Author Archives: Solonor

90 Years of “Top 40” Music: It Begins (1925)

Posted on December 16, 2014 by Solonor

On Christmas Eve 1906, wireless radio operators on board ships from the North Atlantic to the Gulf of Mexico heard something startling through their headphones. Normally, the radio men would listen through the static for the dots and dashes of … Continue reading →

Posted in Top 40, Tunes | Comments Off on 90 Years of “Top 40” Music: It Begins (1925)

90 Years of “Top 40” Music: Intro.

Posted on December 13, 2014 by Solonor

I have known for a long time about the seemingly seismic shift in music that happened the first time someone dropped the needle on a record of Chuck Berry’s Maybellene in 1955. In my head, people had spent hundreds of … Continue reading →

Posted in Top 40, Tunes | Comments Off on 90 Years of “Top 40” Music: Intro.

Wait…why is that funny?

Posted on November 24, 2014 by Solonor

A couple of weeks ago, Whiny the Elder and I were flipping around the TV dial when we stumbled upon an episode of The Dick Van Dyke Show–one of the best of the early 60’s sitcoms (if not of all … Continue reading →

Posted in Forgotten Famous Folk, Wouldya Lookit That! | Comments Off on Wait…why is that funny?

Robin Williams, RIP

Posted on August 13, 2014 by Solonor

I’ve been kind of stunned since learning of the death of Robin Williams. I’m older now, and have seen real people I know pass from my life. So, I’m not quite as shocked and upset as, say, the night John … Continue reading →

Posted in Life, the Universe and Everything | 3 Comments

Today’s story is brought to you by the letter “D” for “Doctor Who” and “dork”

Posted on July 4, 2014 by Solonor

Unlike the previous entries in the Tales of Woe series, this one isn’t so much woe to me as woe to thee, dear reader, because this is the day that I subject you to more Doctor Who-age! Back in January, … Continue reading →

Posted in Tales of Woe | Comments Off on Today’s story is brought to you by the letter “D” for “Doctor Who” and “dork”

Today’s story is brought to you by the letter “C” for “calescent”, “creepy” and “Christmas”.

Posted on May 24, 2014 by Solonor

(The third in my 26 Tales of Woe series. See “A” is for “ass” and “B” is for “barf”.) Today is the first day of Memorial Day weekend, and it is hot. No, please, let me rephrase that, because I … Continue reading →

Posted in Tales of Woe | Comments Off on Today’s story is brought to you by the letter “C” for “calescent”, “creepy” and “Christmas”.

Today’s story is brought to you by the letter “B” for “barf”.

Posted on March 29, 2014 by Solonor

(The second in a, presumably, 26-part series that began with this post.) As many of you know, I have been working from home for a little over a year. I no longer have an office with a nameplate over the door … Continue reading →

Posted in Tales of Woe | 2 Comments

Today’s story is brought to you by the letter “A” for “ass”.

Posted on February 24, 2014 by Solonor

I went out to the mailbox this afternoon, humming a tune and eating a piece of cheddar cheese (as one does on a lovely day). After retrieving the handful of junk mail…and I only call it “junk” because each piece … Continue reading →

Posted in Tales of Woe | 1 Comment

And now for a Doctor that’s completely different…

Posted on January 2, 2014 by Solonor

In this Doctor Who-obsessed year, where it seems that every nerd* is making lists of their favorite Doctors, episodes, companions, monsters, and hair products, we think we need to give it up for a Doctor of a different sort–Doctor Demento! … Continue reading →

Posted in Demento, Strangeness, Tunes | Comments Off on And now for a Doctor that’s completely different…

Doctor Who Series Highlights

Posted on January 1, 2014 by Solonor

For years, one of my many geeky pursuits has been the acquisition of all of the available episodes of Doctor Who on DVD. Buying one or two per month, I knew it would take a while. So, to make sure that … Continue reading →

Posted in The Big Screen | 4 Comments