Sunday Drive: Love Potion No. 9

For some reason, I always associate this song with Halloween.  It was a hit for the Searchers in 1964.

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Waitin' for the Weekend

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The Outspoken Fran Lebowitz

Though she probably wouldn't care, there's a soft spot in my heart for sardonic New Yorker Fran Lebowitz, writer, speaker, and curmudgeonly humorist.  I suppose I admire first of all her razor-sharp mind and her deft hand at a well-turned phrase; and then I have to smile at her undaunted individualism that does not yield to passing fashions of thought and behavior (she owns no typewriter, cellphone, or computer).

You can look up her books and essays online, but you really have to hear her speaking her mind to appreciate her piquant wit and insight.  I might not agree with everything she says, but the way she says it is entertaining.  This interview for Salon magazine was filmed a few days ago:

 

 CBS Sunday Morning interviewed Lebowitz last year:

 

In this interview from 2010, Lebowitz discusses the continuing appeal of Jane Austen:

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Talk Like an Egyptian

A fascinating animated video of numerous handsome men speaking ancient languages, including ancient Egyptian, Greek, Latin, Etruscan, Phoenician, and others you never heard of.  Pretty interesting, although various commenters say the pronunciations are not always quite correct.

 

All the speakers are using the same ancient text, which is well known to some people today.  I'll let you see if you can figure out what it is.  If not, the answer is here.

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Sunday Drive: Near You

That thumping left-hand rhythm is still a thrill all these years later.  Big band leader Francis Craig composed the 1947 #1 hit, since recorded by many other artists.

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Waitin' for the Weekend

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Both Sides Now: Gaza and Israel

What a demonic thing  to do - tell a million people to flee for their lives to a safe place - and then bomb the safe place.  And then there was that satanic hospital bombing that each side blames on the other.

This 20-minute news report from Britain's Channel 4 gives a wide view of the nightmare carnage now happening in what used to be called the Holy Land.  What an unholy horror it is now - and so often has been in my lifetime - I remember the Six-Day War and the Yom Kippur War, and the great peace agreement that President Jimmy Carter negotiated at Camp David between Israel and Egypt.  But the volcano of violence keeps erupting, no matter what.

Both sides are to blame; both sides are suffering.  I have no favorites over there and no answers; I can only pray for peace.

If you have the time, do watch this for a balanced point of view.

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Sunday Drive: Autumn Leaves

As performed by Andre Rieu and his Orchestra, to which someone has added a lovely series of autumn scenes: 

By the way - temps have gradually been cooling down the last six weeks from those godawful 100+ highs we had for 3 months straight.  This morning, it was 55 when I woke up.  Tonight and tomorrow, it will be down near 40.  Quite a change.  We've turned on the furnace now for the first time since last spring.  

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Waitin' for the Weekend

Farewell to summer . . .

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To New York aboard the Normandie, 1939

Someone has found a color film of the last voyage of the exquisitely designed S. S. Normandie made by a young engineer in the French Line company in 1939, just days before World War II began.  What a find!  There are priceless views of the ship, its crew, and passengers.  The narration is in French, but just click the CC button to see English captions. 

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Sunday Drive: The Blue Danube

A gallery of landscape paintings with captions:  what a lovely presentation to go with the beloved tune.

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Waitin' for the Weekend

Oktoberfest special!  Inventory closeout - all stock must go!  

Huge discounts!  This weekend only!  First come, first served!  

Cash and carry only.  All sales final.

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Kevin's Cavalcade

We've been watching some videos from Cavalcade of Food lately.  It's based in the little town of Croswell, Michigan, up in the "thumb," where a fellow named Kevin is the friendly proprietor of a mind-boggling collection of vintage appliances, kitchenware, and furnishings from the 1950s to the 1970s.  His collection is so big that he bought a former five-and-dime store to display it all in.

We weren't too impressed at first, because what Kevin has collected is the same kind of everyday stuff - sometimes the very same make and model - that M.P. and I grew up with in that era, which all seem rather ordinary to us.  (Functional, yes; beautiful, maybe; glamorous, not at all.)  But you have to admire Kevin's energy and passion for amassing such a huge collection, each piece of which he can tell you all about in minute detail.  

Kevin also loves to cook, as M.P. does, and we've watched several of his cooking videos with interest.  The first one below is a crowd-pleasing treat we might make the next time M.P.'s family comes over - or maybe just for our own delectation some autumn night.

The second video gives an overview of the collection.  It's kind of a trip, looking at this huge display of so many familiar items from the past - maybe you'll get a kick out of it, too.

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Sunday Drive: Mozart, Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (Complete)

A lively performance by the historic Gewandhaus Quartet of one of your Head Trucker's favorites:

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