Basket of Kisses

See, Basketwriter Meowser? Good things can happen for co-bloggers! Mazel tov, you just got randomly selected for your entry in our latest contest! “Seven and Seven Is” (which I think would have been the PERFECT song to end Commissions and Fees), Bea Arthur’s “The Man in the Moon” from Mame, the Byrds’ “Eight Miles High,” [...]

Basketcases, this is really cool. This comes from a group who supplies original newspapers and other historic props to Mad Men. Check them out–AnyDate.com; Top Provider of Historic and Birthday Newspapers since 1997. These folks are the top distributor of historic reprint newspapers in the US. And in addition to The Day You Were Born [...]

The production designers of Mad Men have consistently and exquisitely recreated the look and feel of the 1960′s. I have always loved how everything from the ashtrays to coupons on the refrigerator were spot on.  Another aspect that MM does quite well is in the art of the period.  Now we all know Bert’s Mark Rothko [...]

Guest post from Frank Bullitt. Last week marked the 40th anniversary of the iconic, Pulitzer Prize winning photograph of the Vietnam War, “The Girl in the Picture” by Nick Ut, AP. This picture was taken on June 8, 1972, seconds after napalm was dropped on the village Trang Bang. Kim Phuc, 49, lives in Canada [...]

Duck Soup is a snide mixture of political satire and slapstick, which boils politics down to its basic elements, money, power, and blatant stupidity.  It was the fifth Marx Brothers movie and the last to feature all four brothers.  By now America was delightfully familiar with the exaggerated, outrageous characters the siblings had created: wise-ass [...]

I was hoping to review You Only Live Twice this week, but I couldn’t get a copy in time.   So you’ll just have to endure the next best thing– Casino Royale!  How does one make a successful James Bond spoof?  Let me count the ways: Explosions galore, check Bizarre gadgets and surroundings, check Sexy subservient [...]

(Hey Bobby Morse, this one’s for you!) The Loved One was billed as “The Motion Picture with Something to Offend Everyone!” and it delivers on all of its victims; The Funeral Industry, Hollywood, the Military, and pretty much all of The Seven Deadly Sins.  Adapted from the novel by Evelyn Waugh, It is a brilliant [...]

Guest post by Basketcase White T Jim B “And here comes Hurst! He’s got… Some people are on the pitch! They think it’s all over! It is now, it’s four!” With those words the BBC’s Kenneth Wolstenholme marked a sea change in England’s history, culture, and mood. On July 30, England’s soccer team won the [...]

As the original Star Trek was referenced in Deborah’s post, “Key Demographics,” I think it’s worth mentioning that Thursday, September 8, 1966 marked the launch of Star Trek on NBC. Two pilots had been produced for NBC before executives gave creator Gene Roddenberry the green light.  The first pilot was “The Cage” starring Jeffrey Hunter as [...]

A really neat moment from A Little Kiss occurs in Don’s car as drops the children off with Betty and Henry. Bringing his vehicle to a stop, he reaches out an arm to keep the kids (ALL THREE crammed in the front seat) from flying into the dashboard. If you grew up in the 60′s [...]

In the summer of 1966, the Rollings Stones toured North America for the fifth time, beginning June 24 in Lynn, Massachusetts, and ending July 28 in Honolulu, Hawaii. They played the Forest Hills Tennis Stadiums Music Festival on July 2, 1966. The following day they played two shows at the Asbury Park (New Jersey) Convention [...]

Even casual viewers of Law and Order know that the half-way point of virtually every episode has been reached when one of the police leads informs the “perp” of their “rights” (often accompanied by a sarcastic quip): You have the right to remain silent.  Anything you say can be used against you in a court [...]