Thursday, December 12, 2019

A Shining Season (1979)

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Last updated: March 6, 2023

Docudrama about the life of champion runner and UNM graduate John Baker, who became a coach/teacher in the APS system before succumbing to cancer. Based upon the book A Shining Season : the true story of John Baker as told by William J. Buchanan. Filmed around Albuquerque, including locations at public schools and the Albuquerque Academy. Starring Timothy Bottoms, Allyn Ann McLerie, Constance Forslund, Ed Begley Jr., Rip Torn, and Mason Adams.


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Notes on Individual Scenes
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UNM Football Arena - SE quadrant University & Cesar Chavez

Driving

Offices - Bank -

Driveway

Mexican restaurant - La Hacienda in Old Town?

Mural alongside La Hacienda


Old Town Bandshell.

Old Town Bandshell.


School - Calisthenics - Aspen School? - Named after the fellow, John Baker, later

John Baker Elementary School

John Baker Elementary School - Elementary school
12015-B Tivoli Ave NE
Albuquerque, NM 87111

Boonies - near Paradise Hills?

Doctor's office

UNM - near Zimmerman? - Library?

Running - thinking (35.158547°, -106.762689°)

Home

Driving NB I-25, just south of Odelia Road - Under overpass - view of modern church there - visit to church - St. Paul's Lutheran Church

Building

Principal's Office

Old Town? Cabaret....

Back yard....

Doctor's office

Camp

Doctor's office

Sandias near Kiwanis cabin?

House

UNM Golf Course?

Track

Panorama of bus journey - about (35.205154°, -106.497313°)

Running (35.219916°, -106.481504°)

Run through stone gate

Academy

House

Doctor's Office

Church - St. Paul's Lutheran Church

Aspen School

House

School/Cafeteria

Academy

Medical Offices

Aspen School

UNM Football Field

Eubank entrance to I-40 EB

Home

Sunport

Home - 201.... Doesn't seem to quite fit Country Club neighborhood.

St. Louis

Track

The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976)

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Last updated: March 17, 2024


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Notes on Individual Scenes 

Note that I do not post locations on the maps unless I have a pretty good idea exactly where they were filming. I dont post White Sands, for example, because I don't know exactly where they were there. 

(The Galloping Horse location and the We Gas Station sites are newly-entered, and still need to be verified and cross-checked, if possible.)

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Stock space imagery from the Apollo program

Southern NM vista & lake?

Fenton Lake, NM

Walk down mining scree hill past ruined building - roughly (35.404241°, -106.153891°)

View from hilltop - roughly (35.403526°, -106.152595°)

Haneyville sign - Los Lunas (34.805019°, -106.719448°)

Trini's Bar and Lounge/ Pawn Shop - Original locations along Highway 6 likely long since erased

Wad of cash - east side of river (34.804022°, -106.716608°)

Oliver's house

View of big city - NYC

Oliver's house

Limo ride - Thinking SB 3rd St. - (35.085901°, -106.650164°)

Campus - New Mexico Military Institute (NMMI) in Roswell, NM

Dr. Bryce's House

Japanese Kabuki performance

NYC

Oliver Farnsworth's Office/ Dr. Bryce's House

"It's what I want" drive/ View from Highway 165 in the Sandias - (35.227084°, -106.403649°)

Office (Sunspot, NM?)

Vicinity of Hwy 285 and Main St. in Artesia

Hotel Artesia - Hotel
203 N 2nd St
Artesia, NM 88210

Hotel Artesia Barber Shop

Vicinity of Hwy 285 and Main St. in Artesia - NE corner

Dr. Bryce's House

Artesia Alfalfa Grower's Association and the Navajo Refinery quite recognizable

View out Mr. Farnsworth's Albuquerque office - First Plaza

NMMI Campus

ABQ Sunport - departures

View out Mr. Farnsworth's Albuquerque office - This is in the First Plaza Galeria.  The Albuquerque Convention Center parking garage was under construction at this time, but First Plaza was already there (since it had opened in 1972).

Hotel Artesia room - "It's so strange here; the trains"

Artesia Visitors Bureau and Chamber of Commerce

First Presbyterian Church - 402 W. Grand Avenue, Artesia, New Mexico, USA

Galloping Horse - Sandias are clearly visible.  Candidate location is 1600 Malpais Rd. SW.  I like this location because it's very close to one of the candidate Chevron stations (Isleta Blvd. Chevron, 7630 Isleta Blvd. SW), and thus might well have been a serendipitous bit of footage they captured from already being in the neighborhood.

Reminisces

White Sands

RR crossing - Desert Road SE crossing of railroad, where it meets 2nd Street SW, in South Valley

Haneyville again (Los Lunas)

Madrid NM again

Valle Caldera? Times past come to life

Fenton Lake 

White Sands

Fenton Lake (and spinning bodies)

Mr. Farnsworth's House

I'm thinking this might be in the Jemez Valley, near Jemez Springs, NM, with the helicopter hovering about  (35.732271°, -106.711415°).

Helicopter Landing - We - There was (and probably still is) geothermal drilling in the Jemez Mountains.  Thinking the drilling rig is at about (35.881130°, -106.674103°), with one view looking NW.

Mr. Newton's House at Fenton Lake

Mr. Newton's House at Santa Fe? - Telescope

We drilling rig and trailers

Fenton Lake 

Facility - Cement Facility at Tijeras, NM (35.070895°, -106.389709°)

"Are you Lithuanian?"

ABQ Civic Plaza, seen from SE - walking through plaza - they get in car heading west on Marquette

Drive - near San Ysidro - "Mr. Newton, are you crazy?" (35.638484°, -106.724169°)

Dr. Bryce records Newton at Fenton Lake house

We commercial segment at park in LA?/ White Sands

NYC/ NYC Office?

Tossed cookies (Santa Fe house)/ Spinning bodies/ cat eyes

White Sands/ Fenton Lake/ White Sands

Near current Valencia Middle School, east of Belen - Dirt road is what became the Manzano Expressway - Watching Indians on TV

House of Trevor and Mr. Farnsworth/ Mary Lou on bed

Near Valencia Middle School, east of Belen again, with big storm behind Manzano Mtns.

Space Pavilion, near Alamogordo/ Mr. Farnsworth's office

We gas station. According to Susan Compo's book, this station was located in Belen.  It is probably a valley location (due to the visible, copious amount of Summer Cypress growing from summer rains).  Through a label on the pump that wasn't covered, we know the station is a Chevron in real life.  Interestingly, a clerk at the Zuzax exit Chevron east of Tijeras on Highway 66 claims their station was in this film. I no longer believe this claim to be true (because the hill behind the station should be evident, and it isn't)..  I've tried to verify the active Chevrons in the Albuquerque area, plus a few in the Los Lunas/Belen area.  I haven't fixed on any as being correct yet.  In my opinion, the most likely candidates are:
  • The former Bosque Farms Chevron, 815 Bosque Farms Blvd.; or,
  • Isleta Blvd. Chevron, 7630 Isleta Blvd. SW.
I've come to believe the Isleta Blvd. Chevron is the most likely... (see Galloping Horse, above).


Mr. Farnsworth's/Trevor's apartment

NYC

Mr. Peter's Pool (maybe one of the 4 Hills houses used in the film?)

122 Second St. SW (It's unclear if the Sunshine Bldg. was actually used as a filming location, but the building that once stood at 122 Second St. was definitely used.)

Mr. Peter's Pool

Clinic

Restaurant

Mary Lou arrives (122 Second St. SW)

(Flashback to eastern end of Highway 6 bridge over Rio Grande at Los Lunas)

Clinic - SW corner of building at 122 2nd SW

White Sands

Bedroom - southwest corner of building at 122 2nd SW

Building hallway, elevator, and lobby - Hotel Andaluz.

Hotel Plaza - TWA Airlines - Continental Airlines - 2nd & Tijeras

Liquor Store - Allstate Saving

Dr. Bryce's and Mary Lou's house

Record store

Apparently MacArthur Park Boathouse

White Sands Missile Range acknowledged in credits

- - - - - - - 

Pictures

Hotel Andaluz (formerly the Hilton Hotel).

First Plaza Galeria.

Southwestern interior corner of First Plaza Galeria exterior.

Mr. Farnsworth's Office.

Looking out the window on the 3rd floor (400 level) - Mr. Farnsworth's Office, which, strangely enough, was in the elevator lobby rather than in a separate office ("The Man Who Fell To Earth").


Mr. Farnsworth's Office.

Looking out the window on the 3rd floor (400 level) - Mr. Farnsworth's Office, which, strangely enough, was in the elevator lobby rather than in a separate office ("The Man Who Fell To Earth"). Marquette Avenue is now behind the Albuquerque Convention Center and can no longer be seen.

Hotel Andaluz (formerly the Hilton Hotel).

Hotel Andaluz Lobby ("The Man Who Fell To Earth"). Newton walks rapidly through the lobby on his escape to freedom.


Gas station, with the Chevron label visible on the pump.

Mary Lou enters Newton's prison.

Clinic scene, with the top of the octagonal cupola of the U.S. Court House visible in the distance west down Gold Avenue.



































Here is a schematic diagram of Newton's Prison, as far as I can make out by orienting myself to the street scenes outside, as visible through the windows, plus a fuzzy aerial photo from 1961.  Most or all of Newton's Prison was hosted on the second level of the building at122 2nd St. SW, just to the south of the Sunshine Building, in downtown Albuquerque. According to Susan Compos' book "Earthbound: David Bowie and The Man Who Fell To Earth," the structure at 122 Second St. SW was formerly Washburn's Clothing and then the offices of Albuquerque Housing and Development, before becoming a filming location.  After filming, the structure was torn down and later rebuilt.  

The solo numbers in the schematic diagram refer to the story level. Certain features can be glimpsed through the windows (a glimpse of the Sandias to the northeast; the western end of the Lead Avenue overpass over the railroad to the south, and its intersection with Second St. SW; the starlike top of the cupola on the Albuquerque Federal Building & United States Courthouse, at 421 Gold Ave. SW; the former PNM Building (Public Service Company of New Mexico) and the NM Bank and Trust Building). I'm sure there are errors here with the schematic diagram, but the winding path where Newton spends most of his time is here.

5150 Mall Cop (2005)

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Last updated: March 9, 2020


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Notes on Individual Scenes
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Security hiring service

Winrock Mall

Driving

Apartment

View of Neve's Uniforms & Equipment, 2520 San Mateo Blvd NE, Albuquerque, NM 87110

Apartment Complex


Convenience market - Moon Station, 8920 Menaul Blvd NE.


Ride in car

Drive behind volcanoes (35.080940°, -106.797811°)

Also (35.136123°, -106.785850°)

Get out of car (35.131455°, -106.785742°)

Convenience market

(Flyer for Atomic Cantina)

Atomic Cantina

Apartment Complex

Mahjong house

Van crash

Pennsylvania Pl. & Hoffman Dr. NE, NW corner

Nighttime WW Drive

Bike ride

Convenience market

Pool

WW Drive

Room 44 - Probably ABQ Elevate Apts., 1001 Louisiana Blvd. NE, adjacent to Warren West

Sitting on corner

Drive

Room 44

Bridge - Where is this? Not in immediate ABQ area. - Indian Service Route 88 - (35.527549°, -106.374073°)

Bridge

WW Leaves parking lot

Drive back


Pool. Executive East Apartments, near Moon and Northeastern Blvd. NE.


Fancy Bldg.

Pulp Faction Copy Center is currently at 200 3rd St NW, Suite 26, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87102, but probably not location used in the film. Instead, an office building close to Winrock is more likely. Bank of the West Tower is a good fit.


Bank of the West Tower.


Bank of the West Tower.


Executive East Apartments, near Moon and Northeastern Blvd. NE

Thanks given to Sonic Burger on Isleta and Warren West Apartments, and Santo Domingo Pueblo

Tuesday, December 10, 2019

Why Do Guys Have Trouble With The Um Biblical Cord?

E.: So, Joe the Plumber had exactly the same surgery you did yesterday?

M.: Yes, the doctors fixed an umbilical hernia on Joe exactly a year ago.

E.: What is with guys that they have trouble with the Um Biblical cord?

C.: The doctors cut off the umbilical cord when you are born.

E.: No, they don't cut it off. The Um Biblical cord falls off on its own, you dummy!

(Ow! It hurts to laugh! I can't control the laughter. It hurts. OW!!!)

Monday, December 09, 2019

Amazon Moving to NYC Anyway

Victory is sweet!:
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) was one of the progressive leaders in New York City credited with blocking $3 billion in public subsidies for Amazon to open an additional headquarters.

But Amazon is moving into NYC despite the lack of subsidies.

“The giant online retailer said it has signed a new lease for 335,000 square feet on the city’s west side in the new Hudson Yards neighborhood, where it will have more than 1,500 employees,” The Wall Street Journal reported. “Amazon is taking the space without any of the special tax credits and other inducements the company had been offered to build a new headquarters in the Queens neighborhood of Long Island City, the company said.”

Big Waves

Pretty cool!
(CNN)The bomb cyclone that pounded the West Coast last week brought with it some of the tallest waves ever recorded off the California coast.

A monstrous 75-foot wave was recorded about 20 miles off the coast of Cape Mendocino in northern California, according to the University of California, San Diego's Coastal Data Information Program.

In the 15 years the program has operated a station in that location, the significant wave height -- or the average height of the tallest third of waves that occur over 30 minutes -- typically doesn't exceed 10 feet tall during the winter.

How Did I Get Here?

"The Gift" - Galena Street East - Hiram Johnson High School - December 7, 2019

Excellent review of Christmas songs and dances. Oddly enough, after all these years, first Galena show I've ever seen. A final chance for Lizzy Carey to show off her singing and dancing skills in the Galena pageant.
The Anti Boba Boba Club. I was intrigued by the cryptic message of this hooded sweatshirt. Fellow wearing it says it's basically meaningless - a satire on the Anti Social Social Club.

Almost Normal in This Part of the Sacramento Valley

It seemed like it rained a lot on the weekend, but the statistics say not so much. Still, we are 94% for the season (since Oct. 1st) at Sacramento Executive Airport - close to normal. There won't be much rain until Dec. 20th, or so, so we'll slip behind, again, but at least we are competitive.

Surgery Day - Sutter Medical Center - December 9, 2019


I was born an Innie. Then something happened....

Here is the Before view, as seen from above on Sunday December 8th, of the Incredible Outtie That Ate Tokyo. The skin is thin enough to provide a perfect window into my interior. I bet it was quite sunny in there on many afternoons. Reminds me a bit of the movie "Alien."


Here I am as an Innie again, as seen from the front on the afternoon of Monday December 9th, shortly after Ventral Umbilical Hernia surgery. Whatever it takes to be an Innie again.

Apparently they use a lot of specialized epoxies these days to seal wounds these days. Bandages have drawbacks, like retaining moisture and providing a haven for germs.

After surgery, Rachel came over to visit and keep me company. We sat on the steps in front of my house, which oddly enough, were quite warm and protected from the breeze on a sunny December afternoon. Suddenly I began sweating profusely, and almost fainted. They ask you to show up for surgery quite dehydrated, and given the circumstances after surgery, I was very vulnerable to even the slightest heat. Superman, I ain't. I'm glad I had the foresight to do this surgery in December rather than the doctor's preference, August.


Sutter Medical Center, my home away from home, at 5:30 a.m. on Monday December 9th. Chris and Erlynda were kind enough to accompany me to the hospital.


The second-floor Pedestrian Walkway from the parking garage over 29th St. to the hospital.


Nice lobby at a modern hospital.


Mystery sign.

Giving myself a chlorhexidine bath was interesting. Big wipes, big area to cover, but I tried to do it well given my self-interest. Also interesting was the special antibacterial toothpaste and mouthwash, to limit the possibility of getting pneumonia.

Dr. London, the surgeon, popped by to see how I was doing.


Gathering information.


Things can get tiring.

They wheeled me to the operating room. I assisted my transfer from the gurney to the operating table. I admired the enormous lights above the operating table, even though the lights were still off. They would be awesome to see in all their brightness when they were turned on.

The anesthesiologist (Dr. Melvin) put an oxygen mask on my face. Air flow seemed good. Then an unaccountable amount of time passed by. Didn't even see Dr. London, the surgeon.

Then I was waking up in a recovery ward. Before long it was time to boot me out.


Now comes the hopefully less-dramatic 4 to 6 to 12 week healing process. (Depends on who you ask - Joe the Plumber insists it's a one-year process, after receiving the identical surgery a year ago.)