vicky's hangout

Elvis Presley vs. Ricky Nelson (Early Rock n' Roll)

2006-09-19T07:05:00.000-07:00

Elvis Presley

He was born on January 8, 1935 to poor parents. At the age of ten, his mother brought him a birthday present: his first guitar. Also at this age, he entered a singing contest at the Mississippi-Alabama Fair and Dairy Show. He won second place, a $5 prize and a free ticket to all the rides. Some years later, young Elvis started hanging around what was called the black section of the town, where he could hear 'black music'. Another of his music influences was gospel.

His singing career actually began at age 18. He got a record at Sun in the summer of 1954. One of the first singles is 'That's All Right'. Colonel Tom Parker became his manager and promoter and negotiated Elvis’s first contract with RCA. Two days after his twenty-first birthday, Elvis has his first recording session for RCA, held at their studio in Nashville. 'Heartbreak Hotel' is one of songs recorded during this session. Elvis also soon appeared in movies, recorded more music and toured with his band.

On March 24, 1958, Elvis Presley was inducted into the U.S. Army at the Memphis Draft Board and is assigned serial number 53310761. On August 1958, Elvis's mother died, leaving him devastated. Elvis was later stationed in Bad Nauheim, Germany. In Germany, he met 14-year-old Priscilla Beaulieu, who would become his wife later.

In late March 1960, he recorded his first post-army album 'Elvis is Back!'. He also starred in one motion picture after another, most of which were forgettable. Non-movie related recordings also continued through this period.

In late June, Elvis taped his first television special called "The '68 Comeback Special". From July to August in 1969, Elvis was booked for a four-week, fifty-seven show engagement at the International Hotel in Las Vegas, which had just been built and had the largest showroom in the city. In 1970, he was back to performing live.

On January 16, 1971, he was named one of the ten outstanding young man of the nation.On January 1973, Elvis made television history with his Via Satellite special "Elvis: Aloha from Hawaii". Until his sudden shocking death in August 16, 1977, he continued to tour and make music.

Here are the lyrics to one of his songs: Let Me Be Your Teddy Bear

Baby let me be,
your lovin' Teddy Bear
Put a chain around my neck,
and lead me anywhere
Oh let me be
Your teddy bear.
I don't wanna be a tiger
Cause tigers play too rough
I don't wanna be a lion
'Cause lions ain't the kindyou love enough.
Just wanna be,
your Teddy Bear
Put a chain around my neck
and lead me anywhere
Oh let me be
Your teddy bear.

I just love the beat and rhythm of this song. This is one of my favorite songs of Elvis. I don't really know why I like it...I'm definitely not the type of girl who wants her man to be a teddy bear or anything like it. You may feel that you are not the type of woman he's singing about, but still really really love his songs anyway. That's one of Elvis's special qualities, I think. He's the only artist who has this effect on me. Usually, if I can't connect with the type of thing an artist is singing, I usually wouldn't listen to any more of their songs. But with Elvis, I kept buying on album after album of his just to listen to him sing about stuff I don't necessarily agree with. Although, he didn’t really write any of his songs.

Ricky Nelson

He was born on May 8, 1940. Along with his father, mother, and elder brother, he starred in the long-running radio and television series “The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet” from 1944 to 1966. Ozzie and Harriet were his parents. So, unlike Elvis, who had a poor childhood and had to struggle for fame, Ricky Nelson grew up in the public eye.
He started his Rock n’ Roll music career in 1957. He actually recorded his first single “I’m Walkin’” to impress his date, who was an Elvis fan. The song was a hit and reached #4 on the charts. From 1957 to 1962, Nelson had 30 top 40 hits, which was more than any other artist at the time, except Elvis. Many of Nelson's early records were double hits with both the A side and the B side hitting the billboard charts. And like Elvis, he also appeared in some films.

1964's "For You" was his last top 40 hit until 1970. This was when he recorded Bob Dylan’s "She Belongs To Me" with the Stone Canyon Band. In 1972, he hit the top 40 one last time with a song called “Garden Party”. He wrote this song in disgust after a Madison Square Garden audience booed him when he tried playing new songs instead of just his old hits from the 1950s and 1960s.

By the late 70s, his life was a mess. Apart from a terrible divorce, he wasn’t making any records. And the few times he played live were only in small insignificant places. However, in 1985, he achieved major success when he joined a nostalgia rock tour of England. This tour brought some interest back in Nelson. He tried to reproduce that effect in the United States and began a tour of the South. While on that tour, he died in a plane crash in De Kalb, Texas in 1985. He was on his way to a concert in Dallas. The last song he sang on stage before his death was Buddy Holly’s “Rave On”.

Now the lyrics of my favorite song of his:

I'm walking, yes indeed I'm talking
For you and me and I'm hoping
That you'll come back to me
I'm lonely as I can be
And I've waited for your company
And I'm hoping that you'll come back to me
Whatcha gonna do when the well runs dry
You gonna run away and hide
I'm gonna run right by your side
For you, pretty baby, I'd even die
I'm walking, yes indeed I'm talking
For you and me and I'm hoping
That you'll come back to me
I'm walking, yes indeed I'm talking
For you and me and I'm hoping
That you'll come back to me
I'm lonely as I can be
And I've waited for your company
And I'm hoping that you'll come back to me
Whatcha gonna do when the well runs dry
You gonna run away and hide
I'm gonna run right by your side
For you, pretty baby, I'd even die
I'm walking, yes indeed I'm talking
For you and me and I'm hoping
That you'll come back to me

This is my favorite Ricky Nelson song. I like the meaning of this song. I can also feel what he’s singing. It is a song about a man who still haven’t given up hope. So, he would keep on walking for her. Yeah, this is certainly a great song. And l also love the rhythm.

Their contributions to the Rock Scene

Elvis was one of the first and greatest rock artists. He was the King of Rock n’ Roll. Before anybody did anything, Elvis did everything! He set a standard for the later Rock artists to live up to.

Ricky Nelson’s contribution to the Rock Scene, at first glance, might not seem as obvious as Elvis’s. But however, if one ponders deeper into the subject, it could be determined that Ricky was more important than Elvis. Let’s face it, when Elvis first came out with his music, people were shocked by it. They called it “Devil’s music” and were outraged by Elvis’s style. But however, when Ricky Nelson started playing Rock n’ Roll, it became more acceptable. After all, he was sweet little Ricky everyone watched growing up in “The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet”. How could his music be evil? So they thought if Ricky was playing it, then it must be all right.

Connections to the Blue Scene

Elvis was largely connected to the Blue Scene. He was a bluesman before he turned to Rock n’ Roll. He grew up in the place of the blues. He was very much influenced by the Memphis Blues music. As a young boy, he hung around in the black section of the town to hear bluesman like Furry Lewis and B.B. King perform.

Ricky Nelson, I’m not so sure about. He did record some songs called “Boppin’ The Blues” and “Milk Cow Blues”. But do they count?

Which Artist do I prefer?

I would have to go with Elvis Presley. I’ve been listening to his songs since I was a little girl. Hearing his voice and seeing him perform could always lift my spirits no matter how down I may be feeling. I have a habit of collecting his albums, performances, and books written about him. My favorite book about him is ‘Elvis and Me’, written by his ex-wife Priscilla Presley. By the way, my all-time favorite song of his is called ‘Always on my Mind’. He seemed to be singing to his ex-wife, right? I thought their love story was a beautiful but heartbreaking one when I read Priscilla’s book. Right now, I’m trying to find one of his songs called ‘I Can’t Stop Loving You’. He was supposed to have looked at his newly-separated wife Priscilla during one of his performance and said, ‘This one is for you’ and started singing that one. How cute is that?

However, what I do not collect are his movies. Whenever I see his movies, I could see why he hated them so much. He never was a serious actor. Can you believe he was even made to sing ‘Old MacDonald’ in one of his movies? Too bad, I’m sure he would have been brilliant if only his manager Colonel Parker had given him a chance.

The Gospel

2006-09-18T08:08:00.000-07:00

David Taylor was studying to become a minister in his father’s church. His father was Bishop Frank Taylor. All of a sudden, David’s mother died. David became bitter about the fact that his father wasn’t there at her side. He angrily accused his father of caring more about the church than his mother. He declared that he hated his father and walked out.

Fifteen years later, David was a really successful R&B singer. However, one day he got news that his father was seriously ill. He went back home and found the old church in disorder. He got involved in the church’s activities again. He offered to give concerts in order to help out with the funding.

Then his father died, and David’s former best friend, Frank, took his place. David found out that he had an inflated ego and seemed more interested in enhancing his image than the actual well-being of the church. David tried to find a way to save the church from Frank’s clutches.

Meanwhile, he was also under pressure from his manager to return to work. And he also fell in love with Rain, a member of the church. Finally, he realized that God meant him to learn a lesson from all this, vowed to never run away anymore, and returned to the church.

All ended well, because Frank, after pondering on his actions after rash comments from other church folks, learned about his own shortcomings. He changed for the better. At the ending scene of the movie, he told the people, “Your pastor is not perfect. Nobody is perfect. No church is perfect. And if there is anything as a perfect church, it stopped being perfect when you and I walked into it. Only God is perfect. God is great.”

Characteristics

Religion

Religion is the center of their lives. They’re sure God is the driving force behind their actions. In this movie, they all stress about ‘doing God’s work’. And all the time throughout the movie, the phrase ‘God is Great’ could be heard. They all want the best for their church because it is their life.

Music

Now here are some musical people. This movie shows more scenes of people singing than talking. This is a real spiritual thing for them. Gospel music is always sung at the church to reach out to God. It’s like music runs in their blood. David, even when he turned his back on the church, couldn’t stay away from music. He became a hot R n’ B singer.

Family

Family is also very important. David was angry with his father when he thought he cared more about others and the church than he did his family. Yes, David was studying to be a minister of the church but he thought family was more important than the church. And although he then burst out that he hated his father, he returned to the church when he heard about his father’s illness.

My Opinion

Although I could not really connect with the characters in this movie, it was quite nice to watch. It was easy to understand and everything fell into place smoothly. And the music was really good.

Trading Places

2006-09-18T08:03:00.000-07:00

I thought this story really resembles my Industrial Revolution movie ‘Million Pound Note’. But this one is way funnier and cooler, I think. I love this movie! But this was obviously made quite a while ago, because Jamie Lee Curtis looked really beautiful here. So here’s how it went.

Louis Winthorpe III was a really respected senior employee of Duke& Duke, which was owned by the two broker brothers, Randolph and Mortimer Duke. Winthorpe managed their investment bank. He had a huge mansion, a butler, and on top of that he was engaged to marry the Dukes’ grand-niece, Penelope.

Then, there was Billie Ray Valentine, a black beggar/con artist from the ghetto, who got arrested after the police busted his act as a Vietnam War cripple. Randolph remarked that Valentine turned to a life of crime because of the environment he was raised in. Mortimer argued by saying he would have turned out the same in whatever environment he grew up in because he was a ‘negro’. So, Randolph made a bet that even their respected employee Winthorpe, if his money, job, possessions, and fiancé were all taken away from him, would also turn to crime. And that if Valentine were put in his place, he would turn out to be an honest and responsible citizen. Mortimer accepted this bet.

And so they bailed Valentine out of prison, took him to Winthorpe’s fancy house, and told him it was all his. Valentine wasn’t quite able to believe his luck. Meanwhile, Winthorpe was humiliated after being falsely accused of theft and drug-dealing (a ploy of the Dukes). He was fired from his job, stripped of his money, and barred from his own home. So, he became a destitute. But he was taken in by a good-hearted prostitute named Orphelia.

During this time, Valentine was fitting in nicely to the upper class. Like Randolph predicted, he was behaving like a responsible and honest citizen. He even proved to be a genius at their business. People were now eager for whatever advice he had to give them. Mortimer was not at all pleased with the outcome.

Winthorpe was not at all fitting in nicely like Valentine. Again, like Randolph predicted, he resorted to crime, showing up at the Dukes’ Christmas party with a loaded gun. Now, it was clear that Randolph had won his bet.

Valentine happened to overhear a private conversation between the Duke Brothers. Now that Randolph had won the wager, which was (gasp) one dollar, they were wondering what move they should take next. Mortimer wasn’t sure if he wanted Winthorpe back, but both of them were sure they didn’t want a ‘nigger’ running their family business.

After hearing the brothers’ intentions of throwing him back to the streets, Valentine seek out Winthorpe and informed him about the Dukes’ “scientific experiment”. Winthorpe was so incensed that he started loading his rifles to murder them. But Valentine had a better idea: to make rich people miserable was to make them poor. So the two of them teamed up to get their revenge on the Dukes. They found out that the Dukes had been hiring a man called Clarence Beeks in order to corner the entire frozen orange juice market. Valentine, under the pretense as Beeks, gave them false information on the crop report. This made the Dukes misplay the market and bankrupt themselves, while Valentine and Winthorpe used the correct information and got rich.

Characteristics

Racism

You definitely can witness some traces of racism in here. Especially from the upper class. For instance, Mortimer Duke was convinced that Valentine was a criminal just because he was a ‘negro’. And then, their racist views became even more prominent when Mortimer said ‘I do not want a nigger running the family business!’ and Randolph replied ‘Neither do I.’ They really wasn’t crazy about getting Winthorpe back for the job after he acted like a menace waving his gun about at their party. But they definitely could not stand the idea of a black person taking over. Therefore, they chose to bring back Winthorpe, who in their minds was a criminal. In their thinking, a criminal was better than a black person.

Greed

The greediness of the upper society can also be seen. The Duke brothers were already billionaires. But they still tried to get inside information on the crop report. And they committed everything they had into it. In fact, being greedy, at the time, was probably viewed as a good thing. Mortimer said his late mother was complimenting him when she told him that he was greedy.

Superiority

Even Winthorpe, before his life turned upside down, was unbelievably snobbish. He ordered to have Valentine arrested, even though he did nothing to him. All he did was knock Winthorpe down accidentally, and Winthorpe was convinced it was an assault. And of course, the Duke brothers ruled in this case. They were so superior that they felt they could use anyone as guinea pigs in their ‘experiment’ just for a little amusement. And all for their bet concerning 1 dollar, they felt they could control anyone’s lives at their will.

King Kong- The New Version (Great Depression)

2006-09-18T06:36:00.000-07:00

Finally, the remake of the classic King Kong is here! This three-hour-long movie, though not necessarily better than the original, is definitely something.

Actress Ann Darrow found herself unemployed when the local theatre she worked in was closed during the great depression era. She could hope to survive by dancing at a local show. At about the same time, film director Carl Denham was also having problems of his own: his studio bosses strongly disapproved of the plans for his latest film. They flatly refused to fund it. This did nothing to halt the overly-ambitious Denham. He stole the film and immediately made the arrangements to leave for the shoot of the movie. When he discovered his leading lady had dropped out for another project, he set off to look for another one to take her place.

He happened to spot Ann Darrow, who was trying to steal some fruit, and got her out of the trouble with the shop-owner. He persuaded her to join him and his crew. She finally agreed after finding out that Jack Driscoll, who happened to be her favorite playwright, was writing the screenplay. So they boarded the ship, which managed to leave just before the police, obviously sent by Carl's furious bosses, caught up with them. Carl also tricked Driscoll into joining them so that he could finish writing the script. Both Ann and Jack were under the belief that they were all headed to singapore. It was only along the way that Carl revealed that they were headed to Skull Island.

The captain was not very pleased with the news. He had heard tales about a giant monster living on the island, which Carl refused to believe. So they continued their search for this island which the outside world knew nothing about. Along the way, Ann and Jack fell in love. The news that Carl was wanted back home for arrest put an end to the voyage. However, a storm caused the ship to end up on the island's location and trapped on the rocks.

Carl, Jack, Ann, and the film crew went ashore while the ship crew attempted to fix the ship. On the island, they were all attacked by the ferocious native tribe that lived there. A few people were killed, but the rest were recued by the captain and his crew. They fumbled back towards the ship with intentions to leave as soon as possible. But then, Ann was kidnapped by a native that had sneaked on board. Soon, she was tied up on the other side of the wall that separated the rest of the island from the natives. Ann's friends hurried over to help, but arrived just as soon as a giant ape was carrying her away.

King Kong and Ann bonded after some time. She even entertained him, and he saved her from wild dinosaurs. The rest of the crew, meanwhile, encountered all sorts of weird creatures. Some even lost their lives. When they finally met up with Ann, they knocked King Kong out with some chloroform and brought him back to New York City.

Back at New York, Carl put King Kong on a broadway stage in front of a large audiencee. However, he had to use another woman in Ann's place because she had apparently refused to appear onstage. King Kong, after finding out the 'Ann' tied up in front of him was a fake, broke free of his chains and went roaring out of the place into the city. And the rest is history.

Similarities (with the original)

THE WAY CARL AND ANN MET

Yes, it is exactly the same in both movies. Ann was sneaking some friut from the shop, and the shop owner got all mad and furious, and Carl stepped in by paying him and telling him to end this matter. Then, he took her away to persuade her to join the cast of his latest movie.

KING KONG CONQUERING THE DINOSAUR

Eew, the poweful way King Kong broke the dinosaur's jaws...they did it the same way. This dinosaur was a threat to Ann Darrow, and Kong came to the rescue. The two creatures fought ferociously for a long time. Then, King Kong stretched the dinosaur's mouth wide apart...stretched and stretched until it finally broke and the dinosaur died.

JACK RESCUING ANN FROM KING KONG

In both movies, Jack and Ann tried to escape from the clutches of King Kong by climbing a rope down a cliff. Ann was riding along on Jack's back. And he was making some progress going down, when King Kong rushed over and pulled the rope and therefore the couple back up with his mighty grip. And finally, Jack and Ann ended up losing hold of the rope and falling a long way to the water below.

LAST LINES

The same last lines were used in both movies. It was Carl Denham saying 'It wasn't the airplanes. It was Beauty killed the Beast. The lines seemed quite siginificant to the movies. Ann as Beauty and King Kong as the Beast.

Differences

CARL DENHAM

In the old version, I don't remember any mention that he was in trouble with his bosses or the police. In fact, his voyage was talked about by most people in awe. Everyone knew he was a big director heading off to a big journey to film a documentary. But in the new one, he had to struggle to get people to take him seriously. And the big journey was planned and taken into action in a sneaky manner. He narrowly escaped the police. None of this farce was in the original version.

JACK DRISCOLL

Here is another character that was noticeably altered. In the old version, Jack Driscoll belonged to the ship crew; he was the captain. But here, he was the script-writer. He was a big name in the business. And he happened to be Ann Darrow's idol even before they personally met. Thankfully, he didn't display any of the sexist views the old Driscoll did.

KING KONG AND ANN

Now, I have to say, I really prefer the relationship between King Kong and Ann Darrow in the new version. Here you can see that Ann actually cared about King Kong. She definitely had some affections for the great ape. She realized that the ape was actually trying to look out for her back at the island. And at the city, they had a fun time playing in the snow before the hunt for King Kong began. And she actually cried when King Kong was killed. That was so sad. The old version seemed to be playing around with this thing called 'unrequitted love'. I mean, really, all Ann Darrow felt for King Kong in the old version was fear.

KING KONG'S CAPTURE

For some reason, they decided to replace gas bombs with bottles of chloroform in the new version. I don't really understand why. Gas bombs used in the original version did the job much easier. Here in the new one, several bottles of choloroform had to be used to knock King Kong out. In the process, a lot of people were hurt or killed.

My opinion

I think it is more apparent in the new version that the characters were living through great depression. For instance, we see homeless people begging on the streets. And the theatre Ann Darrow was working in was closed due to lack of money. She became unemployed in a flash. This movie showed her desperation. In the old one, the only clue we had that Ann Darrow was going through a rough patch was when she tried to steal some fruit. I suppose because the old one was actually made during the great depression era itself, the film makers did not see the need to add all these situations into the movie. Besides, if people of that time went in to see these movies to relieve their stresses, I don't think they would have wanted to be reminded of their daily troubles by seeing them displayed so heartbreakingly in movies, too.

The Manchurian Candidate(Old and New)

2006-09-18T01:56:00.000-07:00

The first film, made in 1962, was set around the Korean War. During this time, a 'brainwashing' technique, similar to hypnosis, was developed by the Soviets. A patrol of U.S soldiers fighting in Korea, which included Major Bennett Marco and Sergeant Raymond Shaw, was kidnapped by the Soviets. After being taken to Manchuria, false memories were implanted into the soldiers' minds, whereas Raymond Shaw could be completely controlled by triggering his subconscious. Finally, when they were returned to the American forces, they had no memory of this experience.

Back in America, Marco and the rest of the group believed that Raymond Shaw saved all their lives in combat, and Shaw received Medal of Honor. Anyone that was in the platoon, when asked what they thought of Shaw, would answer in the same robot-like manner : "Raymond Shaw is the kindest, bravest, warmest, most wonderful human being I've ever known in my life. " But this was far from the truth, because he was actually hated back in the unit because of his coldness and arrogance.

Soon after, Marco began to have recurring nightmares about the time they were kidnapped. In his dream, he kept seeing two of his men being killed by Raymond Shaw. He felt really uneasy about this and tried to investigate, but the Army Intelligence he worked for urged him to forget about the whole thing. But however, he got his chance to solve the mystery with their support when he learned that another patrol member had been having the same nightmares and identified the same communist personnel.

As his investigation deepened, he learned that the communists planned to use Shaw as their special assasin who could obey their orders and would have no memory of what he had done. The subconscious trigger they used on him was the queen of diamonds in a deck of playing cards. Shaw's American controller was none other than his mother, who was working with the communists. She asked Shaw to assasinate the candidate for vice-president during his acceptance speech. She planned to push her husband (Shaw's stepfather) John Iselin as the new president.

Marco found a way to pull of all the plugs that triggered Shaw. Marco later thought he had failed, but Shaw indeed regained control of himself, killed his mother and stepfather and then himself at the party convention, thereby saving his country. He knew no one else could have stopped his mother, so he did it all by himself without Marco.

Now let me talk about the new version. The plots were very similar. A brain-washed candiate was still the center of the story. But the story had been somewhat modernized. Here, the brainwashing process was done by Manchurian Global, a large multinational corporation and government contractor. The aim was to expand corporate influence, and also government contracts for themselves. In the first film, Marco and his unit were kidnapped during the Korean war. In this one, they were captured during the first gulf war(1990-1991), and all brainwashed at a secret Manchurian facility. The brainwashing process itself had the more 'today' kind of look. Drilling brains, putting implants, weird metallic objects in the body? Definitely more scientific.

The big difference they made in this new movie was that Raymond Shaw himself was the Vice-president, and Marco was the assasin! And Eugenie Rose, in the old version, had no other purpose than to be Marco's sweetheart. But here, she was an FBI agent who was assigned to keep an eye on him. And Raymond Shaw's mother was not named Iselin, but Senator 'Eleanor Shaw'. But the similarity between the character from the old version was that they were both power-hungry and ruthless politicians.

Unlike the old version, the assassin (in this case) Marco was restrained before he could commit suicide. After he was re-conditioned, Marco helped locate the abandoned facility where he and his unit were brainwashed. Now this part, in the old version was never tackled, was it? Nobody questioned whether the communists would brainwash someone else.

And the reason for brainwashing was more clear in the new version. It was because the corporation wanted more influence on the government, so they used a brainwashed candidate who could be controlled according to their wills.

Characteristics

Main characters from both films were very patriotic, I think. In the first one, Shaw gave his life for his country. And he was a hero in Marco's book. He did the right thing just as soon as he was freed from the controls. In the new version, Marco, after his reconditioning, helped locate the brainwashing corporation. They would no longer have any control on the government.

My Thoughts

I prefer the original version, for some reason. It could have been Frank Sinatra, but I don't know. But really, both versions are really good. I had a great time watching them.

Objective, Burma!

2006-09-11T21:44:00.000-07:00

This is my WWII movie. I've heard that what this movie presents is very similar to what actually happened. Anyway, this is the story. A group of commandos parachuted into a jungle in Burma. Their mission was to locate and blow up a Japanese radar station. The group's leader was Captain Nelson (played by Errol Flynn. Yeah! Finally, I get to see the great Errol Flynn.) Also coming along with them was an aging journalist named Williams, who was looking to present a realistic story of war to common people.

Their actual mission, which was to bomb the radar station, went extremely smooth and easy. But it was afterwards that their troubles began. When they got to their appointed place (an old air-strip) in order to be taken back to their base, they found out that the Japanese were hot on their trial. So Captain Nelson signalled a message by the radio to pick them up some days later at a different place instead. After that, he split the group into two units.

The group sans Captain Nelson met an ugly end; butchered in a deserted village. Captain Nelson took their name tags, had them buried, and went on. The remaining group finally made it to the meeting place. But there they got ambushed by the Japanese, forcing them to flee without even taking their supplies. Captain Nelson's radio was broken during this attack.

Soon, there was only one option left for Captain Nelson and his men. They had to make it to where the last plane told them to wait next. The jungle was swarming with enemies, and not only that, the men had no supplies. There was also the disease scare. Along the way, they saw a passing plane that they recognized to be one of theirs, but without the radio, the plane just passed by without noticing them while they yelled and waved their arms. But another time, they got lucky, because one plane recognized Captain Nelson's siganal sent out by his mirror. They sent down supplies.

Finally they arrived at the place. Now the question was would the men survive until they could be taken back. Tragically, at this time, the reporter Williams died, either from exhaustion or disease. They also had another suprise attack from the japanese. But this time, they were able to fight back. And in the end, they met up with some higher position soldiers who had also come into Burma. They were glad to see Nelson still alive and the entire group of commandos was honoured.

Characteristics

Lots of men leave their homes and families to join the army. During the time away from home, they were not always faithful to their women. I remember a part in that movie where the men were joking about women. One said his girlfriend sent him an angry letter demanding what this new girl of his had that she didn't. And he replied with "Nothing, honey. Only she has it here!"

Many, many soldiers died while doing what was important for the army. Bombing the radar stations was obviously extremely important. In this mission, a lot of lives were taken. Captain Nelson, at the end of the movie, held up the name tags of the people who had died and said, "But how many lives had to pay for it?"

The importance of leadership is another big part of this war movie. The people trusted their leader, and followed his every command. He was always the one making decisions and giving orders. The rest, while they may be a bit uncertain, were always won over by his reasoning. Nelson, on his part, was also following the orders of his leaders. For example, when the leaders asked him to go to a new meeting place, he, just like every one else, didn't like the idea much. But he made immediate moves towards the appointed place. Another questioned, "But when we get there, where will we be?" to which Nelson sharply responded "How about where we are told to be?"

My thoughts

There was a scene in the movie where the group ran into some Burmese. The guide/translater and the Burmese had a conversation, which of course, Captain Nelson and the others didn't understand a word of. But I have to say, neither do I! I really don't know what kind of Burmese they were speaking or if it was even really Burmese. But it was obviously not the standard Burmese. But that's weird... why would a foreigner want to learn a non-standard variety?

King Kong (1933)

2006-09-09T02:45:00.000-07:00

The movie starts off with a very ambitious movie director named Carl Denham planning a sea voyage to the mysterious Skull Island. Carl Denham was also trying his best to find the perfect woman in order to make his adventurous picture more appealing to the public. When his companions disagreed with this saying it was way to dangerous for a woman, Carl set off to find the actress himself. Eventually, he ran into Ann Darrow. During their conversation, he promised her 'money, adventure, and fame', and she agreed to join the trip.

What Carl had in mind was to make a picture with the lengendary 50 ft giant Ape named Kong that was regarded as a God by the tribe that lived in the island. Along the way, a romance between Ann and the ship's captain, Jack Driscoll began to develop. Jack, in the beginning, was a self-proclaimed women-hater.

When they arrived at the island, they saw the tribe having a cermony in front of the a huge wall that was built in order to divide King Kong's territory from theirs. They were displeased to see the film crew, and later asked to trade Ann for six of their women as a bride for Kong. They were even more infuriated by the crew's refusal and ordered them to get out of the island. The crew, with a promise to return the next day, returned to the ship.

But the tribe members, during that very night, snatched Ann from the ship. She was put outside the wall as a bride for King Kong. Some of the crew, after finding Ann missing, rushed into the jungle in a search for her. But meanwhile, when Kong made his first appearance and discovered his present, it was love at first sight for the ape. Ann Darrow would spend most of the rest of the movie screaming her head off.

The crew encoutered one adventure after another. Dinosours, other weird creatures, and even King Kong. Only Jack and Carl were left alive. King Kong also got into fights with dinosaurs, big snakes, weird bird-like creatures, all of whom seemed to want Ann. But Jack managed to rescue Ann and they ran for their lives, closing the big wall behind them. But Kong was way too stronger than that, and soon the wall was broken down, and he was hot on their trails.

But the crew knocked him out with a few gas bombs. Carl decided to bring him along with them to New York City as the living proof of their adventures. There on stage, a chained King Kong awed the audience, while Carl proudly told their story with Ann and Jack on stage. But in the middle of all that, King Kong broke free and was roaring mad.

The next scenes had King Kong causing turmoil in the city. He overturned a train, snatched people out of their beds, and got an ever-screaming Ann back in his clutches. Soon, he was on top of the Empire State Building. Fighter planes were sent in order to bring him down. And finally, King Kong was shot down by the planes and fell off the building. At the end of the movie, Carl Denham remarked "it was beauty that killed the beast".

CHARACTERISTICS

During the great depression, I think people turned to this kind of horror film. People would like to watch these adventure/fantasy films to escape the worries of their world. I found out somewhere that the great depression was the reason the early 1930s were the cradle of classic horror movies. Yeah, and Hollywood was probably at its best with people looking for some release from their stressful lives.

The movie contained quite a few sexist attitudes. The character Jack Driscoll was annoying for me to watch, especially in the beginning. He made remarks like 'this is the first time I've sailed with a woman' and 'women can't help being nuisances. They're just born that way.' But the thing was that Ann Darrow didn't seem to mind this sort of attitude towards her as a woman. In fact she was trying to be the sweet little thing by saying things like 'Oh, I promise I won't be a bother'. Most of the men in the movie tried to unnecessarily overprotect women. Throughout the movie, I kept hearing comments like 'this ain't no place for a girl', 'it's too dangerous for a woman', and 'I don't think she should come with us until we know what's out there'. The exception from these men was Carl Denham, but then he was just acting out of his own self-interests.

The visual effects were obviously very very new during this period. It must have been quite impressive for the audience to watch at that time. But wow, watching it today, I found it incredibly funny-looking. None of the creatures looked real. Especially the dinosaurs. And they moved in an oddly stiff manner.

A River Runs Through It (Roaring Twenties)

2006-09-04T03:24:00.000-07:00

I got this DVD and I was under the impression that it is a great depression movie until I watched it. Then I found out that it's actually a roaring twenties movie. But well, it's a really nice movie, and here I noticed some characteristics that I didn't find in my actual roaring twenties movie 'The Broadway Melody".

The movie focuses on two brothers growing up in Montana, following them from boyhood and adulthood. Norman and Paul were raised by their stern minister father on two main faiths, religion and fly-fishing. They were also home-schooled by him, learning only literature and writing. The father was very strict when it came to education and religion, but gave the boys plenty of freedom when it came to fly-fishing. The two brothers would roam around and explore nature.

Eventually, they grew up into wild and adventurous boys. But as they grew into adulthood, their lives began to go in different directions. Norman boarded a train to a college where he would spend years in earning a degree. However, Paul, whose life-passion was fishing, would never leave Motana and all the fish he hadn't yet caught, so he stayed behind and became a newspaper man.

Six or seven years later, after earning his degree, Norman returned to Montana. His father wanted to know immediately what he planned to do with the rest of his life, but Norman was still not quite certain even after having that many years to have thought about it. Now back in Montana, he discovered that his brother, during this times had developed some bad habits. He seemed addicted to gambling and drinking. The family seemed aware of his self-destructive habits but however never confronted him about it. They would act proud of their little important newspaperman, and when he left they would mutter to themselves sadly. And so, during Norman's absence, everything had changed. Fishing was the only way they still had in common, and that's how they would catch up on old times.

A short while after his return, Norman began seriously courting a local girl called Jessie Burns. And then he got a job offer to be a professor at a college in Chicago. He asked Jessie to marry and come with him. He went fishing for a last time with his father and Paul. They had a very pleasant time just like the old days and Norman sensed this would not last. His instincts turned out to be correct because shortly before he was supposed to go to Chicago, a police showed up and his door and gave him some bad news. Norman, in turn, had to break it to his parents that Paul was brutally murdered his angry creditors. His death affected all the family and they were never the same afterwards.

Finally, an old Norman, after most of all the loved ones in his life had died, was shown still engaging in the passion of the Macleans: fly-fishing at the Big Blackfoot river in Montana. He said that underneath the rocks of the river were words; the words of God, the words of his late family, and others'. His last words were 'I am haunted by waters.'

Characteristics

People would go to speakeasies. Alcohol was banned and supposed to be illegal. But from what I could see in the movie, that did little to stop people from drinking. They would just go over and drink their fill where there was no chance the police would find them.

Gambling also appeared to be quite prominent. Somehow, it was a great source of entertainment it was very addictive. And once you engaged in it, there was no turning back. And once your debts mounted up, you were in big trouble. Like Paul Maclean, he gradually dug himself into a deep hole he couldn't get out of.

But people were fiercely independent. Again, Paul Maclean was a perfect example. He knew he was in deep trouble, and yet he simply refused to accept any help from his older brother. As he told Norman, "Listen, it's my debt, ok? My debt." He was determined not accept any money, help, or advice.

Woman bobbed their hair, drank alcohol, and were really defiant. They were also very daring, at times, even more than men. There was a part in the movie where Jessie Burns took a dangerous detour by driving her car right through the dark tunnel of a railroad track (and later on the railroad tracks), when there was a high risk that a train might come without any warning or signal. Norman looked really scared and incredulous, but Jess was clearly enjoying herself.

Ma Barker's Killer Brood

2006-08-31T22:35:00.000-07:00

This movie is based on a true story about a really tough woman named Katherine 'Ma' Barker. During the great depression, she was unsatisfied with her decent and honest husband's pathetic earnings, so she taught her four sons to become thieves and steal around their neighbourhood. She taught them to be 'tough', and not 'sissies'. Her major advice to them was 'never get caught.'When their horrified father tried to stop their activities, Ma Barker kicked him right out. Soon, afterwards, Ma Barker and her sons were made to leave town due to the mounting suspicions of theft.

As time went on, the boys grew and so did their illegal activities. They were no longer mischievous little kids stealing things with their nimble fingers when people were not looking. They were full-grown man carrying out a robbery carefully plotted(and co-operated) by their gangster mother, ivolving gunshots and running people over with their cars. They were vicious killers, and the only one in the gang who seemed upset by what they were doing was the son called Herman, who seemed to be the weak-minded one in there. But he dared not object to his tough mother, and he tagged along unwillingly.

Soon Ma Barker and her brood turned to kidnapping. They kidnapped a banker and demanded for a ransom. After this, the FBI was hot on their trial based on the limited information the banker had supplied (he was blindfolded the entire time of the kidnapping). The Barker brood occasionally changed their appearance to decieve people around, even turning to plastic surgery.

But a while after, son Doc Barker was trailed and caught by the FBI while away from the Florida hideout they resided in. And soon, the FBI agents were surrounding the hideout, ordering Ma Barker and her son Lloyd to come out. Ma Barker was determined to put out a fight, but her son was all into surrendering. Ma Barker of course forced him to pick up his gun and not be such a coward. The son was shot down by the agents. Ma Barker, roaring her revenge, bravely stepped out of the house and shot at everything within her gun's reach until she took some gunshots to her chest and died.

Characteristics

The financial difficulties turned some people very tough. They no longer had any time for thinking about morals. They were willing to do just about anything just to feel money in their hands. Honest folks may bow their heads meekly and say, 'These are tough times. We are in great depression. But things might take a turn for the better.' But some determined people would say 'Only the strong survive. We are fighting to get what we need.'

A proper education didn't mean anything anymore. There was Mr. Barker, who was proud of the fact that he had a good education, and his wife Ma Barker snorted, "And what is your great education getting you? You're weak and useless!"

Family was considered a top priority. Even in the case of vicious criminals. The Barker gang was a family who would never betray one another. The boys respected and loved their mother and followed her every advice. She on her part, if not the typical caring mother, always looked out for them and was convinced she was doing it for her son's well-being. And also, the brother called Herman was unhappy with life as a criminal, but he would never desert his family.

My Opinion

I love this movie! A gang led by a woman! So this definitely appeals to a feminist like me. I admire strong women, so I definitely like Ma Barker even though she's supposed to be a public enemy. She had more guts than all her four sons put together. Oh, by the way, Ajarn, is Ma Barker perhaps the subject in Boney M's hit "Ma Baker"? I've been re-listening to the lyrics of that song, and I think the stories the song and the movie tell are really similar.

Waylon Jennings (Country)

2006-08-28T22:48:00.000-07:00

Waylon Jennings was born on June 15, 1937, in Littlefield, Texas. At just eight years old, he taught himself how to play guitar. His first band was formed two years later. He dropped out of High School in order to pursue a music career, and worked as a DJ throughout his teenage years. In 21, he joined a band of his friend Buddy Holly, where he played bass. However, Buddy Holly along with some other performers were killed off in a airplane crash on the way to a tour. Waylon would have met the same fate, if he hadn't switched seats with J.P Richardson who was feeling unwell, and took the tour bus. And so the incident left him feeling horribly guilty.

After some years in which he was inactive in music, Waylon started performing in Phoenix, Arizona. He then signed a contract with A&M Records. The hit singles he had on local radio in phoenix included 'Four Strong Winds' and 'Just to Satisfy You'. Then Waylon was recommended to producer Chet Atkins, who signed him to RCA Victor. So, in 1965, Waylon moved to Nashvilled, Tennessee.

At Nashville, after releasing a number of albums and singles, Waylon felt unsatisfied by the lack of artistic freedom. He also became addicted to amphetamines. And his second marriage ended in a divorce that left the already broke Waylon with mountains of debt. His next wife tried to bring his financial matters under control, but that marriage ended in divorce as well. He got married for the last time to a country singer Jessi Colter in 1969.

During these hard times, Waylon even considered retiring from music. But then he found a business manager, Neil Reshen, to renegotiate his touring and recording contracts. Now he acheived a near-complete artistic control. He profited from his tourings and had a rock star recording contract. Albums that were released included 'Ladies Love Outlaws', 'Lonesome', and 'Dreaming My Dreams'.

Also at the time, Waylon became addicted to cocaine. He spent thousands of dollars each day on it. And as a result, he became less focused on his work and his finances suffered once again. He was arrested in 1977 for cocaine pocession, but the charges were later dropped.

He decided to clean up his addictions, and later the birth of his son, Shooter was his inspiration to permanently stay off cocaine. He remained cocaine-free and toured throughout the 80s and 90s.

On February 13, 2002, he died in his sleep at the age of 64. The cause of his death was diabetic complications.

SONGS

T IS FOR TEXAS

Well, 'T' for Texas, 'T' for Tennessee

I said "'T' for Texas, another 'T' for Tennessee"

'T' for that no good woman... no good gal that made a wreck of me

I'd rather drink myself muddy water, sleep all night in a 'holler' logI'd rather drink muddy water, sleep all day and night in a 'holler' logThan to hang around Atlanta... be put down and treated like a dirty dog

If you don't want me, woman, just say so, that's allIf you don't want me, woman, all you gotta do is come around and say so, that's all'Cos I can get myself more women than any two men or a passenger train can haul

Well, 'T' for Texas, 'T' for TennesseeI said "'T' for Texas, another 'T' for Tennessee"'T' for Thelma... no good gal that made a wreck of me

Well, this is a pretty cool song, in my opinion. I love the melody and also the lyrics as well. So he's singing about his three 'T's. Okay, I understand that one 'T' stand for this woman who treated him so mean, but I'm a little confused about the two other 'T's. What does this song mean to say about Texas and Tennesse? So, it's also a little mysterious for me. So I really like this song.

ARE YOU READY FOR THE COUNTRY

Slippin' & a-slidin', playin' Dominos Leftin' & a-rightin' ain't a crime, you know Well, I gotta tell the story before it's time to go

Are you ready for the country? Are you ready for me? Are you ready for the country? Ain't that a sight to see?

Talkin' to a preacher, said God was on his side Talkin' to a butcher, they both were sellin' hide Well, I gotta tell the story, boys, I don't know the reason why

Are you ready for the country? Are you ready for me? Better get ready for the country Ready for me

Are you ready for the country? Ready for me? Are you ready for the country? Ain't that a sight to see?

This is another one of my favorite from Waylon Jennings. Hearing this song makes me feel so ready for the country. The lyrics are also pretty intriguing, what with God and butchers. This is a really great song.

The Broadway Melody

2006-08-24T01:57:00.000-07:00

This movie starts with this guy Eddie Kerns announcing that he had written 'a hot new song', which was named, what else, The Broadway Melody. At about the same time two sisters named Hank and Queenie Mahoney came over to New York City. Eddie was engaged to marry Hank and promised both sisters to get them in one of this big guy at Broadway Francis Zanfield's shows.

Soon, Hank found out that getting into a show at Broadway was not as easy as she had hoped (back home, she and her sister were very popular. Anyway, Eddie started to fall in love with Hank's sister, Queenie. But Queenie refused to hurt her sister, who had taken care of her in her entire life. Soon, Queenie was courted by a rich man who was a member of New York high society, named Jock Warriner. Queenie was quite enchanted by his extravagant gifts, thus worrying Hank and Eddie, who knew Jock saw Queenie as just a plaything. This turmoil was the main focus of the movie... that and the performances at Broadway.

But near the end, everything fell into place. Queenie realized that she felt nothing for Jock, Hank realized that Eddie was in love with Queenie, and Eddie realized that he must act in order to win Queenie. And so, the movie ended with Eddie and Queenie as a married couple, and Hank still performing(on a tour organized by her uncle).

Characteristics

God, were these people competitive! Competition among women were especially noticeable. Seriously, this fierce competition among these women led to cat fights, hair-pulling, and verbal insults. They all wanted to same parts in shows and viewed each other as threats.

People in this period seem to have a nice, easy, and fun lives. They were all really into doing what they loved to do. These lyrics of The Broadway Melody said a lot: "There may be streets that have their sorrow/A smile today a tear tomorrow/Buts there's a street that lives in glory" Yeah, that's right, so don't worry, be happy, and don't bring a frown to these times.

Ambition was also very very prominent. All the people I saw in the movie were giving their all to strike it big. They were really enthusiastic. They would fight on for what they aimed to achieve and never surrender.

Women wore more revealing outfits. In one scene, women performers were wearing outfits that exposed their navel. And Hank once had on a dress that showed off her entire back. Obviously, it was not such a conservative world.

Finally, all the women in this movie had really short hair, I did notice that.

The Million Pound Note

2006-08-16T01:50:00.000-07:00

This is one hilariously funny movie! It opened with two English wealthy brothers making a bet. One bet that a person could live on a million pound note without spending anything. The other brother disagreed. So the two brothers soon found an American with a zero bank account who got into England by accident to put this bet into practice. As soon as they had given the million pound note to this unwitting American, who was named Henry Adams, they went abroad. They planned to return a month later. And then, they would decide on the winner.

And so Henry Adam's life was completely changed. Every time, he whipped out the million pound note, people literally fell at his feet. They were so eager to please, and let him have anything he wanted without accepting payment that soon Henry was living a luxurious lifestyle where he didn't have to pay for anything.

However, he had more trouble than it was worth as well. Henry used the note's reputation to speculate on the stock market. Then, a rumor, initiated by a jealous Englishman who had never forgiven Henry for taking away his suite, began to spread that Henry didn't actually pocess the million pound note after all. When his creditors demanded that he produce the note as an act of faith, Henry is unable to do so, because the jealous Englishman had employed a maid to hide it. But after all the turmoil, the Englishman was tired of all that, and confessed to hiding it. So, in the end, when the two wealthy brothers returned, the million pound note was still unspent.

Characteristics

Well, I have to say, it is really hard trying to find the American characteristics here. I mean, the movie took place in England, didn't it? The only American I saw was the main character, Henry Adams. But then Industrial revolution began in England (in the middle of the 18th century), didn't it? So any way, here are some things I noticed.

Gold Mining was definitely one of the new inventions of the industry. People were investing in them with a great deal of enthusiasm.

Social status was everthing. Let's take Henry Adams. At first glance, people thought he was a nobody, dressed in rags and all. They sniffed down their noses and acted as though they couldn't wait for him to get out of their sight. But then as soon as he flashed the million pound note under their noses, their attitudes changed faster than blinking. They did everthing short of literally licking his boots. See, Henry, once assumed a millionaire, got the chance to live in a extravagant suite without any charge.

One million pounds was regarded as a huge sum of money at that period of time. About as much value as $ 100 million in these days. Anyone who pocessed one million pounds was treated as though he were a king.

Artifacts

Things I noticed in this movie that could identify the industrial age were: gold mines, sewing machines, weird-looking telephones, and engines.

Result

So how did everyday life change because of industrial revolution? Well obviously, machine replaced labor. During this revoultion, we begin to see factories, and machinery, plants, and gold mines. While things were getting advanced, we could look at it as a good sign. But also, it was the starting point of all the problems nowadays. Consider air pollution, water pollution, soil pollution. These are all results of those new inventions in the Industrial age.

Gunfight at the O.K Corral

2006-08-15T19:44:00.000-07:00

The name is straight to the point, isn't it? Here is yet another western about the legendary gunfight of Wyatt Earp, his brothers, and Doc Holliday against some outlaws at the O.K Corral in tombstone, Arizona. Now I've watched four other movies on this event(My Darling Clementing, Hour of Gun, Tombstone, and Wyatt Earp), and I could say that this movie was made sometime between My Darling Clementine and Hour of Gun.

The film started in Fort Griffin, Texas, with three men seeking revenge for the death of one of these guys' brother, who was killed off in a fair fight by Doc Holliday. The next day, Doc went off to the bar where they were waiting, and killed them in a gunfight. Doc was arrested, and while he was held captive, a huge mob marched to the building he was in. Luckily, Wyatt Earp was in the area, and with some persuasion from Doc's woman Kate Fisher, he got Doc out of the trouble. Before this, Doc and Wyatt had met earlier in that day when Wyatt was seeking information on cattle rustlers like Ike Clanton, and Doc had been most uncooperative.

Then, after Wyatt had gone back to Dodge City, where he was a Marshal, Doc also showed up. Wyatt warned him that he would not allow any gunfight there, and Doc gave him his word. Meanwhile, Wyatt was also falling in love with another newcomer into Dodge City; a woman named Laura Denbow. Soon they were planning to get married, and Wyatt was resigning from his job. But then he got a letter from his brother Virgil, who was the Marshal in Tombstone, asking for his help. For the Earp brothers, family was always first and so Wyatt chose to fly to his brother's rescue despite his fiancee's obvious displeasure. Along the way, he met up with Doc Holliday, who told him he was headed the same way.

In Tombstone, Virgil wanted Wyatt Earp to deal with the bad cowboys/ cattle rustlers...Clanton, Ringo, Mclaurys, the usual. Wyatt was to stop them from entering Tombstone no matter what. Wyatt agreed to take on the task. Somewhere in the middle of this drama, the youngest Earp brother James was killed by the gang. Now Wyatt and his brothers, thirsty for revenge, agreed to meet the outlaws at O.K. Corral for the famous gunfight. Doc Holliday, true to his only friend, went along despite the fact that he was very near death from his tuberculosis condition. And so the gunfight took place. They got the bad guys good. The end.

Now how does this movie compare to the other westerns that are based on the same event? Well, this movie shows that the reason for the gunfight was a personal one; revenge. This is exactly the same in 'My Darling Clementine'. That one also screamed 'You killed my family, now I kill yours!'. However, in 'Hour of Gun', 'Tombstone', and 'Wyatt Earp', the reason was that the cowboys were 'disturbing the peace'. I think the latter three are more accurate because in reality, no Earp brother died before the big gunfight.

Here is another similarity between 'My Darling Clementine' and 'Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. They both portay James Earp as the youngest brother. And yes, the same character was killed off in both movies, before the gunfight. But the truth was that James was actually the eldest brother. The movie 'Wyatt Earp' is more accurate in that sense. It shows James, the eldest returning from the War that Wyatt was too young to fight in. In 'Hour of Gun' and 'Tombstone', though, I don't recall any mention of James.

'Gunfight at the O.K Corral' ends just like 'My Darling Clementine', too. The gunfight was the climax, they got all the bad guys in that gunfight, and end of story, it's over. But the other three westerns I watched all deal with what happened after the gunfight. In their portrayal, not all the bad guys were wiped out at the gunfight. Wyatt and Doc had to hunt them down afterwards. Yes, and at that final hunting for the remaining outlaws, revenge indeed seemed to be Wyatt's motivater. Because not long after that gunfight, Morgan was killed and Virgil was crippled by the bad guys.

Now, let's also consider the portrayal of Wyatt Earp's leading woman. In 'My Darling Clementine', the woman who got his attention was, of course, Clementine. In both 'Tombstone' and 'Wyatt Earp', he fell for an actress named 'Josephine' despite being already married. In 'Hour of Gun', I didn't notice any significant other of Wyatt's(Nor any other woman, actually). However, in 'Gunfight at the O.K Corral', the woman he fell in love with was neither Clementine nor Josephine. It was Laura Denbow. I don't think she was an actress like Josephine. But she also wasn't the 'sweet young thing' like Clementine either. She was smart, and tough, and even gambled. This was a whole new character I was introduced to in this movie.

By and large, I would have to say that this version is not the most accurate version ever told of the famous gunfight. But still, it was fun and exciting to watch. And besides, if a movie focuses so much on historical accuracy, it can turn out to be quite a bore. 'Hour of Gun', for example.

Four Westerns on the Gunfight at OK corral

2006-08-09T01:44:00.000-07:00

‘My Darling Clementine’, ‘Hour of Gun’, ‘Tombstone’, and ‘Wyatt Earp’

These four westerns, listed chronologically, all portray the legendary gunfight at the OK corral. The movies have different ways of telling the stories, although the last two; ‘Tombstone’ and ‘Wyatt Earp’ are rather similar in their plots. This gunfight took place on October 26, 1881. On that day, Wyatt Earp with his brothers and Doc Holliday fought against a bunch of cowboys. The cowboys were a band of cattle rustlers, thieves, and murderers.

The first movie, 'My Darling Clementine', started off with the Earp brothers trailing cattle. Along the way, they met an old man called Clanton and his son, who pointed them to the direction of Tombstone. At Tombstone, people wanted Wyatt to stay on as Marshal, but he refused. However, after discovering his youngest brother killed and the cattle all gone, he changed his mind. Then he later on found out it was the Clantons who did that. Further conflicts with these Clantons resulted in the gunfight at the OK corral. I think this is the least accurate of all of these films. For instance, the Clantons seemed to be the major focus as the villains in this film. I don't seem to recall any mention of the other bad guys that I later discovered in the later movies. In this movie, 'old man' Clanton is portrayed as the leader of the Clantons and a major participant of the gunfight. But in reality, he had died long before the gunfight took place. It also showed the Earp brothers getting killed in the gunfight, but in reality they didn't die at that time. Now let me come to the interaction between Wyatt and Doc Holliday. This movie shows them meeting for the first time at Tombstone, but the truth was that they had known each other before and were good friends already. And Doc didn't die in the gunfight as shown in the movie, he died later from tuberculosis. I also wonder why the movie was named 'My Darling Clementine'. Did a 'Clementine' exist in reality? I'm not sure, but I'm kinda leaning towards 'I don't think so'. In reality, Wyatt Earp arrived at Tombstone with a wife(Mattie), but fell in love with an actress named 'Josie'. This was portrayed accurately in 'Tombstone', and 'Wyatt Earp'.

The second movie, 'Hour of the Gun', is more historically correct, I should think. But despite that, I find this one quite boring, unlike the other three. I mean, where were all the women characters in this movie? So anyway, this movie starts with the gunfight itself. Then, Wyatt, his brothers, and Doc were on trial for murder. Wyatt and his brothers claimed the gunfight took place because the cowboys were disturbing the peace, but the opposing side claimed it was cold-blooded murder. Wyatt and his brothers were proven not guilty. In revenge, the cowboys killed one Earp brother, and crippled another. Wyatt and his friend Doc Holliday hunt down the killers together. In this movie, the gunfight was the starting point for all the adventurous events that followed. This is different from 'My Darling Clementine', where other factors such as cattle rustling and murder on the Clantons' part led up to the gunfight as a climax, and that was the end of that movie.

Coming to the third movie, 'Tombstone', this is somehow much easier to follow. Here, Wyatt Earp, who was a retired peace keeper, reunited with his brothers and traveled to Tombstone to settle down. Their wives were with them, too. At Tombstone, they met up with Doc Holliday, a long-time friend of Wyatt. At Tombstone, just as the brothers were starting to profit from their salon, they had conflicts with cowboys wearing red sashes, led by Curly Bill Brocius. These conflicts led to the gunfight at OK corral, and what followed was just like the previous movie, 'Hour of Gun'. Earp brothers got killed, Wyatt got thirsty for revenge, and he and Doc tracked all these villains down, putting an end to the cowboy group. However, this movie went on a bit further to show Doc Holliday breathing his last breath and Wyatt getting together with his actress lover.

Now for the last western, 'Wyatt Earp'. I watched this one right after finishing 'Tombstone', and I have to say, it felt like I was rewatching the same movie, only with different actors. The plot was almost identical. However, the only difference was that it touched on some topics that none of three other movies did. For example, I learned about Wyatt Earp's childhood, his first marriage to Urilla, his devastation after her death, his turning to horse theivery as a result, then cleaning up and becoming a marshal in Dodge city. All the other three movies seemed to focus on Wyatt's life only after he got to Tombstone. So this one was a nice exception.

So among these four westerns, I would have to pick 'Hour of the Gun' as the most accurate. Not only did the movie declare at its opening credits that these events were portrayed exactly at it happened, but some of my research on the legendary gunfight at OK corral revealed similar events. But still, that was my least favorite of the four, because all it focused on was fight, revenge, and kill. That's why my personal favorite of these westerns have to be 'Wyatt Earp'. I like movies involving action, adventure, and gunfights, but better when a bit of romance is mingled with them.

Geronimo

2006-07-24T23:07:00.000-07:00

This was set in 1885, when the United States had almost finished taking over the west and its natives. The government’s next mission was to resettle the Apaches by placing them on reservations. However a rebellious and stubborn warrior of the Chiricuaha Apache tribe, named Geronimo, and his bands of renegades held out. But after two months, he gave himself up and was taken to the Turkey Creek reservation. For a while, he led a resigned quiet life, but the murder of an Apache medicine men by the white men, Geronimo jumped Turkey Creek and took about half of the reservation with him. He rebelled against the white men’s attempts to change the Apache ways and conquering all the Apache lands. The movie then focused on the long hunt for Geronimo. Finally, Geronimo surrendered on September 4, 1886. He lived on for another 22 years as a prisoner of war. The government never let him go.

Characteristics of the Apache tribes

-Apaches were very superstitious, and deeply valued the words of their medicine men (even when blabbing about how the dead would rise was involved).
-They liked stillness, and therefore didn’t like to talk a lot.
-The several Apache tribes didn’t much like each other.
-Most of all Apache went where the best fight was (which was why the army had many Apache scouts working for them).
-They valued a blue colored stone.
-Most Apache were great fighters, but not very good farmers (which they’re forced to be in the reservation).
-They’re proud of their Apache ways and resisted the attempts of the white men to change them.
-We see Geronimo demanding of other Apache “Where is your heart?” in the movie. Therefore, for any proud Apache, their hearts were to be true to their tribe and not the whites.

My Thoughts

For me, the saddest part of this movie was almost at the end, where the rifles were rudely snatched away from the Apache scouts. Even though most of these scouts had served the army faithfully, they were either arrested or sent back to their reservations. They were dismissed with a rude “Their duties for the United States Army are at an end. We thank them for their services”. It was a heart-breaking moment when this scout Chato held on hopelessly to his rifle and mumbled something like, “I’m a good Apache, it’s not right. I’m Sergeant Chato, a scout”.

When 2nd lieutenant Britton Davis resigned from the army because he was ashamed of the way it refused to keep its word, I was going like “Yay, that’s right!” Apparently, the so-called proposal about how the Apache would get 400 acres of land and two mules were a big puff of air, not that anyone believed it for a second in the first place. In General Miles opinion, they shouldn’t be worried about keeping their words to savages. Britton Davis was right, it was shameful.

Alberta Hunter (blues)

2006-07-06T22:09:00.000-07:00

Alberta Hunter was born on April 1, 1895 in Memphis, Tennessee. At a very young age (twelve or fifteen), she ran away from her hometown to go to Chicago. There, she began her singing career in the city's growing saloon and club scene, performing first with King Oliver's legendary Creole Jazz Band. She rose quickly to become one of the city's leading attractions in the 1910s and 1920s thanks to her abundant talent and stage presence.

Alberta Hunter began making recordings in 1921. One of the top recording artists in the 1920s and 1930s, she also wrote some of her own songs. She made more than 100 recordings for numerous labels. She also occasionally used pseudonyms to record while under contract with rival companies. Among her best known recordings are "'Taint Nobody's Business If I Do" and "Aggravatin' Papa."

Her career boomed from the 1920s through the 1940s. Her recordings and her performances throughout the United States on the black vaudeville circuit and the T.O.B.A. (Theater Owner's Booking Association) made her well-known.

However, in the 1950s, she found a new career. She lied her way into a New York hospital's training program for licensed practical nurses by taking of a dozen years from her age. She put in a lot of effort at this job. And nobody knew she was even a star! Despite earlier vowing not to perform during her nursing days, she rerecorded 'Down Hearted Blues' in 1961.

At 1977, she was made to resign from nursing due to old age. And so, at the ripe age of eighty-two, she made her musical comeback. Despite her age, she was full of energy and humor. And age had made her voice sound ever richer and deeper. For the remaining six years of her life, she recorded two new albums and had her older material re-released.

On October 17, 1984, at the age of 89, Alberta Hunta passed away.

Here are the lyrics to one of her blues songs, called 'A Good Man Is Hard To Find', written by Eddie Green.

A good man is hard to find,
You always get the other kind
Just when you think that he's your pal,
You look for him and find
Him fooling around some other gal
Then you rave, you even pray,
To see him laying in his grave
So if your man is nice,
You better take my advice
Hug him in the morning,
Kiss him every night,
Give him plenty loving,
Treat him right
Cause a good man now day's is hard to find
A good man is hard to find,
You always get the other kind
Just when you think that he's your pal,
You look for him and find
Him fooling around some other gal
Then you rave,
You even pray,
To see him laying in his grave
So if your man is nice,
You better take my advice
Hug him in the morning,
Kiss him every night,
Give him plenty loving,
Treat him right
Cause a good man now day's is hard to find
So if your man is nice,
You better take my advice
And hug him in the morning,
Kiss him every night,
Give him plenty loving,
And treat him right
For a good man now day's is hard to find

Now this is one of the songs in my music CD. I think it is easy to follow, and has a nice beat. However, I find it a little ironic that Alberta Hunter should sing 'kiss him late at night, give him plenty loving'. This is because I heard that she was married once, and during her marriage, she slept in her mother's room rather than with her husband. Of course, the marriage didn't work. The real fact was that Alberta Hunter was a lesbian. Throughout her life, she had plenty of relationships with women.

Here's another song, written by Alberta Hunter herself. This is a blues song in which I think she's singing about her own troubled love affairs. I must admit, after reading the lyrics, I could feel her pain (and I'm not one of those sensitive types of people). It's called 'Downhearted Blues'.

My man mistreated me,

and he drove me from his door

Lord he mistreated me,

and he drove me from his door

But the Good Book says you've got to reap just what you sow

I got the world in a jug, got the supper? right here in my hand

And if you want me sweet papa you gotta come under my command

Say I ain't never loved but three men in my life

Lord I ain't never loved but three men in my life

't was my father and my brother and a man that wretched my life

Lord it may be a week and it may be a month or two

I said it may be a week and it may be a month or two

All the dirt you're doin' to me sho' comin' home to you

Lord I walked the floor, hang my head and cried

Had the down hearted blues, and I couldn't be satisfied.

Scarlett

2006-07-06T02:20:00.000-07:00

This is the sequel to 'Gone with the Wind'. Scarlett, lasting six long hours, was shot about sixty years after 'Gone with the Wind'. It picks up exactly where its predecessor left off. Melanie has just died, Rhett has taken off, Ashley is a mess: Scarlett is all alone in her empty house. She is getting comfort from her old friend the liquor bottle. Nevertheless, she has not given up on Rhett. Determined to become a lady, Scarlett goes through great lengths to change herself. She stops obsessing on her needs and wants and eventually grows into a mature woman. She tries every method possible to make herself end up in the same place as Rhett. She seems to be unsuccessful. But then there was this really passionate moment and a baby is born. Their adventures take them from the social swirl of post-war south to green hills of Ireland. There, Scarlett is welcomed back by her Irish kin.

Well, there is not much more I can add to this one. I've already talked about the characteristics I noticed in my 'Gone With The Wind' Blog. This one is supposedly about events right after. We see Scarlett dealing with things she had vowed to deal 'tomorrow' in the ending of "Gone with the Wind". That's about pretty much the whole point of this sequel.

Gone with the Wind

2006-06-26T02:37:00.000-07:00

Summary

This movie, which was set in the old South now gone with the wind, is the greatest love story in American literature. We see life during the 19th century in this civilization through the eyes of Scarlett O’ Hara, the main female character. Scarlett O’ Hara started out as a willful spoilt southern belle. She had a handful of beaus all around her but she decided that she was in love with her neighbor Ashley Wilkes, who was set to marry his cousin Melanie. But once Scarlett made up her mind to get something, she would never give up easily. Into this triangle entered Rhett Butler, who seemed as determined and strong-willed as Scarlett. He, on his part, had made up his mind that Scarlett was the woman for him. Thus followed the heart-breaking story of these people running around in circles and missing each other. There was Ashley, who it turned out was truly in love with his wife but was confused by his lust for Scarlett. Then there was Rhett, who in the end got tired of having to compete with Ashley and crossed Scarlett off his list of priorities. And Scarlett, who realized too late that she had never actually truly loved Ashley, lost Rhett just as soon as she discovered that she really loved him. But it was not like Scarlett to give up. She declared at the end of the movie that she would get him back ‘tomorrow’.

The story revolves around the civil war: before, during, and after. The war was fought between the North and the South over states' rights and the abolition of slavery. However, the Civil War also had a significant impact on shaping Southern identity. Even after the war was long over, the people’s lives were never the same. The South struggled to cling to tradition and still survive in the new era. The postwar society could be described as a fast-paced world in which the strong thrive and the weak perish.

My Thoughts

The first thing I noticed while watching this film was the characteristics of the black people portrayed. In the movie, the black characters were unquestioningly loyal to the whites who were their masters, and unable to survive on their own. The slaves are portrayed as the most content on the plantation while they were under the paternalistic power of whites. Slavery was obviously not considered vulgar. If anything, most of the black people seemed very adamantly against the idea of getting freed from slavery. To me, this is not a positive message for the blacks at all.

Another thing I would like to comment on is the place of women in the society. Unmarried women had to be as pure as can be, or else they were considered white trash for the rest of their lives. There was this woman who was taken horse-back riding by Rhett Butler without a chaperone. Rhett later refused to marry her. And even though nothing had happened, she was ruined all the same. As for married women, their wifely duties was to unfailing follow wherever their husbands went and place his decision second only to God. This was the ideal woman at the time. Because of this, Scarlett O’Hara came out as a sharp contrast to them. She’s more of the modern day American woman, strong and independent.

Characters

Scarlett O’Hara: Scarlett was a pretty, pouting Southern belle who grew up on the Georgia plantation of Tara in the years before the Civil War. Selfish, shrewd, and vain, Scarlett had a ‘I get what I want’ type of attitude. However, when hardships struck the South, Scarlett shouldered the troubles of her family and friends.

Rhett Butler: Scarlett’s third husband, and a dashing, dangerous adventurer and scoundrel. He was an opportunistic blockade-runner during the war, and therefore was one of the only rich Southern men in Atlanta after the war. Rhett proved himself a loving father and, at times, a caring husband. Though he loved Scarlett, his pride prevented him from showing her his love, and it even led him to brutality.

Ashley Wilkes: One of the people who could not adjust to the postwar South. The once lively Ashley was resigned and sad after the war was over. He was Scarlett’s love interest almost throughout the movie. Comitted to his honor, he would never betray his wife, but could not help feeling attracted to Scarlett.

Melanie Wilkes: At first glance, frail and good-hearted to the point of silliness, but possessed a quiet inner strength that could face the world. She was regarded by Scarlett as her rival at first, but soon after they suffered the hardships of war together, strong bonds formed between them.

Music assignment 1

2006-06-19T23:48:00.000-07:00

Johnny Cash

I’ve recently watched ‘Walk the Line’ and loved it, so Johhny Cash’s now one of my favorite musicians of those old times next to Elvis Presley. This American singing legend is known to his fans as ‘The Man in Black’. Johnny Cash was born on February 26, 1932 in Arkansas, moving to Dyess when he was three. By the time he was 12, he had begun writing his own songs. With the outbreak of the Korean War, he enlisted in the Air Force. While he was in the Air Force, Cash bought his first guitar and taught himself to play. He began writing songs in earnest, including "Folsom Prison Blues." Cash left the Air Force in 1954, married a Texas woman named Vivian Leberto, and moved to Memphis.

Jonny Cash finally landed an audition with Sun Records and its founder, Sam Phillips, in 1955. Initially, Cash presented himself as a gospel singer, but Phillips turned him down, telling him to come back with something that could sell. Cash sang him one of the songs he wrote in the air force, finally impressing Phillips.

Cash’s career coincided with the birth of rock & roll, and his rebellious attitude and simple, direct musical attack shared a lot of similarities with rock. He created his own subgenre, falling halfway between the blunt emotional honesty of folk, the rebelliousness of rock & roll, and the world weariness of country. And he was one of country music's biggest stars of the '50s and '60s, scoring well over 100 hit singles.

One of my favorite songs of Johnny Cash is called ‘The Ring of Fire’. It was written by June Carter (who would later become his wife) and Merle Kilgore.

THE RING OF FIRE
Artist: Johnny Cash
Words by June Carter and Merle Kilgore

Love Is A Burning Thing
And It Makes A Fiery Ring
Bound By Wild DesireI Fell Into A Ring Of Fire
CHORUS:
I Fell Into A Burning Ring Of Fire
I Went Down, Down, Down
And The Flames Went Higher
And It Burns, Burns, Burns
The Ring Of Fire
The Ring Of Fire
I Fell Into A Burning Ring Of Fire
I Went Down, Down, Down
And The Flames Went Higher
And It Burns, Burns, Burns
The Ring Of Fire
The Ring Of FireT
he Taste Of Love Is Sweet
When Hearts Like Ours Meet
I Fell For You Like A Child
Oh, But The Fire Went Wild
CHORUS
I Fell Into A Burning Ring Of Fire
I Went Down, Down, Down
And The Flames Went Higher
And It Burns, Burns, Burns
The Ring Of Fire
The Ring Of Fire
I Fell Into A Burning Ring Of Fire
I Went Down, Down, Down
And The Flames Went Higher
And It Burns, Burns, Burns
The Ring Of Fire
The Ring Of Fire
And It Burns, Burns, Burns
The Ring Of Fire
The Ring Of Fire

Walter Brennan

Walter Brennan, actor and country musician, was born in Swampscott, MA, on July 25, 1894. His recording career was at its most prolific during the early '60s. A duet with Billy Vaughn, "Dutchman's Gold," was his first chart hit. Three more -- "Old Rivers," "Houdini," and "Mama Sang Me a Song" -- registered two years later. He passed away in 1974, due to emphysema, on the 21st of September. To this day, the request for his song “Old Rivers” is still very high on radio stations.

Sacagawea

2006-06-19T23:42:00.000-07:00

Sacagawea is a documentary-like movie about an Indian girl from Shoshone tribe called Sacagawea. She acted as an extremely valuable member in the very important Lewis and Clark expedition, which took place in 1804. The Expedition, starting in St. Louis, Missouri, took them all the way up the Missouri River towards the Rocky mountains. Their aim was to reach the Pacific Ocean by land. Sacagawea was a great contribution to this expedition. For starters, the beginning of the journey had the travelers coming to Sacagawea’s native village where she was kidnapped from at the age of twelve, so she was able to point the right paths and landmarks. Needless to mention is her usefulness as an interpreter. She also served as a peace symbol because she and her newborn son (whom she carried on her back the entire journey) were peace symbols indicating to the Indians that the party she was traveling with was not a war party. The travellers reached the Pacific Ocean in November, 1805. Captain Clark allowed the men (including his colored servant) and Sacagawea to vote on where to camp during the winter. The expedition ended successfully in the spring of 1806. The path taken by them became the basis of the Oregon Trail and was used by future pioneers traveling west.

The significance of the expedition

During this expedition, various types of food previously unknown to Americans and Europeans were discovered. For example, Sacagawea taught the men how to find edible plants, berries, and nuts which gave them needed vitamins and nourishment.Another new discovery for the Americans was the wild forest animals such as deer-like creatures and many others.Also, the time when Captain made everyone to vote where to camp marked the first time in history that black people and women are allowed to vote.

Important Characters

Sacagawea:
A young girl who, at the age of twelve, was kidnapped by the war party of Hidatsa Indians. She was later sold as wife to a French-Canadian fur-trader as his wife. Both she and her husband joined the Lewis and Clark expedition. Along the journey, she grew extremely fond of Captain Clark. She also had to be a strong-willed woman. After all, no weak-minded woman would be able to survive all these dangerous adventures with a baby on her back. Her quick-thinking skills also were a lot of help in the expedition.

Captain Clark:
He seemed to be a really kind person who gave equal rights to all, as we can see from the voting scene. Also he was a man of his word. As he promised Sacagawea, he took her son to be educated when he came of the right age. After Sacagawea’s death, Clark legally adopted Sacagawea’s two children, Jean Baptiste and Lisette.

Captain Lewis:
His extensive knowledge of medicine and healing led Sacagawea to call him ‘The Medicine Man’. He was the one who healed Sacagawea the night her son was born. He also took care of a great deal of sick people they met on the trip. When Sacagawea was taken very ill with a temperature during the journey, he nursed her back to health with his medicine supplies. His curing techniques were very unusual but always effective.

Captain John Smith and Pocahontas (Summary)

2006-06-08T02:45:00.000-07:00

The movie starts with Captain John Smith, who had just returned from the Jamestown colony, telling his story in the court of King James I. His story started with him being held prisoner by one of the man in the Colony named Fleming. According to Fleming there was no room for two leaders. However, John Smith managed to break free from his prison, got back to the men, and helped them escape from an Indian attack. After that, most of the men picked John Smith as their leader. Only a couple of them preferred Fleming.

John Smith decided that they needed to make peace with the Indians in order to trade with them, as they were running out of their food supplies. He took two Indians with him on his mission to seek the big chief. On the way they separated ways in the hope that at least one of them would find the right path. Soon afterwards, John Smith ran into an Indian girl called Pocahontas, who told him that she was the daughter of the chief and pointed out the place where the chief lives before she fled from him. Upon arriving at the Indian village, he and his two companions were captured and sentenced to death. But, when John Smith was on the verge of being executed, Pocahontas saved him by throwing herself between him and the executioner. And instead of a slaying, there was a wedding as it was according to their law that the woman marries the man she had given her life for. Thus, Pocahontas went back with him to Jamestown as his bride.

Back at Jamestown, John Smith made efforts to use this marriage as an advantage to keep the colony united and the Indians from attacking. John Smith never meant to fall in love with Pocahontas. His main intention in marrying her was to ensure that the men in the colony and the Indians could live and trade in peace with each other. After all, he was a man who went from place to place looking for adventures, and he did not think that would be a suitable life for a lady. But gradually, unable to stop himself, he did fall in love with his wife.

In spite of John Smith’s efforts to keep the peace, trouble was stirred up soon by Fleming and his men. They had discovered a substance they believed to be gold and was looking for a plot that would secure them as the only three owners of the gold. As if by fate, Pocahontas’ former lover Opechanco happened to sneak into the stockade of the colony one night to steal a gun. He was caught and held prisoner. During his imprisonment, Fleming talked to him and promised him all the gun powder he could want if he helped his men in a plot to get the gold all for themselves. When one of John Smith’s men discovered their scheming and threatened to tell his leader, he was killed by a knife. Fleming then went on to promptly blame Pocahontas’ brother Nantaquas for the murder, pointing out that the knife was his. But John Smith chose to believe Nantaquas’ innocence.

And soon after, the earlier plots were brought into action by Opechanco and his Indian army. To break the settlers' truce with the Indians, he and his followers attacked the stockade. Many people were killed during the battle that followed. Fleming and his men were supposed to be spared, but one of them climbed the wall and was hit by an arrow.

While the battle was still going on, Pocahontas managed to sneak out of the stockade to find her brother. When she found him, he told her that he had just discovered that Opechanco was behind all this. When Nantaquas was hastening to tell his father, Opechanco killed him. Pocahontas ran away from them back to the stockade to tell her husband what she had found out. She said now John Smith could challenge Opechanco to a one-on-one fight in order to avenge Nantaquas. This is because in marrying Pocahontas, John Smith became brothers with Nantaquas. John Smith’s challenge was accepted by Opechanco. In the following fight, John Smith won and killed Opechanco.

The gold that Fleming worked so hard to keep secret was eventually found by the other men of the colony. John Smith told everyone that it was not really gold but rather ‘fool’s gold’. However, Fleming and his follower was not convinced. And so, that night, they sneaked into the tent where the gold was now placed, and attempted to steal it back. Consumed by greed, Fleming killed his last remaining follower so that he would not have to share. John Smith found them and there was soon a fist fight. Then, a gunpowder explosion occurred that killed Fleming and left John Smith barely alive.

John Smith, suffering from almost fatal burns, returned to England to give his report. He asked Pocahontas to come with him, but she stayed behind because in her heart she knew that he really wanted her to remain and keep the peace within the colony. He didn’t return to Virginia because Pocahontas, thinking he was dead, had remarried. Throughout the history, Pocahontas is honored for the huge role she played in the colonial years.

Here I am

2006-06-04T23:06:00.000-07:00

Hi, everyone. My name is Palei San. I've nicknamed myself Vicky since I started in ABAC three years ago. I come from Myanmar but I've been living here for about ten years now. I first came to Thailand when I was about eight.