Guitar: The Instrument that Rocked the World

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The National GUITAR Museum, the world's first museum dedicated to the science, history, evolution and cultural impact of the guitar comes to Orlando Florida.  The touring exhibition, entitled “GUITAR: The Instrument That Rocked The World,” launched on June 11, 2011 at the Orlando Science Center. The 5,000 square foot touring exhibition will explore the history and evolution of the guitar-from lutes and lyres to modern high-tech instruments-and show how the instrument became the cultural symbol it is today. It will be on display at the Science Center until September 11.

The exhibition features engaging, entertaining, and educational displays specific to the guitar, including historical artifacts, models, posters, video screens, interactives, and kiosks. Educational displays will feature everything from how vibrating strings create sound on to the electromagnetic properties of an electric guitar-and even address environmental concerns about how the wood used to make guitars has disappeared through the destruction of rain forests.

Displays include precursors to the guitar, such as the Tanbur from Persia, the Oud from Mesopotamia and the Lute from Europe. There will also be comparisons with the guitar to its close relatives from other countries, including instruments like the luo nyatiti in Africa, the pipa in China and the sitar in India. Modern guitars on display include rock n roll mainstays like Gibson, Fender and Rickenbacker alongside guitars on loan from well-known musicians like Johnny Winter, Adrian Belew, Steve Vai and Joe Bonamassa. The exhibit will also feature the World’s Largest Guitar, certifed by Guiness World Records, at 43.5 feet long and 16 feet wide.

“The guitar is the most enduring icon in American history,” says HP Newquist, the executive director and founder of The National GUITAR Museum (NGM). It has been around longer than baseball, basketball, soft drinks, and sports cars. It’s hard to find anyone who hasn’t been affected by the guitar, whether as players or just fans of all types of music. And while this may be apocryphal,” Newquist adds, “it’s a widely held belief that the two most recognizable man-made shapes on the planet are those of the Coca-Cola
bottle and the electric guitar.”

“GUITAR: The Instrument That Rocked The World” will be included with general admission to the Orlando Science Center, which is $17 for adults and $12 for kids (ages 3-11). Tickets will also include access to live science shows, exhibits, and giant screen films. For more information, please call 407-514-2000.

VN:F [1.9.8_1114]  Some of this information from "Eye On Orlando Radio Show"

If you are in Orlando or plan on being there you will not want to miss this collection of historic guitars, and fun exhibits that take you back form the first string instruments to handmade guitars.   You will see Homemade Guitars made from found objects to the latest electric with no strings, just buttons.                             

Remember when you wanted that first guitar or your first guitar lesson, or the first time you heard that favorite guitar riff.   What was your favorite guitar?  Who is your favorite guitarist?  What song includes your most memorable guitar riffs or solo? 


For more information about this show you can go to this site:

The National Guitar Museum

James Arness: Rides off into the Sunset

 James Arness best known for his role playing Marshall Matt Dillion has passed away last Friday.  I remember my grandfather setting around the black and white TV waiting for "Gunsmoke".   The show started in 1955 and was the longest running western series on TV.    “What made us different from other westerns,” Mr. Arness told the Associated Press in 2002, “was the fact that ‘Gunsmoke’ wasn’t just action and a lot of shooting; they were character-study shows.  ”He presided over Dodge City with a sense of Fairness and honesty.   Mr. Arness, who was recommended for the role of Matt Dillon by his friend John Wayne, was the center of an ensemble that included Milburn Stone as the gentle, scholarly Doc Adams; Amanda Blake as Kitty Russell — “Miss Kitty” — who ran the Long Branch saloon; and Dennis Weaver as Mr. Arness’s limping deputy sidekick, Chester Goode. After Weaver left the show in 1964, Ken Curtis joined the cast as the memorable comic character, Festus Haggen.  

James was born in Minneapolis in 1923. 

Arness worked in a number of menial jobs such as delivery, loading and unloading railway boxes, and logging in Idaho in pre-WWII years. He was called for the Army and began military service in Fort Snelling, Minnesota, in March 1943, serving as a rifleman with the U.S. 3rd Infantry Division. He was severely wounded during Operation Shingle, at Anzio, Italy, and, after several surgeries, was honorably discharged in 1945.

James Arness was awarded the Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart, The European African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, the World War II Victory Medal and the Combat Infantryman Badge.

After returning to civilian life, he began his career as a radio announcer in Minnesota in 1945 and soon appeared in his first film with Loretta Young in The Farmer’s Daughter (1947).   He was an Indian scout in "Hondo" starring John Wayne from 1953.  James also played the alien monster in some of the best Science Fiction films of the fifties "The Thing" from 1951 and "Them" from 1954.  At 6 ft 7 in tall he was more believable as the monster from "The Thing".   He worked with many stars performers over the years including "John Wayne", "Bette Davis", "Harrison Ford",  "Burt Renolds",  and "Charles Bronson" along with many others. 

Mr Arness was Peter Graves Older brother, Peter Graves was the star of "Mission Impossible" and the comic "Airplane movies".  Mr Graves passed away last year at age 83. 

Here is the letter that James Arness left for his fans.

  "I had a wonderful life and was blessed with some many loving people and great friends. The best part of my life was my family, especially my wife, Janet. Many of you met her at Dodge City so you understand what a special person she is," Arness wrote.
"I wanted to take this time to thank all of you for the many years of being a fan of 'Gunsmoke,' 'The Thing,' 'How the West Was Won' and all the other fun projects I was lucky enough to have been allowed to be a part of. I had the privilege of working with so many great actors over the years.
"I was honored to have served in the army for my country. I was at Anzio during WWII and it makes you realize how very precious life is," Arness wrote.
"Thank you again for all the many letters, cards, emails and gifts we received from you over the years. You are and always have been truly appreciated," he concluded.


Mr Arness will best be remembered as The honest Marshall "Matt Dillion" who was gentle, polite and morally unshakable.  The Marshall enforced justice in Dodge City one episode at a time.
James was the Marshall  on "Gunsmoke" from 1955 to 1975, but it was always 1873 in Dodge City Kansas.   You could just set back in front of the old TV set every week with family or friends.  You where taken back to when the West was still wild and see a great story on "Gunsmoke". 
"Gunsmoke" can still be seen on the "Encore Western channel".

Do you have any memories of James Arness as Matt Dillion on"Gunsmoke", "The Thing", "Them", Hondo or any other favorite movies?

The Magical Car from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is on the Auction Block

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang the magical car from the 1968 movie is going on the auction block.  The auction is being conducted by "Auction house Profiles in History."  The sale will be held on May 14th and 15th in Beverly Hills California at "The Saban Theater".  Chitty, a 1910 replica, could fly with retractable wings and use floatation devices on water.

The car has been owned by British stunt man and actor Pierre Picton since he was hired to do promotional work for the film.  Pierre was also a stunt driver and double for the human star Dick Van Dyke.  Pierre is now 76 years old and is ready to sell Chitty after 50 years of showing her off  to waving and cheering crowds.   "Chitty has been a great friend and it has been an amazing experience to get noticed with admiration wherever I take her".  "I am getting older and it's now time to set her free to fly to pastures new".  "I hope the car will continue to bring great enjoyment for generations to come." 

The heroic car is still fully functional and road ready but sadly lacks the flying equipment and floatation devices.  The car was designed by Ken Adams who also designed the James Bond movie sets.   The car was built by Ford racing on a custom ladder frame chassis.  The power was from a 3.0 liter Essex competition racing engine that was covered by a polished aluminum hood.  The body was red with a wood white cedar boat tail.  Chitty also had brass fittings from antique cars and an alloy dashboard plate from a World War I British Fighter plane.  The car is still registered with the GEN 11 license plate seen in the film. 

Chitty is estimated to sell between $1 and $2 million dollars.   A small price to pay for a world famous magical car that is part of movie history.  I only wish it could fly. 

What do you remember about Chitty Chitty Bang Bang?   I remember watching the movie at the Crocket Theater and on TV as a kid.  I always liked Chitty and the songs from the film.  The special effects were not the greatest and it has a few corny moments.   I still enjoy the movie and wish I could take a ride in this magical car.  I would like to watch the Blue Ray version with all the extras.  Does anyone have any reviews of the extras on the Blue Ray?  Do you have any favorite memories about the movie or any more information about Chitty Chitty Bang Bang?  I  have included a few video clips about Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.  I hope these bring back a few more memories.

Stay tuned for more information about your favorite movies, TV shows and more on Remember When.   Coming soon "The Invaders" from the Twilight Zone.

"The Twilight Zone": "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet"

  One of my favorite episodes of the Twilight Zone is "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" from 1963. This episode is based on the short story by Richard Matheson. Does anyone think of this episode when they look out the window of a plane?  I have to admit that the Gremlin did look a little rediculous as the budget for special effects and costumes was not big for the Twilight Zone, but the stories were always great.

I have included a review with parodies and other information below from Wikipedia.

Bob Wilson (William Shatner) is a salesman on an airplane for the first time since his nervous breakdown six months earlier during a plane ride. He spots a gremlin on the wing of the plane. Every time someone else looks out the window, the gremlin leaps out of view, so nobody believes Bob's seemingly outlandish claim. Bob realizes that his wife is starting to think he needs to go back to the sanitarium, but also, if nothing is done about the gremlin, it will damage the plane and cause it to crash. Bob steals a sleeping policeman's revolver, and opens the window marked "Auxiliary Exit" to shoot the gremlin, succeeding despite the fact that he is nearly blown out of the plane himself. Once the plane has landed, although he is whisked away in a straitjacket, a final shot reveals evidence of his claims: the unusual damage to the plane's engine nacelle—yet to be discovered by mechanics.This episode was remade into a segment of the 1983 movie version of the series, with John Lithgow portraying the main character, who has been renamed John Valentine. The story is somewhat shortened, but the plot in general is the same, although with some differences. In this version, Valentine travels alone, and his fear of flight seems to be more emphasized, as the segment begins with an almost hysterical Valentine hiding in the bathroom. When he eventually spots the gremlin, he reacts more strongly than the original incarnation of the character. He yells at the flight crew and his fellow passengers on several occasions. At the end of the segment, in a scene not shown in the original 1963 TV episode, the mechanics discover the severe damage done to the plane.The original gremlin was an ape-like creature which seemed to be driven by curiosity rather than a will to cause damage. In the movie, the gremlin more resembles an alien, with slimy beige skin and a frightful grin. It seems more intelligent and menacing, beginning to dismantle one of the jet's engines, rather than curiously roaming about as the original gremlin did. It taunts Valentine several times, holding up a piece of wing and demonstratively tossing it inside the engine to damage it. When Valentine tries to shoot the gremlin, it runs over the wing to Valentine, grabs his hand holding the gun, and promptly bites the gun in half. At that moment the lights of the landing field appear below. The gremlin grabs Valentine's face, seemingly about to kill him, but stops and then waves its finger in a dismissive "tut-tut-tut" manner. It then leaps away, off into somewhere else. The original gremlin never made physical contact with Wilson.

The epilogue features Valentine being driven to the sanitarium by the passenger from the prologue (played by Dan Aykroyd), who is actually a demonic creature who killed his driving companion (Albert Brooks) at the beginning of the movie after asking, "Want to see something really scary?". He poses the same question to Valentine just as the film ends.

Parts of this episode's plot have been repeated and parodied several times in popular culture, including television shows, films, radio, and music. For example, the Treehouse of Horror IV episode of The Simpsons features a segment called "Terror at 5½ Feet". It takes place on a school bus rather than an airplane, and puts Bart Simpson in the role of Bob Wilson.[1] In an episode of Muppets Tonight that guest starred Whoopi Goldberg, Miss Piggy sees a gremlin outside on the wing of her plane, and pleas for help. William Shatner appears next to her and comments that he's been complaining about the same guy for years. William Shatner later appeared on an episode of 3rd Rock from the Sun opposite his film counterpart John Lithgow, and they both refer to something terrible that happened to them on an airplane. In season one, episode 12 of 3rd Rock from the Sun, an angst-ridden Dick Solomon is on a plane with Mary and he parodies his character in the film with a comment about something being on the wing, albeit before the flight took off. Saturday Night Live parodied the plot of the original, but having the gremlin doing a series of hilarious stunts, such as exercising and hanging out with Pearl Jam, and ending with the gremlin actually having been a locked out passenger.

Reception

Richard Matheson, in The Twilight Zone Magazine, called this episode one of his favorite episodes of The Twilight Zone, praising Richard Donner's direction and William Shatner's performance, though criticizing the appearance of the monster, comparing it to a "surly teddy bear."[verification needed]

Please see the video clip I have posted. If you have a chance, pop some popcorn set back and see the complete episode for fun in flight fright!   I will review  "The Invaders" in my next post.  This episode features little robots that make a surprise visit to a lady who lives alone.  Please post any comments about this episode or any other "Twilight Zone" information on my blog.      

References

^ Richmond, Ray; Antonia Coffman (1997). The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family. Harper Collins Publishers. pp. 124–125. ISBN 0-00-638898-1.

[edit] Sources

Zicree, Marc Scott: The Twilight Zone Companion. Sillman-James Press, 1982 (second edition)

DeVoe, Bill. (2008). Trivia from The Twilight Zone. Albany, GA: Bear Manor Media. ISBN 978-1-59393-136-0

Grams, Martin. (2008). The Twilight Zone: Unlocking the Door to a Television Classic. Churchville, MD: OTR Publishing. ISBN 978-0-9703310-9-0

"The Body Snatchers" Star dies

This just in:  Dana Wynter female star of the original SC-FI classic "Invasion of the Body Snatchers"  died Sunday of heart failure, she was 79.  She was best known for her role as Becky Driscoll who ran from the Pod People in 1956s "Invasion of the Body Snatchers".  The film, directed by Don Siegel, featured townspeople being replaced by emotionless duplicates grown from plant like pods.  Wynter grew up in England and studied to be a doctor before turning to acting.  She appeared with Robert Lansing in the ABC series "The Man Who Never Was,"  and starred in "Wagon Train,"  " Cannon" and "The Rockford Files." 
I remember watching "The Invasion of the Body Snatchers" on late night TV and also seeing it at the drive in my hometown.   Do you remember Dana Wynter.  When and where were you the first time you saw this SCI-FI classic?   Please check out the video clip for "Invasion of the Body Snatchers."

Stay Tuned for my review of  "The Twilight Zone" - "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" on my next post.  

Travel Into Another Dimension, The Twilight Zone

This just in...
I just noticed that NetFlix just added the original 138 episodes of The Twilight Zone.  The Twilight Zone was one of my favorite all time TV shows.  It ran in glorious black and white from 1959-1963.  Each show was hosted by creator Rod Serling and stood alone as a complete story.  The episodes usually combined humor, horror, science fiction, mystery, history, and social issues such as prejudice, bigotry, greed, conformity, narcism, life and death.  Some of the best actors and actresses appeared on the shows.  Many of them going on to star in major TV shows and movies.  

I remember watching the Twilight Zone reruns on TV.  Please see the introduction clip from the pilot episode with a different narrator than Rod Serling.   
Stay tuned for more reviews, videos, pictures and show information...

Please comment on your favorite Twilight Zone shows and any other information relating to The Twilight Zone.