Cinemorphosis

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  • The Road to Studio City Is Paved with Lane Closures

    The Road to Studio City Is Paved with Lane Closures

    Yesterday I braved my cousin Pete’s 75th birthday blowout in Studio City, dragging my wife and one of my twin daughters along for the ordeal. Like a fool, I skipped the Google Maps pre-check. The punishment: three lane closures on the 405. What should have been a breezy forty-minute jaunt became a 95-minute death march in a metal box. I joked that Pete should’ve hired a therapist specifically for the traumatized survivors of Southern California traffic—“Welcome, let’s unpack your freeway PTSD before the cake is served.”

    The party itself was bigger than I bargained for—150 guests orbiting around a swimming pool, lubricated by a taco bar, hummus hills, pita plains, and charcuterie slabs that could feed a small country. A band of four septuagenarians hacked out Beatles and Stones covers with the enthusiasm of men reliving their garage-band glory years.

    I chatted with cousins and one of the guitarists, but inevitably the conversation veered into my professional life: “So, Jeff, what about AI in the classroom?” I gave them my stock answer: AI is a double-edged sword. It can turn us into lazy bots outsourcing our brains—or, on the bright side, it can make my grading life less of a grammar police beat. I explained that AI gives every student a free grammar tutor, a perk I never thought I’d live to see. And yes, I confessed my own guilty pleasure: I write a sprawling Nabokovian memo, feed it to the machine, and tell it, “Sharpen this. Add acid wit.” What comes back is so tight and sly that I want to light a candle in gratitude.

    Left unsupervised, AI churns out limp, hollow paragraphs—Shakespeare’s “sound and fury, signifying nothing.” But with a solid draft and precise marching orders, it can take my word-bloated gasbaggery and spin it into crisp, surgical prose. The tool is neither angel nor demon; the sin or virtue belongs to the user.

    Of course, I also sinned in the culinary department. My “moderation” consisted of three or four thick slabs of brie smothered with figs and crackers, plus a couple of carne asada tacos. I had a token bite of my daughter’s birthday cake, which was so sweet it could have stripped paint, but that was restraint by default, not discipline. I’m certain I left Pete’s bash two pounds heavier.

    The drive home was mercifully shorter—just an hour—though Google still had the gall to insist the 405 was the “fast” route, lane closures and all. Let’s just say the 405 and I are on a trial separation for at least a year.

  • Farmer’s Walks, Rotator Cuffs, and the Ghosts of TypePad

    Farmer’s Walks, Rotator Cuffs, and the Ghosts of TypePad

    Everyday I try to learn something new, though today’s lessons felt like a report card in masochism. After three weeks of doing the Farmer’s Walk—barefoot, lugging kettlebells across hot pavement like some deranged strongman wannabe—my feet staged a revolt. Now I shuffle around in cushioned flip-flops, praying for pardon from my inflamed soles.

    Lesson two: a rotator cuff tear heals on its own calendar, not mine. Gone are the days of explosive kettlebell theatrics; now I creep through slow, deliberate rows like a man tiptoeing past a sleeping dragon.

    But the real education arrived online. When TypePad collapsed and I ferried a few dozen radio-obsessive posts over to Cinemorphosis, I stared into the abyss of my own archive. What I saw wasn’t noble enthusiasm but neurotic Internet poisoning: the frenzied output of a man hooked on the performance of being “a journalist,” even if only in cosplay. The early 2000s gave me all the symptoms of attention addiction—posting too often, sharing too much, mistaking volume for meaning.

    I’m grateful to have deleted X and demoted Facebook to a ghost town. My writing belongs elsewhere now. On Cinemorphosis I can stretch out, let literature, culture, music, television, even dreams bloom into full color. It feels like stepping through a door into a new world, one I don’t intend to leave.

  • Favorite Blast from the Past: Radio Legend Gerald Gives Us a Look at Some Vintage Field Radio Titans

    Favorite Blast from the Past: Radio Legend Gerald Gives Us a Look at Some Vintage Field Radio Titans

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    1969 to around 1978. no doubt the pinnacle years of Japanese made portable radios. While Sony and Panasonic certainly lead the way, Toshiba, Sanyo and others were pushed by the excellence of the big two. This resulted in well built , compact super radios as all these manufacturere reached the pinnacle of this technology. Use of the finest materials and cutting edge diodal, transistor and integrated circuitry technology was the order of the day across all brands from japan. The caveat, one of these babys cost you the equivalent of one weeks pay in 1972! But what you got  lasted your lifertime!

     The examples shown here are in new condition and are noted for their quality, durability asnd excellence in true field conditions.  lets introduce them,, the IC77 from Toshiba 1974, the RF 858 wordlboy from panasonic, 1970ish, the rp-7220 trailmaster from sanyo, 1973 and the Toshiba RM201FA. 1969.  as you can see all radios came with protection cases, notably, the rf858 and the sanyo rp 7220 came with hard cases! Of course, all radios came equipped with dial lights, tuning meters and shortwave capabilty.

    I can only say that all perform nearly on an eqaul basis to each other. when i compare them to the new chinese fare,, well,, no contest. ALl pereform acutely on all bands with crisp, concsise analog tuning. These radios pop with life while spearing the unseen radio waves from the ether. 

     These radio compact size made them the perfect field radios. Ive included the rf 2200 for scale, as you can see, the 2200 would be a little cumbersome on the trail. These are oocaisionally offered on ebay, if you see one thats well preserved, get it.

    Just remeber, Sony and Panasonic pushed Sanyo Toshiba and others to excellence in this period, dont overlook them!

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  • Blast from the Past: A Radio That Warns the Whole Neighborhood You’re Washing Your Car: The Panasonic RQ-548S

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    The only radio I have that rivals my RQ-548S in sheer volume is my Panasonic RF-888. Both radios are from around 1974. The build quality on the RF-888 is superior. But the RQ-548S, which I purchased for $25 on eBay plus $15 shipping 3 years ago, is a winner with its 7-inch Dual Cone Speaker. 

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    I used to see these things NIB for a while and a few used ones but apparently they’ve all been snatched up on eBay as I haven’t seen on for sale in well over two years.

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    The FM and AM sensitivity is excellent. Mine had a stripped telescopic antenna and required a metric screw, which the local hardware store didn’t have, so one of the employees jerry-rigged the antenna for me (no one would have done this for me at a mega-store). The cassette actually works fine. I notice these 1970s boom radios sell for a lot now and evidence the hunger for a high quality type of boom box that is no longer made today. 

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  • Blast from the Past: From Russia with Love: Angelo’s Ocean 214 Radio

    On the topic of radios with a wooden case…presenting the Ocean 214—from Russia with love!  I bought it from a seller in the Ukraine, so shipping was on the high side, but surprisingly, I didn’t have much competition bidding on the radio.  I’ve been wanting to try a Russian/Soviet radio for quite a while, but simply couldn’t get excited about the VEF series, because…how can I put this nicely…”they ugly…butt ugly!” 

    The VEFs look like a big block of plastic with little or no imagination in the design.  They might be great performers and high quality—I don’t know, because I’ve never played with one—but I’m not excited by the looks.  Enter the Okeah—I saw a couple different ones from this manufacturer, and settled on the 214.  I like the wooden case and the various surfaces and colors used to make up the package. 

    Mine is in good shape except for an antenna problem—the smaller top portions of the antenna pull out of the base.  But it still receives well on all bands.  Oh, but that’s the other problem—the writing is in Russian and I’m totally unfamiliar with the frequencies they use.  So I push buttons and turn knobs until I hear people talking or I hear music.  It’s an adventure. 

    The sound is good—in a way, similar to my Lloyd’s, supporting the argument that the wooden cabinet does have its own sound.  In fact, the Okeah has more tone controls to play with and I can get a very satisfying deep sound for music, or a clearer, high pitched sound for talk.  The shortwave bands do pull in stations nicely as well.  I’m still figuring things out with regard to how these bands translate from radios I’m used to using.

    I can recommend this radio if you have interest in getting an Eastern European manufactured radio.  From the little I could find on Google, it seems the factory for this brand might be located in Belarus.  There is much more information on VEF, who must have been a much bigger company.  But I like the Okeah—I like the looks, I like the woodgrain and I’m satisfied with the performance.  I will say that it appears to be old, and wasn’t babied as it was dirty when I got it, and apparently not extremely well maintained.  But a few shots of tuner spray brought it to life and it sounds great.  At some point, I might try my luck on E-Bay to see if I can turn a profit.  But for now, I’m having too much fun with the radio.   

  • Blast from the Past: Rick’s Ward Airline GEN 1474A Radio

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    I have this Ward Airline 1494 model and also the similar Montgomery Ward Airline GEN 1474A, which I think is a better radio, at least when I’ve compared the two side-by-side. The 1474A has just one big sliderule dial, but covers the same frequency ranges as the 1494A. It’s a little smaller radio, but I think more handsome. Its AM/FM/SW performance is better, and the airband is absolutely top notch (I’ve been obsessed with listening to aircraft on VHF and HF since the 1960’s.) Even the “S” meter has more bounce on the 1474A than on the 1494. But the most amazing part of the 1474A is its audio, which can blow the windows out of the house! Not surprising when you look at the heat sink they put on the output stage, a major chunk of aluminum. All this in a very nice portable (4 D cells or AC) package.

  • Blast from the Past: Angelo’s Review of the Montgomery Ward Airline GEN-1494A Vintage Radio

    Since the very first time I saw this model listed on E-Bay a couple years ago, I’ve wanted one of these:  The Montgomery Ward Airline GEN-1494A.

    I guess the thing that attracted me to this radio the most is the handsome looks.  I like the symmetry of the dual tuning dials, divided by the power meter.  I like the contrast of brushed aluminum and charcoal color plastics, encased in clear acrylic dial covers.  I like the large but not huge size of the receiver.  Simply, I like everything about this radio’s styling.  I wouldn’t change anything—not even the orange and white frequency information, which looks great on the dark gray/black. 

    The materials are not quite up to Sony or Panasonic standards, but there’s nothing to be ashamed of here.  It’s good quality stuff, certainly comparable to any Sharp or Sanyo of a similar vintage.  It’s in that Toshiba/Hitachi category as far as I can tell.

    Performance wise, it’s a winner.  I was astounded by the shortwave reception—very, very close to matching the Sony ICF-5800 that I recently sold.  It picks up shortwave signals that most of my other radios are unable to track.  FM sound is strong, AM crisp.  It’s very capable of getting the full compliment of AM-FM stations that my other good radios can receive.  After the stellar shortwave performance, I was surprised that it didn’t perform well on the PSB 1 or PSB 2 options.  They were pretty dead—and my old Arvin radios generally get activity on these bands.  Maybe it’s just the night and the location.

    Speaker sound is another high grade.  While it’s not as powerful as the Panasonic 888, it has a pleasing sound.  The “tone” adjustment actually does its job too.  It’s equally good for talk or music.

    This is a well balanced radio that I can heartily recommend.  I have seen several of these over the years, and have bid on a few of them.  I was never able to wrangle one until this one failed to cross the $30.00 mark, and I snatched it up in the closing minutes.  It needed a little cleaning—and to get it to work on batteries, I had to use steel wool to remove corrosion from the battery compartment contacts—-but aside from those minor issues, it’s pretty darn nice.  Perfect antenna, no major dings and a real player.

    Is it a keeper?  For me, there aren’t many keepers.  I generally buy radios at what I consider a value price.  After cleaning them up and playing with them for a few months, I’m willing to throw them back to keep funding my hobby and charting new territory—such as a very recent interest in old tube radios.  But I have to say, the great shortwave performance, on this Ward model will make it a tough decision to let this go.  Like my Panasonic 888, Zenith Trans-Oceanic 7000 and Grundig Ocean Boy 820, this Ward Airline 1494 has virtues that might make it a permanent fixture.  That’s pretty strong company that this radio finds itself in.

  • Blast from the Past: Grundig Satellit 750

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    Greg, a reader from Ann Arbor, Michigan, was kind enough to Fed Ex me his Grundig Satellit 750, which has a Kiwa speaker upgrade. Therefore, I have to assume the stock 750 speaker sound has less fidelity than the one I’ll be using by my bedside for the next two weeks. 

    As I will be using the 750 as a bedside radio, I’m not too worried about fidelity since I’m not cranking the thing up by any means. All that I ask is that its AM sound not be as harsh and punishing as my C.Crane CSW. Thankfully, the 750 is easier on the ears. 

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    When I took out the 750, I was amazed like other Tecsun radios at how light the radio is (Tecsun makes many Grundig and Eton radios, including the GS750). I prefer my radios to be heavy like tanks, which is why several months ago I went on a vintage radio spree, getting my grubby hands on some classics so that I could use them as a point of comparison for some of today’s radios. 

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    Here’s the bright side of the GS750’s light weight: It makes a very good portable radio, much better than I initially thought. It’s easy to handle and not as big in person as you might think. If you’re a camper or do a lot of outdoor radio listening, I can recommend the GS750. 

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    One thing I like about the 750 is the way it looks on my bedside table. Its cockpit control styling makes me feel like a little kid on a toy airplane or flying in a pretend rocket to Mars. 

    The 750 by your bed says boldly, “You have arrived at the Mothership.” Before I geek-out too much, let me transition to function and performance.

    The learning curve for time controls, direct key entry, and presets is fairly easy. It took me about five minutes to comprehend the manual; however, I have toyed around with Tecsun radios before, so I am fairly familiar with their functions.

    As a bedside radio, it’s nice that you can toggle through your stations with the up and down arrow buttons. 

    I haven’t used this radio at night yet and doubt it is illuminated sufficiently without my needing a pen flashlight. Clearly, the 750 is more of a general table radio than a clock radio, but I’m using it by my bedside because that is where I listen to radio most often and I want to get as many hours in as possible during my two-week loan.

    What about performance? Excellent on FM and AM. I was able to eliminate birdy on weak AM stations by rotating the rotational antenna, called a Gyro on vintage Panasonics. 

    The FM antenna is huge and can be rotated 360 degrees. There is also an FM antenna button that gives you varying degrees of attenuation to maximize reception. 

    I’d say FM was as strong as my current FM champion, my C.Crane CSW. Better yet, the GS 750’s AM sounds much better. 

    Truth be told, I am more impressed with the GS750 than I thought I’d be. I love its look, its performance is excellent, its functions and options are plentiful without being too busy. 

    I think if I were to buy one on Amazon for their sale price of $220 and free shipping, I’d have to put it in the workout room and move the Boston Acoustics Horizon Duo, a completely different kind of radio, in my bedroom. The question is will I buy a GS750? Hard to say. For about $150, I should be able to get a C.Crane CCRadio 2, which may be a better fit in my bedroom. While I am confident the CCRadio 2, made by Sangean, will match the GS750’s AM performance and have richer speaker sound, I am not convinced that its FM will be able to compete with the GS750’s.

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    In any event, I don’t have to make a decision now. I have another two weeks with the GS750 to think it over.   

  • Blast from the Past: Telefunken Banjo Automatic

    Blast from the Past: Telefunken Banjo Automatic

    Six inches tall and barely ten inches across, the Telefunken Banjo Automatic delivers a lot of effortless sound for a radio its size. This vintage came in good shape as the seller had cleaned it up, even took it apart and did a “deep clean” to all the knobs. So there’s no static to speak of. This arrived with no AC. It’s feeding of six C batteries.

    Don’t be fooled by the swanky yellow. This colorful radio has outstanding FM reception and while the AM is above average it cannot light a candle to my bigger, brawnier Telefunken Partner 700, which at $40, cost me about half of the Banjo price. 

    The Banjo’s controls are smooth, and this bright yellow Telefunken feels upscale through and through, but if you’re Telefunken hunting, I recommend the bigger Partner 700. As good as the spunky yellow Banjo is, its speaker sound and AM sound loses to its bigger, more serious cousin. 

    In some ways it’s not fair to compare the two Telefunkens. The Banjo is a smaller portable, the Partner a heavier table radio. If I compare the Banjo to the similar sized Sangean PR-D5, the Banjo wins in speaker sound. The PR-D5’s small stereo speakers are so tinny my ears have trouble picking up the sound. In contrast, the Banjo fills a room easily. The FM on the Banjo is better than the PR-D5 and AM sound is similar. Of course, the $80 PR-D5 is new and digital and has presets so the comparison doesn’t quite work either.

    One strange quirk about the Banjo that I’ve never encountered before is that AM numbers are inverse to the FM numbers so that 103.1 FM, for example, is close to 640 AM. Strange, but no big deal.

    If you’re looking for a small travel companion, the Banjo is high-end and will not disappoint. If you’re looking for the majesty of a Panasonic RF-3000 (one just sold for over $300) and want to save some dough, check out the Partner 700, which I stole for $40.

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  • Blast from the Past: Telefunken Partner 700

    I like three types of radios: military, giant, heavy, brief case types, and the other worldly. This Telefunken Partner 700 is the latter type. I paid $40 plus $20 shipping. 

    It’s heavy and solidly built. The speaker is LOUD. The FM tuner is sensitive, but what really shines is AM, which sounds like FM stereo with no background noise. 

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    The FM antenna swivels 360 degrees, which I find essential for pinpointing hard-to-get stations. The radio flips in the upright and prone position. The on-off and band buttons depress like tape recorder buttons. I wish this feature were used more commonly. It has an upscale feel. 

    I got some hum on FM after adjusting the volume, but the hum went away. I get no hum on AM. This is an old radio, about 30 years old. I’ll keep an eye on the hum and see if it’s progressive or something that goes away once the volume settles. All in all, this was well worth $60. 

    Update: The speaker sound and tuner performance impress me more and more as I continue to use the 700 in the workout room. This has to have the warmest fidelity of any of my vintage radios. 

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