Old Shirt Box

If You're Not Slender...

noreply@blogger.com (Kristina Rose) — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 02:01:00 +0000

So, I just started a new part-time job at Lane Bryant. It's a nice store, and the history nerd in me loves the idea of working for a company that has been around since the early 1900's. Not many companies last that long. Even Sears is on the decline now.

I've always been a big girl, and the term "plus-size" has been in my shopping dictionary, but I'm guessing that the euphemism hasn't been around that long. According to the 1923 ad above, "stout" was used to market to us big and beautiful ladies. I honestly like the word. It might not be so feminine, but it gives off an air of power and confidence. "Plus-size" sounds like you are calling people abnormal. "There are normal sizes, and then there are plus-sizes."

At least it's better than chubby! I lol'ed at the ad on the bottom. Chubbies? Really? Who thought that was a good idea? Now that's just insulting! Hahaha.! Not sure on the date, but it looks around 1950-early1960-ish.

Same Here

noreply@blogger.com (Kristina Rose) — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 18:06:00 +0000

"I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish that He didn't trust me so much." -- Mother Teresa

The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men

noreply@blogger.com (Kristina Rose) — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 23:18:00 +0000

To A Mouse

Robert Burns

Small, sleek, cowering, timorous beast,
O, what a panic is in your breast!
You need not start away so hasty
With hurrying scamper!
I would be loath to run and chase you,
With murdering plough-staff.

I'm truly sorry man's dominion
Has broken Nature's social union,
And justifies that ill opinion
Which makes thee startle
At me, thy poor, earth born companion
And fellow mortal!

I doubt not, sometimes, but you may steal;
What then? Poor beast, you must live!
An odd ear in twenty-four sheaves
Is a small request;
I will get a blessing with what is left,
And never miss it.

Your small house, too, in ruin!
It's feeble walls the winds are scattering!
And nothing now, to build a new one,
Of coarse grass green!
And bleak December's winds coming,
Both bitter and keen!

You saw the fields laid bare and wasted,
And weary winter coming fast,
And cozy here, beneath the blast,
You thought to dwell,
Till crash! the cruel plough past
Out through your cell.

That small bit heap of leaves and stubble,
Has cost you many a weary nibble!
Now you are turned out, for all your trouble,
Without house or holding,
To endure the winter's sleety dribble,
And hoar-frost cold.

But Mouse, you are not alone,
In proving foresight may be vain:
The best laid schemes of mice and men
Go often askew,
And leaves us nothing but grief and pain,
For promised joy!

Still you are blest, compared with me!
The present only touches you:
But oh! I backward cast my eye,
On prospects dreary!
And forward, though I cannot see,
I guess and fear!

I really like this poem, especially the last two stanzas.

OMG, Bottled Water!

noreply@blogger.com (Kristina Rose) — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 03:18:00 +0000

And here I thought bottled water was just a recent gimmick, but while perusing through one of my favorite blogs (http://oldadvertising.tumblr.com/), I found this gem from 1910. It should not be that surprising considering how crappy drinking water was back then.

I was just watching How the States Got Their Shapes on the History Channel, and they had this segment of the history of Poland Spring. Coincidentally,I was drinking a bottle of Poland Spring water, and for the first time noticed the "since 1845" on the label. So bottled water has a much longer history than I thought.

I'm a City Girl Myself...

noreply@blogger.com (Kristina Rose) — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 18:52:00 +0000

Nature

O Nature! I do not aspire
To be the highest in thy choir, -

To be a meteor in thy sky,

Or comet that may range on high;

Only a zephyr that may blow

Among the reeds by the river low;

Give me thy most privy place

Where to run my airy race.

In some withdrawn, unpublic mead

Let me sigh upon a reed,

Or in the woods, with leafy din,

Whisper the still evening in:

Some still work give me to do, -

Only - be it near to you!

For I'd rather be thy child
And pupil, in the forest wild,

Than be the king of men elsewhere,

And most sovereign slave of care;

To have one moment of thy dawn,

Than share the city's year forlorn.

One of my favorite poems by Thoreau. I've been looking for Thoreau quotes to post on the North Fork Audubon Society's Facebook page to promote their hosting of "Beyond Spheres" -- a fine art photography tour of nature based on the principles of Henry David Thoreau, using the camera technology of the time. Pretty cool.

Anyway, just some random musing.

Copy-writing --- Literature's pop art

noreply@blogger.com (Kristina Rose) — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 20:23:00 +0000

This has to be one of my favorite pieces of vintage advertising. If you are truly a lover of advertising, you can appreciate the copy here. "Coca-Cola... a grateful invigorant without reactionary lassitude." What a fancy way of saying it gives you energy without the crash. My how times have changed.

Now they tell us to be clear and concise, because people don't care to read. Maybe this is proof that TV does really make us more stupidder (stupider or stupidder?? Studpider would be stu-pEYE-der, right? so it has to be stupidder for the short "i"...hmmmm?).[EDIT: Nevermind, it is "stupider." I looked it up. But really, I would argue for the double "d."]

This ad is dated June 1906. I got it from www.vintage123.com, a nice source of vintage ads (although it seems like they haven't updated in a long time).

From Calogero to Charles

noreply@blogger.com (Kristina Rose) — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 04:08:00 +0000

America is a country of immigrants, and unless your people are 100 percent aboriginal to North America, at least one of your ascendants are from elsewhere. I've always been fascinated with my family's ties to the old country. One set of great-grandparents is from Italy, or Sicily to be more exact. They went through the whole Ellis Island thing and eventually lived in Little Italy for a little while. When I see the parts of The Godfather: Part II when Don Vito came as a little boy to America through Ellis Island from Sicily, I just can't help but think that is what my great-grandparents experienced.

Above is the naturalization papers form my great-grandpa Charlie in 1922.

I wonder if they still use "in the year of our Lord..." in new docs?

Come as you are

noreply@blogger.com (Kristina Rose) — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 00:43:00 +0000

I love, with a great passion, vintage advertisements. Half the fun of watching Boardwalk Empire is looking at the old ads in the background on the boardwalk. I just think you can learn a lot about a culture by the ads.
What I love most about looking at vintage ads are the ones that you know would be a huge "no no" now. Like the one I posted above. At least I think an ad that depicted domestic violence and spousal abuse would be a no-no today. Google "sexist or racist ads" and you'll see a whole bunch of ads that will surprise you.

Check out this Huffington Post thing about Outrageous Vintage Ads...

In the beginning of the month, I posted a couple of racist ads that I found on other blogs, but I found another blog that had a few ridiculously racist ads, like "Darkey in a Watermelon." It makes you feel ashamed.

But there are still racist commercials today. Did any see the commercial for the only black dating service? *cough* double standard *cough* There are a lot of double standards in advertising though. Just look how men are portrayed today. Half of them look like bumbling idiots. They used to make women look like dumb bimbos in old ads too; so I guess this is just retribution.

But I have hope that one day everyone will be considered equal, and that it will show in the ads. The French are a head of us, Americans. They have the gay McDonald's commercial, which I think is fantastic. But I can't help but feel a bit bad at the end of the commercial; the father doesn't know that his son is gay, and the son looks scared to tell him. I wonder what the people 100 years from now will think of our commercials.

Only in New York

noreply@blogger.com (Kristina Rose) — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 20:41:00 +0000

So last Saturday I had to go into the city to shoot some scenes with my project group for film class. They told me to meet up with them at one person's apartment on 51st Street at 8:00 am. So I got up about 5:00 am to get a train into the city to be on time. When I get there, after waking up before the sun, almost missing my train, and avoiding bums in the subway, no one is there. So I called someone, and they said that they decided last night to meet up at the Apple Store on Fifth Ave, because we need to film a scene at a toy store and FAO Schwarz is right next door. No one told me anything about this the night before! But what can I do? So, I walk all they way to the Apple Store. At this time I'm still half asleep and now throughly pissed that no one told me about this change of plan. So I'm walking and taking in the calmness of Manhattan this early in the morning,which really is peaceful. If I wasn't already so pissed, I'd have enjoyed it. So I'm on my way to 59th and 5th, and I look to my right and see this:

Just someone taking their camels for a walk, like you would a golden retriever....... Only in New York..... I wonder why they were there. I don't think I was by some studio or anything, but then again who knows; could be someone's pet. Like that idiot in the Bronx that had a pet tiger in his apartment a few years back.

So after snapping this wonderful pic with my phone (gotta love camera phones), I continue my journey to the Apple store. Everyone is already getting ready for the Christmas season. All the stores on Fifth Ave are decorated. I passed Bergdorf Goodman, and they had their windows beautifully decorated. As a history lover, I love the early 1900s feel to the displays. So if by chance someone actually reads this post and before the end of 2010, check them out.

So I get there, then get a text from the group saying that they think they want to go to the Toys R Us in Times Square instead! So I (begrudgingly) walk all they way back to Times Sq. And it was not until 10:00 that everyone got there!!!! From 8:00 in the a.m!

We friggin wound up buying a FOA brand teddy bear for the kid actor anyway!...... I love my project group though. They're awesome, so I really shouldn't complain.

But yeah, the camels were the main part of this post anyway. I love this city.

He kindly stopped for me.

noreply@blogger.com (Kristina Rose) — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 01:26:00 +0000

This post can be viewed as a bit morbid. So ye is forewarned.

Ever since I was little, I've had a fascination with the macabre. I guess most people do. It is probably human nature to be curious of death. In a world that is filled with such uncertainty, insecurity; our mortality is truly the only thing that is guaranteed in this life. It is true; uncertainty surrounds death. We have no idea when we will die; how we will die; where we will die; what is after this life. The only thing we know for sure is that, one day we will have to leave the world--- this plane of existence. It is a fact we all share. Death the great equalizer.

Death is the human race's least common denominator, but it is fascinating to see how each culture has their own rituals regarding death. In India, it is normal to cremate the body, while here in America, cremation is still considered a bit of a taboo (Well at least for my Roman-Catholic family it is). Indians wear white to mourn, we wear black. In America, we are used to open-casket viewings, but (according to the National Geographic Channel) that is considered strange in the UK.

Certainly throughout history, our [humans'] views on death have changed. It wasn't until recently that our modern funerary rituals started to take shape. As modern people, we have become very disconnected to death. It was once tradition for a family to wash, dress, and prepare their deceased loved ones' bodies. They would even have them displayed in their own homes. This actually gives way to one theory on why we call our parlors "living rooms" now. Bodies were displayed in the parlor (think funeral parlor), but to dissociate this room with the stigma of death, they starting calling it "living room". But I don't know how true this theory is. Today we have morticians to prepare bodies, and funeral homes to display our dearly departed. This detachment from death only started maybe 100 years ago.

One cannot mention the history of funeral rites without involving the Victorians. It seems like this generation had a connection deeper to death than any other. Perhaps it was the multitude of deadly disease pandemics, high infant mortality rates, or their tough lives, that gave the Victorians their close connection to death. This cultural pessimism gave us the likes of Edgar Allan Poe (was he Victorian, or is he too early?), and Emily Dickinson.

The Victorians had many death rituals that we would consider just plain bizarre. They made jewelery out of the dead's hair. Or made wreaths out of their own hair for mourning. Hair jewelry and art actually became very popular. It is really quite beautiful, but a bit disturbing. Human hair is very strong and durable. I think it is one of the few organic materials that can survive stomach acid.

The most disturbing Victorian death ritual had to be post-mortem photography. They would take photographs of the deceased. They tried to pose their loved ones like they were alive, even propping open their eyes in some. It is heart-wrenching to see the photos of mother's holding their babies. I understand that they want something that they can look at and remember their family by, but I don't see how these pictures helped the grief of the surviving members.

Most people know that embalming started during the Civil War, in order to send the bodies of fallen soldiers back to their families without decomposing. Abraham Lincoln was the first President to be embalmed. His body survived a two week train tour throughout the country.

Embalming allowed families to display the dead for longer periods of time. Some people chose not to have their family member embalmed. As we get closer to the Twentieth-Century, people are handing over the care of the dead's body to morticians. These morticians would go to the home and work there. For those that chose not to embalm, morticians would using a cooling table. A body was placed on a table with holes, then ice blocks would be placed underneath. Cold air would circulate around the body through the holes, and slow down the decomposition . On the Discovery Channel's new show called Oddities they showed a cooling table from the late 1800s. That episode was actually the inspiration for this post.

For more on Victorian death rituals check out this link: http://www.ancestry.com/learn/library/article.aspx?article=151 .

Postscript: During my 11th grade class trip to Gettysburg, PA. We took a ghost tour. I think with the Farnsworth House Inn. It was pretty cool. I didn't see any ghosts (Gettysburg is supposed to me the most haunted place in the US), but in the beginning of the tour we went to the basement of the inn, where they told us ghost stories about the inn. My favorite part of the ghost tour (and probably of the whole trip) was when they went into the history of the funerary rituals of the Civil War. They had artifacts like a coffin and even a wreath made out of hair. It was awesome!

The picture for this post is Danse Macabre by Michael Wolgemut (1493). Not Victorian, but still cool.

Ten points to anyone who can tell me where my title is from.

Manor House

noreply@blogger.com (Kristina Rose) — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 00:32:00 +0000

Am I the only person in the world that researches Edwardian etiquette? Quite possibly. In my musings, I found this fantastic show from PBS (I love PBS) called Manor House. It's a reality show that takes 21st Century British people and makes them live as if they were living in a 1905 English estate. One [real life] family are the masters of the manor, while others act as their servants. The show reinforces my beliefs that I am damn lucky to be born when I was.

I love Edgar. All he wanted to do was be the best butler he could be and do his grandparents proud. Kenny comes in a close second. Mrs. Davies too. I love everyone below stairs to be honest. I wasn't too fond of the family though, except the sister-in-law. I felt bad for her . Sir Oliff-Cooper was a douche-bag though. He got a little too comfortable being the master. But I don't know them. They might be the best people in the world.

Check out it on Youtube and for more interesting Edwardian facts go to http://www.pbs.org/manorhouse/

Between the Tigris and Euphrates

noreply@blogger.com (Kristina Rose) — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 20:39:00 +0000

I'm back to my original mission of uploading old family photos. But I have no idea who this family is :) I know that the old woman in the photo is my great-great-grandmother Josephine. Look how tiny she is!Little Sicilian woman. You know she was probably as tough as nails though.

She is the mother of my great-grandpa Charlie . The other people, I don't know. I love the old baby carriage though. If I become rich and live in Manhattan, I'm going to get an old-fashioned stroller like this. I can just imagine pushing one of them through Central Park. Très adorable! I wouldn't want a nanny though. I'll take care of my own kids. I always see them in the subways --- au pairs taking their employers' kids everywhere. The mother probably doesn't even work. Damn rich people. Sorry, I tend to digress often.

Not sure of the year. So, I'm saying late 1930's or early 1940's. Probably taken at my great-great-grandparents house in Babylon, NY.

Soldier's Heart

noreply@blogger.com (Kristina Rose) — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 04:26:00 +0000

Today is Veterans' Day, and on this day, 92 years ago, the armistice was signed that ended the Great War. Unfortunately, many soldiers know that the war doesn't end with the fighting. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD, afflicts many war veterans.

Today HBO premiered their documentary, about PTSD from the Civil War to the Iraq War, called Wartorn: 1861-2010. It is a heartbreaking look into the lives of soldiers who suffer psychologically from war. The studying of war's psychological effects started with the Civil War. These soldiers were said to have suffered from soldier's heart, hysteria, melancholy, insanity, and with each war this "affliction" was named differently. In WWI it was Shell Shock; WWII it was battle fatigue; Vietnam War it was Post-Vietnam Syndrome.

I had put up a post a few weeks ago called Shell Shocked, about PTSD in WWI survivors. But much of what I posted was from the British Army. In Wartorn, they read an anecdote of a shell-shocked American WWI vet. It describes how little the government did to help these soldiers after the war ended. They actually touch upon this in HBO's new drama Boardwalk Empire . One of the characters, James Darmody, has just returned from fighting in France during WWI, and you can see how the war affected him both physically and mentally. He calls himself a murder.

Watch Wartorn. It will make you extremely gratefully to the soldiers who are fighting for this country right this minute.

The photo above is from www.Old-Picture.com . Great site with great photos. Click on the picture for more info about it. I always did love old Civil War photos. The quality for the time is amazing. I use my $100 digital camera, and sometimes you can barely tell who is in the picture. Then again, the men in this photo probably had to pose like that for 15 minutes.

Crossing the Brooklyn Fer...ummm...Bridge....Okay maybe going half way.

noreply@blogger.com (Kristina Rose) — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 19:03:00 +0000

Fall is the season of accomplishments. I can yet again cross off another item from my bucket list: visiting the Brooklyn Bridge. It is hard to believe, that in the 21 years of my existence, and having lived so close to this world-famous New York icon, I've never been there until yesterday. I think tourists see more of New York than most natives. I've still never been to the Empire State building. (Note to self: add Empire State Building to B-list)

I've always been in love with the image of the Brooklyn Bridge. It's graced the backgrounds of many a electronic for me. I just think that it's a beautiful structure. It was completed in 1883, so the inner history lover in me just had to walk the same bridge that people have been walking for the last 130 years.

So no interesting fact post today. Just wanted to urge my fellow New Yorkers (and everyone else) to go see the bridge. At least go half way up like I did. The view is worth it. I love seeing all the tourists there, especially the international ones. The Brooklyn Bridge should also be called "Babel Bridge." I think you can hear every language spoken just walking up to the midway point. I just love seeing others enjoy this city---my city. It's like the author Thomas Wolfe said "One belongs to New York instantly, one belongs to it as much in five minutes as in five years." It truly is the best city in the world.

It's been more than 50 years thence, even more than 100 thence, Mr. Whitman, but I still get it. Yes I do.....

BTW the photo doesn't belong to me. Click on the picture to get more info on the photographer.

For the Insane

noreply@blogger.com (Kristina Rose) — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 03:11:00 +0000

Last Saturday, I got to do something that I always wanted to do---visit an insane asylum. Okay, so they are not called insane asylums anymore, but at least I can cross that one off my bucket list.

My psych class had a trip to Pilgrim Psychiatric Center in Brentwood, NY. I'm not a psychology major (I'm a communication arts major), and my psych class is actually Consumer Behavior in Marketing, but my professor had extra room, and I couldn't pass up the opportunity! How else am I going to see the inside of a mental hospital? (Without being committed?)

To be honest, I've wanted to visit Pilgrim for some time now to see the small history museum they have there. I grew up in Central Islip, NY, and C.I. is famous for being home of the Central Islip Psychiatric Center, which at one time was reportedly the biggest asylum in the world (...I think....don't quote me), until Pilgrim was opened in the 1930's, then it [Pilgrim] became the largest asylum in the world (I'm 100% sure on that one). Central Islip and Kings Park, another big and old asylum on Long Island, are now closed, and the patients were moved to Pilgrim. Now there is a small history museum with artifacts from all three hospitals. They actually have a tranquilizing chair like in the picture above.

The C.I. hospital was opened in 1889 as a New York City farm colony for the overcrowded Manhattan asylums. This was the time before medication, so the doctors believed that the fresh air of the country side would help the patients with their disorders. At that time, Long Island was mostly undeveloped land. The only efficient ways to get into Long Island was by boat or railroad. The Long Island Railroad ran right through Central Islip. C.I. was already an established town before the hospital, but once it opened, the hospital had major influence on how the town grew.

Since many Americans didn't want to work in a lunatic asylum, they ---like the Americans of today--- left the dirty work to the immigrants. [Some things never change. People today are always complaining on how things are getting worse, but after studying a bit of history, I'm a firm believer that the problems don't change, just the faces. Today's immigration problems are with Hispanics, but before that was with the Irish (remember NINA from high school social studies?) and Chinese, and before that it was with the Germans, and everyone else before, after, and in between. I hate people who say that this generation is the worst. The truth is that the world was hell of a lot worse even a generation back than it is right now....... Sorry I digressed.] So....yeah.... The Irish were sent to work in the asylums. There were even advertisements in Ireland to come work in Central Islip. C.I. was even called "Little Ireland" at one point. Even today some of the older Families in C.I. are Irish. These NYC farm colonies started off as self-sufficient little towns with their own post-offices, bakeries, stores, fire departments; the workers lived on the campuses with the patients; but by the 1950's they started building houses outside of the hospital grounds for the workers. That is how my family came to live in Central Islip. My grandfather and grandmother both worked for a short time for the hospital. My grandmother's stint there was extremely short. She quit very shortly after being hired for the cafeteria staff after a patient threw food at her. But that's why all the houses by Lowell Ave look the same. They were all built at the same time for the hospital workers.

In the C.I. exhibit in the museum, there is an old plaque from when the hospital first opened that read "New York City Farm for the Insane." My favorite part of that sign is "for the insane." That just wouldn't fly today. I noticed that when I was in Pilgrim the workers called the people being treated there "clients" instead of "patients." I guess calling these people "patients" is not considered PC (politically correct) nowadays. Calling them "insane" is completely out of the question. But it was common back at the turn of the [last] century to call those with mental disorders "insane" or "lunatics." An old asylum in NYC was actually called Bloomingdale Lunatic Asylum. There are some interesting articles in the New York Times archives that have titles such as Insane Men as Farmers or A Lunatic at Large from this time period.

Back then it didn't take much to get you put away in a place like Pilgrim or C.I. They took in the people that were not wanted by society, even if there was nothing "wrong" with them. If a parent didn't want to take care of his/her child anymore, they could give up custody to the State, and the children would wind up in asylums alongside mental patients, alcoholics, and drug addicts. During its heyday, Pilgrim housed about 14,000 patients, but thanks to higher standards in the medical field and modern medicine, that number was lowered to the 400 that they have today.

I could go on and on about this, but I'll be kind and end it here. Before I finish up this post, I want to mention this great documentary they recently had on PBS about Dr. Walter Freeman, the man who made the lobotomy famous in America. It was part of their American Experience series: The Lobotomist . You can watch it free online through the link! But I have to warn you that it is very graphic and at times disturbing. They show an actual lobotomy being performed.

Oooohhhhhh.... and if anybody wants to visit the Museum at Pilgrim, the website for the hospital is no help. The museum is open to the public, but I think you have to make sure that a museum worker will be there first. So I would call before you go. The museum is in building 45 on the second floor. When you get there, there is only one map at the entrance that is no help at all, and the signs are so small they might as well be invisible. If you arrive at the entrance from the Pilgrim exit of the Sagtikos Parkway, go left. Building 45 should be on the right side. I think building 102 is on the left. If you hit the 80s buildings, you've gone too far. (That's what happened to me :)

Mo' Wheh Dis Comed Fum. Yas Sah!

noreply@blogger.com (Kristina Rose) — Sun, 07 Nov 2010 02:58:00 +0000

1927

Ingredients: chocolate, eggs, milk, sugar, and racism.

I love (to the Nth degree) vintage ads. You can tell a lot about a society through its ads. And going by that logic, America was a racist bastard. I guess I'm so used to an American culture that is very PC (politically correct), that it is shocking to see ads like the one above. It makes me so glad I was born in this generation.

So these were the good ol'days grandma and grandpa?

1907

I got all these ads from a blog called Vintage Ads

Looking for Lincoln: The man in the big hat

noreply@blogger.com (Kristina Rose) — Sun, 17 Oct 2010 21:01:00 +0000

Whilst I was procrastinating from my homework, I was reminded of an interesting documentary I saw a while back called Looking for Lincoln, in which Henry Louis Gates Jr., my favorite historian (yes I have a favorite historian!), looks for the true man behind the legend that is Abraham Lincoln. Like most Americans (except some Southerners apparently),I have a great appreciation for our sixteenth president. But is what we were taught in schools totally accurate? Was the "Great Emancipator" a racist? Gates tries to find out. It is a very interesting documentary. You might be surprised how much you didn't know about Mr. Lincoln.

You can watch the whole thing free on pbs.org.

If you are in the mood for more Lincoln things, check out this documentary free (and legit) on Youtube about Lincoln impersonators. Seriously!!! It's pretty interesting. BTW they have some pretty cool docs you can see legitimately free on youtube. Just search through their movie section.

Shell Shocked

noreply@blogger.com (Kristina Rose) — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 00:35:00 +0000

I was watching one of my all-time favorite movies (for the tenth time ;) the other day --- A Very Long Engagement. Without giving too much away, the story is about this young girl, who despite being told that her fiancé has been killed in the war (the 'Great' one), tries to find out the true story. It's not just a love story, but a story about war and how it affects people.

I love the 1910's, but I'm not into the politics of WWI. I do like to learn about the lives of the soldiers. I can't imagine living in the trenches with bombs, gunfire, and mustard gas. A Very Long Engagment also touches upon the issue of 'shell shock.' It's now called combat stress, which can lead to post traumatic stress disorder. Even though I'm sure that there were people who suffered from combat stress in every war ever fought, it is strongly associated with the First World War. If you've ever seen a documentary about this war, you've probably seen some shocking video of shell-shocked soldiers. Below are a few interesting ones I found on Youtube.

WARNING: Some of these videos can be very disturbing.

Gangsters, Preemies, and Pygmies ...Oh my!

noreply@blogger.com (Kristina Rose) — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 14:34:00 +0000

Here I thought that I would have to wait for next summer for True Blood season 4 to satiate my need to obsess over things, but HBO once again fulfills my needs with their new series 'Boardwalk Empire'. I already had an existing obsession with the 1920's, and although I'm not a huge gangster movie fan, with a show set during in Atlantic City during Prohibition, I am hooked by the opening credits.

I love the scenes on the Boardwalk with all the vintage ads and shops. In one scene, Nucky Thompson passes by a storefront that had preemies (prematurely born babies) on display, and for 25 cents admission one can go in and see them in incubators. This reminded me of an episode of 'History Detectives' (PBS) where a woman claims to be one of the babies displayed in incubators in the 1933 Chicago World's Fair. The baby incubator was invented around 1890, and before its use to help premature babies, these precious under-weight infants would usually die . As far as I can tell, babies have been displayed in incubators since the 1904 World's Fair (maybe even before that).

It is seems so strange (and maybe a little unethical) to have human beings on display, but at the turn of the last century their were many attractions that displayed human beings. There were the sideshow 'freaks' in the carnivals, and most famously Coney Island. In one of my favorite blogs 'Old Picture of the Day', one theme of the week was Coney Island. There the author put up old pictures taken from Coney Island's heyday. One of them was of a sideshow and another showed a display of native Filipinos. Boardwalk Empire actually touched upon this in a later episode. Apparently at this time, there were many exhibits like this around the world called 'human zoos'. In the same episode of the 'History Detectives' they mentioned a pygmie man named Ota Benga who lived at the Bronx Zoo in the monkey exhibit for a while before people were upset and sent him to live in an orphanage.

Crazy, crazy stuff

She has "it"

noreply@blogger.com (Kristina Rose) — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 22:39:00 +0000

In my last post I wrote about Clara Bow being the original "sex symbol" or "it girl". Well, I thought it would be nice if you saw the movie that made her "it". You can see it all on Youtube (unfortunately I can't embed it here ), but follow the link below, and watch all nine wonderful parts. It is a silent movie, but it is so cute and interesting that you won't mind.

"It" 1927

Shebas

noreply@blogger.com (Kristina Rose) — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 22:02:00 +0000

I love, love, love anything involving the 1920's. It was especially a great time for women's rights. We got to vote thanks to the Nineteenth Amendment passed in 1920. Women took the workforce by storm, even after their men came home from the Great War. Women were also shaking off the old shackles of Victorian propriety, and started the processes of becoming men's social and even sexual equals. The 1920's brought about America's (if not the world's) love affair with moving pictures, and thus was born the "sex symbol," or as the would have said back then "It Girls." The original It Girl, Clara Bow, has to be one of my favorite figures in the Jazz Age. If anyone is interested in the subject of women in the 1920's, I would recommend "Flapper: A Madcap Story of Sex, Style, Celebrity, and the Women Who Made America Modern" by Joshua Zeitz.

This video was part of a recent post in Glamour Daze (one of my fav blogs), and I just had to share---it was so fabulous! It highlights both Clara Bow and Louise Brooks, the grand shebas of the 1920's. Enjoy! :)

Family Affair

noreply@blogger.com (Kristina Rose) — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 20:01:00 +0000

Like any typical Italian family the Dominos/Alfieris always stuck together. My grandmother Anna, always tells me stories of how her whole family would get together almost every week at her grandparent's house in Babylon, NY. At night women would sleep in the house, and the men would sleep in the cars.

This photo is of my grandma (2nd from the left) and her female family members (her mom, Rosie, is the first woman on the left). My grandma looks about 15 y.o. so I'm dating this ca 1941.

The Lost and the Silent

noreply@blogger.com (Kristina Rose) — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 02:58:00 +0000

There is something about this picture that I intrigues me, but I can't put my finger on it. Perhaps it is the expressions on their faces. There seems to be a real disconnect between these two women. It may be strain caused by the generational gap between these two. That's why I named this post "The Lost and the Silent." My great-grandmother was born in 1900: The Lost Generation. My grandmother, 1926: The Silent Generation. "Lost" and "Silent" seems to fit this picture perfectly.

I'm dating this ca 1941. Babylon, NY

The Tallest Structure in the World

noreply@blogger.com (Kristina Rose) — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 04:33:00 +0000

The worst part about having a grandmother who is somewhat of a hoarder is cleaning out 70 years worth a stuff out of her house when she decides to sell it. The best part---finding stuff like this.

It's a brochure/menu from the Empire State Building. I'm not sure of the date, but it says that the Empire State Building is the tallest structure in the world. The building held that title from when it was built in 1931 until 1967. So we know that this is from before 1967. I'm guessing that it's from the 1950s. Judging by the food prices this seems right. Ten cents for a cup of coffee (Now: $3 in Starbucks ...easy), and those are NYC prices! I have to admit that the menu does seem a little dull. American cheese sandwich? Where is the nearest Panera Bread?

Sorry if it's a little blurry on the ends. The brochure was slightly bigger than my scanner.

First Communion

noreply@blogger.com (Kristina Rose) — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 03:35:00 +0000

This is my grandmother and her brother posing for their First Holy Communion ca. 1933.