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Showing posts from August, 2017

Watching 2001: A Space Odyssey - Part One

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The triumphant opening title shot. Note:  This post is filled with spoilers about the film 2001: A Space Odyssey Not long after finishing the novel , I watched Stanley Kubrick's brilliant film 2001: A Space Odyssey . But it was a hasty viewing and life got in the way of fully savoring it.  My recent experience with the solar eclipse inspired me to settle myself enough to watch it again and appreciate this great film. I have not watched it since 2009 . While the novel by Arthur C. Clarke is bold and an accurate portrayal of the metaphysical ideas and primary details of the film, it is not one of the greatest science fiction novels of all time.  There are many other novels in that genre that would compete for that title. If Clarke has a great genre novel it is most likely his classic Childhood's End .    Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey , on the other hand, is one of the greatest films of all time and would rank as such on any serious film connoisseur's list of

Catching Totality at Dream Lake

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There are tons of better photos than this online.  But this is one I took at Dream Lake about 2:37 PM yesterday. For years my 'Dillo friends have gathered at Dream Lake located in the northwest South Carolina foothills for camping, partying, and relaxation. (You can read about some past trips here , here , and here ).   So it was only natural that we should all come together when we discovered th e 2017 Total Eclipse would occur there, only 5 miles from the center of the totality's path. Some arrived on Saturday.  Jeffery and I got there on Sunday. There were about 11 of us on hand for swimming that afternoon and for the usual decadent dinner that evening. Another 9 or 10 joined us on Monday.  We were all far more fortunate than most.  We had all that wonderful isolated space to ourselves for the event. On Sunday afternoon we all enjoyed swimming in Dream Lake.  It was over 90 degrees and the water felt very refreshing.  Gathering in the shade of the shed at th