#famous balloonists

[roscoe-conkling]

In spite of injuries suffered when he crashed his airplane at a New Orleans aviation meet in December 1910, Augustus Post was back in the cockpit again in the spring of 1911, sporting a missing front tooth.

[lhoandbehold]

Balloonomania Part I: Putting the mania in, well, balloonomania

A collection of my balloonomania posts got more notes than I expected them to (see: more than, like, 10) and a fair few tags of people saying they wanted to hear more. I can’t deny people who want to hear about balloons anything, so I thought I wanted to do a little series for whenever I maybe have an hour and don’t want to Draw. (This is a long post but I promise there's a dirty balloon joke at the end if that's what you're into).

Why do I care about the early days of ballooning so much? Well, one thing about me, is I’m a little guy who LOVES when history is silly. And hot air balloon history is extremely silly. This was a time of SO much fuss. Here are some highlights

Humans took to the skies powered by the smell of burning old shoes and rotten meat.

The Montgolfier brothers launched the first ever hot air balloon in 1783 (in front of an audience at least). It worked very well all things considered, but it’s worth nothing that the Montgolfier brothers were the sons of an affluent paper-maker, NOT scientists. They had figured out that hot air had the capacity for lifting pieces of paper and cloth, but not actually why. What they thought was going on was that a particularly thick and solid smoke was able to induce the lift-off they needed. So they ‘invented’ what they named ‘Montgolfier gas’, a particularly vile recipe for thick black smoke. Burn some wet straw, old shoes and spoiled meat and bob’s your uncle. Take-off! (Hydrogen had been discovered like 20 years prior and other actual scientists basically immediately starting implementing hydrogen in their balloons, but the first launches? Stinky) 

Hot air balloons were all the rage, right away 

It’s hard to understate the absolute strangle-hold hot air balloons had on particularly France and England very early on. Sept. 19, 1783, the brothers launched their famous ‘manned’ hot air balloon (the passengers were a sheep, a duck and a rooster, who, yes, were all fine in the end) to an audience of yes, King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette and a whopping 130.000 spectators. When Vincenzo Lunardi (gentleman, heartbreaker, lover of cats) launched his first balloon on british soil in 1784,  it was to an audience of 150.000 people. Again, this was in the late 1700’s. An estimated 1 million people lived in London at the time. Not all balloon launches in the coming years would have such wild accumulations of crowd come witness them, but they were often times still very big, very anticipated events.

Anywhere you look? BALLOONS 

Contemporary accounts describe it as the balloon madness. The frenzy. The rage. 

And aside from the staggering number of people willing to stand around and watch a balloon take off (or fail to) I think a lot of these adjectives are the result of an interesting overlap between an early culture of consumerism and Balloonomania. 

Not only was being a balloonist an entire business model. Charging subscriptions for people to come see your launches, branding yourself as a rockstar personality (again, VIncenzo Lunardi would have women come up to him and tell him they had written his names on their garters)  - there was also balloon merch. Fucking. Everywhere.

Balloon images were appearing on almanacs, on waistcoats, in bonnets, in sleeves and in hairstyles. Dishes were being named after balloonists as well as aerial concepts . 

And if you were bored of buying physical things? Hey, you could sing one of the songs about balloons. Or read a poem about balloons (for all the goths out there Percy Shelley wrote at least one poem about balloons). Or why not pick up a book heavily featuring balloons as a plotpoint. Or go to the theatre! Where they will awkwardly incorporate balloons into their plays, just to draw in an audience. One play even marketed themselves as having a real inflated balloon on stage. Of course, this particular play was canceled on opening night due to it’s ‘offensive and dangerous nature’, turns out having an open fire burning consistently in a small, crowded room is a bad idea (especially if that fire was made according to the recipe of Montgolfier gas).

And of course… the riots. 

The problem with the fact that if a balloon launch didn’t take off successfully, it would often-time instigate a riot is that I don’t have time to get into the details of all the many, many balloon launch riots. This will require an entire post onto itself, honestly. So sit tight - but the balloon riots were real, and not a one-off events. 

And for what? 

The funniest and silliest thing about balloons (and gods, there are so many to choose from) is the way they were actually pretty useless. 

So much of Europe was daydreaming about how balloons would revolutionise travel, military and social life. Girls would be able to sneak out of their houses to MAKE OUT WITH BOYS. Boys would be able to sneak into girls houses to MAKE OUT WITH GIRLS. You would need to instate balloon police to catch all the robbers fleeing in their balloons! Balloons would make the basis of crafts taking scientists to the most remote corners of the earth, and armies would be able to flood cities over night. Well, you might have noticed, this world was never one we got to live in. Most of all because balloons are so incredibly difficult to steer, even today.To the extent that when they first invented a balloon you could navigate with, they literally named it ‘balloon we can actually navigate with’ (dirigible balloon). How do you sneak out for your hot make out session with your boy if even just having the balloon take off isn’t a given, let alone directing its path?  

So for a couple of very interesting years, the people of northern europe were gripped in the balloon frenzy, but what balloons really did was spark imagination. Human flight was possible! What on earth could be next?

Anyway, as a treat for making it all this way down, here's a drawing of Vincenzo Lunardi looking exactly like the kind of 18th century heartthrob that would make people write his name on their underwear

And here's a contemporary drawing aimed at him which is, yes, a dick joke

[makutaibo]

One of the great beauties of the continent of Silme is its natural abundance of gravity stone. This magical resource shares many traits with [ERROR - DATA CORRUPTED] and has been a staple of modern Silmic architecture. The most famous example of the use of gravity stone can be found in Ayendesha'ra and the rings that surround its central spire. The striking design is one of the best examples of celestialist architecture found on the continent, and showcases the integral role of gravity stone in both design and functionality.

Despite the striking nature of Ayendesha'ra's rings, the Silmic city that is considered among those familiar to the subject to represent gravity stone's use most effectively is Saanabon'ra. Its proximity to the Gravitywell meant that bringing the stone to it posed less of a challenge than for other Silmic cities, and led to Saanabon'ra's signature stalagtitic architecture. Sometimes called balloonist architecture because of the frequent use of steel cables to keep buildings anchored, stalagtitic buildings mimic the hanging stone formations found on cave ceilings. While named for stalagtites, stalagtitic architecture typically foregoes the randomness of natural stone formations for more crystalline shapes. Stalagtitic buildings often resemble inverted towers, with some going so far as to use gravity stone to fully invert the gravity within buildings, though this is a rare practice.

Of course, gravity stone is only as useful as it is when refined. The stone itself needs to be properly shaped and moulded magically into possessing the powerful anti gravitational force associated with it today. One of the most popular strategies is borrowed [ERROR - DATA CORRUPTED]

~Excerpt from [DATA CORRUPTED]

[haysjoseph16]

Great Hotels In Salt Lake City

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View More: topphuyenaz.com - Top Phu Yen AZ Reviewed by Team Leader in Top Phu Yen AZ: Nguyễn Hoàng Thục Quỳnh - Nguyen Hoang Thuc Quynh It's a place of incredible romantic possibilities, with unbelievably pristine beaches and rugged shorelines, and associated with hidden spots perfecting for long walks hand-in-hand, finding yourselves all alone. With such gushiness-inducing qualities, it's no surprise you'll soon wind up reproducing. A visit to the Gothic Quarter is critical. This is the old part for this city that is famous for being the home of Picasso from 1895 to 1904. Even Joan Miro appeared here and called it his personal. In this area, you will be able to admire Gothic architecture from the 14th and 15th eras. The old medieval buildings and cobblestone streets lend a unique air towards area. This is also the area to gain benefit from the city's party all night atmosphere. During the first World War over 20,000 locals died and on the inside Second World War, Vendee was occupied on the 21st June 1940 by Germany. In the mid 1940s the local resistance of 3,000 men played an essential part in liberating Vendee and France. Another excellent place you will quickly to visit while you're in Forio is associated with the Villa La Colombaia Lacco Ameno. This villa is surrounded by a magnificent park along with the entire estate used with regard to the residence of Luchino Visconti who had previously been a identified movie boss. Today the Villa will be the seat on the Cultural Institution which is dedicated to Visconti. I should say that Northern Thai's seemed more fulfilling loving than their Southern countrymen. For this end they enjoy letting off fireworks and tissue balloons carrying balls of burning rag to assist keep them aloft. Not uncommon to see 10 possibly even cross the night sky glowing red when drinking a beer. They climb superb as well I flew with some at 3000'. On a pair of occasions, on landing villagers let off tissue balloons in our honour. They also flew bigger ones with strings of fireworks blasting away beneath. All good stuff for balloonists to look out. The last night of the games saw can be of in too much of 1000 of these balloons in about 10 minutes from globe the stadium, and precisely as it was a calm night it was the prettiest balloon thing I've seen. There a lot of options in the market to choose an adventure in Phu Yen Province the mountains here. Traveling on exact same desolate highway through Orangeville you will find orange sandstone as you travel up to Joe's Valley. Tin Top Phu Yen AZ News The crystal blue water, orange sandstone and ponderosa pine are a suitable place to eat lunch. Ecuador: Tourism visa valid for ninety days. Can extend to 90 more days in Quito and Guayaguil. They have also a volunteering visa (have to be volunteering having a non profit organization) for as long as one month. After few (or three) "killer" chocolate cookies after my fantastic dinner, and the most restful night's sleep, arrived to say goodbye. After chatting with other guests over breakfast with regard to the incredible experiences we all had, I packed my car and could have gotten ready move. The "Jacuzzi and massage relaxation package" of just spending time in this wonderful little town of Cambria and, of course, the wine country, hadn't failed to disappoint my home. This is why I return again and again each year. As I got into my car, I felt like an innovative woman.refreshed; happy; and already planning my next visit Cambria.

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View More: topphuyenaz.com - Top Phu Yen AZ Reviewed by Team Leader in Top Phu Yen AZ: Nguyễn Hoàng Thục Quỳnh - Nguyen Hoang Thuc Quynh Written By Author in topphuyenaz.com: Nguyễn Văn Cường - Nguyen Van Cuong Written By Author in topphuyenaz.com: Phan Vĩnh Tiến - Phan Vinh Tien

[brookstonalmanac]

Birthdays 1.6

Beer Birthdays

Gottlieb Heileman (1824)

Caspar Ruff (1844)

Bryan Roth (1985)

Five Favorite Birthdays

Rowan Atkinson; English comedian (1955)

Gustave Dore; artist (1832)

Kahil Gibran; philosopher, poet (1883)

Carl Sandburg; poet, writer (1878)

Earl Scruggs; bluegrass musician (1924)

Famous Birthdays

Joey Lauren Adams; actor, comedian (1911)

Syd Barrett; rock musician (1946)

Max Bruch; composer (1838)

John DeLorean; automaker (1925)

Sandy Denny; country singer (1941)

E.L. Doctorow; writer (1931)

Robert Englund; actor (1949)

Bonnie Franklin; actor (1944)

Charles Haley; San Francisco DE (1964)

Louis Harris; pollster (1921)

Sherlock Holmes; fictional detective (1854)

Joan of Arc; French hero (1412)

Howie Long; football player (1960)

Nancy Lopez; golfer (1957)

Anthony Minghella; film director (1954)

Tom Mix; actor (1880)

Jacques-Etienne Montgolfier; balloonist (1745)

Sun Myung Moon; evangelist (1920)

Pepe Le Pew; cartoon character (1945)

Sam Rayburn; politician (1882)

Gabrielle Reece; volleyball player (1970)

Richard II; king of England (1367)

Alexander Scriabin; composer (1872)

John Singleton; film director (1968)

Jedediah Smith; explorer (1799)

Vic Tayback; actor (1929)

Danny Thomas; actor (1914)

Alan Watts; English writer (1916)

Kim Wilson; rock musician (1951)

Paul Wilson; R&B singer (1935)

Loretta Young; actor (1913)

Malcolm Young; rock musician (1953)

[militarymiral]

Image of tight rope walker heading towards the stars

IMAGE OF TIGHT ROPE WALKER HEADING TOWARDS THE STARS TV

While the roster of Latina actresses can go on indefinitely, we’ve rounded up some to give you a closer look at who they are and their contributions to the entertainment world. Modelling himself on the famous French wire-walker Charles Blondin, L'Estrange performed a number of tightrope walks in the 1870s, culminating in three walks across Sydney's Middle Harbour in 1877. Of course, Spanish isn’t a requirement to be a proud Latina and neither is English, and yet there are stunning instances when the two worlds collide thanks to several Latina actresses - Salma Hayek and Kate del Castillo to name a few. Thats the kind of tightrope that would intimidate even Philippe Petit, and Gallos progression may remain stuck in neutral if he fails to walk it this. Henri L'Estrange, known as the Australian Blondin, was an Australian successful funambulist and accident prone aeronautical balloonist. Keep scrolling for more of the best photos from around the world.

IMAGE OF TIGHT ROPE WALKER HEADING TOWARDS THE STARS TV

Movies aside, there are fan-favorite Latina stars on TV too, including America’s Got Talent judge Sofía Vergara, 9-1-1: Lone Star actress Gina Torres and The Flight Attendant star Rosie Pérez. Stars and chart Guy using image-stabilized binos A neat star-chart trick is to make a wire ring the size of your binoculars or. become a symbol of support for the country during their ongoing conflict with Russia. What’s more, there are some Latina actresses who don’t seem to be showing signs of slowing down and keep making their mark on the big screen (ahem, Rita Moreno and her seven-decade-long career). As he attempted to walk across a high wire strung between the two towers of the Condado Plaza Hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico, the 73-year-old Wallenda lost his balance, teetering on the wire for 30 heart-stopping seconds before plummeting 10 stories. Whether a famous Latina is adding another notable project onto their resumé, like Jennifer Lopez and her new Netflix film Halftime, or a young actress is just stepping into the limelight, take Doctor Strange’s Xóchitl Gomez for example, there are many moments that wouldn’t be the same without Latinas in entertainment. Then, on March 22, 1978, the world watched in horror as Karl Wallenda fell to his death. Today, Hollywood’s A-listers are comprised of Latina actresses who continue to prove that there’s beauty in owning you who are.

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

“Prof. Auguste Piccard, the man who has been farther away from earth than any other living man, going up in his balloon into the stratosphere to discover things, is just about to cut his birthday cake. It is also his brother Jean’s cake. The famous twins are 49 years old. The miniature balloon    ... the lightness of the cake.”

- from the Whig-Standard. January 31, 1933. Page 6.

[papermoonloveslucy]

DANNY KAYE

January 18, 1911

Danny Kaye was born David Daniel Kaminsky in Brooklyn, New York, in 1911, although he would later claim 1913.  A multi-talented performer, he was an actor, singer, dancer, comedian, and musician. A high school drop-out, Kaye's first break came in 1933 when he joined a vaudeville dance act that toured the United States and Asia. 

Kaye's film debut came in 1937 with a series of low-budget shorts. The series ended when the studio shut down in 1938. 

On Broadway, Kaye appeared in The Straw Hat Revue (1939), Lady in the Dark (1941, above center), and Let's Face It! (1941). 

 After a significant absence, Kaye returned to Broadway in 1970 to play Noah in the musical Two By Two. When he broke his leg, he performed the role in a cast using a crutch! 

Kaye’s first time on television was also his first time appearing with Lucille Ball: “The 24th Annual Academy Awards.” 

Some of Kaye’s best-loved motion pictures include White Christmas (1954), The Court Jester (1955), and On the Riviera (1951).  In 1955, he was given an honorary Oscar for “his unique talents, his service to the Academy, the motion picture industry, and the American people.” In 1980, he was the recipient of the Academy’s Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award. 

Although Kaye never appeared on “I Love Lucy” he was mentioned in the dialogue. “Lucy Meets the Queen” (ILL S5;E15) was doubtless inspired by Danny Kaye’s November 1948 Command performance for King George and Princess Elizabeth at the Palladium Theatre. 

Lucy (to the Bellboy): Have you ever seen the Queen? Bellhop: No, ma'am. But I came frightful close during the coronation. I just missed her. But I did catch a glimpse of him. Lucy: Philip? Bellhop: No, ma'am. Danny Kaye.

In a 1959 episode of “The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour” Lucy complains about how many meals she’s cooked as a housewife:

Ricky (reading Variety): It says here that Danny Kaye is going to London to give another command performance for Queen Elizabeth. Lucy: I wonder what the Queen is cooking for Phil tonight?

In 1960, Kaye signed a $1.5 million contract for three annual specials that would set the pattern for his later series. Lucille Ball joined him for “The Danny Kaye Show” on November 11, 1962. Because it was the first television teaming of the two famous redheads, the special was hailed as “A Television First” and was also Lucille Ball’s first appearance in color.

Lucille Ball sang, danced the Twist, and did imitations of Judy Garland, Carol Channing, and Marlene Dietrich. The highlight of the special was undoubtedly their three-part sketch about the trend of internationally themed restaurants. 

Two years later, on November 4, 1964, Ball made a second appearance on the program.

Without the use of costumes or scenery, Kaye and Lucille Ball performed a sketch about a married couple forced to fire a maid who is monopolizing the care of their baby. 

Danny Kaye and Lucille Ball performed “The Balloonists,” which included making playful noises with the balloons as they sing and dance, ultimately popping every balloon on the stage.

The next sketch imagines what would happen if a snowstorm kept all but two actors in a traveling troupe from arriving at the theatre to perform a Victorian melodrama. It turns into a quick change act for the two actors.   

On December 28, 1964, Kaye repaid the favor by appearing on “The Lucy Show” in “Lucy Meets Danny Kaye” (S3;E15). Kaye played himself, and Lucy Carmichael was her usual star-struck self! 

In November 1965, Lucy and Danny were two of the performers on tap for a “Salute To Stan Laurel” who had died earlier in the year. The two have no scenes together. 

In November 1976, Kaye contributed to “CBS Salutes Lucy: The First 25 Years”.  Kaye talks about Lucy’s skill at physical comedy.

Kaye: “Calling Lucille Ball 'just’ a comedian is like calling Margot Fonteyne 'just’ a dancer.”  

In 1985, Lucy and Danny were two of the celebrities in “Night of 100 Stars II” at Radio City Music Hall. 

In February 1986, Kaye made his final screen appearance as a Dentist on “The Cosby Show”. The role got him nominated for an Emmy Award, although he lost to Roscoe Lee Brown for a guest shot on the same series.  Coincidentally, Lucille Ball was a presenter at “The 38th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards”.

Kaye married Sylvia Fine in January 1940. They had one child (Dena) and were together until he died of heart failure on March 3, 1987, aged 76.   

“Life is a great big canvas; throw all the paint you can at it.” ~ Danny Kaye

[roscoe-conkling]

On the occasion of his last balloon flight in 1949 at age 75, Augustus Post remarked, "There's really no sensation in the world like that of floating between the earth and the heavens with the winds of the world. Some of my friends claim you can create the same feeling by partaking of four very dry martinis on an empty stomach, but I don't believe it."

Below, Post is pictured in the gondola of the Conqueror, seconds after the balloon began its rapid ascent at the James Gordon Bennett Cup Balloon Races in Berlin in October, 1908.

[forthegothicheroine]

Quarant-ween movie #11: Frankenstein Island

Here’s what I think this movie is about:

Professional balloonists crash onto an island which is populated by wild women in fur bikinis who are actually descended from aliens.  The island is presided over by the mad scientist Sheila Frankenstein, great-grandaughter of the famous doctor, whose husband is descended from Van Helsing, who was Frankenstein’s lab assistant (?!?!?!?!)  The original Frankenstein now exists as a spirit who sometimes possesses the bedridden, 200 year old Mr. Van Helsing to give orders.  She has evil robot henchmen who wear turtlenecks, and is trying to discover a way to become immortal via blood transfusions by experimenting on the island women and a mad prisoner obsessed with Edgar Allen Poe (played by Captain Santa from Space Mutiny.)  They resurrect the original monster, but I’m not sure why.  And there’s a climax involving brains and backup brains.  Then comes the denouement with what I think is the army coming to the island to find that everything has disappeared except for a dog and a medallion.

Yes, of course John Carradine is in this.  As the spirit of Dr. Frankenstein, always super-imposed over the screen, presumably because he couldn’t or wouldn’t show up to the set.

Sometimes movies are bad because they’re not trying to do anything, and sometimes they’re bad because they try to do too much.  Frankenstein Island somehow manages to be both at once- a million things are going on, but it feels like nothing is happening.  There’s a lot of walking around, and the exposition scenes dump a whole lot of information without advancing the plot.

I guess if you want to watch the 2004 Van Helsing movie crossed with the 1996 Island of Doctor Moreau and also Wild Women of Wongo, if the resulting movie was made in 1981 for zero budget, this might be the movie for you...but even then I suspect you’d be bored and confused, checking the screen periodically to go “How can there still be another half hour to go?”  At least the Rifftrax commentary is pretty good.

[handeaux]

What Ever Happened To The Daring Aeronaut’s Beautiful Daughter?

She lay in a private ward of Good Samaritan Hospital, attended by one of the city’s leading surgeons, her life ebbing as the result of a self-inflicted gunshot. Cincinnati knew her as Vio Sayers, a prostitute at Belle Johnson’s brothel on Smith Street, but there was so much more to her story, all of it shrouded in mystery.

The name she used in Cincinnati, Vio Sayers, was a pseudonym. Her real name was Ida LaMountain, and she was the only daughter of a famous balloonist, or aeronaut, as they were then known.

Her father, John LaMountain attempted a couple of times, both unsuccessful, to cross the Atlantic by balloon and had a brief association with the Union army during the Civil War. As an aeronaut assigned to Major General Benjamin Butler, LaMountain is credited with launching his balloon from the deck of a steam tug and for providing some of the earliest reconnaissance reports from an aerial platform. He was, unfortunately, a haughty and belligerent man, prone to exaggerating his own accomplishments, and he was dismissed from military service and died in obscurity.

LaMountain’s wife having predeceased him, his daughter was raised on a farm outside South Bend, Indiana by her grandparents. Ida inherited some of her father’s cantankerous nature, and ran away when she reached the age of 18, supposedly launching a theatrical career in Chicago.

Although her name appears among a troupe of performers at a Chicago dime museum, it is likely that Ida’s thespian dreams were dashed early on. She maintained the fiction of a stage career in her letters home even after she ended up in Frank Wright’s brothel on Broadway. Frank (nickname for Francine) was among the leading madams of Cincinnati’s demi-monde.

As she lay, apparently dying, the Enquirer contacted a correspondent in South Bend, who reported that Ida had a sterling reputation:

“Up to the time of her leaving here she was considered a respectable as well as quite a handsome girl, and when here only a few weeks ago no one knew anything against her good name.”

Soon after arriving in the Queen City, Ida caused a sensation by pulling a gun on a traveling salesman at the Atlantic Garden concert hall. The newspapers agreed she had a temper. Here is the Cincinnati Enquirer [3 July 1878]:

“She is not angelic in disposition, and only last Sunday night she drew a pistol (probably the same Smith & Wesson) at Wright’s on a prominent citizen, with whom she had a dispute about money.”

Like many prostitutes, Ida/Vio cultivated favorites among her customers, from whom she could earn special favors. A Cincinnati businessman named “Jim,” for example, paid her bills from a local doctor – until he learned that Ida had cultivated another special friendship with a clerk at the Burnet House. When “Jim” told Ida he would no longer pay her doctor bills, Ida pulled the trigger.

Ida had written home to her grandparents, asking for money because she was ill – the disease unspecified – but had heard nothing. The South Bend correspondent told the Enquirer that Ida’s grandmother was in the act of responding to that request when word arrived about her attempted suicide.

As the scandal unfolded “Jim” confessed that he had a liaison with the fair Ida and the Burnet House fired its philandering clerk. The Enquirer [4 July 1878] observed:

“He is not the first, nor the second clerk of the house, it is said, who wrecked fair prospects in life by over-indulgence in the delights of the Wright palace of illicit pleasure.”

There are a number of mysteries surrounding the Enquirer’s reporting, among them: What was a volatile woman like Ida doing with a seven-shot .32 caliber pistol? Did “Jim” really give it to her? Who is the otherwise unidentified man keeping vigil at Ida’s bedside and running errands on her behalf? Why did Ida, one of the stars of Frank Wright’s bordello, suddenly move into Belle Johnson’s house of ill repute?

Alas, answers to such questions are lost in the mists of antiquity. We might also wonder why the Enquirer devoted three days of coverage to an admitted suicide? Is it possible that the reporter had a special interest in Ida?

The Enquirer stopped covering Ida’s recuperation when it appeared that she might survive, but the Cincinnati Star printed a couple of squibs noting that Ida had completely recovered and was on her way home to Indiana.

And then what? The South Bend, Indiana, Tribune of 7 July 1881 – almost exactly three years after Ida shot herself – printed this tiny notice:

“Mrs. Dr. Dosman, of St. Louis, Mo., nee Ida LaMountain, of this city, is here visiting her relatives, preparatory to going to Idaho where she and her husband will reside permanently.”

So, Ida married a doctor, presumably in St. Louis, and moved with him to Idaho. The only problem is, there doesn’t appear to be any doctor named Dosman in either Missouri or Idaho, and no Ida Dosman anywhere. What became of her?

One wonders . . .

[chicagoindiecritics]

New from Al and Linda Lerner on Movies and Shakers: The Aeronauts

This visually exquisite action adventure is basically silent and full of hot air! Felicity Jones and Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything) are paired again, as scientific explorers riding up, up and away in a 90-foot tall balloon over London in 1862. In the year of the woman, Jones becomes the physically and mentally strong female action hero in this film who saves the day and her fellow high flyer breaking the record for climbing high in the sky.   

Director Tom Harper (TV’s Peaky Blinders, War and Peace) cast Redmayne as real-life meteorologist James Glaisher. In fact, this film is based on Glaisher’s journey with famous British aeronaut, Henry Coxwell. It was Coxwell who saved Glaisher’s life after they both experienced numbing cold and loss of consciousness from thin air as they went to record height.

Instead, Jones is Amelia Wren, is a fictional character who takes his place. Writer Jack Thorne (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child for stage) created Amelia from an amalgam of several professional female balloonists in the 1800’s including Sophie Blanchard, the wife of a balloonist who died in a ballooning mishap. Amelia is also a widow whose husband died the same way.

In our interview at the Chicago International Film Festival, Redmayne admits that Jones had the more physical role. She trained for months, not realizing how intense her stunts would be getting in amazing shape. Harper reminded Redmayne that he got his share of bruises, but Jones got more than her share looking strong doing most of the action scenes.

The Director did send both actors 8,000 feet up in a real balloon. Cinematographer George Steel (Wild Rose, TVs Peaky Blinders, War and Peace), gets magnificent vistas of the sphere in flight, floating through clouds shooting from helicopters and using drones. The silence while floating up in a balloon makes the visuals even more unusual and beautiful.

But most of the scenes were shot green screen on a huge soundstage that was cold enough to show the actors’ breath in the tight basket as they fought hypothermia, frostbite and lack of oxygen. It’s detailed enough that you’ll feel as though you’re fighting it all right along with them on their dangerous mission.

The beginning of the film gets a bit contrived. Glaisher’s speech trying to get funding for his outrageous mission from a society of deniers shows how he is committed to expanding the boundaries of knowledge about weather. He was convinced that the air was different at different altitudes and wanted to prove it by flying higher than ever done before. 

But Wren is portrayed as a kind of circus performer with a cute dog who takes people up for balloon rides. The scenes setting up their getting together are extraneous and somewhat silly compared what they’re trying to do.

Once they get up in the air, the film takes on a more serious tenor. We were also glad that their relationship never turned romantic or combative. And the juxtaposition of her appearing to be the weak passenger in the beginning, becoming the strong one who saves Glaisher using desperate measures, works well. 

Glaisher actually went up 38,999 feet! But what goes up, must come down, which was another challenge. Despite the fact that this story is embellished from what really occurred (based on the 2013 book, Falling Upwards: How We Took to the Air) it’s a great ride with breathtaking cinematic vistas and a breathless landing. We recommend you see if they stick it.  

Amazon Studios  1 hour 40 minutes  PG-13

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[paulinedorchester]

The Aeronauts describes itself as being “inspired by true events”; in fact, it plays fast and loose with its source material, and the changes it makes are not really for the sake of tidy storytelling. Nevertheless, I enjoyed this film very much, and I recommend it. (The night before I saw it I went to a concert that included a semi-staged excerpt from Jean-Philippe Rameau’s opera Hippolyte et Aricie, which also plays fast and loose with its source material, also not really for the sake of tidy storytelling, so that made the film go down a bit more easily. It also made me want to see the whole opera, fully staged! But I digress...)

The movie is about James Glaisher (Eddie Redmayne), a real-life British astronomer and meterorologist (the film implies that he coined the latter term, which he didn’t), and his record-setting balloon ascent of September 5th, 1862, with the experienced and respected aeronaut Amelia Rennes (Felicity Jones) as his pilot. That’s where fiction comes in: in reality, Glaisher’s pilot’s name was ...

... Henry Coxwell. (Also, Glaisher was a good 25 years older in 1862 than Eddie Redmayne appears to be.) However, the film makes the historical point that there were a good many women balloonists in mid-19th century Britain. The men with whom Amelia comes into contact treat her with tremendous respect: when she hesitates over the flight, James tells her that she is essential to the project; when, in flight, she reluctantly agrees to continue their ascent for as long as possible, she first gets him to agree that the decision on when to begin descending will be hers alone.

Amelia’s only conflict with the opposite sex occurs when she shows up at James’s workplace — the Royal Observatory, Greenwich — needing to speak with him, and is very politely told that she’ll have to wait outside while someone fetches him, because women aren’t allowed on the premises. (Good luck with that, gentlemen.) The only disapproval she encounters comes from her sister and aunt, and from James’s mother, who doesn’t care for the way Amelia makes a spectacle of herself (as indeed she does, showing up for the launch in a circus performer’s getup, complete with a performing dog).

More important though, from my point of view, is a political point that the film makes: The Aeronauts is about a man and a woman who work together as equals, without serious conflict, to achieve a goal. We’re not seeing a great deal of that in real life at present, and what’s worse is that we’re also not seeing it held up as an ideal. So I’m quite in sympathy with this film’s politics. The Aeronauts is not a romance, by the way — although I have no doubt that plenty of fan fiction in that mode is being written and posted even as I type these words!

When Amelia visits the observatory, it is to tell James that she has changed her mind about serving as his pilot after first having accepted. The film presents her as the widow of a (fictional) famous aeronaut, Philippe Rennes, who died trying to break an altitude record, and she has flashbacks before and during the flight. Later in the film we are shown the exact circumstances of his death, which are indeed pretty harrowing. No spoilers here, but be warned.

Tom Harper, the director of The Aeronauts, has borrowed a couple of pages from the Christopher Nolan / Dunkirk playbook, to both good and bad effect. Periodically we see an overlay, if that’s the right word, showing how much time has elapsed, how far they’ve ascended, and what weather phenomena James has observed at that point. This culminates in a graph showing the balloon’s full ascent and descent. On the other hand there’s the film’s sound design: even when the characters are on the ground there is so much extraneous noise as to obscure a good deal of the dialogue. Once aloft they’re fighting to talk over the wind, which is worse. (I know: Dunkirk won Oscars for sound editing and sound mixing. I remain bewildered by this.)

The Aeronauts was produced by Amazon Studios, which means that in the long term the easiest way to see it will be on your computer or television. That would be a pity. The cinematography is excellent, and should be seen on the largest screen possible.

Oh, and I nearly forgot — I saw The Aeronauts at the Chicago International Film Festival, the sort of event where people involved in making a film are likely to attend a screening of it, and guess who was there? Eddie Redmayne! (So was the director, but who cares about him?) He’s working here, apparently — on what, wasn’t revealed. He talked a bit about practicing in the balloon, and told us that last week he took a riverboat tour. Every visitor to Chicago should do that, but I wonder what it was like. Did people completely loose their heads?

[brookstonalmanac]

Birthdays 1.6

Beer Birthdays

Gottlieb Heileman (1824)

Caspar Ruff (1844)

Bryan Roth (1985)

Five Favorite Birthdays

Rowan Atkinson; English comedian (1955)

Gustave Dore; artist (1832)

Kahil Gibran; philosopher, poet (1883)

Carl Sandburg; poet, writer (1878)

Earl Scruggs; bluegrass musician (1924)

Famous Birthdays

Joey Lauren Adams; actor, comedian (1911)

Syd Barrett; rock musician (1946)

Max Bruch; composer (1838)

John DeLorean; automaker (1925)

Sandy Denny; country singer (1941)

E.L. Doctorow; writer (1931)

Robert Englund; actor (1949)

Bonnie Franklin; actor (1944)

Charles Haley; San Francisco DE (1964)

Louis Harris; pollster (1921)

Sherlock Holmes; fictional detective (1854)

Joan of Arc; French hero (1412)

Howie Long; football player (1960)

Nancy Lopez; golfer (1957)

Anthony Minghella; film director (1954)

Tom Mix; actor (1880)

Jacques-Etienne Montgolfier; balloonist (1745)

Sun Myung Moon; evangelist (1920)

Pepe Le Pew; cartoon character (1945)

Sam Rayburn; politician (1882)

Gabrielle Reece; volleyball player (1970)

Richard II; king of England (1367)

Alexander Scriabin; composer (1872)

John Singleton; film director (1968)

Jedediah Smith; explorer (1799)

Vic Tayback; actor (1929)

Danny Thomas; actor (1914)

Alan Watts; English writer (1916)

Kim Wilson; rock musician (1951)

Paul Wilson; R&B singer (1935)

Loretta Young; actor (1913)

Malcolm Young; rock musician (1953)

[balloonridesnapa]

History of Ballooning and How Hot Air Balloons Work

Napa Valley is famous for many things. The picturesque wineries, Michelin-starred restaurants, cultural and entertainment venues, and glorious hospitality attract thousands of visitors each year.

Another world-famousactivity that draws crowds to the area is the iconic Napa hot air balloonsfloating majestically above the vineyards and towns that dot the beautiful landscape below.

If you have been to Napa Valley in the past, you have likelynoticed severalof the beautiful, slow-moving hot air balloons that drift silently above.

Throughout the year, visitors from everywhere choose to greet the day while floating gently above the landscape in a safe and memorable outing with the best balloon rides in Napa Valley.

Balloons Above the Valley, a premier Napa hot air balloon company, offers safe and enjoyable daily flights piloted by the most experienced professional pilots.Passengers relax and savor their birds-eye view of Napa Valley’s scenic landscapeand the breathtaking vista of the mountainous backdrop and beyond.

As you plan your next trip to wonderful Napa Valley and make your reservations forone of the best balloon rides in Napa Valley, perhaps a little background about hot air balloons is warranted. How didthey originate?And what science allows them to rise and float so majestically and then returnto the ground so gently?

How Hot Air Ballooning Began

First Flights

As what may be considered the birth of aviation, the first human-crewed hot air balloon flights preceded the invention of the first airplane by more than a century.

The first untethered, human-bearing flight occurred on November 23, 1783. Constructed primarily from paper and silk, this historic hot air balloon supported a circular platform at its base to accommodate the two voyagers, Francois Pilatrê de Rozier and Francois Laurent.

Lifted by the warm air generated by a hand-fed,wood-burning fire within,the balloon flew five-and-one-half miles in about 25 minutes, reaching a maximum altitude of about 500 feet.

Onlyten days later,on December 1, 1783, two otherFrench balloonists, Jacques Charles and Nicholas Robert, “revolutionized” the art of ballooning by introducing hydrogen to the balloonto enhance the “lighter-than-air” quality of theballoon. This second landmark flight, also originating in Paris, flew for 2 ½ hours for adistance of 25 miles.

Early Gas vs. Hot Air Balloons

Gas balloons filled with hydrogen were considered more efficient in those early days since they did not require a continuous fire. Hydrogen, the lightest of all elements, could keep the balloons aloft longer, and the altitude was easily adjustable.

After those initial pioneering flights, this new breed of aviators began to tackle new challenges, hoping to set records. Following some tragic failures by some others, balloonists Jean Pierre Blanchard and American John Jeffries became the first gas balloonists to cross the English Channel, traveling west to east along with the prevailing winds.

The first documented human-crewed balloon flight launched in the United States occurred in Philadelphia in 1783 with George Washington in attendance. The craft landed in Gloucester County, New Jersey, after reaching an altitude of 5,800 feet.

Ballooning in the 1800s

Gas balloons became the primary mode of air travel during the 1800s, although the cost and time required to fill the balloons sufficiently were prohibitive for most people.

At the time, hot air-powered ballooning was still not practical since no safe and efficient controllable heat-producing devicewas available to manage the lift and altitude changes needed to take off and land at a designated location.

Airships of the 1900s

The first genuinely commercial, passenger-carrying hydrogen-filled airships appeared in the early 1900s. Known as dirigibles or blimps, these cigar-shaped balloons carried a passenger compartmentknown as a gondola and were used for commercial and military applications. Eventually, after the famous disaster of theHindenburg in 1937 following a transatlantic passenger flight, the popularity of highly flammable hydrogen-filled balloons began to wane.

Safe and Dependable Hot Air Balloon Flights

While gas-filled balloons were disappearing, the advent of the modern hot air balloon controlled with propane gas burnersblossomed.

In 1960, Paul E. Yost and his team from Raven Industries from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, engineered a balloon and burner combination that could keep the balloon aloft indefinitely and allowed the pilot to control altitude easily by heating and cooling the air within the balloon.

NASA has even created sophisticated versions that can reach altitudes sufficient to act as satellitesto study elements of outer space and the Earth itself.

The technology and safety of hot air ballooning have progressed to the point where flights for recreation are commonplace worldwide.

How Does a Hot Air Balloon Work?

Principles of “Lighter than Air”or Buoyancy

The key to understanding how a hot air balloon works begins with the principle that warm air rises.Put another way, an object will rise when it becomes lighter than an equal volume of air.Similarly, an object stays afloat in water only if it is lighter than an equal volume of the same water.  

When the air within a balloonwarms up, the molecules, primarily consisting of nitrogen and oxygen, become less dense and lighter than the air surrounding it. As a result, a hot air balloon filled with, well, hot air will begin to rise.

When the air inside the balloon is allowed to cool, the balloon begins to descend slowly.

In the case of those earliergas or hydrogenballoons, the material did not require heat to risesince it is already lighter-than-air and ascends automatically.

On the other hand, because it was engine-powered and equipped with wings with lift capability, the Wright Brothers’ first airplanecould leave the ground even though it was clearly heavier than an equal volume of air. Without the wings, engine, and the fuel to propel it, thatfirst airplane would never have risen from that pile of sand at Kittyhawk.

How Can the Hot Air Balloon Accommodate Passengers?

Any casual observer will notice that passenger-carrying hot air balloons are enormous. Why is this?

If you assume the collective weights of, say, five people, plus the balloon itself, basket, and the burner, the heated air inside the balloon or “envelope”must be capable of lifting several hundred pounds. Applying the physical law that the weight of an equal volume of air must be greater than the weight of the balloon and its contents to rise, it is necessary to heat a vast amount of air to get the weight off the ground.

As a result, hot air balloons must be very large to accommodate the weight of multiple passengers.

How Does the Pilot Operate a Hot Air Balloon?

Setting up the hot air balloon for flight begins by unwrapping or unfolding the envelope or principalsection of the balloon. This part is attached to the burners and the basket, and a fan or twois then set up to start blowing air into the balloon to inflate it.

Once largely inflated, the pilot removes the fan and turns on the heater to warm the air within the balloon. Eventually, the atmosphere within the balloon is sufficiently warm to board, untether, ascend and begin the flight.

Once aloft, the pilot can always control the altitude. Increasing the heat from the burners causes the balloon to rise. Releasing hot air through a top element known as a parachute vent allows cool air to enter the envelope and cause the balloon to descend slowly.

Experienced hot air balloon pilots like professionalsat Balloons Above the Valley in Napa Valley can also guide the aircraftdirectionally, a much more sophisticated process requiring a substantial understanding of prevailing air currents in thearea. Thepilot will raise or lower the balloon to take advantage of existing wind currents to adjust the course to the desired direction.

During a safe and enjoyable Balloons Above the Valley Napa hot air balloon ride above the picturesque landscape of Napa Valley, passengers can relax and enjoy the view safely as the licensed pilot first ascends and then gradually descends to land gently at the target destination.

Best Balloon Rides in Napa Valley

For a safe, exhilarating, and memorable way to greet any morning,Napa hot air balloon rides piloted by a Balloons Above the Valley professional are an ideal solution for your future visit.

Learn more by visiting the Balloons Above the Valley website, where you can learn about the experience and make reservations for a future flight.

You can also ask questions and make your reservations for a future Napa hot air balloon flight by phoning one of ourBalloons Above the Valley reservationistsat 1-800-464-6824.

You may also purchase Balloons Above the Valley Gift Certificates for any future flight, a perfect gift for any friends or loved ones who will be coming to Napa Valley.