The Thief...

...Of Bagdad...the 1924 silent movie classic written, produced and financed by the great Douglas Fairbanks.

Ok, so you think silent movies are a hoot...all those old film clips that seem to be moving just a little too fast with wide eyed actors gesturing furiously to communicate sans the spoken word...got it.

Now consider that most of the special effects you watch on the big screen today aren't real...they're green screen stunts brought to life with digital imagery courtesy of computers...

...but when you watch The Thief Of Bagdad and see the amazing Mr. Fairbanks climb hand over hand up a magic rope, that's him doing it.  When he's clinging to the bottom of a moving carriage, reaching up to steal the bejeweled ring off the fat finger of a nobleman, that's actually him.

Scaling the dizzying heights of the vertical walls of the palace?  Yep, him.

And the special effects included in the film - the flying carpet, underwater spider, the winged horse, the army created from the desert sands - well, it amazed audiences of the day.

So come on...get your culture on and enjoy a silent movie night...there are some real gems from the 19-teens and 20's.  We may be arrogant enough to believe we've got a lock on artistic genius, but newsflash: genius is present in every generation...it's simply expressed within the constraints of its time and technology.

Enjoy some genius from days gone by.

I know for a fact Mr. Spielberg did...ET flying in front of the full moon?

Fairbanks and his flying carpet did it first back in 1924, y'all...

Hollywood hasn't had an original idea since the 1920's, so why not treat yourself and go to the source?

It's a rainy Saturday morning...

...so no golfing today...

...but that's ok...got my two rounds of 9 in Thursday and Friday after work this week.
That's a young Walter Hagen, by the way, circa 1925 or so.

Yesterday especially went pretty well...no mulligans from the tee, and while every tee shot wasn't perfect, they were all serviceable and a few of them were really pretty good.  Starting to get the hang of hitting my brassie...or at least I was yesterday.  Actually parred a couple of holes along the way and most of my shots looked like they were supposed to...no big hooks or slices and decent distances (for me).

And since I was golfing in the afternoon / evening rather than being the first one on the course in the morning, several times I had an audience.  Normally that spells trouble and I just know I'm going to hit it fat or top it for a worm burner, but yesterday was ok.  I was able to stick to my personal golf mantra of relax, hips, head and swing away with acceptable results.

One surprise is how much attention I get for carrying my Sunday bag with hickory clubs.  Others on the course drive their carts to where I'm about to hit and ask a dozen questions about my equipment.  They're more or less amazed you can still actually play with hickory the way the game started lo, these many moons ago.

I'll be glad when Mr. Weather starts cooperating again and I can go back to enjoying an early morning round in solitude, but at least they're not banishing me from the course for my lower, slower game swinging my hickory sticks.

I still need to rummage through my All Hallows decor and pull out from the mothballs what we'll be using this year...bc of all the chaos related to buying / selling / moving / renovating it's going to be a scaled back event, but I suspect we'll find a spot for some favorites...

...should be fun as always...

So today Karen sent me out in the rain to retrieve some pumpkins from a roadside stand...it's the honor system and only $2 or $3 for a pumpkin...pretty good deal.

While I was doing my duty Karen decided it was the perfect photo op...

...had to smile when I realized I was on candid camera...

Dug out some fall decor from the mass of boxes and totes still left in the garage...

...turkey, pheasant and quail...yum, yum...

Lots left to do today and time's a wastin', so...

later, mcm fans...

Holy Fountain...

...Of "Man Is That Thing Ever Heavy"...it has to weigh 300 pounds altogether...thankfully it's in three pieces but still...the base and shell part have to be more than 200 pounds...my achin' back.

Karen wanted it out of the little pond in our courtyard...that's going to get filled in - after I jackhammer a drainage hole in the bottom...and we're going to put a pool in front of that area - but still within the courtyard.

So Jack and Jill, engaged in a questionable water activity, had to go...to the front yard, apparently.

In the heat of the day on Saturday...

...ok, it's in the direct sunlight, but it was still pretty hot...

...we were treated to a turkey parade...

...until the deer feeder opened fire on them...

...those little dots under the feeder are kernels of dried corn - deer feed, apparently - being hurled at a high rate of speed across the yard.

This happens 4x per day, at 6 am, 10 am, 2 pm and 6 pm.  The turkeys were pelted at precisely 2 pm on Saturday afternoon...they squawked appropriately and turkey trotted their feathered behinds out of there.

You do NOT want to be standing next to the deer feeder when it unloads; this I know from experience.

Right after I got it set up I decided I should test it out, so I knelt down and pressed the "test" button.

I noticed it started a countdown...10...9...8...

Around about 5 it occurred to me that maybe they gave you time to back up a bit so you didn't get deer feed dropped on your toes...so I backed up a few steps.

3...2...1...and then my deer feeder turned assault weapon commenced firing hard dried kernels of corn at me, pinging them off my arms, legs, noggin, etc.

Naturally I engaged in a dignified if somewhat hasty retreat ("what the...? ouch!  holy crap!  OUCH!") but had to put almost 20 yards between me and the loaded weapon to get out of bruise missile range.

If any deer are peacefully feeding when that thing launches they're going to be in for a surprise.

"Honey?  Why are there unconscious deer lying in our yard?"

later, mcm fans..

First...

...daisy...late this year...almost July and they're just starting to pop...black eyed susans should be following them soon.

Of course we won't be here to enjoy them when they do finally burst into full bloom...we close on the sale of our home this week and must be out by end of next week.

But there is progress at the new homestead...tiling happens this week, as does the first part of putting the kitchen back together.

And the flowers at the new place are in full bloom already...

...roses on the back patio in the late afternoon...

And oh yeah...

Finally got a "SOLD" sign put on our home...waited for the appraisal to come back before they dared, I guess.

Got out on the links early this morning and did ok...

Actually hit my cleek iron pretty well...in general had a decent round (for me...an important qualifier).

Most of all I enjoyed a very pleasant stroll through the country...yes, I was chasing a little white ball, but I took time to stop and admire the beautiful vistas.

And as it turned out, I found myself using 3 clubs most of the time...my mashie, niblick and putter...so I've decided to have a smaller leather "club carrier" made...even though my canvas pencil bag is tiny by modern standards, it's still way too big when I'm only using 3 clubs.

This was yet another exhausting weekend...several trips to the new house, loading / unloading household goods, chiseling out old kitchen backsplash, hauling old appliances out of the basement, trying to squeeze in some yardwork, etc.

While I was emptying out the garage I had this persistent feeling I was being watched...

...and what do you know...I was...Mr. Bolts has since been disassembled and stored securely away until All Hallows Eve.

Did try a local coffee shop in Holland we really like...

...love their logo...they're very close to us and serve great coffee and cheese danish...

...could become habit forming...

Tomorrow I expect to hear from Two Men And A Truck re: moving all our big stuff, but we'll keep chipping away at all the smaller things so it's not a mad dash at the very end.

But now...it's late Sunday night and the salt mines beckon early on the morrow...so...

later, mcm fans...

Sold...

...or at least sale pending...papers signed and closing scheduled for end of June...suddenly it all seems very real...guess we better get cracking...meeting Chris today at the new house to define scope of work, and then the next four weeks will be all about moving stuff out of here and over to there.  Yikes...

One of the things I'm hoping to have in our mid century modern home is a 1955 Philco V-handle refrigerator...

These are ultra-cool vintage refrigerators...the door opens from either side, depending on whether you press down on the left or right side...and they're from the era when appliances were quiet and energy efficient (electricity was expensive and homes weren't wired for 200 amps like they are today)...plus they were considered show pieces.

They were flashy, with big logos, lots of chrome, glossy enamel...like a Cadillac with oversized fins.  Working on acquiring a refurbished one now, but I'm going to have to sell a few more radios and tv's for this one...

During one of the times I was sitting in my truck waiting for people to finish tromping through my home, one of my distant relatives hopped by...

...was in a rush and didn't stop to say hi, but always good to see one of the Hare clan...

In other botanical news, the peonies have finally popped...

...just wish they'd hang around for awhile, but they'll be gone in a couple of weeks...

Duty screams as always, so...

later, mcm fans...

Chaos...

...and confusion...currently reigning supreme 'round these parts.

Those are the remains of some shelving units in the foreground...they were lined up in the back of the garage, groaning under the accumulated weight of our forgotten possessions until we mercilessly attacked them, skeletonizing and strewing their remains across the driveway.

The stuff they so faithfully supported all those years?  About a third has gone the way of all flotsam and jetsam, now resting peacefully in a landfill...a third has been donated, and a third is now packed away in anticipation of moving day.  I do have a few items for sale on ebay as well, with more to come in days ahead.

I surmise there is progress, but it doesn't look like it at the moment.

Mother Nature is grudgingly inching toward spring, as our backyard is beginning to evidence...

...but Ol' Man Winter hasn't gone quietly into the night...it was 34 degrees this morning.  Enough already!  Let's have some warmth!

However, like pro wrestling and the democrat primaries (RIP Bernie), the eventual outcome has been pre-determined, with Spring declared the ultimate winner.

Why even Rory Calhoun made an appearance this weekend...

...so you know a sustained stretch of good weather must be right around the corner...hope so anyway, bc we're opening the pool this week...just in time for the start of "skinny dip Sundays" season...

In all the haying through years of pack rat behavior I came across the full size VHS tapes I took while my guys were growing up and competing in sports.  Some of these tapes are more than 20 years old now - somehow they aged while I remained just as youthful as ever, pardon my self-delusion - and I made the monumental decision they are not making the journey to our new home.

So I put the word out to 3 of my sons who were the primary subjects of all that oxide coated tape - if you want them, come and get them - and today one of them is stopping by...said he would take any / all of them.

He has no idea what he's in for...I think I told them there are a few dozen tapes...

...it's more like dozens of dozens...I kept finding boxes of originals...apparently my boys were pretty busy from about age 9 through their early twenties playing football, basketball, baseball and track...and I dutifully videotaped it all.

Guess that's about it for this edition of the Atomic Monster Cafe...

later, mcm fans...

Happy New Year...

y'all...here's one that's not quite so generic:

At least it references the year.

I could do the typical "high/low points of the year", but I'm not going to.  The low points aren't worth repeating and the high points are history anyway...and now it's time to look forward and move on.

In 2017 I hope, as always, to be a committed Christian, a more loving husband, and the best employee I can be.

On a more mundane note...this last day of 2016 was largely spent de-decorating...vanquishing Christmas, as it were, and returning the house to "normal" if there is such a thing.

One of the items I put away for another year is a favorite Santa Claus ornament:

That's Santa leading his 3 piece band, The Peppermint Twists.  Here's a little bit of their act:

Ok, so that's their entire act.  Still, it's pretty good and I do enjoy pressing the little button and hearing Santa beating his bongos and his elves blowing their saxes.

Karen reported a random sighting of a cardinal outside our closet window this morning:

Red doesn't look like he's in any danger of starving to death...

Ok, that's all I've got for this last day of 2016 / first day of 2017.

It's pushing 1 am on this first day of the new year, and time for me to fall into bed.

Looking for better / different in 2017.