From the website of the National Air & Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institute Found via Twitter.com/airandspace
The Wright Brothers | Military Use of the Airplane: "First fatality On September 17, 1908, with Army observer Lt. Thomas O. Selfridge on board, the airplane experienced a mechanical malfunction involving one of the propellers and crashed. Orville was severely injured and Selfridge died, the first fatality in a powered airplane. Orville would resume the flight trials after his recovery."
On September 12th, 2009 a fresh batch of local on-air talent from Dayton, Ohio's radio and TV history were inducted into the Dayton Area Broadcaster's Hall of Fame. Among them was the late Gene "By Golly" Barry. I'd had the opportunity to meet him on a couple of occasions because he and our grandfather, Harold Bonnett had been friends for years. They shared a love of good music and I've been told they would occasionally get together to enjoy some jazz cuts. When you're done taking a look at these, take a look at the Dayton Broadcast Hall of Fame for a trip through a little bit of Dayton's broadcast past.
This is Gene on the air during a remote from... ? Clearly it's not in the station, unless the station serves Schlitz. That's Grandpa Harold over Gene's right shoulder. Naturally, Gene's the one with the mic and cans.
Here's Grandpa Harold and Gene in Gene's record shop, right off N. Main St., across the street from Forest Park Plaza, a stone's throw from where Peaches Records used to be. I can't remember the name of Gene's shop, but it was a nice place to pick good stuff.
And, as Gene would close his shows, "Bye bye. Buy bonds."
First Friday (9-4-09) is a Full Moon. I'm fond of Lunar photography and I thought it might be fun to try and photograph busy urban scenes including the full moon. Come on down and give it a try. Feel free to stop in here at Bonnett's and say Hi. I'll probably be trapped inside all night, but I'd love to see what you come up with.
I've created a flickr group for anyone who wants to share their work afterwards.
John Wranovics recently visited Bonnett's Books with some friends of the store. "Thank You" to the folks who brought him in for the short but pleasant visit which provided the opportunity for me to learn about his book, "Chaplin and Agee", of which I would otherwise remain ignorant.
Now, I'm no Robert Osborne, but I do have the blood of a writer(1), actor(2), and culture/movie buffs(1,2) running in my veins, so this sparked my interest. Who doesn't like Charlie Chaplin's "Little Tramp" character, if they've had the fortune to cross his path? I've included a YouTube clip at the bottom of this post, so more recent generations might become acquaited with Chaplin. And James Agee's work is well respected and he's a familiar name to many of us, even if we've** avoided reading any of it, as of this writing. Mr. Wranovics' book is a slice of cultural-history pie, with a dollop of movie-buff topping... but, you won't get that info from Amazon unless you click the "Look Inside" prompt for a closer inspection, and frankly, there's little there likely to cause anyone to do so.
The gist is that Chaplin and Agee became friends at some point and Agee wrote a piece starring "The Little Tramp" as the sole survivor of an atomic bomb drop on New York City. Keep in mind, Agee's writing of this story occurred circa 1947, a mere two years after the release of our A-bombs over Japan. As you might expect, the show would have been the darkest sort of dark comedies dealing with what little was known about the aftermath of nuclear explosions at that time. The post-war world was still in a strange state and such explorations may have proven therapeutic to some, much in the same way many creatives have explored terrorism since 9/11. Alas, the movie never came to pass, for many reasons (gossip mongers, the Red Scare, etc.), all described in Mr. Wranovics' book. BONUS! Agee's screenplay is included in the tale of "Chaplin and Agee", allowing us the focus of 20/20 hindsight. The question I have now is, "Why haven't I heard any of this before?" I doubt the answer to that is within "Chaplin and Agee", but it certainly seems worth a look.
I'm sorry to report that we don't have "Chaplin and Agee" available at Bonnett's, but, last time I checked, it was available at Amazon.com. I expect I'll be ordering myself a copy.
We love the Choose Your Own Adventure books, but I typically found them a bit frustrating. There is a flow-chart at the link which tracks the odds of making it through CYOA #2 to one of two fortuitous endings.
I remember reading similar things from decades earlier that tended to be a bit more forgiving, as they were written for small children, so, when I was in my teens, becoming interested in role-playing games and related adventures, I picked up Choose Your Own Adventure books quickly.
As you might expect, we have a selection of such things. There were other series, besides specifically "Choose Your Own Adventure". Some required the use of dice and pencils to track your health and progress through the book. The latter versions are hard to find un-marked, but well worth tracking down for fans of such adventures and not nearly as complicated as full-blown Dungeons & Dragons. We recommend using a separate sheet of paper to track your progress, rather than writing in the book itself.
There is an innate sexiness to books and reading that is often overlooked. Reading is partially a tactile, sensual experience, and, like all the stages of romance, reading takes place primarily in the mind and can engage the senses and emotions.
We offer a wide variety of sexy book selections, from love-making classics like "The Kama Sutra" and "The Joy of Sex" to erotic fiction, like "The Story of O" and Anne Rice's (writing as A.N. Roquelaire) "Sleeping Beauty" trilogy.
The blog at the link is from May, but the topic is timeless. Enjoy!
With all the Scrabble excitement I nearly forgot about First Friday. Come downtown and enjoy what promises to be a beautiful evening in the Oregon District. :-)
The other day I posted a list of places to go and things to do on East Fifth Street. I mistakenly left out a few of our friends on Wayne Ave. (coming from the Convention Center, turn right at Fifth & Wayne):
Also, one BIG update! Our friends at Derailed Hair Salon are mentioned in the August 2009 issue of ELLE for their participation in the magazine's "Best Hair in America" poll, in which ELLE sought out the most requested celebrity hair styles across the U.S. of A. Stop by and say "Hi".
Finally, here's a (renamed) link back to the original post with the majority of East Fifth Street attractions:
If you're a word junkie you've already got the standard reference books, and we do, too. Here are a few titles you might not have stumbled upon - available now at Bonnett's, just a few blocks walk East of the Dayton Convention Center (we're across the street from a Goodwill store): 10 Minute Guide to Building Your Vocabulary Dictionary of Geological Terms (3rd Ed.) prepared by the American Geological Institute Dictionary of Word Origins Getting Your Words' Worth - Discovering and Enjoying Phantonyms, Gramograms, Anagrams and Other Fascinating Word Phenomena The Joy of Vocabulary - An Advanced Guide to Mastering New Words Names & Nicknames of Places & Things - An A-t0-Z compendium of culture Phonetics [because sometimes it helps to sound out a word] Super Word Power - More entertaining ways to enrich your laguage skills. Tuttle Dictionary of New Words Since 1960 (1991 edition) Webster's New Explorer Medical Dictionary and, of course, much, much more...
SCRABBLE®is a word game. Bonnett's is a book store. We'd make a great team!
We'll be open extra hours during the National Championship, including special Sunday hours, but it will depend somewhat on the flow of business. Call us before you make a special trip down, just in case.
Bonnett's is just a short walk from the Dayton Convention Center. When you leave the Convention Center main entrance just turn right and head down Fifth Street. On the way you'll find some Dayton legends:
[We hope you'll enjoy your time in Dayton for the National SCRABBLE Championship. To help you find your way around we've got a list here with links of places to go and things to do during your down time. As always, call ahead to help avoid any disappointments.]
The Neon Movies (would you like a cold beer with your popcorn?)
Smokin' Bar-B-Que (gooood stuff - I go for the pulled pork sandwich)
JFS126: Flesh (1932)
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Junk Food Supper is back and ready to review an all-time classic of
wrestling cinema, John Ford's 1932 pre-code film *Flesh*. It's that classic
tale ...
Man Bait (The Last Page, 1952)
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Man Bait is a lesser-known film that really shouldn't be. It's director
Terence Fisher's first movie for Hammer Films, marking the beginning of a
legenda...
William Nicholson’s Alphabet Book
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William Nicholson’s Alphabet book, published in 1897, is an ABC book like
no other. A talented artist, illustrator and print-maker, Nicholson used
simple...
The Saint starring Adam Rayner now Available
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The Saint (Adam Rayner and Eliza Dushku) *It's Here! It's Here! *
Many years ago, I was kindly invited to visit the set of a pilot episode of
a new TV sh...
Being A Nerd Is Not Dead: Welcome D20!
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Anyone who has ever sat down for a session of games knows the drill. The
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out card...
Star Trek What If..?
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What if the original Star Trek had been filmed in widescreen? Nick Acosta
has the answer! But, before you click the link, a question... Why is
widescreen...
Come on over to MORE RETRO-SCANS!
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Well, it's happened. I seem to have used up all the space available on this
journal. (Gosh, how could that have happened?) So when I try to post, I get
a c...
Progress Needs People
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Earlier this week, the OHDS board of trustees presented a potential
solution to the liquor stand-off that has made the Oregon District
infamous, colloquial...
