The Nostalgiaganza

[DSafetyGuy]

Schlitz Malt Liquor as a presenting sponsor. Tremendous.

[The Sybian]

Schlitz Malt Liquor as a presenting sponsor. Tremendous.

That made me laugh. I would have thought the KFC Colonel and Cap'n Crunch were on the sidelines.

[DaveInSeattle]

Schlitz Malt Liquor as a presenting sponsor. Tremendous.

Billy Dee knows what's up...

[HaulCitgo]

It's the tag line

[govmentchedda]

Went down a little bit of a rabbit hole last week. Some older artist begat some other older artist and I got to Don Henley's solo hits on Spotify. Boys of Summer is everything it's always been, but when I got to End of the Innocence and The Heart of the Matter it got especially cringey. I suppose I never really listened to the lyrics as a 12 year old when the album came out, but the songs have a real divorced dad vibe. Back in the day these songs always just felt like boomer wistfulness for times gone by, but it's pretty clear he got fucked in the divorce (or at least HE thinks he got fucked in the divorce) and the lyrics really seem like a lot to throw at the children of said divorce.

The album starts with the title track, "End of the Innocence"

Remember when the days were long
And rolled beneath a deep blue sky
Didn't have a care in the world
With mommy and daddy standing by
When "happily ever after" fails
And we've been poisoned by these fairy tales
The lawyers dwell on small details
Since daddy had to fly

translation: Hey kid, remember how great things used to be? Well, that bitch mom of yours wouldn't let me fuck everything that walks even though I was a drummer for the Eagles, so I had to split.

O' beautiful, for spacious skies
But now those skies are threatening
They're beating plowshares into swords
For this tired old man that we elected king
Armchair warriors often fail
And they've been poisoned by these fairy tales
The lawyers clean up all details
Since daddy had to lie

translation: Look, all this cool shit I bought you, it comes with a price, OK. Also, fuck divorce lawyers again.

The album ends with The Heart of the Matter which unlike the title track seems to focus less on the child of his divorce, and more on wanting to have your cake and eat it too.

I'm learning to live with out you now
But I miss you, baby
And the more I know, the less I understand
All the things I thought I'd figured out
I have to learn again
I've been trying to get down
To the heart of the matter
But everything changes
And my friends seem to scatter
But I think it's about forgiveness
Forgiveness
Even if, even if you don't love me anymore

Part 2 of this trip down memory lane is going to focus on how iconic Bruce Hornsby's piano playing style is.

[govmentchedda]

And now, End of the Innocence is playing on the PA at the airport.

[HaulCitgo]

No amount of posting can erase your deeds. Just get a drink with the fees.

I say that in jest having not given a fuck what side of right and wrong either.

[bapo!]

Well, it's a holiday eve, which means that The Swamp is going to be rather empty. This is my chance to talk about Shirley Temple. I've been reading a bunch of books about/by Temple and child stars lately. This is my thing now. Is it healthier than my recent obsession with bourbon? Is there a connection?

I read Gaylyn Studlar's 'Precocious Charms' (2013), about depictions of girlhood/adolescence in Hollywood. Chapters about Mary Pickford, Shirley Temple, Deanna Durbin, Elizabeth Taylor, Jennifer Jones, and Audrey Hepburn. You'll enjoy it, if you're the type of person who enjoys this type of thing. The chapter about Shirley Temple is especially interesting. I've always been curious about her. I know that the '30s was an unusual time in our history, but how could a little girl be the #1 box-office draw for four straight years?

I'm watching a few movies here and there. The less said about The Baby Burlesks, the better. (These were the 10-minute movies with toddlers acting like adults. Temple started appearing in them when she was 3.)

'Stand Up and Cheer' (1934). This is not A Shirley Temple Movie, but it's the feature that made her a bankable star. The synopsis: It's the Depression, so the government has allocated $100M to the Department of Amusement. A lot of vaudeville and singing and dancing happens. (This was my first Stepin Fetchit experience.) Temple tap-dances and sings 'Baby, Take a Bow.' Yeah, it's cute, but you would never guess that this scene would be, like, historically important.

'The Little Colonel' (1935). Like a lot of older movies, there's some racial stuff that makes me uncomfortable. And this one is set in post-Civil War Kentucky. Hattie McDaniel plays a domestic, as she did in 'Stand Up and Cheer.' Lionel Barrymore plays the grandfather. Evalyn Venable plays the mother, and she has a Laura Linney-esque charm. And then there's the stair-tap-dancing scene with Bill 'Bojangles' Robinson. It's amazing. (Bojangles appeared in four of her movies, and he choreographed another. Going to read a biography about him soon. Fascinating character.)

'Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm' (1938). A lot more singing and dancing. She's older here, a better actress. One song/scene is particularly great. Unfortunately, she's nearing the end of her reign.

In my reading, I've learned that the novelist Graham Greene was a film critic in the 1930s. He wrote a short review of a Temple movie, in which he wrote about her appeal to 'her admirers -- middle-aged men and clergymen.' The review is weird, makes references to her body, calls her 'a fancy little piece.' My favorite line: '[W]atch the way she measures a man with agile studio eyes, with dimpled depravity.' Dimpled depravity!!! He ended up getting sued by her studio and fled to Mexico.

Favorite anecdote from her 1988 autobiography: Since she was passed around and held so much as a kid, she considered herself an expert on people's laps. She wrote, '[J. Edgar Hoover's] lap was outstanding as laps go. Thighs just fleshy enough, knees held calmly together, and no bouncing or wiggling.'

Has anybody else watched any of her movies? Either when you were kids, or with your own children? Sancarlos, I know that you watch a lot of old movies, but this is about as far from film noir as you can get. Any Deanna Durbin fans in the house?

[sancarlos]

Yeah I’ve seen Shirley Temple and Deanna Durbin films. Cute kids. Although my old movie tastes don’t generally run in the saccharine category. Deanna Durbin did a fine Film Noir in the 40s that I saw recently. It’s too bad Shirley Temple couldn’t make the transition in films as she got older. Recently saw her as a teenager in a funny Cary Grant movie, The Bachelor and the Bobbysoxer.

[bapo!]

I figured, if anybody were to respond to my Deanna Durbin query, it would be sancarlos. I can always count on sancarlos. I'm not too familiar with Durbin, outside of the chapter in Studlar's book and a few YouTube vids. Beautiful voice.

I watched a couple of Mary Pickford movies. Temple starred in a few Pickford remakes 20 years later, and I've seen both versions of 'Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm' and 'The Little Princess.' They appear to have nothing to do with each other, except for the titles.

Pickford is a weird case. She was an adult who played young. (She was 27 when she made 'Sunnybrook' and 'Princess.') She was also rather short, and typically cast with much taller actors. And she was a huge star until she tried to act in more adult films, then was pretty much discarded.

I have no idea how to evaluate her movies, as I have very little experience with silent film. Pickford has her charm, so I can understand why audiences liked her. But I learned something new that fills me with unmeasurable and indescribable sadness: slapstick comedy scenes in silent films that involve a hundred extras running around aimlessly.

[sancarlos]

Mary Pickford was actually a smart cookie. She and her husband Douglas Fairbanks were among the group that founded the United Artists movie studio. I watch silent movies on occasion. The Passion of Joan of Arc is my favorite silent movie, aside from great comedies featuring Harold Lloyd or Buster Keaton. Louise Brooks was a vixen. Clara Bow was pretty (but couldn’t make the transition to sound movies due to a thick Brooklyn accent.) They show a silent film every Sunday night on TCM.

[bapo!]

Mary Pickford was actually a smart cookie.

She was also a classy dame. With nice gams. (I'm presuming. I just wanted to join in and use some old-timey slang.)

I've always wanted to familiarize myself with Clara Bow. Anyone nicknamed 'The It Girl' has to be worth knowing, right?

[bapo!]

Okay, one more post along these lines, and then I'll get back to, like, that weird 1975 New York Giants season or whatever.

In 1987, I watched Siskel and Ebert* review 'Wish You Were Here,' a small-budget, coming-of-age movie set in post-WWII England. The way they gushed about the lead actress, Emily Lloyd, always stuck with me. I never saw the movie, but I kind of followed her career after that until she faded away. I looked her up a few years ago, and it's a pretty sad tale.

She was 16 when she filmed 'Wish You Were Here.' (Her birthday was on the first day of filming.) She won some awards, and she was suddenly a star in demand. Appeared in a couple of Hollywood movies ('Cookie' with Peter Falk, 'In Country' with Bruce Willis), and then bad luck set in. Got a part as Cher's daughter in 'Mermaids,' but Cher didn't want her in the movie. The director (Lasse Hallstrom) was fired, and then Lloyd was fired and replaced by Winona Ryder. While she was involved in this movie, she turned down a bunch of other roles, including Julia Roberts' role in 'Pretty Woman.' Then she was fired from a few other movies and developed a reputation for being difficult.

I just read her 2013 memoir, 'Wish I Was There.' Sexually abused when she was 5 years old, developed OCD, had all kinds of emotional and psychological problems. Then became a big star and moved to America on her own at age 17. She just wasn't equipped to handle what was thrown at her.

A couple of years ago, I finally did watch that movie. I think it's one of those movies that I wanted to like more than I actually liked, you know? But I love Lloyd in it. One of my favorite performances ever. But it's sad to watch. It should be the start of a long, successful career. Instead, you're watching somebody who peaked at 16, and she never recaptured that magic. As a film fan, I'm happy that she gave us that much. I think it's on YouTube. It's worth looking up.



*Anybody else in the mood to go on a Siskel and Ebert binge? Last I checked, a bunch of episodes were available to stream on IMDb.

[sancarlos]

I don’t think I wanna binge it, but I did really enjoy the “Siskel and Ebert” show. (Was also known by its more common title, “The bald guy and the heavy guy”.)

[pruitt2]

Mary Pickford was actually a smart cookie.

She was also a classy dame. With nice gams. (I'm presuming. I just wanted to join in and use some old-timey slang.)

Mary Pickford was a Toronto native. There's a statue of her outside the Hospital for Sick Children in the heart of downtown. (She grew up in a house that was at that location)

She seems like a guardian angel looking over the kids and families that have to go there.

[Rex]

[Sabo]

TV Guide
TV trays

[Rex]

I just want to know what liquors are being stored in that sweet coffee table cabinet

[sancarlos]

Big console stereo

[The Sybian]

Mary Pickford was actually a smart cookie.

She was also a classy dame. With nice gams. (I'm presuming. I just wanted to join in and use some old-timey slang.)

Mary Pickford was a Toronto native. There's a statue of her outside the Hospital for Sick Children in the heart of downtown. (She grew up in a house that was at that location)

She seems like a guardian angel looking over the kids and families that have to go there.

That’s great, but what about her gams?

[govmentchedda]

Andes candies chocolate peppermint candy

[pruitt2]

Mary Pickford was actually a smart cookie.

She was also a classy dame. With nice gams. (I'm presuming. I just wanted to join in and use some old-timey slang.)

Mary Pickford was a Toronto native. There's a statue of her outside the Hospital for Sick Children in the heart of downtown. (She grew up in a house that was at that location)

She seems like a guardian angel looking over the kids and families that have to go there.

That’s great, but what about her gams?

Screen Shot 2021-12-20 at 11.18.41 PM.png (187.85 KiB) Viewed 556 times

[DSafetyGuy]

Those candies need to be served in a white glass bowl with a scalloped edge.

[bapo!]

I've been watching the 1983 NFL season lately. Still enjoying this kind of thing. It's perfect for background noise as I read or click around online aimlessly.

Some highlights:

Of the first ~20 games I watched, about half of them went to overtime. Weird.

I rewatched John Elway's first game, vs Pittsburgh. I remembered one play from that game, when Elways lined up under guard instead of under center. He was 1-8 for 14 yards and an interception before getting benched for Steve Deberg for the next few weeks.

Speaking of Deberg, he was still suffering from a throat injury, so he wore a microphone and amplifier to help him bark out the signals at the line. Here's what it looked like when he was with the 49ers:



Dan Marino became Miami's starting quarterback a few games into the season. Not surprisingly, he was pretty excellent right away. In one game, he threw a long touchdown pass to Mark Duper. A series or two later, Mark Clayton threw a long touchdown pass to Duper. That was a fun team.

Walter Payton threw two touchdown passes vs New Orleans in Week 3.

The Week 6 Chiefs/Raiders game is a local broadcast on KCTV-5-Kansas City, called by Don Fortune and Len Dawson. Weird that it's not broadcast by NBC. Maybe something due to a local blackout in Los Angeles?

NBC's bumper music: 'Overkill' by Men at Work, 'Our House' by Madness, 'Valerie' by Steve Winwood, 'Every Breath You Take' by The Police, and 'Rosanna' by Toto.

Commercials: The 'What the big boys eat' jingle for Wheaties. The Charlie Chaplin commercials for IBM. And MCI Mail, an early version of email. Neat!

[pruitt2]

Walter Payton threw two touchdown passes vs New Orleans in Week 3.

This stat is so crazy, I looked up Payton's passing stats. 3 tds that year and 2 ints! McMahon was 12 & 13.

For his career Payton threw 8 tds but had 6 pickoffs.

By the way, McMahon never threw more than 15 tds in a season.

[DSafetyGuy]

Walter Payton threw two touchdown passes vs New Orleans in Week 3.

This stat is so crazy, I looked up Payton's passing stats. 3 tds that year and 2 ints! McMahon was 12 & 13.

For his career Payton threw 8 tds but had 6 pickoffs.

By the way, McMahon never threw more than 15 tds in a season.

And still the second-best QB in franchise history.

[bapo!]

McMahon was 12 & 13.

McMahon started 13 games that year, but Vince Evans still got a lot of playing time. No offense to Evans or Steve Deberg or David Woodley, but those guys aren't the reason I'm watching these games.

[Steve of phpBB]

McMahon was 12 & 13.

McMahon started 13 games that year, but Vince Evans still got a lot of playing time. No offense to Evans or Steve Deberg or David Woodley, but those guys aren't the reason I'm watching these games.

I'm pretty sure none of us imagined that Vince Evans would throw for 1000 yards as a 40 year old.

[DaveInSeattle]

McMahon was 12 & 13.

McMahon started 13 games that year, but Vince Evans still got a lot of playing time. No offense to Evans or Steve Deberg or David Woodley, but those guys aren't the reason I'm watching these games.

Wow...David Woodley. Haven't heard that name in a long time. He started a Super Bowl!

[bapo!]

Harold Carmichael just threw a touchdown pass to Mike Quick in this Eagles/Colts game that I'm watching. I feel like I've watched an inordinate number of TD passes from receivers and runners in 1983.

The name 'Harold Carmichael' used to be a weird form of trolling on Pittsburgh sports-talk radio. People would call in to a show and somehow work his name into the conversation. He retired in 1984, yet I heard his name as recently as a year or two ago. Was this a thing anywhere else, or just a weird Pittsburgh tradition?

[bapo!]

Wow...David Woodley. Haven't heard that name in a long time. He started a Super Bowl!

Yep. Played four years with Miami, then two with Pittsburgh. Drank himself to death at age 44. One of many Steelers from that era to die young.

[pruitt2]

Harold Carmichael just threw a touchdown pass to Mike Quick in this Eagles/Colts game that I'm watching. I feel like I've watched an inordinate number of TD passes from receivers and runners in 1983.

The name 'Harold Carmichael' used to be a weird form of trolling on Pittsburgh sports-talk radio. People would call in to a show and somehow work his name into the conversation. He retired in 1984, yet I heard his name as recently as a year or two ago. Was this a thing anywhere else, or just a weird Pittsburgh tradition?

Harold Carmichael was awesome!

If memory serves, for a while he held the record for consecutive games with a reception.

[sancarlos]

Speaking of the old days NFL...

[bapo!]

Harold Carmichael was awesome!

If memory serves, for a while he held the record for consecutive games with a reception.

Hall of Famer. Nowadays, you look at his numbers and you think, Yeah, that's a nice #3 receiver.

I learned recently that Wilbert Montgomery, the running back on those Eagles teams, was briefly enrolled at Jackson State before transferring to Abilene Christian. He would have had the share the backfield with Walter Payton.

[pruitt2]

Speaking of the old days NFL...

I lived through it... and I still don't know.

I remember that he hit game winners often in that strike shortened season.

20/21 FGs no attempts over 50 yards. Missed 3 extra points.

ETA: Hold the phone - Redskins were 8-1 that year with only two games decided by a field goal or less.

[DaveInSeattle]

Wow...David Woodley. Haven't heard that name in a long time. He started a Super Bowl!

Drank himself to death at age 44.

Woah...that I didn't know. No wonder I haven't heard that name in forever.

[bapo!]

Anyway, this is just an excuse to talk about '70s commercials, especially Canadian commercials. They were so wholesome! A lot of singing about cars and airlines and beer.

Saw a ridiculously over-the-top commercial buried in an old local newscast. It's a full-on musical number about bread. I downloaded the video, then separated the commercial so that I could upload it on its own. So now I've uploaded two videos in my YouTube history: a 1978 Canadian beer commercial, and a 1980 St. Louis bread commercial. I don't care what this says about me; I've embraced what I've become.



While looking for that quote up there, I saw Pruitt mention the Holmes/Norton fight. I watched that not too long ago. Holy shit. That was a fucking war. I made a friend sit thru it, and he kept wincing and making grunting sounds.

Also, Mister D said something about a Floyd Patterson/Tracy Patterson rift. I randomly watched a Tracy Patterson fight recently (vs Arturo Gatti in 1995), and it was weird. It was a title fight at Madison Square Garden, and since Floyd was the New York State Athletic Director, he was sitting ringside. But they were estranged at the time. That had to be horribly awkward and difficult for them. So, there you go, D. Mystery solved.

[rass]

Did I ever mention the time my company was looking to get into the business of selling our ERP software to the bread industry?*. Way outside our wheelhouse. Whole other world there. The negotiations for shelf space. The color of the tags are a code. Sponge. Scheduling algorithms taking into account pan re-usage. Flour weight!

Anyway the place we were looking at was based in Utah and right or wrong I got a Utah vibe from that.


*i’m sure I didn’t

[bapo!]

The color of the tags are a code.

Like, how the twist-ties correspond to the day of the week the bread is baked on? That blew my mind when I learned it a few years ago.

And yeah, 'Utah vibe' kinda makes sense with this commercial.

[duff]

Anyway the place we were looking at was based in Utah and right or wrong I got a Utah vibe from that.

So just white bread?