Monday, January 21, 2008

Meanwhile, Before You Were Born...

I think I was born about 45 years too late.

I mean, I've been accused of living in the past before but this is probably a bit much. As I sit writing tonight I'm listening to an old radio episode of Dragnet from 1949. On the wall next to me is this photo in a frame. When I finish writing this post, I'll probably watch an episode from Ken Burns' Jazz documentary (excellent, by the way) that details the dawn of the Jazz Age in the 1920's. Two of my all time favorite films are Hitchcock offerings from the 1930's. Hell, all I need now is some Brylcreem and maybe a hula hoop, and I can go meet my pals down at the ice cream parlor.

Granted, today's technology is the only thing that makes any of this possible. Dragnet comes to me via an Internet radio station, for example, and you can thank Mr and Mrs. DVD for the documentary and Hitchcock films. Shorpy.com is a "100 year old photo blog" I visit every day. But still, I can't help but find it a little odd to think that I'm yearning for a time when I didn't even exist. I'm not sure why this is, exactly. To say it's because "times were simpler back then" would sound cliche, and I'm willing to bet every generation throughout history has said that about the years prior to which they lived. I don't know. Even though there were no video games and deodorant wasn't widely used, I guess I just like relics of days gone by. Maybe I should have been an archaeologist or something.

I'm waxing nostalgic (if you can even call it that) not because I'm bored, but merely to act as a preface. It's rare that you get to see photographs from this time period in color, much less in sparkling detail. But, the Library of Congress has just posted a treasure trove of such photos on Flickr of all places (you'd have thought they'd have created their own site for them.) I've posted a few of my favorites below, but make sure and check out the page. There are over 3,000 photographs to take a look at, many of them just as captivating. In fact, if you weren't paying attention, you might have thought they were taken yesterday. Enjoy.


Rural schoolchildren in San Augustine County, TX (1943)


Garage mechanic near Newark, NJ (1943)


Tenement buildings in Brockton, MA (1940)


Boy near Cincinnati, OH (1942 or 1943)


Rural schoolchildren in San Augustine County, TX (1943)


Worker at a carbon black plant. Sunray, TX (1942)


Worker in a smelting furnace in Muscle Shoals, AL (1942)

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Tuesday, January 08, 2008

Just a Little Trim...

I'm not much for musicals, but man, if you can stand a little blood you have to go see Sweeney Todd. Five stars in my book. No question.

Here. Here's a sample.

Now, go on. Go to the theater. Scat!

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