Oh no, brain-burp.

For those of us who were born in or remember the 50s well, we are getting to a certain age where things are going wrong at an alarming frequency.  Today, I woke remembering something that didn’t happen.  Not only didn’t it happen, it could never have happened.  It’s moments like these that you wonder about your own mental acuity.  I wonder if I’m loosing it.  What could it be?  Alzheimer’s?  Dementia?  Schizophrenia?  It’s like that joke: They say the second thing to go is the memory… I can’t remember what the first thing is.   Should I be worried?  Or should I merrily go along and chalk it up to yet another brain-burp?  At this point I vote for the later.  Why worry? It’s like rocking in a rocking chair.  I won’t get anywhere but I’ll have something to do while I get there.

As the years go by, I feel sure I’ll have more and more of these brain-burps to look forward to.  My best bet is to just laugh at myself instead of taking myself so seriously.  Ain’t none of us getting out of this alive anyway.  May as well enjoy the ride while I can.

50's Movies on Parade

It is kind of amazing the classic movies that came out in the decade of the 50’s.  I’m sure there were a lot of duds too but you don’t seem to hear about those.  There were movies on social issues and teens like The Blackboard Jungle; as well as movies about issues between men and women in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers; international classics like Seven Samurai and the French classic The Red Balloon.  Who can forget the Spaceman Klaatu, who came to save the human race in The Day The Earth Stood Still? And then there was Marilyn Monroe.  Some of her best movies came out in the 50’s, including Some Like It Hot and The Seven Year Itch, which is the iconic movie where she lets her skirt fly up.  She was beautiful.  

The 50’s also saw some great Hitchcock movies, including 

Dial M for Murder and my personal favorite, Rear Window.  I loved it when the Castle TV show did a spoof on it.  It’s a must see when Becket comes in wearing one of those Grace Kelly evening gowns.  Classic! 

If you like spoofs, who hasn’t done a spoof on the classic 50’s movie 12 Angry Men.  When I served on a jury recently, I couldn’t help thinking about Henry Fonda in that movie.  Then there is Charlton Heston in his roll of a lifetime Ben Hur.  What an actor!  What an epic movie.  Not to forget about Hepburn and Bogart in The African Queen. 

There were tons of family friendly movies that also were epic in the 50’s.  Disney was in rare form with classics such as:  Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,  Dumbo,  Lady and the Tramp, and Bambi.  It was an age of the classic musicals and an emerging TV heroes.  I love the 50s.

Some great 50’s articles from Squidoo:

These are just a few of the articles written about the 50’s genre on Squidoo.  Click on the link and check them out.

Edward Hopper Painter by DaveStone13

http://www.squidoo.com/edward-hopper-realism-in-prints-posters-and-life

Movie Rear Window  by me

http://www.squidoo.com/alfred-hitchcocks-rear-window

Dr Seuss  by patgoltz

http://www.squidoo.com/drseussbestchildrenswriter

Chronicles of Narnia  by me

http://www.squidoo.com/workshop/always-winter-never-christmas

Queen Elizbeth by britflorida

http://britflorida.squidoo.com/queen-elizabeth-11-1950s-style-icon

Grace Kelly by britflorida

http://britflorida.squidoo.com/grace-kelly-the-look

An Affair to Remember by britflorida

http://britflorida.squidoo.com/an-affair-to-remember-best-1950s-film

Hitchcock Blondes  by britflorida

http://britflorida.squidoo.com/hitchcock-blondes

The Bertoia chair by britflorida

http://britflorida.squidoo.com/the-bertoia-chair-meets-the-iphone

The 50’s Musicals by Cercis

http://www.squidoo.com/the-golden-age-of-musical-films

Richard Greens TV Robin Hood by me

http://www.squidoo.com/richard-greens-tv-robin-hood

Camping with dad by me

http://www.squidoo.com/camping-with-dad

Music of the 50’s  by Sylvestermouse

http://sylvestermouse.squidoo.com/music-of-the-50s

A Baby Boomer Defines Life after WWII  byLindaJM

http://lindajm.squidoo.com/baby-boomer-defines-life

Derek Bentley and Christopher Craig (murder case in the 50’s) by britflorida

http://britflorida.squidoo.com/derek-bentley-and-christopher-craig

Fanny Cradock by britflorida

http://britflorida.squidoo.com/fanny-cradock

Injustice – John Christie by britflorida

http://britflorida.squidoo.com/injustice-john-christie-and-timothy-evans

Retro Vintage Prom Dresses by brightideas

http://brite-ideas.squidoo.com/retro-vintage-prom-dresses

Ruth Ellis by britflorida

http://britflorida.squidoo.com/ruth-ellis

1950s Fashion:  The 50s were a time of attitudes by OddSally

http://www.squidoo.com/1950s-fashion-vintage

Tony Bennett & Bill Evans by DaveStone13

http://www.squidoo.com/tony-bennett-meets-bill-evans

Blackboard Jungle was our movie by nacycarol

http://nancycarol.squidoo.com/blackboard-jungle-was-our-movie

What happened in the 50's

Some really vital and historic things happened in the 50's.  I mean besides being born myself.

The first modern credit card was introduced.
Charles Schultz published the first Peanuts cartoon strip.  (That was fairly vital!)
Joe McCarthy started his Communist witch hunt.
Color TVs were introduced, although I didn't get to see one till the 60's because my dad was cheap.
Car seat belts were introduced, although I don't remember them being very popular until Batman and Robin used them in the 60's TV show.
Princess Elizabeth became Queen Elizabeth when her father King George VI died.
Jacques Cousteau, the co-inventer of the aqualung, became fairly famous discovering an ancient Greek Ship.
Polio vaccine discovered by Jonas Salk
DNA was discovered!  Amazing.
The first report published suggesting that cigarette smoking causes cancer.
Walt Disney opens Disneyland.  (And the world will never be the same!)
Emmett Till is murdered.
The McDonalds franchise is created.  (I had one of those early burgers... not that great)
Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat in the bus and is taken to jail.
Velcro is introduced.  That's up there with zippers and sliced bread!
The Soviet's launching of Sputnik starts the Space Race.
Hoola hoops and Legos building blocks is introduced.
Castro becomes the dictator of Cuba.
The TV Remote control is invented.  Although my dad claimed he had invented four of them.  Their names were Denise, Sherry, Lynne and Scotty.  The same goes for dish-washing machines.  He had four.

All in all a pretty remarkable decade.  More to come.

The Fabulous 50's Live

I'm a 50's baby but I love the music, the movies, the black and white TV shows from the 50s.  I love the extreme petticoats that rustle when you walk and the poodle skirts and the slick-back duck-tails.  What's not to love?  I intend to report, recreate, celebrate and remember the 50's here.  Join me.