Jean Claude Killy was the best skier of his era and still widely considered one of the best downhill racers in the history of the sport. But, it was his good looks and charisma that allowed him to go from the slopes into living rooms around the world as one of the first internationally marketed Olympic stars. His popularity set in motion a new era of sport, where charisma and screen presence were as important as athletic achievement. Continue reading →
First published in 1980, The Preppy Handbook became an instant cult classic, but underneath the tongue in cheek humor that aimed good natured jabs at the East Coast “establishment” is a work that has wielded as much fashion influence as any written in the last 30 years. Continue reading →
Enough has been written on Howard Hughes to fill several libraries. Yet, we are still left with little we truly know about the man. One thing that we do know is that at his core he was one helluva pilot and as passionate about aviation as any man who has ever lived. Today marks the 73rd anniversary of his breaking of his own record of transcontinental flight in flying from Burbank, California to Newark, New Jersey in under 7 and a half hours. Continue reading →
If the race to the South Pole between Roald Amundsen and Robert Falcon Scott would have been a ball game, it would have been decided by halftime. Amundsen overwhelmed his opponent with superior planning, execution, and even a trick play to start the game. Unfortunately, the events didn’t take place in a game. In one of history’s harshest lessons, Scott found out that the South Pole is no place to be found unprepared and relying on “luck”. Continue reading →
George Burns said it best when he remarked, “Happiness is a dry martini and a good woman … or a bad woman.” We’ll save the discussion of women for another day (or lifetime), but in the meantime focus on the martini. An amazingly simple drink, it’s still managed to be misinterpreted and misconstrued to the point that it now causes confusion. Let’s take a look at how it began and how it’s intended to be enjoyed. Continue reading →
In boxing, the term “bums” is often used to describe fighters, well, who aren’t actually good at fighting. Nobody, fought more “bums” than LaMar Clark. But, to his credit he quickly dispatched these opponents to the tune of a record setting 44 wins by knockout. It’s a record that still stands today and is in no real danger of being broken anytime soon. Who knows, Clark might still be knocking out tomato can opponents if he hadn’t run into a young boxer on the rise named Cassius Clay. Continue reading →
For anyone coming of age after World War II, Ian Fleming’s creation of James Bond provided the most romantic and dashing personification of a spy imaginable. For generations he has been the pinnacle of cool and a centerpiece of pop culture. But in many ways the creator of James Bond, author Ian Flaming, may have been more Bond than Bond. Continue reading →
On Thursday night most sports fans will watch the Bowl Championship Series title game between the University of Texas and University of Alabama, played in the storied Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. The stadium has been home to some of the greatest and most memorable games in college football’s history. But, you would never have guessed greatness awaited the game judging by its first effort played back in 1902. It was a game so ugly and lacking in entertainment value that the organizers promptly canceled the game for the next fifteen years. Continue reading →
This was a great story that ran in The Tennessean last week. The story itself is great, but the nostalgia to a time when people wrote more letters is also something that most of our readers will appreciate. Bunny Allen was a letter writer, as were most of the gentleman hunter’s of that era. With all their female admirers, they couldn’t afford not to be! Continue reading →
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