This has been my worst category as I love science fiction anything. I have struggled over these past six months trying to pick just one. My choice would change, daily. I finally settled on one that is part of my teen years and became a cultural cult classic. I still have the sticker that I got when I went to see this at the theater in 1982. Like The Breakfast Club, this movie means something to me. Released the summer before my junior year, this movie got me interested in computers and graphics. There is also the memory of a scene I saw in the original release at the theater, that disappeared in subsequent showings on HBO, TV and the VHS tapes, and made me crazy:
The 20th Anniversary DVD edition includes a deleted love scene: Tron and Yori go to her apartment, where she pushes a button on the wall. [T]he walls [disappear] and her uniform changes into a different costume. Also included are a partially completed “morning after” scene…(all dialog tracks for this short scene are lost).
All the data on the Internet states that the scene was removed from the final cut. I beg to differ. I distinctly remember seeing them go to her “apartment.” That being said, what I remember from the scene is a little different from the “official deleted scene” (she glowed, her hair was blowing around and her helmet floated off her head). I think a shortened version of that scene was released to theaters and when the movie was released to HBO & VHS tapes, they wiped all of it out. This is a very clear memory. The prologue to the movie, when released to theaters, was also removed. The “original” opening monologue (that I’ve never heard) was restored in the 20th Anniversary DVD. ~Vic
Kevin Flynn is a software engineer and an ex-employee at ENCOM. He runs a video arcade and tries to hack into ENCOM’s mainframe, looking for proof that his video games were plagiarized. The Master Control Program stops him. Programmer Alan Bradley and engineer Dr. Lora Baines, his girlfriend, discover that they have lost access to their projects. When Alan questions Senior Exec. VP Ed Dillinger about the restriction, Dillinger states that extra security is needed to stop outside hacking. When Alan leaves, Dillinger asks the MCP about the issues and realizes that the MCP has become a power-hungry virtual intelligence. Dillinger is blackmailed into complying with the MCP’s wishes due to his theft of Flynn’s material. Alan, Lora & Flynn break into ENCOM and Flynn winds up digitized inside the mainframe when the MCP uses an experimental laser to dissect him. Flynn must navigate his way around a strange digital landscape where all the programs resemble the users that created them and find his way back out.
My sticker from 1982 and my date’s name
(high school classmate).
A merchant brigantine, the Mary Celeste was built at Spencer’s Island, Nova Scotia and launched under British registration as Amazon in 1861. She was transferred to American ownership and registration in 1868 when she acquired her new name. Thereafter, she sailed, uneventfully, until her 1872 voyage.
[She was] discovered adrift and deserted in the Atlantic Ocean off the Azores Islands on December 4, 1872. The Canadian brigantine Dei Gratia found her in a disheveled but seaworthy condition under partial sail and with her lifeboat missing. The last entry in her log was dated ten days earlier.
She left New York City for Genoa on November 7 and [the] Dei Gratia departed for Gibraltar on November 15, following the same general route eight days [later]. [She] was still amply provisioned when found. Her cargo of denatured alcohol was intact and, the captain’s and crew’s personal belongings were undisturbed. None of those who had been on board were ever heard from again.
Image Credit: gutenberg.org
At the salvage hearings in Gibraltar following her recovery, the court’s officers considered various possibilities of foul play, including mutiny by Mary Celeste’s crew, piracy by the Dei Gratia crew or others and conspiracy to carry out insurance or salvage fraud. No convincing evidence supported these theories but, unresolved suspicions led to a relatively low salvage award.
The inconclusive nature of the hearings fostered continued speculation as to the nature of the mystery and, the story has repeatedly been complicated by false detail and fantasy. Hypotheses that have been advanced include the effects on the crew of alcohol fumes rising from the cargo, submarine earthquakes (seaquakes), waterspouts, attack by a giant squid and paranormal intervention. The story of her 1872 abandonment has been recounted and dramatized many times in documentaries, novels, plays and films and, the name of the ship has become a byword for unexplained desertion.
[Were] it not for Dr. Arthur Conan Doyle, struggling to establish himself as a writer prior to creating Sherlock Holmes, perhaps the world would not have ever known or cared [about the ship]. Conan Doyle’s short story about the ‘Marie Celeste‘ (he changed the name from Mary) turned a minor puzzle into one of the most famous legends of the sea. Nevertheless, we should recognise it was fiction, for which his editor paid 30 Pounds, […] a respectable sum in 1884.
Photo Credit: My Buddy Ray Tutterow
Research Triangle Park
01-07-2015
Introduction
I don’t know about you but, I like looking at sunsets. It doesn’t seem to matter how bad a day it has been for me, or for anyone else on the planet, taking a few minutes at the end of the day to watch the sun drop below the horizon just calms the nerves and renews my sense of well-being. During August, I have paid particular attention to the sunsets, attempting to catch a glimpse of the “new sun”, the one we are assured is called “Nibiru” that has been travelling through our solar system dragging its seven planets along with it. As I sit at my keyboard, I realise that I am, actually, sitting at my keyboard. I am not sitting at another keyboard in some alternate universe. I have not been vapourised by the bow “shock-wave” that this sun Nibiru was reputedly pushing before it, destroying all life in the solar system. Funny that. But, on the other hand, it looks as though the HGF (Human Gullibility Factor) has been working overtime.
For several months, we have been warned by those who claim to have insider knowledge from the NSA, CIA, NASA, and the Vatican, telling us that Nibiru is on its way through our solar system, wreaking its destruction, despite any evidence that could support these claims. Oh, how I long for the time when humans finally wake up and re-integrate their souls back into their bodies because, then, we wouldn’t have to put up with any more of this c**p.
A History of Nibiru
The name Nibiru is most usually associated with the translations of the Annunaki material by Zecharia Sitchin. Sitchin was acknowledged as the world’s leading expert at translating ancient Sumerian “Cuneiform” writing into English. In the 1960’s, Sitchin began translating a collection of clay tablets that were reputed to be about 5,000 years old. These tablets state that the story they tell was dictated to a Sumerian scribe who, accurately, recorded the story being dictated to him.
*Note: The story was dictated to a scribe, therefore, it had to be dictated by “someone”. This someone is never identified in the story the clay tablets tell. If, as claimed in the story, the information was the actual history of humanity, then, the history would have been recorded as it happened. In other words, the history was common knowledge amongst all of the people. So, why was it necessary for a story to be dictated to a scribe? The answer is, that, it is just that…a story and not reality.*
I have commented on the lack of truth, and the lack of validity, of this dictated story many times in my books and essays, so, [I] am not going to repeat the story here. Enough to say is, that it is a complete fantasy, deliberately designed to mislead people in the current times into believing that our “creators” are an alien race, known as the “Velon”. Within this dictated fantasy story is the “legend” of the planet Nibiru. Please note the word planet. The Velon/Annunaki fantasy story claims that Nibiru is a “travelling” planet that enters our solar system every 3,600 years.
V838 Monocerotis Variable Star
Erroneously portrayed as an approaching planet or brown dwarf on a collision course with Earth
Image Credit: wikipedia.org & hubblesite.org
Several of its orbits have caused problems within our solar system, destroying one planet with the Earth and, the asteroid belt being made from the debris of this collision. According to Sitchin’s translations and calculations, the last time that this fictitious planet entered our solar system was about 2,200 years ago (about 200 BC). This means that the next orbit is not due for another 1,400 years from now.
Are there any human traditions that have a record of a “travelling planet”? No, there are not. Chinese records, Egyptian records, Celtic traditions, Native American traditions, Aboriginal traditions, Inuit traditions, Eskimo traditions…not one of them tell of a planet that travels in and out of our solar system. Is there an ancient Earth people who speak of a planet called Nibiru? Yes, there is. This is the ancient Assyrian Empire centered around the ancient city of Babylon. Except, as far as the ancient Assyrians are concerned, the name Nibiru was their name for the planet Jupiter in our own solar system although the Assyrians possibly spelled it “Neberu”, meaning “The Ferry”.
However, the fear-mongering that has been going on over the past few years, especially in recent months, refer to a sun called Nibiru that has entered our solar system, destroying all in its advance. Quite why Nibiru had changed from a single “travelling planet” to a sun with seven orbiting planets has been impossible to track down. There does not appear to be any reason, whatsoever, to explain why Nibiru has changed from a single planet to a whole solar system…at least none that I have been able to find. The only explanation seems to be that a fictitious travelling whole solar system engenders far more fear in people than a fictitious single travelling planet does.
Why Try To Make People Afraid?
For the last 1,700 years, there have been those on the planet who see themselves as an “elite”. In order to control the population and to make them believe what this elite wants them to believe, the elite have found that, by far, the best way is to make people afraid. By creating situations of fear, especially the fear of things that do not exist, the elite have created a society that is made up of individuals that are extremely gullible and can be forced to act in ways which go against their intrinsic nature. There are many, many examples of this behavior throughout human history, both in the past and in the present.
To continue reading (it’s ten pages), download the PDF version HERE.
[Note: This PDF was originally posted on the One-Vibration Forum Blog on August 12, 2013.]
Alan [sic] Bauer nearly drowned as a child but, has memories of being saved by a young mermaid. He manages his family’s wholesale fruit and vegetable business and, continues his search to find true love. Along with his feelings, Allen must also contend with his womanizing older brother Freddie, who takes love less seriously than his brother. When he is jilted as an adult and loses his wallet in the surf, the young mermaid tries to return it. They are soul mates who have been meant for each other but, Madison fears how he will react when he finds out she is not human.
“Tom came in wearing these 501 Levi’s and construction boots and a T-shirt. He wasn’t nervous at all – and here’s a guy who had never had a major movie. I thought, why is this guy so calm? But we read him and we liked him and we hired him right away.”
On Hannah’s abilities, Grazer states “[…] while we were testing Daryl [Hannah] in her tail underwater, we noticed how well she swam. Then we realized that she was as good, if not better, than her stunt doubles. Her endurance was actually better than theirs. We began wondering if Daryl couldn’t do all the scenes herself and she happily agreed, which certainly helped the movie’s credibility.
“They’re very, very funny guys (Candy & Levy). But my job in Splash was not to be particularly funny. That’s what Ron [Howard] kept drilling into me.”
Learning a valuable lesson from Howard, he recalls being unprepared…”It took longer to shoot than it should have, and when we were done with the scene, Ron said, “You know, you should have been a little more prepared.” He didn’t yell at me. He probably knew that if he had yelled, I’d be paste for the rest of the day. He just let me know in no uncertain terms that I was starring in this movie and with that comes huge responsibilities, and one of them is to be ready to go. I’ve never forgotten that.”
[…] having to lie still for three hours every day for technicians to put her into the 35 lbs. rubber fin, she states “At lunch they’d yank me out on a crane and plop me on the deck. I couldn’t eat because I couldn’t go to the bathroom. I just lay there shivering with barnacles in my hair, soaking wet. And underwater it was difficult because I was not able to see since I couldn’t wear a mask. I had to trust the guys to get air to me. It was difficult and we worked long hours but, it seemed more like playing than work. It was real magical down there.”
Fellow blogger Britchy at Bitchin’ In The Kitchen challenged all of her readers to join in. I could not resist this fun as I am a music nut. That being expressed, I sit on day six so, this first post is a catch-up. Tomorrow, I will join the normal festivities for day seven.
So, without further ado…here we go.
Day One
A song with color in the title.
Oh, my, my, my…this immediately popped into my head. This was released in 1983…my junior year of high school.
Little Red Corvette
Day Two
A song with a number in the title. Black Lab appeared on the Alternative Rock scene in 1997 with their début album release Your Body Above Me. This song is particularly haunting to me and I could listen to Paul Durham sing all day long.
Ten Million Years
Day Three
A song that reminds you of summer.
Dear Lord…the summer of 1984, the year I graduated. Myrtle Beach, alcohol & Prince. This was released ahead of the album Purple Rain‘s release and the movie of the same name. Have mercy… As a side note, Wendy in the background playing guitar in stockings and high-top tennis shoes is just bad ass.
When Doves Cry
Day Four
A song that reminds you of someone you’d rather forget.
I love this song but, the person that it reminds me of…I wish I could rip them out of my head.
Set Fire to the Rain
Day Five
A song that needs to be played loud.
Oh, yeah…also played extensively at the beach for graduation…the louder, the better. We wore out a cassette tape.
Fantasy
Day Six
A song that makes you want to dance.
Honestly, this one is hard…too many to choose from. I will go with…
Say It Right
Thanks, Kristian for rolling the ball to Britchy. ~Vic
