Eric on The Road

Journeys into the offbeat, off the beaten path, overlooked and forgotten - by Eric Model

Friday, July 31, 2009

Leafs fans petition for return of old-school logo (Toronto Star)

From The Toronto Star:

By Adrian Morrow
July 29, 2009

The idea for the petition was hatched on an Internet hockey message board, where many of the users felt the same way as Clayton. Another young user on the board set the petition up on its own website (www.leafslogo.com) and created a Facebook page.

So far, the petition has gathered more than 300 signatures.

http://www.thestar.com/sports/article/673255

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

A Couple of River Trips into the Soul of Canada (canada.com)

From canada.com:

Montreal: If you have a tighter travel budget this year, consider a short-hop vacation (or should that be micro-hop?) on the St. Lawrence River. Take one of the cruise ships that ply the river on day tours and night excursions (for dinner or the fireworks competition, or both), or hop on one of the many ferries that zoom across the river carrying pedestrians and cyclists.
http://www.canada.com/travel/canada/Cruise+ships+Lawrence+River+around+Montreal+night/1824635/story.html

Ottawa: For anyone looking for a one-day kayaking or canoeing Few trips can compare in historical interest with a paddle down the Ottawa River along the old voyageur route.
http://www.canada.com/travel/canada/feel+history+trace+voyageurs+route+along+Ottawa+River/1820874/story.html

Vermont to host first Cheesemakers Festival (USA Today)

Via USA Today:

The festival (August 23) will feature over 100 cheeses for sampling, 50 different cheesemakers, 15 artisan food makers, four tasting seminars, two cooking demonstrations and more.

The event will be hosted by the Vermont Institute for Artisan Cheese, the Vermont Butter & Cheese Company, and the Vermont Cheese Council, and will take place at Shelburne Farms, near Burlington.

http://www.vtcheesefest.com.

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/destinations/2009-07-28-vermont-cheesemakers-festival_N.htm

Kansas, Oklahoma team up to attract international tourists (USA Today)

Via USA Today:

While international traveling has dropped with the struggling economy, those traveling here will likely seek out small towns, heritage sites, gambling, concerts and camping, said Richard Champley, senior research analyst for the U.S. Department of Commerce.

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/destinations/2009-07-28-heartland-foreign-tourism_N.htm

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Lumberjack World Championships at 50 (NY Times)

From The New York Times:

By JOHN BRANCH
Published: July 27, 2009

With the ESPN cameras gone and prize money drying up, the glory years of the Lumberjack world championships appear to be long over.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/28/sports/28lumberjack.html?ref=sports

Monday, July 27, 2009

Heard on The Radio: The National Day of the Cowboy

A Left Jab short: The National Day of the Cowboy with Bethany Braley. If you miised teh segment on Left Jab (Sirius-146; XM-167), you can catch it as podcast as http://leftjabradio.com

A special thanks to "Heritage Nebraska" for supporting "Journeys into Hidden America on SIRIUS-XM's Left Jab"....."Heritage Nebraska - celebrating history through education, outreach, preservation and stewardship".

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Bayside, Maine: A Refreshing Reminder of a Simpler Time (Washington Post)

From The Washington Post:

By Suzanne Rico
July 20, 2009

Bayside, Maine, has no gas stations or restaurants, but visitors can enjoy nature, music and a rare sense of community.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/20/AR2009072002274.html

Saturday, July 25, 2009

National Parks Full of History, if Not Visitors (NY Times)

From The New York Times:

By NICK KAYE
Published: July 26, 2009

Many of the...parts of the parks system are often overlooked. These lesser-known parks can illuminate sometimes murky and forgotten points in American history.....
a rundown of some rather unexpected parts of the park system that are well worth a visit this summer....

http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/07/26/travel/26journeys.html?ref=travel

After a 15-Year Hiatus, Kubek Is Back (Briefly) (NY Times)

From The New York Times:

By RICHARD SANDOMIR
Published: July 25, 2009

Onetime Yankee shortstop and television analyst Tony Kubek will be celebrated by the Hall of Fame for a broadcasting career he left abruptly 15 years ago:

“People finally realize it was a divorce,” he said the other day by telephone from his summer home on a lake in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. “I just got a different life. It was time to move on. More than once, people have said, ‘You must hate baseball,’ but I never said that because I don’t. I didn’t like some of the things I saw. I’m not averse to either side making money, but money was becoming more important than the game itself.”

A conversation with Kubek is a reminder of what he brought to a broadcast — an acute intelligence, a contrarian’s view and a no-frills demeanor — and why he is receiving the Ford C. Frick Award from the Hall for nearly 30 years of broadcast service with NBC, the Toronto Blue Jays and the Yankees. Kubek said he tried to follow the advice of Chet Simmons, the former NBC Sports president, who told him, “Every word that comes out of your mouth, you’re responsible for.”


http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/25/sports/baseball/25kubek.html?_r=1

Friday, July 24, 2009

Change slowly comes to beautiful, remote Monument Valley (USA Today)

From USA Today:

By Jayne Clark
USA TODAY

The Navajo people have been in Monument Valley since the late 15th or early 16th century. But Harry Goulding and his wife, Mike, were the first Anglo settlers in the region and were responsible for sparking the tourism boom that took off in the 1930s and hasn't let up since.

When the couple arrived in the early 1920s, they bought 640 acres for $320 with the aim of ranching and trading with the Indians. Then, in 1938, Harry Goulding got wind that director John Ford was scouting locations for a Western starring John Wayne. The couple drove to Hollywood and convinced Ford that Monument Valley would be the perfect backdrop.

The movie, Stagecoach, won the 1939 Oscar for cinematography, and Monument Valley was firmly cast as Western icon.

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/destinations/2009-07-23-monument-valley_N.htm

North Carolina Town's Longtime Barbershop Cutups (StoryCorps)

From Story Corps via NPR:

Morning Edition
July 24, 2009

Two longtime barbers in Drexel, N.C., reflect on their town, careers and customers.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106946912

Wagon train traces route of Alberta pioneers (Canwest News Service)

From The CanWest News Service:

By David Halliday, Canwest News Service

Trip recalls arduous conditions faced by early settlers.

http://www.canada.com/travel/canada/Wagon+train+traces+route+Alberta+pioneers/1808983/story.html

Canada sees sharp decline in American tourists (USA Today)

Via USA Today:

The number of U.S. tourists visiting Canada is at a 37-year low and declining, mainly due to the recession, but stricter new U.S. passport rules are also to blame, the head of the Tourism Industry Association of Canada said Thursday (July 23).

"We're at the lowest level since 1972," association president Randy Williams said. "American traffic has been an issue for seven or eight years, constantly dwindling."

The drop in visitors is primarily a result of the recession-plagued economy, but Williams also said that new U.S. passport rules have not helped.

Since June 1, people traveling across the borders have been required since to show a passport or other acceptable form of identification such as an enhanced driver's license or NEXIS card.

Before the new rules, only government-issued ID was needed for travel between Canada and the U.S.

David Tetrault has noticed a 50% drop in business at his bed and breakfast in Niagara Falls, Ontario. He said the biggest impact of the new passport rules is in last-minute travel because the planning and time to get a passport has eliminated spontaneity.

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/destinations/2009-07-23-canada-tourism-decline_N.htm

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Thanks to Heritage Nebraska

Thanks to "Heritage Nebraska" for their support of "Journeys into Hidden America" on SIRIUS-XM's "Left Jab" & elsewhere

www.nebraskamainstreet.org

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Pez Maker Is Sour On Museum's Memorabilia (NPR)

From NPR News:

by David Gorn
All Things Considered
July 21, 2009

The candy firm sues a California museum for trademark infringement over items Pez hasn't approved.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106859982

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

A California Beach Town Reinvents Itself, Again (NY Times)

From The New York Times:

By CHRIS COLIN
Published: July 19, 2009

What was once simply a surf city in the U.S.A. has rebranded itself Surf City USA, after a heated legal battle with Santa Cruz over the coveted title. In Huntington Beach, with the reinvention has come a flurry of development, designed to capitalize on the city’s reputation as a surf capital.

http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/07/19/travel/19next.html?hpw

New Podcast Posting: The A&P Historical Society

In the mid-1950s, A&P was the dominant food retailer. In a few markets, A&P had up to 75% of the market share, with stores in 39 states.

The company was first founded in 1859 as The Great American Tea Company by Geroge Huntington Hartford and George Gilman in New York City. It was renamed “The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company” in 1870.

Over the years, in mnay ways the A&P story reflects the story of America (and Canada).

In this conversation, we mark 150 years of A&P by talking with Craig Grybowski of the A&P Historical Society.

At:
http://conversationsontheroad.com

New Podcast Posting: A Guide to Re-invention

It’s a time of challenge and opportunity.

Our economy has recently taken a hit. So have our communties.

Steve Blacker, who’s worked at Time, Playboy, Money Magazine, Village Voice, New York Post, Cue Magazine, Medical Economics, Ski View, American Heritage, and tons more, provides insight into re-invention be it individuals or communities in his new book, “You Can’t Fall off The Floor”.

He joins us for a unique conversation.

At:
http://conversationsontheroad.com

New Podcast Posting: Walt Disney’s Railroad Story: A Fascination that Led to A Kingdom

Few people realize the significance railroading played in the evolution of the Disney empire. Encouraged by Walt’s family and railfans inside and outside the Disney organization, Michael Broggie has chronicled the tale of Walt Disney’s personal involvement in railroading.In this conversation, Broggie, author of Walt Disney’s Railroad Story: The Small-Scale Fascination That Led to a Full-Scale Kingdom (Pentrex, 1997) shares with us the private realm of Disney railroading.

Walt Disney’s love affair with trains began in his hometown of Marceline, Missouri. His first job was selling tobacco, candy, and newspapers on the Missouri Pacific line. By 1950, his enthusiasm for realistic model trains had evolved into an elaborate backyard live steam railroad. Walt’s Carolwood Pacific Railroad included a 46-foot-long trestle, loops, overpasses, gradients, an elevated dirt berm, and a 90-foot tunnel underneath Mrs. Disney’s flower bed!

Broggie shares this history and more with us in this discussion.

At:
http://conversationsontheroad.com

New Podcast Posting: The World's Biggest Catsup Bottle

If you’re driving on Route 159 just south of Collinsville, Illinois, you’ll see a water tower in the shpe of a cataup bottle. 170 feet tall, it’s described as the World’s Largest Catsup Bottle.

The water tower has a fascinating story behind it.

This year marks the 60th anniversary of the bottle, and they’re celebrating in Collinsville to mark the occasion.

Mike Gassmann joins us from Collinsville to share with us the stories of the World’s Largest Catsup bottle. the first was in 1949 when built. The second in the 1990’s when it was threatened with demolition but the community rallied to save it. the third chapter continues today as the catsup bottle continues to be celebrated.

This conversation is another part of that ongoing celebration.

At:
http://conversationsontheroad.com

Living History At Lincoln's Summer Retreat (NPR)

From NPR News:

by Susan Stamberg
Morning Edition, July 20, 2009

A country home on Washington's outskirts provided a respite for a president mired in the Civil War.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106578249

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Lobster in the rough (Boston Globe)

From The Boston Globe:

By Hilary Nangle
Globe Correspondent / July 19, 2009

The only place for the messy operation of eating lobster is a classic shack, usually within sight and scent of the ocean.

http://www.boston.com/travel/explorene/maine/articles/2009/07/19/lobster_in_the_rough/

Belmont University Class Visits 40 States in 40 Days (Washington Post)

From the Washington Post:

By Andrea Sachs
Washington Post
July 19, 2009

"On June 6, 10 college students, two professors and one sleeper bus departed Belmont University in Nashville for the ultimate field trip: 40 states in 40 days. But this was no summer vacation: Homework assignments included 30 blogs each and post-trip papers for the students' travel-writing and sociology courses. We caught up with professor Ken Spring, junior Emma Shouse and senior Heather Gillespie in Washington -- or as they called it, Day 35. (For the itinerary, student bios and blogs, and more, see http://www.belmont.edu/40states.)"

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/17/AR2009071701665.html

The People Speak: No Michael Jackson Sculpture in Butter at the Iowa Fair (NY Times)

From The New York Times:

By MONICA DAVEY
Published: July 18, 2009

“We started hearing concerns from the public that he wasn’t an Iowan and didn’t have a connection to the fair,” said Lori Chappell, the fair’s marketing director, explaining why organizers ultimately put the question to a public vote.

No such concerns were raised about Tiger Woods or Harry Potter, previous honorees. And in truth, Ms. Chappell said, the King of Pop and his four brothers did perform at the fair in 1971. But apparently the link was too tenuous (or discomforting) to a majority of those who cast votes last week in the fair’s admittedly “unscientific online poll.”

Butter sculptures — and above all, the butter cow, an icon of the annual Des Moines celebration — have long been integral elements of the 155-year-old fair. The cow, five and a half feet tall, made of 600 pounds of Iowa butter and stored in a 40-degree cooler, was first carved in 1911, though the art form dates back further, fair leaders say, and once involved lard.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/19/us/19butter.html?ref=us

Saturday, July 18, 2009

The Art of the Obituary by Walter Cronkite (NPR)

From NPR News:

By Walter Cronkite
All Things Considered, April 20, 2006

One way to measure the fame of a celebrity might be the length of his obituary. Another might be how far in advance it is prepared. So says veteran newsman Walter Cronkite, who has covered the lives, and deaths, of many famous Americans. Cronkite talks about the art of marking someone's passing, including some of the stories he presented as anchor of the CBS Evening News.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5353784

Friday, July 17, 2009

Passing: Walter Cronkite

From The New York Times:

Walter Cronkite, an iconic CBS News journalist who defined the role of anchorman for a generation of television viewers, died Friday at the age of 92, his family said.

“My father Walter Cronkite died,” his son Chip said just before 8 p.m. Eastern. CBS interrupted prime time programming to show an obituary for the man who defined the network’s news division.

Mr. Cronkite anchored the “CBS Evening News” from 1962 to 1981, at a time when television became the dominant medium of the United States. He figuratively held the hand of the American public during the civil rights movement, the space race, the Vietnam war, and the impeachment of Richard Nixon. During his tenure, network newscasts were expanded to 30 minutes from 15.

“It is impossible to imagine CBS News, journalism or indeed America without Walter Cronkite,” Sean McManus, the president of CBS News, said in a statement. “More than just the best and most trusted anchor in history, he guided America through our crises, tragedies and also our victories and greatest moments.”

Mr. McManus added: “No matter what the news event was, Walter was always the consummate professional with an un-paralleled sense of compassion, integrity, humanity, warmth, and occasionally even humor. There will never be another figure in American history who will hold the position Walter held in our minds, our hearts and on the television. We were blessed to have this man in our lives and words cannot describe how much he will be missed by those of us at CBS News and by all of America.”

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/07/17/eveningnews/main5170556.shtml?tag=cbsContentWrap;cbsContent

Katie Couric on CBS:
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=5170603n&tag=related;photovideo

Also:
http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/17/walter-cronkite-iconic-anchorman-dies/

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/31447291#31447291

Walter Cronkite's essays on NPR:
http://www.npr.org/news/specials/cronkite/

Walter Cronkite: History's Lessons:
In a series of occasional essays for NPR, veteran journalist Walter Cronkite comments on news events he reported on over the past century that still resonate today.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6711860

Tom Shales (Washington Post):
"...He was ours, we were his, and he didn't so much deliver the news to us as join us in experiencing the world outside our own homes and schools and towns. He won virtually every award that is given out in the annals of broadcasting, but he won a lot more than that. He earned our friendship, our trust and even, as we perhaps now realize more than at any other time in the relationship, our love".
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/17/AR2009071703501.html?hpid=topnews

Howard Kurtz: Cronkite's passing, in the end, is the passing of an era, an era of black-and-white television, of mass audiences, of a slower time when the country waited for the headlines at 6:30 in the evening. No anchor -- no journalist -- will ever wield that authority again.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/17/AR2009071703787.html?sid%3DST2009071703376&sub=AR

About Walter Cronkite on NPR's Weekend Edition Saturday (with Scott Simon):
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106770499

Scott Simon on "Why There's No Place For Another Cronkite"
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106770503


Boston Globe: Friends and locals on Martha’s Vineyard recalled Walter Cronkite as a summertime fixture who appreciated the quieter life of Dukes County when not in the anchor’s chair.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/07/19/vineyard_recalls_cronkites_love_of_sailing_life_on_the_island/

Finally, A NY Times Editorial Page appreciation from Verlyn Klinkenborg:
"....Some deaths end only a life. Some end a generation. Walter Cronkite’s death ends something larger and more profound. He stood for a world, a century, that no longer exists. His death is like losing the last veteran of a world-changing war, one of those men who saw too much but was never embittered by it..."
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/20/opinion/cronk2.html?_r=1&ref=opinion

80 years of hospitality, opulence in Toronto: The Royal York Hotel (National Post)

From the National Post:

By Karen Hawthorne, National Post

The hotel has a long tradition of exquisite attention to detail and grand hospitality. She turned 80 this month and, with a few nips and tucks over the years, still maintains her fabulous good looks over an entire city block across from Union Station, downtown central: hand-painted ceilings, Travertine pillars, ornate furnishings, wall hangings and crystal chandeliers. Back in 1929, the hotel was the tallest building in the British Empire. There were 28 floors, 10 passenger elevators and 1,048 rooms, each with radios, private showers and bathtubs. The total cost was $16-million.

http://www.canada.com/travel/years+hospitality+opulence+Toronto+Royal+York+Hotel/1763876/story.html

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Montana's Badlands (NY Times)

From The New York Times:

By ERIC KONIGSBERG
Published: July 17, 2009

Eastern Montana’s plains are rich with prehistoric creatures and American history.

Accompanied by slide show.

http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/07/17/travel/escapes/17Montana.html?ref=escapes

National Trust seeks 'Distinctive Destinations' nominations (USA Today)

Via USA Today.com:

The National Trust for Historic Preservation is seeking nominations for its 2010 list of Dozen Distinctive Destinations.

The list has been issued annually since 2000. This time, however, once the 12 places are announced Feb. 3, the public will, for the first time, get to vote on a "fan favorite."

The National Trust selects the destinations to honor places that offer authentic cultural and recreational experiences. On the 2009 list were Santa Barbara, Calif.; Athens, Ga.; Saugatuck-Douglas, Mich.; Virginia City, Nev.; Santa Fe; Buffalo; Litiz, Pa.; Bristol, R.I.; Hot Springs, S.D.; Franklin, Tenn.; Fort Worth, and Lake Geneva, Wis.

Nominations for the list can be made by convention and visitors bureaus, chambers of commerce, Main Street offices, Historic Hotels of America, and other tourism, preservation or local organizations. Individuals who want to nominate a place are encouraged to contact an organization of this type to support the submission. There is a $150 application fee.

Applications are due Sept. 1, and may include images, video and letters. Forms can be accessed at PreservationNation.org/ddd.

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/destinations/2009-07-16-distinctive-destinations_N.htm

Garrison Keillor Goes to the Fair (National Geographic)

We're heading into State Fair season - a time and place unto itself. It is at once celebratory but with some sadness - as one suddenly realizes that the Summer is soon to end.

Garrison Keillor writes in the July, 2009 National Geographic of this phenomemna. Worth the read.

http://bit.ly/Kila8

Canadiens' All-Time Team Ceremony -1983

Yes, it's summer - the off season for hockey.

But I found this remarkable video on You Tube.

As the Montreal Canadiens continue to celebrate their centennial year, we look back to the team's 75th anniversary celebration at the Montreal Forum (Oh, how I miss that building).

Bob Cole and John Davidson provide commentary as these greats are introduced in uniform: Toe Blake (Coach) (with Scotty Bowman as Buffalo coach looking on), Jacques Plante (Goal), Doug Harvey & Larry Robinson (Defense), Dickie Moore (Left Wing), Jean Beliveau (Centre), Maurice Richard (Right Wing)and as an added feature the then 83 year old Aural Joliat.

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UpUjW0ccwk&feature=related
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gVx0kcc_TI&feature=related
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dKacbITUOQ&feature=related

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Passing: Reggie Fleming, Gritty NHLer of the 1960's (Chicago Tribune)

From The Chicago Tribune:

By Fred Mitchell | Tribune staff reporter
July 12, 2009

Reggie Fleming, one of the National Hockey League’s toughest players in the 1960s, died Saturday (July 11) in a suburban Chicago hospital. He was 73.

He was a fan favorite in the cities where he played, including six in the N.H.L. Although renowned for his willingness and ability to fight, Fleming was also versatile enough to be used as a defenseman and as a forward, shutting down star players on the other team.

Fleming spent 12 full seasons in the N.H.L. from 1960 to 1971, playing 749 games, scoring 108 goals and compiling 1,468 penalty minutes. During his stint with the Rangers from 1966 through 1970, he spent so much time in the Madison Square Garden penalty box, he told John Halligan, the team’s longtime public-relations director, that “I got my mail delivered there.”

Fleming also played for Montreal, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia and Buffalo in the N.H.L., for Chicago in the World Hockey Association and for several minor league teams before retiring at 41.

Fleming was confined to bed during the last five years because of complications arising from a stroke. His son posted several videos on YouTube in which his father reminisced about his life from his hospital bed.

"I wanted people to see another side of a famous hockey player, a ruffian," he said. "And I wanted people to see what happens sometimes to celebrities and athletes in their later days when they go through these trials and tribulations. I wanted people to see how they fight it and that we are all human.

And I wanted people to see that just because someone is dying, basically, or sick ... it doesn't mean you just write them off. Those could be the greatest memories you ever have. And they actually were for me because we got to talk about things we never talked about before."


(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4STfe5Hbgc).

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/hockey/blackhawks/chi-12-reggie-fleming-blackhawks-webjul12,0,1866138.story?page=2

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

WNYC Buys WQXR

"The Radio Station of the New York Times" will have to find a new slogan.

WQXR, which has been broadcasting classical music to New Yorkers for decades has been sold.

In a complex deal, the buyers are WNYC (New York Public Radio) and Univision. In addition to the New York Times banner, 96.3 fm will pass to a new station as well (For years WQXR had broadcast at 1560 AM).

Owned by the New York Times since 1944, the station was founded in 1936 and calls itself the country’s oldest commercial radio broadcaster of classical music, and is in fact one of the first FM stations anywhere, as well as the oldest in New York.

http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowlny/radio/wnyc_buys_nyts_classical_music_station_121577.asp

Music For Bastille Day (NPR)

From NPR News:

Morning Edition
July 14, 2009

It's Bastille Day, which marks the beginning of the French Revolution and the beginning of the end of French royalty.

Along with all the ruckus and rioting that accompanied the revolution, commentator Miles Hoffman says there was also music in the air.

Drop in to any concert hall or ballroom and you could have heard plenty of Italian and French opera, choral music and orchestras. But most of the significant music of the day, Hoffman says, was not written by the French.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106488903

Sunday, July 12, 2009

How the Beatles Destroyed Rock ’n’ Roll (NY Times Book Review)

From The New York Times:

By PETER KEEPNEWS
Published: July 10, 2009


A book that asks why is it that the Beatles and others who “built on the work of black precursors but took the music in new directions” in the 1960s have been routinely praised for accomplishing this feat, while Whiteman has been roundly condemned for doing essentially the same thing 40 years earlier?

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/12/books/review/Keepnews-t.html?ref=books

Anyone Remember Banner Day ?

A piece in the Sunday NY Times Sports Section for July 12 brought back memories. In it was a picture of a Banner Day parade at Shea Stadium, circa 1978. If you notice this scoreboard with the Schafer beer and, Manufacturers Hanover Bank ads, you'll also see a reference to "Senior Citizens Day". Buy, so much has changed. How about "Ladies' Day" ?

Check out the article the piece: http://bats.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/10/the-bedsheet-blog-send-the-mets-a-message/?ref=sports, and share with us what you recall from baseball that is now lost (i.e. Banner Day or Sunday/holiday doubleheaders).

America's Longest Running Restuarants (Business Week)

From Business Week:

http://images.businessweek.com/ss/09/07/0707_americas_oldest_restaurants/32.htm

How Pepsi won the Quebec Cola Wars (Montreal Gazette)

From The Montreal Gazette:

By René Bruemmer, The Gazette
July 11, 2009

Pepsi is celebrating its 75th anniversary in Quebec this year, in conjunction with the opening of the Montreal plant in 1934. It’s rolling out a new logo and ad campaign, one of more than a dozen branding changes over a history that dates back to 1898.

“They have become part of the cultural landscape, both through marketing and direct involvement in the province,” says Éric Blais of Toronto-based Headspace Marketing, which advises companies on how to reach the Quebec market.

http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/Pepsi+Quebec+Cola+Wars/1782446/story.html

Rediscovering Henry Hudson (CBS News)

From CBS News:

CBS Sunday Morning
July 5, 2009

Seventeenth-century explorer Henry Hudson, the English captain who mapped the river valley that now bears his name, was by one historian's account the Steve Jobs of his day — on the cutting edge in a new era of globalization. (

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/07/05/sunday/main5134460.shtml?tag=cbsnewsTwoColUpperPromoArea

Saturday, July 11, 2009

Passing: Paul Hemphill, Chronicler of the South (NY Times)

From The New York Times:

By WILLIAM GRIMES
Published: July 12, 2009

Mr. Hemphill turned a flair for sportswriting into a columnist’s job at the old Atlanta Journal in the 1960s, when the New Journalism began to take hold. Like Jimmy Breslin, a writer he was often compared to, he turned his roving eye to ordinary Southerners overlooked by most writers and mined the inexhaustible vein of human experience that he summed up, in his collection “Too Old to Cry” (1981), as “lost dreams and excess baggage and divorce, whiskey, suicide, killing and general unhappiness.” He also wrote blunt columns about race at a time when the topic was incendiary in the South.

“He was the kind of general newspaper columnist that hardly exists anymore,” Roy Blount Jr., who worked with Mr. Hemphill at The Journal, said by e-mail in June. “He’d go out and do things and talk to people and write 2,000 words, daily. He wasn’t a talking head; he was walking ears, or listening legs.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/12/nyregion/12hemphill.html?_r=1&hpw

B.C.'s southern Gulf Islands are a sunny paradise (CanWest News Service)

From The CanWest News Service via canada.com:

By Joseph Kula, Special to Canwest News Service

It's summertime and the living's easy -- especially in B.C.'s southern Gulf Islands.

http://www.canada.com/travel/canada/southern+Gulf+Islands+sunny+paradise/1778495/story.html

Cyclists can explore 4,300 kilometres of beautiful Quebec countryside (Ottawa Citizen)

From The Ottawa Citizen via canada.com:

By Margo Pfeiff,
Ottawa Citizen

National Geographic was so excited about Quebec's Route Verte that they ranked it No. 1 in their Top-10 bike routes in the world.

http://www.canada.com/travel/canada/Cyclists+explore+kilometres+beautiful+Quebec+countryside/1778304/story.html

Mr. Khrushchev Goes to Washington (NPR)

From NPR:

On The Media
July 11, 2009

In 1959, with the Cold War in full throttle and MAD the doctrine of the day, Nikita Khrushchev crisscrossed America in a whirlwind circus of a tour, from Harlem to Hollywood.

http://www.onthemedia.org/

The Crab Houses of Maryland’s Eastern Shore (NY Times)

From the New York Times:

By JORDAN HRUSKA
Published: July 12, 2009

Crab season in Maryland begins in April, the prizes being crabs that survived the previous summer and spent the winter marinating in the Chesapeake.

http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/07/12/travel/12crab.html?ref=travel

Media, NASA and America’s Quest for the Moon (NPR)

From NPR:

On The Media
July 10, 2009

Forty years ago the U.S. put a man (well, two actually) on the moon. The landing capped a decade of NASA trial-and-error, Cold War jockeying with the Soviets and negotiating an uneasy relationship with the press. Harlen Makemson, author of "Media, NASA and America’s Quest for the Moon" charts the ongoing coverage of the space program.

http://www.onthemedia.org/transcripts/2009/07/10/05

Friday, July 10, 2009

Tornado Potato Taking Boardwalks By Storm (NPR)

From NPR News:

All Things Considered
July 8, 2009

There are few things more appealing than french fries — unless you count food on a stick. Combine the two, and you get the artery-clogging, mouth-watering Tornado Potato that is the hit of state fairs nationwide.

The spiral-cut potatoes are skewered and deep fried, their rings cascading down the length of the stick.


http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106396031

51 Years Dodger Announcer Calls Games In Spanish (NPR)

From NPR News:

Morning Edition
July 9, 2009

Most fans of baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers are familiar with legendary broadcaster Vin Scully. But the Dodger's organization includes another Hall of Fame broadcaster. Jaime Jarrin has been calling games in Spanish for 51 years. Renee Montagne went to Dodger Stadium, and talked with Jarrin, who has become a major figure in Hispanic broadcasting.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106415915

Wednesday, July 08, 2009

Saku Koivu era comes to end in Montreal (Montreal Gazette)

From The Montreal Gazette:

By Dave Stubbs, The Gazette
July 8, 2009

Heart and soul of Canadiens for 14 years

http://www.montrealgazette.com/Sports/Saku+Koivu+comes+Montreal/1771316/story.html

Tuesday, July 07, 2009

New Podcast Posting: The Museum of Patriotism

The National Museum of Patriotism in Atlanta recently its new facility downtown.

By its very name, you may think you know what the place is all about.

This shrine to patriotism is a flag-waver, but not in the traditional sense.

We speak with Executive Director Pat Stansbury about the museum, its origins (It was founded by Nicholas Snider, a retired UPS executive who created a large collection of sweetheart jewelry), its function and just what it represents to Americans and those beyond our borders.

At:
http://conversationsontheroad.com

Monday, July 06, 2009

Texas museum preserves cowboy hat collection (USA Today)

Via usatoday.com:

A display of more than 500 hats will open at the Museum of North Texas History in Wichita Falls on July 25.

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/destinations/2009-07-05-texas-cowboy-hat-exhibit_N.htm

Sunday, July 05, 2009

Chestnut wins annual hot dog eating contest (Fox Sports)

From Fox Sports thru msn.com:

NEW YORK - Joey Chestnut chomped down a record 68 hot dogs, capturing his third straight July Fourth hot-dog eating contest at Coney Island, an annual showcase for flamboyant hot dogging contestants eager to show they really are what they eat.

http://msn.foxsports.com/other/story/9768338?GT1=39002

Friday, July 03, 2009

Remembering Last Reunion Of Civil War Veterans (NPR)

From NPR News:

All Things Considered
July 3, 2009

by John McDonough

Commentator John McDonough recalls the last great reunion of Civil War veterans from the North and South. It took place July 3-5, 1938, on the 75th anniversary of Gettysburg — at Gettysburg, Pa. At the time, the whole country was almost painfully aware that the last living links to a decisive event were about to slip away.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106259780

MLB Calls Foul On Cape Cod Baseball Uniforms (NPR)

From NPR News:

All Things Considered
July 3, 1009

The Cape Cod Baseball League in Massachusetts has landed in hot water with Major League Baseball, which accuses Cape Cod's league of trademark infringement by using MLB team names. Peter and Diane Troy, officials with the league, talk about the situation.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106259765

Eight restaurants honored for 'Kansas cuisine' (usatoday.com)

Through usatoday.com:

Hamburgers, fried chicken and artisan breads are among the menu choices at restaurants determined to be the "most iconic" in Kansas.

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/destinations/2009-07-01-kansas-cuisine_N.htm

Celebrating the Sounds of Appalachian Strings (NY Times)

From The New York Times:

By NICK KAYE
Published: July 3, 2009

For 85 years, strummers, pickers and fiddlers have met in the North Carolina hills on a spring weekend to pay homage to old-time music.

http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/07/03/travel/escapes/03Fiddle.html?ref=escapes

Thursday, July 02, 2009

With Budgets Tight, Less Flash for the Fourth (NY Times)

From The New York Times:

By WILLIAM YARDLEY
Published: July 1, 2009

Several dozen smaller cities have eliminated money for fireworks in this budget-slashed summer of recession.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/02/us/02fourth.html?_r=1&ref=us

Wednesday, July 01, 2009

The Man on the Radio in the Red Shoes (PBS)

From PBS's American Masters:

"America’s foremost humorist and social pundit, Garrison Keillor takes his skits and monologues across the country in his popular radio show, A Prairie Home Companion. American Masters trails this yarn-smith and his crew of actors and musicians as they spin stories and song into American gold in Garrison Keillor: The Man on the Radio in the Red Shoes, premiering nationally Wednesday, July 1, 2009 at 8 p.m. (ET) on PBS (check local listings). DVD with additional features will be released by Docurama Films on July 7th."

Through the course of a year, an intimate lens captures Keillor on- and off- stage as he mingles fact and fiction to create America’s collective hometown, Lake Wobegon, on a radio program that carries bona-fide nostalgia. The result is a fascinating inside look at the enigmatic raconteur and how the imaginary world he created became a real place in America.

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/episodes/garrison-keillor/the-man-on-the-radio-in-the-red-shoes/1159/

Heard on the Radio: On Journeys into Hidden America for July Fourth

Recent interviews of Eric Model can be found at these sites:

Afternoon Magazine on WILL - Champagne-Urbana, Illinois
http://will.illinois.edu/afternoonmagazine/

The Rusty Humphries Show: http://www.talk2rusty.com/

http://www.wjon.com/Home/tabid/2632/Default.aspx

Passing: Karl Malden

The family of Karl Malden says the actor who won an Oscar for his role in "A Streetcar Named Desire" has died at age 97.

In numerous films, Malden was otherwise well-known for his role on the 1970's TV police drama "The Streets of San Francisco" and in American Express ads during that same pariod.

http://movies.msn.com/movies/article.aspx?news=418447>1=28101

New Podcast Posting: The St. Lawrence Seaway & the Lost Villages after 50 Years

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway. Queen Elizabeth was there. So was President Eisenhower.

This engineering feat had a profound impact on transportation, teh economy and folks who lived nearby or upstream.

We go to Cornwall, Ontario to speak with Lesly O’Gorman and David Hill about what’s planned to mark this 5o anniversary. We also chat about “The Lost Villages” - ten communities near Cornwall, which were permanently submerged by the creation of the Seaway.

At:
http://conversationsontheroad.com

Celebrating Canada Day (CBC)

From cbc.ca:

"On July 1, 1867, Canada took its first steps towards official nationhood. It has grown and developed as a nation, and distinguished itself in times of both peace and war. Canada is widely recognized as a place of harmony, liberty and diversity and is routinely ranked as one of the best countries in which to live. In honour of Canada's birthday, CBC Digital Archives (1954-2002) looks back at some defining moments and great Canadians who have helped shape our history".

http://archives.cbc.ca/society/celebrations/topics/2328/