'Wanting to be someone else, is a waste of the person you are.'
- Kurt Cobain
nat.rain@gmail.com
Tuesday, October 31, 2017
Thursday, August 10, 2017
I recently acquired an old NFL coffee table book (Pro Football Experience: David Boss). A cool collection of NFL photos from early-mid 1970s (Tarkenton-era Vikings, St Louis Cards @ Busch stadium, etc). Book is broken in to chapters depicting stages of the game.. Pre-game rituals and prayers, in-game action, halftime. Photos viscerally re-create the mood of being at the stadium and/or on the astroturf. Good read for fans of the NFL and sports history. I noticed, how formal fans were circa 1973; families in collar shirts & nice pants. Fast-forward to the 80s & fans in Cleveland were chewing on Milk Bones & the Raiders' Black Hole looked like the Thunderdome. The Pro Football Experience is a visual capsule of a time & place in pro football.
Monday, May 22, 2017
Tuesday, May 9, 2017
Good co-authored (auto)biography on Lou Scheimer. Scheimer was a prolific, pioneering cartoon artist & producer. Book gives a detailed account of Scheimer's career, includes a lot of Scheimer's early, personal artwork thru his professional jobs & creations. I liked the chapter on the '70s animated Star Trek series, was pretty sophisticated for a Saturday morning cartoon, and included/expanded a lot of original Star Trek's actors & canon. Netflix is currently carrying the series.
The Scheimer shows that probably influenced and entertained me the most were Fat Albert & the original (He-Man) Masters of the Universe. Scheimer shares behind-the-scenes anecdotes from the development of Cosby's Fat Albert.
This building in Reseda housed Scheimer's old Filmation studio. I didn't realize the building's history when I was working close by in Encino, circa mid-2ooos. It's hard to picture an era, when Reseda's streets were clean.
I remember He-Man's intro screen lit up like this.. unaware of the history & hard work Scheimer, Hal Sutherland, and Filmation had put into cartoon development and syndication.
Sunday, February 5, 2017
I used to look out at the Hollywood sign from my living room window every morning. Guess that view helped spark my pointless interest in Hollywood history.
I recently finished a good read: The Hollywood Sign (Leo Braudy), that details the ups & downs of the Hollywoodland (turned Hollywood) sign, and it's surrounding, sordid namesake.
Detailed, but still concise, timeline of how the Hollywood neighborhood was developed, and how Hollywood evolved into the nerve center of American movie making. It also touches on famous events related to the sign (like the tragic 1932 suicide of actress Peg Entwistle., it's believed she hurled herself off the top of the 'H'.)
(1992. Ross Perot supporters temporarily jacked the sign.)
The sign's a very cool, unexpected icon. Designed as a simple advertisement, that became a universal icon. Braudy documents how the sign's story parallels Hollywood's surprising ascent, and fluctuating public attitudes toward both the sign and the movie industry.
Far back as the '20s, Hollywood was already earning a reputation for devouring the dreams of young, aspiring stars..
nat.rain@gmail.com
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