Saturday, February 1, 2020

From the readers: Galactitags, Vincent Price and Paul Crockett

It's time for another roundup of the comments and quips that y'all send along about Papergreat and its bizarrely wide-ranging posts. I'm so grateful to continue receiving all of these!

A special shout out to Annette, who emailed this note in early January: "It was supposed to be a productive morning but, while researching, I stumbled upon Papergreat. I don't regret the thoroughly enjoyable time spent exploring your blog site. I must get some work done now, but I’ll be back."

"Papergreat: Contributing to The Decline of Workplace Productivity Since 2010." That seems like a good slogan, right?

I also received a comment from Richard, who was very concerned a broken link and wrote: "I’m writing because you cite Yahoo's Babelfish in this post on Papergreat — but the website has been offline for 5+ years! At Digital.com, we've published a 'long read' on the rise and fall of Yahoo's Babel Fish, which I thought make an 'easy fix' to send your readers somewhere more useful than the random redirect to the Yahoo homepage. It covers everything from the birth of the first online translator (and the geek-friendly name!) through to its demise at the hands of Google Translate. You'll find the article here: https://digital.com/about/babel-fish/ ... Would you consider citing our link instead of the existing broken link, please? I think this article would keep your content current and Papergreat readers happy."

Request granted! I have updated 2011's "The dragon went always more quickly."

And now, the rest of the comments...

Galactitags: The must-have accessory in the event of alien abduction: Ruth M. writes: "I worked with Jack [Brisben] at his mundane daily job and well remember when he launched the tags. I was just digging through a box of odds and ends and found my original set that I purchased from that first batch and thought I'd do a web search. Imagine my surprise to find that they're still selling! Not such a silly idea after all."

Matchbook: Hartwig's The Gobbler Supper Club & Gobbler Motel: Wendyvee of the awesome-sauce Roadsidewonders.net writes: "The Scanner Can't Handle Salmon should be the the TITLE of the book." (You'll have to read the post to get the joke. But of course you'll want to read the post anyway, right?)

Mystery RPPC: Man in bowler hat and tired girl: Anonymous writes: "Maybe the girl was a tomboy like me at her age and was resentfully enduring the stuffy dress, uncomfortable boots and frilly hair bow — and the sun in her eyes — when she'd rather have been unfettered and free, off playing in the creek or climbing a tree. (Rhyme unintentional, but I like it.) Note her clenched right hand."

Vincent Price is the Nexus of All Things: Margaret Leona Garnto writes: "I have been a fan of Vincent Price for many years since the early 1970s, and I have admired his work on television and in the movies that I have seen on TV. He was, and always will be, my favorite actor."

Menus and recipes shared by Mrs. Anna B. Scott in 1936: Unknown writes: "Any suggestion as to where I can get a copy of Mrs. Scott's Inquirer supplement?"

Other than eBay and your Great Aunt Ethel's hall closet? No.

Christmas postcard #6: Good time for a yule log: Wendyvee writes: "My favorite vintage color combination. Unsure about Annie [being the cursive name on the front of the card] — there seem to be too many crests for that but I can't see any alternatives either."

Delving into Henry K. Wampole & Company: This 2011 post gets its first comment in years. Unknown writes: "Many so-called suicides or mental breakdowns were, and still are, caused by business 'partners' who intend, right from the start, to kill (rob) the original have inventor. Muppets inventor Jim Henson (whose media empire was growing) died at age 53 from a fast-acting strep infection. Cui bono? Michael Eisner absorbed Henson's Muppet empire."

Note: Papergreat absolutely does not endorse any reader comments making unfounded allegations of crime or murder. There don't even seem to be any simmering conspiracies surrounding Henson's death.

Lamenting what we'll never know about Phyllis J. Stalnaker Harris: "Lettuce Prey" writes: "Imma use this quote: 'Freedom isn't free. Rarely is it gained by blowing up foreigners around the world.'"

Note: I like that quote, too. But it's not mine. It's from a Reddit thread.

Great links: Which movies gave you the biggest fright? "Justin Wade" writes: "if the buffalo in my head could speak german i would not know a god damm thing. What i do know is that the language of art is out of this world."

Note: Justin Wade is 100% a SpamBot, but I kind of love that comment anyway.

Frank's Pig-Pen in West Berlin: Old advertisement and some memories: Eric writes: "Frank's got to be pretty daring while I was there (71-73). The bartender was topless, and very well endowed. I was tossed out on my ear on my 19th birthday when I got a little too drunk and honked her hooters. They had a very large bouncer hiding in the shadows. There was also the live sex show, which left nothing to your imagination. I don't even remember eating there. Just drinking, and getting googoo eyes."

Note: Again, publication of comments does not imply endorsement. Do not assault women.

The Lost Corners of Paul Crockett: This post continues to get a lot of traffic, possibly because of that Quentin Tarantino film. Two new comments:

Anonymous #1 writes: "I've regretted that no one so far has been in a position to write a biography of Paul Crockett. He seems, in addition to the unexpected interactions with the Manson Family, to have been deeply knowledgeable about things we'd all like to understand."

Anonymous #2 writes: "Crockett's teacher was a follower of Gurdjieff. I think Fritz Peters' Boyhood With Gurdjieff is as good a place to start as any. J.G. Bennett's Masters of Wisdom details Gurdjieff's sources. Enjoy."

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