Crazy Croatians

Saturday, April 20, 2013

Dexter Has His Problems

   I'm a die-hard Dexter fan and can hardly wait for the new season of the show to begin. I've watched it for the past few years and have loved nearly every minute of it (some of the characters I could do without = Maria LaGuerta being one, and it actually made me happy to see her get killed off last season, lol).
   It's fun I think to watch the show & see how Dexter avoids getting caught doing the horrible things he does. And now his sister is involved as well, being the one who shot Maria to keep her brother safe. This year we'll see just how far she's willing to go to continue doing that. Of course now she's a murderer as well, so it's not just Dexter that she's protecting anymore.
   Dexter has lots of problems with his life besides keeping himself out of jail however. Mentally he would probably be considered a fruitcake. I made a short film of some of the problems he has from day to day. Some are dream sequences where he imagines what might happen. But even though he has so many problems he keeps on keepin on. Or will he? Only time will tell...
Enjoy the flick

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Read This Theory F.B.I. And Mystery Buffs

   So, I've been watching TV and saw (I think it was on the National Geographic Channel) a documentary on the D.B. Cooper Hijacking. The man is needless to say an American folk hero in the eyes of many, while also being the lowest form of criminal to others (lets say that most of these being the police/Federal agents who have been on his trail ever since that night on Nov. 24, 1971. Whatever he may be he has managed to be quite elusive one way or another.
   Many theories have been put forth to explain what happened when he jumped from the 727 at 10,000 feet at about 8:13pm during a heavy rainstorm somewhere over Washington State on their journey from Seattle, WA to Reno, NV. Maybe he died in the attempt (either by his parachute not opening or by hard impact with the ground) or somehow soon afterward. Or maybe, if he made it safely to the ground, perhaps he became lost or could not otherwise survive the elements. But maybe he did manage to make it to where ever he was going, either by luck or by help from others. It is a mystery that has puzzled us all for over 40 years. And though I think that someday his disappearance will be solved, I'd almost like for it not to be, because our world is I think a more interesting place when we have riddles to confound our sensibilities.
  But for those who like to ponder the possibilities, here is one of my theories on who D.B. Cooper really was (actually he identified himself as Dan Cooper). So everybody put on your thinking caps and open your minds to the following:
   On June 11, 1962 three men (Clarence and John Anglin and Frank Morris) escaped from the prison on Alcatraz in San Fransisco Bay. Since their escape they have never been seen or heard from or ever recaptured. It may just be coincidence that both D.B. Cooper and these three men are really good at avoiding detection-better than most people it would seem that escape from prison and/or are on the run from the law-I, however, think that maybe it's not just that-maybe the same persons are involved. Or at least two of them: they being the Anglin brothers.
   It is known that the brothers John and Clarence operated together to rob banks in their early career before being caught and sent to Alcatraz. Perhaps, years after their escape and desperate for money, they planned an elaborate crime to give them enough funds to live off into retirement. In my research of these men I found some startling and undeniable evidence, that may not be proof of my theory, but should at least make one take a close look. And in that regard, take a look at some comparison images:

   In the above images we have the drawing and description of the hijacker on the left, and the photo and description of Clarence Anglin on the right. The photo of Clarence was taken in 1962, 9 years before the hijacking, so he would look a bit older. But otherwise, the descriptions of the two men are very similar. Same height, weight, hair and eye color. Even down to their complexion looking latin or Hispanic. It is uncanny how much alike they seem.
   My theory is that Clarence and John planned this hijacking for months. Clarence would do the actual hijacking while John would wait for his brother in a getaway vehicle (at least that way if one was captured maybe the other could get away). By 1971 Walkie Talkies existed, and Clarence could have secreted one in his briefcase or on his person to contact John (possibly even from the plane, as they had a 2 mile range & the plane was at about 10,000 feet, but definitely when Clarence was on the ground to contact John that he was okay). Timing the jump from the plane so that he would land nearby and be able to quickly find his brother would have been I think the most critical part. Otherwise Clarence would have had to find some other way to escape from the manhunt which soon followed.
   Whatever the case may be, whether D.B.Cooper or Dan Cooper died or got away, we will forever wonder what did happen. At least until the truth is revealed.


Friday, April 12, 2013

The New Regions Park in Birmingham

      On April 10, 2013 the Birmingham Barons played the first home game of the season in their new stadium. It opened to a sold out crowd. The Stadium cost a reported $64 million in construction costs. It had been about 30 years since the Barons have played in a ballpark in Birmingham-since last playing at Rickwood Field, which is now used for some high school games and the annual Rickwood Classic=a game played during the summer where the players wear throwback uniforms.

     Over the last year I've been capturing photos of the construction of the new ballpark to make into a kind of slideshow movie. I just finished it-I made it with MS Movie Maker. The song is Lights by Ellie Goulding. I hope you enjoy it:


Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Basketball Fever Has Gone Away

   Well, college basketball is thru for another year with the completion of the NCAA mens and womens tournaments. Louisville beat Michigan for the men, while Connecticut beat Louisville for the women. I had high hopes for my bracket picks this time-of which I made about 30-but as usual none of them came to fruition. This was thanks in large part to such teams as Florida Gulf Coast (15), Harvard (14), and La Salle (13) upsetting the higher ranked teams in their regionals. I picks a good many upsets in the collection of bracket contests I entered, but in none of them did I pick any of these 3 teams to win past the first round. Florida Gulf Coast will probably be remembered as the cinderella team of the tourney, beating both Georgetown (2) and San Diego St. (7), to then be beaten by Florida (3). I guess next year, when I enter these bracket contests again, I'll need to make a few more upsets if I'll have any hope of picking a perfect bracket.
   Check out all info about the tourney at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_NCAA_Men%27s_Division_I_Basketball_Tournament