Landing Party Gear

To create a little more storage space and home décor, I've been installing display shelves around our first floor. This new shelf is now home to my collection of Star Trek landing party equipment replicas. 
 

The Birthday That Might Have Been

Today would have been Mom's 83rd birthday. I'm still a bit shocked that just weeks ago we were discussing how to celebrate. Mom initially thought it would be nice to go to La Ronde. I wish it could have happened. 

But maybe she's celebrating with Dad. I'd like to believe that. 

Here's Mom in 1960, the year she turned 18. Looking beautiful, Mom, as always. 
 

2260s Cargo Cubes

I received 16 very basic crates as part of a Kickstarter project, and I was initially disappointed by their lack of detail. But then inspiration struck: I painted them in Star Trek uniform colours (including the optional command green). Now they work as Original Series cargo containers (at 28 to 32 mm scale) OR Original Series food cubes (at human scale). Well, technically they're not cubes unless you glue two together . . . 
 

Second Comes Right after First

Somehow I wound up with an extra moon buggy pilot, but I have nothing for him to drive. He's decided to visit The Village for  a spell. 

I tried to add a moon dust grime effect here, and it seems to have worked reasonably well. 
 

Gilligan's Island of Earth-2

I prompted Stable Diffusion to create the castaway huts on Gilligan's Island, and it came up with this. I find it rather relaxing, and there's even a boat should the castaways decide they want to return to civilization. The question being . . . why? 

Some other views:

Escape from Gilligan's Island: The Roleplaying Game, Part III: Character Creation, Part II

Skills on Gilligan's Island
Like all humans, Castaways possess a wide range of skills thanks to natural aptitude, many hours of practise, or both. During the game, characters will find their skills tested by many challenges, suffering penalties to their chance of success if they do not possess the particular skill needed in the given moment. 

The following skills are most relevant to life on the island:

Acrobatics
The ability to bob, dodge, weave, balance, and perform other feats of dexterity.

Acting
The ability to play a role convincingly on stage or film or even during one’s personal life.

Animal Friendship
The ability to make friends with animals, or at least to convince them you’re not a threat or prey.

Animal Husbandry
The ability to breed livestock.

Archery
The ability to shoot a bow and arrow.

Bamboo Building
The ability to create buildings and vehicles out of bamboo.

Banjo
The ability to play the banjo.

Brass
The ability to play brass instruments, such as the tuba, sousaphone, trumpet, etc.

Bullying
The ability to threaten and coerce others into doing your will.

Butterfly Collecting
The ability to identify, collect, and display butterflies.

Camping
The ability to create a campsite and live comfortably outdoors for days or weeks at a time.

Carpenter
The ability to use tools and raw materials to assemble structures.

Cinematography
The ability to competently shoot motion pictures with a motion picture camera.

Climbing, Cliff
The ability to scale cliffs, with or without equipment.

Climbing, Mountain
The ability to scale mountains, with or without equipment.

Climbing, Tree
The ability to climb trees.

Clothes Washing
The ability to wash clothing.

Coconut Crafting
The ability to create useful tools out of coconut shells, oil, meat, and leaves.

Cooking
The ability to cook with primitive equipment.

Cycling
The ability to ride a bicycle.

Dancing, Ballroom
The ability to ballroom dance.

Dancing, Tap
The ability to tap dance.

Deception
The ability to fool someone into believing something that is not true.

Disguise
The ability to change your appearance with clothing, makeup, and appliances.

Driving
The ability to drive an automobile.

Dynamite Handling
The ability to handle dynamite without blowing yourself up.

Electronics
The ability to understand and repair electronic devices and understand the principles behind their function.

Farming
The ability to plant, raise, and harvest crops.

Finance
The ability to invest wisely in capital markets.

First Aid
The ability to provide basic first aid to an injured person.

Fishing
The ability to catch fish.

Fistfighting
The ability to engage in fisticuffs.

Flirting
The ability to arouse someone’s interest in you as a sexual being.

Gardening
The ability to grow small-scale plots or planters of flowers, herbs, vegetables, small fruits and berries, and trees and shrubs. 

 Gathering
The ability to gather fruits, nuts, and other naturally-occurring foodstuffs.

Grooming
The ability to maintain one’s own personal hygiene and personal appearance.

Guitar, Rhythm
The ability to play rhythm guitar.

Guitar, Bass
The ability to play bass guitar.

Hairdressing
The ability to cut and style hair.

Harmonica
The ability to play the harmonica.

Harpsichord
The ability to play the harpsichord.

Hiking
The ability to walk long distances through challenging terrain.

History
Understanding the study of history, focused on the past of the human species. 

Hot Air Ballooning
The ability to operate a hot air balloon.

Hunting
The ability to track down game.

Illusion
The ability to perform feats of illusion through slight-of-hand or other trickery.

Invention
The ability to conceptualize and assemble a device for some utilitarian or artistic purpose.

Juggling
The ability to juggle two or more small items such as balls, boomerangs, jars, pineapples, coconuts, pies, torches, batons, etc.

Language, American Sign Language
The ability to speak American Sign Language.

Language, Cannibal
The ability to speak the language of the cannibals on nearby islands.  

Language, Cantonese
The ability to speak Cantonese.

Language, English
The ability to speak English.

Language, French
The ability to speak French.

Language, German
The ability to speak German.

Language, Japanese
The ability to speak Japanese.

Language, Mandarin
The ability to speak Mandarin.

Language, Spanish
The ability to speak Spanish.

Language, Swedish
The ability to speak Swedish.

Language, Tagalog
The ability to speak Tagalog.

Language, Transylvanian
The ability to speak Transylvanian.

Lip Reading
The ability to read lips and discover what a person is saying even if you can’t hear them.

Lockpicking
The ability to pick small locks.

Makeup
The ability to apply makeup to oneself or others.

Martial Arts
The ability to use your body as a weapon.

Mechanics, Aircraft
The ability to repair aircraft.

Mechanics, Astronautics
The ability to repair spacecraft.

Mechanics, Automobile
The ability to repair automobiles.

Mechanics, Bicycle
The ability to repair bicycles, tricycles, unicycles, penny-farthings, etc.

Mechanics, Motorcycle
The ability to repair motorcycles.

Mechanics, Ship
The ability to repair seagoing ships. 

Mechanics, Submarine
The ability to repair submarines.

Medicine
The ability to diagnose and treat a variety of ailments.

Melee Weapons
The ability to use weapons such as clubs, brass knuckles, swords, hammers, screwdrivers, bottles, knives, daggers, and other non-ranged implements of menace in combat. 

Mime
The ability to mime.

Minesweeping
The ability to locate and safely deactivate mines.

Mockery
The ability to lower someone’s morale by insulting, degrading, or humiliating them.

Modelling
The ability to use appearance and performance to showcase consumer products.

Mouth Harp
The ability to play the mouth harp.

Navigation
The ability to know where you’ve been, where you are, and where you’re going in a boat, raft, submarine, or other watercraft.

Negotiation
The ability to make deals that benefit both parties.

Organ, Electronic
The ability to play an electronic organ.

Organ, Pipe
The ability to play a pipe organ.

Packing
The ability to pack goods into the most efficient space.

Painting, Canvas
The ability to paint works of art on canvas.

Painting, House
The ability to paint a house, fence or other large pieces of infrastructure.

Percussion
The ability to play drums.

Photography
The ability to shoot photographs with a camera.

Piano
The ability to play the piano.

Pilot, Fixed-wing
The ability to safely operate a fixed-wing aircraft.

Pilot, Rotary
The ability to safely operate a helicopter.

Pilot, Ship
The ability to safely operate a ship.

Pilot, Space Capsule
The ability to safely operate a space capsule.

Pistol
The ability to maintain and shoot a pistol or flare gun.

Poisoning
The ability to mix ingredients and calculate the correct dosage to kill or incapacitate a human or animal with poison. 

Pottery
The ability to shape clay into pots and other ceramic items, and to use a kiln and paint and glazes to finish said items.

Pratfalling
The ability to comically stumble or crash in a way that may be painful and embarrassing, but avoids significant injury.

Puns
The ability to craft puns in order to trigger a desired emotional response from an audience.

Rafting
The ability to pilot a raft.

Repair, Appliances
The ability to repair appliances, given the right tools.

Repair, Electronics
The ability to repair electronic devices, given the right tools.

Research
The ability to discover new information by referring to books, journals, photographs, interviews, and other data collection.

Rifle
The ability to maintain and shoot a rifle or machine gun. 

Safecracking
The ability to break into a safe or other sealed container.

Sailing
The ability to sail a sailboat.

Scavenging
The ability to find useful resources or trinkets.

Science, Astronomy
Understanding the science of celestial phenomena and their motion in space.  

Science, Astrophysics
Understanding the science of ascertaining the nature of astronomical objects. 

Science, Biology
Understanding the science of  life and living organisms, including their physical structure, chemistry, physiology, development, and evolution. 

Science, Chemistry
Understanding the composition of elements and compounds and how they react with other substances.

Science, Computer
Understanding algorithmic processes and computing machines. 

Science, Entomology
Understanding the classification, structure, and habits of insects. 

Science, Geology
Understanding how the solid earth changes over time and how that informs the structure of the Earth and its natural history. 

Science, Ichthyology
Understanding the habits, structure, and classification of fish. 

Science, Mad
The ability to apply several different scientific disciplines to achieve unconventional--some might say impossible--results, often with evil intent. 

Science, Mathematics
Understanding the study of quantity, structure, space, and change through numbers and formulae. 

Science, Metallurgy
Understanding the physical and chemical behaviour of metals and alloys. 

Science, Physics
Understanding matter, energy, spacetime, and the other foundations of the universe. 

Science, Political
Understanding systems of governance and political thought and activities. 

Science, Radiology
Understanding how to use medical imaging to diagnose and treat diseases. 

Science, Rocket
The ability to design, build, and maintain rockets, satellites, probes, and other Space Age infrastructure. 

Science, Zoology
Understanding the classification, evolution, habits, and distribution of animals and how they interact with their ecosystems. 

SCUBA Diving
The ability to use SCUBA equipment to explore underwater.

Sculpting
The ability to create sculptures from clay, ivory, stone, wood, or other raw materials.

Seduction
The ability to use charisma and sex appeal to change the behaviour of others in a way favourable to you.

Sewing
The ability to create and repair garments with a needle and thread or sewing machine.

Singing
The ability to sing melodiously.

Sketching
The ability to draw.

Skydiving
The ability to skydive with a parachute.

Slinging
The ability to fashion a sling or slingshot, to gather stones of the proper size and shape to serve as ammunition, and to use the sling or slingshot to incapacitate targets. 

Snorkeling
The ability to use a snorkel to look below the surface of the water while swimming.

Spacewalking
The ability to maneuver in space with a spacesuit and tether or jet propulsion.

Spear
The ability to fashion a spear out of native materials and use it to incapacitate targets. 

Sport, Bowling
The ability to bowl.

Sport, Boxing
The ability to box.

Sport, Field Hockey
The ability to play field hockey.

Sport, Ice Hockey
The ability to play ice hockey.

Sport, Darts
The ability to throw darts.

Sport, Golf
The ability to golf.

Sport, Roller Skating
The ability to roller skate.

Sport, Tennis
The ability to play tennis.

Sport, Wrestling
The ability to wrestle.

Strings
The ability to play stringed instruments such as the violin, viola, double bass, fiddle, etc.

Surgery
The ability to operate on a person to fix an ailment.

Swimming
The ability to swim.

Trapping
The ability to set traps for small game such as bunnies, wild turkeys, snakes, and so on.

Unicycling
The ability to ride a unicycle.

Wayfinding
The ability to use natural landmarks and tools like compasses to avoid getting lost on land.

Weaving
The ability to weave blankets, mats, and other items out of cotton and other natural materials.

Woodwinds
The ability to play instruments from the woodwind family, such as saxophones, flutes, etc.

Woodworking
The ability to create useful implements or works out art out of wood.

Writing, Essays
The ability to write non-fiction works that present a compelling argument.

Writing, Fiction
The ability to write a compelling short story or novel.

Writing, Journaling
The ability to write an interesting personal diary of life events.

Writing, Poetry
The ability to write poetry evocative enough for publication.

Writing, Scientific Papers
The ability to write scientific papers suitable for publication in peer-reviewed journals.

Writing, Screenwriting
The ability to craft a screenplay suitable for the demands of motion picture production.

Writing, Travel
The ability to write compelling travelogues.

Yelling
The ability to yell powerfully enough to startle a person or beast and perhaps cause them to flee or respond to a challenge.

Yodelling
The ability to yodel compellingly. Can be used as a signal of distress, success, or call to attack. 

Have I missed any skills that someone might need to survive on Gilligan's Island? Post in the comments below! 

The Gospel According To Barabbas

Barabbas (Richard Fleischer, 1961) might be one of the most interesting takes I've seen on the Christ story; this time, we follow the journey of Barabbas, the thief who the mob pardoned at Passover instead of Jesus. Turns out this makes Barabbas immortal, or at least he's lucky enough for his circumstances to make it seem that way. He's a subject of both awe and scorn, a sinner who nonetheless was in the presence of Christ near the end of his life and so, perhaps, divinely touched by that experience. But can the cynical non-believer come to terms with his role in the story of Christ, or is he forever damned to walk the earth?

Anthony Quinn is predictably excellent as Barabbas, capturing the thief's bitterness and anger while projecting just enough doubt and vulnerability for us to believe that he really was touched by his experience, despite his protestations.

The costuming and production design create a believable first-century ambiance, and there's a gladiatorial combat sequence almost as grand as the chariot race seen in Ben-Hur (1959). The many years Barabbas spends mining sulphur are appropriately claustrophobic and desperate.

Still, I can't say that this film will stay with me. Barabbas' eventual redemption seems predictably inevitable, without any truly gripping moments of revelation; it's as if time simply wore him down and he got tired of resisting his conversion. In the end, like Christ, Barabbas is crucified, and this final scene is one of the film's most powerful moments, not simply because of the weight of its allusions, but because of the composition, the lighting, and Quinn's convincing death agonies. 

Baby Earl

The Surreal Ecstasy of Gold

The folly of lust for gold is a well-worn trope whatever the genre, but in no film is it explored quite so strangely as Mackenna's Gold (J. Lee Thompson), a 1969 western in which Gregory Peck (Mackenna) finds himself in a surreal, swiftly-moving landscape of shifting threats and alliances, with death, in the form of circles vultures and vast walls of stone standing in silent judgement, looming, waiting for its moment. 

It begins with two figures in the desert: Peck, as Marshall Mackenna, and an ancient Apache chief, Prairie Dog. Prairie Dog is clearly near death, and mistakes Mackenna for one of the bandits chasing him for a map to a legendary deposit of gold. He attempts to shoot Mackenna, but Mackenna defends himself, shooting the chief down. Mackenna attempts to save the old man, but the chief demurs, angrily accusing Mackenna of wanting the Apache gold. The Marshall, it seems, has a past as a gambler and prospector, but he's given up his sordid past and is trying to build a new life. 

The chief has a map to the gold, but Mackenna burns it, determined to get on with his new life. Unfortunately, men of ill will from Mackenna's past arrive, and with the map destroyed, they force Mackenna to use his memory of the map to lead them to the gold...

The plot is straightforward: Mackenna must lead the bandits through a gauntlet of hazards, including Apache hunting parties defending the gold, the US cavalry, and the desert itself. But the filmmakers' approach to the material makes this an atypical Western, one with the trappings of horror, fantasy, and high adventure films. There are point-of-view shots dragging the audience through dizzying chases on horseback. There's a rickety bridge crossing over an impossibly deep canyon, with the long shots accomplished with obvious miniatures. Julie Newmar is a beautiful, predatory shark-like creature who attempts nude underwater seduction and nude underwater murder. There are gorgeous vistas clearly shot on location juxtaposed with matte paintings. The small party of bandits Mackenna is leading grows to a horde, with so many major stars joining the proceedings - and shortly thereafter being killed off with almost comic speed. Occasionally, a narrator shows up to offer unnecessary commentary to the proceedings, but quits doing so at around the halfway point in the film. 

In the final act, in which the bedraggled survivors find the gold, is played out in a tone so ominous that the joy of the characters, their greedy delight captured in a sequence of still frames, serves only to heighten audience unease. And indeed it ends apocalyptically, with a disaster shot in such a way as to transform the film's heretofore dreamlike quality into that of a genuine runaway nightmare. 

There's a happy ending of a sort, but even that is laced with ambiguity; the backstories hinted at throughout the film are bookended by the promise of further adventure, as if this were the middle of a trilogy. 

Though played straight, the director's choices transform what should have been a straightforward western into something more akin to something Hitchcock and Bunuel might have created, had those two greats ever collaborated. 

Quick Takes: The Intruder

In The Intruder (Roger Corman, 1962), William Shatner delivers a delightfully hateful, coldly calculating, and ultimately unhinged performance as a racist who, with insidious charm and diabolical plots, riles up a southern town against the then-new integration of public schools.

The Intruder is cheaply made but powerful; its low budget and c-list distribution might very well have contributed to its frankness, because lacking in production value the screenplay and direction really had to sell the narrative. And a challenging narrative it is, holding nothing back when it comes to the open vitriol and hatred many whites had (and have) for their black neighbours. Kind old ladies, children, and respected businessmen alike toss around the n-word and hateful stereotypes openly and without provocation, assuming everyone with white skin shares the same views. And in this film, virtually everyone does, with exception of one public school teacher and the wavering newspaper editor and his wife and daughter.

This isn't an easy film to watch, because it doesn't gloss over deep-seated hate, nor is the ending really a happy one. Shatner's character gets run out of town when one of his schemes finally goes a little too far, yes, but with the exceptions noted above, the people of the community are as hateful as they were prior to Shatner's arrival. Its black citizens are no more welcome, especially the vulnerable black children and teens who will have to continue living with the hate and scorn they endure at the newly-integrated public school. 

The Intruder is an overlooked gem I'd never heard of until a few days ago, and while an uncomfortable watch, I think it's an important one. How far have we really come, deep down?

Once Upon a Time...on The Earliad

SPOILER ALERT...!

Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood (Quentin Tarantino, 2019) is Tarantino at his gentlest and most reflective, tapping the incredible power of nostalgia and transforming it into some of his most sumptuous imagery. HIs vision of 1960s Hollywood is almost painfully vibrant, colours jumping from the screen as if to scream "This is how beautiful the world can be!"

As Sharon Tate, Margot Robbie is magical, an avatar of the world's beauty, and also of shameless, innocent delight, a woman who loves life, loves people, and loves the world around her with breathtaking sincerity. Tarantino's decision to alter history and therefore preserve Tate seems a determined effort to push psychopathic evil back into Pandora's box, to create a less violent world, paradoxically, by brutally violent means in the hands of the film's two leads, Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt as actor Rick Dalton and stuntman Cliff Booth, two men chasing the Hollywood dream before they're too old and worn out to truly seize it. In the better world Tarantino envisions, it seems as though they'll capture those dreams after all, at the 11th hour, just before all hope is lost...just like in the movies.

Val on Guitar (actually Walter)

I believe this is Val Head (or a close relative) playing guitar sometime in the 1960s, presumably somewhere in Manitoba. Quite a speaker setup he has there. Actually, I don't remember Val ever playing guitar, so perhaps this isn't him after all...

EDIT: Mom believes this is actually Walter Head, one of Val's brothers. 

Something New Every Day

Tonight I watched Hatari!, the Howard Hawks safari comedy starring John Wayne. During the opening credits, I noted that Henry Mancini scored the film, and yet I was still surprised when his "Baby Elephant Walk" accompanied a scene of Elsa Martinelli's character walking a trio of baby elephants to a watering hole. I hadn't realized that Mancini's hit had been composed for a soundtrack, nor that the instrumental's title was so literal. As a fan of Mancini and Hawks, this was a real treat. And it even helped me feel a bit better - I've been fighting a bad head cold over the last couple of days. Thanks, Howard and Henry! 

Thomas Earl Etsell Reads a Book

Here's a badly damaged print of my maternal grandfather reading a book.

Here's my attempt to repair the image - a little clumsy in some spots, but an improvement, I think.

I wish I could make out what Granddad is reading. It looks like the title might be The Prime Minster - 1961, but obviously I'm extrapolating that from the visible text "PRIME," "STER," and "1961" (or perhaps it's "1962"). A search failed to turn up a match. John Diefenbaker was Prime Minister in 1961, but the image on the back cover doesn't really look like him...of course, that could be an author photo. 

Dad at 18

Today Dad would have turned 77 years old, had he not died back in November. I still miss him, and I still haven't processed the sudden loss.

Here's Dad at 18, back in 1960. Hope you're soaring, Dad. 

Dad at 18

Lilies of the Field

Last night I screened Lilies of the Field, a 1963 Best Picture nominee, featuring the performance that earned Sidney Poitier the Best Actor Oscar for that year. While I enjoyed Poitier's performance, Jerry Goldsmith's music, the lean direction, handsome black and white cinematography, and the simple but affecting story, the film nonetheless left me unsettled and questioning.

In the film, Homer Smith (Poitier), stops at a ramshackle nunnery to borrow some water for his car. Mother Maria (Lilia Sakala, nominated for Best Supporting Actress) believes God has sent Homer to help the sisters build a chapel. Homer demurs, as he's happier to live as a man of the road, taking odd handyman jobs to support his easygoing, itinerant lifestyle. But the nun's ineptitude compels Homer to stay and help, and over the course of the film he reveals himself as not only an able handyman, but a leader, marshalling the volunteers who show up to help into a formidable workforce.

The chief source of drama in the film is Homer's easygoing attitude and desire to leave set against Mother Maria's devotion to a relatively ascetic lifestyle and her unspoken fondness for Homer. She even comes up with a number of excuses and odd jobs in an attempt to extend Homer's stay, but in the end, his task complete, Homer leaves the chapel and the nuns behind, proud of a job well done but true to his own needs.

Lilies of the Field is a simple film, but it's funny and warm and important because it features a well-rounded black character in a time when such characters were even rarer in mainstream film than they are today.

What hit me hardest, however, was the way that Poitier's performance clearly showed the deep but understated pride Smith takes in his work and his finished creation. And a fine chapel it is, once the work is complete. While I recognize that screening films always leaves the viewer vulnerable to emotional manipulation, I couldn't help but question the value of my own work when presented with a vision of something concrete (almost literally) and lasting. The fruits of Homer's labour are obvious and long-lasting. Even though I personally am not religious, I can see the value in a place of meditation and meeting for the community, and I envy Smith and others like him who build things that exist in the real world, with tangible benefits.

My labour, on the other hand, hasn't been physical since my early 20s. Of course I agree that communicating is important, and that the right message can have wide-ranging benefits, but I'm still not sure that anything I've written has had anything more than a brief, infinitesimal impact on the wider world. Aside from a few ghostwritten gardening books, I don't have anything I can hold up and say, "This is what I contributed to the world."

Again, I don't wish to downplay my own contributions to the world, most of which, I hope, are unrelated to whatever jobs I've held over the years. But sometimes I feel like I've missed something important by choosing the career I have. 

A Chilling Error

I popped these into the freezer to chill them, and then found myself distracted by conversation with my charming wife. They came close to exploding, but I rescued them. 

Until today, I did not realize that I debuted the same year as The Pop Shoppe. 

Tedfufu's Captain America

Compiled by YouTube user Tedfufu, this collection of animated moments from the 1960s Captain America cartoon has me metaphorically rolling on the floor with laughter. The combination of choppy, surreal animation and crazed dialogue is a real sight to behold. Enjoy! 

Cornet Blue

Last weekend, I finished watching one-season wonder Coronet Blue, a short-lived 1967 television series about a man who survives a murder attempt and awakens an amnesiac, remembering only the words "Coronet Blue." While the premise is great, the episodes themselves are a bit underwhelming; "Michael Alden" (the name taken by the main character) makes a coffee shop his home base, and his adventures are funded, for no good reason, by the coffee shop owner he meets in the pilot episode. I guess he just feels sorry for the guy? Michael spends thirteen  episodes dodging the occasional assassin and halfheartedly pursuing leads to "Coronet Blue," whatever that might be.

Years later, series creator Larry Cohen revealed it was the name of a Soviet spy ring; "Michael Alden" was set to defect to the United States when his buddies tried to kill him. Cohen is better known for the much more successful The Invaders, the It's Alive movies, and the infamous God Told Me To and Q: The Winged Serpent, among other cult genre oddities. I was expecting more from a Cohen creation, but compared to his other work Coronet Blue is pretty pedestrian. (To be fair, according to an interview with Cohen included as an extra on the DVD set, he didn't have much to do with the show's actual production.)

Catchy theme song, though!