June 6, 1944– Tonight’s communiqué just in from D-Day invasion headquarters summarizes the news. “Allied forces,” it says, “have succeeded in their initial landings in France; and fighting continues.” Lowell Thomas was the Walter Cronkite of radio. Beginning in 1930, he broadcast twice each evening on CBS radio. It was said that his voice had
Originally published June 12, 2013; formatting updated A bit of background about why I found this article so so so funny… . Yesterday I had occasion to learn a bit about Joseph Warren, who among other things, helped craft the Suffolk Resolves of 1774 which denounced Parliament after the Boston Tea Party. Paul Revere carried
Happy Day After Mother’s Day! A comment from SueK yesterday reminded me of something. We wished each other Happy Mother’s Day and she said, “Telephone time!” Kids were calling. Back in the crappy olden days when everyone had a landline, Mother’s Day was the busiest day of the year for calls. Sometimes when you tried
When I posted about Radar Scope’s capabilities, I was completely uniformed. It can do vastly more than I knew at the time. This is a pretty long video but it’s a nice overview, and the last few minutes are of the guy actually chasing a tornado so you can skip those. He’s got five, I
The population of the town in which this high school was located was 8,704 in 1970, and 7,730 in 1980. By my count there were 37 students in the Latin Club that year. Years ago, seventh graders in this town had the option to take two year-end tests, one in language skills, the other in
This post is dedicated to the geezers– young and old (said very affectionately)– who think the end of Western Civilization is nigh. Don’t get me wrong, I share your sentiments. When we have a national conversation about KFC in the halls of congress, all is most certainly not well. I have spent the last 20
When the weather is good, I look at Twitter about twice a week to ensure I have not missed a critical outrage. Last evening was one such time. This cracked me up. See also:
No. That’s not a typo. This is an aside about noodles and 1949. Yesterday evening Mr. Big Food an I were talking about the Fried Noodle Rings and Chow Mein recipes. We got to wondering just what, in 1949, were considered “fine dry noodles.” Those pictured look very fine. After some research, I bet they
Back in the crappy olden days, making a home for your family was not considered drudge work. At least that’s the belief Meredith Publishing, publishers of BH&G books, were selling to women. I am of two minds about this. Better Homes and Gardens Decorating Book, Meredith Publishing Company, Des Moines, Iowa, 1961. As person who
Image from Wikiart as in the crappy old book, Grandma Moses ( Otto Kallir, Harry N. Abrams, Inc. Publishers, New York, 1973).
Did you see #10? Plug-in vision-phone. How cool would that be? What is the thing above #5 that has a line but no number? [Betty Jane has a Ph.D. by the way, so that’s Doctor Betty Jane to folks like you & I.] Crappy old books such as this are good for a laugh. How
Today is Washington’s birthday. Not last Monday. Today. And so, I’ll begin by cribbing a bit from Scott Johnson’s annual commemoration of the Indispensible Man over at Powerline (sorry link coming, I’m not fully coffeed yet). From the letter to Washington from America’s oldest Jewish congregation welcoming him to Newport, Rhode Island upon the ratification
Reposted from February 12, 2015. As I commented, I am not a huge fan of Lincoln (don’t like Douglas at all). That said, I’d rather recognize Lincoln on Lincoln’s birthday than recognize that amorphous groups, Presidents, next Monday. [From Illustrated Encyclopedia Book-of-the-Year 1960 Edition, Bobley Publishing Corp., Glen Cove, N.Y. 1960] I don’t generally comment on Lincoln’s
Remember this…? From the first post in January’s Crappy old Book of the Month series? The days of the cave man have passed. Physical strength no longer gives prowess to the individual. What the twentieth century demands is the trained intellect. The man who knows is the man of the hour. The Standard Question Book and Home
Let’s face it: I can extol the glories of homemade chicken and vegetable broths until Hades freezes over. In reality, the only people making their own broth are me and an eighty-year old women in Siberia. from The Splendid Table’s How to Eat Supper— a cookbook with great recipes! Here’s where we left off in
“American Landscape” by L. Whitney (ca. 1855) in The Beauty of America in Great American Art (1965)
At American Digest, Gerard Van der Leun has put up a truly beautiful music video, Yo-Yo Ma and Alison Kraus performing The Wexford Carol. It will move even the most unsentimental agnostic. To my mind, the cello is among the most lovely of instruments. Yes. I understand that ‘the most’ entails but one, but as
TV Guide ran a special “Closeup” feature to announce the debut of A Charlie Brown Christmas in December 1965. From A Charlie Brown Christmas: The Making of a Tradition, Lee Mendelson, Harper Resource, New York, 2000 (p.25). This is a wonderful book. Every home– with or without children– should have it on the shelf. The first half
of a White Christmas, … .” As far as I’m concerned, white Christmases can stay in Vermont but I want you to have that tune in your head as I tell the story of little Israel Baline, and the man he came to be. Israel was born in Temun, Russia in 1888. His family was
It’s official. The Farm has entered the 21st century! A few months ago we kicked Verizon’s JetPack Mifi “unlimited” internet to the ditch (we don’t have curbs out here) and signed on for AT&T’s Fixed Wireless Internet. It’s faster, cheaper, and for all practical purposes really unlimited. And for that, we thank you! We could