Sunday, September 23, 2012
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Neil Armstrong: American Hero
 |
| Neil Armstrong — First Man on the Moon |
"One small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind."
Apollo 11 Moon Landing — July 20, 1969
In memory of Neil Armstrong
Monday, August 20, 2012
Phyllis Diller: Pioneer Stand-Up Comic
Friday, August 10, 2012
Tuesday, July 03, 2012
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Monday, May 07, 2012
I Hopped A Roving Wormhole for the Summer
Sorry, it's a one-way wormhole. So, that's it, then. See you in the funny papers.
Sunday, May 06, 2012
Timeless Rock
1960's Classic Rock Performances
Like a lot of aging baby boomers, I still have a soft spot in my heart for rock music. Others might call it "rock and roll" but I prefer to call it just plain old "rock" music because my favorite rock bands of all time were those British rock bands from the Sixties and the 1960's American bands that were influenced by them. I liked the big, brassy, live-stage sound of that early rock music, especially when I watched these bands perform on The Ed Sullivan Show or heard their songs being played on American Bandstand.
Being the nostalgic fool that I am and, yeah, I guess, the romantic fool that I've always been, I created another personal website
this past weekend just to pay homage to the British and American rock
bands from the 1960s that made such an impression on me as a teenager
and as a young man.
And, yep, it still has an effect on an old, nostalgic fool like me who remembers quite vividly that 60's rock music was all about fun, dancing and, you bet, romance. Just click on the picture if you want to see the 5th and, hopefully, the last entertainment satellite I'll ever attach to my official website.
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Friday, March 02, 2012
Funny Books
When I was old enough to read, back in the early 1950s, I took a keen interest in reading comic books, like most American kids. And, like most American boys, I liked to read action/adventure comic books that weren't really funny. But my interest in comic books didn't stop there. I liked all kinds of comic books and got a real charge out of the "funny" ones.
Eventually, all comic books became "funny books" to me, just like I called the Sunday comics in the newspapers "the funny papers". The funny papers would make another fun topic for this blog but, right now, I want to list some of the "funny books" that I read on a regular basis. And, yep, some of them were probably for girls, but when you grow up around girls, you often read what they read and then you find out that most "funny books" were meant for everybody. Even grownups.
Rather than make this blog post a mile long by going into detail about why I liked reading these "funny books", I'll just list the ones I was able to remember reading regularly, or at least more than once. One thing the comic books or graphic novels or funny books — or whatever you want to call them — did for me was to show me the lighter side of life and the creative, fanciful side of others that made me feel good about having a big part of me that could forego reality for a spell and enjoy action, fantasy and humor. Here are some "funny books" from my youth:
Batman, Green Lantern, Flash, Robin, Sgt. Rock, Superman, Swamp Thing
Combat, Beetle Bailey, Bugs Bunny, Daffy [Duck], Donald Duck, Huckleberry Hound, Little Lulu, Tom and Jerry, [Marge's] Tubby, Tweety and Sylvester, Uncle Scrooge, Walt Disney Comics
Baby Huey, Casper the Friendly Ghost, Hot Stuff the Little Devil, Little Dot, Little Lotta, Richie Rich, Sad Sack, Spooky, Stumbo the Giant, Wendy the Good Little Witch
As you can see, the "funny books" from my past outnumber the action/adventure "comic books". But that never mattered to me. I wasn't keeping track of them. I wasn't counting them or categorizing them or looking over my shoulder to see who was watching me. I was too busy reading them. Over and over again.
As you can see, the "funny books" from my past outnumber the action/adventure "comic books". But that never mattered to me. I wasn't keeping track of them. I wasn't counting them or categorizing them or looking over my shoulder to see who was watching me. I was too busy reading them. Over and over again.
Friday, February 17, 2012
Bringing It On: Newhart
Newhart was one of my favorite sticoms of all time. Right up there with The Andy Griffith Show, Barney Miller, Green Acres and Taxi. This was Bob Newhart at his best. My other favorite characters were portrayed by Julia Duffy and Tom Poston. Yep, you bet, I miss the 20th Century. But I'd never do all over again. That's what the future is for.
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Remnants of the 20th Century
A short documentary by Baby Boomer Boy about lost artifacts from the last century and the previous millennium. You can find these discarded items in flea markets, yard sales and garage sales throughout the civilized world.
Author's Note 12-2-11: I added a soundtrack to my original 2010 silent version, originally posted on 4-4-10. Hope you like it. I think it's much better with music.
Author's Note 11-07-13: This video was uploaded by Michael Casher to Blogger. You can't watch this video at YouTube because it does not exist there. That is another Google redirect which is nothing more than a lie to get you to watch other videos at YouTube instead of the uploaded video on this blog post. This new uploaded format at Blogger was introduced in November 2013 by Google without notice to anyone.
Author's Note 11-07-13: This video was uploaded by Michael Casher to Blogger. You can't watch this video at YouTube because it does not exist there. That is another Google redirect which is nothing more than a lie to get you to watch other videos at YouTube instead of the uploaded video on this blog post. This new uploaded format at Blogger was introduced in November 2013 by Google without notice to anyone.
Thursday, December 01, 2011
Friday, November 18, 2011
Friday, October 07, 2011
My Slant on the Slinky
At a Gimbels Department Store in Philadelphia in 1945, the Slinky toy made its American debut and by 1946 it was introduced to the American toy market. Developed by a naval engineer from Pennsylvania, the Slinky was basically a helical spring made of steel. In its heyday, Slinky was manufactured in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, a bustling borough seven miles south of Altoona.
The Slinky's main claim to fame as a toy was that it could go down a flight of stairs all by itself, with a little push from a kid at the top of the stairs. Other than this, the Slinky was probably the most fascinating and also the most boring toy ever produced in the 20th Century. It was eventually made of plastic, which made it cheaper, tackier and even more boring than before.
No matter how you felt about it, the Slinky toy from James Industries, Inc. was one of the most popular kid-and-gravity-powered toys in 20th-Century America, along with the baseball, football, Frisbee and the plain old rock. Now manufactured by Poof-Slinky, Inc. — a result of the 2003 merger of James Industries, Inc. and Poof Products, Inc. — the Slinky was one of the few baby-boomer toys that wasn't manufactured by Mattel, Marx or Ron Popeil (Popeil, Ronco).
No matter how you felt about it, the Slinky toy from James Industries, Inc. was one of the most popular kid-and-gravity-powered toys in 20th-Century America, along with the baseball, football, Frisbee and the plain old rock. Now manufactured by Poof-Slinky, Inc. — a result of the 2003 merger of James Industries, Inc. and Poof Products, Inc. — the Slinky was one of the few baby-boomer toys that wasn't manufactured by Mattel, Marx or Ron Popeil (Popeil, Ronco).
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Thursday, August 11, 2011
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