More nostalgic pix

http://news.distractify.com/culture/x-history-photos/?v=1

These 60 Rare Photos Will Destroy Everything You Knew About The Past. 

 

Jake Heppner

These stunning photos reveal relationships and sides of famous people you've never seen before and capture the essence of eras that have come and gone. I'm sure more than a few of these will surprise you...and some might even make you laugh. 

Barack Obama on his high school basketball team

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Arnold Schwarzenegger in New York for the first time in 1968

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Bill Gates' mug shot for driving without a license 1977

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Muhammad Ali talking someone out of jumping - 1981

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Audrey Hepburn shopping with her pet deer, Ip, in Beverly Hills, CA -1958.

Jimi Hendrix and Mick Jagger - 1969

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Madonna, Sting and Tupac hanging out.

Paul McCartney, John Lennon & George Harrison performing at a wedding reception, 1958.

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The Rolling Stones circa 1963

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Ernest Hemingway's passport photo - 1923

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President FDR's funeral in 1945

Robin Williams dressed like a cheerleader - 1980

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The original Star Wars cast seen just before filming

Cameramen recording the lion roar for the MGM logo

Elton John at the piano bar aboard his private plane - 1976

Charlie Chaplin and Albert Einstein

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Queen Elizabeth during her WWII service.

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Elijah Wood & Macaulay Culkin - 1993

John Travolta & Olivia Newton John rehearsing for "GREASE"

A young Osama Bin Laden with his family in Sweden during the 1970s. Bin Laden is second from the right in a green shirt and blue pants.

Diane Keaton and Al Pacino on set for The Godfather 1972

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Steven Spielberg and Drew Barrymore on set of E.T

Bruce Lee dancing

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Actors portraying President John F. Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe and their rumored affair

i.imgur.comFor the past 40 years, Americans has been enthralled by rumors that Kennedy never gave up his playboy lifestyle, even after marriage and his presidency. These photos, created by photographer Alison Jackson with look-alikes, portray what someone may have seen from the night Monroe performed ‘Happy Birthday Mr. President’ at JFK’s 45th birthday at Madison Square Garden.

Osama Bin Laden after practicing judo

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Hachiko before his burial in 1935

i.imgur.comThe Japanese dog was famous for his incredible loyalty. His owner passed away and didn't come home on his usual train one evening in 1925. Hachiko returned to the station every day and waited for him to come home for 9 years until his own death.

The Beatles and Ali - 1964

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Martin Luther King Jr, and Marlon Brando

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Chuck Norris and Bruce Lee

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Steve Jobs sitting with Bill Gates discussing the future of computing in 1991.

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Adam West (Batman) & Leonard Nemoy (Spock) goof around on a drumset

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Amelia Earhart getting her last haircut - 1937

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Early drawings by Walt Disney of Mickey Mouse

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The US-built ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) was the first computer ever made

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Marathon Runners at the first modern Olympic Games held in Athens, Greece - 1896

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The first Walmart store opened in 1962

Golden Gate bridge construction - 1937

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Fidel Castro and Malcolm X discussing politics and family - 1960

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Vladimir Putin as a teenager (2nd from the left, in a hat)

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Marilyn Monroe meets Queen Elizabeth II - 1956

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Steven Hawking with his bride, Jane Wilde

Robert Downey Jr. and Slash

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Hilter as the best man in Joseph Goebbels wedding

Last concert of Beatles on a London rooftop - 1969

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George Armstrong Custer and some of his fellow soldiers, during the American Civil War. [Colorized]

Norway celebrates the first ever banana arriving in the country

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Alan Shepard, America's first man in space, puts on his Navy Mark IV spacesuit.

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Marilyn Monroe and Sammy Davis, Jr.

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Howard Carter, an English archaeologist, examining the opened sarcophagus of King Tut.

Che Guevara and Fidel Castro

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Mt Rushmore construction - 1939

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A young Johnny Depp with Oasis

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Sean Connery as James Bond, poses with Aston Martin DB5 - 1965

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Elvis Presley during his service in the U.S. Army - 1958

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Construction of Eiffel Tower in 1880

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William Harley and Arthur Davidson, 1914 -- The Founders of Harley Davidson Motorcycles

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Pablo Picasso & Brigitte Bardot - 1956

A young Bill Clinton meets John F. Kennedy

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Frank Sinatra asks Lou Gehrig for an autograph in 1939

Steven Spielberg sits in the mechanical shark used in JAWS

Too old for this!

Frozen 2013


With so much of hype singing praises of the animated film, I thought I would give it a go. Unlike 'The Lion King' that I thoroughly enjoyed, I found this a bit of a drag.

I guess I am not cut out for fairy tales. Based on Hans Christian Anderson's 'Snow Queen', this tale is a visual galore due to advancements in 3D animation. The characters are manga-like with large eyes and tiny limbs. Unlike Lion King, the side characters are annoying and lack depth in character. The reindeer and the snowman do not provide any added credence to the otherwise predictable plot.

In a tundra kingdom, the elder of the two princesses (Elsa) is endowed with an ability to create ice crystals from the tip of her finger at will and with emotion. Even though initially it was quite fun to play with, she soon realised that it was a curse as it almost killed her sister, Anna. The troll king managed to resuscitate Anna but with caution that her ability must be curtailed.

Anna grows up having lost her memory of her sister's gift, and Elsa grows as a recluse, imprisoned in her own room. The parents soon die in a boat accident, and the girls grew up by themselves in isolation, with the castle door closed shut against the citizens.

The first-ever royal ball is held in ages on the event of the inauguration of Elsa as the Queen when she comes of age. The precocious Anna wants to get engaged with the first guy that she meets, angering the new Queen. In a fit of rage, she inadvertently unravelled her cursed ability. It turned the summer into a freezing freak winter, and the attendees accused her of being a witch. In embarrassment, Elsa goes into a self-imposed exile. The rest of the story tries to tell how Anna goes in pursuit of her sulking sister with the help of uninspiring man like the iceman, Kristoff, his emotionless reindeer, a Jar Jar Binks-que character in a snowman.

I was waiting for the show to be over so that I could just write it off as something that would excite my 7-year-old niece. She would probably lose interest in Elsa and Anna come summer when Pixar or Disney churns out yet another blockbuster. Boring...

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Smirk?

To the question 'What is the one thing that you would like your child to have', one of the many responses was confidence. Confidence would take them a long way as they know that what they are doing is right. They would march through life knowing jolly well that that is the way, the truth  and how it should be. Really?
May not. A certain amount of conviction is needed for one to do anything. The confidence that he has the knowledge to drive from point A to point B, the confidence that what he is doing today will reap benefit one day, the certainty that he would get up tomorrow as he lay his weary head to sleep...
On the other hand, a certain amount of uncertainty is needed to ensure that the loose ends are checked. It is normal that he is unsure whether he has offed all electrical appliances and rechecks them as he embarks on his long journey, he double checks his facts before he puts his life and name on a document and so forth.
We sure do not want a conceited fool who is cocksure about everything and overconfident that his 'yet another new venture' would see any daylight. Too often than not, we have seen again and again of fools who are only fools in the eyes of everyone else except the person concerned.
That comes to the question of what type of environment do we provide to the kids as they grow up meeting the challenges of future? Do we encourage them with showers of praises so that they would be bold enough to stand out on their own feet or do we plant the seed of doubt so that they would occasionally turn around and reflect themselves before they make an ass of themselves.
Sometimes it reaches the level of 'ad nauseam' to see parents praising to high heavens their children's seemingly feeble feats!
But then again, the seemingly great men in the history of mankind had weathered failures after failures to pursue their dream knowing and confident deep inside them of their cocksure confidence in themselves that they are right!

Love among the common people!

They drive by night (1940)
This old noir has Humphrey Bogart in a supporting role. In fact towards the later part of the movie he goes missing.
This obscure film is the story of 2 brothers who struggle through life as truck drivers. Their job is tedious involving long hours fighting sleepy eyes, earning measly sum from truck companies from their goods, running away from creditors who were out to repossess their truck and generally feeling miserable. They have to meet short deadlines and on top of that have to bear the inconvenience of road accidents.
The early part of the shows one such trip where they swerve to avoid a speeding car and damaged their tyre.
The brothers, Joe and Paul Fibrini, each their own set of problems. Joe is single and wants to come up in life but the going is getting harder by the day. Paul is married and has to make do with leaving his lonely alone at home. They have decided to delay stating a family until things are stable. Of course, all cannot to wait to work regular hours and avoiding the danger stretches of highway and constantly endangering their lives.

The Widow, femme fatale!

They meet a waitress in one highway eatery. She later joins them on their trip after she absconded from her job when her boss made some improper advances on her.
Joe eventually falls for the waitress, Cassie.
During one of their trip, Paul sleeps at the wheel and they have a
nasty accident as their truck skids of the road. Joe escaped unscathed but Paul loses his arm. The truck is a complete write off.
Paul is depressed and Joe volunteers to pay for the medical expenses. Wandering aimlessly, Joe is offered to work for his friend, Mr Carlson who is a self made truck owner.
Trouble comes to Joe in the form of a young Mrs Carlson who once had the hots for Joe. Bored with her senile but naive husband, she tries to seduce Joe in vain.
One night at the spur of the moment, she intentionally leaves her stuporous husband in the car with a running engine in the confines of a closed garage. Mr Carlson's death is certified as accidental carbon monoxide poisoning. Joe is invited to be the partner of the company by the widow, Mrs Carlson. After repeating failures at wooing Joe, Mrs Carlson finally reveals to Joe her selfless efforts of murdering her husband just to be with him. It still did not work as Joe was already about to marry Cassie!
When the police comes to the picture, she changes her story - that she was the victim who was forced into the crime by Joe. Luckily, when the case comes to the courts, the pressure of the turn of events proved too overwhelming for Mrs Carlson. She cracked under pressure, talking irrationally to be labelled as raving lunatic. Joe goes scot free.
At the end, all ends well. Joe decides to continue working as the boss, get married and Paul becomes a father! A B-noir with a happy ending? If only life was so easy, with a happy ending and eternal bliss!

Meaning of life?

Solaris (Солярис, Russian; 1972)

Director: Andrei Tarkovsky

Even though it is supposed to be a sci-fi space drama, the story is not your usual fare for exploring new frontiers and fighting alien civilisations. It is a philosophical discourse about life and its intricacies. It is said to be one of the best sci-fi films ever produced, earning the coveted Cannes Jury Prize. Personally, I felt that watching this flick was like an exercise in endurance training for a marathon. It was painstakingly slow moving, and discussion was extremely dry.

Even at a time when human civilisation is supposed to have reached its zenith and space travel is a non-event, man is still grappling trying to understand the meaning of life and human emotions.

We are just through a moment in time with many external factors determining our actions. Likewise, our thinking also has a reciprocal influence on our environment. Is our desire to find love or yearn for the lost love slowing or hampering us down in our endeavour to do what we are supposed to do in our lifetime. Everything is a mirage.

How much are we going to give credence to things that happen around us?
We go around with the illusion of immortality as we are ignorant of what lies ahead in our future and how long our future is paved for us. If only we knew of the length of our lifespan, we would probably not be too keen to do anything as everything would be not worth it. We would think, "What is the point?" and keep crossing off the days on our chart.

At the end of the day, we determine our fate and future. All we need is composure and levelheadedness.

Murder on Express

Neelagiri Express (நீலகிரி எக்ஸ்ப்ரெஸ், Tamil; 1968)

The moviemakers decided to venture into a newer genre. They tried their hand into something along the line of 'Murder on the Orient Express' by Agatha Christie. Unfortunately, it did not turn out as they wanted, a thriller. Instead, it showed the excellent comic ala-Mr. Bean role in Cho Ramaswamy. It became an almost full scale comedy with Cho hitting all the thought provoking tongue-in-the-cheek clean jokes. It is not wonder that he wrote the story!

The suspense component did not excite. Neither did the musical score by T.K. Ramamoorthy. None of the songs belted in the movie stood the test of time or were vaguely familiar! The background score proved different with the usage of electronic guitars. Many of the shots were outdoor shots and I can hardly remember anyone with saree. All female characters seem to be wearing spandex pants and striped body hugging tops, probably that was the latest fashion then.

The modus operandi was simple. Occupants of a upmarket hotel known to be carrying valuables were robbed and murdered when they travelled on the Neelagiri Express train which plied Coimbatore and Madras.
An accomplice who distract the fellow occupant of the first class compartment while the crime went on.
In come CID Shankar (Jaishankar) to the scene! The comical antics of Cho and the ever righteous civil servant form the crux of the adventure. An entertaining flick.