09.28.07
Best American Silent Movies
6. The Crowd – 1928 – King Vidor, Director;
Cast: Eleanor Boardman [Mary Sims], James Murray [John Sims], Bert Roach [Bert], Estelle Clark [Jane], Daniel G. Tomlinson [Jim], Dell Henderson [Dick], Lucy Beaumont [Mary’s mother], Freddie Burke Frederick [John Sims Jr.], Alice Mildred Puter [daughter]; Sidney Bracey [John’s supervisor], Johnny Downs [John Sims, age 12], Sally Eilers [the party girl at Bert’s Place], Warner P. Richmond [Mr. Sims, John’s father], Virginia Sale [Mary’s sister-in-law], Larry Steers [doctor], Claude Payton
Plot: The life of a man and woman together in a large, impersonal metropolis through their hopes, struggles and downfalls.
5. Greed – 1924 – Erich von Stroheim, Director;
Cast: Gibson Gowland [John ‘Mac’ McTeague], ZaSu Pitts [Trina Sieppe McTeague], Jean Hersholt [Marcus Schouler], Dale Fuller [Maria Miranda Macapa], Tempé Piggot [Mother McTeague], Sylvia Ashton [‘Mommer’ Sieppe, Trina’s mother], Chester Conklin [Hans ‘Popper’ Sieppe, Trina’s father], Joan Standing [Selina, Trina’s cousin]; Austin Jewell [August Sieppe, Trina’s little brother], Oscar Gotell [Max Sieppe, Trina’s little twin brother], Otto Gotell [Moritz Sieppe, Trina’s little twin brother], Günther von Ritzau [?] (same as Erich von Ritzau?) [Dr. ‘Painless’ Potter, a traveling dentist], Frank Hayes [Charles W. Grannis, the Modern Dog Hospital owner], Fanny Midgley [Anastasia Baker, a retired dressmaker], Max Tyron [Rudolph Oelbermann, Trina’s uncle and owner of the toy store], Hughie Mack [Mr. Heise], E. ‘Tiny’ Jones (‘Tiny’ Jones) [Mrs. Heise], J. Aldrich Libby [Mr. Ryer], Rita Revela [Mrs. Ryer], Lon Poff [lottery company man], S.S. Simon [Joe Frenna, the saloonkeeper], [?] William Mollemhauer or William Mollenheime? [the palmist], Hugh J. McCauley [the photographer], William Barlow [the minister], Jack McDonald [?] [Placer County sheriff, or Cribbens, a prospector]?, James F. Fulton [?] [Placer County sheriff, or Cribbens, a prospector]?, James Gibson [deputy sheriff], Jimmy Wang [Chinese cook], Erich von Stroheim [balloon vendor], Lita Chevrier, Edward Gaffney, Harold E. Henderson, Cesare Gravina [Zerkow, the junkman (role cut from final film)], Jack Curtis [McTeague Sr. (role cut from final film)], Florence Gibson [old hag at Mike’s Saloon (role cut from final film)]
Plot: The sudden fortune won from a lottery fans such destructive greed that it ruins the lives of the three people involved.
4. The Gold Rush – 1925 – Charlie Chaplin. Director;
Cast: Charles Chaplin [the lone prospector], Georgia Hale [Georgia], Mack Swain [Big Jim McKay], Tom Murray [Black Larsen], Henry Bergman [Hank Curtis], Betty Morissey [Georgia’s friend], Malcolm Waite [Jack Cameron], John Rand, Albert Austin, Heinie Conklin, Allan Garcia, Tom Wood
Plot: The Tramp goes the Klondike in search of gold and finds it and more.
3. City Lights – 1931 – Charlie Chaplin, Director;
Cast: Charles Chaplin [the little tramp], Virginia Cherill [the blind girl], Harry Myers, Hank Mann, Florence Lee, Allan Garcia, Henry Bergman, Albert Austin, Stanhope Wheatcroft, John Rand, James Donnelly, Eddie Baker, Robert Parrish, Granville Redmond, Jean Harlow [extra], Ray Erlenborn [newsboy], [?] Robert Graves?, Anna May the elephant.
Plot:The Tramp struggles to help a blind flower girl he has fallen in love with.
2. Sunrise (A Song of Two Humans) – 1927 – F.W. Murnau, Director;
Cast: George O’Brien [the man], Janet Gaynor [the wife], Margaret Livingston [the woman from the city], Bodil Rosing [the maid], J. Farrell MacDonald [the photographer], Ralph Sipperly [the barber], Jane Winton [the manicure girl], Arthur Housman [the obtrusive gentleman], Eddie Boland [the obliging gentleman], Gibson Gowland, F.W. Murnau [man on ferryboat], Sally Eilers, Gino Corrado, Barry Norton, Robert Kortman, Sidney Bracey, Harry Semels, Phillips Smalley.
Plot: A married farmer falls under the spell of a slatternly woman from the city, who tries to convince him to drown his wife.
1. The General – 1926 – Buster Keaton, Director;
Cast: Buster Keaton [Johnny Gray], Marian Mack [Annabelle Lee], Glen Cavender [Captain Anderson], Jim Farley [General Thatcher], Frederick Vroom [Southern general], Charles Smith [Annabelle’s father], Frank Barnes [Annabelle’s brother], Joseph Keaton [Union general], Mike Donlin [Union general], Tom Nawn [Union general], Jackie Lowe, Jackie Hanlon, Frank Agney, Ross McCutcheon, Charles Phillips, Jack Dempster, Red Thompson, Anthony Harvey, Ray Hanford, Tom Moran, Bud Fine, Jimmie Bryant, Al Hanson
Plot: When Union spies steal an engineer’s beloved locomotive, he pursues it single handedly and straight through enemy lines.
As rated on http://www.silentera.com/info/top100.html
09.25.07
Celebrities More Famous After They Died
1. Rudolph Valentino – When he died in 1926 his career was still moving upward. His death kept his name on many lips and he is still remembered when many other more talented and more famous Silent Film stars are forgot.
2. James Dean – Before his death in a car accident, Dean had film only three starring movie roles and two of these had not been released. Today he is known as the first play hard die young celebrity.
3. Marilyn Monroe – Marilyn’s star was on the decline when she was found dead in the nude in 1963. The strange facts about her death are still talked about nearly 45 years later.
4. Jimi Hendrix – He is known as the greatest rock guitarist of all time and died way too young.
5. Janis Joplin – She like Jimi Hendrix are two of the biggest stars to come out of the late 60’s and since she died in her prime, there isn’t any bad music by her to pull her name down.
6. Elvis Presley – He makes makes money dead in a year now than he did most of his career. Even though he was getting older and heavier when he died most remember him as the hip singer of his movies.
09.24.07
The Not Usual Places to See in Delmarva
Here are six places to visit in Delmarva that may not be on the usual Must-See lists.
1. New Castle Court House; New Castle, Delaware:
The Court House was built in 1732 over the remains of the prior Court House that had been destroyed by fire. It served as Delaware’s first state capitol. It is from the building’s cupola that the center of the 12-mile circular boundary between Delaware and Pennsylvania was officially established.
2. The Delaware & Chesapeake Garden Railroad; Clayton, Delaware:
This railroad garden was established in December 2003 in Clayton, DE and is less than a mile from the original branch line of the Pennsylvania Railroad. The line ran from Clayton, Delaware to Easton, Maryland. The Garden Railroad is a backyard G Scale creation of Jay and Taylor Davis, a father & son combination that enjoys the outdoors, and railroading in general. Open for special events and by appointment.
www.geocities.com/delawarerailroad/
3. Chestertown’s War Monument Park; Chestertown, Maryland:
In many ways downtown Chestertown is a picture of the past. Many people may know of the park in the center of town displaying a 19th century fountain (the fountain is currently being restored), but next to the park is another park dedicated to the men and women of Chestertown and Kent County who have served in wars, from the Revolutionary War to the Gulf War. It may not take long to walk the park and read all of the inscriptions, but it’s worth the time to stop and remember.
4. Barratt’s Chapel Museum; Frederica, Delaware:
The oldest surviving Methodist Church in America is in Frederica, Delaware. The site includes the historic church, a research library and a museum on the history of Methodism. Open Saturday and Sunday and by appointment. www.barrattschapel.org.
5. Cambridge Fishing Pier; Cambridge, Maryland:
When the new bridge over the Choptank River opened the State of Maryland turned the old bridge into a fishing pier. Not only can a variety of different fish be caught from the bridge, it’s a great place to just look out over the river and see sights usually only seen via boat. On the Talbot side of the pier is 25 acre park with walking paths.
6. Georgetown Train Station; Georgetown, Delaware:
The restored train station dates to the late 1860’s and serves as a museum dedicated to transportation with many photos and pieces showing the history of the town and train transportation in Delaware. Contact ahead for hours of operation so as not to be disappointed.
www.georgetowntrainstation.org.
And for those who love the railroad after visiting the one in Georgetown visit this one a little farther south.
Eastern Shore Rail Road Museum; Parksley, Virginia:
Here you can step back into a time when the railroad ruled. Step into the train station where 14 passenger trains stopped everyday. The main museum building is full of railroad items from the many that operated on this peninsula since the mid-1800’s.
*****
For more information about Delmarva try shoretobefun.com
To talk about Delmarva try: delmarvatalk.com
09.21.07
The Delmarva Peninsula
1. The Delmarva Peninsula occupies portions of three states. It’s named from letters from Delaware, Maryland and Virginia. At its north is the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal, which technically makes from this point south an Island, since you can’t get on or off without crossing a body of water. However it’s still regarded as a peninsula since the canal is man-made.
2. From the Northern point to it’s southern point at the tip of the Eastern Shore of Virginia it’s about 180 miles. At it’s widest it’s about 60 miles, although most of the peninsula is much narrower. The land area is about 5.45 million square miles.
3. The other bodies of waters surrounding the peninsula are to the East – Delaware River, Delaware Bay, Atlantic Ocean; to the West The Chesapeake Bay and to the South the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay as it flows into the Atlantic Ocean.
4. There are 5 bridges over the C&D canal. These are at MD 213, Delaware 896, US 13, Delaware 1 and Delaware 9. There is also a railroad bridge that crosses the canal east of Delaware 896. The only other access other than by ship is the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, crossing from Sandy Point near Annapolis to Kent Island, and the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel crossing the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay from Norfolk to the southern tip of Virginia’s Eastern Shore.
5. Nine of Maryland’s 23 counties are located on the peninsula. These being the counties of Kent, Queen Anne’s, Talbot, Caroline, Dorchester, Wicomico, Somerset, Worcester and a portion of Cecil County. The Virginia counties of Accomack and Northamption and the Delaware Counties of Kent, Sussex and a portion of New Castle County makes up the rest.
6. At various times in its history residents of the Maryland and Virginia portions of the peninsula have propose that they should secede from their respective states and join Delaware to create a new state called Delmarva.
For more information about the Delmarva region visit the website ShoreToBeFun.com
And for discussion about Delmarva try Delmarva Talk at delmarvatalk.com
09.20.07
About death by hanging
1) Hangings as a form of capital punishment by suspension of a person by a cord wrapped around the neck causing death, first occurred in the Persian Empire about 2500 years ago.
2) There are 4 methods of judicial hanging.
The short drop, placing the condemned on the back of a cart, horse or other vehicle and have the vehicle moved away leaving the condemned hanging. This was commonly used prior to 1850.
Suspension drop, where the noose is raised once the condemned is in place.
Standard drop, the condemned is dropped 4 to 6 feet.
Long Drop, similar to the standard drop only the drop is determined by the condemned weigh.
3) In the United States only the states of Washington and New Hampshire retain hanging as an option. The state of Delaware still allow hangings to those convicted prior to 1996 and sentenced to hang and those are allowed a choice of hanging or lethal injection.
4) The last public hanging in the United States was of Rainey Bethea, a black 26 year old male who confessed to the rape and murder of a 70 year old white woman, was hanged on August 14, 1936 in Owensboro, Kentucky. The last US hanging was on January 25, 1996 when Delaware hanged Billy Bailey, who was convicted of murder.
5) On the day after Christmas 1862, 38 Dakota Sioux were simultaneously hanged. These men were convicted of murder and rape in the Sioux uprising. This is the largest single execution in the United States.
6) Saddam Hussein, former president of Iraq, was executed by hanging after being sentence to death for crimes against humanity. His trial was performed by The Supreme Iraqi Criminal Tribunal, a special court established outside the normal Iraqi judicial system. It had one purpose to bring Saddam Hussein and members of his former regime to justice.
09.19.07
Mysterious Disappearances
Since there were records there have been reports of mysterious vanishings. While some may never been fully explained many of them could have simple explanations. Here is the story of six unexplained vanishings.
1. In 1587 a small company made up of 90 men, 17 women and 9 children colonized the island of Roanoke just off the coast of North Carolina. John White, the governor of the second colony, went back to England to gather more supplies. He intended to return to Roanoke Island right away, but war between England and Spain delayed him. Three years later when returning with supplies the colony was gone. The only clue the word “Croatan” was carved on a tree.
2. On November 5, 1872 the Mary Celeste set sail from New York for Italy. A month later on December 5 it was discovered as a derelict. The ship was in perfect order with no sign of trouble and still carried ample supplies. The captain, his family and its 14-member crew have never been found.
3. In 1913 author Ambrose Bierce joined the army of Pancho Villa as an observer of the Mexican Revolution. It is known that he accompanied Villa’s army as far as Chihuahua since a letter to a close friend was sent from there on December 26, 1913. Afterwards he vanished and investigations into the disappearance provided no answers.
4. On August 6, 1930 New York Supreme Court associate justice Joseph F. Crater was seen walking out of a New York restaurant. He entered a taxi after waving goodbye to some friends and was never seen again. In October, a grand jury began looking into the case and ended up calling 95 witnesses and amassing 975 pages of testimony. Some of the evidence uncovered was that a safe-deposit box had been emptied and two briefcases missing. The conclusion was: “The evidence is insufficient to warrant any expression of opinion as to whether Crater is alive or dead, or as to whether he has absented himself voluntarily, or is the sufferer from disease in the nature of amnesia, or is the victim of crime.”
5. On March 4, 1983 13-year-old Shannon Lee Potter of Parkville, Maryland climbed out of her bedroom window to attend a party. She has not been seen since.
6. While not a disappearance, the Legend of the Lost Dutchman’s mine in the Superstition Mountain of Arizona has caused some with people lost trying to discover its location. In the 1870’s Jacob Waltz is said to have located a mine that he worked with his partner Jacob Weiser. Waltz was German, mistaken for Dutch and where the name came from. Most stories place the mine in the vicinity of Weaver’s Needle, a well-known landmark.
09.14.07
Men to the Moon
1. On May 25, 1961 in a speech to the joint Congress, John F. Kennedy uttered these words, “ I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth.” At the time that he spoke these words the total time in space by an American was about 15 minutes.
2. The Space Mission program that place a man on the moon was called Apollo. It was the third program following Mercury and Gemini. In total there were 29 astronauts who flew an Apollo mission with 24 of these arriving at the moon.
3. Apollo 1 ended tragically with the death of three men; Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee.
4. Five men rode in Apollo missions that never left Earth orbit. On Apollo 7 (the first Apollo mission to launch) were Wally Schirra, Donn Eiseke and Walter Cunningham. On Apollo 9 (the 1st Apollo Mission to test the Luna Lander) were James McDivitt and Rusty Schweickart. David Scott was also on Apollo 9, but he walked on the moon on Apollo 15
5. Twelve Men have gone to the moon, but did not land. They are; Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, William Anders, Tom Stafford who were on missions to only orbit the moon. Lovell along with Jack Swigert and Fred Haise flew around the moon on Apollo 13. Michael Collins, Dick Gordon, Stuart Roosa, Al Worden, Ken Mattingly and Ronald Evans orbited the moon in the Command Module as the other two on their missions landed on the moon.
6. The first man to take a step on the Moon was Neal Armstrong. He, along with Buzz Aldrin were the first men to walk on the moon on July 20, 1969. The last man to step on the moon was Harrison Schmidt, who along with Eugene Curan were the last men on the moon December 11-14, 1972. In total 12 men have walked on the moon. The others were; Pete Conrad, Alan Bean, Alan Shepard, Edgar Mitchell, David Scott, James Irvin, John W. Young, and Charles Duke.
09.12.07
Turning 50 in 2008
1. Michael Jackson – The King of pop was born on August 28, 1958.
2. Tanya Tucker – Born on October 10, 1958, Tanya Tucker may have started as a teen performer in the 1970’s, but her popularity continued into the 80’s and 90’s.
3. Jamie Lee Curtis – November 22, 1958. The star of the first Halloween is the daughter of Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh.
4. Madonna – The Material Girl will turn 50 on August 16, 2008
5. Patrica Heaton – The female star of Everyone Loves Raymond was born on March 4, 1958.
6. Alan Jackson- October 17, 1958 marks the birth of country superstar Alan Jackson.
Note: My 50th will be on August 30, 2008.
09.11.07
September 11
1. September 11, 2007 marks the 6th anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City and on the Pentagon outside of DC. It is the first anniversary that will be on the same day of the week (Tuesday) as the attack. In total 2974 people were killed in the attack. 911_victims.jpg
2. September 11, 1941 is the date that ground was broken for the construction of the Pentagon with the formal dedication being January 15, 1943.
3. In 1786 there was a convention scheduled to begin on September 11th in Annapolis Maryland. The formal title of the meeting was a Meeting of Commissioners to Remedy Defects of the Federal Government. There were only 12 delegates from 5 of the 13 states present. The convention lasted for 4 days with the outcome being a request to Congress to support for a broader meeting to be held the following May in Philadelphia. The May meeting formed the United States Constitution.
4. In 1847 the Stephen Foster song, Oh! Susanna, is first performed at a saloon in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
5. In 1961 Hurricane Carla makes landfall in Texas. The Category 4 storm is the strongest that has hit Texas. This was the first live broadcast of a Hurricane with Dan Rather reporting live from the Galveston Seawall during the storm.
6. In 1972 The Closing Ceremony of the Munich Olympics takes place. This Olympics was the one that members of the Israeli Olympic team was held hostage by the Palestinian terrorist group Black September. During the conflict eleven Israeli athletes and one German police officer were murdered by the terrorist group. Five of the eight terrorists were killed by police officers during an aborted rescue attempt. The Olympics were suspended and a memorial service was held in the main stadium and the International Olympic Committee ordered the competitions to resume after a pause of 34 hours.
09.10.07
Doctor Who
1. The television character Doctor Who first debuted on British Television on November 23, 1963. It was called An Unearthly Child starring William Hartwell as the Doctor.
2. Doctor Who is a wanderer in space and time, the only surviving members of his race. He is called a Time Lord traveling in a dimensionally transcendental time machine which is bigger on the inside than on the outside with its camouflage system being stuck in the shape of a London police public call box circa 1964. The Doctor, travels through time and space fighting the forces of darkness, taking on traveling companions from places that he visits. Other than being call The Doctor, his true name has never been revealed.
3. Doctor Who is the longest-running science fiction television series in the history of broadcasting. The series which began on the BBC1 network in the United Kingdom in November 1963 and ran continuing until 1989. During this period the Doctor was played by 7 different actors.
4. In 1996 there was a special US/UK co-produced film that aired on BBC-1 and America’s FOX network. This movie had Paul McCann played the Doctor. It was the only time he played the role.
5. In 2005 Doctor Who returned to British television with Christopher Eccleston as the Ninth Doctor and Billie Piper as his companion, Rose tyler. The second and third season of the new Doctor Who, David Tennant took on the role of Doctor Who becoming the Tenth Doctor. Billie Piper remained for the second season, but Freema Agyeman became the companion, Martha Jones, for the third season.
6. The previous eight are: William Hartnell (1963-1966), Patrick Troughton (1966-1969), Jon Pertwee (1970-1974), Tom Baker (1974-1981), Peter Davison (1981-1984), Colin Baker (1984-1986), Sylvester McCoy (1986-1989), and Paul McGann (1996).
