The Boy Scouts of America celebrate 100 years of instilling values such as individualism, patriotism, courtesy, and respect. uploaded by scccbsa.org.
I was a Cub Scout back in my hometown of Newport News, Va., and Mrs. Ranny Leake was my den mother. My memories of scouting are sketchy; we had that (what seemed then) cool uniform that we were allowed to wear to school one day a week…and we had to do things to earn merit badges. And I learned to be friendly, courteous, kind, cheerful, and brave. More or less.
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The Boy Scouts of America was incorporated on this date exactly one hundred years ago – February 8, 1910. America’s large cities were filled with boys who’d never experienced the great outdoors, the first street kids the country had known. The values that the Boy Scouts stand for – individualism, patriotism, discipline, and respect for authority – were missing. Some concerned men chose to emulate what England’s Lord Robert Baden-Powell had just created, which came to be called the Scouting movement. Lord Powell said its goal “is to develop among boys a power of sympathizing with others, and a spirit of self-sacrifice and patriotism.”
For a century now, boys have come to internalize those values through the program of the Boy Scouts. Scouts share responsibilities and apply skills learned at meetings. From the littlest Cub Scout to the mature Eagle Scout, they learn positive values in a society in which values are somehow outdated.
But are the Scouts as relevant in today’s world as they were during more innocent times? Peter Applebome, and editor of the New York Times, participated in the Boy Scouts with his son. Of the experience he said, “Scouting’s core values … are wonderful building blocks for a movement and a life. Scouting’s genuinely egalitarian goals and instincts are more important now than they’ve ever been. It’s one of the only things that kids do that’s genuinely cooperative, not competitive.”
And the Boy Scouts are still relevant in the inner cities as well. Writer Heather Mac Donald of the Manhattan Institute visited a Scout meeting in New York City, and wrote: “At the conclusion of the Troop 409 meeting in Bedford-Stuyvesant, the boys thank me in unison for coming. Two fawn-like boys at a meeting on the Lower East Side politely introduce themselves, offering their hands. When I ask one of them, Ian, where he got his good manners, he clutches his handbook to his chest and says, ‘I’ve practically memorized my Boy Scout book.’ The handbook says nothing about introducing yourself to adults; apparently its civilizing influence is wider than its literal words.”
Physicians at the Mayo Clinic are paid a salary, not by patient volume. It's one way the medical center stays focused on patients and their needs. Uploaded to Flickr by James Neeley.
Today, “Mayo Clinic” is synonymous with medical excellence. U.S. News and World Report ranks it the number two hospital in the United States, just behind Johns Hopkins. But the Mayo Clinic’s history and influence makes it unique in American medicine today.
The Clinic grew from the practice of family doctor William W. Mayo in the rural town of Rochester, Minnesota. It was Dr. Mayo’s two sons, Dr. William J. Mayo and Dr. Charles Mayo, who took their father’s practice and made it into the world-recognized center of medicine it has become. As their surgical skills increased, they invited other physicians with other specialties to join them. With the help of one of these physicians, Dr. Henry Plummer, they created one of the world’s first integrated group practices of medicine.
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Today, the Mayo Clinic employs more than 3,300 doctors, researchers, and scientists for the diagnosis and treatment of disease. In Rochester, there are buildings dedicated to patient examination and laboratory work, research, and education. Hospitals there include the 794-bed Rochester Methodist Hospital, the 1,157-bed Saint Marys Hospital, and the 85-bed Mayo Eugenio Litta Children’s Hospital (part of Saint Marys). Education of medical professionals takes place at the Mayo Medical School and Mayo Graduate School. Mayo also has facilities in Scottsdale/Phoenix and in Jacksonville.
But it isn’t the size of the facilities or the number of professionals that makes Mayo Clinic unique. It’s the treatment given to individuals, the time taken with them, the commitment to doing all that’s possible to improve their lives. That’s a legacy of the Mayo family, too, far more important than the bricks and mortar and machinery.
Back to those U.S. News rankings. Here’s where Mayo Clinic’s specialties rank nationally: Number 1: Diabetes and Endocrine Disorders, Orthopedics, Digestive Disorders, Neurology and Neurosurgery Number 2: Heart and Heart Surgery, Respiratory Disorders Number 3: Gynecology, Kidney Disorders, Urology Number 4: Cancer, Rheumatology Number 5: Rehabilitation Number 6: Geriatric Care Number 7: Psychiatry, Ear, Nose, and Throat
Despite their connotation of Tex-Mex food (witness former mascot The Frito Bandito), Fritos were actually created by a man named Elmer. Uploaded by i35.tinypic.com.
Imagine going into a grocery store before the era of convenience foods. You’d see fresh produce, barrels of penny candy, some canned vegetables, probably some cigarettes and snuff. Dapper Dan pomade. What you wouldn’t see would be rows of brightly packaged chips, candy, soft drinks, snack cakes, and frozen foods. And you wouldn’t have found Fritos.
Somehow it’s a bit of a letdown to know that Fritos, which have always had a bit of Tex-Mex vibe (witness banned mascot The Frito Bandito), was actually created by a man named Elmer. Elmer Doolin bought a recipe for fried corn chips for $100 back in 1932 and, according to his daughter, became obsessed with making them right. His kids were his taste testers as he tried variations of recipes and flavors.
One of the highest uses a Frito can aspire to is to be in a Frito Pie. Uploaded by cowineco.com.
Elmer started the Frito Corporation that year. It’s said he envisioned Fritos as a side dish, to be served with soup or a sandwich. He never anticipated that people would just sit down with a bag and munch on them.
The Frito Corporation granted H.W. Lay & Company the rights to market Fritos in the Southeast. The two companies developed a close working relationship, and finally merged in 1961. PepsiCo bought the new company in 1965.
There are lots of flavors of Fritos these days, but the best innovation in Fritechnology was the creation of Scoops. As I, and no doubt millions of other Americans, appreciate each February during that snack food holiday called the Super Bowl. Football fans should especially appreciate Fritos; if they had never been invented, people would have to eat – the horror! – healthful food while watching the big game.
Map, 1961 by Jasper Johns. His works have been sold for huge sums, making him one of the wealthiest artists ever. Uploaded by princetonol.com.
Abstract expressionism dominated the American art scene in the early fifties, a style Jasper Johns never identified with. He went in another direction, becoming an influence in the movement commonly called Pop Art. He took ordinary flat, two-dimensional objects – flags, targets, numbers – and painted them in vibrant colors.
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Photos don’t do justice to Johns’s work, however. He used what’s called an encaustic technique, in which pigments are mixed with hot liquid wax. And his surfaces are intentionally distressed to remove some of the emotional impact from the commonplace objects portrayed. The American Masters series on PBS said this about Johns: “It was a new experience for gallery goers to find paintings solely of such things as flags and numbers. The simplicity and familiarity of the subject matter piqued viewer interest in both Johns’ motivation and his process. Johns explains, ‘There may or may not be an idea, and the meaning may just be that the painting exists.’”
His work has sold for astronomical sums, making Johns one of the wealthiest authors ever. Don’t expect to find his originals at the Starving Artists show the next time it comes to your town.
Since in this case a picture is worth a thousand words, or at least several paragraphs, here are representations of some of Jasper Johns’s famous works.
Flag. Uploaded by z.about.com.
Figura 8. Uploaded by wideopenspaces.squarespace.com.
Even Superman had to worry about being caught by Allen Funt on Candid Camera. Uploaded by supermantv.net.
Of course you know the premise of the show – catching ordinary people “in the act of being themselves.” Long before Punk’d and America’s Funniest Home Videos, and way before YouTube, Candid Camera recognized the potential of reality video.
Pittsburgh's Dancing Traffic Cop, Vic Cianca, was one of the earliest hits on Candid Camera. Uploaded by post-gazette.com.
The show actually started on radio, which is a little hard to imagine now, given its association with visual gags. It debuted in 1947 as “Candid Microphone.” For the next decade, it surfaced here and there before becoming a regular television segment, first on the Tonight Show in 1958 and the Garry Moore Show in 1959. It finally emerged as a stand-alone show in 1960. It had its longest run on Sunday nights until 1967 when it was a top 10 program several of those years.
Allen Funt not only created and produced the show, but introduced the segments. His affection for the people featured on the show was both obvious and contagious. For most of his run on network television, he was assisted by Durward Kirby, a droll but likable guy. Allen’s son Peter Funt became the co-host when the show appeared as occasional specials, then took over for the syndicated series. Unfortunately, he lacked his father’s ebullient personality, and Candid Camera isn’t on the air today.
For architecture, for entertainment, for panoramic views, for the best people watching in the world, nothing beats Rockefeller Center. Uploaded by wikimedia.org.
On your first visit to New York City, it’s a must. Rockefeller Center is the very heart of midtown Manhattan, encompassing 19 buildings between 51st and 48th Streets (north-south), and Sixth and Fifth Avenues (east-west). Here you’ll find great art deco architecture, incredible views at Top of the Rock, and world-class entertainment at Radio City Music Hall. Plus, some of the most fascinating people watching on the planet.
Rockefeller Center is actually two building complexes – 14 original art deco buildings completed during the 1930s, and four towers built during the 1960s and 70s. Because construction occurred during the depression, John D. Rockefeller, Jr. financed the entire project by himself. The land on which the project was built belonged to Columbia University until 1985, when it was sold for $400 million.
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What’s now called the GE Building was originally the RCA Building. You know that famous photograph of workers sitting on a skyscraper under construction, eating lunch? That was the RCA Building. The NBC Radio Studios were in the building from the start, so the whole Center had the nickname “Radio City” at first, and that’s how the theater came to be called Radio City Music Hall.
Now you can tour all of Rockefeller Center, Radio City Music Hall, and NBC Studios. You can go to the top of the GE Building and get a panoramic view of the city from the Top of the Rock observation deck. You can be on television in the crowd at the Today Show. At the right time of year, you can ice skate or view the gigantic Rockefeller Center Christmas tree. You can shop at more than 100 stores, and dine at any of 40 restaurants. And you can see the statue of Atlas, along with the remarkable architecture all around you.
Rockefeller Center is something every visitor to New York should see. Chances are you’ll find yourself coming back on every visit to the Big Apple.
Groundhog Day is a brilliant movie. Once you get past its quirky premise, that a man has to live one day – Groundhog Day – over and over and over again, you begin to see a film that’s not only funny, but smart, and romantic, and redemptive.
Bill Murray (Great American Things, April 25, 2009) does an exceptional job as weatherman Phil Connors. This role is the bridge between his broader comedies and the more sophisticated parts he played in Rushmore and Lost in Translation. Andie MacDowell does a serviceable job as the female lead, but this is Murray’s movie.
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Harold Ramis co-wrote and directed Groundhog Day, but nothing he did before or has done since would hint that he had this movie in him. I consider it the It’s a Wonderful Life (Great American Things, December 1, 2009) of our generation. Consider: both fantasy stories, both with a protagonist who’s frustrated by his life, both of whom end up doing what’s right despite the personal cost to them. And both of whom are rewarded with joy and satisfaction as a result. In It’s a Wonderful Life, it starts to snow when Jimmy Stewart (Great American Things, April 8, 2009) says he wants to live again; in Groundhog Day, it starts to snow when Murray realizes that whatever happens in the future, he’s happy now.
The American Film Institute named the movie its number eight fantasy movie of all time, and number 34 comedy. But perhaps the film’s greatest tribute is how the phrase “Groundhog Day” is now a part of the language, indicating any experience that’s repeated time and again.
Perhaps Fonda's greatest role was in 12 Angry Men, which he also produced and which was nominated for Best Picture. Uploaded by battleshippretension.com.
The one word that comes to mind when I think of Henry Fonda is “unflappable.” I can’t remember a scene in any of his films, though I’m sure there must have been some, where he was anxious or distraught. Maybe that’s why he was often cast as an authority figure.
He was President in Young Mr. Lincoln and Fail-Safe… a marshal in My Darling Clementine… a college professor in The Male Animal… a nominee for Secretary of State in Advise and Consent… a police commissioner in Madigan… and a military officer in Fort Apache, Mister Roberts, The Longest Day, and Midway.
Fonda in The Grapes of Wrath, the role that made him a star. Uploaded by robertegger.org.
Fonda won acclaim for his roles in other films, including The Ox-Bow Incident and 12 Angry Men (probably his finest role). He received an Academy Award nomination for The Grapes of Wrath and finally won for his final major role in On Golden Pond. He also received the Academy’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 1980. In addition to film, he also acted in sixteen Broadway productions, and was recognized for Lifetime Achievement by the Tony Awards in 1979.
Of course, he became the paterfamilias of a prominent acting family that includes son Peter Fonda, daughter Jane Fonda, and granddaughter Bridget Fonda. Sadly, he wasn’t particularly close to his children. Yet both Peter and Jane were at his bedside when he died from heart disease in 1982.
He couldn’t describe his acting style, and his natural greatness frustrated Jane, who worked hard on what’s called Method acting. But it’s that effortless, smooth, natural grace that we remember when we think of Henry Fonda. President, Professor, Admiral, Marshal, Commissioner Fonda.
They didn't break out of prison. They released themselves on their own recognizance. Uploaded by static.guim.co.uk.
This movie would have been featured here before now, but I’ve already included a couple of Coen Brothers films (O Brother Where Art Thou and Fargo) and wanted to showcase other classics. But I can’t put off Raising Arizona any longer.
It’s not a complicated plot. H.I. and Edwina McDunnough want a baby, but can’t conceive. Nathan and Florence Arizona have quintuplets. That doesn’t seem fair to H.I. and Ed, so they help themselves to Nathan, Jr. And, as they say in the movies, hilarity ensues.
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Lots of great performances in this one. Nicholas Cage and Holly Hunter are terrific as the childless couple, John Goodman and William Forsythe are brilliant as escaped convicts who take refuge in the McDunnough’s trailer, and Frances McDormand is typically excellent as Ed’s friend Dot.
But, like most Coen Brothers movies, the script is the real star. Raising Arizona is one of those movies you can’t help but quote. These lines will bring back specific scenes to anyone who’s seen this movie. And the more you see it, the funnier it is.
Ed: You mean you busted out of jail.
Evelle: No, ma’am. We released ourselves on our own recognizance.
Gale: What Evelle here is trying to say is that we felt that the institution no longer had anything to offer us.
Gale: Why ain’t you breast-feeding? You appear to be capable.
Glen: I said, “Healthy white baby? Five years? What else you got?” Said they got two Koreans and a negra born with his heart on the outside. It’s a crazy world.
Evelle: You hear that, you dang hayseeds? We’re using code names!
Dot: What if a truck came along and splattered your brains all over the interstate? Where would that leave Ed and the little angel?
She's been a success at just about everything she's tried. And it seems like she's done it all in 30 minutes or less. Uploaded by womantribune.com.
“Hi, I’m Rachael Ray, and I make 30-minute meals. That means in the time it takes to watch this program, I’ll have made a delicious, healthy meal from start to finish.” On her first network show, 30 Minute Meals, Rachael didn’t try to teach us haute cuisine, or to use advanced chef techniques. Instead, she showed how to prepare family food within the time frame the average person has to fix a meal.
Her girl-next-door beauty and effusive personality made her a star, and more television opportunities followed. The Food Network, recognizing her star power, gave her two additional shows: Rachael Ray’s Tasty Travels and $40 a Day. But others were noticing her as well, including the Queen of All Things – Oprah. Harpo Productions launched Rachel Ray, a talk show that goes beyond the kitchen to explore Rachael’s other lifestyle interests. Launched in 2006, the show won Daytime Emmys in 2008 and 2009 for Outstanding Talk Show (Entertainment).
Photo by Andy Kropa, uploaded by cache.daylife.com.
Now Rachael has her own magazine, Web site (of course), best-selling cookbooks, and lots of product endorsements. She even got her signature “EVOO” (for “extra virgin olive oil”) into the dictionary. She’s lived a charmed life, and she knows it.
“I’ve just sort of gone with the flow and I ended up here,” she said. “Crazy. I’m not going to start planning anything, my life is way better than anybody could have planned it.”
Here’s an excellent interview that demonstrates why America loves Rachael Ray:
They started singing together in 1939, but the Grammy people didn't recognize them until 2002. Uploaded by pac.unlv.edu.
The Rolling Stones formed in the early sixties. That’s a career span coming up on 40 years, which is remarkable. But the Blind Boys of Alabama started singing in 1939 at the Alabama Institute for the Negro Blind in Talladega. And though only two of the original members are still living, they’re still touring, still performing.
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For most of the group’s history, the Boys performed pure gospel music in the traditional black churches and gospel music venues. Then in 1983, they appeared in The Gospel of Colonus on Broadway, and their new audiences were thrilled. So were other well-known artists, who asked the Blind Boys to record with them. In fact, they’ve featured some of these sessions on their album Duets, in which they sing with Ben Harper, Timothy B. Schmidt, Bonnie Raitt, Jars of Clay, Lou Reed, and others.
They released their first album in 1948, the intriguingly titled I Can See Everybody’s Mother But Mine. They’ve released dozens of albums since, and the Grammy folks finally took notice a few years ago. The group received the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Soul Gospel Album every year between 2002 and 2005. And in 2009 they were awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
Though they’ve expanded their appeal, they haven’t abandoned their faith. Here’s one of their great performances. Head over to YouTube and catch some others. It’s still not too late to get on the bandwagon.
Though it's one of the Eagles' most popular songs, it was never released as a single. Uploaded by bvhorse.site.aplus.net.
There’s a Web site devoted to love song lyrics, and “Desperado” is featured there. I’m sorry, but that doesn’t work. Sure, it’s nominally about a cowboy who won’t allow himself to be vulnerable, but I don’t see any way to stretch things and call this a love song.
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“Desperado” the song was on Desperado the album, released in 1973. It had a western theme, with numbers like “Outlaw Man” and “Doolin-Dalton”. And while it’s easily one of the Eagles’ most popular songs, I was surprised to learn it was never released as a single. Even so, Rolling Stone considered it one of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
I’m also surprised more people haven’t heard “Desperado” in a spiritual context. “Come down from your fences – open the gate,” alludes to opening your heart, being open to God, who is “the rainbow above you”. And the call for a decision is, “You’d better let somebody love you – before it’s too late.” Probably not at all what Henley and Frey were thinking, but…that’s what it’s always brought to my mind.
The ghosts would get you - unless you gobbled some power pellets and turned the tables on them. Uploaded by static1.abduzeedo.com.
Back when video games ranged from the ultra-primitive (Pong) to the still simple (Space Invaders), the introduction of Pac-Man was more than an improvement in game technology. It was as much an icon of the 80s as disco was of the 70s.
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Pac-Man navigates through a maze, eating pac-dots along the way while avoiding the ghosts. But power pellets awaited in each of the corners that gave Pac-Man an energy boost and the ability to eat the ghosts. Of course, the ghosts moved faster than Pac-Man, so running away from them wasn’t a prudent strategy. I’ve read where the game had 255 levels – I never made it past the first three or four.
Let’s pause a moment to praise one Billy Mitchell of Hollywood, Florida. He was the first ever to get a PERFECT SCORE on all levels – eating all the fruit and pac-dots and never losing a life. It took him about six hours. But think of how many hundreds or thousands of hours it must have taken him to achieve that proficiency!
Want to enjoy Pac-Man once more? You can play it for free on your computer, assuming you have Flash. You even get the same sounds. Good luck!
When Lombardi took over the Packers, they were coming off a 1-12-1 season. They were in the championship game two years later. Uploaded by postalmuseum.si.edu.
Q. Vince Lombardi has become synonymous with which of the following? A. Winning B. The NFL C. Hard Work D. All of the Above
A. D, all of the above
In 1956, the New York Giants won the NFL championship under head coach Jim Lee Howell. That’s forgettable, until you consider that Vince Lombardi was the offensive coordinator and Tom Landry, legendary head coach of the Cowboys, was the defensive coordinator.
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The Green Bay Packers gave Lombardi the opportunity to be a head coach in 1959. The team was coming off a 1-10-1 season. His first year, they improved to 7-5. The next season, he had them in the championship game, but lost. It was to be his only postseason loss. Lombardi led the Packers to NFL championships in 1961, 1962, 1965, 1966, and 1967. The last two wins were in Super Bowls I and II.
Lombardi was known as a strict disciplinarian. “Lombardi time” meant being 10 minutes early or you were considered late. He said, “Mental toughness is many things and rather difficult to explain. Its qualities are sacrifice and self-denial. Also, most importantly, it is combined with a perfectly disciplined will that refuses to give in. It’s a state of mind – you could call it character in action.”
Lombardi is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, of course. And the Super Bowl trophy has been named in his honor. He’d probably be embarrassed by the awards and accolades, but he earned them. Despite his strict regime, his players loved him. And when he died of cancer at age 57, football fans everywhere lost not only a great coach, but a great man.
The American supermarket is the envy of the world. But its shelves would be virtually empty without the American farmer. Photo by Paul Mobley, uploaded by themorningnews.org.
You think you work hard? No doubt you do, but no one works harder than those who live on a farm. Up before sunrise, often laboring until there’s no daylight left. And what do they get for it? Higher oil prices, lower wholesale prices, losing economies of scale to agribusiness, and the condescension of urban elites who need what they produce and yet treat them like rubes.
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Despite all the obstacles, these are the people who have made America the breadbasket of the world. Potatoes from Idaho, apples from Washington, hams from Virginia, corn from Iowa, grapes from California, oranges from Florida, wheat from Kansas, beef from Texas. American supermarkets are the envy of the world, and their shelves would be virtually empty without the American farmer.
Farmers pay their taxes. They raise their children with values. They pray. They love the land, and respect the climate. All they want in return is a fair shake for their products, the right to start with seeds and deliver a crop without interference or handicap.
Although I’ve lived almost all my life in cities, I now live on the edge of my wife’s family farm. Her daddy, William West, grew tobacco there, as well as some livestock destined primarily for his family’s table. When he died, the family leased the farm to a neighbor, who still grows soybeans there. It’s a beautiful, rolling property that looks like the pictures I’ve seen of Tuscany. My wife worked the farm while growing up, and I’ve been able to observe how it shaped her character. She works hard. She doesn’t complain. She’s adept at a wide variety of tasks. And she doesn’t expect things to be handed to her, she realizes that her comforts are a direct result of her labor.
As deeply as I love her, I admire her just as much. And I think a lot of that comes from her life on a farm. So I salute American farmers and their families. Thank you for all you’ve done to make this a nation of abundance like the world has never known. And for showing us the value of hard work, grounded values, and solid family life.
Let's face it, someone had to be the first person to eat crawfish, and it wouldn't have been me. Uploaded by cajuncrawfishpie.com.
For those who don’t get to New Orleans often, the area’s two distinctive cuisines – cajun and creole – are often considered one and the same. But no no. Cajun is country-style food, influenced by the city’s French history. Think one-pot dishes, like crawfish étouffée and jambalaya. Creole is cajun’s city cousin, more refined, with both French and African influences. Shrimp creole, gumbo, and much more.
These dishes may be spicy, they may not. They often make use of local seafood, spices, and roux, and they’re hearty, robust, and rich.
Of course, there are other foods that New Orleans has helped to bring to America’s taste buds. You could enjoy po’ boys, beignets, muffulettas, red beans and rice, bbq shrimp, and just about anything made with andouille sausage and crawfish. And of course, bananas foster, a classic New Orleans dessert created by Brennan’s Restaurant, and creole bread pudding with whiskey sauce.
Oh, baby!
Chef Paul Prudhomme. Uploaded by seattletimes.nwsource.com.
Certainly, celebrity chefs have helped carry the gospel of New Orleans cooking. Emeril Lagasse has three restaurants in the city, along with his television productions. And people come from near and far to dine at Chef Paul Prudhomme’s restaurant, K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen.
Michael Crichton was a successful novelist, screenwriter, director, and television producer. Uploaded by exleyphoto.com.
You probably know Michael Crichton as a best-selling author. But he also achieved great success as a screenwriter, film director, and television producer. In 1994, he became the only artist to simultaneously have the number one movie (Jurassic Park), television show (ER), and book (Disclosure).
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As a writer, Crichton’s first top seller was The Andromeda Strain. It established his theme, the worst-case scenarios possible when modern technologies aren’t properly controlled. His novels were usually picked up quickly by Hollywood. Other books he wrote that became films include The Terminal Man, The Great Train Robbery, Sphere, Jurassic Park, The Lost World, and Timeline.
He wrote and directed Westworld, a hit that established his directing credentials. Though he never focused on this part of his craft, he directed six film, including hits such as Coma, The Great Train Robbery, and Looker. His screenwriting credits include Jurassic Park, Rising Sun, and Twister.
Crichton originally planned ER as a movie. However as he was discussing it with Steven Spielberg (Great American Things, July 22, 2009), Spielberg asked him what he was working on these days. Crichton said, Oh, I have this idea about dinosaurs being brought back to life. So Spielberg focused on Jurassic Park, and Crichton turned ER to a television series. He wrote the first three episodes, and became the show’s executive producer.
Crichton held passionate views about the mistake of politicizing science. State of Fear made a statement about the issue of global warming, and how governments can control and manipulate citizens by keeping them panicked about environmental catastrophes.
Spielberg said this after Crichton’s death from cancer in 2008: “Michael’s talent outscaled even his own dinosaurs of Jurassic Park….There is no one in the wings that will ever take his place.”
Before 1966, Chucks were available in two colors - black and white. Boy, has THAT changed. Uploaded by openphoto.net.
Used to be, any sport shoes that didn’t have cleats were called “tennis shoes.” And if you needed a new pair of sneakers, you got Pro-Keds or Red Ball Jets. Unless you were really serious – then you got Chuck Taylor All-Stars by Converse.
“Chucks” were first made all the way back in 1917 as just the “All-Star.” Then Chuck Taylor, a noted basketball player in the early twenties, went to work for Converse. It’s said that everyone knew him and liked him, and when he made improvements to the shoes, they became an instant hit. Converse soon added his name to the brand.
Uploaded by ruggedelegantliving.com.
Until 1966, the shoes were only available in black or white. Then, as the psychedelic era demanded, Chucks became available in a variety of colors and materials.
They went out of fashion for a while when expensive leather basketball shoes (Air Jordans, et. al.) became the rage, but came back into fashion in the nineties. It was the music scene that revived them – the Ramones, Nirvana, Rage Against the Machine, and U2’s The Edge have all worn them regularly.
You won’t see Chucks on the basketball court anymore. They don’t offer the arch and ankle support athletes can get from today’s athletic shoes. But go to a college, or a rock concert, and you’ll see that the love for Chuck Taylor All-Stars has been passed to a new generation.
For ribs. For history. For shopping. But most of all, for the blues. Uploaded by ronsaari.com.
You can eat ribs on Beale Street. You can shoot pool on Beale Street. You can definitely see and be seen on Beale Street. But most of all, you can hear some of the world’s finest blues on Beale Street.
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The connection between Memphis and the blues goes back to legendary musician W.C. Handy, who located there in 1905. He formed a band and started playing a kind of music that folks hadn’t heard till then. And they liked it. It wasn’t long before Louis Armstrong (Great American Things, May 11, 2009), Muddy Waters, Albert King, B.B. King, Rufus Thomas and others started playing the style that came to be called Memphis Blues.
Now Beale Street offers clubs for a variety of tastes, whether you feel safer with chains (Hard Rock Cafe, Coyote Ugly) or prefer eclectic little clubs like Miss Polly’s Soul City Cafe or Tater Red’s. Either way, you’re on a street that’s been declared a National Historic Landmark, and been declared “Home of the Blues” by Congress.
A good time to visit (if you don’t mind crowds) is during the Beale Street Music Festival, usually held in late April or early May. The official Web site brags: “Music lovers from around the globe gather at the Beale Street Music Festival to celebrate this vital heritage, this deep river of sound. Three magical days. Four big stages. More than sixty top acts. One outrageous weekend on thirty-three acres overlooking the Mighty Mississippi, right on the heels of historic Beale Street.”
Drag racing, badminton, jai alai - Wide World of Sports took its mission as a sports anthology seriously. Uploaded by 50th-usnationals.com.
“Spanning the globe to bring you the constant variety of sports… the thrill of victory… and the agony of defeat… the human drama of athletic competition… This is “ABC’s Wide World of Sports!”
That was Jim McKay’s introduction, and it lasted all the way from the show’s start in 1961 until its cancellation in 1997. One of the most familiar television images of the age was Vinko Bogataj’s disastrous ski jump that perfectly illustrated “the agony of defeat.”
Host Jim McKay. Uploaded by accesshollywood.com.
McKay hosted the show from its inception until 1986, and occasionally after that. He presided over an anthology show that featured sports and “sports” not often found on television, such as jai alai, curling, rodeo, demolition derby, and badminton. NASCAR was featured regularly back before its widespread commercial appeal was recognized.
And though we often remember the offbeat programs, Wide World of Sports was also the first American program to broadcast such events as Wimbledon, the Daytona 500, the Indy 500, and the Little League World Series.
Jim McKay won numerous Emmy Awards for his work on the program, and has been inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame and the Television Hall of Fame. Here is his introduction to the program, quoted above, which became part of American pop culture:
Copyright 2009-2010, Robin G. Chalkley. All material on these pages and the listing of items as Great American Things, is copyrighted. The exceptions are the photographs and videos, which remain the property of their respective owners.
Header photo used courtesy of photographer Roofer 1.
