Are Ya Ready, Boots? Start Talkin’!

White boot, black boot, thigh boot, jack boot. 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, cockroach-killing, arch-destroying boots. It's the thrill of fashion…and the Agony of De Feet. But I'm still standing. From whence do my sartorial obsessions spring? From rock-n-roll, where else! Forty-eight years ago this month Nancy Sinatra recorded her smash hit "These Boots are Made for Walkin." With it's slinky guitar strut and finger-pointing tough girl lyrics, it quickly became a favorite among my growing collection of 45s. What a way for a six-year-old to learn the fine art of insult and accusation!

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David Bowie: a Warhol’s Warhol

As we celebrate the artistic contributions of David Bowie following his passing on January 10, 2016, let's not forget that he was as talented and original an actor as he was a musical genius. Between 1967 and 2009 he appeared in 24 feature films and numerous television series, specials and documentaries. Critics praised his acting chops in such films as…

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Holly Woodlawn: Walking the Wild Side in High Heels

“Holly came from Miami F-L-A. Hitchhiked her way across the U.S.A. Plucked her eyebrows on the way, shaved her legs, and then He was a She. She said, ‘hey, babe,’ take a walk on the wild side.” The person Lou Reed immortalized with that true-life lyric was none other than Holly Woodlawn, a transgender Puerto Rican actress who enjoyed a…

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The Beatles and The Stones: Beasts of Beard-dom

"She asks me why I'm just a hairy guy. I'm hairy noon and night. Hair that's a fright. I'm hairy high and low. Don't ask me why. Don't know." Those words from the Broadway musical "Hair" pretty much summed up the "let it all hang out, let it all hang long" philosophy of the '60s. When it came to facial hair, The Beatles were a bit more adventurous than The Rolling Stones. But in the end, Mick proved to be the furriest of them all. Here's a little something for World Beard Day 2105.

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Elvis 11 Times

My mom was washing dishes and I was drying them when we heard the news on TV that Elvis died - August 18, 1977. Like the day President Kennedy was assassinated, you always remember where you were and what you were doing the day the King left the throne. (Actually, he had fallen off the toilet, but you get my…

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