Who knew...?

...That J. Peterman was still in business? I thought they'd gone under 10 years ago or so. Same old catalogue descriptions, too:

Hemingway's Cap.

He probably bought his in a gas station on
the road to Ketchum, next to the cash register, among the beef jerky wrapped in cellophane. Or maybe in a tackle shop in Key West.

I had to go to some trouble to have this one made for you and me but it had to be done. The long bill, longer than I, at least, ever saw before, makes sense.

The visor: deerskin; soft and glareless and unaffected by repeated rain squalls. The color: same as strong scalding espresso, lemon peel on the side, somewhere in the mountains in the north of Italy.

Ten-ounce cotton-duck canvas. 6 brass grommets for ventilation. Elastic at back to keep this treasure from blowing off your head and into the trees.

Hemingway's Cap (N^o. 1537). Sizes: M, L, XL. Price: $39.

(He probably got change from a five when he bought the original.)

[this is not a paid ad--I'm just saving you the trouble of clicking on the link]

Der Tiger von Eschnapur

Take a peek at this nifty poster I just got from Ebay! It's for an American release of two of the great director Fritz Lang's last films. They were released in Europe as two movies called The Tiger of Eschnapur and The Indian Tomb, or Der Tiger von Eschnapur und Das Indische Grabmal. Both of them star Debra Paget and a bunch of German or European actors. They're basically juvenile adventure stories, with things like cobras and maharajahs. The only thing that makes them 'adult' is Debra's hotsie-totsie dance, which you can see below. Other than that, they're basically like a Tintin comic. The films are a remake of a silent epic written by Lang and his then-wife Thea von Harbou, but not directed by him. Lang would direct one more film The 1000 Eyes of Dr. Mabuse, and then retire to tell the same anecdotes over and over to interviewers and film students.

Happy Estonian Independence Day!

Now let us celebrate by having some ice cream!

Thanks to Tiny Miss Fran and "Bucky" for the reminder!

The pre-taped call-in show

Tie Rack

I forgot to include a photo I took of my tie rack in that last post...

Oconomowoc

I've been buying a bunch of cheap vintage ties via Ebay lately, to feed my tie habit. My current quest is silk paisley ties between 2.75" and 3.25" width. I've had a hard time finding these new, even amongst the narrow ties now available in stores.

One I received yesterday (and am currently wearing) was originally bought at a store called The Country Squire, in a place I'd never heard of, Oconomowoc, Wisconsin.

At first, I wondered if the name was a tie-po (gettit?), but then I could tell it was an Indian name, so I was guessing upper New York state, but then I googled it and found the real location.

Then I found this old photo of downtown O, where the Country Squire may have been located, unless it was in a sixties-style suburban shopping development. This was back in the days before everyone bought their clothes at Old Navy, The Gap, and other monolithic national chains. For men's clothes, you'd go to a department store, or a place with a name like The Toggery or Hibberd and Cole.

One of the things that drew me to this particular item was the fact that my name is already on it:

Nifty, huh? (Hand modeling by Beebo)

A letter from Jonny G. Fairfacts (partial extract)