About IMAO

Some of you may know I also work behind the scenes at IMAO. And you may have noticed that IMAO is down at the moment. And has been down for several hours.

Frank J. is working with the hosting company to resolve things, but I don't have much more information than that. Hopefully, it'll be back up soon.

Moon ain't gonna nuke itself.

My Last Disney World Trip

Love the ride until they start shooting back!

Well, I went on my last Walt Disney World trip recently. It was fun, but was kinda tiring, too.

Normally, I like to go to Magic Kingdom, and I like to ride Haunted Mansion. That is my favorite all-time ride at Disney World. It holds up after all these years. Sure, they've made some updates to it, but the best parts are the parts that were there in the '70s. It's a classic.

But, as I said, that was my last trip to Walt Disney World.

Tickets are expensive. Food is expensive. Rooms are expensive. Everything is expensive. But it's fun.

I spent a lot more time at EPCOT than I had in previous trips. The Food and Wine Festival is underway, and that's fun. Well, it's filling at least. They got lots of food. Lots and lots of food. Expensive expensive food. But good food.

I used to go to Hollywood Studios more, but only made one short visit this time. The lines are long and they've changed how the Fast Pass works in that park. Now, it's a lot more waiting.

Didn't make it to Animal Kingdom this trip. It never even crossed my mind. Mostly because I was always at EPCOT eating, it seemed.

So, now I've completed my last trip to Walt Disney World. Yes, it was fun. But it was my last trip.

My next one is the weekend of November 9 & 10. And I'll figure out the next after that one. But I sure enjoyed my last trip. I can't wait for the next one.

Silly Old Bear

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
at Walt Disney World

One of my grandsons -- the 4-year old -- really loves Winnie the Pooh. Well, the Walt Disney version of the character anyway.

I've taken him to Walt Disney World a couple of times and one of the rides he always wants to ride -- usually the first one he mentions -- is The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. And, when he's over at the house, he loves the Google Home device that is linked to a Chromecast. He doesn't know or understand all that, but he knows that if he says, "Hey Google, play The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh," that it will say "Okay" and that Walt Disney movie will start playing.

The boy loves Walt Disney's Winnie the Pooh.

What brought this up? Well, the first Winnie the Pooh book (titled Winnie-the-Pooh) was first published on October 14, 1926. My grandson has never read the book. I've read the book to him, anyway. But the fact the book was published this date 93 years ago was the first in a series of events that eventually led to my grandson and me having some fun times together.

Will you or I do something that impacts others some 90-something years from now? Maybe not. Probably not. But we might.

Is that too deep for a Monday?

Worst Director?

Edward D. Wood, Jr., born 95 years ago today.

Some people say that Edward D. Wood, Jr. was the worst movie director ever. I'm not sure about that.

Yes, he made some really bad movies, but if I learned anything from watching Mystery Science Theater 3000 is that a lot of people made bad movies. Ed Wood wasn't the only one.

I mentioned on IMAO the other day about Manos: The Hands of Fate, which is a move we love to ... well, hate isn't the word, because we don't hate it. Far from it, we love it, both despite of and because of how bad it is. But, from my understanding, Manos was never intended to be a great film. It was intended to be a film that came in under budget, and it was. Didn't make any money, but still, it came in under budget. Mission accomplished. Sort of.

Plan 9 From Outer Space was intended to be a money-maker. It wasn't. In fact, all of Ed Wood's movies were suppose to be successful films. Mr. Wood fell short of that goal a lot.

But, is he really the worst director of all time? A lot of critics say he was, but I think a lot say that because they're expected to say that.

How bad can someone be who directs Bela Lugosi's compellingly awful lines from Bride of the Monster?

[The YouTube]

I'm not sure Ed Wood is the worst. Not by a long shot. But, if you want to think he is, go right ahead. He won't complain. He's been dead since 1978, dying two months after his 54th birthday. And that birthday? October 10, 1924. 95 years ago today.

Happy birthday, Edward D. Wood, Jr. You may or may not have ben the worst, but you were certainly the best of the worst.

1919 Chicago White Sox

It was 100 years ago today that the Cincinnati Reds beat the Chicago White Sox in the 8th game of the World Series, winning the series five games to three. That was the one where eight players on the White Sox ended up being banned from baseball for conspiring to throw the series.

A lot of people have come out over the years claiming that "Shoeless" Joe Jackson wasn't actually in on it, but at the time, there was little doubt. Same with Buck Weaver. Though there is doubt about those two actually participating in the fix, they knew about it and didn't report it. So, they were banned by Commissioner Kennesaw Mountain Landis.

<a href="https://www.basilsblog.com/2004/12/61.html">I like baseball</a>. I don't like things that harm baseball. And much of the game today isn't what I like. That's why minor league baseball is a better game, though the players are lesser players. They're playing hard, all the time. They want to make it to the majors. It's just a shame that so many that make it to the majors then turn into what's wrong with baseball.

It's kinda like politics, except that when baseball players take money, nobody forces you to pay for it.

Kneel Before Zog

King Zog I

Did you know Albania had a king?

I mean, they don’t. But they did. They had a king. A king. One king. And that wasn’t really all that long ago.

Actually, it was, 1930s. Well, actually, 1928-1939. But that was less than 100 years ago, so not all that long.

Yes, Albania had a king. Zog I.

Really, his name was Zog I. There was never a Zog II, or an anything else, either. He was elected king — did you know you could get elected king? Well, Zog was, so it was possible it seems — and he served until Mussolini invaded Albania in 1939.

Why am I bringing him up? Well, today’s his birthday. How old is he? That’s easy. 65.

How is that possible? Well, he quit having birthdays in 1961 when he up and died, so he’s been stuck at 65 for a while. But he was born in 1895, if you care. Albania cared, apparently.

I’m just wondering why I never hears of Zog I before now. Maybe you’ve heard of him. If so, share your knowledge. That way I don’t have to look a bunch of stuff up.

1,500 movies

I passed the 1,500 mark in my movie library this week. I didn't even realize it at the time.

I've got a decent size library of films -- it's up to 1,502 right now, or maybe even more -- so when I passed that number, I didn't realize it. I just happened to sit down tonight after supper and call up my video server and that's when I saw I had 1,502 movies. I was impressed.

My movies

No, this isn't the largest personal video collection there is, but it's the largest of anyone that I know personally, or that knows me. Well, as far as I know.

So, what movie was number 1,500? From the image above, you'd figure it was "Sleeping Beauty" right? Well, no. It's actually "The Fox and the Hound." You see, that version of "Sleeping Beauty" is an HD version. I already an older standard definition version, but when Disney released it from the vault again this week, I upgraded it. So, it replaced the SD version. It's the same movie.

Now, if one was a Director's Cut or something like that, then yes, I'd call it a separate version. But then, it would show 1,503 movies, and counting back, you'd still get "The Fox and the Hound." But it's the same version, just in higher definition, so I have 1,502 movies and the 1,500th was still "The Fox and the Hound."

And here's the thing: I've never seen "The Fox and the Hound." I just wanted to get it, in case I ever wanted to watch it. Or in case the grandchildren wanted to watch it.

Of course, while I have 1,502 movies in my local streaming library, I actually have access to 1,512 films that I own. Those other ten movies are online only, although I do own them. Five are alternate versions of other movies I have, but that's just because the streaming service is a member of Movies Anywhere -- I talked about that before -- and they didn't have the version I bought, so the filled the Movies Anywhere requirement with a slightly different version.

Two are Director's Cuts: "Lethal Weapon" and "Lethal Weapon 3" which VUDU used to meet its Movies Anywhere obligation.

One is an extended edition of "There's Something About Mary," again from VUDU.

One is an alternate release of "How The Grinch Stole Christmas" from Amazon, which includes "Horton Hears A Who." Only, I already have "Horton Hears A Who" so that's an odd one to try to count.

There's that awful 2011 remake of "Arthur" that Fandango Now added instead of the correct "Arthur" film with Dudley Moore. I don't like to count it, but I do have it in my online streaming library.

And, I bought the theatrical release of "Stripes" through Movies Anywhere, but iTunes gave me the extended version instead, and that's the one I have locally.

The actual intended purchases I have that are online only are the original "Gone in 60 Seconds" and three "Ice Age" shorts.

So, do I count those? I generally don't because I don't have a local copy in my streaming library. But, since I do own them, and since they are part of my streaming library, what is my 1,500th film? Well, what if I throw out those mistakes or replacement that the streaming services forced on me, but still count my four intentional online purchases from Amazon, my 1,500th movie is "Knute Rockne, All American" starring Ronald Reagan and Pat O'Brien.

Yeah, all that "well I bought one version but this one company gave me another" is not really something I care for. So, I'm sticking with "The Fox and the Hound." A good family film makes me feel better.

I need to sit down and watch that. Maybe this weekend.