Music Monday - "You're Gonna Miss Me" - 13th Floor Elevators (1966)

I love retro garage rock.  "You're Gonna Miss Me" by 13th Floor Elevators is one of my favorite 1960's garage rock songs.  It was recorded in 1966, and the fun video below was featured on Dick Clark's California series Where the Action Is.  This is one of those songs that I hear and can't get out of my head for a day or two after!

Friday Fave - How to Date Stamped Postcards and Envelopes

Hi vintage friends!

If you read my blog regularly, you know that I love vintage ephemera, including Roadside Americana postcards.  I always look through boxes of postcards at estate sales, flea markets, antique shows -- and enjoy selling them in my store's postcard department.

Often the postcards have a clear postmark, like the 1942 above.  That is great!   We now know an exact date of the card.

However, I frequently find postcards and envelopes with a smudged or illegible postmark.  How to date that card?   It's easy with The History of Postage Rates, a great website resource for ephemera fans.   You can look at the postage stamp and get an idea of the card's date using the chart at the site.  For instance, if you had a postcard with a 4 cent stamp, you could check the chart and see that this card was sent between 1963 - 1968.  

Pretty neat, huh?

So You Think You Can Dance: Los Angeles and Philadelphia Auditions

So You Think You Can Dance aired auditions from Los Angeles and Philadelphia this week.

The guest judges were Christina Applegate (in Los Angeles), and in Philadelphia, Misty Copeland (American Ballet Theatre prima ballerina - pictured above with Mary Murphy and Nigel Lythgoe) and Billy Porter (star of Kinky Boots on Broadway).

This audition show felt long to me for some reason.  Maybe a little too much contemporary dance emoting for my taste.   There were some great dancers, though!   They included:

Johnny "Waacks" Gibson - a returning dancer who auditioned in Season 9.  He does a form of street dance called waacking.  He was sent on to choreography, where he received a ticket to Hollywood.

Malene and Armen - ballroom dancers.   Malene is a beautiful dancer, but she has struggled with depression.  Armen appeared on the show last year but dropped his partner and was dismissed during Hollywood week.   They were amazing - great chemistry!  He reminded me a bit of Maksim Chmerkovskiy from Dancing with the Stars.

Amir Sanders - the "funky ballerina," as she called herself.  Amir was classically trained at the Dance Theatre of Harlem.  She brought some funk to her ballet audition -- and was easily my favorite dancer of the night.   The judges sent her to choreo, which really surprised me, since she has such strong training.  However, she got a ticket to Hollywood after choreography, so all is good!

Landon Anderson - a ballroom dancer who auditioned with Jenna Johnson, who danced in last year's competition.  He looks like an "aw shucks!" young Ron Howard, but danced with lots of power.  He went through, and Jenna also got an invite to be an  All-Star on the show this year.  

Stanley Glover - a contemporary dancer with a sad back story.  His mother died when he was 4 years old, and he was shuffled around until he found a loving home with a family friend.  Stanley danced a fun and creative contemporary number where he portrayed a mysterious creature.   He was offbeat and fun, and his choreography was terrific!  His dancing reminded me a bit of former contestant Mark Kanemura.

Next week the show will be in my hometown of Atlanta.  I can't wait! 

Did you watch last night?  Do you have favorites, or any thoughts about the show you'd like to share?  I hope you'll leave a comment below.

These Are The DSRs Of Our Lives: Birdhouse Books Loves Vintage Books and Pretty Paper

Hi all!   

I was a guest blogger at These Are the DSRs of Our Lives today, and wrote a little blog article about my shop - with lots of links and fun vintage photos!   I thought you might enjoy it too.

These Are The DSRs Of Our Lives: Birdhouse Books Loves Vintage Books and Pretty Paper

Pictured above:  Old Bones the Wonder Horse, a vintage Scholastic book by Mildred Mastin Pace.

 

Music Monday - "Break Away" by The Beach Boys (1969)

My Music Monday song is "Break Away" by the Beach Boys because this song has been stuck in my head the past couple of days.  I love the Beach Boys' music.  Their songs always remind me of summer.  "Break Away" was written by Brian Wilson and his father, Murry;   Brian said it was inspired by the Monkees.  It was recorded in 1969, so it is a later period Beach Boys song.  I remember this song from the Spirit of America record album (1975).  I played that album, and Endless Summer, over and over and over as a teen.

What Beach Boys songs are your favorites?  I would love to hear from you in the comments section, below.