The Doodletown Pipers were one of the primary purveyors of sanitary choral pop singing and dancing for television during my childhood. They specialized in the familiar, already-sanitary hits of the day, dressed up in perky matching outfits provided by Mister Marty Of California. They were very flexible: professional, but in a loose, green kind of way. Their stock in trade was enthusiasm, not precision. And you can bet that if a tight deadline was looming, they’d get their parts learned and be ready to hit their marks when the cameras were set to roll.
Monthly Archive for January, 2007
I’ll admit it: my wife and I greatly preferred the Scottish west coast — with its gorgeous coastline, quaint towns and awesome highland scenery to the comparatively bleak east. If I hadn’t determined that Dunottar was vital to our sightseeing interests, we might have skipped the east coast altogether. But then we would have missed the thoroughly charming town of St. Andrews. Though it was surrounded by industrial and military blight (with the ghostly whine of jets howling overhead day and night), the town itself was a picturesque college town (it’s the home of the University of St Andrews, the oldest in the country). It’s also “the home of golf” and the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews.
Continue reading ‘Castles Of Scotland, Part Four: St Andrews, Dirleton’
Even the most casual castle observer will eventually rub up against the sticky issue of “territorial designation.” At one time it was something apparently worth fighting for, dying for, even marrying for. Fortunately, I found an article on the subject by one “Stuart Morris of Balgonie and Eddergoll, yr.” that attempts to throw some light on the subject. The article goes on for some length, but if you can bear with me, I’ve tried to tried to boil it down to the essentials. According to Stuart (or whatever you call him):
Continue reading ‘Castles Of Scotland, Part Three: Craigmillar, Edinburgh’
Stirling Castle came highly recommended by the locals we consulted, but it’s essentially a tourist destination. Heavily restored, full of museum installations, gift shops and a cafe, it lacked the kind of desolation we were looking for. Just the same, the castle is an architectural marvel, perched atop a massive volcanic crag high above the town. It was used by the ruling class throughout most of its life. Later, it was converted into a military headquarters before finally being reclaimed for monumental and ongoing restoration in the twentieth century. But my wife and I elected to save our energy and keep the tour short Our camera batteries threatened to give out at any minute (victim of the vagaries of intercontinental power conversion), as did the weather. So we kind of dashed through it. Anyway, the Undiscovered Scotland site offers a detailed interactive map for those wishing more information.
Continue reading ‘Castles Of Scotland, Part Two: Stirling, Dunottar, Linlithgow’
Most, if not all of the postmortem coverage of James Brown this week focused on his value to the black community and his efforts on behalf of civil rights: his iconic role modeling, his empowerment anthems, his “black capitalism.” Like that other poor southern boy made good (Elvis Presley), he embraced ostentation: flashy suits, outlandish vehicles, a swollen entourage and a cultish insider lingo, designed to hold his inner circle close to him while showing the outside world who was boss. But even the New York Times struggled to figure out just what to make of James’ musical contribution.