June the 12th, 1981, Raiders of the Lost Ark hits the big screen, and Indiana Jones becomes one of the biggest heroes of cinema, ever. This movie was instantly an all time favorite, and I was there on opening day at the Mann Christown Theater in Phoenix to see it. I was completely blown away on all levels. The action, the horror, the romance, the way cool props, Steven Spielberg’s awesome direction & George Lucas’s incredible story penned by Lawernce Kasdan, and of coarse that incredible John Williams score. I wish I could write more but we are leaving town so I’ll try and add more through out the next couple of days so in the mean time, dig out your copies of this one and have a Happy 30th screening.
original poster by Amsel
the idol
Indie, and marion
the incredible map room set
behind the scenes with the set up for the remote control glass eyes of the idol,, only a few frames of this made it to the final film
Hi friends, The world is spinning in crazy directions and this weekend it almost fell off it’s axis, HAAA! At home, my daughters had their last high school rodeo and are getting ready to go to college. It was a very happy and sad day all at the same time, and the girls left the district 9 team with Olivia going to the state finals in three events and Alicia getting some very high titles on her new horse that all of you here on the blog helped her to get. The girls will be going to Wyoming to go school, and the college has a rodeo team that they are so excited to be a part of. I am working again and am so glad to be on “OZ” and then the new “Star Trek” in June. My wife Tara’s 2011 year of teaching is almost over and her long awaited summer vacation is almost here. Fun times ahead, and we look forward to our last summer of all the girls being home before they move off to adulthood.
In the world, big news on Obama’s birth certificate coming out which has raised some eyebrows about it’s authenticity, included is a link that adobe illustrators will find interesting. It appears that the certificate downloaded off the US government website in Illustrator reveals it is in multiple layers and it comes off as being highly doctored. Very bizarre the scandal and controversy around this topic, and it really makes you wonder if any government party is trustworthy. Osama Bin Ladin is finally taken down and the world celebrates the end of a dark chapter in American history. And finally Superman denounces his US citizenship.
I saw this and said HE WHAT?!!!!! There are many theories behind this one and probably many are the reason. For one, all the comic companies have joined on with a major studio. DC and Warner Bros are a team, and Marvel and Disney are together. Since these big mergers have taken place, a shift in the comics’ directions has been evident and both revolve around politics and money… The studios are very, VERY democratic from a political stand point, and you can see this in a variety of ways. Captain America see’s the Tea Party movement and it’s people as the bad guys, Spiderman was for Barak Obama in the elections, and now Superman can no longer be an American hero, he has to be a global hero. All of these interesting points are based on a left sided point of view and another major point is the cash flow… Superman’s wallet is fairly empty when your talking international revenue so from a marketing POV, if he is a world wide hero, the dollars will flow better… Lots to ponder with all of these headlines.
From my point of view, I think it’s a better choice to leave the politics out which only causes a big divide culturally and makes the characters sellable to a one sided market. Instead go back to the fantasy and high adventure that their creators had intended for them. Usually when personal politics get involved with something I love, I quickly loose all interest. Current events have always been a way to reflect the times in Television shows and films, but done in a broad overview is far more interesting than a political point of view being shoved down your throat. And so ends my heavy post for the day. Looking forward to all the feedback on this stuff!!! OK have a good Tuesday everyone and for tomorrow’s post, Then Enterprise E shuttle bay. Stay tuned.
By popular demand here is the plans and design process for the exterior of the flying saucer from Disney’s “Race to Witch Mountain” I had touched upon this in an earlier post and a lot of you wanted more so here it is. the show called for a flying saucer and I have always wanted to do a 50’s style ship and it was one big thrill to get the opportunity!!!! My boss David Bomba gave me some quick dimensions that it had to be because a practical was to be built for the set, as well as for the special effects department. the dimensions were so small that the ship was almost a box!!! akk the lines were retained as the ship was passed on to Billy Hunter, the art department CG modeler.. he was the one that got the go ahead to let us stretch out the dimensions to make for a much more sleek and dynamic craft. the ship was broken up into 4 rib like sections and 4 counter suck surface panels,, this would help with breaks in the ship for the carpenters that had to build the full sized ship. a silver chromed like paint scheme was established for the final and what you see in one of the drawings is the burned and battered version of that chrome look. to make our saucer a little different from what has come before, we thought of the ship producing a saturn like energy ring around it’s equator when it would transform into flying mode!!! this idea went through a series of passes and the final VFX were really awesome to see on film.. So with that all said here are the complete plans for the saucer and there will be more to come on the interior and production stills of the actual saucer construction.. enjoy
Merry Christmas to all!! Happy Birthday to Jesus, our Lord and Savior, and may this wonderful time of year find you all happy and well. Thanks to all our new friends here, and Merry Christmas to all our friends and family and especially to all those serving to protect ours and the world’s freedom!!!…the Soldiers of the United States Armed forces; The Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Coast Guard. Thanks and Merry Christmas to those who protect our friends and other countries around the world, The Canadian soldiers, the Australian Soldiers, the service men and women of the UK, our friends in Japan and across the globe!!! Merry Christmas to you and always remember what this special day is and means to us all!!!
Way back in 1986, I discovered the awesome card store AHHH’s!! They had cards for everything and almost every obscure occasion. The store was one incredible place and left me inspired, so I decided to start my own card line for my pals on an even more obscure scale!!! This was my first card and, being from Arizona, I had to make lite of the attack on Pearl Harbor and create a humorous 50th anniversary card!!! If you’re politically correct or sensitive to this type of humor, it’s either time to move on to another site or toughen up a bit to enjoy the joke without being offended! Today marks the 68th Anniversary of the start of WWII for the United States so remember those that perished on both sides with honor and reverence.
a humorous account of the sinking of the USS Arizona, December 7th, 1941
There are a lot of holidays throughout the year, and Thanksgiving is a particular favorite of mine. What an awesome idea (thanks to the pilgrims, Native Americans, and early settlers of the new world) to set aside one day a year to remember all the things we are thankful for! I have so very much to be thankful for that we have to have a little thanksgiving everyday in the Eaves’ home because we couldn’t list everything in just one day! First I have to thank God for all He has done for me and my family and especially for healing Olivia’s arm and for curing Carlene’s cancer. He always watches over us and carries us through the good and bad times, and especially for sending his Son to set us free and give us a home in Heaven. Thanks to my wonderful wife, Tara, who blesses me every day in her actions and words, I love you so. Thanks to my lovely daughters, Alicia, Amanda, Alyna, Carlene, and Olivia. All of you make my life shine and I am so very proud of you all. Thanks to my parents & all of my family and friends, new and old alike, and to all of my new friends from this blog.
One very special thanks goes to all of our brave men and women, sons and daughters, mothers and fathers, who sacrifice daily, here and abroad, to preserve our safety and freedom. Happy Thanksgiving to all of those with us today and especially for those who have fallen. God bless you all and please bring comfort to the families who will be having thanksgiving with an empty chair at the dinner table this year. My heart and prayers are with you always. Thanks to the U.S. Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, and the National Guard. I am not a political man, but I am very patriotic and I’m so very humbled by what these brave men and women do for us regardless of the thanks or ridicule they receive!! Be sure to give thanks and tell those around you that you appreciate them. Life is short and unpredictable so don’t miss out on the opportunity… Happy Thanksgiving to all.
God Bless
John Eaves
a painting of the first Thanksgiving
no one says more without ever uttering a word than Norman Rockwell
What a jewel, The cast of Beverly Hillbillies, Petticoat junction, and Green Acres,
A true Hollywood legend passed away today at the age of 86. Ed will always be known as the original and #1 sidekick, working on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson from the 1960’s until 1992 when Johnny retired. Always a gentleman and quick with a comeback, Ed had the most contagious laugh that you couldn’t help but laugh with him once he got going. He will be best known for his line: HEEEEERE’S Johnny!!!! Copied by many announcers over the years but was so perfectly mimicked best by Jack Nicholson in “The Shining.”
We will miss you Ed. Thanks for all the fun memories growing up in front of the tube!
Here are some fun shot’s of a real classic comedian, Movie and Television star, and a real gentleman! Paul Lynde appeared in almost every show I grew up watching… He was in, The Munsters, F Troop, Bewitched, The Glass Bottom Boat, all those crazy beach blanket movies and on and on, He was always so much fun to see in that center square on “Hollywood Squares” and always had everyone on the show rolling with laughter. Mr. Lynde was one of the best and dearly missed. Here is the link to an awesome website dedicate to the one and only Paul Lynde. Read on for more photos of the man and his many roles!
Thanks for all the nice Bday wishes to Erin and at lunch yesterday I made a quick pin-up style Birthday picture-card for her. Here they are for all you pin up fans out there!!!
I remember vividly watching Bewitched as a 3 year old tyke in the mining city of Globe, Arizona. My mom liked Bewitched a lot, and for me there wasn’t a lot to see except for Tabatha. She was a little younger than I was, but she was somebody on the show I could relate to and, over time, she became my first childhood crush followed only by Little Debbie and the Sunbeam bread girl. I watched the show every day of it’s 8 year run and was heartbroken to think that I would never see my little buddy Tabatha ever again!!!!!!!! WOOOOOSH 40 some years later I am on My Space and just for the heck of it I did a little search, and there she was, Erin (Tabatha) Murphy. She grew up to be just as cute as I remembered her, and now she is a luxury lifestyle writer, does a lot of work for charity, plays a part in many active causes, she’s a celebrity host on a broad range of programs and she is the mother to six,,, the best part is she married a man named Darren!!! That’s Darren Dunckel not Daren Dochterman! She has a great website, and she is one that is a lot of fun to read about,,, Happy Birthday Erin!!!!
there she is on the slide,,, couldn't do this in my neighborhood because the metal slides in Arizona were at least 200 degrees, practically molten in the hot summer sun!
here they all are!!! the cast of Bewitched
and here she is now happy bday Erin!!!
following my crush on Tabatha, here were the other rivals for my affection.
cute as a button
Little debbie looks an awfully lot like my wife Tara, and their both farm girls!! HAAA!
Eavesdropping with Johnny 
Recent Comments