Comments for News from the the Towler Institute http://barganews.com/blogs/towler Scientific research centre, art school, conference venue, cinema Fri, 25 Jul 2008 10:14:14 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5 Comment on Bronze Hermaphrodites and the Fat Boy Filter by relaxed http://barganews.com/blogs/towler/2007/12/14/bronze-hermaphrodites-and-the-fat-boy-filter/#comment-29 relaxed Mon, 07 Jan 2008 21:56:26 +0000 http://barganews.com/blogs/towler/2007/12/14/bronze-hermaphrodites-and-the-fat-boy-filter/#comment-29 Thanks so much - it is extremely funny! Extraordinarily, I was reading it together with someone else (also reading it) in a chatroom, and our comments to each other were along the lines of - he's going to do time travel next - and then he's going to - and yes: you always delivered! Thanks so much - it is extremely funny! Extraordinarily, I was reading it together with someone else (also reading it) in a chatroom, and our comments to each other were along the lines of - he’s going to do time travel next - and then he’s going to - and yes: you always delivered!

]]> Comment on The Palace of Ismeno by The Palace of Ismeno at barganews http://barganews.com/blogs/towler/2007/08/09/the-palace-of-ismeno/#comment-7 The Palace of Ismeno at barganews Thu, 09 Aug 2007 14:34:08 +0000 http://barganews.com/blogs/towler/2007/08/09/the-palace-of-ismeno/#comment-7 [...] In March of this year, a new name appeared on barganews, that of Mike Towler, who wrote an article called "News from the Towler Institute" (you can read it here). He is one of the many bloggers on this site (full list here) His first article was so good that we ran it on the front page. There has been a long gap in between articles but his latest called "The Palace of Ismeno" is just as good as the first, if not better and so once again it is being published just not on his blog but also here. Enjoy. [...] […] In March of this year, a new name appeared on barganews, that of Mike Towler, who wrote an article called "News from the Towler Institute" (you can read it here). He is one of the many bloggers on this site (full list here) His first article was so good that we ran it on the front page. There has been a long gap in between articles but his latest called "The Palace of Ismeno" is just as good as the first, if not better and so once again it is being published just not on his blog but also here. Enjoy. […]

]]> Comment on First Post by danmon http://barganews.com/blogs/towler/2007/03/19/first-post/#comment-4 danmon Tue, 27 Mar 2007 22:41:35 +0000 http://barganews.com/blogs/towler/2007/03/19/first-post/#comment-4 Towler: Thanks for the entertaining post. We will be in Barga this Saturday (our third visit)and a drive up your valley and a hike to Monte Croce(or Nona or Forato)is tentatively on the agenda. Maybe we'll try the cave, too. Your place sounds fascinating. Good luck with the quantum physics. Have you heard of the Jefferson Lab's Continuous Electron Accelerator Beam Facility in Newport News, Virginia, USA? That's where I live. I enjoyed Adalino's post about the cinemas. I was a projectionist through high school and college, in California, and it was fun being the guy who showed people all those great movies. Mostly great, at least. And every place I worked had old Simplex projectors, like in Cinema Paradiso. I saw lots of movies, obviously, but always missed parts while I rewound and threaded reels every 20 minutes or so. Sometimes I'd see the full movie later and say, "Oh, now I get it!" Here's an idea, taken from the old Italian neighborhood in Baltimore, where they project movies onto a building's brick wall, al fresco, on summer weekends. Neighbors bring folding chairs. That might work in one of your villages. Better yet, project onto one of your cliffs, if you can find the right combination of natural screen and natural cliff and natural projection booth. That idea comes from a college roommate/photographer, who used to project slides from our roof onto a San Francisco hillside neighborhood. It was amazing how much detail you could still make out in the photos. Anyway, thanks again. Maybe I'll run into you next week. Dan Towler:

Thanks for the entertaining post. We will be in Barga this Saturday (our third visit)and a drive up your valley and a hike to Monte Croce(or Nona or Forato)is tentatively on the agenda. Maybe we’ll try the cave, too.

Your place sounds fascinating. Good luck with the quantum physics. Have you heard of the Jefferson Lab’s Continuous Electron Accelerator Beam Facility in Newport News, Virginia, USA? That’s where I live.

I enjoyed Adalino’s post about the cinemas. I was a projectionist through high school and college, in California, and it was fun being the guy who showed people all those great movies. Mostly great, at least. And every place I worked had old Simplex projectors, like in Cinema Paradiso. I saw lots of movies, obviously, but always missed parts while I rewound and threaded reels every 20 minutes or so. Sometimes I’d see the full movie later and say, “Oh, now I get it!”

Here’s an idea, taken from the old Italian neighborhood in Baltimore, where they project movies onto a building’s brick wall, al fresco, on summer weekends. Neighbors bring folding chairs. That might work in one of your villages. Better yet, project onto one of your cliffs, if you can find the right combination of natural screen and natural cliff and natural projection booth. That idea comes from a college roommate/photographer, who used to project slides from our roof onto a San Francisco hillside neighborhood. It was amazing how much detail you could still make out in the photos.

Anyway, thanks again. Maybe I’ll run into you next week.

Dan

]]> Comment on First Post by towler http://barganews.com/blogs/towler/2007/03/19/first-post/#comment-3 towler Thu, 22 Mar 2007 14:13:29 +0000 http://barganews.com/blogs/towler/2007/03/19/first-post/#comment-3 How interesting. It seems like this was a popular occupation way back then. My grandparents worked in a cinema in the 1930s in Manchester - my grandmother was an usherette and my grandfather was the projectionist. I think they may even have met there.. It always surprises me when old people tell me how many cinemas there used to be in even quite small towns in those times, though I guess in the absence of telly it's only to be expected... I love your story of the 'Cinema on the back of a Vespa'. I bet it wouldn't take too much effort to make a viable business out of that even now. Unemployed people! Get a Vespa, a white sheet, and a projector and tour round all the mountain villages this summer.. As for the cinema at the Institute - it does feel a bit of a fake because I'm just playing DVDs and projecting them onto a big screen rather than having whirling wheel projectors playing proper cans of film like in Cinema Paradiso. And if you read all the threatening blurb after the credits at the end of DVD disks, it says that they are for personal use and may not be used in cinemas, so I guess that means that anyone who comes to watch a movie has to do so for free.. At least that fits in with the non-profit making ethos of the Institute. Anyway, I was thinking of putting on a weekly free show this summer - as I said in the blog all our friends in Vallico seemed to really enjoy the opening night. Keep an eye on our 'Public Events' page. I'm intrigued to see if I really can say that ours is "the only cinema in the Apuan Alps"? I know that round here there are cinemas in Castelnuovo, Fornaci, and Barga but being in the valley I'm not sure they count. How interesting. It seems like this was a popular occupation way back then. My grandparents worked in a cinema in the 1930s in Manchester - my grandmother was an usherette and my grandfather was the projectionist. I think they may even have met there..

It always surprises me when old people tell me how many cinemas there used to be in even quite small towns in those times, though I guess in the absence of telly it’s only to be expected… I love your story of the ‘Cinema on the back of a Vespa’. I bet it wouldn’t take too much effort to make a viable business out of that even now. Unemployed people! Get a Vespa, a white sheet, and a projector and tour round all the mountain villages this summer..

As for the cinema at the Institute - it does feel a bit of a fake because I’m just playing DVDs and projecting them onto a big screen rather than having whirling wheel projectors playing proper cans of film like in Cinema Paradiso. And if you read all the threatening blurb after the credits at the end of DVD disks, it says that they are for personal use and may not be used in cinemas, so I guess that means that anyone who comes to watch a movie has to do so for free.. At least that fits in with the non-profit making ethos of the Institute. Anyway, I was thinking of putting on a weekly free show this summer - as I said in the blog all our friends in Vallico seemed to really enjoy the opening night. Keep an eye on our ‘Public Events’ page.

I’m intrigued to see if I really can say that ours is “the only cinema in the Apuan Alps”? I know that round here there are cinemas in Castelnuovo, Fornaci, and Barga but being in the valley I’m not sure they count.

]]> Comment on First Post by adalino http://barganews.com/blogs/towler/2007/03/19/first-post/#comment-2 adalino Wed, 21 Mar 2007 09:39:38 +0000 http://barganews.com/blogs/towler/2007/03/19/first-post/#comment-2 followed your link from barga news as a matter of curiosity. Was quite interested in your comments about your cinema. My family were originally from Camporgiano and owned a cinema there which i believe operated from before the last war up until the 1980's, when it was destroyed by a fire. My father met my mother there in the late 40's, when he would go back home to visit his grandparents. My mothers father used to operate a travelling cinema around the serchio valley and surrounding areas. As far as the borders of Bologna on the other side of the mountains as i understand. Unbelievably they used to travel from village to village on a vespa and put on cinema showings in the town square or local halls. followed your link from barga news as a matter of curiosity.
Was quite interested in your comments about your cinema.
My family were originally from Camporgiano and owned a cinema there which i believe operated from before the last war up until the 1980’s, when it was destroyed by a fire.
My father met my mother there in the late 40’s, when he would go back home to visit his grandparents.
My mothers father used to operate a travelling cinema around the serchio valley and surrounding areas. As far as the borders of Bologna on the other side of the mountains as i understand.
Unbelievably they used to travel from village to village on a vespa and put on cinema showings in the town square or local halls.

]]>