High End Rubber Band Airplane

According to the February 1930 issue of Modern Mechanics, posted on Modern Mechanix, this toy airplane had a "steering wheel, gauges, levers, in fact about everything that is found on a regular machine. The windows are of celluloid and the passenger department is luxuriously upholstered."  The rubber band-powered airplanes that I enjoyed as a kid were never so fancy, nor did they have 150 rubber band power, which I suppose is for the best; since mine always ended up in splinters on the pavement or in a nearby tree.  On that note, how did one keep this large and luxurious toy aircraft in one piece?

Sunrise Serenade: Ko Ko

This morning's Sunrise Serenade was "Ko Ko" by Duke Ellington and His Orchestra.  Click on the song title to listen courtesy of Jazz On Line.

Nursery Scandal

In this 1932 Van Beuren animated short, characters from fairy tales come out to frolic and put a damper on Mother Goose's night on the town with her beau, the scarecrow.  From the Internet Archive, here is Nursery Scandal.

She Was In The Army Then

There is a tradition among the British royal family of serving in the armed forces, and the current monarch was no exception.  Retronaut posted two pictures of then 19 year old future Queen, then "Her Royal Highness Princess Elizabeth," in her uniform while she was serving with the British Army in April 1945.  Bear in mind, the war was still ongoing, although close to its end in Europe. 

Sunrise Serenade: At Least You Could Say Hello

Today's Sunrise Serenade was "At Least You Could Say Hello" by Jimmy Dorsey and His Orchestra with Helen O'Connell on vocals.  Click on the song title for a sample from emusic, or click here for the album page.

The Doll Man

The list of comic book heros previously unknown to me continues to grow.  The latest addition is The Doll Man.  Apparently, this hero had the gravitational-physics-defying power to shrink himself down to a doll-like size, yet still retain the strength, inertia and momentum of a full sized human being.  In this issue from 1943, posted on Pappy's Golden Age Comics Blogzine, the Doll Man helps save a refuge from a relentless Nazi agent.

Sunrise Serenade: Benny's Coming Home On Saturday

This morning's Sunrise Serenade was "Benny's Coming Home On Saturday" by Ella Fitzgerald.  Click on the song title for a sample from emusic, or click here for the album page.

Playlist For February 1, 2012

The playlist for the February 1, 2012 broadcast of the Swing Shift Shuffle has just been added to the playlist filing cabinet.

Fisk Safety-Flight Tire Short

Ah, the 1930s - when a company could create a short film with a basic storyline, use it as a 10 minute advertisement, and show it to a (more or less) captive audience in a theater.  I found this 1939 short, America's Safest Tire, on the Jalopy Journal.  Aside from all the obviously unbelievable stuff in this film, like the complete lack of any safety precautions or controlled testing, there are a few points in the storyline I find interesting.  First, the stuntman drives a Duesenberg SJ!  That was one of the most expensive cars of its day.  Granted, in 1939 this Duesy would necessarily have been a "used" car, since the company stopped production in 1936, but a 3 year old Duesenberg was still worth some serious dough.  Gary Cooper would have driven a Duesenberg.  Next, the stuntman gladly offers to let the older, tire company executive drive his Duesy in a wet pavement traction test, while he drives the standard Ford test sedan.  Remind me never to loan that stuntman my car.  Finally, I love the sophisticated syntax of the narrator at the end "Different from any tire heretofore offered to motorists . . . ."  Enjoy.

Sunrise Serenade: Boy Meets Goy

This morning's Sunrise Serenade was "Boy Meets Goy" by the Benny Goodman Sextet.  Click on the song title to listen courtesy of Jazz On Line.