Movies &; TV Science Fiction Film Club Introducing the Reactor Science Fiction Film Club! One movie at a time‚ we’ll watch our way through the good‚ the bad‚ and the utterly bizarre in science fiction cinema. By Kali Wallace | Published on February 28‚ 2024 From Le Voyage dans la Lune (Georges Méliès‚ 1902) icon-comment 0 Share New Share Twitter Facebook Pinterest RSS Feed From Le Voyage dans la Lune (Georges Méliès‚ 1902) In 1902‚ pioneering French filmmaker Georges Méliès produced‚ directed‚ and starred in La voyage dans la lune (A Trip to the Moon)‚ a short silent film about a group of astronomers who (you guessed it) take a trip to the Moon. With the help of some young women who inexplicably aren’t wearing any pants‚ the bearded scholars load themselves into a metal capsule‚ which is then shot at the Moon by a very large cannon. Once they reach the Moon’s surface‚ they marvel at the Earth rising over the horizon‚ do some camping under the stars‚ and descend into a cave to take shelter from a snowstorm. There‚ to their surprise‚ they meet some aggressively acrobatic Moon people‚ whom they promptly kill by hitting them over the head with umbrellas and canes. Unwilling to submit themselves to Moon society justice‚ the astronomers flee back to Earth‚ with one of the Moon people hitching a ride. It’s quite an adventure for a film that’s only about ten minutes long. La voyage dans la lune is many things: a parody of scholarly scientists‚ an anti-imperialist satire‚ a demonstration of innovative special effects and film techniques‚ a smash international hit at the time of its release‚ and a major influence on the development of filmmaking‚ especially after its rediscovery in the 1930s. And one more thing: It is generally regarded as the first science fiction film ever made. Ever since Méliès sent his characters to the Moon in 1902‚ filmmakers have never stopped making science fiction movies. From very early adaptations of the works of Mary Shelley‚ Jules Verne‚ and Arthur Conan Doyle all the way up through the juggernaut franchises we have today‚ from short films to weighty epics‚ political allegories to gee-whiz adventure stories‚ arthouse darlings to summer blockbusters‚ moody emotional ponderings to gloriously gory monster mashes‚ the history of cinema is inextricably linked with the genre of science fiction. And the Reactor Science Fiction Film Club is here to explore every corner of it! How will it work? Once a week‚ one movie at a time‚ we’ll watch our way through the good‚ the bad‚ and the utterly bizarre in science fiction cinema. I’ll share the month’s selections ahead of time‚ and each Wednesday I’ll post an essay about that week’s film‚ including a bit about its history‚ context‚ and impact‚ to revel in the weird and wonderful variety of sci-fi movies out there. Everybody will be welcome to share their thoughts in comments‚ whether you’re watching it now for the first time or saw it years ago. What are we going to watch? Anything. Everything. In any language‚ from anywhere in the world. As long as it’s science fiction. Some of the films we watch will be masterpieces. Some of them will be terrible. Some will be both‚ as is often the case. Some of them will be very familiar. Some will be obscure. Some will be movies you love. Some will be movies you‚ personally‚ hate. I am going to approach all of them with an open mind‚ a generosity of spirit‚ and the goal of having fun with a century of sci-fi movie magic. (The oldest film on my list is currently Aelita (1924)‚ so that time frame is not an exaggeration. Depending on availability we might even look at some earlier movies.) Many of the movies will be paced much more sedately than modern films‚ so grab a cozy blanket‚ pour a glass of wine‚ put your phone down‚ and relax. Space epics‚ time travel‚ claustrophobic horrors‚ psychological mindfucks‚ political satires‚ alien invasions‚ Barbarella—it’s all good. I’m deliberately casting a very wide net—with one general guideline‚ which is that the film club selections are going to focus on films released before the early 2000s. That’s not to say we won’t watch some more recent movies‚ because we will‚ but the goal is to explore everything sci-fi cinema has to offer‚ not just everything it has offered since the advent of the social media age. Are we going in chronological order? Nope. We’re not going to go in any sort of order. Instead I’ll be grouping the films by loose themes from month to month‚ such as “Oops! You Crashed Your Spaceship” and “Wholesome ’80s Family Movies That Inexplicably Gave Me Nightmares As a Child” and “The Invasion Is Not Proceeding As Planned.” Can we suggest movies? Absolutely. I always welcome suggestions. I’ve probably got the most obvious choices on my (very long) list already‚ so what I really encourage are suggestions for truly hidden gems and non-American films that are overlooked or unknown in English-language sci-fi fandom spaces. Go ahead and use the comments of this post to make suggestions‚ but I will also be reading comments on the posts as we go along. How do we watch the movies? Everything I’m choosing is available for online streaming somewhere‚ because I am not going to make anybody rely on access to a dusty box of VHS tapes in their friend’s neighbor’s uncle’s attic. Sometimes it might be a bit complicated‚ but I will do my best to provide up-to-date information and options. How you access the films from where you live‚ within your budget‚ is between you and your VPN. I recommend checking a site like JustWatch or similar to search for availability in different regions. When in doubt: check your local library or search YouTube and the Internet Archive. We’re going to get started in March with a selection of classics that imagine the many problems people will face when they head out to explore space. The films are listed below by the date on which the column will be published‚ so you can watch ahead of time and participate in the discussion. It’s a Dangerous Universe Out There March 6 – Forbidden Planet (1956)‚ directed by Fred M. WilcoxA cautionary tale about packing too much Freudian psychology in your space luggage.Watch: Tubi (free)‚ Amazon‚ Apple‚ Google Play‚ and several other places as well.Watch a trailer here. March 13 – Solaris (1972)‚ directed by Andrei TarkovskyFamously disliked by author Stanislaw Lem but beloved by just about everybody else.Watch: Max‚ Criterion‚ Amazon‚ Apple‚ and others.Watch a trailer here. March 20 – Silent Running (1972)‚ directed by Douglas TrumbullIt’s basically Gardeners’ World in space‚ right? …Right?Watch: Amazon‚ Apple‚ Google Play‚ Vudu‚ and others.Watch a trailer here. March 27 – Ikarie XB-1 (1963)‚ directed by JindÅ™ich PolákyIt was dubbed and released in the U.S. as Voyage to the End of the Universe‚ but the dubbed version has a very different ending.Watch: Criterion‚ Cultpix (some locations)‚ British Film Institute (UK only)‚ and I might gently suggest doing a YouTube search‚ if you are so inclined.Watch a trailer here. Welcome to the Reactor Science Fiction Film Club! See you next week…[end-mark] The post Introducing the Reactor Science Fiction Film Club! appeared first on Reactor.

Featured Essays Babylon 5 Babylon 5 Was the Ultimate Exercise in Plotting vs. Pantsing With a possible reboot on the horizon‚ let’s take a look back at what made the classic series so profoundly unique… By Tim Ford | Published on February 28‚ 2024 Credit: Warner Bros. Television icon-comment 0 Share New Share Twitter Facebook Pinterest RSS Feed Credit: Warner Bros. Television And so‚ it begins… Or‚ in this case‚ restarts—that’s the theory‚ anyway‚ now that the WGA writer’s strike is in the rearview mirror‚ and progress can resume on so many projects‚ including J. Michael Straczynski’s long-promised attempt to reboot his classic sci-fi TV series‚ Babylon 5. The reboot was first confirmed in 2021 by Straczynski on his Twitter account. Writing that the show was in development with the CW‚ Straczynski said: As noted in the announcement‚ this is a reboot from the ground up rather than a continuation‚ for several reasons. Heraclitus wrote “You cannot step in the same river twice‚ for the river has changed‚ and you have changed.” In the years since B5‚ I’ve done a ton of other TV shows and movies‚ adding an equal number of tools to my toolbox‚ all of which I can bring to bear on one singular question: if I were creating Babylon 5 today‚ for the first time‚ knowing what I now know as a writer‚ what would it look like?  How would it use all the storytelling tools and technological resources available in 2021 that were not on hand then? … So we will not be retelling the same story in the same way because of what Heraclitus said about the river. There would be no fun and no surprises. From that detailed announcement‚ it’s apparent that the rebooted Babylon 5 will be quite different from its original iteration. I think it’s clear that this was always going to be the case‚ though—and not merely because of recasting and updates in special effects technology. In its very bones‚ Babylon 5 was a unique experience. It was a bold attempt to experiment with the conventional format of TV‚ with a serialized storyline and continuity‚ unlike earlier shows like Star Trek or Quantum Leap or any number of other “story of the week” style science fiction programs. Here in our current era‚ post-prestige TV‚ that kind of storytelling is common‚ but in the 1990s‚ when Babylon 5 first entered pre-production‚ it was nearly unheard of. Occasional radical programs like The Prisoner or Twin Peaks were the exception‚ not the norm‚ and in both of those cases‚ they were cancelled before they were able to tell complete stories. With Babylon 5‚ Straczynski set out with the deliberate intention to make a show that would last five seasons: No more‚ no less. It was a bold proposition… a dream given form‚ one might say. It was also a massive exercise in planning‚ not just in terms of TV production‚ but in the writing and plotting of the show. In fiction plotting‚ there are two broad schools of thought. One suggests that writers should allow themselves to permit characters and actions to come as they will—to “fly by the seat of one’s pants‚” as it were. The “pantsers” are writers who don’t necessarily know where a story is heading‚ and are willing to adapt on the fly as ideas and character motivations evolve. The second school of thought is that everything should be meticulously plotted. “Plotters” are writers who know precisely where the story is headed‚ and operate with a high degree of certainty as to how they’ll reach that conclusion. Straczynski‚ at the start of Babylon 5‚ was unquestionably a plotter. Fans of the program will likely have heard about his penchant for building in “trap doors‚” a term Straczynski used to refer to plot resolutions for main characters that branched off of the main story‚ should the need arise for recasting and the like. In a forum post—which was one of his main tools for talking with fans at the time—Straczynski wrote about how these “trap doors” were a vital part of his writing process: As a writer‚ doing a long-term story‚ it’d be dangerous and short-sighted for me to construct the story without trap doors for every single character… An actor can get hit by a meteor‚ walk off‚ whatever…That was one of the big risks going into a long-term storyline which I considered long in advance; you can’t predict real-world events‚ so you have to compensate for them and plan for them in advance. Otherwise you could paint yourself into a corner. And of course‚ real-world events did impact the show. Michael O’Hare‚ who portrayed main character Commander Jeffrey Sinclair‚ began experiencing psychosis and paranoid delusions‚ including hallucinations. These issues‚ which Straczynski kept in confidence until after O’Hare’s passing in 2012‚ led to the creation of a new lead character‚ which was a disruption that Babylon 5 had not prepared for. “I could write him out for a couple of episodes‚” Straczynski said at a special “promise panel” (named for the promise he gave to O’Hare to keep his illness a secret until the actor’s death) before stunned attendees at Phoenix Comic Con in 2013‚ the first time he revealed the actor’s mental health issues publicly. “But I couldn’t write him out long enough to get the kind of help he really needed. I was prepared to shut down the show.” O’Hare instead urged Straczynski to let him complete the first season‚ and afterwards agreed to part ways‚ save for a two-part appearance in the third season that tied off some loose plot threads and wrapped up Sinclair’s story arc. From a narrative standpoint‚ it’s fascinating to consider how this particular challenge affected the trajectory of Babylon 5 on a profound level. Originally—as revealed in the single-spaced‚ seven-page synopsis that Straczynski parcels out through the 15-volume (14 plus a bonus volume) Babylon 5 script books—Sinclair was supposed to be the main character for the entire series’ run. As part of that run‚ Sinclair would not have become Valen‚ a prophet-like figure to a race called the Minbari‚ but would instead have fathered a “Minbari not born of Minbari‚” as was prophesied by Valen in the distant past. The mother of that child would have been Delenn‚ the Minbari ambassador to Babylon 5 who‚ at the end of the first season‚ undergoes a metamorphosis to become part human. Her purpose for doing so‚ as stated in the televised series‚ was to improve relations between humans and Minbari. In truth‚ the original motivation would have been to allow her body to be capable of bearing this prophesied child. Indeed‚ in hindsight‚ this change does seem a little bit dubious without the pressing need to force prophecy‚ as it were. It also makes certain plot elements a bit clearer‚ such as the motivations of the Minbari assassin in the original pilot. Looking at that small arc through the lens of Sinclair as father to a half-Minbari child of prophecy‚ it becomes apparent that there would have been a faction of Minbari opposed to the very notion of mating with humans‚ and would treat a child of such a pairing as an abomination. Additionally‚ the “old Sinclair” shot we get in “Babylon Squared” that seems to show a potentially grim future is instead reduced to a somewhat flimsy retcon‚ as Sinclair is affected by the time dilation effect around Babylon 4. In the original plotline‚ it seems clear that the series meant to proceed into a potentially decades-long future‚ where the grown child of Sinclair and Delenn would meet his destiny. Nevertheless‚ while Straczynski had meticulously plotted out his five-year arc‚ he also expressed a willingness to stray to the “pantser” side of the writing spectrum‚ as he mentioned in the same forum post where talked about his “trap door” escape plots: As a writer‚ you have to be flexible enough to recognize a stronger‚ better path when it presents itself; to be so rigidly locked into your prior structure eliminates spontaneity and the chance to explore new routes. Another unexpected speedbump in Babylon 5’s path came around the fourth season‚ as the now-apparently unstoppable show hit an immovable network. The Prime Time Entertainment Network‚ which aired the series‚ announced they would be shutting down‚ leaving Straczynski’s five-year plan‚ which had seemed much more solid after the end of the third season‚ in doubt. As such‚ he felt obliged to produce a truncated version of his grand plot. The major threads of the Shadow War and the Earth Civil War were all wrapped up by Season 4’s conclusion. They even shot the finale‚ “Sleeping in Light‚” but by the time Season 4 started to air‚ Babylon 5 had been suddenly saved by another network‚ TNT‚ and so that episode was ultimately shelved for the end of Season 5. Instead‚ Straczynski had the crew shoot “The Deconstruction of Falling Stars” to wrap up Season 4‚ and actor Claudia Christian‚ who by this point had departed the show amidst the confusion around Season 5‚ was absent. Season 5 itself is sometimes maligned by fans as a strange coda to a completed story‚ but it nevertheless offers some incredible moments of deep emotional impact‚ particularly for series mainstays G’kar and Londo Mollari. In this respect‚ it’s worth noting that the “pantsing” side of writing‚ as Straczynski suggested‚ yielded some rewarding returns. What makes Babylon 5 so singularly fascinating is that it managed‚ largely through the adaptability and force of will that Straczynski brought to the table as a writer and showrunner‚ to persevere in telling its story through a striking balance of “plotting” and “pantsing.” Even in modern television‚ we still see the perils of trying to adapt or plan for long-running storylines. The Expanse‚ for instance‚ was cancelled twice. In the first instance‚ this led to a rapidly-paced third season that aimed to complete adaptations of the first three novels on which the show is based‚ and in the second instance‚ it led to an even-more-rapidly-paced sixth season‚ as Amazon shortened the episode order before axing the show. Babylon 5 miraculously endured‚ and arguably thrived in spite of the various setbacks and challenges over the course of its run.  There are‚ of course‚ some elements which may have been stronger‚ had they survived the vagaries of production issues‚ cast departures‚ and so on. For instance‚ the original first officer of the station‚ Lieutenant Laurel Takashima‚ was intended to be the person who shot Garibaldi in the back at the end of season one‚ and who would have been implanted with the “control” personality that was instead given to telepath Talia Winters. However‚ because that plot was given to Talia‚ it paved the way for the return of Lyta Alexander‚ who roared back into the show with a deeply badass background as a “doomsday telepath” enhanced by the enigmatic Vorlon race. Then there are elements which maybe didn’t pack as much of a wallop. Catherine Sakai‚ Sinclair’s old flame who appears in a handful of episodes as a talented pilot and explorer‚ was clearly being set up to explore the ruins of Z’Ha’Dum—and everyone knows if you go there‚ you die. Her likely re-appearance after having her personality completely destroyed after being forced to serve the Shadows would have been harrowing‚ and would have been much more emotionally impactful than the Anna Sheridan plotline we got. What this all adds up to is that Babylon 5 was‚ and remains‚ a fascinating early experiment in TV writing‚ and one that will never be repeated with the same results. It blazed a unique path‚ setting a standard for plotting a serialized story in a way that was revolutionary in television at the time‚ while allowing for Straczynski and his team of writers to fly by the seat of their pants when it became necessary‚ and because of that‚ it will inevitably change when it is rebooted. But that is what makes it interesting‚ and endlessly exciting.[end-mark] The post <;i>;Babylon 5<;/i>; Was the Ultimate Exercise in Plotting vs. Pantsing appeared first on Reactor.

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth brings the gang back together‚ but not everyone is playable this time around. While you’ll assemble the entire team from the original Final Fantasy 7 before the end of Rebirth‚ you’ll recruit everyone in slightly different ways in this remake. Red XIII is a fully-featured party member in Rebirth after being a non-playable ally at the end of Final Fantasy 7 Remake‚ and Yuffie joins the party after making her debut in the Episode Intermission DLC released alongside the next-gen port of the previous game. Cid and Vincent Valentine are also present in Rebirth‚ but they have smaller roles and are being saved for the next game in the trilogy just like Red XIII was in Remake. How to Recruit Yuffie in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Screenshot: PC Invasion Yuffie joins the party at the end of Chapter 6. While you’ll meet her much earlier in the game upon reaching Junon for the first time‚ Yuffie won’t officially become a party member until yo...

The hit indie game Inscyption is a lot more than meets the eye. Even if you’ve finished the game‚ you may not be 100% certain of what it all meant‚ so let me explain the lore of Inscryption for you. This will not only briefly summarize the game’s events‚ but explore the story surrounding the main game and what the Inscryption ARG told us about the truth of the game’s ending. Inscryption: All lore‚ explained Inscryption’s main game plays out in three acts containing three different types of games. Act 1 begins in a spooky cabin after Luke‚ the main character you’re playing as‚ boots up the game for the first time. Instead of making a new game‚ you can only continue an old one. You’ll have to solve a myriad of puzzles in Act 1 to beat the Game Master and find the New Game button that they were hiding from you. You soon learn that this Game Master was named Leshy‚ but you also get your first glimpse at Luke Carder‚ which we’ll get to ...

Bonding with your party is a key element of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth‚ and raising your relationship levels with each character will happen naturally throughout your adventure. If you have someone special in mind for the iconic Gold Saucer date‚ however‚ you’ll need to put in some extra work. How to Increase Relationships in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Basically‚ everything in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth will strengthen your bonds with your party members. Choosing the right dialogue choices during cutscenes‚ completing side quests with certain characters‚ and performing Synergy attacks during combat will all increase relationship levels between party members in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. Screenshot: PC Invasion You can view your relationship with a party member at any time by pressing the L1 button. This will make smiley face icons appear above everyone’s heads. As your bonds deepen‚ the circle surrounding the icon will continue to fill up. When you do something to make you...

Are you curious what the gold and silver footprints are in Elden Ring? After reading this guide‚ you’ll know exactly what they are and how to interact with them. Elden Ring gold and silver tracks‚ explained When I first found my first set of gold and silver footprints in Elden Ring‚ I thought it led to a secret. Instead‚ they go around in circles. That’s because the gold and silver tracks in Elden Ring are the markings of an invisible scarab. Related: Best Incant Scaling Seals in Elden Ring First things first: Unlike the regular scarabs‚ there is no way to scare away a gold or silver footprint scarab. With a bit of stress off your shoulders knowing that you can’t miss a gold or silver footprint scarab‚ now you need to know how to defeat them. The hard part about gold and silver footprint scarabs is they are fast. The best way I’ve found to defeat them is to use AoE attacks. For example‚ I use the Magma Wyrm’s Scalesword Magma Guillotine Skil...

If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties‚ subscribe to Reclaim The Net. Over last week’s end‚ Canadian Information Commissioner‚ Caroline Maynard‚ announced the inception of a probe into claims of the obliteration of federal government records surrounding the government’s controversial vaccine passport app‚ ArriveCan. ArriveCAN is a mobile application that was initially launched in April 2020 as a tool to assist border guards in Canada. It was designed to determine if people were eligible to enter Canada and whether they met strict COVID-19 requirements. The app became mandatory for all air travelers seven months later and was expanded to include those crossing the border by land in March 2021. It collects personal data such as name‚ telephone number‚ address‚ and vaccination status to help public health officials enforce government quarantine rules​. Aside from the obvious constitutional concerns‚ there was much debate among experts about whether the app’s requirement for travelers to remain in their homes‚ especially following a glitch that incorrectly notified thousands of fully vaccinated travelers to quarantine‚ could be a form of unlawful detention. The ArriveCan app‚ which was originally budgeted at $80‚000‚ has seen its costs balloon to over $60 million. The public backlash against the invasive and dictatorial app‚ resulted in a major investigation into the app. But now‚ the focal point of this investigation is the destruction of documentation associated with the creation of the ArriveCan app and its principal contractor‚ GC Strategies. The investigation follows last month’s reports by The Globe and Mail which presented an internal grievance from a Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) employee. The agency staff member purported that Minh Doan‚ Canada’s chief technology officer‚ modified data files in a manner that resulted in the disappearance of emails and documents potentially tied to GC Strategies. The House of Commons‚ led by Conservative MP Kelly McCauley‚ has taken a firm stance against the perceived negligence in the management of the ArriveCan app. The passing of McCauley’s motion now authorizes the sergeant-at-arms to detain GC Strategies contractors if they ignore a summons to testify before a parliamentary committee. This bold step underlines the gravity of the situation‚ echoing concerns raised in the auditor general’s report about the app’s problematic contracting and oversight. The House of Commons’ decision to potentially arrest non-compliant contractors is a watershed moment in Canadian legislative history. For clarity‚ Doan held the position of CBSA vice-president and chief information officer when they engaged GC Strategies to create the ArriveCan app. Interestingly‚ the documents claimed to have been eradicated might have been responsive to inquiries to access information about the agency’s dealings and interaction with GC Strategies. An emerging scandal surrounds this two-person tech firm‚ which has generously received government contracts worth millions since 2017. The Information Commissioner shared minimal details in her press release last Friday due to the strict confidentiality provisions of the Access to Information Act. However‚ it was noted therein that an investigation could be launched under section 30(3) of the Act if there are plausible grounds related to securing access to records. The auditor general‚ Karen Hogan‚ did not shy away from waving ethical concerns regarding government staff who accepted gifts from vendors without making necessary disclosures. In her words‚ the fact that there was an emergency didn’t justify the despising of conventional public service guidelines. She lamented the inadequacy in the levels of public service and declared her expectations for an improved performance. The post Canada’s Vaccine Passport‚ ArriveCan‚ Faces Major Investigations appeared first on Reclaim The Net.

Read the original post "Hummingbird Cake" on A Modern Homestead. A classic take on the beloved dessert Hummingbird Cake. It's a staple in Southern kitchens and is known for its moist crumb‚ tropical flavors‚ and irresistible cream cheese frosting. This recipe is simple to whip up and is perfect for special occasions. It's no secret that I love a good spiced dessert paired. Whether it's... Read More The post "Hummingbird Cake" appeared first on A Modern Homestead.

If you ask me‚ World War II’s coolest airplane is the Lockheed P-38 Lightning. It looks like something a kid might have doodled in a notebook while daydreaming in class. I became enthralled with the airplane in junior high when I read a book by Martin Caidin called Fork-tailed Devil: The P-38. I also made the Revell model kit of the Lightning flown by Richard Bong‚ America’s highest-scoring ace with 40 victories. I believed then that the P-38 was the war’s greatest fighter‚ but the more I read‚ the more I realized that the North American P-51 Mustang probably made a bigger impact. The P-38 was a much more complicated beast‚ and it experienced all sorts of mechanical issues in both theaters of the war‚ while the single-engine Mustang proved to be a relatively trouble-free “Big Friend” to American bombers over Europe. In the Spring 2024 issue of World War II we told the story of a P-38 pilot‚ Laurence Elroy “Scrappy” Blumer‚ who flew in the European Theater. While the Lightning did perform valuable service there‚ it really made its reputation in the Pacific‚ where‚ among other things‚ P-38 pilots flew one of the most amazing missions of the war. On April 18‚ 1943‚ 16 Lightnings of the 339th Fighter Squadron under the command of Major John W. Mitchell flew out of Guadalcanal to shoot down Japanese admiral Isoroku Yamamoto‚ the mastermind behind the Pearl Harbor attack. They knew where to find the admiral because the United States had cracked a coded Japanese message that detailed his plans. And find him they did‚ after Mitchell led them on a circuitous 600-mile course over the ocean‚ guided only by his wristwatch‚ a newly installed navy compass‚ and dead reckoning. Amazingly‚ they arrived just as Yamamoto was descending over Bougainville Island to land in his Mitsubishi G4M1 “Betty” bomber on an adjoining island. (The deteriorating wreckage of the admiral’s Betty still lies in the jungle on Bougainville.) Two pilots‚ Tom Lanphier and his wingman‚ Rex Barber‚ were later awarded a half credit each for the admiral’s Betty‚ but Lanphier publicly claimed he was the pilot who alone shot down Yamamoto’s airplane. Barber later came to believe that he deserved sole credit. When Barber contested the credit allocation in 1991 before a U.S. Air Force board‚ I wrote a magazine article about the mission and the ensuing controversy. I got to meet and interview Barber and Mitchell (Lanphier had died in 1987) and I did phone interviews with all the other surviving members of the mission‚ known as Operation Vengeance. It was quite a thrill to talk to these men and hear their personal recollections of this historic incident. I came to believe that Barber was probably correct‚ but the board decreed that there just wasn’t enough evidence to change anything after the passage of so many years. To this day Barber and Lanphier share the credit for shooting down Yamamoto. John Mitchell led the Yamamoto mission. More than 48 years later‚ he signed my book. I still treasure the memories of interacting with these men who had become part of history. I also treasure P-38 Lightning‚ a book I own by writer Jeffrey L. Ethell and illustrator Rikyu Watanabe. It’s a beautiful volume‚ with lots of foldout illustrations of the airplane‚ but my copy is special because it includes an inscription and signature by John Mitchell himself. I think that’s pretty cool—just like the P-38. 

Kellogg CEO Solves High Food Costs for Families - Eat Cereal for Dinner