AV Geeks 16mm Lunch 11-8-2022

foreign foreign hi everybody I'm skip Alzheimer welcome to the AV Geeks lunchtime streaming show uh where we watch old 16 millimeter films and then scratch your heads and try to figure out what's going on uh so that last footage was um it was home movie footage travel footage somewhere that was celebrating Carnival which of course is this uh thing that happens it's it's uh Mardi Gras basically um or something close to Mardi Gras in um New Orleans but in South America carnival is kind of this weird mixture I guess of Catholicism and then other local stuff and the costumes in this uh were phenomenal uh the people of color in blackface is puzzling um but they're also as we saw in Whiteface so it was all part of this the festivities of that time um and it looks like they were trying to approximate a Minstrel show um so yeah very very very strange um behind me I have a film setup that I ordered from somebody uh whose father ran a film Library rental Library and I ordered it and it was the wrong film but we're gonna watch it anyways so here's battle and bass enjoy lots of nice things about fishing almost anywhere you go some form of this fascinating sport can be enjoyed big game fish are great sport to catch but one can have as much fun with the smaller varieties on very light tackle the lighter your tackle the better chance the fish has to get away but that's the sport of the game fishing for baby Tarpon with a fly rod and any ordinary popping type of bass plug will give you plenty of fun [Music] these baby Tarpon have all the acrobatic fighting inclinations of their great granddaddies many of them grow up in the small streams and ditches of the Everglades marshes that drain into the Gulf Stream from one pound to 242 pounds which is the world's record the tarpon is a most spectacular performer and catching even a baby Tarpon on a fly rod is real fun [Music] for the Sportsman there's always more to fishing than just a fish for instance the enjoyment of a site such as this a flock of rare Roseate spoonbills winging their way over the vast prairies and Cypress swamps foreign [Music] we find another likely looking spot and lay the bass bug out on the Dark Water [Music] Saco another baby Tarpon strikes and the fun begins again one is a little fellow but what a fighter [Music] very gently the prize is eased to the bank to be lifted out most Tarpon fishermen like to see how big a fish they can catch but this time we're after the flyweight record this little fighter weighed just seven and a half ounces and yet he took an artificial lure and fought with all the gameness the most fastidious angler could desire he's scarcely longer than a man's hand and is probably only a few weeks old these Tarpon are spawned somewhere along the edge of the gulf and after being hatched make their way far back into the Everglades to grow big enough to protect themselves until they return to the haunts of their parents thank you Florida is also famed for its wonderful bass fishing Silver River in the north central part of the state is one of the many places where these bronze Beauties are plentiful floor casting is a popular way to catch bass and here we go the try our luck and test our skill together foreign lure is most important but it isn't easy to make a choice from an assortment such as this surface plugs underwater plugs and spoons poppers plunkers darters and divers but let's select a flashing metal wobbler to which a strip of pork rind is attached we're using a light five and a half foot split bamboo bait casting rod a level winding reel and 12 pound test nylon line an ideal combination for bass fishing and that wriggling pork rind and flashing metal certainly should coax a big one out of his cool Shady Retreat if this lure doesn't work we'll try others until we find one the fish will take there he is and he's well hooked not a big one but full of fight play of the rod and a taut line soon wear him out and he's brought alongside the boat we lift him out by the lower jaw it's probably over the legal limit but the fun is in the catching so back goes this little fighter to grow some more such promising water makes it hard for a fisherman to decide where to try next the bass with her big mouth or Smallmouth is one of the gayest fish that swims if he grew as big as the tarpon it's doubtful whether any angler Fishing from a small boat with Rod and Reel could land him even the experts sometimes miss a fish usually more often than they're willing to admit but sometimes they seem to be right there waiting to strike [Music] finally he comes to the surface and shakes his head violently in an effort to throw the hook but to no avail we land him and this one is a keeper all right just the size for the frying pan [Music] moving on along the shoreline it's hard to keep from sightseeing but soon there's more action incidentally we've had no reason to change that pork rind lure as it certainly is proving effective these Silver River bass are strong active beautifully marked fish living as they do in this cold clear spring-fed River [Music] this is the sort of bass fishing that everyone dreams about people's surroundings and Plenty of Fish to be caught foreign [Music] there's nothing particularly backbreaking about this kind of fishing but the excitement of Landing a big bass is just as intense the satisfaction is deep and long lasting as the Boating of a hundred pound cotton [Music] [Applause] let's try that place again there ought to be another and there is this is a big one who fights stubbornly and puts a real strain on the tackle [Music] but at last he too gives up and is lifted out of the water [Music] it's tough to quit when there are bass like this to be caught but let's remember a very important Fisherman's rule don't take more fish than you need and always put the little ones back foreign the best part of this day is that the big one did not get away here's a largemouth bass that really lives up to his name ten pounds of him so let's take them home fast for supper but that's just incidental to a day out of doors and a day of real sport [Music] [Applause] thank you [Music] foreign with a cargo of wealthy Sportsman a great Clipper plane had seaward from Miami Bound for the Fisherman's Paradise of the South Atlantic fishermen prepare their weapons for the deep sea Wars while 50 miles offshore lies the tiny island of cat cave a subtropical aisle devoted exclusively to fishing it is the retreat of millionaire Sportsman from every corner of the Earth [Music] over the island flies the flag of the Empire upon which the Sun never sets the very atmosphere of Kat K suggests Leisure and its cool white Bungalows reflect the ease and luxury of Tropic living [Music] unhurried negro servants carry The White Man's Burden of breakfast in bed foreign horns disturb the quiet of this peaceful land where Motorcars are forbidden and there are no commuters trains to catch at cat case Farm Fringe Beach a fish fence protects the swimmer from attacks of deadly sharks and Barracuda but here also the visitor pursues a life of fearless ease while fishing is the main occupation of Sportsman at catcay the skeet range offers the version for Marksman a bang away at clay pigeons [Music] but it's time to put out to the fishing grounds for all a ship shape aboard the cruiser and the fisherman's Blood starts tingling with the subdued excitement that precedes a fight with a worthy adversary they'll need all their strength and skill to battle the opponent foreign [Music] T in the blue Beyond the Horizon so it's out to see for the hunters of the deep to scout the game fish that cruise the Tropic water a mackerel sewn to the hook is the lure that is designed to entice the Wily game fish preparing vildure and the vine demand exacting care or upon these preliminaries depends the success of hooking the fish after it strikes [Music] the lines are attached to wooden snap fins that will support trolling but which will release under the weight and pull of a mighty fighter arranged on Outriggers two lines may be told without fouling [Music] these derrick-like arms are not used to land fish but they permit the lines to be dragged wide and free of the boat's weight but there's a volunteer in he's following the lure and he takes it a strike now he starts his shot the fisherman jerks up on the rod to set the hook in the fish taking the line up the fish leaves and plunges fighting to shake loose that stabbing hook [Music] the pole bends under the flailing Fury of the battling fish while the real screams as the line plays out [Applause] foreign [Music] [Music] but the fish puts up a scrap to the very end a stout battler and a game opponent while only half them all incited strike just about half those that strike are hooked and then have get away so it's the fisherman's Supreme thrill as he pulls it over the side and a fraud fighter loses a battle of life and death Berg Circle as The Lure is full the diving gannets are nuisances and best to the fishermen as they swoop and dive to steal the bait [Music] there's a pin and tail another strike but the fisherman loses him the fish mined with Fury leaves and lunges here lies danger for when a flailing Marlin lands in a man's lap the Peril of being hacked to death by the slapping sword lands with it but this one's free and an appalling rage hurdles toward the Open Sea with the hook faded again the fisherman hopes for better luck as he wonders whether to tell the boys about the one that got away what you learn what you learn another strike and the line streams out [Music] putting up a terrific battle taking the line with all his speed and power he's plenty hard to play as he guarded away and the fisherman turns his harness to hold a face that seems to be made of steel strings [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] Marlin have been clocked at a hundred miles an hour as they take the line off [Music] the line must be kept taught for the minute he's given slack Mr Marlon shakes the hook free and leads to Freedom this Mighty battler is being reeled in as he's tired [Music] but there he still has one last battle left in it [Applause] here is one he can tell the boys about and be prouder of fish that fought nobly right down to the last round a gallant blue marlin is brought together it's the happy hunting ground with game of Plenty where each Warrior of the deep sea fishing tribe wants to spend eternity it's Fisherman's Paradise [Music] well there was two films on there sorry I'm eating a sandwich um this next film is actually an advertisement but it's a reminder to today is the day to vote enjoy [Music] [Music] I'm Michael R Jackson Courier dispatch I'm on my way to the grand opening of what I consider to be the greatest show on Earth first time it's played our County but we think when the curtain closes tonight this will be quite a different place to live [Music] I had a little something to do with it that is a man I wrote about in a series of news stories did my Beats the county courthouse and if you know anything about County courthouses well that's democracy Showplace I don't have any free press passes for you but you can get good seats if your credentials say USA that probably gives it away but we announce without apology this is going to be a flag-waving production if that be naive let the sophisticates make the most of it if there's been more of it lately this show would play to standing room only however there are plenty of seats but it's curtain time [Music] he's not necessarily the star in this particular show like to say is but wouldn't be quite true in this case the stage of this show is that voting machine right there and the theme getting them installed in this County it didn't just happen you see you can legislate yourself all the laws you want about the right to vote but whether you actually have an active electorate or not comes down like everything else of consequence to a matter of action on the part of a very few men and what kind of arrangements they make in your community it may be some other official like your councilman in ours it's the County Commissioners who carry the assignment of seeing that there is a way and a means for every American to run his country between 6 a.m and 6 p.m on that first Tuesday in November now although voting machines are over 60 years old and are already being used by about half the voters in America our commissioners still had to sell the idea here a lot of work but they felt worth doing they got me on their team to do my series of Articles when commissioner Miller told me about the ease and speed and economy of voting with machines over paper ballots when the voter is properly qualified the attending election official admits him to the machine Mr citizen moves the operating lever to the right which unlocks the machine and locks out the world for the first time the secret ballot is really secret and there are over 19 and one-half centuries that I know of invested in achieving just that the voter selects his candidates by turning down the voting pointers directly above the names of his candidates then he records and counts his own vote by returning the operating handle to the left that's all there is to it he does not hand any papers to any human beings his vote is made and cast Untouched by other human hands or Minds and that's a long step up from tyranny the ballot is right at the voter's eye level easily read and all offices and all candidates are at the same eye level no candidate suffers by being placed in an unfavorable position the commissioner won over service clubs all over the county whenever he addressed them by reminding them of the large number of Voters who are disenfranchised every year at the paper ballot type polls by making mistakes busy people often by habit make check marks on the ballot in states where X's are required they might as well have stayed home that vote is a no vote doesn't count illegal other voters find that at the last minute they have accidentally voted for the wrong man or they changed their mind don't lady uh uh it doesn't count or you know election pencils good try sir but this ballot will be thrown out or in the multiple choice offices errors are frequent she's entitled to choose five state representatives but she's marked six this is a no vote simple mistakes yes but out of every thousand people some hurried some nervous some uninformed how many do you think do it perfectly the commissioner figured there's some excuse for being disenfranchised by tyranny or war or fear no yes it can happen here but not for well-intentioned mistakes not in this age of the voting machine which cannot make a check mark instead of an X which does let you change your mind by simply pushing the pointer back up which has no pencil to break or paper to tear which will not let you vote for more than you're allowed the pointer will not turn if you've cast all your votes questions and issues if any are placed up here on the top of the ballot supporters are marked yes and no or for and against the machine won't let you spoil your ballot by voting both ways and when you're satisfied with your vote a new privilege awaits you you will register and count your own vote by returning this handle walk away knowing your ballot cannot be disqualified thrown out nor miscounted it's already counted the moment you leave nor can the machine make a mistake first off it cannot be opened except by a key after sealing the machine which halts all voting on that machine for the day and it looks complex but it's not a complex mechanical action it looks so because of the large number of voting units in it but actually each voting assembly has a straight mechanical linkage and a rugged action like this and of course voting machines are not a new idea many new functions have been added of course but basically they're 12 years older than the automobile 1892. their use has steadily increased until last year in 35 States and territory of Hawaii about half of our American voters voted by machine why why well newspapers went after answers so did the commissioner and the first answer was it's so fast and so easy just three simple steps first move the red operating handle to the right second select your candidates third throw the red handle to the left to count and record your own vote why else machine voting [Music] absolute Secret balloting we've had no trouble about that in this County but we don't want to either the Commissioners understood about fear that it's a very very subtle thing this voter's opinion is in the machine not on any piece of paper which passes from hand to hand why else voting machines the automatic voting machine absolutely eliminates the disenfranchisement which comes from mistakes ballot mutilations checks instead of x's erasures are voting for too many candidates on machines every vote that's cast is counted the count is mechanically accurate and of course of interest to me and well 170 million others I guess is the fact that immediately after the last voter the election results are available these counters cannot be exposed during the voting day exposure automatically locks the machine against further voting but once opened the result is available right now my paper can get the results which means the people and the candidates and the radio and TV stations can get the results hours earlier just read the figures off the counters to the recorders then check the recorded figures back against the counters announce the results in 5 to 10 minutes how about the good old days well counting was a five-hour job if things went smoothly [Music] foreign [Music] well then it was five days foreign counters cannot get tired cannot get cranky cannot forget why voting machines well money voting machines vote more people much faster therefore you can consolidate your precincts sometimes even two for one Cuts in half your need for hard to find election workers Madison Wisconsin for example eliminated 170 election workers and multiply 170 by a day's pay and you see what kind of savings we're talking about plus the counting takes a quarter of an hour as opposed to three to six hours fewer people fewer hours equals fewer dollars not always of course but in our type count yes then take your printing costs paper ballots require at least one ballot for every voter voting machines one printed ballot per machine and of course save just one old style county-wide recount and your machines are nearly Home Free but money wasn't cheaply on the commissioner's mind something else the man who took the lead in it is a seasoned professional career politician realistic tough even unemotional but that's why he knew that democracy as an idea and a practice had to compete in this County like everything else for the respect and attention of our people who were pressing the clock hard every day it has to compete against speed and motion regrettably even against America's second cup of coffee everything else in the county competes hard for the citizens increasingly valuable time our churches were modernizing with parking lots he could get into faster our marketplaces were automating to compete for his time and his dollar our schools modernized to command his respect and his tax dollars the tools which our average citizen uses every day in his job of work has become fantastically automatic and fast as industry moves to automation and even his home life is automatic modern but the one place where the average citizen participated in the political system which made it all possible no change democracy is the foundation the heart of that democracy is the pole which was still being run in our County the way they were when we held Inauguration Day on March the 4th so the new president would have three months to ride his horse to Washington the driving question on the commissioner's mind can democracy compete with his right hand tied to a Hitching Post [Music] foreign [Music] county is what I consider The Greatest Show on Earth it's bringing out the people as the commissioner likes to say we've really become one of the freedom curtain counties [Music] foreign [Music] wow that was awesome I you know I uh I mean it's an ad for voting machines that's what it is you know the technology uh there's voting machine sales people uh currently uh going around well not currently going around I'm sure that they're helping try to make sure everything that they sold is working okay but uh yeah and this film is fascinating because it recognizes that Americans have a lot going on in their life and uh you have to update your um Mission or update what you do to accommodate these busy lives churches are putting in parking lots to make it easier to get in and out like wow fascinating film and and what's interesting about this is it it um I'm trying to remember the year of it let me look that up real quick but um it uh let's see uh um 1957. so what is that uh 65 years 55 I yeah my math suddenly is is not doing so great but uh just fascinating just to see like all the things that have not changed or we went backwards on um 65 years uh and you know this this machine is like a Panacea it'll solve all your your problems and I love the the section where it's like they're you know using a pencil this could happen oh no this could happen it's just like uh like an infomercial um wow where do I go from there uh boy um I think it's time for the Sun [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] the White's cooler yeah it is I know why because it's the the black the cement side because the sun comes down and the black absorbs the Heat but it comes in a white and white acts like a mirror to reflect the heat so it's not that hot yeah boy this is hot [Music] look at that thing spins yeah that Nate seems like the wind would do it but it can't because there's glass over it I wonder how it works probably the heat from the Sun yeah on the back of each white one it's black oh look it's not green under here yeah I wonder why probably you know plants need the sun to grow and it's successful was over it didn't get any uh sunlight we need food and water to live we need sun to live well the grass main source of living is the sun and water and it needs sun to live [Music] the sun gives us energy [Music] thank you energy to grow the sun makes plants grow without plants or cows and animals like that wouldn't be able to grow if there wasn't any sun there wouldn't be any life [Music] the sun makes water dry up in a mix of cooking with clouds foreign [Music] thank you so this next one is uh I'm gonna mispronounce this it's uh is it magaya magaya anyways I'm gonna learn how to pronounce it enjoy was all things to the Mexican Indian [Music] it was built in the dim and distant pack long before the Spaniards led by Hernando Cortez came to Mexico this pyramid is the largest manned mound in America 56 feet smaller measured around the base than the Great Pyramid of kiops in Egypt and men who study history tell us that rope Nets and bags were made from the fibers of the magay plant and the the countless loads of adobe clay that went into its building as the Indians had no Burrows or oxen Then They Carried the loads on their backs just as this man carries his load of alfalfa today the story of this strange Tower and its companion across the valley is unknown they are thought to have been built by the Spaniards but as to their use no records have been found when the Spaniards came to Mexico about 400 years ago they used Indian labor to build this Aqueduct it was built to carry water across the deep valley to the little town of Los remedios the Indians before the Spaniards came did not have any horses or cattle or sheep or goats or Hogs or dogs or cats and they had no Burrows and no oxen the Spaniards brought all these animals to Mexico and so by the time of the building of this Aqueduct there were auxen to drag crude sleds and draw carts with large wooden Wheels rope made from the fibers of the magay plant was a very important tool in all this activity it was used to tie the oxbows to the heads of The Oxen to lift the stones into place and to tie the smaller stones in the backs of the Burrows just as these Indians today tied their loads of wood on the backs of their Burrows the village of Santa Rosa with its narrow cobbled streets lies on the side of a mountain above the Santa Rosa Valley it is the beginning of the rainy season now and on this Sunday morning Services have been held in the church at the bottom of the hill prayers have been offered asking for plenty of rain for the growing crops homemade Skyrocket bombs have been bursting in the air all morning and the blue haze of their smoke still lingers in the sky the band has held a concert in the churchyard now the services are over and the band toils slowly up the hill escorted of course by nearly all the children of the village during the week these people work hard men women and children but on Sunday they go to church and they do friendly family gatherings such as this at the home of the all-call day or mayor of the little village of Santa Rosa here many families gather for lunch afternoon and evening The Children Play The Women prepare the food and chat about the weekly happenings the men rest and talk of the crops and perhaps drink a little homemade poke which has been made from the juice of the magay plant in the country districts of Mexico it is rare indeed for the people to actually live on their Farms as they do in the United States for countless centuries they have built their homes and Villages such as Santa Rosa and gone out each day to work in the fields the home of the alcohol day overlooks the entire Santa Rosa Valley and one of the most important uses of the magay plant is shown here where it is used as fencing planted close together along the edges of the fields the huge thorny leaves soon become very dense and thick thus not only domestic animals but the wild deer from the mountains as well are kept from eating the crops the Farms are small and in most cases each family owns only one to get the greatest Harvest possible it is important that none of the crops be eaten or destroyed by grazing animals the products of the magay plant are very important to the Mexican people to supply this need there are of course many great gay plantations but fortunately for the Indian the plant grows wild all over the country in the Martins in the deserts and along the roadsides the plant and all it gives are free for the taking the juice from the magay plan for the making of 4K is a very simple processor scraped in the bottom of a leaf a little pool forms and the man returns each morning and evening and the juice is sucked into a gourd which is emptied into a pigskin carried on the back and taken home accrued paper can be peeled directly from the leaf the pulp of the leaf can be cooked and rolled or beaten into a fine parchment for needle and thread the ancient tribes used The Thorn at the tip of the leaf for the needle and the attached fibers for the thread it is still used today for coursework such as mending harness and blankets and serapis rope made from the fibers of the magay plant is probably the most important manufactured product in all of Mexico commercially it is a tremendous industry billions of pesos are invested in huge plantations in modern machinery bottas for the Indian he still makes his rope in the ancient and primitive ways of his forefathers Armando Martinez an Aztec Indian holds a mcgay leaf over a stone and beats it with a club to loosen the pulp and expose the fibers and then with a stick which is curved to prevent it turning in his hands the pulp is gradually forced out and the long tough fibers are left the pulp which lathers in water is saved and used as soap in the yard of his Adobe home the fibers are allowed to dry for a few hours in the sun in the English language these fibers have many names among them being sisal sisal hemp and Heineken when dry Senor Martinez feeds the fibers into the slowly forming cord as his son Fernando turns a crank to which the cord is attached the feeding of the fibers is a very important part of the process the cord must be of uniform thickness to produce a smooth even rope when the cord is finished it is doubled at the center and this Center Point is then attached to the crack and the doubled cord is Twisted into a strand four of these strands are made and then they're attached to the ends of four small tree branches thrust through holes in a post a board with four holes completes this primitive device and as the board moves round and round each strand is Twisted separately the other ends of the strands are attached to a hand crank slipped through a hole in a post this post is mounted on a log which drags along the ground as the Rope becomes shorter due to the twisting Senor Martinez holds the strands apart with his left hand and in his right holds a block of wood with grooves for each strand this blocky holds back tightly against the slowly forming rope the result is a tightly Twisted rope strong and good for many years of service when all the leaves have been harvested the trunks or bowls of the plants are loaded into Ox carts and brought to this primitive Factory where industrial alcohol is made the bowls are split into pieces so they will bake more easily then they are stacked around the rim of a pit in which stones are heating from a wood fire underneath them when the stones are red hot the split magay is piled around the stones and then covered with broken up tree branches and dried leaves and left to bake overnight it is 9 30 the next morning now according to this homemade Sundial which is the clock of the Indians the men have just about finished removing the covering to get out the baked magay it is a rich brown in color after baking and looks and tastes about like cooked sweet potatoes when baked at home in a small fire not only the bowl but the leaves and The Roots as well make a very fine and nutritious food the baked magay is taken to a saucer-like pit lined with stones and the juices are crushed out small factories such as this help to supply the tremendous demand for industrial alcohol which is needed in the making of paint shellac perfumes flavoring extracts Celluloid rubbing alcohol and countless other products through holes left between the stones and the bottom of the pit the juice trickles into an underground clay pipe which leads to a crude Still Here by distilling industrial alcohol is made foreign as far back as history can be traced the magay plant has been an indispensable part of Mexican life this was true long before the Spaniards came and it is still true today beside their other uses some leaves are cut and dried and used as roofs on the more humble dwellings coarse threads are made from the younger plants the roots are dug and cooked for food and then there are the fences between the fields and along the roadsides there is 4K and paper and needle and thread and soap and rope [Music] and Industrial alcohol is it any wonder that to the Mexico the magay is the plant of a thousand uses it's not my gay plantations it's magay plantations well okay there you go we learned something today um what's the difference between industrial alcohol and non-industrial I don't know is it higher count is it not have sugar in it I don't know I have no idea but uh thanks for tuning in today if you like what you saw hit the Thumbs Up Button uh hit the like button um subscribe tell other people about what we're doing uh if you want to see more of what we got going on go to the avgeeks.com we have DVDs for sale there and we also have thousands of films that we've digitized and put up there um and also I have a 24 7 channel that we're slowly working on trying to get up and running maybe adding comments that's one of the things that I'm investigating now um you can donate by going to patreon.com avgeeks and buy us coffee a second America's second cup of coffee by going to ko.fi.com avgeeks and as always I really appreciate you guys um I feel strongly about voting so please please consider it um but uh we'll be back again tomorrow Wednesday everybody have a great rest of your day as always please rewind and love each other and we will see you again tomorrow bye-bye