2012

On May 14, 1944, George Walton Lucas, Jr. was born in Modesto, CA. The son of a stationary store owner and a homemaker, Lucas lived in the area until he attended film school at USC. While never a stellar student during his primary education, Lucas absorbed the action/adventure TV shows of his youth and the car culture of the small town as fodder for his later creative material.

Lucas was originally much more interested in cars than filmmaking. He was a dedicated gearhead, and seriously considered racecar driving as a vocation until a serious car crash changed his career path.

Lucas used Modesto as the basis for his enormously successful film, American Graffiti. This film sparked a revival of 50’s era stories, Happy Days and Grease being the most obvious. Lucas recognized the desire for a conflict-weary American public to feel good and nostalgic about something entertaining, and he delivered. Here are a number of locations in Modesto, CA relevant to the life of George Lucas.

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Posted in movies | Tagged american graffiti, CA, california, george lucas, lucasfilm, modesto, star wars | Leave a comment

popturf weekly roundup 8/20/2012

Posted on August 20, 2012 by matt

bob dylan mural: bob dylan posted in music

where bon scott died: bon scott, ac/dc posted in music

modesto junior college: george lucas posted in movies

laguna seca raceway : gran turismo, george lucas posted in video games

woody guthrie boyhood home: woody guthrie posted in music

bonnie and clyde ambushed here: bonnie and clyde posted in movies

pbr mural: broken crow, pbr posted in art and design

sunnyvale trailer park in season two: trailer park boys posted in television

bonnie and clyde death car: bonnie and clyde posted in movies

elvis’s twin brother’s grave: elvis presley posted in music

lawhon elementary school : elvis presley posted in music

parchman penitentiary: elvis presley, alan lomax posted in music

penhorn mall: trailer park boys posted in television

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popturf weekly roundup 8/13/2012

Posted on August 13, 2012 by matt

medieval times: the cable guy posted in movies

oakwood apartments: rick james posted in music

woody guthrie statue: woody guthrie posted in music

brick street café: woody guthrie posted in music

skywalker ranch/ lucasfilm ltd. : george lucas posted in movies

thomas downey high school: george lucas posted in movies

george lucas car crash: george lucas posted in movies

george lucas boyhood home: george lucas posted in movies

nilsson’s london flat: harry nilsson, cass elliot, keith moon posted in music

l.m. morris co.: george lucas posted in movies

john muir elementary school: george lucas posted in movies

roosevelt junior high school: george lucas posted in movies

george lucas plaza: george lucas posted in movies

julian’s trailer in sunnyvale in season one: trailer park boys posted in television

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ween locations

Posted on August 9, 2012 by peter bell

Like most people, I was shocked to hear that Ween was going to call it quits. To recap, at the end of May 2012, Gene Ween (Aaron Freeman) had said during a Rolling Stone interview that he was retiring Gene Ween. After 28 years of performing in the band, there was a flurry of responses. Dean Ween (Mickey Melchiondo) posted only one line on his Facebook page about it: “This is news to me, all I can say for now I guess.”

Ween’s last full-length album was La Cucaracha in 2007. In the past year, Freeman had committed himself to ending his substance abuse, touring and releasing a solo album, while Melchiondo has been building his sport-fishing business (where Ween fans can go fishing with Deaner). A recent blog entry over at mxdwn.com has much more of Mickey’s reaction to the current status of the band, and his hope that it will reform again in the future.

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Posted in music | Tagged Aaron Freeman, Chocolate and Cheese, Dean Ween, Gene Ween, Lambertville, Mickey Melchiondo, New Hope, NJ, PA, Pure Guava, Ween | Leave a comment