A Review of a Terrific Film About a Hero and his Ungrateful Nation—A Shameful Government is Exposed in the Process.

Los Angeles, CA—I have to say I enjoy going to film screenings and meeting cast and crew-members of the films that are in competition for the various awards.  This time it was The Imitation Game.   For me this was a treat!

This is an untold but true World War Two story that was covered up in the name of National Security for more than 50 years. 

Actors pray for a film character that can be their role of a lifetime.  The role of mathematician Alan Turing is just such a dream role. 

Writers had to tell the story and in this case most or all the principals are all dead.  Their conversations must be recreated and the writers were incredibly clever.  Graham Moore crafted the screenplay based on Andrew Hodges’ book.

This story is about the cracking of the impossible to break Nazi Enigma code that shortened the War and saved an estimated 20 million lives.

The starring role of Alan Turing went to journeyman actor Benedict Cumberbatch.  Turing was a classic nerd that throughout his life faced enormous challenges.

Turing was a somewhat closeted Gay man living in the UK in a time when Gay sex was considered a serious crime.

Being a genius/nerd/Gay man set him far apart from his peers.  Understandably Turing was a frequent target of bullies. 

Turing became aware of the serious need to penetrate Nazi communications and brought his unique talent to British Intelligence officials.

Cumberbatch built the world’s first computer and as history revealed the Enigma code was cracked. 

There were no medals, awards or even a job for Turing once the war ended.  He returned to teaching until he was discovered in a comprising position with another man.   He was given the choice of experimental chemical castration or two years in prison.  He chose the experiment. 

Turing was subsiquently treated like absolute garbage until finally Queen Elizabeth posthumously pardoned him.  Frankly, the Queen should have knighted him too.  Maybe this film will make that happen.

Mortem Tydum expertly directed the film, exploiting the wonderful talent of Cumberbatch,  Keira Knightly, Matthew Goode, Alex Lawther, Rory Kinnear, Matthew Beard and a top flight cast. 

There is no shortage humor, excitement, drama and an epic emotional roller coaster for film lovers.  This is a must see film!

EIGHT OSCAR NOMINATIONS!
Best Actor: Benedict Cumberbatch
Best Supporting Actress: Keira Knightly
Achievement in Directing: Mortem Tydum
Best Motion Picture:  The Immitation Game
Best Adapted Screenplay:  Grahame Moore
Achievement in Editing: William Goldenberg
Music Original Score: Alexander Desplat
Production Design: Maria Djurkovic/Tatiana MacDonald

Murder Arrest Made in Two Grisly Phoenix Cold Cases, but are There More Victims?

Melanie Bernas (Left) Angelia Brosso (Right)

Booking Photo of Bryan Patrick Miller

Phoenix, AZ—In 1992/1993 Melanie Bernas, 17 and Angela Brosso, 22 were savagely sliced up nearly a year apart in the same general Sunnyslope vicinity.

In November 1992 the Brosso girl went for a bicycle ride and never returned. Her live-in boyfriend reported her missing to police.

Brosso was soon found headless and her torso cut in half in a nearby park at 25th Avenue and Cactus. I saw raw and disturbing video of Brosso's naked and bloody body captured by a TV news photographer and it was indeed hideous. That video was heavily edited before it hit the airwaves.

Brosso’s severed head was subsequently located in or next to a canal some two miles away. Brosso’s bicycle has never been recovered and no viable suspect has ever been located.

Nearly one year later in September of 1993 the Bernas girl’s severed head was found near the Arizona canal and the Black Canyon freeway. Nearby floating in the canal the rest of her cut up remains were recovered.  Like the Brosso girl, Bernas was believed to be riding a bicycle that’s never been located.

Police claimed to have a DNA material believed left by the killer but until now they’ve not found a suspect for a match yet.

These two crimes have left an impression on me for two decades.  I can’t believe that this savage predator has not killed more young women. This killer is right out of a frightening horror movie.

Now Phoenix veteran police detective, Clark Schwartzkoph was able to locate a potential suspect and surreptitiously obtain DNA material from 42 year-old Bryan Patrick Miller.  Analysis of the DNA material matched Miller’s positively.

It turned out that as a juvenile Miller was arrested in 1989 and convicted of stabbing a woman at the Paradise Valley Mall.

Miller is now in custody charged with two counts of murder, two counts of kidnapping and one count of sexual assault. He is being held without bond until a Jauary 21st court status conference.  

Reportedly Miller has denied involvement and police have spent the night serving search warrants on the property where it’s believed Miller lived at 844 E. Mountain View Rd. in Phoenix.  

Based upon the current evidence Miller appears to be a serial killer and there may well be more victims.

Since Miller moved to Everette, WA for a awhile after the Brosso/Bernas killings and police there will be looking into similar murder cases there.  

Brandi Lynn Myers

One case I suspect police are now re-examining is the May 1992 missing persons case of 13 year-old Brandy Lynn Myers who disappeared while walking through her Sunnyslope neighborhood to raise money for a school Read-a-Thon fundraiser.

No trace of the Myers girl has ever been found.



Miller called himself the Zombie Hunter and here's video of Miller's personal vehicle: 

The FAA and CNN Agree on Using Drones For Electronic News Gathering!

This is an Align quadcopter with a Panasonic GH4 4K motion picture camera perfect for electronic news gathering assignments. 

Atlanta, GA—All Federal Aviation Administration regulations were and are conceived and written in blood, literally!  That is, that there is a deadly aircraft accident behind every rule.  That has always been the case except when it came to drones.

We all must take safety seriously and any legitimate concern deserves study and respect.  The drones are somewhat expensive and their owners simply don’t want them damaged through recklessness.

For some strange bureaucratic reason the FAA has outlawed the use of a drone to make money.  As un-American as that seems, they’ve gotten away with this form of economic tyranny.

The FAA has always allowed the use of drones for recreation and hobby activities with scant few restrictions.  Rather than make rules just last month they’ve finally issued a few advisory Dos and Don’ts for those drone operators using devices that weigh less than 55 pounds.

There are now well over a million little multi-rotor camera drones in the hands of Americans. Still there’s still never been a reported fatal, serious injury or property damage accident with a multi-rotor drone.  There is still no blood evidence available for any traditional FAA rule making.   

The FAA like all government agencies wants to build their kingdom and expand their power and jurisdiction whenever possible.  Drones are the perfect excuse to give us much more government we don’t need.

TV news organizations have been buying drone video footage from freelancers willing to assume the risk of doing battle with the FAA. 

Lost somewhere in this shuffle are any concerns about our First Amendment rights to capture images with cameras.  Many news organizations have already acquired drones and have been using them clandestinely or at least experimenting with them.  

One drone use application has suddenly been  granted with an exciting and groundbreaking agreement between the FAA and CNN allowing for the use of various drones in their news operation.

The obvious safety concerns for drone newsgathering are related to flying over the heads of people and their property.  Are drones a safety threat? Statistically the answer is a resounding no!

Chicken Little, is a folk tale with a moral in the form of a cumulative tale about a chicken who believes the world is coming to an end. The phrase "The sky is falling!" features prominently in the story, and has passed into the English language as a common idiom indicating a hysterical or mistaken belief that disaster is imminent. Versions of the story go back more than 25 centuries; it continues to be referenced in a variety of media.  Thankfully Chicken Little’s prediction has not yet been realized. 

Rather than making rules based on real blood, when it comes to drones the FAA has taken the Chicken Little route. 

Common sense for drone operators would dictate that avoiding close contact with people or delicate property is necessary.   Rather than fly directly over crowds photographing the action from a 45-degree angle is safe, reasonable and will provide superior video or still images.

A multi-rotor drone operator would be foolish to begin flying in an urban setting or areas where there are too many trees.  Learning the ropes in a wide-open field until reasonable control skills are acquired is a must. 

We all know about those epic and deadly news, rescue, military and police helicopter crashes.  There is no question that drones are much safer than helicopters.   Should there be a camera drone mishap in an urban area the likelihood tragedy or property damage is nearly zero!

I’m convinced that there will never be a notable accident with a drone being used for newsgathering.   There will be some mishaps that will damage the drones but the public and their homes will remain unharmed.

Simply Talking About Gun Rights With Europeans Can Ignite a Raw and Emotional Response.

Berlin, Germany—I have some very dear friends in this beautiful and sophisticated city.  I love Europe for may reasons, primarily its civilization, elegance and art.   I am very fond of the European people. 

Most Europeans were not alive between 1933 and 1945.   It’s safe to say that they all lost family members in the Second World War that extinguished 70 million lives before it ended.  At least historically, Europeans know well about government tyranny and violence.

As the European nations were resurrected from that horrible war the new leaders understandably feared armed citizens.  Like their Fascist predecessors they continued to ban or at least severely restrict gun ownership. 

All dictators and politicians love their governing power.  They all seem to fear the people they rule.  They usually seek to disarm the people so they cannot be overthrown when they fall out of favor.

In America our founding fathers realized this and established a Constitutional Right that allows citizens to keep and bear arms.  This is unlike any other nation in that regard. 

America had its problems.  Slavery, a Civil War along with a huge population of people from every kind of competing race, religion or culture pushed together in our largest cities. 

Multiculturalism has been a failed experiment everywhere it has been tried.  People are simply unwilling to adapt to the nation where they or their parents sought to live.  When the cultures clash it generally results in both violence and majority oppression against the minority.

The large American cities all became and still are hotbeds of multiculturalism-fueled violence.

Europe is beginning to learn about the dark side of multiculturalism with the massive migration of Muslims.   Violence has been going on in France, Germany and the UK but it’s being swept under the rug.  Crime statistics are what the government says they are, and as always they are never candid.

The United States has nearly 350 million residents.  But for our largest cities we have a crime rate as low as any European nation.  

The gun ownership rate outside of the major cities is always substantially higher but without any of the big city violence.  

Multiculturalism is problematic, but we’ve allowed the African-American population to create their own lawless society.  All of the brawls happening on streets and in malls these days are posted on YouTube and they exclusively showcase African-American savagery. 

Our prisons are filled with an excess of African-Americans that have committed the most cruel and despicable crimes imaginable.   They have created an unabated culture of ignorance, drug dependence and violence.  This is a very real form of genocide.

Guns are not the problem.   It’s a failure to keep known, violent people behind bars.  It also stems from a grotesque form of tolerance for bad African-American behavior by the guilt-ridden White society. 

In recent years there has been study after study that has shown that the more guns in the hands of law-abiding people the lower the rate of violent crime. 

In the USA the right to not only own firearms but to carry them concealed in public is the practice in all but a few places.  Violence has been reduced as a direct result.

Amazingly Europeans are actually afraid to even discuss gun rights!  If one dare suggest a person should have the right to use a gun to protect, home, business or family there is Hell to pay.  It’s not politically correct.   Free speech in Europe is not nearly as acceptable as it is in the USA. 

As for private gun ownership in Europe, it still exists.  In most places it’s difficult and heavily restricted.  However in the Scandinavian nations one can obtain a license to carry a concealed handgun with a silencer!

In March there will be the huge annual IWA Outdoor Classics fair for Hunting Guns and Outdoor Equipment in Nuremberg.  Tens of thousands will descend on the convention center to see the latest and greatest firearms.  It’s one thing to own them and another to dare suggest gun rights.

European must understand that government has won a propaganda war against gun ownership and rights.  They have been brainwashed into believing that guns not criminals cause crime.  They are somehow convinced that a cop on the phone is somehow better than a gun in their hands.

The Muslims are a violent lot and the body count of their victims grows daily.  They can simply suffer or learn that training and guns will deter the violence or stop it should it begin. 

Europe needs their own National Rifle Association and an honest dialog about how guns actually save lives must begin.

Emotion must give way to reality before the multiculturalism-fueled violence will end.  Self-Defense is a basic human right. 

Drone Safety, The FAA and Those Misguided and Self-Appointed Drone Cops

Los Angeles, CA—Yesterday I got a gentle safety reminder as I began to pick up my Phantom 2.  The props suddenly began spinning on their own.  I thought I turned of the battery and then the radio controller.  I’m somewhat hearing impaired and did not hear those telltale sounds that the battery power was not actually shut off. 

As I reached for the drone the plastic propellers really spanked my fingers.  I felt pain but suffered no visible injury beyond a little redness that quickly disappeared.  Had I been using carbon fiber props I would have definitely needed stiches and a trip to the ER.  I was lucky my negligence did not cause what may have been termed a minor injury. 

Through negligence, I nearly suffered the only kind of injury that the small multi-rotor drones ever inflict.  Thankfully in my case, my precious fingers and the props were none the worse for wear. 

To date, the smaller under 55 lbs. multi-rotors have never caused a reported death or significant injury.  That’s a perfect safety record considering there are over a million of these things out there in civilian hands.  Unfortunately the 7,000 helicopters in the world can’t begin to boast similar safety statistics.

The multi-rotor drones are almost exclusively camera drones used to obtain low altitude, slow speed, photo and video images.  These are in no discernable way risky flights.

The FAA recommends that these drones be operated at less than 400 feet and five miles away from airports without advance control tower approval.   They also suggest not flying over the heads of crowds.  Flying near crowds is not an issue.

These voluntary, common sense limits are easy to live with for most of us. 

Avoiding other aircraft such as low flying helicopters involved in rescue, media or police activities is imperative.  There is little fear of my little quad damaging a conventional helicopter because of the heavy prop wash that would quickly push my little drone far away.  

It’s for the survival of our somewhat expensive drones that we need to always give right of way to any aircraft manned or unmanned.

But for the outright ban on any commercial use there are the reasonable FAA recommendations.   Somehow we wound up with a bunch of self-appointed drone cops/trolls.  They think their role is to dictate to their fellow drone operators with their own laws.  They’re doing a disservice to others by demanding our politician’s make new laws and regulations that will strangle the safe exploitation of drones.

The misguided drone cop/trolls ignorantly scream that flying in any urban area is dangerous and will somehow bring a total drone ban.  They never take into account the perfect safety record or the First Amendment rights of camera drone operators.  Cameras, even flying cameras are constitutionally protected!

Laws may be passed but one by one they will be challenged in court and the First Amendment will always win in the absence of a real and present public safety issue.

Things can and do go wrong and it’s nearly always pilot error but when they do the damage is usually insignificant and limited to the drones. 

We have enough fear and loathing of our flying cameras and the bogus drone cops are giving the ignorant ammunition to make arguments for strangling regulations.

It won’t be some 12-year-old kid flying negligently that ruins it for all, but a self-appointed drone cop/troll crying Chicken Little in a Public forum. 

We all have a duty to teach other the safe and effective way to enjoy this exciting technology.  Leave the police work to real cops. 

Ethics for Newsdronies? What New Rules Should We Establish?

Los Angeles, CA—Before I share my thoughts I want you to see what a seemingly thoughtful journalist, Matt Waite has to say about the use of drones for Electronic News Gathering or ENG.  It’s important that you first watch his video presentation. My response is below the video.

Okay, Waite made a really melodramatic example of anecdote from his reporting past to make a point.  It was a really unfair and simplistic overstatement of a highly unusual situation he once encountered. 

Waite’s dramatic example is one we all can resolve by simply keeping enough distance between the drone and the grieving woman that Waite described. Only the most soulless bastard would dare to bring a buzzing drone into that poor woman’s face! 

Additionally, Waite unleashed his little drone inside the theater where he’s speaking and the natural acoustics there exaggerated the multi-rotor drone’s noise substantially.   

At 40 or 50 feet outdoors that noise is barely noticeable.  Animals will hear it much better than humans.  Actually is it substantially quieter that any typical news helicopter.  We need to first consider the current ethics of a news helicopter ENG crew for comparison.   

Helicopters make much more noise and everyone knows they are probably using very expensive high definition telephoto cameras because they are!

The little drones are much less intrusive or noisy than helicopters unless and until you begin to invade someone’s personal space. Frankly doing that would interfere with obtaining video that you’re there to capture. 

I must of course, beg the question, would invading the personal space of a rapist, murder or armed robber with a drone causing the termination of a horrific act be somehow unethical?

It may not be the job of journalists to interfere with crime but we must remember that we all have a much higher duty when human life is at stake.   Or is it somehow more virtuous or ethical to give our content viewers a voyeuristic view of a horrible crime we may have easily thwarted?

News directors and journalism professors will be struggling these drone issues just like they did when the first helicopters were utilized for ENG decades ago.

The job of the ENG Newsdronies will be to get the images.  Most of the important “ethical” decisions will be made inside TV control rooms and editing bays.  

Live shots are different and everyone involved in newsgathering and broadcasting must consider the safety of hostages and cops.  A ten-second delay solves many problems inherent or pulling out for a wider shot may be what’s called for.  Simple common sense must be applied.

Actually drone propeller noise can be greatly reduced by using special, balanced carbon fiber propellers instead of the plastic ones that come with most mini-drones.

How close to the news-making event is too close for an ENG drone?  Obviously bringing a drone within 20 feet of people will change their behavior.  If someone were being viciously attacked would that drone distraction slow or stop the crime?  Could it also give a victim a chance to flee and survive? Is that somehow a bad thing?

I can’t help but think about the TV news helicopter video shot during the Rodney King Riot in L.A.   That image gathering provided a solid identification of the person trying to kill truck driver Reginald Denny in that shockingly savage attack.  As a result of the images gathered the offender was quickly captured by police and removed from our streets.  

Those people involved in news reporting really don’t need new drone ethics.  They simply need to apply the old ones to the current technology. 

The drones belong in ENG more than the helicopters we’ve grown accustomed to seeing at newsworthy events.   Technology now has provided a gift that will give us better news video at a fraction of the cost or danger of utilizing conventional helicopters.

2015 Will be the Year of The “Newsdronie” (TV News Drone Correspondent)!

Phoenix, AZ—My spies at the FAA insist that they will very quickly authorize the commercial use of multi-rotor, mini-drones weighing in at less than three pounds for among other things, newsgathering.

Any TV station news department that has not made plans for this new technology will be left in the dirt.  The very day the drones are authorized is when the promotions departments should be heralding their new newsdronie correspondents.

They all should be up and running with two or three of these prime time ready “newsdronies” to cover routine accidents, crimes and fires.  Sending a helicopter to a school lockdown for example is foolish when you can use a drone and only pony up a fraction of the price.  

That FAA weight constraint will limit the size of the cameras that of the GoPro types.  But they can really capture epic and stunning imagery.

What that means is the local television markets can dispatch a drone pilot that’s able to operate the device, camera and edit the video with voiceovers. It's just another needed storytelling skill.   

Many stations want live shots from the news making scenes for their newscasts.  That can be done easily with almost no delay of the aerial shots. 

The drone correspondent will be the ultimate multi-media journalist.  The drone correspondent should also carry gear to obtain ground shots and video interviews too. 

The days of the helicopter pilots are numbered especially in all but the largest TV markets.  Unlike helicopters the drones are inexpensive, inherently safer and completely green. 

The drones can be sent up in less than favorable weather conditions since there are no real safety concerns. 

Nearly any news story will be more watchable with quality aerial video.   News making locations, conditions and hazards can be brought to the viewer’s screen better than ever before. 

A picture may be worth a 1,000 words but aerial video takes everything to a whole new level.

Okay let me say I want to be the first newsdronie correspondent in America!  I certainly can teach TV news journalists how they too, can be Newsdronies! 

My Thoughts About 2014 as Christmas Arrives

Berlin, Germany—I can only wish I were writing this in beautiful City of Berlin.  The German people have not diminished or even denounced this great holiday as too many American’s have.  Instead I’m in Los Angeles at the moment.  

As many of you know I’ve become thrilled and addicted to using a camera drone to acquire amazing video.  I even earned an IMDB screen credit as aerial photographer for the Pablo Lewin short film production, The Roommate.

The word “drone” became a dirty term because of those infamous military weapon-laden killing machines.  The multi-rotor camera drone users like me have now clamed that term and redefined it as a tool for art and many exciting humanitarian purposes.

I hope to see the FAA end their ban on commercial use of drones to grow our stagnant economy and create new jobs.

We saw a racial divide like we’ve not had in this nation since the 1950’s.  I blame almost all of it all on high profile race baiting by Barack Obama, Eric Holder, Al Sharpton and Jessie Jackson.

The fact is African-Americans murder each other as a form of genocide.  African-Americans accept this without batting an eye.  African-Americans murder whites in savage, cruel and hateful ways and nobody but the victims and their families care. 

When a non-African-American kills a Black even in self-defense everyone goes absolutely crazy.  Killing justified or not is an ugly subject we are far better off without predatory behavior in our world. We must respect the gift of fear and our instinct for survival.   

In the last several months thousands of protesters deliberately provoked cops every way they could.  The fact that none of the demonstrators lost their lives is a monument to restraint.

Politicians need to stop using cops for revenue enhancement and return them to protecting and serving citizens.  Cops are feared because of excessive traffic fines that can devastate working families and that’s wrong.

The race baiting, provocation and hate must end.   If Americans would simply learn to smile and be kind to one another it would be a wonderful world.  We all need love, understanding and help from each other.  Hate serves no one.

We are on this earth for a very short time.  We can use all of our creator’s gifts and talent for productivity, art, music and science or simply waste them.  We only get one chance and there is really no such thing as equal opportunity.  We all have to do the best with what we have.

I’m going to spend the next year being especially kind to strangers.  I’m going to encourage my artist, musician and other hard-working friends to succeed more than ever.  I hope the few good things I do become contagious. 

To my friends, acquaintances, blog visitors, I wish the best holidays ever and a safe, happy, healthy and prosperous New Year.