Pursuits : Elizabeth Thomsen

Behind Your Radio Dial: The Story of NBC

Elizabeth Thomsen — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 06:59:46 +0000

This promotional film by and about NBC Radio from around 1947 is an interesting look at the world of radio and television broadcasting, from rehearsals and studio tours to focus groups commenting on new program ideas. There are snippets from a few programs, including Fred Allen’s “Allen’s Alley” and a musical performance by Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians on radio, and “Fibber McGee and Molly” and “The Howdy Doody Show: on television. This is a great period piece from the Prelinger Archives on the Internet Archive website.

Trying to Catch the Setting Sun

Elizabeth Thomsen — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 02:17:57 +0000

I was on my way home from work yesterday when I distracted by the amazing pinkish sky to my left. Between the trees, I caught sight of the fiery ball of the setting sun low on the horizon. It looked nearby, and I felt like I could catch it. So I turned the car around, took the road to Beverly Airport, parked the car, and rushed outside where the bright ball of the sun appeared to be balancing on the horizon across the field. I quickly shot the picture above through the chainlink fence as I rushed over, hoping to shoot over or through the fence and get the picture I wanted, but the sun sank below the horizon way too fast.

This picture for me is all about the one that got away, but I’m not too unhappy about it. I chased after a beautiful sunset, and I caught it. I have the image in my mind, even though I wasn’t quite fast enough to catch it with my camera!

The First Alice in Wonderland Movie

Elizabeth Thomsen — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 07:25:21 +0000

The new Alice in Wonderland movie is only the latest film adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s novel. There have been over twenty earlier versions. It’s hard to give an exact number — do you want to count the X-rated musical version, the animated sequel Alice in Wonderland in Paris, and the direct-to-TV Muppet version?

The first film version was a 1903 British production directed by Cecil Hepworth and Percy Stow, with Mabel Clark in the role of Alice, and Mrs. Hepworth playing both the White Rabbit and the Red Queen. Only a single incomplete original print has survived, and the British Film Institute has partially restored it. It’s brief and dreamy, but the special effects are pretty good for the time, especially when Alice changes size and is trapped in the White Rabbit’s home. I also really liked the playing card costumes, which are faithful to the original Tenniel illustrations. It really looks like they had a good time making this!

Alice in Wonderland (1903) — More information about this film from BFI Online

Hot Peppers for a Cold Gray Day

Elizabeth Thomsen — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 03:39:11 +0000

This is my least-favorite time of year — the dull, damp, gray days when you know it’s almost spring but it feels like winter will never end. I hate the lack of color and light. When I feel like this, it’s time for phototherapy: I go to the supermarket to stealthily photograph the hot peppers.

Photo a Day: Still Keeping Up

Elizabeth Thomsen — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 01:22:13 +0000

I started doing Project 365 on January 1, taking and posting a photo every day. This is my third attempt, and it’s more difficult than it sounds. There are a lot of days that I feel too busy or just feel uninspired and hate having to scrounge around the house desperately looking for something, anything, to photograph before midnight. (And I think tonight is going to be another one of those nights.) Some days, I have to post a picture I don’t really like, but I still do it, and now I’ve made it through the first two months without missing a day.

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

Project 365: 2010 — My Flickr Set

Pizza from Clara’s Depression Cooking

Elizabeth Thomsen — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 23:53:00 +0000

Clara Cannucciari, the 94-year-old star of Great Depression Cooking with Clara, cooks pizza, one of her favorite foods. Clara likes her pizza pretty simple, the way her mother made it, without “all this fancy stuff that they put in now, we couldn’t afford that, but we were happy with the plain pizza.”

I love Clara, the Italian-American grandma we all had or should have had!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Elizabeth Thomsen — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 22:20:01 +0000

Photograph by Nickolas Muray for McCall Style and Beauty, George Eastman House on Flickr

National Archives Joins Flickr Commons

Elizabeth Thomsen — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 01:42:41 +0000

The U.S. National Archives has joined the Flickr Commons. I love the National Archives collection — it was one of the first significant digital collections I discovered online, and I remember how thrilling it was to be able to explore it. I still spend a lot of time on their site, but I’m happy to see them start putting their collections on Flickr, where even more people are likely to find them, and will get busy adding tags, comments, and more information. (They’ve already done a lot!)

The National Archives already has over 3,500 photographs on Flickr; my favorite so far is the one above. Here’s the original title and caption:

Top Women” at U.S. Steel’s Gary, Indiana, Works, 1940-1945
Like Girls from Mars Are These “Top Women” at U.S. Steel’s Gary, Indiana, Works. Their Job Is to Clean Up at Regular Intervals Around The Tops of Twelve Blast Furnaces. As A Safety Precaution, the Girls Wear Oxygen Masks. 1940 – 1945

Bobsleigh Team, 1931

Elizabeth Thomsen — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 01:32:00 +0000

A great vintage winter sports shot of a well-dressed bobsleigh team from the Flickr Commons collection of Nationaal Archief, the National Archive of the Netherlands. I think this looks like a still from a screwball comedy film from the 1930s.

“Bobsleigh. Team members of the five men sleigh keeping the sled in balance. Location unknown, 1931.”

Clancy Hayes Campaign Song for Nixon/Lodge

Elizabeth Thomsen — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 01:23:58 +0000

You never know what you’ll find when you go searching around on YouTube. I have written here before about searching for the song Peoria. I was hoping to find a performance of the song by Bob Scobey’s Frisco Band that I remembered from my childhood, but instead I found a lively performance by the Duesseldorfer Banjo Club.

Last night I was searching again, this time looking for videos of Clancy Hayes, popular singer and banjo player who did the vocals for the Bob Scobey’s Frisco Band. What I found was a record I didn’t know existed, Hayes singing a song for Richard Nixon and Henry Cabot Lodge’s 1960 Presidential campaign.

It’s a catchy number, featuring lines like this:

They’ve proved they have the know-how
To guide our ship of state
Through fair and stormy weather
That’s for sure!

Not much video in this video — it’s just a still shot of the record. Great Tweed label, though!