David Cassidy: Gone Too Soon

David Cassidy, Teen Heartthrob

I still can't believe David Cassidy is no longer with us, dead at the age of sixty-seven. When I was seven and eight years old, during the heyday of The Partridge Family television series, I had posters of him from Teen Magazine plastered on my closet door. 

Of course, I'm sure I wasn't the only one. David Cassidy had quite a teen (and grade school) following back in the day.

Wikipedia says, "Though he wanted to become a respected rock musician along the lines of Mick Jagger, his channel to stardom launched him into the ranks of teen idol, a brand he loathed until much later in life, when he managed to come to terms with his bubblegum pop beginnings." 

I stopped following his career many decades ago, but it was still a shock to hear of his death. 

Were you a David Cassidy fan? Thanks for visiting and have a great week!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Take time to be thankful for all of your blessings, love on your family and friends, and enjoy your Thanksgiving dinner! I'm off from blogging this week but will be back next Monday.

Jean Harlow's Hair

Last week I re-posted and article about a film starring Jean Harlow. This week I'm re-posting another article about Jean, this time regarding her beautiful, but tragic platinum hair.

Jean Harlow, the sultry sex goddess of 1930's Hollywood, is quoted as saying, "If it wasn't for my hair, nobody would know I'm alive." If you've never heard of Jean Harlow, she's the original Platinum Blonde and Blonde Bombshell.

I got to thinking about Jean Harlow yesterday as a used bleach to do a load of laundry. I would never dye my hair, but I did chemically straighten it for decades. For the past year I've "gone natural" because I decided I was sick of chemicals. But check out the toxic regimen Jean Harlow subjected herself to each week to maintain her platinum tresses while a super star at MGM Studios:

"I used to bleach her hair and make it 'platinum blonde,'" Alfred Pagano, hairdresser to the stars, once said. "We used peroxide, ammonia, Chlorox, and Lux flakes! Can you believe that?"

Although I do believe that, it's mighty hard to think that Harlow would subject herself to such a painful process. And Chlorox, when mixed with amonia produces noxious gas and hydrochloric acid. I'm not a chemist, but that sounds pretty deadly to me.  

Jean Harlow was plagued with a multitude of health issues and died in 1937 at twenty-six, while at the peak of her career. That hair regimen certainly didn't do anything to increase her longevity.

Harlow's medical records became unsealed in the late 1990s, so if you care to read up on what actually caused her death, click here.

Had you ever heard of Jean Harlow? If so, what's your favorite Jean Harlow movie? Mine is Dinner at Eight.

Thanks for visiting and have a great week!

Originally posted 2/22/16

The Future is Now!

One of my favorite movies is Dinner at Eight, made way back in 1933. There are many great moments in the film, but one in particular inspired today's post.  And if you're a fan of the movie, you probably know which one!

Marie Dressler & Jean Harlow in Dinner at Eight

In the closing scene, gold-digging Kitty Packard (played by sexy Jean Harlow) talks to matronly Carlotta Vance, a former 1890's Broadway star (played by Marie Dressler):

Kitty:  I was reading a book the other day.

Carlotta: (appears startled) Reading a book?

Kitty: Oh, yes, all about civilization or something; a nutty kind of a book. Do you know that the guy said machinery is going to take the place of every profession?

Carlotta: (looks Kitty up and down) Oh my dear, that's something you need never worry about.

For a good laugh, watch the scene here.

The future is now, as machinery (computer technology) has replaced several jobs in the marketplace. Machines, as well as robots, are used on some parts of assembly lines.  And in addition to ATMs, there's electronic banking, electronic billing, and my favorite--electronic shopping!

I remember the days of full-service gas stations.  Later there was the option of full-serve or self-serve.  The full-service option has been out of existence for several years, but something relatively new at the supermarket is the self-checkout machine.

And nowadays, instead of using library staff to help with research, there's the Internet.  Oh, and you can check out your books at the self-checkout machine by the door!  When I stopped working as a librarian 14 years ago to raise a family, talk was that in the near future, you'd be able to read a book on a computer.  I thought that sounded pretty ridiculous, but what did I know?

Electronic books have turned the publishing industry upside down! Today a book can be published in a matter of minutes, and publicity can be generated by social media.

In closing, here's something amazing, with the advent of 3D printing, machines are capable of making machines themselves!

Beautiful Jean

Kitty Packard was right! It looks like machinery is well on its way to taking over every profession, with the exception of the world's oldest.

Have you ever seen Dinner at Eight? Also, how has technology transformed your work environment?

Thanks for visiting and have a great week!

Originally posted March 11, 2013