Bernard Loomis R.I.P.

Most of you have not heard of Bernard Loomis, but chances are if you are a member of Generation X or Generation Y he had an impact on your life. Bernard Loomis was a toy marketer, possibly the best in the business. In a career spanning over fifty years, he marketed Mattel's Hot Wheels line and licensed toys for a movie then simply called Star Wars. Loomis died on June 2 at the age of 82 from heart disease.

Loomis was born in the Bronx, New York on July 4, 1923. During World War II he served in the Army Air Corps. He entered the toy business in 1958 and by 1960 he had joined Mattel. Among his first major projects was the marketing Chatty Cathy, the first talking doll. When Mattel introduced the Hot Wheels miniature car line, Loomis made the then revolutionary proposal that the line could be promoted with a half hour, Saturday morning cartoon. The cartoon Hot Wheels debuted on ABC in the fall of 1969 and would run for two years. It was cancelled because of complaints to the FCC that it was essentially a half hour commercial for the Hot Wheels toys. Regardless, a precedent had been set and Hot Wheels would be the forerunner of such toy based cartoons as He-Man and the Masters of the Universe and Transformers in the Eighties.

Loomis would move from Mattel to General Mills, who owned the toy company Kenner. There he became a vice president at General Mills and president of Kenner. There he saw to it that Kenner became the first company to license Star Wars, feeling that the various characters and vehicles would make for a great toy line. He was also pivotal in the marketing of the Strawberry Shortcake and Care Bears lines. In 1992 he was inducted into the Toy Industry Hall of Fame.

When it came to toy marketing, Bernard Loomis was a true pioneer. As mentioned above, he conceived of marketing lines of toys with half hour cartoons based on those toys. Loomis was revolutionary in that rather than focusing on the sale of individual toys, he instead focused on the marketing of entire toy lines. If not for Loomis, many of us as children may not have been able to enjoy the never ending number of toys from a single line. Had he simply obtained the Star Wars licence for Kenner, he would have had a place in the history books. As it is, he did so much more.

Superman in Song

Tonight I watched the documentary Look Up in the Sky: the Amazing History of Superman on A&E. I can't recall who mentioned it, but when dicussing the demand that there still is for the Man of Steel, he mentioned that there had been several hit songs written about Superman. I had never really thought about it, but it seems to me that he is right. I can think of several off the top of my head. And given my total ignorance of rap, my knowledge of songs about Superman is probably not near being complete.

At any rate, the Man of Steel appeared in song fairly early in the history of rock 'n' roll. Dale Hawkins, composer and original performer of the classic "Suzy Q. (later covered by Credence Clearwater Revival)," recorded a song entitled "Superman" in the Fifties. This song is not so much about Superman, as it is about a fellow who feels like Superman whenever he is with his girl.

By the same token, "Sunshine Superman" by Donovan, released in 1966, is not a song about a Man of Steel. Instead, it is a song in which the singer boasts that a girl is "...going to be mine." There is only one reference to the Last Son of Krypton, in which the singer boasts, "Superman or Green Lantern ain't got nothin' on me."

While neither Dale Hawkins' "Superman" or Donovan's "Sunshine Superman" are about the Man of Steel, The Clique's "Superman," released in 1969, would certainly seem to be. At the very least, the singer boasts "I Am Superman!" The Clique's "Superman" is essentially a love song in which the singer proclaims that "I know you don't really love that guy 'cause I can see right through you..." I suppose the song proves that even Superman can have problems when it comes to affairs of the heart (of course, it did take him 60 years just to win Lois Lane...). The Clique's "Superman" was later remade by R.E.M. on their album Life's Rich Paegent.

The Man of Steel has a universal appeal that seems to cut across cultures. It should then be no surpise that even legendary London band The Kinks should acknowledge him in song. "(Wish I Could Fly Like) Superman" appeared on their 1979 Low Budget. The song is not about Superman himself, but rather about "a nine stone weakling (that'd be a 126 pound weakling for my fellow Americans out there...)" who longs to be the Man of Steel. The singer not only wants to be in better shape, but he wants to be able to change the world.

If there was a golden age for songs about Superman, it may well have been the Nineties. Throughout the decade, several songs appeared that were either about or at least mentioned the Man of Steel. Indeed, in 1991 The Spin Doctors (not one of my favourite bands) released an album whose title even related to Superman-- Pocket Full of Kryptonite. The title was taken from a line in the song "Jimmy Olsen's Blues," in which Jimmy Olsen expresses his repressed desires for Lois Lane. Indeed, depending upon how one interprets the line "pocketful of kryptonite," he may even be willing to kill the Man of Tomorrow for her... Of course, if Lois Lane does look like Kate Bosworth, I can't say I'd blame him...

While there were plenty of songs about Superman in the Nineties, there were some who thought that the concept of Superman may sadly be outdated. That was the theme of the 1996 song by Our Lady Peace, "Superman's Dead." Reportedly, Raine Maida (the lead vocalist of Our Lady Peace) has said that the song is about the ideas of morality, being a gentleman, and everything else that Superman represented being pretty much dead in modern day society. If Our Lady Peace is right, then perhaps this is why superheros such as Superman and Batman remain popular. Our world lacks heroes so we have to create our own...

That the world needs Superman is a theme that does occur in "Waitin' for a Superman" by The Flaming Lips, released in 1999. Unlike "Superman's Dead," however, "Waitin' for a Superman" is hopeful. Its chorus states that Superman "...hasn't dropped them/or forgot them/or anything."

So far the only song I have mentioned which is sung from the point of view of the Man of Steel has been "Superman" by The Clique. In 2000 another such song was released, "Krytonite," by 3 Doors Down. The song apparently centres upon Superman's concerns about his relationship with Lois Lane. He makes references to all the times in which he has saved her ("I picked you up and put you back/On solid ground..") and asks the question "If I go crazy then will you still/Call me Superman?"

Another song in which the singer longs to be Superman is "If I Were Superman" by Dweller, released in 2001 on their album Before You Save the World. In this song the singer's motives aren't entirely selfish: "If I were like Superman/I'd be the one to save the land/taking on the bad guys/I'd save the day..." And once more in this song, the romance between Superman and Lois Lane is stressed.

I know that these are not nearly all the songs about the Man of Steel. In fact, Rhino Records is releasing a tribute album called Sound of Superman tommorow, filled with songs about the Man of Steel. As one of the iconic characters of the 20th century, I suppose it is natural that there would be a number of songs that are either about Superman or at least make references to him. Indeed, I rather suspect that there will be even more songs about the Man of Steel to come.

The Most Successful Studio Never to Exist

When people think of the most successful studios in the history of Hollywood, they might think of MGM, Warner Brothers, Paramount, and so on. One studio that does not come to mind is Mammoth Studios. Of course, there is a good reason for that; a Hollywood studio called "Mammoth Studios" never existed. Nonetheless, the name probably sounds familiar to many Americans, because the name has been used repeatedly for fictional studios in movies, television shows, and books.

I am not sure why various directors and writers seized upon the name "Mammoth Studios." I have heard the big studios of Hollywood's Golden Age described as "mammoth" fairly often, and perhaps this is the source of the name. Regardless, it has been used repeatedly in films, television, and other media for a very long time.

Indeed, I am not sure when the name "Mammoth Studios" was first used. It may well have been in the 1933 screwball comedy Bombshell, starring Jean Harlow and Lee Tracy. The movie cast Harlow essentially as herself. She played Lola Burns, a rising starlet at Mammoth Studios. In Bombshell Mammoth Studios is obviously a takeoff on MGM. There are references to such MGM performers as Clark Gable and Greta Garbo. The entrance way to Mammoth even resembles that of MGM! This is remarkable given the fact that MGM produced the film, so that they were in effect parodying themselves.

A studio bearing the name "Mammoth" would also appear 12 years later in Abbott and Costello in Hollywood. The movie casts Abbott and Costello as barbers Kurtis and Abercrombie, whose shop just happens to be down the street from Mammoth Studios. Naturally, they find themselves in trouble and they are forced to hide out at that studio's lot. Curiously enough, Abbott and Costello in Hollywood is another MGM production. Indeed, the backlot used in the film is that of MGM.

It seems quite possible to me that in its first few uses in movies, Mammoth Studios was pretty much a fictionalised version of MGM. This certainly seems to be the case in Merton of the Movies from 1947. Also produced by MGM, Merton at the Movies features a movie usher from Kansas, Merton Gill (played by Red Skelton), who imitates his screen idol Lawrence Rupert's heorics so well that the studio brings him out to Hollywood in hopes of free publicity. Naturally, Gill thinks he is being considered for stardom. Set in 1915, during the Silent Era, the plot of Merton at the Movies actually predates MGM. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer would not be founded until 1918 when Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures, and Louis B. Mayer Pictures were combined to form a new company. Regardless, it is a Silent Era version of the MGM backlot where much of the movie's action takes place.

Of course, Mammoth Studios does not only appear in movies produced by MGM. In fact, its most famous appearance may well be in a television show. On The Beverly Hillbillies, during the 1964-1965 season, banker Milton Drysdale obtained controlling insterest in Mammoth Studios for hillbilly multi-millionaire Jed Clampett. For the next few seasons Mammoth Studios head Lawrence Chapman's life would never be the same. Drysdale tried tearing down the studio to make way for a new development. The Clampetts tried opening a general store on the studio lot. They even made a silent movie featuring legendary star Gloria Swanson. Regardless, Lawrence Chapman had to be thankful for the Clampetts. His studio on the decline and Milburn Drysdale wanting it torn down, it was only the Clampetts which kept the studio running!

Although it received most of its exposure on The Beverly Hillbillies, Mammoth Studios was also referenced on another sitcom, The Monkees. Curiously, on The Monkees Mammoth Studios seems to have been in worse straits than it was on The Beverly Hillbillies. It appears in the first season episode "I've Got a Little Song Here" as a thriving studio where the latest movie featuring starlet Joanie Janz is being made. It is only nine episodes later, however, in The Monkees at the Movies, that a comment is made that Mammoth went out of business years ago! Indeed, in the second season episode The Picture Frame, Mammoth Studios appears as being totally abandoned. The final reference to Mammoth Studios is in the final episode of The Monkees, "Mijacogeo" (AKA "The Frodus Caper"). Although they are at TV station KXIW, Peter tells the police on the phone that they are being held captive behind Mammoth Studios! I can only guess that maybe the studio was back in business and had bought KXIW-TV. Or maybe KXIW-TV had bought Mammoth Studios....

References to Mammoth Studios aren't simply limited to movies and television. The name has also been used in books. Mammoth Studios appears in the 1960 book The Woman Chaser by Charles Willeford and later in the film adaptation of that novel. Both the book and the movie centred around a used car salesman desperate to break into film. The Woman Chaser differs from many works which mention Mammoth Studios in that, while it has its funny moments, it is definitely not a comedy. Instead, it is a thriller of the hardboiled variety which also serves as a psychological study of its protagonist.

In a much more humourous vain is Elementary, My Dear Groucho by Ron Goulart. It is the third in a series of comedic mysteries Goulart has written which feautre the legendary comedian Groucho Marx solving various crimes. In Elementary, My Dear Groucho, Groucho and his writing partner Frank Denby must solve a murder on the set of a Sherlock Holmes movie being filmed at Mammoth Studios. In this novel he has competition in the form of the film's star, Miles Ravensclaw (playing Sherlock Holmes in the Mamoth Studios film), who boasts that he can catch the killer before Groucho and Denby can.

Mammoth Studios has also been mentioned in comic books. In Blue Ribbon Comics (published in the late Thirties and early Forties by MLJ Comics, which later renamed itself after its most successful character, eternal teenager Archie), a studio known both as Mammoth Studios and Mammoth Pictures appeared in two Rang-A-Tang the Wonder Dog stories. In the first, "The Madman of Mammoth Studios," the Wonder Dog must find who is causing the mysterious accidents surrounding a new director at the studio. In the second Rang-A-Tang must stop Nazis from shutting down one of the studio's latest productions.

In Marvel Comics, the character known as The Hangman was Jason Roland, a former actor at Mammoth Studios. First appearing in Tower of Shadows #5 (May 1970), he made a deal witht the devil for fame and fortune as a horror actor. To this end the devil gives him a monstrous visage. Unforutnately, he found that at the end of the production, the makeup wouldn't come off. Roland later made another deal with demons to restore him to human form. After this, he became The Hangman. In his first appearance as The Hangman, he attempted to shut down a remake of one of his old movies at Mammoth Studios.

I am not sure, but I suspect that "Mammoth Studios" may be the most often used name for fictional studios in film and television, and perhaps books as well. Of course, it is not quite so fictional any longer. There is a Mammoth Studios in Burnaby, British Columbia, which boasts the largest sound stage in North America (I think parts of The Fantastic Four movie were filmed there). Of course, this Mammoth Studios is a Candian operation, whereas the Mammoth Studios mentioned in film, television, books, and even comic books, is always very much a Hollywood affair.

Indeed, if one looked at the references in film and television as reflecting the history of a real life studio, then the fictional history of the fictional Mammoth Studios would parallel those of the real life studios. In Bombshell, Abbott and Costello in Hollywood, and Merton at the Movies, Mammoth Studios is a thriving movie studio. In fact, as it is modelled after MGM, it could well have been the biggest studio in Hollywood. These movies were made at a time when the real life Hollywood studios were at their peak, so the success of the fictional Mammoth Studios in those films reflects that the real life studios were having at the time. This was not the case at the time of The Beverly Hillbillies was in production. The Hollywood studios were already well into their decline. Increasingly, the studios looked to television production as a means of making money (consider the number of TV shows produced by Warner Brothers and Universal in the Fifties and Sixties). And by the Sixties, studios were already becoming part of conglomerates. MCA had acquired Universal. Gulf & Western would acquire Paramount in the mid-Sixties. As alarming as it may be, the major studios were under constant threat of suffering the same fate that Mammoth Studios had apparently suffered on The Monkees--of being shut down forever. Indeed, RKO ceased operating as a studio in 1957. Ten years later, had things unfolded only a little differently, it could have easily been 20th Century Fox, Warner Brothers, or even former giant MGM that shut down.

Sadly, forty years later, the studios of the Golden Age are either parts of conglomerates or have ceased to exist altogether. Indeed, MGM and United Artists were bought by Sony just last year. While films will still be released under the MGM and United Artists names, for all practical purposes they have ceased to exist as independent studios. If Mammoth Studios had existed, this would probably have been its fate. A Hollywood giant in its glory days, featuring such stars as Jean Harlow and Clark Gable, Mammoth Studios would either close its doors or be a mere subsidiary of a larger corporation. Of course, that is if the Clampetts had ever decided to sell it....

Miniver Cheevy

This weekend has been a busy one for me, so rather than making a long entry, I thought I would post one of my favourite poems by one of my faovurite poets. Edward Arlington Robinson was a late 19th century/early 20th century poet, born in Maine. His style was very traditional and owes a lot to both William Shakespeare and Ben Johnson. While his style was traditional, however, his subject matter was very untraditional. Many of his poems took the form of short, often tragic character sketches of the sort of people he might encounter in his native New England. "Miniver Cheevy" is one of those character sketches, a poem about a man who feels he was born in the wrong time. I am sure many have had this feeling at one time or another, but very few have probably taken it to the extremes that Miniver does in the poem.

"Miniver Cheevy"
by Edwin Arlington Robinson

Miniver Cheevy, child of scorn,
Grew lean while he assailed the seasons;
He wept that he was ever born,
And he had reasons.

Miniver loved the the days of old
When swords were bright and steeds were prancing;
The vision of a warrior bold
Would set him dancing.

Miniver sighed for what was not,
And dreamed, and rested from his labors;
He dreamed of Thebes and Camelot,
And Priam's neighbors.

Miniver mourned the ripe renown
That made so many a name so fragrant;
He mourned Romance, now on the town,
And Art, a vagrant.

Miniver loved the Medici,
Albeit he had never seen one;
He would have sinned incessantly
Could he have been one.

Miniver cursed the commonplace
And eyed a khaki suit with loathing;
He missed the mediaeval grace
Of iron clothing.

Miniver scorned the gold he sought,
But sore annoyed was he without it;
Miniver thought, and thought, and thought,
And thought about it.

Miniver Cheevy, born too late,
Scratched his head and kept on thinking;
Miniver coughed, and called it fate,
And kept on drinking.

A Few Passings

It is often said that celebrities die in threes. I am not sure that is true, but they certainly do seem to die in bunchs at times. Lately, there have been a few celebrity deaths of note. I thought I would cover them all in one post.

Among those deaths was special effects innovator Arthur Widmer. Widmer died of cancer at age 92. Widmer was born in Washington, D.C., and attended the University of Michigan. He worked for Kodak's research labs and later Clinton Laboratories (later to become the Oak Ridge National Laboratory).

At Kodak Widmer worked on colour photography, including Kodachrome. Following World War II, Kodak sent Widmer to Hollywood. There he was part of introducing Kodak Color Negative and Color Positive to the movie studios. He was at Warner Brothers when he developed the Ultra Violet Travelling Matte, an early version of what we now call "bluescreen." Quite simply, bluescreen involved the process of shooting actors against a monochromatic background (usually the colour blue, hence the name) in order to replace the background with another background or scene. Widmer was also pivotal in developing such technologies for film as 3-D and wide screen. For his contributions to the movie industry, Widmer received an Acadmey Award of Commendation for his development of the Ultra Violet Travelling Matte.

Another celebrity to die of late was comic book and animated cartoon artist Alex Toth. Toth died at age 77 in Burbank, California. He was born on June 25, 1928. At age 15 Toth started his career in illustrating comic books. He was first hired by illustrator and editor Steve Douglas to work on Famous Funnies. He would later be hired by legendary editor Sheldon Mayer to work on various titles at All-American Comics. After All-American merged with National Periodical Publications (better known, and now officially known, as DC Comics), he would continue to work with Mayer. At All-American and National, Toth worked on such titles as All-Star Comics (featuring the Justice Society of America) and Green Lantern. After a stint in the military Toth would work for Dell Comics.

While Toth worked extensively in comic books, he is perhaps best known for his work with Hanna-Barbera. He joined the animation studio in 1965. There he developed such characters as Space Ghost, the Herculoids, and Birdman. He would also work on such cartoons as Josie and the Pussycats and Superfriends. Toth's Hanna-Barbera characters, such as Space Ghost, entered American pop culture and would prove to be an influence on future comic book artists and writers (Mike Baron and Steve Rude credit Space Ghost as the inspiration for their comic book character Nexus). Following his work for Hanna-Barbera, Toth went back to work in comic books, working for such companies as DC, Dell, and Warren.

I was always a fan of Alex Toth. Although his work was often simple and uncomplicated, it was also realistic. With a few simple strokes, Toth could endow any given scene with a sense of immediacy and realism that many artists with more complex styles could not. Fittingly, Toth died at his drawing table.

The third celebrity to die of late was keyboardist Billy Preston. Preston died June 6 at age 59 after a long battle with chronic kidney disease. Preston was born in Houston, Texas, although he grew up in Los Angeles, California. He started playing piano when he was only three years of age. His first work was with the likes of Little Richard and Ray Charles. Perhaps his greatest claim to fame was his work with The Beatles. Appearing on The Beatles albums Let It Be and Abbey Road, he was the first non-Beatle to receive a credit on a Beatle record. For this reason he was sometimes called "the Fifth Beatle." Preston would work again with George Harrison on the song "My Sweet Lord."

Preston would go onto work with such artists as The Rolling Stones, Sly and the Family Stone, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. He would also have a successful solo career of his own. Preston's first two singles went nowhere on the Billboard charts, but he had a hit and a Grammy win with his third single, "Outta Space." He would have two number one singles with "Will It Go Round in Circles" and "Nothing From Nothing."

In my humble opinion, Preston was one of the greatest keyboardists of the Sixties and Seventies. His work with The Beatles was impeccable. Indeed, I don't think any of The Beatles could have done better than him when it came to playing keyboards. I also enjoyed his some of his solo work, particularly "Will It Go Round in Circles." I am truly saddened by his passing.

Two Hangmen

Among my favourite songs is "Two Hangmen," a song released by the band Mason Proffit in 1969. The late Fifties had seen folk music soar in popularity with the emergence of the Kingston Trio and such artists as Bob Dylan. By the mid-Sixties many artists, such as The Byrds and Simon & Garfunkel, had blended folk music with rock music to create the subgenre known as folk rock. Mason Profitt fell into this category. The band was formed by brothers Terry and John Talbot. Terry Talbot had performed with such artists as Glen Campbell, Sonny & Cher, and Chad Mitchell.

Mason Proffit developed a bit of a following, with successful tours and soldout concerts. They opened for The Grateful Dead and Janis Joplin, among others. From 1969 to 1974 they released five albums. Depsite this, they were never a huge success commercially. In 1974 the band disbanded so that John Talbot could engage in religious pursuits. His brother Terry continued to perform, even touring with The Eagles. The band was reformed in 2003 by Terry Talbot. While John's religious obligations keep him from touring with the band, he does still record with them. The band has released two albums since reforming.

"Two Hangmen" was perhaps their biggest hit. To this day it still receives airplay on radio stations across the country. For me the appeal of the song is that it tells a story which can be interpreted on many levels. The lyrics are below:

As I rode into Tombstone on my horse whose name was Mac
I saw what I'll relate to you goin' on behind my back
It seems the folks were up in arms a man now had to die
For believin' things that didn't fit the laws they'd set aside
The man's name was I'm a freak the best that I could see
He was the executioner a hangman just like me
I guess that he'd seen loopholes from workin' with his rope
He'd hung the wrong man many times so now he turned to hope

He'd talk to all the people from his scaffold in the square
He told them of the things he found;
But they didn't seem to care
He said the laws were obsolete, a change they should demand
But the people only walked away, he couldn't understand

The Marshall's name was Uncle Sam he said he'd right this wrong
He'd make the hangman shut his mouth if it took him all year long
He finally arrested Freak and then he sent for me
To hang a fellow hangman from a fellow hangman's tree

It didn't take them long to try him in their court of law
He was guilty then of thinking a crime much worse than all
They sentenced him to die so his seed of thought can't spread
And infect the little children; that's what the law had said

So the hangin' day came 'round and he walked up to the noose
I pulled the lever but before he fell I cut him loose
They called it all conspiracy and that I had to die
So to close our mouths and kill our minds they hung us side by side

And now we're two hangmen hangin' from a tree
That don't bother me at all
Two hangmen hangin' from a tree
That don't bother me at all

At its most basic level, "Two Hangmen" is a protest song. The song is ostenisbly set in the Old West. The narrator rides into town on a horse. There is a reference to Tombstone (presumably, Tombstone, Arizona, where the gunfight at the O.K. Corral took place). There is also a reference to a marshall (the profession commonly held by heroes in Westerns). Despite this, the lyrics would seem to be directed against the Vietnam War and perhaps other percieved injustices of the time. Freak speaks from his gallows, telling the folks of the injustices that he has seen. Sadly for Freak, the people do not wish to listen. This reflects the situtation as percieved by many protesters in the late Sixties. For all their protests, many of them could not help but feel that the general populace did not want to hear what they had to say. Furthermore, many felt as if they were being condemned for their views; not condemned to death, as Freak was, but condemned nonetheless.

One thing I find signficant about "Two Hangmen" is that the protagonists are both hangmen. Hanging was the traditional method of executing criminals going back to the times of the Anglo-Saxon kings. In Anglo-Saxon paganism it may well have been associated with the god Woden, who was known to the Vikings as Odhinn, whom the Vikings did associate with hanging. According to myth Odhinn hanged on the World Tree and obtained knowledge of the runes. He was further said to sit beneath the gallows to get knowledge from hanged men. As Odhinn was the god of wisdom and was associated with hanging, it is perhaps signficant that Freak's crime was "thinking" and that he was condemned to death so that he would not spread his thoughts. The song would then seem to be rooted in views possibly held by the ancient Germanic peoples (to which both the Anglo-Saxon peoples and Vikings belonged) on a link between arcane knowledge and hanging.

The link between hanging and knowledge doesn't seem to have been limited to the ancient Germanic peoples. While interpretations of Tarot cards vary greatly, I seem to recall that many associated the Tarot card called the Hanged Man with the pursuit of knowledge. The poet Maurice Ogden also associated hangmen with mysterious knowledge, as well as dealing out justice, in his poem "The Hangman."

Regardless, the general theme of "Two Hangmen" would seem to be that many people consider knowledge to be dangerous and are willing to silence those who possess such knowledge. At the same time, however, given that the two hangmen die for their beliefs, it is a statement on the importance of remaining faithful to one's beliefs regardless of the costs. In this respect, the meaning of "Two Hangmen" goes well beyond that of the typical Vietnam War protest song. It is a song about the importance of belief that can have meaning for nearly anyone of any faith or creed. While I can see that the song links to myths and folklore, its most important message is one that is ageless and universal.

On their latest album, Mason Proffit has a remake of "Two Hangmen." It is good, as might be expected, but it doesn't nearly match the original.

A Shroud of Thoughts 2nd Anniversary

It was two years ago today that I first started writing this blog. A lot has happened since then. In fact, I think there may well have been more changes in my life in the past two years than in the four years before that. Some of it has been good. I have a decent job making decent money. I finally got a new PC after my old one was threatening to give up the ghost. For the most part my family is doing well. Of course, that is not to say that my life has not had its share of sorrows. Two of my aunts passed on (although it must be pointed out that one was in her eighties and the other was in her nineties). We've had our share of family crises. And one dream I'd held for a few years (the one closest to my heart, in fact) just came crashing down in flames. I haven't quite been happy ever since. Life, as ever, is a very mixed bag.

I suppose many of you might be wondering where the title of this blog comes from. I got it from Lord Byron's Childe Harold's Pilgrimage canto iii stanza 113, which is below:

I have not loved the world, nor the world me;
I have not flattered its rank breath, nor bow'd
To its idolatries a patient knee,
Nor coin'd my cheek to smiles, nor cried aloud
In worship of an echo; in the crowd
They could not deem me one of such; I stood
Among them, but not of them; in a shroud
Of thoughts which were not their thoughts, and still could,
Had I not filed my mind, which thus itself subdued.

As with last year, I thought I would give you a list of what I think are the best posts I have made over the past year. The exception is "The Blonde Mystique." I do think it is one of the best posts I've ever written, but technically it belongs to the first year of publishing A Shroud of Thoughts. That having been said, I made it right before the first anniversary of the blog and didn't include it in last year's "Greatest Hits" for that reason. Anyhow, here are the best posts of the past year (and one week, counting "The Blonde Mystique," I guess) in chronological order:

The Blonde Mystique

A Night at the Movies

Simon and Garfunkel

The Rise and Fall of the Independent Televison Station

Words From Pop Culture

Les Belles Dames Sans Merci: Elf Maidens and Men

From the Small Screen to the Big Screen

The Fleischer Superman Cartoons

Blondie Turns 75

Forty Years of The Wild Wild West

The Name Game

Dracula on Film

Roald Dahl's Critics

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Balloons

Days in a Life: John Lennon Remembered

The Week of December 18, 2005 (one of my better weeks this past year)

The Nostalgia Wave of the Seventies

The Week of January 8, 2006 (another good week)

The History of Heavy Metal (all five parts and another entry thrown in for good measure)

Vikings on Film

Mary Ann Versus Ginger

The Week of February 26 ("The Dramatic Roles of Gene Kelly," "Great Expectations," and eulogies for three of my favourite actors)

The Music of the Monkees

Star Wars

The Harry Potter Movies

Kellogs' 100th Anniversary

Men and Musicals

And Now a Word From Our Sponsor...

Anyhow, I think I've done fairly well with this blog over the past year. I hope to do better in this next year. And I hope this coming year is even happier than the past one!