Bookworm Room

A friend sent me a link to an editorial bemoaning the fact that, by abruptly pulling out from Iraq and, soon, Afghanistan, the Obama administration is ensuring that we’re leaving a job undone — something that invariably means one has to do it again.  If history is going to keep repeating itself, why can’t we [...]

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In the days leading up to Fleet Week, it’s very usual to see military jets swoop across the sky.  If I’m lucky, standing at the bus stop can be a perfect location to view some nice formation flying.  It’s June, however, and we’re a long way from Fleet Week — which is why it was [...]

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Follow the Fleet (1936) is one of my favorite Fred and Ginger movies.  Since I belong to the Navy League, and often post about the wonders of the U.S. Navy, I thought that this wonderfully clever Irving Berlin song might be a fun homage to the sailors:

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Work calls (sigh) so blogging will have to wait.  (Article contributions, anyone?)  So that this morning isn’t a big empty space, I thought I’d toss in here one of Irving Berlin’s more charming lyrics.  It’s from The Gay Divorcee, and is known to Berlin, Astaire & Rogers devotees, but not to many others.  I hope [...]

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I caught Taco on satellite radio, performing his own weird version of Irving Berlin’s Puttin’ on the Ritz.  I thought I’d do a little collection of videos showing that song playing out over the decades. Here’s Harry Richman, for whom Berlin wrote the song, performing it in 1930, in one of the earliest musical films.  [...]

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Occasionally, the New York Times surprises me and prints genuinely useful information, such as this tidbit: It was the highest-grossing film of 1943, but “This Is the Army” has never been available on home video in an authorized edition. But now Warner Home Video has managed to clear the rights to this rousing propaganda musical, [...]

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Mary Katherine Hamm reminds us that yesterday was the Air Force’s 61st birthday, so let me add my belated birthday wishes, with a little suitabley martial help from Irving Berlin: By the way, all of the performers you see in the video were in the military.

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