NO RELEVANT POINT

Non Traditional Xmas Card #8

2011-12-25T09:50:00.000-08:00

As usual at this time of year, at this particular blog station, another non-traditional salute to the Christmas season is offered up with no intention of offending the religious minded among us - but at the same time, keeping true to my own opinions on the subject.

A Three Transfer Trip

2011-08-31T11:34:00.000-07:00

I think the main reason we're being fed a steady diet of 'newer stuff' on this blog (rather than the older, much more priceless 1970s super 8 film footage) is because those old films from the 70s take too long to transfer across from the DVDs (that in turn had been transferred over from film reels) and onto little digital tapes that can fit inside my camcorder in order to be finally transfered again into my iMac computer for editing. We need to transfer 3 times on this journey. It's a long bus trip.

Instead of all that transferring nonsense (and since I only seem to think of adding a blog entry on the last day of the month lately) I find it much easier/quicker to dip into the rather large pool of 1990-2011 camcorder footage that is also stockpiled and waiting to see the light of day on the NRP (and needs no further transferring to reach the computer) in order to complete my once-a-month submission mandate.

These visual offerings (below) were all shot during a hectic day in the month of August - today is ALSO August - but these visuals fall one complete year short of reaching the awesome '20 years ago' mark. The word awesome is used here, because I just can't believe how fast time keeps flying. All this stuff seems like it should be about 6 years old to me - at the max.

Beating Deadlines

2011-07-31T22:37:00.000-07:00

It's a good thing that the month of July contains 31 days. We probably wouldn't have made our required once-a-month quota of video submissions if it didn't. And today's offering - though far from memorable - arrives on the NRP blogerama with just minutes to spare before the deadline.

And that's really the only reason we've hoisted up this old salute to the back yard bbq anyway - just to fulfill our crazy mandate of a video a month. Who can hope to keep up a frantic pace like that, I ask you? But sure enough, if I didn't provide these bland flickering pictures on a timely basis, my viewers would be quick to complain.

High quality standards are not required here; people just want to see familiar faces and moving lights. All I can recall about the actual footage we're about to run is that it was shot in the summer of 1991. Back when there were still lots of kids around. A rather recent event when you compare it to our regular diet of mid '70s filler.

The Two Day Disney Plan

2011-06-30T21:20:00.000-07:00

I went looking for this particular vacation video on this particular blog recently and was ultimately unfulfilled in that particular search.

So now, with the final hours ticking down to signify what could be my very first unuploaded (new word) month in the history of NRP (a full month without adding a new video) I can remedy the situation immediately with this (almost) forgotten and eventually misplaced effort from the long lost autumn of 1986.

Better than nothing is still my mantra regarding hurried projects like this. While the editing/music/choice of subject COULD have been a little more interesting for my viewers, at least there's SOMEthing here in order to put my stamp on the fast fading month of June 2011.

As for the girl onscreen... I haven't seen her since 1992. Twenny years ago, next year.

Far From See-Worthy

2011-05-02T12:24:00.001-07:00

Rather than toss this next video out (or "delete it" as the modern kids of today would say) I'm going to hoist it up here on the blog for all to witness. Even though it's clearly far from see-worthy.

But as is the case with all these old super-8 films, the ultra rareness and 'one of a kind'ness that oozes from each frame of these long ago days of the 1970s or 80s is often enough by itself to garner at least a single viewing on this stage. Minimal effort was put into the editing and musical choice for this presentation (yet again). And as stated a'fore in a previous entry, it's merely a case of having something/anything uploaded to the blog in order to keep the monthly index chapters going (see index chapters to the right) that makes a submission like this possible in the first place. I suppose the question should be raised: what would become of our NRP blog if we decided that some of these old film segments did not meet the lowest acceptable level of quality before being added into the mix? I think it would obviously mean the end of the blog. Nuff said.

'You Can't Take That Away'

2011-04-24T18:27:00.000-07:00

The end of the month is upon us once again and I haven't yet fulfilled my contractual obligation to the Blogger community - which as you know by now is the promise to offer up a monthly video of some description originating from the far distant past. Usually from the 70s.

We're only transporting ourselves back in time 31 years with today's production. Revisiting the summer of 1980 to be exact - which compared to all the stuff we've watched from 1974 and 1975 is only a few months ago, comparatively speaking. The main character in this film had a real passion for living that impressed this cameraman to no end at the time. I'm still impressed all these years later. She'd be approaching the age of 50 these days and I can only assume (and hope) that she went on to live a satisfying and rewarding life in the three decades since this film was shot. Unfortunately I have no updates to offer our readers in this regard. Heather had a way of making anyone that came in contact with her feel upbeat and 'alive'. "Truly alive... and you can't take that away" as the old Mac McAnally song sez.

Project Competition

2011-03-18T10:56:00.000-07:00

A viewer wrote in recently to ask: "pray tell what exactly is the project of higher value that you are working on that is superseding any further uploads to this NRP webstation?" I took pleasure from this investigative query because it seemed to indicate that there are NRP audience members out there (have you received your membership card yet?) that actually obtain a moment or two of entertainment while watching these ancient super 8 films that make up the bulk of our program diet.

In reply, I wrote: "My full attention to the NRP blog-o-rama has been interrupted over the past few months while a different retro project receives possibly more attention than it deserves. I refer to the vast library of musical tracks that were recorded in the mid-80s and 90s by the weak but prolific pop band, The Midhrifs starring Harry B. on lead vocals and myself on lead keyboards." A sample of which has been offered in this (and the previous) blog upload.

Just A Postman

2011-03-14T21:42:00.000-07:00

Have we already plunked down this weak attempt at a rock video somewhere inside this blog already? I don't recall. And I'm certainly not gonna go a'looking thru the 400+ posts that precede this one just to find out.

But yeah, something tells me, if I searched long enuff, I'd probably find it hiding in amongst the rubble. But we can't be choosy here. We're running on a strict time limit these days and this is all the effort I'm going to put into this upload. Heck with it. Too busy with other projects.

Monthly Blog Contribution

2011-02-12T10:17:00.000-08:00

Hmm. I guess I've been gone so long (6 weeks?) that my Blogger account didn't recognize me when I tried to sign in. I had to make up a brand new password to be granted access. (For you trivia buffs, the password is... Gulgamesh.) Never been forced to do that before. Oh well, would anyone actually miss this stuff? I doubt it.

And now that I'm back here on Blogger, there's not much I've brought along to announce my return. Just this short run of discarded clips of old films. Might have a few bits of new stuff, but I didn't have time to arrange a nice presentation. Slap 'em down and toss a peppy tune on top of everything - that's my attitude. I'm outta here in a few hours, don'tcha know, so I won't be reading the complaints. Leaving the country, I is. You betcha. Who knows when or if I'll ever bother to come back.

But before I catch the plane heading south, I simply MUST have something uploaded on NRP for the February sweeps week. Otherwise I might lose my consecutive monthly blog contribution award and that's just not on.

Something Beats Nothing

2011-01-07T19:34:00.000-08:00

And sometimes nothing beats nothing. In other words, sometimes it's better to leave the blog alone rather than to pollute it even further than it already is by adding second tier offerings just for the sake of adding new content.

Not much new content with this one. Well, maybe a few scenes here and there. Basically, it's just another one of those low budget, low effort, low reward video submissions which is becoming somewhat the norm in recent months. (Wonder what's going on upstairs at NRP headquarters?) However, SOMEthing is always better than nothing; or at least that's the oft-repeated slogan around here. And it's certainly a catchy song rattling away in the background; which is probably the only reason we threw this video together in the first place. Just to match some pictures up with the peppy (yet melancholy) storyline.

Merry Xmas 2010

2010-12-28T15:01:00.001-08:00

A Curious Reminder

2010-12-12T13:35:00.000-08:00

I was surprised to discover that THIS little movie had not been uploaded to the main fort yet. Out of the 800 or so uploads already in situ on the giant NRP website, this old favorite from 1974 has managed to somehow be overlooked and forgotten and left to putrify elsewhere totally unseen. Until now of course.

As it is with all these old homemade films, it's a case of complete coincidence that it exists at all. A snowy Sunday afternoon, a couple of new rolls of super-8 film to kill, and a typical come-as-you-are attitude with my friends on the street outside. It all resulted in this 'once and it's done' wintertime recording. I can't recall if we ever engaged in such foolish, snow related, tom foolery ever again, but if we did, we certainly didn't have the cameras rolling to capture it as we did on this day.

The most surprising thing about re-watching this old footage is to stop and realize that although it's 30+ years later - and greatly diminished from his original condition he may be - the snowman we built that day, with his haircomb smile and jaunty hat, continues to stand proudly in the same spot to this day, remaining a curious reminder of our youthful time in Blazerville. A time that we can revisit in person anytime we want.

Guys Doing Stuff

2010-11-29T12:59:00.001-08:00

An urgent message was just received here at the NRP offices in Riffletown from Blogger Central - the very nice people that allow me (and people like me) to continue with the uploading of personal blog nonsense onto the internet for friends and family to see. Apparently, I've been so busy with a retrospective video for Melissa and her family, that I failed to notice how my blog was being neglected for an unprecedented length of time.

As they explained it to me, I now have just over 24 hours remaining in the month of November to upload any videos/photos/cartoons that might have been planned for uploading, in order to keep my consecutive streak of calendar months containing content... intact. If I choose not to add anything to the pages of No Relevant Point in the next day and a half, I will forever have a flaw in my sidebar archives. A month will be missing in the otherwise perfect sequence of previous post labels.

"Well, we can't live with that" is what I finally decided, and the nearest source material (a video from 1990) was plucked from storage and investigated for any interesting tidbits to be included in a short but official NRP blog posting. These moments from a Christmas visit to Al's place in the valley is what we dug up. It's nothing special, but it's better than having an empty hole in the monthly archives.

Washing The Little Blue Car

2010-10-27T12:38:00.000-07:00

The little blue car still looms large in the memory. An impulsive purchase I made back in my youthful money-spending days. Devotion to said little blue car was such that there didn't seem to be anything unusual to me about video-taping one of the many times it was being washed back in 1983.

And so we did. We video taped the car being washed. Like it was a news event or something important. And because of that decision (to video tape) we are now all gathered here today 26 years later watching the little blue car get washed. And yes, it's as dull as it sounds, so I've also added a few scenes of Sandy and I taking the newly washed little blue car off for a ride up Little Mountain (on a cold, dismal day) and then over to see the niece and nephew at their home in East Vancouver. The little blue car made it to both destinations without stalling or losing a door handle. As a bonus, I'll even toss in a short scene of brother-in-law Mike being interviewed on the local CBC TV channel during that same winter of 1983. And let's not forget that all of these recorded events took place only a few short months before Sandy and I jetted off to visit Jonny in England that Spring.

It may have been the least reliable of all the cars I've owned over the past 40 years (which it was) but heck; the little blue TR6 remains the fave.

Rag Tag Remnants

2010-10-09T23:26:00.000-07:00

A hastily tossed together collection of old (and new) video clips and film segments - released at this time and place ONLY to satisfy my overdue urge to clean out a long-waiting iMovie project working area.

What we have here are many of the unused bits and pieces of earlier uploads that ended up with no real purpose or theme or reason to keep living; no reason to be hanging around as long as they have been; except perhaps to be finally jumbled into one showing and presented here and now 'as is'.

With so many 'better/more interesting' clips waiting for their turn in the sun, there's no need to hang onto THESE ragtag remnants of unfinished thoughts any longer. I'll just fling them all into this one clump and then quickly erase the lot... thereby opening up much needed memory space in my computer for all the other old video stuff soon to be coming along.

History Will Be Made

2010-09-15T13:24:00.000-07:00

A quickly made parody of the national TV commercials that were so popular during the NHL playoffs last year, using our own senior sports enthusiast, DOUG in the lead role.

We're using a different sport for our commercial, but at least we're using the same music. It works for me. Doug should be tickled pink to learn that we managed to dig up priceless old footage from one of his all-star performances on the ballfield back in 1989 to incorporate into this piece.

The Moving Flowers

2010-09-04T18:25:00.001-07:00

It was kinda big at the time. As in big deal. Jonny was a'flyin over from England t'visit all of us local yokel types. That's a long flight. I'll bet his arms were tired. This all happened back in the summer of 1988, but thanks to the magic of decaying VHS tape, we can all relive those long boring moments of waiting around in the airport for him to arrive over and over again.

Look - that's Jon's brother Phil standing next to his soon to be wife Shelina. That's why Jon was making the trip over here - to attend their wedding. And that's my galfriend at the time (Linda) snapping a photo or two and adding just the right amount of charm and Canadian humour for such a tense and monumental occasion.

Battery power being what it was back in the mid '80s for VHS cameras, I was unable to shoot both the waiting around for, AND the actual arrival of, Jon from England. But not to fret - after 3 weeks of recharging the battery, I managed to capture a few minutes of Jon saying goodbye on VHS tape during his final hours in our city. That's where the moving flowers come in.

Oldifying

2010-08-18T15:33:00.000-07:00

Part family video; and part police line-up with this one. Lots of the sister's kids being kids when they were kidlike - paired with slow mo comparisons of the classic and up to date Blazers Bunch (at least 4 of the BB).

The most interesting part of this production is probably the short section that appears at the front end of the reel. Right off the top. Before we've even sat down. Don't arrive late or you'll miss a chance to play the role of a time traveler. (I prefer the H. G. Wells story.) We've jammed some classic old footage of four Blazer members, up tight against some modern day camcorder footage of those same four Blazers (glad I stayed out of it) that was captured during a recent Blazer reunion in the Kitsilano area. (Missing: Evert/Dougie).

More than 30 years have elapsed between the earlier and later Blazer shots, but... who could tell! I mean! Really! Even after all that time, it's clear to see that not even the most minor change in appearance is evident on the mugs of our favorite neighborhood gang. It's like they haven't aged a week since 1975. Like they're still teenagers. Like the passage of time has ceased to proceed in a normal fashion and has instead halted any progress related to oldifying! At least that's what it says here in the press release.

Stuck In The Real World

2010-07-26T14:27:00.000-07:00

And now, a poor excuse for a rock music video. A practice punt. A first attempt. Which may or may not lead to a more polished redo at a future date - depending on the progress of our other 'cooler' songs currently on the drawing board.

In amongst the hustle and bustle of a major west coast city, we were supposed to witness Harry dodging the crowds and the traffic while at the same time managing to provide a seamless lip-sync to the popular teen track of the day: "Stuck In The Real World". That's what the plans originally called for.

But apparently, Harry don't wanna play that game, he don't. Harry has seemed unusually shy and standoffish about doing this project from the beginning. In fact, he hasn't been his normal 'I'll do anything for a laugh" self for quite a while now. Dunno why really. Maybe we can trace it back to his retirement last fall. Maybe he wants to retire from singing too. There's other factors no doubt, but with his almost invisible participation in the shooting of this video, the viewer may find that the experience suffers. Not so much for the lack of scenes with Harry singing - as for the lack of ANYBODY singing. The song cries out for a 'host' to guide us through the lyrics and push the storyline forward.

Oh well. No big deal. Just another project to fill a retired summer afternoon is how I see's it. Better efforts to come.

Summer In Disney's Lands

2010-07-06T20:46:00.000-07:00

Our video post today is very much related to the previous video post, which, as you must recall, covered the train journey down to California with cohort Harry. Well. After a short stay in Santa Barbara, I waved goodbye to said cohort Harry and pushed on further south for a planned meeting with my sister's family in Anaheim (Disneyland). The fun never stops when you're retired, lemme tell ya.

I shot a full two hours of video tape in Disneyland, but we won't be forced to sit through all that malarky here. Don't be silly. After compiling a 50 minute-long edited DVD for those family members that actually appear on screen; a separate, severely edited version (10 minutes) was then hoisted up to the Facebook website.

With perhaps a minor tweak or two, the same 10-minute Facebook version of the events can also be found here on this page - probably directly beneath these words - because I am aware of the fact that some of our NRP viewers are not affiliated in any way with the trendy new world of Facebook.

Sunnier Climes

2010-06-28T09:11:00.000-07:00

A brief but welcome vacation to sunnier climes over the past few weeks has interrupted the regular pace of uploads here on the big C - CGUL radio. But not all the time away from the computer was wasted on sun tanning and shopping. No.

A short video highlighting the joys of train travel was produced during this same period and is currently available here in the slot below. Featuring Harry - the lead singer of our pop band in his first non-singing role, riding the Coast Starlight Amtrak down to California. You remember Harry and the Coast Starlight?

Nobody's Gonna Notice

2010-06-10T12:53:00.000-07:00

It's possible that some of today's footage has already seen the light of blog at some point. Honestly, there's been so much old film added to the NRP blog over the past few years that we've long passed the point of remembering every little tidbit that's been uploaded. And I'd hate to think we missed anything just because we assumed in error that it had already been shown.

So this is a quick return to Gun Lake (I think). There were a total of SIX different trips up to this location by my super 8 cameras between the years 1977 and 1984 and I'm a'thinking that this first visit to the lake has not been given the blog treatment as of yet. And if some of it already has, oh well big deal. It's not as if someone is actually going to take the time to complain about it. And what would they complain about anyway? A few movie clips might have been repeated on a blog during a 3 year time span? Nobody's gonna notice. Nobody's gonna care.

Softball - Off The Beaten Path?

2010-05-11T09:04:00.000-07:00

Today's posting might be the furthest we'll stray from the usual dining options served up in bulk here on: 'No Relevant Point'. While yes, it appears to be yet another short video segment from the long distant past, this meal will have nothing to do with the old Blazerville gang (or the tearing down of familiar structures found within Blazerville) and everything to do with softball.

Gad, softball. Is there anything more dull and pointless and boring to watch? Honestly. I had to trim this overblown romp in the park down from a mind-numbing 45 minutes to what we're left with here... a mind-numbing 4 minutes. And it was a painful editing job lemme tells ya. I don't even see most of these players anymore (it's been like, 20 years) so I can't even tease these people about how young they used to look. And I'm sorry to report that at least two of my former teammates have already died in the meantime. Plus at least another two couples have divorced - and I think we can blame the softball for that.

Perhaps in the same sense that EVERYTHING is part of the great tapestry of life, we can allow a limited number of these 'dull as dishwater' softball videos to show up on our NRP blog now and then. I certainly hope so, because unfortunately there's a boat load more of 'em sitting around in the storage room.

Saved From Banishment

2010-05-03T11:19:00.000-07:00

We've had two straight postings here on the giant NRP Blog featuring nothing but Don's old Zambezi Bioscope films from the mid-70s; and we certainly want to thank him for the opportunity of reacquainting ourselves with those. But you must have known that we'd eventually return to the total nonsense films that this blog is better known for. And today is no exception as we have rescued some chopped off bits and pieces of a film that ran on this blog late last year.

After 'streamlining' (editing) the short but kooky 1976 film: 'The Bomb' starring Bart Woods, I was left with some remaining bits of unrelated footage that - for some reason - I'd attached to the tail end of that BOMB posting. No need to toss the unrelated footage out with the bath water. I've decided instead to go ahead and give these orphaned super 8 snippets a video posting of their own on a day just like today.

This is stuff we've already had to sit through once already months ago - now being saved from total banishment and the strong breeze of time. And yes, after viewing, you might agree that perhaps it wouldn't have been such a terrible thing if they HAD been banished and discarded after all.

Why Did They Do What They Did? (Edited)

2010-04-28T13:05:00.000-07:00

It was never really answered as far as I could tell - the question that the title of this old super 8 movie from the shelves of Zambezi Bioscope Productions asks. As I recall, Don had the weirdo title picked out long before he had decided on any plot for a motion picture. Eventually, the two ideas collided and the following movie was the result.

Now if you're lucky, you might be able to find the complete, fully intact, unedited version of this mammoth sized production somewhere else on the web; perhaps on some other blogspot, but the day will never come when any homemade 17-minute movie is uploaded to 'No Relevant Point'. We'd have to be stark raving mad before that kinda nonsense would be allowed. FIVE minute nonsense, maybe. But not 15. And 20 is RIGHT OUT! So what we're about to see here is my drastically streamlined edition of Don's original 1975 effort. We make no apologies. All sales are final.

During a recent, in-person interview with the actual director of this film (Mr. Zambezi himself) I was disappointed to learn that THIS is the crowning glory of his film endeavors. THIS is the top carving on the Zambezi totem pole. I'm sad, not because the feature itself isn't impressive (it is) but because there are no further hidden gems like it in the storage vaults waiting to be uncovered. This is it for the great Zambezi Bioscope Company - as far as contributing to the local Blazerville film community goes. There's just nothing left in the tank.

Sigh. But at least we have what we have here - a peaceful salute to a lazy Autumn Sunday afternoon playing a card game with 'the boys'. We gots potato chips, we gots cola, we gots a dead body buried in the back yard. Another typical day in Blazerville.

Youthful Enthusiasm In Blazerville

2010-04-13T15:52:00.000-07:00

Try as we might to adhere to the mandate of our official blog title ('No Relevant Point') we continue to confound ourselves by actually presenting an endless stream of quite relevant material to our small group of viewers.

And once again, for today's program, we've uploaded a rather relevant entry after managing to dig up rare 1970s super 8 scenes from Blazerville's second oldest movie studio: 'Zambezi Bioscope Productions'. I believe that this will be the first film footage uploaded to this stage that was NOT shot with one of my own cameras.

And a tantalizing collection of visual snippets we have here. Full of youthful enthusiasm for life on the streets of Blazerville - and apparently inside my own basement suite. In the credits for the two films we are watching, cameraman/director Don has listed me as his assistant.

However, the only assistance I can recall offering Don during the making of these films was that I would keep out of sight and off screen during his principle shooting. I suppose he could also be referring to the fact that it was out the passenger window of my Dudge Dart that he shot many tracking scenes of a rain-drenched Darcy cycling beside us up Little Mountain.

Variety Pack O' Memories

2010-04-05T11:30:00.000-07:00

More of those oddly familiar faces from the past. More of those names that have been blown into the foggy mountains of forgetfulness. I'm not sure I can explain what we're about to see in this episode; I barely remember filming any of it. Nothing predates 1984 is all I'm sure of. Well maybe one scene is from 1983; but who can be sure.

And yes; normally I would keep my camera (and myself) stationed in one place long enough to capture a full and comprehensive record of whatever individual event I was attending. But after watching some of these scattered and mixed up moments from more than a dozen different locations, it's easy to conclude that perhaps I only filmed a few short seconds from each outing before wrapping things up and moving on to the next setting. But you'd be wrong with that conclusion.

I kinda like this variety-pack style of reporting. It also serves to indicate to our viewers just how much recorded nonsense we still have to endure in our future blog entries.

Another Ho Hum Family Video

2010-03-28T22:51:00.000-07:00

I don't think there's any question that I used to accomplish more in the olden days than I do now. This video might serve as an example of what was once a more energetic period of mine 20 years ago. This should also probably be labeled as another ho-hum family video for sister Fran, starting off here (as we do) with what had become a regular summertime destination for us starting in the late 70s and lasting until the early 90s. Birch Bay USA.

The surroundings of these quaint little white Birch Bay cottages has changed drastically over the decades since being captured here on video tape. In fact, the entire 20 unit complex (of which we would rent two units) has long ago been bulldozed to the ground and is currently nothing more than a grassy meadow with a fence around it. Its former glory exists now only in film and video form.

But on this particular hot day in July, not only do I manage to obtain my full day's worth of seaside frolic in Birch Bay, I also manage to zip back to Vancouver in the evening to take my position at third base on the local softball team during our stretch drive for the playoffs. Nowadays, in my more sedate state, I might agree to partake in one or the other of these two endeavors in a single day, but not both. And more than likely, I'd just keep to the seaside frolics and call it quits. And only then if there was a lawn chair nearby.

Hither Dither And Yawn

2010-03-15T14:25:00.000-07:00

I'll try uploading a video to the blog page today - first time in a month - but I'm not at all confident that the effort will be successful. In case it does work however, I should explain that the footage on this video has been compiled from bits and pieces of my lost decade (1985-1994) when most things were pretty much hither dither and yawn.

I recognize a few faces on this presentation that haven't been seen 'round here for a couple of decades, and then a few others that have changed from toddler to twentysomething. I guess that's how it works. People either grow up or grow old. And then there's people like me (not many) that seem intent on capturing everything from childhood to retirement (and further) on super 8 film and video tape. As if it might actually be considered important or interesting when finally played back years in the future. Damn; I guess this is the future already isn't it.

Blogger Bogged Down

2010-02-12T09:21:00.000-08:00

Hmm. Blogger seems to be broken. I've got videos here waiting their turn to be uploaded like planes at a busy airport; anxious for their big day in the blogger sun. But heck; if none of the videos will play, why bother. Right? I mean. It's been a couple of weeks now and nobody at Blogger Headquarters seems to be concerned about finding a fix to this conundrum; this wardrobe malfunction of a video kind.

Oh well. Nothing to do but check back in a few days. Not a problem. It's not like this is a heavily visited blog anyway.

Demolition Of Blazer Stadium

2010-01-23T16:32:00.001-08:00

Today's posting is a little out of the norm - and a four hankie tear jerker to boot. No frolicking footage of the 1970s this time. Instead we focus our attention on the Blazerville childhood stomping grounds, and the familiar buildings contained within, which have taken a number of serious body blows over the past few months.

Long time regulars Brown's and Cowan's grocery stores have both come crashing down in place of modern homes. Hillcrest Park has been transformed from a big, wide, playing field into a crowded and complex theme park full of fancy new olympic buildings. And the nearby 'Projects' housing complex, a place of mystery, fear, and roving enemy gangs for most of my life (since the mid 1950s) has been flattened into a giant dusty pancake.

Oh sure, there'll be plenty more retrospective videos produced on the demise of these long standing, low income occupied, bland but functional monoliths much better than mine, but I made 2 or 3 trips back into the old neighborhood to capture these scenes on the video camera so the least you can do now is watch 'em without complaining about it.

And yeah, the original Blazer Stadium was located just inside the eastern boundaries of Projectonia, hence the title of this post. This was the field in which us Blazer type kids first learned how to punt, toss and catch a football. If I'm not mistaken (and maybe another Blazer can confirm it) the Block Blazers never lost a football game to the Project Rejects in all the years of interlocking play. True, we always seemed to lose when hockey season rolled around (up at Brock school) but we never lost to those nasty Rejectonians at touch football.

Cutting Room Floor Discards

2010-01-17T12:50:00.000-08:00

Another reel of super 8 film has now bit the dust. Plenty of dust to go around. But as is usual with these old 20 minute reels of footage, there's always a few dreg bits remaining. The short snippets that fail to meet even the most minimum of quality standards; fail to meet the rock bottom basics required for inclusion onto the exclusive NRP blog for public viewing.

However, we'll relax those rules for this episode by actually including some of the pitiful dregs and horribly disfigured scenes that would normally be left on the cutting room floor - to be stepped on and trampled like newspaper pages on a city bus. (I'm just glad my condo came with a cutting room.) Plus we'll toss in a couple of repeat scenes and extra-bonus bloopers that might confuse our dear viewer into thinking that this film isn't such a total waste of their precious internet surfing time after all.

Blast From The Past

2010-01-01T23:33:00.000-08:00

We were just discussing our ex-Blazer brother Evert only a couple of postings ago. As I recall, we were wondering if; and to what degree; the old gang dynamics might have been altered had Evert bothered to hang around the block a little longer than he did. Or even if he'd merely bothered to keep in touch with us by sending a Christmas card now and then during the past four decades.

But he didn't - and none of us knew where the hell he'd gone. And it certainly wasn't our job to try and hunt him down. He knew where he'd gone and he wasn't about to inform any of us. The next time we saw his smiling mug around the block was when he won some big chunk of change playing the 6/49 lottery in the mid 80s and he was forced to pose for a picture in the local paper. Or at least a picture in the local flyer that the lottery corporation published called 'Luck Magazine'.

No wonder we never heard from the guy anymore. He'd struck gold and didn't want anybody to know. He'd won a piece of the million dollar prize jackpot and quickly moved on up to the east side. To the hills of Victoria. Swimmin' pools; movie stars. What everybody does after winning the pools.

The 'Go To' Source For Regret

2009-12-24T21:21:00.000-08:00

The staff and management here at 'No Relevant Point' certainly hope that most (if not all) of our viewers received exactly what they wanted for Christmas 2009 - and we trust that you will continue to find our blogateria the 'go-to' source for both idle reflection and painful regret when it comes to the watching of reconstituted films of the good ole days of the 1970s.

Pointing out the fact that youth in general has a short shelf life and that, in most cases, the best days of our lives are already far behind us, is clearly the blunt directive here at NRP and we're just trying to do the best job we can with the tools at hand.

Bonus comment: You'll be pleased to learn that the postie cartoon presented above is most likely the last in the long line of homemade 'postie xmas cards' dating back to the early 1980s.

Recent updates on previous videos:
Return Visit Value
Roadside Bomb
Another Slide Show People

Another Slide Show (Now With More Pizazz)

2009-12-12T23:44:00.000-08:00

Must put up more photos soon. Must clear out more of the old pix that have been hanging around here for ages eagerly awaiting their own special blog moment on the NRP website.

These 'pix-only' postings (as this one be) are always an easy upload/assignment for me. Just pick out and drop in. In fact there's no need for anyone to add text at this point really; it's just another slide show people. No in-depth explanation is required.

The vast majority of these non-moving scenes were captured (when else?) during the 70s and 80s. Perhaps a label is needed for the later years of the 70s. Something to signify the "post Evert" years. Because sometime after 1974, Evert just didn't wanna know, he didn't. Stayed far away, he did. Turned his back on Blazerville and never returned. So you certainly won't find his mug popping up anywhere in this collection of mugs if you were thinking of looking for it.

Taking that thought a step further, I'm not sure if Blazerville would have evolved any differently had Evert's participation in it not come to an undefined end back in the mid-70s. If he'd stuck around longer; maybe got a job at Safeway; would he still be a part of our lives today? Rather than the missing link in the Blazer reunions that he is? I think a full discussion on that topic would lead us down a long, multi branched path and should be saved for a future posting. We don't have time for that now.

Bird Feeding With Billy

2009-11-29T11:37:00.000-08:00

With this latest video offering below, we find that the slightly less ancient world of the 1990s has begun to creep ever so obviously into our humble little salute to the super 8 films of the 1970s.

While this revelation might be considered an unfortunate progression in the life of the 'No Relevant Point' blogeteria, it was certainly not an unexpected one. There were only so many daylight hours and rolls of film in the 1970s in which to capture Blazer related images from the old neighbourhood.

With that exact topic in mind, we hope to one day strike a deal with the owner of the once powerful Zambezi-Bioscope company (currently located in Australia) in which the super 8 films from their vaults could also be shown on this internet stage - greatly expanding the scope of our project overall. In the meantime, we will continue unloading our barrel full of old and newish film/video/photos from the past; today focusing our attention on an unusual 1992 visit to a bird sanctuary in Ladner with good old Billy. It goes without saying that any scenes of bird feeding will certainly be surrounded by the odd moment of '70s footage.

Another Clump From The Past

2009-11-19T14:33:00.001-08:00

You must have known that it was only a matter of time before some of those nasty softball videos from the 80s and 90s would eventually show up again and park themselves smack-dab in the middle of our heartwarming salute to the 1970s. Totally ruining what could have been another pleasant visit to the past.

It's not ALL softball stuff on this most recent NRP episode below, but by golly, there's certainly more than anyone in their right mind needs to see. Also in the running today (on screen) are two forms of hockey. Ice and table. So it seems like we've picked a mostly sports-related show this time out. Watch for the ultra rare appearance of Jason and then Harry - both playing goaltenders. Jason is better known to us all by now as the accordion player on the Robson Arms TV show.

But just when you feel like turning the channel on this crummy collection to search for old Bewitched episodes, up pops fun stuff like Don and Tracy on vacation, or the next door cat sniffing the lens, or poor Billy getting his big red car stuck in the snow. There were a few other bits from the same era/reel as this one that could have been added into the whole clump, but the whole clump was already nudging 4 minutes long. So I left some clumps off for a future upload. This clump will do for now.

And oh yeah. Big Al makes his first appearance on here in ages.

The Long Lost Post

2009-11-10T21:28:00.000-08:00

This just in. An extremely rare and up to the minute eyewitness news report direct from the field.

The NRP blog has obtained (at great cost) rare video footage that - despite the fact that it is not of super 8 film stock nor of classic 1970s vintage - might still be considered mildly interesting for some of our long time followers to view. But hey, we could be wrong about that.

And not to worry! Following this brief 'one off' interruption from the cold, dark, and unfriendly world of the present, we will certainly, and with all due dispatch, return ourselves swiftly back to the regularly scheduled programming that is more consistent with the theme of this bloggerama. Namely, the long lost post... err... past.

Return Visit Value (Revisited)

2009-10-31T20:44:00.000-07:00

A bit of a hurried effort with this one. We've just been informed here at the NRP offices, that unless we upload a post (ANY post) to "the blog" in the next few hours, we will leave the poor month of October in the record books as having hosted only two productions - representing the entire 31 days available for content uploading. Nope; can't have that.

So, when an emergency situation like this crops up (with no 'action videos' currently ready for prime time blogging) it's an 'easy out' for me to just toss a few old photos into a pile and string 'em all together. Not forgetting to add a folksy background tune into the mix. The viewer doesn't really care (each of the 1.5 viewers per day) so he/she/it is fine with whatever starts playing. But don't go thinking it's the same satisfying experience as with the 'moving picture' shows. That ain't possible. These old still pictures just don't have the same return visit value of the jittery kind.

The Bomb (Director's Cut)

2009-10-18T00:13:00.000-07:00

Scenes from an unfinished, low-budget crime thriller (with little Barty Woods in the lead role) are used in this, our latest and super-8est, film collection from the mid 1970s.

'The Bomb' was shot entirely on location near the Banks of Spanish in the early months of 1976 with my trusty Canon movie camera. As you must recall, the Canon was camera #2 in my stable of three movie cameras (Bell & Howell/Nikon being the others). I'm strictly a video camcorder enthusiast nowadays with leanings to the most casual.

With Bart's stellar acting on display here, we are quickly drawn into the mind of a madman on a mission of destruction. Sadly, the middle and closing portions of this powerfully suspenseful movie have not yet been rescued from the storage room boxes, leaving us all to wonder if Bart's sinister intentions will be stopped before any real damage is done to persons or property.

New Scenes From Old Movies. Or Not.

2009-10-06T12:37:00.000-07:00

When your film reels are not in order; and your newly transferred DVDs are all mixed up; and you've uploaded more than 150 blog entries in the past few years, well, you begin to forget exactly what has already been added and what hasn't; as far as digging out of new scenes from old 70s home movies goes.

But if it turns out that we really have already seen Blazer Doug in a previous posting, waving a finger of warning to us while he sits alone on a rocky perch up in Squamish, then so be it. That's okay, I figure. It's worth the expenditure of another 3 seconds of our viewing time to re-watch that priceless moment from 1977. (Heck - they're ALL priceless moments for any Blazer alumni tuning in.)

And as a favor to my lead singer Harry, I am also including in this upload, the very rare footage we shot of him singing my postie song LIVE while strolling Quebec Street one afternoon. For the actual complete music video that we stuck up on Youtube, the studio recorded version was dubbed in overtop; thereby replacing these raw vocals we hear from Harry today.

Bait And Switch Title Cards

2009-09-27T12:48:00.000-07:00

The snippets for this collection were chosen without any due care or attention. This is as close as you can get to picking video scenes while blindfolded. The original plan of keeping inside the margins of '1974 to 1976' (as it says in the opening panel) were ignored very early on. Don't be misled by the title card - there's 80s stuff a'plenty tossed into the mix.

Yes, the majority of these captured moments on super 8 film are from the prime directive years of the mid 70s, but the fact that we are told one thing and then shown another is clearly an example of the ole 'bait and switch' style of advertising. And I want no part of it.

Sandy and I did NOT go down to California together in the mid 70s. We didn't even know each other until 1982. But here we are; plain as day; strolling the grounds of Disneyland. So that's wrong for a kick off and should be eliminated from this showcase tout sweet. Please avert your eyes whenever those interloper scenes appear on screen.

The first image to assault us is of Dan standing on the side of the road watching Paul drive up in his Spitfire. Hard to believe that Dan would lose every bit of that full head of dark brown hair in the next 30 years. However, he's still got the denim jacket.

Tracy Goes To Disneyland

2009-09-16T15:24:00.001-07:00

Another blog posting today for big sister Fran. A chance for her to see daughter Tracy in puny kidlike form once again. Long before the same daughter would get married and have two puny kidlike forms of her own over in Alberta.

This film goes all the way back to the Spring of 1976 and began what for me would be a regular routine of return visits to Southern California on an 'every other summer' schedule (in particular to Disneyland and Santa Barbara); a pace that wouldn't fully fizzle out until 1988. (Since then, I've only gone down ONCE!)

The full reel of this vacation is about 15/20 minutes, but we'll certainly chop that down here to a simple 2 or 3 minutes in order to please those impatient blog viewers with low attention spans and poor manners. I certainly don't need any more angry messages in the comment section full of foul language telling me how my films are always too long and boring; and why can't I ever upload a film that isn't 30 or 40 years old for crying out loud.

Bursting At The Seams

2009-09-05T22:08:00.001-07:00

Bursting at the seams, my tattered old photo albums are. So many pictures of so many people from so long ago - with so little square footage to contain them all. Nobody warned me about that side of the double edged coin when I was snapping pix hither dither and yon in the 70s.

Oh sure - you can think you're being far sighted and 'heritage aware' while snapping all them thar vintage moments from years gone by, but have you actually stopped to wonder what happens when your mountain of so called priceless memories starts eating you out of house and home and demanding the TV remote? What then Einstein?

All I'm saying is, there's always a downside. Sometimes you can have too much of a good thing. If I'd known 40 years ago that taking pictures of the old gang in the old neighborhood in the good old days would end up filling enough photo albums to reach the moon, there might have been a better sense of quality control administered and certainly a 'less is more' mind set prevailing at the point of purchase/snapping.

One way I can lighten the load on my overburdened shelving units, is to raid some of these overstuffed photo albums and pull from their time encrusted resting spots the pictures that seem most in need of a once-a-decade airing. So that they may then be plopped down into the first video blog showcase that comes along.

A Clunky Slice Of Life

2009-08-25T18:17:00.000-07:00

When Jon and I made our limited venture into the world of video tape communication across the Atlantic back in the early 80s (as a change of pace from our audio tape communication) this little effort below was my opening statement on my initial VHS tape to him.

I remember how frustrating it was trying to match the visual images I was shooting - with the soundtrack lyrics of the song being played on a cassette deck sitting next to me. If the lyrics called for some 'old folks putting their ears to the ground' - then I'd have to go out and dig up the goods.

The thought of using a computer to digitally edit movie footage in the comfort of our homes never really entered our pea-brains back in the prehistoric year of 1983. We were reasonably happy with the bulkiness of the VHS world and if things hadn't progressed, we'd probably still be using it.

Well no, I take that back. It was never truly satisfying, even from the very beginning. Much too awkward a setup. Gave me a headache. Short shelf life. I much prefer the modern tools of the new millennium. And while I've used modern tools to tweak this original presentation a bit, it remains what it originally was - a clunky slice of my life in Vancouver/mid 80s. As it was intended to be on the day I sent it over to Jonny 26 years ago.

User Friendly Blog Post (For Fran)

2009-08-20T18:37:00.000-07:00

Sister Fran has never seen ANY of these goofy old videos that I've been hoisting up onto this NRP blog for the past 24 years. But apparently that's all about to change. The announcement has come down from east Vancouver and a spot in her downstairs spare room has actually been cleared. Sister's first computer will soon become a reality.

To welcome her into this modern world of online home video watching, I've uncovered an old VHS tape recording of a family car ride over to Horseshoe Bay in what appears to be 1983. The footage has now been uploaded into this space. It's something nice and easy that Fran can feel comfortable watching (for the first time ever I might add) when she heads over to this 'No Relevant Point' website on her first 'surfing' experience.

As boring as it may be for the rest of us to witness, there's still two points of interest to be found early on in the proceedings. I draw your attention to a scene looking out the car windshield as we coast down Cambie Street (pre-Canada Line construction). And then the glimpse we have of the newly built BC Place while crossing the old swingspan bridge that would soon be replaced (in 1986) by the modern version that exists today. But, yeah, pretty dull otherwise.

Lazy Days Tossed Away

2009-08-08T19:01:00.000-07:00

We're all over the board again with this one but I don't think there's a need to explain any of it. Yes, Don is playing frisbee with Hanklin's hat for some reason and yes, Wanda is having one of her full mental shutdowns in front of my house again. It's all clearly captured on film and available for multiple viewings below.

As for Wanda; Jack had to leave his Saturday afternoon 'All Star Wrestling' program (on CHEK TV Victoria) and walk halfway down the block to rescue his first of two wives. Rather than offer assistance, I hit the dirt and filmed her 'episode' from the safety of a neighbors front lawn across the street. (Until this viewing, I'd never noticed my mom observing the situation from our porch.)

Yes, some of this material might seem recycled, and once again there's precious little of Evert or Alan on screen, but the Hawaii bits are certainly new. Well, 1977 new. And it's always a treat to see 'Surrey Doug' take a long walk off a short pier.

Hawaii might be a yearly destination for my sister these days, but back in '77 this trip was the first ever for both of us and remains as my ONLY visit to the islands as of this date. (I'll head back when I'm retired.)

I can recall the scenes of big Rob and I sitting out on the Gun Lake pier (also on offer here) as if they were shot last summer or the year before, but the film canister has the date of August 1978 scribbled on top of it. If you think for a minute that I'm gonna believe more than 30 years have gone by since we tossed away that lazy day, well you're just plum crazy mister, or p'rit near.

Blazer Ball - The Later Years

2009-08-02T18:38:00.000-07:00

Somewhere in my vast collection of VHS tapes, is the original footage of this particular touch football game from the early 1980s (which features three of the Blazer Boys in action) but exactly where that priceless VHS tape can be found is still up for debate. What we've uploaded here today for our viewers is either a second or maybe even a third generation copy of our day of exercise at Hillcrest Park.

At this stage in their careers, the Blazer Boys are far from being in their prime, but even so, the film still manages to capture a few highlight reel moments - including a nifty catch in double coverage by Blazer Don and then a 50-yard pass and run play by Bart and Ed to win the game.

Unfortunately, this was not filmed at Blazer Stadium in the late 60s. And other than Blazer wannabe Randolfo Hezikiya, I can recognize no other faces on either of these two teams hoofing it around the playing field. Rather than fill me with nostalgia, these clips just confuse me. Exactly when did all this happen? Why? Who are all those 'other guys' and where are they today? And most importantly, how did I manage to catch a long-bomb... and film myself doing so at the same time??

Already Seen Scenes

2009-07-24T19:11:00.000-07:00

The ongoing delay in providing new material for this NRP blog will continue for at least one more episode as we present yet another collection of MOSTLY already seen scenes - which collectively is only a slightly altered version of the latest video currently thrilling the crowds on the popular FACEBOOK website.

The viewers at that address are likely to be unfamiliar with any of the films we've been uploading here on the long running NRP website (still dedicated to old fashioned super 8 film) so why not allow something new and exciting into their otherwise routine online experience with a few of our more favorite moments from the past.

As was the case with last weeks video, there might be a few short nibbles in this presentation that will be making their stage debut. It's hard to keep track, really. There's still tons of stuff I remember shooting back in the old days, but where the heck is it today? And why am I asking you? As if you'd know something I didn't know about my misplaced films? Give me a break.

A Gorge Fest Of Home Movies (Checklist)

2009-07-14T16:03:00.000-07:00

No, not a 'George' Fest. This is a slightly altered version of the same long(ish) video that is sitting up there (at this very minute) on my fancy pants Facebook page. With the compilation of 70s scenes below, I've dun created a massive 'gorge fest' of super 8 film for the viewer, rather than the usual 2-minute quickie versions we've all grown so weary of.

One entire 400 foot reel of 'precious moments' from the golden days has been raided for this showing; choosing only the most promising bits - even if they've already been seen on this bloggerama stage at an earlier date. However, our usual system for scene selection; which has always been referred to around here as the "whatever fits" approach, will still be employed when any film clips are making their blog screen debut.

So while you might get the feeling that today's film seems to go on and on forever with nothing but previously seen images, it's simply not true I tells ya. What we have here is a 'checklist card'. Like the ones you'd often find inbetween the flattened wedge of gum and your favorite baseball cards of the 60s (or in my case, The Man From UNCLE). There's new stuff in this video, but you can't blink or you'll miss it.

This then is the boring card that adds nothing to your collection except to list the cards you might still need, or want, or already own. If you watch the presentation with that throwaway checklist mindset, you'll probably get a better deal out of sitting thru this (or most of this) a second time.

Tremendously Boring Softball Videos

2009-07-05T10:10:00.000-07:00

After 6 or 7 years of hauling around my first portable VHS video recorder - which required the wearing of a postal issue shoulder satchel to contain all the larger working bits - I chose to make the sensible step over to the world of hand held camcorders. T'was a much easier monster to carry around town and was very similar to using a super 8 camera. Gotta like that.

Unfortunately, most of the footage I seemed to be gathering on video tape after the mid 80s was of the tremendously boring softball variety. I mean... who cares, right? The only thing of value with watching all these bleedin' softball tapes (and there's a ton of them) is the nostalgic kick that can be obtained after successfully remembering the first names of some of these once-upon-a-time team mates. People with whom we used to spend every Wednesday evening in the summer months 20 years ago, but haven't seen or heard from since.

Proper Vintage Value

2009-06-27T09:05:00.000-07:00

The opening scenes of today's video give an indication of where I'd been planning to go with my home movies back in the mid 70s - if I'd been given both the time and the participants willing to indulge me in my projects.

However, any early attempts at visual story telling (as seen in this passage from 'I Love To Walk') were ultimately short lived and a promising career as a super 8 film director soon devolved into what might be expected when too much film meets too little preplanning. It often becomes an endless reel of casual moments in touristy spots with friends and family members waving hello.

Still, the value of capturing awkward casual moments can't be totally dismissed. Especially if they are of the proper vintage. I suppose it's debatable whether or not any of today's spinning reel moments are of vintage value (did we really need to see Bart in those shorts again?) but they certainly reek of the casual, the awkward and the touristy. They may have even crossed the line over to the dull, the boring and the stupid.

Priceless Gibbled Stuff

2009-06-21T13:44:00.000-07:00

An odd assortment today of gibbled stuff. I say gibbled because most of these scenes have already been passed over for blog display in favour of better ones. There may also be a few clips of VHS recordings scattered amongst these ruins. And there's probably a few repeat clips from postings we've already watched. So move along folks; there's nothing to see here.

These are 'remainders' - bits and pieces that were rescued from what was left of recent 400' rolls of super 8 film transferred to DVD. These are segments that were discarded after the more interesting stuff had already been picked out and hoisted up into the rarified air of the NRP blog.

Even worse for our NRP viewers will be the NEXT blog entry; at which time we get to see all the remaining gibbled stuff that was deemed too gibbled to make it onto THIS collection of gibbled stuff.

Resuming The Upload Of Yesteryear Images

2009-06-14T19:16:00.000-07:00

I have now returned safely from an out of province fact-finding mission; eager once again to resume uploading yesteryear images that no one really cares about or remotely understands.

These VHS moments (below) all hail from around the same early 80s time period. Most were created for a video that was then shuffled off to England - hence the frequent vocal greetings from people on here to the intended target, Jonny. What's kooky for me to watch now, is how this brief visual sample once displayed what I considered a rather typical week in my life. But in reviewing it today, it's so unfamiliar as to be the activities of complete strangers. Who ARE these people anyway?

The segment we see referred to as: 'The Breakfast With Billy Show' actually began its long run at this point. Surprisingly, it has continued on to the present day with only a slightly altered format - but still burdened with the same host. The McDonald's restaurant chain was long ago dumped as our faux studio and replaced with what is now a never ending succession of trendier local eateries; posing a challenge to both host and guest in seeking out new ones. Perhaps a blog entry on that topic is long overdue.

Found Missing

2009-05-31T08:45:00.000-07:00

This video was recently found missing. By that I mean, at some point I must have deleted it from one of the many websites I employ for showcasing scratchy old home movies (Youtube/Google/Blogger) and then never bothered to re-upload it anywhere.

Well... we can't have that! Because this is one of those rare films that truly 'shows us the love' that was a'happenin down in good ole Blazerville during the coming of age era of the mid 70s. A real cinematic slice of 'you are there' nostalgia in a can.

My intention was to record the neighbors dealing with a massive overnight snowfall. But it soon morphed into another episode of frisky frolics when most of 'the gang' started showing up. First came Paul and Doug. Then Brenda. Then Bart and Theresa. Then Leigh and Carolyn. (Even Debbie and Donna with their dog Lola!) Eventually, the street just couldn't contain us all and we were forced to vacate the cramped surroundings - hiking ourselves up one side of nearby Little Mountain for some power sledding. And probably ruining what had been a nice day on the slopes for all the local preteen Projectonian kids already there.

Cutting Costs

2009-05-23T13:49:00.000-07:00

This short video segment below should have been incorporated into the blog entry of last week when we were discussing the famous Elco Road Trip of 1984. Exactly 25 years separate the footage captured here of the hotel we booked that summer - and the image of the same hotel as it appeared when I passed thru Duncan last August on my way east to the sprawling town of Youbou. (Youbou town center pictured here.)

It's seems clear in the photo above, that most of the Village Green hotel groundskeeping staff have been let go over the years in an attempt to cut costs. And as far as I could see, there was no sign of Iris sunning herself on any reclining chairs outside our old suite.

Elco Road Trip 1984

2009-05-17T12:47:00.000-07:00

We gathered up our best bats and gloves and picnic chairs and hit the road in the summer of 1984 - bound for the sprawling city of Duncan (on Vancouver Island) to participate in a big weekend softball tournament. Dunno why really. Maybe after 5 years, we'd tired of always playing on the same fields in the lower mainland. The change of scenery (and the 8AM game times) appealed to our sense of adventure. Naturally I dragged along my video camera equipment to record it all.

Rather than subject the 2 or 3 viewers that arrive here at NRP to the entire 4 hour video production that this event became, I've managed to trim things down to a more manageable three minutes of wasted screen time. As a consequence however, gone are the scenes of Iris juggling in the middle of the road; Doug complaining about the summer heat; and Laine arguing with an employee at a fast food take out window. Obtain the 'director's cut' DVD for all that sorta stuff. This here's just the heavily edited blog version.

The Me Of Years Gone By

2009-05-10T11:28:00.000-07:00

Here we are in the cheap seats (across the road) attending the season opening game of the local baseball team at spacious Nat Bailey (formerly Capilano) Stadium. It's a chilly evening in the Spring of 1985, but Bill has brought along his Beatles wristwatch in order to keep us all entertained during the tedious pre-game ceremonies.

There was no real need to record this outing into the darkened surroundings of Midlothian Avenue that day. When I come across video stuff like this - misplaced amongst my boxed belongings - I often stop and wonder why 'the me of years gone by' bothered to shoot it in the first place. I'm certainly not as rabid about videotaping the world these days. I don't remember the last time I used my video camera.

But whether or not it should have been recorded for posterity, here it is anyway. Video proof of the three of us loitering around in the damp grass at the bottom of Q.E. Park a quarter of a century ago. We must have been collectively bored that night. Or I must have known how I'd eventually become the managing director/owner/operator of something called a BLOG in the far off future; and that this BLOG thingy would need to be filled up on a constant basis with little BLOG adventures of a televised sort. Just like this one.

July 17th, 1983 (1:30PM)

2009-05-03T11:03:00.000-07:00

We're (all of us) constantly passing thru multitudes of moments every day that make up the massive bulk of what we will eventually describe as our personal lives. And rare it is that we'll bother to make a big deal about any of those little moments at the point of origin.

But that's what I enjoy about today's video. While strolling the top of Queen Elizabeth Park one long-ago summer's day with Sandy, a moment approaches; a moment arrives, and a determined effort is made to capture it forever on video tape. Now, if I ever feel the need, I can fire up the video playback machine and relive that early afternoon moment of July 17th 1983 at 1:30 PM over and over until I'm blue in the face.

This VHS footage (below) was shot a mere two months after a thrilling journey across the Atlantic to visit Jon and Maureen in England. Back in those days, video cameras were much too bulky to drag overseas on vacation. As it was, I had to use a mailman's sachel to carry all the parts with me; I looked like I was working for BCTV news. Even the battery was twice the size of today's elegant hand held digital video cameras for sale at Futureshop.

So recording a tourist stroll like this on VHS video was not an easy thing to do back in 1983. Too much fuss. I can only envy the kids of today with the ability to record most (if not all) of their entire waking life on video with only the most minor of inconvenience. I know I would have done it if I'd had the chance.

Alley Cats (The Insanitation Plea)

2009-04-25T10:33:00.001-07:00

Gosh this is awful. This was not my idea of a good idea. Easily the creepiest home movie in my vast collection of creepy movies, this back alley adventure was the brainchild of Mike - who also saw fit to grab the starring role in this foul mess for himself; not that anyone else had even the slightest interest.

I blame the existence of this film on the fact that Blazer Don (of Zambezi Bioscope Productions) had recently moved away to Australia (1975). Never to return. As a consequence, I was left without a competitive focus; the personal drive to compete. Since quality standards were no longer needed, anything was acceptable. If Mike wanted to make a dumb movie about garbage, by all means let's shoot that sucker!

With the prestigious Philum Festival just a dim memory of a bygone era at the time of this filming, I figured my efforts were highly unlikely to be seen by more than just the two or three actors involved. So who cares, right? Gee, thanks Don, I'm off the hook with this one. It's all your fault.

Kids Is Kids (Revised)

2009-04-15T17:46:00.000-07:00

It's a travel film. It's a Blazerville film. Stop, you're both right. It's two mints in one. Just when it looks like we're stuck watching an old vacation film of Hawaii (with palm trees and rolling surf)... boom; the channel is switched to some recently uncovered footage of the old Blazer community instead. All without warning; all without advance notice. Someone really should complain.

You might recognize a long clip in here of Selina and her sister Emma (both nervous and preparing themselves for a 'photo op') from a previous posting on this blogorama many months ago. The decision to rerun the clip again is one that I fully endorse in my role as official blog owner/operator. And I guess if there was a theme of any kind to sum up this dusty old patchwork quilt of a video from the 70s, it could be... kids. Yeah. Kids. Lots of scenes in here with kids (of all ages) is the point being made.

Minor alteration of scenes completed 4/19/09.

Return To England

2009-04-02T11:58:00.000-07:00

Contrary to what the above subject heading might indicate, this video does NOT capture a second voyage across the pond to Great Britain. This is just a return to the same video collection; more stale footage from the first and only visit Sandy and I made over to Jon's homeland back in what used to be known as 1983. But it's totally different footage from what we've already been subjected to on this blog. There's more little Rebecca on screen for one thing, and that's kinda fun.

I try not to think about how many days/months/years have gone by since this particular super 8 film was shot. It doesn't SEEM like anything nearing 3 decades - but it is. And if that's how fast we can race through 26 years of our alloted lifespan, then what the heck, I'll be in my 80s when we cover the same amount of ground again. Clearly my precious 'blog video uploading' time is fast slipping away.

Updating The Blogamathingy

2009-03-04T13:35:00.000-08:00

Very little super 8 film can be found within our video below. There might be a tiny section of Kodachrome 40 in here, but mostly we'll be looking at old VHS tapes from the mid to late 80s. I have stacks of old cartridges piled up somewhere, but dang if I can find anything since the 'big move' in 2003. They'll probably turn up eventually; I just haven't got the time to search all my storage areas for them right now. Heck, I don't even have the time to update this blogamathingy on a regular basis.

Well, at least I didn't have to roam too far to collect the scenes for this episode. Even though many years and seasons separate each portion, they were all conveniently gathered onto one tape; as if I'd planned to compile them into a single presentation at one point. Maybe they were meant to be included on an England bound video a few decades ago that was never sent. I wouldn't doubt it. But who knows, who cares. I just know I don't have the time to think about it right now.

Road To Lillooet

2009-02-25T14:45:00.000-08:00

A quick but short video entry here - while we wait for more classic movie films to be processed down at the local drug store on Elm Street.

I had not personally seen this particular bit of VHS tape in many years. It only briefly captures the horror and anguish of driving the 70 miles of unpaved roadway that runs from Lillooet to Gun Lake. Actually, this is just a small portion of the returning part of that trek, but might give the viewer an idea of what the other 69 miles are like.

The 'forever captured' afternoon we see here, hails from August in the summer of 1984 when Sandy and I drove up to Gun Lake to blow a week's vacation with Kim and Doug at her grandfather's cabin.

Unfit For Public Consumption

2009-02-18T15:27:00.000-08:00

We've reached the end of another 400' roll of super 8 film from the distant 1970s and there's precious little meat left to chew on at this stage. I dunno - have we already seen most of the bits and pieces from the attached video in our previous 100 blog postings? It's possible; I've long ago stopped checking.

After this entry, we might have to begin running some of the secondary footage that wasn't deemed quite good enough for public consumption during our first year of operation. Perhaps, if you've been with us from the very start, you've already come to the conclusion that all the crummy stuff was being uploaded FIRST - and the better films had yet to make their initial appearance on this blog. Well, you'd be wrong on that assumption, Einstein.

A few scenes within this video were altered or exchanged on 21/2/09.

Expect The Unexpected

2009-02-07T22:52:00.000-08:00

I always expect to find the unexpected when compiling these short video chapters from my long forgotten youth of the 1970s. I'm always hoping to find a tiny snippet or two that will provide visual proof of something I've completely forgotten about; completely lost the memory cells for. A discovery of that unscripted style HAS actually happened on previous occasions with these blog film reels, but unfortunately it didn't happen anywhere in the selection we have on our plate today.

The scenes here with Sandy and me strolling around the downtown core, were shot in 1984 with the full intention of being mailed across the pond to Jonny in England as some sorta documentary gift. If anything has surprised me during today's video, it's the discovery that these city scenes are still in my possession and that they never managed to make the trip to Cornwall as was planned. I can only hope that a promise to the man was never made in the first place; telling him that they were coming when they obviously never would be.

It's always nice to flash back and see the cosy old neighborhood in its heyday, or the niece and nephew as little kids again or my Blazer buddies enjoying the prime of their lives with, as yet, no knowledge of the brick wall they would soon be running into at full speed in the not too distant future.

Darkness And Regret

2009-02-01T09:29:00.000-08:00

You may THINK that you've seen some of these film clips in previous posts over the last 12 months on this blogger stage, but in most cases, you'd be horribly mistaken. What we have here is another episode of 'clean out the reject drawer' in which all the unused or redundant or uninteresting clips can finally get their public airing before having to live out the rest of their lives in the darkness and regret of the storage room. And since that's pretty much what we've been shooting for all along with this blog nonsense (darkness and regret) our trolley bus is totally on schedule and paying its own fare.

I plan to revisit a few of the captured moments seen on this video in more depth at a later time. For instance, the masterpiece I shot of George and Don driving their 'Great White Tongue' down to Kerrisdale Cameras in a long series of four frames per second, contains a treasure trove of single images that zip across the screen much too fast for the human eye to fully appreciate. A sample of that goldmine is included in the image of George that headlines this post. That jitterbug sequence, and others like it, is really no less than a photo album containing hundreds of vintage pictures of our little corner of Blazerville and the people that populated it back in the mid 70s.

IMPULSE! The Story Of Cardboard Inserts

2009-01-24T00:31:00.000-08:00

Now, if you're talking about stupid movies (as we were in our last blog entry) this stupid movie right here probably takes the cake. "IMPULSE - The True Story Of Cardboard Inserts And Their Place In Today's Modern World" (extended title). I'm not going to try and explain any of this to you. People either 'get it' or they don't, and there's no mushy middle ground here like there always was when you watched Siskel and Ebert on PBS. This movie best reflects the true spirit of our blog's title (NRP) and it's quite possible that your thoughts on cardboard inserts, and their place in society, will never be the same again.

Back in the Spring of 1975, Belkin's Packaging would pay their warehouse employees 5 dollars and 10 cents an hour to stand at a long bench and assemble these cardboard panels into the protective box lining shape which would then be used to safely separate six bottles of wine or tomato ketchup or maple syrup or whatever, for shipping/receiving/transporting across the country or around the world. I'm not sure exactly how I came to be in ownership of these otherwise useless (or so it seemed) panels of corrugated cardboard - each with either two or three 'slices' needed for interlocking stability - but ownership of them I would eventually claim, and a home movie with them I would eventually make.

Get Lost!

2009-01-15T19:32:00.000-08:00

Here's a stupid movie if ever there was one. This is from the 'no plot/no idea/no purpose' school of filmmaking and is a good example of the results you should expect when working on pure impulse and zero inspiration.

When I joined four members of 'THE GANG' for a little Sunday hike around Alice Lake back in the Spring of '75, I had no intention of using the location to make another dramatic movie. I had grabbed my camera and two rolls of super 8 film that morning with no ambitions other than to be a tourist in search of scenic views. However, I very quickly ditched that plan due to boredom and decided instead to force some semblance of a 3 act mini play into the mix; creating suspense and tension; joy and sorrow; albeit with an unenthusiastic cast.

An interesting side note here is that, while everyone involved in this movie/hike seemed to be snapping their own still pictures at every opportunity (except maybe Doug) I have still never, in the almost 35 years since, seen a single snapshot from any of them from that day. I would certainly have used any decent images of theirs (if they even exist) to accompany this otherwise dull blog submission, but all I can offer up is the movie footage, in the guise of a drama, obtained by my Nikon R10 during the course of that lakeside stroll.

The ending of this otherwise forgettable cinematic offering, if you can call it an ending, is still one of the most widely discussed and over analyzed 12 seconds in home movie making history, and even today newcomers to this film, intent on trying to understand it, are stumped into an open mouthed silence.

Farm News - Part TWO

2009-01-11T07:13:00.000-08:00

"The sky's all gibbled..." is what Dan seems to be thinking to himself in this screen grab (above) from part 2 of the movie 'FARM NEWS' (1976). Playing the simple, discombobulated farm worker caught up in a series of bizarre non-farmlike situations that were way over his head and not entirely of his own making, Dan created a character that, for better or worse, we will fondly remember him for, no matter how many decades removed from his 'hay' day he gets.

In all honesty, the framework of the non-traditional movie plot (like 'FARM NEWS' and 'ATOMIC SANDWICH') encouraged me to use a free wheeling, anything goes style of filmmaking that eventually became the hallmark of my career. With Dan and his rake for a prop, we could have easily pumped out another dozen or more episodes of these farmyard misadventures featuring his dim-witted, rural, straw-hatted character. I suppose we could even be making new episodes of FARM NEWS today if we wanted to; because in terms of understanding the problem and then deducing the outcome, there clearly wasn't much progress being made by either the farmer OR the filmmaker.

Farm News Part One

2009-01-07T16:23:00.000-08:00

If there had ever been a 2nd Annual Philum Festival Extravaganza back in the late 70s (following the 1st and only Philum Festival of 1975) this short miniplay featuring Dan as a befuddled farmer 'woulda been a contender' for the prestigious Golden Banana award; presented each year by Brenda to the least worst homemade flick on the block.

Unfortunately for 'Sanguine Films' (my phony film studio name back then), the most creative period of my movie making years occurred at the tail end of the 70s; right around the time when the Blazer Playhouse Theatre Performers had started to break up, move away, and lose all interest in doing cornball super 8 movies.

However, I discovered Dan available one day (33 years ago) and he didn't seem to find the idea of spending an afternoon dressed as a slow witted farmer in various locations of the city with a rake for a prop totally disagreeable. I can't imagine shooting these same scenes today in Gastown or at City Hall (part two). It's just not the same friendly small town that it once was - someone would probably steal the rake! But the story/plot came together in a most devilish way in the end, and it still rolls along pretty good visually - especially after the slick transformation into the digital domain.

Seabus Scene Still Missing

2009-01-03T20:01:00.000-08:00

As I recall the story: a year or two after the visit of Jon and Maureen to my hometown in June of 1979, I decided to send the precious super 8 footage I'd shot of that event by 'postage paid' to his address somewhere in Southwest England. I intended it as a friendly souvenir/gift and never really expected to see the original reels again.

However, at some point, I regained possession of the films when, for some reason, he posted them back to me. Or more probably, he packed them into a suitcase and escorted them back in person when he returned for a second visit in 1988. (Had I asked him to do so?) Upon reviewing the footage, I quickly noticed that substantial alterations had been made to my original presentation; a major editing job which Jon was certainly free to make; since I'd passed full ownership over to him.

My only concern was that Jon had now mixed up the running order in a few places. He'd also inserted footage of his OWN into the soup and portions had become bloated and redundant as a result - especially the 2 hours we both shot going up and down the Grouse Mountain Skyride. (You never saw so many trees.)

So here, in this THIRD and final collection of scenes featuring the 1979 visit of Jon and wife Maureen, we gather those random forgotten scenes that now serve to complete the full story of their journey. Except for one. Sadly, a personal favorite scene of mine remains unattached. Jon is well aware of the scene I speak of. The ever so graceful "Seabus Ferry cockpit scene". Apparently, this scene is now lost like a needle in a haystack somewhere in Jon's attic. Imprisoned within one of his own homemade movie reels after having cut it (and only it) adrift from its original reel for some as yet unanswerable reason. My sorrow knows no bounds.

Merely A Quarter Of A Century Ago

2008-12-26T20:11:00.000-08:00

An oddball jumble of video on display this time. Most of which seems to originate from the Spring of 1983 - except for the very last security cam shot which is quite recent. I recall compiling most of these old clips onto a 5 hour VHS tape for buddy Jon in England to watch - in exchange for him providing me with the same sort of entertainment on tape from his side of the world. Which he certainly did.

At one point in here, Randy and I venture back to our old High School to track down where the administration decided to hang up all our old grad photos from the decade before. While there, we also took the time to revisit my 'home away from home' during the early 70s... Mr. Hammer's Art & Applied Design classroom on the third floor. (We saw no sign of U.J. or his famous Albers Color Theory.)

In long forgotten autumn evenings of the early 1980s, we used to get a gang together for indoor volley ball, and a tiny snippet of that nonsense has survived for this upload. (As you might recall, it was roller hockey back in the '70s.) Otherwise, what we're watching here is just random stuff that happened merely a quarter of a century ago. We'll get back to the REALLY old stuff next time.

Christmas 2008

2008-12-26T10:35:00.000-08:00

The staff and management of No Relevant Point certainly hope that most, if not all of our viewers, got exactly what they wanted for Christmas 2008 and we trust that you will continue to find this blogateria a source for both idle reflection and painful regret in regards to watching these bygone years reconstituted on video.

Pointing out the fact that youth in general has a short shelf life and that in most cases the best days are already far behind us, is our blunt directive here at NRP and we're just doing our job with the tools at hand.

Old Smokey

2008-12-21T09:11:00.000-08:00

Running around a public park, being chased by a man in a grey trenchcoat aiming what appears to be a real gun, was probably a little easier to get away with back in the 70s for home movie making than it would be today. Having said that, perhaps if we'd actually run into anybody while filming at VanDusen Botanical Gardens that day, we might still have been told to knock it off prontolike. But the place was still in its infancy and nearly deserted.

What any unsuspecting onlooker would have seen that afternoon, was a whole lotta believable acting by the two characters in this short miniplay. Bravo to both Doug and Paul for playing their opposing parts so convincingly. Because it looks to me like that's pure and honest FEAR in Doug's eyes during his futile attempt to put distance between Paul and himself. How either of them managed to keep a straight face during the full 'run' of this energetic romp is beyond me.

Unfortunately, the film was originally twice as long as it is now. There were more chase scenes thru the tourist areas of the park that were removed when I decided to submit the movie to a super 8 film contest in the mid 70s. I think it was for CKVU TV. All submissions had to be under 2 minutes in length so I was faced with a hefty snipping job! In the end, I changed my mind and didn't even bother to submit the effort, but the damage had been done. Scenes were cut out and then lost over the years. This shorter version is all that remains of that Sunday stroll thru the park.

This bright and clear copy is taken from the recent DVD transfer rather than from the old VHS transfer - a copy of which still sits dull and faded-looking on the Youtube website.

Amputations On The Body Of Blazerville

2008-12-13T13:23:00.000-08:00

And now, only because I stumbled across it yesterday whilst (hi Jon) searching for something else in my overwhelming collection of historical video recordings, we present this short salute to a former living member of the neighborhood, now deceased... the Terry/Carolyn house.

Referred to as such because of the fact that Terry and Carolyn were the only residents we ever knew that called the structure home. (Separate decades of course.) The house, and the one that replaced it on the same property, has probably always been better known as the house wot sat next to the sprawling estate of Bartholomew Woods.

For such a dramatic event as the elimination of a significant chunk of Blazerville, I was joined out on the street by a few long time inhabitants of the area; only one of which agreed to be interviewed. Don's mom pointed out for us that her home, and many of the others in the 'hood', were all basically identical and built by the same people at the same time. And - had she been able to - she would've liked to have saved one of the interior doors of the doomed shelter, for use in her own abode.

Her need for a new door was based on the fact that daughter Brenda (perhaps better known to viewers of this blog as Esther) had removed a special door from the house and taken it with her when she moved into her first marriage. Apparently Brenda is no less nostalgic than this writer and found it hard to part with the sentimental value the bedroom door of her childhood represented.

In The Pre-Housebound Days

2008-12-07T15:22:00.000-08:00

It's 'Blazer Doug' front and center in this latest assemblage of old super 8 film bits from the late 1970s; running around like a chicken with his head cut off during the making of a chase movie in Squamish. (Sandy; pictured above; played the chasee.) Also on screen for a large chunk of footage again is non-Blazer Jonny; no doubt these would be the excess trimmings I had to leave behind while compiling the official DVD version of his 1979 visit to Canada. (DVD now available at all fine A&B Sound outlets.)

At least two different trips to Disneyland can be spotted in here; with a short stay in Seattle to catch the monorail thrown in. Meanwhile, in downtown Vancouver, Billy surprises everyone at one point by hopping onstage and doing an impromptu tap dance. Gotta stick around for that. So it's all over the map again; Squamish, Seattle, Disneyland and Victoria. I don't travel around NEARLY as much as I used to now that I'm old and housebound.

Postal Rock Opera Type Thingy

2008-12-06T19:51:00.000-08:00

Here's another 'used' video that I fished out of the Youtube lake recently where it had been floating undiscovered for the past year. The closets of my account on that file-sharing website continue to be slowly emptied out as it seems most of my energy for uploading old, stale images of the 70s is now being funneled into this more private arena called No Relevant Point.

I had composed the sluggish tune that plays along in the background of this flick for what I envisioned as part of a long 'postal rock opera type thingy' back in the mid 90s. Songs about getting thru another day on the job with vocal help from Steve and Harry. Stranger still, when I completed the the full album and got a short mention about it (with photo) in the company news magazine, I ended up receiving requests from across Canada for CD copies of this homemade postal 'J.C. Superstar'. We had gone national. That bizarre development still creeps me out a little even today, a full decade later.

The Selective Videotographer

2008-11-30T09:39:00.000-08:00

Boring video now. Boring yes, but it will act as an understatement for the previous claims I've been making. About how my collection of videos/movies/photos is so massive and so improperly organized that in order to pump them all out to the waiting throng of admirers and fellow bloggers, we must be prepared to sit thru the dull productions, just as often as we sit thru the lesser dull.

And this will be a dull one, make no mistake about it. The only excuse I have for the boring footage that follows is that the time period being captured was shortly after I'd purchased the first of my video cameras; thereby making everything in front of me an artistic visual opportunity that needed to be captured. Yes, this included people painting doors or mowing lawns.

Even today, I still enjoy the sense of knowing that whatever I may be shooting on any given day will soon become a golden, frozen moment in time; to be studied and discussed at length in the future. Because, as we all know, (repeat after me)... "what was once THE NOW will soon be THE VERY LONG AGO". And so it is with this lame production below. It's just that I probably should have been a little more selective during the 'very long ago' part for the moments worthy of looking back on in the 'now' part. Perhaps I could have left the recording equipment at home on this particular day without regretting it too much in the years to come.

Reverse Scenario

2008-11-23T09:39:00.000-08:00

Very much related to our last posting on this bloggerama stage (same cast; same camera) is this reverse scenario of the British Invasion of 1979 that we present here. Four years had passed since that romp thru the streets of Vancouver and now it was my turn to visit good buddy Jon down on HIS farm in the wilderness of southwest England.

Bodmin, Cornwall was the spot he'd chosen to endure the yearly struggle of existence, and by gum, I was keen to see for myself the peaceful green pastures and quiet small town setting that he'd been claiming it was.

There had been a small but not insignificant change in Jon's circumstances since those freewheeling days of his Canadian visit. My girlfriend Sandy and I were pleased to be introduced to an enchanting new member of the family; a cute toddler wot they'd named for identification purposes: Rebecca Louise. Both my camera and I insisted on capturing her at every opportunity; such were her elegant charms. In fact, I had to edit out many more scenes of her than I've included in order to keep this flick under 10 minutes. In any event, it all happened with gusto and glamour twenty five years ago in the far away youthful spring of 1983.

Trivia/coincidence note: Ain't it funny? On the very same day that I am saluting this tattered and yellowed page from my personal history book, Mr. Bartholomew Woods is over there on his own little blog saluting the same thing... HIS first visit to England! Which took place two years prior to mine. Both our visits included a stop inside the same two level home in Cornwall seen on my video - and in the photographs that accompany his story.

Offending Footage Expunged

2008-11-16T18:45:00.000-08:00

It's still a little too early to celebrate the official 30th anniversary of this event (so comically captured here on super 8 film). But not MUCH too early. If I don't upload this video onto Bloggerville now, it'll probably slip my mind in 6 months when the proper date pops up next Spring.

The event I refer to is the 'Grand Return To Canada' series of films featuring our dear departed high school friend Jonny (and his newish wife Maureen) back in 1979 after he'd dun spent the previous 8 years on the lamb living the British life over there in Cornwall, UK.

Our trans-Atlantic communication since 1971 had been almost exclusively via the spoken word on cassette tapes, so I must admit I found it a bewildering experience at first to chat with him face to face again. But this was also one of the highlights of my first 30 years on the planet, no doubt partly due to that 'celebrity' impression the talkie tapes had created.

As is evident in the footage provided below, fellow Tupperoonian, Bill would often join us for a day trip during the two week period, which included a boat cruise to Victoria, an evening at Playland, a stroll thru Queen Elizabeth Park and dining at the finest cafes in town. And for those viewers that might remember an ultra boring 25 minute section of film that was shot by both Jon and me (and then spliced together) going up (and then down) Grouse Mountain on the Skyride - you'll be pleased to learn that the offending footage has been expunged.

Billy Watching The Sky

2008-11-11T12:59:00.000-08:00

I should probably plan these videos out a bit better. Maybe pick a theme or a topic and then stick with it completely before moving on to the next one. For the most part, this latest video (actually it's super 8 film) covers a two week period in June 1979 when good buddy Jonny came flying across from England for a look/see with his wife Maureen. But sure enough, as we watch the final product here, we find that a number of unrelated scenes from other time periods have polluted the presentation; including scenes we've already had to suffer thru at earlier points on this blog. Wassup with that?

There's a lot more footage of street hockey in the parking lot of the Ferry terminal if you're interested, but that would require a full blog post of its own someday and trust me, it can get old pretty fast. A small taste of the action is all you really need and it's all I've supplied here. There was also a full production of Billy meeting the British tourists at the airport upon their arrival, but again, it's dull to the max and only a small portion of that is included here. Gives you the jist of it anyway.

The mystery girl near the end is Heather. Watch for a car with an upside down license plate. Try and spot the old fashioned police cruiser from a bygone era. This collection of snippets is the work of at least four different people operating the camera. Bill, Jon, Maureen and myself. Chris was only pretending to shoot film during his little scene. What a kidder.

The Immediate Results Of Video Tape

2008-11-07T21:21:00.000-08:00

And now for something totally unexpected. A short experiment in video taping from the year 1983 with the actual matching audio elements included. At the time, it wasn't important to me exactly what was being recorded on camera (and microphone). It was more the thrill of receiving those results IMMEDIATELY that caught my fancy. No processing at the Kodak plant in North Vancouver would ever be required again.

In my new found enthusiasm, I suppose a critical eye for 'quality input' was less than what it should have been. This early entry (below) in my now massive homemade video tape library, is a good example of how new electronic toys can lead to pointless overuse and to the creation of painfully unfunny moments that seem to last forever.

More Evidence Of Missing Footage

2008-10-31T22:19:00.000-07:00

We begin today's episode with 3 vintage clips from the early 1960s featuring our local playground, Little Mountain. These clips represent just a tiny spoonful of what I've managed to transfer of my Uncle Bill's collection of old regular 8 film reels onto DVD. More to come in the months ahead from that source I'm sure.

Otherwise, the highlight moment in this video, is watching Don and Paul during a golf game - again up Little Mountain - in which Don almost sinks a long 'hole in one' from the 7th tee. What concerns me about this scene though, is that I can find no further footage from that day of golfing. On a previous blog entry, we watched as Paul drained a short putt on the 6th green during what must have been the same afternoon - but it doesn't seem possible to me that I would only capture those two tidbits in what must have been a full 18 hole game. Where's the footage from the other 16 holes, is what I'd like to know.

Mr. Clean Comes To Town

2008-10-23T13:31:00.000-07:00

Some of the scenes in our video today have already been offered up for viewing on the old Youtube site (which I rarely use anymore). But at the time of that first uploading, they had not yet been treated to the classy DVD transfer process so popular with the youth of today. It's a painful process, but these films knew they were doomed to live a diminished life without submitting to it.

Much brighter and clearer are these newly transferred super 8 film fragments. Close ups are now much more 'close uppier' and the backgrounds seem to come alive with newly found strength and vigor. It's as if Mr. Clean himself has made a visit to our little corner of the world.

There's a bit of everybody in this reel. Bart, Dan, Hanklin, Bill, Theresa, Jon, Maureen, Tracy, Kevin, Fran, Mike, George, Paul, Rob, Doug, another George, Kim, Fred and even the cameraman Eddy. Did I forget to mention 'Big Al'?

Anvil Island Getaway

2008-10-16T15:18:00.000-07:00

Eventually, the postings here at 'No Relevant Point' will make a slight detour from the vast storage lockers of super 8 film reels (that we've grown accustomed to) and into the vast storage lockers of video tape cartridges instead. That minor change may happen suddenly and without warning but will not by any means indicate an end to our regular meal of super 8 film from the 1970s.

Actually, today is the day we debut that change in formats with one of the very first 'outings' that I managed to capture using my then-new (1982) Olympus portable VHS camera/recorder.

It was old school pal Bill that offered an invitation for me and my girlfriend Sandy to join him on a weekend vacation to Anvil Island; which is a tiny mountain/island playground situated in the middle of Howe Sound within easy eyesight of the sea to sky highway. It was a nice break from city life, but without these few scenes of activity here to convince me otherwise, I would have sworn by memory that it rained heavily the entire weekend.

The Atomic Sandwich - Part One

2008-10-06T19:06:00.000-07:00

Just the IDEA that Bart, Dan, and Theresa would ever sit down together to eat sandwiches and watch 'The Flintstones' strikes me as a bit creepy. But that's exactly what we get here in this 1975 sci-fi whodunit called: "The Atomic Sandwich".

The release date on this film MUST be post-Philum Festival because frankly, if it was any earlier, it would've scooped up each and every major award at that year's celebration of home cinema. Everybody else's films would have gone home empty handed and crying. :o)

A large chunk of original footage has been cut from this screening. Endless scenes of Dan in his parent's kitchen preparing the massive sandwich that gives this film it's ominous title, were much too plentiful and redundant and tended to slow the story down to a crawl. So I cut them out. (Did we really need to see how many slices of cheese were added?)

Meanwhile, it's Paul in his role as the troubled loner, that surprises us most. Exhibiting moments of genuine bliss and fear. Perhaps we underestimated his acting ability back then. (Who can forget his role as a hit man in the drama: "Gun Smoke" filmed at Van Deusen Gardens?)

The title of today's movie might suggest a continuing story. But as of this date, no further parts have been filmed.

Promotional Trailer - I Love To Walk (Director's Cut)

2008-10-04T18:37:00.000-07:00

Early next year (or the year after that) we'll be forcing our viewers to take yet another stroll (pun intended) thru the movie "I LOVE TO WALK". As you MUST recall, this is the breakout role in the breakout movie that put then unknown actor Hanklin Snowden on the super 8 film 'A' list back in the mid 70s.

When we screen the show this time, we'll be treated to the 'definitive' updated cut of 'I Love To Walk' featuring restored scenes. Were you aware that such a thing existed? I sure wasn't. Along with those newly rescued passages, the soundtrack has been digitally remastered, and a rare 5 minute sit down interview with star Hanklin about his life-altering role in this feature film has been discovered which will be run in its entirety following the last of eight installments.

Part Six - Out Takes/The Esther Project

2008-09-28T09:42:00.000-07:00

Who could blame her for laughing? It was all so corny. However, Brenda's inability to keep a straight face during the 'NEW Esther' segment of this boring little movie, ultimately led to a number of takes being unusable. Yes, we eventually got the reasonably convincing shots we needed to advance the storyline, but it wasn't easy. On display in this short blooper reel though, are a few bits and pieces of film that were tossed out because of Brenda's constant need to giggle; which went against her character's newly exposed character.

And while I really wanted to use this scene (left) of a city bus rushing to Don's rescue as the gang closed in on him, my friend Bill noticed (after an early screening of the finished film with scene included) that the first bus was clearly not the same bus that Don eventually boards. I hadn't noticed the different paint jobs until he pointed it out. (I wonder how many other viewers would have noticed.) So this otherwise perfect visual addition to the big closing chase scene - which also featured a glimpse of the store my parents operated for a few years back in the late 1940s (Dairy Dale) - had to be sliced off and discarded forever. Or at least until an opportunity like this video blog out take bizniz came along.

Part Five - The Esther Project

2008-09-20T09:36:00.000-07:00

Don has promised me that someday we'll get around to shooting a sequel to this crazy Esther movie, but I think I'd be just as happy to redo this first one over again from scratch. To try and eliminate the glaring errors I made this first time as the so-called writer/director/gaffer. The biggest of such errors (as I've said more than once) was killing off the suitcase in the opening scenes! If you bother watching this fifth and final chapter of the film, try to imagine the hilarity that was denied us because Don wasn't fumbling with a suitcase during the big chase.

Another mistake I made was refusing to use a tripod for any of the long shots - not that I had any tripods to use anyway. This award winning moment (picture left) of the four tuffnik friends coming to the rescue of Esther was undermined by a less than steady camera. I also learned that close ups are an important part of any feature film (experts suggest 90% of a movie should be close ups) and proper focus in these scenes can't be stressed enough.

So I considered it all a learning experience at the time of production and was looking forward to making bigger and better films because of it. However, when Don left the world of Blazerville a few short weeks after this movie wrapped, the bottom pretty much fell out of the local super 8 film studio rivalry and no further attempts were made to replicate the grand Hollywood epics of yesteryear.

The opening scenes (of Esther's home turf) were actually shot in the famous rough and tumble 'downtown eastside' of Vancouver.

Part Four - The Esther Project

2008-09-15T17:32:00.000-07:00

In order to stitch the two halves of this boring movie together; and in order to hit the viewer over the head with exactly how out-of-touch our hero's fantasy about Esther had become, Don and I ventured down to the grubby part of town, an old deserted railway station in the late summer of 1975, to capture some 'soul searching' moments on film. Why in the world Don's character would choose this destination for any soul searching has always been a bit of a question mark, and I understand there are some fan websites set up that still discuss it. But at least on his way down here, Don managed to purchase a new tie.

Yes, Esther finally makes her first appearance in this short section - or at least how our hero remembers her. I was trying not to reveal too much of Esther for the audience; as if this was more a dream than reality. But in retrospect, maybe the footage of Don and Brenda strolling thru Stanley Park together in their best Sunday clothes, should have instead been shot amongst the same dirty train tracks and overgrown weeds as the sulking scenes were. That might explain why he came down here, plus it would have been plum hilarious to watch.

And while it's far too late now to fix it, I still think Don should have been carrying his old brown suitcase in each and every bloody scene of this movie! Even in the lovely soft focus flashbacks!

Part Three - The Esther Project

2008-09-11T15:46:00.000-07:00

It's part three already and still no sign of Esther. How long can we stand the suspense? In the segment we're about to see today, we find that Don's search has led him down another dangerous road.

Finding flaws in this movie is pretty easy I'll admit, but it bears repeating once again just how much funnier it COULD have been had Don continued with the dragging of old brown suitcase and the wearing of dark formal jacket. And now, for some reason, even his smart-looking tie has gone AWOL! Why would we chuck out the tie? It's not as if the tie was inconvenient to carry like the suitcase. (We should have had him wearing a little red BOW-tie from the start anyway.) I'm surprised a sock or shoe wasn't lost during this third installment.

Even without the props, there's still some fine acting on display here, especially by the trio of no-good thugs (George, Doug and Joe) who obviously don't like being interrupted during their back yard jamming sessions. While I often employed George and Doug for my cinematic endeavors, this would be Joe's one and only film credit. (And doesn't he look like one of the Monkees on the album jacket he's holding?) But in a true story that I'm guilty of retelling many times, Joe (in real life) would eventually end up marrying the lead actress in this picture - the ever mysterious (and soon to make her debut) Esther! Played by his future bride, Brenda. And it's all thanks to the producer/director... me! The children they would bring into the world owe their entire existence to this awkward, silly movie of mine. Think about THAT for a minute, why don'tcha.

Part Two - The Esther Project

2008-09-06T12:24:00.000-07:00

One of the (many) mistakes we made during the filming of this dramatic photoplay, was when we decided to 'lose' one of our best props before the movie was even 3 minutes old. I'm referring to the brown, touristy suitcase Don started off with. In retrospect, the main character should have been kept 'whole' from start to finish in this story. When the suitcase was eliminated (after hitchhiking in the yellow sports car) we lost what could have been the best ongoing visual element of humour. Don should have been required to drag that thing around with him everywhere he went.

If only we'd thought to have Paul (the sports car driver) toss the tattered suitcase back out onto the road behind him as he sped off in that final scene (from part one). He didn't really want it anyway; he wasn't a thief. Having the suitcase available for Don's frantic chase scenes in the film's second half, would have raised the laugh level of this movie from a paltry two stars to SIX!

In this second of five installments, we follow our hero again as he continues in his quest to reunite with Esther. It's unclear to us at this point exactly how long they've been apart, but we're starting to get the hint that Esther ain't fondly remembered by the simple folks in this dusty town. Part two today features a totally convincing fight scene with Dan (wearing my sister's old red kimono) during which, unfortunately, we lose yet another good comedy prop that should have been kept in - Don's squaresville smoking jacket. Thankfully, Dan's red kimono will make another guest appearance later on.

Part One - The Esther Project

2008-09-01T12:15:00.000-07:00

That's me sitting on the ground and Don (in his final role) walking towards the camera during our first day of principle shooting for the 'Block Blazer' blockbuster "In Search Of Esther" - a 1975 whodunit which still manages to draw crowds whenever it plays late at night on the local home theatre screen. And thanks to some devoted fans (groupies) of the super 8 film medium of the time, a few photographs from that day (taken from a respectable distance) have been uncovered that capture the art of moviemaking in the act.

This was a rushed production. With a deadline fast approaching of Don's departure for Australia, there was little time for rewrites or second takes or even a coherent storyline to stitch the project together. As I recall, my main objective was just to make a long movie. The longer the better. Ideally, I wanted something approaching the running time of an actual Hollywood movie - about 90 minutes! But what I settled for, with outtakes and bloopers, was around 20 minutes. Still; a sizable investment of time and effort.

Since the edited version of this movie is currently being torn down from its perch on the Youtube website, the new home for this epic feature should be right here at Blazer Central. But it should be offered up in chunks, rather than as a full meal deal. Starting today with part one; the opening scenes as Don returns to his hometown after a long absence. (Art would soon be imitating real life as we would eventually discover.)

What's STILL missing from this opening, was the original plan I had to run all the text credits over a few still photos I'd taken of Don at the airport pretending to have just arrived (while wearing those icky striped pants). Those pictures still exist (in slide format) and may eventually be employed for their original purpose. But not for this showing.

Big Al; Small Mention - UPDATED!

2008-08-30T23:27:00.000-07:00

Perhaps it's time we finally gave the little runt (Big Al) a blog entry of his very own. Right here, right now. A short acknowledgment (while we wait for more films to be processed) to concede that yes - just as with Wonderful Wanda and the neighbor with the missing arm - our block was a tiny fraction of a measurement more interesting than it would have been without Big Al being a part of it.

And altho we don't see the little scamp much anymore (if ever) and he has yet to watch even ONE of these old NRP films in which he appears, we know that sooner or later he will show up again, probably when we least expect it; and probably right back on the sidewalks of our old neighborhood. Probably peddling that stupid bicycle of his with the colorful streamers poking out the handle grips.

Until then, we'll simply stop for a brief moment in our hectic day, to salute the nosey little intruder with the impish smirk. "Sa-lute!" we shout. As if this blog was more like an episode of "Hee Haw" than the respectable home showpage for all things Block Blazerish.

NEWS UPDATE: A new viewer to this No Relevant Point website accidentally stumbled upon our posting about Big Al and felt the need to assist us by supplying us with what appears to be an officially updated photograph of the one time pre-teen Blazer-in-training. A full THIRTY YEARS after his image was last captured on super 8 film.

The picture attached at this juncture then, is none other than THEE little squirt himself 'BIGish ALish'; as he would appear today if spotted out riding his bicycle on the street - assuming he would ever come back and do such an odd thing.

Still Photos - Retarded Cousin Of The Movies

2008-08-23T12:37:00.000-07:00

When did I ever find the time to snap all these old still pictures? I thought I was far more into the movie making schtick back in the 70s.

I've got miles and miles of super 8 film stored in canisters that are stored in big boxes that are stored in the storage room where they reach for the ceiling - and yet I also continue to bump into a never ending supply of photo albums that are filled to the brim with images that were obviously captured during the same time period (1972-78) using one of the three still cameras I had in my possession back then.

Fast forward to the modern day. While I might use my new digital camera to snap the occasional digital photograph every now and then, I'm nowhere NEAR to matching the totals that were reached by my younger self using my younger cameras with old fashioned Kodachrome. And that's a good thing I guess. Better to capture the good old days of my youth than to capture the weary 'old man' days of the present.

So that's our plot for tonight's show, kids. Yet another salute to the past. But this time, we'll be viewing results from the super 8 movie camera's slightly retarded cousin; the Brownie box still camera.

Winds Of Change

2008-08-13T22:03:00.000-07:00

Here's another short collection of filmbits that have been carefully transported by bicycle over from Youtube to this Blog showcase; including a quick-paced opening flurry featuring the 1988 softball team that, up until now, has only been seen on the special collector's bonus edition DVD I made for long time coach Al J. Very few of the faces on that team from 20 years ago have bothered to continue playing all the way thru to this just completed season of 2008 - but there's a few.

The rest of today's package is pretty familiar stuff for any regular visitor to these pages. The little Alan kid is back. So is Billy and his Bug. Bartholomew almost flips his shoe into a river, and a summer stroll for Paul and Hanklin comes to a sudden stop when they both hear the winds of change sneaking up from behind.

Have we already watched the 'Kung Fu You' footage on this blog yet? Man, that's old stuff. Hard to believe that it was an official entry in the prestigious 1975 Philum Festival - the highest rung on the ladder of local filmmaking achievement. The judges must have been accepting any and all entries that year.