Lost and Found

News

Good music and bad movies, either can get lost. If you’re a musician or film maker who managed to lose your work, don’t give up hope. Lost items have been turning up everywhere lately.

Last August came word that the Clash’s long lost ‘Vanilla Tapes’ had been found. Long believed to have been left behind on the tube by a drunken roadie, they were discovered in stoage by Clash guitarist Mick Jones (I hope someone apologized to the roadie).

Then last week a briefcase full of lyrics, stolen from U2 was discovered in an attic and returned to the band.

And now comes word that Ed Wood’s long lost final film has been rediscovered. The late Ed Wood earned fame for how bad his work was, and his work became cult classings such as Plan 9 From Outer Space and Glen or Glenda?. Certainly fans will be eager to see Necromania, Ed’s adult movie about a couple seeking assistance with their sex life from a coven of witches – or maybe we’re not ready for it.

for further reading: The Clash, U2, and Ed Wood, Jr. from Wikipedia

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Kicking Ass Online!

Politics, Work

DNC DonkeyAccording to a report from Nielsen//NetRatings, Democrats.org is the fastest growing web site in the country.

I’d like to say it was because of the high-demand for the pumpkin patterns we’ve posted, but the truth is more obvious. With Election Day looming, people are gearing up for their long awaited opportunity to un-seat our current court-appointed President and they’re looking online for information about where and how to vote, and to find ways that they can help send Bush back to Texas.

Democrats.org Fastest Growing Site
iMedia Connection, 10/25/04

Democrats.org Fastest Growing Website In America
Democrats.org, 10/27/04

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Shameful, Yet Shameless

News, Politics

Here’s a column that everyone should read from today’s Washington Post. The GOP’s Shameful Vote Strategy by Harold Myerson describes how the GOP no longer even tries to hide their voter suppression efforts. The good news is this will be the last campaign in which Bush is bothered by this whole ‘Democracy’ and ‘Vote’ business. Work for his defeat, or plan for the third term of Generallisimo El Busho as our self-appointed ruler for life. Yeah, I’m kidding… I think. But it could happen.

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Horror Film Fest: The Fog

Movies

Well, the week-long Halloween Horror Film Fest has proven to be a heavier lift than I expected. Who knew that I would get tired and want to sleep? Damn, a few years ago I would have watched these movies in one sitting! Now, midnight rolls around and I can hardly keep my eyes open. In my defense, I did have to wait for the baseball game to finish, so it was a late start. A sweep by the Red Sox would be a big favor to my film fest. The good news is, I’ve seen each of the movies in my Horror Film fest many many times, and so I remain qualified to review them now, and today’s offering is The Fog.

Now anybody who likes scary movies has to be a fan of John Carpenter films, just has to. Halloween was the beginning of a string of great flicks, including his re-make of The Thing and today’s pick, The Fog. This is a VERY cool ghost story, with a plot that really moves the story (rather than gets in the way as with our earlier pick Sleepy Hollow).

So, there’s this little sea-side town, see, and they’re getting ready to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the town’s founding. And just around then the local priest (Hal Holbrooke) discovers the diary of his ancestor priest (how does that happen?) which describes how the town’s founding began with the betrayal and murder of a group of wealthy lepers who were seeking to establish a colony nearby. Eight lepers were killed when their ship was mis-led onto the rocks in a heavy fog. And now, 100 years later, the dead leper sailors are looking for some payback. Got it?

The Fog doesn’t miss an opportunity to go for the easy jump scare, often as a setup for the real thing. And that’s OK, because it’s just what you’re watching this sort of movie for. Jamie Lee Curtis demonstrates that she’s good at running scared, and Adrienne Barbeau shows she can climb on top of a light house in a storm dispite how top-heavy she is. And in the end, Hal Holbrooke gets the answer to his final question in fine style. All-around, a great flick, two thumbs WAY up!

further reading: Leprosy (Hansen’s disease) from Wikipedia

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Martin Slovacek (1882/Polesovice, Moravia – 1953/Berwyn, IL)

Genealogy

Martin Slovacek

Name: Martin Leopold SLOVACEK Sr.

Birth: Feb 1882 Polesovice, Moravia
Death: Dec 1953 Berwyn, IL
Burial: 7 Dec 1953 Bohemian National Cemetary, Chicago, IL 1
Occupation: Carpenter
Father: John SLOVACEK
Mother: Marie MELICHARKOVY

Spouse

1: Hedvika IVACHULA
Birth: 15 Oct 1881 Polesovice, Moravia
Death: Jul 1968 LaGrange, IL 1
Burial: 11 Jul 1968 Bohemian National Cemetary, Chicago, IL 1
Father: Unknown IVACHULA
Marriage: 1906 Polesovice, Moravia
Children: Lydia (1908-1979)
Alois (1909-1994)
Jerry Martin (1910-1986)
Hattie (1913-1929)
Martin Leopold (1915-1976)

Notes for Martin Leopold SLOVACEK Sr.
He built a home for his family at 1521 S. Kenilworth Ave. in Berwyn and lived there until he retired. He was a carpenter and became a general contractor who built homes in the Chicago area. After he retired in 1946 or 1947, he and Hedvika moved to a small home in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. When he became ill with heart disease in 1953, they moved back to Berwyn. He died in early December 1953. 2

Sources

1. “Bohemian National Cemetery Burial Record,” Photocopy.
2. “Richard Slovacek Recollections,” 3/17/2003.

Care to dig deeper? Explore the Casey/Geltmaker family tree online.

If you have any information about Martin Slovacek or believe that you may be connected to my tree in any way, I would be very glad to hear from you! Please send me an email to: chris@casey.com

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Sutton on Bush

Humor, Politics

Ward Sutton’s cartoons land truthful blows on George Bush with brutal regularity making it a must read for any comic-reading, freedom-loving, democracy-supporting reader out there, check out his strip The Sutton Impact in the Village voice. Here’s a recent example, Reasons to Vote for Bush

From that comic I found this great link to a first-rate Sutton flash animation, Schlock & Awe! Give it a watch, and then share it with a friend.

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Horror Film Fest: Se7en

Movies

It’s Monday night in the week long Halloween Horror Film Fest, and tonight’s scary movie is Se7en. The film stars Morgan Freeman as an experienced homicide detective who is about to retire, and Brad Pitt as his young replacement. Their jobs are to overlap for seven days, during which Freeman will show Pitt the rope. Kevin Spacey plays the psycho who will make it a disturbing seven days, and Gwyneth Paltrow as Pitt’s wife.

The shocking truth is, I fell asleep about halfway through. I just can’t stay up as late as I used too. But hey, I’ve seen the movie before so I can review it anyway.

So what does this scary killer do? He is making examples of people he finds guilty of breaking one of the seven deadly sins, and always in a manner suited to the sin. Victim by victim, a new grusome death illustrates another sin; gluttony, greed, sloth, lust, pride, envy, and finally in a real twist, wrath.

Unlike your typical psycho-killer horror movie, where the killer is endowed with some sort of super-natural power that keeps them coming back (Michael Myers, Jason, Freddy, etc…), the scenario in Se7en is even scarier, because it’s more believable. Like Dr. Lecter and Buffalo Bill in Silence of the Lambs, or Kathy Bates in Misery, this killer is so scary because he’s so human. A seriously screwed in the head human, and not a supernatural monster. When this movie is over, you have to deal with the fact that people this messed up really exist in the world.

If you’re watching the DVD, be sure to check out the special features, especially the storyboards of an alternate ending that I think might have been even better than the excellent one in the movie. Regardless, this is a first-rate suspense movie and Casey gives it two thumbs, WAY up.

further reading: The Seven Deadly Sins on Wikipedia

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An Amazing Failure, Even for Bush

News, Politics

During his four year term as our court appointed President, George Bush has provided all too frequent examples of his incompetence; from turning record surpluses into record deficits, to starting wars with countries based on non-existent threats.

But today’s news that 380 tons of powerful explosives have gone missing from a weapons depot in Iraq is a startling blunder even for Bush. How much is 380 tons? On a radio report tonight I learned that it would fill 40 truck loads to move 380 tons of explosives! One pound of such an explosive can bring down an airliner, and we’ve given away 40 truckloads of the stuff.

George Bush led us to war against a nation to hunt for weapons and terrorists that were not there. And now that we are there, we’ve opened the door to the terrorists who weren’t there to begin with, and let them help themselves to the explosives that they’ll be using to kill American soldiers and civilians for years to come.

We shouldn’t be discussing another 4 years in the White House for Bush, we should be discussing the length of his prison term for gross incompetence. And they impeached Clinton over a blow job. Mind boggling.

Huge Cache of Explosives Vanished From Site in Iraq
New York Times, 10/25/04

Tons of Iraq explosives missing
CNN.com, 10/25/04

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