Ancient Family Picture
This is a photo of my Grandparents 44th Wedding Anniversary. It is dated July 14, 1955. I'm the guy in back, being held by my Dad. I was about 18 months old at the time.
Think how things have changed since then. TV was just becoming to most of the USA, but I really can't remember if we had one yet. As a matter of fact, many of the farm houses in the area (including the one pictured) did not have inside toilets. Which probably made it a bitch in January when the temps would get down to 40 degrees below zero.
Ike was President. American automobiles were actually made in America, and imports hardly existed. Honda was racing motorcycles in Europe, but I don't think they were marketed in the USA yet. Tape recorders were only available in reel to reel types, and stereo was an experimental technology. There were no VCRs. Hell there were only 2 or 3 TV stations in most major markets. AM radio was king as FM was in transition hampered by lawsuits, patent fights and incompatibility issues. Telephones in this area of Minnesota still had batteries, cranks and party lines. Calling to the nearest city was long distance, sometimes call the neighbor across the road was long distance. The 'switchboard' was located in a private home, and if the operator was outside, or sleeping, getting a call through to the outside world could take a long time.
Just some stuff to think about till next time.
This is a picture of my grandparents on my fathers side. They passed away about 40 years ago.
Life was much different then, more simple and streamlined. There were only 2 or 3 channels of TV to watch. The networks worked very hard to attract a wide cross section of viewers, but mostly catered to the white middle to upper middle class
male because he represented the largest wage.
If that sounds racist, I apologize for the era, but that was the way it was.
If you look at TV today, with 6 broadcast net-
works, cable and dish superstations, sports, news, and dozens of diy, music, ethnic and religious specialty channels, yes there is a lot of choice, but the pool of the various production talent has been thinned out way to far. There are only so many writers, producers, directors, and actors who have extraordinary talent. Currently, a few have been brought together by luck (or by some other unknown means) to create a few shows of superb quality.
However, this has left a lot of mediocrity to fill a lot of programming blocks. As a result, much of what they produce is of questionable quality. I will allow the thought that some of the future stars (both behind the camera as well as in front of it) are honing their craft in these efforts. But face it, some of them just suck. They will always suck. So why do I have to be bothered with the shit they produce, while trying to find something worthy to view? Could it be because they work cheap?
Here I Am
Thought it was time to show the world who's talking to 'em.
First up me at about 6:
Hmmm, I'm gonna have to work on my uploading a bit.
I'll try again tomorrow.
Radio Gone Horrible
Okay, now I have had it. I was very bored while driving Sat. night, so I started listening to AM Radio. When I was a kid in NE Minn. I would lay awake and listen to episodes of
ChickenMan on WLS 890 am Chicago. Now it is news talk, no music, just blah-blah-blah. KAAY Little Rock would have strange
Beeker Theater radio plays, followed by
Beeker Street, a block of progressive rock.
Now we have
THIS The Worst excuse for a radio station, ever. On Saturday evening, they were spouting about how if a public (or private) school teacher does not back the Almighty President 100%, then that teacher is threat to the future security of society. Parents were encouraged to document (through their children's class notes, or even by hidden tape recorders) the talking points the teachers presented to the class. If any teacher should question the US involvement in Iraq, Afghanistan, or the American backing of Israel, that teacher should be reported to the school board as a dangerous person trying to brainwash American children.
The 1st Amendment no longer exists. Meaningful discussion is threatening. Sounds a lot like what we as Americans should be resisting: fascism.
Beyond My Small Mind.
Sometimes as I read things, my little mind gets all bogged down in what the writer is trying to say. Take this article for example:
HUH?This is a prime example of political shit-speak. And that a NEWSPAPER would publish something that a reader has to go over several times to understand what the opinion the writer is trying to express shows a total lack of respect for the reader.
That said, sorry to anybody who has retuned here in the last week to find nothing new, I have not had a lot of time to work on this. So anyway check out this pic from the "Clearwater Tribune":
PICMOre stuff next time.
This is a photo of my Grandparents 44th Wedding Anniversary. It is dated July 14, 1955. I'm the guy in back, being held by my Dad. I was about 18 months old at the time. 
