october
Flick Friday: [The] Forbidden Lover 1923
One hundred years, ago, today, the black & white silent film [The] Forbidden Lover was released. Brackets around “THE” is a product of the differences of the title from data sources. This film is an edited version of The Power of Love, the very first 3-D movie, released on September 27, 1922 at the Ambassador Hotel Theater in Los Angeles. Both films are believed lost.
Directed by Nat G. Deverich and, written by Kate Corbaley & Caroline Crawford, it starred Elliot Sparling, Barbara Bedford, Noah Beery, Aileen Manning, Albert Prisco and John Herdman.
Yankee sea captain lands on the coast during the old Spanish days to trade with the ranch owners. He meets a girl who is betrothed to a man she loathes. After a series of adventures and narrow escapes, he shows up the unscrupulous ranch owner and wins the girl.
IMDb [The] Forbidden Lover Storyline
Motion Picture News Booking Guide
October 1923
Production Company: Sierra Productions
Tagline: A Romance Of Early California
The Power Of Love
Image Credit: IMDb & Amazon
Because of his financial trouble, Don Almeda promises his daughter, Maria, to Don Alvarez but, Maria does not love [him]. In fact, she falls in love with Terry O’Neil, a stranger who has been wounded by robbers associated with Alvarez. O’Neil takes Alvarez’s place at a masked ball. Alvarez, in turn, robs the old Padre of some pearls and stabs him to death with O’Neil’s knife. He then accuses O’Neil of the murder and tries to shoot him but, wounds Maria instead, having thrown herself in front of him. Maria recovers and, after proving that Alvarez is a thief and a killer, weds O’Neil.
IMDb The Power of Love Storyline
Moving Picture World
October 1922
Production Company: Perfect Pictures
Tagline: A pair of spectacles will be handed to you as you enter the theatre, through which you will view the new sterescopic pictures.
The Power of Love was screened in front of a live audience at the Ambassador Hotel Theater […]. It was projected dual-strip in the red/green anaglyph format, making it both the earliest known film that utilized dual strip projection and the earliest known film in which anaglyph glasses were used. The camera rig used to shoot the film was made by the producers themselves and as you can imagine, it was far from perfect. Simply put, the film was not a success. It was screened, again, for exhibitors, and press, in New York City and, then, almost immediately fell out of sight. It was not booked again by other exhibitors. Unfortunately, we may never see what this movie looked like.
3-D TV & Movies
The first stereoscopic image dates to 1844, which makes 3-D images as old as the art of photography. [No] less a personage than Queen Victoria was photographed in 1854 in stereoscopic 3-D. 3-D stereoscopic moving images date to the 1850s with what was called the Kinetamatoscope [sic]. The first public display of a 3-D movie came in 1922 with The Power of Love […]. The film received a decent review in Moving Pictures World, then promptly disappeared from history by changing its title to Forbidden Lover and touring the country in a 2-D version. It was too complex and costly at the time to take 3-D on the road.
Randome
Looking Up/My Daily Plant Blogspot (Blogger)
Cirque de 3-D
March 6, 2009
What Was The First 3D Movie? (3D TV & Movies/Web Archive/06-02-2011)
A Tour Through The History Of 3-D Movies (Reelz/Jeff Otto/01-22-2009/Web Archive/07-20-2012)
Forbidden Lover (Silent Era/06-08-2013)
The Power of Love (Silent Era/10-16-2011)
Forbidden Lover (TCM)
The Forbidden Lover (AFI Catalog)
The Power of Love (AFI Catalog)
The Shot Of The Year (The Dissolve/Calum Marsh/12-19-2014)
Song Sunday: Fade Into You
“I think it’s strange you never knew…”
Sunday evening’s playlist submission is Fade Into You by alternative band Mazzy Star. Released April 12, 1994, it is the first track on the album So Tonight That I Might See. Written by Hope Sandoval and David Roback, it was a surprise hit, peaking at #44 on Billboard’s Hot 100, #19 on the Mainstream Top 40 chart, #3 on the Modern Rock Tracks (Alternative Songs, now) chart and #48 on the UK Singles chart. It was Mazzy Star‘s only single to make to make the Billboard Hot 100. It has been used, frequently, in movies, most notably Starship Troopers, Lord of War, Burlesque and Thank You For Your Service plus several TV shows.
I’d never heard of Mazzy Star or heard this song when it originally came out. I am late to the party finding this, just discovering them a few years ago. Sadly, David Roback passed away February 24, 2020, from cancer.
Mazzy Star Official (Facebook Page)
MTV Version
Monochrome Version
Song Sunday: Africa (Toto)
Update:
The blog continues to evolve and Song Saturday has changed to Song Sunday. ~Vic
“It’s gonna take a lot to drag me away from you…”
Changing things a bit. I’ve got Music Mondays and I’ve had Tune Tuesdays (I may return to that) that showcase music by release date, in five year increments (if I can). Early on, I listed number ones, only. There was also my jump into the 30-Day Song Challenge back in December 2018. Now, I’m stretching Saturday out a bit for some music, too…an idea I got from the Nostalgic Italian. I might even stretch it to Sunday, if I take a notion to. It just depends upon my mood. All blogs evolve and, I’m always looking for new and different things.
This is a song on my playlist on my phone. I have a lot of music on my phone…things that I love to hear when I go out for my afternoon and evening walks or, just sitting in my Adirondack chair, watching the sunset. ~Vic
This song came out in the US in October 1982 and is the tenth track from the album Toto IV. Written by David Paich and Jeff Porcaro, it made it to number one for one week in February 1983.
From Mix Online:
Paich recalls writing Africa on his living room piano.
“Over many years, I had been taken by the UNICEF ads with the pictures of Africa and the starving children. I had always wanted to do something to connect with that and bring more attention to the continent. I wanted to go there, too, so, I sort of invented a song that put me in Africa. I was hearing the melody in my head and, I sat down and played the music in about 10 minutes. And, then, the chorus came out. I sang the chorus out as you hear it. It was like God channeling it. I thought, ‘I’m talented but, I’m not that talented. Something just happened here!'”
Paich, then, proceeded to work on the lyrics for another six months. He brought the skeleton to drummer Jeff Porcaro with the idea of having percussion being an integral part of the composition.
“Jeff got out African sticks with bottle caps that his dad (Joe Porcaro) and Emil Richards (both percussionists) used on National Geographic films. He brought in a marimba and a wooden xylophone kind of thing. This was pre-synthesizer. We didn’t have samples back then. You’re hearing bass marimba, that other instrument and you’re hearing, probably, one of the first loops that was ever done.”
Sadly, Jeff Porcaro passed away nearly ten years later.
Music Monday: The Alarm 1989
Shaking things up a bit and being different. ~Vic
Thirty years ago, today, Sold Me Down the River by The Alarm, a Welsh alternative rock/new wave band from Rhyl (formed 1981), debuted on the Billboard Alternative Rock chart, entering at number ten. The first release from the album Change, their fourth studio album, it peaked at number three after five weeks. It made it to number two on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart in October, staying there for two weeks and number 43 on the UK Singles Chart, starting September 10.
I confess. I’ve never heard of this band. They are still active (Band Website).
From LyricFind:
There’s a fire beneath my skin
There’s a fever that makes me ill
Got a love, a love that kills
I’ve got twenty-four hours to live, come back
I’m begging you please, come back
Come back
I’m down on my knees, come back
I’m begging you please
I don’t know why and I don’t understand
How you sold me down the river
I don’t know why, I don’t understand
How you sold me down the river
Sold me down the river
There’s a rose across my chest
Got your name written on it
Love’s the drug that I live by
Give me a shot before I die, come back
I’m begging you please, come back
Come back
I’m down on my knees, come back
I’m begging you please
I don’t know why, I don’t understand
How you sold me down the river
I don’t know why, I don’t understand
How you sold me down the river
Sold me down the river
Oh yeah, sold me down the river now
Sold me down the river tonight
Hoo-hoo
I’ve got twenty four hours
I don’t know why, I don’t understand
How you sold me down the river
Sold me down the river
POTD: Hurricane Supplies
Hurricane Matthew in 2016 made four landfalls, hitting Haiti, Cuba, The Bahamas and, then, finally, the area of McClellanville, SC. It dumped a lot of rain on us and our river across the street flooded quite a bit.
As with any storm, supplies are always needed as no one really knows how bad BAD can get. Growing up, it was usually the snow & ice storms that would send folks to the stores for the “bread & milk” run. These days, any storm brings on the shelf-wiping. Standing in line at one of my local Food Lions, I couldn’t help myself. I had to snap this shot. There were people walking by, stopping, looking, shaking their heads and walking away. I started to giggle. This was the caption that popped into my head…
Forget the milk. For God’s SAKE, get the DR PEPPER!
10-04-2016
Mother Earth: The Spring Equinox 2012
A Blog Post From: The Chris Thomas Files
Quote from Chris Thomas:
∞ First of all, I would like to pass on the gratitude expressed by the Earth Consciousness to all of those who expressed their love and support towards Her on the morning of Tuesday the 20th of March 2012. Much was achieved and a great deal learned. ∞
Introduction
Over the years, I have spoken to a great many people about the change of consciousness that is occurring on the planet. I always asked the question:
“What is the best way of achieving soul re-integration?”
Whether in groups or individuals, the most common answer was:
“Somebody will come in and do it for us.”
It was only on very rare occasions that the correct answer was given:
“We need to work on ourselves and work with Mother Earth.”
Why is it that we look for help outside of the Earth? Could it be that we lack confidence in ourselves? Could it be that we have adopted the scientific materialistic view and see the Earth as an inert lump of rock? Could it be that we have forgotten that
everything that we are, whilst human, we owe entirely to Mother Earth? Or, all of the above?
Humans live on a free-floating planet whose very soul has dedicated Her existence to our nurture and well-being. If it was not for Mother Earth, humans would not exist and, yet, the majority of people never acknowledge Her existence, let alone realise that everything that we are, or ever could be, is totally dependent upon Her and the abundance She has provided us with. We, as a soul, have chosen to come to Earth in order to take on a human life. In order to become human, our soul receives permission from the Earth and, then, connects to the Earth consciousness. This is why the first chakra is also called the “root” chakra as our soul connects itself directly to the Earth’s soul in order to take on physical, human form. In order to become human, we, literally, connect our soul to the Earth’s. This is how it has always been.
Throughout the whole of human history, we have needed to become integrated with the soul of the Earth in order to take on human form and, yet, we seem to have forgotten this fundamental fact. We also seem to have forgotten that our soul is much, much bigger than the portion that inhabits the physical body. The soul of a human is immense and, for reasons discussed later, we divided it into two portions: the higher self, comprised of three-quarters of the total soul and, the physical self, comprised of the remaining one-quarter. We are currently very close to the time where we will be able to fully merge the two aspects of our soul back into the physical body. But, instead of remembering that, in order to achieve soul re-integration, we need to work very closely with the Earth, we look to something or somebody from outside of our solar system. Why?
Spring Equinox 2012
Since 1996, every soul that has chosen to take on human form has made a series of choices. The primary choice has been whether to proceed to re-integrating the whole of the soul back into the physical body or not. This was a free choice, nobody stood in judgement of us. This was a decision made by both the higher self and the physical self together. In the period since 1996, other choices have been made and each human alive on the planet, today, is very different to what they were in 1996. The last major decision we individually made was in November 2010 when the opportunity to raise our personal energies was available to us. By raising our personal energies, we would reach frequency parity with that of the Earth.
The reason for the need to achieve frequency parity with the Earth involves a long explanation and is covered fully in my books and, previous essays but, essentially the story is this… The soul is pure energy without any physical density. In order to become physical, we needed to slow down the lower frequencies of the soul to match those originally chosen by the Earth. The frequency originally chosen by the Earth was 7.56 Hz and all of the life on Earth resonated at that frequency. When humans first came to the Earth, we had the whole of the soul within the physical body and we modified our root chakras to also resonate at 7.56 Hz. However, this frequency proved to be too low to maintain the whole of the soul within the human body and we decided to work with the Earth to find out what this “base-note” frequency needed to be raised to in order to be able to maintain the whole of the soul within the human body.
The Human Plan
The Human Plan was begun 7,000 years ago and all that it was intended to do was to work out what the new base-note frequency was needed to be in order to maintain the whole of the soul within the human body. This is why it was called The Human Plan. It only really applied to humans. All other forms of life on Earth were very happy with the original frequency and experienced no problems. A time limit was set, on The Human Plan, so that if a new satisfactory base-note frequency could not be found, humans would leave the Earth and return to their place of soul origin.
This is the purpose of human life over the past 7,000 years and, with a great deal of help from Mother Earth, that new frequency was discovered. On the 30th of May 2000, the Earth altered Her base-note frequency to the new frequency of 3.5 kHz overnight. All of the life on Earth, apart from humans, also changed their energy patterns on that day. Humans being humans decided we needed a little more time to think about it.
The final date that humans could make their decision was November 2010 and, so, began an acceleration of human root chakra frequencies that took a year to complete. Finally, on the 28th of October 2011, humans once again achieved frequency parity with the Earth and the human root chakra now resonates at 3.5 kHz. This was the very last date that could be accommodated within the Human Plan. Remember, this change of frequencies was solely to benefit humans. Every other form of life on the planet did not need to make this change. This is a prime example of how Mother Earth provides for us, nurtures us and gently guides us to help us achieve our goals.
The 28th of October has another significance. It was the actual end of The Human Plan, allowing us the time between 28/10/11 and 21/12/12 to get our act together and undergo our completions. Those who are familiar with the Mayan Calendar will know that the date 28th of October 2011 was when the Calendar completed all of its “rounds”. On that date, the Mayan Calendar registered a date of 13.13.13.13.13.13.13.13.13. signifying the end date. On 21/12/12, the Calendar resets itself to 0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0. signifying that a new set of rounds is beginning and nobody knows how long the new “Sun” will last but, it will be an absolute minimum of 5,000 years.
To continue reading, download the PDF version (it’s 13 pages) HERE.
[Note: This PDF was originally posted on The Spirit Guides UK Network Forum Blog Post on March 25, 2012.]
Tune Tuesday: Lloyd Price 1959
Sixty years ago, today, the #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100 and the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop charts was Stagger Lee. The song references a murder that took place on December 27, 1895 (though some accounts say Christmas night). “Stag” Lee Shelton, born in Texas on March 16, 1865 (the same year John B. Stetson started his famous cowboy hat company), owner of the Modern Horseshoe Club, shot William “Billy” Lyons at the Bill Curtis Saloon after an argument.
From the St. Louis Globe-Democrat December 28, 1895:
William Lyons, 25, a levee hand, was shot in the abdomen yesterday evening at 10 o’clock in the saloon of Bill Curtis, at Eleventh and Morgan Streets, by Lee Sheldon [sic], a carriage driver. Lyons and Sheldon [sic] were friends and were talking together. Both parties, it seems, had been drinking and were feeling in exuberant spirits. The discussion drifted to politics, and an argument was started, the conclusion of which was that Lyons snatched Sheldon’s [sic] hat from his head. The latter indignantly demanded its return. Lyons refused, and Sheldon [sic] withdrew his revolver and shot Lyons in the abdomen. When his victim fell to the floor Sheldon [sic] took his hat from the hand of the wounded man and coolly walked away. He was subsequently arrested and locked up at the Chestnut Street Station. Lyons was taken to the Dispensary, where his wounds were pronounced serious. Lee Sheldon [sic] is also known as ‘Stag’ Lee.
Quote from Cecil Brown (author of Stagolee Shot Billy):
“Lee Shelton belonged to a group of pimps known in St. Louis as the ‘Macks’. The Macks were not just ‘urban strollers’. They presented themselves as objects to be observed.”
Shelton’s first trial in July, 1896, ended in a hung jury. The second trial in October 1897 returned a guilty verdict and a sentence of 25 years in prison at Jefferson Penitentiary. Shelton was pardoned and released from prison by Governor Folk on Thanksgiving in 1909. He returned to prison in May of 1911 for robbery & assault. He was granted an additional parole by Governor Hadley on February 8, 1912 but, died in the prison hospital of tuberculosis in March as Missouri’s Attorney General, Elliot Major, objected.
The original version of this song was the Stack O’ Lee Blues from 1924. It has some shocking lyrics and has absolutely nothing to do with the Stagger Lee version penned by Price and Harold Logan.
This song has been covered by Pat Boone (can you imagine?), Ike & Tina Turner, The Righteous Brothers, James Brown, Wilson Pickett, Doc Watson, The Youngbloods and, even, Huey Lewis and the News.
[I grew up dancing to this song. It was a shagging staple. Have you ever seen Shag: The Movie? ~Vic]
Analog Version
Shag: The Movie
Fellow blogger Badfinger always lists lyrics. I will take his lead.
Lyrics
The night was clear and the moon was yellow
And the leaves came tumblin’ down…
I was standin’ on the corner
When I heard my bull-dog bark.
He was barkin’ at the two men
Who were gamblin’ in the dark.
It was Stagger Lee and Billy,
Two men who gambled late.
Stagger Lee threw a seven,
Billy swore that he threw eight.
“Stagger Lee,” said Billy,
“I can’t let you go with that.
You have won all my money,
And my brand-new Stetson hat.”
Stagger Lee went home
And he got his. 44.
He said, “I’m goin’ to the ballroom
Just to pay that debt I owe.”
Go, Stagger Lee
Stagger Lee went to the ballroom
And he strolled across the ballroom floor.
He said “You did me wrong, Billy.”
And he pulled his. 44.
“Stagger Lee,” said Billy,
“Oh, please don’t take my life!
I’ve got three hungry children,
And a very sickly wife.”
Stagger Lee shot Billy
Oh, he shot that poor boy so hard
That a bullet went through Billy
And broke the bartender’s bar.
Go, Stagger Lee, go, Stagger Lee!
Go, Stagger Lee, go, Stagger Lee!