Author: chimesfreedom

Editor-in-chief, New York.

Mars is Now Streaming Live

Now that NASA’s Curiosity rover landed on Mars safely on Monday, you can watch live streams from NASA on the Curiosity Cam. The rover, which is 10 feet long (not including the arm), 9 feet wide, and 7 feet tall, weighs 2,000 pounds (i.e., 900 kilograms for our readers outside the U.S.).

Update:  You may no longer watch the Curiosity Cam below through UStream.  But other information is available through NASA’s website.

You can also follow the rover on Twitter (@MarsCuriosity).

  • The Scene in “The Right Stuff” That Makes You Love John Glenn
  • Apollo 11 Lands On the Moon
  • Astronauts on Space
  • The Sky is Deep Black: RIP Neil Armstrong
  • Hail Atlantis!
  • Carl Sagan on the Pale Blue Dot

    • (Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)

    When I Was Younger, So Much Younger Than Today

    help! beatles

    On August 6, 1965, the Beatles’ album Help! was released in the UK, followed by an August 13 release in the U.S. In a 1970 Rolling Stone interview with Jann S. Wenner, John Lennon stated that the song “Help!” — along with “I’m a Loser” and “Strawberry Fields Forever” — were “personal” songs. He not only considered “Strawberrry Fields Forever” and “Help” his “best songs,” but “[t]hey were the ones I really wrote from experience and not projecting myself into a situation and writing a nice story about it.”

    Lennon was critical of the recording of “Help,” though. He said, “We did it too fast trying to be commercial.” I understand his point, as the song sounds pretty happy for a cry for help from a person feeling down. I like to think about the possibility that had Lennon grown older, he might have recorded an slower acoustic version of the song, evoking the pain and sadness that is there in the lyrics. But as a Beatles song, I think it is absolutely perfect.

    What do you think of the song “Help!”? Leave your two cents in the comments.

  • Behind the Scenes With the Beatles on the Set of “Help!”
  • The Latest and Last Beatles Song: “Now and Then”
  • Ringo Starr Records a John Lennon Song (with a little help from Paul McCartney)
  • “All You Need Is Love” Worldwide Broadcast
  • Sgt Pepper Documentary
  • The Beatles: “Blackpool Night Out” Live Performance

    • (Some Related Chimesfreedom Posts)

    Buy from Amazon

    Robert Mitchum Prayin’ For Rain in California

    Robert Mitchum Singing

    The great actor Robert Mitchum was born on August 6, 1917. When Mitchum was on the silver screen, he was one of the coolest men on the planet. Unfortunately, he is less remembered for his cool laid-back singing, which is one part of his career that fascinates me. I proudly own his CD of calypso music, just as I have several of his films.

    Mitchum, of course, is in some great movies, a few of which I have had plans to write about for some time. But for today, we will remember his cool singing style with his rendition of “Little Ole Wine Drinker Me” from 1972, where he asks for rain in California “so the grapes can grow and they can make more wine.” I will drink to that.



    What do you think of Robert Mitchum as a singer? Leave your two cents in the comments.

  • Second-Tier But Fun Christmas Movies
  • Moral Ambiguity and “Lawman” (Missed Movies)
  • Jimmy Soul on Happiness
  • Oxford American Southern Music Issue

    • (Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)

    Watch “The Education of Gore Vidal”

    The Educatoin of Gore Vidal Thanks to PBS, “The Education of Gore Vidal,” a documentary about the writer who passed away Tuesday, is available online for free viewing today through August 9. The 2003 film originally aired on PBS’s American Masters series and includes interviews with a number of people, including the late George Plimpton and Paul Newman. Of course, the film also features Vidal, talking about his life, pondering history, and dropping the witty remark here and there. In one of the interesting segments, Vidal explains why he chose Aaron Burr as the subject of one of his historical novels.

    If you prefer watching it on television, some PBS stations will be running the film too. But if you cannot wait, you may either watch the first 20 minutes below or go to PBS.org to watch the whole 84-minute version. [November 2013 Update: Unfortunately, PBS no longer has the video for The Education of Gore Vidal online, but you may check the PBS link for more on Gore Vidal and also to see if they have responded to requests to repost the video. For now, check out the below Charlie Rose show segment featuring highlights of Gore Vidal’s appearances on that show.]

    What do you think of “The Education of Gore Vidal”? Leave your two cents in the comments.

  • Although the Oscars Passed Over “Little Richard: I Am Everything,” You Shouldn’t
  • Bruce Willis Was in “The Verdict”?
  • Happy Birthday Butch Cassidy
  • What Song Did Paul Newman Sing in “Cool Hand Luke”?
  • That Time George Kennedy Gave a Great Movie Its Name
  • Trailer for Roger Ebert Documentary “Life Itself”

    • (Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)

    Watch Lollapalooza Live

    Like the recent Newport Folk Festival, another big concert is streaming live. You can watch much of this weekend’s Lollapalooza live through the music festival’s Youtube channel on August 3-5. Headliners at Chicago’s Grant Park this year include Black Sabbath (in their last live peformance?), Red Hot Chili Peppers, Justice, Avicii, Kaskade, Frank Ocean, Wale, and Childish Gambino.

    {Update: The event is now over so no longer streaming.}

    The festival — which brings together a range of musicians covering heavy metal, hip-hop, alternative rock, dance, etc. — was created in 1991. MTV.com has the dates and times for many of the big acts at this year’s Lollapalooza.

  • RIP Leroy “Sugarfoot” Bonner from the Ohio Players
  • Punk Prayer Leads to Two Years in Russian Prison