"Who Ordered 'Johnny Got His Gun'?"

Way back in the dinosaur age, when I was in grade school, we used to order books in our classes from Scholastic Books (yes, the same company who's made a mint publishing "Harry Potter"). We'd get a four- or six-page newsprint "catalog", check off the books we wanted, bring in our money, and a few weeks later, a big box would arrive and the teacher would hand them out.

In grade school, the books were pretty much what you'd expect for the age group - thin picture books about pets, "girls" stories about horsies and that sort of things, "boys" books about cowboys and space flight. The book I remember most fondly from that period was "The Mad Scientists' Club," about a group of Boy Scouts with just enough scientific knowledge to cause some light-hearted trouble around their small town. I still have no idea why this has never been made into a movie.

Things got a little more interesting, however, in junior high (7th and 8th grade, where I grew up). I ordered "Johnny Got His Gun", for example. Talk about a 7th-grade mind-blower! I also got "Dune" and "Future Shock" through them, and I recall they had a fairly good selection of "popular" titles intended for a more general audience.

When I look back on it, it's really surprising to me that Scholastic didn't get complaints about carrying those books. Even then, "Johnny Got His Gun" was considered a touchstone of anti-war literature (and Trumbo was well-known, of course, as a blacklisted writer in Hollywood). And I recall "Dune" being touted as part of the "ecology" movement at the time (don't remember why, exactly - just that it was).

Maybe they did get complaints, but they just didn't care. The sort of people bitching about that sort of thing back then were pretty much considered to be "cranks" and were generally ignored. However, in the town I was living, they had several big dust-ups about that time involving the presence of "Catcher in the Rye" and "Manchild in the Promised Land" in the high school library. There was also a big controversy because a teacher had let a student play Jethro Tull's "Aqualung" in class, "Aqualung" being a big anti-God screed. Amazingly, in both cases, the very conservative school board, after holding a few meetings, did nothing about the complaints. Something about "free speech" and "learning," apparently.

Apparently, Scholastic still sells books to school students, though now you do the ordering online. Unfortunately, their online site is down for the summer - I'd be interested to see what sort of titles they carry for the "young adult" crowd these days...

Who Will Buy My Overpriced Piece of Crap?

This is somewhat surprising:

Apple Inc. shares fell as much as 5 percent Tuesday after AT&T said it activated 146,000 iPhones during the first few days of the highly-anticipated product's launch, far less than Wall Street's initial sales estimates.

AT&T, the only cell phone operator to carry the iPhone, revealed the iPhone activation figures in its earnings report Tuesday. The telecom giant said that of the 146,000 iPhone customers signed in the first two days of the product's existence, more than 40 percent of them were new subscribers.

But Wall Street analysts had estimated that Apple and AT&T had sold as many as 700,000 iPhones during the first weekend. The iPhone hit stores at 6 p.m. on Friday, June 29. Both AT&T and Apple's quarters ended June 30.

So fewer people wanted to spend $600 for a phone, and then shell out upwards of a hundred bucks for two years (guaranteed!) to use it, then "analysts" expected?

I'll give the "analysts" some free advice from a guy who knows absolutely nothing about "economics": what the vast majority of people want from a cell phone is a PHONE that WORKS and a CHEAP PLAN.

The donation buttons are down below, guys...

We All Shine On!

The "live" performance from "Top of the Pops":



A big "thank you" to all our contributors. And if you're not one of them, there's still time!

Sunday Afternoon Matinee

As our fundraising telethon continues...

We're proud to offer a great little film from one of the true artistic geniuses of our time, and one that is often overlooked - Jim Henson's "Timepiece". Made before the Muppets were as big a phenom as they later became, this film was nominated for an Oscar as "Best Short Subject" in 1965. Enjoy!

You Don't See THIS Every Day...!

Where else are you going to see Harry Nilsson, Charles Nelson Reilly, and Hope Lange all in the same room?



And remember, kids - if you can, drop a couple of coins into the old tin can...

Our Mascot

Look who dropped by the big show - it's the Dave™© Blog mascot, Oski the Sun Cat!



















Isn't he cute???

Sunday Morning Funnies

As our fundraiser continues...

Here's a little something for all the kids - a classic cartoon from Mishmash Studios - "Bulbo Meets the Mummy!"














You can see more Bulbo cartoons by clicking here...

Never Get Out of the Car...

As our little fundraising telethon rolls merrily along...

We're happy to welcome a Bay Area film legend. You may remember him for his classic "Hardware Wars," but even more hilarious is his takedown of everyone's favorite anti-war war epic, which he calls... "Porklips Now!"

Part 1:



Part 2:



Part 3:



(And yes, that's Billy Gray, better known as "Bud" on "Father Knows Best," as Dullard!)

Listen While I Clang...

From the Vaults of Psychedelia, here are the Lemon Pipers appearing on some nutty show out of Cleveland...



And remember kids - if you can, drop some silver in my tambourine...

For All You Nutty "Artistes" Out There

...here's a little something from those two musical coo-coos, David Byrne and Brian Eno!



And remember: you can still help out by clicking the button below. It's that easy!

Oh Boy!

Keep those cards and letters coming in, kids!

This hour, let's all cram into the Wayback Machine for a trip back in time to see one of the pioneers of rock and roll - Buddy Holly!

Lucky!

As our fundraiser continues...

We've got a special treat from Foggy Ol' Londontown! Take a gander at the incredible Lene Lovich!

Sneak Preview!

As our fundraiser rolls along...

Our friends at ABC-TV have given us a sneak preview of one of their upcoming fall series. It's sure to be a hit - so check it out!

Home Movies, Part Two

Remember, kids - operators are standing by!

Here's some more of my home movies of beautiful Las Vegas... join us in the Wayback Machine as we take a look at the original "Treasure Island Pirates Show" - before they "sexed it up"!

And Now, From The North...

As our fundraiser continues...

Here's a cinema classic from our friends at the National Film Board of Canada. It's a comedy with a "message". From the genius of Norman McLaren, here's the anti-war classic "Neighbours":

Our Southern California Friends Drop By

As our fundraising telethon rolls along...

Here's some guys I used to hang out with at the Rainbow Grill way back when... let's have a real laid-back welcome for Little Feat!

From Our Friends Down Under...

As our telethon continues, keep those donations coming, kids! Our operators are waiting to here from you!!!

We're going to our international feed for one of the true greats of modern pop music, doing one of their biggest hits... put your hands together for Flash and the Pan!

Stop - Look - Listen!

Remember kids - if you can, drop a few shekels into the cup!

And now, time for a cinema classic - the pioneering animators Len Janson and the late Chuck Menville in "Stop Look and Listen"!



Some of our older viewers may remember this as the basis for a series of old "Gulf" gasoline commercials...

You can read a little about Janson and Menville here - and see a couple of their later films!

And Now, For All You Youngsters...

Coming up next on the big fundraising telethon...

Ladies and gentlemen - THE BEATLES!!!

Todd the Mod!

Ladies and gentlemen, this hour on our fundraiser...

May I present a guy I once waited on in my bookstore days - Todd Rundgren!



BTW, that's Jean Yves Labat with the green hair doing the Eno impression (and the Spinners giving the introductions)...

Home Movies

And as our fundraiser continues...

Here's some of my home movies of beautiful Las Vegas, accompanied by the vocal stylings of the Chairman of the Board, Frank Sinatra!

Another Celebrity Drops By

Ladies and gentlemen, an old friend from my Stanyan Street days... Mr. Rod McKuen!

Celebrities Are Coming Out for The Dave™© Blog Fundraiser!

It's Hour Seven and I'm proud to introduce my good friend, Mickey Dolenz!

Things Are Tough All Over, I Know...

... but sadly, we could use a little help around Casa de Dave. So...

I realize it's kind of cheeky for someone with a blog that hasn't been updated in over two weeks to request donations, but like I said - we're on the edge!

So thanks...

UPDATE: To give this a little more entertainment value, I'm posting selections from my YouTube "favorites". Here's Peter Cook and Dudley Moore doing an awesome parody of Gerry Anderson's "Supermarionette" TV shows. Enjoy, effendi!

God Bless Amerikkka!!!

Now them's some fireworks!



And maestro - a little 4th of July music if you please!




Don't miss the parade!