Bart King's Blog, page 215
November 14, 2011
November 13, 2011
Cuteness is happiness!
Over at CuteEverything.com , there's a review for my new book. It reads, in part:
Although I like to think of myself as a sort of connoisseur
of cute, I certainly didn't write the book on it. Bart King, on the other
hand, has. In Cute! A Guide
to All Things Adorable[image error], he teaches the definitive
meaning of cute, delving into just about every cute possibility out there. Cute![image error] tells us how things like
animals, polka dots, sparkly things, babies and more all have distinct cute
elements, and exactly what those elements are ... In Cute![image error], Mr. King leads us through all
the reasons why "Cuteness is Happiness"!
November 12, 2011
Cats-ing Call!
In 1961, there was a Hollywood casting call for black cats. This is what happened next.
You might think that this would have caused a mammoth surge in bad luck for Hollywood. But it didn't! And to prove it, I can tell you that I was born in Hollywood shortly after this photo was taken. (This post's title was supplied by cool cat Donna M.)
You might think that this would have caused a mammoth surge in bad luck for Hollywood. But it didn't! And to prove it, I can tell you that I was born in Hollywood shortly after this photo was taken. (This post's title was supplied by cool cat Donna M.)
I agree with what he said.
Sometimes it's fun to go on Twitter and run a search on your own name. That's what I just did; here's what I found!
Thanks, Mitchell J.!
Thanks, Mitchell J.!
November 11, 2011
GUILTY of Crimes Against Butter
In 1915, this man, Charles Willes, was convicted of breaking
the Oleomargarine Act. He was sent to the Federal Penitentiary at Leavenworth
for being guilty of "crimes against butter." As the National Archives explains, the problem was margarine:
How did trafficking in this popular butter substitute become
a Federal offense? Well, almost immediately after New York's U.S. Dairy Company
began production of "artificial butter" in 1871, regulation began. Dairy
interests pushed Congress to pass the 1886 act, which imposed a two-cent tax
(per pound) on margarine and also required manufacturers, wholesalers, and
retailers of margarine to obtain margarine licenses.
By 1902, 32 states had bans on coloring margarine yellow to
make it look more like butter. That same year, Congress increased the tax to 10
cents a pound for colored margarine but imposed a lesser tax of a quarter of
one cent per pound on the uncolored stuff … Some tried to pass the margarine
off as butter; others tried to evade the tax by reusing tax stamps again and
again.
Consumers colored their own margarine with yellow food
coloring into the 1940s. The federal margarine tax system came to an end in
1951. In 1967, dairy state Wisconsin was the last state to repeal the
restrictions on the sale, coloration, and/or manufacture of margarine.
"Come on, get happy!"
This is one of the weirder contrasts between a book's title and its cover photo.
I guess that even when you're marked for terror, there's still always a reason to get happy. Or as my friend Donna said, "Maybe that's the photo the terrorist was using for a dartboard."
So that would be a case of "Come on! Get 'Happy'!"
Note: None of these jokes make any sense unless you've seen the Partridge Family TV show. (Via.)
November 10, 2011
November 9, 2011
"Zero tolerance" is temporarily suspended!
Here at Unexpectedly Bart, I never refer to alcohol. Why would I? But this incredibly wonderful 1967 ad for Soul Brothers Scotch has made me suspend my zero tolerance policy. Enjoy. (The enlarged ad copy is first, then the full ad.)
Link here, via Weird Universe.
Link here, via Weird Universe.
