We were so busy in history class in my schooldays that we hardly ever got past about 1928. The older and more cynical I get, the more I wonder if this was intentional. In my day, kids were exposed to an ongoing debate on the relative merits of Herbert Hoover and Franklin Roosevelt amongContinue reading “Shifting Shirts”
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Fishing for Affirmation
It has been a while since we discussed fishing postcards. These were wildly popular in the middle of the last century, when people stopped sending postcards the way our modern generation sends texts, and instead made postcards a vacation staple: something you sent to the folks at home while you were on a fishingContinue reading “Fishing for Affirmation”
Well, Goll-lee
In olden days I was acquainted with a young lady I refer to as the Dumpster Cinderella. This is not the place to go into ALL of her qualities and quiddities, but one of her goals in life was spreading the word about Real Jazz. This was a musical form which she felt ceasedContinue reading “Well, Goll-lee”
MIDWEEK FICTION: LITTLE HOUSE IN THE HAUNTED WOODS
“This the place to buy magic stuff?” “Yes indeed, Madame. Welcome to the shop. How may I assist you?” “Well, I’ve inherited my sister’s house. She made it out of gingerbread to bring in livestock for her larder but there was a little accident with some supper that got the drop onContinue reading “MIDWEEK FICTION: LITTLE HOUSE IN THE HAUNTED WOODS”
Bygone Bywords
That blog about the sitcoms some people call “Commercials” generated some interest, and a couple of complaints. Some people expect quizzes about TV commercials to involve slogans or jingles, while other people complained I said next to nothing about the products involved. Well, we CAN do something about that. Of course, every productContinue reading “Bygone Bywords”
Touched-up Territory
I was old enough when I found out about it that I was more surprised than shocked. The distance between what we are shown and what really is was known to me from an early age, at least to that time in second grade when I picked up the little cup of cherry Kool-AidContinue reading “Touched-up Territory”
Neglected Sitcoms
Last week, we touched on some of the problems for me in assessing comedy of the middle of the twentieth century, as I have occasionally threatened to do in a series called “Is That Even Still Funny?” One problem was that there was so MUCH of it. Except when the news was on, andContinue reading “Neglected Sitcoms”
Oh, a Cowboy Needs a….
The Western’s popularity rises and falls, but has not gone away for at least a century and a half. The last big era for postcards coincided with an era that valued Westerns highly: they were still popular in cheap, kid-friendly movies (“oaters”), proliferated across radio (“Return with us now to the thrilling days ofContinue reading “Oh, a Cowboy Needs a….”
Comedy Archaeology Quiz
Every now and then, when I feel like living dangerously, I consider writing a series called “Is That Still Funny?”, in which I would examine the comedy that made me laugh when I was growing up. I have it all figured out: how I will guard myself against laughing simply from nostalgia, how weContinue reading “Comedy Archaeology Quiz”
NOTE IN PASSING: Nathalie
It is with shock that I note the death, at 102 oerthereabouts, of another Book Fair buddy, perhaps one of the most significant, Nathalie F. Alberts. I am sorry the obituary did not mention (or I didn’t catch it) who put the H in “Nathalie”, but she probably spent a great deal of timeContinue reading “NOTE IN PASSING: Nathalie”
Blogsy Babbles 