Viva Lang!
Oct. 8th, 2005 05:45 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stoutfellowEven when I was younger, I wasn't one for the wee hours. Now, in my late forties, I'm even less so. Fortunately, last night wasn't a school night.
A few weeks ago, I finally finished cataloging my movie collection and wish list. (I'd had it once before, but lost the data when my last computer died.) Since then, I've resumed taping, adding The Incredibles, The Devil and Miss Jones, and Deliverance to my collection.
Last evening, browsing the Dish network guide, I noticed that TCM was showing The Testament of Dr. Mabuse, a Fritz Lang classic, at 1 AM. (It was the last film he directed in Germany before fleeing the Nazis.) I checked, and saw that it was on my wish list. But there was a problem. TCM was allotting it 2:15. Now, when I make a tape for my collection, I use a fresh tape and record in SP mode if at all possible. Unfortunately, all of my blanks at the moment are T120s, which means they can only take two hours in SP mode. Now, the Maltin Guide said that the movie was only 111 minutes; a check online with TCM revealed that their version was 121 minutes. Hmm... You can usually squeeze one or two extra minutes onto a tape, but that requires careful timing - you have to start the tape, at worst, only a few seconds before the movie actually begins. Since TCM always opens with a brief intro by their moderator, I couldn't just set the timer; this kind of job has to be done manually. I set the alarm.
So, I got up at 12:55, stumbled into the living room, turned on the TV, and sat through a series of Coming Attractions and, finally, the intro (which didn't tell me anything I didn't already know, and in fact left out some interesting details about Lang's flight to safety), and got the recorder running with seconds to spare.
Unfortunately, my getting up had awakened the dogs, and Murphy has one inviolable rule: when he gets up, he wants a treat. Now. Don't sit in front of the noise box; go into the kitchen and get me a treat. Now. What are you waiting for? Now. Now. Now. So (the tape safely running) I staggered into the kitchen, opened the big resealable bag of meat-juice-soaked biscuits, pulled one out, broke it in two (Ben isn't so demanding, but he'll take what's available), and handed out the pieces. Then I crawled back to bed.
Did I mention that the weather has turned, suddenly, over the last week or so? Suddenly enough that I hadn't yet switched the thermostat from "cool" to "heat"?
Sometimes I think I'm a little bit obsessive. There was a time some years ago when TCM put on a King Vidor festival overnight and I decided to tape three of them - which entailed getting up at midnight, and again at 2 AM to swap tapes, and yet again at 4 AM. I don't know if I'd do that again.
But I've got my tape of The Testament of Dr. Mabuse!
A few weeks ago, I finally finished cataloging my movie collection and wish list. (I'd had it once before, but lost the data when my last computer died.) Since then, I've resumed taping, adding The Incredibles, The Devil and Miss Jones, and Deliverance to my collection.
Last evening, browsing the Dish network guide, I noticed that TCM was showing The Testament of Dr. Mabuse, a Fritz Lang classic, at 1 AM. (It was the last film he directed in Germany before fleeing the Nazis.) I checked, and saw that it was on my wish list. But there was a problem. TCM was allotting it 2:15. Now, when I make a tape for my collection, I use a fresh tape and record in SP mode if at all possible. Unfortunately, all of my blanks at the moment are T120s, which means they can only take two hours in SP mode. Now, the Maltin Guide said that the movie was only 111 minutes; a check online with TCM revealed that their version was 121 minutes. Hmm... You can usually squeeze one or two extra minutes onto a tape, but that requires careful timing - you have to start the tape, at worst, only a few seconds before the movie actually begins. Since TCM always opens with a brief intro by their moderator, I couldn't just set the timer; this kind of job has to be done manually. I set the alarm.
So, I got up at 12:55, stumbled into the living room, turned on the TV, and sat through a series of Coming Attractions and, finally, the intro (which didn't tell me anything I didn't already know, and in fact left out some interesting details about Lang's flight to safety), and got the recorder running with seconds to spare.
Unfortunately, my getting up had awakened the dogs, and Murphy has one inviolable rule: when he gets up, he wants a treat. Now. Don't sit in front of the noise box; go into the kitchen and get me a treat. Now. What are you waiting for? Now. Now. Now. So (the tape safely running) I staggered into the kitchen, opened the big resealable bag of meat-juice-soaked biscuits, pulled one out, broke it in two (Ben isn't so demanding, but he'll take what's available), and handed out the pieces. Then I crawled back to bed.
Did I mention that the weather has turned, suddenly, over the last week or so? Suddenly enough that I hadn't yet switched the thermostat from "cool" to "heat"?
Sometimes I think I'm a little bit obsessive. There was a time some years ago when TCM put on a King Vidor festival overnight and I decided to tape three of them - which entailed getting up at midnight, and again at 2 AM to swap tapes, and yet again at 4 AM. I don't know if I'd do that again.
But I've got my tape of The Testament of Dr. Mabuse!
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no subject
Date: 2005-10-08 09:01 pm (UTC)I have been very happy with TiVo, but stuff I want to save either gets transferred to tape or dvd - and the latter process was time-consuming (and I haven't restored the capability since my disk crash). And - I don't know how happy I'm going to be with home made dvd's in 10 years. Maybe less happy than with the tapes.
I have been collecting some commercial dvds. Wonder how happy I'll be with them in 10 years. Of course, my lasting ten years gets more iffy each year, so perhaps I should just ignore the problem and watch what I've got :<) . .
TCM is great. I need more time.
no subject
Date: 2005-10-09 12:20 am (UTC)Of course, I have a theory that books find the people who're meant to have them. Perhaps that applies to tv shows as well. :)
no subject
Date: 2005-10-09 04:42 pm (UTC)Is it a matter of overuse, or do you find that they deteriorate on the shelf?
TCM is great.
I subscribe to a lot of (uncut, uninterrupted) movie channels, but, yes, TCM is one of the best, for classics and especially for silents. Sundance and IFC are the best for the more obscure stuff.
I need more time.
Don't we all? Lois is right; we need 26-hour days.