dudeman17

I agree with what kleggo has said. It's been a while since I've seen it as well, I'd have to watch it again, but even then it might be hard to answer your question fully within the confines of a forum. A couple things, though... I always thought of and often described Carl as having a child-like innocence and optimism. I remember people in the movie (himself included) saying similar. I always liked that about him, I strived for that myself through much of my youth. These days I'm cynical as fuck. Can't quite remember exactly where in that transition I was at 43. I was also somewhat skeptical of the way Bill Wendt came off. As I recall, in the movie he was saying that he somewhat admired Carl and the jumping that was going on. I remember those days, I myself went through their 'legal' process in '82, and I don't remember 'admiration' being any part of their attitude. When jumping was first getting started, the Park Service (understandably) was like 'whoah, wait a second...', and jumpers were (also understandably) like 'wait a second hell, C-YA!' and the Park Service's reaction was basically, 'you wanna butt heads with us?, we're the federal government, have at it!' And as chief ranger, Bill Wendt set the tone for that. That 1980 'legal season' was a lie, they designed it to fail and never intended to let it continue. They violated many people's civil and legal rights. They let Jimmy Tyler die. Admiration my ass. ------- I remember when the movie came out in the theaters, a few of us were going to go see it together. But we couldn't quite coordinate our schedules, and I ended up going to a matinee by myself. I was the only one in the theater. After it ended, it took me a while get up and leave. As I was walking out, some pimply-faced kid who worked there asked, "That good was it?" It was to me.

No. Geez, it's been forever since I've seen that, but if my aging, sputtering memory banks are correct, I think that was Mark Sechler. I think Peter Hammond was in there helping sweep it up.

Carl built this ladder against the side of his garage, in his back yard. It was wide enough for two people and extended a bit above the roof. He liked to go up there and look out across the rooftops, get a bit of, well, elevation if not quite altitude. ------- By the way, thanks for the archive links.

Somewhere, Jim Hickey is shaking his head and laughing derisively.

While that is true, I bet some of them would read it anyway, because the curiosity is already there. Might I suggest that this is the wrong approach. I mean if you don't really want to do it, then just say so. But predicating it on other people's support... You know you're not going to get it. So by asking for it, it just sounds like you're using the situation to try to manipulate people. Besides, you've spent much of this page (and many times before) saying that you don't care what they think. Rather, like I suggested before, you should consult with the other parties involved and determine if there is enough demand for the book to justify it. I'm guessing many Cooper people who don't post will want to read it. And the Fenn people. And I bet that some of these people you argue with, if they never got a copy from the Ariel parties, they'd probably get one too. As for the money, wouldn't the other parties contribute to the costs? Maybe you could structure a deal with them so the initial royalties would go to recoup costs, then revert to the standard structure. Anyway, I'm hoping you'll do it because I would like to read the damn thing. And I'm guessing I'm not alone in that. So if the other three parties involved would like to see it done, then you should do it. It would be the right thing to do. ------- I remember hearing an interview long ago, I don't remember if it was an actor or director, but it was somebody to do with the movies. They were asked if they would rather their movie win an academy award, or make 100 million at the box office. They said they would rather make the 100 mil. "But", they said,"not necessarily for the cynical reason you imagine. If", they continued, "it wins an Oscar, that means we impressed a handful of stuffed shirts at the academy. If it does well at the box office, that means we impressed the people."

I hope you don't hinge your decision on whether to republish Ha Ha Ha on whether you get feedback here. I think we already know that you won't. But I'd bet that they'd buy copies if it were available. Rather, I'd hope that you would consult with the other three parties involved and determine whether there would be enough demand to justify it. It sounds as if Fenn people would be at least as good if not a better market than Cooper people. Someone on another thread says that Amazon does a thing where they'll publish a book but not print it until people order copies. Print on demand. Maybe that would make it easier? Interesting that you were surprised at who wrote it. I don't expect you to name them, but I'm kind of surprised that you were familiar with them. I kind of expected it to be some outlier that nobody was aware of.

Well I for one would be interested. I would hope others would look at it objectively and not interfere. It seems at this point that the original book has become a collector's item. I'm guessing that the copies you have, wrapped and preserved, you would never actually read them or allow them to be read, as opening them and going through the pages would disturb their pristineness. I get that, but at that point they become worthless as an actual book. I for one am not interested in having a collector copy. I'm curious about the content. So if a new paperback version were available, that one could read without worrying about it getting tattered, I'd be interested in that. I would guess that many others might be as well.

So who owns the rights to it? Would there be a way to get more printed, or a kindle or pdf version online? I don't know that I need to own a copy, but I'd be curious to read it.

Which begs a question... Curious what you got for your copies of Ha Ha Ha.

As I'm sure you all know, basejumper.com is going away at the end of this month. For anyone who hasn't done so, I would suggest reading this missive before it's gone. http://www.basejumper.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=2998815;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;forum_view=forum_view_collapsed;guest=152719555 Especially you, Craig.

Don't forget the ladder on the side of the garage!

If what has been going on here for the past several days is not a strong case for what has been previously suggested, then I don't know what is.

Hooray for Ti-Legs Hooray at last Hooray for Ti-Legs, he's a horse's ass Him, him, fuck him! ------- I don't know about the military version, but that's how I always heard the skydiver version.

But it is round. Flat, but, you know, like circular round. Ha!

But I actually like the guy. He seems to have a pretty good sense of humor, even about himself. I especially liked his 'Denny Crane' on 'Boston Legal', with James Spader.

I saw a blurb on the news last night, and Shatner was yammering on about 'what you have given me...', 'my experience this', 'me me me that', and all I could think was, Shatner, this had nothing to do with you. It was about the public seeing Captain Kirk in space. You just happened to be the Hollywood idiot who played him.

Log jump numbers and accumulated freefall time at least through qualifying for any ratings you may wish to acquire in the future. After that, it's your call. Keep in mind whether you're interested in the USPA cumulative awards. I remember when I went for my AFF rating, I had to go back through old log books and add up the 6 hrs. I decided to continue on a bit. Then, the next Saturday night I went around and bought a few people beers for having been on my 12 hr dive (as best I could figure). "When was that?" they asked. "Years ago."

My guess is not much if anything. If she had an actual budget, she would have a production company who would know where to look.

Just a question out of simple curiosity: Clearly you are impressed with Soderlind, and most likely rightfully so. But the way you worded that begs the question, were you aware of Soderlind before you studied 305 and the Cooper case, or was your study of the case how you became aware of him. If you were previously aware of him, how so, what brought him to your attention?

I'd still like to know what the TI makes on a $100K tandem.

I have to agree with that. The crew noted when the stair door was opened, and they noted the pressure bump, and they were separate events. Any movement by Cooper down or up the stairs would be a gradual change in the leverage of his weight on them. The one event that would cause a sudden change, and the 'bump', would be his jumping. And that was re-created in the tests.

A few points... Interesting that Donna Elliot says that she heard the plane and that it sounded low. How does 'east side of Amboy' relate to the flight path(s)? The guy with the notebook says 'went on to tell'... 'ordered the pilot to fly over I5'. It doesn't necessarily say who gave that order. Is it possible the authorities gave that order, to put Cooper closer to, as Blevins says, more populated areas that would have more cops available for a search?

OK. The mention of 'Roger' and 'Quincy' in the same post made me misconstrue.

First you have to decide which of those is most important to you. --------- AKA Mad Skillz. Apt.

Aww, ignore Joe. He's been around a long time, but maybe he's getting old, crotchety, senile and jaded. Maybe he spent too much time as a dzo, where someone balking in the door is costing him money and pissing him off, rather than as an instructor where someone like you reminds us what it was like to be new. Anyways... If you can just come to the realization that that's a pretty good description of FUN, then you'll be on your way to becoming a skydiver. Keep that in mind. Next time you're on the ride up, remember - You're not exiting the airplane, you're entering the skydive. ------- this is exactly why HA!