention all these years after I first heard it as a child in the late 1960s.

School Daze

The high school reunion thing is on the horizon and plans are slowly comming together. There is the usual halfhearted response that then turns into the rolling snowball that overwhelms everything in its path. Though I can’t claim to have had a positive time in high school (like millions of other people!), time has given a chance to reassess the opinion I held for so long and I am thinking I can deal with it.

The Lecture

After being interviewed by David Sanderson in the Winnipeg Free Press, I was contacted by the Winnipeg Magicians group to do a lecture March 30th on the history of Escape Artists.
The talk lasted a little under an hour, and I was very happy with the response I received. Though I rambled on and on about what an S.O.B. Houdini was (well, he was), everyone took my comments in stride and most likely will continue to look at Houdini as an icon.
Houdini’s brother, hardeen, was overlooked by magic historians as some sort of also ran, and I have been trying to change that by concentrating on researching his career. My belief is that by reintroducing Hardeen I can get other researchers and collectors to consider him in a more enlightened context. It is slow going as magic, like any other interest, has a hidebound community.
Just acquired a copy of Hardeen’s pitchbook (A digest size booklet sold at shows trumpeting the performers life and career) and was pleased to find that the previous owner was Albert Lahaie, and Montreal area escape Artist from the 1930s.

Phantompalooza II

Well, Corey and I checked out Phantompalooza II this weekend.
What a show – the reunion of the surviving cast of Phantom of the Paradise were on hand answering questions, signing a zillion autographs, and Paul Williams in concert. Paul was genuinely moved by the reception he received and seemed choked up quite a few times. He mentioned that Phantom would make a great stage musical and even tried to bring it to production at one time. I had a set of lobby cards that caught Gerrit Graham’s attention, and I wound up giving a rare one to William Finley as he had never seen it before. Jessica Harper was so nice and very warm hands…
Paul spoke to me briefly about the number of projects he worked on were he was under a ton of make up – from Planet of the Apes to Babylon 5.
Brian DePalma did not attend, as he is a look forward kind of guy, and was busy with a current project.
The initial comments suggest that there are no plans for another get together, but I would like to see it happen again.
And what a small world, One of the organizers is a former coworker of mine, and another one went to school with me. I turned the corner and walked into my neice, who was there with friends – we are both movie enthusiasts. An ex g/f, a coworker, and several people working in the same building all said hi.
Kind of a Winnipeg thing.

And its good night from Him….Good Night

According to CBC Newsworld, Ronnie Barker died earlier this week. He was 76. The Two Ronnies was a favorite show of mine from the late 70s and its one I wish somebody would rerun as its been forever since I’ve seen it.

Barker specialized in tongue twisting sentences and a fast delivery that was hilarious, while co star Ronnie Corbet sat in a chair and told the most long winded jokes with groaner punch lines. The show opened and closed with a fake “news” segment, and there was some sort of song and dance sequence – usually a parady of some classical work (my favorite was Carmen done with cockney accents).

Everybody goes on and on about Monty Python, but I think the Two Ronnies was consistantly better and if it was rerun I could see if they hold up better as well.
Bruce

Glasgow Kiss

So, we are having a hectic day on Friday, and towards the afternoon a series of events happen that really deserve to get mentioned.

While a vehicle is being towed out of a parking lot, across the way in another parking lot is an altercation. There is a guard who patrols there throughout the day keeping an eye for drunks and car thieves. So, this guy enters the parkade and heads to the upper decks. The guard sees him and goes after him. This guy has been told he isn’t allowed in the parkade since he never brings a car. He claims to be a photographer hired to take photos of the construction going on around the parkade. He usualy shows up drunk, so no one believes him.

He is told yet again to get out, and gives the guard some sass as he he is drunk and therefore an idiot. He is also a violent idiot, and kicks the guard. The guard calls for help and then sails into the idiot and its Hudson’s Bay Rules. The idiot tries to gouge the guards eye out with his thumb, the guard responds by headbutting him several times (this is known as a Glasgow kiss), breaking the guys nose and showering him with his own blood.

My manager and one coworker arrive in the lot and give the guard a hand. The idiot claims he is assaulted, and wants the police called. My manager points out that he is known to Security, is trespassing as he has been told repeatedly not to come into the parkade (all on record), and that when he kicked the guard he assaulted him and defence is defence. My manager then points out that if the police are called they would most likely arrest the idiot. So the idiot gets to wander around for awhile in a bloody shirt and has to breathe through his mouth as well. Doubt if he’ll come by for any more ‘photo shoots’.

What wasn’t mentioned is that there was a second, temporary guard assigned to the parkade to assist the guard in dealing with things like this. What did this temp guard do? He stood and watched. Didn’t lift a finger to help his coworker. This did not go unnoticed, and I seriously doubt that he’ll have a job on Monday.

Oh, and some guy tried to steal over $300 worth of anti perspirants from the drugstore.

Rescued by lesbians

I am just home from the Dust Rhinos show at Dylan O’connors out in sunny St. James. I invited a few people to join me, but all were unable to come, so, I go anyway. Now, I am a little self concious about sitting in a bar by myself on a Saturday night – not that everyone is looking at me, but it can feel like that which tends to take the enjoyment out of it. Colby, the Dust Rhino’s bass player, comes over to say hi, which is very nice of him, and I am served my meal fairly quickly, which is also nice.

The band gets a late start due to the drummer having slept in and waking up five minutes before showtime, so the evening drags a little bit. A group of Dust Rhino fans show up and start chatting with Colby. The place is crowded, and he offers them seats at my table, which is fine by me as I am not a snob. Well, it seems that they were, and rather than sit with me and my cooties they gather chairs from the bar and sit off to the side of the stage. Colby seems a bit embarrased by this but I tell myself it is their loss.

The drummer shows up and the show gets going. Alison and her friend Aileen (snc?) show up and sit with me and the evening gets a little better cuz friends make it a fun thing. Unfortunately, Alison’s hubby phones her as he is called in to work and needs the car, so there goes their fun evening. In between sets they say goodbye and head out. Colby pops by again and I ask the server for a round for the band and she tells me its a 20 minute lineup at the bar, so I drop the idea and she takes off before I can order a drink for myself even. Then snubs my table for the second set. Now, this pisses me off, I may not be drinking alcohol, but I am still a customer and don’t care to be shunted off to second class.

Several people ask for the extra chairs at my table and I let them take a few.

The second set gets off to a roaring start, actualy Blair roaring our Barret’s Privateers, which goes over spectacularly. Several newcomers crowd the dance floor, and a couple of young girls plop down at my table and ask me if thats my hat on it. I tell them it is and one plucks it off the table and wears it onto the dance floor, and because she is gorgeous I make no protest. It comes back to me all perfume scented and I am treated to the sight of them sitting together on one chair with the one feeling the others breats in an enthusiastic manner. The lip locking follows, and I can see the two guys sitting over at the next table with big smiles watching as well.

The girls get up to dance again, and these Navy guys at the centre table start taking pictures on their cel phone cameras of the girls dancing rather suggestively. This goes on for awhile and the girls come back to the table to return my hat. The one says; “Thank you honey, I love you”. And I make some lame comment about how I wish or some such. She then tells me she does, really, and wraps herself around me and plants a rather nice kiss as well.

I sit for awhile to calm down, and get razzed by the guys at the next table, who I think were just jealous. I lose sight of the girls and begin to think that thats it for the fun tonight. During the second break I settle the tab and have a quick chat with Colby and head out for the bus, as I have to cross half the damn city.

As I wait for the bus, I see my two girls over by the PetroCanada station taking photos of each other. They move over to the trees edging the lot and remove some clothing for some of the shots. Unfortunately I haven’t ordered my new prescription glasses, so they are just far enough away that I can’t fully enjoy the view. My bus arrives and off I go.

Walking down the street to my home I look up and see the northern lights and watch this for awhile. So, all in all a good evening.
Bruce

Two fisted weekend

Event #1 Friday night.
I am heading home from Shannon’s Irish pub after watching the Dust Rhinos perform. I get on the North Main bus a little after midnight and crack open my Conan book for the 20 minute trip home. Just after the concert hall stop, some drunken yob gets on and wont pay. The bus driver refuses to move until the guy pays, which he wont do. After about 3 minutes, the driver gives up and starts on the way again.

The drunk, realizing that he’s won, gets mouthy and wont shut up. Several pasengers try to calm him down with no results. Then the drunken yob gets ups and walks towards the bus driver brandishing his fists and shadow boxing. I am near the back of the bus, but I just can’t sit still while someone clobbers my ride home. I get up and intercept him before he can actualy punch the driver. I am joined by two other civic minded passengers and we make short work of the yob and toss him out the front door of the bus. I admit I was glad for the assistance, as when I first grabbed ahold of him he was able to fight back and it might not have gone my way.

Why this pisses me off;
Apparantly, city of Winnipeg bus drivers can’t physicaly defend themselves. If they do they are suspended from work and possibly fired. This means that they have to rely on the help of passengers on the bus. Three of us felt like doing something, but the 12 others who were on board didn’t bother to lift a finger. Not a good percentage. I am of the opinion that anyone who has a job and is attacked while working should be able to return the favor and kick some ass.

Event #2 Saturday.
I am at work and have about an hour to go before heading home. We get a call to deal with a guy causing a problem at one of the food services. I meet up with this guy and fnd that he is intoxicated. I tell him that he has to leave the building and I feel that that might be the end of it. As we are walking to the exit he gets all mouthy, calling me names and so on which I pretty much ignore.

At the exit, he punches the door (1 1/2 inch plate glass- no damage there) and spits on it. Since he is outside I don’t care. I step away from the door and he tries to come in, so I stop him and tell him to go away or we will call the police. Most guys would just mouth off and leave at that. This guy then decides to spit on me. I give him an open handed shove and down he goes, gets up and spits on me again. My coworker and I grab him and slip the cuffs on him and bring him to the office, The cops arrive three hours later and after checking him out we bar him from the property and off he goes to the drunk tank.

Event #3 Sunday
I am at the local Burger king for a steak burger. A woman and her daughter enter the restaurant and I notice they have kitten in arm. I tell them that for health reasons they are not allowed to bring loose animals in to restaurants (the only animals allowed in are assistance animals for the obvious reasons, and also the tasty ones we eat). When the staff tell them they have to remove the kitten they finally go outside with the wretched creature (I am not a cat fan by any means), all the while acting like they are somehow being put upon by an incosiderate world.

Why this pisses me off.
Okay, its the cat thing first off, but also I am sick of uneducated people assuming they are special and can bring their little stooll producing creatures into places where I eat food.

I am so looking forward to my vacation in October.

Bruce