Faster Than I Look

вик услугиdomainхолови диваниIf you grew up in Dallas/Ft. Worth in the 1970′s there were many local TV programs that left you with lasting memories.  The tunes are what stuck with me the most (no surprise to those who know me).

Weekdays at 7am on Channel 11 (Saturdays too I think) we had Slam Bang Theater, featuring Icky Twerp plus all the Three Stooges and cartoons they could pack into an hour.  The intro theme song was a rousing march followed by a spirited “Hey Kids – good morning!” from the network announcer.  You can take a trip down memory lane at IckyTwerp.net.  That tune stayed in my head through the years, so a while back I dug up the clues to find the origin of the theme.

Oh, Didn’t He Ramble (Slam Bang Theater)

The tune is called “Oh, Didn’t He Ramble” from a 1959 LP called “Bill Cullen’s Minstrel Spectacular.”  The famous game-show host puts on his white tuxedo and guides the listener through what it was like when the old minstrel show pulled into town on a paddle-wheel riverboat.  Or rather, it’s an idealized, white-washed 1950′s nostalgia version of a piece of Americana that most of us try to forget, I suppose.  More about the album here.  The minstrel show’s contribution to American musical theater (Broadway in particular) is fascinating stuff, but that’s another story.ИкониikoniИдея за подаръкикониикониПравославни икониикони на светцииконописikoniсвети георгиikoni

Just returned from an awesome trip to Iowa (and Nebraska).  First stop, the National Music Museum in Vermillion, SD.  What an awesome place – worth every moment and every penny to get there.  If you have any interest at all in the history of any kind of musical instrument, this place will blow you away.  And they are expanding!  It took us 3 hours to go through the collection on display, and that’s only 7% of what they own.

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We love the “half-planned” vacation. We usually research a destination or two, but mostly we just head off “that-a-way”. Plenty of time to explore, get off the beaten path, and improvise as new opportunities present themselves. With the help of a GPS navigation system and wireless internet, it’s easier now than ever. Usually we experience awesome coincidences when random things from the trip seem to magically connect together (like the McCormick House below). At the end of the trip, we’re often struck by some “theme” based on what recurred. One trip to San Antonio turned into our “Masonic” trip, and other trips have had other themes.

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