The Off Topic

Anything but headphones. Commentary on the whichness of the why. Don’t flame. Be interesting.

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Anthony Bourdain. RIP. People ask why.
It was A Perfect Day for Bananafish

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One of my most favorite of tv hosts(selling him short with this comment, big fan of all he did and represented)… I’m drinking some drams tonight…for those that burn hot and fast!

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We’ve lost too many good ones this year. Not just Bourdain.

Tom Wolfe. I’ve heard him lecture, but first there was The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test. RIP Tom. May you meet your friend Hunter S Thompson in that part of the universe where the peyote just starts to take hold.

And Philip Roth. Another great writer.

And now John McCain. I didn’t always agree with him, and he might not have always been the sharpest knife in the drawer, but he was always honorable and honest. A Mensch. We need more like you.

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Well put. Many people gain broad admiration for their talent, or their charisma or their achievements. Fewer gain it for their service to others, though for them my admiration runs deepest.

They’re out there, toiling away in underpaid and thankless positions, making positive impacts on the lives that they touch. Their egos too small to call them into public life, our society too often overlooks them in our search for heroes and leaders, but they’re out there.

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Last night, on NBC when they show the rerun of some SNL episode, they showed the famous November 20, 1976 Thanksgiving episode. I remember watching this when it first aired. Barbara and I were about a month from getting married, and we laughed at Paul Simon doing his monologue dressed as a turkey.

The music was great, with Paul Simon and George Harrison singing together – “Here Comes the Sun” and “Homeward Bound”. Dan Akroyd did a mock interview of Simon, confusing him with a union leader of the same name, and then with Neil Simon. Jane Curtin and family chewed Quarry, a cereal made from rocks. It was as funny now as it was then.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZp25RIhZ0E for the full episode - it costs, but you can also find free clips.

Today I had to stream some Simon and Garfunkel. That’s my era. Those were the soundtracks of my life.

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I have just re-read the community guidelines and noticed that it mentions not to sign your posts. I am sorry I hadn’t noticed this rule and I will now cease putting my name at the bottom of my posts.

P.s

Sorry if ive posted this in the wrong thread I didn’t really know where else to put it.

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we are going to have to put you on probation. no listening to headphones for 2 hours.

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Hehe yeah, nevermind. I hadn’t seen it and I have read through it before. Oh well. I have been doing it in various forums and have done it for ages. It just didn’t occur to me that it would bother anyone. No one has complained either. At least on this forum. But I don’t want to incur the wrath of @Torq. :grin:.

Oh, by the way regarding my Pioneer Dap I have only just discovered the battery saving mode that shuts down most services in the background. What am I like. :crazy_face:. I have disabled most programs but to miss this feature, I don’t know I must be getting absent minded.

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No worries!

I’d only be bothered if people started listing their gear as a signature - as that significantly impacts the usefulness of the search function.

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Just for fun
Can anyone identify who is in this picture? (A self portrait)
And can you identify the camera?

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Is this the origin of the selfie?

Good guess. It is in a mirror.

Hint - the person is famous in the film industry. Actually, this photo is also.

What decade is the picture from?

I would guess 70’s to early 80s. The camera is older.

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That’s Stanley Kubrick.

The camera is a Leica III - though I can’t tell if it’s a “c” or an “f” model (I have one, somewhere …).

The lens is, I believe, a 50mm f/2 “Summitar”.

He took that picture in 1949, and he started his career as a street photographer, if I remember correctly.

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I was just about to say that yes it’s Stanley Kubrick. :grin:

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Exactly right. It’s a IIIf a model I coveted when I was still willing to develop film.

Now I just send my phone to Kodak to develop the pictures…

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A friend of mine (near Chicago) is a big train buff. He’s certified on historic locomotives, and also in the dining car. Here’s a recent video from his FB page. I think it’s from the IRM (Interstate Railway Museum) south of Chicago, one of their steam locomotives in the snow.

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