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I believe it was this very New Year's Eve that I declared that Dick Clark was the man, and that even though Ryan Seacrest is the most popular man of this century, he was no Mr. American Bandstand. 

By chance, I logged onto the internet today to learn that Dick (Richard Wagstaff) Clark died today. :(  I clearly remember the New Years' Eve ball drops being spent with him when I used to watch with my parents. He had an inviting, engaging swag that made me feel that if I ever met this guy, he'd be so nice he might even let me ride on the parade float beside him. 

I obviously didn't know him personally, but, I feel like I could have. And if I had, I probably would've hug-rushed him and told him about all my lame childish thoughts, and how I was so honored to be in his presence. 

Some things must not be meant for this lifetime, and this experience will be one of them. I'll see you in another time, Mr. Clark. And when I do, we'll listen to American Top 40 and think about how you did it so much better. 
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Feminist, ahead of her time.
Not that this kind of stuff intrigues you, but when I think of the classic old black and white, I think something slower, simpler, and innocent. Well, humans have always been human, and a girl (albeit in the 1930's) had to do what a girl had to do to make a name for herself. 

In the Czech movie Ecstasy, Hedy Lamarr is a young bride (Eva) who is "not taken care of by her man (Adam)." So, like the woman in "Lady Chatterly's Lover," she takes up with a local farmer instead. And yes, she is nude. Swimming in the lake alone. 
Peeps were not cool with this back in the day, and so the movie was censored for two years in Germany and prohibited in the U.S.

But Lamarr would entertain audiences in the U.S. eventually. Born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler (she changed her name to pay tribute to the late Barbara La Marr who died of an overdose), Lamarr was more than a pretty face: she was an inventor of a system of synchronized switching - a device that would help war time radio transmission. Ahead of its time, the Navy passed on it. 

She died of natural causes at the age of 87 and her ashes were spread over Wienerwald forest in her mother country. 
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