If you ever wondered how male homosexuality was thought of in 1964, at least by tabloid publications (was that an accurate representation of mainstream America, I wonder?), wonder no more.
Source: http://www.pulpinternational.com/pulp/entry/Cover-and-scans-from-Top-Secret-published-January-1964.html
A friend posted an excellent article yesterday, To Fall In Love With Anyone, Do This. The article is excellent, and so is the article linked from it, No. 37: Big Wedding or Small, which contains the 36 questions used in the scientific experiment which led to a couple of strangers falling in love in a lab.
But that’s not really what I’m sharing today. The mere title of that article reminded me of the title of an Okkervil River album, Don’t Fall In Love With Everyone You See, a cautionary title if I’ve ever heard one. There’s no title track per se, that you could play on repeat on your iPod Nano to keep you reminded not to fall into that trap, but there are some real gems on the album. It was released in January 2002, just a few months after 9/11.
The album is home to one of my favorite modern murder ballads, which is what I really wanted to talk about this morning. Westfall, according to Wikipedia, comes from recollections of the Yogurt Shop Murders. I don’t remember reading about this horrible case before, but boy, was it a clusterfuck. Four teenaged girls shot, bound and gagged, then the shop they were in set on fire. And that’s how authorities found them. And somehow over fifty people confessed to the crime. HOW? I don’t care how good a detective you are, how to you get FIFTY PEOPLE to confess to a crime that they obviously did not commit????
Clearly there is more to this still-unsolved mystery.
As usual, the headline is at least a slight distortion of the study, not the last word. The gist of the article is that they have proven that the bladder fills and empties during these events, but there are chemicals in the fluid that aren’t in pre-sex urine. So I would call that a mixed verdict. The next step, according to the article, is to find out why these things happen.
http://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/women-squirting-during-sex-may-actually-be-peeing
This man is your god.
… that ripple effect that a highly influential person has upon places he or she has lived and woven his or her magic … a cottage industry arises to supply those who were influenced and inspired; perhaps events are held in their honor, attracting more fans; one day maybe even a venue is named for them, confirming and validating their lasting influence … posthumously in most cases.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Great session. On the way to Harrisonburg, we heard Frank Zappa covering Stairway to Heaven. Then a bunch of Rhiannon Giddens, and some Punch Brothers. Then Joe Cocker (RIP) covering Bird on a Wire.