In What Movie Does Charlie Chaplin Play Hitler?

The Great Dictator (1940)

One of the greatest satires of the 20th century, the greatest stage and screen comedian, Charlie Chaplin, lampoons Adolf Hitler in, 'The Great Dictator,' during the onset of World War 2.

It's interesting to note that while Chaplin and Hitler looked a lot alike thanks largely to their toothbrush moustaches, they were also born just four days apart in April of 1889. For what the two shared in astrology, they would become vastly different people.

Charlie Chaplin became a comic actor mastering slapstick and mime, a film director, and an accomplished composer even though he couldn't read musical notes. And as his career progressed, Chaplin would also become politically outspoken and liberal. From the character that he was most famous for, 'The Tramp,' who was a gentlemanly but poor vagrant who outwitted authority figures, to films like, 'Modern Times,' Chaplin sympathised with the poor struggling masses.

In, 'The Great Dictator,' he plays Adenoid Hynkel (and also a second character who is an unnamed barber)...

In one of the most famous scenes, he is seen dancing with a globe making fun of his counterpart's quest for military dominance. Nobody knew what would happen when the film came out. At the time Nazi forces were storming across France and the United States remained neutral. Having become famous for his silent films, 'The Great Dictator,' would now become Chaplin's largest commercial success...  

It's alleged that Hitler watched the movie twice, alone in his screening room. Chaplin said that he would have given anything to know his reaction to it but no review from the fascist dictator was ever forthcoming.

Drew Barrymore: Little Girl Lost/Found

Drew Barrymore comes from an illustrious  Hollywood family. She made her film debut in 1980 in the movie, 'Altered States,' but became one of the most famous child actresses of the 1980's playing Gertie, the younger sister in, 'E.T.'

E.T. was released on June 11, 1982 and quickly surpassed Star Wars to become the most successful science fiction movie of all time...

Drew Barrymore had been acting in commercials since a baby before her big screen debut. Here she is at the age of 4...

Barrymore was 14 and 15 when she wrote her autobiography, 'Little Girl Lost.' By then she had become a joke: Another washed up former child star. At nine she had started drinking, at ten she was into marijuana, and at twelve she was snorting cocaine. Hell-bent on a destruction path, self-medicating her depression and trying to keep up with an older crowd, she entered rehab and began to turn her life around.

Today she is one of the few openly bisexual actresses in Hollywood and will, in 2012, be in a romantic comedy called, 'Everybody Loves Whales.'

Photos from: http://missdrewbarrymore.tumblr.com/

Quacks and Snake Oil Salesmen of the Past

Did you know that back in the days of the Wild West, mercury could cure venereal diseases, smoking a cigar was a popular remedy for tuberculosis, and heroin would solve almost anything else that was wrong with you?

Before regulation of the pharmaceutical industry, many people got rich peddling what was popularly known as, 'snake oil.' They'd travel from town to town and sermonize the health benefits of the tonic they had invented. Magic in a bottle: Some promised good looks and others near immortality. If the customer was lucky he didn't get poison. If he was even luckier he got stoned from the contents of the flask.

The Electric Dr. Graham

Dr. James Graham was born in England in 1745. He lived in Philadelphia for a time and was intrigued by Benjamin Franklin's experimentation with electricity. Returning to Europe he opened a, 'Temple of Health.' There he treated people with things like music therapy in a beautiful, ornate setting. He had also learned that electricity was good for you. He designed many apparatus to deliver electrical shocks to his patients, thereby prolonging there lives. He guaranteed that they would get at least 100 years of life in good health through these methods. Graham died before the age of 50 so he wasn't around to hear of any complaints.

One invention that he was renowned for was a really nice bed. Large and comfy, it had an electrified head board. Couples would spend a lot of money to engage in the art of procreation in it while gentle music played. However, people are fickle and constantly need new forms of entertainment: They soon lost interest in paying exuberant sums to do what they could do at home for free.

Graham's next foray into preventative medicine was to bury people up to their necks in mud. Strangely, this did not catch on. Graham died in poverty.

Dr. Ebeneezer Sibly Cures Death

Born in 1751, Ebeneezer dabbled in medicine and the occult. He invented, 'Reanimating Solar Tincture' and claimed that it could restore life to the recently deceased. Anyone who expired from drownings, blows to the head, and even assassinations, needed the potion to be quickly dumped down their hatch so that they'd wake up. Sibly believed in the principle made popular in the 1987 movie, 'The Princess Bride:' There was mostly dead or all dead. He didn't give refunds because if it didn't work the subject was obviously all dead.

As newspapers gained in popularity, Sibly pushed the product through advertising. After his own death (in around 1900) the claims that it could reawaken the deceased were dropped. It was probably surmised that it had failed to wake up it's creator and before anyone pointed this out the slogans were changed to how it restored many who were near the point of death. Reanimating Solar Tincture went on to be sold for another 70 or so years.

William Radam: From Insect Repellent to Curing All Disease

William Radam owned a seed, feed, and gardening store in Austin, Texas, in the 1880's. He came down with malaria and took countless meds to get better. On recovering, he now found that he suffered from rheumatism and then his two children died. His one love was gardening and, meanwhile, medical science was beginning to discover the role of bacteria in disease. He realized that the various illnesses that people had were caused by things similar to the insects that attacked his plants. He experimented around and came up with his, 'Microbe Killer.'

After taking it for six months he made a miraculous recovery. Afraid that he could get done for manslaughter if he sold it as a medicine and people died taking it, he was not eager to mass market it right away. However, soon word spread and people began to visit from far and wide to get the cure. A while later Radam was living it up in New York while 17 factories churned out his super potion.

Some people weren't impressed by how many of the Fortune 500 were little more that snake oil peddlers. Dr. R.G. Eccles called Radam the worst quack of this or any other age. The two spent years in and out of court suing each other for defamation of character.

When analysed it was found that the miracle cure was mostly water with just a dab of acid and a hint of red wine. But Radam's fortune was secure as the public payed close attention to advertising and did not read medical journals.

Radam died in 1902 and Microbe Killer continued to be sold around the world for another 10 years. Eventually U.S. courts deemed it an illegal substance and seized and destroyed shipments of it.

Today, with the growth of the internet, a new army of quacks is promising health and vigour in exchange for your wealth. Be warned of them at this website! http://www.quackwatch.com/

Made for TV Movies of the 1980s: Goliath Awaits

The 1980's were an exciting time for made for TV movies. With all of the hype that television networks put into some of these, many people would tune in and, a lot of the time, at least be entertained.

In November of 1981 viewers watched, 'Goliath Awaits.' It was a two-part film about an ocean liner that sank but, instead of drowning, most of the inside of the ship became an air pocket and survivors formed a utopian, undersea society.

The famous seen in this movie takes place near the beginning when Mark Harmon, a deep sea diver, is investigating the wreck. Scraping dirt and sediment from the hull, drapes suddenly open and Mark is stunned to see a beautiful woman inside.

Mark Harmon: Widely accepted by

many as being the greatest actor
who ever lived.

Many people who lived in the 1980's knew that Mark Harmon, a mainstay of 80's made for TV movies, is the greatest actor that ever lived. And his acting here is superb. Even though that Mark is in a scuba suit, you can tell that he is shocked.

This film could hold your attention span. It kept people entertained in 1981. However, the implausibility soon set in as many began to realize that a Titanic-like ship probably wouldn't have any survivors forty years after sinking.

If you want to see this film, you're going to have to buy it used. And it was only ever put on VHS and laser disc. Get out that old VCR. I've forgotten what a laser disc looks like, though.

Some Like it Not!

It's no secret that not everybody enjoys sex. When Alfred Kinsey came up with the, 'Kinsey Scale,' rating people from 0 to 6 based on the degree of their sexual orientation, he also included an, 'X,' for those who had no inclination either way.

In the puritanical past, women were taught that it certainly wasn't proper for them to prefer it. They were supposed to not enjoy it and, instead, engage in it for, 'the good of King and country.' Sexuality was supposed to be for reproductive purposes only. As people began to take their collective heads out of the sand, it was realized that almost everybody was sexual. Almost.

1980's sitcom, 'Cheers.' Is Dr. Lilith Crane asexual?

While homosexuality was often illegal throughout history, there were no laws to discriminate against those who had no sex drive.

But where do asexual people congregate for non-romantic fellowship? That has been a problem solved with the birth of social networking. Founded in 2001, AVEN was a site created to help foster the acceptance of those who weren't getting any and didn't want any. From discussion on its servers ten years ago, it has now grown into the largest asexual community.

Visit Aven...

http://www.asexuality.org/home/

America's Favourite Stripper

Gypsy Rose Lee

Born Rose Louise Hovick in 1911, her younger sister June seemed to have all of the beauty and talent. As their unscrupulous mother tried to make money through vaudeville acts, Rose would play second fiddle to her sister who was the breadwinner in the family. But vaudeville was in decline because of the increasing popularity of motion pictures. While Rose had been an average looking child she soon grew into a tall, shapely woman. After the younger sister left, marrying, Rose and her mother formed the, 'Hollywood Blondes' with 6 teen aged girls. She would stand out as the only brunette on stage. They preformed at their first burlesque house in Kansas City.

Preforming strip shows, Rose first aroused attention when her dress accidentally fell off exposing herself. Trying to cover up, the audience showered her with applause and laughter. She discovered humour and it would become an important part of her act...

Gypsy would go on to become an author, actress, and playwright. By the 1960's she hosted a morning TV talk show and was a regular on Hollywood Squares. She died of cancer in 1970.

Nutmeg: The New Cheap and Legal High?

In the always widening search to find a cheaper high, people are now doing Nutmeg.

"Hey you kids! You bunch of Nutmeg fiends! Get off my lawn!"

It is not recommended that you do Nutmeg. While experiences may vary, you'll find no euphoric feelings or zany hallucinogenic effects from this condiment.

Most people know that Nutmeg is a herb in their Mom's spice rack that she seldom uses. Do you know why? Because it's pure poison: That's why.

People who take more than a tablespoon of Nutmeg have been known to die.

Other side effects include stomach aches, vomiting, excruciating pain, dizziness, and heart palpitations. The likelihood is that you will feel like you're going to die. Plus, another side effect is that you probably will go to Hell because I have it on good authority that God hates druggies and, even though Nutmeg is legal, He'll probably frown upon the whole thing.

"Hey you kids! If you want to get high why don't you go to church and get high off Jesus. Do Nutmeg and you're headed straight to Hell! Now get off my lawn!

People don't experience any mellow feelings from doing Nutmeg like when they do pot. Why, America should probably give up on its war on cannabis and turn to defeating the greater menace: Nutmeg.

There is one good thing that Nutmeg can be used for, though. A 16th century monk advised men to carry a vial of nutmeg with them and rub it on their penis before engaging in intercourse as it apparently works the same way as modern day Viagra.

"I hate you kids because you're always on my lawn. If you're gonna go kill yourself with Nutmeg don't come cryin' to me. Call the Kid's Suicide Helpline or something!

The Soviet Serial Killer

The Soviet Union was a police state. They did not eagerly share crime statistics with the West. One of the tenants of Marxism is that illegal activities is something that is associated with a capitalist society. They widely reported how bad things were in the U.S., but usually remained silent about their own turf. Of course it is factual that rape and robbery occurred  back in the good old USSR.

Serial Killers are seen as a largely American phenomenon. Often a seemingly normal and even well-to-do male commits deplorable acts, murdering many because of his own sexual depravity. Ted Bundy was one of these cases. He had a degree in psychology, worked for the Republican Party in Washington State, and was on good terms with the Governor. Later he confessed to killing 30 women.

The FBI estimates that 85% of  ruthless multiple killers live in the USA and that about 50 unknown ones are stalking our streets and parks at this very moment. But you wouldn't expect one of the worst mass murderers and sexual deviants to have existed in a country where you wouldn't be able to get away with looking at a statue of Lenin funny. Andrei Chikatilo was a monster who murdered women and children all over Russia and the Ukraine. And all of this happened before the fall of communism.

A former school teacher who, like Bundy, was involved in politics, nobody suspected him. When the bodies of his victims turned up, police rounded up the types of people that they would have liked to believe had committed the crimes: Those with mental deficiency's, homosexuals, and people suspected of pedophilia were taken into custody and often tortured.  Between 1978 until 1990 Chikatilo kept killing and police were baffled. He was eventually convicted for the murders of 53 people but he, himself, claimed many more.

He had been arrested as a suspect in 1983. In his possession were many questionable things such as vaseline, a rope, and a knife. They compared his blood to the blood type found at the scenes of some of the murders. The killer was supposed to have AB blood and his turned out to be A. In an incredibly unlucky twist Chikatilo had a rare condition where his blood and semen didn't match. So he was let go and went back to his ways.

The ineptitude of Soviet law enforcement certainly began to show as bodies piled up. They needed a more American method to catch the killer and, for the first time in Soviet history, consulted a psychiatrist to do a profile to lead police to the type of person that they were looking for. Also Anatoly Slivko, who had been condemned for killing 7 boys in 'hanging experiments,' helped as investigators delved into forensic analysis.

By 1990, with a lot of surveillance from hundreds of officers, police got their man. Chikatilo was eventually executed with a gunshot to the back of his head in 1994. And the whole experience showed us that American law enforcement is a whole lot more efficient at getting their man than a communist country's.

The Mad Dog of the Middle East

Throughout the 1980's Muammar el Qaddafi financed terrorism around the world. Ronald Reagen called him the, 'Mad Dog of the Middle East.'

In 1986 members of the gang 'Al-Rakr' were arrested as Qaddafi had been financing them to start a race war against whites in America. Meanwhile members of the IRA were trained in Libya to attack British civilians. He later went so far as to align himself with the Serbs against Kosovo's own Muslims.

On April 5, 1986 a bomb exploded in a Berlin night club. 200 people were injured among them 63 American soldiers, one of whom died. President Reagen would launch, 'Operation El Dorado Canyon.'  A-6's from U.S. carriers and F-111's from air bases in the U.K. took off in an attack of precision bombing against Libya.

Unfortunately, Qaddafi, who had been warned that unknown aircraft were heading south, escaped while, possibly, a total of 60 others were killed.

WHO WARNED QADDAFI?

It has long been believed that Malta's Prime Minister, Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici, called to warn him that his country's air defenses had detected aircraft heading for Tripoli. However, it is also believed by many that the Prime Minister of Italy, Bettino Craxi, was the one that tipped him off.

Craxi had long sought diplomacy when dealing with the Libyans, fearing that his citizens might experience terrorist attacks. And he had already come to blows with the Reagen administration when he refused to extradite the hijackers of the cruise ship Achille Lauro.

Men Who Self-Satisfy Themselves Aren't Doing Anything Wrong!

Masturbation is A-OK!

Recently I read a an article on, 'How to Quit Masturbation:' http://hubpages.com/hub/How-to-Quit-Masturbation

Masturbating is like the original video game! Worldwide it's more popular then any title put out on Playstation or X-Box. So take that LittleBigPlanet!

It's healthier, too: Doing it vigourously can be a form of calisthenics...

 
Today it is widely understood that there is nothing wrong with self-pleasuring yourself (as long as you don't do it in a bus or at the library).

This wasn't always the case! In the past it was thought to be the cause of all sorts of terrible maladies, eventually leading to insanity. But that was in a time when they gave you cocaine for a toothache and a cigar to cure tuberculosis.

As a result of the stigma, few men ever admitted to doing it, leading others to get the impression that if they did do it themselves, they were sickly and immoral.

Poet Walt Whitman admitted doing it. And probably

 enjoyed doing it several thousand times.

Walt Whitman's Poetry...
http://www.princeton.edu/~batke/logr/log_026.html

The Draconian Past...

From 1856 to 1932 the U.S. Patent Office issued 33 patents for devices to prevent males from touching themselves. Some of these designs looked medieval and were cruel in their application...

Until recently you could still by penis rings with spikes in them to quell any nighttime erections.

Enter Alfred Kinsey...

Kinsey, a biologist, founded the Institute for Sex Research in 1947. He was someone who took many taboos and put them into the public forum. Filming around 1000 men as they engaged in self-pleasure, he may have been a bit odd, too. You could probably understand the basics after watching 2 to 3 guys do it.

Nonetheless, by 1966 Masters and Johnson added bolster to Kinsey's research by doing even more research and then concluding that everybody does it. You aren't alone!

1930s...

All of these men are walking around saying, "I don't masturbate!"

 and, "No! You? Plus I blame the mess we're in on Calvin Coolidge.

 I bet he strokes himself all the time!"

Today...

All of these men admit that they masturbate and talk about it all the time.

Finding and Proving Witchcraft

Even in Roman times people feared witches. It's not surprising because it was common knowledge that they had the ability to fly around at night and make men impotent and eat children.

In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul states that, '...the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons.' (10:20). In Deuteronomy 18:10-11 it says, 'Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead.' And in Exodus 22:18 it goes so far to say this simple sentence: 'Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.'

Clearly the Bible shows us that the Lord God is very fervent about His witch killing policies. And, in the Middle Ages, his command was put into full effect...

Sometimes cooler heads prevailed. Charlemagne did not believe in witchcraft and even went so far as to impose the death penalty on anyone who accused and burned a witch. But what did Charlemagne know, anyway? All he did was save the Holy Roman Empire.

Plague, bad crops, and even a loss of one's own virility could all be blamed on witches.

King James the 1rst was so smart that he did believe in witchcraft. He knew that as God's chosen monarch he was all that stood between the forces of good and Satan taking over the British Isles. Witches wanted to have him dead because, without an inbred unelected despotic ruler, all kinds of calamity would break out.

When he was getting married to Anne of Denmark, the couple encountered terrible storms at sea. James knew that the witches were at it again.

So you see: There's a cause and effect. Severe weather threatens the life of the King. How do you explain something like that if it weren't for people in line with Satan trying to kill him with magical powers?

Justice prevailed at the North Berwick witch trials and out of all of the people convicted and sent to their deaths, some had been found guilty of sending storms out against the royal ship.

All is saved...
By the 1640's England had it's own self-appointed, 'Witch Finder General.' Mathew Hopkins was a Christian so pious and cunning that he could just smell a witch. When there was a mysterious illness affecting a respected tailor's wife , he knew exactly who to blame: An 80-year-old toothless woman with one leg named Elizbeth Clarke. After obtaing a confession from the old spinster, Hopkins began a distinguished career ending the lives of those who were in league with the Devil. From 1645 to 1647 more people were put to death for witchcraft then in the previous 100 years.

If Mathew Hopkins were
alive today he'd
wear a suit like this.

This is how Hopkin's obtained his confessions...

You have a Witch if they fail these tests...
Witch Pricking: If you stab the offender with a needle and they do not bleed, then you have a witch.

Watching and Walking: The suspect would sit on a chair in the middle of an empty room, kept awake for days. If they got tired they'd be made to walk around the circumference of the room. It was important not to let them sleep and a confession could be obtained through this method after 3 or 4 days.

Witch Swimming: Another popular method to establish guilt. It was scientifically known that water was good and thus from God. The defendant was thrown into water and if they floated they were being rejected by it and therefore a witch. If they sank they were innocent but, often drowned: It didn't matter because they were with God now.

Today the practise of witch hunting has fallen out of favour. Except in...

Countries like Saudi Arabia where witchcraft is still a capital offence. Is it possible that the only thing keeping Satan's minions from overrunning the earth is the Saudi judicial system?

Moonlighting

Did Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd really ever even like each other???

A TV show as great as, 'Moonlighting,' cannot be described in a simple blog post. We need a whole separate website to discussing how great the show was. Starring Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd, it was not just an episodic detective drama: It was also part comedy, part musical...Often the cast would break out of scene and converse with the audience, many times complaining about, 'the network.' This broke many rules.

It also parodied real life-probably unintentionally. Cybil Shepherd's character Maddie Haze was a former model with declining prospects. Bruce Willis was an unknown and a rising star. There characters were scripted to argue, be enemies, and fall in love. They did this in real life, too. They also did not remain friends. Fifteen years later Willis said, in reference to his former co-star, she's, 'still going on about Moonlighting.'

But, in Cybil Shepherd's defence, everyone would still be going on about Moonlighting if they only saw it. The show suffered from a fickle audience but became a cult classic. (The definition of, 'Cult Classic,' is that nobody paid much attention to it when it was out and then later realized that it was great after five years off the air).

And Al Jarreau's song also became a hit...

God Bless the Bikini!

A bikini is a small, revealing two piece bathing suit worn by women...

And some men...

The modern bikini was invented by Louis Reard in 1946.

Before him I suppose women had to go to the beach fully dressed or they wore nothing at all.

The bikini is named after Bikini Atoll, in the Micronesian Islands, where atomic tests took place the same year the swim wear was released.

Photos from: http://www.tumblr.com/