Author Archives: Iowa Life

Unknown's avatar

About Iowa Life

Experiencing life in Iowa.

I figured it out!

1 Reply

I caught a couple of minutes of the NPR morning show the other day hosted by one Steve Inskeep. They were reporting that Trump had “falsely stated” something or other. It occurred to me that all I ever heard on “public” radio was negative things about the President. I started thinking, he’s been on the political scene 5 years now, and in all that time he hasn’t done one positive thing? Is that even possible? That a President wouldn’t do one good thing for the country? Even by mistake, even if he was the living embodiment of Satan you’d think he would have done one good thing. I’m starting to think NPR has a liberal bias.

The other thing I figured out was when I flipped by WHO 1040 a few days ago. Morning host Jeff Angelo was talking about the Derecho Storm we had just experienced. There was some question on how to properly pronounce ‘Derecho’. He assured us he knew the correct way because his wife was fluent in Spanish and had told him. Bingo! I’d picked up over the years he was soft on illegal immigration. Border security and deportations weren’t important to him. There was only 1 answer: he’d married a Mex! That explains it. But a few posts ago I thought his career at WHO would be short lived as he brought absolutely nothing to the table.

Then it occurred to me. The pointless idiocy of the show right before his (Van Harden 5-9), is going to have to be looking for a host soon. Harden has to be pushing 70. He can’t go on forever. If you need pointless idiocy with no discernible talent, who better than Jeff Angelo?! I did it again! (Armstrong & Getty are on 1430 KASI 9 am – 12 noon, its not local but it beats the hell out of Angelo)

 

Hot Rock

Leave a reply

Rock women were hotter 40/50 years ago. The high-waisted bellbottom jeans. The knit tops. The halter. The short-shorts. They were more slender. The rebel, the wild child, who knew what she was capable of? I’ll put the names at the bottom. I think the music was better too. The hair, the attitude. Simply put: The Cool Factor

Music - Blondie

Mariska Veres – Shocking Blue

Agnetha Fältskog – ABBA

Debbie Harry – Blondie

Annabelle Lwin – Bow Wow Wow

Belinda Carlisle – Go-Go’s

Belinda Carlisle

Cindy Wilson – B-52’s

Cherie Currie – Runaways

Mariska Veres

Susanna Hoffs – Bangles

Robin Lamont – solo

Victoria Beckham – Spice Girls

Marie Osmond (the Mormonic Goddess)

A moment in time

3 Replies

Alfred Eisenstaedt really captured a moment. Wikipedia has an entire page on this photo. It must have been the anniversary of it yesterday that brought it to mind. I like this version of it the best. I believe they said there were 4 frames taken by Eisenstaedt, and many recreations then and in later years. Its most often seen in black and white, which I would normally tend to go for, but this color version really captures the boundless joy of the day.

Regrettably the fast paced nature of the day prevented Eisenstaedt from taking down the names of the subjects as is usually the case of published photos. It seems to be the majority opinion Greta Zimmer Friedman is the woman in the picture (she was a dental hygienist and wore a uniform like that). Who the man was is of great debate. George Mendonsa seems to be favored amongst the men. He recognizes Friedman as the woman he kissed, which is rather convincing as a moment like that would be etched in his mind.

Unfortunately in later years Ms. Friedman said she had not been wanting to be kissed at all, and that the inebriated sailor forced himself on her as it were. Another mark in her favor as being the woman in the photo, that and the other claimant was 4′ 10″ and was simply too short to have been the woman in the photo.  Another interesting aspect of this moment in time was that Navy photographer Victor Jorgensen took an image at the same time as Eisenstaedt. Jorgensen would have been about 8 feet to the right of Eisenstaedt (below). Jorgensen’s photo cut them off at the knee, had a more cluttered backdrop then the stunning background of Eisenstaedt’s Times Square.

Although Jorgensen’s photo may have been viewed more over the years, as his photo wasn’t copyrighted as an on duty government employee. Eisenstaedt’s was copyrighted and he insured that it had limited release. People like to think the photo captured the joyous nature of the day and two willing participants. As with a lot of things we don’t always “know” what we think we know. Mendonsa says he held the kiss a moment long, as he saw the photographer taking the photo. Kissing was more common back then.

It was virtually assured you weren’t passing something that would kill the other person. It is even said a fundraiser back then sometimes involved a “kissing booth”. “Sexual assault” was definitely more common back then. I remember reading a women’s Letter to the Editor about what it was like to work in an office environment back in the 50s. She said a woman knew who not to go into the copier room alone with. Who might try to steal a kiss in the elevator. And that if it was egregious enough, the woman might send her brother and a friend to set the man straight.

Its funny the little subtleties that make one photo priceless, and another merely good. Even if that “moment” was a lie. The camera doesn’t lie? Oh yes it does. Who knows, maybe a young woman looked at it as her contribution to the war effort. They knew the men had just been through 4 years of hell. Maybe they looked at a little overexuberance as a small price to pay for their efforts. This woman on the other hand looked at it as assault.

Clueless

Leave a reply

As it turns out, these two women left to right are Alicia Silverstone and Michelle Johnson. I was clueless to that fact. All I knew was that ‘they’ (I thought they were perhaps 1 actress) had gotten naked in Blame it on Rio (and did so quite well), and ‘they’ had looked rather fetching in school girl plaid in a movie called Clueless. Those 2 movies were released exactly 11 years apart, which works out as Alicia and Michelle are exactly 11 years apart in age. Both of their “big movies” were made when they were age 18, I surmise the age at which they were the most sexually desirable. Hollywood does this instinctively. I’ve seen this before when they choose a young actress at age 18 to make her “big movie”, i.e. Lacey Chabert, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Lindsay Lohan…

My knowledge of Hollywood is rather stunted as evidenced by my inability to know these wonderfully different women were actually 2 people. Their paths were quite different. Michelle the elder was born in Anchorage, Alaska in 1965. Alicia (and of course you can’t say it), was born the quintessential Jewish Princess in San Francisco in 1976, her success a foregone conclusion, working nonstop the past 30 years. Having roughly twice the screen credits of the older Johnson. And looking at the photos of the 2, its rather surprising given Michelle’s more voluptuous physique. Alicia seemed to have her “funny face” schtick and not much else.

Its funny how chemistry works. When I was making my 10 Most Beautiful Women of the 80s list, Michelle Johnson never even entered my mind. Likewise with my 10 Most Beautiful Women of the 90s post, Alicia never entered my mind. They were ‘blips’ in the male psyche. I say this simply as it intrigues me for being  something I’ll never understand. 1 year, 1 outfit, 1 look, who knows why? They stick in my mind. As I think about it there are a dozen or two women from yesteryear I remember as if it were yesterday, even though 50 years have passed.

Alicia Silverstone

 



.                                              Michelle Johnson

With the City of Ames, failure is not just an option, its the routine

Leave a reply

The City of Ames will not release their work plans as to approximate dates for return of electrical power. They guard these knowledge as if they were the invasion plans for Normandy. They could tell us, but then they’d have to kill us. Their stupidity knows no bounds. People can’t plan without this knowledge. They might take a trip if they are on the ‘still a week away list’. They might buy a generator if it was looking like 5 more days. Any number of things. But if your power is coming on tonight, you’d wait it out. You wouldn’t drop $3K.

“This area 1-2 days. That area 4-6. That area over there7 or 8.” But they always act with this bureaucratic nonsense like they are going to get sued if they tell someone maybe Thursday and its not till Friday. There’s not a court in the world that would hold them to that. But it would let people have some idea, so they could make some kind plans. If all you’re looking at is 24 hours you can ride that out. Just asinine.

The lack of information manifested itself in another way. Anyone who has listened to radio knows that annoying, “Beep! Beep! Beep! This is an alert from the Emergency Broadcast System!” They completely missed it on warning us for this storm. That’s one issue. But the other more obvious failure was the lack of follow-up. Its not just “the event”, the tornado, the flood, the ice storm, the blizzard, there’s the aftermath. People need to know: does the next town over have ice? Power? Water? What about Des Moines? Were they brought to there knees? Is there a charity somewhere handing out items? Where to you signup to be put on the cue for volunteer help with the cleanup? There’s a ton of questions people need answers to when they don’t have TV or internet, and no gawd damn AM radio station on the air!

What the sam hell is the point of having an Emergency Broadcast System is it breaks during the emergency? And they don’t have anything so basic as a generator?? Or a makeshift emergency tower to transmit with? What are we, Mexico? My gawd. I know we’re talking City workers here. You accept they’re going to be lazy, stupid, slow and  incompetent, we get that, but there has to be minimum standards. There has to be some threshold where they walk and chew gum at the same time. The City Administrator makes like have a million a year, and this is their response to an emergency?? 

Doesn’t the County have some responsibility? The State? My gawd, from top to bottom its incompetence. They didn’t even coordinate with the college radio station to be its communication point for people needing information. Those guys would have loved to have a responsibility. Or do what rest areas in Nebraska and Colorado do, “For more information tune to 1250 am on your radio”. They don’t even try to be useful. Part of the problem is the local paper does not hold their feet to the fire. I don’t know if its cronyism or stupidity. The only time bureaucrats respond is when they are called out in public.

The City of Ames isn’t serious about disaster preparedness

Leave a reply

This city seemed to be lacking a bit in disaster preparedness when the recent Derecho blew through town. Its not like they are lacking in tax revenue, the citizens of Ames are most certainly in the upper percentile of taxation when compared to all of Iowa. The windstorm that came through 11 am Monday morning exposed all the weaknesses of their nonexistent plan. This is child’s play!

You coordinate essential services beforehand with:

  • a grocery store
  • a home improvement store
  • a retail / grocery store
  • a gas station
  • a radio station

If other outlets want to get in on the action, that’s great, but you make damn sure 1 of each of these essential services is. After an emergency with extended no power, people need: gasoline, food, toiletries, information. The shit barely hit the fan (let alone a full blown SHTF) and Ames is crippled. No one has a damn generator for their store! How new homes and businesses can be built without generator capability built in is beyond me. Ames I’m sure has a disaster coordinator, so who did he coordinate with? Nothing was open for 24 hours! That guy needs to be the first one fired. You contract with someone (how much could it cost? They’ll be the only game in town in the immediate aftermath) to damn well be open.

One of the most obvious to go with food, gas, water, was information. TV is obviously not the medium with no electricity. Your webpage is not the answer with no internet/cable. The newspaper is too limited in scope. What does that leave? The damn radio you morons! The local radio station KASI does not have a backup emergency transmitter tower or generator. They didn’t step up to the plate, they didn’t know where the damn plate was! It was like 4 days before they were back on the air. Its not much of an Emergency Broadcast System, if it collapses at the first sign of an emergency.

Don’t let them give you any damn shit about the cost of a transmitter and generator, a small emergency tower that can cover a 5 mile radius can be stored till needed and erected anywhere. Were not talking 50,000 watts here, 100 (to cover the entire city of Ames only requires a 5 mile radius). In order to get a damn license every few years they are supposed to demonstrate their community service. Like all government agencies, the actions of the FCC are dictated by cronyism. Servicing the monopolies, keeping out the competition.

Disaster hits and the city is out to lunch, as are government licensed entities not fulfilling their license requirements.

A Webster City radio station was the one giving out emergency information! Webster City! Information is critical in a disaster. With no power people are up a creek. But not with a battery operated or car radio! “This is the Emergency Broadcast System!” Except when it ain’t because we give licenses out to morons! Except when there’s an actual emergency. Then they’re no where to be found. “A storm might take out the tower?” Shazzam! “We might be with out power?” Shazzam! There was no EMERGENCY BROADCAST SYSTEM.

People didn’t know who was open, where they could get gas, food and water. We pay so many billions of dollars for FEMA, and Homeland Security and this agency and that agency, and when push comes to shove: nothing. WHO in Des Moines? Useless! They were running Sean Hannity! They’ll take Rush off for a cloud in the sky, but when people really need information after a disaster? Nothing.

Q

Leave a reply

Even the cartoons were better 55 years ago! Jonny Quest, that was a show. I just read on IMDB that Tim Matheson (Animal House) was the voice for Jonny. Danny Bravo (Johnny’s brother) was the voice of Hadji. Mike Road, who later did Fireman Fund insurance commmercials was the voice of ‘Race’ Bannon, the security for the team. When Race wasn’t doing security, he was doing Jade, the secret agent spy tramp who had a taste for tall, blonde and handsome (interestingly Jade’s voice was provided by Cathy Lewis who did a ton of episodic television in the 50s and 60s and who died at the much too young age of 51).

Hanna-Barbera created the show, which is rather unusual. HB had the clunkiest cartoons which were often really cringe worthy. Jonny Quest on the other hand, was the ultimate in cool. The music, the animation, the voice actors, the writing, there wasn’t a weak spot in the entire production. More than anything I suppose is how different the values of society were back then. 2 pictures down there’s a scene where the boys were trying to play a trick on Race when he catches them. He good naturedly rough houses with them when he catches them.

Boys were boys and men were men back then. None of this crap were boys pretended they were girls so they could run on their track team. They had strong emphasis on country, family, education, physical fitness, courage, toughness. A different world than today. It goes along with a previous observation I’d made about TV westerns up through the 60’s. They embodied the American spirit; rugged individualism. That had to die for the revolution the Left wanted. One of the tools they used to destroy American culture was feminism.

In an honest movement you didn’t have to destroy men to elevate women, but theirs wasn’t an honest movement. They weren’t really about empowering women so much as destroying men. That’s why shows like westerns and cartoons like Jonny Quest had to make room for Saturday morning fare like My Little Pony and The Smurfs.

                                                                     “Ai-yeeeee!”

 

October Surprise!

3 Replies

You have to figure the Deep State will do everything in its power to crash the economy even further in October to muster every last vote it can for Biden. A result of that will no doubt be a new round of product shortages. I was caught flatfooted last time with zero toilet paper. No rubbing alcohol. No towel papers. No facial tissues. No alcohol wipes. Not much of a meat supply, very little canned goods. Not that I use them much, but I noticed flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and baking powder disappeared off the shelves last time. I would be looking around at my kitchen and bath and asking, “Do I have everything I need for 3 months?“

What happened?

4 Replies

What happened to American culture? Where did it go? Who made the determination that all the American people would be exposed to from now on would be shit? Who agreed to have one microcosm on the Left Coast be our sole entertainment factory? If you look at cop shows from the last 20 or 30 years do any really stand out? The medical shows? The family sitcoms? Swear to God retrospective television has to be more popular than regular broadcast TV. A lot of the kids today will admit their music is crap. “Oldies” stations playing music from 40 & 50 years ago are going gangbusters. I don’t think its just the “get off of my lawn!” geezer crowd.

I can explain most cultural anomalies given enough time, but I can’t this one. It has me stumped. It doesn’t even make economic sense. They’re supposed to be out to make money. Whose buying this crap? I’m not. I’m not spending my money on their music. Their movies. Their books. I’m not watching their shows. It doesn’t make sense. “Pop culture” is supposed to be popular, its not. Who is their audience? What is the purpose? If you could get a look at the books, and follow the money, maybe then. Otherwise, you’re just making stuff you want them to see, not what they want to see.

vbnm