Softball - Off The Beaten Path?

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

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)

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

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

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

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

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.