Year: 2007

God Bless You, Kurt Vonnegut

The Sirens of TitanBetween Time and Timbuktu

Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. has died. He wasn’t young, and he was way older than he had a right to be, considering he never quit smoking, but it still sucks that he’s gone. Our son Eric recently read Slaughterhouse Five, and liked it very much.

Vonnegut wrote The Sirens of Titan, a book that l enjoyed reading so much at Eric’s age that it hurt, and he wrote a painfully enjoyable TV movie called Between Time and Timbuktu. It was produced by WGBH in Boston for PBS when it was called National Educational Television. The movie opened with Cousin Brucie, so I had to love it! It’s not available on video, sorry to say.

The show also featured the comedy team of Bob and Ray, who got their start on Boston radio. Ray Goulding was absolutely hilarious in Between Time and Timbuktu as Walter Gesundheit, a parody of the legendary TV newsman Walter Cronkite.

Between Time and Timbuktu
Bruce Morrow and William Hickey in Kurt Vonnegut’s Between Time and Timbuktu.

Petula Clark In Scotland

Petula Clark 1955
Petula Clark is in Scotland at the moment, for a couple of concert appearances. The Herald in Glasgow has a very nice feature about her visit. [Link]

Can you believe it? She’s still called a “former child star” over there! That was some 60 years ago, but she still can’t shake the title in the UK.

The article fails to mention the online PETition requesting a Damehood for Petula. I remedied that omission by adding the comment shown below.

Pet Petition

Iran Today

Did I say Iran? I meant to say I ran, as in “I went running today.” Although it’s already yesterday. That was only 2 miles, but Sunday I ran 5.75 miles.

For months I didn’t think I would ever be running again, due to my ongoing ankle problem. No, it’s not all better, and it never will be. It is what it is and I’m learning to live with it.

Thanks to special exercises I learned in physical therapy, and a pair of custom orthotic inserts made by Jerry Pratt (no relation that I know of) for my Brooks Beast shoes, I’m slowly but steadily getting back into it.

That’s A Lotta Tea

Salada Tag Line

It was a habit in college, at dear little Westfield State, to read the Salada Tea tag lines. Salada, which redirects you from Salada.com to GreenTea.com, says the tag lines began in the early 1960’s.

These tidbits were intended to provoke a smile or a thought while the tea drinker paused with a cup of Salada tea. Through the years, Salada tag lines have become a memorable part of Salada Tea.

Salada tag lines are one of those little fun things of everyday life that people take for granted, like a comic strip. I don’t know if the tag lines help Salada sell more tea than Lipton, but it’s nice they’re still around and I thought they deserved a little recognition.

Hart Has Stopped

B.C. pencil sketch, by Johnny Hart

B.C. by Johnny HartSpeaking of Easter, cartoonist Johnny Hart has died. What does the creator of the comic strips B.C., and The Wizard of Id have to do with Easter? After hitting bottom as an alcoholic, Hart found Jesus, big time. He embraced Christianity in a way that was, shall we say, insensitive to the beliefs of others. Hart’s faith found expression in his work, and was most notably depicted in the controversial comic strip in the upper left corner. Click the thumbnail picture to enlarge. The always even-handed Mark Evanier (and I mean that sincerely) has a remembrance of Johnny Hart. [Link]