The Era -- Day By Day

[LizzieMaine]

The Nazi swastika flies today over Mount Olympus, fabled home of the gods of ancient Greece, after German forces pushed back British defenders to capture the nearby town of Larissa, vital railroad terminal 30 miles to the south. The German High Command also reports that other German troops are pushing to the west thru the British-Greek lines northwest of the Pindus Mountains. The International News Service reported today that rumors of an imminent Greek surrender and armistice are circulating in Berlin, possibly to occur within a few days.

A British communique today stated that a crack Nazi division of SS troops has been knocked out of the battle of Greece. The Adolf Hitler Battalion has, according to the report, been "mutilated, and is no longer in the fighting." British reports state that the Greco-British front is holding and that the German troops are making no progress.

Meanwhile, the sudden death of Greek Premier Alexander Korizis has led to the creation of a new "National Victory" government by King George -- with the monarch himself as the new Premier. There are indications that a military government will be formed under the direct rule of the King, and severe restrictions on public meetings have already been imposed in Athens.

In Akron, Ohio, as Easter hymns resounded thru the sanctuary of the North Hill Methodist Church, the body of a 24-year-old woman was burning in the church furnace. Police say the church janitor, 58-year-old Albert Lukens, has confessed to incinerating the body of music teacher Ruth Swicker, but denies that he killed her. Police say that Lukens cornered the young woman in the church's second-story piano room and demanded a kiss, and when she slapped him, a scuffle followed and Miss Swicker struck her head on the edge of the piano. Lukens admitted that he carried her to the basement and hid her behind a coal pile, and claimed that when he returned the next day, she was dead. Investigators raked the ashes in the furnace last night and discovered human remains and jewelry fragments positively identified as those of Miss Swicker. Lukens, who has a past criminal record involving rape, will be charged with Miss Swicker's murder on Monday.

In Boston at this hour, the Dodgers hold an 8-0 lead over the Bees in a morning Patriot's Day game at National League Field before a meager crowd of 5,500. Luke Hamlin is pitching for Brooklyn against Dick Errickson for Boston. Pee Wee Reese homered in the fourth, and Pete Resier tripled in the first. Yesterday, the Dodgers scored their first win of the season, beating the Bees 11-6.

A slight, soft-spoken woman of 41 succeeded where police and firemen could not, by tackling a thirteen year old boy who was threatening to jump off a fourth-story roof in Park Slope, and dragging him to safety. Thirteen-year-old William Rosedale of 433 3rd Street, an honor student in class 8B at Public School No. 77, climbed to the roof of the building to escape his mother, who intended to beat him with a cat-o-nine-tails, and leaped across a four-foot wide alley to the roof of 435 3rd Street, where, as his mother screamed and a crowd quickly gathered on the street below, he announced his plan to jump. After police, firemen, and a neighborhood priest failed to convince him to come down, Mrs. Emily Moore, herself a mother of four, made her way to the roof, and after trying to coax the boy down of his own accord, she leaped upon him in a flying tackle. Mrs. Moore's 16-year-old son Arthur, who followed his mother to the roof, held the boy down until police arrived. Young William was taken to Holy Family Hospital suffering from "hysteria." Neighbors described him as "a brilliant but high-strung boy."

Thousands mourned today as Longshoremen's Union activist Peter Panto was buried at St. Charles Cemetery in Farmingdale, Long Island. Panto's body was recovered after a year-long search, encased in quicklime in a crude grave in the woods of New Jersey, and his killers have not yet been apprehended. The burial was preceded by a grim, mile-long procession thru Panto's home neighborhood of Red Hook, where he was seen as the champion of rank-and-file dockworkers against racketeers attempting to infiltrate their union.

(There are, in fact, actual Gestapo spies at work in the America of 1941, but they are not so dumb as to go around with a swastika engraved on their arm.)

The "Red Rose of Williamsburg" may go on trial in October for the murder of a rival loan shark. 40-year-old Mrs. Rose Fantiel of 666 Willoughby Street will be tried, along with fellow defendants Philip "The Ghost" Scarruto and Michael "Mickey the Mouse" Sienna for the 1936 slaying of Ruby "The Monk" Shapiro. Mrs. Fantiel is accused of luring Shaprio to a car, where the two gunmen awaited. She was to have gone on trial this week, but County Judge Franklin Taylor is considering a motion to try the case before a Blue Ribbon jury, which would require that it be pushed ahead to the fall. Attorneys for the defendants oppose the delay.

("Hollywood playboy?" Where's his polo shirt and two-tone basket-weave shoes?)

("Obey" was never a "standardized" part of wedding vows in Christendom -- which has no "standard wedding vows" at all . It was never a part of Catholic ceremonies. It was introduced by the Anglican Church in 1549, and began to be eliminated in most Protestant denominations descending from Anglicanism by the early 20th Century. The Methodist Book of Discipline struck it out of the ceremony in 1916, and the Episcopal Church -- direct American descendant of the Anglicans -- first offered an alternate version without the word in 1922. Many Protestant denominations outside the Anglican tradition never used "obey" at all, but some modern-era Evangelical denominations with no root in Anglicanism have made a specific point of *adding it in," usually the culty type of sects that won't let a woman pray unless she puts a handkerchief on her head first.)

Fred Allen is drawing plaudits for his straight acting role in the recent Columbia Workshop production of "My Client Curley," the whimsical story of a theatrical agent who encounters a singing grasshopper. Mr. Allen, whose acting experience was gained in revue sketches, made no effort to "gag up" the script, and was entirely convincing and sympathetic in the role. Mr. Allen himself, however, brushes off the critical praise he is receiving, and says "I still think Everett Sloane should have done it."

(Most Workshop broadcasts of this period survive today -- but, frustratingly, this particular one is not available. I'd give a lot to hear it. Everett Sloane is a fine actor, but Fred Allen is Fred Allen.)

(I don't buy it. Any real Dodger fan doesn't call Magerkurth "Mager," they call him "Meathead.")

(The Lichtys really need to see a marriage counselor.)

("Hope springs eternal, in the Brooklyn breast..." -- Marianne Moore.)

("Gug Gawff" is a great name for a new lead character, once Sparky meets his end.)

(If only there were a way to, somehow, I don't know, AUTHENTICATE the money first...)

(Slim?? A lifelong screwup who can only very rarely manage to do anything right? Why John, how you talk!)

(OH COME OFF IT MARSH! We all know if anybody's likely to swoon in this situation, it's Irwin.)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

"Horse Binger?" Well, OK, I suppose if you go on a binge after riding a horse that makes sense, but I still think you could have come up with something better.

Gertie there looks like she's ready to work a night shift as a welder down the Navy Yard.

(Al Schacht is completely forgotten today but in 1941 he was a beloved baseball celebrity, whose on-field clown act was a World Series pre-game tradition. He'd been an actual pitcher for the Senators in the early 1920s but when people started laughing at him, he figured why not roll with it? Costumed mascots will eventually do away with traditional baseball clowns, but Al will keep at it for a long time. And don't worry, helmets will become compulsory -- in 1971.)

C'mon, do British pilots really talk like Lord Plushbottom? Well, Milt does his research, so it must be true.

"Hey, get a load of this -- I EMERRRRRRGE FROM THE SHADOWS. Is that a neat trick or what?"

Awwwww. "Meet cute."

"Do you read the comics? That Harold Teen is a real boob, isn't he?"

We haven't seen Min troll Andy in a while, and I was worried she was getting out of practice.

"Tick tock" indeed.

There was a guy on 34th Street who wasn't so dumb as to count money in an elevator, and look what happened to him.

 

[Fading Fast]

...In Akron, Ohio, as Easter hymns resounded thru the sanctuary of the North Hill Methodist Church, the body of a 24-year-old woman was burning in the church furnace. Police say the church janitor, 58-year-old Albert Lukens, has confessed to incinerating the body of music teacher Ruth Swicker, but denies that he killed her. Police say that Lukens cornered the young woman in the church's second-story piano room and demanded a kiss, and when she slapped him, a scuffle followed and Miss Swicker struck her head on the edge of the piano. Lukens admitted that he carried her to the basement and hid her behind a coal pile, and claimed that when he returned the next day, she was dead. Investigators raked the ashes in the furnace last night and discovered human remains and jewelry fragments positively identified as those of Miss Swicker. Lukens, who has a past criminal record involving rape, will be charged with Miss Swicker's murder on Monday....

Good luck to the court-appointed attorney on this case.

...In Boston at this hour, the Dodgers hold an 8-0 lead over the Bees in a morning Patriot's Day game at National League Field before a meager crowd of 5,500. Luke Hamlin is pitching for Brooklyn against Dick Errickson for Boston. Pee Wee Reese homered in the fourth, and Pete Resier tripled in the first. Yesterday, the Dodgers scored their first win of the season, beating the Bees 11-6....

Phew, needed to get the first W. Apparently, the Dodgers were not a big draw on the road, at least in Boston?

...The "Red Rose of Williamsburg" may go on trial in October for the murder of a rival loan shark. 40-year-old Mrs. Rose Fantiel of 666 Willoughby Street will be tried, along with fellow defendants Philip "The Ghost" Scarruto and Michael "Mickey the Mouse" Sienna for the 1936 slaying of Ruby "The Monk" Shapiro. Mrs. Fantiel is accused of luring Shaprio to a car, where the two gunmen awaited. She was to have gone on trial this week, but County Judge Franklin Taylor is considering a motion to try the case before a Blue Ribbon jury, which would require that it be pushed ahead to the fall. Attorneys for the defendants oppose the delay....

It doesn't seem that we have blue-ribbon juries anymore. I assume they were viewed as undemocratic or elitist or something? The idea for them doesn't seem crazy, but you can see the argument against them as well.

...
(Slim?? A lifelong screwup who can only very rarely manage to do anything right? Why John, how you talk!)...

Yes, yes, sure, insurance fraud, Slims a screwup, but let's talk about John's sport coat, or what we hope is a sport coat as that would be one heck of a carnival barker's getup if it's part of a suit.

... "Horse Binger?" Well, OK, I suppose if you go on a binge after riding a horse that makes sense, but I still think you could have come up with something better.....

Tough day for women drinking alone in bars.

You'd never see text like this in a tabloid today: "When the check for $3.85 was presented to her, she demurred. She did it somewhat articulately, and patrolman Gaynor was called." The subtlety and inference is wonderful, but all that would be lost on a modern audience use to in-your-face social media, TV, etc.

Re "The Neighbors," I suggest you order a piece of that pie sitting in the case at the end of the counter. You can never go too wrong with pie. The fight will work itself out. (It's a great illustration - you can feel that diner.)

...
Gertie there looks like she's ready to work a night shift as a welder down the Navy Yard....

Note the use of the term galoshes - a term we recently chatted about in the "Terms Which Have Disappeared" thread.

Ms. Rechtman could also try not going to a nightclub in the first place if she wants to Garbo it and be alone.

.. C'mon, do British pilots really talk like Lord Plushbottom? Well, Milt does his research, so it must be true....

The man can keep the story engaging though. I can't wait to see tomorrow's strip and it's a longer Sunday one, perfect for an air-sea battle!

... "Do you read the comics? That Harold Teen is a real boob, isn't he?"....

Wife meets office wife.

... "Tick tock" indeed..

Seriously. Also, WASP-waist alert, no demurely dressing Lana any more

...[ There was a guy on 34th Street who wasn't so dumb as to count money in an elevator, and look what happened to him.

 

[Harp]

The RAF knows an ally is aboard; perhaps will disengage attack.

Perhaps Lana will also disengage.

 

[ChiTownScion]

The sorriest reality? Among the Sugar Bowl gang, Harold is the most mature of the lot. Imagine Lana stuck in an engagement to Shadow Smart. (On second thought I'd rather not imagine that.)

 

[LizzieMaine]

That is sadly true. Shadow, Lilacs, and Beezie are still in high school, I think -- which makes them a year or so younger than Harold. But he's made every effort not to outgrow them, whether out of loyalty or out of arrested development.

And just think, in a couple of years the fate of the world will rest in their hands.

As to the Dodgers drawing in Boston, well, nobody wants to go to Braves Field (I can't call it anything else, sorry) in April. If you think Fenway Park is cold in April, go down Comm Av by BU and feel that wind whipping off the Charles River. It was always a problem for Boston National League attendance, and they never quite found a way around it.

Note Parrott's article in the Eagle, though, about the Dodgers drawing at the Polo Grounds -- Horace Stoneham owed the survival of his franchise, for as long as he played in New York, to Brooklyn money. That's why he had so much trouble when he went to San Francisco -- it was a nickel subway ride for Brooklyn fans to go to the Polo Grounds, but LA Dodger fans weren't going to drive six hours just to go to Candlestick Park.

 

[PrivateEye]

It doesn't seem that we have blue-ribbon juries anymore. I assume they were viewed as undemocratic or elitist or something? The idea for them doesn't seem crazy, but you can see the argument against them as well.

I believe they were ruled to be unconstitutional, by depriving the defendant of the right to be tried by "a jury of their peers"

 

[Fading Fast]

I believe they were ruled to be unconstitutional, by depriving the defendant of the right to be tried by "a jury of their peers"

Thank you, that makes sense. The idea has some merit, but you could see the problem with it too.

 

[Harp]

Thank you, that makes sense. The idea has some merit, but you could see the problem with it too.

I believe they were ruled to be unconstitutional, by depriving the defendant of the right to be tried by "a jury of their peers"

Blue ribbon juries are not assigned criminal law trials which are reserved for peerage/due process constitutional requirement.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Valiant Greek and Anzac troops were declared officially last night as having hurled massive German tank and infantry forces into bloody retreat with fierce counter-attacks in two key sectors of the northern battle front which remained intact from flank to flank. The whole German assault, described as the most colossal as the European War broke out nineteen months ago was checked again as it as it roared again into its fourth night of bulldog resistance of Greek and British Imperial forces. The inland railway terminus town of Kalbaka was reported to have been saved from German capture by a "ferocious counter offensive."

Meanwhile, with the swastika flying over Greece's storied Mount Olympus, Nazi troops swept down the plains of Thessaly to capture the roads center of Larissa, and push back stubbornly contending British and Greek forces toward a new line of defense only a few miles north of historic Thermopylae. The German High Command was believed today to be preparing "a sunburst of success announcements" with which to celebrate the 52nd birthday of Nazi Fuehrer Adolf Hitler.

The thirteen-year-old honor student saved from a suicide plunge off a fourth-floor roof yesterday by a flying tackle from a 110-pound housewife neighbor remains hospitalized today, suffering from "shock and hysteria." Police say the incident was the result of an argument between young William Rosendale and his mother, Mrs. Anne Rosendale, over whether the boy had turned over the proceeds of some 2-cent deposit bottles he was told to return to the grocery store. Mrs. Rosendale threatened to beat the boy with a whip if he didn't turn over the money, leading him to run out of the house, climb the roof, leap a four-foot alley to the roof of an adjacent house, and threaten to jump to his death. Mrs. Emily Moore of 461 3rd Street followed the boy to the roof and after "talking sweetly" to him for a moment, leaped upon him and held him until her 16-year-old son arrived to restrain the Rosendale boy until police could get to the roof.

The probably that self-confessed German spy Bruno Johannes Valianski may have been "compelled to join the Gestapo by means of threats to his family" was raised today by Suffolk County Sheriff Jacob S. Dreyer. As Valianski remains in custody on a robbery charge involving a $7 holdup of a truck driver in Central Islip, local authorities continue to investigate his claim that he was recruited as an agent of the Nazi secret police by the German consul in Manhattan, and that he was operating under cover as a waiter in a plot to recruit German-American businessmen to the Nazi cause. "I think the fellow has a religious fervor," said the Sheriff, who stated today that there "is no doubt" that his expenses to the United States were paid by German officials and that his local expenses were being paid by the German government. It is reported that Valianski has a mother, five brothers, and three sisters living in Danzig who may have been used as hostages to secure his cooperation. It was also learned that Valianski has a police record in Europe dating back to 1930, including convictions on theft and vagrancy charges. A search of his room found carbon copies of letters written by Valianski to the German consul "offering his services as a spy."

Mayor LaGuardia indicated yesterday that, while he is not at present running for a third term, he would accept a nomination to do so if he were prevailed upon to run. The Mayor stressed, however, that any decisions concerning his political future must await the "the turn of events confronting the nation over the next few months."

(And from his Undisclosed Location, Bob the Spitz wires Bozo congratulations.)

Four Brooklyn youths are being held on $500 bail on charges that they stole more than a hundred chandeliers from various apartment houses and private homes around the borough. The youths, ranging in age from 17 to 23 were arrested while in possession of an auto loaded with burglar's tools, and a quantity of glass prism pendants cut from chandeliers. Police say the boys were selling the pendants for $1.50 a pound due to the current shortage of prisms needed in manufacturing. Most such glasswork was formerly imported from Czecho-Slovakia, but that source has been cut off by the war.

(Hey kids, Bozo's loose again...)

The cost of educating a single student for a single year at Hunter College stands at $85, and that's the lowest expense of fourteen colleges surveyed by the Hunter administration, which reports that the school spends a total of $2,220,000 per year. The University of California spends the most, at a total expenditure of $10,000,000 a year. Hunter College is the largest women's college in the world, with a present student body of 15,017 taught by only 549 instructors.

The New York World's Fair of 1941 opens May 30th at a new location -- Coney Island's Luna Park, which is working on the installation of more than $9,000,000 worth of rides and exhibits taken from the former Flushing exposition. The use of the World's Fair name is by special permission of Robert Moses, but the license does not include the use of the Trylon and Perisphere insignia, and the famous theme-center structures will not be reproduced at the new location. But there'll be plenty that's new to do -- including a ride featuring simulated British Wasps and Hurricanes, bearing guns that riders may fire at a dummy German Messerschmidt.

Members of the Illuminati will present a resolution at their May 12th meeting in the ballroom of the Towers Hotel in support of the Brooklyn sugar industry, and urging that Congress not support increases in the subsidy paid to the sugar beet industry. In addition to the resolution, the Illuminati Drama Club will present a skit entitled "Love's Labour Found," featuring a recital of 13th century religious music by baritone Daniel O'Connor, accompanied at the piano by Janet Williams. A tea will follow the meeting.

("Hamlin!" chortles Joe. "HAMLIN! Oh, moigatroyd!" "I'm off 'em," growls Sally. "Six games t'ey played, an' Petey ain' been in yet. I'm BOYCOTTIN'! In fack, if he don't get in today, I'm goin' downa Monnague Street an' I'm gonna PICKET! 'At MacPhail, he'll lissen! He LIKES Petey! 'At Durocha, he's jus' JEALOUS." "Of what?" murmurs Joe. "OF ALOTTA T'INGS!" snaps Sally. "Oh." says Joe.")

The Marx Brothers have something cooking at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer but we don't know what it is. All we know is that the Brothers sent out a casting call yesterday for "12 Italian children of all ages, 6 Swedish kids -- all blondes, 7 Chinese youngsters, 9 Indian children, 11 Negro children, and a Scotch boy."

(Hey Scotch kid, hold out for a good price. Don't take scale.)

Advance tickets go on sale tomorrow for the May 1st World Premiere of Orson Welles' much-talked-about film debut "Citizen Kane," which opens at the RKO Palace on a strictly reserved-seat basis. All seats for the premiere are $2.20, and the film will continue at the Palace thereafter with a $2.20 top for evening shows, $1.65 for weekend matinees, and $1.10 for weekday matinees.

(Say what you will about the pink-skinned imperialism of Comic Strip Tarzan, but he's certainly more articulate than Movie Tarzan.)

(I don't believe this is the first time we've seen Miss O'Neil use her powers in the interest of spanking. Wonder Woman wasn't so revolutionary after all.)

("All right," says King P. "Any one'a you characters got a nickel?")

(Well now! The house still in smoking ruins, and now Grandpa suddenly takes a powder? Hey John, never mind Slim, set your investigator on this guy. And jeez, for a villian who started out to be so sinister and promising, the Skull sure did turn out to be a little punk. "I'll GET MY LAWYER!" And then we have poor Kay, feeling the last years of her fertility slip away as she desperately dreams of sharing a home with --- "wait, IRWIN? ARE YOU KIDDING?")

(Sure, we all know George is an unbearable idiot, but there are times when I really do feel sorry for the poor dope.)

(Wait, the "Little Beaver" footer strip is "By Red?" No wonder the kid shot him.)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

Yeah, Mr. Samples there obviously had it coming. Keep smirking, Wally.

Yes, I was a hair chewer myself. WANNA MAKE SOMETHING OF IT?

I suppose we should be grateful he didn't go with a little square moustache.

Look, Punjab, fun's fun and all, but quit screwing around and just "poof" the guy already.

Hm. And just the other day I took a box of old camera lenses up to my own attic. Just a minute, folks, I'll be right back.

South America, huh? Aside from Downwind's horndawgging, who do you think might have somehow washed ashore in South America?

Ah. Well, war's war.

I never thought of Pop as representing the forces of Monopoly Capitalism, but, I mean, there is sort of a brotherly resemblance.

Judy has a "Jenny Lind Bed." *I* had a "Jenny Lind Bed." JUST WHAT ELSE DO YOU KNOW ABOUT ME, KING?

Create A Need -- And Fill It!

 

[Fading Fast]

...The probably that self-confessed German spy Bruno Johannes Valianski may have been "compelled to join the Gestapo by means of threats to his family" was raised today by Suffolk County Sheriff Jacob S. Dreyer. As Valianski remains in custody on a robbery charge involving a $7 holdup of a truck driver in Central Islip, local authorities continue to investigate his claim that he was recruited as an agent of the Nazi secret police by the German consul in Manhattan, and that he was operating under cover as a waiter in a plot to recruit German-American businessmen to the Nazi cause. "I think the fellow has a religious fervor," said the Sheriff, who stated today that there "is no doubt" that his expenses to the United States were paid by German officials and that his local expenses were being paid by the German government. It is reported that Valianski has a mother, five brothers, and three sisters living in Danzig who may have been used as hostages to secure his cooperation. It was also learned that Valianski has a police record in Europe dating back to 1930, including convictions on theft and vagrancy charges. A search of his room found carbon copies of letters written by Valianski to the German consul "offering his services as a spy."...

This story got much-more complicated than it appeared to be yesterday.

...Four Brooklyn youths are being held on $500 bail on charges that they stole more than a hundred chandeliers from various apartment houses and private homes around the borough. The youths, ranging in age from 17 to 23 were arrested while in possession of an auto loaded with burglar's tools, and a quantity of glass prism pendants cut from chandeliers. Police say the boys were selling the pendants for $1.50 a pound due to the current shortage of prisms needed in manufacturing. Most such glasswork was formerly imported from Czecho-Slovakia, but that source has been cut off by the war....

"Burglar's tools," obtained, one assumes, form the Burglar Supply Company: "Over Seventy Years of Meeting All Your Burglar Supply Needs - easy financing available - please ask about our new bail bonds department opened 24/7 "

...Advance tickets go on sale tomorrow for the May 1st World Premiere of Orson Welles' much-talked-about film debut "Citizen Kane," which opens at the RKO Palace on a strictly reserved-seat basis. All seats for the premiere are $2.20, and the film will continue at the Palace thereafter with a $2.20 top for evening shows, $1.65 for weekend matinees, and $1.10 for weekday matinees....

So Brooklyn is getting it right away, no waiting? (I forget, is the RKO Palace in Brooklyn? I know the Patio is.)

... (Say what you will about the pink-skinned imperialism of Comic Strip Tarzan, but he's certainly more articulate than Movie Tarzan.)...

So did ERB really write and draw these himself?

...[ (I don't believe this is the first time we've seen Miss O'Neil use her powers in the interest of spanking. Wonder Woman wasn't so revolutionary after all.)...

If there is one thing we see all the time on FL, it's that nothing is ever entirely new - every single thing has antecedents.

... I suppose we should be grateful he didn't go with a little square moustache....

His outsized stupidity annoys me. He should be shot for the crime of being too freakin' stupid.

... Look, Punjab, fun's fun and all, but quit screwing around and just "poof" the guy already....

Best line in days in LOA because it's so honest, "...where do you fit into this picture?"

...[ South America, huh? Aside from Downwind's horndawgging, who do you think might have somehow washed ashore in South America?...

I know it will be Jack, but how funny would it be if Downwind ran into Senga who got a job at "Smilin' Jack" after being cut from "Harold Teen"? Even a comicstrip character has to eat and pay the rent.

... Ah. Well, war's war....

Caniff is so good. He planed all week for this air-sea battle to take place on Sunday.

...[ I never thought of Pop as representing the forces of Monopoly Capitalism, but, I mean, there is sort of a brotherly resemblance....

That's quite an elaborate plan for a "rumpus room," especially in 1941, no?

I've met with a lot of business owners over the years - many up in your neck of the woods, Lizzie - and while many are quite liberal and would never consider themselves "capitalists," almost all of them had an impressive understanding of their market, capital needs, competition, pricing constraints, labor pool, demand, etc.

We'd make an investment and capital structure presentation to them and learned early on, for the liberal ones, to tamp down the "capitalism" angle, but otherwise, basically deliver a standard capitalist marketplace and investment presentation to them as that is what they wanted and needed, but they didn't want to hear it couched just that way.

 

[Harp]

^^^I was at the VA some years back and another patient, a kid in the Army showed me his military ID card.
Written across the top were the words: UNIFORMED SERVICES OF THE UNITED STATES.
When I was a kid in the Army the ID card read: ARMED FORCES OF THE UNITED STATES.

This was when the Clinton Administration was giving 'time-outs' in basic if the drill sergeant yelled too harshly....
Liberals can be so amusing all wrapped in their sensitive nature.

 

[LizzieMaine]

The Palace is at Broadway and 47th over in The City -- it used to be the key theatre on the Keith-Albee time in the days of vaudeville, making it the pre-eminent two-a-day vaudeville stage in the country. Its glory has faded a bit since it went to a movie policy in 1932, but it's still very much a prestige house. It should just be big enough to hold Mr. Welles, who has even now begun to swell up a bit. Unfortunately, Brooklyn is going to have to wait a bit before it plays the Albee, the main RKO house within the Eagle's sphere of influence. I am very interest to see what Mr. Schroth has to say about it, especially after he sees it.

The Palace still exists -- it was doing legitimate theatre before the pandemic, and the last show that ran there was (sigh) "Sponge Bob the Musical." Somewhere the ghost of Benjamin Franklin Keith, whose Lenin-like bust used to adorn the lobby, is saying "what the hell is a 'Sponge Bob?'"

I'm pretty impressed that a bunch of kids could steal chandeliers and get away with it as long as they have. It isn't exactly like screwing out a light bulb. I hope when Dan Dunn rises from the grave, as he inevitably must, that he goes on the trail of a decorative lighting ring headed by a gawky teenager called, I dunno, "The Femur."

I think Burroughs just licenses his characters and name to the comic strip -- it's drawn by a widely-regarded artist named Burne Hogarth, who, with a name like that, could do one of only two things -- draw a "Tarzan" comic strip, or design unpleasant, angular buildings out of cast concrete. He's considered a peer of Milton Caniff by comic-art historians, although I find his stuff a bit too engraving-like compared to Caniff's light brushwork. And unlike Caniff, Mr. Hogarth is not known to be in possession of even the slightest hint of a sense of humor.

It strikes me, after a few weeks of following the "Tarzan" strip that, if "Terry" is the ultimate expression of movies on paper, "Tarzan" is the ultimate expression of *silent* movies on paper. Why doesn't he look more like Elmo Lincoln?

Shadow and Angelina are aiming high. The idea of a basement "rumpus room" is catching on in 1941, but it usually consists of an old couch, a ten-year-old radio, a ping-pong table, and those bottles of home brew the old man made in 1929 and forgot about. But how can it be the Sugar Bowl and its endless chiseling of free drinks if the drinks are already free?

 

[Fading Fast]

The Palace is at Broadway and 47th over in The City -- it used to be the key theatre on the Keith-Albee time in the days of vaudeville, making it the pre-eminent two-a-day vaudeville stage in the country. Its glory has faded a bit since it went to a movie policy in 1932, but it's still very much a prestige house. It should just be big enough to hold Mr. Welles, who has even now begun to swell up a bit. Unfortunately, Brooklyn is going to have to wait a bit before it plays the Albee, the main RKO house within the Eagle's sphere of influence. I am very interest to see what Mr. Schroth has to say about it, especially after he sees it.

The Palace still exists -- it was doing legitimate theatre before the pandemic, and the last show that ran there was (sigh) "Sponge Bob the Musical." Somewhere the ghost of Benjamin Franklin Keith, whose Lenin-like bust used to adorn the lobby, is saying "what the hell is a 'Sponge Bob?'"

I'm pretty impressed that a bunch of kids could steal chandeliers and get away with it as long as they have. It isn't exactly like screwing out a light bulb. I hope when Dan Dunn rises from the grave, as he inevitably must, that he goes on the trail of a decorative lighting ring headed by a gawky teenager called, I dunno, "The Femur."

I think Burroughs just licenses his characters and name to the comic strip -- it's drawn by a widely-regarded artist named Burne Hogarth, who, with a name like that, could do one of only two things -- draw a "Tarzan" comic strip, or design unpleasant, angular buildings out of cast concrete. He's considered a peer of Milton Caniff by comic-art historians, although I find his stuff a bit too engraving-like compared to Caniff's light brushwork. And unlike Caniff, Mr. Hogarth is not known to be in possession of even the slightest hint of a sense of humor.

It strikes me, after a few weeks of following the "Tarzan" strip that, if "Terry" is the ultimate expression of movies on paper, "Tarzan" is the ultimate expression of *silent* movies on paper. Why doesn't he look more like Elmo Lincoln?

Shadow and Angelina are aiming high. The idea of a basement "rumpus room" is catching on in 1941, but it usually consists of an old couch, a ten-year-old radio, a ping-pong table, and those bottles of home brew the old man made in 1929 and forgot about. But how can it be the Sugar Bowl and its endless chiseling of free drinks if the drinks are already free?

So they used the ERB name for its drawing power, but Hogarth is the ghost writer/artist? Was that well known at the time as I can't see his name signed on it (but the copy is pretty poor)? Nice analogy of silent to talkies / Tarzan to Terry.

Maybe the chandelier thieves were only cutting the pendants off the chandeliers and not removing the chandeliers themselves.

I know what he looks like and I know he's been out there a long time, but not having kids, I don't know what a "Sponge Bob" really is either, but he pops up in the Thanksgiving Day parade every year.

 

[LizzieMaine]

It's kind of a way to pinpoint generations to ask what balloon comes first to mind when that parade is mentioned. Joe and Sally might have to think a minute and mention a generic clown or a duck or maybe Superman. You and I might think of Underdog or Bullwinkle. But I'm sure Sponge Bob will be that figure for anyone born after 2000.

Hogarth does sign the strip, but it isn't visible this week -- but he doesn't get a whole lot of publicity about it, certainly not to the level Caniff does. That's one reason cartoonists don't generally like to do licensed properties -- if your name isn't in the title box, nobody's going to care if you're the one drawing it or not. No doubt Burroughs' company insists on sole credit going to him, just as the "Mickey Mouse" and "Donald Duck" strips in the Daily Mirror are always signed by Walt Disney even though he couldn't draw a comic strip if you held a Screen Cartoonist's Guild contract to his head.

The last time I wandered around Times Square trying to avoid getting hugged by the weirdo in the Spider Man suit, the Palace was completely covered by garish signs having nothing to do with the theatre itself. In better times it looked like this:

 

[Fading Fast]

It's kind of a way to pinpoint generations to ask what balloon comes first to mind when that parade is mentioned. Joe and Sally might have to think a minute and mention a generic clown or a duck or maybe Superman. You and I might think of Underdog or Bullwinkle. But I'm sure Sponge Bob will be that figure for anyone born after 2000.

Hogarth does sign the strip, but it isn't visible this week -- but he doesn't get a whole lot of publicity about it, certainly not to the level Caniff does. That's one reason cartoonists don't generally like to do licensed properties -- if your name isn't in the title box, nobody's going to care if you're the one drawing it or not. No doubt Burroughs' company insists on sole credit going to him, just as the "Mickey Mouse" and "Donald Duck" strips in the Daily Mirror are always signed by Walt Disney even though he couldn't draw a comic strip if you held a Screen Cartoonist's Guild contract to his head.

The last time I wandered around Times Square trying to avoid getting hugged by the weirdo in the Spider Man suit, the Palace was completely covered by garish signs having nothing to do with the theatre itself. In better times it looked like this:

View attachment 328467

Having worked with an owner of one of the buildings that has a sign on it, I can report that the economics of it is crazy and, indirectly to your point, has all but nothing to do with the theaters.

Time Square is a brand itself and one of the most well-known ones globally. Those signs get a lot of visibility on TV when, not just the US, but the world is watching on New Years Eve and at other times. Other than sports (like the Olympics) that kind of all-in-one-place exposure is very had to get anymore with the media markets fragmented (streaming, cable, etc.).

Also, Times Square (and those signs) will be the backdrop for a lot of movies, a ton of shows, documentaries, news reports, etc. - also all globally - so those signs are always getting incredible exposure (even for years and years after a sign has been taken down). Plus, millions walk through those streets every year and it's millions of global travelers with money to spend.

That the theater district is there is good, but it's really about everything else today. The rents can run - even the mid-sized signs in the good but not the best locations - for over a million dollars a year. Yup, it's that nuts.

 

[vitanola]

Did someone mention Dwight Fiske?

 

[vitanola]

Wife meets office wife.

My dear mother had a twenty year career as an executive secretary before she and my father married (and then came the children, rather late in life). By the age of 25 she was the secretary to the Vice President of Electrical of the American Steel and Wire Company. She knew her way around an office. She once told me, that as a single lady working in an office with many men she found it a good practice to from time to ask one of wives of the men with whom she worked to lunch, and get to know them socially, so as to discourage any “funny business”.

 

[vitanola]

The Palace is at Broadway and 47th over in The City -- it used to be the key theatre on the Keith-Albee time in the days of vaudeville, making it the pre-eminent two-a-day vaudeville stage in the country. Its glory has faded a bit since it went to a movie policy in 1932, but it's still very much a prestige house. It should just be big enough to hold Mr. Welles, who has even now begun to swell up a bit. Unfortunately, Brooklyn is going to have to wait a bit before it plays the Albee, the main RKO house within the Eagle's sphere of influence. I am very interest to see what Mr. Schroth has to say about it, especially after he sees it.

The Palace still exists -- it was doing legitimate theatre before the pandemic, and the last show that ran there was (sigh) "Sponge Bob the Musical." Somewhere the ghost of Benjamin Franklin Keith, whose Lenin-like bust used to adorn the lobby, is saying "what the hell is a 'Sponge Bob?'"

I'm pretty impressed that a bunch of kids could steal chandeliers and get away with it as long as they have. It isn't exactly like screwing out a light bulb. I hope when Dan Dunn rises from the grave, as he inevitably must, that he goes on the trail of a decorative lighting ring headed by a gawky teenager called, I dunno, "The Femur."

I think Burroughs just licenses his characters and name to the comic strip -- it's drawn by a widely-regarded artist named Burne Hogarth, who, with a name like that, could do one of only two things -- draw a "Tarzan" comic strip, or design unpleasant, angular buildings out of cast concrete. He's considered a peer of Milton Caniff by comic-art historians, although I find his stuff a bit too engraving-like compared to Caniff's light brushwork. And unlike Caniff, Mr. Hogarth is not known to be in possession of even the slightest hint of a sense of humor.

It strikes me, after a few weeks of following the "Tarzan" strip that, if "Terry" is the ultimate expression of movies on paper, "Tarzan" is the ultimate expression of *silent* movies on paper. Why doesn't he look more like Elmo Lincoln?

Shadow and Angelina are aiming high. The idea of a basement "rumpus room" is catching on in 1941, but it usually consists of an old couch, a ten-year-old radio, a ping-pong table, and those bottles of home brew the old man made in 1929 and forgot about. But how can it be the Sugar Bowl and its endless chiseling of free drinks if the drinks are already free?

Are you NVA or a White Rat?