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

The Generation Gap (TGG)

I've decided to dispense with the popular labels for generations after the Boomers. Frankly, I can't remember what letter represents what generation. I know there's a Generation X and Y, and I think there's a C generation, but that's all I remember. I think a better tag for this generation is, well, TAG. The Acronym Generation.

These generations have the common trait of using acronyms and abbreviations for communications to the point where they are able to make incomprehensible statements faster than we Boomers ever dreamed of doing. The current fruition of this phenomenon is text messaging. Messaging allows TAG-ers to send cryptic messages to friends with both great speed. Judging by the cost, these messages must be pure gold since text messaging can result in spending hundreds of dollars per TAG-er every month.

I started on this rant during my recent vacation when I was trying to order a beer and was asked by a waiter if I'd like an IPA and then looked at me expectantly.

Since I was on vacation my wits weren't as sharp as they are on occasion and at first I thought he asked me to take part in an Initial Public Offering (IPO) of some stock. Since I was on vacation I wasn't interested in financial matters. I felt confused and wondered why an investment adviser was still working as a waiter. I mean, the Dot Com Crisis (DCC) was several years back. Surely all the Dot Com Millionaires (DCM) have recovered by now.

One I figured out that IPA could not be a three-letter acronym (TLA) for Initial Public Offering it was smooth sailing. I responded to the waiter's question with a clever, yet sincere, "What?"

"Would you like an IPA?" he responded quickly, hardly leaving room for me to type spaces betweens the words in his sentence. "WldulknIPA?"

This time I was ready for him and challenged him. "What's an IPA?"

"Indian Pale Ale."

Since I was looking for a darker beer or ale I nodded and all was copasetic. That's when I started noticing the lack of communication that occurs when TAG-ers talk.

The immediate cause of this article came about when I was trying to figure out what PNC in PNC Park, the home of Major League Baseball's Pittsburgh Pirates, stood for. It took me two Google searches to find an answer that made sense. It doesn't stand for anything. The company that used to be Pittsburgh National Bank paid for the naming the park, but the company now is Pittsburgh National Corporation and has combined with Provident National Corporation. At least that's what Tom Zemencik wrote in 2001. Even if he's wrong it makes sense to me so I'll pretend he's right.

HAND (Have a nice day).

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