Allan Duffin - Writer/Producer

"Mission: Cuba, Status: Top Secret" in Smithsonian Air Space Magazine

2011-03-19T12:52:31-07:00

Check out my new article in Smithsonian Air&Space Magazine's April/May issue. This year is the 50th Anniversary of the Bay of Pigs invasion, and Jim Storie — an aircraft maintenance technician who participated in the mission — told me a unique tale about his experiences at the secret base in Nicaragua.

Here's the link the the article.

Jim and I met while I was working on The "12 O'Clock High" Logbook: The Unofficial History of the Novel, Motion Picture, and TV Series. As a brand-new enlisted airman in the Air Force, Jim was assigned to Eglin Air Force Base in Florida and found himself appearing as an extra in the movie version of Twelve O'Clock High, which filmed on base in 1949. (That's Jim in the photo on the right, at Eglin that year.)

Thanks for the downloads! History in Blue: 160 Years of Women Police hits nearly 6,000

2011-02-16T10:53:15-08:00

Thanks to everyone who downloaded an eBook copy of History in Blue: 160 Years of Women Police, Sheriffs, Detectives, and State Troopers during Kaplan Publishing's free eBook offer last month. Almost 6,000 people downloaded the book for their personal libraries! This includes the readers produced by Amazon.com, iTunes, Sony, and Barnes & Noble.

If you haven't checked out GoodReads.com yet, head on over and take a look. Lots of book lovers talking to each other and recommending titles. You can see the page for History in Blue at this link.

Get a FREE eBook version of History in Blue: 160 Years of Women Police

2011-01-05T09:46:47-08:00

If you have an eReader, take advantage of this limited offer from the publisher: a FREE eBook version of History in Blue: 160 Years of Women Police, Sheriffs, Detectives, and State Troopers!

The promotion runs through 10 January (update: just extended to 17 January!). Just click on the link below to go to the publisher's website:

http://www.freekaplanebooks.com/

Versions are available for the Barnes & Noble Nook, Apple iPad, and Sony eReader. A version for the Kindle will be released shortly. Happy reading, and Happy New Year!

The Minerva Awards 2010: Carolyn Blashek and Operation Gratitude

2010-11-12T09:27:54-08:00

The Women's Conference, hosted by California First Lady Maria Shriver, is an annual event that draws a huge crowd to the Long Beach Convention Center. At Big Life Films I had the privilege of working on a number of multimedia programs that were shown at the conference, including films that honored the recipients of the 2010 Minerva Awards.

Created by California First Lady Maria Shriver in 2004, The Minerva Awards have become the country’s most prestigious awards given to women “who serve on the front-lines of humanity,” celebrating their extraordinary legacies of service and contributions to California, the nation and the world.

Here's one of the films we produced. It's about Carolyn Blashek, founder of Operation Gratitude. From the very start of this country’s longest war, Carolyn Blashek has not gone a day without thinking about the men and women who put their lives on the line overseas for the freedoms we enjoy at home. Carolyn was so moved by the enormity of 9/11, that she tried to enlist in the military at age 46. She was sent home for being “too old,” and so began the odyssey that led to Operation Gratitude, the largest military support organization sending personalized care packages to deployed soldiers in US history.

Dancing at the movies: just pure fun

2010-10-20T15:38:40-07:00

Reposting this great video via Ken Levine's blog:

Binky the Donut quits his job

2010-08-23T07:12:32-07:00

Hot on the heels of the "Girl Quits Her Job on Dry Erase Board, Emails Entire Office" hoax, here are the compromising photos of Binky the Donut telling his boss at Dunkin Donuts that he no longer wants to work there:

We received the following photos last night from a bear claw who works with this donut, Binky. We don't know Binky's last name. Today, Binky quit his job with a (flash) bang by emailing her entire staff at Dunkin Donuts, about 20 employees were told. Awesome didn't begin to describe this office hero. Check back as we will be updating if we get more details.

"The Marine from NASA" in Leatherneck Magazine

2010-06-30T18:49:22-07:00

Enjoy my new article about Colonel George Zamka, a United States Marine who also happens to be one of our astronauts. The article appears in the July issue of Leatherneck Magazine, the official publication of the Marine Corps Association.

Zamka’s nearly three-decade Marine career is packed with diversity and tremendous achievements. He has served as a pilot, racking up more than 5,000 hours in some 30 aircraft types. Out of the cockpit, Zamka completed tours as a forward air controller, maintenance officer and, since his appointment in June 1998, as one of America’s 95 astronauts. To date Zamka has logged nearly 700 hours in space.

Click here to read the full article, and to flip through a digital photo gallery and videos!

Definitely Right On Track

2010-06-13T08:06:27-07:00

Some songs just stick in your head. Breakfast Club's 1987 hit "Right On Track" is a bouncy pop number about a guy that's trying to impress a girl by showing off his dance skills. Problem is, every time he busts a move, she's looking in the other direction or moving away from him. I've always loved this tune, from Dan Gilroy's smooth voice to the insistent beat to lines like, "How far away can you go -- and still be dancing with me?" Did the guy ever get the girl to notice him? Maybe.

Fun fact: Lead singer Dan Gilroy is now a screenwriter and is married to actress Rene Russo.

"Lost" ends, but Michael Giacchino's music goes on

2010-05-30T15:03:55-07:00

Whether you found "Lost" fascinating or frustrating (or both), you have to give kudos to one of the series' key components: its music. Composer Michael Giacchino's evocative score gave the show a heartbeat that was sometimes tearjerking and sometimes terrifying. The Los Angeles Times just ran a story about Giacchino, who talked about his childhood love of film music:

"I made my dad buy me the soundtrack album, because in those days, the only way to relive the experience of the film was to get the soundtrack. I'd sneak tape recorders into movie theaters, record the sounds of the movies and then listen to them at night on a little speaker I'd rigged up in bed by my pillow. I was always into the story that a film told, and sometimes the soundtrack album would take everything out of order. So I made my own tapes, so I could always be sure to hear the story in the right sequence."

I love to read about childhood dreams that blossom into adult professions. This is why I'm a writer today.

You can check out Giacchino's music at his website, which has tons of sample tracks. Meanwhile, if you haven't seen this funny video about the unanswered questions of "Lost," here you go:

(This video came from College Humor.)

Washington Post review of History in Blue: 160 Years of Women Police

2010-05-14T15:22:53-07:00

Many thanks to Dr. Elaine Showalter for reviewing History in Blue in the Washington Post last Sunday! Check out full the review by clicking here. Here's an excerpt:

In Washington, D.C., we have become quickly accustomed to seeing Chief of Police Cathy Lanier and other women police officers report on violent crimes on the nightly news, although only 13 percent of municipal police officers nationally are women. And while women serve in support roles in the armed forces, they are banned from combat. Many argue that women should not put themselves in harm's way on the mean streets and the fields of battle, facing injury, capture and death at the hands of criminals or enemies, and that their presence undermines crucial male camaraderie....
Police work and military service are complex case studies for debate about women and work. Both "History in Blue," by Allan T. Duffin, and "A Few Good Women," by Evelyn M. Monahan and Rosemary Neidel-Greenlee, document women's work history and provide fascinating individual stories. There have been women in police work since the beginning of the 20th century, initially as mother-figures "with a badge," who would stop juveniles from smoking, advise wayward girls and patrol saloons.... In 1943, the NYPD issued a "combination gun holster and makeup kit" to female officers. Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia told women cops to "use your gun as you would your lipstick. . . . Don't overdo either one." But in the 1970s, federal law, mass media and popular culture, including Angie Dickinson's hit TV series "Police Woman" and the police procedural novels of Dorothy Uhnak, made the female police officer a familiar and respected figure.

History in Blue: 160 Years of Women Police, Sheriffs, Detectives, and State Troopers is published by Kaplan Publishing (a division of the Washington Post Company) and distributed by Simon & Schuster. Visit your local bookstore,or order your copy from the Simon & Schuster website or from Amazon.com, Borders.com, or BarnesandNoble.com.