Cover of the code One of the fascinating things about watching old movies -- and we mean, really old movies from the first third of the twentieth century, is the "throw-anything-against-the-wall" feeling that the creators are making up a whole new art form as they go along. There's an impression that the earliest features were silly comedies featuring people who moved jerkily at high speeds. But as early as the 1910s, directors like Lois Weber were making films about such controversial topics as capital punishment, drug addiction, and abortion. Such strong subjects were accompanied by strong language, but until the movies learned to talk, intertitles were able to shield the more sensitive members of the audience (or at least, those who couldn't read lips) from that language. When technology finally allowed patrons to hear as well as see actors, moviemakers were faced with tough choices; how to maintain the grittiness and realism audiences had come to expect without making the dialogue so raw that films would be censored by regional film boards or condemned by the powerful Legion of Decency. (This was an era when the epithet "son of a bitch" caused an uproar when it was used in the 1928 play "The Front Page.") The solution was to tone down most of the language while keeping the themes the same. Movies like "Baby Face" or "Employees' Entrance" (featuring the hard-boiled Barbara Stanwyck and the delightfully sleazy Warren William sleeping their way to the top) were as popular as they were scandalous. But even that taming was too much, and on March 31, 1930, Will H. Hays, president of the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America released a codified rulebook designed to ensure that movie producers self-censored their films. That way, not only would filmgoers of all ages be spared anything the least bit unsavory, but it ensured that "American" values would be promoted and upheld. So strong was the Hays Code that, in 1939, when David O. Selznick wanted to keep Rhett Butler’s final line in "Gone With the Wind" intact, he had to pay a $5,000 fine for using the word "damn." For the next 35 years, the Code remained virtually inviolate. One of the first directors to subvert it was Otto Preminger, who fought to use such verboten words as "virgin and "rape" in his films, making them strictly "adults only" fare. As society changed in the 1960s, the code became unenforceable. Keeping mature themes and language out of the movies became increasingly absurd, so the Code was abandoned in favor of the rating system (G, PG, PG-13, R, and NC-17) we know today. While it's now possible to go to the movies and see and hear virtually anything, there’s still a thrill in watching a pre-code movie like "Night Nurse" and finding out that our grandparents were a lot more interesting than we thought. Suggested Sites... You Tube: Doin' the Prodcution Code - the Hays Code, set to tap-dance rhythm. Wikipedia: List of Films Condemned by the Legion of Decency - from 1933 to 1980. Put them on your "must-see" list. DVDs of Early Films Show Nothing Was Taboo - NPR audio report on Pre-Code movies. Sinner's Holiday - "an ode to Pre-Code." Censor's Notes for "Baby Face" - the Hays Office contacts Warner Bros. about "objectionable material."

Directory categories: Movie History, Censorship, Movies, Barbara Stanwyck

Archived under: 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, Actors, American History, Anniversaries, Censorship, Entertainment, Filmmaking, History, Hollywood, Movie History, Movies, Nostalgia, Sex and Sexuality, Silent Movies, Society and Culture, Vintage

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(Photo by Timothy K. Hamilton) It's been 142 years since the United States purchased the Alaskan territories from Russia for 7.2 million dollars -- less than two cents per acre. To put that another way, today, Alaska’s purchase price would buy only fourteen half-million dollar houses like the one belonging to that state’s famous governor. That’s a good value by any standard, especially this year, with houses going for fire sale prices in cities like Stockton, CA, and Detroit. And when you consider the cultural value of Alaska, it’s clear it was a bargain by any standard. In 2008, we learned a lot about the Land of the Midnight Sun. Here are some highlights: It's beautiful up there. To control predator populations, Alaska allows tightly regulated wolf-hunting from the air. Real dudes race snowmobiles. Forget soccer, hockey moms are going to puck you up. You can see Russia from your backyard. Alaskans aren’t really like the rest of us. In fact, many don’t want to be like the rest of us. Alaskans are paid for the privilege of living in the last frontier -- last year, every man, woman, and child rresiding in the state eceived $2,069 from the state’s oil royalty program. Real Alaskans wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. Suggested Sites... I Eat Gravel - musings on Alaska by a real live Alaskan. The Mudflats - award-winning political blog, slinging only a moderate amount of mud. Official site of the State of Alaska - includes information for residents, visitors, and the curious Internet horde.

Directory categories: Alaska, Alaska Travel Destination Guides, History of Alaksa

Archived under: 19th Century, Alaska, American History, Animals, Anniversaries, Business, Cultures, Detroit, Elections, History, Outdoors, Regional, United States, Wildlife, Winter

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Carl Barks in 1982 For comic readers in the 1950s, times could be grim. The art form was anything but respected, superheroes had mostly disappeared and crime and horror comics were banned. Superman was busy pulling cruel practical jokes on his friends and Batman was fighting aliens, so for real adventure, readers turned to "Walt Disney's Comics and Stories." What they found there was a series of globe-spanning treks featuring Donald Duck, his nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie, and his wily and parsimonious uncle, Scrooge McDuck. Fans noticed that some of the stories were better-written and drawn than others, but since the Disney corporate image required the illusion that Unca Walt himself personally created everything that went out under his name, that one creator was known only as "The Good Duck Artist," rather than his real name: Carl Barks. When Barks retired (for the first time) in 1966, the secret of his real identity leaked out to fans who were delighted to finally be able to connect the artist's name to his work. Despite being in his mid-60s and having over 25 years of comics behind him, Barks was persuaded to come out of retirement to write more stories featuring Donald and Daisy Duck and the Junior Woodchucks. Unable to put his art aside, he took up painting, concentrating mainly on farm scenes until he was commissioned to recreate one of his "WDC&S" covers. Word of his paintings spread like wildfire among collectors, and Barks was soon selling them for thousands of dollars each. While Disney originally approved his efforts, unauthorized sales by a fan led to the company revoking his license until "Star Wars" producer Gary Kurtz persuaded Disney to change its corporate mind and allow Barks to continue creating paintings of Donald, Uncle Scrooge, and his other creations until his death in 2000 -- only months short of his 100th birthday. Museum exhibitions of his art have drawn hundreds of thousands of fans who are charmed by the humor and clarity of his work. I met Barks in the 80s. Unlike the mob scenes at most of his appearances, he and his wife Garé were alone, so I got the chance to have a long talk with him. He was charming, funny, and surprisingly self-effacing for a man whose influence spread far beyond comics. How far? Remember the opening scenes of "Raiders of the Lost Ark"? They were taken from Barks' "Seven Cities of Cibola." Bet you didn’t know the real Indiana Jones was Scrooge McDuck! Suggested Sites... Carl Barks - obsessively comprehensive Barks site. Carl Barks Fan Club - preserving the Barks legacy of stories and artwork for future generations. Grand Comics Database: Walt Disney's Comics and Stories - cover galleries and credits. Uncle Scrooge Collector's Reference - thumbnails, stats, collectibles, and history. You Tube: Carl Barks Meets His Fans - brief Q&A session about the relationship between Donald Duck and Uncle Scrooge.

Directory categories: Carl Barks, Donald Duck, Comic Books, Comic Book Artists, Cartoon Art

Archived under: 1950s, Animation, Artists, Arts, Biographies, Birthdays, Cartoonists, Cartoons, Comic Books, Comic Strips, Comics, Disney, Donald Duck, Entertainment, In Character

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Yuck. (Photo by Jason Cartwright) CLEAN YOUR KEYBOARD! PLEASE! Even though spring may be here, the cold and flu seasons are not over. With studies citing that computer keyboards can be breeding grounds for all sorts of icky bacteria, please take a moment today to clean and disinfect your keyboard and your phone receiver. For a healthier you. Suggested Sites... How Many Germs Live On Your Keyboard? - take the quiz. You'll be appalled. All the ‘Dirt’ on Cell Phone Germs - you'll never make another phone call. Office Germs - you just might want to stay home... The Five Key Areas of Illness-Causing Germs & Toxins in Your Home - ...or maybe not. How to Reduce Germs in a Home - relief at last!

Directory categories: Influenza, The Common Cold, Computer Accessory Cleaners, Cleaning Cloths

Archived under: Bacteria, Cleaning, Computers, Cubicles, Disease, Flu, Germs, Health, Telephones

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Academic Earth One of my favorite sites added to the Yahoo! Directory this week was Academic Earth: a free, streaming database of video lectures and full college courses given by scholars and professors from Harvard, MIT, and Stanford (to name a few) on subjects like Astronomy, Computer Science, English, Law, Physics, and more. A few examples: Thomas Friedman (acclaimed author of "The World is Flat") gives a lecture on political science at MIT called, "The World is Flat 3.0;" Alan Blinder (chair of the Economics Department at Princeton University) gives what is probably a very illuminating lecture called, "Origins of the Financial Mess." If you want a full college course, try Harvard Professor David J. Malan's Intro to Computer Science; or how about a class on Linear Algebra from esteemed and honored MIT Professor Gilbert Strang? All these and more are free and streamable from the comfort of your Internet connection. A big buzz on the Web last week was Austin's South by Southwest music, film, and interactive technology festival. Even though the fest is over, the festival lives on online: SXSWbaby provides lots of good MP3 and video downloads and streams Or just search for "South by Southwest" on Twitter Search. While I was at the Festival last week, I used Twitter to get real-time answers to such questions as "Is that show sold out yet?," "How long is the line?," and "Where is Metallica eating lunch?" Now that SXSW 2009 is over, you can use Twitter Search to find reviews, live streams, MP3 downloads, and interesting commentary. If you enjoy a bit of commerce (and I know you do, dear reader), these popular tidbits from last week might be good to check out: Shop It To Me: Sign up (for free, of course), select your favorite apparel brands and sizes, and you'll get an alert when your brand and size goes on sale. Retail Me Not Firefox Add-on: One of the saddest parts of online shopping is going through the checkout process only to realize that you don't have a coupon code that might instantly save you $10 or 25% or something. This new Firefox Add-on solves that problem by alerting you of any available coupons whenever you go to a shopping site. Suggested Sites... Academic Earth - free video lectures and college courses from the world's top scholars. Twitter Search - search Twitter's user posts to find out what's happening right now. Shop It To Me - free personal shopper for sales on clothing and accessories. Retail Me Not - Firefox Add-ons - automatically informs you of sites for which users have shared discount coupon codes.

Directory categories: Teaching and Learning Videos, South by Southwest, Twitter, Virtual Shopping Agents, Firefox Extensions

Archived under: Clothing and Accessories, College and Universities, Communication, Cyberculture, Economics, Education, Entertainment, Festivals, In Character, Internet, Music, Podcasts, Shopping, Social Networking, South by Southwest, Technology, Twitter, Web 2.0, Yahoo! Directory

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