A 30 Day Challenge. Monday's Music Moves Me... Music of Inspiration.

Well hello once again from my revised Man Cave, expect constant changes, this place was too dark for too long.  Felt musty and closed in, so I am making lots of changes.

Not sure which day this is in my 30 day challenge, but will let everyone know before I post this,

This week is all about music that can inspire you, so I as always am looking at this from my own unique perspective.  Mainly because many types of music can inspire me, so that is what you will find here.  

And there will be a tribute at the end of this to one of the most inspirational actors I have enjoyed in my life, that being Mr. Larry Hagman, who passed on of Cancer this weekend at 81.  Okay, since I already put this, I will put his tribute first then go into inspirational music.

For me, I will always associate Larry Hagman as J.R. Ewing the cunning and devious Oil Barron of Dallas.  So Larry, this is in honor of you.

One last tribute to Larry Hagman.  J.R. gives his golden rules, well worth noting.

Now onto some of my favorite music, that does inspire me.

One of the most inspirational songs I know, and starting out with Bag Pipes, the way it should.  If you know me, you know I am a huge fan of STAR TREK.  

That being said, I need not say more as to what piece of music this is.

I was introduced to this song, in the 1970's when I saw a with David Jansen, the movie was called Birds of Prey and it used this piece of music as the main title theme.  I fell in love with the song and it has been an anthem to me that no matter how hard it can be, you can get through things.

This is a fun version of a song that has always inspired me.  What makes this fun is the pairing and how well this unexpected duet works out.  That and this version is better than the original by the Chairman of the board, old Blue eyes... and that is saying something.

So there you have it, my inspirational music and a tribute to J.R. aka Larry Hagman.
See you all next week.

A 30 DAY CHALLENGE... Mondays' Music Moves Me

Well it is my favorite time, freebee week.  Cause I get to let my imagination go wild.

This time I am starting with one of my favorite singers of all time, Mr. Paul McCartney with one of my favorite songs... Let them in.

Oh did I mention, this was a movie I made using the music of Paul McCartney and photos of my extended family.  Sneaky eh?

Now onto something completely different.  And no, it's not Monthy Pythons' Flying Circus. either.

This was one of my all time favorite video's from the 1980s' and another favorite Singer.  Adam Ant and Goody Two Shoes.  One of the hottest videos of all time.

No Gophers allowed on Golf courses.  Ever....   Kenny Loggins, I'm Alright... Seriously.

This last one, was a song that I grew up with in the 1960's which got a new  lease on life in the 1990's when Pierce Brosnan made a remake of a classic movie.  The movie.  The Thomas Crown Affair, the song The Windmills of your Mind.

So there you have it, another unique musical journey from the Man Cave.  Hope you all enjoy.

A 30 DAY CHALLENGE Mondays Music Moves Me.

Kids show themes, I have been a kid longer than an adult, ask anyone who knows me.

One show that I thought was a kids program was the Original Bill Cosby Show, which ran in the mid 1960's and I do not mean Fat Albert, that was a different Cosby show all together.

Next up a show where you a bit blue.

Then of course there were some mutant ninjas too.

Hey hey hey...

A 30 DAY CHALLENGE IN MEMORY OF THE FLYING TIGERS

In the beginning of World War 2 the odds seemed dark for the United States after the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor.  It seemed that in most theaters the United States was caught time and again unprepared.  

This was except in one place, in China.  Here a handful of American Volunteers were not just holding their own, but beginning to turn the tide.  These men became legends and to this day are known by the name given to them, by the people of China.  They were The Flying Tigers, and were American Volunteers who served from November 1941 until July 3rd 1942, the next day they became part of the United States Army Air Force.

This is dedicated to those men and all veterans who have served and are serving defending their land.

 General Claire Lee Chennault, leader of the Flying Tigers

 P-40 and Pilots.  P-40 made nose landing.

 Two shots of P-40 that had crashed while landing.  Second photo shows P-40 that flipped on its' back during a landing.

 P-40's on air field ready to take off at a moments notice.

 Chief opponent of the Flying Tigers the Ki-27 Nate,

 Ground crew and Pilots of a P-40

Ready for a mission.

30 DAY CHALLENGE DAY 8 They[re everywhere.

I am not an alarmist, if you ask anyone they will tell you that usually I am a very calm and relaxed individual, that does not believe in conspiricies.

However, when it comes to Penguins, I am convinced there is a conspiricy concerning these flightless non existing creatures.

Why do I say they do not exist, because to me they do not.  They are imaginarry creatures created by my mother in law,

You see, I know she is the queen of the Penguins and is plotting to take over the world.

I mean since I met her, I have seen these creatures everywhere I go.

When I was working at a call center a year ago, one of the employees came in wearing a Penguin hat.  When I moved to Aurora and started going to the library, what did I see.  A set of encyclopedias with these creatures on them.  Every encyclopedia.

So when I went to the Cherry Creek Mall, on Tuesday, for a Job interview, what did I see? 

Not just one respresentation of these creatures three,

So here are my photos proving this conspiricy is reality.  Be careful they are everywhere.


See how cute he looks, so innocent.  Evil Penguin, not to be trusted.

 Here is one of the dread creatures trying to convince me he is my friend, at Our Lady of the Snows last Christmas.  I pretended to believe him, but I was on guard the whole time.


See how they have become part of the decorations at the Cherry Creek Mall this Holiday season?  They are taking over.

First day at the Aurora Public Library in August of this year what do I see?  The dread creatures on a book, okay, it's an encyclopedia, but none the less.  My first day in the city I am living now?  There is no such thing as a coincidence.

Beware, the Penguins are everywhere, they have come to take over the world.

Just remember this began with Tomatoes,,,,

A 30 DAY CHALLENGE Day 7 Photos of Beauty FALL

These photos have been taken over the past several weeks, they are at the Aurora Public Library.

More to follow.

A 30 Day Challenge Day 6 Poetry from the well

For anyone who has followed me, you know that I express myself in many ways, by doing reviews of books, movies and television series.

Sharing my photography and my love of scale model building.

But I also write poetry, now it has been a while since last I posted, and unfortunately I lost the majority of my most recent poetry in a computer accident about a year ago.  

So what follows is a poem I wrote today, it is dedicated to the airmen of the United States Army Air Forces, the British Royal Air Force,  the Italian Air Force, and the German Luftwaffe of World War Two.

It was inspired by an episode of the old television series "12 O-Clock High" that I had seen on Me TV a few weeks back.

So for all the veterans out there, this is for you.

They  were young, full of passion and belief in their countries.  Fighting to defend their homelands, or to set nations free.

Flying against overwhelming odds in daring daylight raids over Berlin, Normandy, Rome and Benghazi.

Defending their homeland and its’ conquered lands.

In planes called Flying Fortress, Liberator, Marauder and Mitchell.  Flying most of the time unescorted into places that seemed to be a living hell.

Flack exploding around them, planes firing their deadly weapons.

Focke Wulfs, and Messerschmitts along with Fiats, and Cants  and Macchis’  screaming in to destroy their enemies. 

Then there were those intrepid lads who flew in the pitch black of night.  Only catching a glimpse of the enemy they did fight.

Sterlings, Wellingtons, Landcasters, Hallifaxes and Mosquitos  piercing the cold blackness that covered Europe like a thick blanket.

Dodging the deadly Messerschmitts and Junker s that would sneak in against their prey and silently blow them away.

Four years this campaign did go on, from dusk til dawn.

But in the end there would be only the allied victory.  Many men did pay the price with their lives, so those who did survive would be free.  Free from the darkness of terrany.

Original poem by Tamirisc of the Man Cave.  Thursday November 8th, 2012.

A 30 DAY CHALLENGE Day 5 it's all about BOND, James Bond.

Sorry for the delay, however I had a little thing called voting and a job interview intervene yesterday.  That being said, it's onto to blog for yesterday.

I mentioned in my post for Monday, that I have loved movies since I was about six years old, I also mentioned one of the first films I saw in living color was a James Bond Film.

Well this is all about Bond.

Since I was six, I have been drawn into the world of James Bond, I sat on the edge of my seat when I saw "The World is Not Enough" with Pierce Brosnan on the large screen several years back, and it was for the same reason I had sat there wide eyed as a six year old... Because Bond rocks!

Okay, had to get that out, no it was more than that.  It had to do with the fact that Bond had a sense of cool aloofness always present, he was a ladies man and drove the coolest cars and had the neatest toys.

But there was still more than this, it was the actor who played the part.  Whether it be Barry Nelson or Bob Holness 
or Christopher Cazenove each brought a unique quality to the part.

What?  Who are Barry Nelson, Bob Holness and Christopher Cazenove?  They were all actors who played the legendary James Bond.  What, you never heard of any of them?  Well there is a reason for that.  

Barry Nelson was an American actor who played James Bond for the very first time in 1954, on the Climax Mystery Theater presentation of Casino Royale on CBS.  It was a one hour black and white adaptation and can be fond as a bonus disc in the 1967 Bond spoof Casino Royale.

Barry Nelson as Bond, James Bond.  1954 

Bob Holness was an actor in South Africa who provided the voice of James Bond in the 1956 Radio adaptation of Ian Flemmings' MOONRAKER, unfortunately for everyone, the radio broadcast was live so there were no recordings made.

Between 1962  and 1967 the most beloved or perhaps the first beloved actor to play James bond came on the screen.  That being Connery, Sean Connery, who won over the hearts and minds of every red blooded American male and caused many women world wide to have dreams.

One of the classic scenes from a Bond movie.  When Bond is confronted by Goldfinger and his laser of death.

In 1964, we had a glimpse at the future, although at the time, no one could know this.  For Moore, Roger Moore played James Bond in a 7 minute sketch that appeared in the comedy sketch show Mainly Millicent.

Although David Nivven played James Bond in the satire of Casino Royale, most fans and for that matter BBC America, do not consider this as part of the official Bond legacy, so moving onto.

Lazenby, George Lazenby who in 1969 took the mantle for one film.  Not because he was bad as Bond, as a matter of fact In Her Majestys Secret Service was one of the top grossing Bond films of all times.  

Why wasn't Lazenby in a slew more?  Because he had listened to his agent, who told him not to sign a multi film deal because he did not see much of a future for the Bond franchise, he felt they were a fading interest.  How wrong his agent was.

In 1971 Sean Connery came back to reprise the role.  He was paid $1.25 million plus an estimated 12.5% of the profits for his appearance in Diamonds are forever.  He was paid this much because United Artists had already sold part of the films proceedings to investors.  It would not be Connerys' last appearance as Bond.

From 1973 to 1985 Roger Moore played the role.   There are two mindsets concerning Moore's portrayal.

A He played it as satire and had some of the most bizarre opponents that fit no where into the world of James Bond, and belonged more in the camp world of Doctor Who.

Or B: He was light comedy for most of the films he did, until someone serious could be cast in the role.

Or C:  I know, I said two mindsets, but there is a third.  That the Roger Moore Bond films simply do not exist, that you have Lazeny, Connery and then Christopher Cazenove.

I know, you are saying Christopher Who?  Christopher Cazenove like Barry Nelson, played bond on Television.  This time a BBC series titled Omnibus, the British Hero which was a documentary and Littery review type series.  He acted out several scenes including the famous scene from Goldfinger.

In 1983 Connery came back officially for the last time as Bond, in "Never Say Never Again", a redo of his 1971 film "Diamonds are Forever."  Never say Never is considered the worst Bond film that Connery did, and in reality neither Sean Connery or the official producers of the Bond films consider this to exist.   

That being said, we move onto Timothy Dalton, who played the role only in two movies in 1987's 'The Living Daylights" and 1989's "License to Kill."  Legal matters kept Dalton from doing more Bond films, which he had wanted to do.

The man who would be Bond, Pierce Brosnan.  Who had been offered the role of James Bond originally in 1986, after his series "Remmington Steele" had been canceled   

However once his being picked as the new James Bond broke, this changed.  Remmington Steele was brought back for what many fans felt was the worst of the series, and Brosnan had to wait 9 years to get the part he was meant to play.

This worked to his advantage, it gave Brosnan the opportunity to develop his craft in several movies including a remake of "The Thomas Crown Affair".

From 1995 to 2002  Brosnan played Bond.  My favorite movie was his first "Golden Eye" it has some of the best dialogue of any of the Bond films and sets Bond up in a love hate relationship with M skillfully played by Dame Judy Dench.

Best scene in the whole movie, had to include this.  This scene goes out to my friend Morgan.

The most recent Bond, took a little getting used to.  He is not as dashing or handsome as the others have been, he is a bit gritty and cold in how he comes across, and yet he has managed to win over many fans and bring in new viewers to the Bond legacy.

Daniel Craig has been James Bond since 2006 and his third epic "Skyfall" just recently opened.  He launched the franchise all over with a very dark version of Casino Royale, all the gags from the David Nivven version were gone, the film was an emotional roller coaster and explained how Miss Moneypenny got her name and how the relationship began between her and bond.

Bond and Her Majesty.  For the opening ceremonies for the Summer Olympics this year.

So there you have it, the men who have been Bond, and a bit more than you knew before about the actors who played the part.  So the next time you sit back and watch your favorite Bond, whether it be Connery, Lazenby, Dalton, Brosnan or Craig, just remember this post.

Now onto other things.

Mondays Music Moves Me

This is music I discovered for last weeks Halloween theme, that did not fit, but I decided I would use.  The first is a music video featuring a cross over between Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Harry Potter, it is quite ingenious

Another view of love.  A classic from one of my favorite groups of the 1970's and early 1980s.

Remember the Bangles?

To conclude a fantastic song, by a group that had only two albums, but did more with those two albums than some who have been around for thirty years.  Savage Garden finishes this off with Affirmation.  A song that becomes more valid the older you become.

A 30 DAY CHALLENGE DAY 4 Movies move me too.

Movies have been part of my life since I was five years old, one of the first movies I saw was the original Frankenstein with Borris Karlof.  I remember being scared by the black and white film.  

Another classic film that was one that I strongly felt for the victim of was THE WOLFMAN.  Lon Chaney was so haunted and wished only to human and not the creature he had been forced into becoming.

The same year, 1966 I remember turning on the tv Saturday morning and seeing the old Buck Rogers serial with Buster Crabbe, although being six years old and with the space program being broadcast every week, or so it seemed, I thought that Buck Rogers was real.

The first Color movie I saw was with my brother, it starred a British actor by the name of Connery, Sean Connery.  After the movie my brother did a wheeley just like Bond did in the movie.

I saw a lot of movies between 1967 and 1977.  Among them were.  The Sound of Music

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

The Blue Max

In 1972, I saw a double feature of two of the most powerful Science Fiction movies.  The first was Silent Running, a movie set aboard a agrocultural ship in deep space, all of the Earths crops are aboard, these ships after a nuclear war.  The ships have been recalled to Earth and their domes with crops are to sent into space and destroyed.  This is the set up for SILENT RUNNING.

The second movie starred Arthur Hill as a scientist, at a secret  government facility, who is exploring the death of a small town after the reentry of a space probe.  The film was the original version of THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN.

 Three years before I saw a film that was too close to reality, a movie titled Marooned, about an Apollo command and service module stranded in Earth orbit after being on a long term Skylab mission.  The book was based on a 1962 book.  The fact this movie came out one year before the Apollo 13 mission was one of those moments where life nearly imitated art.

I enjoyed  many other films, but these were the ones that got me hooked and had some form of impact on me.  They told stories and made me feel.  Something that can be rare today.

Movies have and always will be part of my life.