Random Kitties: Christmas 1970

"Joanie, you look so pretty in that Nehru jacket!  Go pose with Mr. Whiskers by the tree."

I am a big fan of "found photos."  

You've heard of this, right?  People go to flea markets and garage sales and buy up old unwanted photographs for their own use and enjoyment.  

At first, I thought this was the saddest pursuit I had ever come across.  Then I changed my mind.  Photos don't have to lose their purpose when they become orphaned; no, instead photos and their subjects find new lives, new appreciation, and no one is forgotten. 

After all, what is a photograph?  I am a person.  I walked on this planet.  I had a life, and someone thought to document a moment of that life, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant.  I was here.  

Now I myself am an avid collector.  And the Internet, Pinterest especially, is a fountain of such photos.  My favorites involve people posing with their pets.  Since I am a much-abused human belonging to a cat, I like photos with kitties the best...so much so,   "Random Kitties" is a new category here on this blog.

From 1970: Gram Parsons Was A Genius

The best-known version of this song, "Wild Horses," is by The Stones, of course. However, the song was originally given to Gram Parsons by Keith Richards as a gift.

Gram...what can I say about him?  He had the voice of an angel and the soul of a tortured poet.  His life was a Tennessee Williams play.  He loved his drink and his drugs and American music in its purest forms.  His was a shattered soul, his voice about hopeful unreasonable love, and those hopes dashed on the ground.

He was far too beautiful for this world.

Gram Parsons

1946-1973

 

From 1970: What Jeff MacDonald Did

Nothing makes me angrier faster than those who insist on saying that Jeff MacDonald "allegedly" murdered his family on that cold rainy winter night in February 1970.

I heard it most recently on an episode of Criminal Minds.  Usually, that is a show that gets it mostly right when it comes to crimes and killers.  This was not one of those times.

And for those who scream that Fatal Vision was a smear job, let me just say this: it is the third finest true crime book ever written, with In Cold Blood being number one, and Helter Skelter being number two.  

The NBC telefilm of Fatal Vision was an absolute triumph.   Karl Malden and Eva Marie Saint do star turns as the parents of murdered Colette MacDonald, and the grandparents of young Kimmy and Kristy.  However, the movie belongs to a very young Gary Cole, who plays MacDonald, and does so in such a way that you can never really look at the poor guy the same way again after you've seen it.  (It's a shame, actually.  I like Gary Cole very much and I think he's terrific in other roles.)  However, he will always be Jeffrey R. MacDonald, murderer of his pregnant wife and two little girls, to me.

And this is what Jeff MacDonald did. 

"It was a blow of tremendous force."

Notice the silence as MacDonald murders his family.  I think this was a brilliant decision.  Background music would have done a disservice to the horror unfolding onscreen.

The definitive website about Jeff MacDonald and his crimes

Cry one for them.

How Does It Feel To Be One Of The Beautiful People?

1970

1973

This "beautiful person" wound up committing suicide in 2008.  She lost all of her money to Bernie Madoff, and she couldn't face being "both old and poor."  She was 73.

An extensive article about Luciana.
 

 

Baby, you're a rich man...

The Name's Barrett, Barrett

Love Story
1970

"Screw Paris! Screw Paris and music and all that stuff you thought you stole from me. I don't care, don't you believe that?"

Unpleasant

I'm having a combination endoscopy/colonoscopy tomorrow morning.

Just one of the many joys of turning 40, I guess (dripping with sarcasm).

Right now, I am doing the Miralax regimen with white grape juice. It's as much as fun as it sounds.

However, I am always thinking of the scads of ragamuffins who read this blog, so have a couple of vintage commercials pertaining to laxatives.

From 1970:

From 1970: What An Angel

I really miss Max Factor cosmetics, which have been discontinued in the United States.

I especially miss MF's X-Rated lip gloss. It was created by Max himself for Jean Harlow.

From 1970: Louise Lasser and Nyquil

From 1970: When Psychedelic Twins Sell Cold Medicine

I could sure use some frigging Dristan today.
My sinuses are terrible.

Can you even conceptualize the amount of mind-bending chemicals that were included in cold remedies back in 1970? And you were probably encouraged to "wash the pills down with the alcoholic beverage of your choice" in the package directions!

From 1970: Everything Old Is New Again

I have been trying to locate pictures of so-called "health food stores" from the Seventies, as they always seemed to be the punchline of some joke in the movies and sitcoms of the era. I would like to do an entire week of posts about "health food stores" and the products that were sold, but am finding it difficult to come up with material.

From 1970: Ho Ho Ho

Have a wonderfully fun and safe Memorial Day weekend, everybody!

From 1970: Leave My Kitten Alone

From 1970: Ever With Its Pulse On America, Playboy Takes A Loving Look At The No-Bra Look

Centerfold for September 1970, Debbie Ellison:

(I think she's really pretty)

1970: Hemlines Herald My Impending Birth

Life

August 21, 1970

about three weeks before I was born

get the bit about the "Manson Ranch" in the sidebar!