Messages

46

/dev/random / Re: Hurricane Helene

« on: October 01, 2024, 05:16:50 AM »

Foc - how did you make out?

Easy-peasy here. The old farm pond next door that usually overflows during heavy rains filled right up to the rim and looked like it was juuuust about to spill over and go through my yard, bypassing the dam like it sometimes does,... but it never quite made it. My Neighbor had a small little tree on the property line that split down the middle, and on his other side, he had a younger oak (maybe 40-50yrs) growing against the bank of a culvert that uprooted. I still have 2 or 3 pretty ancient live oaks (200+ yrs probably) and some southern red oaks, they all made it. We got a good bit of rain, but it only lasted a day or two - I guessed that the storm would halt in place and dump water on us for probably 3 full days nonstop, but it moved on through luckily. Some folks around here might've had the odd tree down, but we never even lost power.

I went to Ingles yesterday to do grocery shopping and had to head into town to hit up a bank first to take out 400 bucks cash because they had a sign at the door saying "we are accepting cash only right now, no credit cards or checks." Ingles is a southeastern only chain with stores in NC, GA, SC, and TN. Their home office is either in Asheville or Black Mountain NC - both are completely underwater.

Looks like the storm held on to crazy amounts of water and waited until it got up to the smokey mountains to drop it all. All that water came washing down off the mountains and into the valley all at once. All the little towns through the main valleys just turned into rivers. Somebody posted before and after pics in discord of Chimney Rock NC. It's 100% gone, the WHOLE TOWN, nothing left. If the news is saying it's really bad... they're still understating how bad it is. The entire smokey mountain tourist area is likely completely gone. Like you said, there's likely a lot of people that are never going to be found. The interstates through there are major trucking arteries too and there are lots of spots destroyed that will take a long time to rebuild, so this is probably gonna effect some shipping around NC SC and northeast TN mostly.

47

/dev/random / Re: The last movie you saw....

« on: September 10, 2024, 03:15:30 PM »

One of the all time greats.



Last movie I saw with him in it... probably Conan or Coming to America, I love those. Conan was a classic, cannot be remade, I don't care WHO you put in it. You'll never get a hero as great as Arnold, and you'll never have a villain as great as James Earl Jones playing Thulsa Doom.

He was also in The Sandlot and Field of Dreams, two good baseball movies, also forever classics.

One of my favorites of his that some people may forget about...

A Family Thing - 1996 - James Earl Jones, Robert Duvall - Synopsis from IMDB: When an old woman dies, she leaves a note for her apparent son (Robert Duvall) which tells him that his biological mother died giving birth to him. She begs him to make peace with his half-brother (James Earl Jones) living in Chicago.

Currently available on tubi for free:
https://tubitv.com/movies/312415/a-family-thing


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65tMREjQXAQ&ab_channel=VideoDetective

48

/dev/random / Re: Whatcha listening to?

« on: September 01, 2024, 05:13:48 AM »

R.I.P. Jack Russell


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yg06B46VVys&ab_channel=greatwhiteVEVO

49

/dev/random / Re: The Good Old Days thread

« on: August 27, 2024, 08:09:51 PM »

Remember this - Where's the beef?

Heard of that one a million times but I never saw it on TV myself that I remember.

I do remember a hundred and one different versions of the juicy fruit commercial all with the same twangy song.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJ92qqzutcE&ab_channel=ArcadeSpookyTree

They even parodied it on one of the Star Wars parody episodes of Family Guy.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSnp8mEPmEw&ab_channel=SBellah714

50

/dev/random / Re: Whatcha watchin'/streamin'...

« on: August 17, 2024, 10:32:52 PM »

I love cartoons.

But I don't love this one. Pretty fuckin' creepy, honestly.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWi2WTqD59A&ab_channel=vson8

51

/dev/random / Re: Whatcha watchin'/streamin'...

« on: August 17, 2024, 07:56:29 PM »

I love cartoons. Mostly the old stuff. It would be cool if there were one streaming service that had ALL of the old stuff. There's a bunch of stuff on youtube but it tends to be less than excellent quality - some of it looks to be copied to digital from a worn out VHS source... or copied to digital many years ago when visual quality wasn't as important.

Found a channel on youtube called Old Classic Cartoons with a bunch of old Disney character and Walt Disney Silly Symphony cartoons, and a bunch of ComiColor ones as well.

https://www.youtube.com/OldClassicCartoons

2 from there...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M21UsdJnkBY&ab_channel=OldClassicCartoons


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJmiTdM6yzs&ab_channel=OldClassicCartoons

And 1 more that I found somewhere else...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYEmL0d0lZE&ab_channel=fireurgunz

52

art, music, etc. / Re: The 100 Greatest Guitarists

« on: August 16, 2024, 12:05:48 PM »

...Stevie Ray Vaughan...

Interesting bit of trivia I just learned about.

From the wiki page for 80's soft rock musician Christopher Cross:

Cross was the original owner of fellow Austin guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan’s legendary “Number One” 1962/1963 hybrid Fender Stratocaster. Vaughan purchased the guitar at Ray Hennig’s Heart of Texas Music in Austin in 1974, only one day after Cross had traded the guitar for a Gibson Les Paul.



Although... I'm kinda wondering if that was a straight trade. A Gibson Les Paul is typically worth a good bit more than a Stratocaster.

53

/dev/random / Re: Whatcha listening to?

« on: August 15, 2024, 11:06:43 PM »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoHk4S4-U-E&ab_channel=jthyme

54

/dev/random / Re: Whatcha watchin'/streamin'...

« on: August 12, 2024, 05:36:53 AM »

Like I said in that last post, I downloaded a whole slew of westerns - Been doing a western marathon lately.

My Name is Nobody - Great movie.

I watched both of the Trinity movies with Terrence Hill, "They Call Me Trinity" and "Trinity is Still My Name". I actually liked both of those better than My Name is Nobody. Nobody was just kinda odd with Henry Fonda in it. The Trinity movies had a lot more of a comedy feel to them. The big brawl with the mormons at the end kinda felt like they didn't know how to end the movie... which is kinda the same situation Mel Brooks was in at the end of Blazing Saddles too. Similar endings.

Watched all 5 of the Sartana movies. They weren't very good.

Watched all 3 of the Sabata movies. Lee Van Cleef is always good in a western, but the stories were a little thin in parts. Sabata was styled as more of a rambling card shark and so he used a little pocket pistol... but so did Sartana... and so did several other characters from other spaghetti westerns. Yes, "It's just a movie", but it's still weird that they are "gunfighter" movies and they always use tiny little 22 caliber pocket pistols to shoot everyone from farther away with pinpoint accuracy.

One I hadn't seen before:
Duck, You Sucker (1971) with Rod Steiger and James Coburn. Rod Steiger plays a mexican bandit (Rod Steiger as a mexican, lol - he talks like Tony Montana), and James Coburn plays an Irish IRA dynamite-freak (also with an awkward Irish accent). Despite that... it was actually a pretty good movie. Would recommend.

True Grit (1969) with John Wayne and Glen Campbell. Really good classic western, one of my favorites, seen it many times. But...

Rooster Cogburn (1972) with John Wayne and Katherine Hepburn. Sort of a sequel to True Grit. Was the first time I've seen it. I like the Rooster Cogburn character and how Wayne played it, but the story was way too similar to True Grit. And I DON'T LIKE KATHERINE HEPBURN. I don't know if she was ever good in anything from back in the 40's when she was at her peak of fame, but she was a terrible choice for this movie. I get that they wanted some cantankerous older woman to mirror Cogburn, but I think they could've found someone much better.

When I searched "spaghetti westerns", Google seemed to highly recommend a Klaus Kinski one called "The Great Silence" (1968). A very "interesting" one, but I'm still not sure if I'd call it "good". The good guy, a mute (thus the title) played by Jean Louis Trintignant - some french guy I think, not familiar with him. Kinski plays the bad guy, a bounty killer. Spoiler alert but... the bad guy lures the good guy into a showdown by holding about 30 people hostage in a bar. The good guy shows up, the bad guy kills him deader than hell, then the bad guy and his gang murder everyone in the bar. And then the movie ends. And you're like, "....what the hell did I just watch?" Because in every other western, the mysterious hero wins the day... but in this one, the bad guy wins. Sometimes these Italian movies are pretty bad, but I'd put this one on par with Sergio Leone. It's well done, it's just that the story ends the wrong way. Some people might find that refreshing and unique.

55

/dev/random / Re: Whatcha watchin'/streamin'...

« on: July 29, 2024, 02:25:52 AM »

Quirky but great old spaghetti western.


https://youtu.be/w9Vfoa6rDkM

Was surprised to find it on Youtoob. There are probably better quality copies there too.

Was roaming around on YouTurd tonight and was browsing through western movies. Watched the first 5 or 6 minutes of one called The Last Wagon (1956) starring Richard Widmark. It looked interesting, so I bookmarked it for later.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSuEXXfHtO4&ab_channel=%F0%9D%95%8Atars%E2%84%82lassicsOriginals

Youtube had an "official" copy (1080p I think, with ads) of My Name is Nobody available, so I started watching that. I didn't realize it was a Sergio Leone movie. YES, pretty quirky. The beginning of the movie starts like a Sergio Leone western always does - The bad guys come rambling into to town in an long tense scene with no dialogue, they set up and confront the good guy... and then the furious lightning-fast shootout. Henry Fonda is as you'd expect - he was a decent actor, but tended to play everything pretty much the same way. Terrence Hill as "Nobody"... fuckin' goofy at times. Kinda strange for a Sergio Leone western. I know he's been in several westerns, but I've never seen them. I've mainly stuck to the more classic westerns from the 50's and early 60's, John Wayne stuff, etc. I realize I've never made much of an effort to watch more of the late 60's and early 70's spaghetti westerns.

So I went on a downloading spree tonight. Collecting up all kindsa weird shit. Already watched some of one Klaus Kinski western called "Coffin Full of Dollars". I fell asleep in the middle of it.  No loss though, it was pretty damn bad.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5V3VgHBGeK0&ab_channel=Grjngo-WesternMovies

I got some other movies with Terrence Hill (like the Trinity movies, Django, others) a bunch with Lee Van Cleef (like the Sabata movies), some with Klaus Kinski, a few of the "Sartana" movies (I forget who plays in them). I knew there were a lot of italian westerns, but hopefully the majority of them aren't as bad as the Klaus Kinski Coffin Full of Dollars one. My god, the theme song for it they play in the opening and closing credits is sooooo bad.

56

art, music, etc. / Re: Live Performances

« on: July 26, 2024, 01:11:36 PM »

I don't dislike Golden Earring, but I'm not a fan of that version. I don't really think I'd like ANYONE's cover version of it. You'd need 2 distinct elements to cover the song properly. Number one, you have to have a Rickenbacker guitar with those twangy Rickenbacker pickups, particulary a 12-STRING Rickenbacker like Roger McGuinn was famous for. Number two, you need at least two singers (three is better) with impeccable harmony and voices that are nice and smooth textured and complement each other well. That's where David Crosby came in. He was never the best person to be a lead singer, but his voice was perfect for a backup harmonizing role.





(Notice the 6 regular tuning pegs, plus 6 holes above each peg leading to 6 other tuners on the back for the paired strings.)

And even if you do a jam cover (no vocals), you still at least need to have a lead guitar that can somewhat approximate the sound of McGuinn's 12-string Rick, something like a Gretsch or perhaps a Fender Jazzmaster if you run it through the right amp settings. Got to have that twingy-twang to it.

57

art, music, etc. / Re: Live Performances

« on: July 25, 2024, 12:01:38 AM »

Byrds in 1970 at the famous Fillmore East - an extended sans-vocals jam of Eight Miles High.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ymkBEhdHBE

58

/dev/random / Re: The Good Old Days thread

« on: July 17, 2024, 05:03:53 PM »

RIP Richard Simmons.

I'm not someone who's "pro-gay" but I'm not "anti-gay" either. And that's kinda what was cool about Richard Simmons. He was quite obviously gay, and it shaped his persona, but he never felt the need to make it the most important part about himself, which made him far more relatable to everyone else on earth who's personality is not built on what they decide to do with their genitals for fun. Those kinds of people... it's like, "I GET IT, YOU'RE GAY, IT'S NOT A SPECIAL TALENT, CAN WE MOVE ON?" I feel the same way about daily dope smokers now too. Getting high is ALL they ever talk about. It's annoying. "THERE IS MORE TO LIFE. WATCH, I'MA GO DO IT... AWAY FROM YOU."

Richard Simmons was a fun dude though. Never serious, always funny, infectiously positive, genuinely kind and cared about people. A Bob Ross kind of guy. (Both had fro's... maybe fro's are magic) Virtually nobody on planet earth had a bad thing to say about them. That's the kind of legacy you want to leave, ain't it? Me, I'm too irish to be nice to everyone that consistently.

As a little kid - maybe when I was 4 or 5 - I remember how me and my mom had a few shows we'd watch most weekday mornings. One of them was called You and Me Kid (on the Disney channel) - it featured parents and kids often doing exercises, stories, educational stuff.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGEZIJ0sLXo

We'd also usually watch Richard Simmons show and we'd sometimes do the exercises along with them.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-JaWWtcf60

59

/dev/random / Re: The Good Old Days thread

« on: July 16, 2024, 05:16:17 PM »

Buster Keaton.

The General (1926)

Just wanna highlight my favorite funny scene from this...

The "I'ma strangle you, ya silly bitch" scene.    (from 55:56 to 56:38) - link there should start it at the right spot.

60

/dev/random / Re: The Good Old Days thread

« on: June 22, 2024, 06:03:04 PM »

Buster Keaton.

Plenty of people know the name (maybe less so the pre-Gen-Xer's), but a lot of people probably counldn't name any of his movies. I couldn't until lately. I always thought older silent films were mostly poorly acted pieces of decaying dookie that should probably be preserved, but aren't that good compared to modern films. That may be true to some extent... that they aren't particularly well acted, but I guess that was just the way of the times. People were going from stage plays to a new medium, and the makeup and often over-dramatic gesturing was just how it's done. And while not many silent films are all that greatly entertaining compared to modern films (at least in my opinion), the production and scale and size of some of them was incredible.

The best example: the old 1915 black and white DW Griffith film, Birth of a Nation. It contained HUGE Civil War re-enactment scenes, with real cannons firing real powder, and many hundreds if not thousands of extras dressed as Union and Confederate soldiers. Pretty sure lots of extras were injured during some of the scenes, perhaps even killed since the cannons were firing real powder (anything in the barrels or stuck to the sides would've been projectiles). In those days, they didn't have safety regulations in the movie industry, and many times people using guns actually used REAL BULLETS (like the old Scarface movie from 1932). "Here, here's your prop gun, it's loaded with real bullets... just make sure you don't aim it right at someone when you fire it, try to miss them as best you can. Mkay? Great!"

Another great example of incredible production would be just about any Buster Keaton film. This guy was the original Jackie Chan insane stuntman. He performed all sorts of wacky insane stunts and falls, some that could've easily killed him, some that actually DID injure him very badly.

The General (1926) - from the good old days before the Occupational Safety and Health Administration was ever a thing.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpT6QbqIXgo

(This film is public domain at this point so hopefully this video link won't die anytime soon.)