[Name reference, Title reference]
Tuesday, April 12, 2016
Sunday, March 27, 2016
Easter Sunday 2016
 |
- Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them.
- And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre.
- And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus.
- And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments:
- And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead?
- He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee,
- Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.
- And they remembered his words,
- And returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest.
Monday, March 14, 2016
The complete Mystery Science Theater 3000 video collection
A while back, I went through all the Mystery Science Theater 3000 episodes. I don't remember why. Probably a good reason. Actually, probably not a good reason, but I did it anyway, because, well, I do things like that.
Anyway, in order to watch them all, I had to get access to them. I had a friend who had many of the episodes on DVD, and he let me borrow those. Plus Hulu, Netflix, and other places had some online. Then there were pirate versions posted on the Internets. I was kinda uncomfortable with those. Anyway, it turned out that the only way to get some episodes was to buy them. I don't remember what happened next, but I ended up buying them all. All of them. Every one of them.
No, you don't understand yet. Probably. But, if you stick around, you're about to.
MST3K released episodes on VHS tape. Their company, Best Brains, sold them to MST3K Fan Club members. Later, they contracted with Rhino to distribute VHS tapes. Then Rhino started releasing DVDs. And, of course, Best Brains even released a few DVDs, but not many.
Then, Shout Factory took over from Rhino, and continued releasing DVDs. And that's the video release story at the high level.
Digging down into the weeds, though, we find there is more than one type of MST3K content. There's the riffing on the movies, of course, which is the bread and butter. Because some movies they riffed were shorter than typical films today, they would sometimes pad the episodes by having JOIKE and the Bots (some of you will get that reference) watch a short film, along the line of The Home Economics Story, or some other such "educational" video. And then there are the "host segments" that fill out the shows, and give the comedians the chance to do more than insult moving pictures. All the episodes had host segments and movies, and many had shorts.
They discovered early on that some movies they riffed were going to be difficult to release commercially due to the rights owners either wanting too much money, or refusing to allow them to release a version where the film is insulted for two straight hours. Egos. Go figure.
They solved this by releasing tapes (and later, DVDs) that contains shorts only, or host segments only. And, of course, blooper reels (called "Poopie!").
They'd release three single episodes on VHS at a time, along with three-packs containing those three tapes. Oh, and we can't forget the issues with losing rights to episodes after they released the VHS or DVD. It all adds up to a huge confusing mess.
The other thing? If you didn't get them when they came out (which was most of the tapes and DVDs, in my case) you have to find them from third-party sellers on Amazon or eBay or some other such place. And, some of the releases run into the hundreds of dollars. I am not making this up. If you're patient, and if you're lucky, you can find lower prices on some, but the fact is, to obtain a complete catalog, you're going to spend some money. So much that you'd be embarrassed to tell just how much.
By the time I realized all this, I was too far gone. It had sucked me in and I was a lost cause. I now had an impossible task before me: get them all. All of them.
Well, recently, I completed my quest. I don't know how much I spent. Oh, I could find out, but I wouldn't like it. So, I'll remain willfully ignorant. But it is a lot of money. I'm not sure which I spent more money on: the video collection, or the house I keep it in. Anyway, I do have them all. And, I have the pictures to prove it. And, if you keep reading -- there's still a lot more to go -- you'll understand just how impossible this task was. You'd be proud of me ... if I put this much effort into something actually worthwhile.
Here is a complete MST3K collection on VHS and DVD.
Now, for the details. This will take a bit.
Anyway, in order to watch them all, I had to get access to them. I had a friend who had many of the episodes on DVD, and he let me borrow those. Plus Hulu, Netflix, and other places had some online. Then there were pirate versions posted on the Internets. I was kinda uncomfortable with those. Anyway, it turned out that the only way to get some episodes was to buy them. I don't remember what happened next, but I ended up buying them all. All of them. Every one of them.
No, you don't understand yet. Probably. But, if you stick around, you're about to.
MST3K released episodes on VHS tape. Their company, Best Brains, sold them to MST3K Fan Club members. Later, they contracted with Rhino to distribute VHS tapes. Then Rhino started releasing DVDs. And, of course, Best Brains even released a few DVDs, but not many.
Then, Shout Factory took over from Rhino, and continued releasing DVDs. And that's the video release story at the high level.
Digging down into the weeds, though, we find there is more than one type of MST3K content. There's the riffing on the movies, of course, which is the bread and butter. Because some movies they riffed were shorter than typical films today, they would sometimes pad the episodes by having JOIKE and the Bots (some of you will get that reference) watch a short film, along the line of The Home Economics Story, or some other such "educational" video. And then there are the "host segments" that fill out the shows, and give the comedians the chance to do more than insult moving pictures. All the episodes had host segments and movies, and many had shorts.
They discovered early on that some movies they riffed were going to be difficult to release commercially due to the rights owners either wanting too much money, or refusing to allow them to release a version where the film is insulted for two straight hours. Egos. Go figure.
They solved this by releasing tapes (and later, DVDs) that contains shorts only, or host segments only. And, of course, blooper reels (called "Poopie!").
They'd release three single episodes on VHS at a time, along with three-packs containing those three tapes. Oh, and we can't forget the issues with losing rights to episodes after they released the VHS or DVD. It all adds up to a huge confusing mess.
The other thing? If you didn't get them when they came out (which was most of the tapes and DVDs, in my case) you have to find them from third-party sellers on Amazon or eBay or some other such place. And, some of the releases run into the hundreds of dollars. I am not making this up. If you're patient, and if you're lucky, you can find lower prices on some, but the fact is, to obtain a complete catalog, you're going to spend some money. So much that you'd be embarrassed to tell just how much.
By the time I realized all this, I was too far gone. It had sucked me in and I was a lost cause. I now had an impossible task before me: get them all. All of them.
Well, recently, I completed my quest. I don't know how much I spent. Oh, I could find out, but I wouldn't like it. So, I'll remain willfully ignorant. But it is a lot of money. I'm not sure which I spent more money on: the video collection, or the house I keep it in. Anyway, I do have them all. And, I have the pictures to prove it. And, if you keep reading -- there's still a lot more to go -- you'll understand just how impossible this task was. You'd be proud of me ... if I put this much effort into something actually worthwhile.
Here is a complete MST3K collection on VHS and DVD.
Now, for the details. This will take a bit.
Sunday, March 13, 2016
Thursday, February 25, 2016
Dream Land Part 3: Papa's House
[Previous: Dream Land Part 1: Grandma and Papa's House, Dream Land Part 2: Grandma's House]
Part 3 of 3.
Grandma's House, the Dream Land from our childhood, had sat unoccupied while Grandma lived at the guest house at my mother's. This went on for four years, until after she celebrated her 100th birthday. Before the year was up, my uncle made the hard call that something needed to be done with Grandma's House.
My mother, never one who wanted to be told what to do, even if what she was told was right, was unhappy with the suggestion. It wasn't that my uncle was wrong, it was something that she had dreaded doing, and now had to do. And no one was happy about it. Not Grandma. Not my mother. Not my uncle. Not my sisters. No one.
My sister had mentioned about buying the house, but wasn't sure she wanted to take on that expense. She already had a house that was too big for her, and that she couldn't sell.
My mother finally decided to buy my uncle out. She gave him half of what he said he wanted to sell it for. Since the idea was they'd split it -- they actually had title to the house, not Grandma -- my mother simply gave him his half, and assumed full ownership of the house. She knew she'd need to dispose of it in some way, but wanted to do it on her own schedule, or at least when she was ready.
Grandma celebrated her 101st birthday worried that some stranger would end up with her little house. She understood that the current situation couldn't continue, but she still was saddened by that prospect.
My sister decided to buy the house after all, and began doing the work to get it fully livable again. After four years sitting unoccupied, it needed a little work. Heck, it needed a lot. And, truth be told, a lot more than they realized.
During the whole remodeling process, my sister changed her mind and decided that she needed to not buy the house. My mother wasn't happy about that, but that's not the first time one of us made her unhappy about something. Anyway, I made a couple of phone calls, and, when I was happy with what I heard, approached my mother about buying the house. She was surprised, but welcomed my offer.
This is a good time to let you know that when my first grandchild was born in 1999, there were several suggestions made about what she, and the other soon arriving grandchildren, would call me. I wasn't thrilled with any of the suggestions. I knew, though, that whatever the grandchildren called me would be how I was to be known for the rest of my life. If I didn't like it, I'd change my mind and embrace it. It's what grandfather's do.
When one of them was able to call me a name, it came out "Papa." I hadn't thought about that. No one had thought about that. But I loved it. And, to this day, I'm Papa to all the grandchildren.
Now, back to the house. The whole process of buying a house was what you would expect: the unexpected popping up and such. It was much frustrating, as you can imagine, but finally, it was done. I bought the Grandma's House, formerly Grandma and Papa's House.
It's a little different inside than before. Some of the same furniture is there, some arranged as always, but some arranged a little different. Just enough like it always was to make it very familiar. Just enough different to make it someone else's house.
Grandma was thrilled last year when she found out that I bought the house. She told me she was so worried someone she didn't know would get the little house. She celebrated her 102nd birthday last September knowing that her little house was still in the family.
Grandma died this week, and we're burying her today. She's gone. Her house is still around. It's Papa's House, now. But, in many ways, it's still the same Dream Land we all loved as children.
Part 3 of 3.
Grandma's House, the Dream Land from our childhood, had sat unoccupied while Grandma lived at the guest house at my mother's. This went on for four years, until after she celebrated her 100th birthday. Before the year was up, my uncle made the hard call that something needed to be done with Grandma's House.
My mother, never one who wanted to be told what to do, even if what she was told was right, was unhappy with the suggestion. It wasn't that my uncle was wrong, it was something that she had dreaded doing, and now had to do. And no one was happy about it. Not Grandma. Not my mother. Not my uncle. Not my sisters. No one.
My sister had mentioned about buying the house, but wasn't sure she wanted to take on that expense. She already had a house that was too big for her, and that she couldn't sell.
My mother finally decided to buy my uncle out. She gave him half of what he said he wanted to sell it for. Since the idea was they'd split it -- they actually had title to the house, not Grandma -- my mother simply gave him his half, and assumed full ownership of the house. She knew she'd need to dispose of it in some way, but wanted to do it on her own schedule, or at least when she was ready.
Grandma celebrated her 101st birthday worried that some stranger would end up with her little house. She understood that the current situation couldn't continue, but she still was saddened by that prospect.
My sister decided to buy the house after all, and began doing the work to get it fully livable again. After four years sitting unoccupied, it needed a little work. Heck, it needed a lot. And, truth be told, a lot more than they realized.
During the whole remodeling process, my sister changed her mind and decided that she needed to not buy the house. My mother wasn't happy about that, but that's not the first time one of us made her unhappy about something. Anyway, I made a couple of phone calls, and, when I was happy with what I heard, approached my mother about buying the house. She was surprised, but welcomed my offer.
This is a good time to let you know that when my first grandchild was born in 1999, there were several suggestions made about what she, and the other soon arriving grandchildren, would call me. I wasn't thrilled with any of the suggestions. I knew, though, that whatever the grandchildren called me would be how I was to be known for the rest of my life. If I didn't like it, I'd change my mind and embrace it. It's what grandfather's do.
When one of them was able to call me a name, it came out "Papa." I hadn't thought about that. No one had thought about that. But I loved it. And, to this day, I'm Papa to all the grandchildren.
Now, back to the house. The whole process of buying a house was what you would expect: the unexpected popping up and such. It was much frustrating, as you can imagine, but finally, it was done. I bought the Grandma's House, formerly Grandma and Papa's House.
It's a little different inside than before. Some of the same furniture is there, some arranged as always, but some arranged a little different. Just enough like it always was to make it very familiar. Just enough different to make it someone else's house.
Grandma was thrilled last year when she found out that I bought the house. She told me she was so worried someone she didn't know would get the little house. She celebrated her 102nd birthday last September knowing that her little house was still in the family.
Grandma died this week, and we're burying her today. She's gone. Her house is still around. It's Papa's House, now. But, in many ways, it's still the same Dream Land we all loved as children.
Wednesday, February 24, 2016
Dream Land Part 2: Grandma's House
[Previous: Dream Land Part 1: Grandma and Papa's House]
Part 2 of 3.
After Papa died in 1979, Grandma lived alone in the little house she had shared with her husband for over two decades. She knew that, without Papa, she wasn't long for this world. So, she figured she'd be passing on soon after.
Grandma continued to feel that way throughout the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s, all the way through this year. She continued her life in the little house, the house that had been her Dream Land since her first grandchild, my older sister, was born.
Grandma had retired a few years earlier, and had spent most of her time taking care of Papa. With him gone, she grew restless, and went back to work. She and several of her friends, some from the church, some from the Eastern Star, some she used to work with at the shirt factory, went to work part-time for the local newspaper.
The local paper, in addition to printing the local news, also printed the small town weeklies for several other places. That meant stuffing the local Sears or K-Mart sale paper and such into the newspapers. And, apparently, old retired women have a knack for that, because they did a lot of that.
Grandma continued to stuff papers, attend church services, shop at the Winn-Dixie, and attend Eastern Star meetings for years, and, at the end of the day, return to her Dream Land.
The grandchildren, me included, didn't visit as much. We were growing up, or grown, and had started our own families. Some of us lived in the area, and others moved away. But, Grandma's House was always a special place to us. We all managed to find time to visit on occasion, but not like we should, or, like we wanted to. We could have made a better effort, but we were busy. At least, that's what we told ourselves.
However, when we did visit, it was almost like being back in that Dream Land we visited as a child. We missed seeing Papa, but Grandma was there. She was always there. Until one day.
Grandma fell while working in the yard in 2010. It was pretty severe. She looked bad, and hurt really bad. After 31 years living alone, it was time for some other arrangements to be made.
My mother finally got a large dining area set up at her house. It was a building separate from the main house, that had a large room where tables and chairs could be set up, with a kitchen just off that room. There was a bathroom, an office, and a bedroom.
Yes, it was actually laid out like a guest house, but her intent was to have big family gatherings there. We called it the Fellowship Hall. (Baptists can truly appreciate that.) In 2010, though, she lost that functionality. It became quarters for Grandma. By living there, my mother could watch out for her. Actually, she paid a lady to sit and watch soap operas and Grandma, while she went to work at her job at the Baptist church.
Four years went by with Grandma staying at the guest house. The little house, Grandma's House, sat unoccupied. Utilities were still on. Mail was still delivered. The grass was cut. The yards were raked. The only thing making it unoccupied was the fact that no one was staying there.
My uncle (my mothers brother) was tasked with upkeep of the house. Well, the hard stuff, anyway. If it needed any work done, he did it. Air conditioning, wiring, pipes, whatever, it fell to him. And, living an hour and a half away, it was difficult on him. He put up with it for four years, until everyone finally accepted that Grandma wasn't going back to her house. She was approaching 101 years old, and really wasn't in any condition to look after herself by herself.
He finally had the difficult conversation that no one wanted to have: it was time to do something about Grandma's House. He thought the best thing to do was to sell it. And, after much anguish from some, that's what was finally agreed upon. None of the grandchildren were happy about losing their Dream Land from their childhood.
[Next: Dream Land Part 3: Papa's House]
Part 2 of 3.
After Papa died in 1979, Grandma lived alone in the little house she had shared with her husband for over two decades. She knew that, without Papa, she wasn't long for this world. So, she figured she'd be passing on soon after.
Grandma continued to feel that way throughout the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s, all the way through this year. She continued her life in the little house, the house that had been her Dream Land since her first grandchild, my older sister, was born.
Grandma had retired a few years earlier, and had spent most of her time taking care of Papa. With him gone, she grew restless, and went back to work. She and several of her friends, some from the church, some from the Eastern Star, some she used to work with at the shirt factory, went to work part-time for the local newspaper.
The local paper, in addition to printing the local news, also printed the small town weeklies for several other places. That meant stuffing the local Sears or K-Mart sale paper and such into the newspapers. And, apparently, old retired women have a knack for that, because they did a lot of that.
Grandma continued to stuff papers, attend church services, shop at the Winn-Dixie, and attend Eastern Star meetings for years, and, at the end of the day, return to her Dream Land.
The grandchildren, me included, didn't visit as much. We were growing up, or grown, and had started our own families. Some of us lived in the area, and others moved away. But, Grandma's House was always a special place to us. We all managed to find time to visit on occasion, but not like we should, or, like we wanted to. We could have made a better effort, but we were busy. At least, that's what we told ourselves.
However, when we did visit, it was almost like being back in that Dream Land we visited as a child. We missed seeing Papa, but Grandma was there. She was always there. Until one day.
Grandma fell while working in the yard in 2010. It was pretty severe. She looked bad, and hurt really bad. After 31 years living alone, it was time for some other arrangements to be made.
My mother finally got a large dining area set up at her house. It was a building separate from the main house, that had a large room where tables and chairs could be set up, with a kitchen just off that room. There was a bathroom, an office, and a bedroom.
Yes, it was actually laid out like a guest house, but her intent was to have big family gatherings there. We called it the Fellowship Hall. (Baptists can truly appreciate that.) In 2010, though, she lost that functionality. It became quarters for Grandma. By living there, my mother could watch out for her. Actually, she paid a lady to sit and watch soap operas and Grandma, while she went to work at her job at the Baptist church.
Four years went by with Grandma staying at the guest house. The little house, Grandma's House, sat unoccupied. Utilities were still on. Mail was still delivered. The grass was cut. The yards were raked. The only thing making it unoccupied was the fact that no one was staying there.
My uncle (my mothers brother) was tasked with upkeep of the house. Well, the hard stuff, anyway. If it needed any work done, he did it. Air conditioning, wiring, pipes, whatever, it fell to him. And, living an hour and a half away, it was difficult on him. He put up with it for four years, until everyone finally accepted that Grandma wasn't going back to her house. She was approaching 101 years old, and really wasn't in any condition to look after herself by herself.
He finally had the difficult conversation that no one wanted to have: it was time to do something about Grandma's House. He thought the best thing to do was to sell it. And, after much anguish from some, that's what was finally agreed upon. None of the grandchildren were happy about losing their Dream Land from their childhood.
[Next: Dream Land Part 3: Papa's House]
Tuesday, February 23, 2016
Dream Land Part 1: Grandma and Papa's House
Part 1 of 3.
The little house was built in the 1950s as part of a planned neighborhood. I don't really know if my grandparents were the first ones to live there, but the house was less than four years old when they moved in. Grandma and Papa. That's what we always called them. And that little house was Grandma and Papa's house. It was truly a Dream Land for us grandchildren.
It was alway a treat to go there. Grandma and Papa always made us welcome. I don't remember spending the night there a lot. The small house had two bedrooms, so there wasn't a lot of room for the grandchildren to stay over. Still, just being there was a dream.
Christmas Eve was always spent at Grandma and Papa's house. We got to open a present that night, and we went home all excited about what we got and what we dreamed we'd get the next morning.
Birthdays were always special at Grandma and Papa's house. We always got a card and a dollar for every year of our age. In the 1960s, getting seven dollars for being seven years old was a treat.
Grandma and Papa had a little black and white TV when I was young. When we were there, we got to see the stuff they watched. Papa always watched the six o'clock news from channel 3 in Savannah: Dateline Savannah had the news, Cap'n Sandy gave the weather, and then there was sports. And, on weekends, there was Lawrence Welk (hated that), Porter Wagoner (hated it, except for Spec Rhodes), and the other stuff that old people watched.
In late 1967, my great-grandmother (Grandma's mother, who we all called "Ma") moved in part time. My great-grandfather (he was called "Pa") died that Autumn, and Ma had to move out of the log cabin they had leased since the 1930s. She spent a couple of weeks at a time at each of her three daughters' places. When she was a Grandma and Papa's, she'd sit in a rocking chair with a can of snuff in her hand and watch Georgia Championship Wrestling.
Grandma and Papa were the first people I knew to get cable. Of course, when cable TV first came available there, it was the three stations in Savannah and three main ones from Jacksonville (yeah, duplicate network programming). Other than the six network channels (two of each major network) and a couple of PBS channels, there was a channel that showed the weather -- actually, a camera rotating between a thermometer, a barometer, and a clock -- and not much else. It was different. But, since it was at Grandma and Papa's, it was special.
They got a new color TV, we grew up, but always went to Grandma and Papa's when we could. Ma died in 1976, and it went back to Grandma and Papa's house, though we had always called it that.
Papa's health problems and heart condition caught up with him in 1979. After watching the Independence Day fireworks, he went to bed happy, and never woke up. He went to Dream Land, and stayed. And the little house became Grandma's House.
[Next: Dream Land Part 2: Grandma's House]
The little house was built in the 1950s as part of a planned neighborhood. I don't really know if my grandparents were the first ones to live there, but the house was less than four years old when they moved in. Grandma and Papa. That's what we always called them. And that little house was Grandma and Papa's house. It was truly a Dream Land for us grandchildren.
It was alway a treat to go there. Grandma and Papa always made us welcome. I don't remember spending the night there a lot. The small house had two bedrooms, so there wasn't a lot of room for the grandchildren to stay over. Still, just being there was a dream.
Christmas Eve was always spent at Grandma and Papa's house. We got to open a present that night, and we went home all excited about what we got and what we dreamed we'd get the next morning.
Birthdays were always special at Grandma and Papa's house. We always got a card and a dollar for every year of our age. In the 1960s, getting seven dollars for being seven years old was a treat.
Grandma and Papa had a little black and white TV when I was young. When we were there, we got to see the stuff they watched. Papa always watched the six o'clock news from channel 3 in Savannah: Dateline Savannah had the news, Cap'n Sandy gave the weather, and then there was sports. And, on weekends, there was Lawrence Welk (hated that), Porter Wagoner (hated it, except for Spec Rhodes), and the other stuff that old people watched.
In late 1967, my great-grandmother (Grandma's mother, who we all called "Ma") moved in part time. My great-grandfather (he was called "Pa") died that Autumn, and Ma had to move out of the log cabin they had leased since the 1930s. She spent a couple of weeks at a time at each of her three daughters' places. When she was a Grandma and Papa's, she'd sit in a rocking chair with a can of snuff in her hand and watch Georgia Championship Wrestling.
Grandma and Papa were the first people I knew to get cable. Of course, when cable TV first came available there, it was the three stations in Savannah and three main ones from Jacksonville (yeah, duplicate network programming). Other than the six network channels (two of each major network) and a couple of PBS channels, there was a channel that showed the weather -- actually, a camera rotating between a thermometer, a barometer, and a clock -- and not much else. It was different. But, since it was at Grandma and Papa's, it was special.
They got a new color TV, we grew up, but always went to Grandma and Papa's when we could. Ma died in 1976, and it went back to Grandma and Papa's house, though we had always called it that.
Papa's health problems and heart condition caught up with him in 1979. After watching the Independence Day fireworks, he went to bed happy, and never woke up. He went to Dream Land, and stayed. And the little house became Grandma's House.
[Next: Dream Land Part 2: Grandma's House]
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