Old Media

My most recent in a series of purchases (e.g., collecting) of old media. This is a TV/radio/turntable console from the mid-1950s. It still works (and came complete with a really scratched up old 45 of CCR's "Run Through the Jungle"). Everytime I turn on the black and white TV there's a moment when, as the tubes warm up, I secretly hope that the picture that will slowly fade in will be of some late 50's TV show, appropos of the medium. But alas, it's the same old stuff that's on the other TV. Sigh.

Anyway, it's a Magnavox MV174 L1. Trying to track down a production date, but unsuccessful so far. Magnavox (now owned by Phillips), is no use ("We no longer support that product"--duh!) and nothing's turning up via google. If anyone has an idea of how to track down this info (oddly, the term "incept dates" comes to mind, but that's from Blade Runner...), let me know.

Book Meme

A book meme that's going around. This is courtesy of Jonathan Sterne.

1. Chose the book closest to you at the moment.
2. Open to page 123
3. Find the 3rd sentence
4. Post in your blog (plus the instructions)
5. Don't choose the book, just pick up the one closest to you.

Hmmmm...lots of stacks of papers. Closest books are over on a shelf. The closest book (de Saint-Exupery's "The Little Prince") doesn't have enough pages. Next closest is it, then:

"The days went by."
Elizabeth Enright, The Four-Story Mistake, NY: Puffin Books, 1997 (1942).


Not as interesting as Book-Most-Recently-Read (which goes against the rules of the meme, but interesting nonetheless), which would give us:

"They met in private and Addis told him, 'You [Oppenheimer] are giving all this money [for the Spanish Republic cause] through these relief organizations. If you want it to do good, let it go through the Communist channels...and it will really help.'"
Kai Bird & Martin J. Sherwin, American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer. NY: Vintage, 2005.

LP Records

I recently inherited my folks collection of LPs since they weren't listening to them anymore (don't even have their turntable hooked up). I've been getting my turntable back into shape, new needle and everything (apparently the cartridge and needle installed on the turntable had been discontinued 15 years ago--time for a new needle!). I'm not an audio analog purist, I just like the ritual of playing LPs. Anyway, I've been listening to Dusty Springfield's "Dusty in Memphis." I could say loads about how wonderful the album is, but actually wanted to comment on the inner sleeve. On one side it has recent releases from Columbia Records (Jerry Vale, Johnny Mathis, Ray Conniff...) and on the other this interesting list arguing why you should purchase records.

1. They're Your Best Entertainment Buy. Records give you top quality for less money than any other recorded form. Every album is a show in itself. And once you've paid the price of admission, you can hear it over and over.

2. They Allow Selectivity of Songs and Tracks. With records it's easy to pick out the songs you want to play, or to play again a particular song or side. All you have to do is lift the tone arm and place it where you want it. You can't do this easily with anything but a phonograph record.

3. They're convenient and easy to handle. With the long-playing record you get what you want to hear, when you want to hear it. Everybody's familiar with records, too. And you can go anywhere with them because they're light and don't take up space.

4. They're attractive, informative and easy to store. Record albums are never out of place. Because of the aesthetic appeal of the jacket design, they're beautifully at home in any living room or library. They've also got important information on the backs--about the artists, about the performances or about the program. And because they're flat and not bulky, you can store hundreds in a minimum of space and still see every title.

5. They'll give you hours of continuous and uninterrupted pleasure. Just stack them up on your automatic changer and relax.

6. They're the proven medium. Long-playing phonograph records look the same way now as when they were introduced in 1948, but there's a world of difference. Countless refinements and developments have been made to perfect the long-playing record's technical excellence and insure the best in sound reproduction and quality.

7. If it's in recorded form, you know it'll be available on records. Everything's on long-playing records these days...your favorite artists, shows, comedy, movie sound tracks, concerts, drama, documented history, educational material...you name it. This is not so with any other kind of recording.

8. They make a great gift because everyone you know loves music. And everyone owns a phonograph because it's the musical instrument everyone knows how to play. Records are a gift that says a lot to the person you're giving them to. And they keep on remembering.

Now, such a list has some humor in the age of CD's and MP3s (selectivity? They're light and portable?), but what's interesting to me in this is why in 1969 Columbia/Atlantic feels a need to make such a hard sell for the medium itself. If everyone owns a phonograph, why argue the virtues of records at such length? Was the market leveling off? Competition from a new format? Curious.

Blogging

Taking a stab at blogging, years behind the curve. Given the title of said blog, don't expect too many posts. Definitely an occasional sort of thing, random thoughts, some about work, writing, ideas, some about life. We'll see how this goes.