May 2010
1 post
February 2010
1 post
January 2010
1 post
The Family Circus Explained
The Family Circus by Jeff and Bill Keane, April 18, 2005
You see kids, a lot of folks who read do not use teh internets and are unfamiliar with blogs, which seem foreign to them. They think it’s funny that a young person might spend time and invest energies investigating and writing about things that are locally meaningful.
Luckily, 18-24 year olds are the most active demographic group...
December 2009
1 post
Glass Houses
The other day I happened across an article on the WTSP Channel 10 (Tampa, FL) website. It was a sad story of “Two students hospitalized after smoking popular herbs.” ‘Herbs’ in this context means incense. Sad story, but the lads seem to be on the mend. Hopefully, they will one day look back to the comments following the article and have a good laugh.
First, the...
November 2009
9 posts
'The Family Circus' Explained
Do you remember in “Planes, Trains and Automobiles?” I give you the following clip:
No, those aren’t pillows. Similarly, that’s not soda, Billy.
You see Billy, daddy needs a little “medicine” sometimes. I bet he’s feeling much better now!
Merry Christmas, Sweetie...
… Mommy and I got you dancing lessons.
Political "Humor" Explained
Tom Toles in the Washington Post. November 4, 2009.
Uh huh. See, Republican supporters are mostly people who can’t afford Republican policies. That is, you have to be rich to benefit, and most of us Americans are not. No where is this more true than in the health care debate. The Republican plan is, essentially, to let rich people buy better care, while the rest of us deal with the fact...
Count Your Cash
But mix it up a little. No one else in the world does it the way we do here in the states.
I wonder if there is anthropological interest in why we have developed very different ways of counting very similar paper currencies?
1 tag
'The Wizard of Id' Explained
Parker and Hart, Nov. 12, 2009, via comic.com.
Something bad happened to the Wizard’s brother-in-law, and now the Wizard has to go the to the opera with his wife because his Brother-in-Law cannot use the tickets. The Wizard is so ego-centric and caught up in his own crap; he thinks he is the only one with problems - attending the opera is a fate worse than death - while completely...
1 tag
The End of Rugged Individualism?
The Cash for Clunkers program has come and gone. It was not without problems, some of which persist (the vehicles received were supposed to be scavenged for parts and then destroyed, but there are so many parts to be salvaged that it is likely the deadline for destruction of the last vehicles will be missed by a full year). The list of most traded-in vehicles is interesting. People seem to be done...
1 tag
The Thin Man
In 1934, William Powell and Myrna...
1 tag
A Great Pastime
Fun for the whole family via xkcd
1 tag
'Henry' Explained
“Henry” by Carl Anderson. Thursday, October 1, 2009.
Henry is at the zoo when he sees a sign. The sign depicts a human hand pointing the way, as such signs sometimes do. Henry thinks the hand should look more like it’s attached to a monkey’s arm, because it is pointing to the monkey house, and so he draws some hair on it.
Henry’s clever like that.
By the way,...
October 2009
1 post
What Did You Expect?
Eating out at 2AM on Friday night/Saturday morning in a college town is an invitation to long lines and drunken conversation. This weekend, I found myself in a Steak ‘n’ Shake in the wee hours. It was a choice - that or Denny’s. The lot at Denny’s was full, so I aimed for Steak ‘n’ Shake.
Steak ‘n’ Shake was full, too. And I mean full - wait for...
May 2009
1 post
March 2009
2 posts
December 2008
2 posts
October 2008
2 posts
5 Minute Mysteries from 1948, Episode:...
September 2008
3 posts
Candy Matson, YUKON 2-8208
Candy Matson was a female detective, created by Monty Masters. She was played on radio by his wife, Natalie Parks, in a total of 80 30 minute episodes. The show aired on NBC out of San Francisco.
Once a model, Matson became a PI to pay the rent on her penthouse apartment. She didn’t use her gun very often, but she sure could fill out a size twelve business suit.
Candy Matson - “Donna Dunham Case”...
August 2008
35 posts
The Blue Beetle - Origin, Pt. 2
The Blue Beetle
The Blue Beetle aired from May through September, 1940. The radio show was based loosely on a comic book character of the same name. In the radio show, the Blue Beetle was a police officer who realized that the police couldn’t fight crime effectively without assistance. Like Superman, he’d duck into an alcove, and slip into his crime fighting suit.
Part 2 of the Origin comes...
The Blue Beetle - Origin, Part 1. May 15, 1940.
Change of Format
I always said that, if I missed a day, I’d hang it up. I managed three posts every day from 9/23/07 through the day before yesterday. Yesterday, I became distracted after I posted the holiday of the day and a quote from Larry Adler, who died on August 6. Then I had a meeting, and completely forgot to come back and post a birthday quote (it was Lucille Ball’s birthday, among...
“Even Bach comes down to the basic suck, blow, suck, suck, blow.”
– Larry Adler, harmonica player who could really blow, suck, blow, died this day in 2001.
Happy Holidays:
It’s Fresh Breath Day. Want a mint?
“I think, therefore I’m single.”
– Lizz Winstead, comedian, political pundit, and co-creator of The Daily Show, was born on this day in 1961.
“Hollywood is a place where they’ll pay you a thousand dollars for a kiss...”
– Marilyn Monroe, actor, model, singer, film producer and enigma, died on this day in 1962.
Happy Holidays:
It’s National Night Out. It’s about reducing crime, not lap dances and drinking heavily.
“All music is folk music. I ain’t never heard a horse sing a song.”
– Louis Armstrong, jazz trumpeter and singer, was born on this day in 1901.
“‘But the Emperor has nothing on at all!’”
– Hans Christian Andersen, poet and children’s author, died on this day in 1875.
Happy Holidays:
Today we celebrate the forgot branch of the Armed Forces: It’s Coast Guard Day.
“God gives every bird his worm, but He does not throw it into the nest.”
– P.D. James, crime novelist and Lord For Life, was born on this day in 1920.
“Smokers, male and female, inject and excuse idleness in their lives every time...”
– Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette, novelist, sexual progressive and non-smoker, died on this day in 1954.
Happy Holidays:
It’s International Friendship Day. It’s a good day to celebrate your friends, or make new ones.
“I can’t understand people calling themselves religious and being hateful....”
– Mojo Nixon, singer’songwriter, guitarist and libertarian, was born on this day in 1957.