Goodyear Blimp "Columbia" At Point Mugu

Back in the 1960s, Goodyear operated two blimps, the Mayflower (based on the east coast) and Columbia (N2A) (based in the Los Angeles area).

In late 1967, we went to the annual Point Mugu Airshow at the navy base near Oxnard, California.  The Goodyear blimp Columbia was there and I took these photos of it with my Kodak Instamatic 104 camera.

Above, the Goodyear blimp "Columbia" rising up over the Point Mugu runway.  Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, a few seconds after the first photo, the blimp flies further down the runway.  Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, "Columbia" flies over the Point Mugu Airshow crowd.  Unfortunately, the photo is damaged.
Photo by Armand Vaquer.

My grandmother always wanted to take a ride on the blimp (you can never get her in an airplane, though), but she never did.

Christopher Dorner and Charlie

Above, fugitive Christopher Dorner.

It has been reported in the media during the past 24 hours that actor Charlie Sheen was complimented in cop-killer Christopher Dorner's "manifesto" and Sheen, while on TMZ, said that he appreciated the "kind words" and asked Dorner to "please call me" to see how the current manhunt can be peacefully resolved.  (Funny, Sheen didn't leave his phone number for Dorner to call him.)

It just so happened that I worked earlier today at the exclusive community where Sheen lives.   The gate guard and I joked, "Wouldn't it be funny if we called Sheen's residence and told him, "A Mr. Dorner is here to see you.""

Besides getting our butts fired for such a prank, the whole LAPD (including S.W.A.T.) would be swarming the place as anyone can pick up our radio transmissions.

Heh, heh!

Monster Japan Travel Guide Picked Up By Filmy Boxoffice

Above, Yuu Asakura with "The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan." Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Filmy Boxoffice.com picked up the YouTube video on The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan.

The site covers movies, videos, celebrities, music and offers wallpapers.

To view the site, go here.

Monster Hunter Freedom Picks Up Monster Japan Travel Guide

Above, Miki Hayashi with "The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan."  Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Somehow I missed this one, but the blog, Monster Hunter Freedom picked up my blog post on ordering The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan back in March 2010.

Monster Hunter Freedom covers a wide range of monster genres, including kaiju.

To view it, go here.

Superman Meets Wild Bill Hickok

Yesterday, I came across this photo of George Reeves (center) with Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok (sometimes spelled "Hickock") stars Andy Devine (left), who played Jingles and Guy Madison (Wild Bill) in the mid-1950s.  

The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok ran on television from 1951 to 1958.

The Tokyo Reporter Reports On Japan's Sleazy Underbelly

Every country has its sleazy underbelly, Japan is no different.

The country is generally strict in regards to vice and crime, but sometimes they seem to be lax about enforcement of their laws.

There is one news website that specializes in reporting Japan's criminal and vice news, and that is The Tokyo Reporter.  News subjects range from prostitution, yakuza (Japanese mafia), adult video, love hotels, murder, police raids, white collar crime and more.  They also cover "standard" news that conventional news sites cover.

I don't go there too often, but occasionally they will put up an eye-catching headline.  Their motto is, "All The News That's Fit To Squint."

Here's a sample of what The Tokyo Reporter looks like with one of their headlines:

To read The Tokyo Reporter, go here.

Monster Japan Travel Guide Page Updated

It has been a while since I last updated the "About "The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan"" page.

I added a section about the Amazon Kindle ebook edition and did some tinkering here & there.  The page looks better and is updated.

To view it, go here.

"Django Unchained" (2012)

Above, Christoph Waltz and Jamie Foxx.

Last night, I watched another awards screener DVD.

This one was Django Unchained (2012).

From Wikipedia:

Django Unchained is a 2012 American epic western film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. The film stars Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kerry Washington, and Samuel L. Jackson and was released on December 25, 2012 in North America.

Set in the antebellum era of the Deep South and Old West, the film follows a freed slave (Foxx) who treks across the United States with a bounty hunter (Waltz) on a mission to rescue his wife (Washington) from a cruel and charismatic plantation owner (DiCaprio).

Django Unchained is a very violent (as one would expect from a Tarantino flick) movie, but it is done in a tongue-in-cheek style and is very entertaining.  The blood and gore being splattered around reminded me of Sam Peckinpah's movies, particularly The Wild Bunch.

The make-up work was top notch.  It was so good that I almost didn't recognize Samuel L. Jackson.  He looked like Uncle Ben (of steamed rice fame).

I can see why there was much controversy over the use of the "n-word" throughout the movie.  But, I also see why it was necessary, given the era the movie was set in.

My grade: A.

The Van Nuys Drive-In Theater

The Van Nuys Drive-In Theater (above) in Van Nuys, California (San FernandoValley) was built in 1948 and originally had a car capacity of 891 cars.  It was operated by Pacific Theaters. Its address was 15040 Roscoe Blvd., Van Nuys, California.

The Van Nuys Drive-In Theater screened Godzilla 1985 in the summer of 1985 and I caught a late showing on a warm night. At the time, the theater had already been converted to a triple-screen facility.

The theater was closed in August 1996 and demolished in August 1998.

Sinking Yen Good News

Above, Tokyo's Akihabara "Electric Town."  The falling yen makes
Japanese goods more affordable on the export market.  Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The falling yen against the U.S. dollar and other international currencies are making Japanese goods and travel to Japan more affordable for foreigners.

According to Hong Kong's The Standard:

With inflation ever-present and with workers complaining of minimal pay rises, it's nice to know that some things are cheaper - provided they are made in Japan. 

With the yen falling rapidly against the US dollar, fruits, wheat, snacks and other goodies imported directly from Japan are now cheaper. What's more, a five-day trip to the Land of the Rising Sun is now HK$1,000 less, or a drop of 10 percent.

The yen has depreciated by 15 percent since November when the market tipped Shinzo Abe to regain the premiership and implement more aggressive monetary easing policies. 

It breached the 94 mark against the greenback recently and 100 yen is now worth just HK$8.25, compared with more than HK$10 a few months ago.

If the trend of the dollar rising against the yen continues, we might be seeing ¥100 per dollar by April.

To view the full article, go here.

"Skyfall" Blu-ray & DVD Coming February 12

Just when I get a copy of Skyfall on an awards screener DVD, the Blu-ray and DVD editions are coming out.  (At least the price was right: free.)

The latest James Bond 007 adventure will be hitting stores on February 12 in English (Dolby Digital 5.1), French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround), Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround).

The movie stars Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Javier Bardem, Ralph Fienne and Naomie Harris.

Skyfall has to be one of the best in the 50-year-old franchise.  Seeing it (and Casino Royale) makes me think that the producers wasted so many years putting out junk like Moonraker, A View To A Kill, Die Another Day and others of that quality (or lack thereof).

My only quibble is that the familiar gun barrel sequence that opened the pre-Daniel Craig Bonds has been relegated to the end of the movie.

I'll be getting the Blu-ray edition.

A Personal Decision On Gun Control

A friend weighed in on the gun control issue and sent this:

I have friends on both sides of the handgun issue, those who believe easy access to handguns is not good for this country and those who believe government has no business dictating ownership one way or the other.

I have gained valuable understanding from both arguments. I have made my final decision. Certain Americans, especially those who are more likely to become victims of crime, need to own and become proficient with handguns!

Goodyear Airship Operations - Carson, CA

Above, the "Spirit of America."  Photo by Armand Vaquer.

If you happen to be in the Los Angeles area, you may want to take a drive down to the juncture of the Harbor (I-110) and San Diego (I-405) Freeways in Carson.

There, you will find the Goodyear Airship Operations base where the Goodyear blimp, Spirit of America is based.  (See map below.)  You may be lucky to see the blimp moored there as I was last month.

Above, the "Spirit of America" moored at its Carson base.  Photo by Armand Vaquer.

For the Goodyear blimp website, go here.

Ronald Reagan's 102nd Birthday

Above, actor Michael Landon joins Reagan at a California Primary reception
at the Ambassador Hotel on primary election night in June 1980.  Photo by
Armand Vaquer.

Today is the 63rd anniversary of Ronald Reagan's 39th birthday (as he would have put it).

102 years ago, Reagan was born February 6, 1911 in Tampico, Illinois.  He died June 5, 2004 in Bel Air, California.  He was the 40th president of the United States and served from January 20, 1981 to January 20, 1989.

His presidential library is located in Simi Valley, California.

The story behind the above photo:

Back in 1980, I was the area chairman for former Gov. Ronald Reagan's Reagan For President campaign in my congressional district (Hawthorne, Lawndale, Gardena and parts of Los Angeles).

On the night of the California Primary in June 1980, the campaign set up their election night headquarters at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles.  This may have been the first California Primary election night victory party at the Ambassador for a presidential campaign since the assassination of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy there in June 1968, but I am not sure of this.  The Ambassador Hotel has since been demolished a few years ago and a new high school has been built at the site.

Reagan was due to give his victory speech that night in the Embassy Ballroom.  Prior to this, a private reception was held in a small room near the Embassy Ballroom for area chairmen.  I attended this reception and took the above photo and several others of the Reagan family and actor Michael Landon.  The photo above was also published by the Los Angeles County Republican Central Committee's monthly newspaper, The Trunkline on the front page.

Miscellany

Yesterday, I decided to use the Mad Monster Party photo thingie they made for their guest page as my Facebook profile photo.

Several people hit the 'like' button, including one who was once president of Toho Pictures and Godzilla's executive producer:

In other Toho-related things, I was chatting with former Toho-Los Angeles General Manager Masaharu Ina today and I sent him a photo of my daughter Amber and I at Crazy Tokyo Sushi from yesterday.

I received this very nice reply:

Thank you for the photo. You look so good and your daughter is a beautiful young lady now. You must be very proud and a bit worried maybe as most of dads with young daughters are. 

I am glad you are happy and hope this year will be good to you and your daughter. 

Very best, 

Masa

Hopefully, I will be heading to Japan this year and he and I can meet up (or perhaps both gentlemen).

Narita Launching New Website To Help Visitors

Above, Terminal One Arrival Lobby at Narita Airport.  Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Travelers to Japan's Narita Airport outside of Tokyo will be assisted by a new website.

According to The Moodie Report:

JAPAN. Narita Airport (NAA) has announced the launch of a portal site on 7 February to assist visitors to Japan. 

Called Tabimori – Travel Amulet, the portal provides information on travel to and from Narita Airport, along with useful phrases, actions to take in the event of an earthquake, and travel tips on some of the unique rules and etiquette practised in Japan.

Tabimori will be available in English, Chinese (simplified and traditional) and Korean.

It will be accessible by computer via the Narita Airport website, by smartphone at http://inbound.narita-airport.jp/index.php, and QR code. It will also display automatically when connecting to free-access Wi-Fi services in the Arrivals lobbies of Narita Airport’s two terminals. 

To read the full article, go here.

51 Busiest Train Stations In The World

Above, Shibuya Station at night.  Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Japan Today has an interesting article on the world's 51 most busiest train stations.

Surprisingly, Japan has all but six stations on the list.

Here is number two:

 #2 Shibuya Station (Tokyo, Japan) – Approx. 1,090,000,000

Also in the center of Tokyo, Shibuya station has a kind of nice atmosphere to it that can almost distract an agoraphobe from the hordes of commuters passing through. The station also features large, eye-catching artwork from Taro Okamoto. 

There’s also a statue to Hachiko near one of the exits. Hachiko was the dog immortalized in Japanese and (to a lesser extent) American movies as the dog who faithfully waited for his dead master outside of Shibuya station for nine years.

I've been to Shibuya Station many times and it is quite busy.  Shibuya Station has the distinction of being torched by Gamera in Gamera 3.  I have also been to the number one busiest station as well.  But you'd have to read the article to see what station is the world's busiest.

To read the full article, go here.

Pictorial Birthday Greetings

A lot of birthday greetings were received today (thanks, all!), most were just text but others sent pictures.

Here's a sampling:

From Greg Cordaro:

From Jeff Horne:

From Neil Riebe:

From Peter H. Brothers:

From Stan Hyde:

From Tyler Martin:

From Shinichi Wakasa:

Birthday Lunch

Today's birthday lunch at Crazy Tokyo Sushi in Tarzana with no. 1 daughter.

NY's Grand Central and Tokyo Station To Become Sister Stations

Above, commuters at Tokyo Station.  Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Tokyo Station and New York's Grand Central Terminal will become "sister stations" to help promote tourism.

According to Kyodo News:

Tokyo Station will become a sister station of New York's Grand Central Terminal in what will be the first such partnership involving Japanese and American stations aimed at boosting tourism, the Tokyo station operator said Friday. 

The move will commemorate the 100th anniversaries of the New York station in 2013 and Tokyo Station in 2014, East Japan Railway Co. said, adding a signing ceremony will be held at Grand Central on March 19.

To read more, go here.

From Mad Monster Party...

http://www.themadmonsterparty.com/

Birthday Omelet

My birthday omelet with a volcano or teat?  (This is what greeted me this morning.)

"Lincoln" and "Flight" Mini-reviews

Yesterday, I watched two good movies via "award screener" DVDs.

The first was Steven Spielberg's Lincoln with Daniel Day Lewis in the title role.  The movie focuses on the final months of President Abraham Lincoln's life and the end of the Civil War.

The movie was well done and Lewis was probably the best movie Lincoln ever and Sally Field was great as Mary Todd Lincoln.

I am disappointed at how the assassination at Ford's Theater was glossed over.  Every Lincoln movie I've seen (dating back to D. W. Griffith's 1930 Abraham Lincoln) re-enacted the assassination.  This movie didn't.  They did depict Lincoln's moment of death in the rooming house across the street from Ford's.  The room was bigger than the actual one (I should know, I've been in it.)

Other than those quibbles, it was a fine movie.  If one is not into political history, they may find the movie long and boring.  There is one other actor who is in the movie who once also played Lincoln.

My grade: A.

********************************

The second movie I watched was Flight, starring Denzel Washington.

Washington plays an heroic airline pilot but his alcoholism causes him trouble when federal investigators look into the circumstances surrounding the crash of the plane he was piloting.

Flight is a riveting movie and Washington's portrayal of an heroic, but flawed pilot was excellent.  Nadine Velazquez provides some eye-candy early on in the movie.

My grade: A+.

U.S. Dollar Reaches ¥92

The U.S. dollar reached ¥92 for the first time in 32 months yesterday in Tokyo.

According to Jiji Press:

The greenback stood at 92.08-10 yen at 5 p.m., up from 90.91-92 yen at the same time Thursday, topping the 92-yen threshold for the first time since June 14, 2010.   

To read more, go here.

Mad Monster Party Events Now Posted

Above, Haruo Nakajima (right) in "Seven Samurai" in 1954.   Photo: Toho Co., Ltd.

The official Mad Monster Party website has updated their Events page to show what convention-goers can look forward to.

There's a lot of fun things to see and do over the three-day weekend that begins on Friday, March 22 and ends on Sunday, March 24 at the Blake Hotel in Charlotte, North Carolina.

I will be there with Haruo "Mr. Godzilla" Nakajima and will have The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan available.

To view the events page, go here.

Japan Unveils New N700A Shinkansen

Japan today unveiled its new N700A Shinkansen to the media which will go into passenger service February 8 between Tokyo and Osaka.

According to News On Japan:

The new train uses about 20 percent less electricity for lighting than previous models. It has slightly dimmer interior lights, with brighter-colored seats to compensate. Light-emitting diode lamps are installed in its bathrooms.

To read more, go here.

Barney Bush, R.I.P.

Former President George W. Bush issued the following statement:

Laura and I are sad to announce that our Scottish Terrier, Barney, has passed away. The little fellow had been suffering from lymphoma and after twelve and a half years of life, his body could not fight off the illness. 

Barney and I enjoyed the outdoors. He loved to accompany me when I fished for bass at the ranch. He was a fierce armadillo hunter. At Camp David, his favorite activity was chasing golf balls on the chipping green.

Japan Hit By Influenza

Above, the Japan health ministry recommends wearing a mask to help check the
spread of the flu like the one the girl at right is wearing.  Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The flu season has been heavy here in the United States.  It even hit my household last week, but luckily I was spared.

RTT News is reporting that the flu has also struck Japan:

Japan is currently under a bout of influenza with the disease rapidly spreading especially among children, media reports from Tokyo said on Friday. 

According to the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, an estimated 1.4 million people have caught the flu in the week ended January 20. The average number of patients per hospital was over 22, which was 1.9 times more than that reported a week ago.

The Japanese health ministry recommends frequent washing of hands and wearing masks in public to help check the spread of the disease.

To read more, go here.