The Original “Purple Rain”
This is utterly astounding. Brother in music and lover of all things Prince Mike A. sent me the link below. If you were ever into Prince, I highly suggest clicking on it and chalking up the next 15 minutes to enjoying pure awesomeness. What will you see if you click? The 1983 performance of “Purple Rain,” from which most of…
Right Band, Wrong Time
It’s funny how things always come back on the Internet. I guess it’s a function of there being thousands of websites seeking page views that makes every trend, fad, or other pop culture moment/icon get a second or third look. For example, I’ve read three long article in recent weeks about Don Johnson, who is apparently a thing again. If…
A Real American Hero
As a young lad, my summers were split into two, roughly even, segments. The first half consisted of baseball and day camp at the YMCA. Once baseball season ended, usually in mid-July, my mom would ship me off to spend a month or so with my grandparents in central Kansas. Her parents were farmers. They could pick up three TV…
Heroes
Just about everything Joe Posnanski writes is good. We’re luck that so much of it is great, too. He’s written many times about his hero, Duane Kuiper, over the years. His latest effort, centered around a trip to San Francisco for Kuiper’s bobblehead day, is one of his best ever. …And I have seen my friends crushed after finally meeting…
When Logic Gets Cast Aside
Most of us have thought, at some point, that we could sway someone with different political views to our side if we just presented them with cold, hard facts showing that our view was correct. Turns out even when the numbers support your argument, you are unlikely to change the opinion of someone from the other side. Presented with this…
The Walkman
Another quick one before the weekend begins. A couple sites have linked to this modern, design-based review of the Sony Walkman. It focuses on form rather than function, but is still interesting to read/look at. Like the iPod, the Walkman isn’t truly the first of its kind. There was a cassette player before it called the Stereobelt. It was big,…
On Waco And Different Beliefs
Trying to get caught up on some links I need to share before we take a mini-vacation early next week. Malcolm Gladwell has a piece in the New Yorker about Clive Doyle, a survivor of the Waco, TX Branch Dividian compound, and the lessons that are still emerging, 20 years later, from that disaster. It’s a really interesting read. What…
The Milan Miracle
It’s been 60 years since the Milan Miracle, when tiny Milan high school knocked off much bigger Muncie Central in the Indiana boys high school championship game. If you’re not from Indiana, you likely know of the game because of the fictionalized version that had Hickory High winning in the movie Hoosiers. The Indianapolis Star had a fantastic oral history…
Entertainment Titans
I had planned on getting this post out Friday. But, as some of you may have noticed, there were some issues with the site in the morning and I spent a fair chunk of time trying to get it working again. That also allowed me to finish another long article to throw in here. So, here they are: some showbiz…
Some TV Notes
The Americans returns tonight! The Americans returns tonight! With another potentially big winter storm in the forecast, this is just the news I needed to get out of bed in the morning. The AV Club says season two starts off quite well. Here’s a good look at where the series is as the new year kicks off with some interesting…