Two short clips from the early days of aviation, when barnstorming was a legit way for a flyer to make some dough.
A man standing on top of wing of aeroplane flight with camera (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
And yes, this is again a spin-off of my research for my novel… and I think it’s quite fun.
Enjoy!
Time for a true confession.
There’s been a few posts, here in the old C Block of the blogsphere, about the fall of the Berlin Wall.
It’s been 25 years, you see.
My friend Claire said she cried, watching the news.
Others have been telling us where they were, what they were thinking, how it felt.
So, it’s time to come out and tell exactly what I thought when I saw the broadcasts from Germany, 25 years ago. Continue reading
Here’s the trailer for the forthcoming (I hope!) movie about The Goon.
It sure looks promising!
It took more than one man to change my name to Shanghai Lily.
Roger Ebert called this line from Joseph von Sternberg‘s Shanghai Express “a masterpiece of understatement”.
Von Sternberg went to Shanghai, in order to research this movie. He described his experiences in a book called Fun in a Chinese Laundry.
Weird chap, that von Sternberg guy.
The story is set on the Shanghai-Beijing Express, in the thirties, as was and revolution rage across China.
But war and revolution are not as shocking, for the travelers on this train, than the presence among them of notorious prostitute Shanghai Lil.
Then one of them finds out she’s his former girlfriend. Continue reading
Ok, a belated Sunday post.
Fact is, you see, I just discovered my friend Claire is also a singer (swell girl, lots of talents).
And what are friends for, if not for providing inspiration?
So, here’s Christina Bianco, humbly proposed as a role model for my friend Claire.
Our story has nothing to do with the present.
There is this card, at the very beginning of Joseph von Sternberg’s The Shanghai Gesture – a simple card, that shifts the action of this unusual pulpish noir shot in 1941 from the real world to a parallel dimension.
The card was placed there upon request by the censors – that were afraid the movie could have some bad effects on the morale of the men fighting in the Pacific.
It was 1941.
That card is one – but only one – of the many elements that make it one of the films I like to re-watch.
It’s stylish, cruel, as dark and as they come, and wildly exotic.
No music, no movies this sunday, but still something media-related.
It’s just a different medium!
A few nights back I was wandering through the web and I chanced upon this “travel poster”…
I was intrigued enough to set my browser to the URL in question, and I discovered something absolutely beautiful. Continue reading
Karavansara 