The "What's on your mind?" thread

[civiclx]

Waiting for a Bond set to include No Time To Die. I started The World Is Not Enough last night and I'm going to finish it pretty soon and then try and watch another movie.

[LordoftheRings]

Good riddance

With the exorbitant prices of 4K Blu-rays nowadays I won't miss a bit.
Black Fridays in Kanada is also a joke. Time to move on ... Streaming.

[LordoftheRings]

[sfmarine]

Originally Posted by civiclx

You should definitely go. He's a fantastic actor. I thought he was brilliant in Tombstone. Gettysburg is a fantastic movie. Been ages since I've seen it.

****MEGA post incoming!

Thanks for the push. It went well!


Billy Campbell (The Rocketeer), is on the right. He really only has one speaking role in Gettysburg, but he is featured more in Gods & Generals. They both entered together and Lang knew everyone was there for him, so he poked fun about how Campbell was a good looking guy-amping up the crowd I guess to take the focus off him for a bit. FYI: Campbell dated Jennifer Connelly for 5 years and they were even engaged. He was chosen by People magazine as the 50 most beautiful people in the world…let that sink in!

Brief intro/backstory:

Related links for the event
https://www.hallowedground.org/getty...y-celebration/
https://destinationgettysburg.com/ev...ng-meet-greet/

This was super last minute for me as I saw that there would be a Gettysburg 30th Anniversary event for the movie over the weekend on my news feed. I found out about it on Thursday and many of the events were sold out. I was scrambling the night before trying to figure out what to get signed. For some reason, I do not have The Rocketeer on Blu. I watched Bram Stoker’s Dracula earlier in the week and Campbell is in that.

I settled on bringing my Criterion Laserdisc copy of Dracula over the 4K Steelbook. Lang isn’t featured on any Avatar BD release and I didn’t have a poster for the film, so I grabbed this set and planned on him signing the cover. Of course, I took my digibook of Gettysburg & G&D. The event faq mentioned that the actors would only sign two items of memorabilia per person.

I had to get up at 5:30 as the drive out to Gettysburg is 3.5 hours with stops and traffic. So I arrive 2 hours before the signing and asked where they would be set up. The woman said to get in line now and pointed around the corner. People were already lined up..I would say two dozen or so. I went back to the car to grab my movies and some water-hit the head, and got in line which grew a bit longer.

While waiting in line, I was also trying to figure out which colored sharpie to use. I had multi-colored ones and settled on green for Avatar as it would really pop with the dark background. An hour or so went by (line quadrupled), and this short guy came around saying Lang would only sign Gettysburg/Civil War memorabilia. He said no Lego sets or dolls-directed at Avatar merch (I’m guessing he meant Funko Pop), but nevertheless…The people holding Avatar posters, action figures, & photos sighed and I quietly shifted my Avatar copy to the bottom of my bag. I wonder if anyone brought a poster from Don’t Breathe LOL! The coordinator did mention you could probably get him to sign something from Tombstone and everyone laughed. He said the reason for not accepting anything else was due to the strike, but he reiterated that they would both only be signing Gettysburg-related material and you did not want to upset Mr. Lang lol. He also conveniently mentioned how you could purchase many items from the gift shop to have them sign. My initial reaction…

I thought “I wonder if they just want people to purchase their in-house items..” but meh. I also understood that this was strictly a Gettysburg Anniversary event, so in a way it made sense why they would restrict certain items. Not sure who or what made that decision. Perhaps it was the museum or it was due to the strike…or even Lang himself. Either way..you have to respect the rules.

Several people in line did show off what they brought to sign. Many had the theatrical poster which is beautiful -


Ironically, none of the 3 names featured on the poster attended the event with the exception of Tom Berenger. He was not doing autos for some reason which is a shame as it would’ve been great to meet him. A few got a kick out of my Dracula LD. I expressed my sadness that Campbell would not sign it and I mentioned how at least I didn’t go out of my way to obtain something from The Rocketeer. Honestly if I had more notice I probably would have purchased the movie for him to sign, but alas.

So we’ve made it to the table. It was pretty chaotic! I had a few questions for Lang regarding Avatar. I wanted to ask him about filming back to back and how long he held his breath for but then I realized he probably wouldn’t like Avatar questions considering we were “briefed” before his arrival.

Of course the actors had their own sharpies! They had multiple handlers and surprisingly they even had people to grab your phone for photos. I got a look at Lang and my mind went completely blank. It was a Ralphie meeting Santa situation minus the slide, but not Cousin Eddie level.

We both said hello and I sat down next to him as he signed my two items. I said something stupid about the weather he said something back but I forget what he said. He did not ask what my name was or where I was from. It was a bit impersonal, tbh. This was my opportunity to mention his performances in Gettysburg and G&D but I was frozen! He was wearing cut off gloves. I’m not sure if he was protecting his hands or preventing people from shaking his hand. The person before me tried to shake his hand but Lang (seated) did not really acknowledge the dude and he basically just placed his hand on his as in goodbye lol. They snapped a photo of us and I thanked him and moved on to Mr. Campbell.

Someone in line told me I should show Billy my Laserdisc anyway. “You never know…”Thankfully I was unfrozen when meeting Billy, but I brought up the weather to him as well. WTF is wrong with me?

As he was signing the items I removed Dracula from my bag saying I know you can’t sign this and held it off to the side and he got a kick out of it! He said he never watched it on LD and of course I brought up the 4K but he didn’t say anything. He then told me he was just in London and had lunch with Richard Grant. I knew the name and that he was in Dracula but I froze up again, briefly haha. He then asked me if I wanted him to sign the Laserdisc! I told him that would be great. We did the photo and that was it!




All in all, it was a fun experience. I don’t really attend these events with signing opportunities. It’s funny how I came for Lang (as did the majority), but had a better interaction with Billy Campbell. He was extraordinarily kind to me and did not have to sign that but he did.

Going into these events, you should have a little icebreaker line prepared (nothing about the weather) and do a bit of research on the actors. Afterwards I found out Billy lives in Norway which is interesting! With Lang being so involved with Gettysburg, I could see him doing another signing there in the future. I’ll try to be better prepared next time.

[LordoftheRings]

[civiclx]

Originally Posted by sfmarine

****MEGA post incoming!

Thanks for the push. It went well!

[Show spoiler]
Billy Campbell (The Rocketeer), is on the right. He really only has one speaking role in Gettysburg, but he is featured more in Gods & Generals. They both entered together and Lang knew everyone was there for him, so he poked fun about how Campbell was a good looking guy-amping up the crowd I guess to take the focus off him for a bit. FYI: Campbell dated Jennifer Connelly for 5 years and they were even engaged. He was chosen by People magazine as the 50 most beautiful people in the world…let that sink in!

Brief intro/backstory:

Related links for the event
https://www.hallowedground.org/getty...y-celebration/
https://destinationgettysburg.com/ev...ng-meet-greet/

This was super last minute for me as I saw that there would be a Gettysburg 30th Anniversary event for the movie over the weekend on my news feed. I found out about it on Thursday and many of the events were sold out. I was scrambling the night before trying to figure out what to get signed. For some reason, I do not have The Rocketeer on Blu. I watched Bram Stoker’s Dracula earlier in the week and Campbell is in that.

I settled on bringing my Criterion Laserdisc copy of Dracula over the 4K Steelbook. Lang isn’t featured on any Avatar BD release and I didn’t have a poster for the film, so I grabbed this set and planned on him signing the cover. Of course, I took my digibook of Gettysburg & G&D. The event faq mentioned that the actors would only sign two items of memorabilia per person.

I had to get up at 5:30 as the drive out to Gettysburg is 3.5 hours with stops and traffic. So I arrive 2 hours before the signing and asked where they would be set up. The woman said to get in line now and pointed around the corner. People were already lined up..I would say two dozen or so. I went back to the car to grab my movies and some water-hit the head, and got in line which grew a bit longer.

While waiting in line, I was also trying to figure out which colored sharpie to use. I had multi-colored ones and settled on green for Avatar as it would really pop with the dark background. An hour or so went by (line quadrupled), and this short guy came around saying Lang would only sign Gettysburg/Civil War memorabilia. He said no Lego sets or dolls-directed at Avatar merch (I’m guessing he meant Funko Pop), but nevertheless…The people holding Avatar posters, action figures, & photos sighed and I quietly shifted my Avatar copy to the bottom of my bag. I wonder if anyone brought a poster from Don’t Breathe LOL! The coordinator did mention you could probably get him to sign something from Tombstone and everyone laughed. He said the reason for not accepting anything else was due to the strike, but he reiterated that they would both only be signing Gettysburg-related material and you did not want to upset Mr. Lang lol. He also conveniently mentioned how you could purchase many items from the gift shop to have them sign. My initial reaction…

I thought “I wonder if they just want people to purchase their in-house items..” but meh. I also understood that this was strictly a Gettysburg Anniversary event, so in a way it made sense why they would restrict certain items. Not sure who or what made that decision. Perhaps it was the museum or it was due to the strike…or even Lang himself. Either way..you have to respect the rules.

Several people in line did show off what they brought to sign. Many had the theatrical poster which is beautiful -


Ironically, none of the 3 names featured on the poster attended the event with the exception of Tom Berenger. He was not doing autos for some reason which is a shame as it would’ve been great to meet him. A few got a kick out of my Dracula LD. I expressed my sadness that Campbell would not sign it and I mentioned how at least I didn’t go out of my way to obtain something from The Rocketeer. Honestly if I had more notice I probably would have purchased the movie for him to sign, but alas.

So we’ve made it to the table. It was pretty chaotic! I had a few questions for Lang regarding Avatar. I wanted to ask him about filming back to back and how long he held his breath for but then I realized he probably wouldn’t like Avatar questions considering we were “briefed” before his arrival.

Of course the actors had their own sharpies! They had multiple handlers and surprisingly they even had people to grab your phone for photos. I got a look at Lang and my mind went completely blank. It was a Ralphie meeting Santa situation minus the slide, but not Cousin Eddie level.

We both said hello and I sat down next to him as he signed my two items. I said something stupid about the weather he said something back but I forget what he said. He did not ask what my name was or where I was from. It was a bit impersonal, tbh. This was my opportunity to mention his performances in Gettysburg and G&D but I was frozen! He was wearing cut off gloves. I’m not sure if he was protecting his hands or preventing people from shaking his hand. The person before me tried to shake his hand but Lang (seated) did not really acknowledge the dude and he basically just placed his hand on his as in goodbye lol. They snapped a photo of us and I thanked him and moved on to Mr. Campbell.

Someone in line told me I should show Billy my Laserdisc anyway. “You never know…”Thankfully I was unfrozen when meeting Billy, but I brought up the weather to him as well. WTF is wrong with me?

As he was signing the items I removed Dracula from my bag saying I know you can’t sign this and held it off to the side and he got a kick out of it! He said he never watched it on LD and of course I brought up the 4K but he didn’t say anything. He then told me he was just in London and had lunch with Richard Grant. I knew the name and that he was in Dracula but I froze up again, briefly haha. He then asked me if I wanted him to sign the Laserdisc! I told him that would be great. We did the photo and that was it!




All in all, it was a fun experience. I don’t really attend these events with signing opportunities. It’s funny how I came for Lang (as did the majority), but had a better interaction with Billy Campbell. He was extraordinarily kind to me and did not have to sign that but he did.

Going into these events, you should have a little icebreaker line prepared (nothing about the weather) and do a bit of research on the actors. Afterwards I found out Billy lives in Norway which is interesting! With Lang being so involved with Gettysburg, I could see him doing another signing there in the future. I’ll try to be better prepared next time.

So glad you went and had such a great time! Awesome pictures and enjoyed reading your post. That's funny about you being nervous and looking for an ice-breaker. I'm sure I would have been the same way. Good to hear that your interaction with Billy Campbell was so nice. That's really cool that he signed your Laserdisc.

I definitely need to get my copy of Gettysburg and watch it. I can't remember the last time I've seen the film but I'm sure it's been over 10 years. I remember being really impressed with Jeff Daniels after seeing him in Dumb & Dumber. And Martin Sheen as Robert E. Lee was great as was Tom Berenger.
I don't remember a great deal about the film but I do remember the look on Pickett's face when he tells Lee that he has no men left. He really is a fantastic actor.

[Member-222782]

I always like to try out different products just to see if I'm missing out on anything better. Dawn dishwashing detergent (the Ultra kind) is as good as it gets but it leaves a weird odor on stuff. So I go to a Dollar store and pick up Gain dishwashing liquid to try it out. Freaking thing makes everything smell like laundry - STRONGLY. In the trash it went. They have another version with a honey berry smell - that one is OK but it doesn't make a lot of suds. I need lots of suds. My search continues.

[RageATL]

Trying to sell off some old PS3/PS4 games in the "Trading Forum." See link below.

[sfmarine]

Originally Posted by civiclx

So glad you went and had such a great time! Awesome pictures and enjoyed reading your post. That's funny about you being nervous and looking for an ice-breaker. I'm sure I would have been the same way. Good to hear that your interaction with Billy Campbell was so nice. That's really cool that he signed your Laserdisc.

I definitely need to get my copy of Gettysburg and watch it. I can't remember the last time I've seen the film but I'm sure it's been over 10 years. I remember being really impressed with Jeff Daniels after seeing him in Dumb & Dumber. And Martin Sheen as Robert E. Lee was great as was Tom Berenger.
I don't remember a great deal about the film but I do remember the look on Pickett's face when he tells Lee that he has no men left. He really is a fantastic actor.

Thanks for reading! Definitely break it out and give it a revisit. It’s too bad it will never get a 4K restoration. The one person missing during the event was definitely Jeff Daniels. I watched Dumb & Dumber before Gettysburg but I recall thinking…(after watching the latter)…this guy can act! His speech on Little Round Top is a major highlight along with him ordering Bayonets! Lang’s scene is legendary with the very quotable: “I have no Division” -definitely the most famous line from the film.

I watched a few videos from the event and I’ll post them up on here a little later. Yeah…Campbell is one humble and genuine dude. It’s too bad he didn’t have a more prominent career, but perhaps he didn’t want it. I feel like he enjoys his low-key life away from Los Angeles; living on a farm in Norway with his family.

[civiclx]

Originally Posted by sfmarine

Thanks for reading! Definitely break it out and give it a revisit. It’s too bad it will never get a 4K restoration. The one person missing during the event was definitely Jeff Daniels. I watched Dumb & Dumber before Gettysburg but I recall thinking…(after watching the latter)…this guy can act! His speech on Little Round Top is a major highlight along with him ordering Bayonets! Lang’s scene is legendary with the very quotable: “I have no Division” -definitely the most famous line from the film.

I watched a few videos from the event and I’ll post them up on here a little later. Yeah…Campbell is one humble and genuine dude. It’s too bad he didn’t have a more prominent career, but perhaps he didn’t want it. I feel like he enjoys his low-key life away from Los Angeles; living on a farm in Norway with his family.

I believe I have both Gods & Generals and Gettysburg at my dad's house so I'll have to try and grab them the next time I visit him. I have never actually seen The Rocketeer and don't know anything about Billy Campbell but I think it's very cool that he gets to live on a farm in Norway. I wouldn't mind living on a farm in Norway as long as someone lived with me that actually knew about maintaining a farm

Have you toured many historical sites back East? I believe Gettysburg is the only battlefield that I've ever been to but I have been very close to the battlefield at Chattanooga. My dad and I went to Lookout Mountain on our '97 trip. I believe we also went to the St. John's Episcopal Church in Richmond, Va where Patrick Henry delivered his famous speech. Also visited the Hollywood Cemetery and pretty sure that we saw Pickett's grave.

Also visited VMI (Virginia Military Institute) which is where a few of the officers in the Civil War attended and taught at.

I bet you have some good history up in your area as well.

[sfmarine]

I hope your dad is doing well. You could always watch the films with him if he is up for it. The Rocketeer is now considered a cult classic. Definitely check it out...if anything for Jennifer Connelly

A few videos from the event held over the weekend.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/HNGDnevbn-I
Lang & Berenger reminiscing.
https://www.wgal.com/article/gettysb...years/45535689

While waiting in line, I networked with a few people in the Gettysburg community and a bunch of us exchanged social media handles and I added a few Youtube channels. A few were discussing the weekend events and one person remarked over how Berenger charged for autographs..$65 and was a bit of a dick haha. Not sure how much truth there was to it but the fact that he wasn't participating in any autograph events, probably says all you need to know. AFAIF, all autographs were free, so perhaps that had something to do with it. He wanted $ and the Gettysburg organizers were like nah you can't be charging folks...

I've done a ton of historical sites. Philly is pretty great and just loaded with history. I was fortunate to get upstairs while touring Independence Hall. They rarely open that up. Funny you brought up St. John's as Christ Church in Philly (also Episcopal) was where Washington and Benjamin Franklin both worshipped. They even have their pews marked and Franklin is interred there.

I enjoy visiting the homes of former Presidents. John Adams- Peace Field, Jefferson's Monticello, Robert E. Lee- Arlington House, Washington's Mount Vernon and of course, the Eisenhower Farm located just a few miles from the Gettysburg battlefield. I also got pretty close to the Kennedy Compound. VMI is where Stonewall Jackson taught. Portrayed brilliantly by Lang in Gods & Generals. Lang has a lot of screen time in Generals.

Valley Forge is worth seeing as it is close to Philly. Top sites for me: Pearl Harbor and Fort Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas. Fort Jefferson is so freaking unique and housed several of the Lincoln conspirators including Dr. Mudd.

[Lemmy Lugosi]

Originally Posted by Lemmy Lugosi

I still despise TikTok with the intensity of a thousand suns. My gf watches it almost constantly, and it’s always just loud enough that it distracts me from reading; it makes watching something else in the room (television, tablet, etc) just about impossible. Aside from that, she’ll set up something to stream on the television (always something I have zero interest in), and then she’ll pause the program to watch TikTok. Meanwhile, the paused picture burns into the screen.

I have been retired for over ten years, and I am quite set in my ways. She retired at the onset of covid, and my life has been in a state of extreme disarray ever since.

Aaaaaand we just had a hard talk about Tik$&$@&Tok after she showed me a clip of a child in extreme distress and peril in the Middle East. I was in a great mood, preparing to take a stab at getting something done downstairs (we had a flood recently). Then, she hands me her phone, and says “Watch this!” I will say no more about it, other than to say that my mood was immediately ruined. In fact, it just crushed me, and I immediately broke down.

When I regained my composure, I let her know in no uncertain terms that under no circumstances, unless it has me or my loved ones in it, I don’t care about the fricking garbage on TikTok. It pisses me off that she would even think that I would want to see that!! I am starting to wonder who I’m with in this relationship. And that scares the shit outta me.

[VictoryAtNight]

I’m looking for a decent price on a cordless stick vacuum.

[OceanBlue]

Stormy weather forecast from today until this coming Friday (steady rain today, nothing really torrential). Warmer feel today. Cooler/colder again this coming weekend.

The second storm of the season over here.

[sfmarine]

Who remembers Joran van der Sloot? He was extradited to the US from Peru.

He’s lied so much over the years but apparently told the truth in court today as part of a plea deal. This story dominated the news back in ‘05. I had relatives who frequently vacationed in Aruba and the story really put a stain on their tourism industry.
https://nypost.com/2023/10/18/joran-...loway-in-2005/

I’ve no doubt he killed her but I question the way he disposed of her body…he just dragged her out to sea and she was never seen again? The body should have been recovered or washed up on shore. If he weighted her down that’s one thing but idk.

[filmbuffTX]

Originally Posted by VictoryAtNight

I’m looking for a decent price on a cordless stick vacuum.

I bought this one last month. It's worked pretty well so far. It's now $20 cheaper than when I bought it. There's currently a $50 dollar coupon you can apply.

The alternative to spending $400-$600 on a Dyson.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C4FK5VD1...t_details&th=1

[VictoryAtNight]

Originally Posted by filmbuffTX

I bought this one last month. It's worked pretty well so far. It's now $20 cheaper than when I bought it. There's currently a $50 dollar coupon you can apply.

The alternative to spending $400-$600 on a Dyson.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C4FK5VD1...t_details&th=1

Home Depot has the Ryobi, but they aren’t on sale at the moment. Target has the Shark Pet on sale, but some of the reviews don’t look good. It is getting close to Black Friday, so I will keep looking.

[LordoftheRings]

Stanford scientist, after decades of study, concludes: We don’t have free will


After studying humans and other primates for 40 years, Stanford neurobiologist Robert Sapolsky has concluded that many factors beyond our control influence our choices and behaviors, leaving free will to be negligible in any context.

[BeastCreatureTrapper]

Wait, so he was always destined to oddly just dye his hair and not his beard?

[Member-222782]

Why is Jason Momoa a movie star? He's as wooden an actor as they come - always has been, as far back as his Stargate Atlantis days. On that show, he had no other facial expression other than looking bored. A killer body and pretty face aren't enough - you have to look like you're enjoying your work.