I have no intention of cracking one of my manuscripts this weekend. I want to recover from my recent adventures, and learned I have to report for jury duty on Monday morning. What I wanted to do was view some fun movies about the places I visited.
I wound up renting Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and enjoyed the heck out of it. It’s been decades since I saw it and it was a blast. Wasn’t precisely what I wanted.
Last week I visited Little Bighorn, Devil’s Tower, Mt. Rushmore, Deadwood, Salem, Lexington, and Concord. Passed through parts of Boston, too. Aside from those, we drove through a bunch of country that could be considered as Last of the Mohicans territory. Basically, I wanted something historical.
A few Google searches revealed some titles, but a dozen or so premium services failed to provide anything. I expanded my search, and tried The Crossing, which was a favorite about George Washington. It was made by HBO, but it’s not available on HBO Max.
I went through this dance with all the locations and found nothing worth my time. I get this isn’t exactly uber popular currently, but I figured the premium services would have something to offer. I also understand fully they aren’t historically accurate. Entertainment was my goal, a specific kind of entertainment.
If there was no movie, perhaps I could find a documentary. Nope. Documentaries seem to all be about finding some hidden treasure, fishing for crabs, or preg testing cattle. Never saw anything by Ken Burns.
At this point, I expanded in an attempt to find anything remotely patriotic at all. I never found anything. I frequently see social media postings about some attempting to brainwash the general public, and tried to blow it all off. After today, I’m not so sure.
I will admit to not looking for The Patriot with Mel Gibson, because I’ve seen it a bunch of times. It might be there. The Untouchables is on Dish tonight, so it would vaguely qualify as my having passed through Chicago, but that wasn’t my main focus today.
I would settle for Little Bighorn from the Indian perspective if we’re all so politically correct these days. Never found anything.
There is a statue of Tesla at Niagara Falls. Maybe I can find something about him tomorrow. Might have to settle for National Treasure or North by Northwest. At least they have Mt. Rushmore.
That’s a cool way to relax after a trip. For Tesla, there’s ‘The Prestige’ where he’s a supporting character played by David Bowie. Always liked that movie.
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That was a fairly good one. There’s one about he verses Edison, too.
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I think I heard of that one. What was the title?
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Can’t remember, sorry.
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North by Northwest. The streamers are all thinning their catalogs because they’re losing buckets of money, and even if no one is watching a show, if it’s available they’re paying residuals. Plus, it’s politically incorrect to be patriotic, much less depict any historical event that hasn’t been doctored and recast with an agenda. Looking for a handsome Italian playing a historically inaccurate but entertaining Cochise? Check Grit.
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I will occasionally watch the Grit channel. Hmmm. There could be something a bit more fantastical about Salem out there.
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Hocus Pocus. And any number of B Vampire/Witch screamers and various straight up or age fixed documentaries. Have fun🤣
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Sounds like a quest. Hope you are successful
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Too much choice!
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A good movie is a nice way to relax, Craig. They’re hard to find though, of any kind. Good luck with jury duty. Serving on a jury is a patriotic thing to do!
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My workplace is going to think I forgot about them.
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Trying to find something you want to watch on the tube can be frustrating. Jury duty, huh? That’ll be time-consuming.
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At least the Idaho trial making national news is already underway. Might not be too bad.
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I recently found something called the Roman Empire. The first season enacted Julius Caesar, Commodus, and Caligula. These were well-researched and acted and I learned a lot!
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That sounds pretty good.
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The old song says “57 channels and nothing on.” Or maybe by now it’s 57 streaming services and nothing on.
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Springsteen, maybe? It was a long time ago.
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The Legend of Sleepy Hollow FEELS historical. Set in New York. Hansel and Gretel would sort of work for Salem, and the Blues Brothers is fun for Chicago. Hope you’re having a nice, relaxing day.
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Thanks, Judi. I think I can handle a return to the real world tomorrow… maybe.
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Your post made me smile, Craig. Whenever I travel (before or after), I try to watch movies set in the area. It’s a fun way to prepare or compare notes. Welcome back!
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Thanks, Gwen. I didn’t get a lot of new ideas for my current tales, but there is one thing. There is also something totally new that wants to form in my head.
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Watching movies after a long trip sounds like a great way to unwind, Craig. I thoroughly enjoyed your travel log posts. I had a blast taking that journey with you.
Welcome back!
P.S., sorry about jury duty.
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Where ever we went, there was someone shoving pamphlets our direction. They seemed to focus on my daughter, so she gave me a pile of them to take home. Too late to do anything about them now, but one made me think of you. There is a place in Salem where you can attend a seance. There is another one with a couple of classes I would have liked. They let you make your own broom or engage in bookbinding. They look like tomes from Harry Potter.
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As weird as it sounds, despite what I write, I would FREAK at the idea of attending a séance, LOL. I don’t mind “creatures” like the Mothman, but I’m a wuss when it comes to anything supernatural. Bookbinding sounds pretty cool though!
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😆
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I so enjoyed hearing about the places you went to last week, Craig. What a bonanza! As for movies, you cannot beat North by NW for seeing all the angles of Mt. Rushmore. The close-ups are studio shots because the National Park Service wouldn’t allow filming there, but there are some good and authentic distance shots and whatever the authenticity, it is super suspenseful and very fun…definitely entertaining. Welcome home and good luck on jury duty.
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Thank you. I’m planning on a full day tomorrow. If I don’t get seated I’m going to work anyway.
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Welcome back! Sorry, you have jury duty to look into. Maybe it’ll boost your week. Those sites sound like something to see! I’d particularly like to see Deadwood.
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It’s a beautiful town and deserves a weekend all to itself.
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Oh, how I wish you could’ve traveled up to my neck of the woods. In comparison, Concord is a scum pit. I dread having to leave the country to venture south. If I had it my way, I’d never pass exit 16 (we’re at 23) as that’s about where the beautiful countryside begins to morph into city life. Yuck.
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I really wanted to, but exhaustion caught up with us in the afternoons. Waking around in 80 degree heat was kind of a shock, too. Still getting snow here.
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That weather surprised us, too! We’re back in the 50’s. Ugh.
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I’ve never watched much in the way of historical movies (except Apollo 13 – it fascinates me), so I can’t help you there.
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There are some good space films. The Revolution is kind of lacking. Maybe I should write one.
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I get so frustrated when I sit down and try to find a decent show to watch. They seem to be offering different versions of the same ol’ same ol’. Good luck finding what you want.
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I haven’t been called for jury duty in YEARS. The hubster keeps getting called. Weird.
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I haven’t been seated in years, but they caught me this time.
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Hi Craig, have you done jury duty before? It could be quite interesting if the case is complex. Maybe some of it will end up in one of your stories.
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I’ve served twice before. I narrowly missed out on the trial of the century. It’s going on while I’m doing my time on another case.
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Interesting experiences and a change from the daily grind of life.
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True.
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