Friday, September 24, 2010

Uncle Lou (& Earl)

Aloha!

Come in for (what I hope is) an interesting post today:




" A truly heartfelt homage to Dean. . .

Effective use of Louis Clyde Stoumen’s “photo motion” technique to incorporate archival photographs into a documentary film. . .


Must See?
Yes, for its cinematic interest. "

Says FilmFanatic.org

<>



Yeah, Uncle Lou (actually my husband's uncle)
was an Oscar winning director!
He collaborated with Marlene Dietrich on a documentary once.
As well as many others.



<>





Louis Clyde Stoumen,
Times Square


But he is also remembered as an important 20th Century photographer
right up there with all the famous names you know.


More HERE



Today,
mostly serious students of photography,
and of film,
remember him:

WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

Schedule and synopses from 2009

UCLA Film & Television Archives press release:

Thursday, March 26
7:30 p.m.
Preservation funded by The Film Foundation
THE NAKED EYE
(1957, Louis Clyde Stoumen)
Director Louis Clyde Stoumen
’s evocative documentary on the art and history of photography begins with a quote from Ecclesiastes—“Truly the light is sweet…”—before a quick recounting of the medium’s 100-year technical development. From there, Stoumen sharpens focus with extended narrative sequences on key artists. Alfred Eisenstaedt and Weegee are each featured while the second half is largely devoted to Edward Weston. In addition to traditional live-action footage, Stoumen, who taught film production classes at UCLA, brought scores of stills to life using a technique he called "photographic animation," predating Ken Burns’ signature style by decades.


Camera Eye Pictures, Inc. PROD/SCR/CINE/ED: L. C. Stoumen. CAST: Raymond Massey, Weegee, Edward Weston, Brett Weston, Cole Weston.
35mm, 71 min.

Feature preceded by:

Preservation funded by The Stanford Theatre Foundation
THE BRIDGE: A TRUE STORY OF A TROUBLED CHILD
(1958, Louis Clyde Stoumen, Abram D. Murray)
Stoumen's short dramatic film about an emotionally troubled boy.
Camera Eye Pictures, Inc. PROD: Bernice Block. SCR: Alan Marcus. CINE: Edward R.
Martin. ED: Harry Robin. Narrator: Robert Ryan. CAST: Hugh Corcoran, Biff Elliot,
Beverly Dvorett.
35mm, approx. 27 min.

Preservation funded by The Stanford Theatre Foundation
WEDLOCK
(1950, Louis Clyde Stoumen, Ed Spiegel)
An experimental short co-directed by Stoumen while he was a graduate student at USC.
35mm, 4 min.

*IN PERSON: Nancy Mysel, Film Preservationist, UCLA Film & Television Archive.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV


<>


My own uncle, Dad's black sheep elder brother, Earl
was a small time Hollywood producer and bar owner.

He is interred at Forrest Lawn next to Al Jolson
and is chiefly remembered for throwing Earl Flynn
out of his bar.

Internet Movie Data Base has nothing on Earl
unless this character in a gangster movie is based on him
(Could be. Who knows?)


I only met Uncle Earl once when I was a young kid.


I remember that he was proud of being a Mason
and got visibly angry when asked about Mr. Flynn
all those years later.

"Asshole!" He'd growl.

Only later did I learn that the actor was reviled by many
as an anti-Semite and all around jerk.

He was no Johnny Depp!


Next week:
A picture of my ancestors fresh off the boat from Europe.
Even the WOMEN had beards!

Thursday, September 23, 2010

One On Me

Aloha Friend!

Come In :)


3 O'Clock Crack,
see it?
(click to enlarge)



The Hilton hotel next door erected this sculpture a while back.

Way too soon, a crack had developed.

One day I was walking along, and two very competent looking
fellows were examining and apparently discussing the flaw.

Never one to allow ignorance of the facts
to deter me from voicing an opinion
(what else is a blogger, or writer, or whatever it is that I am?)
I chimed in:

"This area of Waikiki has lots of
MANA,
and this piece was not made by a local Hawaiian artist
but by someone from the continent; Hence the visible
"criticism."


"This guy IS the artist," said one of them, indicating the other,
"and he's from Moloka`i.

You probably shouldn't speak

when you don't know -
But you're right:
there is a lot of MANA
here."


A quick flush of embarrassment changed unexpectedly

to epiphany.

I agreed simply, and thanked them both.

In fact, I appreciated his kindly finding something to agree with me about.

He was truly correcting me, not just WINNING at my expense.




It felt deliciously liberating to laugh at my know-it-all self!









"If you have no critics,

you’ll likely have no success."




Malcolm X








A while later, it had turned into a work-site.
We're lucky!
The artist (possibly remembering my interest and humility)
is inviting us inside to have a look. See him holding the door?








"When you have faults,

do not fear to abandon them."


Confucius




It's a big job to repair a piece of art THIS big and heavy!


><>



"The essence of knowledge is, in having it: to apply it;

in not having it: to confess your ignorance."




"Even when walking in the company of two others,

I am bound to be able to learn from them.

The good points of the one I copy;

the bad points of the other I correct in myself."



All K'ung Fu-tzu quotes today


<><


To me, a conspicuous lack of simple humility
is a HUGE red flag.
A warning of ignorance and illusion.


Competent people who know a few things and who can accomplish a few things always behave simply without fanfare.


Pity we seem to have forgotten this.
How many true artists do we overlook every day
in gazing at mere performers?


And that's my humble opinion for today.


Thanks for visiting, please leave a comment :)


Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Makana Means 'Gift'

Aloha!
Come on in. . .




Nice day for a drive. . .




"The car has become a secular sanctuary for the individual,

his shrine to the self, his mobile Walden Pond. "


Edward McDonagh








Look! In the next car. It's Makana!


His friend asks if I always have a camera ready.

Silly boy. Of course I do;

I'm a BLOGGER!



Here's the young genius to play for YOU:

(beep beep!)





Thank YOU for your visit today!

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Sweet Victory

Aloha to
YOU!



Here in Hawaii we get out and WAVE at our neighbors
to support our candidates





"Be ashamed to die

until you have won some victory for humanity."



Horace Mann







"Life is like Stepping onto a boat

which is about to sail out to sea

and sink"

-- Suzuki Roshi, Zen master








"There is no better argument against democracy


than a five-minute conversation the common man…"


-- Winston Churchill







"I said a lot of stupid things

when I was with the Conservative Party,

and I left them,

because I did not want to go on saying stupid things."

-- Winston Churchill








"Sunlight is the best disinfectant."



- Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis


><>


The only thing more futile than voting

is not voting.




It is our responsibility

to be aware of what's going on

and to advocate for the good.




We disagree on what IS "good"
but by debate
we arrive at agreement.




Yeah, right!




Politics is about world-view
and the power to make it happen.



Here in Hawaii

where the principle of

"ALOHA"

is enshrined in our law

there is less,

or should I say:


more
subtle negative campaigning.



Negative campaigning can even backfire here.


With this year, we are ending (YaY!!!)


two terms


of an extremely disappointing, destructive,


and divisive governor.




During the heat of recent politics (Bush! Terrorism! War!)


this liar


who told us that she was focused on our majority Democratic island State


spent much of her time away from us campaigning for Republicans


on the mainland.


Meanwhile, economic storm clouds swept in


and the next thing we knew:


Furlough Fridays for our schools!




Long time Hawaii congressman, Neil Abercrombie,


a University of Hawaii alum like myself,


who was a fellow student and friend


of the president's parents,


(and who knew Barack as a little boy)


has come home to Hawaii to run for governor.





He won the primary last Saturday!


With my help :)



We are looking forward


to doing some things differently


after uncle Neil and cousin Brian


defeat our lieutenant gov who is taking his turn


at the head of his party's ticket.




Neil will win


and it will be a new beginning for our state.



Yeah, I know.


Life will not be perfect,


but I feel welcome in Neil's campaign


as I have felt alienated from a frustrating administration for 8 years.


His ideas, including civil rights for ALL,


make sense to me.


On to victory in 6 weeks!








"You can't change things by force,

only by making the things you want to change seem obsolete."

-- Buckminster Fuller








Have a look at how we do things:









Every campaign event has food, lei, hugging and entertainment. Here's Willie K singing to a charged-up crowd:






Monday, September 20, 2010

Reframe, Refrain

Aloha Web Traveler

Come rest on da beach:


"Man does not live by words alone

despite the fact that he sometimes has to eat them."

Adlai Stevenson





"A certain recluse, I know not who,

once said that no bonds attached him to this life,

and the only thing he would regret leaving was the sky."

Kenko Yoshida





"The longer we dwell on our misfortunes,


the greater is their power to harm us."



- Voltaire







Situations arise
and resolve
but stress is forever:
attaching to your gut,
pulling down your heavenly head.


Regretted & fretted actions
continue to ripple out
even after we regret
and forget
them.

We post-moderns are action people
if there's a problem
we DO something about it.

"Proactive = good,
passive = bad"


But I am realizing, as perhaps you suspect,
that 99% of the world's problems
come from doing -

and that refraining

is oft the best policy.


Like the hospital patient
whose friend came to visit,
the visitor a tornado of fidget:
plump the pillow!
call the nurse!
But instead of helping, it
only made the patient feel worse.


At last the ill patient
lost his patience

as he said to his busy friend:

"Thanks for coming to visit,
but don't just DO something
STAND THERE!"

And so should we all
stand where we are.

Glad you came by today
to stand with me!


Warmly, cloudia

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Urge For Going

Welcome!

click on today's song:






This time of year,

my thoughts turn to turning.

Seasons of the year,

seasons of life,

turn,

turn,

turn. . . .





In my head I can hear the celestial honking.

They always thrilled, taught and comforted me

when I was young.

They reminded me that time passes,

and that I would move on someday

like them.








And so I have....to a tropic island.

Far Far Away...








But childhood things remain a vital part of this island girl.


New beginnings, new chances, things & people passed...



The Doors Of Repentance (shown above)

are open in love at this moment.


May we all go through

in good fellowship


together.



Amen.




Thanks to Dina @
Jerusalem Daily Photo

Friday, September 17, 2010

Honolulu Morning

Aloha Kakahiaka!

Morning kisses Honolulu

"Probably the happiest period in life

most frequently is in middle age,

when the eager passions of youth are cooled,

and the infirmities of age not yet begun;

as we see that the shadows,

which are at morning and evening so large,

almost entirely disappear at midday."



Eleanor Roosevelt








Sea & Sky sigh. . .

"When I woke up this morning my girlfriend asked me,

'Did you sleep good?'

I said "No, I made a few mistakes."



Steven Wright








Spirits Soar. . .

"A person is a success if they get up in the morning

and get to bed at night

and in between

does what he wants to do."



Bob Dylan

Other spirits slumber in their tiny home. . .


"One morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas.

How he got into my pajamas I'll never know."



Groucho Marx

Look at these two. . .



"Just in terms of allocation of time resources,

religion is not very efficient.

There's a lot more I could be doing on a Sunday morning."



Bill Gates



Aloha Kakahiaka Good Morning!


"Prayer is the key of the morning

and the bolt of the evening."



Mohandas Gandhi




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Thank YOU

for visiting!
cloudia