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Reader's Paradise

A Review Worth Reading

14 years ago

In this morning's Washington Post Michael Dirda reviews The Collected Writings of Joe Brainard. I've never heard of Joe Brainard but the review contains a list of "I remember" statements that I think many RP readers will enjoy. The book sounds like one that I must have (I'm so easy) so it is now pre-ordered.

Is anyone familiar with Joe Brainard's works?

Here is a link that might be useful: Michael Dirda's Review

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Comments (6)

friedag
14 years ago
Oh, Frances, thank you so much for linking to Dirda's review. I have ordered The Collected Writings of Joe Brainard, too.

My brothers and I have long played an "I remember" game in the style of Joe Brainard's statements. I have heard of Brainard, but I don't recall actually reading any of his writings before.
J C
14 years ago
Fabulous! I think this book will make me cry. Maybe I'm just in one of those moods (in fact I know I am, due to an actual letter I received in the mail today) but it just seems so terribly poignant and reminds me of so many things I remember but the people I remember them with are no longer here.

I think I will have to get this book.
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Oh yes Alexa and going even earlier than that, I remember when there was no TV so we listed to radio programs such as Ozzie & Harriet, Mr. & Mrs. North, Lux Theater, The Edgar Bergen show with Charlie McCarthy, Amos and Andy. We read books and comic such as Archie, Little Lulu, Donald Duck and played cards, jacks, pick-up sticks, Snakes and Ladders, Monopoly, hopscotch, skipped rope, and roller skated on heavy metal skates that you clamped onto your heaviest shoes using a tightening key on a cord that you hung around your neck, until you needed to tighten them again. Balloons had just been invented or reinvented after the war. Records were 78 rpm until the Long plays LPs and the 45s came out. We could play outside all day until we heard our moms standing on the back porch calling our name for us to come in. Girls all wore dresses to school and wearing trousers or slacks (as they were called) to school was forbidden except when there was deep snow. We wore gumboots over our shoes when it rained. When we picked up the phone, an operator said...'Number please', and the phone cord was black and not spring coiled. People who came to the door: the milkman, the egg man, the newspaper boy, the grocer bringing the groceries, the boy from the meat market, the laundry service with dad's white work shirts, the Watkins man, the bread man. There were no supermarkets. We fought over who could read the Sunday comics first when the weekend newspapers arrived on the front porch. And we walked miles to high school carried a load of books and an umbrella, usually open. I guess I'm going farther back in time to when most here were not yet born lol! SharonCb
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from the Pet Forum, a post worth reading
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Comments (3)
Unfortunately, this is not new news. The problems with Zodiac and Hartz flea products are well documented - just google them. Although the EPA stepped in to regulate some of their products, other OTC flea medications continue to poison pets: "Flea control products now on the market include seven specific "organophosphate insecticides" (OPs). OPs work by blocking the breakdown of the bodyÂs messenger chemical, acetylcholine, thereby interfering with the transmission of nerve signals in the brains and nervous systems of insects, pets and humans alike. In the presence of OPs, acetylcholine builds up in the body. The resulting interference with nerve transmissions is of such a magnitude that it actually kills insects. In overdoses, OPs can also kill people and pets. But even with normal use of flea-control products containing OPs, pets and children may be in danger. The seven OPs are chlorpyrifos, dichlorvos, phosmet, naled, tetrachlorvinphos, diazinon and malathion. They are the active ingredients in dozens of pet products. A comprehensive list of products appears in Table 1. It includes major pet pesticide brands, such as Alco, Americare, Beaphar, Double Duty, FordÂs, Freedom Five, Happy Jack, Hartz, Hopkins, Kill-Ko, Protection, Rabon, Riverdale, Sergeant, Unicorn, Vet-Kem, Victory and Zema. " http://www.nrdc.org/health/effects/pets/execsum.asp http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/05/17/061347.php http://www.epa.gov/opp00001//factsheets/flea-tick.htm http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/factsheets/hartzq_a.htm http://www.hartzvictims.org/2005/12/ http://www.thepetguardian.com/html/flea_tick_control.html http://www.sdearthtimes.com/et0696/et0696s4.html
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yoyobon_gw
14 years ago
I remember always wearing a crinoline under my full-skirted dresses and having to dip it in liquid starch and hang it out to dry to keep it crisp ( and scratchy!).
bookmom41
14 years ago
I remember walking to the corner store with my sister and best friend--as early as ages 5, 6, and 7--and for a dime we filled small paper bags with candy like licorice whips, candy necklaces and cigarettes, and that hard caramel on a stick. Then we walked home, sat on the front porch, spread out our goodies and traded. Frances, I Remember sounds lovely. Poignant, too. What will my own children remember?

ps--Frances, I didn't want to piggyback onto the introductions thread, but my standard schnauzer, too, is a sweetheart. He is so intelligent and obedient. He's been pampered since day one, so I think it must just be part of the breed. He's not at all an alpha dog, so I wonder if that contributes to his wonderful nature.
yoyobon_gw
14 years ago
I remember when I was in junior high the upperclassmen ( girls and guys) would have heel taps put on their penny loafers so that they clicked when they walked the granite hallways. I thought it was the coolest thing ever.
carolyn_ky
14 years ago
I remember saddle oxfords and skirts so long they scooped the tops of our turned-down bobby socks.

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