I wish I could have seen one of his presentations with Gertie, when he'd stand on stage, run a clip of the cartoon, and then interact with Gertie by asking her questions, have her "do tricks" on his command, and otherwise use her as a partner in his stage show.

Wow! Gertie

Isn't she sweet? I love how McCay made her like an overgrown puppy. A very engaging character.

Oh, the other short that blew my mind on that Edison collection was a sound film from 1894. 1894!!! Remarkable.

Oh, the other short that blew my mind on that Edison collection was a sound film from 1894.

Is that the one with William Dickson playing the violin? Actually, it made a lot of sense for Edison to experiment with sound-on-disc. He initially saw the cinema as a sort of phonograph-for-the-eyes anyway, hence the Kinetoscope.

Both The Great Train Robbery and Dream of a Rarebit Fiend are by Edwin S. Porter, one of the most interesting characters in early cinema, and arguably the first important American director.

Is that the one with William Dickson playing the violin?

Yep.

The star of The Great Train Robbery (at least, the bad guy featured at the end, shooting at the camera) was Bronco Billy Anderson, who went on to co-found Essenay Studios in Chicago (he was the "A" in S&A = Essanay), where Charlie Chaplin made some of his early films. The studio building is still there, now occupied by a college, and the main studio space is being used as a lecture hall.

Edwin S. Porter, one of the most interesting characters in early cinema, and arguably the first important American director.

Is this the same guy who had Wormwood's Dog and Monkey Travelling Movie Show? It showed the first motion pictures in Nova Scotia, and a much beloved, but now closed rep cinema was named after it.

James Nesbitt has been cast as Bofur in The Hobbit.

Nesbitt is my latest sooper sekrit celebrity boyfriend. I approve of him in anything.

Can you imagine having William H. Macy as your babysitter?

Cusaks and Piven can claim him.

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