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1. In 1504 Michelangelo’s statue of David was unveiled in Florence. Have you ever seen the original or a copy of it?
No. Just photos
2. Do you know how to use a sewing machine? Do you own one?
No, my mother tried to show me, and I could use it when it was set up. But I never learned how to do all the set up.
3. In 1909 the German astronomer Max Wolf rediscovered Halley's comet - have you ever seen a comet?
Yes, I've seen Halley's comet, in fact. It was a bit of a let down after hearing about it for so long. It was too far from Earth that pass. There was a much better visible comet in the 1980's. It looked like a white eyebrow in the sky.
4. Today is European Migraine Day of Action to raise awareness - have you ever had a migraine?
No, neither a European nor any other continent's migraine.
5. Do you own a desktop computer or do you use a laptop or a tablet?
I do the net on a laptop, and serious work on a desktop.
6. Francis Scott Key wrote the poem "Defence of Fort M’Henry" in 1814. It was later known as "The Star-Spangled Banner” - do you know all the words?
When I was in eighth grade I was required to memorize all four verses of the Star-Spangled banner. It was for one of the worst teachers I had, so I have felt no desire to remember any beyond the first verse. I do remember the second verse starts out, "On the shores dimly seen through the mists of the deep..." I suppose she can be happy in heaven that I remember that much.
7. Penicillin was discovered today in 1928 by Alexander Fleming - have you ever had to take it?
Yes. Many times when I was little.
8. In 1953 the first cinemascope film was shown - The Robe starring Richard Burton. Do you prefer to see a movie at home or on the big screen (does it depend on the type of movie)?
Since COVID I haven't been to the movie theater. Of the movies I've seen in the theater only Dr Zhivago and Tora, Tora, Tora were dramatically better in the theater. I never saw it in the theater, but I'm sure Lawrence of Arabia would be better there, too.
9. What is the worst smell you’ve ever smelled?
Maybe a dead dog?
10. Have you ever tried wearing contact lenses?
I wore them for many years. They were better than glasses, but not perfect. I had to wear contacts to drive and reading glasses for close up. After having surgery for cataracts I don't need contacts any more for distances.
11. It’s Talk Like a Pirate Day! Have you read Robert Louis Stephenson’s Treasure Island?
Yes, when I was young. Compared to the movies I didn't find it very memorable.
No. Just photos
2. Do you know how to use a sewing machine? Do you own one?
No, my mother tried to show me, and I could use it when it was set up. But I never learned how to do all the set up.
3. In 1909 the German astronomer Max Wolf rediscovered Halley's comet - have you ever seen a comet?
Yes, I've seen Halley's comet, in fact. It was a bit of a let down after hearing about it for so long. It was too far from Earth that pass. There was a much better visible comet in the 1980's. It looked like a white eyebrow in the sky.
4. Today is European Migraine Day of Action to raise awareness - have you ever had a migraine?
No, neither a European nor any other continent's migraine.
5. Do you own a desktop computer or do you use a laptop or a tablet?
I do the net on a laptop, and serious work on a desktop.
6. Francis Scott Key wrote the poem "Defence of Fort M’Henry" in 1814. It was later known as "The Star-Spangled Banner” - do you know all the words?
When I was in eighth grade I was required to memorize all four verses of the Star-Spangled banner. It was for one of the worst teachers I had, so I have felt no desire to remember any beyond the first verse. I do remember the second verse starts out, "On the shores dimly seen through the mists of the deep..." I suppose she can be happy in heaven that I remember that much.
7. Penicillin was discovered today in 1928 by Alexander Fleming - have you ever had to take it?
Yes. Many times when I was little.
8. In 1953 the first cinemascope film was shown - The Robe starring Richard Burton. Do you prefer to see a movie at home or on the big screen (does it depend on the type of movie)?
Since COVID I haven't been to the movie theater. Of the movies I've seen in the theater only Dr Zhivago and Tora, Tora, Tora were dramatically better in the theater. I never saw it in the theater, but I'm sure Lawrence of Arabia would be better there, too.
9. What is the worst smell you’ve ever smelled?
Maybe a dead dog?
10. Have you ever tried wearing contact lenses?
I wore them for many years. They were better than glasses, but not perfect. I had to wear contacts to drive and reading glasses for close up. After having surgery for cataracts I don't need contacts any more for distances.
11. It’s Talk Like a Pirate Day! Have you read Robert Louis Stephenson’s Treasure Island?
Yes, when I was young. Compared to the movies I didn't find it very memorable.
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From:
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Hmmm... so Cinemascope first appeared in '53, eh ? I remember "The Robe", although it was many, many years later and on TV. (Which means it would have been panned and scanned to fit the old 4x3 TV aspect ratio back then.)
I have only been in a theater twice now since COVID, those flicks were Elemental and Barbie. I wanted to really see Oppenheimer in the theater, but I can't sit that long anymore, even just two hours are pushing it.
I do still strongly prefer seeing a movie in a theater, but even before COVID I intensely dislike crowded theaters, and so I would always go either very late at night, or mid-afternoon. I have to drive for a half-hour to get to the best theater in the area (worth it!), although the closest one to me is all of a ten minute walk away at a nearby shopping center. (But it's a poor one, IMO, although they "fixed it all up fancy" a few years ago. Yeah, right.)
TV at home is OK, and it's not like I don't have a ridiculous DVD collection. Heck, I even have several hundred laserdiscs!
Anyway, that info aside, the genuine main reason I'm posting is, if I recall correctly, your birthday is this month, as is mine. I turned 71 on the 15th. (Feel it, too! Oh, well, 'nother story, really nothing age-unusual, and thus boring, so...)
'Nuff about me, * * * HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DUDE !! * * *
Take care, and best wishes,
-- CJ
From:
no subject
I know what you mean about sitting for long periods. I used to sit for hours watching football on TV. Now I have to get up and do something else, and turn on the TV to peek in on the game every hour or so. It's really ruined baseball for me. We had spring training games in Phoenix every year. It used to be fun to go to a game, but it got to the point where I couldn't stand sitting that long.
I'm with you on crowds. When I was going to the movie theater I'd choose a matinee in the middle of the week. I could sit where I wanted and never be bothered by talking, cellphones and what-not around me.
From:
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From:
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Having seen Lawrence of Arabia on the big screen (when it was re-released and remastered sometime in the 1980s or 90s, I can say that yes - it's better on the big screen. Television cut it to ribbons. If you can catch it on a big screen television at some point? That might work. But it's a movie made for the big screen.
So too, is Gone with the Wind - which I saw on the Big Screen in the 1980s as well. It kind works better on the big screen.
I think a lot of the Westerns also did - such as Giant (which isn't really a Western), The Cowboys, The Searchers (I saw that on a bigger screen in a cinema class in college), and various others.
I'd say this was true of the Star Wars movies as well - they do not work on a small television set.
And I'm guessing 2001 : A Space Odyssey would have been better on a big screen - my brother saw it with a full orchestra accompaniment.
And about all of the Marvel/DC Superhero flicks work better on big screens. Anything with special effects does.
Oppenheimer? You can see on a small screen, along with anything that is heavy on dialogue - although there is about 20-30 minutes of that film that have to be seen on a big screen to get it? The Bomb Testing in Los Alamos - that needs to be seen on a big screen.
From:
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I saw the original Star Wars movie in the theater the day it opened, and mostly I noticed that a scene or two has been cut from later releases. Nothing unusual, but it was the first time I really noticed that happening, so that's what stuck with me about the TV/DVD version.
From:
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I can't say that I liked GWTW that much? But having seen it on both - there is a huge difference - you get the scope of the battles and the WAR better than on the small screen. It was also among the first films done in color - this was in the 1930s, when most films were done in Black and White.
Personally? I prefer Wizard of Oz.
2001 - I've only seen on television, so wouldn't know? But I've been told its better on a large screen, again do to the visuals - it's a very visual film.
Star Wars? I saw it in the original theater when it opened as well, then on television countless times (multiple sizes), then the anniversary version and director's cut, which had inserted scenes. In all? It just works better on a big screen in a darkened theater with an audience and surround sound. The space battles etc - don't work on a small screen. Plus there's the score - which is amazing. It's kind of boring on a small screen. The film is heavy on FX, score and visuals, it's not a dialogue film. The dialogue is kind of atrocious in places actually and the small screen doesn't do it any favors. People who only saw it on the small screen? Probably don't get the appeal.
From:
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Sound is as important as the image for most films, at least if it's done well. The single biggest advance in recent times was the introduction of surround sound, which is now standard for even smaller venues. Sound in the real world is three-dimensional, but we tend to not notice that. Even though one has one's eyes focused on the screen, even something as subtle as the sound following, say, an actor who is moving from one part of the image to another, or conversing with another actor.
Even more critical is the use of music, and how it registers spatially in relation to the image. If things are off in that manner, the brain detects it, even if one may not be consciously aware of it-- something just seems "off".
Sadly, very few homes are equipped even with decent audio for their TVs, especially speaker-wise. Fewer yet have even a basic surround setup. The difference this makes, even with plain old non-movie TV shows is remarkable once one has experienced it.
The changeover to flat-panel TVs has made it possible to get large, high-quality images into homes at reasonable prices, but even the better of these sets have mediocre speakers, being physically limited by the thinness of the chassis.
And sadly, part 2-- the number of competent independent audio / video dealers out there who could help people with these issues are disappearing all the time, just like the one I worked for 15 years ago. The big guys mostly move boxes, they rarely have anyone who knows the tech properly.
From:
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I listen to music via BOSE earphones which changes and enhances the sound from a regular speaker or the phone or computer's speakers.
Sound is crucial to a film - even silent films, relied on sound. And there's a big difference from seeing a film like 2001 in a theater with surround sound or an orchestra and on television without it. I remember going to see the silent film remastering of a classic French Napolean film, remastered and with sound provided by Carmen Coppola and a full orchestra at a movie theater in the 1980s as a kid. It was amazing - in part due to the sound.
Co-workers went to see Dune on the big screen for the sound - alone. And Star Wars? Honestly the sound in that film is crucial to the story. As is the sound in the film Oppenheimer. Those films were nominated and won for sound editing, and score.