AV Geeks Lunch 3-29-2023

thank you hello everybody hope you weren't waiting long I was threading up a film on the scanner uh I'm skip Alzheimer welcome to the AV Geeks lunchtime streaming show where we watch old 16 millimeter films uh and kind of think about them uh this last film was silent and it was from Germany uh from the 30s so uh you know it was steeped in national socialism um during that time uh so yeah monkeys um yeah Nazi Germany educational films uh we got him we got Russian ones as well uh let's see let's watch a film with some um narration about animals and some actually some great music at one point there's it kind of ramps Up the Music uh this is animal homes enjoy this but this and this is a home and this is a home wherever you go in the wide world you know that there are many animals about you sometimes you can see them sometimes you can't many will hide from you because they're afraid you might hurt them and they build their homes where they'll be hidden or where enemies will have a hard time reaching them the cliff swallows build nests High Out Of Reach under an overhanging Rocky ledge they gather mud in their beaks and fly back with it to make their homes high on a cliff they can raise their families safe from the weather above and from danger below each kind of bird has its own way of protecting its nest some like the red winged blackbird make their homes beside a pond where they'll be hidden in the tall reeds many birds build their nests in the branches of a tree some nest on the ground and some are even able to make a hole in a tree trunk the reason for the nest is the same to have a home to raise a family and all families are the same they have big appetites it's hard to believe that in only four weeks these scrawny little birds will be big enough to fly out into the Big World they won't need a home for another year when they'll build nests to raise families of Their Own what other reasons are there for having a home have you ever stopped to think what ants use their home for well for one thing they use it as a place to store food these worker ants are taking seeds down into their underground storerooms ants live together sometimes many thousands in one colony down in their long underground tunnels they're safe from their enemies here are ants working to make the tunnels longer and way up at the top of the picture is another ant who's trying to move a big pebble each ant in the colony has its own job these are the nurses that take care of the young ones the babies are white at this stage they can't move or take care of themselves does it seem to you that ants build a good safe place to raise their young and store food and live their lives many kinds of spiders build homes you've all seen big round spider webs but here's a different kind one with a tunnel to hide in the spider spins a flat web out in front of the tunnel to trap food spiders are helpful because they killed so many of the insects that bother us close by this spider has built another web for she's laid her eggs after the baby spiders hatch the web is their home until they're big enough to build their own we've all seen homes built by spiders and ants and birds but not many of us know about a goal flies home out in the woods you may have seen strange round things on trees or bushes these grow wherever the gall fly lays an egg in the bark when the egg hatches the young one has a fine home to grow in complete with food and protection from its enemies when it's grown to the right size it makes a hole and crawls out to live the rest of its life [Music] who do you think this is making a tunnel just under the surface [Music] here he is a mole you won't often see a mole most kinds live underground all their lives and can't even see if they're brought out into the light look at those short strong front legs that he uses for digging and that long sharp nose that tells him where his breakfast is he'd much rather get back to his home underground watch how fast he can dig [Music] a great many animals make their homes Underground here's another fellow a gopher he builds a bigger tunnel than the mole does so he has to push some of the dirt up to the surface watch how he pushes with his chest and front legs a gopher never goes far from his tunnel even to look for food when he runs out of food in one place he digs underground to another place this way he may dig a tunnel a mile long in a year that's a long home isn't it for some animals a tree is a favorite place to live an old hollow tree is a home ready made to move in and start housekeeping that scraggly looking creature is a mother possum she's carrying something on her back do you know what it is her family of young possums writing on mother is rough going a fella has to hang on tight if he doesn't want to get tossed off why do you suppose a mother possum puts up with this well when you were a baby your mother used to take you with her when she left the house a mother possum doesn't leave her babies home alone either she takes them along even though they grab hold with all four paws and their teeth hang on now they made it home again here's another mother doing what mothers so often do making the bed and tidying up around the home this animal is called a quarter Monday kawadi for short like other mothers she has young ones that sometimes interfere with the housework does anything like this ever happen around your home [Music] [Music] it's fun to play but it's good to have a home to go to when the play is over [Music] would you like to learn more about the way animals live do you know whether Bears have homes would you be surprised to find out that deer and many other animals have no Homes at all and what about fish do they have homes do you know how bees live what do you know about rabbits and squirrels and mice where does the coyote go when he's tracked down his dinner and where does the mountain lion go when he's finished his you'll want to know more about a home and what it means without a home many could not live at all a home is a safe place and a good place [Music] Churchill Wexler um yeah they they uh use some interesting Library production music there to kind of jazz it up a little bit Churchill Wexler did of course one of my favorite films squeak the squirrel so they and I met one of the Wexler Sons uh and he said that he kept squeak as a pet so there you go Okay so I'm a big fan of showing a film that talks about film uh that's not about filmmaking so like we watched uh growing growing which had the kids made a film in the in the film about uh Gardens and growing plants and things like that this one is is interesting it is paragraphs like scenes in a film so it's using the idea of scenes in a film to relay some sort of thing about English grammar let's see how successful they are enjoy [Music] a sentence is a thought complete neat I can do that in nothing flat but a paragraph Good Golly should I even try one to it be pure Folly not true my dear not true that attitude won't do no really I can't paragraph I'm afraid I don't know how it's easy my dear in fact we're doing it now paragraphing sure it's paragraph when you speak it's another when I do it show a change or a new idea that's all there is to it you mean each new paragraph shows a change in point of view or a change in mood or place or action that's exactly what they do is that right my dear why are you laughing because Good Golly I'm paragraphing I think she's got it [Music] thank you I'm a filmmaker so in talking about writing paragraphs I'm going to use the tools of my trade because I think that writing and filmmaking are two ways of doing the same thing here the camera and the sound recorder become our pens and typewriters we use them to communicate to others what we want them to know isn't that also what we do in writing stay sharp now and join me in a visual experiment a composition may have one or any number of paragraphs each paragraph should contain one main idea generally a paragraph consists of the main topic sentence followed by supporting sentences and ending with a concluding sentence this buzzing is getting very distracting all right everybody off let's shoot the scene do you know your place in the script yes I am to do the third paragraph you mean the third scene yes all right roll the sound rolling camera Market take one paragraph three I mean Scene Three when that scene has been shot and the film developed it'll go on the rack with dozens of other scenes they're like the paragraphs that make up a composition in The Cutting Room a film editor will cut each scene to the desired length then splice it to the next seam the effect when viewed is called a direct cut because watch you see the first scene then we pass the splice the film Cuts directly to the next scene films are planned that way look at this script for a film do you see how the writer has divided the script into scenes or main ideas compare it to this composition do you see similar divisions in the composition how the paragraph simply another way of dividing the presentation into main ideas editor direct cut to me please thank you I finished showing you the papers then I wanted to go on to another idea so I cut to this scene of me speaking if you were writing this and wanted to go from one scene or pardon me one paragraph to another what is the first thing you would do you would begin a new line with an indentation you would in Dent you see each indentation is a signal that we are cutting to another idea in Dent now that we know what filmmakers mean by a cut let's stop using that word instead let's just say indent if you agree we can do that then we'll just go on end of paragraph indent in a nearby room a camera mounted on an animation stand brings cartoon characters to life the artwork is placed on the table no wait instead of going on let me ask you this I mean I said in debt did you know we were coming here no and Dent told you we were going on to the next idea but that's all you didn't know the next paragraph would bring us to the animation area until I showed you but what if I couldn't show you with this picture what if this scene were blank then how would you know what the next paragraph is to be about in a nearby room a camera mounted on the animation stand brings cartoon characters to life without pictures how did you know that the topic of this paragraph would be the animation stand simple I told you you heard me introduce the scene with a sentence that told you what the topic would be it works the same way in writing when you go to a new paragraph use a topic sentence to let the reader know what the next main idea is about in modern writing a topic sentence is not always necessary but while learning paragraphs let's stick with one plan for a while generally a paragraph consists of a topic sentence that establishes the main idea supporting sentences that elaborate on the main topic and a concluding sentence the key to writing paragraphs is the topic sentence to demonstrate I'm going to show you three scenes or three paragraphs without topic sentences we will use nothing but supporting sentences each time we indent for a new paragraph you'll hear this little chime ready three paragraphs without topic sentences it consisted of a circular Stone bench supported by columns of brick surrounded by bare concrete walls there in the cool silence I waited my hair was grayer now and I had lost weight quite possibly even those who had known me well would no longer recognize me I knew it might be imagination and that I was leaping to conclusions and I was anxious nonetheless the Jew sense that something was missing I felt the need to know where he was what he was doing there what did his hair turning gray have to do with anything what is it that he thought might only be his imagination with supporting sentences only were disoriented let's do those three paragraphs again but this time we'll introduce each with a topic sentence and see what happens week after week I remained alone in the bomb shelter it consisted of a circular Stone bench supported by columns of brick surrounded by bare concrete walls there in the cool silence I waited the long period underground had played Havoc with my appearance my hair was grayer now and I had lost weight quite possibly those who had known me well would no longer recognize me I stayed there because of a dream which I interpreted as foretelling the destruction of the world above I knew it might be imagination and that I was leaping to conclusions but I was anxious nonetheless I wish we could go on I was just getting into the story notice something interesting the supporting sentences alone didn't carry the story but the three topic sentences alone did tell the main points of the story thus far weeks he'd been in a bomb shelter it had changed his appearance and he'd isolated himself there because of a dream those were the main points the writer wanted to make in fact the topic sentence is so important that it controls the entire meaning of the paragraphs let me show you we'll use the same supporting sentences as we used before but this time we'll use different topic sentences I entered the underground passageway between University buildings where I had agreed to meet Janet in the first Lounge area it consisted of a circular Stone bench supported by columns of brick surrounded by bare concrete walls there in the cool silence I waited Janet was to introduce me at the English Forum where the audience would include faculty members under whom I had once studied my hair was grayer now and I had lost weight quite possibly even those who had known me well would no longer recognize me after waiting impatiently for 15 minutes I was convinced she had forgotten all about me I knew it might be imagination and that I was leaping to conclusions but I was anxious nonetheless what a change amazing how important the topic sentence is to a paragraph topic sentences can be dull or they can be Lively and attention-getting here's a dull one Margie Davis was a good basketball player what kind of a picture does that give us Margie Davis was a good basketball player it's a topic sentence but it's passive in general here's the same point stated with more Verve as a basketball player Margie Davis had the dazzling moves that left her opponent standing flat-footed waving their arms in the air it tells the same thing but what a different picture it gives us after that I'd like to know more about Margie's prowess once we've introduced the main point how can we create more sentences to support it well we could make comparisons compare Margie to another great player we could use examples tell them outstanding plays she made that won a particular game we could support the topic sentence with details about her dribbling passing or shooting skills with supporting sentences you can develop the paragraph any way you choose just so they all relate to the main topic concluding sentence seems obvious it's the last sentence in the paragraph is it important you decide auditions are nerve-wracking on stage alone reading unfamiliar lines and have only minutes to prove you're an actress that's all I have to say on the subject what that's all I have to say on the subject then why did you begin I'd be more impressed if you clinched that paragraph with a concluding statement auditions are nerve-wracking you stand on stage alone reading unfamiliar lines and have only minutes to prove you're an actress I hate auditions except when I get the part especially when you're doing only one paragraph a clinching or summing up sentence can bring it to a satisfying close sometimes in longer pieces we don't want every paragraph to come to a strong ending I'll demonstrate I'm going to show you two film scenes when we cut from the first one to the second one you may feel that there's something missing see if you can detect it the morning with sunny and cool perfect for a hike in the country breathing the crisp beer I felt as if I could walk 20 miles when do I put my socks did those two scenes or paragraphs go together no they didn't seem to did they yet that was the way the writer intended them see he has one paragraph for the Youth hiking the next paragraph about the bedroom oh wait a minute we left out a line of his narration he actually ended the first paragraph with a line that led to the next one let's see if putting that closing sentence in the first paragraph helps good morning with sunny and cool perfect for a hike in the country greeting the crisp beer I felt as if I could walk 20 miles that was surprising when I remembered the trouble I'd had getting out of bed just one hour ago I wonder where I put my socks did you hear how that concluding statement in the first scene prepared us for the next one in adventure stories you'll often find that type of concluding sentence it keeps us reading on from one paragraph to the next I have a small confession to make in films sometimes we cut or change scenes before we finished with one idea we do it so that one scene doesn't run on for so long we get tired of looking at it writers often do the same thing paragraph that goes on and on for a page or more looks unappealing so even if a writer is dealing with only one main idea he or she will often subdivide it into paragraphs to attract readers you should be aware of that but until you become expert concentrate on the Five Points we've stressed like a film scene each paragraph contains one main idea we indent to show we are cutting from one scene or idea to the next a topic sentence expresses the main idea in a paragraph supporting sentences add details and the concluding sentence clinches the main idea or leads us into the next paragraph I think you got it [Music] well yeah WC Fields um I knew who WC Fields was because at the time when I was a kid Fritos had a mascot that was named WC Fritos and I was a member of the um WC Fritos fan club so I would get stickers and posters related to WC Fritos uh but that's the only reason I knew who it was at the time then eventually I saw uh some of WC Fields films um so I don't know is it still relevant I think that there were still people imitating WC Fields in the 70s and maybe into the 80s all right uh what do we got um I have a film on the scanner um Christmas Customs near and far enjoy [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] Christ is [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] beautiful children just beautiful your caroling is going to add a great deal to our Christmas Pageant who else is in the pageant Mrs White oh a great many people you see different groups of children whose parents came here from other countries going to show us some of ways Christmas is celebrated in other lands and where some of our Christmas costumes and traditions come from like where the idea of the Christmas tree comes from that's right and the star on top that's the Star of Bethlehem isn't it yes it is it stands for the star that guided the wise men to the stable where Jesus was born who invented the Christmas tree why don't you all sit down and rest for a while and I'll tell you all about it the Christmas tree has a long long history and there's an old old story that on the night of Jesus birth all the evergreen trees burst forth into radiant blossoms that was their way of singing Glory to the newborn king and they say that that was the only time the evergreen trees ever had blossoms the first Christmas trees we know about were in Germany and in Germany Christmas is called vinach that's right and a little later we'll see a German Christmas tree in our pageant but right now let's pretend this is a magic ball and if we stare at it very hard we will see a group of German children playing one of their favorite games until yes here's the Christmas tree and everyone will help decorate it trees were first decorated with apples and paper flowers and gilded nuts but now the German people use all sorts of gay ornaments just as we do foreign cookies made of sugar and spice cut in every manner of shape and Design at Christmas time German houses are sweet with the smell of wonderful Christmas cakes with wonderful names Springer line cucin OSI [Music] round the Christmas tree German families often sing an old song called O Tannenbaum We Know It with these words [Music] the Star of Bethlehem also crowns the Christmas tree of Sweden called the yulegram in our pageant a family of Swedish origin will show us how the Christmas season in Sweden begins on December 13th which means Saint Lucia's day St Lucia wears a crown of Evergreen branches and candles which are symbols of Christmas the World Around The Evergreen stands for the Everlasting Gift of Life brought by Christ and the candle stands for our faith in him since ancient times long before Christ was born there have been feasts and celebrations at this time of year called Yuletide which means turning time the time when the days start growing longer from such ancient tradition comes the celebration in honor of Saint Lucia who symbolizes the light of the Christmas season with its renewal of faith hope and love now the Christmas tree has come to the United States along with a custom of giving gifts gifts that tell people we love them and the children if they're good boys and girls and they are all sure they're good hang up their stockings from the mantle or somewhere else if they have no mantle and when the children are in bed [Applause] Santa Claus has a long history too a man named Saint Nicholas actually lived 1600 years ago he was a bishop of the Christian church in Asia Minor and he was very generous giving gifts and money to people in need many people believed that he dropped purses of money down the chimney so they hung up stockings to catch them Saint Nicholas became the patron saint of children the Dutch people pronounced his name Saint Nicholas and this was the name they brought with them when they settled in New York and here the name became Santa Claus Santa Claus is part of the fun of Christmas for Christmas is a Happy Time of the Year yes and we express our happiness in many ways [Music] we decorate our homes to say Merry Christmas to everyone passing by [Music] our stores are decorated with the familiar Christmas scenes so that even in the hustle and bustle of our Christmas shopping we can remember the real Joy of that first Christmas long ago [Music] at school we're busy making Christmas cards continuing a custom that began a hundred years ago when an artist in England decorated the holiday letters he was sending his friends [Music] Christmas is a time for thinking of others it brings us real happiness to share our food and toys with people less fortunate than we [Music] at church school we may decorate a mitten tree with mittens the girls and boys have brought to send to children in foreign lands [Music] and there are many other ways as churches and as families that we share our Christmas Joy with people all around the world just as people all over the world have shared their wonderful Christmas customs with us for the celebration of Christmas is much the same everywhere but of course there are differences did you know that in Mexico they don't have Christmas trees they have La Pinata we'll see one in our pageant La Pinata is a daily decorated device that's made in all sorts of shapes can you guess what's hidden inside a big pottery jar filled with candies and toys on Christmas Eve the children take turns time to break it open three tries and Rosa didn't hit it maybe mono will will be the one to break it hole how the children Scramble for the toys that fall from the pinata the pinata which is the Christmas tree of Mexico I think that'd be fun but I'd still rather have a Christmas tree and the manger scene with the baby Jesus yes that is an important part of our Christmas our Christmas tree comes to us from the north of Europe and our Christmas crib from the south of Europe particularly Italy where it is called a precipial each member of the family helps build it and make the figures of the Shepherds and wise men the animals and Joseph and Mary and the Bambino the baby Jesus [Music] it was in Italy 750 years ago that Saint Francis of Assisi made the first scene of the Nativity and standing around it his followers sang the first Christmas carols traditional Italian dances are performed by groups who go from house to house singing and dancing and asking for food and money and Candy which they will distribute among children less fortunate thank you yes Joy is everywhere at Christmas and so our pageant is to show us some of the joyous customs and traditions which have come to us from other lands but that's not all for as Christianity has spread throughout the world so has the celebration of Christmas and so the last scene in our pageant will give us a picture of Christmas far away in China in China Christmas is called which means the holy birth Festival and this is how Chinese children present the story of the Holy birth here are the Shepherds who heard the good tidings of great joy about the birth of Christ and journey to Bethlehem to honor the Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a Manger [Music] here is the first of the three kings the wise men who saw the star in the east and followed it as the Bible tells us till it came and stood over where the young child was [Music] when the wise men saw the young child with Mary his mother they fell down and worshiped him and when they had opened their Treasures they presented unto him gifts gold and frankincense and myrrh foreign as these children present the story of a nativity just as it is presented in our own country and throughout the world we see in the celebration of Christmas that all people everywhere are children of God [Music] whether we carry a ladder or a candle is a symbol of our faith we are joining with our brothers around the world when we rejoice in the miracle of Christmas [Music] [Music] so obviously at some point they stopped showing this film in schools uh but there there's a lot of films that talk about God and certainly The Moody Institute of science films talk about God um and the idea was like well you're not talking about Protestants or Catholics or you know everybody in the United States believes in God right um you know thinking about Protestants Catholics and Jews they all believe in God so we're cool to talk about God right but uh yeah this one is fascinating stretch uh thank you Santa's boots uh Santa's boot for the 10 donation and the mention of I'm gonna pronounce this wrong because it's in uh Catalan uh the kashner um or Kahana uh interesting story so for a while I I have like a couple of Santa suits and I used to dress as Santa at inappropriate times and in inappropriate places uh then when I discovered Krampus and this was long before the Krampus movies came out and all this uh I started dressing as Krampus uh at inappropriate times and inappropriate places um I decided like okay well Krampus is is popular now so I don't need to dress this Krampus anymore and I'm like well what other Christmas thing could I dress up as and I discovered uh the Kahana or kajener um which is a little guy who's in the uh Catalan um nativity scene who's back in a corner pooping he's got his pants down and he is pooping I was like this is amazing and I was like that's what I'm going to dress up as for for Christmas and go to Christmas parties as the cat Hunter uh and I have a friend at the science museum who is of a Spanish origin and he went to visit his family over the holidays and I said could you and he actually is from Catalan so I was like can you get me a counter like little Nativity and it's amazing he got me one and it looks just like a beautifully well-crafted like wood crafted thing that would you would put in your nativity scene so I'm gonna sneak in with my parents I'm guessing at some point um all right what do we got what time is it all right um let's see this might uh what do I want to do okay so many things to show you constantly showing showing you films um where is it Okay I uh so it looks like found footage Festival made their choices for the toe tapping tournament they borrowed pretty heavily from some TV uh jingles I just want to put them forward the ones that I have on film I have some commercials that have Jingles I just want to see if any of them resonate with you so here's some potential TV commercial jingle candidates just to kind of see all right let's figure this out enjoy [Music] Pepsi Cola value pack eight 16 ounce returnable bottles that pour Pepsi quality at economy prices at least a five ounce serving for a nickel the value pack a gallon of Pepsi and eight returnable bottles with resealable caps to help lock in that great Pepsi taste the value pack one more way to say Pepsi's got a lot to give it's a good life foreign [Music] perfect perfect add people over after church including the Reverend McClellan but 7-Eleven saved the day with a nice cold watermelon [Music] I've discovered landshire Deli type Frozen sandwiches have you landshar sandwiches are made with cry Fine Meats and quality cheeses on special buns and rolls baked by landshire they're a snack or a meal or a great sack lunch Nike Ranch wagon ham and cheese Coney Island and shine we got to do it now we can't go on forever [Music] so there was the Pepsi commercial which was actually echoing back to an earlier Pepsi jingle that was a radio jingle which is super infectious um where they talk about it being a nickel and it's it's over the top it's really good then there was the 7-Eleven oh thank heaven for 7-Eleven personally that resonates with me because it kind of is it would match up with one of the found footage Festival things the we are Sears and also it's just it's kind of absurd and I should say there's an interesting backstory so the guy who's talking about going shopping after church and picking up a watermelon because the the preacher's coming over um that kind of ties into the fact that convenience stores were often open on Sundays and were not subject to blue laws um which meant that businesses were not open on Sunday like grocery stores pretty much were not open on Sunday because laws said you know businesses shouldn't be open on the Lord's day and so I think this was kind of jabbing at that a little bit um let's see what else the new Seekers oh no the Nike sandwiches and you know I just threw that in there uh the new Seekers I don't know if that's an actual song uh that they just happen to use in this um thing about litter and cleaning up America um but yeah in the comments did any of them resonate with you or is it just like no absolutely not um because I I think um yeah all right so I'll read the comments when we get back uh when uh we're done with the show and just kind of see what you think um because man that 7-Eleven one I I gotta say I like that one a lot because it's a toe Tapper and it's just ludicrous but yes I totally get uh Jingles are too easy um and I appreciate us elevating it but I want to include one jingle can I do that one jingle um and VD is for everybody is an amazing jingle but we have that compete uh two years ago and it got beat out I mean I think I've kind of front loaded all the real Great hits like in that first year because I didn't know if we were going to do it again so a lot of really great stuff cut kind of got taken out so anyways if there was pick one jingle that you really liked um and put it in the comments or if you just think again it's really horrible don't do it don't go down that path then I'm I'm okay with that um but uh thanks everybody for tuning in today uh very much appreciate your comments and uh your donations um and your eyeballs uh in your ears if you like what you saw you could donate like uh Santa boot did um with the super thanks button you can also go to KO Dash fi.com avgeeks or patreon.com avgeeks you can also just hit the thumbs up button or watch other films that we have online on our YouTube channel those are great ways to support us so thanks so much as always keep me please evaluate that was from Valentine's Day um but yeah everybody have a great uh rest your day and we'll be back tomorrow take care