"You shouldn't put your foot through a Rembrandt. That's what we were being very careful not to do," Per Hallberg says of restoring Ridley Scott's 1982 classic "Blade Runner."
The futuristic Warner Bros. film recently was restored and remastered in 4K resolution (THR 5/23) with 5.1 audio to mark its 25th anniversary.
This new version -- "Blade Runner: The Final Cut" -- is slated for release Oct. 5 at the Landmark in Los Angeles and the Ziegfeld in New York. It also will be included in a "Blade Runner" box set -- due out later this year on both Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD, as well as DVD -- that also will offer the original domestic and international versions, the 1992 version and the work print. - Hollywood Reporter
Blade Runner fansite Blade Zone has additional details on the release, including images of the DVD packaging - check out the briefcase.
LiveScience has an interesting take on the use of satellite mapping in the search for Steve Fossett:
Adventurer Steve Fossett went missing Sept. 3 about 70 miles southeast of Reno, Nevada, in a small plane. He left no flight plan, and searchers have combed tens of thousands of square miles of Nevada and California. After weeks of fruitless searches, and with the survival window closing, Web users were enlisted to help in Fossett's rescue, from the comfort of their own homes.
Using a program called Mechanical Turk, high-resolution satellite imagery of the search area was collected and analyzed. Participants were shown a single satellite image and asked to note any objects or wreckage that could be a plane or its debris.
The search did solve a few mysteries: several previously unknown small plane wrecks - some dating back to the 1950s - were found. Though Fossett and his plane remain missing, the satellite technology used to search for him could theoretically be applied to other types of searches. It may finally verify the existence of large, mysterious creatures reputed to inhabit the globe. Unknown animals such as Bigfoot and the Loch Ness monster, for example, might be easily located and captured - if indeed they exist. - More
It's an interesting argument, and as a huge cryptozoology fan I'd love to see something come of it. It's becoming increasingly difficult write-off cryptozoologists as the tin foil hat set when every few years new species are being "discovered" left and right. It wasn't that long ago when giant squid were just a myth.
And speaking of the Loch Ness monster, from an article in the Reno Gazette-Journal, I learned Lake Tahoe has their own lake monster, Tessie.
TAHOE CITY - Each report of a Tahoe Tessie sighting adds to the mythology of the lake's legendary creature.
The legend is so prevalent that Beth Douglas, of Sacramento, thought Tessie sightings happen every day in Tahoe.
That's why Douglas didn't blink at her friend Ron Talmage's reaction last Friday afternoon to a dark shape undulating at the lake's surface about 100 yards off Tahoe Park Beach.
"Does that look solid to you?" Talmage, of Rocklin, said to Douglas.
When Douglas replied that the shape - with three to five humps along its back - did look solid, Talmage flatly said "Damn, that's Tessie." - Tahoe Tribune
The Tessie plot thickens with reports of a Lake Tahoe dive by none other than Jacques Cousteau - a dive that yielded a sighting so horrific that Cousteau hid the footage, claiming the world wasn't ready for what he witnessed.
"Even famed oceanographer Jacques Cousteau is said to have had a brush with something horrific in a deepwater dive in the mid-1970s. "The world isn't ready for what was down there," is the quote most commonly credited. Cousteau never released any photographs or data from the dive, adding to the mystery and legend." - San Francisco Gate
The only kink in the story is Cousteau never actually made the dive. Nevada historian Guy Rocha does an effective job debunking the Cousteau legend on the Nevada State Library website as part of his excellent Historical Myth a Month series. In the same article he also details the legend that the bottom of Lake Tahoe contains a underwater graveyard complete with perfectly preserved bodies due to the frigid lake temperatures. Granted with Nevada's history of mob activity there probably are more than a few bodies resting on the bottom of Lake Tahoe, but the idea that they would remain preserved after all these years flies in the face of science, not to mention common sense. Then again, so does George Bush. :)
On a decidedly non-cryptozoological note, Northern Nevada also boasts another mystery - the whereabouts of John C. Fremont's lost cannon. According to the same RGJ article that turned me on to Tessie:
Snow was deep over the Carson Pass in January 1844 as Fremont's group, which included Kit Carson, tried to cross. The 1835-model mountain howitzer they carried proved too cumbersome and they left it behind somewhere near the state line and Bridgeport, Calif.
"They were in the vicinity west of the Walker River," said Nevada state archivist Guy Rocha. "They just walked away from it."
The group headed to California and never returned to find it. Along the way, Fremont is believed to be the first white man to view Lake Tahoe. Treasure hunters have looked for the prized cannon without success, using Fremont's journals as a guide.
"Like buried treasure, people will look for that cannon 'til kingdom come," Rocha said.
John C. Fremont deserves an extra shout-out as Portland, Oregon's Fremont Bridge is named after him - although in my house it's always been known as the "Big Scary Bridge," I love it when a story on Steve Fossett leads to Tessie, which in turns leads to Jacques Cousteau, underwater graveyards, lost cannons, and eventually home. Yes folks, this is what I do at night when I should be writing.
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Engineers made plans to move some structures at the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump after rock samples indicated a fault line unexpectedly ran beneath their original location, an Energy Department official said Monday. - RGJ
Bear in mind the powers that be have been looking at this site for about twenty years, and they just now realized there's a fault running through the place?
Just what Nevada needs, their very own Hanford. Better book those Vegas trips fast, it won't be long before the term "neon glow" is going to take on a whole other meaning.
John sent me this link yesterday and I've found myself going back several times to reread it.
" According to a TV Guide piece on him, Fred Rogers drove a plain old Impala for years. One day, however, the car was stolen from the street near the TV station. When Rogers filed a police report, the story was picked up by every newspaper, radio and media outlet around town. Amazingly, within 48 hours the car was left in the exact spot where it was taken from, with an apology on the dashboard. It read, "If we'd known it was yours, we never would have taken it." - Mental Floss
Time's fun when you're having flies, Kermit the Frog once said. And how time has flown: Kermit, or more precisely one of the many puppets that have played Kermit, will be retired to Atlanta on Wednesday, part of a major gift being made by the Jim Henson Foundation.
The flippered phenom, who began life as a scrap of fabric cut from a green coat discarded by Jim Henson's mother, will be presented to the Center for Puppetry Arts here. He is a symbol of a large gift of Mr. Henson's work that will be donated to the center and exhibited in a planned Jim Henson Wing, said Cheryl Henson, president of the Jim Henson Foundation.
Ms. Henson, Jim Henson's second-oldest daughter, and Jane Henson, her mother and Mr. Henson's first performing partner, expected to be in Atlanta on Wednesday to announce the gift: 500 to 700 puppets, including some of the first Muppets built; props; scenic elements; posters; sketches; and drawings that Mr. Henson created for shows like "The Muppet Show," "Sesame Street," "Fraggle Rock" and "Sam and Friends" (where the Muppets first appeared). Cheryl Henson has also pledged $1 million of her own money to the center. - Muppet Central
LIMA (AFP) - Villagers in southern Peru were struck by a mysterious illness after a meteorite made a fiery crash to Earth in their area, regional authorities said Monday.
Around midday Saturday, villagers were startled by an explosion and a fireball that many were convinced was an airplane crashing near their remote village, located in the high Andes department of Puno in the Desaguadero region, near the border with Bolivia.
Residents complained of headaches and vomiting brought on by a "strange odor," local health department official Jorge Lopez told Peruvian radio RPP. - Yahoo
There's a place where everyone can be happy. It's the most beautiful place in the whole fucking world. It's made of candy canes and planes and bright red choo-choo trains, And the meanest little boys and the most innocent little girls, And you know I wish that I could go there. It's a road that I have not found. And I wish you the best of luck, dear. Drop a card or letter to my side of town. Because there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend, But baby I'm amazed at the hate that you can send and You... painted my entire world. But I... don't have the turpentine to clean what you have soiled. And I won't forget it. There's a place where everyone can be right, Even though you remain determined to be opposed. Admittance requires no qualifications: It's where everyone has been and where everybody goes. So please try not to be impatient, For we all hate standing in line. And when the farm is good and bought, you'll be there without a thought, And eternity, my friend, is a long fucking time. Because there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend, But baby I'm amazed at the hate that you can send and You... painted my entire world. But I... don't have the turpentine to clean what you have soiled. And I won't forget it. - Bad Religion
Still one of my all-time top-five songs - lyrically, musically, emotionally, etc., etc. - ever. Gotta love Bad Religion.
The caste of coffee achievers didn't perform like they planned. The morning rush hour traffic is our play of false elan.
"Senator Clinton, all the senators here, except Senator Obama, voted for the Iraq Resolution in 2002," began Maher, "saying that their decision was based on intelligence that they believed to be accurate at the time. In other words, George Bush fooled you. Why should Americans vote for someone who can be fooled by George Bush?" - Yahoo
You Really Got Me Romeo Delight Somebody Get Me a Doctor I'm the One Mean Street Unchained Pretty Woman Dance the Night Away Ice Cream Man Beautiful Girls Solo (Includes Eruption) So This is Love? And the Cradle Will Rock Everybody Wants Some Secrets I'll Wait (Yes!!!!!!!!!!) Runnin' With the Devil Little Guitars Jamie's Cryin' Atomic Punk Feel Your Love Tonight Little Dreamer On Fire Panama Hot for Teacher Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love
I'm a little late with this - as in nearly two months - but Mara Leveritt (who I interviewed a few years back...shameless plug) has a great article in the Arkansas Times related to the recent DNA testing of evidence in the West Memphis Three case.
"Reviving an investigation that ended 14 years ago, West Memphis police recently questioned the mother and stepfather of Stevie Branch, one of three 8-year-old boys murdered in 1993. Three teenagers were convicted of the killings.
In a telephone interview on Monday, Stevie's stepfather, Terry Hobbs, confirmed that West Memphis police had videotaped an interview with him within the last three weeks. Pam Hobbs, Stevie's mother, also said she had been interviewed by police. The Hobbses are now divorced.
Terry Hobbs, who lives in Bartlett, Tenn., said police requested the interview with him as a result of recent DNA tests on items found with the bodies. Prior to the police interview, he said, he had been informed of the test results by Ron Lax, a Memphis private investigator.
Terry Hobbs said, "Ron claims that a piece of my hair is in the knots that tied up [victim] Michael Moore."
"Does that bother me?" Hobbs continued. "No, ma'am, it does not. Why? Because I don't believe a thing he has to say because he's working for the defense team. And because if my DNA was at the crime scene, I think [Prosecuting Attorney] Brent Davis would be the one to call me about that, and not Ron Lax."
Attorneys for the convicted men have said no DNA was found that matches their clients." - More at the Arkansas Times
John's been expecting this one (Actually he posted it on his blog on his last post...two months ago...hint, hint.) Not only is this a badass song, it's about home, making it even more badass.
P.S. I was going to post V Thirteen by Big Audio Dynamite as well, but the best copy on YouTube has embedding disabled, so here's the link to go watch it over there.
Anyone who's been a regular visitor to Happy Death, Inc. in the last seven years should be well used to change by now. What can I say? I'm a TV Baby and I bore easily.
So where did everything go?
I've been meaning to change the format of HDI for a while now, and have finally gotten off my duff and instigated said change. Not to worry, the propaganda, circus, and bowling art will be back, albeit slowly. (And for those of you who visit for the old interviews, Roadside Chic, and Portland Cows photos, they're still in the archives.)
Deconstruction. Rebirth.
By changing to a blog format, I'm able to go back and add background information to the images (Translations, artist information, history, trivia, etc.). In theory, this is something I could accomplish within the confines of the older site, however the site was bulky enough without attempting to weed through 900 pages for one giant update. Tearing it all down and starting over from scratch is a lot easier to wrap ones head around. Change is a good thing, trust me on this.
Every single image previously stored on HDI will be back...over time - figure a post frequency of every day to every couple of days. Only this time around instead of just something interesting to look at (Or vile, depending on yourpov.), there will be some relevant information to put it in context.
At any rate, the first post will be up later today.
"Perhaps the greatest relief of all, though, was that I still thought of myself as a good man. I'd assumed what had happened at the edge of the nature preserve would change me, affect my character or personality, that I'd be ravaged by guilt, irreversibly damaged by the horror of my crime. But nothing changed. I was still who I'd always been. Pederson's death was just like the money; it was there whenever I thought about it, but then when I didn't, it was gone. It made no difference to my life in a day-to-day sense unless I called it up myself. The key was not to call it up." - From A Simple Plan by Scott Smith
I'm a huge fan of the film version of A Simple Plan, and I'm rapidly turning into a fan of the book as well. This passage got me thinking about murder, a person's capability of committing it, etc. For those of you who haven't seen the movie or read the book, the first murder in both is largely an accident that gets out of control.
At any rate, living in a world where the concept of murder is pretty loosely defined - thou shall not kill except in war, the death penalty, the movies, etc. - it makes you question your values. I suppose I'm like a lot of people - I'd only kill another human being under specific circumstances: mess with my child or my wife, try and kill me, break-in to my house, etc. Other than within those parameters, I don't think I could kill for revenge. I've always thought the best revenge was to simply let people live their own lives, karma has a way of taking care of the rest. There hasn't been a war in my lifetime that I felt strongly enough about to do something over - Afghanistan coming the closest, but even then I knew we'd fuck it up, which we did.
I don't think I could be a hit man, though I have achieved hit man status on Grand Theft Auto, I don't think I could be an executioner, a soldier, or the person who orders them to kill. I have driven under the influence more times than I care to admit, which has the potential to kill. I don't currently own a gun, though I do plan on getting at least a shotgun - not so much for human burglars but those of the Ursine variety, I have the same policy for bears as I do for humans in that respect.
Anyway there's no point or moral or whatever to this entry, that quote just got me thinking is all. If anything, I'm just puzzled over the definitions of death; murder, execution, war...it's all killing. Is it all murder?
Thou shall not kill...unless you have a good reason.
