Behind The Scenes at The Fedora Chronicles...

2012-01-10T18:52:00.001-08:00

Met some great people from Huntsman's camp. Great people and I wish them all the best.

2012-01-10T18:36:00.001-08:00

Going to keep taking about fixing the "Trust deficit " - isn't he? HOPE so.

2012-01-10T18:33:00.001-08:00

Huntsman is.finally speaking. Looking very Presidential.

2012-01-10T17:55:00.001-08:00

I told Cousi and Douglas Palumbo my prediction and almost nailed it. Romney, Paul, and Huntsman. I thought it was going to closer.

2012-01-10T17:27:00.001-08:00

Good news is... people really love Huntsman and have packed this venue! Bad news is... well, the bad news.

2012-01-09T16:15:00.001-08:00

Working on the finishing touches on Doug's article for canteenshop.com.

2012-01-04T14:03:00.001-08:00

So I'm not going to die from from Liver Disease soon! Quick cancel my estate auction!

2011-12-31T20:42:00.001-08:00

Less than 15 minutes before 2012. Lets hope the Mayans were wrong.

Maybe someone can answer this for me...

2011-12-31T11:05:00.001-08:00

Annett State Forest Rindge, New Hampshire http://m.google.com/u/m/dD7CUz

Question Of The Week: What were your best adventures or personal stories from 2011?

2011-12-26T07:47:00.000-08:00

The Fedora Chronicles Question Of The Week: What were your best adventures or personal stories from 2011?

Share with all of us what made this year great. Be sure to include pictures!

New Boots

2011-12-25T08:48:00.001-08:00

All I wanted for Christmas is a mew pair of shoes (and keep my two front teeth.)

2011-12-25T08:39:00.001-08:00

Trying to post pictures of my new boots...

2011-11-04T13:48:00.001-07:00

Latest from Audible!

Follow our "Irene Coverage" on The Electric Speakeasy…

2011-08-28T13:12:00.001-07:00

It's about 3:30PM here on The East Coast and according to the weather charts on most of the "important" sites, the storm has just passed. Strong winds and heavy rain but no power out yet. No damage to speak of.

Regardless of the fact that it's now "over" you can read about what we went through via The Electric Speakeasy thread - The Hurricane Irene Thread.

In this episode of "Dishwasher Confidential"

2011-08-20T13:01:00.001-07:00

I'm working on making a fool of myself before cutting my finger off at this wonderful Church picnic!

2011-07-22T19:44:00.001-07:00

Captain America? Best 40's action film in a very long time!

The Shack - review coming soon...

2011-06-12T08:59:00.001-07:00

I just finished "The Shack" this morning on the way to church to record the weekly message for their podcast. I'll be writing the review for this soon. I will say this much so far... I have deep strong, mixed feelings about this book for reasons that will upset many friends and family of this book. I have huge problems with many aspects of the story and themes of "The Shack" and I can't reconcile.

More to come.

2011-05-20T08:17:00.001-07:00

Heading in for pre- enrollment testing and have to shut the phone off. I would like to say "wish me luck" but I won't get your messages until I'm done!

2011-05-16T14:24:00.001-07:00

I just got my transcript from one of my old schools - one giant leep for Fisk-kind... towards going back.

2011-05-15T14:13:00.001-07:00

Is there anything worse than trying to buy something and its taking forever for your card to "process "?

2011-04-19T12:05:00.001-07:00

Re: Brooks House Fire - there is a huge crain that they just brought in and there a report that they might remove the top two/three floors soon.

2011-04-19T10:47:00.001-07:00

I'm in Brattleboro now checking out the damage now... I'll be posting pictures soon.

2011-04-18T08:40:00.001-07:00

What's the deal with people who go out in public wearing pajamas and bedroom slippers that have a beef with your man in The Fedora and leather jacket?

2011-04-12T13:57:00.001-07:00

Getting a new phone... Wish me luck.

What Freebees are webmasters entitled to?

2011-04-05T19:19:00.001-07:00

Someone on another forum posted this question that I want to share with you guys.

“Since when does moderating a website entitle them to a free anything? Very childish behavior.”

This was my answer…

t's not out of the realm of reality for web site owners to get stuff. Every month I receive free books, movies, music, and other products in the mail; in the hopes that I would review them on my own site.

One hatter wanted me to have a "$1,200" fedora in the hopes that I would promote his business on my site. When I refused to accept it he called me up in the middle of the night drunk saying he was going to hurt my family if I didn't accept his "free gift" and that he would pay me in cash to remove all the other hatters and vendors from my site and he would be our "exclusive." I hung up the phone.

If you publish your mailing address promoters will send you a ton of stuff even after you ask them to stop. One "Jazz Label" sent me a disk wanting a positive review for an artist they sunk a lot of money into, but the disk was garbage. I'm using it as a coaster right now. THAT stopped them from sending me stuff.

Here's a dilemma I faced back in '07. Someone else cut an album and one of his underlings send me a PM via one of these forums asking me if I would review it. I said, "Sure, here's my address."

"No, no! You have to buy one yourself!" She replied.

"That's not how it works," I replied back. "You want me to review something, send it to me. Here's my address."

Then this skirt and "performer" posted on another one of these forums about how "unfair" I was, knowing full well that he received a stack of disks his label gave him to give to promoters and other organizations to review.

Let's just say that I did pay for a disk and it was horrible. Now what? I just PAID for this crap, and now you want me to review it? It's in your best interest not to piss off the reviewer by asking him to pay for something you wanted him to promote. Now my review is going to be harsher than it would have been if he had been polite and just sent me one that his label gave him.

Unless he self-published, than that's a different story. But still; just send the reviewer the disk or other material you want people to review and make life easier for everyone else. Otherwise, it's an absurd notion that any label or publisher will drop tons of promotional material at conventions knowing that more than half of it will be thrown out by the time the convention is over but can't afford to send copies to web-masters to review.

I know of another Indy-Fan forum in Europe that has solicited hatters to send them free products in exchange for special favors. One hatter said they asked him for fedoras for the founder and a couple members of the staff in exchange for anything he asked for. He said "Sure, let me send PM's to your members, and ban these people who ask tough questions elsewhere, and these other vendors."

The staff members who didn't get free hats told me this back in 2004/2005.

I personally think that it's repressible to do this, but it happens all the time. It's a slippery slope, after getting free stuff you get used to it and after a while after that you start demanding it. I work hard, I deserve it.

It's more reprehensible to solicit a vendor for special attention on a forum.

I have seen some sick stuff as an owner of a website and been exposed to human behavior that I wouldn't have seen otherwise.

I've been offered a lot of money to do things that I wouldn't have been offered to do if I didn't know how to do some minimal code and lay out. I get strange offers from all kinds of people but those pale in comparison to the things I've heard about what other website owners are given or asked for. One huge website owner (from a website that we all know) allegedly had prostitutes sent to his room the night of a premiere he attended in the hopes of a positive review for that film. I heard that since the first one that was sent to him, he's asked for one knowing that the schlock he was going to review was going to be bad and needed his "good review" to make back some money. His reviews and credibility have suffered because of that. Roger Ebert has even said that sometimes the perks of being a good reviewer can be addicting; you don't want it to stop because you panned a movie. After a while, you're so used to the PAYOLA that you lose your edge and eventual credibility. It seems like that's true for a lot of movie reviewers on the internet now. Corporations don't buy souls, but they sure as hell lease them.

The other extreme, if you're a webmaster and you're not getting offers for stuff you can get pretty indignant. "Where's Mine!" is a phrase you'll hear often.

Worst yet, though, are people who assume that because you're successful at something like this that you enjoy then you're obviously getting payback. My former sister-in-laws family insisted that George Lucas had people fill my fridge and gas tank just as I"m sure that he's never heard of me. If he has ever spoken about me, then he ended the phrase with the words, "is an asphole."

My dad taught me a lot of bad stuff but the one thing he taught me is something about lying. You can make a mistake or do something wrong, that's one thing - lying about it and covering it up is even worse. Saying my "foot slipped" is worse than saying "I was so angry I kicked the dashboard."

2011-04-04T13:11:00.001-07:00

Founf this nice Mexican Resturant - La Carreta in Derry, NH.

What are our children watching and why is George Soros allowed to make propaganda aimed at children?

2011-03-31T05:34:00.000-07:00

"What Are Our Children Watching?" originally posted September 25, 2009: Should ANY political group be allowed to make propaganda movies to be shown in schools, Period? I don't care if the group is Liberal, Conservative, Neo-Traditional, Agnostic or Religious. How hard would it be to make schools a politically free zone?

Who is teaching what to our children in schools? What if "The Fedora Chronicles Foundation" sent representatives or "teaching material" to your local schools that was full of half truths and misrepresented facts in an effort to indoctrinate children into a "New World Order" way of thinking? What if someone from my organization took your children against your will and said "Everything your teachers and parents have taught you is WRONG! Now here's the true version."

How can someone who has billions of dollars and is accountable to nobody be allowed to make "teaching material" for school, and how come nobody says "Wait a minute..." and follow the money trail? and investigate what's being said - get behind the "who, what, where, how," and most importantly "why?" Evangelizing a political agenda to children, regardless of which direction the bias leans, is genuine evil. What's next, arm bands for the civilian national security force?

Remember, children, "Freedom Is Slavery."

"The Dead Hand" Review

2011-03-30T14:15:00.000-07:00

From my review...

"I should be dead. Before you read any more of this review let me make that perfectly clear to you. I should be dead. I shouldn't be able to write this, there shouldn't be a “Fedora Chronicles” as a means to publish this review. I shouldn't be here at this desk writing in this house, in the state of New Hampshire, in the United States of America, on planet Earth.

I should be dead. None of the objects that I wrote of should be here, either. Everything should be gone, destroyed or never created in the first place thanks to “The Dead Hand,” the fail-safe device and procedure that would have caused all of the former Soviet Union’s nuclear and biological weapons to be launched in the event that communications from The Kremlin was disconnected between the missile launch sites and the rest of the military. Since “The Dead Hand” was made with faulty equipment and untested technology thanks to the “let’s build it first then figure out how to make it work reliably later” attitude, there were many false positives. In one anecdote in the beginning of the book, in 1983 there was one such false positive alert that could have easily have been mistaken for an all-out missile launch from The United States. Thanks to one man in charge of the instillation their missiles were never launched and Armageddon was averted once more." Read More...

I can't say enough about this book, despite the fact that it often scared the heck out of me often. There are many segments of this book that made me stop and think that there’s no logical reason why we aren’t all dead yet or never even born. If you lived during the 1980’s and need to revisit that era and get to the bottom of what really happened, check out my review before reading the book.

2011-03-29T16:43:00.001-07:00

Watching "Kitchen Nightmares" and a blogger tweeting to be treated like a queen. I NEED THAT LEVEL OF TREATMENT! I'M RENDERKING!

2011-03-27T04:23:00.001-07:00

It's below freezing and a week or so before April, and 'm dying to drag out my lawn tools for sping. AND some awsome threads!

2011-03-27T04:14:00.001-07:00

Recovering from a horribe migraine and mightmares from last night...

2011-03-26T16:18:00.001-07:00

Just interviewed Robin O'Herin at One Way Cafe in Jaffery NH!

2011-03-26T11:06:00.001-07:00

I've been out of phone contact for the past 24 hours and thinking about changing or upgrading our USCellular plan. Any ideas or suggestions?

Posting Under False Pretense

2011-03-26T09:57:00.001-07:00

I want to make sure that everyone here on The Fedora Chronicles Electric Speakeasy is on the same page with me. JCOM is posting here on this forum under a false pretense. He’s not a “New Member,” he’s actually Guy Calvert (calvertguy28@yahoo.com) a moderator from another website who campaigned to get me banned because someone else’s twisted agenda. I refuse to get into the details and subsequent conversations I’ve had with Guy/Monkey since then. Nothing that happened over there in 2004 has any bearing on what’s going on over here in 2011. I have no grudge with those people anymore; There’s at least one former moderator from that forum who is posting over here under a different name, and I’m glad he’s here since he’s been more than civil and has contributed a lot to the conversations here. What’s going on today, here and now is all that matters to me. Period.

There are only three reasons why I haven’t banned “JCOM” yet.

First I’m giving Guy Calvert this new chance is because he’s a controversial prick just like me but on the opposite end of the spectrum. He says things that might be totally wrong, maybe totally correct, but he gets people to think about their own beliefs. This character and I had some hard-core debates back in the day and I hope we can relive those good times again. I think he and I got along great until he became a staff member elsewhere and let the power-trip get to his head. Now that he’s been put back in his place I think that over here he can “Stand Strong” on his own merits while we chill out. I can at least try to be civil to him. Let’s see what happens.

Second – I had a steadfast rule that since I couldn’t post over there, he can’t post over here. Since I no longer want, nor do I have the time to post elsewhere, I'm not sure what he can do for me anymore. Since I have reconnected with everyone that I want to on Facebook, MySpace and obviously here; what benefit is there for me to post over there? I care about what the other "Indy Fans" are doing, what they think, what they feel but I don't need another website to keep me up to date with what they're up to besides The Electric Speakeasy and the aforementioned social media sites.

I have the stick for Guy Calvert, but there isn’t a carrot anymore; what’s the point in banning him from The Electric Speakeasy?

Third – I’m a better person than I was a few years ago and I really feel bad for the guy. His IP says he’s a resident in Japan and we all know what’s going on over there. I’m hoping that Guy will share with us what’s going on and what’s the “real” story unfiltered by the media. What’s HIS take?

Guy is welcome to stay here so long as he abides by the rules already laid out and there’s no mention of what happened in the past.

Spam on Yahoo Groups...

2011-03-25T06:02:00.001-07:00

I still get messages like this in my mail box all the time... "Read your message left by Kelly before it gets deleted!" – they are always links to an on-line scam or pornography sites.

I'm just wondering how come "Yahoo" doesn't do a better job policing this stuff. How come these in-active groups aren't shut down and deleted after a while. With all these other forums out there like "The Electric Speakeasy," why bother with Yahoo Groups at all?

--- --- --- --- --- --- ---
You can now subscribe to our Podcast - The Fedora Chronicles Radio Show - through the iTunes store.
http://itunes.apple.com/podcast/the-fedora-chronicles-radio/id398639598
http://thefedorachronicles.com/podcast.xml

The Fedora Chronicles & Electric Speakeasy Forum
- Acolytes Of Vintage Style - Retro Guide for surviving Modern Life...
http://thefedorachronicles.com/ - http://electricspeakeasy.com

On the passing of Elizabeth Taylor...

2011-03-23T17:19:00.001-07:00

When I heard about her dying I had to stop and think... who's going to be waiting for her in heaven? Who is it going to be, Richard Burton or Michael Todd.

Who was her real "soul mate?" That's the question I can't stop thinking about.

2011-03-23T16:44:00.001-07:00

I just regestered my phone with Blogger and I'll be able to send behind the scenes posts while ot on the road... Stay tuned.

New Rant: Bullying: Already Abused Enough At Home.

2011-03-23T14:38:00.000-07:00

When you get the chance check out the rant that I wrote this past weekend and just came out of editing from The Fedora Chronicles writers group. The title of the rant is "Bullying: Already Abused Enough At Home."

It was tough writing this and there were times when I was in such anguish about what I was writing about and the perception that nobody cared about me while I was growing up really got to me. There are some things that I confess to in this rant that I've alluded to before but I never actually came out and said until now. There are some ugly things about my past that I've kept buried until now and even some things that I were told to keep to myself or I'll be killed. No kidding.

Having my accident on February 20th (my sisters birthday, coincidently) when I broke my back really did something to me and I'm still managing to process a lot of these thoughts and emotions. People from the other side of the world have been asking me how I've been doing and how I'm holding up and that's great. But it really hurts when people I've shared my life with for the first few decades of my life haven't bothered to see how I'm doing.

The people who I see twice a year each summer, nothing.

Friends that I've met through our favorite forums and fellow retrocentrics I've befriended on social media have kept tabs on me. One of you guys had a balcony view of the tsunami and the nuclear melt-down responded to my inquiries: "Enough about me, man! How are you doing, I heard about the accident!"

As a result I'm really evaluating my relationships with a lot of people. Like I said, when I'm not sleeping during this recovery, I'm thinking a lot about the people I've shared my life with and whether or not I'm going to continue. I was in a deep, dark place gang and if it wasn't for you all, my wife and boys, my wife's parents; I don't know what I would do.

I don't know what I'm going to now while I'm still taking it easy and recovering. I go back and forth, from wanting to forgive again to finally cutting my losses and cut contact then wait for them to make the first move. Listen folks, I was in severe pain and needed help and this is a pattern that's played out since I was a small boy. I'm at a loss at what to do and what to think.

Some of these rants that I've written in the past few weeks and months are a result of what I'm going through now. It's all coming out, shaking free from the corners of my mind. Some of the response has been positive and I might help some folks by letting them know they aren't alone and not to keep silent any more.

On a positive note, I think we need some mental sorbet… how about another "Flicks To Hold You Over?

The "Modern Fashion Is DEATH" Coffee Mug from Zazzle.com

2011-03-14T17:12:00.000-07:00

The "Modern Fashion Is DEATH" Coffee Mug from Zazzle.com - Now commentary on stupid clothes comes in a cup!

Introduction: The Fedora Chronicles Around The World

2011-02-02T06:13:00.000-08:00

Introduction: The Fedora Chronicles Around The World

Back in 2004 I came up the idea of a website where people like us, fedora wearing real-world travelers, would share our experiences. I vowed that this would never become a fan site for one particular film or bunch of films since there were so many pages out there that had done that to a varying degree. That didn’t appeal to me and I saw this huge vacuum in the “retroverse” where the readers were the actual heroes of our stories. There was little space to devote to where people have been going, what they’ve been doing and what they thought and did once they got there.

“Where is my tribute page? Where’s my fan site? I might not have saved the world but I’ve overcome some huge obstacles in life and I think that my story was an interesting read.” Not just me specifically, but I felt as if that’s what a lot of other people who were thinking the same thing. It seemed to me that once everyone got the pieces of their “costume” together, the next obvious was to go on “adventures.” The “Scrapbook” sections of other forums seemed sufficient at first, but never seemed to break through the threshold into being secondary in the list importance.

What was necessary is to take a different approach from the other retrocentric sites, have the travel logs and journals come first. What we’re doing, where we’re going, where’s we’ve been and how those experiences changed us had to take priority.

Doing “Around The World…” was a huge challenge for me because I had just started learning HTML and knew little about page layout. With little text and lots of pictures I had to make some serious creative decisions, this series really pushed me as a webmaster and inspired me to dive deeper into the code.

Most importantly, though – I’m really grateful to Craig for allowing us to publish his amazing story and the only regret I have is that he hasn’t gone on any other trips so we can do follow ups to this one. If he has, I’m more than happy to do this all over again with new material.

Continue with "Around The World" by Craig Whitton

Shay's Rebellion 2011: The Fedora Chronicles Cousineau Report

2011-01-26T19:05:00.000-08:00

Shay's Rebellion 2011: The Fedora Chronicles Cousineau Report

Jay Cousineau reports on a little known event after The Revolutionary War.

The Bad Dad Dilemma

2011-01-06T16:23:00.001-08:00

"Bad Dad Dilemma: The Fedora Chronicles Rants - May 8, 2010 ... I was already feeling bad about my parents break up. Why did my dad leave? What did I do wrong? How come I wasn't good enough? Now this? ..."

This is one of the many rants that I've re-formatted today with many more to come. I wrestled with this issue for the longest time and I think this speaks to the heart of why I cling so hard to classic movies and try so hard to emulate the heroes of those decades.

If you have something to say in response, let me know: renderking@thefedorachronicles.com or @fedorachronicle via Twitter.

The Fedora Chronicles RSS Feed

2010-10-21T05:15:00.000-07:00

One of the tings I've been working on the past couple of weeks is writing new code for The Fedora Chronicles RSS Syndication news feed. - Any new article that's published will be linked here.

If an article of yours has been published in the past couple of months and it's not there, send me a tap on the shoulder and remind me. By the way, this is also a giant leap forward towards HTML5... just something I wanted to put out there.

Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Fedora Chronicles Flicks

2010-08-31T19:07:00.000-07:00

Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Fedora Chronicles Flicks

Just published today... be sure to let me know what you think.

Across the Pacific: The Fedora Chronicles Flicks

2010-08-30T14:36:00.000-07:00

Across the Pacific: The Fedora Chronicles Flicks

Just reformatted and added some pictures... enjoy!

Kids are off to school, I have all this time to work… Now what?

2010-08-30T07:54:00.001-07:00

Just a brief note. Today is my sons’ first day of school. My wife went off to work before they got on the bus. I’m in my office all by myself with the list of all the things that I put off until now. The question I have for myself is: Where do I begin?

Currently we have three articles in the Editor’s Queue. One or two motion picture reviews, one commentary on the astronomy press conference I particiapted in last week. I’m also doing a ton of administrative work for the site while preparing for our trip to Comic-Con in NYC later this autumn. I’m also working on a rant about personal and emotional transformation in the Retrocentric Life.

It’s almost 10:30 and I’ve been sorting things out, opening files, reforming old articles from other websites for The Fedora Chronicles main site, and working on a couple of posts for The Electric Speakeasy.

Which reminds me, for all of you retrocentrics who like talking about food and drink, you’ll have to check out the new table we opened – The Connoisseur moderated by Daniel Jones. Consider it his own private forum, we’re just hosting it.

Labor Of Love, Long Time Coming…

2010-08-27T20:38:00.001-07:00

I love my two sons a lot. It’s a privilege to be their dad and a pleasure having them around me almost 24 hours a day while they’ve enjoyed the summer off but I haven’t had the time to do the things that I wanted to do for The Fedora Chronicles. I’ve taken a lot of time out of the day doing things like taking the boys to summer school, swimming, hikes through the woods, and countless other activities. I’ve even shown them how to use the computer and do simple things like showing them how to use a few photo-editing programs to crop their own pictures and soon they will be learning how to make their own web pages.

Bitter-sweetly, all this is going to change this coming Monday when they both go back to school full time. It’s hard to believe that summer is so close to being over. I’ll miss them but now I’ll be able to get some things done. There are some things that I’ve been waiting a long time to do. One project in particular.

There is one project that I’ve been wanting to do for a long time and I’ve regretted not starting it sooner for various reasons.

The first reason is that the subject that I’ll be dedicating some of my time and space on The Fedora Chronicles is something that I’ve been interested in for a long time, maybe half my life. I’m doing the math, this is something that I’ve been interested in since I was at least 14, that’s 27 years ago. That’s more than half. The issue that I’m facing now is that maybe it’s too late to study this subject for fellow vintage aficionados and retrocentrics. The information that I hoped that would be there forever might be forever altered or deleted, and I have missed the opportunity to this project. Even if I’m able to retrieve the information and accomplish my goals, maybe it’s too late and there’s no more interest in this topic for anyone else besides a handful of us and not really worthy of my time.

That’s one of the issues that webmaster’s face all the time, every item has a window of time when it’s relevant and fresh. When that window closes and the relevancy has passed, there’s little point in doing the project besides your own self interest and gratification. When it comes to creating content, There’s no time like the present.

I’ll have more to say about this project in the near future, but in the mean time I’m keeping it under wraps.

Problems With integrating Word 2010 with Blogging software? Maybe it’s not you!

2010-08-24T13:59:00.001-07:00

Currently I’m trying to learn how Office 2010 works with other software packages such as my own web editing package and “Blogger.” I spent a couple of hours trying with no luck to research how to publish articles that I’m writing here on my laptop with “the click of one button” that’s supposed to work with Google services. Several hours of searching, trial and error, I still get the same message – “Word Can Not Access Your Account.” It took me about 10 minutes to set up a Windows Live “Spaces” account and I was able to link it to Word 2010 almost instantly. You don’t think that’s a coincidence, do you? It just seems to me as if there’s something that’s not right about this and I’m mulling it inside my melon to see if it doesn’t sound too conspiratorial…

A Microsoft Product like Word 2010 won’t “sync” with Blogger or other Google products, but works fine with a service that I didn’t even know existed until this afternoon?

I don’t know why but there’s something desperate and “End of The World”-ish about this, as if the only option was to pick through the ruins of a fallen society with other zombie like scavengers, when all I really want is to have things the way they were before everything came to a crashing halt. All the other resources are controlled by a scant few with designs of world domination.

These is one of the reasons why learning how to “blog” is such a difficult thing to do and why more people don’t try to do things like make their own websites. I’m reminded of when I first started The Fedora Chronicles – I was afraid to learn HTML because of the trials I knew I would have to endure. It’s not so much learning the code, that’s hard enough if all you know how to do is click “save” in your word processing program. It’s all the other little things that you have to learn by yourself that’s daunting, the nuances that no training manual or text book can teach you since they’re every changing and too numerous. Who among us could have predicted back before Office 2010 was released that for reasons that are beyond us and are limited only to the omnipotent software designers that one of the special features of Word 2007 would fail or be discontinued in Word 2010? How can you prepare students for the inevitable frustration that occurs when things don’t work? Who knows if there’s the software mouse/keyboard short cut under an “Advanced” tab that’s an equivalent of giggling the handle or kicking the motor.

Then I discovered another Microsoft tool called “Windows Live Writer” – I can’t say enough good things about this, it’s almost like it’s the little brother to my favorite HTML editing software and it does everything Word 2010 says it does, but doesn’t. Write a post, then simply click publish. It has a small “footprint” on my desktop and I’m dying to see how it will work on my wife’s HP Netbook.

If I was just a blogger and The Fedora Chronicles existed only on blogger or Windows Live Spaces, I would be an exceptionally happy fedora clad man.

But one question I have is simple – for how long is Windows Live Writer going to work? From what I read, Word 2007 allowed people to publish on “Blogger,” but simply stopped and failed. Why? Because of some update? I don’t know. Why even invest in the money for Word 2010 or the whole suite of Office 2010 products when this one does it… for free? Microsoft dropped the ball and is giving away the farm.

This is the perfect time to remind everyone why I don’t rely on other people’s servers, services or software to run The Fedora Chronicles. It might sound a bit doctorial or tyrannical – I’m a bit of authoritarian when it comes to running this site and I have to have control over almost every aspect of it. I admit it. All I need to do is write my text in Word for Windows (yes, the same program that won’t integrate with “blogger”) and drop my text into my HTML editing software within one of my division tables. HTML allows me to set as many or as few “keywords” or category tags that I want… there are things I can do in writing my own HTML code that I can’t do in “Blogger” or “Microsoft Live Spaces.”

I have The Fedora Chronicles saved on not one but THREE external hard-drives, so I don’t have to rely on our host servers. There’s no reason I can think of to totally rely on any one service or software platform to service our site.

That I know of.

[This blog post was written in Word 2010, Windows Live Writer, and Web Expressions. No newbies, software devolpers where harmed or smashed in the writing or research for this text. You can discuss this rant on The Electric Speakeasy – here.]

CNN Breaking News – Passenger Plane crash in China

2010-08-24T10:35:00.001-07:00

-- Passenger plane has crashed in northeast China, sources tell state-run Xinhua news agency.

I really feel bad for people when I read stories like this, my heart really reaches out for those who are like my wife and I took the money we saved and took our kids on a vacation they won’t ever forget.

Which reminds me… I have yet to publish my special article I started detailing our trip. Where did the summer go?

Rant: "That Candidate Wants All Opponents To Die."

2010-08-14T19:31:00.000-07:00

"That Candidate Wants All Opponents To Die." By Eric Renderking Fisk - A local, personal perspective about The Keith Halloran/Sarah Palin Controversy. Posted on The Fedora Chronicles, August 14th, 2010.

Not going to kid anyone or try to come off being tougher then I am; This was one of the toughest rants that I've ever had to write. I'm hammering one of my neighbors and a political rival who running for State Rep. Once again I was mixing my local life with my on-line one. Granted, I had a LOT to say about this and I cut out six pages to make it more timeless and more specific to the cancer of partisan ship and less of a bash-fest against Keith.

Yes, Keith Halloran really did say "I wish Sarah and Levy (sic) were on board." Yes, that's NORMAL for him to say. Yes, he quit his campaign over the nations reaction to it. In person he comes off as one of the most harmless and perhaps naive people you would ever want to meet. Get him behind a keyboard or a podium and he's one of the most vitriolic morons. He's NOT NORMAL! And that's coming from someone who wears a fedora every day of the year!

Normal people don't threatens other with incarceration for debating!

In the off chance you're reading this, Keith - you need serious help and stay out of politics. Yes - everyone is out to get you... because you cheesed everyone off!

The rest of you... Read my first rant on this event and issue...

Random Question: How come hair products remind me of the 1980's?

The Fedora Chronicles Electric Speakeasy Tshirts from Zazzle.com

2009-10-18T10:11:00.001-07:00

The Fedora Chronicles Electric Speakeasy Tshirts from Zazzle.com

Shared via AddThis

http://thefedorachronicles.com/anderson/2009/10_14_a_call_to_action.html

2009-10-13T17:48:00.001-07:00

http://thefedorachronicles.com/anderson/2009/10_14_a_call_to_action.html

Shared via AddThis

RYAN ANDERSON IS BACK!

Being Michael Collins - The Fedora Chronicles Rants

2009-07-20T05:07:00.001-07:00

Being Michael Collins - The Fedora Chronicles Rants

From 2008: I took a moment to honor an under-celebrated American hero, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins...

Why Palin Quit

2009-07-08T05:53:00.001-07:00

Why Palin Quit

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"How can I answer this this question with out turning this into a rant about something else? This could turn into long winded diatribe on how much I hate the main stream media (MSM) and moronic bloggers." [Continue]

The Sins Of Our Fathers: Fedora Chronicles Rants

2009-06-23T06:32:00.001-07:00

The Sins Of Our Fathers: Fedora Chronicles Rants

I finished writing my latest rant: "The Sins Of Our Fathers" inspired by recent events in my own life, starting with being accosted by a local drunk after yelling at my son for not looking both ways before crossing the road.

Apparently a lot of us have anger/daddy issues. Who suffers for that? Not just us, or our sons and daughters, but all of us in society.

Frankenstein: Fedora Chronicles Flicks To Hold You Over

2009-06-07T07:01:00.001-07:00

Frankenstein: Fedora Chronicles Flicks To Hold You Over

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I've been trying really hard to write one GOOD review a week for you folks, nailing down the essentials like this one. I saw this for the first time 20-Some odd years ago and again last week. I was really taken back by aspects of this movie that I had over-looked or forgotten.

Give me a shout back and tell me what you think of this review.

2009-04-23T08:07:00.000-07:00

Published "Hey Eugene, Can You Spare A Dime?" By Eric 'Renderking' Fisk - April 22nd, 2009. What should someone do with the money his family made from other peoples hopes, dreams and aspirations about a better tomorrow?

"Doug Palumbo called me up first thing this morning and read an article to me while I was driving to my chiropractor's office. After he was done, I thought I needed to stop off somewhere and get checked out by a cardiologist and bring home my own defibrillator. I was astonished by what I heard and felt, that as a mild Star Trek fan (and a recovering Science Fiction junky) that I had been cheated or my intelligence was insulted. Why? In short, Majel Roddenberry leaves a "pile of cash" and a mansion to her dogs and their keeper and $90 Million to her son..." Read More

CBS: The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler

2009-04-19T09:05:00.000-07:00

Just found out about this one this morning...

CBS: The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler
The story of Irena Sendler, a social worker who was part of the Polish underground during World War II and was arrested by the Nazi's for saving the lives of nearly 2,500 Jewish children by smuggling them out of the Warsaw ghetto.

Right now I'm trying to see if this will air on Hulu or any other on-demand services.

Will anyone watch this tonight when it airs? if so, please feel free to let us know on The Electric Speakeasy

Just a quick something about The Electric Speakeasy members...

2009-04-09T06:02:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to post a shout-out to the people on The Fedora Chronicles forum. When I started this I had the intention to create something new and different from anything else that was already out there, I had no idea that it would become this. It's become something more then just Vintage Aficionados and Retrocentrics talking about classic movies, hero costumes, and current events with a historical perspective; it's become a group that cares about each other and uplifts those around us and beyond.

This forum isn't successful just because of me, by no stretch of the imagination. I just came up with the concept of allowing people with similar interests to do their thing while following three simple rules. When you give people the freedom to be themselves and act like responsible adults, they'll surprise you in ways you can't imagine.

These people have done more for me then I could ever do for them. They make me very proud.

My review of "The Changeling."

2009-03-29T14:46:00.000-07:00

Ren's Flicks To Hold You Over: "Changeling" - As much as I respect and admire Christine Collins and her struggle to bring her son back home as well as those who helped her fight to keep her dignity and regain her civil rights, all the while understanding her pain and suffering and the cruelty she endured in her greatest moment of need, I'm debating on whether or not this film really needed to be made... Read More...

The Rant Sheet Group

2009-03-14T10:27:00.001-07:00

After talking with some of the Admin we came up with the idea of making "News And Current Events" and "News And Current Events" only for members of "The Rant Sheet Group". Anyone can join and leave as they wish...

Go to "User Control Panel," and select "User Groups" Or just go to this link...

http://thefedorachronicles.com/forum/ucp.php?i=167

...and then click "Rant Sheet" to participate in "News And Current Events" and "Matters Of Faith And Values."

Registered Members and Guests can still access every other thread - so that people who are only interested in the Retro/Vintage style and Classic Movie aspects of the forum can enjoy them.

If you have any questions or need, please feel free to ask.

Also, as a reminder... registered members who have not ever posted [Zero Count] will be deleted on March 20th at 11:59PM. Please hurry and post if you haven't done so yet!

Keep your chin up and your fedora on!

Three New Articles

2009-01-01T11:23:00.000-08:00

December 31st, 2008 "Dynastic Senatorial Appointments?" by Eric 'Renderking' Fisk, "If you're looking for someone to heap praise on Governor Peterson's choice for US Senator, and gushing over Washington's return to "Camelot," don't read this rant. "There's just so much to discuss here, this one single appointment is so ripe with opportunity for political commentary and satire, it just can't be left alone. I've scrapped everything else I wanted to discuss and do for the rest of 2008 just for this one rant." Read More...

Posted December 20th, 2008: “Good-Bye, Majel,” by Eric 'Renderking' Fisk She and I were on the same page about Trekkies needing to "Get A Life" and take part in making the future depicted in "Star Trek" a reality, rather then passively obsess about it. She just happened to say it better. This very regal, forth-right lady care about the fans, and glowed about those of us who took the message seriously - glowed about those fans who accomplished something as if they were her children or grand-children. Sadly, she died late this past week of pneumonia. She will be missed. Here's why..

December 17th, 2008: “Playing It Safe In The Face Of Disaster?” by Eric 'Renderking' Fisk: "If you are easily offended by harsh language or would like to perpetuate your believe in the Fairy Tale that your local government officials are looking out for you and your best interest and will be there when disaster strikes, skip this rant..." Read More...

“Nackles,” or "Dark Christmas Nostalgia ," by Eric 'Renderking' Fisk. "What's going to happen to all of us? What's going to happen to individual families and the country as a whole? There are troubling news about bail-outs, inappropriate corporate spending, political officials being arrested for corruption, and the clarion call to all us to spend more because sales are down. There's a lot of anger out there. And maybe, just maybe we should postpone Christmas. What's there to celebrate? Why even have Christmas when nobody's really in the mood? Things are pretty dark, aren't they? My response to that is, what better time when times are dark to celebrate a holiday that's supposed to be about Light overcoming Darkness? Let me explain."

The Worst Book Of The Year Award?

2008-11-19T15:01:00.000-08:00

First - this is my final draft of the review of the book "Life As We Knew It" Susan Beth Pfeffer. It needs some editing and graphics. But as far as I'm concerned, I'm done.

Second - I did not know how badly this book effected me until I finished this review and then went back and read some of my posts from the past couple of days. This book is a horrible, disgusting example of political-social pandering and indoctrination to young adults. It's written by a 60 year old woman with the mind of a 14 year old spoiled brat.I'm embarrassed at how this book effected me and how I've acted these past couple of days.

I've read Susan Beth Pfeffer's blog, and she says she doesn't read negative reviews of her books. Personally, I find that to be a bit cowardly, self indulgent and to be honest... childish. Unprofessional? Isolationist, perhaps?

How are you going to know how you're doing, what your short failings are? What are the gaps in your work that you need to fill? How are you going to over-come your weakness if you don't know what they are?

I read a LOT of hate mail. I get just as much as I get fan mail. The hate mail has actually helped me become a better writer. It pushes me to be a better writer and webmaster. I'm open to criticism.

Which is why I want to call out Ms. Pfeffer. Read my review... get back to me. Figure out why your book pissed me off and why I think you ought to be ashamed of yourself. Step up to the plate.

The "Fairness Doctrine"

2008-11-07T07:16:00.000-08:00

“In 2009, Kiss Your Fedora Chronicles Goodbye,” by Eric 'Renderking' Fisk: "..."The Fairness Doctrine" is the same as the FBI or CIA checking with the Library or book stores to see what you're reading... There will be the "Fairness" committee to make sure your speech is "Political Correct." You think this is funny until "they" take a look into what you're saying and they don't like it. The Fairness Doctrine would also tell you what you can't listen to, simply by killing it at it's source. You're either for censorship and "The Fairness Doctrine," or you're for free speech. For Speech to be free, it has to be free for EVERYONE, not determined by some bureaucracy in Berlin after 1932 or Washington after 2008." Read the whole article here...

Maybe it's time to re-examine Tax-Exempt Status for Some Churches...

2008-03-13T10:27:00.000-07:00

Maybe it's time to re-examine Tax-Exempt Status for Some Churches...

Tampa church under Senate microscope...

Panama Tom - Fellow Christian and FC Staff Writer started this discussion. I wrote a lengthy response that you can read for yourself if you're interested.

Because of my personal experiences - and those of others who have left the church - that maybe the Sate Attorney General or District Attorney needs to check into this particular church and maybe others. Maybe some Non-Denominational Church's who don't answer to anyone else beside a Higher Authority and money that was supposed to go towards something never makes it there - I gotta wonder.

Maybe - for the sake of discussion - The United States and other countries should re-think it's cart-blanc approach to Tax-Exemption Status.

Your Thoughts?

Next Installment of "Dishwasher Confidential" is up...

2008-03-06T07:46:00.000-08:00

Next Installment of "Dishwasher Confidential" is up...

Sunday night, my wife and I got a dose of food poisoning. We got it from a restaurant that some of our friends really like, and it was our first visit and I'm hesitant to share the name with everyone where I got it until The Health Department checks this place out. If nothing happens and the Health Department doesn't do anything, or something really bad happens and is Gossip worthy - I'll print the name.

I really liked this place, and now that I'm feeling better I'm actually considering going back and giving them another try. But never again will I order Pork or Fish on a Sunday night...

So, I wrote for you folks the next installment of the very popular "Dishwasher Confidential" - Inspired by Kitchen Confidential written by Anthony Bourdain. Please check Mr. Bourdain's book? And then get another cook-book and learn to make quality food in your own house, please?

While I was recovering from this recent bout of Food Poisoning, I was reminded of the first time I was inflicted, and it was while I was working in a dirty "up-scale" restaurant that was the only big game in a college town. There were two brushes with a horrible disease, once in the summer of 1991 when an outbreak of Hepatitis leapt from one restaurant to the one where I worked, and then in the winter of 1992 where some of us ate at the same places at the same time, and it wasn't clear which of the two establishments gave it to us...

You would think that the owner of the restaurant would have known better and gotten the hint, but there were events that occur later in this narrative that proves that dodging the bullet twice made this guy was invincible and above the health code.

As I was writing this installment, and checking back with the journal I kept back then, memories came back. I wrote more and more about that period in my life and I felt like I reclaimed some of my soul. For years I had bitterness towards the owner of "The Valdez Fields" - but the thought occurred to me that I'm now at a better place then he is and no doubt he's forgotten me. That's hard to imagine, but it's been more then 15 years since I last visited that place to say my final good byes...

The point of all this is to warn you people off: Don't read Dishwasher Confedential: Food Poisoning if you're easily offended or grossed out. It's also not what you might expect from a website called "The Fedora Chronicles," it doesn't have much about Classic Movies or Vintage Style. It just might help you folks to know that it was around that time that I discovered Turner Classic Movies back then, and many of the classics that I still love today was seen back then for the first time.

This is just another story about a fedora aficionado in his early 20's discovering that the world is more of a Film Noir and Physiological Drama then an action-adventure.This about one young man's the fight with his wallet and conscience over the possession of his own soul, with some horror and adolescent gross-out humor mixed in.

Skim "Dishwasher Confidential: New Year's Special." and then move on to Dishwasher Confedential: Food Poisoning. If you dare.

Nostalgia for VHS and Blu-Ray's Effect on Classic Films?

2008-02-29T11:34:00.000-08:00

Nostalgia for VHS and Blu-Ray's Effect on Classic Films?

Have Movie Fans Come A long Way in 10 Years?

"Will more classic movies be available in the new Blu-Ray format? There are some classics like "The African Queen" that haven't released on DVD format. With each new format, fewer classics are released as form of cinematic entropy. That bothers me a lot. These issues have created a "Catch-22" for Classic Movie Fans and Studios alike.

Out side of my site and the rest of the Retroverse, will there even be a demand when some of these movies reach the century mark in a few short decades? I'm screaming Chicken Little when there might be Blu-Ray Skies on our horizon and there will always be demand for these films since the special effects were in the scripts with dialog and plots that were original back then and can't be beat today, (with rare exception,) and Blu-Ray might offer ALL of the Bogart films from Warner Brothers on ONE disk... even some that haven't been released on DVD yet."

Please Let Me Know What You Think...

I'm a sudden convert to Facebook.

2008-02-06T05:08:00.000-08:00

Over the past 10 years I've gathered a few dozen (maybe a hundred) of e-mails from people all across the world who are fellow Retrocentrics or just fans of Indiana Jones (or his wardrobe... which is fine.)

I've done my best to keep up with these people the best way I can by sending them quick e-mails: "Hey, it's Ren... how are you doing?" And I would get an occasional response, other times I wouldn't. That's OK, nothing personal, I know you're all busy.

I sent them invites to some of them to join our forum, with some good results. Hey, one convert is a success.

One of the members of The Fedora Chronicles Speakeasy asked if The FC has a Facebook page. Zoo Station is one of the 6 people over the past few months who have tried to convince me to join, and it took 6 people to convince me to take the plunge.

Why did it take so long? Because of my experience with MySpace.

I don't have anything against the makers of MySpace, nor do I have a problem with the people who use it regularly. Heck, I've even used it to contact many Retro's and gotten to know them quite well, and some of the pages that exist now wouldn't exist with out MySpace.

But, working with MySpace is a chore. The Fedora Chronicles is based in one of the last few remaining "Dial-Up" strong-holds, meaning I don't have High Speed. There are somethings that take too long to down-load, so I skip them.

There's also something about the way MySpace works that just makes it difficult. I'm not you're average Bob Dole who feels challenged and frightened by new ideas. [I treasure my Visual QuickStart books for HTML by Elizabeth Castro, both the 5th and 6th Editions and I love skimming the pages for some light reading...) I'm no dummy, if given the time I can figure anything out. But there's something about MySpace that just jive well.

I get on Facebook, and I set up two accounts pretty fast, both of them together with-in 5 minutes. A profile for myself, and one for the group. I got more done on Facebook, contacted more people and made new friends in a day then I did on my first week on MySpace.

There's something about Facebook that just works. I also think that since Facebook lack of huge ads [that MySpace has been using with increasing annoyance.] Makes it easier to use for anyone on Dial-Up or High Speed.

I have lots of gratitude for Facebook for helping me reconnect with old friends like Henri Defense.
I'm looking forward to getting reacquainted with many old friends, and getting to know new ones and I'm wondering what took me so long to join Facebook.

22nd Amendment and Hillary Clinton

2008-01-28T14:38:00.001-08:00

I'm working on this rant about what happened in Politics this weekend with Hillary Clinton's sever loss in South Carolina. One of the themes I'm working on was how her campaign is a violation of both the spirit and the letter of the law - meaning the Twenty Second Amendment of I came across this entry in "Science Avenger." The 22nd Amendment and Hillary Clinton No, really - go read that. If you don't read the article I'm working on now, read what "Science Avenger" posted in that blog entry.

I've been saying something to that effect on The Fedora Chronicles for a long time now. But I've also taken a different approach, too.First, on the point of the 22nd Amendment, Bill Clinton told the country that we should vote for him because we get a "Two For One" since Hillary is more then qualified to be President, and she was running with him as "Co-President."

An unelected, unaccountable woman was running the White House for and with Bill Clinton according to many different accounts, most notably the volumes of material written by Dick Morris (Collected in his Tome "Rewriting History") and she WAS the Co-President by all accounts, and many of their supporters such as Jim Carval beamed with PRIDE at how Hillary was the CO-PRESIDENT. By their past words and deeds, she's ineligible to be the President.
Worst of all (can there be a 'worst' in all this? You bet!) is the notion of Dynasty.Stop and think of this: If Hillary wins this coming election, then that'll mean that the same two groups of people have alternated the White House since 1992. It's been Bush/Clinton/Bush/Clinton for 24 years after her first term, 28 after her second if she's re-elected.

If you count the years when George Sr. was vice President during the Reagan years starting in 1980, that'll mean after Hillary's first term, A Bush or Clinton has been in "The White House" for 32 years after her first term, 36 years after her second.So, Hillary supporters are calling for "Change?"

How is THAT change? You know that most of the same people Bill used in his Cabinet will show up in some capacity in Hillary's. Can you convince me otherwise?

Curse Of The Crystal Skull.

2007-12-31T09:34:00.000-08:00

A good friend of mine elsewhere said that 2008 is going to be "The Year Of Indy." I don't mean to be rude, but I'm sure he's wrong. 2008 is going to be The Year Of The Rat!

I'm looking forward to everything this year has to offer Indyfans, but The Curse Of The Crystal Skull will show it's ugly head (literally and figuratively) in the form of Frito-Lays chip bags, Hallmark, Burger King, Dr. Pepper, Breakfast Cereal... the over-saturation will make this hobby cool in the mainstream for about a weekend, and then there will be a back lash.

I was on the phone yesterday with a fellow Retro head (I'll let him reveal himself) and he brought up Marshall McLuhan and his ""The Medium is the Message" series of articles and books. Mr. McLuhan warned about how modern society is being molded, shaped and manipulated into becoming homogenized, "Be an individual like everyone else and buy this that and everything else so you can get the girl/boy." Never mind that those products are ruining the planet when we pull the materials from the Earth and then put it back in landfills, cause cancer diabetes and obesity and the girl or boy isn't worth having in the first place.

My fear is that many of us are going to play into the hands of Madison Ave and make some very rich people even richer buy buying some junk with the "Curse Of The Crystal Skull" poster incorporated into it's label. What does Doritos have to do with The Spirit of Adventure? What does "The Whopper" have to do Rugged Individualism? What does Dr. Pepper have to do with going out there and doing something that's your own?

We're going to buy this junk because of a picture of fedora, the SF Fedora Font, or a glass bone... stuff that we wouldn't use or consume before. Man, we're a bunch of saps! McLuhan was right. And I never thought I would see what he warned about happen to us.

I also think it's atrocious that some of us are going to be excited that "Curse Of The Crystal Skull" is going to be on every product during the "Trekkification" or "NASCARification" of our own macrocosm after the Lucas Sharks (Lawyer Mafia) send C&D Letters to the vendors that make and sell the products that helped us keep the hope of this movie being made alive.

I am embarrassed.

Feel free to debate this issue on The Fedora Chronicles Speakeasy here...

The Fedora Chronicles Radio Show: February 10th, 2007

2007-02-10T11:19:00.000-08:00

The Fedora Chronicles Radio Show: February 10th, 2007

This week on The Fedora Chronicles Radio show, I tackle Sports fans and the Super Bowl, Media’s obsession with scandal, with George Orwell’s 1984 and The Two Minute Hate.

2007-01-27T12:13:00.000-08:00

As a public service to Fedora Chronicles Readers, I want to warn you folks about a con-artist would-be hat vendor, and asks for names and links of other vendors who deserve our attention.

Bad Hatter! Watch Out

The issue of a bad vendor has sprung up on another forum. To keep the flame war to a minimum, I will not post a link to that forum or thread. (But, if you wanted to rant about this, you're free to do so on MY Forum…) Since this issue keeps popping up and I have to defend the honest vendors, I have to say something here...

On all the other forums I've visited and posted on, all the other hatters are very civil to each other. Sure, there have been a few disagreements and heated words sent back and forth on other forums, but I'm willing to wager that 99%the discourse between them is civil and respectful. Some go so far as sending potential customers to another hatter when the customer is looking for something in particular and the hatter they speak with doesn't specialize in that style.

Here's an example: Steve Delk has sent customers to Art Fawcett when someone is looking for a "1940's" style fedora, Art Fawcett has sent customers to Steven when that person he encounters who are looking for a Raiders Lid or the 1930's style. This also applies to other hatters – some other hatters will have links to other vendors, hoping that if the vendors help each other, then the craft will survive. They're a close-nit community that looks out for each other. With the exception of one in particular.

No other vendor has done more to alienate customers and the Vintage Threads Community. This vendor is an utter joke to most hatters, a literal violent threat and a menace to others.

To read the rest of this rant - Please go Here.

2007-01-15T10:32:00.000-08:00

Remembering Humphrey Bogart...

With everything that’s been going on, we forgot to mention that yesterday (January 14th 2006) was the 50th Anniversary of Humphrey Bogart’s death.

We would like to commemorate this event by inviting you to share with us your own “Bogart Memories” here on our forum. When did you first discover Humphrey Bogart’s work and what does the memory of him mean to you?

You can join the conversation by going to this thread...

Or, if you want to start another thread that focus's on a different aspect of his life such as his costumes, one specific movie or his relationships such as his marriage to Lauren Bacall, feel free to start your own...

The on-going debate about why Star Trek Fans suck...

2007-01-09T10:52:00.000-08:00

The on-going debate about why Star Trek Fans suck...

One of the reasons why I’m down on most Trekkies is for the simple reason that they care more about the fictional world of Space Travel that occurs on the Paramount Lot then you do about the real world of Space Travel that starts on The Launch Pad in Florida or at Star City in Russia. Trekkies SAY they care about Star Trek because they’re fans of Space Exploration, but the vast majority of Trekkies are in it just for the Costumes, FX, Ships and MAYBE the stories and character development. That might be a bold statement, and one that’s pretty inflammatory. But it’s true. I offer up as evidence all the Star Trek forums as evidence. Why? Because in general – people write, talk and obsess about what the love or think about the most.

In the past few weeks there are NO topics about the Space Program anywhere to be found here. NONE. And, there’s been a lot to talk about such as the recent Space Shuttle mission to the ISS and the upgrade to that station that just went on. There’s more talk about “what’s your favorite Voyager” episode then there was about that. There’s no evidence here or on the other Trek forums that you folks care as much about NASA or ESA as you do about the fictional Starfleet.

Their own posts on their own forums prove that – against – since people write, talk and obsess about what the love or think about the most. In the past few months there have been a lot of talk about new discoveries made in the search of Dark Matter. Where are the threads here?

There is also astronomical evidence that Anti-Gravity might actually exist… nothing on the Trek forums exist on these subjects. Nothing of the same substance (if I can even use that word) or passion about THOSE subjects that’s been given to the make-believe whoop-tee-doo. The notion that Trekkies are so into the “Vision of The Future and Peaceful exploration of Space” is really a load of crap, based on the observations that I’ve made on other sites such as TrekWeb, Trek Core… but Trek United actually has a large number of people posting about the Space Program and Astronomical discoveries… so I actually want to give them credit in that regard.

You would be hard pressed to debate the other side and try and prove that my observations are incorrect.

Think I'm wrong? Come on over to The Fedora Chronicles Forum and prove it...

Help Wanted - Classic Movie Fans

2006-12-27T09:46:00.000-08:00

Help Wanted - Classic Movie Fans

I'm putting out the call now for people who love Vintage And Classic movies who also love to write and have a passion for New Releases of The Greatest Movies ever made in the history of Man Kind!

After January 1st, 2001 I'll be revamping the Hollywood Main Page so that it will have links to all the other work that people have done in the past for The Fedora Chronicles, as well as links to RSS Feeds and other news sites. I'm looking for people now to get started and have something new to reveal after The First Of The Year and to post their favorite news items on The Forum...

If you find yourself spending a lot of your waking hours writing about classic films and would like to have a home for your work, if you're always on the look out for new releases, and if you care about the subject matter a lot and would like to write articles about the state of cinema today compared to The Golden Era - contact me at info@thefedorachronicles.com

Thanks, and I hope to hear from you soon.

What’s on your holiday wish list?

2006-12-23T10:04:00.000-08:00

On The Fedora Chronicles Forum, we have a new topic asking "What Retro/Vintage items is on YOUR holiday wish list?" What do you hope will be under the tree for you this year?

Christmas Wish List - Retro Style

I thought this would be a great topic since it might give someone an idea of what to get a Retro-centric or Vintage Aficionado on their shopping list.

Drop by and share your ideas and wishes!

And if we don’t see you there, The Fedora Chronicles staff and I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas.

Still hammering away... Dispite distractions.

2006-12-22T05:43:00.000-08:00

Almost 2007 Already? Where did the Time Go?

Sometimes in the best interest of everyone - including yourself - the best answer to give is "no." That's the hardest thing to say and knowing when to say it is the hardest lesson to learn...

Currently I'm hammering a way at something new on The Main Page of The Fedora Chronicles. Well - I was hammering away at ONE thing - but it's evolved into two separate things. Yes - they are somehow related (as everything on The FC should be...) and this is becoming more complex then I had originally thought. I'm running out of time to get these things done, but I've learned a pretty valuable lesson and made some great friends in the past 365 days.

I've been working on these projects for some time now, but I've put the thought in my head that this HAS to get done by January 1st, 2007 or else. Self mandated deadline since I've been pulled out of "work mode" for too long by other people in an effort to get me to help them on sites that have nothing to do with The FC. At least you're getting a rant out of this...

This rant isn't for the faint of heart. It's not pretty, it's messy and complicated. If I sound bitter through all of this, not to worry. I'll spoil the end to ease your minds - I still have nine days to get everything done with a new, rededicated spirit... Click here to read the rest of this rant...