In the meantime, here’s a single I found in the free bin outside Enterprise Records recently. you can bet I had some fun using my limited German to try and read the front cover of this to my husband when I brought it home.

Our record player isn’t hooked up so I can’t play it for you, but here’s a video of it that I found on youtube (with bonus smurf puppets!).:

And lest you think this is a one off sort of thing, here’s a video from 2012 of Vader Abraham singing the song in front of a live audience. I kind of teared up a little when they stop they music around the two minute mark and the entire theater is singing along. I’m a sucker for shared joy like that:

You will need

-Gluten-free pie crust, either store bought or homemade. If you’re looking to make your own, here’s the recipe I used. It turned out well and I added some cinnamon to the dough since I basically put cinnamon in everything I bake.

-2 pounds of pitted cherries. I used Trader Joe’s dark morello cherries that were packed in light syrup, which I drained before combining them with the other filling ingredients. If you are using frozen berries, thaw them a bit before using them.

-1/2 cup sugar

-3 tablespoons lemon juice, fresh squeezed or otherwise.

-2 tablespoons of gluten free flour

Method

1) Put your pie crust in the pie pan according to the crust recipe you’re using. I chose to mold the dough I made from the recipe above to my glass pie plate and refrigerated it for an hour before putting the filling in. I also chose to crumble the remaining dough on top instead of flattening it into a pie covering.

2) Preheat the oven to 400 degrees fahrenheit. Combine the cherries, sugar, lemon juice, and 2 tablespoons of gluten-free flour into a bowl and gently mix them with a spatula until the sugar dissolves.

3) Put the cherry filling into the pie crust and cover it with the rest of the dough in any way you like (strips of dough, crumbled, etc.).

4) Bake the pie in the oven for 40 minutes on the lowest oven rack. After 40 minutes check on the pie. If the crust is light brown, bake it for another 15 minutes. If the crust’s medium/dark brown it’s likely done.

5) When the pie is baked, remove it from the oven and let it cool for one to two hours to let the filling settle.

The Unisphere at the 1964 World’s Fair (from Wiki Commons)

There’s a line in the They Might Be Giants song “Ana Ng” that goes “all alone at the ’64 World’s Fair, 80 dolls yelling ‘small girl after all’. Who was at the DuPont Pavilion? Why was the bench still warm? Who had been there?” That line plays in my mind sometimes (okay, a lot of the time) and it sparked my interest in finding out more about the 1964 World’s Fair.

World’s Fair souvenir charm bracelet from Unrehearsed Kickline

The fair opened in Flushing Meadows, Queens, New York in April, 1964 and ran through October, 1965 with a break during the winter months. This was the third World’s Fair to be hosted by New York City and had the dual theme of “peace through understanding” and “Man’s achievement on a shrinking globe in an expanding universe.” The Unisphere, a 12 story high sculpture of the earth that still stands today, represented this idea. In reality, “man’s achievement” was largely represented by corporations with their own pavilions to showcase their products and revel in the optimistic future of the space age. I’ll admit that’s one of the many reasons I love the idea of the fair. The relationship between consumers and corporations has changed dramatically in the years since the fair and I love the idea of getting excited to go to a corporation’s pavilion to see its upcoming products and hear how my life would be improved by owning them. It’s a form of advertising that doesn’t exist in the same way anymore, and things like that always catch my interest.

Who wouldn’t love visiting a fair with a big dinosaur? (from Gorillas Don’t Blog)

The name “World’s Fair” is a bit of a misnomer since many countries chose not to participate in the event for reasons you can easily look up elsewhere. Still, there was a legitimate international element to the fair as a handfull of nations like Japan, Ireland, Spain, and Austria had a presence in both exhibits and concessions. Some of the more fun exhibitions from the United States included a dolphin show from Florida, a scale model of New York City, and the world’s largest cheese which was, of course, provided by Wisconsin. The commercially run pavilion to gross the most money during the fair’s run was, believe it or not, the Gay New Orleans Night Club which put on a show headlined by Go-Go dancer Candy Johnson (who would become the subject of the Strangelove’s song “I Want Candy” and who is also known for appearing in ’60s Beach Party movies).

A scene from Disney’s Carousel of Progress (source)

A notable influence at the fair was none other than Walt Disney. Many of what are now considered classic experiences at Disneyland were created for the 1964 World’s Fair, including the Carousel of Progress, Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, and the infamous It’s a Small World ride. The audio animatronics perfected for the fair would later contribute to the development of other popular rides at Disneyland, like the Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean. Walt showcased his company’s exhibits at the fair in a broadcast called “Disneyland Goes to the World’s Fair.” If you want to see that, some kind soul has uploaded it online for your enjoyment:

And now, to bring things to a fun end, here’s Miss Perpetual Motion herself Candy Johnson dancing during the closing credits of Beach Party to give you an idea of why her appearance brought in so much money. Damn that girl can dance:

Click the banner to visit the store

What’s in the store as of today is only about 1/4 of the inventory I’ve gathered so I’m still adding more every week. I had my first sale exactly one week after my shop opened and I absolutely ran around and squealed and made a fool of myself in celebration. It’s the small things, right? I expect that Unrehearsed Kickline (both online and in the other form I’m working on as well) will be a difficult venture. I’ve been working 15 hours per day on the Etsy shop, this blog, ebay, and setting up some things I can’t quite announce yet. Still, it falls into the “if you do a job you love you’ll never work a day in your life” category so although I’m tired I’m still as energized as when I started.

Okay, enough of my talk! Here are some things you can find in the Etsy store right now…

This milk glass Batman mug is from 1966 and is one of my favorite finds ever! I have a soft spot for Batman and the 1960s so I just think it’s the bee’s knees (plus, as the mug says on the bottom, it’s heat resistant).

I picked up this vintage brooch because it reminds me of something Joan from Mad Men would wear (and who doesn’t envy her wardrobe?). I looked up the style of the signature on the back and it’s from the 1950s, making it so far one of the oldest pieces I have in the shop. Also, how gorgeous are those colorful rhinestones?

You may remember that a while back I got a big stack of 1970s vintage teen magazines. Some of them were falling apart but the pages are in great condition so I’ve framed them and am selling them as a set. Cool, huh? In addition to these shampoo ads I also have a set of Pursettes ads and a set of 3m Hair Tape ads.

Here are some things I’ll be adding to the shop soon!

Isn’t this a beautiful brooch? It’s unsigned, but the portrait is printed on metal, which I’ve never encountered before.

I love a good cross stitch! I can’t wait to get this one for sale in the shop (cat not included, of course)

I’ll also be adding some prints to the shop soon, including this recreation of the “money is the root of all evil” embroidery from The Monkees’ pad. I’ve wanted a copy of it since I first saw the show so I kind of just made this for selfish decorative purposes and for other Monkees fans to enjoy.

So hooray for the Unrehearsed Kickline! Don’t forget to check out what I have for sale now and favorite/follow the shop to keep updated in the weeks to come.

Filed under: Current Aubsessions, Unrehearsed Kickline Tagged: Etsy, Unrehearsed Kickline, vintage ]]> http://saturdayschildblog.com/2013/04/28/come-join-the-unrehearsed-kickline/feed/ 0 aubinrthomas Unrehearsed Kickline on Etsy 1960s Batman Mug from Unrehearsed Kickline on Etsy Mad Men Style 1950s Vintage Lapel Pin from Unrehearsed Kickline on Etsy Vintage Framed 1970s Shampoo Ads from Unrehearsed Kickline on Etsy Brooch coming soon to Unrehearsed Kickline on Etsy Sister Cross Stitch coming soon to Unrehearsed Kickline Monkees Money Is the Root of All Evil poster coming soon to Unrehearsed Kickline http://saturdayschildblog.com/2013/04/27/and-the-song-of-the-moment-is-2/ http://saturdayschildblog.com/2013/04/27/and-the-song-of-the-moment-is-2/#comments Sat, 27 Apr 2013 12:53:26 +0000 Aubin http://saturdayschildblog.com/?p=2215 ]]> Waterbed Babies by Girls at Our Best

I love songs with stream of consciousness lyrics and Girls at Our Best are masters at that kind of songwriting. This band is one of the ones that didn’t make it out of the post-punk era, which is an absolute shame because there is not a single track in their three year career that isn’t delightful. Since they were around for such a short while there isn’t a whole lot about them online, much to my frustration. I am pleased to say, though, that they had some hits at the time so at least they knew their music was appreciated.

The above song is from their 1981 album “Pleasure,” which also has my other favorite songs of theirs “Heaven” and “I’m Beautiful Now.” If you’re keen to listen to more of their music, search youtube– some kind souls occasionally upload their songs. And, as a bonus, here’s their song “I’m Beautiful Now,” whose opening line gets stuck in my head frequently:

This night was magic. Michael Nesmith is one of those people who has inspired me and helped guide me to become a more creative person through his work musical or otherwise so I was very anxious to see him live. Going in there as a fan I must admit I didn’t entertain the idea of the show being boring but I think even someone who was unfamiliar with his music would’ve found Nez to be engaging.

Before the show I was standing near a group of people when one of them brought out this 45 of Rio. How cool is this?

I really enjoyed the vignette format he chose for the show. Each song was prefaced with a story that, while not necessarily a true background to the song itself, gave the audience a setting in which to place the lyrics and the mood of the music that followed. If you’ve ever heard Michael Nesmith tell a story you’ll know he has a knack for developing characters quickly and even when he was detailing the sad parting of a couple whose differences were told in Different Drum there was a sense that you knew their backstory even though the introduction was only a minute or two long.

The arrangements of the songs were wonderful as well. He played all the songs more or less chronologically and sometimes conformed the song to fit the vignette. Different Drum really is the best example of this because he set the story in a cafe in Paris and played a version of the song with mandolin, accordion, and a distinctively Parisian feel. I think the best arrangement of all was at the end when Nez revealed that they had synced up audio of Red Rhodes playing on Thanx For the Ride so that when they performed the song it was like he was playing right along with them. The smile on Mike’s face during that song really brought tears to my eyes, it was such a beautiful moment.

Here’s the set list. Some songs were played together with a musical segue and are listed as the same number because of that (like song 5 being Joanne and Silver Moon):

1)Papa Gene’s Blues, 2) Propinquity, 3) Tomorrow and Me, 4)Different Drum, 5) Joanne and Silver Moon, 6) Some of Shelly’s Blues, 7) Rio and Casablanca Moonlight, 8) The Grand Ennui, 9) Cruisin’, 10)Rays, 11) Life the Unsuspecting Captive, Marie’s Theme, and Lamppost (all from The Prison), 12) Laugh Kills Lonesome, 13) Tonight, 14) Thanx for the Ride (with archive audio of Red Rhodes on guitar)

Bonus video! I didn’t catch Tonight on video (for which I’ve been kicking myself ever since) but I did get Cruisin. So here, with a bit of intro from Nez about the music video from Elephant Parts, is Cruisin:

I’ve had this white jar around forever (I think at one point I had a peppermint plant in it). I figured it could use a makeover so I used my Sharpie paint pens to draw some 1970s inspired flowers and cheer it up a little! The bottom two pictures in the image above show the before (left) and after (right) of two of the flowers.

I recently bought a mirror from Goodwill with a white plastic frame that was in serious need of rehabilitation. I had a lot of fun with this project and the blue and white really cheered up our bathroom when I hung the mirror there:

The most recent thing I’ve been doing is drawing again. I used to draw every day but I’d sort of gotten out of habit. Then I started watching Murder, She Wrote, which is set in the fictional town of Cabbot Cove, Maine. I decided it would be fun to draw a map of my homestate that included some real towns and all the fictional  murder/horror related ones I could think of. Here’s the result! Pretty cool, huh?:

I think I might do this idea with some other states too. What state do you think I should do next?

Filed under: DIY, Midweek Mix Tagged: art, DIY, Maine, Midweek Mix ]]> http://saturdayschildblog.com/2013/04/17/midweek-mix-springtime-art-projects/feed/ 2 aubinrthomas Painted flowers on a jar Painted thrifted mirror Mirror2 Maine fictional horror towns map by Aubin Thomas http://saturdayschildblog.com/2013/04/13/and-the-song-of-the-moment-is-3/ http://saturdayschildblog.com/2013/04/13/and-the-song-of-the-moment-is-3/#comments Sat, 13 Apr 2013 12:48:50 +0000 Aubin http://saturdayschildblog.com/?p=2223 ]]> Walking on Broken Glass by Annie Lennox

How can you not love this video? The editing is superb, it costars Hugh Laurie and John Malkovich, and revolves around someone causing a scene at a wedding reception. Perfect!

The song Walking on Broken Glass is from Annie Lennox’s album “Diva,” which came out in 1992. The video, as you may have suspected from the plot and appearance of John Malkovich, is inspired by the 1988 movie Dangerous Liasons. In this video, Hugh Laurie plays a character very similar to his role as Prince George in Blackadder the Third, which (if you want to assume he’s meant to be Prince George in the video) would mean Annie Lennox is playing a part based looslely on the real life Prince George’s wife Caroline of Brunswick (whose supposed temperament and exploits make for some of the more interesting stories of that era). I say loosely partly for a pun but also because I’m sure you couldn’t have gotten George and Caroline in the same room together let alone seen them being as close as Annie Lennox and Hugh Laurie are in this video.

Hey, where’d this cat come from?

If you follow me on Instagram you’ll know that about 45% of the pictures I post are photos of my cat doing something cute. I figured it would be nice to introduce you to her formally so indulge my Cat Lady in training tendencies for a moment while I tell you about her.

Tigerlily and Rex in June, 2012. This is a rare picture of them in close proximity.

Last summer I agreed to foster two cats for someone who was going to be living in New York for six months. Joel and I had been talking about getting a cat but were a bit hesitant to jump into adoption right away so it seemed like a great idea to foster the cats and see how we interacted with them. The cats were called Rex and Tigerlily and after they’d settled in it was Rex who was the more outgoing one while Tiger mostly liked to hide in our closet. Within a month or two of living with us it became apparent that Rex had some medical problems (including agressive gingivitis that resulted in one of her teeth needing to be extracted) and as Rex withdrew Tigerlily became more friendly. When it was nearing the time to give the cats back I got an email from their owner asking me if I’d just like to keep them instead. I knew I wasn’t patient enough or had enough money to keep Rex and take care of her health issues but I’d grown to be pals with Tiger so I opted to keep her.

Snibber with her toy pet mice

When we moved into our new apartment I was unpacking some old photographs and found one of me with the first ginger cat I’d ever known, my great grandparents’ cat Snibber. Tigerlily had never really responded to her name when I called her or addressed her with it so I decided we would both get a fresh start: me with my new apartment and her with a new name. Tiger became Snibber (after I googled it to make sure the name didn’t have any embarrassing meanings. Except for some questionable ones on Urban Dictionary it seems okay/not offensive). The name seems to fit her better and she is a lot more chirpy and bouncy since we moved into our new place, which may be due in part to there being lots of birds for her to watch.

As a bonus, here’s the photo of 3 year old me with the original Snibber!

Filed under: Current Aubsessions Tagged: cats, current Aubsessions, Snibber ]]> http://saturdayschildblog.com/2013/04/12/whered-that-cat-come-from/feed/ 0 aubinrthomas Snibber, Aubin's cat Tiger and Rex, Summer 2012 Snibber with her pet mice Aubin and the original Snibber