You Only Live Twice

The fourth James Bond movie, You Only Live Twice, was on the agenda for tonight. It was made in 1967 right at the height of the Cold War between the Bear and the Eagle. The space race was being run. Man had not stepped on the moon. Set at that time, our man James, must find out who is capturing both American and Soviet missiles. The suspect is in Japan. Cutting to the chase, James finds the evil doer--Spectre--and saves the day. The story works if you put yourself into the right time frame. 

The movie is very typical James Bond. The setting is exotic. The beginning of the movie takes place in Hong Kong but most of the action takes place in Japan. Hong Kong and the  Ginza in 1967 is not nearly as glitzy as they were when I last saw them. If you see the movie, try to pay close attention to the locations as they are interesting. In addition, there are lots of pretty girls in skimpy costumes.

Now for the bad news. Everything that deals with space is not believable. The graphics are laughable. The spaceship models are wrong. The "futuristic" look does not work any more. The audience, 49 years later is very sophisticated. Tin mini-models of rockets just don't "cut it" anymore. 

Should you watch the movie? Of course you should. It's a great escape into another reality that will give you a good laugh.

Sunny Afternoon

What do some folks do on a sunny afternoon? We usually go for drives...but others are 

...learning how to kayak. 

One thing for sure...they are not using the traditional boat ramp facility as it's way above the water line.

Trees I'm Watching

On January 23, I posted a picture of brown and dying conifers. Today I walked past those trees and discovered

...this. The trees needed to be cut down as they were dead. It's just sad to see.

It's an old giant that could not adapt to the drought. On the other hand, the valley oak trees are more adapted to years of drought and seem to be doing better, at least in the Park. 

Make A Blanket Day

Saturday is "Make a Blanket Day." Project Linus in concert with various craft stores has events planned for Saturday. There is a "blanket-in" at a Sacramento area Joann's store. Michael's and Joann's have sales on yarn. Project Linus is asking for folks to crochet or knit at their local craft store to encourage folks to give to worthy causes. As you know, I've crocheted hundreds of blankets for Project Linus over the years. It's a good thing.

If you want to participate in Make a Blanket Day and you have yarn that has never been used, and don't know what to do with it, contact a local Project Linus chapter and it will be happy to take it off of your hands. Most of the blankets I make are from donated yarn scraps...and the blankets turn out really pretty. (At least I think they do.)

It's Irish

The seventh blanket of 2016 is finished just in time for St. Patrick's Day. It's green!

I love the way this blanket turned out. I had several small balls of different color green yarn.  I was trying to think of a good way to meld them together when I came up the 5 row white motif to separate the different colors. Now they look like they belong together instead of just so many different colors. This is going to make someone a very nice lap blanket.

Goldfinger and Thunderball

We bought a small collection of James Bond DVDs which are proving to be fun to watch. Recently we saw Goldfinger and Thunderball. Goldfinger is probably the most famous of the two movies, yet it has a story that does not hold together and is filled with quite of few logical gaps. It does have the naked girl painted in gold, which made quite a splash 52 years ago. Trouble is we've seen so much more "ugly" stuff between then and now. The music is still good. As a romp, it's good clean fun.

Thunderball has a story that ties together. There are not a lot of lapses in the plot line and the story still works, even now, 51 years later. Sadly, the threat of a nuclear bomb being exploded in a major American city is still on the radar screen. The action is OK but it involves underwater feats of daring do. For me, underwater action does not have the same pizzazz as a good car chase on a windy mountain road. The movie won an Oscar for special effects, long before computer animation came along. I wonder how many of the Bond repertoire won Oscars?

When looking at old movies it's always fun to see how things have changed. What was considered cool then is not necessarily cool now. Women just do not have the same "figures" they had in the 60s. Today women are slim and sleek; while their counterparts of 50 years ago had a lot more curves. Given that, there are no x-rated scenes in either movie, but there are a lot of x-rated "hints." Leaving stuff to your imagination is always better, IMHO. Clothing styles in the 60s were more elegant and formal (at least to me). Then as now, James is always dressed in the latest, best, most sexy fashion of the time. 

Hair styles were far more constructed. James has some sort of slicked down 'do that you will not find on anyone today. Imagine putting your fingers in his hair and coming up with sticky goo. The women wore serious up-dos plastered together with a ton of hairspray. There is no way that hairspray could be broken! 

Then there are the cars. Big, finny, American cars all over the world, from Paris, Rome, and London to the Bahamas. Stretched Lincoln limos, classy Cadillacs, fast Mustangs (remember in 1964 a Mustang was brand new and every kid wanted one) fill the landscape with glamour and luxury. As a time capsule these movies are a blast from my past. 

More Duds

I'm really not trying to take bad pictures, but that seems to be what is happening. 

Too many shadows...so I tried to lighten the shadows

...and the picture gets washed out. One more for the trash pile.

This next picture I thought would be interesting. It's framed well. The colors are right...

...it's just boring. It does document how low the lake is, but I have many photos saying the same thing. I guess the only difference between this one and the others I've taken is the amount of green growing in the lakebed. Another one for the trash.

My last "dud" is all about vultures. 

The good part is they have returned to the park. I've only seen a handful this winter and normally I see a handful everyday. These two fellows were on the ground but by the time I got my camera ready, they were in the tree. While I have not been trying to take bad pictures, I have some good examples for my class which is starting in 2 weeks.

Random Stuff

As you might know, I teach a class on photography on cruise ships and to seniors. I always take a lot of pictures so I have stuff to talk about. I try to show my classes both good and bad pictures so they get an idea of what not to do. Here are some of my "duds." 

I thought a horse looking out of his trailer would be interesting...but somehow, it's not. It just looks like a horse head floating in space without anything to support it. Dud!

Morning shadows make me look very tall, but it's not very interesting. Another dud.

I took this for the bumper stickers. Bernie and one side and "masshole" on the other. I have no idea what a masshole is, but maybe that's a description of Bernie? The picture did not work, but the rays of light streaming from the back of the minivan are a complete surprise. They were not visible when I took the picture. Now, if I could take a good picture with those rays of sunshine, it would be a knockout. Yet another dud!

We went for a drive with the sole purpose of finding and taking pictures of horses. Finally, we saw 2 horses, but they were so far away, the picture is useless. We never did see any that were "up close and personal" and we never saw a horse that did not it's head down eating grass. Yep, a dud. 

For a picture to be good, it's needs to be framed well, have a good subject matter, and it needs to make sense. These pictures just don't cut it. I'm sad to report, I have several more, but I'll stop for now.

3 Wheeler

As you know, I like cars, especially old cars and unusual cars. Today I saw a brand new 3 wheeler made by Polaris called the Slingshot.  I don't know what category it falls into...ATV, motorcycle, convertible...a little bit of all. 

It's a two-seater. It's "topless" and looks like there is not a way to put a top on it. It does not have a trunk, so I'm not sure how good it would be as a grocery getter. In fact, I don't know how practical it is, but for sunny Southern California it's a cute little run-about that is probably fun to drive.

A Joseph's Coat

I just finished the sixth blanket of the year. I've been calling it "Joseph's Coat," as it's an explosion of colors ranging from blue to gold to charcoal to ecru to milk chocolate. 

I hope a youngster will like it.

From Russia With Love

In 1963 the second James Bond movie was released. There is a storyline that makes sense, even today. For me, the best part of the movie is the travelogue. Istanbul in the 60s was westernized. There are no covered women and lots of big American cars. You get a tour of the Cistern built by Constantine (the city was once called Constantinople) as well as the famous Grand Bazaar. Take a closer look at the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sofia as they are 60 years newer and shinier than they are now. 

From Istanbul you travel to Venice to see the Doge's Palace and St. Mark's Square from your vaporetto. Then take a lazy gondola ride down a narrow canal. The movie is a time capsule of what these two great cities looked like in 1963. If you are going to travel to the area, see the movie first and get a little taste of the scenery before you go. 

Jalama to Nojoqui*

Yesterday we took a wonderful drive along the coast range 

...to a remote beach of Jalama at Tarantula Bay. The views of the ocean were wonderful...

As you can see, Amtrak goes past the beach.

We watched the waves roll onto the sand...

...and birds surfing on the breeze.

From there we took a back road 

...to Nojoqui. Driving down a narrow lane, we marveled at the trees dripping with "old man's beard." 

The hillsides were covered in a felt of green. It makes your eyes happy just to look at it.

Along the way there were pieces of discarded farm machinery and 

...even a rusted stove. What did they look like when they were new and shiny? How many fields were sown? How many tasty meals were cooked before they were abandoned to the great outdoors?

All too soon, the road widened and we started seeing signs of people. A cattle ranch with these young bulls...each had red brace around their horns. I've seen a lot of cattle but I've never seen any that looked like these. 

When we saw a girl riding her horse we knew we were not too far from town and sure enough, around the next bend we were in Solvang.

*Ha-la-ma and No-Ho-Key

Muggles, Part 2

Yesterday I focused on the "hard sided" campers...today I looked at the tent campers. These folks are the "real deal." They generally do not have any of the mod-cons such as electricity, flush toilets or showers...but they do have a bunch of stuff. (I also noticed a few of these "campers" with generators...which is a no-no to the hard core camper!)

This campsite even has two hammocks strung up in the trees. 

The group campfire...this is the place for everyone to gather at the evenings. Please note there is a small patch of blue...that is what is left of the Lake. 

These folks are roughing it. No generator, just a nice tent, the fire is burning, and coffee is perking away...but as I turned the corner, I noticed all of them were playing with their smartphones. Yes, part of  the park has wifi!

Another lake view campsite. 

This is just about perfect. A nice quiet campsite in the trees...does it get any better.

I know...not a tent camper...but look at all the stuff! 

What I find so interesting about camping are the people. Everyone is friendly. Everyday tensions are gone...people are just enjoying the great outdoors and each other without any harsh words. People are smiling. The kids are laughing. The pets seem happy too. Oh...if reality was like this!

Happy Valentine's Day

Forty-five years ago we were engaged...

And we have been like these two trees ever since...Happy Valentine's Day my Love!

The "Muggles" are Camping

It's a 3 day weekend, so the Muggles are coming to the campground to enjoy the great outdoors. (Harry Potter fans know that Muggles are non-magical people). The Muggles are having a grand time in the Park. They have dragged their campers here...

... found a place to put them...

...where they can have peace and quiet in a low density rural environment.

... they have started to take out their stuff. If you are going to be camping, you have to be outdoors you know...

... this family has brought their spare refrigerator, a few chairs, their own mailbox and welcome sign.

...some people have very tidy campsites. This one has two matching tablecloths.

It's morning, so there are wonderful smells around the campground. It's too bad I cannot add them to the page...just imagine freshly perked coffee, crisp bacon, and pancakes, and you will have a general idea how the Muggles are dealing with the great outdoors. 

Early Spring

The temps are in the mid to high 80s and the flowers are going mad.

The streets of Solvang are lined with trees in bloom. 

And to add to the beauty, the poppies are blooming too. 

The state flower of California is showing off right now.

See January 31

This is another "beginning-middle-end" type of post. On January 23, I posted a picture of a dying conifer. On January 31, I posted a picture of the same location after the tree had been cut down. Today, this is what the "tree" looks like.

Folks who come to the park will have no idea that a 70 foot tree was there. They will not know that the slight turn in the road was due to the tree. It's just so much mulch covering the ground. 

A Red Stripe

The fifth blanket of the year is a brand new pattern for me. In fact, I made up the pattern. It's a combination of gray and blue with a bright red stripe. Blue and gray look good together, but they needed something to perk them up...therefore the red. The blanket is 4 feet long and 3 feet wide, so it's good for a 10 year old. I know it's warm as it's been keeping me cozy while I've been crocheting it. 

Original Play Station

I saw an editorial cartoon that looked just like this picture...who could resist!

Alaska

The time NOT to be in Alaska is now. It's winter. It's cold. Given that, I understand there are going to be Alaskan Snowbirds, I'm just surprised I don't see more. To that end, there's an Alaskan at our park. 

As a collector of license plates, I immediately noticed the new-to-me Alaska license plate. 

It stars a huge Alaska Grizzly Bear. I looked up Alaskan license plates and this is one of the "standard" designs.

Parked next to the Alaskan was a cute vanity plate:

While not a "real" license plate, it is a replica of one of the more creative license plates out there. I have always wanted to go to the North West Territory so I could take a picture of the real thing. The NWT is a long way from everywhere!

Dr. No or James Bond 54 Years Ago

We just saw Dr. No, which I think is the first James Bond film. What a kick. It's a time capsule of what was cool and modern and sexy and high tech 54 years ago! In case you don't remember this story, it's the one where Ursula Andress steps out of the water in a bikini and a knife belt. Haile Berry tried to reprise the role in a later Bond movie, but she just did not compare with the original Ursula. 

The story is shallow. A mysterious man, Dr. No, owns an island in the Caribbearn where strange things happen. Of course, one of the strange things has something to do with a missile launch at Cape Canaveral. James has to sneak onto the island, discover the dastardly thing that is going to happen and stop it.  It played with themes that were important to 1962: fear of nuclear radiation and space travel. James Bond to the rescue and (spoiler alert) the problem is solved. 

Some classic James Bond stunts happen. There is a high speed car chase between a Sunbeam Alpine and an old hearse (the hearse loses). There are several other attempts to kill James (that fail). There are no cell phones or computers, but there are short wave radios and typewriters.

It was fun to see the old cars. It was fun to see Jamaica 50 years ago. It was fun to see Ursula Andress in her best role. It was fun to see how James Bond has evolved in the intervening years. We have 5 more "classic" James Bond films to watch. I hope they will be as much fun as this one was. I'll let you know.

Signs of the Times

What does this really mean?