Saturday, April 14, 2018
Photographer: Karin Szekessy
Bio (in German):
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karin_Sz%C3%A9kessy
Website:
http://karin-szekessy.de
Toys From My Childhood
The Chatter Telephone is a pull toy for toddlers 12 to 36 months of age. Introduced in 1962 by the Fisher-Price company as the "Talk Back Phone" for infants and children, the Chatter Telephone is a roll along pull toy. It has a smiling face, and when the toy is pulled, it makes a chattering sound and the eyes move up and down. The toy has a rotary dial that rings a bell, and was conceived as a way to teach children how to dial a phone
The original version was made of wood, with a polyethylene receiver and cord. In 2000, Fisher-Price changed the rotary dial for a push-button version with lights in an effort to modernize the toy, but consumers complained and the rotary version returned to the market the following year. The Chatter Telephone was designed by Ernest Thornell, whose daughter Tina would drag around a metal phone while playing. This gave him the idea of adding wheels, which with a bent axle permitted the movement of eyes, adding to the "whimsical" nature, that Herman Fisher desired of all Fisher-Price toys (from phone conversation with Ernie Thornell and recollections of Herm Fisher by John Smith).
From its introduction through the 1970s, the Chatter Telephone was Fisher-Price's best selling product. It has been cited as one of the company's offerings that helped save Fisher Price in the 1990s following a failed attempt to market toys for older children in the late 1980s, and enjoys continuing popularity. It is available both as an authentic reproduction and in a modern form. [Wikipedia]
First Lines: John le Carré - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
The truth is, if old Major Dover hadn't dropped dead at Taunton races, Jim would never have come to Thursgood's at all.
Friday, April 13, 2018
Mirage (1965)
A New York City man suffers amnesia. He soon learns that he's mixed up in a life-and-death situation, but what exactly is it?
Hitchcock-inspired mystery of identity loss has a silly plot, but is superbly staged with uncanny sense for mise-en-scène.
Halliwell**: "Striking puzzler, rather slowly developed but generally effective and with a strong sense of place and timing."
Maltin***: "Fine Hitchcock-like thriller...Matthau steals film as easygoing private-eye; interesting on-location footage in N.Y.C."
The Calling (2014)
A detective hasn't had much to worry about in the sleepy town of Fort Dundas until a string of gruesome murders in the surrounding countryside brings her face to face with a serial killer driven by a higher calling.
Solid, but not too spectacular serial killer mystery with quite a construed plot; the performances are OK, but rather perfunctory as well.
Who's That Girl?
October 1950, Model reading while waiting her turn at fashion show. (Photo by Eliot Elisofon)
First Lines: Robert Stone - Dog Soldiers
There was only one bench in the shade and Converse went for it, although it was already occupied.
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