Sigmund Spaeth, best known for what people regard as a misguided attempt to teach children instrumental classics by setting lyrics to them, wrote a LOT about music. One of his wisest observations was about how audiences react to performance of a medley. It is true, as he states, that whenever a new song startsContinue reading “Figure It Out Yourself”
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Number Please
A man named Charles Williams, Jr. had the honor of having the first phone number in the United States. (It was 1, of course. Mr. Williams produced telephone equipment for Alexander Graham Bell, so he played guinea pig. (He also, by the way, had the second phone number—2–for his shop.) You can read theContinue reading “Number Please”
Looking Before
Last time, we observed the existence of Thanksgiving postcards, and noted that most people do not send such greetings nowadays, partly because there’s so much going on at the end of the year (one reason the Farmer’s Almanac keeps promoting a “rational” relocation of Thanksgiving to the first Monday in October) and partly becauseContinue reading “Looking Before”
November
I did not get around to my annual column on the non-Halloween cards one could repurpose to LOOK like Halloween cards, since real vintage Halloween cards are so pricey and I have none in my inventory anyhow. I was very busy reading this new witchcraft bestseller: 101 Transformation Books To Read Before You Croak.Continue reading “November”
Posted Poetry
It has been a little while since we considered the art of postcard poetry. New examples come to hand all the time at Blogsy’s Postcard Bin, and I want to be sure you don’t miss any of the amazing discoveries which…I’ve told you about making faces like that. The art of verse forContinue reading “Posted Poetry”
Butting, In and Out
Flipping through my unsold inventory this weekend, I was made aware of something we have not yet covered in this column’s occasional pursuit of the butt in joke history. We have observed that our ancestors in the supposedly prudish era when postcards were born had no particular fear of using this particular four-letter word,Continue reading “Butting, In and Out”
This, That, The Other
I have been fighting my way through a book I have tried to read several times before. It was a bestseller in its day, and was still touted as a classic of its genre when I was in school and trying to read every book in the humor sections of my school libraries andContinue reading “This, That, The Other”
Button Up Your Overcoat
A couple of weeks ago, we discussed the Snowbird, an American species of migrant human which likes its weather warm, and at the first frost heads south, to maintain that tan, avoid the flu, and send snarky postcards back north to people who are suffering from snow and sleet. There is, as always, anotherContinue reading “Button Up Your Overcoat”
Chalk It Up
Among twentieth century artifacts which occasionally confuse those who inhabit the century of the Interwebs is the slate. These can still sometimes be turned up at garage sales, but besides being breakable (especially when real slate was used and not just heavy cardboard painted black) they were also often given to children to playContinue reading “Chalk It Up”
Two-Faced
Once upon a time, I decided to make my next million (the first four or five hadn’t worked out) in the greeting card business. No, I did not warm up my toy printing press and start selling door to door. I planned to be a greeting card writer. Just like postcards, behind those brightlyContinue reading “Two-Faced”
Blogsy Babbles 