the magnificent seven and some of it's foreign film posters

 

 

The Magnificent Seven is an overrated film as far as l am concerned, but seeing as it was just repeated on TV, l got suckered into watching it again.  Although l do like it generally, the main selling point is seeing such huge stars together in the same movie, even allowing for some overacting aplenty (Robert Vaughan and Horst Buchholz, l'm looking at you two).  There's also some cool and measured performances by Yul Bryyner, Steve McQueen and James Coburn, and Eli Wallach is always a splendidly swarthy and sweaty bad guy, but it's pretty slow paced in parts, and the ending seems to drag on, and then finish too suddenly.
The soundtrack is by Elmer Bernstein, which is one of the most stirring of all time, so a couple of hours can still fly by before you can manage to drag yourself up to put the kettle on (or maybe that's just my sloth like laziness).
I've only had the DVD of The Seven Samurai (the film it's based on) for about two or three years.  Maybe l should get around to watching that, as l have never seen it before, and it's meant to be much better.
So little time...

toodle pip.

hiding the elephant - jim steinmeyer

I've been picking up and re-reading Jim Steinmeyer's 'Hiding the Elephant' over the last month or so, a few pages or a chapter at a time, and it's just as interesting the second time around, as he knows what he is talking about, being a designer of  special effects and a magic consultant for the likes of David Copperfield.
Telling the tales of the Victorian (and earlier) magicians who paved the way for the current crop, it documents the original ideas for tricks, and the backstabbing, stealing and double crossing that followed the inventions, plus the intertwining lives, relationships and legacies of the masters.  Some such as Harry Keller, Howard Thurston, John Nevil Maskelyne, David Devant and Harry Houdini became famous and made a fortune, while others were cast aside as their illusions were stolen.
The 'Hiding the Elephant' title comes from an illusion that Houdini (and Jennie the elephant) performed many times at The New York Hippodrome, a place l would loved to have seen magic performed at. The size of it was staggering (the hall, not the elephant).  War battles could be re-enacted on the stage, while below, it held a huge water tank to stage sea battles.  It must have been staggering, especially for an audience years ago. You (or at least l do) also forget that they used smaller mechanical props such as butterflies and blooming flowers, and once they got the hang of using mirrors correctly, could make people appear and disappear. Then they started sawing people in half.
Levitation, ghosts, spiritualism, disappearing donkeys, women and cars, escapology and slight of hand, it's all brilliant stuff, but it has now made me want to read 'Carter beats the Devil' (by Glen David Gold) again. Damn!! You've got to put the hours in!
Here's Houdini and Jennie the elephant (not Nellie. She went to town and said goodbye to the circus)

And here's some old posters

toodle pip

some of the albums l've been listening to today, and my favourite tracks from them.

Bob Dylan - Another Self portrait box set.  When the album 'Self Portrait' first came out, it was famously reviewed by Greil Marcus, who started with 'What is this shit?', as it was indeed crap compared to what Dylan had produced before. However, the album has grown on me over the years, and the box set (part of the bootleg series) has some decent out-takes, plus the Isle of man concert, but it's nowhere near as good as some of the earlier bootleg series releases. Not a release l will listen to all of the way through on a regular basis, but it helps keep me out of mischief.

Jesse Winchester's album suffers because it is dominated by Black Dog, the last song on the album, which is unlike the previous tracks on the record, but a magnificent piece of work (later covered by Babe Ruth amongst others). Otherwise it's a slightly better than usual country lp.

'No Such Place' is also a country type album, but a lot more modern sounding, and with better songs overall. Jim White's singing puts across a tale in a believable and emotive way, and the standout track for me is the first one, 'Handcuffed to a fence in Mississippi'.

Old Crow Medicine Show sound like an updated old country band, but once again, there is one standout track, the much covered 'Wagon Wheel', which has become a standard in a short amount of time.  I know Bob Dylan wrote the bare bones of the song (naturally l've got the unreleased version), but the way it has been added to by OCMS (and then performed) makes it into something special.

Dion is a long way from his hits such as 'Runaround Sue' on this record, and 'Born To Be With You' has a big Phil Spector production, coupled with a moody atmosphere and vocal performance.  Sometimes sounding a bit like John lennon's 'Rock and Roll' album from the same period, which is no great surprise, as Phil Spector produced that as well. It gets better with repeated plays, and like most of the music above, is probably best listened to late at night in a darkened room.



I've realised these albums make me look like a sad old git, so here's something noisy l revisited as well (I watched some of my DVD of it).  Nine Inch Nails at Woodstock, performing 'Wish' in the mud, the blood, and the beer.  One of my favourite shows, even if Trent Reznor was apparently not that keen on their performance (idiot).



Right - time for Match of the Day!

toodle pip

the stones - a tribute to the rolling stones

Damn!  I was thinking about going to see The Stones tonight, but after watching the football and prating about, it started pissing down with rain and thundering, so l couldn't be bothered, and stayed in instead, reading, listening to music and watching films (the usual stuff).
Ah well, better luck next time.  I'm off out tomorrow though, no matter what the weather is like.  I have to - l've run out of wine!

toodle pip

a shell shocked soldier from 1916

A shell shocked soldier from 1916.
He looks as happy as me on a good night out.

toodle pip

everybody loves a pirate

Who's this little scamp dressed up as a pirate?  Non other than the current president of the good old US of A (that's America to non  Americans) , who has just faced down the Republicans and the Tea Party. Yessireeee ladies and gentleman, it's non other than Barack Obama himself.  Because everybody loves a pirate.

On a related note, l used to be a bootlegger, rogue and rodgerer, and here's my new parrot talking back.   Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr me shipmates, a man and his parrot, what on Gods green earth could be more satisfying? (or could send them both insane).  Man or feathered beast - it's a battle of will and intellect (I think l am in trouble)

toodle pip

marilyn monroe touched up

The past is a foreign country, and who's to say what is true and what is not.  I have seen loads of tinted photographs over the many years l have been striding this puny Godforsaken Earth like a colossus amongst the little people, but the four tinted pictures of Marilyn Monroe above really emphasise how images / events can be manipulated by the artists / manipulators. All are obviously identical photographs, but the alterations made make you question what is real (or as The Beatles would say - 'Nothing is real').
Whatever the colours (or lack of them) Marilyn still looks pretty damn foxy, and l wouldn't have minded touching her up myself (so to speak).
Images courtesy of Shrorpy.

toodle pip

harry houdini in scotland, 1920 (and kraftwerk)

Although it's not Sky breaking minute by minute rolling news material, I saw this for the first time the other day, and it's news to me (for whatever that is worth). It's a photograph of Harry Houdini in 1920, performing in Scotland, and it has only just been unearthed (last year) and displayed after 92 years, by The Scotland Herald. Prints are available to buy from their website, and although the photograph is trimmed, it's magnificent.  The assistants look like members of Kraftwerk, and it is (as far as l know) the first photograph of the Chinese Water Torture Cell that shows the straps on the front.  I always think of Houdini as an American performer from donkey years ago, but he performed in Scotland many times, and 1920 is not that long ago in the great scheme of things.

Here's Houdini being lowered into the Cell (but not in Scotland)

Just the sort of magic and escapology l'd loved to have been around to witness, as it was all new at the time. Sometimes l wish l was older than l am, so l could have witnessed more monumental events (but not that old).

And here's Kraftwerk (mit Autobahn)



toodle pip

the spastic society advert / poster

A great advert / poster from The Spastic Society (now known as Scope).  Very simple (no that's not meant as a joke), but it gets the message across in a direct way.

toodle pip

football, bloody hell (the biography of alex fergusun) - patrick barclay

'Football, Bloody Hell' was the famous line uttered by Alex Ferguson (now Sir Alex) after the 1999 Champions League final (European Cup final in old money) after Manchester United had come back from 1-0 down in the dying moments to win the game 2-1 in injury time.  Football doesn't get much more emotionally draining, as that was also the culmination of a treble, and as a Manchester United fan, watching the game at Nevada Smiths in New York, following United could only go downhill afterwards.
However, l still persevere, there's always a new season (with or without Alex Ferguson), and always more football to watch, and football books to read.
This biography didn't tell me a lot that l didn't already know, but Patrick Barclay is a reporter from the old school, who goes way back with his knowledge of players, managers, events and games, so it was still highly entertaining for the likes of me.  Like Ferguson himself, Barclay can be a stubborn old coot with strong opinions (catch him on Sunday Supplement), but l am all for that (being one myself).
Now l'm eagerly awaiting Ferguson's autobiography - out before Christmas!.
I'll admit it, I'm an addict.

toodle pip

the construction of the hoover dam

Whenever l go to great structures, l am usually astounded at the time, effort, and skill that had been used to build them, and how impressive they are.  I wouldn't know where to start on such large projects (apart from delegating all of the work).
The Hoover Dam, between Arizona and Nevada, is a fine example. The construction of it, even more so. When there, standing at (or on) the edge, it is mightily impressive, and well worth the trip out to see it it if you are in Las Vegas (hire a car).
It was built in the mid 1930's and previously known as The Boulder Dam, drawing it's water from The Colorado river, forming Lake Mead, and like anything high up, it draws you to the edge, or at least it does to me (as did The Grand Canyon).
About 100 people lost their lives working on the dam, and l wouldn't be taking a wild guess that they would have been the poor old labourers, working for peanuts (whether they were allergic to them or not),  who, during the depression (when it was built), Health and Safety regulations would have been pretty slack, or non existent as far as they were concerned.
Still mightily impressive, and an excuse to feature this song.

Sugar - Hoover Dam.



toodle pip

ben leshchinsky photographs of easter island

What fantastic photographs these are. They are by Ben Leshchinsky and have the Easter Island statues (Moai) set against The Milky Way in the background.  The top one would look great in a large frame.
If only the house was bigger.

toodle pip