Big Blue Huddle

The most memorable movie character deaths


https://www.msn.com/en-us/movies/news/the-most-memorable-movie-character-deaths/ss-BB1bNfFN?ocid=mailsignout

Can't argue with most on this list, just seems as if it could be 50 instead of 25.

Give me till tomorrow to ponder this and I'll come up with several who would be on this list.

While I'm typing I thought of a few right off the bat

Marley (Marley and Me)
The female boxer (Hillary Swank) in Million Dollar Baby (this one really pissed me off)
Sonny Corleone (Godfather)

Any others???

NASA lands Perseverance rover on the Mars surface, carrying the first helicopter for another planet

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/nasa-lands-perseverance-rover-on-the-mars-surface-carrying-the-first-helicopter-for-another-planet/ar-BB1dO1Ow?ocid=mailsignout&li=BBnb7Kz

Simply amazing guys.

We seem to be finished with 100 best movie songs, so lets move on to a different department, 100 best, all time TV dramas.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/tv/news/100-best-tv-dramas-of-all-time/ss-BB19p9TD?li=BBnb2gh&ocid=mailsignout#image=101

I can't say I agree with many on the list as there are so many I have never even heard of and some I have heard of but never watched. As we got down to the top 25 or 30, I know most of them and probably have watched many of them.

While it may be debatable what #1 is, I had it in my top 3 every time we do top TV show lists.

But, like with the songs, there are many, many that aren't on this list

Some of my favorites that aren't on this list
Columbo
Star Trek (the original)
Some of the real older shows like Have Gun Will Travel, Dragnet,
24
The Wonder Years, just to name a few, but to me, my all-time favorite TV show, and I do mean all time, was not on this list and I am pissed
Hill Street Blues

Move Over 'Farout,' Astronomers Confirm 'Farfarout' Is the Solar System's Most Distant Known Object

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/move-over-farout-astronomers-confirm-farfarout-is-the-solar-system-s-most-distant-known-object/ar-BB1dGjyW?ocid=msedgdhp


What astronomers believed to be the most distant object in the Solar System,

So we've had the 100 best movie quotes, 100 best movies in every category, so why not the 100 best movie songs.

On going thru the list, I remember just about all of them and the rankings are what one likes and dislikes

https://stacker.com/stories/3991/100-greatest-movie-songs-100-years-film

I could add other songs to this list that I particularly like
Captain Spaulding
Luck Be  Lady Tonight (Pal Joey)
And just scabs of Disney songs from so many animated movies

More favorites?

But going thru the list brings back many great memories

Aunt Jemima Officially Has A New Name: Pearl Milling Company



https://www.msn.com/en-us/foodanddrink/foodnews/aunt-jemima-officially-has-a-new-name-pearl-milling-company/ar-BB1dzlCs?li=BBnb7Kw&ocid=mailsignout


Is this something anyone wants to discuss? Myself, I can definitely understand why the pix needed to be replaced, but the name Aunt Jemina? Does just the name convey images of Racial stereotypes? 

I know for myself, and I have no inner meaning, but I have enjoyed these items since I was a kid and no matter what they call it now, it will always be Aunt Jemina to me. Just like many other things that have name changes, you grow up with a certain name and it sort of sticks. And no offense meant to any of the new or old names.

Sorry but I will NEVER call the old Tappen Zee Bridge, the Mario Cuomo Bridge.  NEVER   

Try this


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4JevymAnEA&ab_channel=Swapnakumari

I recently did a review of the latest Pixar movie, Soul. In it, I mentioned so many other great movies from Pixar.

Here is a link that rates all their movies. Some I had forgotten (Up), but all of them, just a wonderful watch. I don't think there was a bad one in the entire group and some, well, are now classics.

How do you see the list?

https://www.msn.com/en-us/movies/reviews/all-23-pixar-movies-ranked-worst-to-best-photos/ss-BB1dmGfr?li=BBnb2gh&ocid=mailsignout

If this doesn't tickle your funny bone, nothing will.

Hanks is so-o-o-o great, I was laughing out loud.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7VaXlMvAvk&ab_channel=SaturdayNightLive

Great dance sequence


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jLvpDWQpk8&t=66s&ab_channel=nellysme

This is how close we are to the apocalypse, scientists say

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/this-is-how-close-we-are-to-the-apocalypse-scientists-say/ar-BB1d9g8r?ocid=msedgntp

Believers or not, we are inching second by second, minute by minute to global catastrophe.

If you don't know what the Doomsday Clock is read this

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/2656051/what-is-doomsday-clock-what-2021-time/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MggQSspSGU8&ab_channel=PascalDeMaria

I found this list very interesting. I'm sure there could be more added. but I have seen maybe 2/3 of the shows and knew of these characters deaths.

If you plan on watching any of these shows, most of the deaths have been known and publicized for quite a while, but it could also be a 'spoiler alert'.

My own thoughts. to me, the biggest surprise was the death of Ned Stark about 1/2 way thru the first season of Game of Thrones. Ned was the main character up to that point, the star of the series, and in an instant he was dead. You knew then, no one on this show would ever be safe again, and there were MANY more deaths to come that took fans totally by surprise.

I would also say the death of Christopher on the Sopranos was really a shock.
And I have said it many times already, when they killed off Dextors's wife at the end of Season 4, I was totally in shock. It really took me a while to get over that.
Colonel Henry Blake demise was also a huge shock (I knew he was leaving, it was just a question of how they planned to do it)

One that wasn't`meantioned was Hank Schrader (Walts DEA brother in law) in Breaking Bad. Really one of the 'good' guys on this terrific series.

We all know what happened today in Washington. I am NOT making this political, mods can do what they want with this as I, again won't say anything political, just this is a day that not one American ever thought they would ever see. The last time the Capital was taken over was during the War of 1812 and today people who claim they are American patriots did the unthinkable.
I don't care which side of the aisle you sit on, this simply cannot happen.

If anyone wants to see world reaction watch the BBC network.

I know this won't last here, but I just had to say my piece.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HugGCoK7m0&ab_channel=TheEllenShow

I know several here don't watch this venue of movies, but this list is pretty good including many from the distant past.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/movies/news/a-ranking-of-the-25-best-horror-villains-of-all-time/ss-BB1aplRW?ocid=msedgntp

I don't know if they were in any sort of order, but, IMVHO, I would have changed the order a bit.

Plus there are some really good ones left off, like the monster from Alien (super scary), Creature From the Black Lagoon, Godzilla, or even King Kong.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/china-lands-chang-e-5-spacecraft-on-moon-to-gather-lunar-rocks-and-soil/ar-BB1bx0RV?ocid=msedgntp

First time since 1976 that anything like this has landed on the moon and returned to earth.

I have a portable generator which I bought about the time of Hurricane Sandy. It runs on gas and to be honest, I used it a couple of times since, but never changed the gas or emptied it.

So, is it safe to even try and run it now? Should I try and empty the gas and, if so, how, or just try and start it and see if it will run for a while. I can't say how much gas is in it right now.

What's the best way to proceed?

Middle of the football season and I don't remember seeing anything from him in a while. Anyone hear from him or know if he has been online here?
Drake, Squib?? Anyone??

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpAKcQufacc&ab_channel=PhoenixChamberChoir

Sit back and enjoy

I just got an email from Tom Reed's wife saying he passed away the other day.

https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/hartfordcourant/obituary.aspx?n=thomas-m-reed&pid=197101696&fhid=4089

Tom's screen name was Giantfan67 and he was one of our all-time longest posters. I had the wonderful privilege of knowing Tom for so many years. I spoke to him last month and knew he wasn't doing well, but this comes as a complete shock.

Many of us, who attended our get together knew and met Tom.

My dearest condolences to his wife and family.

Tom, God speed.  and RIP

I mentioned this in the Photography thread but no one replied.

All the pixs that we used that site Post images are gone and when I try to access the site, nothing comes up.

What is the deal here and why are all the pixs gone?

If this site is no more, is there something else we can use?

I know we have a few fans of this terrific show. Don't get your hopes up just yet of it returning soon, but it is returning for the 4th and final season.

Seems there are going to be several new characters added and others who just made appearances, will get regular reoccurring roles. 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/tv/news/ozark-rounds-out-cast-for-season-4-of-netflix-series-felix-solis-damian-young-upped-to-series-regulars/ar-BB1aZwit?ocid=msedgntp

If you haven't become an Ozark fan, and you like GREAT TV, with lots of action, killings, and never know what might happen next, this IS the 'it' series for you. Just great TV, great acting, writing, and excitement that builds all thru out the series.

Interesting subject.

I know there are a lot of ads from the site, but just ignore them and look at the faces. The actual faces have been updated to a more modern look. Some of these ladies are quite attractive now, rather than then. 

https://www.icepop.com/historical-figures-look-like-today/?utm_source=bdu&utm_medium=Ey_BDU_IP_US_D_edge_HistoricalFiguresTodayIP_v1_0410&utm_content=newnext&a0v5la7bquf89=a0c86ba78a6b4c7ebe29d90992a99e98&uy3ubftvh0u6o8=77d8adb6c79418117820185aa7fb28c3

I am a pure history buff. I devour anything about most of our wars and history, especially WWII and Hitler. There really hasn't been any new series on this area in quite a while, except for the continued repeats on many other channels--until now.
This is advertised as a new look at how Adolph Hitler and the Nazi party came to power, on many of your local PBS stations.

So they just had episode one on and after watching it I am amazed at several things. Now PBS, as far as I know, is just presenting facts as do other contributors like Ken Burns. Anyway, after watching the opening episode I came away with a very disturbing insight into Hitler and his rise to ultimate power and how similar it is to the present-day USA.

First, just some facts, Germany was a Democracy until Hitler assumed full power. They had regular elections and was, in many ways, similar to many other democratic countries. When Hitler and the new Nazi party saw their chance to make some inroads into the German parliament he jumped at it. At first, there was little interest in this new party, but Hitler made up lies and he felt by continually telling the people these lies, they would start to believe them. What surprised me the most was Hitler's theme of his main slogan "Make Germany Great Again". Sound familiar? His next sound bite was about the economic recovery, and how by following this new party, the Nazis, Germany can make a huge new economic recovery and lead the world. again sound familiar. 
As the history of post-war Germany was, Germany was reduced to barely getting by. Their economic growth was minimal, their standing in the world was terrible, so Hitler seized on these points and hammered them home to Germans who wanted and needed to believe this. They were tired of Germany being a doormat and when Hitler promised to 'Make Germany Great Again' and promised full economic recovery, many wanted to believe this was possible by following him. Add to that the infinite amount of lies he fed the public and he started gaining more and more power. To the point where he had enough power to force the Germans to dismantle their parliament and make him chancellor and eventually dictator.
Add to the fact that he used many 'scare' tactics to get people in line. The Storm Troopers, for example, were followers of his who armed and were at his whim to 'get back' at people who were deemed as an enemy. (Again, sound familiar). If you are in any way a history buff I urge you to watch this series.

My point here and I am really not trying to make this political, but the similarities between Hitler and some of the things that have been going on in this country are more than remarkably similar. Take a democratic country and make the people very unhappy. Add a charismatic person who promises to make that country great again, promised a full economic recovery, tells more and more lies to the people who want to believe these things, even though they aren't true. Add to that a waiting force of thugs who can be used at one's beck and call and who knows where one can go from there?
I know this will get push back as political, maybe so, but after watching this first episode, I just couldn't get over the many similarities to our country now. Think something like this is so far fetched, so did the people of Germany until Hitler took the ball and ran with it, all the way to dictator. Not possible here, why not?

 So true

For those of us that lived thru the 1960s, it really was a turbulent decade, but looking back, so many good memories.

See if you remember them all. I do. I was able to name every person, every event. I can't remember what I ate for breakfast, but these I do remember the 60's

Enjoy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AecWbS4auoo&t=10s&ab_channel=ADiamondFilms

I know we had this topic a while back, but I just didn't see it so let's review.

These days, many of us are going out more and not relegated to just sitting home, going from the computer to the TV. That said, I know we are still watching more TV than we did pre virus and we have watched a lot of pretty good shows, series and movies.

As of now, myself, I am just about finishing up with 'Man in the High Castle' on Amazon Prime. Several others have seen it and some tuned it off after a while, but I have stuck with it and I do like it. For any that may be wondering about it, it is a sort of hypothetical scenario where the Germans and the Japanese won WWII and are occupying the US--German on the East, Japan on the west and there is a neutral zone in the middle. Several people I spoke with about this just didn't like the idea of these enemies at the time winning, but there is much more to it than that. Maybe we didn't lose after all. I find it compelling and a good series if anyone wanted to discuss. It is 4 seasons and the run has ended. I am almost finished with season 4 and I would recommned it.

Another series my wife and I are watching is "This Is Us'. We are watching it on Hulu. This is still an ongoing series that is on NBC and the next season is scheduled for November. Anyway, we are deep into season 3 and it is another series I would highly recommend. This ones much more family-centered. I never knew anyhting about this series, just it received rave reviews every season it has been on, so we decided to try it and we love it. It is all about one family and it takes them thru flashback, to present day and it is intriguing. It continually jumps from maybe husband and wife pre-kids, to new kids, to young kids, to teen kids to present day people and it is done so well, that you never wonder where you are, who is who. There are 5 main characters, husband, wife and 3 kids, (boy/girl twins and adopted Black son) all the same age. There are many other figures who come into the show thru flashback to present day and you just cannot wait for the next episode. We tried it and are hooked and we watch one-two episodes every night. Since it was on regular TV, there isn't any sex, violence etc and each season is much longer than a Cable drama (18 episodes per season). Again, I would highly recommend this show.

In the last thread, I remember mentioning that I am watching Schitt's Creek (my darling wife didn't want to watch, thinking it was stupid). It IS stupid, in a weird way but it is also laugh out loud funny--really. I believe it is 5 seasons and I am deep into season 3. Once you know the characters and their idiosyncracies, watching them go thru a show I start laughing before things happen, just knowing what is coming. Just funny people doing a funny show. A GREAT watch.

I am wanting to see that new Tom Hanks movie made for Apple TV (name escapes me). has anyone seen this and what did they think.

I am also rewatching many movies that I haven't seen in a while. Some old, some new. They ahve a channel on the Optimum line up, I think it is Movies TV or something like that. It is on 113. On certain nites of the week, they show mostly older movies, in Black and white, Film Noir type movies. usually crime dramas, some good and some very good, but I love this genre of movies. I can watch the same type of movie, same type of story, but some great actors and actresses. Guys like John Garfield made a whole career out of them. Just watched Double Indemnity the other day. I have seen this so many times, yet it still facinates me. What a great watch .

OK, you asked for it.

Please, there has to be many amateur photographers here ( I know Frank is one), so please let's see what you've got also,  and if you want, a brief explanation of where you were. Myself, I'm not a technical guy so if you mention F stops and lighting, I might know what you are talking about, but no big deal. 

Myself, I try to do a lot of nature shots. I LOVE scenery. I LOVE close-ups of anything I can get close to, especially flowers. I LOVE sunsets. I also try and do a lot of what I call imagination shots (artsy), where I may think something MIGHT look good as a pix, but different than a regular photo.

As I said before, I can take 25-30 pics of just one thing, as shading or sun give it different looks. I am learning how to shoot at different speeds which can add a whole different look to a pix. But I am an amateur compared to so many other people.

Anyway here are a few pix just to start out

As I said, I LOVE close ups of flowers and when I was able to capture a dragonfly right on this one, and well..............



We venture up to Maine quite a bit (to see Jim et al). This is the Portland Head Light, the oldest working lighthouse in the county and the most photographed.


We also go to Washington a LOT. it is one of the most photogenic places in this country. We happened to be walking away from the Lincoln Memorial right after sunset and caught this shot


We also go to Newport RI as often as we can. It is truly one of the great small cities in the Northeast. We happen to be there in March when they had an 8-inch wet snow and it made it like a winter wonderland. Here is Trinity Church, right in the heart of downtown Newport--like a Christmas card pix


My brother lives in Colorado, so we travel out west every so often. Maybe my favorite place in all the West is Monument Valley, Az. Everywhere you turn, you can just see John Wayne galloping around. Truly a spectacular place for any photographer.We were there on the one day it rained in about 2 months. I was so depressed, but as we were leaving the sun broke thru and allowed me to get a few great shots.


Last is a place that if my wife could visit every day, she would. In Shelbourne Mass, they had an old trolley bridge that wasn't used anymore and converted it to what is known as the Bridge of Flowers. If you like flowers, like to photograph flowers, like to just stroll a path with some of the most amazing flowers, this is the place. I can fill 7 albums of pix with all the pix I take here. You don't know what to shoot first. Here is one pix that I like as the colors are perfect, lighting perfect and just a flower


Now that you got me started, lookout.

I have been following Davis DeGrom's year with the Mets. He is having, what many would call a Cy Young year. He has the best ERA in MLB and has not given up more than 3 earned runs in something like his last 25 starts. Pretty fantastic, or is it.

I understand that baseball has changed since my day, but I was thinking today after hearing about DeGrom's outing last night. He pitched 6 innings and gave up one earned run. Great, but why did he only pitch 6 innings? Again, I understand how things are done in today's game, but does only pitching 6 innings and giving up only one earned run really make him a great pitcher?
In today's baseball, most pitchers are 6 inning pitchers and then can overwhelm you to that point. But, IMVHO that is cheating the stats. When you compare DeGrom's stats with pitchers of today, it's amazing, but when you compare them with, say some of the all time greats, he IS sort of cheating the stats. The later innings is when real pitchers earned their keep, when hitters finally figured out what the darn guy has been throwing. Not in today's baseball.

How would a guy like DeGrom stack up in relation to any 'older' pitchers, or even guys like Clemens and his generation? Does only pitching 6 innings each outing make you a Cy Young winner?
Just curious how others see this.