Have a drink with: Salvador Dalí Girls, girls, girls. Plus lobsters. Ask him about: But how do you make the giraffe explode? The 1939-1940 World’s Fair was a tremendous attraction, drawing more than forty million visitors to New York over its two seasons to experience the “World of Tomorrow.” Built over 1200 acres on top…
Have a drink with: King Edward VII, aka “Bertie” Sportsman, monarch, don’t mention the lobster Ask him about: Holiday weight gain It’s movie awards season, which means I have been trying to catch up on all the “for your consideration” titles I didn’t get to over the course of 2021. Last week I caught Spencer,…
Have a drink with: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Elementary, my dear Watson. Ask him about: ghosts In the early 1920s, folks in America were generally worn out, in a not unfamiliar way. The geopolitical situation was fraught in the wake of World War I, racial tension was high after the 1919 “Red Summer” race riots,…
Have a drink with: Louis Wain Auteur of psychedelic fractal cats Ask him about: cat memes “British cats that do not look and live like Louis Wain cats are ashamed of themselves.” – H.G. Wells If you love yourself a good cat photo, you can go ahead and thank Louis Wain. Up until the…
Raise a glass to: Democracy Vote! Vote! Vote! Look. A lot of people are saying a lot of things about Election Day. The results may take too long. Is absentee balloting trustworthy? And what the hell is up with the Electoral College? It is all very stressful. But these questions are not new, and there…
Have a drink with: Postal Inspectors Don’t mess with the postal service. Ask them about: Snow, rain, gloom of night, Tommy guns When former Trump adviser Steve Bannon was arrested recently on charges of defrauding donors to an online fundraising campaign known as “We Build the Wall,” it was by agents of the United States…
Have a drink with: The 1919 Anti-Mask League NO BARS, okay? NO. Ask them about: Coughing in large groups Since COVID-19 became a public health emergency in March, different cities and states have responded with protective measures, many of them including a recommendation or a requirement to wear a mask when in proximity to other…
Have a drink with: Black Historians Ask them about: Maybe just listen. Here’s something I found while I was researching this week. It’s a column from a September 1863 issue of Scientific American: Part of the process of researching a subject is looking at all the adjacent issues that you encounter along the way, building…
Have a drink with: P.G. Lowery The best under canvas. Ask him about: Hustle. If I say the words “circus music,” you probably have a certain type of music in your mind straight away – something loud, fast and slightly drunk – like this 1902 Sousa band recording of a typical “galop.” And that’s certainly…
Have a drink with: Glenn Miller Pennsylvania six-five-thousand! Ask him about: giving Sousa some swing Chances are, if I say “Glenn Miller,” something like “Moonlight Serenade” floats into your mind on cottony clouds, the dreamy musical equivalent of a Vaseline filter; or maybe it’s the sharp, perky big-band swing of “In the Mood.” Point is,…
