Wednesday Night TV: Classic Commercial for Chef Boyardee Spaghetti Dinner (1953)

Classic Commercial for Chef Boyardee Spaghetti Dinner, which was aired during the 20th of March, 1953.

The chef in the ad is Ettore "Hector" Boiardi. And yes, that is the REAL Chef Boyardee.

Creative Commons license: Public Domain

© 2011 Barry T Horst

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Tuesday On Olde Tyme Radio: Elvis Presley

Not exactly sure where or when these appearances were recorded. They are live recordings of Elvis Presley, taken from old radio appearances.

The first clip is Elvis singing "Blue Suede Shoes."


The second clip is "Hound Dog" sung by Elvis Presley live on the radio. Wait for the end of the clip. When you think you get there, there's more.


The final clip is "Tweedlee Dee."


All recordings are Creative Commons license: Public Domain

© 2011 Barry T Horst

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Monday Money: Notgeld #25, Weener

The specimens selected for today are from Weener. Weener is a town in the district of Leer, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated along the river Ems near the Netherlands.

I have 4 denominations:
The obverse of each indicates the denomination and pictures a man and a woman in traditional costume. The top of each note says "Rheiderländische Volkstracht" or Rheiderland Folk Costumes. The inscriptions below the seal and on the bottom of each obverse I can't quite make out. These notes were printed by Selmar Bayer in Berlin. Apparently he was a celebrated poster and post card printer at that time. I could not find any information on him, however I did find quite a few examples of his posters, postcards, etc.

25 Pfennig

Reverse: Weener on the Ems
Notice the windmill in the picture, an influence from the Netherlands.

75 Pfennig

Reverse: Picture of Old Weener

1 Mark 50 Pfennig

Reverse: Old Stone House in Bunderhee
Added Plus: Click here to view a current picture of the old stone house on Panoramio. It looks amazingly similar to the one on the note.

3 Mark

Reverse: Weener on the Ems
Pictures an elevated train crashing into the river and a date of July 1916. I could not find any information related to this picture.

© 2011 Barry T Horst

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Sunday Movie Time: "Please Murder Me (1956)

Today's movie is another film noir classic, "Please Murder Me" from 1956. It stars everyone's favorite courtroom defender, Raymond Burr. No, today he plays Craig Carlson, not Perry Mason. He is defending Angela Lansbury who plays Myra Leeds, the wife of Perry's best friend Joe Leeds Played by Dick Foran. Angela is accused of murdering her husband, Perry's best friend. That's a good plot device already...Laywer defends the murderer of his best friend and that murderer turns out to be the best friends wife. Hmmmmm.......

Lots more surprises are in store on this one and since I hate to spoil the surprises I will keep quiet on the rest of the movie.......except.......to add this warning: Remember that the dead can come back to spoil our plans!!!!!! Hmmmmmm........

Anyway, the movie lasts 75 minutes and is well worth the price of admission today! Also keep an eye out for John Dehner (A great radio, movie, and TV actor) and Denver Pyle (Mr. Darling on The Andy Griffith Show and Uncle Jesse on The Dukes of Hazzard).

Now get the popcorn, peanuts, and Dr Pepper......It's Movie Time!!!!!!!!!!



Creative Commons license for this movie: Public Domain Mark 1.0

© 2011 Barry T Horst

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The Secretary Will Disavow Any Knowledge of This Article

Okay, so I've been having a great deal of fun this summer with Netflix. I've been catching up on my Mission: Impossible episodes. I know I'm not supposed to think this way but......It's hard to get sucked into the suspenseful situations that always seem to cast doubt upon whether one or another of the IM Force members will survive. I mean, the show was on for 7 years. It always seemed that the group finished their "impossible" mission, went home for the week and rested; and then got together again on Sunday night for Jim to clue them in on their newest adventure.

Speaking about Jim, he always got his mission from a tape recorder. After he got the mission the tape recorder would always "self-destruct." I really would have like to have the tape recorder concession. I could have made a few dollars.

When "Mission: Impossible" first came on in the late 1960's I was in my early teens. After Jim received his instructions, the voice on the tape would say, "As always, should you or any of your IM Force be caught or killed, the Secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions." I always envisioned a lady sitting at a desk and answering the phone saying, "No, Jim's not in the office right now. I don't know where he is or when he will be back."

I guess I better finish for now, I've got four and a half more years of episodes to go. That's a lot more tape recorders to "self-destruct" and a lot of stuff to "disavow."

© 2011 Barry T Horst

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Wednesday Night TV: UNIVAC Computer Commercials (1956 in 3D)

Today we have 2 commercials from 1956. Both are for Remington Rand UNIVAC Computers. The 1st commercial is 27 seconds long. This commercial aired on the CBS Television Network on 5 February 1956. Immediately after the 1st commercial is finished playing, the second will play. It is approximately 3 minutes long and was aired during the 5 February 1956 CBS-TV telecast of "What's My Line?" This last commercial promotes the CBS-TV weather services.

It is interesting to note that these commercials were not originally broadcast in 3D. The 3D effects were added later, as a sort of after market effect if you will. This 3D effect is the old type (Anaglyph image) requiring the red and blue glasses (Red on the left, Blue on the right). I pulled out an old pair of mine and the effects seem to work OK, but I am not sure why you would want to watch a 1956 computer commercial in 3D.



If you like this I can post some more in 3D. All using the Anaglyph image process. By the way, you might be interested in knowing that the Anaglyph image process has been around since 1853. That's right, 1853. Came out of Germany. Who knew his development would have figured so prominently in 1950's Hollywood and beyond?

© 2011 Barry T Horst

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Tuesday On Olde-Tyme Radio: The Great Gildersleeves Audition Program

The Great Gildersleeve originally appeared in the Fibber McGee and Molly radio show; making it one of the nation's earliest spin-off programs. The clip today is the audition program for The Great Gildersleeve, which aired on 16 May 1941. The audio file is courtesy of the Audio Archives at The Internet Archive.


The material in this post is protected by the following Creative Commons License: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 Generic (CC BY-NC-ND 2.5)

© 2011 Barry T Horst

This work is licensed under a

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Monday Money: Notgeld #24

Today's selection comes from Jerichow, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany and is an expanded version of an earlier post. Otto von Bismarck was born in Schönhausen, Saxony-Anhalt. The first 2 specimens today picture an idyllic country scene (presumably in or around Jerichow) and Bismarck on the obverse and his birthplace on the reverse.


The reverse of both the 1 Mark (Above) and the 3 Mark (Below) contain the following quote from Bismarck: "Wenn wir zusammenhalten, werden wir den teufel aus der hölle schlagen" or "If we stick together, we will beat the devil out of hell." Interesting! Along the bottom of each reverse is the caption: Schloss Schönhausen Bismarcks geburtshaus or Schloss Schönhausen - Bismarck's Birthplace. On the left side of the castle we see printed: "Dieser gutschein wird von allen kassen des kreises Jerichow II in zahlung genommen und ist." Roughly translated as "This voucher will be taken in payment in Kreises Jerichow for all funds." The right side carries some important information regarding this issue: "Gültig bis zum 1.oktober 1922 Genthin den 1.juli 1921 der kreissausschuss" or "Valid until October 1, 1922 Genthin District Committee, 1 July 1921."




The reverse of both the 2 Mark (Above) and the 50 Mark (Below) contain the following quote from Bismarck: "Alle friedensschlüsse in dieser welt sind provisorien. Translated as : "All peace, key in this world are temporary." The reverse also has a picture of three trumpets blowing and a wall tumbling. Below the picture is the Bible verse Josua 6:20 which reads, "When the trumpets sounded, the people shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the people gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so every man charged straight in, and they took the city." The obverse on each specimen contains another idyllic picture.




© 2011 Barry T Horst

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Sunday Movie Time: Impact (1949)

Today's movie is another film noir classic, Impact. Released in 1949 it is about a wealthy businessman that survives an attempt by his wife to have him killed. He makes it look like she succeeded and starts a new life in small town as auto mechanic. A variation on this idea elevated to noir importance by The Killers (1946), where the victim of femme fatale tries to abandon the city and his past identity.

The movie lasts 1 hour 50 minutes. Break out the popcorn and enjoy.

© 2011 Barry T Horst

This work is licensed under a

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Let's Get a "Fat Ho"

Before we begin this journey I must tell you this; much of this post comes from information in the local paper, The Waco Tribune-Herald. I have provided links to many of the articles and blog posts. Unfortunately, you must have an account with their website to view some content. I apologize in advance if some links I have provided do not function properly.

Names can be misleading. Titles can be too. The title of today's blog is not as it seems, thankfully.

Let's put'er in reverse and go back to Thursday March 17, 2011. An article appears in the "Order Up!" blog; one of the staff blogs at the Waco Tribune-Herald entitled, "Businesswoman unveils Fat Ho Burgers in Waco". The article reveals that Lakita Evans was putting the final touches on her new business venture, Fat Ho Burgers, in Waco, TX. It seemed humorous to me at first.

Then it seemed to take on a life of it's own. On Friday March 18, 2011, staff writer Michael W. Shapiro penned an article for the Business Section of the Waco Trib titled, "Provocatively Named Burger Joint To Open Soon". In the article the owner said she got the inspiration for the name of her restaurant from a burger joint in California. I did some checking and I can't find anything about it. I did find a Fat ASS Burgers in Arizona and The Ultimate Fat Ass Burger Challenge in Orlando, Florida though. The closest thing I could find in California was Fatburger. Maybe she was a little mistaken. It happens. Fat Ho Burgers and Lakita Evans even made it to the Waco Trib's Weekly Recap of Opinions, Thoughts and Viewpoints on the next day with the following, “It’s making people smile. This world is too serious.”

Yes, it made a lot of people smile, laugh, take notice, and take offense.An article in the Waco Trib dated Tuesday March 22, 2011 reports that some are taking disapproval to the name, even suggesting that the name be changed; not just folks from Waco, but as far away as Los Angeles. Lakita said this about the name of the restaurant, “It’s not talking about women. It’s just funny.” She went on to comment, “They can say what they want. Everybody in America is a critic.” Yes they are!

Opening day was also on Tuesday, March 22, 2011. Fat Ho's opened to "Huge Crowds" according to the "Order Up!" food blog. Today we even learned some of the offerings at Fat Ho's like a "Supa Fly Ho with Cheese" or a "Fat Chicken Ho." My favorite is the "Sloppy Ho Brisket." And if you can figure out where they're going with this you will certainly appreciate the kid's meal, better known as the "Tiny Ho Meal."

The next day the Trib offered more on the opening; this time adding a few customer comments and more about the name controversy. This time we learn that a local radio personality, Shane Warner, was at the restaurant in support of the business.

After several days of doing "land office" business, we learn from the Trib that reviews for the food at the restaurant are "mixed" and the sudden buzz from the controversy may be taking its toll and causing food quality and service time to suffer. Nevertheless, that isn't keeping some from thinking about bigger things. Take for instance John Day, spokesman for Lake Charles, LA, based Viral Business Consulting group. They seem to think that there is potential here, maybe even "franchising." Hmmmm! Just think, "Coming to your town. A Fat Ho!" Yeah, I see the potential there.

WAIT!!!!!! Maybe they should rethink the whole franchising and name thing here. In the Trib's Letters to the Editor on Monday, March 28 writes in and comments that they thought it was the name for a new Chinese place. Made sense to them. Might make sense to others.

A mere 11 days after all this started, (Remember, the first article appeared on March 17) we learned on the Order Up! blog that the restaurant has a website, a Twitter feed, and yes.....a song by Quentin "Q" Moore. Click here for the song. Unfortunately, while preparing this post I tried the website and it appears to be non-existent now. Bummer!

By April 20, there have been several more letters and comments in the Letters to the Editor section of the Trib. I won't bother with them here. But, I guess business is good in April because the Order Up! blog informed us that Fat Ho's has a new sign. It seems that "You Are What You Eat." Alrighty then!

A little over a month and this lady has already had tons of free advertising; newspaper, local radio, local TV, and yes even some national TV. By now I'm kinda thinking Waco needs a new slogan to spur more tourist traffic. How about, "Visit Waco....Get a Fat Ho!" That seems to work on so many levels.

On May 12, Fat Ho's hosted Quentin "Q" Moore, the author and performer of the "Fat Ho" theme song. Not sure how that went. But by June 1st, we learned that vandals had torn down the Fat Ho sign. Not looking good here is it? (No, this is not what I meant in the title. It's not time to get a "Fat Ho" yet!)

At this time I am reminded of mountain climbing. I mean, you start at the bottom, claw your way to the top, and what happens? You're at the peak. Where do you go from there? Can't go up. Can't stay at the top of the mountain, too cold. You go down. Sometimes you can go down nice and easy. Sometimes, oops.... you miss a step and go down fast.

(Now, cue the Let's Get a "Fat Ho.")

On June 17 we learn that Lakita Evans was arrested on June 15 for Outstanding Traffic Warrants. Fortunately, she was released after paying her ticket. Guess she can start back up that mountain now.

While researching this I discovered that there are, at present, 23 Facebook pages devoted to Fat Ho's, (The place in Waco. Not the other kind).

© 2011 Barry T Horst

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Forgotten History.....Hmmm, I Wonder!

History will never let us forget King Arthur, Camelot, the Round Table, or the 12 Knights who resided around it. We see references to him almost on a daily basis. Bakers may be familiar with King Arthur Flour. Not quite sure why it is called King Arthur flour. Their website doesn't mention it. I don't think the jolly olde king was in the milling business. I don't really think he spent his time making popovers for the all of the bashes at Camelot either. I suppose the name is intended to make us harken back to the luxury of baked goods as only a king could enjoy them. Yumm...1500 year old bread and cookies; makes my mouth fairly water as I type.

Fast forward to the early 1960's and America was ushered into a new era of Camelot. This is when John F. Kennedy was elected 35th President of the United States. Only we didn't know it at the time. Only after President Kennedy's funeral was his 1000 day presidency associated with Camelot. This being in the December 6, 1963 issue of Life in an essay written by Theodore White.

We all know about King Arthur and his famous Round Table where upon he and his legendary knights sat to do what knights do when sitting at a round table; eat, drink, and be.....chivalrous. Bet you thought I'd say "Merry"! I am certain that many of you can name several of the knights; such as Lancelot, Galahad, Gawain, and Gareth.

But, history little notes those knights that were never selected to sit at the Round Table. There are still traces of them to this day however, in science, medicine, math, and many other areas of daily life. For example:

• Sir Cadian - The knight with rhythm
• Sir Cumference - The largest of the prospective knights
• Sir Culate - The knight that got "around"
• Sir Cumcise - Ahem, I'll leave this one alone!
• Sir Loin - The butcher
• Sir Rhosis of Liver - The town drunk

© 2011 Barry T Horst

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Wednesday Night TV: "Watch Mr. Wizard" (1954)

I remember watching these when I was a wee little lad. I suppose some of these shows are the reason that I took such an interest in science. This led to experimenting with my brother's chemistry set. Wow, all of those wonderful chemicals. They were begging to be mixed together. So.......I mixed them together and came up with the best looking purple a kid had ever seen. Better yet, using the scientific method (translate this as "best guess") I concluded that it was also the best spider killer ever devised by man; or so I thought. I know this because I threw the mixture on a spider that was crawling on the brand new white aluminum siding of our house at the time. It didn't kill the spider, but gee.....that sure was a pretty purple! Unfortunately, my father did not share my enthusiasm for my new discovery or..........the color.

Fortunately for me, the siding people were just finishing up with their installation and were able to take the newly "decorated" section out and cut-in new pieces. Yay for me! It just goes to show you that 7 - 8 year old boys don't think much past the present. You could say that they live for the moment. You know, that sounds like guys of all ages.

Anyway, so much for my reminiscing and philosophizing. Let's watch the video. It's a classic.



© 2011 Barry T Horst

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Tuesday On Olde-Tyme Radio

In this weekly installment I will attempt to share some aspect of Old Time Radio; entertainment, serials, news, etc. As much as possible, the selection chosen will have some historical significance or will be as close to this date in history as is possible. Please bear with me as I attempt work this out.

The following clips are of the Invasion of Normandy as broadcast June 7, 1944 by George Hicks, Chief War Correspondent, Blue Network. The broadcast is in 3 separate clips. The clips are from the original transcription discs.


Clip 1 - Invasion of Normandy as broadcast June 7, 1944 by George Hicks, Chief War Correspondent, Blue Network.

Clip 2 - Invasion of Normandy as broadcast June 7, 1944 by George Hicks, Chief War Correspondent, Blue Network.

Clip 3 - Invasion of Normandy as broadcast June 7, 1944 by George Hicks, Chief War Correspondent, Blue Network.

All clips - Creative Commons license: Public Domain


© 2011 Barry T Horst

This work is licensed under a

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Monday Money: Notgeld #23

Back to the Notgeld.

This week I bring 4 specimens of Notgeld from Rothenburg. Rothenburg is the home the Schäfertanz Museum (Shepherd's Dance Museum). You will notice that the obverse of each specimen depicts a shepherd tending his flock with Rothenburg in the background. Also, take note that the obverse of each specimen has the signature of Herr Bürgermeister Lindermann.

All 4 pieces are of the 75 Pfennig denomination.

The reverse of the above specimen depicts a shepherd and shepherdess.


The above specimen depicts the Head Shepherd in his ceremonial garb on the reverse.


Both specimens, above and below, depict scenes from the Shepherd's Dance (Schäfertanz).



You may remember seeing Rothenburg in the cinema recently. It was used in portions of the film, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Rothenburg was also the inspiration for the village in the 1940 Walt Disney movie Pinocchio.

© 2011 Barry T Horst

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Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Sunday Movie Time: Detour (1945)

I found this movie over at the Internet Archive. This is what they have to say about today's movie: In a classic poverty-row noir, the protagonist struggles helplessly in the grip of inexorable fate. Currently rated 7.4 at the IMDB.

This was the first poverty-row film chosen by the Library of Congress for its National Film Registry, in 1992. Don't miss it.

The copy you find here is sharper than the two that have already been uploaded. And the mpeg2 file contains nav packets, so you can load it into DVDAuthorGUI (a free program) and quickly create a DVD to watch on your television.



This movie may take a while to load depending upon your internet connection. Please be patient. I think you will be rewarded with a good movie. The movie was released in 1945 and is 1 hour 8 minutes in length.

© 2011 Barry T Horst

This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.