If you’re old enough to have been watching Saturday Night Live in the late Seventies you might have been watching Episode 5 of Season 4 when it first aired on…
Year: 2018
“Coffee, Tea or Me?” – the catchphrase popularized by a hoax based on a joke…
Back in the 1960s, when air travel was more pleasant and our culture was less politically correct, airline stewardesses were hot – at least in terms of their popular image.…
The story, the man – and the dog – behind the phrase “man’s best friend”
September 23rd is the anniversary of what is said to be the origin of a dog-related saying that’s as or more famous than “Love me, love my dog.” The saying…
“Carry Me Back to Old Virginny,” the song that made a pioneering Black songwriter famous — and infamous…
How will Rap and Hip Hop songs by Black musicians that use the N-word and seemingly glorify the “thug life” be viewed 140 years from now? I don’t know…
“Don’t Bogart that joint, my friend…”
[Reposted by popular demand…] On June 24, 1968, ABC Records released the self-titled first album by The Fraternity of Man, a California-based rock band whose members included former Mothers of…
Reports of Mark Twain’s quip about his death are greatly misquoted…
In May 1897, the great American humorist, novelist and social critic Samuel Clemens — best known by his pen name, Mark Twain — was in London. It was one of…
“From my cold, dead hands” – Charlton Heston’s most famous and infamous non-movie quote
EDITOR’S NOTE: The recent deadly school shooting in Santa Fe, Texas, not long after the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, reminded me of the context of Charlton Heston’s first…
The Original “12 Step Program”
Today, there are many organizations that use a “12-step program” to help people deal with some type of addiction or other problems. In addition to alcohol and drug-related groups, there…