movies

An organist playing the Mighty Wurlitzer at the Grand Lake Theater, Oakland, CA.

Listen to a Mighty Wurlitzer before the Movies

Silvia

An organist playing the Mighty WurlitzerAt the Grand Lake Theatre in Oakland you are treated to an organ concert every Friday and Saturday evening. The concert lasts between 10 to 30  minutes and is performed twice before the main auditorium movie.  

I found this to be a real treat in the beautifully restored historic theater. These organs used to accompany silent movies and were produced by the thousands. Today only a few hundred remain.

An organist playing the Mighty Wurlitzer at the Grand Lake Theater in OaklandWhen we entered the theater the organist was already playing even though we were the first audience. My clapping after a set was taken with humor amidst the scarce crowd. But he persisted and a few more people filled the auditorium. I can’t tell you if this is the rule or an exception. It might be the choice of movie? We saw IF, a children’s movie and I think we were the only adults without minors. 

Nevertheless I enjoyed both the performance and the movie.

Outside the Grand Lank Theater at nightThe Northern California Theater Organ Society will at times perform early weekend morning concerts. You can find details on their website.  

Have you ever heard someone play a mighty Wurlitzer?

I have a few short video clips of the organ being played on my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCQoyrqaGw38KaO6XVeeceqCp85eorm84 

The horse in motion, statue at Stanford Equestrian

Can horses fly?

Silvia

Photographer Eadweard Muybridge got commissioned by Leland Stanford to prove that horses can fly.

The horse in motion, statue at Stanford EquestrianTo find an answer to the question if horses are, while galloping, have all four legs off the ground, Eadweard Muybridge performed a gait analysis. In 1878 he came up with a construction of 24 cameras that were along a track. He proved that on one instance the horses legs were all aflot.

Muybridge used these images in his zoopraxiscope, an early device for projecting rotating pictures and perfect for the sequential motions captured. The Horse in Motion, also known as Sallie Gardner at a Gallop, is sometimes credited as the first silent movie.

I went to see pictures of Muybridge at the Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts, but to my astonishment, although they have a collection of almost 500 photos, they don’t have a regular display. The only clue for this extraordinary invention and proof is the statue of The Horse in Motion at the Red Barn.

The horse in motion, information board at Stanford EquestrianStanford Equestrian has a plaque to commemorate Muybridge’s role. The tribute acknowledges The horse in motion as the  first academic study of Stanford. There is also an information board explaining the history in a bit more detail.

Have you seen proof about flying horses before?