Miracle TI-99/4 Home Computer Has 16K RAM, Runs BASIC!

Posted on May 16, 2010 by lmharnisch
May 16, 1980, TI-99/4
May 16, 1980: The absolutely amazing TI-99/4 home computer … with 16K RAM! BASIC! 16-color graphics! Thermal printer! An an acoustic coupler! Notice that the ad doesn’t even list a price.

Update: If you poke around a little bit you can find a TI-99/4 and TI-99/4A emulator. This software has not been tested in the Daily Mirror computer labs so proceed at your own risk.

Posted in Science | 4 Comments

Little Damage From 6.0 Quake, 1910

Posted on May 16, 2010 by lmharnisch

 May 16, 1910, Quake

May 16, 1910: Here’s an interesting problem – how did newspapers report an earthquake 100 years ago? The Times gathered brief accounts over a wide area, from San Diego and Santa Catalina Island to Riverside, Banning, Mt. Wilson and Elsinore. According to the Southern California Earthquake Data Center, this was an estimated magnitude 6 quake on the Elsinore fault about 15 miles south of Riverside. 

Continue reading →

Posted in Science | Comments Off on Little Damage From 6.0 Quake, 1910

Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, May 15, 1940

Posted on May 15, 2010 by lmharnisch

 
May 15, 1940, Epic Battle

May 15, 1940: “Richard Arlen has stocked his ranch lake with fish and plans summer angling parties for his chums,” Jimmie Fidler says. 

Continue reading →

Posted in Columnists, Film, Front Pages, Hollywood | Comments Off on Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, May 15, 1940

John Wayne Denies Confrontation With Sinatra

Posted on May 15, 2010 by lmharnisch

 

 
May 15, 1960, Sinatra

John Wayne and Maria Cooper, left, and Frank Sinatra at fundraiser.

May 15, 1960, Sinatra

May 15, 1960: Witnesses say John Wayne and Frank Sinatra nearly got into a fight during a benefit dinner at the Moulin Rouge over Wayne’s comments about Sinatra hiring blacklisted writer Albert Maltz for “The Execution of Private Slovik.” Later in the evening, Sinatra and a companion allegedly roughed up a valet. The next day, Wayne denied that there was any confrontation with Sinatra. “I like Frank,” he said.

The city attorney declined to file charges against Sinatra in the incident, but his companion, John Hopkins, was convicted of battery and sentenced to 10 days jail and a year’s probation for hitting valet Edward Moran. Moran also filed a $100,000 civil suit against Sinatra, but The Times didn’t report the outcome.

Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Film, Hollywood, Nightclubs | 4 Comments

On the Frontiers of Sports

Posted on May 15, 2010 by lmharnisch

 
image

May 15, 1910: New rules are approved to avoid some football injuries. For example, “no pushing or pulling of the man with the ball” and the flying tackle is banned. But the rules committee keeps the forward pass after heated debate. 

Continue reading →

Posted in Sports | Comments Off on On the Frontiers of Sports

Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, May 14, 1940

Posted on May 14, 2010 by lmharnisch

May 14, 1940, Germans Split Netherlands

May 14, 1940, Nazi Death Ray  

Dr. Jones…. Tell us about this Nazi death ray.

May 14, 1940: “Signs of the season: Clark Gable and Carole Lombard practicing fly casting on the front lawn,” Jimmie Fidler says. 

Continue reading →

Posted in Columnists, Film, Hollywood | 1 Comment

Charles Champlin on ‘Haywire’

Posted on May 14, 2010 by lmharnisch

May 14, 1980, Haywire

May 14, 1980: Charles Champlin on the making of “Haywire,” the TV movie based on the book by Brooke Hayward. The project, which was scaled back from a mini-series to a three-hour show, evoked painful memories for the surviving family members, Champlin says.  The show includes a credit to “Ivan Davis,” a pseudonym, and casting was quite problematic. Bill Hayward wanted Jane Fonda to play Margaret Sullavan, but Fonda didn't like "Haywire" for undisclosed reasons and wasn't approached, Champlin says.

Continue reading →

Posted in broadcasting, Film, Homicide, Television | Comments Off on Charles Champlin on ‘Haywire’

‘Let Us Commune With the Yogi’

Posted on May 14, 2010 by lmharnisch

 
May 14, 1910, Vaudeville

Nellie Nichols and the Four Dancing Bugs at the Orpheum!

May 14, 1910: On the jump, the curious case of  Sakharam G. Pandit, a Hindu in Chicago with a “hypnotic eye” who allegedly went too far with women when he massaged them and said, “Let us commune with the Yogi.” The Times' stories are a little vague, but he evidently came to Los Angeles and, as S.G. Pandit, became an attorney once the the courts resolved the thorny question of whether a Hindu was white and could therefore become a U.S. citizen.

Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Film, Religion, Stage | Comments Off on ‘Let Us Commune With the Yogi’

Matt Weinstock, May 13, 1960

Posted on May 13, 2010 by lmharnisch

 
May 13, 1960, Comics  

May 13, 1960: Matt Weinstock writes about a group of Hill Street barflies who are transfixed by “Miracle on 34th Street.” And a woman tells Abby that she’s troubled by the attention she’s receiving from her husband’s best friend, a lifelong bachelor. 

Continue reading →

Posted in Columnists, Comics, Matt Weinstock | Comments Off on Matt Weinstock, May 13, 1960

Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, May 13, 1960

Posted on May 13, 2010 by lmharnisch
 
May 13, 1960, Mirror Cover

May 13, 1960: Two mothers share their stories on dealing with teenage sons who are so obsessed with drag racing that everything else in their lives is suffering.  

Continue reading →

Posted in Columnists, Freeways, Front Pages, Paul Coates, Transportation | Comments Off on Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, May 13, 1960

Jimmie Fidler, May 13, 1940

Posted on May 13, 2010 by lmharnisch

 
May 13, 1940, Nazis Advance

May 13, 1940, Bombing
May 13, 1940, Bombing

May 13, 1940: “Charlie Chaplin, ringsiding at N.T.G.'s, with Marlene Dietrich and Tim Durant, ducking to the floor as an acrobatic dancer somersaults less than a foot away,” Jimmie Fidler says.

Note: N.T.G. is Nils T. Granlund and the club would be the Florentine Gardens.

Continue reading →

Posted in Columnists, Film, Hollywood | Comments Off on Jimmie Fidler, May 13, 1940

Aly Khan Killed in Car Crash

Posted on May 13, 2010 by lmharnisch

 
May 13, 1960, Aly Khan

May 13, 1960: Prince Aly Khan, former husband of Rita Hayworth, is killed when his Lancia sports car crashes into a Simca at Suresnes, France. Khan, who was driving, was accompanied by French model Bettina (Simone Bodin), who suffered a deep cut on her face, and his chauffeur, who was slightly injured. Khan was en route to the home of his half brother Prince Sadruddin, near the St. Cloud golf course, The Times says.

Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Obituaries | Comments Off on Aly Khan Killed in Car Crash

Cupid’s Sorrowful Tale

Posted on May 13, 2010 by lmharnisch

 
image
Happy foot!

May 13, 1910: Mrs. Mallory gets 90 days in jail for running a disorderly house on Spring Street and a $50 fine for violating liquor laws … and the sorrowful story of a young woman who met a sailor on leave in San Diego.   

Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, health | Comments Off on Cupid’s Sorrowful Tale

Found on EBay – One Magazine

Posted on May 12, 2010 by lmharnisch

one_magazine_ebay_02 A lot of 34 issues of One Magazine from 1953-55, including the first issue, has been listed on EBay. One, a historic magazine that dealt with gay issues, was published in Los Angeles and figured in a landmark 1st Amendment ruling after being declared obscene. A copy of the January 1953 issue sold for $455 last year. Bidding starts at $9.99.
Posted in #courts, #gays and lesbians, art and artists | Comments Off on Found on EBay – One Magazine

Matt Weinstock, May 12, 1960

Posted on May 12, 2010 by lmharnisch

 
May 12, 1960, Comics

May 12, 1960: Matt Weinstock is reading a paperback (evidently by Seymour Krim) titled “The Beats.” Weinstock says: “Some very intelligent people, with or without beards, go to coffeehouses and what they say about life and the dilemmas of today makes sense. Furthermore, many of them don't approve of the writing of Jack Kerouac.”

More on the Beats here>>>

What should a married woman do when the foreman gives her a pink silk nightgown? Abby has the answer.

Continue reading →

Posted in Columnists, Comics, Matt Weinstock | Comments Off on Matt Weinstock, May 12, 1960

Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, May 12, 1960

Posted on May 12, 2010 by lmharnisch

 
May 12, 1960, Mirror Cover

May 12, 1960: Paul Coates writes, “He's 18 years old. He uses our freeways and boulevards to prove his prowess, at speeds of 110 mph. Three times, he's almost been killed.”

The racer says: “It was Tuesday night. We were down at the usual hangout. Races going on there every Tuesday night. This '50 Cad pulled in. He's running big racing slicks and all sorts of traction bars.”

"The lines in the road just looked like dots…."

Continue reading →

Posted in Columnists, Freeways, Front Pages, Paul Coates, Transportation | Comments Off on Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, May 12, 1960

Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, May 12, 1941

Posted on May 12, 2010 by lmharnisch

 
May 12, 1941, London Buildings Blasted
May 12, 1941, Posters

May 12, 1941: “Ronald Reagan has a new Warners contract with bigger dough and promising a star buildup,” Jimmie Fidler says. 

Continue reading →

Posted in Columnists, Film, Hollywood | 1 Comment

Los Angeles With a Laugh Track – ‘The Natives Are Restless’

Posted on May 12, 2010 by lmharnisch

 
natives_are_restless 

“Side-splitting?” Not hardly.

Cynthia Lindsay's "The Natives Are Restless" (1960) is not a great book about Los Angeles or even a particularly good one. A frothy mix of humor and sunshine, "Natives" floats to the bright end of the noir spectrum, somewhere between Elisabeth Webb Herrick's1934 "Curious California Customs" and the 1941 WPA handbook.

A movie stuntwoman until being injured in an accident, Lindsay was given a typewriter by Boris Karloff (the subject of her biography "Dear Boris") and wrote for the TV shows "Bachelor Father" and "My Three Sons," which is precisely her approach in "Natives": Los Angeles as a situation comedy. 

Continue reading →

Posted in books, Downtown | 2 Comments

Matt Weinstock, May 11, 1960

Posted on May 11, 2010 by lmharnisch

 
May 11, 1960, Comics

May 11, 1960: “The new 250-foot tower erected at ABC-TV isn't for producers to jump off when the ratings of their shows slip, it's for microwave ‘dishes’ to bring in the Democratic convention more clearly from the Sports Arena,” Matt Weinstock says. 

A writer asks Abby, "Is it true that a girl who is always grabbing your hand and asking you to kiss her is 'loose'? " And is a wife being unreasonable if she asks her husband for an allowance of $1 a week?

Continue reading →

Posted in Columnists, Comics, Matt Weinstock | Comments Off on Matt Weinstock, May 11, 1960

Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, May 11, 1960

Posted on May 11, 2010 by lmharnisch

 
May 11, 1960, Mirror Cover

May 11, 1960: Paul Coates hosts a nightly TV show and has his picture in the paper every day, but his anonymity is still secure, he says.

Continue reading →

Posted in Columnists, Front Pages, Paul Coates | Comments Off on Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, May 11, 1960