Bikes Can Work

My friend Matt started a new blog called Bikes Can Work.  He's documenting life in an American city with a Bakfiets Cargo Bike in place of a car.

He goes grocery shopping, transports his kids and other passengers around town and turns a lot of heads on the way, it sounds like.  He's also pointing out a lot of what's missing from American bicycling infrastructure along the way.

It's an interesting read, and I'm excited to go for a ride on his Bakfiets some day.

The Original Laugh Track, the Laff Box

 
Video of "The Audience Response Duplicator, or LaughBox, Laffbox. Still in working condition! THIS IS IT! The infamous box of canned laughter. U.S TV HISTORY! Used for original Laugh Tracks in early TV and radio shows. Invented by Charles Douglass,and has much history in Hollywood and the television and radio industry.The Laff-box was created by CHARLES DOUGLASS,a sound engineer for CBS studios in the early 1950's, to enhance the audience response for both RADIO and TELEVISION programs.
 
Early on ,Mr. Douglass saw the need for sound enhancement to make jokes and other lines more affective in recorded productions.He started with taping shows like The Red Skelton Show,and any other laugh tracks he could use. The box seemingly ahead of its time with technology and ingenuity. Is about the size of todays standard dishwasher,with wheels for easy transport and numerous tapes with a keyboard that he used to select certain sounds and laughs. With a foot pedal he could control the length and increase or fade out of the tape recorded laughter.
 
Mr Douglass's ledger shows this being used on many early Tv ,comedy ,variety and game shows. To name a few ; The Red Skelton Show,Father Knows Best,Millionaire,Showtime,My Friend Irma,Life with Father,Pride of the Family,That's My boy,Earn Your Vacation,Meet the Family,Joan Blondell Show,Kay Milland Show,So This is Hollywood,Eddie Canton Show..and Grammy's and Oscars Shows. This historical media sound box is confirmed and well documented with the hand-drawn sketches of his plans and drawings for his invention ,along with many recordings / tapes from early shows,pictures,and even a very neat and precise ledger book listing shows,dates,and what was charged for its use,in Mr. Douglass's personal handwriting. This production technology is still in use today. This original machine by Mr Douglass,along with the tapes,original sketches,and documents are for sale. A great item for studio ,producers,Television memoribilia collectors or museum. It will be being listed on ebay auction soon. Serious Inqiries please contact for further information.
 
I'm curious if the eBay sale went through and who owns this now. 

"It's time to let you hear the song which earned me a juvenile restraining order"

Andrew WK wrote this song in high school for a girl he had a crush on.

You really should read him tell the whole story.


My Destiny

Called Up Your Number Fourteen Times
To See If You Were Home
Home Is Where I'll Find You
When I Find You

Do You Feel Lonely When You're Alone
A Sheet To Keep You Warm 
Warm – Electric Blanket
An Extra Blanket

You Are My Destiny
I'll Make You Fall In Love With Me
I'll Make Myself Your Fantasy
Weeping Like The Willow Tree

Drove Past Your Doorway Fifteen Times
I Don't Want To Cause You Harm
Harm – That's What You're In For
If You Don't Open Your Door

So I'll Keep Knocking A Million Times
I Will Knock Until My Knuckles Bleed
Bleed – That Blood Will Leave A Stain 
On You Forever

You Are My Destiny
And I'll Make You Fall In Love With Me, Me, Me

[ thx Doug & Fred ]

slumgullion and sibble sabble

On his recent visit, my dad told me about his mother making a stew called slumgullion.

I looked it up and found it was a common word.

He also mentioned a simple recipe made of milk and flour (that the family would eat with bread and cheese) called "sibble sabble."  I haven't found anything online (yet) to believe that name isn't made up.

slum·gul·lion

   [
sluhm-guhl-yuhn, sluhm-guhl-]  Show IPA
–noun
1.
a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc.
2.
a beverage made weak or thin, as watery tea, coffee, or the like.
3.
the refuse from processing whale carcasses.
4.
a reddish, muddy deposit in mining sluices.
Origin: 
1840–50, Americanism; cf. Scots, Hiberno-E gullion quagmire, cesspool
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.