Happy New Year From Poe Forward!

Happy Holidays at Hollywood Forever Cemetery

Apollo 11 Moon Landing 1969

The Apollo 11 space flight landed the first humans on Earth's Moon on July 20, 1969. The mission, carried out by the United States, is considered a major accomplishment in human exploration and represented a victory by the U.S. in the Cold War Space Race with the Soviet Union.

Launched from Florida on July 16, the third lunar mission of NASA's Apollo Program (and the first G-type mission) was crewed by Commander Neil Alden Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins, and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin Eugene "Buzz" Aldrin, Jr. On July 20, Armstrong and Aldrin landed in the Sea of Tranquility and became the first humans to walk on the Moon. Their landing craft, Eagle, spent 21 hours and 31 minutes on the lunar surface while Collins orbited above in the command ship, Columbia. The three astronauts returned to Earth with 47.5 pounds (21.55 kilograms) of lunar rocks and landed in the Pacific Ocean on July 24.

Apollo 11 fulfilled U.S. President John F. Kennedy's goal of reaching the moon before the Soviets by the end of the 1960s, which he had expressed during a 1961 speech before the United States Congress: "I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth."

Five additional Apollo missions landed on the Moon from 1969–1972.

Deathday: Louis Daguerre 1787-1851 Inventor of Daguerreotype Photography

Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre (November 18, 1787 – July 10, 1851) was a French artist and chemist, recognized for his invention of the daguerreotype process of photography.

Development of the Daguerreotype

"Boulevard du Temple", taken by Daguerre in late 1838 or early 1839 in Paris, was the first photograph of a person. The image shows a street, but because exposure time was over ten minutes, the traffic was moving too much to appear. The exception is the man at the bottom left, who stood still getting his boots polished long enough to show. The first permanent photograph was made in 1826 by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce, building on a discovery by Johann Heinrich Schultz (1724): a silver and chalk mixture darkens under exposure to light. Niépce and Daguerre refined this process. Daguerre first exposed silver-coated copper plates to iodine, obtaining silver iodide. Then he exposed them to light for several minutes. Then he coated the plate with mercury vapor heated to 75° Celsius, to amalgamate the mercury with the silver, finally fixing the image in salt water. These ideas led to the famous Daguerreotype.

The resultant plate produced an exact reproduction of the scene. The image was laterally reversed -- as images in mirrors are -- unless a second mirror was used during exposure to flip the image. The image could only be viewed at an angle and needed protection from the air and fingerprints so was encased in a glass-fronted box.

Some ambrotypes were passed off as Daguerreotypes by being placed in these type of boxes. But the process was cheaper involving a weakly-developed glass card or paper to appear as a positive. Tintypes also were "boxed" as Daguerrotypes.

Daguerreotypes were usually portraits; the rarer views are much sought-after and are more expensive. The portrait process took several minutes and required the subjects to remain stock still. Samuel Morse was astonished to learn that Daguerrotypes of streets of Paris did not show any humans, until he realized that due to the long exposure times all moving objects became invisible. The time was later reduced with the "faster" lenses such as the Petzval's portrait lens, the first mathematically calculated lens.

In 1849, Daguerreotype images photographed by the famous Russian Photographer Sergei Lvovich Levitsky (1819-1898) while on a mission to the Caucasus in 1843, were exhbited by the famous Parisian optician Chevalier at the Paris Exposition of the Second Republic as an advertisement of their lenses. Levitsky's use of the Chevalier lens which used two cemented double lenses improved the camera's focusing ability, thus reducing the time needed to capture an image for portraiture and landscape photography. Levitsky's Dageurreotypes would receive the Exposition's gold medal; the first time a prize of its kind had ever been awarded to a photograph.

The Daguerreotype was the Polaroid of the day, producing a single image which was not reproducible (unlike the Talbot process). Despite this drawback, millions of Daguerreotypes were produced. By 1851, the year of Daguerre's death, the Fox Talbot negative process was refined by the development of the wet collodion process, whereby a glass negative enabled a limitless number of sharp prints to be made. These developments made the Daguerreotype redundant and the process very soon disappeared.

Deathday: Director Stanley Kubrick 1928-1999 RIP

 

Stanley Kubrick (July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American director, writer, producer, and photographer of films, who lived in England during most of the last 40 years of his career. Kubrick was noted for the scrupulous care with which he chose his subjects, his slow method of working, the variety of genres he worked in, his technical perfectionism and his reclusiveness about his films and personal life. He worked far beyond the confines of the Hollywood system, maintaining almost complete artistic control and making movies according to the whims and time constraints of no one but himself, but with the rare advantage of big-studio financial support for all his endeavors. Nominated several times for Oscars for both writing and directing, his only personal win was for the special effects in 2001: A Space Odyssey, though his films have won many Oscars and other awards in other categories.

Kubrick is widely acknowledged as one of the most accomplished, innovative and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema. He directed a number of highly acclaimed and often controversial films that have often been perceived as a reflection of his obsessive and perfectionist nature. His films are characterized by a formal visual style and meticulous attention to detail – often with elements of surrealism and expressionism eschewing structured linear narrative. While often viewed as expressing an ironic pessimism, a few critics feel his films contain a cautious optimism when viewed more carefully. His works are noted as some of the "most original, provocative, and visionary motion pictures ever made."

In 1999—four days after screening a final cut of Eyes Wide Shut for his family, Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, and Warner Brothers executives—70-year-old Kubrick died of a heart attack in his sleep. He was buried next to his favorite tree in Childwickbury Manor, Hertfordshire, England, U.K.

Filmography

Fear and Desire (1953)
Killer's Kiss (1955)
The Killing (1956)
Paths of Glory (1957)
Spartacus (1960)
Lolita (1962)
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
A Clockwork Orange (1968)
Barry Lyndon (1975)
The Shining (1980)
Full Metal Jacket (1987)
Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

 

Brittany Murphy for Jordache Jeans

In 2005, Brittany Murphy signed as the spokesmodel for Jordache jeans.

Jordache Enterprises, Inc. is a clothing company that manufactures (or contracts for the manufacture of) apparel including shirts, jeans, and outerwear.[1] The brand is known for its designer jeans that were popular in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

History

Jordache originated in 1969, when brothers Joe, Ralph, and Avi Nakash (Naccache) opened a store in New York City that sold brand-name jeans at a discount.[1] Within a few years, their business had expanded to a four-store chain.[1] In 1977, however, the brothers' largest store was looted and set ablaze during the New York City blackout of 1977.[1] When they collected $120,000 on their insurance policy, they incorporated their business (in 1978) and entered the jeans manufacturing business.[1] They had long been interested in the European denim market, where jeans were more body-conscious and fashion-forward.[1]

The Nakashes' timing was right. At this moment, consumers tastes in jeans were shifting from established brands like Levi's to designer jeans like Gloria Vanderbilt and Calvin Klein.[1] Jordache jeans themselves, however, were barely distinguishable from other designer jeans on the market.[1] To set their brand apart, the brothers plowed one quarter of their annual sales volume ($300,000 of their own money and $250,000 in loans) into an aggressive 1979 ad campaign.[1] Jordache produced a television commercial starring an apparently topless woman in tight Jordache jeans riding a horse through the surf.[1][2] The ad was rejected by all three major television networks, but independent New York stations aired it, and Jordache surged to popularity.[1][2] One million dollars more was spent on advertising after this, including full-color ads in national magazines.[1] One promotional gimmick that did not work out was the Jordache blimp, a poorly-designed airship which crashed on October 8, 1980 at Lakehurst, New Jersey on its maiden flight, en route to a promotional gala.[3]

In the 1980s, the company expanded its reach with expansive licensing that generated up to $300 million/year in wholesale volume.[1] In 1989, the company had 100 licensees, manufacturing products as varied as children's socks, women's outerwear, jewelry, dresses, luggage, and umbrellas.[1]

In the 1990s, this strategy appeared to have backfired, and Jordache products slid in popularity. The company's jeans "lost their cachet, appealing mainly to inner-city youths and blue-collar workers and typically selling at discount stores."[1] When Jordache designer diapers were manufactured by a licensee in 1994, they "seemed to symbolize Jordache's descent in the marketplace to mass-merchandise stores and discount outlets."[1]

Jordache today

Although Jordache's popularity had declined in the late 1990s, it continues to manufacture jeans—among other clothing and brands. In 2004, Jordache Enterprises launched the premier Jordache Vintage line to commemorate its 25th anniversary.[4]

Today, the company designs and manufactures a wide variety of denim, apparel and accessories, some distributed internationally. The brands owned by Jordache Enterprises include Jordache, Earl Jeans, U.S. Polo Association, KIKIT Jeans, Maurice Sasson, Fubu Ladies, Airport, Blue Star, and Gasoline.[5] Jordache Enterprises also manufactures private label denim for well-known companies, including Gap, Tommy Hilfiger, Levi's, and Abercrombie & Fitch, among others.

Through the initial proceeds from the Jordache label, the Nakash brothers have expanded their interest into real estate, aviation, high-tech (cryptography), maritime ventures, and food.[6]

Spokesmodels for Jordache have included Brittany Murphy, Elizabeth Hurley and the current spokesmodel, Heidi Klum.[7]

References

1.^ "Jordache Enterprises, Inc." International Directory of Company Histories, vol. 23. Saint James Press, 1998.
2.^ Topless Jeans Make the Scene - TIME
3.^ Associated Press, "Blimp Crashes Near Zeppelin Crash Site", Anderson Independent, Anderson, South Carolina, Thursday, October 9, 1980, page 4A
4.^ WireImage: Listings
5.^ Jordache Enterprises
6.^ Jordache Enterprises
7.^ Liz Hurley Named the New Face of Jordache Jeans

-- wiki

Celebrity Grave: Lana Clarkson, Actress & Murder Victim

Clarkson's private funeral service was held on February 19, 2003 in Los Angeles, California. Her remains had been cremated and interred at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, in the Columbarium Rotunda attached to the Chapel in Hollywood. On February 23, 2003, her family and friends attended a memorial in her honor which was held at Henry Fonda Music Box Theatre in Hollywood, California.

-- wikiLana Jean Clarkson (April 5, 1962 – February 3, 2003) was an American actress and fashion model. Clarkson was a native of Los Angeles County. On April 13, 2009, songwriter and producer Phil Spector was convicted of second degree murder in relation to her death.

Early life

Born in Long Beach, California to Donna and James M. Clarkson, Lana Clarkson was raised in the hills of Napa Valley, California. She had a brother, Jesse J. Clarkson, and a sister Fawn. While living in Northern California, she attended Cloverdale High School and also Pacific Union College Preparatory School. During the Christmas season of 1978 and after her father's death, Clarkson's family moved back to Southern California and settled down in the Los Angeles region of San Fernando Valley. Right after Clarksons's family moved back to Los Angeles County, Lana pursued a career in entertainment industry as a performer and fashion model.

In the early 1980s, Clarkson landed bit parts in film and television. In 1982, she made her screen debut as a supporting character in director Cameron Crowe's coming-of-age comedy Fast Times at Ridgemont High, as the wife of science teacher Mr. Vargas (Vincent Schiavelli). The film was her first speaking role.

Career

Clarkson's best known films may be her work with Roger Corman, appearing first in his fantasy film Deathstalker, as a female warrior/love interest to the title character played by Richard Hill. Corman oriented his films towards young male viewers, using a mix of action and female nudity. Clarkson's work in Deathstalker led to her being offered the title role in Corman's next film, Barbarian Queen, a role Corman referred to as "the original Xena" because of the parallel in featuring a strong female leading character in an action-oriented sword-swinging role.[citation needed] The film gained cult status, in part due to an infamous scene where Clarkson is bound topless to a torture rack, interrogated, and raped by an evil king.

In 1987, Clarkson appeared in the John Landis spoof Amazon Women on the Moon. Following that, Clarkson starred in Roger Corman's Barbarian Queen sequel, Barbarian Queen II: The Empress Strikes Back, though the plots and characters bore no resemblance to the other film. Filmed in Mexico, the movie featured mud-wrestling Amazon women, magic sceptres, and (like its predecessor) a lengthy scene where Clarkson is tortured topless on a stretching rack by an evil king. Clarkson received star billing in the film which went directly to video. Although sales of the video were low, Corman did manage to turn a profit.

In 1990, she starred as a supporting character in the period horror film Haunting of Morella as the evil attendant to a young woman played by model/actress Nicole Eggert. In the film, Clarkson played a dominating lesbian character who tries to resurrect the spirit of a witch burned at the stake during the Salem witch trials.

Clarkson's work in the B movie sci-fi genre inspired a cult following, making her a favorite at comic book conventions, where she made some promotional appearances signing autographs for her fans.

She appeared in numerous other B movies as well as a range of television spots and appearing in commercials for Mercedes-Benz, Kmart, Nike, Mattel, and Anheuser-Busch. Her television appearances include parts on Night Court, Silk Stalkings, Riptide, Three's Company, Knight Rider and Wings, and a guest appearance as a villain on the television adaptation of Roger Corman's film Black Scorpion in what would be her final role.

During her career, Clarkson traveled around the United States and Europe while working on high fashion photo shoots. Other projects took her to Japan, Greece, Argentina, Italy, Switzerland, France, Jamaica and Mexico.

In 1980's she volunteered weekly at the AIDS charity Project Angel Food which delivers food for those in Los Angeles disabled by HIV or AIDS, at a time when the disease was greatly feared by the general public.

As she approached her thirties, Clarkson's career began to stall. No longer able to earn a living as an actress, Clarkson sought alternate routes of income, including operating her own website on which she sold autographed DVDs of her films and communicated directly with her fans on her own message board. Although she made a living by playing busty, lusty women, Lana's fondest desire was to be cast as a comic actress.

In 2001, while living on the canals in Venice, California for the last several years, Clarkson developed, wrote, produced, and directed a showcase reel entitled Lana Unleashed. To make ends meet, she took a side part-time job in early January 2003 at the House of Blues, in West Hollywood, California.

Death

On February 2, 2003, Clarkson met music producer Phil Spector at the West Hollywood House of Blues night club, while working as a hostess at VIP Foundation room. After her shift ended, Lana was invited by Spector to join him for a drink. Soon after midnight they left House of Blues and headed in his limo to his home in Alhambra, California.

In the early morning hours of February 3, 2003 Clarkson was found dead by a single gunshot to her mouth in a foyer of Spector's mansion "Pyrenees Castle" in Alhambra, California. She was pronounced dead at the scene at 6:25 that morning. The Alhambra Police Department responded to a shooting call shortly after 5:02 am and Phil Spector was arrested and taken into custody on suspicion of murder. Later that day he was released on $1 million bond. Spector claimed that Lana Clarkson committed suicide, however his driver and butler Adriano DeSousa stated that before police arrived, Spector declared that he thought he had just killed somebody. The Los Angeles County medical examiner Dr. Luis Pena who performed Clarkson's autopsy right after she died, ruled her death a homicide in his autopsy report. On November 20, 2003 Phil Spector was indicted for Lana Clarkson's murder, and on September 27, 2004 he was ordered to stand trial in Los Angeles.

During the subsequent trials, witnesses testified that Spector was prone to violence when drunk, and had drawn a firearm numerous times in their presence.

Clarkson's private funeral service was held on February 19, 2003 in Los Angeles, California. Her remains had been cremated and interred at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, in the Columbarium Rotunda attached to the Chapel in Hollywood. On February 23, 2003, her family and friends attended a memorial in her honor which was held at Henry Fonda Music Box Theatre in Hollywood, California.

On April 13, 2009, after two trials, Phil Spector was convicted of second degree murder at Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Los Angeles, California. Spector was sentenced to 19 years to life (15 years for second degree murder plus 4 years for the use of a firearm in the commission of a crime) on May 29, 2009 making him eligible for parole in 2028.

-- wiki
West Hollywood House of Blues - Where Phil Met Lana
On February 2, 2003, Clarkson met music producer Phil Spector at the West Hollywood House of Blues, while working as a hostess at VIP Foundation room. After her shift ended, Lana was invited by Spector to go home with him for a drink. Soon after midnight they left House of Blues and headed in his limo to his home in Alhambra, California.

-- wikiPhil Spector's Castle of Blood
In the early morning hours of February 3, 2003 Clarkson was found dead by a single gunshot to her mouth in a foyer of Spector's mansion "Pyrenees Castle" in Alhambra, California. She was pronounced dead at 6:25 am. The Alhambra Police Department received the call shortly after 5:02 am and Mr. Spector was arrested on suspicion of murder. Later that day he was released on $1 million bail. Spector claimed that Lana Clarkson committed suicide, however his driver and butler Adriano DeSousa stated that before police arrived, Spector declared that he thought he had just killed somebody. The Los Angeles County medical examiner Dr. Luis Pena who performed Clarkson's autopsy, ruled her death a homicide. On November 20, 2003 Phil Spector was indicted for Lana Clarkson's murder, and on September 27, 2004 he was ordered to stand trial in Los Angeles. On April 13, 2009, Phil Spector was convicted of second degree murder at Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Los Angeles, California. Spector was sentenced to 19 years to life (15 years for second degree murder plus 4 years for the use of a firearm in the commission of a crime) on May 29, 2009 making him eligible for parole in 2028.
-- wiki Lana Clarkson Lived on the Venice Grand Canal Actress Lana Clarkson enjoyed living the dream, even when times got tough. She lived in an apartment on the Grand Canal in Venice just off Washington Boulevard. Her career suffered, but she still looked good. She still had a shot a greatness. She took a job working at the House of Blues on the Sunset Strip, hoping to make some new connections that could help her career. Then, one night she went home with Phil Spector and you know the rest.

-- LAKompany.com

Superhero Megan Fox?

 

 

Megan Fox is Bisexual?

In September 2008, Megan Fox alluded to being bisexual; in an interview with GQ magazine, she said that when she was 18 years old she fell in love with and sought to establish a relationship with a female stripper. She used this experience to illustrate her belief that "all humans are born with the ability to be attracted to both sexes" and additionally showed interest in Olivia Wilde and Jenna Jameson.

In May 2009, she confirmed her bisexuality. In the June 2009 issue of ELLE, however, she stated that she somewhat distorted the events of her relationship with the stripper, saying she has given certain male writers "an amped-up version" of her past. "They’re boys; they’re easily toyed with," she said. "I tell stories and have them eating out of my hand. Not all of it is true. In fact, most of it is bullshit." Fox said, "I never said she was my girlfriend! I just said that I loved her, and I did love her. The real story is more sobering. It’s not a sexy, fun-time, fantasy story. But that’s not the story you tell GQ."

-- wiki

Jennifer Lyn Jackson 1969-2010 RIP

 

Jennifer Lyn Jackson (March 21, 1969 – January 22, 2010) of Cleveland, Ohio, was Playboy magazine's Playmate of the Month for April 1989. She was also one of three finalists for the magazine's 35th Anniversary pictorial. Outtakes from her Playmate pictorial, which was shot by Arny Freytag, appeared in Playboy Special Editions several times following her centerfold appearance. Jackson graduated from North Olmsted High School in 1986 and went on to study business and finance at Kent State University. On January 22, 2010, she was found dead by her husband, James Thompson, in her home in Westlake, Ohio, of an apparent drug overdose.

-- wiki

 

Juliet Anderson 1938-2010 RIP

 

Juliet Anderson (born Judith Carr), also known as Aunt Peg, (July 23, 1938 – January 11, 2010) was an American pornographic actress and adult movie producer, relationship counselor and author. Entering the adult movie business relatively late in life (at age 39), she quickly built a reputation as one of the premier performers in the so-called "golden age of porn," appearing in over seventy films—often as "Aunt Peg," a role portrayed as a giddy, insatiable woman determined to enjoy life and sex to the maximum extent possible. In 1984, she started a new career as a relationship counselor and massage therapist, before returning to adult entertainment in the mid 1990s.

Early life

Judith Carr was born and grew up in Burbank, California, the daughter of a jazz trumpet player and an aspiring actress. She was afflicted with Crohn's disease and spent a sizable portion of her youth in the hospital or on bedrest. Graduating from Burbank High School in 1959 (where she was a straight-A student), she briefly attended Long Beach State College as an art major before relocating to Hayama, Japan with her then lover, a Navy sailor. A brief marriage to him did not work out, and Juliet spent the next eighteen years in various occupations, including teaching English to foreign students in Japan, Mexico, Greece and Finland. While teaching in Finland, she also worked as a radio producer. In 1963, while living in Miami, Anderson was secretary to a producer of "nudie" movies and a receptionist at the Burger King home office; she also worked for Avis during this period. In her website autobiography, she indicates that she appeared in an (unnamed) sexploitation film in 1963, portraying a police sergeant.

During this time, Anderson was known by her birthname of Judith Carr. She did not begin using the moniker "Juliet Anderson" until later in her adult film career, when she made the transition from 8mm productions to feature films. She has also used the stage names of Alice Rigby, Judy Callin, Ruby Sapphire, Judy Carr, Aunt Peg, Judy Fallbrook, and Judith Anderson.

Adult movie career

After a further period overseas, Anderson returned to the United States during the early 1970s, and became involved in the pornography business while a student at San Francisco State University. She was working in advertising when she answered an ad by hardcore pornography producer Alex d’Renzy, who was looking for an actress. Cast in the movie Pretty Peaches, Juliet's career quickly took off from there. She acquired the name of "Aunt Peg" during a movie where she was portrayed as having sex with a niece, who cried out: "Oh, Aunt Peg!"; thus arose the moniker by which Anderson is best known to her fans. She appeared in several pornographic magazine pictorials during this timeframe, made appearances on radio and television, and operated a mail-order business, casting agency and a phone-sex service. She also performed in stage shows across the United States, combining comedy and sex in her performances. Anderson later indicated that these stage exhibitions were the "most gratifying" portion of her adult career.

Although Anderson portrayed many characters during her movie career, all tended to be tough-talking and unsentimental, yet rambunctious, vibrant and even comedic—all at the same time. She was said never to have faked an orgasm in any of her film. Author Charles Taylor wrote that she "brought a persona of classic movie-broad to porn," referring to her as "the Joan Blondell of porn." Another critic, Howard Hampton, opined that "her tough, no-nonsense older woman routine would be at home in the margins of any Howard Hawks movie."

Leaving and returning

In 1984, Anderson chose to leave the adult film business due to differences between herself and producers regarding the editing of Educating Nina, a video she directed starring Nina Hartley. She moved to northern California, where she ran a bed and breakfast for a time and opened a massage therapy office. Anderson chose to return to pornography in 1995, making new movies as an actress, producer and director.

In 1998, she directed Ageless Desire, a hardcore video featuring several over-50 real-life couples, including Juliet and her current partner. Numerous awards followed: Induction into the Erotic Legends Hall of Fame in 1996, an X-rated Critics Organization Hall of Fame Award in 1999, and a "Lifetime Achievement Actress Award" from the Free Speech Coalition in 2001. In 2007, Anderson received an honorary Doctor of the Arts from The Institute for Advanced Study of Human Sexuality.

By 2009, Anderson lived in Berkeley, California with four cats. She continued to work in the adult film industry, and had announced plans to produce new films. She also worked as a relationship counselor, giving private workshops for couples focusing on "Tender Loving Touch," in which sexual touching is seen as "play, not as foreplay." She contributed to the books The New Sexual Healers: Women of the Light and The Red Thread of Passion, and authored articles for magazines and newspapers.

Death

Anderson's body was discovered by a friend on the morning of January 11, 2010. The friend, Kevin Fong, stated that he arrived at Anderson's residence to take her to a doctor's appointment for a colonoscopy to help in the treatment of her Crohn's.

Awards

AVN Awards Hall of Fame
XRCO Hall of Fame (inducted 1999)

-- wiki