Give me your music, your art, your huddled masses of words and rhythms yearning to breathe free.
The Iron Curtain. That was a term I heard often as a kid growing up in the Cold War ’60s. What exactly was this metallic barrier, and who or what was behind it, I wondered. Little did I know back then that British Prime Minster Winston Churchill had coined the term to refer to the … Read more
Ask me where I would love to have lived in the 1960s, and I’ll say LONDON in a Big Ben minute. The fashions, the music, the clubs! Imagine the chance to sit in on the drug trials of Mick and Keith! Or being able to crawl through Paul McCartney’s bathroom window, as fans once did. … Read more
When it comes to music, I’ve waved the U.K. Rock Team flag my entire life. Okay, I realize those skinny boys stole a lot of riffs and rhythms from their American R&B heroes of the ’50s. But there was something about their electric British sound and haughty, mod style that turned me into a Union … Read more
As the the existential Bugs-Daffy debate rages on – is it duck season or rabbit season? – this Looney Tunes woman is only certain of one thing: it’s BOOT season! And I’ll endure the snow, slush, and sub-freezing temperatures of Pittsburgh for the rest of my life, as long as I can wear my pavement-pounding, … Read more
“This man is not a role model.” So proclaimed my 5th grade teacher Mr. Kuntz as he held up a Life magazine featuring photos of New York Jets’ star quarterback Joe Namath swilling Scotch with adoring groupie dolls and cigar-chomping minions at his Upper East Side Club, Bachelors III. Joe Namath, a media-hungry playboy? I … Read more