Denro says this one has it all — Tommy Dorsey’s band with Frank Sinatra, Connie Haines, and Jo Stafford. From June, 1941, six months before Pearl Harbor, this is ‘Let’s Get Away From It All.’ It starts with Jo’s pure, clean voice and the Pied Pipers, then Frank and Connie, with her distinctly different sound, come in.
[audio:http://www.dograt.com/Audio/2008/SEP/LetsGetAway.mp3]Month: September 2008
Mad Men merry-go-round
On DVD, Carol and I have finished watching the first season of Mad Men, the Emmy winner for best drama. Last week, on Fresh Air with Terry Gross, a scene from Mad Men was featured, where ad man Don Draper pitches an idea to Kodak, suggesting another name for a new slide projector caddie, other than The Wheel.
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In response to a question from Terry Gross, the show’s creator, Matt Weiner, said the idea in the opening is that when Don Draper has a fall — and he has many — he manages to land safely and look good.
I never cared much for Robert Morse when he was young, but he’s excellent in Mad Men as the aging co-founder of the ad agency.
Neighborly Advice to Washington
Our neighbor across the street sent this tidbit. I won’t give his name, because he doesn’t know I’m posting this.
I’m not usually into this politics crap but I happened to see this interesting editorial from the Chairman of the FDIC that was written back on 10/19/2007:
“A government bailout is not the answer. Bailouts erode market discipline, raising the likelihood of repeat episodes. And efforts to expand refinancing options will help only those borrowers who have enough equity to refinance.”
http://www.fdic.gov/news/letters/lte_10192007.html
Interesting article from a year ago. Seems like Georgie and friends decided to make as much money as they could before they decided to go for the bailout plan. Maybe no one in the banking industry or in Georgie’s administration ever looks at the FDIC website….
There it is. The FDIC, the agency in charge of insuring bank deposits, saw what was coming and proposed a solution a year ago.
The writing’s on the wall
Want to dress up your drab walls? Handy with a Sharpie pen? Get doodling!
Man decorates basement with $10 worth of Sharpie
One has to wonder how a media outlet becomes aware of something like this. Well, having been in the news biz a long time ago I can tell you — somebody calls up and says, “I’ve got something (or done something) I think you’ll be interested in.” Yes, shameless self-promotion is the safe assumption. But, then, with this blog, who am I to talk?
Confidence Game
I’m concerned, listening to talk about the bailout bill, that even if approved it won’t help “the confidence of the markets.” These markets aren’t things, they’re people. The very same people who got themselves — and us — into trouble, are apparently looking for an iron-clad guarantee that everything will be all right. “Protect us from ourselves!” is what they’re really saying. These are the risk-taking masters of the universe? If Phil Gramm is looking for a bunch of whiners, I suggest he look to his buddies on Wall Street.
I don’t get why these debt-holding outfits can’t provide an accounting of exactly what percentage of the mortgages on their books is any good? We’re not getting any specifics. This is a huge gamble, and the big boys absolutely refuse to assume any of the risk, yet they demand their huge payouts. This story, for example, is beyond ridiculous.
WaMu CEO could get $13.65 million for 18 days work
How about just telling Alan Fishman no? Sorry, but no. You don’t get this money.
Connie Haines, 1922-2008
With the death of singer Connie Haines coming so soon after the passing of the extraordinary Jo Stafford, we are getting very close indeed to the end of the Big Band era. Like Doris Day, Haines got her start when she was only sixteen. Sharing the Tommy Dorsey spotlight with Jo didn’t sit well with Connie, as recounted in the Washington Post.
In her three years with Dorsey, Ms. Haines made several solo recordings, and she bristled a little when Jo Stafford, who died in July, was recalled as Dorsey’s “girl vocalist” during the time Ms. Haines was with the band. Ms. Haines would remind people that Stafford arrived in the band as a member of the Pied Pipers when Ms. Haines was the featured vocalist. Stafford emerged as a soloist later.
A well-known recording of Haines singing with Sinatra and the Tommy Dorsey band is “Oh, Look at me Now”.
[audio:http://www.dograt.com/Audio/2008/SEP/LookAtMeNow.mp3]