Up Front:
Congress takes aim at the 26 million Robocalls we endured over the past year. Via @WaPost
Only a few companies own the network of underwater cables that take the Internet to the world. What happens if they become a “cartel”?
At Disney’s CinemaCon presentation yesterday, producer Jonas Rivera revealed that the Pixar Toy Story 4 sequel would see Tom Hanks’ Woody “questioning everything — maybe even his own purpose.” Via @Mashable
Verizon flips the 5G switch in Chicago. But only for a few phones. iPhones won’t work on their net till 2020 at the earliest. Via @CNBC & @MorningBrew.
IHeart Radio plans to “emerge from bankruptcy” and file an IPO. Would you invest? Via @Reuters
“Leadership in the tech space is transitory. There’s always room for ‘the next big thing’ to come along and capture the public’s imagination.” And that scares the hell out of today’s dominant brands. Via @jacobsmedia
Rupert Murdoch’s “Empire of Influence”. 45 & Brexit are just two of the world changing events he has promoted. Via @NYTimes.
Our “Snap Decision” society. How Social Media has caused a “rush to judgement” that isn’t always accurate. Via @Axios.
Sorry, Wall Street. The vest purveyor of choice for tech and finance bros is prioritizing bulk orders of corporate swag to mission-driven companies. Via @BuzzFeed
Today in History:
1960: Percy Faith’s ‘Theme From ‘A Summer Place”’ was #1 for the seventh week in a row.
1956: Elvis Presley played the first of two nights in San Diego Arena. The Police chief said that if he ever performed like he did again, he would be arrested for disorderly conduct.
1959: ‘It Doesn’t Matter Anymore‘ becomes Buddy Holly’s first posthumous hit, peaking at No. 13.
1964: The Beatles own no. 1 through 5 on the Singles chart. ‘Can’t Buy Me Love’, ‘Love Me Do’, ‘She Loves You’, ‘I Want To Hold Your Hand’ & ‘Please Please Me’.
1965: John Lennon and Paul McCartney compose “Help!”, the title track to the Beatles’ second film.
1966: US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.
1968: US civil rights activist Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. James Brown makes a national television appeal for calm.
1973: World Trade Center, then the world’s tallest building, opens in New York.
1975: Microsoft is founded as a partnership between Bill Gates and Paul Allen.
Happy Birthday to:
1886 Dooley Wilson (d. 1953)
1913 Frances Langford (d. 2005)
1915 Muddy Waters (d. 1983)
1932 Anthony Perkins (d. 1992)
1932 Clive Davis
1939 Hugh Masekela (d. 2018)
1939 Major Lance (d. 1994)
Today’s Quote Worth Re-Quoting: “I often have said that to be a college president, you need a thick skin, a good sense of humor, and nerves like sewer pipes.” ~Gordon Gee
Backstory:
Odds and Ends:
Vic Perrin: One of the pop culture personalities whose face you remember but whose name you might forget was actor Vic Perrin. He appeared on just about every TV series there was during the Keener era, guesting on Dragnet, Peter Gunn, Black Saddle, Gunsmoke, The Untouchables, Going My Way, Perry Mason, Adam-12, Mannix, and Mission: Impossible. He has two significant sci-fi credits, including a role in three classic episodes of the original Star Trek and the disembodied Control Voice on the Outer Limits (“We will control the horizontal. We will control the vertical..”). A prolific voice actor during radio’s golden age, Perrin’s voice is familiar to Jonny Quest fans. He played many a villain during the series run, including Dr. Zin.
But did you know that, even after his death, he has saved thousands of lives? Perrin is the voice that provides audio instructions for all Automatic External Defibrillators, the ubiquitous “AEDs” we see at airports and other public venues.
Here’s his Outer Limits intro. (Video)
The Instamatic Camera: One of new brands that was launched in 1963 was the Instamatic Camera. These were the first cameras to utilize Kodak’s new 126 format. It was an easy-to-load film cartridge that contributed to the camera’s low production cost. A wide variety of print and slide film for the Instamatic was sold by Kodak in the 126 format.
Following the tradition of Kodak’s famous Brownie camera, the Instamatic had a fixed shutter speed, aperture and focus, making it one of the easiest point-and-shoot cameras on the market. As it’s design improved the original built in flash gun was replaced by a four shot flash cube.
The product was an instant success with more than 50 million Instamatic cameras produced between 1963 and 1970. There was even an Instamatic movie camera that was the first to use the new Super 8 film format. After a number of design enhancements, the Instamatic brand left the marketplace in 1988.
Here are two vintage Instamatic TV commercials, the first introduces the Flash Cube.. (Video)
The second, features a future Skywalker in an early acting role. (Video)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bmmBkm4KIw
And: 17 One Season Sitcoms from the 60s:
Remember Our Man Higgins, Dickens and Fenster, Baileys of Balboa, Mickey, No Time for Sergeants, Wendy and Me, Karen, Tammy, Gidget, My Mother the Car, Captain Nice, Pruitts of Southampton, Ugliest Girl in Town, Occasional Wife, Love on a Rooftop, He & She, Good Morning World?
