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Showing results for tags '1947'.
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I think Thomas Boswell is one of DC's greatest sportswriters - he is one of the people at the Post whom I look forward to reading whenever I can. Basically, I have nothing negative to say about him. One question, though: I remember back in 1997 when Mark McGwire was chasing Roger Maris, someone for the Post called McGwire "Our Babe Ruth." Shortly thereafter, the legendary Shirley Povich (1905-1998), sports editor since *1925*, took issue with the comment, saying something along the lines of: "Now hold on just a cotton-pickin' minute there!" etc. That's a little embellished, but the general tone is intact. Does anyone remember if this was in rebuttal to Boswell (as opposed to someone else), and what, if anything, was Boswell's response? It was a great little back-and-forth. -
Johnny Bench was voted one of the four "MLB Greatest Living Players" in 2015, along with Hank Aaron, Sandy Koufax, and Willie Mays. There are 70 Gold Gloves in this picture! And Brooks is enjoying a glass of red - love it!
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When I was in my teens, I had one, and only one, favorite rock singer: David Bowie. He was the solo act which twisted, and turned, and seemed the most complex to me, while at the same time being just a pleasure to listen to, and he was there at the right time. Rest in peace, David.
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Some people might recognize Thomas Gomez, né Sabino Tomas Gomez, because he has one of "those" unforgettable faces - never on display more prominently than in the "Twilight Zone" episode, "Escape Clause," in which he played The Devil himself, complete with a Sebastian Cabot-like chortle (recall Cabot's role as "Pip" in "A Nice Place To Visit"). However, Gomez was primarily in films, after getting his start in theater. Although it's bittersweet that Gomez is perhaps most notable for being the first-ever Hispanic-American actor ever to be nominated for an Academy Award (for Best Supporting Actor in the 1947 film, "Ride the Pink Horse"), his talents should carry the day in the long run. In "Escape Clause," he's just about perfect in his role, and I'd love to learn more about him by watching his films - which extend over a period of decades.
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Although I've never read the groundbreaking 1947 book on which it is based, this is a fine documentary which covers German cinematic development and progression between the two World Wars, and does it using beautiful, important film clips from historic movies. Its major flaw is that, were it not for the clips, it would be akin to enduring an arduous lecture about something you don't know enough in which to have an interest. This is an extremely fertile period in German Cinema, and it is explored here very thoroughly - although the clips save it from being completely austere, you really must *want to learn* about this subject to get the most out of this fascinating documentary - look closely enough, and you can see WWII on its way, which chilled me to the bone. Has anyone else out there besides me seen this important documentary? If so, which parts struck you as being the most poignant? I believe this is a documentary to see by those who have seen some of the films, and not a primer which tells the viewer which they should watch (although it certainly could be used as such) - a certain amount of prerequisite knowledge is required in order to fully appreciate its otherwise-meaningless words. One legitimate way of watching the documentary would be to stop anytime a film is referenced, watch that film, and then return to where you left off in the documentary - by the end, you'll have a working knowledge of this period in German cinema superior to that of even most film students. "From Caligari to Hitler: German Cinema in the Age of the Masses" (<--- this is an outstanding review on variety.com) is available for free with an Amazon Prime membership (an oxymoron, I realize).
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Mels Drive-in has been around since 1947, when it began as an actual San Francisco drive-in with spaces for 100+ cars. It has eight locations in California today, with four in San Francisco and four in the L.A. area. I went to the location at 4th and Mission twice for breakfast last month. Don't expect fine dining, but do expect an overflowing plate of darn good food. I had their omelettes, which were very good. Other people who attended the same conference at the Moscone Center (about two blocks away) raved about the hamburgers, especially "The Famous Melburger" ... but there's immediate competition in the area. Across the street in the Metreon there is Buckhorn Grill, a really good California mini-chain that specializes in grilled tri-tip subs, and has a hamburger to die for. And another California mini-chain, Super Duper Burger, has a place in the Metreon and also a few blocks down Market Street. (Alert -- if you like In-N-Out for whatever reason, you'll LOVE Super Duper Burger and Buckhorn Grill.) Mels had to be an influence on the people who created Silver Diner. They are eerily similar in appearance, right down to the folded 1950s-era cars all over the top of the counter area. Expect prime time lines out the front door, but if you're a party of one, scoring a seat at the counter is relatively easy. -
It wasn't just Picasso's "Les Femmes d'Algers (Version "O")" that brought a world record price this past weekend; Alberto Giacometti's sculpture, "L'Homme Au Doigt" (Pointing Man), (1947) set a record for sculpture, bringing in $141.3 million after commission. "Giacometti Sculpture Breaks World Record" on swissinfo.ch "Why Alberto Giacometti's Art Is So Successful" on swissinfo.ch To address Herschel's question in context of the Giacometti, I suspect nothing at all by Rodin would go for $150 million, for whatever reason - the high-dollar investors seem to be going for established, mid-20th century, masterpieces. They're new enough to be "hot," but old enough to be "established," I suppose. Once the East Building of the NGA reopens, you can simply walk in and see Giacometti's for free, or you can see them in the Hirshhorn now (there might even be one in the sculpture garden outside - which might make it the *most expensive building in Washington, DC*). Personally, I say ... SELL - get $100 million for one of these babies, and you've got 15 years worth of operating budget in cash.
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I don't ever recall having seen a Maryland area code in DC (this may be a cell phone that was used during construction, or a number listed on a permit), so I did a little digging as to how area codes came into existence. As part of the "North American Numbering Plan" of 1947 - which included 25 countries and territories - a three-digit area code preceded (are you ready for this?) a three-digit "central office code" and a four-digit "station number." I grew up in a house with the central office code 622, and I remember very well my mom's handwritten telephone directory in which she used two letters and a number - in our neighborhood, 622 was also named "Mayfair 2" and sometimes written as MA2. If all this sounds like shockingly old history, bear in mind that this plan is from 67 years ago, and 67 years before *that* was 1880. Considering that these numbers are still being used, somebody did something right. Has anyone here actually made a station-to-station call? I've never known quite what that was; only that they were *expensive*. From what little I remember, there was, in increasing order of expense, direct, collect, and person-to-person - I wonder if I got on my land line right now and dialed zero, if I could still make a person-to-person call (this is where the operator makes the call, and asks the recipient if a specific person is home; if not, you don't get charged and the operator hangs up on both of you). The breakup of the Bell system (Jan 8, 1982) is something I remember happening, and something I remember being in the news every day and causing lots of chaos, but also something I've never quite understood - I suspect entire dissertations have been written on mere subsets of the subject. What is now Verizon Communications used to be, in some form or another, Bell Atlantic.
