Posts tagged as Very Recent History
'Frances' is a Pack of Lies
So what's the problem with "creative nonfiction"? Ah right: it turns biography into lies. Which is a shame, when the truth is so much more interesting! So here's the strange truth about Frances Farmer.
The Web Celebs Of Yesteryear
Did you know that the nature of fame is different now Because The Internet? Of course you did, you're not an idiot. You've thought about these things. But consider this: READ MORE
Songs About Tuberculosis and Death
With the terrifying new strain of "indestructible" tuberculosis discovered in India this week, it's a good time to revisit the music made about the deadly disease in the past. Like lots of terrifying things, tuberculosis has inspired some truly great music. The "T.B. Blues" that Texas blues singer Victoria Spivey sings above, for example. Like she says, it's no joke. But she also says that she wrote it, in 1927. According to Smithsonian Folkways, it was written by Lead Belly, and he recorded it in 1944. Hmm! READ MORE
The Didion-Dunnes as Generation-Specific Awful Parents
Brace yourself. Caitlin Flanagan has an exceedingly perceptive and well-done essay in the Atlantic! Sure, there is a psychologically deep-seated and somewhat deranged whiff of/riff on gender essentialism (boys like Hunter Thompson and girls like Joan Didion!), but hey, that's at least a little true. For one thing, she draws well the obvious connections that Didion and John Gregory Dunne were the most extreme caricatures of their generation of parents (in short: rather terrible), the parents who made their childrens' generation into helicoptering nightmares. READ MORE
Happy Pokemon Seizure Day!
"'Dennō Senshi Porygon' (でんのうせんしポリゴン Dennō Senshi Porigon?, literally 'Computer Soldier Porygon', although most commonly translated as 'Electric Soldier Porygon') is the thirty-eighth episode of the Pokémon anime's first season. Its only broadcast was in Japan on December 16, 1997.... The episode is infamous for using visual effects that caused seizures in a substantial number of Japanese viewers, an incident referred to as the 'Pokémon Shock' (ポケモンショック Pokémon Shokku?) by the Japanese press. Six hundred and eighty-five viewers were taken to hospitals; two people remained hospitalized for more than two weeks. Due to this, the episode has been banned worldwide." READ MORE
The News Industry Of 1940
"Covering a fire is usually an exciting event. But it doesn't come nearly as often as you might think. Amid the turmoil and confusion, the reporter must be able to think clearly and quickly, and he must get his facts accurately. Assignments of this type may keep the reporter out in bad weather for many hours of hard, tiresome work. But there's a real thrill in seeing your own byline over a story when it's in print." Also noted: reporting is hard for girls. [Via]
A Quarter Century Of Mike Tyson
On this day in 1986, 19-year-old Michael Gerard Tyson became the youngest-ever Heavyweight Champion of the World. This is remarkable mainly for those of us who were aware of it at the time, because, really, 25 years ago? Good lord.
Dinosaur As Important As Caveman
"Graffiti daubed on the walls of a flat by the Sex Pistols' Johnny Rotten could be as important as the discovery of early Beatles recordings – or even the prehistoric Lascaux cave paintings. The wild scrawls in the property once occupied by the punk pioneers give a unique insight into the origins of the 1970s musical movement."
JFK's Waffles, Adlai's Pie, Humphrey's Soup and 13 More Political Recipes
It's not every rummage sale at which you'll truly score, but this weekend I picked up a copy of Political Pot Luck: A Collection of Recipes from Men Only, published in 1959 by the Peninsular Publishing Company in Tallahassee. It was edited by Meg Madigan, whose father was a Florida state comptroller and lobbyist. And she went all out for the cookbook, from governors to senators to media barons. Some of them can cook. And others.... are just racists. Heh. Well, let's start with some good ones. For instance, it should be pointed out that John F. Kennedy's waffle recipe is pretty right on the money! And Mrs. Hubert Humphrey's beef soup is also a standout item. READ MORE
