This was my favorite TV show as a kid. I also loved The Liberace Show.
There were lots of shows on where you'd get to watch people dancing. The music was great too. Late at night, there was only a test pattern on.
These were my heroes as a pre-teen. I kept scrapbooks of clippings about them. I met Alan Shepard as an adult (during his book tour) and he signed my old LIFE magazine with him on the cover.
I witnessed these events on live TV. What an emotional roller-coaster!
This guy on the right held me in his arms onstage. Toddlers are hard to resist. About 12 years later we met him again, and when my mother asked if he remembered it, he nicely lied and said that he did. I got to see the guy below, on the left, when he looked like the picture on the right.
My first concert that was unaccompanied by parents was this one. I went with my older girl cousin. I don't think she was into the British Invasion, she preferred Elvis and Frankie Avalon.
I got to see these rock icons in concert. I most regret not seeing Jim Morrison, Brian Jones, or The Beatles.
The 17-yr-old version of me had this closeup view of Plant. More about that here.
I lived in a whole bunch of places, some of them twice. Trying to settle down a bit more these days.
Yes, it's another birthday. Nothing planned except maybe a day off work. I will most likely be well-behaved and probably go to bed early.
Here is Liberace playing "Bumble Boogie" on his TV show.
Running a little behind here (and the same might be said for the topics of this post) but wanted to share some pics of the recent Pets in Drag (Easter) Parade. This event was dedicated to Leslie (Cochran), who died on March 8 [more here], and who was for many years considered to be Austin's mascot, an icon, almost the spirit of the town. A sighting, or encounter with Leslie represented the cherry on the top of a day spent in Austin. In fact, I would say a visit here could not be considered complete without a sighting, because you were obviously not in the right places.
The short description of Leslie is "cross-dressing, street person who ran for Mayor a few times and got thousands of votes." He was not even the only person who fit that description (!) but Leslie had a great measure of charm, was an activist and advocate for the rights and issues of the homeless, and was known for wearing thongs. Leslie was everywhere, at most all local culture events or just jazzing up the constant people parades that are 6th Street or South Congress. See more photos from the newspaper's Leslie gallery, reader-submitted photos, and the memorial service (we attended) held in the park.
To get back to the spirit of parading around in a thong, here are some more pics of animal cuteness and hopefully not too much distress over hair coloring or the wearing of wigs.
It's worth wondering why, if a person (or extend that to include animals and everything on the planet for that matter) was so beloved, then why were they not better sheltered and cared-for? That is always a mighty big topic that is worthy of discussion. Leslie was homeless, yet had family and friends. Sometimes habitation situations simply do not work out for the involved parties. It could be the very short version of a very long and complicated story.
This is my weird lamp that I made from a rabbit-shaped basket (white metal, but you can't tell), some rope light and an ostrich egg. It's Easter-themed but it's used year-round, and I don't celebrate Easter. It's a weird lamp, and that's why I like it.
Even back when I was a kid and always in Church with my mother, I didn't care for Easter. It was probably mostly because my mother couldn't disguise her negative attitude about Easter (the dressing up part of it was hypocrisy, showing-off and "snootiness" to her, and I've never really disagreed with that). I already ranted about that in a previous post, but it was so long ago that I think it's OK to repost this picture of me at my maximum cuteness.
I do think that the coming of Spring is a thing to celebrate, for most people anyway. We are at maximum wildflower stage here now, and it's going to start feeling like Summer probably in April - and Summer is way too long and too hot here...
The yard is full of sunflowers (which I adore), red poppies, orange crossvine... really pretty... and the bugs, squirrels and birds are just munching away on stuff. That's fine. That's why it's there.
I don't even think of Easter as something associated with Jesus anymore. Eggs? Chocolate? Bunnies? Baskets? Peeps? Fancy hats (Easter bonnets)? It doesn't make any difference to me how people choose to do to commemorate an annual event. Celebrate away, don't hurt people or animals, and be tolerant of those who make a different choice. Here's a lovely song to leave with you, Let it Grow by Eric Clapton.
These are from a slideshow of Japanese Fashion Week. Specific details are at the link. Do you think these will go over big? They are hilarious. Could be made useful though, perhaps you could add a wifi hotspot or something that would charge your batteries. The caption on this one says that the designer is popular with celebrities such as Lady Gaga. OK, this might be suitable for her but who are the other celebrities who would wear this? Who are the other humans who would wear it? Also, is there a matching jacket?
First, I get this one in an email. Then, almost immediately afterward, I see this: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes, Johnny Depp in his Tonto character (with Armie Hammer), and the second one is these guys. This sort of thing has been going on for a loooong time.
LowerMyBills.com thinks that you, a driver over the age of 55 who drives less than 40 miles a day, will relate somehow to this image of a poor, unfortunate, marooned and ill space alien.
Hmmmmm... come to think of it, I am in that insurable group, and can also feel sympathy for this little dude's dilemma. Hope his insurance rates didn't skyrocket after the crash.
A friend sent me this ad that she actually received through a Groupon promo. "Part of the joy of getting a new toothbrush is the ability to use the old one to clean hard-to-reach places, such as inside the mouth of a pet piranha." So, I'm wondering how the piranha is going to like listening to this toothbrush once it becomes the old one.
I have to laugh at how some of the images that seem to get randomly picked out of the pile (mis)match up with the ad messages.
This is just so cute - what a smart little girl. She's upset about the gender stereotypes in toys. Well, so am I! I didn't have kids, and didn't have to deal with such things, but I remember liking all kinds of non-girly things as a kid. I played "War" with my cousins (played with sticks for guns and tin-can string communicators), loved my little plastic soldiers along with all the dinosaurs. Dinosaurs ruled! I never got to be a Princess on Halloween, maybe the Princess outfit involved $$$, and being as we were poor people I always went as a hobo - but I don't remember wanting to be a Princess either. I had a few dolls, Barbie etc., but preferred stuffed animals like my cat Purrsilla. For a reason that I will never know, my favorite stuffed animal that I always slept with as a toddler was an alligator. It was not a plushie toy. It was a REAL dead baby alligator that had been stuffed with cotton but still had the real skin and tiny teeth (I named him "Kilroy."). Not sure what my parents were thinking there... a trend that would continue...
Now that we have an empty nest, it's actually possible to travel a bit, so with MrB getting a 4-day weekend (Friday and Monday, the 23rd and 26th off) coming up for Xmas, he suggested maybe an overnighter somewhere, suggesting, perhaps, Marfa. Neither of us have been to Marfa, and it looks like (A) the town appears to be half tiny desert town - half art display and (B) most of both would likely be shut down for Christmas.
Also, it takes over 7 hours to drive there, and we'd probably need to bring our own food since Texas outside of Austin is not known for vegetarian cuisine. Maybe a road trip to Alpine and Marfa during wildflower season would be better, and the shops will be open.
Next idea... mine. Head over to Santa Fe, NM. They will probably have a veggie cafe or two, and there might even be snow in case we'd like to have a white Xmas. Since driving in snow and ice sucks, I check out Amtrak. Pull up website... OK, Amtrak... I want to leave on Dec. 23 from Austin, TX and go to Santa Fe, NM.
Result: Sorry, nothing leaving on the 23rd. There's one leaving on Dec. 24th at 9:30AM, gets into St. Louis MO at 7:19AM on Dec. 25th. Leaves St. Louis at 4:00PM that day, gets to Kansas City MO at 9:40PM. After a layover of only an hour this time, you go from Kansas City to Lamy NM, arriving at 2:20PM on the 26th. Then you get on a BUS and ride the rest of the way, arriving at 3:40PM. 55 hours. $330 apiece (and that's one-way).
Here's what that route looks like (for those not closely familiar with USA geography). Another disappointment is that despite Santa Fe's association with trains (re: the Atchison Topeka Santa Fe, and see the photographic evidence of a depot) apparently I can't get all the way there from here by train!! Remember that old song? Here's the Rosemary Clooney/Harry James version. Reminds me of a road trip I made in the late 90s which included Chattanooga TN, and I discovered that the "Chattanooga Choo Choo" (Glenn Miller version) is no longer a travel option.
I looked at flying details just for comparison. The cheapest flight I found through Travelocity was $546, which leaves at 7:00PM and drops you in Houston TX about an hour later... where you wait ALL NIGHT for a 6:35AM flight to Dallas, then from Dallas you fly (in a puddle-jumper, I'm sure) the Santa Fe, arriving at 10:30AM on the 24th. The next cheapest flight was over $800, and other options were over $1100 Again, that's one-way, round-trip was about $650, so a bit cheaper than the train/bus combo that takes 55 hours.
Thanksgiving. Giving thanks. The real events which made up 'the first Thanksgiving' I'm sure would not resemble the picture postcard described to us as children and continued to believe in as adults, but it's fair to say that some people were just happy to be alive and making the best of their circumstances.
Most people love Thanksgiving. I'm one of those rare ones who never liked it. Family gatherings have always been on the painful side of awkward, and the only memories of the holiday that I can conjure up that are worth it are the ones that involved alcohol. It's worth noting that alcohol has ruined as many as it has redeemed.
These days it is much easier. The #1 thing I am thankful for is that I have not had to endure a traditional Thanksgiving for quite a few years. MrB has been my hero in this. We are both Thanksgiving 'orphans,' he because his immediate family is in another state, and I because I have no immediate family other than him. We will spend part of Thanksgiving seeing a movie and ordering off the menu at the Alamo Drafthouse while watching The Descendants. The rest of the day we will do whatever the hell we want. Thank you MrB for not insisting that we conform to society's norm.
The #2 thing I am thankful for is not having to deal with the abominable Black Friday. Isn't this Xmas's evil twin? And it's only in America, driven by a pretense of holding back Xmas with Thanksgiving, it all explodes on Black Friday. Every year people are injured and even killed by people stampeding through the store doors when they open - and there is a war over which retailer will be open first. Almost none of the ads I see are about the Thanksgiving holiday, just BF. I really believe that Black Friday has grown to be nearly as important. Some of the big retailers like Best Buy and Target are opening at midnight on Thanksgiving this year (instead of the once-shocking 5AM Friday) so the staff has to be there on Thursday night. There have been petitions against it, but those will have no effect against this impending buygasm. Black Friday is like Christmas without the fake facade of pretending that it's about something other than raw consumerism. Ugh!Our Black Friday plans only include going to see The Band of Heathens. Will see some friends there, I'm sure, and hear some great music.
I've been bitten by the redecorating bug. Not sure if I will be able to capitalize on this enthusiasm by actually putting some paint on a wall, but I am most thankful that I am lucky enough to have a few paid days off, and that we haven't yet sunk to the point where the average Joe or Jane no longer have any benefits such as that one.
I've been in quite a few marches in this town, and this was one of the largest. I really think it had to be at least 1500-2000 people. It was as wide as a lane of traffic and went on for several city blocks, from the middle I could not see the end or the beginning of it. City Hall has been "Occupied" for over going on 2 weeks now in support of Occupy Wall Street. The permanent occupation is rather small, probably a few dozen, but this march was BIG. There was a rally at City Hall, then a march, first to a nearby Chase Bank so that people could close their accounts there as part of the protest, then it continued nearly to the Capital and back to City Hall. The police were great, and there were no arrests (at the march) that I'm aware of.
The Media Booos and hisses to most of the local media outlets for their coverage or lack of it. I mean, Seems like if 10 Tea Partiers get together on a sidewalk they'd be on everybody's top news and lead story. As for local TV network affiliates, they were piss-poor. The Fox affiliate's top local story was that someone had been caught on hidden cam shoplifting. Astonishing. NBC affiliate KXAN led with the story of the pro-gay marriage event and march held the same day. A cool event (that deserves coverage) where they held about a dozen mock same-sex weddings and about 100 people or so marched to the Capitol. ABC affiliate KVUE had what was worse than no coverage. They claimed that Chase Bank was targeted because earlier this month Chase began charging a $5 fee on debit transactions. WRONG twice. First, that is not why Chase was targeted. Second, it is Bank of America that just added that fee, not Chase. Chase was chosen merely because of proximity. The other unfortunate part of the KVUE thing is that rawstory.com linked to their 'coverage.' Laaaaaame.
Our one newspaper had a small photo gallery linked on their web-version sidebar (not sure what will be in print as I don't read printed newpapers).
Some notes on a few of the signs.
"$ Millions from schools paid to Valero Oil Company." Here is what that one is about. Valero and other refineries say they are owed around $135 million from Texas in tax refunds, with Valero's share around $92 million, even though all parties are aware that $62.8 million will have to come out of the already-bleeding public school fund. More here. Yes, I know... this one is backwards. The other side says "We Are The People." "The government of America Libya has a responsibility to respect the universal rights of the people, including the right to free expression and assembly. -- Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. SHAME!!!" "Hey Top 1%, Yer Killin' Us!!" Nice cleaver.
Here's a video that I shot. It captures just 1:45 minutes of people going by. Chant is "Banks got bailed out, we got sold out."
This movement is not partisan. It encompasses plenty of stuff that has been traditionally lumped in with left or right wing, but there is some commonality. There is a minority of folks (a bit more righty) who could also fit in with Tea Party philosophy. They want to end taxation, and maybe even the government itself. Many worship Ron Paul. They seem to part ways with other TP platforms in that they understand that war must be funded by taxes, and they are not in favor of establishing a theocracy. As we were leaving, there was a guy singing a song about his hero, Joe Stack (the sociopath and terrorist who flew his small plane into a building as an attack on the IRS, killing himself plus one other person inside it (an IRS agent), creating widespread trauma and destroying an office building). I'm sorry, but I am not supporting that. at. all.
The lefties are not against taxation, and want the rich and the corporations to start paying their fair share. They want fair consumer dealings and protection from fraud. They want more regulations on Big Finance, Big Pharma, Big [whatever]. I fall into that category.
Most of the people in this movement, left and right and middle, I believe are in favor of abolishing Corporate Personhood of Citizens United, and unlimited and anonymous political donations that, in effect, buy elections and gut democracy. The Occupy movement is about democracy, no matter how you slice it up.
WTF, Weather Channel?!?! (You too, every other televised or video-streamed media source!) You have cameras situated in a place where we can see the roof shingles and piers being blown far and wide, massive flooding, surging water, trees being blown down... that's a great thing that these events can be shown to us folks out here watching it on TV. It's important to do that, I think.
By WHY do you keep sticking a person out there in the middle of it? Are you betting that the viewers are going to enjoy seeing some poor schmuck getting the hell beat out of him because he's enduring the full force of a hurricane? Are you going to keep doing that until one of them is killed? Or are you secretly hoping for that because you'd get a ratings bump?
Maybe you could send a drone camera out there, or if that's not exciting enough you could get one of those human-shaped robots and send it out there dressed in a raincoat? Then it could be the robot yelling into its built-in mic, "STAY INSIDE! I'M IN THE STREET BUT STAY OUT OF THE STREET! RUN AWAY! RUN AWAY!"
Jon Stewart did a sketch on something similar during the recent post-storm flooding. Brilliant as usual.
Really folks, please DO stay safe, evacuate, or whatever has been advised for your area. Don't be like that guy on TV with the park bench hurtling straight at his head.
I love the British Invasion!! Even today I still love these bands and the pop culture that surrounded them. During the early Sixties, many variety shows seemed compelled and required to feature dancing with musical performances. These are some of my favorite British Invasion bands, subjected to different types of dancing incorporated into their TV spots.
The Zombies A rare "live" performance on the Hippodrome that is not lip-synced, included very weirdly-misplaced burlesque dancers.
The Yardbirds This is Hullabaloo, and featured caged as well as floor dancers, and they are wild and wonderful. The music is a combination of pre-recorded and live, and is, in my opinion this cover is one of the meanest, wickedest blues-rock songs ever done.
The Moody Blues Top of the Pops. This is the 'Mark I' version of the band - the founding members, (before Justin Hayward and John Lodge joined the band), and this one features Denny Laine on vocals. Denny went on to be a member of Paul McCartney's Wings. You will also see Mike Pinder, Ray Thomas, Graeme Edge and Clint Warwick. Clint is the only one (other than Denny) who didn't continue to the most famous and enduring version of the band. The dancers are not professionals like the others, but they are surrounding the band and very much part of the show!
