october 28

Flick Friday: Jigsaw 2017

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IMDb Amazon Jigsaw 2017 Image One
Image Credit: IMDb & Amazon

Five years ago, today, the #1 movie at the box office was Jigsaw. Directed by the Spierig Brothers (identical twins Michael & Peter) and, written by Josh Stolberg & Pete Goldberg, it starred Matt Passmore, Tobin Bell (as Jigsaw), Callum Keith Rennie, Hannah Emily Anderson, Clé Bennett, Laura Vandervoort, Paul Braunstein, Mandela Van Peebles, Brittany Allen, Josiah Black, Edward Ruttle, Michael Boisvert and Shaquan Lewis.

Bodies are turning up around the city, each having met a uniquely gruesome demise. As the investigation proceeds, evidence points to one suspect: John Kramer, the man known as Jigsaw, who has been dead for over 10 years.

IMDb Summary

The plot follows a group of people who find themselves forced to participate in a series of deadly “games” inside a barn. Meanwhile, the police investigate a new series of murders that fit the modus operandi of the eponymous Jigsaw Killer, who has been dead for almost a decade.

Wikipedia Summary

Trivia Bits:
♦ Tobin Bell stated that he was not interested in having John Kramer appear alongside other slasher horror icons in future films.
Previously called “Saw: Legacy”, the title changed to “Jigsaw”, making it the first film to have Tobin Bell’s character’s name displayed in the title.
♦ The tagline for the film “Make America Bleed Again” derives from the motto instilled by a former president of the United States: Donald Trump, who inserted the mantra in his electoral speech “Make America Great Again”.
♦ The John Kramer fan site to which Eleanor Bonneville is a frequent visitor is entitled “Jigsaw Rules”.
&diams This is the first “Saw” film to feature a laser-related trap.

Honestly, I’ve never seen a “Saw” movie and have never wanted to. Blood and gore torture movies are not my choice for a good movie. It’s hard to watch, peeking out from behind the couch. ~Vic

Shutterbug Saturday: Beach Shots

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We are fifteen days out from the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year. It’s already cold and dark before the six o’clock news comes on. For some warmth, here are some shots from a beach trip I took back in 2011. ~Vic

Sunset Image One
Clam Digger Inn
Pine Knoll Shores
History
10-28-2011
Click for a larger view.
Sunset Image Two
Setting sun over the Crystal Coast.
Click for a larger view.
Setting Sun Image Three
Late afternoon beach stroll.
10-29-2011
Click for a larger view.
As Far As The Eye Can See Image Four
Infinity
Visit NC
Click for a larger view.

Wayback Wednesday: Gulliver’s Travels 1726

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Gullivers Travels Wikipedia Image One
Image Credit: Wikipedia & Wikimedia

Two-hundred, ninety-four years ago, today, the book of satirical stories, Gulliver’s Travels was published. Written by Irish clergyman Jonathan Swift, the original title was Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. In Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of Several Ships. That has to be the longest book title in existence. I’ve never read any of it, nor have I seen the various movies that have been put out. That being said, there are several well written summaries and opinions on the material and, I’m not reinventing the wheel. ~Vic

Gulliver’s Travels Study Guide on Grade Saver:

Gulliver’s name probably is an allusion to King Lemuel of Proverbs 31, who was a weak-minded prophet. Swift may also be connecting his character to a common mule, a half-ass, half-horse animal that is known for being stubborn and stupid. A gull is a person who is easily fooled or gullible. At the same time, Gulliver represents the everyman with his average intelligence and general good humor. The reader is able to identify with him and join him in his travels. Even though Swift constantly alludes to events that were happening while he was alive, the story rings true today, bringing light to our own societal issues and to patterns of human nature. Throughout Gulliver’s voyages, Swift goes to great lengths to scrutinize, parody, and satire various aspects of human, and often English, society.

Lilliputians Blogspot Image Two
Image Credit: Meisterwerke on Blogger

The Imaginative Conservative:

A mock work of travel literature, Jonathan Swift’s famous novel is a far deeper work than one of just Juvenalian and Horatian satire. It is an indictment against the prevailing spirit of Enlightenment philosophy and utopianism, an esoteric defense of Christianity against its Enlightenment critics, and a prophetic vision into the future degeneration of humanity in following the dictates of the natural philosophers of modernity. Swiftian irony is one of the great joys of the work. [Where] traditional literary narrative has the travelling protagonist return home to comfort and love, Swift’s Gulliver returns home deranged and a hater of humanity.

Additional Reading:
1939 Animated Movie (IMDb)
1977 UK Movie (IMDb)
1996 TV Mini-Series (IMDb)
20th Century Fox 2010 Movie (IMDb)
Britannica
Gulliver’s Travels (Wikipedia)
Jonathan Swift (Wikipedia)
Wikisource Text of the Book

Military Monday: USS Harmon DE-678 Commissioned 1943

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USS Harmon DE-678 Image One
Destroyer Escort USS Harmon
Circa August 1943
Image was censored and retouched.
Radar antennas removed.
Pennant added in its place.
Released for publication March 1944
Photo Credit: Naval History & Heritage Command
Wikipedia & Wikimedia

The USS Harmon was a U.S. Navy Buckley class destroyer escort named after Leonard Roy Harmon, a Mess Attendant (Messman) First Class that served aboard the USS San Francisco. It was the first U.S. warship to be named after a Black American. It was launched July 25, 1943, by Bethlehem Steel Company in Quincy, MA, sponsored by Harmon’s mother and, seventy-seven years ago, today, it was commissioned. She spent nearly a year serving as an escort ship near New Caledonia. After a short period at Pearl Harbor, she joined the Luzon Reinforcement Group. By March 1945, she was an escort and an anti-submarine screen off Iwo Jima. She returned to Pearl Harbor for training, then to Mare Island for a weapons upgrade and, when the war was over, she conducted training operations with submarines.

Leonard Roy Harmon Image Two
Commemoration Poster
Source: Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery
Photo Credit: Wikipedia & Wikimedia

Decommissioned March 25, 1947, she joined the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. She was stricken August 1, 1965 and sold for scrap January 30, 1967. She received three battle stars for her World War II service.

*************

Leonard Roy Harmon, born in Cuero, Texas, on January 21, 1917, enlisted in the U.S. Navy on June 10, 1939, as a Mess Attendant Third Class. He trained at the Naval Training Station, Naval Operating Base, Norfolk, Virginia and reported to [the] San Francisco (CA-38) on October 28, 1939. On November 12, 1942, [the] San Francisco was covering a force of transports disembarking reinforcements off Guadalcanal when Japanese land attack planes, carrying torpedoes, attacked. [The] enemy aircraft crashed into the ship causing “considerable damage and intense fires” that put the after anti-aircraft director and radar out of commission. One officer and 15 men were either killed outright or died of their injuries. Harmon rushed in to evacuate the wounded. He was then assigned to assist Pharmacist’s Mate Lynford Bondsteel in evacuating and caring for the wounded. While the ship was being raked by enemy gunfire, Harmon deliberately shielded Bondsteel in order to protect his wounded shipmate. Although Bondsteel managed to get his courageous shipmate below, Harmon died of his wounds soon afterward.

Democracy In Action Poster Image Three
Artist: Charles Henry Alston
Collection: National Archives at College Park
Office of War Information poster from 1943
Photo Credit: Wikipedia & Wikimedia

Harmon was awarded a Purple Heart and, in March 1943, the Navy Cross.

Citation Excerpt:

The President of the United States of America takes pride in presenting the Navy Cross (Posthumously) to Mess Attendant First Class Leonard Roy Harmon (NSN: 3600418), United States Navy, for extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty in action against the enemy while serving on board the Heavy Cruiser U.S.S. San Francisco (CA-38) […]. With persistent disregard of his own personal safety, […] Harmon rendered invaluable assistance in caring for the wounded and assisting them to a dressing station. In addition to displaying unusual loyalty [on] behalf of the injured Executive Officer, he deliberately exposed himself to hostile gunfire in order to protect a shipmate and, as a result of this courageous deed, was killed in action. He gallantly gave his life for his country.

Addition Reading & Sources:
First US Ship Named For An African-American (History & Headlines August 31, 2016)
USN Ships: USS Harmon (DE-678) (Ibiblio Database)
Citation: Leonard Roy Harmon (Military Times)
Modern Ships: USS Harmon DE-678 (Naval History & Heritage Command)
Ship Histories: Harmon (DE-678) (Naval History & Heritage Command)
USS Harmon (DE-678) (Naval Warfare Blogspot)
World War Two: Told In A Museum (New Caledonia Site)
Leonard Harmon (Smithsonian)
Leonard Harmon, USN (USS San Francisco Site)
Leonard Roy Harmon (Wikipedia)
Naval Battle of Guadalcanal (Wikipedia)
USS San Francisco (Wikipedia)

Foto Friday: Halloween Local 3.0

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I was planning to do a Flick Friday for 1954. No such luck. In fact, sticking with Friday and sticking with 1954, there are no releases until well into December. *sigh* So, you gets pix! All photos are my personal collection. ~Vic

Halloween Local 2.0
Take a look at Old Halloween Stuff

Halloween Image One
Minimalist decorations for a home originally built in 1860.
Taken: 10-27-2018
Halloween Image Two
Rest in pieces. Love the black rose.
Taken: 10-28-2018
Halloween Image Three
Opposite side. Twins?
Halloween Image Four
I think this is supposed to be a ghost/skeleton mix. Not totally sure…
Halloween Image Five
Just hanging out on the porch with the dog…and a gargoyle.
Halloween Image Six
Hanging around.
Lovely home built in 1936.
Halloween Image Seven
That is one big spider.
Can you see the barbie doll and the two baby spiders?
Halloween Image Eight
Let me out!
Taken: 10-30-2018
Halloween Image Nine
Skeletons can garden, too.
Halloween Image Ten
Resting under the tree.

Shutterbug Saturday: Halloween Local 2.0

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More local images. Halloween Local 1.0 was last year. Take a look at Old Halloween Stuff. All pictures are my personal collection. ~Vic

Squirrel Image One
I *think* this is a stuffed squirrel.
11-03-2015
Hamilton Burr Image Two
Hamilton vs Burr
10-23-2016
Skeleton Image Three
Another angle of the crazy skeleton from last year’s post.
11-05-2017
Spider & Bat Image Four
I love the bat.
11-05-2017
Ghost Image Five
“I’m coming to take you away, ha-ha!”
10-28-2018
Skeleton & Ghost Image Six
This bat isn’t as well fed as the last one.
10-28-2018
Snake Skeleton Image Seven
The snake skeleton is pretty creepy.
10-28-2018
Frankenstein Jack Image Eight
It’s Frankenstein Jack!
10-28-2018
Eek Image Nine
Spider in the bushes and EEK on the mailbox.
10-28-2018
Big Spider Image Ten
That is a big spider.
10-28-2018

Foto Friday: Critter Collections 5.0

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All Things Critter
All photos are my personal collection. ~Vic
Part I/Part II/Part III/Part IV

McKinley Spider Image One
A McKinley by the lamp post at the First Baptist Church.
The web was enormous.
09-02-2017
Orb Weaver Image Two
An Orb Weaver off the corner of the front porch.
09-22-2017
Preying Mantis Image Three
I guess she was enjoying the flowers.
10-02-2017
Preying Mantis Image Four
She posed for me.
What a ham.
Slug Image Five
Slug on the front porch.
10-18-2017
Lady Beetle Image Six
It took me a while to find this one.
Google “black bug, yellow dots” and you will get tons of pix.
This is an Asian lady beetle larva.
10-28-2017
Slug Image Seven
Larger slug on the side of the house.
06-16-2018
Moth Image Eight
Moth on the kitchen window.
04-03-2019