COVID-19, Vaccine, Masks, Church, Baseball and School -- August 31, 2024

cdc.gov

The FDA has approved new vaccines for the latest variants of COVID-19. 

School is back in session. Not many people are wearing masks. The power went out after lunch recess on Thursday, so I just talked to the kindergarten class. 

The Democratic National Convention was fun. There was a lot of positive energy. I like Governor Tim Walz. 

The Giants are having trouble scoring runs. 

Rube Goldberg -- One of Those Acrobatic Direction-Givers -- August 30, 2024

Spokane Spokesman-Review, 07-August-1924

Cartoonist, engineer and inventor of Goldbergian devices, Rube Goldberg, was a native of San Francisco. In this item, he expresses his displeasure with people who give directions through interpretive dance.

Dinah Washington 100 -- August 29, 2024

listal.com

Singer Dinah Washington was born 100 years ago today, on 29-August-1924. She had a distinctive quality in her voice. 

Dinah Washington: What Difference A Day Makes

Brook Benton & Dinah Washington - Baby, You've Got What It Takes. Stereo remix

Dinah Washington Teach Me Tonight

Going Away to San Francisco -- August 28, 2024

Los Angeles Times, 01-August-1924

The Southern Pacific Railroad's Daylight Limited offered 12-hour service between Los Angeles and San Francisco. "The DAYLIGHT LIMITED is the fastest train between Los Angeles and San Franciso."

It was interesting to see "Prevent Forest Fires -- It Pays" at the top of the ad. This has always been a hot topic in California at this time of year.

Super Ship H. F. Alexander -- August 27, 2024

Los Angeles Times, 01-August-1924

The S.S. Great Northern was launched in 1914 for the Great Northern Pacific Steam Ship Company. The Great Northern and her sister the Northern Pacific were extremely fast turbine-driven ships used to connect Puget Sound with San Francisco. In 1917, both ships were taken over to serve as Army transports during World War One. Both ships were sold to the Pacific Steamship Company, owner of the Admiral Line. The Northern Pacific sank on its way to a shipyard for refurbishment. Great Northern was renamed after the founder of the Admiral Line, HR Alexander.

This 1924 ad touts the "Super Ship H. F. Alexander ... (the) largest, finest, fastest coastwise vessel in the world." It was scheduled to run from Los Angeles to San Francisco overnight. 

The Admiral Line folded up in 1936. The H. F. Alexander served again as a troop transport during World War Two. She was scrapped in 1948.

Leon Redbone 75 -- August 26, 2024

Leon Redbone was born 75 years ago today, on 26-August-1949. I have always enjoyed hearing his voice, whether on records or in commercials.  He always wore a hat and our tastes in music were similar.  

Since he said "Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone," I won't.

Leon Redbone- Ain't Misbehaving (I'm Savin' My Love For You)

Leon Redbone - Shine on Harvest Moon

Leon Redbone - Walking Stick (Live at the 1973 Buffalo Folk Festival)

Leon Redbone - Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone 1977

Democratic National Convention 2024 -- August 25, 2024

This year's DNC was the best American political convention I have seen. I particularly loved it during Governor Tim Walz's speech when they showed his son Gus proudly crying and saying "That's my dad." I like Gus. 

Most Sensational Baseball Feat Ever Attempted in Virginia -- August 25, 2024

Lynchburg News and Advance, 24-August-1924

Miss Mabel Cody, pioneering barnstorming aviator and wing walker, appeared at a baseball game between the Louisville club and Pepsi-Cola of Richmond. Miss Cody stood on the wing of her biplane and dropped a dozen baseballs. Any player who caught a ball received a ten dollar gold piece. 

The Pepsi-Cola team was unable to appear, but a team from Danville filled in. Lynchburg won 15-0. 

Jorge Luis Borges 125 -- August 24, 2024

listal.com

Jorge Luis Borges was born 125 years ago today, on 24-August-1899. I don't think I read any of his stories until I was in college, but then I became fascinated. "The Garden of Forking Paths" appealed to me. When I learned about hypertext, I saw why they were similar.

Coulter -- New Launch Amy -- August 23, 2024

San Francisco Call, 15-May-1895

William A Coulter did many maritime drawings for the San Francisco Call. I am not familiar with the term "boarding-boat."

PETERSON'S NEWEST PET

The Celebrated Oarsman

Launches a New Craft

on the Bay.

Henry Peterson, the celebrated local oarsman, dipped his new launch Amy into the water last night off the Folsom street wharf and will make a trial run on the bay to-day.

The new craft in appearance is strong as George Knight's boat, the Athlete. She is 40 feet in length over all, 10 feet in beam, has a depth of 4 l/4 feet and a twenty-horse power engine. The latter was put in by the Union Gas Engine Company, the same company which supplied the power to the Satellite. The hull was built by Koopman, and Peterson says that when he desires to open the vessel out she will make the fastest time of any craft of her kind on the bay.

"The Amy is not supposed to be a sprinter," said Mr. Peterson yesterday afternoon. "She may not be able to outrun the Satellite, but I would like to be in the race of which Colonel Knight speaks between the Athlete and Satellite. My boat has been built for rough weather, and for endurance I will put her, against any tug on the bay. For speed— well, she's a ferryboat."

The Amy will be used as a boarding-boat in rough weather and as an excursion craft in all other kinds of weather.

Here's the Guy Everyone's Talking About -- August 22, 2024

San Francisco Examiner, 25-May-1951

If I had been in San Francisco in May 1951, I would have tried to go to both of these shows. The Say When on Bush Street featured Harry the Hipster Gibson, a wild piano-playing singer and Leomine Gray, a lady who also played the piano and sang. Harry the Hipster was most famous for his song "Who Put the Benzedrine in Mrs. Murphy's Ovaltine?"

The Blackhawk in the Tenderloin hosted pianist and composer Errol Garner. His most famous composition was "Misty." When I first took one of his records home from the Anza Branch Library, I was distracted by the vocal noises that he made. Eventually, I got used to them. 

Oh, Margy! -- August 21, 2024

Birmingham Age-Herald, 17-August-1924

I found a Time-Life series of books about decades in the Anza Branch Library. The book about the 1920s was my favorite. I particularly liked the drawings done by John Held, Jr. He defined the appearance of flappers. This book was also where I learned about Clara Bow.

New York Herald, 24-September-1922

F Scott Fitzgerald engaged Held to illustrate the covers of several of his books. 

Albert Bierstadt -- San Francisco Bay -- August 20, 2024

albert-bierstadt.org

I have always enjoyed the paintings of Albert Bierstadt. I have posted many of them over the last few years. I have to figure out where he painted "San Francisco Bay."

The Buckeye Camera Is the Ideal Film Camera -- August 19, 2024

Idaho Statesman, 31-August-1924

After posting Kodak ads for more than two years, I realized that I did not know much about Kodak's early competitors. I thought I would dig in and see what I could find. 

The Cyclone box camera used plates rather than film. The Western Camera Manufacturing Company produced the Cyclone Camera.

The Buckeye Camera was produced by E and HT Anthony and Company. Like the Kodak, it used flexible film.

There is No Kodak But the Eastman Kodak -- August 18, 2024

Iowa County Democrat, 10-August-1899

I suspect that the cartridge is the roll of film seen at the bottom of the ad. I remember using rolls like that. 

Pine Bluff Daily Graphic, 17-August-1924

I like the slogan.

Pine Bluff Daily Graphic, 17-August-1924

Time Magazine -- John J Pershing -- August 17, 2024

Time, August 11, 1924

General of the Armies John J (Black Jack) Pershing was the highest-ranking US military officer other than George Washington. He was commanding general of the American Expeditionary Force during World War One.

Blue Bird Soda -- Save Every Cap You Can Lay Your Hands On! -- August 16, 2024

Charlotte Observer, 26-August-1924

The Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company of Charlotte, NC offered a premium to people who collected bottle caps from Blue Bird Soda. "More delicious than Grape Juice." 

Coca-Cola -- Our Modern Bottling Plant -- August 15, 2024

Montgomery Advertiser, 12-August-1924

Coca-Cola ads frequently assured customers that their bottling plants were up to date and clean. "untouched by human hands"

Dance to the Latest and Best on Gennett Records -- August 14, 2024

Los Angeles Evening Post-Record, 01-August-1924

The Starr Piano Company in Richmond, Indiana owned Gennett Records. Gennett made many early jazz recordings.

The Wolverine Orchestra was cornetist Bix Beiderbecke's group, and yet he is not mentioned in the ad. 

Oh, Baby! - Wolverine Orchestra (Bix Beiderbecke) (1924)

Copenhagen - Wolverine Orchestra (Bix Beiderbecke) (1924)

Hitchcock -- For the Love of Film III -- August 13, 2024

Film Daily Yearbook, 1963

Alfred Hitchcock was born 125 years ago, on 13-August-1899. In celebration, over on my other blog, I am rerunning my entries from a blogathon that I participated in way the heck back in 2012:

https://bigvriotsquad.blogspot.com/2024/08/dial-hollywood-9-2411-for-hitchcock.html

To Broadcast Playbills by Radio Weekly -- August 12, 2024

Exhibitors Herald, 09-August-1924

KYW was founded by the Westinghouse Company in Chicago in 1921. It moved to Philadelphia in 1934. 

Back in 1921, the station started broadcasting movie playbills. The regular program was called "About the Town With Bob Boniel." Boneil worked for the Westinghouse Company,.

Eric Carmen 75 -- August 11, 2024

listal.com

Eric Carmen of the Raspberries was born 75 years ago today on 11-August-1949. He died in March this year. He wrote and performed "Go All the Way" with the Raspberries, which has always been one of my favorites. Some of his solo stuff is beautiful to listen to but the lyrics are sappy.

Go All The Way

The Ku Klux Klan is it a Menace or a Progress? -- August 10, 2024

Kanabec County Times, 28-August-1924

I haven't found much information about the Reverend EA Jordan, but he appears to have been in sympathy with the Ku Klux Klan and may have been a member. He said he was a member, but it would be impossible to prove.

Kanabec County Times, 09-September-1924

"The crowds have been large, many people who are opposed to the organization attending."

Saint Paul Appeal, 31-March-1923

Harris/Walz 2024 -- August 9, 2024

moveon.org

Vice President Kamala Harris has chose Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate. I like them both. He came up with idea of calling Trump and Vance and their ideas "weird" and "creepy."

moveon.org

Ford -- Utmost Driving Confidence -- August 9, 2024

Kanabec County Times, 28-August-1924

"There is a sense of confidence in driving a Ford, impossible with any more complicated motor car."

Happy International Cat Day -- August 8, 2024

Tigerlily wishes everyone a happy International Cat Day.

I took the photo on 18-January-2024.

Shenandoah Docks With an Oiler -- August 8, 2024

Palisadian, 22-August-1924

The USS Shenandoah (ZR-1) was the US Navy's first Zeppelin, a rigid form of airship. 100 years ago today, on 08-August-1924, Shenandoah docked with a mast which had been installed on the oiler USS Patoka. 

Comic Book -- World's Finest Comics -- August 7, 2024

coverbrowser.com

Robin beats Superman and Batman in a footrace on the cover of World's Finest Comics. We are enjoying the Paris Olympics. 

paris2024.org

James Baldwin 100 -- August 6, 2024

listal.com

Note: I wrote this using a source that said James Baldwin was born on August 6, but I have found that most sources say August 2. 

James Baldwin was born 100 years ago today, on 06-August-1924. I remember seeing interviews with him when I was very young. I didn't always understand what he was saying, but he always seemed fascinating. I noticed he always had a cigarette in his, just like my dad. 

I haven't read his novels, but I have read many of his essays. He told me a lot about America. 

Pulp -- All America Sports Magazine -- August 5, 2024

philsp.com

The 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris have been interesting. I finally found a pulp magazine cover which directly refers to the Olympics. All America Sports Magazine had some interesting covers.

paris2024.org

Toonerville Trolley -- Everyone Wants to Sit on the Shady Side -- August 4, 2024

Perth Amboy Evening News, 13-August-1924

I love Fontaine Fox's The Toonerville Trolley That Meets All the Trains.

Washington Times, 30-June-1918

Joseph Conrad 100 Years -- August 3, 2024

Time, April 7, 1923

Joseph Conrad died 100 years ago today, on 03-August-1924.

Joseph Conrad (Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski) was born in Poland while much of the country was claimed by the Russian Empire. English may have been his fourth language (Polish, French, Russian, English). His family had worked for Polish independence, so he had no future in Russia. He joined the French merchant marine, and later the British. I read somewhere that his shipmates called him "Polish Joe." He began writing fiction in English and then had to give up the sea because of his health.

listal.com

I read a lot of Conrad in college. I took a summer class dedicated to him. I got to operate the projector to show Lord Jim with Peter O'Toole. It was my first experience with an anamorphic lens. Richard Brooks directed.

Conrad's books and stories show few signs that English was not his first language. My final paper for the Conrad class was about a play he wrote, based on The Secret Agent I found traces of less-careful writing in the stage directions.

listal.com

Alfred Hitchcock's adaption of The Secret Agent was title Sabotage in the UK and The Woman Alone in the US. 

listal.com

Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now was a loose adaption of Heart of Darkness. I find it hard to watch. I wish Orson Welles could have made the adaption that he was planning. 

Krazy Kat -- My Club, My Badge, My Cap, My Buttons -- August 2, 2024

Birmingham News, 10-August-1924

I love George Herriman's Krazy Kat. Because of a heat wave in Coconino County, Offisa Pup takes off his badge, his cap and his buttons, and he puts down his club. While he is napping, Ignatz takes the symbols of his authority. Click on the image to see a larger version.

Washington Times, 30-June-1918

August 2024 Version of the Cable Car Home Page -- August 1, 2024

02-August-2024 will be the 151st birthday of the cable car.

I just put the August 2024 version of my Cable Car Home Page on the server:
http://www.cable-car-guy.com/

It includes some new items:

1. Picture of the Month: This want ad offers to sell a store and attached dwelling which would "enhance rapidly when Columbia cable line is completed." (source: Want ad, Washington Evening Star, 02-October-1894.)
2. On the Cable Car Lines in the District of Columbia and Baltimore page: A ten year update about Washington DC's Columbia Railway including contemporary newspaper items and images. The company built the last new cable line in the United States
3. Added News item about Powell Street cable cars delayed by a cable issue

Ten years ago this month (August, 2014):

1. Picture of the Month: Columbia Railway grip car (source: "Completion of the Cable System of the Columbia Railway, Washington, D. C.", Street Railway Journal, April, 1895.)
2. On the Cable Car Lines in the District of Columbia and Baltimore page: Washington DC's Columbia Railway, the last new cable car system built in the United States
3. On the Who page: Added a profile from the Street Railway Journal about Fred W Wood, who was president of the Temple Street Cable Railway of Los Angeles

Twenty years ago this month (August, 2004):

1. Picture of the Month: A stamp showing former cable car 72/73 in Douglas, Isle of Man, in honor of the 75th anniversary of the abandonment of the Upper Douglas Cable Tramway.
2. In honor of the 75th anniversary of the abandonment of the Upper Douglas Cable Tramway, added some new items on the UK page: Articles by Walter Rice about the Isle of Man Railway and the Manx Electric Railway.
3. Added photos from the 2004 Bell Ringing contest, including photos of all the finalists. Also added more information about the contests from 1985 through 1994, and an article by Muni historian Bob Callwell about the history of the contest: "The Annual Cable Car Bell-Ringing Contest - A San Francisco Tradition". I added photos of Cal Cable's Alexander Nielsen, who won the first contest in 1949, and Francesca Cresci, Miss Cable Car 1972
4. Added two 1892 magazine articles about the end of the original Clay Street Hill Railroad, with and introduction by Walter Rice
5. Migrated one item from the Cable Car Museum site:
   • Added "Proper Techniques and Body Positions for Cable Car Gripmen", a 1972 ergonomic memo preserved by RT Murphy to the page with the 1976 "Instructions for Cable Car Operations", also preserved by Bob.

In January 2024 I started on a long overdue process of cleaning things up on my site. I started with the development pages. Actually, I guess I started last year with making the thumbnails 200 pixels instead of 100.

Coming in September, 2024: On the Who Was Important in the History of the Cable Car? page: A ten year update about the passing of Professor George W Hilton, author of The Cable Car in America.

100 Years Ago This Month (August, 1924):
Aug 01 - The City of Glasgow takes ownership of the cable-operated Glasgow District Subway

25 Years Ago This Month (August, 1999):
Aug 01 - Muni rolled out new California Street Car 59 to honor the 125th birthday of the cable car

The Cable Car Home Page now has a Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/CableCarHomePage/

The Cable Car Home Page also has an Instagram page:
https://www.instagram.com/cable_car_guy/

Joe Thompson
The Cable Car Home Page (updated 01-August-2024)
http://www.cable-car-guy.com/
San Francisco Bay Ferryboats (updated 31-July-2024)
http://www.cable-car-guy.com/ferry/
Park Trains and Tourist Trains (updated 29-February-2024)
http://www.cable-car-guy.com/ptrain/
The Pneumatic Rolling-Sphere Carrier Delusion (updated spasmodically)
http://cablecarguy.blogspot.com
The Big V Riot Squad (updated obsessively)
http://bigvriotsquad.blogspot.com/