Ken Plume

Vintage 1918 poster announcing the establishment of Daylight Saving Time showing Uncle Sam turning back a clock while an anthropomorphic clock throws up its hat in celebration with the text “VICTORY! CONGRESS PASSES DAYLIGHT SAVING BILL” and the tagline “GET YOUR HOE READY!”

There’s… a lot going on in this 1918 poster announcing the establishment of Daylight Saving Time…

Chuck Jones sketching Daffy Duck...

Chuck Jones sketching Bugs Bunny...

So, what specials does CBS have in store for Fall 1974...

"I don't want to share my wife, Barbara, with the kitchen..."

I'm trying to wrap by brain around the "Fight - Friendship - Freedom" branding in these vintage Japanese G.I. Joe toy commercials...

A McFever Dream...

I wonder if that nacho cheese flavor will catch on...

Finally, I don’t have to adjust that clock I never changed at the end of Daylight Saving Time last year, proving once again that my supposed apathy is just remarkable patience.

Watching a documentary on the collaboration between Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, & Linda Ronstadt when an unexpected talking head makes an appearance, with a brilliantly low-key intro from Linda… “I was going out with this guy who made films…”

From her November 1976 Rockpalast concert, here’s Linda Ronstadt performing her cover of “Willin’”…

I'm trying to wrap by brain around the "Fight - Friendship - Freedom" branding in these vintage Japanese G.I. Joe toy commercials...

A McFever Dream...

"I don't want to share my wife, Barbara, with the kitchen..."

I wonder if that nacho cheese flavor will catch on...

So, what specials does CBS have in store for Fall 1974...

NEW EPISODE!

In JUST A FEW THINGS, I welcome a special guest who shares favorite items from their personal collections.

For this ep, I'm joined by writer/performer Emily Fleming of GOOD MYTHICAL MORNING, FREE WITH ADS, MYTHICAL KITCHEN, and more!

youtu.be/EZNbmlrmCw8

Yeah, my generation had a lot of mixed messages (and catchy earworms) about food...

Listen, I know the message was well-intentioned, but it's nearly 50 years later and I'm still unpacking the emotional fallout this ad had on me as a kid...

Beyond letters & numbers, it was always impactful when SESAME STREET would take a beat to impart some emotional lessons, & acknowledge & address that children had big, esoteric thoughts floating about in their heads. Here’s another Jeff Moss song that burrowed deep into my heart.

Every so often, usually at my lowest, this song will pop into my head. What’s so lovely about this sequence, & why it still resonates with me, is that it’s played utterly sincere. There are no gags - Just the emotion of these friends separating, & how painful it is for them to have to do so…

The songs for MUPPETS TAKE MANHATTAN were written by Jeff Moss - who had long worked on SESAME STREET as a songwriter, having penned the iconic “Rubber Duckie” & many more, & had also been the show's head writer for a few years early on. Here’s Moss performing “Saying Goodbye” from MANHATTAN…

It’s been nearly 45 years since I first saw it on an RCA SelectaVision VideioDisc (which I transferred these clips from), and I still can’t get this song out of my head...

Walt Disney’s “Coyote’s Lament”...

We need to put fragrances back into objects, but make them practical things we use as adults - Like a stapler that smells like strawberries, or a cellphone that smells like bananas.

The was hours of fun. HOURS. And much better than the clown head with the water-spraying whips for hair.

Further proof that my generation was largely parented by objects, entertainment, and absence.

I’m sorry, I’ve failed you.

Again.

…

I’ll see myself out.

MISS YA, FRIEND

WE ARE ALL NOTHING BUT BITS IN A CELESTIAL SOUP

Here's Craig Ferguson's DOCTOR WHO cold open from waaaaaaay back in 2011, which feels like several lifetimes (and regenerations) ago...