AV Geeks 16mm Lunch 10-17-2025

Hello everybody. I'm Skip Alzheimer. Welcome to the AV Geeks lunchtime streaming show where we watch old 16 millimeter films. And sometimes we get the speed right, sometimes we don't. So, uh, I wanted to restart that because it was it was too frantic, too caffeinated. Um, and so we got it closer to the actual uh frame rate. Um, yeah, what fascinating film made for Oakland, California schools about jobs that you can get. And and the thing is this is just one of uh at least two reels um because there's a numbers 1 through 13 reel uh which I don't know if we have it or not but um yeah u so anyways I'm outside which because it's nice outside but I'm going to go inside real quick and I'm going to show you kind of what's going on uh in this. So, this is the basement of our house. Um, we're slowly going to make our way back to the archive. I'm hoping by the end of November, we'll be back. Man, I hope so, cuz I'm itching to get back to the space and be in the same area as the films. And the films are slowly making their way back. But anyways, let let's go take a look. And I'm going to see if I can see as I we go in. So, we're coming inside. Uh there is uh Kahan, my assistant, and he is scanning some uh some home movies on the film fabric, which is a Dutch machine, which I don't know if we've actually shown these before, but we do 8 mm and um super eight on here. And so there's some sort of ceremony taking place. Then right here, all these films, all these films, which I don't know if you can see, all these films, uh, these are all from Orone. And then here's the scanner. And operating scanner is good friend Greg Pierce, who has got an amazing film. What is this? I don't know. It's I think it's Russian music video footage. >> Oh man, >> I have no idea. >> All right, so I'm pretty excited. >> Unveiling. >> It's huge, though. It's a giant reel. >> I put four I I edited four 400 footers together, so it's like Yeah. >> Sweet. All right. >> So, no idea what's going to be coming up, but >> Okay. Awesome. >> Excited. >> Yeah. So, um lots of interesting stuff going on here at AV Geeks. Um, some of which I will show in upcoming episodes of the streaming show, but I'm gonna go back outside because it's just it's nice out. Um, anyways, where were we? Uh, Arthur Murray's Cavalcade. Cavalcade. Enjoy. Of course you recognize the Charleston. Now, can you name the year in which these dances were popular? Here, here. Here our buddy CC Robinson. Heat. Hey, heat. Hey, heat. [Music] [Applause] every Little cow with her little chestnut tree. I loved her and she loved me. Chestnut tree underneath this spreading chestnut tree. There she said she'd marry me. Now you want to see our family chestnut tree and the daisy. I like that bend and boom the da. What is the lazy? Let's make the party a wow now and booms the da. Turn to your corner and bow down. [Music] Yeah. Yeah. [Music] Doo doo doo doo doo doo. Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. [Applause] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] popular this Here was the turkey truck. [Music] This is the Maxis. You remember in what year this was popular? [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] Everyone remembers the hesitation walls. [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] I love this. It's so great. Um, it's obviously a promotional film and was it shown on television? It seems a little early for that, but it's possible it was. Um, cuz I I don't know like when these dances were popular, but uh yeah. Um, and you know it was probably rented out or you could get it as a promotional uh film just for the cost of postage and then you could show it to your men's group or your ladies group or your you know whatever. And uh you know it's also possible that the people who had the Arthur Murray dance franchises uh would have shown this at civic events and then um you know whoever guessed right would get those two free dance lessons. Um of course I'm guessing that even if someone got it wrong, they'd still get two free dance lessons just to get them in the in the place. All right. Um, this next film is, and these are all from the uh um Orone archive. So, they were cans that I showed that were stacked up or were in um you know, on the floor. Uh this is of mystery. And at first, I thought I knew which aisle this was, but I don't think I do. So, let's figure it out together. Enjoy. [Music] There she is. Out of the Gulf of Mexico, there arises a castle of the sea. We are approaching a realm of ghosts, of evil, fantastic memories. It's amazing how little people know of this weird stronghold. Yet, it's a part of Monroe County, Florida. A gigantic abandoned fortress, the largest masonry fortification on this continent. Forbidding, grim, mysterious. But there's a laugh here, too. Why the moat? This island of frowning walls is surrounded by the sea, but it's also surrounded by a moat full of water. I wonder what brand of Jamaica rum the architects used to get that inspiration. But you don't laugh much here, and when you do, it's like the hollow laugh of a ghost. We're soon to find out that this immense placid moat was no matter of laughter. That's a funny word above the door there, Arcadia. Huh. I always thought Arcadia meant moonlight and your best girl. This was an inferno. It was in 1846, the year after the Mexican War. Pulk was president. The War Department at Washington decided to build an American gi to control the entrance to the Gulf of Mexico. Naval strategy pointed to the westernmost group of the Florida Keys that dried Tortugas. And here was built this amazing almost forgotten fortress. Tortugas is Spanish for turtles. In Buccaneer days, these islands were a haunt of pirates. When the fort was built, a heavy British cannon was found in the sand, the type of gun used aboard a British man of war, and on it was engraved the date 1700. Maybe it was captured by pirates under the skull and crossbones in some longforgotten engagement. They say that old gold coins are sometimes unearthed on this island. And there are legends that there's a great pirate horde buried somewhere. We are appalled by the immensity of this strange construction. It's a hexagon, a six-sided stronghold covering 16 acres to the water's edge. The walls, 60 ft high, are stupendously massive. their miles and miles of galleries in triple tears. All this immense mass of brick and stone, metal and lumber was taken by boat and barge to this lonely island. This citadel of the sea was built by slaves, droves of black slaves who trailed under the tropical sun. Millions piled on millions and more millions were sunk into this folly of the sea. And what a howl the taxpayers must have made. Then in the 70s it was abandoned. And now there's not a single living thing on the island. Silence, silence. Not a sound is heard. Footsteps ring with an eerie clang on the stony floors. Voices reverberate with hollow echoes. We shiver with a sense of spooky mystery. We always want to look behind as if someone were following us. Ghosts. It's like the gloom of a medieval cat. Fort Jefferson, as they called it in the old days, was powerfully armed. On every side, we come upon dismounted derelic cannon. 500 guns pointed their threatening muzzle seawward. One type was called the Colombiad. It was considered giant artillery in the old days. It fired a 15-in projectile. Ho ho, I'll bet these old cap pistols could heave a mean cannonball at that. But not one of these guns was ever fired in defense. Not even when a hostile power sailed against the dry Tortugas. During the Civil War, a Confederate fighting ship ho sight on one occasion. The captain sent a message something like this. "You all Yankees had better surrender, or when we get through, you will be a bunch of dry tortugans." "Great tunes!" growled Major Arnold, the hard-boiled common dot. "Yes, and he had a lot of great guns, 500 of them, but no powder." Anyway, that Yankee chucked one of the biggest bluffs in history. He sent back a blistering message. Golan, if you don't clear out, I'll cut loose with my 500 guns and send you there. And the Confederate captain took one squint at those guns and sailed away. He didn't know about there not being any powder. In the grounds is a long brick oven. It's a legend among the seafares that this was used to burn the bodies of men. The real truth seems almost as odd. The oven was designed to heat cannonballs. Out of it rolled red hot projectiles, such as artillery when in the days of old fired against ships to set them ablaze. How would you like to have a red hot cannonball bounce off the old beam? Not so good. What's this? Some death hole where an evil Herod might have kept his captives? No, it's just a sistern. There were many sistns, one behind each gun. We constantly come upon these square holes in the floor, mouths of sistns with dank, brackish water in their depths. They're 20 ft long, 18 ft wide, 14 ft deep. Originally, they were covered with slabs of stone that have disappeared. Now, they're a treacherous series of waiting traps. No place for a stroll at night. Yes, this was not only a fortress of the sea, but also a prison of the sea. We come upon a wall gouged by bullets. The execution ground where prisoners faced the firing squad. This was the oceanic federal prison to which most dangerous and hardened of all the prisoners in the United States were sent. There were men accused of desertion, espionage, treason, civil prisoners, too, too desperate for any continental jail. And of course, there were escapes. It was the Devil's Island of its time. But there was always the moat. We see it now, sea green and placid, 30 ft deep, 75 ft wide. In the old prison days, it was full of sharks. The authorities planted it with sharks, and mighty few men would venture a swim across that 75 ft stretch of sharkinfested water. Yet, some did and made it. But more perished. There's a tale of a man seen standing on the bottom beneath the clear green water. Driven wild by malt treatment. He had tried to make the swim with ball and chain on his ankle. That's why he seemed to be standing on the bottom. And they tell the story of a Union soldier who fought at Bull Run. Or maybe he didn't fight. In any case, he ran away and he ran all the way back to his native Vermont. For that, they sent him to the dry Tortugas. Here, he hatched a plot with some fellow prisoners to escape, become pirates. But it didn't work. And now for the darkest chapter of all. The yellow old Jack was once the scourge of the Gulf of Mexico. This island was crammed with derelic humanity. And it was a tragic pest hole. A major Joseph Smith was the medical officer. And in the epidemic of 1867, this Major Smith had to take care of 2500 patients in these two small buildings. There wasn't half room enough. The doctor had to take hundreds to a nearby sandbar where shacks were thrown up. And when the yellow fever was raging its worst, the medical officer caught it and died. Well, the common dant was desperate. There was just one thing for him to do now. Down this corridor he stroed. There was another doctor in this prison. He was the man in the iron mask of the dried Tortugans. Not that he wore a mask, but he was guarded, chained, and kept in a lonely dungeon. Great heavens, what a horrible place for a man to be chained. Well, the common dant went to him. Doctor, he said, you're on parole now. I want you to act as our medical officer. Who was this most tragic and eminent of all the prisoners who lived in this cell? His name was Mud. literally and in fact, although this is no time for joking, he was Dr. Samuel Mud who set the broken leg of John Wils Booth, the assassin of Lincoln. After killing Lincoln, Booth rode to Maryland with his broken leg. He stopped at the country house of this Dr. Mud. The physician didn't know he was the assassin. He set the fracture and Booth rode on. And for that, they sentenced the doctor to the fortress of the Dry Tortugas. Without a fever raging, they made him medical officer blazing midsummer. The doctor didn't know that mosquitoes transmitted the plague, but he merely thought of ventilation as a help. He broke open the gunports and the high winds of the Gulf of Mexico swept through the prison and blew away those mosquitoes and that checked the epidemic. Later, an old and broken man, the doctor, was pardoned by the president. Hundreds and hundreds died in the plague of 67. They were buried on that sand spit out there that shows so white. And today, when the storm blows on the Gulf and heavy seas come breaking over, coffins are washed up and go drifting by the fortress of the dry tortugas. And there's a mystery here, too. A mystery grave. For years, unknown persons have laid fresh flowers on this lonely tomb. Some say that under it is the wife of the lighthouse keeper who befriended the Cuban fisherman, and they thought her an angel. And now, the sworthy men of the sea, bring these mysterious flowers. And after the exterminating rage of the yellow fever, the sea prison was abandoned. As a naval stronghold, it was out of date. As a prison, it was deadly. So the prisoners were removed and the place was left to the winds and the goats. And now the island citadel of the dry tortugal seems to vanish below the waters of the Mexican G had a kind of Paul Harvey vibe to it. And that man was Dr. Mud who set the leg of John Wilks Booth. Great. Okay. Uh so this film I've had lined up for a while. I just haven't had uh the time to show it. This is from our collection. Uh and it is uh sex role development. Um, so at the time when this came out, it it probably wasn't that controversial, but nowadays it's probably super controversial. So uh enjoy. It's so controversial that um OBS didn't want to play it. All right, so we'll uh jump ahead to 1981. Uh this is a show that I I definitely saw on HBO. Uh it's Consumer Reports presents The Car Show. Enjoy. [Music] The following program is a special presentation from home box office. [Music] To buy or not to buy, that is the question. Heat. Heat. The Car Show. Facts on cars. New cars, used cars, safe cars, and more. [Music] Did you ever try to make a six-foot hero sandwich in a small car? Well, small cars are small. They don't give you much room inside. [Music] Small cars don't ride as smoothly as larger cars. Hands tend to be more vulnerable in an accident. And small cars are generally noisier. I said they're generally noisier. But there are some advantages to the small car, including high fuel mileage, often more than 35 m per gallon on the highway, good maneuverability in tight spaces, and easy handling. [Music] Stop eating that. So remember, in spite of some disadvantages, a small car can really deliver. And when it comes to high gas mileage, small cars have a really good track record. [Music] [Music] Claude, a man, wants to see Claudine, a woman, but they are far apart. And Claude has to drive all night to get to where she is. The question is, with the high price of gas, how should he drive to get the most miles per gallon? First, don't buy higher octane gas thinking that it will get you better mileage. It won't unless your engine knocks on a lower octane. Next, Claude, be sure your tires are inflated to the right pressure. Driving with underinflated tires uses up more fuel. And Claude, use high pressure radial tires. They will save you some fuel. As for a car top carrier, take it off if you're not using it. Even the wind resistance on an unloaded carrier like this can lower fuel mileage as much as 5%. >> As for using your car as a mobile closet, >> don't. >> Carrying 100 extra pounds can lower mileage by almost as much as a half a mile per gallon, according to government estimates. And Claude, don't bother warming up your engine. It's unnecessary and wastes gas. [Music] Also try to keep a constant speed. Unnecessary acceleration or braking wastes gas. Finally, your air conditioning wastes fuel. If you want to stay cool and save gas, open the windows. Remember, following these driving tips on highways and byways can mean getting twice the mileage you might otherwise get and can help a man get to a woman in the most economical way possible. [Music] Diesel engines have been common in trucks for a long time, but in the last few years, they have become popular options in cars. Diesel fuel is less refined and usually costs less than gasoline. But a diesel engine in most cars costs more than a gasoline engine. Why buy a diesel? Take one example, the Volkswagen diesel rabbit. In Consumer Reports tests, a diesel rabbit turned in a remarkable mileage of nearly 53 m per gallon on the expressway, compared to 46 m per gallon for the gasoline engine rabbit. With that kind of mileage, assuming you drive 15,000 m a year in the city and on the highway, you can save about $200 a year on fuel. Enough to pay for the diesel in a little more than 2 years. Sounds good. But there are some drawbacks to any diesel car. For example, in cold weather, it's hard to start most diesels. Also, most diesel engines rattle and clatter loudly for a few minutes as they warm up. [Applause] When finally started in very cold weather, most models emit heavy smoke. And did you know about 50 times more soot is given off by a diesel engine than by a gas engine? Research has linked this kind of pollution with an increased risk of respiratory illness. In addition, a possible link between cancer and compounds in diesel exhaust is being studied. Finally, acceleration in any diesel is slower than that of comparable gas powered cars. With a diesel, there's no such thing as a jack rabbit start. So remember, there may be less to buying a diesel than meets the eye. Did you know it's important to keep your tires properly inflated so that they will wear evenly and give you the best performance? Did you know that the proper pressure for your car's tires is not only in the car's manual, but often listed right inside the driver's door? Did you know underinflated tires can really detract from braking and traction, making your car handle awkwardly, if not dangerously? Underinflated tires are also likely to overheat and increase your chances of a blowout, especially while driving with a heavy load or at highway speed. And besides, driving with underinflated tires uses more fuel. Did you know overinflated tires can also be a problem? Besides causing a rough ride, overinflated tires are less flexible and may be more easily damaged by sharp objects and road hazards. Did you know you should try to take air pressure reading when your tires are cold before they run far enough for friction to heat up the air inside? Did you know that tire pressure rises with the temperature outside? You may have to add air in winter or bleed air in summer. To maintain proper pressure as the seasons change, did you know that most gas station air pumps do not give accurate readings and should not be depended on for reliable measurement of tire pressure? But there is something you can do to keep your tires properly inflated. For a few dollars, you can buy a tire pressure gauge and take your own pressure reading. In Consumer Reports tests of 39 gauges, the best choices for most drivers were the pencil types. They were very reliable, convenient, and easy to use, most costing about $5 or less. Some high-rated models were the Acme A526, the Chieftain 1SBB, the Shraider 5986 A, and the TISC. Remember, keeping your tires properly inflated could mean longer, smoother, safer driving. Oh, what a feeling. [Music] Car accidents are a leading cause of death for children ages 1 to 14. In addition, tens of thousands suffer serious injuries in car crashes each year. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, more than half of the deaths and injuries to children under five would not have happened if parents had used child restraint seats. For larger children, seat belts reduced injuries and death significantly. In crash tests at about 30 m an hour, here's what happens to a test dummy without a restraint. [Applause] The safest place for the child is in the center of the back seat in a child restraint system. Um, if you don't have a center seat belt, then there's no way of knowing whether the left or the right side of the car is is the safest side. But the back seat is definitely safer than the front seat. The most dangerous place for a baby to be in a car is in the arms of an adult. Because what will happen in a crash is the baby will be caught between the dashboard and the mother's body or the adult's body and actually will be crushed. Uh we have found that the mothers or the adults are actually being injured less because we think the babies are providing some cushioning. [Applause] If the child is standing up in the back seat, it's equally as dangerous as standing in the front because they'll go over the back of the seat or between the bucket seats and they will become a flying missile and they will go head first into the dashboard or the windshield or other occupants of the car [Music] in a station wagon or in a hatchback. It's particularly dangerous because there are no restraints for the child and they are quite vulnerable to being thrown all around the car. In a rear end collision, the child would fly out the back of the station wagon or the hatchback and up against the car coming towards them, which is terribly dangerous. We're finding that about 80% of the injuries to children are head and face injuries, and those are the most severe. [Music] Seat belts should always be used by larger children and adults, [Music] but smaller children under 40 lbs need child restraint seats. The government recommends that you buy child restraint seats made after January 1st, 1981, which say crash tested on the box, such as the Bobby Mac, the Bunny Bear, the Century, the Costco Peterson, the GM, the International Teddy Tutt, the Cantet, the Scroy. Remember, if you use the proper child restraint, a car seat or seat belt, you can drive knowing that you've done the very best for your child. [Music] This is the story of Alexander Balder, well-known mobile artist. For his mobiles, Alexander loves to collect gas-saving gadgets. These gadgets are attached to various parts of a car and they are supposed to save gas. But do they? In Consumer Reports tests, ignition control gadgets like the SparkM intensifier, the electronic supercharger, and the fire injector made no significant difference in gas mileage. [Music] Fuel pressure regulators like the Super Energy Cell didn't save on gas either. And fuel energizer gadgets like the Moleculator, which claims to usually give fuel savings of 10 to 23%, didn't save on gas. In fact, Consumer Reports found that as far as gas saving goes, all these gadgets and all the gas-saving gadgets they tested over the years were essentially useless. So, you'll just be wasting your money buying these so-called gas-saving gadgets. Unless, of course, you're an artist like Alexander Balder who can turn your gas-saving mistakes into a work of art. [Applause] It's a beautiful day here for the running of the used car buyers decathlon. The cheers go up as used car buyer champ Jane Goodeny enters the dealer's lot. Wearing a navy blue designer jumpsuit, the champ looks confident. I hope not overconfident because buying a used car can be tricky. [Applause] The crowd quiets down as Good Penny approaches a used car. [Music] She's examining the car's body for bad rust spots, blisters in the paint, or flaking paint. She especially looks under the door and at the edges of the door, fender, and the trunk lid. If rust spots have gone through the metal, repairs could be expensive. She hasn't found any bad rust spots, and she gets a nice hand for examining the car's body. [Applause] Next, she looks at the tires for signs of wear. Uneven tire wear can mean mechanical problems, a misaligned front end, defective shock absorbers or brakes, a frame bent in an accident. From there, good penny champ that she is, shakes the top of each front wheel in and out. If there is free play or a clunking sound, it may indicate worn or loose bearings or worn suspension joints. The crowd loves it. Shaking tires is always a big crowd-pleaser. [Applause] Look at that. She's going right on to check for worn shock absorbers. She pushes a fender or bumper down several times until that corner of the car is bouncing. The car should come up and stop in a middle position. It does. If the car had kept on bouncing, it could have meant it needed new shock absorbers. The crowd quiets down as Jane Goodeny turns and opens the car door. She's looking inside the car for signs of wear and tear. If the driver's seat has weak or broken springs or lumps or hollows, the car probably has had long, hard use. Jane nods. It looks pretty good. Now she's going to check for a loss of brake fluid. She presses her foot steadily against the brake pedal for about a minute. She knows that if the pedals sink slowly, there is probably a brake fluid leak. You can feel the tension building up in this crowd as she takes it for a test drive. There she goes in reverse. She's checking the car in reverse as well as forward. No transmission should grown or howl. Transmission repairs can be very expensive. Now she's getting on the road to see if the car accelerates smoothly. She listens for any rattles and squeaks. [Music] A tense moment should be coming up about now. Checking the car's brakes. The car speed is up to 45 and she breaks hard to stop the car short. The brakes should not grab or vibrate. She'll repeat this important event three times. Brakes aren't that important. Fearless, good Penny goes right on to a bumpy road to see if the car has any trouble holding the road. And just to be sure, she's also going to have a mechanic look at the engine and the insides of the car. Jane Goodeny, you've gone about as far as you can go. You've certainly earned your reputation as the world's best used car buyer. Heat. Heat. [Music] Oh, I know. [Music] I remember seeing that as a kid. We had HBO around that time and that's when HBO wasn't 24 hours. So that would come on in the afternoon. Um, and then I remember when it would sign off at some point and when it would come back on. I feel like around 3:00. But, uh, yeah, wonderfully dated. Great stuff. Um, thank you for joining us today. Thank you, Jeremy, for uh, donating via the super thanks button. Uh you can donate some cash to us that we will spend on things like rent for storage units, artist tape, um hard drives, etc. Um basically the scanning that Greg is doing today, he's averaging between two and a half and three terabytes a day. So we're doing a lot of scanning. Uh so there'll be a lot of stuff to watch in the future. And we'll also go back to scanning and showing some of stuff from our collection as well. So, we'll kind of mix it in. But, uh, if you like what you saw, besides donating via the superthanks button, you can also donate via the ko-fi.com/abeks or patreon.com/abgeeks or at the very least just hit the thumbs up button, hit the like button. Um, you can also watch other stuff that we have up on YouTube. I think the Brock uh Lesnner bump is over. So, what's happening is revenue and the views are going back down um because they went crazy for a while, which is great. I love it. We're getting a bunch of visibility, but um yeah, watch some stuff. Um we get some aid revenue from that. Um but uh so tomorrow afternoon, it's Saturday at the Raleigh Alamo, I will be hosting at 4 o'clock the Dismember the Alamo, which is a four movie horror movie marathon. Um it's sold out, but sometimes tickets show up like an hour before the event. So, if you're in Raleigh and you want to sit in a chair for, I don't know, six hours, seven hours and watch some horror movies uh that we picked and uh we always also do special things during the films. Um yeah, look it up on the Alamo Draft House site. But, uh otherwise, I will see you on Monday. Everybody have a great weekend. I hope that the weather is as nice for you as it is for us. And I hope you have a uh a good weekend and uh you know, wear sunscreen uh if you're going to be protesting tomorrow. Um unfortunately, I can't because I'm going to be doing a horror movie marathon uh and preparing for it, but please know that I am with you. Everybody have a great rest of your weekend and we will see you on Monday. Love you guys. Take care.