French postcard by Editions 'Humour à la Carte", Paris, no. ST-5. Photo: Alfred Hitchcock promoting Family Plot (Alfred Hitchcock, 1976). Sent by mail in 1986.

British director Alfred Hitchcock (1899-1980) was known as 'The Master of Suspense'. He is one of the most influential and extensively studied filmmakers in the history of cinema. He had his first major success with The Lodger (1926), a silent thriller loosely based on Jack the Ripper. Hitchcock came to international attention with The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934), The 39 Steps (1935), and, most notably, The Lady Vanishes (1938). His first Hollywood film was the multi-Oscar-winning psychological thriller Rebecca (1940). Many classics followed including Spellbound (1945), Notorious (1946), Rear Window (1954), North by Northwest (1959) and The Birds (1963). In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 feature films which garnered a total of 46 Oscar nominations and 6 wins.

Alfred Joseph Hitchcock was born in Leytonstone, on the outskirts of east London, in 1899. He was the son of Emma Jane Whelan and East End greengrocer William Hitchcock. His parents were both of half English and half Irish ancestry. He had two older siblings, William and Eileen Hitchcock. Raised as a strict Catholic and attending Saint Ignatius College, a school run by Jesuits, Hitch had very much of a regular upbringing. In 1914, his father died. To support himself and his mother—his older siblings had left home by then—Hitchcock took a job in 1915 as an estimator for the Henley Telegraph and Cable Company. His interest in films began at around this time, frequently visiting the cinema and reading US trade journals. In a trade paper, he read that Famous Players-Lasky, the production arm of Paramount Pictures, was opening a studio in London. They were planning to film The Sorrows of Satan by Marie Corelli, so Hitch produced some drawings for the title cards and sent his work to the studio. They hired him, and in 1919 he began working for Islington Studios as a title-card designer. Hitchcock soon gained experience as a co-writer, art director, and production manager on at least 18 silent films. After Hugh Croise, the director for Always Tell Your Wife (1923) fell ill, Hitchcock and star and producer Seymour Hicks finished the film together. When Paramount pulled out of London in 1922, Hitchcock was hired as an assistant director by a new firm run in the same location by Michael Balcon, later known as Gainsborough Pictures. He began to collaborate with the editor and "script girl" Alma Reville, his future wife. He worked as an assistant to director Graham Cutts on several films, including The Blackguard (1924), which was produced at the Babelsberg Studios in Potsdam. There Hitchcock watched part of the making of F. W. Murnau's film Der letzte Mann/The Last Laugh (1924). He was impressed with Murnau's work and later used many of his techniques for the set design in his own productions. In the summer of 1925, Balcon asked Hitchcock to direct The Pleasure Garden (1925), starring Virginia Valli, a co-production of Gainsborough and the German firm Emelka. Reville, by then Hitchcock's fiancée, was assistant director-editor. In 1927, Hitchcock made his first trademark film, the thriller The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (1927) starring Ivor Novello. The Lodger is about the hunt for a serial killer who, wearing a black cloak and carrying a black bag, is murdering young blonde women in London, and only on Tuesdays. The Lodger was a commercial and critical success in the UK. In the same year, Hitchcock married Alma Reville. They had one child, Patricia Hitchcock (1928). Reville became her husband's closest collaborator and wrote or co-wrote on many of his films. Hitchcock made the transition to sound film with his tenth film, Blackmail (1929), the first British 'talkie'. Blackmail began the Hitchcock tradition of using famous landmarks as a backdrop for suspense sequences, with the climax taking place on the dome of the British Museum. He used early sound recording as a special element of the film, stressing the word "knife" in a conversation with the woman (Anny Ondra) suspected of murder. It was followed by Murder! (1930). In 1933 Hitchcock was once again working for Michael Balcon at Gaumont-British on The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934). It was a success. His second, The 39 Steps (1935), with Robert Donat, made him a star in the USA. It also established the quintessential English 'Hitchcock blonde' (Madeleine Carroll) as the template for his succession of ice-cold, elegant leading ladies. His next major success was The Lady Vanishes (1938), with Margaret Lockwood and Michael Redgrave. The film saw Hitchcock receive the 1938 New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Director.[

David O. Selznick signed Hitchcock to a seven-year contract beginning in March 1939, and the Hitchcocks moved to Hollywood. He directed an adaptation of Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca (1940), starring Joan Fontaine and Laurence Olivier. Rebecca won the Oscar for Best Picture, although Hitchcock himself was only nominated as Best Director. Hitchcock's second American film was the thriller Foreign Correspondent (1940), set in Europe, and produced by Walter Wanger. It was nominated for Best Picture that year Suspicion (1941) was the first of four projects on which Cary Grant worked with Hitchcock, and it is one of the rare occasions that Grant was cast in a sinister role. In one scene Hitchcock placed a light inside a glass of milk, perhaps poisoned, that Grant is bringing to his wife, played by Joan Fontaine. The light makes sure that the audience's attention is on the glass. Fontaine won the Best Actress Oscar for her performance. Shadow of a Doubt (1943) was Hitchcock's personal favourite. Charlotte "Charlie" Newton (Teresa Wright) suspects her beloved uncle Charlie Oakley (Joseph Cotten) of being a serial killer. Hitchcock was again nominated for the Oscar for Best Director for Lifeboat (1944) and Spellbound (1945), but he never won the award. Spellbound (1945), starring Ingrid Bergman and Gregory Peck, explores psychoanalysis and features a dream sequence designed by Salvador Dalí. Notorious (1946) stars Ingrid Bergman and Cary Grant, both Hitchcock regulars, and features a plot about Nazis, uranium, and South America. After a brief lull of commercial success in the late 1940s, Hitchcock returned to form with Strangers on a Train (1951), based on the novel by Patricia Highsmith. In the film, two men casually meet, one of whom speculates on a foolproof method to murder. He suggests that two people, each wishing to do away with someone, should each perform the other's murder. Farley Granger played the innocent victim of the scheme, while boy-next-door" Robert Walker played the villain. I Confess (1953) was set in Quebec with Montgomery Clift as a Catholic priest. It was followed by three colour films starring Grace Kelly: the 3-D film Dial M for Murder (1954), Rear Window (1954), and To Catch a Thief (1955). From 1955 to 1965, Hitchcock was the host of the television series Alfred Hitchcock Presents. With his droll delivery, gallows humour and iconic image, the series made Hitchcock a celebrity. in his films, Hitchcock often used the "mistaken identity" theme, such as in The Wrong Man (1956), and North by Northwest (1959). In Vertigo (1958), James Stewart plays Scottie, a former police investigator suffering from acrophobia. He develops an obsession with a woman he has been hired to shadow (Kim Novak). His obsession leads to tragedy, and this time Hitchcock does not opt for a happy ending. Vertigo is one of his most personal and revealing films, dealing with the Pygmalion-like obsessions of a man who crafts a woman into the woman he desires. Psycho (1960) was Hitchcock's great shock masterpiece, mostly for its haunting performances by Janet Leigh and Anthony Perkins and its shower scene, and The Birds (1963) became the unintended forerunner to an onslaught of films about nature-gone-mad, and booth films were phenomenally popular. Film companies began to refer to his films as 'Alfred Hitchcock's': Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960), Alfred Hitchcock's Frenzy (1972), and Alfred Hitchcock's Family Plot (1976). During the making of Frenzy (1972), Hitchcock's wife Alma suffered a paralysing stroke which made her unable to walk very well. In 1979, Hitchcock was knighted, making him Sir Alfred Hitchcock. A year later, in 1980, he died peacefully in his sleep due to renal failure. Hitchcock was survived by his wife and daughter. After the funeral, his body was cremated. His remains were scattered over the Pacific Ocean.

Sources: Bruce Eder (AllMovie), Wikipedia, and IMDb.

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

SBT Guide to Spelunking Asia’s Longest Cave (238.48 km and still stretching) Part II -

Tip #6: Wear masquerading colors. Take a cue from insects that adapt to their environment by colors. Blending in helps to avoid predators, and increases the ability to survive. I goofed around with an attention-grabbing orange suit, and this is not good. Supposing that a cave-dwelling, carnivorous tortoise comes out… I can run, but can I hide?

Tip #7: Scoop up histoplasmosis. Watch out for the priceless poop if you see a substantial population of creatures with the silent flap. Celebrities like Tom Cruise had flown nearly 9,000 km to London for The Japanese Nightingale Dropping Facial. You don’t have to. Bat guano beats Botox, I believe.

Tip #8: Test for carbon dioxide. Detect the odorless gas with a lighter. If the flame becomes dim or it goes out immediately, that’s the best place to take a break. You can camp with peace of mind without worrying about snakes and rats. The elevated levels of CO2 in the air instantly kill all slithering and scuttling things.

Tip #9: Mark your route in with garlic. Do not tape any section of the tunnels with plastic survey flagging or reflective markers. Cave beetles will chew and strew what you hope to preserve in piece. Go garlic which is safe and eco-friendly. You know the obnoxious scent still lingers after weeks? In the tricky maze, sniffing your way out is foolproof.

Tip #10: Take shelter in caves from storm. The key to lightning safety is simply avoiding where lightning can strike. Whoever heard of horizontal bolts traveling from cloud-to-cave? Thirteen trapped in a flash flood in Chiang Rai cave were eventually rescued. Have confidence be optimistic that you will be lucky too.

Tip #11: Forget SBT ludicrous guide. Erasing ten tips of mine from your mind will make you a smart speleologist.

P.S. All joking aside, please stay safe while spelunking. :)

ift.tt/2j8ydz9

Photo taken and edited with iphone3gs, apps: ProCamera, Afterglow, Halftone, Foolproof, TouchRetouch, Superimpose, Photo Power.

Twiiter/IG/EyeEm: @adesantora

In the 9-16 years I rarely missed a day of hiking the foothills of Mt. Diablo and the East Bay Regional Hills, I doubt if there was a day when I didn't see a California Ground Squirrel. I never learned much about them. In fact, all I did learn was by observing them. I'm sure they were in communities but more spread out than Prairie Dog Towns. I also watched them long enough to know that every burrow had at least two entrances and exits or exits and entrances, each about 80 feet (my estimate) from the next. There were no signs saying, "Welcome" or "Go Away," but when the call went out that a raptor had been spotted (by this guy who was the designated sentry for the day), there'd be squirrels bolting in all directions and down the hole for safety. Their system wasn't foolproof or even raptor proof, but most often, when I saw one that had been caught off guard, it was obvious he was never on his guard to begin with: every kill I saw was to a Western Diamondback. I never could stand to watch the process: just something about squirrels...

The California ground squirrel (Otospermophilus beecheyi), also known as the Beechey ground squirrel, is a common and easily observed ground squirrel of the western United States and the Baja California Peninsula; it is common in Oregon and California and its range has relatively recently extended into Washington and northwestern Nevada.

As is typical for ground squirrels, California ground squirrels live in burrows which they excavate themselves. Some burrows are occupied communally but each individual squirrel has its own entrance. Although they readily become tame in areas used by humans, and quickly learn to take food left or offered by picnickers, they spend most of their time within 25 m (82 ft) of their burrow, and rarely go further than 50 m (160 ft) from it. How about that, I estimated correctly. So my seven years was not a total waste.

In the colder parts of their range, California ground squirrels hibernate for several months, but in areas where winters have no snow, most squirrels are active year-round. In those parts where the summers are hot they may also estivate for periods of a few days. Squirrels mate for only two weeks during the spring and the pups become sexually active at one year. In other words, there will always be a lot of squirrels. They eat seeds and some insects and, though I've never - not in 50 years - seen one in town or burbs, supposedly they're "the scourge of suburban neighborhoods," a statement made by someone who doesn't like squirrels, because the more likely culprit would be mule deer which have roses as the entree to every other meal. Wild turkeys around here do quite a bit of damage as well though they live in the hills. If you're wealthy enough to live in one of the cities that abut the Open Space of Diablo, you're wealthy enough to replace your roses. If you have no money, what are you doing living in an $8 million home on Diablo, and still entertaining having wild turkey for Thanksgiving?

Just a short story: One of the owners of one of the "estates" went to court to have his property taxes reduced because he didn't know that the wildlife was going to eat him out of house and home. Case dismissed: have the wildlife chip in to pay the taxes was the wry reply.

Sunday afternoon I went for a hunt, but these shots haven’t hurt a single animal! For the first time, I had to settle for one single deer from behind, but for the second time, I got a foolproof tip. In the first thirty minutes, I haven’t me a single soul, then suddenly I caught a glimpse of a herd of 30-40 deer and I couldn’t believe my eyes! They were on their way fast, as you can see on the photo below.

Then I decided to go around the fishpond, so we can meet halfway, since the herd went towards the pond. However, soon I had a big surprise once more, as I found another group of 20-30 individuals.

I was planning to get closer to them and luckily, my clothes seemed suitable, since I was wearing a light gray jacket with a hoodie and a pair of jeans, and my patience proved to be effective. I’ve spent about three hours in the -4°C weather in the wilderness and I enjoyed every single moment of it, so much so, that I didn’t have time to feel the cold, if anything, I was feeling warm because I had to do one fourth of the trip squat walking. So yeah, hello, muscle soreness, but who cares after an amazing experience like this?!

When one group got scared and ran away, I started to approach the other, and yes, first I had to sneak and stealth in the snow-white field, then, as I was getting closer to the herd, I switched back once again to the beloved squat walk. After that I was trying to reduce the distance between us, meter by meter.

The real miracle happened when I was squatting and one of the deer started to gallop towards me. I couldn’t even dream of something like this, that instead of receding from the lenses of the camera, one curious individual would come closer in a rush. I was squatting in an ideal position, totally still, waiting for what will happen next as I was already seeing the headlines in front of me: „deer attacked a Hungarian photographer”. Only my clicking finger was moving – it was a truly incredible moment!

In this moment, the deer could be about twenty meters from me, but it is hard for me to remember the exact details, as I became quite emotional because of its honorific visit. After a couple seconds, it perceived the possible danger, stroke a pose from the side as well, and then, in a flash, turned its back on me and ran away.

While I was switching between the herds, I saw something on the field that looked like a tussock, but turned out to be a rabbit, a beautiful hare, to be exact. Obviously, it hasn’t hesitated for long, and went down the rabbit hole.

I found a spot on the field where the undergrowth was a bit higher and provided a perfect cover for me, even though we are talking about a 30-40-centimeter long grass, but it allowed me, for yet another time, to get incredibly close to the herd.

Thank you for your attention and for the opportunity. I apologize for the quality of certain photos, but my equipment was nowhere near a wildlife photography one – more experienced photographers simply called me determined. If you liked to pictures, please follow Gabor Matesz Photos on Facebook where I offer a diverse scale of nature photos.

Enjoy the photos! Thanks for all visits, comments and Favs.

Copyright © Gabor Matesz Photos. All rights reserved. Please don't use without my permission.

At some point this least bittern came to the realization that I wasn't fooled by his hiding-in-plain-sight routine. But his backup plan was pretty much foolproof, carrying him across the water and out of harm's way on Horsepen Bayou.

This roasted chicken is coated in a garlic and herb butter, then cooked to golden brown perfection for a chicken that is tender and juicy coming out perfect every time! Secret (shhh).....This chicken is brined with lemons, honey, fresh herbs and spices, that produces a juicy tender chicken every time! A foolproof way for succulent and flavorful roasted, smoked or fried chicken.

For this recipe, please go to:

creativeelegancecatering.blogspot.com/2025/09/oven-roaste...

For over 1900 delicious recipes and mouthwatering food images, please go to:

creativeelegancecatering.blogspot.com/

As Dawn Breaks , Abu Road's WDG4 12904 waits on the Sidelines as the Multiple Semaphores count down their Days before they are removed making way for Electric Signals............An End of Era is near as Dhuri Jn. one of the Last Major Junction Of Indian Railways comprising of Numerous No.of these Beautiful Semaphore Signals , A FoolProof Signalling Technique is Electrified and these signals Become a Piece of History Books. It is sad that the Indian Railways has not Preserved These Signals for the Future Generations and Baseless Electrification is the only agenda on the Railway Ministry's Mind.........................

Some Info on Semaphore Signals:-

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railway_semaphore_signal

Sailor Bar, American River Parkway / Sacramento County, California

The following exchange took place in Western Odonata on Facebook regarding whether the image above is a California Dancer or an Aztec Dancer:

Pierre Deviche Dave: Are you sure this is not an AZTEC Dancer? The black dot on segment 2 looks good for this species - although this feature is not 100% foolproof and there are some exceptions.

Dave Johnson Pierre, every damselfly that I have posted in Western Odonata hoping that it was an Aztec Dancer was always shot down by Jim Johnson as being a California Dancer. I would gladly love to have this one be an Aztec Dancer without someone questioning why can't it be a California Dancer?.

Pierre Deviche Let's see what Jim has to say about it... Personally, had I seen this individual here in AZ, the initial thought would have been that it is *likely* an Aztec and not a California, based primarily on the shape of the S2 black mark. But as already indicated, there are exceptions, with some California pretending to be Aztec. Hard to be 100% sure without studying the appendages.

Dave Johnson Pierre, according to the range maps in Dennis Paulson's West Guide, this image can be either Aztec or California Dancer and if the appendages have to be checked to determine the actual ID then it has to be done from studying this image above since I did not collect it.

Pierre Deviche Dave: Unfortunately the difference in appendage shape (see Dennis' book. p. 156) is best determined based on a dorsal and not a lateral view as on your picture... To play it safe I'd label this one as California OR Aztec.

Jim JohnsonJim and 4 others manage the membership, moderators, settings, and posts for Western Odonata. I have grown hesitant to rely on the S2 mark either way. Anymore I really just want a view of the tori to make the call. When relying on photos of my own (not collecting), I try to get a dorsal shot of the tori in addition to a lateral view.

I still think that obvious pale brown longitudinal veins, when present and visible in photos, are a good indicator for nahuana, but the apparent lack of those pale brown veins (the veins appearing uniformly dark across the wing) do not necessarily indicate agrioides. This is because some nahuana have uniformly dark veins (but I have only encountered those in Arizona), or they just may not be visible in photos because of lighting and angle.

This is the long way of saying that I wouldn’t put a name on the photo above with confidence.

Dave Johnson Pierre suggested labeling this image above as California Dancer or Aztec Dancer, Jim, which is really what you are saying as well.

In a period of time distant from ours, in a remote corner of far flung space, an idea was born. An idea that would change the way humans would look at the galaxy, and everything in it.

Known for it's suede interior and horrible pre-installed pine-tree mirror dangley, the Lionfish served in the Si-industries line-up for fifteen years before getting mothballed to the back of many a service shop.

______

Built for the 14x14x6 starfighter contest.

Don’t swirl it with a fork, instead, cut a slice and take a big bite. A foolproof combination of ingredients that makes every bite quite mouthful!

Recipe and more photos at - Playful Cooking

Tenerife

Botanical Gardens Puerto de La Cruz

www.tenerife-information-centre.com/botanical-gardens-pue...

Although known officially as Jardín de Aclimatación de la Orotava, or "JAO", this installation is actually in Puerto de La Cruz (there is a smaller one actually in La Orotava).

Billbergia pyramidalis, commonly known as the flaming torch and foolproof plant, is a species of bromeliad that is native to northern South America and parts of the Caribbean.

Canada Post - The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) has started strikes in various cities. People have been reverting to foolproof tactics. The methods of our forefathers/foremothers suddenly make sense.

After a week or so of practice I've discovered a pretty foolproof setup for this sort of shot.

I placed a wok in my sink, filled that with water then left the tap on a constant drip. With the drops in the same place each time focussing was a lot easier, and with them being consistent spaced I could time my shots a lot easier so from a total of maybe 200 shots I had 40 "interesting" ones of which 7 got uploaded. Quite happy with that!

The colour in this one is added by having a blue chopping board placed behind the wok so the colour is reflected

As usual, The Misfits are causing a commotion. And as we all know, they love a scandal! With their flight looming in the wings, and Eric waiting patiently, the girls take a few minutes to launch a foolproof attack against The Holograms.

*Murphy's Lesser Known Laws *

1. Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

2. Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.

3. Those who live by the sword get shot by those who don't.

4. Nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently talented fool.

5. The 50-50-90 rule: Anytime you have a 50-50 chance of getting Something right, there's a 90% probability you'll get it wrong.

6. If you lined up all the cars in the world end to end, someone would be stupid enough to try to pass them, on a hill, in the fog.

7. The things that come to those who wait will be the scraggly junk left by those who got there first.

8. The shin bone is a device for finding furniture in a dark room.

9. A fine is a tax for doing wrong A tax is a fine for doing well.

10. When you go into court, you are putting yourself into the hands of twelve people who weren't smart enough to get out of jury duty.

Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them.

EXPLORE # 210, 215, 236 & 265 on Saturday, March 22, 2008; # 295 & 361 on 03-21-2008

British postcard in the Black & Whites Gallery by Foto-Roff, London, no. 1255. Photo: Clarence Sinclair Bull / Kobal Collection, 1957. Caption: How many sugars?

British director Alfred Hitchcock (1899-1980) was known as 'The Master of Suspense'. He is one of the most influential and extensively studied filmmakers in the history of cinema. He had his first major success with The Lodger (1926), a silent thriller loosely based on Jack the Ripper. Hitchcock came to international attention with The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934), The 39 Steps (1935), and, most notably, The Lady Vanishes (1938). His first Hollywood film was the multi-Oscar-winning psychological thriller Rebecca (1940). Many classics followed including Spellbound (1945), Notorious (1946), Rear Window (1954), North by Northwest (1959) and The Birds (1963). In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 feature films which garnered a total of 46 Oscar nominations and 6 wins.

Alfred Joseph Hitchcock was born in Leytonstone, on the outskirts of east London, in 1899. He was the son of Emma Jane Whelan and East End greengrocer William Hitchcock. His parents were both of half English and half Irish ancestry. He had two older siblings, William and Eileen Hitchcock. Raised as a strict Catholic and attending Saint Ignatius College, a school run by Jesuits, Hitch had very much of a regular upbringing. In 1914, his father died. To support himself and his mother—his older siblings had left home by then—Hitchcock took a job in 1915 as an estimator for the Henley Telegraph and Cable Company. His interest in films began at around this time, frequently visiting the cinema and reading US trade journals. In a trade paper, he read that Famous Players-Lasky, the production arm of Paramount Pictures, was opening a studio in London. They were planning to film The Sorrows of Satan by Marie Corelli, so Hitch produced some drawings for the title cards and sent his work to the studio. They hired him, and in 1919 he began working for Islington Studios as a title-card designer. Hitchcock soon gained experience as a co-writer, art director, and production manager on at least 18 silent films. After Hugh Croise, the director for Always Tell Your Wife (1923) fell ill, Hitchcock and star and producer Seymour Hicks finished the film together. When Paramount pulled out of London in 1922, Hitchcock was hired as an assistant director by a new firm run in the same location by Michael Balcon, later known as Gainsborough Pictures. He began to collaborate with the editor and "script girl" Alma Reville, his future wife. He worked as an assistant to director Graham Cutts on several films, including The Blackguard (1924), which was produced at the Babelsberg Studios in Potsdam. There Hitchcock watched part of the making of F. W. Murnau's film Der letzte Mann/The Last Laugh (1924). He was impressed with Murnau's work and later used many of his techniques for the set design in his own productions. In the summer of 1925, Balcon asked Hitchcock to direct The Pleasure Garden (1925), starring Virginia Valli, a co-production of Gainsborough and the German firm Emelka. Reville, by then Hitchcock's fiancée, was assistant director-editor. In 1927, Hitchcock made his first trademark film, the thriller The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (1927) starring Ivor Novello. The Lodger is about the hunt for a serial killer who, wearing a black cloak and carrying a black bag, is murdering young blonde women in London, and only on Tuesdays. The Lodger was a commercial and critical success in the UK. In the same year, Hitchcock married Alma Reville. They had one child, Patricia Hitchcock (1928). Reville became her husband's closest collaborator and wrote or co-wrote on many of his films. Hitchcock made the transition to sound film with his tenth film, Blackmail (1929), the first British 'talkie'. Blackmail began the Hitchcock tradition of using famous landmarks as a backdrop for suspense sequences, with the climax taking place on the dome of the British Museum. He used early sound recording as a special element of the film, stressing the word "knife" in a conversation with the woman (Anny Ondra) suspected of murder. It was followed by Murder! (1930). In 1933 Hitchcock was once again working for Michael Balcon at Gaumont-British on The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934). It was a success. His second, The 39 Steps (1935), with Robert Donat, made him a star in the USA. It also established the quintessential English 'Hitchcock blonde' (Madeleine Carroll) as the template for his succession of ice-cold, elegant leading ladies. His next major success was The Lady Vanishes (1938), with Margaret Lockwood and Michael Redgrave. The film saw Hitchcock receive the 1938 New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Director.[

David O. Selznick signed Hitchcock to a seven-year contract beginning in March 1939, and the Hitchcocks moved to Hollywood. He directed an adaptation of Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca (1940), starring Joan Fontaine and Laurence Olivier. Rebecca won the Oscar for Best Picture, although Hitchcock himself was only nominated as Best Director. Hitchcock's second American film was the thriller Foreign Correspondent (1940), set in Europe, and produced by Walter Wanger. It was nominated for Best Picture that year Suspicion (1941) was the first of four projects on which Cary Grant worked with Hitchcock, and it is one of the rare occasions that Grant was cast in a sinister role. In one scene Hitchcock placed a light inside a glass of milk, perhaps poisoned, that Grant is bringing to his wife, played by Joan Fontaine. The light makes sure that the audience's attention is on the glass. Fontaine won the Best Actress Oscar for her performance. Shadow of a Doubt (1943) was Hitchcock's personal favourite. Charlotte "Charlie" Newton (Teresa Wright) suspects her beloved uncle Charlie Oakley (Joseph Cotten) of being a serial killer. Hitchcock was again nominated for the Oscar for Best Director for Lifeboat (1944) and Spellbound (1945), but he never won the award. Spellbound (1945), starring Ingrid Bergman and Gregory Peck, explores psychoanalysis and features a dream sequence designed by Salvador Dalí. Notorious (1946) stars Ingrid Bergman and Cary Grant, both Hitchcock regulars, and features a plot about Nazis, uranium, and South America. After a brief lull of commercial success in the late 1940s, Hitchcock returned to form with Strangers on a Train (1951), based on the novel by Patricia Highsmith. In the film, two men casually meet, one of whom speculates on a foolproof method to murder. He suggests that two people, each wishing to do away with someone, should each perform the other's murder. Farley Granger played the innocent victim of the scheme, while boy-next-door" Robert Walker played the villain. I Confess (1953) was set in Quebec with Montgomery Clift as a Catholic priest. It was followed by three colour films starring Grace Kelly: the 3-D film Dial M for Murder (1954), Rear Window (1954), and To Catch a Thief (1955). From 1955 to 1965, Hitchcock was the host of the television series Alfred Hitchcock Presents. With his droll delivery, gallows humour and iconic image, the series made Hitchcock a celebrity. in his films, Hitchcock often used the "mistaken identity" theme, such as in The Wrong Man (1956), and North by Northwest (1959). In Vertigo (1958), James Stewart plays Scottie, a former police investigator suffering from acrophobia. He develops an obsession with a woman he has been hired to shadow (Kim Novak). His obsession leads to tragedy, and this time Hitchcock does not opt for a happy ending. Vertigo is one of his most personal and revealing films, dealing with the Pygmalion-like obsessions of a man who crafts a woman into the woman he desires. Psycho (1960) was Hitchcock's great shock masterpiece, mostly for its haunting performances by Janet Leigh and Anthony Perkins and its shower scene, and The Birds (1963) became the unintended forerunner to an onslaught of films about nature-gone-mad, and booth films were phenomenally popular. Film companies began to refer to his films as 'Alfred Hitchcock's': Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960), Alfred Hitchcock's Frenzy (1972), and Alfred Hitchcock's Family Plot (1976). During the making of Frenzy (1972), Hitchcock's wife Alma suffered a paralysing stroke which made her unable to walk very well. In 1979, Hitchcock was knighted, making him Sir Alfred Hitchcock. A year later, in 1980, he died peacefully in his sleep due to renal failure. Hitchcock was survived by his wife and daughter. After the funeral, his body was cremated. His remains were scattered over the Pacific Ocean.

Sources: Bruce Eder (AllMovie), Wikipedia, and IMDb.

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

👶💪🍎[Green Acres Studio] 👶💪🍎

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A little challenge to myself, the inspiration for the previous shot was from this movie poster from Dirty Harry. I got it in the ball park, my head should rotate and tilt a fuz, and revolver should have rotated forward also, but all and all not 1/2 ass bad. I used AnyPose, LeLutka Axis HUD & 2 LumiPro projectors.

What do you want from life? A finer adjustments on both AnyPose & LeLutka Axis HUD!

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🎶What Do You Want From Life(The Tubes)] 🎶

🎶What Do You Want From Life(The Tubes Live)] 🎶

What do you want from life?

To kidnap an heiress

Or threaten her with a knife?

What do you want from life?

To get cable TV

And watch it every night?

There you sit, a

Lump in your chair

Where do you sleep

And what do you wear

When you're sleeping

What do you want from life?

An Indian guru

To show you the inner light?

What do you want from life?

A meaningless love affair

With a girl that you met tonight?

How can you tell when you're doin' alright?

Does your bank account swell

While you're dreaming at night?

How do you know when you're really in love?

Do violins play when you're touching the one

That you're loving?

What do you want from life?

(What do you want from life?)

Someone to love

And somebody you can trust?

What do you want from life?

(What do you want from life?)

To try and be happy

While you do the nasty things you must?

What do you want from life?

What do you want from life?

What do you want from life?

What do you want from life?

Well, you can't have that, but

If you're an American citizen you are entitled to:

A heated kidney shaped pool

A microwave oven--don't watch the food cook

A Dyna-Gym--I'll personally demonstrate it in the privacy of your own home

A kingsize Titanic unsinkable Molly Brown waterbed with polybendum

A foolproof plan and an airtight alibi

Real simulated Indian jewelry!

A Gucci shoetree!

A year's supply of antibiotics

A personally autographed picture of Randy Mantooth

And Bob Dylan's new unlisted phone number

A beautifully restored 3rd Reich swizzle stick

Rosemary's baby!

A dream date in kneepads with Paul Williams

A new Matador

A new mastadon

A Maverick

A Mustang

A Montego

A Merc Montclair

A Mark IV

A meteor

A Mercedes

An MG

Or a Malibu?

A Mort Moriarty

A Maserati

A Mac truck

A Mazda

A new Monza

Or a moped

A Winnebago

Hell, a herd of Winnebago's, we're giving 'em away

Or how about a McCulloch chainsaw?

A Las Vegas wedding

A Mexican divorce

A solid gold Kama Sutra coffee pot

Or

A baby's arm holding an apple?

- Michael Ash Evans / William Edmond Spooner

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🐕 💝 🐈

💗 Hope 💗

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Protect Your Right To Vote!

BLM 8 Minutes 46 Seconds

Democracy Dies in Darkness

Get Your Booster!, I Got Mine! 💉

I Am Not Ukrainian But I Support You! 🌻💙💛🌻

Women's Rights Are Human Rights 1973-2022 RIP

A firearm should not have more rights than a human

Love is Love

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iMac

Viewer: Firestorm version 6.5.6 (66221)

The Tools

Ratio 23:9

LUMIIPro: Yes

AnyPose: Yes

LeLutka Axis HUD : Yes

Firestrom Photo Tools

SE: Set Midnight

SEW : -

Scene Gamma: 1.00

FOV: -

FL: -

Haze Horizon: -

Haze Density: -

Cloud Coverage: -

Cloud Scale: -

Shd Res: -

Shd Clarity: 17.47

Photopea Tools

Poster Edge

Flickr Tools

Filter: None

Blur: No

Brightness: 0

Saturation: 0

Contrast: 0

Gamma: 0

Clarity: 0

Exposure: 0

Shadows: 0

Highlight: 0

Temperature: 0

Whites: 0

Blacks: 0

Sharpness: 0

Lighting from Brickstuff - so small it fits everywhere. And the best of all is that it's absolutely foolproof! Just plug it together the way you want it, and turn it on.

via FlashMag – Fashion & Lifestyle Magazine ift.tt/2g7lpUr

American postcard by Fotofolio, New York, N.Y., no. PH 18, 1981. Photo: Philippe Halsman, 1962 / Hastings Galleries Collection. Alfred Hitchcock at the set of The Birds (1963).

British director Alfred Hitchcock (1899-1980) was known as 'The Master of Suspense'. He is one of the most influential and extensively studied filmmakers in the history of cinema. He had his first major success with The Lodger (1926), a silent thriller loosely based on Jack the Ripper. Hitchcock came to international attention with The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934), The 39 Steps (1935), and, most notably, The Lady Vanishes (1938). His first Hollywood film was the multi-Oscar-winning psychological thriller Rebecca (1940). Many classics followed including Spellbound (1945), Notorious (1946), Rear Window (1954), North by Northwest (1959) and The Birds (1963). In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 feature films which garnered a total of 46 Oscar nominations and 6 wins.

Alfred Joseph Hitchcock was born in Leytonstone, on the outskirts of east London, in 1899. He was the son of Emma Jane Whelan and East End greengrocer William Hitchcock. His parents were both of half English and half Irish ancestry. He had two older siblings, William and Eileen Hitchcock. Raised as a strict Catholic and attending Saint Ignatius College, a school run by Jesuits, Hitch had very much of a regular upbringing. In 1914, his father died. To support himself and his mother—his older siblings had left home by then—Hitchcock took a job in 1915 as an estimator for the Henley Telegraph and Cable Company. His interest in films began at around this time, frequently visiting the cinema and reading US trade journals. In a trade paper, he read that Famous Players-Lasky, the production arm of Paramount Pictures, was opening a studio in London. They were planning to film The Sorrows of Satan by Marie Corelli, so Hitch produced some drawings for the title cards and sent his work to the studio. They hired him, and in 1919 he began working for Islington Studios as a title-card designer. Hitchcock soon gained experience as a co-writer, art director, and production manager on at least 18 silent films. After Hugh Croise, the director for Always Tell Your Wife (1923) fell ill, Hitchcock and star and producer Seymour Hicks finished the film together. When Paramount pulled out of London in 1922, Hitchcock was hired as an assistant director by a new firm run in the same location by Michael Balcon, later known as Gainsborough Pictures. He began to collaborate with the editor and "script girl" Alma Reville, his future wife. He worked as an assistant to director Graham Cutts on several films, including The Blackguard (1924), which was produced at the Babelsberg Studios in Potsdam. There Hitchcock watched part of the making of F. W. Murnau's film Der letzte Mann/The Last Laugh (1924). He was impressed with Murnau's work and later used many of his techniques for the set design in his own productions. In the summer of 1925, Balcon asked Hitchcock to direct The Pleasure Garden (1925), starring Virginia Valli, a co-production of Gainsborough and the German firm Emelka. Reville, by then Hitchcock's fiancée, was assistant director-editor. In 1927, Hitchcock made his first trademark film, the thriller The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (1927) starring Ivor Novello. The Lodger is about the hunt for a serial killer who, wearing a black cloak and carrying a black bag, is murdering young blonde women in London, and only on Tuesdays. The Lodger was a commercial and critical success in the UK. In the same year, Hitchcock married Alma Reville. They had one child, Patricia Hitchcock (1928). Reville became her husband's closest collaborator and wrote or co-wrote on many of his films. Hitchcock made the transition to sound film with his tenth film, Blackmail (1929), the first British 'talkie'. Blackmail began the Hitchcock tradition of using famous landmarks as a backdrop for suspense sequences, with the climax taking place on the dome of the British Museum. He used early sound recording as a special element of the film, stressing the word "knife" in a conversation with the woman (Anny Ondra) suspected of murder. It was followed by Murder! (1930). In 1933 Hitchcock was once again working for Michael Balcon at Gaumont-British on The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934). It was a success. His second, The 39 Steps (1935), with Robert Donat, made him a star in the USA. It also established the quintessential English 'Hitchcock blonde' (Madeleine Carroll) as the template for his succession of ice-cold, elegant leading ladies. His next major success was The Lady Vanishes (1938), with Margaret Lockwood and Michael Redgrave. The film saw Hitchcock receive the 1938 New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Director.[

David O. Selznick signed Hitchcock to a seven-year contract beginning in March 1939, and the Hitchcocks moved to Hollywood. He directed an adaptation of Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca (1940), starring Joan Fontaine and Laurence Olivier. Rebecca won the Oscar for Best Picture, although Hitchcock himself was only nominated as Best Director. Hitchcock's second American film was the thriller Foreign Correspondent (1940), set in Europe, and produced by Walter Wanger. It was nominated for Best Picture that year Suspicion (1941) was the first of four projects on which Cary Grant worked with Hitchcock, and it is one of the rare occasions that Grant was cast in a sinister role. In one scene Hitchcock placed a light inside a glass of milk, perhaps poisoned, that Grant is bringing to his wife, played by Joan Fontaine. The light makes sure that the audience's attention is on the glass. Fontaine won the Best Actress Oscar for her performance. Shadow of a Doubt (1943) was Hitchcock's personal favourite. Charlotte "Charlie" Newton (Teresa Wright) suspects her beloved uncle Charlie Oakley (Joseph Cotten) of being a serial killer. Hitchcock was again nominated for the Oscar for Best Director for Lifeboat (1944) and Spellbound (1945), but he never won the award. Spellbound (1945), starring Ingrid Bergman and Gregory Peck, explores psychoanalysis and features a dream sequence designed by Salvador Dalí. Notorious (1946) stars Ingrid Bergman and Cary Grant, both Hitchcock regulars, and features a plot about Nazis, uranium, and South America. After a brief lull of commercial success in the late 1940s, Hitchcock returned to form with Strangers on a Train (1951), based on the novel by Patricia Highsmith. In the film, two men casually meet, one of whom speculates on a foolproof method to murder. He suggests that two people, each wishing to do away with someone, should each perform the other's murder. Farley Granger played the innocent victim of the scheme, while boy-next-door" Robert Walker played the villain. I Confess (1953) was set in Quebec with Montgomery Clift as a Catholic priest. It was followed by three colour films starring Grace Kelly: the 3-D film Dial M for Murder (1954), Rear Window (1954), and To Catch a Thief (1955). From 1955 to 1965, Hitchcock was the host of the television series Alfred Hitchcock Presents. With his droll delivery, gallows humour and iconic image, the series made Hitchcock a celebrity. in his films, Hitchcock often used the "mistaken identity" theme, such as in The Wrong Man (1956), and North by Northwest (1959). In Vertigo (1958), James Stewart plays Scottie, a former police investigator suffering from acrophobia. He develops an obsession with a woman he has been hired to shadow (Kim Novak). His obsession leads to tragedy, and this time Hitchcock does not opt for a happy ending. Vertigo is one of his most personal and revealing films, dealing with the Pygmalion-like obsessions of a man who crafts a woman into the woman he desires. Psycho (1960) was Hitchcock's great shock masterpiece, mostly for its haunting performances by Janet Leigh and Anthony Perkins and its shower scene, and The Birds (1963) became the unintended forerunner to an onslaught of films about nature-gone-mad, and booth films were phenomenally popular. Film companies began to refer to his films as 'Alfred Hitchcock's': Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960), Alfred Hitchcock's Frenzy (1972), and Alfred Hitchcock's Family Plot (1976). During the making of Frenzy (1972), Hitchcock's wife Alma suffered a paralysing stroke which made her unable to walk very well. In 1979, Hitchcock was knighted, making him Sir Alfred Hitchcock. A year later, in 1980, he died peacefully in his sleep due to renal failure. Hitchcock was survived by his wife and daughter. After the funeral, his body was cremated. His remains were scattered over the Pacific Ocean.

Sources: Bruce Eder (AllMovie), Wikipedia, and IMDb.

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

Devised by a Union farmer looking to thwart coal prices, these vessels took advantage of the frequent winds across the vast prairies. Although their gearing prevented great speed, the freedom from polluting coal smoke and loud pistons created a tranquility perfect for a leisurely pleasure cruise along the jerkwater rail lines. In a storm, the windmill could be disengaged to prevent capsizing. As the Great Steam War caused shortages of coal on the Union home front, many of these vessels were built for commercial purposes. Unlike the Far-Eastern and Imperial sail cars, windmill-powered rail vessels were foolproof; they did not require the knowledge of a seaman to navigate.

We (Fred Roe and I) heard there were Snowys in New Holland, PA, so we went looking for them. We knew we found one when we saw a line of cars and people alongside the road...a foolproof way of spotting a Snowy Owl.

It is a "Year" bird for me.

Jan 16, 2014

This is not what the National Museum looks like. What you see here is the left end of the building. In real life, this structure is connected on the right to the rest of the building, which would fill the right side of the photo.

Photo Shop eliminated a very smart tool that corrected perspective distortions virtually automatically. All that's left is a tedious process that's far from foolproof. I wouldn't have been able to make the image look like what a person would see with the naked eye.

What I could do and did was fix the distortions affecting the left end of the building and make the rest of it disappear.

======================

The word "Hanka" in the cartouche refers to Wenceslaus Hanka Czech: Vác(es)lav Hanka (10 June 1791 – 12 January 1861), a Czech philologist.

He was born at Hořiněves near Hradec Králové (Königgrätz). He was sent in 1807 to school at Hradec Králové, to escape the conscription, then to the University of Prague, where he founded a society for the cultivation of the Czech language.

At Vienna, where he afterwards studied law, he established a Czech periodical; and in 1813 he made the acquaintance of Josef Dobrovský, an eminent philologist.[1]

On 16 September 1817 Hanka claimed that he had discovered some manuscripts of 13th- and 14th-century Bohemian poems in the church tower of the town of Dvůr Králové nad Labem[1] and later some more at Castle Grünberg (Zelená Hora) near Nepomuk.

The Manuscripts of Dvůr Králové and of Zelená Hora (Czech: Rukopisy Královédvorský a Zelenohorský) were made public in 1818, with a German translation by Swoboda.

The originals were presented by him to newly founded National Museum at Prague, of which he was appointed librarian in the same year.

Great doubt, however, was felt as to their genuineness, and Dobrovský, by pronouncing the latter manuscript (also known as The Judgment of Libuše), to be an obvious fraud, confirmed the suspicion.

Some years afterwards Dobrovský saw fit to modify his decision, but modern Czech scholars regard the manuscript as a forgery. A translation into English, The Manuscript of the Queen's Court, was made by Albert Henry Wratislaw in 1852.[1]

In 1846 Hanka edited the Reims Gospel and made it available to the general public, for which he received the cross of the Order of St. Anna by the Tsar Nicholas I and a brilliant ring by Austrian Emperor Ferdinand I.[citation needed]

In 1848 Hanka, who was an ardent pan-Slavist, took part at the Prague Slavic Congress, 1848 and other peaceful national demonstrations, being the founder of the political society Slovanská lípa [cs] ("Slavonic Linden"). He was elected to the Imperial Diet at Vienna, but declined to take his seat.

In the winter of 1848 he became lecturer and in 1849 professor of Slavonic languages in the University of Prague.[1]

He died in Prague on 12 January 1861.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V%C3%A1clav_Hanka

promised someone yesterday that i'd show y'all the lighting for the crane scissors and the MM letters shots. this is a translucent gift bag with christmas lights in it. i make the room very dark and things put in front of the bag tend to become silhouettes. i did have to go into picmonkey and take out some highlights and non-black areas, so this isn't foolproof but it works with my little p&s and minimal gear..... btb, i learned that i need one of those third hand gizmos that jewelry makers use to hold small things. the scissors were handheld.

in the christmas lights in containers group pool (open only for a month at christmas time), you can see how the people who post come up with silhouettes and other shots using lights :)

www.flickr.com/groups/2685663@N25/pool/

I went for breakfast at a great cafe on Grey Street today, called Blake's. It's been there for years now, cos I remember frequenting it from before I moved back to the States in 2001. They haven't changed anything, from what I could tell, but this is by no means a bad thing. They're going for an American coffeehouse/cafe decor & vibe and have pretty much nailed both. Wooden floors, chairs and tables, art deco and jazz posters on the walls and a bonnie young staff taking care of business. They serve tasty grub and it's normally bustling busy. As is probably apparent, I like the place :)

But enough about the cafe already, right? The only reason I mention it, is because the lovely Katie here works there. She caught my eye as I was finishing my coffee cos she was wearing a pretty rad red-print dress type thingie (I'm not great at describing ladies clothing, sorry) which, combined with her short hair, pretty face and slight build, was really flattering and totally worthy of a picture.

As I was getting ready to leave I asked her permission to take a photo. I think this took her aback somewhat and I was a bit anxious too, for a number of reasons:

1) I didn't want to get her in trouble for not working or some-such nonsense (I don't know if the bosses there are cool)

2) While I would gladly have photographed all of her interested coworkers too, I thought for sure that would be disruptive and I didn't wanna get dirty looks from waiting customers or the kitchen staff

3) I didn't want to get knocked back - it's akin to asking someone out!! You have to quickly sell them that you're not creepy! Anyway, hopefully I succeeded :)

I really like this picture, but with the exception of the other staff member's hair poking out from behind Katie. They were busy though and since I didn't want to be too disruptive, I held off on asking anyone to move. Also, only this first shot was tight, with my 35mm's autofocus deciding to have a bit of a run around after this one, even with my silly AF-assist light on and Katie smack dab in the middle of the frame. I know it's only a poor workman that blames his tools, so I'm not going to, but I really wish I knew a foolproof workaround. When you're working on seconds, it's a bit of a pain when you have to fight your equipment.

Anyway, this turned into an epic yarn so I should definitely wrap it now. I'll just finish with this:

Thanks Katie, for being such a good sport and a brave soul :)

Cheers!

p.s. This is part of my 100 Strangers project, and here's the link to the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page. Lotsa nice people to look at - you should check it out! After you look through my photostream *ahem*

Why a Jack of Diamonds, you ask? Two colleagues and I have regular breakfast meetings where we discuss work, family, vacations, whatever. We all order the same thing, so we just take turns paying. The card is a way for us to keep track of whose turn it is. I'll pay at our next breakfast, then I'll pass the card to Daphne. The writing at the top is the order in which we take our turns. A foolproof system!

For We're Here - What’s in your wallet.

Put some zing into your 365! Join We're Here!

When the wannabe princess showed up at the palace door to escape from a passing rain shower, the Queen offered her a room for the night. While the suspect princess was dining, the Queen went to personally arrange the guest chambers. She made sure to bring along a pea, and then ordered her servant to acquire 20 mattresses. Thus operation Detect-a-True-Princess was begun. The Queen knew her plan was foolproof. The servant wasn’t so sure, but mostly just dreaded having to drag 20 mattresses away again in the morning.

He was a dreamer, a thinker, a speculative philosopher... or, as his wife would have it...............I can be a total twit.

OK I changed that Douglas Adams quote a little. But he was the man who said, "I think the idea of art kills creativity". It's true that until only a minute ago I had never heard of him.

Douglas Adams will be forever remembered as a man who knows the meaning of life, the universe, and everything - and who also knows where to find his towel. He was the author of "The Hitchhiker's guide to the Galaxy".

He is also attributed with these other thought provoking thoughts:

In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move.

Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?

Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others…

A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools.

Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is…

In those days spirits were brave, the stakes were high, men were real men, women were real women and small furry creatures from Alpha Centauri were real small furry creatures from Alpha Centauri.

I am rarely happier than when spending an entire day programming my computer…

We are stuck with technology when what we really want is just stuff that works.

By the way the picture is of a 20 metre tall sculpture by Jaume Plensa that sits on the site of an old coal mine. The sculpture is of a young girl dreaming............dreaming that her forward view was not over the ugly, busy and dreadfully noisy M62 motorway to her front. No wonder she keeps her eyes shut!

The pouring rain seems to never stop. Murder seems to be on its way.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The soup, the soup, the soup, the soup...

Until he was hit, until he was...

I feel like Regina is overused... But I adore her <3 The Soup~

Harfang des neiges

ENGLISH

The snowy owl (Bubo scandiacus) is a large, white owl of the true owl family. It is sometimes also referred to, more infrequently, as the polar owl, white owl and the Arctic owl. Snowy owls are native to the Arctic regions of both North America and the Palearctic, breeding mostly on the tundra. It has a number of unique adaptations to its habitat and lifestyle, which are quite distinct from other extant owls. One of the largest species of owl, it is the only owl with largely white plumage. Males tend to be a purer white overall while females tend to more have more extensive flecks of dark brown. Juvenile male snowy owls have dark markings that may appear similar to females until maturity, at which point they typically turn whiter. The composition of brown markings about the wing, although not foolproof, is the most reliable technique to age and sex individual snowy owls.

Most owls sleep during the day and hunt at night, but the snowy owl is often active during the day, especially in the summertime. The snowy owl is both a specialized and generalist hunter. Its breeding efforts and entirely global population are closely tied to the availability of tundra-dwelling lemmings but in the non-breeding season and occasionally during breeding the snowy owl can adapt to almost any available prey, most often other small mammals and northerly water birds (as well as, opportunistically, carrion). Snowy owls typically nest on a small rise on the ground of the tundra. The snowy owl lays a very large clutch of eggs, often from about 5 to 11, with the laying and hatching of eggs considerably staggered. Despite the short Arctic summer, the development of the young takes a relatively long time and independence is sought in autumn.

The snowy owl is a nomadic bird, rarely breeding at the same locations or with the same mates on an annual basis and often not breeding at all if prey is unavailable. A largely migatory bird, snowy owls often wandering almost anywhere close to the Arctic sometimes unpredictably irrupting to the south in large numbers. Given the difficulty of surveying such an unpredictable bird, there was little in depth knowledge historically about the snowy owl's status. However, recent data suggests the species is declining precipitously. Whereas the global population was once estimate at over 200,000 individuals, recent data suggests that there are probably fewer than 100,000 individuals globally and that the number of successful breeding pairs is 28,000 or even considerably less. While the causes are not well-understood, numerous, complex environment factors often correlated with global warming are probably at the forefront of the fragility of the snowy owl's existence.

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FRANÇAIS

Le Harfang des neiges (Bubo scandiacus) est une espèce d'oiseau de la famille des strigidés. Il est aussi appelé ookpik par les Inuits. Il est l'emblème aviaire du Québec depuis 19871,2. En France, on l'appelle Harfang, même si, en réalité, il appartient au même genre Bubo que les hiboux grand-ducs. Comme ces derniers, il possède de petites plumes sur sa tête appelées aigrettes, mais très peu visibles puisqu'elles sont très petites et repliées sur sa tête.

Ce grand oiseau blanc aux yeux jaunes est très reconnaissable. Le mâle est d'un blanc pur alors que la femelle et les jeunes sont légèrement tachetés ou barrés de brun. Leur plumage blanchit avec l'âge, les mâles pouvant alors devenir d'un blanc immaculé. L'été, le plumage est plus foncé que l'hiver, le plumage est plus blanc l'hiver pour se camoufler dans la neige. Les mâles sont en général plus petits que les femelles. Leur envergure est de 170 à 177 cm pour les femelles adultes et de 160 à 170 cm pour les mâles adultes. Leur masse varie de 1 à 2,5 kg.

Le harfang est un très grand oiseau, pouvant atteindre jusqu'à 70 cm de longueur. Ses yeux sont très grands proportionnellement à sa taille : en effet, ils ont environ la même taille que ceux d'un homme. Ils sont d'une couleur jaune et disposés vers l'avant. De plus, ils sont fixes, ce qui oblige le harfang à devoir souvent tourner sa large tête aplatie pour pouvoir regarder autour de lui (il peut la tourner d'un angle de 270°)

Source: Wikipedia

[Sunrise or sunset]

[between 1941 and 1942]

1 slide : color.

Notes:

Title devised by Library staff.

Transfer from U.S. Office of War Information, 1944.

Subjects:

Sunrises & sunsets

United States

Format: Slides--Color

Rights Info: No known restrictions on publication.

Repository: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA, hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print

Part Of: Farm Security Administration - Office of War Information Collection ph in Lot 11671-29 is missing (DLC) 93845501

General information about the FSA/OWI Color Photographs is available at hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.fsac

Higher resolution image is available (Persistent URL): hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/fsac.1a34438

Call Number: LC-USF35-527

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Rolleicord V, Kodak Portra 400, f5.6 1/60

Who says new Portra is foolproof? Ha! Sure looks like I underexposed this one. Probably should have pointed my meter away from the overhead light.

Have a great weekend, in or (hopefully) out of the office!

Photo taken and edited with iphone3gs, apps: ProCamera, Noir Photo, Afterglow, FoolProof, iDesign, Superimpose, Photo Power.

Twitter/IG/EyeEm: @adesantora

French postcard in the Série Hitchcock by Editions ZREIK, Paris, no. H. Image: Warner Bros. American poster for Strangers on a Train (Alfred Hitchcock, 1951) with Farley Granger, Ruth Roman and Robert Walker.

British director Alfred Hitchcock (1899-1980) was known as 'The Master of Suspense'. He was one of the most influential and extensively studied filmmakers in the history of cinema. 'Hitch' had his first major success with The Lodger (1926), a silent thriller loosely based on Jack the Ripper. Hitchcock came to international attention with The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934), The 39 Steps (1935), and, most notably, The Lady Vanishes (1938). His first Hollywood film was the multi-Oscar-winning psychological thriller Rebecca (1940). Many classics followed including Spellbound (1945), Notorious (1946), Rear Window (1954), North by Northwest (1959), and The Birds (1963). In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 feature films which garnered a total of 46 Oscar nominations and 6 wins.

Alfred Joseph Hitchcock was born in Leytonstone, on the outskirts of east London, in 1899. He was the son of Emma Jane Whelan and East End greengrocer William Hitchcock. His parents were both of half English and half Irish ancestry. He had two older siblings, William and Eileen Hitchcock. Raised as a strict Catholic and attending Saint Ignatius College, a school run by Jesuits, Hitch had very much of a regular upbringing. In 1914, his father died. To support himself and his mother—his older siblings had left home by then—Hitchcock took a job in 1915 as an estimator for the Henley Telegraph and Cable Company. His interest in films began at around this time, frequently visited the cinema and reading US trade journals. In a trade paper, he read that Famous Players-Lasky, the production arm of Paramount Pictures, was opening a studio in London. They were planning to film 'The Sorrows of Satan' by Marie Corelli, so Hitch produced some drawings for the title cards and sent his work to the studio. They hired him, and in 1919 he began working for Islington Studios as a title-card designer. Hitchcock soon gained experience as a co-writer, art director, and production manager on at least 18 silent films. After Hugh Croise, the director for Always Tell Your Wife (1923) fell ill, Hitchcock and star and producer Seymour Hicks finished the film together. When Paramount pulled out of London in 1922, Hitchcock was hired as an assistant director by a new firm run in the same location by Michael Balcon, later known as Gainsborough Pictures. He began to collaborate with the editor and script girl Alma Reville, his future wife. He worked as an assistant to director Graham Cutts on several films, including The Blackguard (1924), which was produced at the Babelsberg Studios in Potsdam. There Hitchcock watched part of the making of F. W. Murnau's film Der letzte Mann/The Last Laugh (1924). He was impressed with Murnau's work and later used many of his techniques for set design in his own productions. In the summer of 1925, Balcon asked Hitchcock to direct The Pleasure Garden (1925), starring Virginia Valli, a co-production of Gainsborough and the German firm Emelka. Reville, by then Hitchcock's fiancée, was assistant director-editor. In 1927, Hitchcock made his first trademark film, the thriller The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (1927) starring Ivor Novello. The Lodger is about the hunt for a serial killer who, wearing a black cloak and carrying a black bag, is murdering young blonde women in London, and only on Tuesdays. The Lodger was a commercial and critical success in the UK. In the same year, Hitchcock married Alma Reville. They had one child, Patricia Hitchcock (1928). Reville became her husband's closest collaborator and wrote or co-wrote on many of his films. Hitchcock made the transition to sound film with his tenth film, Blackmail (1929), the first British 'talkie'. Blackmail began the Hitchcock tradition of using famous landmarks as a backdrop for suspense sequences, with the climax taking place on the dome of the British Museum. He used an early sound recording as a special element of the film, stressing the word "knife" in a conversation with the woman (Anny Ondra) suspected of murder. It was followed by Murder! (1930). In 1933 Hitchcock was once again working for Michael Balcon at Gaumont-British on The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934). It was a success. His second, The 39 Steps (1935), with Robert Donat, made him a star in the USA. It also established the quintessential English 'Hitchcock blonde' (Madeleine Carroll) as the template for his succession of ice-cold, elegant leading ladies. His next major success was The Lady Vanishes (1938), with Margaret Lockwood and Michael Redgrave. The film saw Hitchcock receive the 1938 New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Director.

David O. Selznick signed Hitchcock to a seven-year contract beginning in March 1939, and the Hitchcocks moved to Hollywood. He directed an adaptation of Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca (1940), starring Joan Fontaine and Laurence Olivier. Rebecca won the Oscar for Best Picture, although Hitchcock himself was only nominated for Best Director. Hitchcock's second American film was the thriller Foreign Correspondent (1940), set in Europe, and produced by Walter Wanger. It was nominated for Best Picture that year Suspicion (1941) was the first of four projects on which Cary Grant worked with Hitchcock, and it is one of the rare occasions that Grant was cast in a sinister role. In one scene Hitchcock placed a light inside a glass of milk, perhaps poisoned, that Grant is bringing to his wife, played by Joan Fontaine. The light makes sure that the audience's attention is on the glass. Fontaine won the Best Actress Oscar for her performance. Shadow of a Doubt (1943) was Hitchcock's personal favourite. Charlotte "Charlie" Newton (Teresa Wright) suspects her beloved uncle Charlie Oakley (Joseph Cotten) of being a serial killer. Hitchcock was again nominated for the Oscar for Best Director for Lifeboat (1944) and Spellbound (1945), but he never won the award. Spellbound (1945), starring Ingrid Bergman and Gregory Peck, explores psychoanalysis and features a dream sequence designed by Salvador Dalí. Notorious (1946) stars Ingrid Bergman and Cary Grant, both Hitchcock regulars, and features a plot about Nazis, uranium, and South America. After a brief lull of commercial success in the late 1940s, Hitchcock returned to form with Strangers on a Train (1951), based on the novel by Patricia Highsmith. In the film, two men casually meet, one of whom speculates on a foolproof method to murder. He suggests that two people, each wishing to do away with someone, should each perform the other's murder. Farley Granger played the innocent victim of the scheme, while 'boy-next-door' Robert Walker played the villain. I Confess (1953) was set in Quebec with Montgomery Clift as a Catholic priest. It was followed by three colour films starring Grace Kelly: the 3-D film Dial M for Murder (1954), Rear Window (1954), and To Catch a Thief (1955). From 1955 to 1965, Hitchcock was the host of the television series Alfred Hitchcock Presents. With his droll delivery, gallows humour, and iconic image, the series made Hitchcock a celebrity. In his films, Hitchcock often used the "mistaken identity" theme, such as in The Wrong Man (1956), and North by Northwest (1959). In Vertigo (1958), James Stewart plays Scottie, a former police investigator suffering from acrophobia. He develops an obsession with a woman he has been hired to shadow (Kim Novak). His obsession leads to tragedy, and this time Hitchcock does not opt for a happy ending. Vertigo is one of his most personal and revealing films, dealing with the Pygmalion-like obsessions of a man who crafts a woman into the woman he desires. Psycho (1960) was Hitchcock's great shock masterpiece, mostly for its haunting performances by Janet Leigh and Anthony Perkins and its shower scene, and The Birds (1963) became the unintended forerunner to an onslaught of films about nature-gone-mad, and booth films were phenomenally popular. Film companies began to refer to his films as "Alfred Hitchcock's": Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960), Alfred Hitchcock's Frenzy (1972), and Alfred Hitchcock's Family Plot (1976). During the making of Frenzy (1972), Hitchcock's wife Alma suffered a paralysing stroke which made her unable to walk very well. In 1979, Hitchcock was knighted, making him Sir Alfred Hitchcock. A year later, in 1980, he died peacefully in his sleep due to renal failure. Hitchcock was survived by his wife and daughter. After the funeral, his body was cremated. His remains were scattered over the Pacific Ocean.

Sources: Bruce Eder (AllMovie), Wikipedia, and IMDb.

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

You love fresh pasta? Of course you do! Here comes the foolproof recipe, enjoy (in German):

soulfoodie.de/ravioli-mit-ricottafuellung/

The vervet monkey is one of the most endearing animals to see on safari, but they are usually pests around lodges where they raid kitchens and food tables. Their black faces add to the endearment, while the characteristic bright blue scrotum of the male is the subject of much discussion at first sight.

Vervet monkeys live in troops, the size depending on the availability of food. In the Okavango Delta where food is plentiful the troops can be as large as fifty individuals. They sleep in trees at night, coming down to feed around sunrise.

The monkey's main predator in Botswana is the leopard, and the warning of a leopard after it has been spotted is deafening. Due to the fear the monkeys have for leopards, a foolproof way of keeping monkeys from raiding food tables is to put up a picture of a leopard lounging on the table! (Source: Siyabona Africa)

First of all, I want to say a huge THANK YOU to everyone who has taken the time to express their concern for Wookie through comments or emails. I can't tell you how much I appreciate your kindness and caring.

My last update was Saturday... right before we took him back to his regular vet for the fourth time. His regular vet still couldn't find anything specifically wrong, and discharged him with antibiotics.

On Sunday morning, we found that he had vomited a huge amount in his crate. Mixed in with everything was what appeared to be a large chunk of an IAMS tartar treat. Wookie was cowering and screaming in pain whenever we touched him. I put the chunk in a baggie and rushed him to the off-hours emergency vet clinic.

They put him on IV fluids and doggie morphine and said they needed to keep him until his regular vet reopened Monday morning. When we called to check on him, they said he had vomited another large chunk of the IAMS biscuit.

We picked him up from the emergency clinic on Monday and took him back to his regular vet. He had never looked so awful - his tail was pinned between his legs, he could barely stand on his own, and he felt cold. His temperature was down to 98 (normal for a dog is 101.5 or so) - his pulse and respiration were half the normal rate.

His regular vet examined him again and immediately got on the phone to our regional veterinary teaching hospital at Virginia Tech. We rushed down there (about a two and a half hour drive)

The vet team at Tech was absolutely wonderful with Wookie. They wanted to rule out all possible structural and metabolic causes before they focused on the fact that he vomited up two huge treat chunks and may be suffering effects from a foreign object stuck in his stomach.

They did more bloodwork and an ultrasound. The bloodwork came back perfect for the most part -- except for markers for malnourishment. (that wasn't a surprise since Wookie really hasn't eaten for nine days). The ultrasound showed that his digestive tract looked empty and normal. The vet did caution us that ultrasounds are not foolproof, they can miss things due to all the curves and folds in the digestive tract. Endoscopy and exploratory surgery are the only foolproof ways (both are done under anesthesia) to see if there is a foreign body in a dog's digestive tract.

She wanted to avoid putting Wookie under anesthesia, and treat him more conservatively. She decided to keep him at Virginia Tech as an inpatient. She's been giving him a small "meatball-sized" meal every few hours and tracking his progress. If Wookie keeps the meals down and eventually passes them normally, she's going to assume that the vomited treat chunks were his problem.

She called us about 15 minutes ago, and told us that Wookie has now had 4 mini-meals and has not vomited. He's also looking more energetic and happy. So maybe I can dare to hope that he has finally rounded the corner! She'll call again this evening and if he is still doing well, he might be able to come home tomorrow!

If he does start vomiting again, they will likely do the endoscopy and surgery. I really hope it won't come to that. Wookie has been through so much misery these past ten days.

Incidentally, I had suspected this IAMS tartar treat since the very beginning, but the symptoms and tests did not back my theory up. I suppose there is a lot to be said for intuition. Also -- for other dog owners -- these IAMS treats were specifically created to compete against Greenies. IAMS claims they are safer, 100% digestible and edible, and "so hard that your pet won't be able to break the treats into chunks large enough to disrupt digestion". Wookie is not an aggressive chewer and he was watched the whole time he ate his IAMS treat. He ate it quickly, but not that quickly. This was the first IAMS treat Wookie ever had in his life. It is also the LAST one Wookie (or any of my dogs) will *ever* get. I'm amazed that two large chunks of this treat floated around, undigested, in his stomach for NINE days.

Poor little Wookie only weighs 13 pounds right now. :(

These are the tartar biscuits that caused his troubles: www.petco.com/Shop/petco_Product_R_1899_PC_productlist_Na...

French postcard by Editions Gendre in the Alfred Hitchcock series, no. 6. Photo: Keystone. Caption: Alfred Hitchcock and the first Pathé camera.

British director Alfred Hitchcock (1899-1980) was known as 'The Master of Suspense'. He is one of the most influential and extensively studied filmmakers in the history of cinema. He had his first major success with The Lodger (1926), a silent thriller loosely based on Jack the Ripper. Hitchcock came to international attention with The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934), The 39 Steps (1935), and, most notably, The Lady Vanishes (1938). His first Hollywood film was the multi-Oscar-winning psychological thriller Rebecca (1940). Many classics followed including Spellbound (1945), Notorious (1946), Rear Window (1954), North by Northwest (1959) and The Birds (1963). In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 feature films which garnered a total of 46 Oscar nominations and 6 wins.

Alfred Joseph Hitchcock was born in Leytonstone, on the outskirts of east London, in 1899. He was the son of Emma Jane Whelan and East End greengrocer William Hitchcock. His parents were both of half English and half Irish ancestry. He had two older siblings, William and Eileen Hitchcock. Raised as a strict Catholic and attending Saint Ignatius College, a school run by Jesuits, Hitch had very much of a regular upbringing. In 1914, his father died. To support himself and his mother—his older siblings had left home by then—Hitchcock took a job in 1915 as an estimator for the Henley Telegraph and Cable Company. His interest in films began at around this time, frequently visiting the cinema and reading US trade journals. In a trade paper, he read that Famous Players-Lasky, the production arm of Paramount Pictures, was opening a studio in London. They were planning to film The Sorrows of Satan by Marie Corelli, so Hitch produced some drawings for the title cards and sent his work to the studio. They hired him, and in 1919 he began working for Islington Studios as a title-card designer. Hitchcock soon gained experience as a co-writer, art director, and production manager on at least 18 silent films. After Hugh Croise, the director for Always Tell Your Wife (1923) fell ill, Hitchcock and star and producer Seymour Hicks finished the film together. When Paramount pulled out of London in 1922, Hitchcock was hired as an assistant director by a new firm run in the same location by Michael Balcon, later known as Gainsborough Pictures. He began to collaborate with the editor and "script girl" Alma Reville, his future wife. He worked as an assistant to director Graham Cutts on several films, including The Blackguard (1924), which was produced at the Babelsberg Studios in Potsdam. There Hitchcock watched part of the making of F. W. Murnau's film Der letzte Mann/The Last Laugh (1924). He was impressed with Murnau's work and later used many of his techniques for the set design in his own productions. In the summer of 1925, Balcon asked Hitchcock to direct The Pleasure Garden (1925), starring Virginia Valli, a co-production of Gainsborough and the German firm Emelka. Reville, by then Hitchcock's fiancée, was assistant director-editor. In 1927, Hitchcock made his first trademark film, the thriller The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (1927) starring Ivor Novello. The Lodger is about the hunt for a serial killer who, wearing a black cloak and carrying a black bag, is murdering young blonde women in London, and only on Tuesdays. The Lodger was a commercial and critical success in the UK. In the same year, Hitchcock married Alma Reville. They had one child, Patricia Hitchcock (1928). Reville became her husband's closest collaborator and wrote or co-wrote on many of his films. Hitchcock made the transition to sound film with his tenth film, Blackmail (1929), the first British 'talkie'. Blackmail began the Hitchcock tradition of using famous landmarks as a backdrop for suspense sequences, with the climax taking place on the dome of the British Museum. He used early sound recording as a special element of the film, stressing the word "knife" in a conversation with the woman (Anny Ondra) suspected of murder. It was followed by Murder! (1930). In 1933 Hitchcock was once again working for Michael Balcon at Gaumont-British on The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934). It was a success. His second, The 39 Steps (1935), with Robert Donat, made him a star in the USA. It also established the quintessential English 'Hitchcock blonde' (Madeleine Carroll) as the template for his succession of ice-cold, elegant leading ladies. His next major success was The Lady Vanishes (1938), with Margaret Lockwood and Michael Redgrave. The film saw Hitchcock receive the 1938 New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Director.[

David O. Selznick signed Hitchcock to a seven-year contract beginning in March 1939, and the Hitchcocks moved to Hollywood. He directed an adaptation of Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca (1940), starring Joan Fontaine and Laurence Olivier. Rebecca won the Oscar for Best Picture, although Hitchcock himself was only nominated as Best Director. Hitchcock's second American film was the thriller Foreign Correspondent (1940), set in Europe, and produced by Walter Wanger. It was nominated for Best Picture that year Suspicion (1941) was the first of four projects on which Cary Grant worked with Hitchcock, and it is one of the rare occasions that Grant was cast in a sinister role. In one scene Hitchcock placed a light inside a glass of milk, perhaps poisoned, that Grant is bringing to his wife, played by Joan Fontaine. The light makes sure that the audience's attention is on the glass. Fontaine won the Best Actress Oscar for her performance. Shadow of a Doubt (1943) was Hitchcock's personal favourite. Charlotte "Charlie" Newton (Teresa Wright) suspects her beloved uncle Charlie Oakley (Joseph Cotten) of being a serial killer. Hitchcock was again nominated for the Oscar for Best Director for Lifeboat (1944) and Spellbound (1945), but he never won the award. Spellbound (1945), starring Ingrid Bergman and Gregory Peck, explores psychoanalysis and features a dream sequence designed by Salvador Dalí. Notorious (1946) stars Ingrid Bergman and Cary Grant, both Hitchcock regulars, and features a plot about Nazis, uranium, and South America. After a brief lull of commercial success in the late 1940s, Hitchcock returned to form with Strangers on a Train (1951), based on the novel by Patricia Highsmith. In the film, two men casually meet, one of whom speculates on a foolproof method to murder. He suggests that two people, each wishing to do away with someone, should each perform the other's murder. Farley Granger played the innocent victim of the scheme, while boy-next-door" Robert Walker played the villain. I Confess (1953) was set in Quebec with Montgomery Clift as a Catholic priest. It was followed by three colour films starring Grace Kelly: the 3-D film Dial M for Murder (1954), Rear Window (1954), and To Catch a Thief (1955). From 1955 to 1965, Hitchcock was the host of the television series Alfred Hitchcock Presents. With his droll delivery, gallows humour and iconic image, the series made Hitchcock a celebrity. in his films, Hitchcock often used the "mistaken identity" theme, such as in The Wrong Man (1956), and North by Northwest (1959). In Vertigo (1958), James Stewart plays Scottie, a former police investigator suffering from acrophobia. He develops an obsession with a woman he has been hired to shadow (Kim Novak). His obsession leads to tragedy, and this time Hitchcock does not opt for a happy ending. Vertigo is one of his most personal and revealing films, dealing with the Pygmalion-like obsessions of a man who crafts a woman into the woman he desires. Psycho (1960) was Hitchcock's great shock masterpiece, mostly for its haunting performances by Janet Leigh and Anthony Perkins and its shower scene, and The Birds (1963) became the unintended forerunner to an onslaught of films about nature-gone-mad, and booth films were phenomenally popular. Film companies began to refer to his films as 'Alfred Hitchcock's': Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960), Alfred Hitchcock's Frenzy (1972), and Alfred Hitchcock's Family Plot (1976). During the making of Frenzy (1972), Hitchcock's wife Alma suffered a paralysing stroke which made her unable to walk very well. In 1979, Hitchcock was knighted, making him Sir Alfred Hitchcock. A year later, in 1980, he died peacefully in his sleep due to renal failure. Hitchcock was survived by his wife and daughter. After the funeral, his body was cremated. His remains were scattered over the Pacific Ocean.

Sources: Bruce Eder (AllMovie), Wikipedia, and IMDb.

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

German postcard by Edition Tushita, no. B 491. Photo: Interphoto. Alfred Hitchcock in Frenzy (Alfred Hitchcock, 1972).

British director Alfred Hitchcock (1899-1980) was known as 'The Master of Suspense'. He is one of the most influential and extensively studied filmmakers in the history of cinema. He had his first major success with The Lodger (1926), a silent thriller loosely based on Jack the Ripper. Hitchcock came to international attention with The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934), The 39 Steps (1935), and, most notably, The Lady Vanishes (1938). His first Hollywood film was the multi-Oscar-winning psychological thriller Rebecca (1940). Many classics followed including Spellbound (1945), Notorious (1946), Rear Window (1954), North by Northwest (1959) and The Birds (1963). In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 feature films which garnered a total of 46 Oscar nominations and 6 wins.

Alfred Joseph Hitchcock was born in Leytonstone, on the outskirts of east London, in 1899. He was the son of Emma Jane Whelan and East End greengrocer William Hitchcock. His parents were both of half English and half Irish ancestry. He had two older siblings, William and Eileen Hitchcock. Raised as a strict Catholic and attending Saint Ignatius College, a school run by Jesuits, Hitch had very much of a regular upbringing. In 1914, his father died. To support himself and his mother—his older siblings had left home by then—Hitchcock took a job in 1915 as an estimator for the Henley Telegraph and Cable Company. His interest in films began at around this time, frequently visiting the cinema and reading US trade journals. In a trade paper, he read that Famous Players-Lasky, the production arm of Paramount Pictures, was opening a studio in London. They were planning to film The Sorrows of Satan by Marie Corelli, so Hitch produced some drawings for the title cards and sent his work to the studio. They hired him, and in 1919 he began working for Islington Studios as a title-card designer. Hitchcock soon gained experience as a co-writer, art director, and production manager on at least 18 silent films. After Hugh Croise, the director for Always Tell Your Wife (1923) fell ill, Hitchcock and star and producer Seymour Hicks finished the film together. When Paramount pulled out of London in 1922, Hitchcock was hired as an assistant director by a new firm run in the same location by Michael Balcon, later known as Gainsborough Pictures. He began to collaborate with the editor and "script girl" Alma Reville, his future wife. He worked as an assistant to director Graham Cutts on several films, including The Blackguard (1924), which was produced at the Babelsberg Studios in Potsdam. There Hitchcock watched part of the making of F. W. Murnau's film Der letzte Mann/The Last Laugh (1924). He was impressed with Murnau's work and later used many of his techniques for the set design in his own productions. In the summer of 1925, Balcon asked Hitchcock to direct The Pleasure Garden (1925), starring Virginia Valli, a co-production of Gainsborough and the German firm Emelka. Reville, by then Hitchcock's fiancée, was assistant director-editor. In 1927, Hitchcock made his first trademark film, the thriller The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (1927) starring Ivor Novello. The Lodger is about the hunt for a serial killer who, wearing a black cloak and carrying a black bag, is murdering young blonde women in London, and only on Tuesdays. The Lodger was a commercial and critical success in the UK. In the same year, Hitchcock married Alma Reville. They had one child, Patricia Hitchcock (1928). Reville became her husband's closest collaborator and wrote or co-wrote on many of his films. Hitchcock made the transition to sound film with his tenth film, Blackmail (1929), the first British 'talkie'. Blackmail began the Hitchcock tradition of using famous landmarks as a backdrop for suspense sequences, with the climax taking place on the dome of the British Museum. He used early sound recording as a special element of the film, stressing the word "knife" in a conversation with the woman (Anny Ondra) suspected of murder. It was followed by Murder! (1930). In 1933 Hitchcock was once again working for Michael Balcon at Gaumont-British on The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934). It was a success. His second, The 39 Steps (1935), with Robert Donat, made him a star in the USA. It also established the quintessential English 'Hitchcock blonde' (Madeleine Carroll) as the template for his succession of ice-cold, elegant leading ladies. His next major success was The Lady Vanishes (1938), with Margaret Lockwood and Michael Redgrave. The film saw Hitchcock receive the 1938 New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Director.[

David O. Selznick signed Hitchcock to a seven-year contract beginning in March 1939, and the Hitchcocks moved to Hollywood. He directed an adaptation of Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca (1940), starring Joan Fontaine and Laurence Olivier. Rebecca won the Oscar for Best Picture, although Hitchcock himself was only nominated as Best Director. Hitchcock's second American film was the thriller Foreign Correspondent (1940), set in Europe, and produced by Walter Wanger. It was nominated for Best Picture that year Suspicion (1941) was the first of four projects on which Cary Grant worked with Hitchcock, and it is one of the rare occasions that Grant was cast in a sinister role. In one scene Hitchcock placed a light inside a glass of milk, perhaps poisoned, that Grant is bringing to his wife, played by Joan Fontaine. The light makes sure that the audience's attention is on the glass. Fontaine won the Best Actress Oscar for her performance. Shadow of a Doubt (1943) was Hitchcock's personal favourite. Charlotte "Charlie" Newton (Teresa Wright) suspects her beloved uncle Charlie Oakley (Joseph Cotten) of being a serial killer. Hitchcock was again nominated for the Oscar for Best Director for Lifeboat (1944) and Spellbound (1945), but he never won the award. Spellbound (1945), starring Ingrid Bergman and Gregory Peck, explores psychoanalysis and features a dream sequence designed by Salvador Dalí. Notorious (1946) stars Ingrid Bergman and Cary Grant, both Hitchcock regulars, and features a plot about Nazis, uranium, and South America. After a brief lull of commercial success in the late 1940s, Hitchcock returned to form with Strangers on a Train (1951), based on the novel by Patricia Highsmith. In the film, two men casually meet, one of whom speculates on a foolproof method to murder. He suggests that two people, each wishing to do away with someone, should each perform the other's murder. Farley Granger played the innocent victim of the scheme, while boy-next-door" Robert Walker played the villain. I Confess (1953) was set in Quebec with Montgomery Clift as a Catholic priest. It was followed by three colour films starring Grace Kelly: the 3-D film Dial M for Murder (1954), Rear Window (1954), and To Catch a Thief (1955). From 1955 to 1965, Hitchcock was the host of the television series Alfred Hitchcock Presents. With his droll delivery, gallows humour and iconic image, the series made Hitchcock a celebrity. in his films, Hitchcock often used the "mistaken identity" theme, such as in The Wrong Man (1956), and North by Northwest (1959). In Vertigo (1958), James Stewart plays Scottie, a former police investigator suffering from acrophobia. He develops an obsession with a woman he has been hired to shadow (Kim Novak). His obsession leads to tragedy, and this time Hitchcock does not opt for a happy ending. Vertigo is one of his most personal and revealing films, dealing with the Pygmalion-like obsessions of a man who crafts a woman into the woman he desires. Psycho (1960) was Hitchcock's great shock masterpiece, mostly for its haunting performances by Janet Leigh and Anthony Perkins and its shower scene, and The Birds (1963) became the unintended forerunner to an onslaught of films about nature-gone-mad, and booth films were phenomenally popular. Film companies began to refer to his films as 'Alfred Hitchcock's': Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960), Alfred Hitchcock's Frenzy (1972), and Alfred Hitchcock's Family Plot (1976). During the making of Frenzy (1972), Hitchcock's wife Alma suffered a paralysing stroke which made her unable to walk very well. In 1979, Hitchcock was knighted, making him Sir Alfred Hitchcock. A year later, in 1980, he died peacefully in his sleep due to renal failure. Hitchcock was survived by his wife and daughter. After the funeral, his body was cremated. His remains were scattered over the Pacific Ocean.

Sources: Bruce Eder (AllMovie), Wikipedia, and IMDb.

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

Zeiss Ikon Ikonette

German 35mm film viewfinder camera, c.1958-60

Lens a Novar-Anastigmat 45mm 1:3,5

A WORD OF WARNING !!!

So while investigating the facts about the Ikonette I learned from the McKeown's Price Guide to Antique and Classic Cameras, 12th Edition, 2005-2006 that most Ikonettes were recalled by Zeiss Ikon probably because of Lightleaks.

However, in my Test Film I did not find any lightleaks, even not in the sprocket holes film areas.

While investigating further I found an very interesting article about the Ikonette by author J.W.Fokkelman in the Dutch photohistoric magazine PHT 1996 #3 (page 78).

It states that the Ikonette was recalled because of the Shutter Release/Film Transport Lever mechanism not being fully foolproof.

When, after the Shutter Release (short stroke, see red arrow), the Lever was again actuated BEFORE it had returned in its upper position the mechanism could be damaged.

In the same article it is stated that the lens/shutter combination of the recalled Ikonettes were re-used in the Colora camera production and that it is why some of the Colora's have a blue painted shutter DOF-scale.

So, when you have a still functioning Ikonette take care to NEVER start the Film Transport (long stroke, see green arrow) when the Lever is NOT in its upper rest position !

Guess I was lucky during the shooting of the test film :-)

This species is a regular visitor. It likely wants to bathe or feed, and is checking out the surroundings before proceeding lower. These birds are usually spotted in large flocks; they swarm over my thistle feeder in a tumbling mass, and usually perch close enough to permit great photo ops. They are plentiful during high summer and typically ignore my presence. Sexes are determinable... but it's not foolproof, especially for first-year birds. I'm not sure about this bird's sex... but I would lean toward female.

IMG_0789; Pine Siskin

Swiss postcard by CVB Publishers / News Productions, Grandson, no. CP 46, 1996. Photo: Sam Shaw, 1953.

British director Alfred Hitchcock (1899-1980) was known as 'The Master of Suspense'. He is one of the most influential and extensively studied filmmakers in the history of cinema. He had his first major success with The Lodger (1926), a silent thriller loosely based on Jack the Ripper. Hitchcock came to international attention with The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934), The 39 Steps (1935), and, most notably, The Lady Vanishes (1938). His first Hollywood film was the multi-Oscar-winning psychological thriller Rebecca (1940). Many classics followed including Spellbound (1945), Notorious (1946), Rear Window (1954), North by Northwest (1959) and The Birds (1963). In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 feature films which garnered a total of 46 Oscar nominations and 6 wins.

Alfred Joseph Hitchcock was born in Leytonstone, on the outskirts of east London, in 1899. He was the son of Emma Jane Whelan and East End greengrocer William Hitchcock. His parents were both of half English and half Irish ancestry. He had two older siblings, William and Eileen Hitchcock. Raised as a strict Catholic and attending Saint Ignatius College, a school run by Jesuits, Hitch had very much of a regular upbringing. In 1914, his father died. To support himself and his mother—his older siblings had left home by then—Hitchcock took a job in 1915 as an estimator for the Henley Telegraph and Cable Company. His interest in films began at around this time, frequently visiting the cinema and reading US trade journals. In a trade paper, he read that Famous Players-Lasky, the production arm of Paramount Pictures, was opening a studio in London. They were planning to film The Sorrows of Satan by Marie Corelli, so Hitch produced some drawings for the title cards and sent his work to the studio. They hired him, and in 1919 he began working for Islington Studios as a title-card designer. Hitchcock soon gained experience as a co-writer, art director, and production manager on at least 18 silent films. After Hugh Croise, the director for Always Tell Your Wife (1923) fell ill, Hitchcock and star and producer Seymour Hicks finished the film together. When Paramount pulled out of London in 1922, Hitchcock was hired as an assistant director by a new firm run in the same location by Michael Balcon, later known as Gainsborough Pictures. He began to collaborate with the editor and "script girl" Alma Reville, his future wife. He worked as an assistant to director Graham Cutts on several films, including The Blackguard (1924), which was produced at the Babelsberg Studios in Potsdam. There Hitchcock watched part of the making of F. W. Murnau's film Der letzte Mann/The Last Laugh (1924). He was impressed with Murnau's work and later used many of his techniques for the set design in his own productions. In the summer of 1925, Balcon asked Hitchcock to direct The Pleasure Garden (1925), starring Virginia Valli, a co-production of Gainsborough and the German firm Emelka. Reville, by then Hitchcock's fiancée, was assistant director-editor. In 1927, Hitchcock made his first trademark film, the thriller The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (1927) starring Ivor Novello. The Lodger is about the hunt for a serial killer who, wearing a black cloak and carrying a black bag, is murdering young blonde women in London, and only on Tuesdays. The Lodger was a commercial and critical success in the UK. In the same year, Hitchcock married Alma Reville. They had one child, Patricia Hitchcock (1928). Reville became her husband's closest collaborator and wrote or co-wrote on many of his films. Hitchcock made the transition to sound film with his tenth film, Blackmail (1929), the first British 'talkie'. Blackmail began the Hitchcock tradition of using famous landmarks as a backdrop for suspense sequences, with the climax taking place on the dome of the British Museum. He used early sound recording as a special element of the film, stressing the word "knife" in a conversation with the woman (Anny Ondra) suspected of murder. It was followed by Murder! (1930). In 1933 Hitchcock was once again working for Michael Balcon at Gaumont-British on The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934). It was a success. His second, The 39 Steps (1935), with Robert Donat, made him a star in the USA. It also established the quintessential English 'Hitchcock blonde' (Madeleine Carroll) as the template for his succession of ice-cold, elegant leading ladies. His next major success was The Lady Vanishes (1938), with Margaret Lockwood and Michael Redgrave. The film saw Hitchcock receive the 1938 New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Director.[

David O. Selznick signed Hitchcock to a seven-year contract beginning in March 1939, and the Hitchcocks moved to Hollywood. He directed an adaptation of Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca (1940), starring Joan Fontaine and Laurence Olivier. Rebecca won the Oscar for Best Picture, although Hitchcock himself was only nominated as Best Director. Hitchcock's second American film was the thriller Foreign Correspondent (1940), set in Europe, and produced by Walter Wanger. It was nominated for Best Picture that year Suspicion (1941) was the first of four projects on which Cary Grant worked with Hitchcock, and it is one of the rare occasions that Grant was cast in a sinister role. In one scene Hitchcock placed a light inside a glass of milk, perhaps poisoned, that Grant is bringing to his wife, played by Joan Fontaine. The light makes sure that the audience's attention is on the glass. Fontaine won the Best Actress Oscar for her performance. Shadow of a Doubt (1943) was Hitchcock's personal favourite. Charlotte "Charlie" Newton (Teresa Wright) suspects her beloved uncle Charlie Oakley (Joseph Cotten) of being a serial killer. Hitchcock was again nominated for the Oscar for Best Director for Lifeboat (1944) and Spellbound (1945), but he never won the award. Spellbound (1945), starring Ingrid Bergman and Gregory Peck, explores psychoanalysis and features a dream sequence designed by Salvador Dalí. Notorious (1946) stars Ingrid Bergman and Cary Grant, both Hitchcock regulars, and features a plot about Nazis, uranium, and South America. After a brief lull of commercial success in the late 1940s, Hitchcock returned to form with Strangers on a Train (1951), based on the novel by Patricia Highsmith. In the film, two men casually meet, one of whom speculates on a foolproof method to murder. He suggests that two people, each wishing to do away with someone, should each perform the other's murder. Farley Granger played the innocent victim of the scheme, while boy-next-door" Robert Walker played the villain. I Confess (1953) was set in Quebec with Montgomery Clift as a Catholic priest. It was followed by three colour films starring Grace Kelly: the 3-D film Dial M for Murder (1954), Rear Window (1954), and To Catch a Thief (1955). From 1955 to 1965, Hitchcock was the host of the television series Alfred Hitchcock Presents. With his droll delivery, gallows humour and iconic image, the series made Hitchcock a celebrity. in his films, Hitchcock often used the "mistaken identity" theme, such as in The Wrong Man (1956), and North by Northwest (1959). In Vertigo (1958), James Stewart plays Scottie, a former police investigator suffering from acrophobia. He develops an obsession with a woman he has been hired to shadow (Kim Novak). His obsession leads to tragedy, and this time Hitchcock does not opt for a happy ending. Vertigo is one of his most personal and revealing films, dealing with the Pygmalion-like obsessions of a man who crafts a woman into the woman he desires. Psycho (1960) was Hitchcock's great shock masterpiece, mostly for its haunting performances by Janet Leigh and Anthony Perkins and its shower scene, and The Birds (1963) became the unintended forerunner to an onslaught of films about nature-gone-mad, and booth films were phenomenally popular. Film companies began to refer to his films as 'Alfred Hitchcock's': Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960), Alfred Hitchcock's Frenzy (1972), and Alfred Hitchcock's Family Plot (1976). During the making of Frenzy (1972), Hitchcock's wife Alma suffered a paralysing stroke which made her unable to walk very well. In 1979, Hitchcock was knighted, making him Sir Alfred Hitchcock. A year later, in 1980, he died peacefully in his sleep due to renal failure. Hitchcock was survived by his wife and daughter. After the funeral, his body was cremated. His remains were scattered over the Pacific Ocean.

Sources: Bruce Eder (AllMovie), Wikipedia, and IMDb.

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I'm selling out!

After weeks, if not months of work I've got the instructions for the black Tumbly ready.

This time, I'm hoping to get something in return for all that work.

If you want the instructions, Paypal an amount you deem suitable to mahjqa [a] gmail [.] com . Minimum is €5 / $6 , otherwise Paypal will eat most of it.

The higher this amount is, the sooner I'll get around to mailing you the instructions.

Some things to keep in mind:

-The instructions you receive are not to be shared with anyone else

-You'll receive a .zip file with 140 or so JPEG images.

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-This clever anti-piracy scheme may not be foolproof, and eventually the instructions will find their way online. There is nothing I can do about that.

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-No refunds for any reason.