Movie Double Features

The double feature at a movie house has disappeared along with a reasonably sized box of popcorn and a travelogue featuring Lowell Thomas, however I still miss them and am always pleased to attend with the local film organization stages one of its special double feature nights.

Instead of the one first-run film with a second-run or "B" movie like I grew up on they will show two different versions of the same film. For example once I saw the 1954 classic (everything in 1954 is a classic since I was born that year) "Sabrina" followed by the 1995 version. Another evening featured the 1935 Clark Gable and Charles Lawton version of "Mutiny on the Bounty" followed by the revisionist 1984 "The Bounty" starring Mel Gibson and Anthony Hopkins. My favorite was a long evening that featured Kurosawa's 1954 classic (See what I mean?) "Seven Sumarai" with John Sturges 1960's highly westernized "The Magnificent Seven."

It's been my experience that these evenings generate a lot of discussion about the films. Normally this hasn't resulted in simple declarations of which movie was better, but instead seeing the movies this way provokes thought and comparisons that bring out aspects of the film one might have missed if you had watched the movies separately.

You may wonder what brought this to my mind. I recently saw and reviewed "The Messenger," the 1999 film version of the story of Joan of Arc and found myself wanting to see the Victor Fleming's 1949 version of "Joan of Arc" that starred Ingrid Bergman. Unfortunately I don't have a copy available, but I've add it to my movie list and would love to do a double screening. I suggest you put together a list of your own makes and remakes and spend a nice evening with your favorite movie partner and watch them both. If you think of any pairs of movies you'd like to share, post a comment. I'd love to hear your ideas.

Who knows maybe you can even scare up a Road Runner Cartoon. Enjoy!

Take care and say "excuse me all the way."
-The Rapidly Aging Baby Boomer

Password Writer's Block

Do you have trouble thinking up varied and meaningless passwords to use when you signup for a new online account on the Internet? I have the same problems at time and don't want to keep using the same ones.

There are lots of password programs out there that will manage your passwords. Generally they are inexpensive or free. Just Google "Free password manager" and you should find loads of them.

A lot of these proudly announce that they are compliant with security standards of the department of defense, etc. This is overkill for most of us. I remember most of my passwords. If I have some I can't remember I keep a copy of my passwords in a spreadsheet for a reference. This isn't the most secure system, but it's good enough. I've been using personal computers since the TRS-80 days in the late 1970s and have never had a problem.

There is however that problem of thinking up a password. When I find myself suffering from password writer's block I turn to a program such as the one at PC Tools

A click of the button and I get a password I can use for a website the next time I need one. For example I just generated a password Q3spa4eg that is pretty random. By adding more digits I can get an even more secure password should I feel the need.

I generate several when I visit the website and store them in my password spreadsheet read to be used when needed. Until then they are just random bits of information occupying a very small part of my hard disk.

I think that's it for today.

Take care and say "excuse me all the way."
-The Rapidly Aging Baby Boomer

Baby Boomer Go Boom!

Baby Boomer Accident. I am currently suffering from a Baby Boomer accident. I fell and broke my wrist on the twenty-fifth. Since then I've done a little work on my blogs, but it's been sitting at home. Reading is difficult both because of holding the book and the oxycodone pills I'm taking for pain. I'll have lots of time to get used to it: eight weeks with the pictured external scaffold, followed by physical therapy etc. I'm classifying this as a Baby Boomer accident because I fell down and went "boom." Is that an old Bugs Bunny bit? I was walking my dog and step out smartly into an intersection. Unfortunately Sam decided to stop and I tumbled over him. It's the kind of fall I wouldn't have noticed twenty years ago, but I'm out of commission for a while. Sam, however, is fine, fortunately. For the non-squeamish, here is a picture of my left lower arm.

Baby Boomer Good Samaritan. I want to offer my thanks to an unknown baby boomer named Mary who helped me home after I fell. What a treat that a stranger would take time to help someone she didn't know. I'm proud to add that although I was feeling shocky and nearly fainted I noticed she was attractive, both as a person and physically as a woman. I'm happy to learn my male testosterone-driven beast isn't dead, though it rarely does more than whimper.

A New Page to Gonzo Journalism? I hope me posts will be more frequent now. Either the pain is lessening or I'm getting used to writing under the influence of drugs. I wonder if this is how Hunter S. Thompson felt when he wrote. Could this be the start of a new journalistic trend: Gray Gonzo journalism?

Take care and say "excuse me all the way."
-The Rapidly Aging Baby Boomer