TELL ME A STORY, SHEP

 Buzzfeed has produced a video of clips from Jean Shepherd's "A Christmas Story" with some digitally added things. I am totally surprised at the comments from the many who have not seen the film and who probably never heard of Shep, one of the very great storytellers of the past century. His stories began on radio, then books and in films, including this Christmas Classic.

 One of the splendid things about being quite terribly old is knowing about stuff like this.

Funny thing about old time radio

I know in my head that those old time radio dramas were done by actors standing at a microphone and a sound effects guy shooting guns, making horse noises and all sort of things.  But I get lost in the story a lot more than I do with TV.  Radio drama somehow become real.  You see the action and the people in your mind.  That's why OTR is called "Theater of the mind."  There could be no better description.  How sad that radio no longer does that except for a few groups and individuals who  understand that great medium and devote themselves to promoting, sharing and producing radio drama.

Old songs Old man

 

I awake most mornings with a song in my head. An old song because I don't know any new ones. Today it's "Shakin' the Blues Away." I didn't say "with a song in my heart." That belongs to Jane Froman. What's that, you never heard of her? You are too young. No. I am too old. What am I doing here. I quit. Again.

Canadian Capers

Oh boy, I am going nuts with memories of crossing the Bluewater Bridge from Port Huron, Michigan to Sarnia, Ontario or going through the tunnel under the Detroit River to get to Windsor.  And how about the short ferry ride across the St. Clair River from Marine City, Michigan to Sombra, Ontario.  I wonder what is causing all this.  I know, I saw some beautiful Canadian Grown sunflowers at the store.  While I am in the mood,. you must watch this funny video by a famous Canadian   that we all know.  But I bet we didn't know he's from the land North, East or South of Michigan.  Yes, you go South from Detroit to Windsor.  Check the map. While you are listening, I think I will consume a jug of Canola Oil to see just how Canadian I can get.

Canuck Radio

If I get two more cats, which would being the total to five felines, I would name them Quirk and Quark. Nope, not after the nasty little guy on Star Trek.  It would be for the Canadian Radio show all about science, "Quirks and Quarks."  It's something like public radio's "Science Friday."  I used to hear it on shortwave and now it's on the internet. I have long had a thing for Canadian Radio.  I grew up with the Happy Gang a hundred years ago. You couldn't say "beer" on the CBC.  When the gang played it, it was the barrel polka.  I still follow all the old shows and some new ones on the 'net.  Bobby Gimby's Canadian Centennial song is an earworm that I can't get out of my head.  I must learn to sing it in French. It might take some time to load. If you can listen only once and stop and you don't dance around wishing you had some Canadian in you, you're a better man than I am.

R.I.P. Helen Thomas

Helen Thomas has left us.  Great lady, feisty old broad. It was Bob Garfield's "On The Media" comment about her that inspired one of the former names of  another of my too many blogs.  "Geriatric obstreperousness."  It's too hard to spell.  The blog is now Paul's Peculiar Pronouncements

Marvelous Musical Michael Feinstein

Young Michael Feinstein is the greatest thing that has happened to the songs of "The Great American Songbook," the songs America loved before the mid 50s when the rock culture and its music came along and forever changed the world.  He's a passionate preservationist, dedicating his  considerable talent to keeping those songs alive.  If you don't know about him, look him up.  Gives me goosebumps and smiles.

Ruby, Roma, the Bible and the Irish in me

Hold everything. The muse is speaking Gaelic, which I don't understand.  I will get this done when I get a translation.  Stay tuned.

 Alright, here we go.  My muse showed up again.  Red hair, green dress, speaking English with an Irish Lilt that rendered me senseless. She says her name is Eileen.  As in "Eileen O'Grady," a song recorded by Ruby Murray and a few hundred other happy Hibernians. So who was Ruby Murray, you ask? She was a wildly popular singer in the United Kingdom. She holds the record for the most number one hits on the charts at the same time. A big seller here in the colonies was "Softly Softly." If you never heard of her I will ask my personal Leprechaun to pummel you into submission.
My favorite Ruby song is "It's the Irish in Me."  If you can listen to that one without scurrying to the nearest genealogy site in search of some long forgotten bit of Irish in you, you're a far better person than I.

Should you visit London, you might hear Ruby's name used in a most puzzling manner.  "Ruby Murray" is Cockney slang for curry in  the popular Indian Food Restaurants.

And there's Roma Downey.  Remember her?  Sweet Irish Angel that we were all touched by a few years ago. Senior Angel Della Reese managed to  keep  novice  angel Monica out of trouble  Remind me to do a post about Della.  Before she became a TV angel and a real life positive thinking preacher she was a singer and she was hot!  I mean HOT!  But I digress again.  I googled   Roma a few months ago to see what she is up to and now she shows up as the Virgin Mary on the History Channel's spectacular series, "The Bible."  Roma and her third husband are doing all kinds of nice religious things and God told her to put the Bible on TV.  I think Jesus gets born tonight, so I will find out if Roma is able to drop her Irish speech. I think it would be kind of nice if Jesus had an Irish Mother.  She could sing "Too ra loo ra loo ral" to Him. But I guess Bible scholars who are sticklers for correctness will be asking if you can speak Aramaic with an Irish Brogue.
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Oh Canada! Morningside to Nightfall and the Happy Gang too.

Another Paul's Preview.  Coming soon, all about Old Time Radio from the land of the Canucks. Can I say that without offending somebody unless I'm talking about a hockey team? We do not need a war with Canada.

Popeye Quits Spinach??!!

Gifted artist, 14 Year old grandson Alex knows more about Disney and Warner Brothers cartoons than anybody.   It was a great day for old Grandpappy when I stumped the kid with a question about Popeye giving up spinach.

Alex doesn't read my Burping Canary Feathers. He uses all his energy impressing the girls at his middle school with his awesomeness, which he does appear to have more than his share of.

There's a strong hint up there at the top of this page where it says what the blog is mostly about.  You got it, it's radio. The kid radio shows back in the dark ages when I was young were often about favorite cartoon characters.  Popeye went on radio in 1935.  To make it, you had to have a sponsor to pay the bills.  The spinach people didn't come forward so a cereal company, makers of Wheatena, picked it up.  When the old sailor needed to save the day, there was always another character around to stir up a quick bowl  of Wheatena. Worked just as well as spinach. If you think cartoons couldn't work on radio, you're just too young.

Now you know the rest of the story 

  

ANOTHER SPLENDID TITLE?

"Jack's Max."  How's that for a title well calculated to tease fans of past pop culture?  Should be a snap to guess for died-the-wool fans of old stuff.  Let us hope I get around to posting it.

Happy Old Friend station

Oh boy, I found "The Happy Station." Long time ago I listened on shortwave  when it was on Radio Netherlands.  They quit it and it's now sort of reincarnated on a station in Taipei, of all places. Seems like I discover some old radio friend on the internet almost daily. One of very few reasons why I'd like to make it too a ripe old one hundred is so I would have time to listen to all the stuff that's available.