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That’s Entertainment

From Chitty Chitty Bang Bang to Columbia House to Star Trek

I’ve been writing Off the Beaten Path about once a week for nearly two years. Over 600 links later, I don’t see any sign of running out of interesting places to take you on the web. Today’s OTBP is a collection of things related to entertainment.

On Location
This is an interesting site of filming locations “then and now” for “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” and “Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.” It sometimes acts up, so here’s also the link to the directory of all the photos.

Bohemian Rhapsody
Here’s an interesting story and video from the Society of Rock about a queen song being played on a 100-year-old fairground organ. It’s pretty neat to see and hear (though it’s no Freddy Mercury!)

Cleveland Rocks
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is in Cleveland. Alan Freed started in the Cleveland area (WAKR in Akron, then later to Cleveland and NYC). There’s also Ian Hunter’s “Cleveland Rocks.” Here’s a great place to look at photos related to Cleveland’s rock’n roll history.

Dolly Parton
Though I’ve worked mostly in rock radio, I have done a few country stints (KEGL/Eagle 96 in Denver/Greely Colo., and WOUB[FM] in Athens, Ohio). Anyone who’s worked “country” knows Dolly Parton … and I can’t imagine most people haven’t heard of her from her Dollywood park or her acting (like “9 to 5” or “Best Little Whorehouse in Texas”). But I didn’t know she’s been such a strong proponent of literacy. Here’s information about her nonprofit, charity, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. (What a nice lady! Good spirit!)

13 Records or 8-Tracks for $1.00?!
If you’re under 40 years old, you may not remember such deals. But once upon a time, you could buy a bunch of records (or tapes) for only $1. But then you’d have to buy a bunch more for a lot more money and some horrific shipping and handling charge. (Remember, nothing is truly “free” … or really costs “$1” when all is said and done.) From the web comes this late 2015 story of the fate of the old Columbia House. If this is true, you might just be able to buy 12 LPs for only $1 again … or not.

Star Trek On-Line Movies
Paramount allowed a lot of “fan films” over the years (though recently they’ve started rethinking that decision). Here’s an on-line Star Trek film called “Starfleet Academy (The Movie)” from 1997 and you’ll see some of your actual main Star Trek actors in it! There’s a number of films out there and some are based on the movies, some on the TV shows, and others on the video games.

And here’s another with the character “Q” (actor John de Lancie) from 1996, “Star Trek — Borg.”

And finally …
Under wonderful and cool inventions comes the following. Most of us have family or friends with different illnesses which can cause unsteadiness. Whether it’s Parkinson’s Disease or palsy, there are a lot of reasons why hand tremors could make normally simple tasks just incredibly difficult. I had a couple of aunts with palsy and always felt how hard it must have been just to use eating utensils. When I saw this invention, I though the person who created it deserved a lot more than just praise for the many people this would help!

If you stumble across a good or unusual web site that might be of interest, please don’t hesitate to send me the link and any info you might have about it. My email address is [email protected].

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