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Showing posts from July, 2018

Reading 'Space Odyssey': Part Two

Note:  This is the final part of a two-part review of Michael Benson's Space Odyssey .  It is assumed that the reader has already seen the movie. Kubrick wanted to shoot the beginning of 2001 immediately after finishing Dullea's “hotel room scene.”  But, he had a problem, actually several problems.  No one had yet produced a man-ape costume that didn't look like a man stuffed in an ape suit.  Nothing looked like a realistic Australopithecus africanus , which was precisely something Kubrick and Clarke agreed upon in their collaboration to make a scientifically legitimate science fiction film.  So, the director decided, not for the first time, to defer the Dawn of Man until something more believable came along. Discussions about the opening phase on the film, intended to happen 4 million years ago, continued between Kubrick and Clarke.  Kubrick thought Clarke was being too literal in how the alien intelligence illuminated Moonwatcher's mind.  The differences betwee

Reading 'Space Odyssey': Part One

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Proof of purchase.  Benson's new book joins my Kubrick/2001 collection. “...if anyone had told me six months ago that I had anything of substance to learn about my profession at this stage of the game, I would have  told them they were mad.  I have been a top British cinematographer, a top man, for twenty-five years.  In fact, though, I have learned more about my profession from that boy in there in the last six months than I have in the previous twenty-five years.  He is an absolute genius.  He knows more about the mechanics of optics and the chemistry of photography then anyone who's ever lived.” - Geoffrey Unsworth , Cinematographer “Stanley was simply much more intelligent than other directors, and in a nonlinear way.  You found that anything could happen at almost any time.  Despite all the careful preparations, he designed 2001 with an air of flexibility, and that's what made the picture brilliant.  Directing is all management of human relations, logistics,

The 2018 Atlanta Braves: 68 Regular Season Games Remaining

Since my July 2 post on how well the Atlanta Braves were performing in 2018 the team went a dismal 3-7 against three very good teams: the Yankees, the Brewers, and the Diamondbacks.  The 3-0 loss last Saturday was one I got to see in person.  It was my first trip to SunTrust Park and I really enjoyed the atmosphere there.  The word "intimate" is sometimes used for big stadiums, which is silly.  There is nothing intimate about being somewhere watching the same event with 40,000 other people.  But I do like the new park.  It is well designed, with a classic baseball aesthetic to it. I attended the game with a former employer who has season tickets in the Delta Sky360 Club section.  Jennifer and Avery went as well.  The four of us arrived at the game early to enjoy the first-class amenities that the Sky360 Club offers.  The club parking is directly beside the stadium.  It is a short walk into the facility and the air-conditioned confines of the club, where you can partake

The Atlanta Campaign: Hood Takes Command

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The overall situation around Atlanta when Hood took command on July 18 as depicted in Atlanta is Ours!   The Army of Tennessee is dug-in near Peachtree Creek facing the Army of the Cumberland.  The Army of the Ohio stitches the Union line together between Thomas and the Army of the Tennessee approaching from Roswell.  About 7,000 Union troops are in reserve at Marietta.  Click to enlarge. Note:  This part five of my essay on the Campaign for Atlanta in 1864. Johnston retreated behind Peachtree Creek as Sherman’s dispersed armies crossed the Chattahoochee. McPherson was at Roswell with about 17,500 troops opposed by General John H. Kelly’s cavalry division of 2,000.  Schofield’s Army of the Ohio with 11,500 formed the left flank of Thomas’ Army of the Cumberland, which numbered about 46,500 approaching Atlanta. Another 7,000 infantry (of McPherson’s command) were ready at the large Federal depot in Marietta under General Francis Preston Blair’s command in case the Confederates a