** links open in new browser window for convenience
Allow me to go into some personal ancient history here, somewhat related to crystal skulls -- way back in about 1982, after returning from studies and teaching in Europe for many years, I met a really friendly esoteric dude, Jim D, from typical Pennsylvania Dutch country. He was deeply into ancient Egyptian and other sacred places -- he visited me once in Trenton and brought me a record length Black Snake, which I kept in an extra large terrarium for several years.
He also gave me two large quartz crystals, known for their balancing effects on mind, spirit and body, taken by Jim to the temples of ancient Egypt [where he led a small group of people to study the sacred places] -- the innate new age power of the crystals was enhanced by the energies of the sacred places in the temples during specific ritual times -- I keep one of the two crystals in my pocket, and am able to intuit its vibratory influences.
scan of Jim's quartz crystal that I keep in a pocket
about natural size
He asked if I wanted to attend a special by invitation only lecture in his town by Anna Mitchell - Hedges [1907 - 2007], the daughter of the man who led the 1924 quest to the ancient Mayan ruins of Lubaantun, in Belize (then British Honduras), searching for evidence of Atlantis [most of my regular readers know that I too have always had an avid interest in anything having to do with Atlantis, that fabled civilization that supposedly sank beneath the ocean and disappeared millennia ago] . Anna actually is said to have found the skull, which is perhaps the most famous of the several that have been studied and written about until now --
this is Anna several years later -- click on the pic for the Mitchell - Hedges web page
it is about five inches high / five inches wide / seven inches long, the mandible is a separate perfectly articulated piece of clear quartz [SiO2], and it weighs 11.7 pounds --
this pic shows the detachable jaw
The audience consisted of about forty people -- Anna appeared with a rectangular padded carrying case containing the skull, flanked by two security guards -- we all gasped as she opened the case and removed the artifact. She then clearly recounted the history of the skull, and at the end of the talk allowed those attending to come up, one by one, to examine and carefully handle the skull and mandible. I was awestruck and felt all tingly all over, somehow sensing the mystical powers that the skull is said to possess.
After the event I spent the night at Jim's parents place -- he surprised / shocked me by showing me a large basement room he constructed [supposedly never visited by his parents], with special lighting / filtration / heating, in which he cultivated row upon row, shelves of flats of magic mushrooms, Psilocybe -- they have been used in Mesoamerican / Mexico / some American Indian tribes for centuries to supposedly stimulate communion / contact with their gods / divination and healing. Of course he invited me to sample them, but I refused -- I do NOT believe in taking any kind of hallucinogenic substance -- my personal highs have always come from actively participating in the things I enjoy doing, which last way longer than the supposed effects of mind enhancing drugs -- matter of fact I do not even like taking prescription medications -- they do not cure anything, rather only mask some of the symptoms of the illness or discomfort.
I lost contact with Jim after that visit -- I am sure that he is still active in his many interests, and wish I could get to see him again in the future to discuss our paths since those many wondrous years ago.
So, as you can see, my interest in anything related to the main topic of the latest Indiana Jones film goes back several decades
This movie was first seen at the Cannes Film Festival on Sunday,
18 May 2008 -- 
-- I followed the festival, as always, to see what
the latest film offerings are and in particular, what the critics'
reaction to the Crystal
Skull would be.
You guessed it, on the morning of 22 May 2008 I went to the Distinta movie theatre in Hamilton, New Jersey, on the south end of Trenton to get an advance midnight premiere ticket to the new Indy flick, just in case they sold out early -- got a cheapy olde coot's price, which was nice -- I first called Bernar to see if he wanted to go with me, but, as usual, he was overworked and is in bed hours before midnight.
click on ticket to listen to the Indiana Jones theme [MIDI file - download it to your computer]
The movie theatre did not even have Indy badges or posters or anything to give away like the last time I went to the movies to see the midnight premiere of the daVinci Code, what a bummer ...
so, after freshening up, changing clothes, looking for the whip I know I have stashed somewhere or other [I could not find it find it] to add a little atmosphere to the movie visit
oh, well, I guess Harrison Ford is the only one who should be equipped with a whip
I waited until my computer clock / self wind watch / atomic wall clock showed 23:30, then off I went ...
got there, only about half a dozen cars in the parking lot, which I thought was sorta odd -- went in, asked which of the 12 screens it was showing on -- TO THE LEFT, they told me -- so I plopped myself on the second tier, center and waited, having to watch and rewatch all those dumb slides of pop generation questions and answers and other crabola ...
did you know that the LOUDEST movie ever was Close Encounters of the Third Kind
or that the first film sequel ever made was Son of Kong that appeared in the same year as his daddy -- fascinating stuff [GAG] ...
I waited and waited and waited -- my watch showed 00:15 already! So I went out in a huff and asked when the friggin movie was going to start, it was supposed to be 15 minutes ago --
the helpful peeps tell me that it's showing on screens 7 and 12, TO THE RIGHT -- they first sent me to the wrong screen!
to top things off, they said it was only 23:15 -- holy ship, if you can't trust your dam computer gizmo for the correct time and then set everything else by it, what can you trust??
so off to the car I went to listen to CBS news and figure out the correct time -- they were right, of course! gosh dang, and I was in such a rush to get there ...
went back in at 23:45, got to the correct screen thingy, but a few were already sitting in the space I wanted, so I sat a row behind them all by my lonesome -- curiously there were probably only about 20 peeps in that theatre screen -- I guess all the olde coot Indy fans were fast asleep already [it WAS some 19 years since the last one] and would get to see the flick later on, at a more conventional hour ...
then the lights finally dimmed, had to languish through 3 or 4 trailers for coming attractions, then what I went there for started ...
goshers, Indy may be a few years older,
but he hasn't lost any of his adventure / action skills -- PILES
of action throughout, from beginning to end -- the time frame
some 20 years or so later than the last flick -- of course a change
of bad guys nationality in keeping with the time frame, Russian Communists, this time [apparently the Russkies are trying to
ban the film because it shows them in a distorted light -- -- yeah,
as if THEY never distort history to suit their interpretation
of things] -- some interesting twists and stuff portrayed -- the
general format and kinda loose story line is like the other Indy
flicks, even some humor thrown in ...
the Russian bad girl was quite a character -- very macho ish --
KGB agent Colonel - Doctor Irina Spalko [Cate Blanchett]
kinda bad tempered, but she knew all about Indy and his exploits, wanting to use him to find the crystal skull so she could rule the world with its theoretical powers -- you will be amazed to see that at one point she actually put her hands on Indy's legs as he was strapped in a chair -- what was she thinking?
the main co star, a young leather jacketed and switch blade knife carrying duwop kiddo who mysteriously appeared and joined the adventure was kewlio as ship -- quite an action figure in his own right ...
Mutt Williams [Shia LaBeouf]
loads of ruins and stuff, cobwebs all over the place
Mutt and Indy inside the ruins
pictographs that had to be deciphered, dusty skeletons, things that moved and went bump in the darkness, hostile natives
Mutt and his mother, Marion Ravenwood [Karen Allen] surrounded by fierce aborigines
all kinds of way kewlio stuff as usual, lots of fabulous action scenes from start to finish
move over, genius, I have something to do -- Mutt, Indy and Marion
Oh, yes, and one last detail -- the crystal skull that Indy was looking for is somewhat different that the Mitchell - Hedges skull, as you can see below -- Indy's is a lot more menacing looking --
I am giving this unusually exciting film a 12 Skulls up -- the final scenes / half hour are quite totally unexpected, and I shall not ruin it for you by commenting on them ...
I LOVED IT, of course, and assume that everybody else will too, including loads of new Indy fans who never saw the older three [except maybe on DVD or video tape] -- seeing it on the big screen is the way to view it, as with ALL flicks, naturally ...
I cannot wait to see what Sam's Club will have in the way of special collector DVD editions -- hopefully, at least, as kewl as the daVinci Code special edition with the code device and book included -- a nice crystal like skull would be super kewl ...
oh, yeah, as an aside, but still connected with entertainment, the Eurovision Song Contest is currently underway in Belgrade, Yugoslavia ...
you can watch / listen to all the entries at the following link -- my three favorites are Russia, Portugal and Serbia --
some are way kewler than others, of course
-- I just looked and found that one of my three favorites won
the 2008 contest -- Dima
Bilan representing Russia with his song
Believe -- see him here at at -- -- and --
-- uTube --
Dima and the new Eurovision Song Contest trophy -- a crystal microphone
Hey, we even have national song fests here in the USA too -- American Idol, on TV, is very popular [I do not have a television so I cannot watch the show] -- this year the final was a toss up between two Davids -- if only the American presidential candidates would get as many votes as these two did, but then again, the politicians always sing the same old boring songs --
David Archuleta [Left] with David Cook -- the latter won the top award on 21 May 2008
well, I hope you enjoyed my rambling account of the latest Indiana Jones movie and other entertainment news flashes -- now go out and have some adventures of your own, and rush out to see the movie, you hear -- you will not be disappointed
The Mitchell - Hedges Web Site
Anna Mitchell - Hedges * uTube Video
Strange Artifacts * Crystal Skulls
God Bless !
|
|
My Closeout Deals & Real Estate -->> Personal Sales My Cigars & Goodies on -->> YardSaleNet.net My Items on -- |
Free counters provided by Andale.
|
COPYRIGHT © 2008 by * due to the constantly changing nature of the Internet, some external links may no longer be valid My Other |
-->> 
