Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Pastimes : Don't Ask Rambi -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Tom Kiesel who wrote (7590)	2/18/1998 12:49:00 PM
From: username	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 71178

I worked as a MPMO (Motion Picture Machine Operator) for about 6 years in my yout. I have many amusing stories, since one of the theaters was an X theater, (I had to pretend I was being tortured by being forced to show these things; that is the only way I survived, I kid you not) and the crowds in the college town were sometimes, uh, unruly. I worked during the day as well, two jobs and college, and there were times when I was so tired I literally fell asleep standing up in the "booth" (the little concrete bunker where the projectors are). It's different now, but back then, a movie consisted of 4 or 6 reels of film that lasted about 20 minutes. The MPMO's main job was to switch the reels between projector #1 and #2, making sure there were (theoretically) no "jumps". (When you see the little circles in the upper right hand corner of old movies, that's the "cue marks" for turning the "new" projector on and switching over; they come every 20 minutes; there are two cue marks, about 7 seconds apart, the first is to tell the operator to turn the "new" machine on, the second is to make the switch after the new machine has come up to speed. very interesting.) OK. Picture in your mind; I'm dog tired. It's a double feature. A color "skin flick" (as they were called before they showed every dang thing that happens close-up; it was bad, don't remember anything about it) and a black and white western (bad, don't remember anything about it.) I'm ready to change from reel #3 of the skin flick to reel #4. It's a , uh, gripping scene, and the Colorado State University Football Team is in the audience, having been released that afternoon from "training"..... ...except I have managed to thread up reel #4 of the western instead of the skin. We move from the "grip" (in color) to the Big Horse Chase (in black and white). The audience went wild. So did the owner.