Tweet Silent Obsolescence

The successful use of revolving doors as a comedy prop. In this thread, viewtopic.php?f=3&t=13267" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank the film includes Arbuckle and a revolving door and I thought it was funnier than what I've seen Chaplin do. They are not seen much as a comedy props anymore.

If my experience last Friday is anything to go by, they wouldn't work as comedy props anymore. The one I often walk through on my way to work is programmed (I found out by mischance) to stop dead if your back foot so much as brushes against the panel behind you. Not much fun in a revolving door designed with safety-stop technology!

Jim

I'm watching Our Dancing Daughters again, and Dorothy Sebastian signed off a letter with, "Gloriously yours".

For the last few months, I've been doing a word study on the word "glory." It turns out that
it must have been used in ancient times for an emotional or psychological state that is a bit
blurred today in our understanding. It's interesting to see Dorothy Sebastian sign a letter that
way. The word glory is often used as a verb in the Bible, like "I gloried in you" even
suggesting that a person gloried in knowing someone was doing well. I like to think that words
are not merely synonymous of others, therefore there being only a few meanings, but words considered
similar can in fact be very different from each other, perhaps even having information that
some no longer really understand.

I'm watching Our Dancing Daughters again, and Dorothy Sebastian signed off a letter with, "Gloriously yours".

For the last few months, I've been doing a word study on the word "glory." It turns out that
it must have been used in ancient times for an emotional or psychological state that is a bit
blurred today in our understanding. It's interesting to see Dorothy Sebastian sign a letter that
way. The word glory is often used as a verb in the Bible, like "I gloried in you" even
suggesting that a person gloried in knowing someone was doing well. I like to think that words
are not merely synonymous of others, therefore there being only a few meanings, but words considered
similar can in fact be very different from each other, perhaps even having information that
some no longer really understand.

I agree. Every word carries its own atmosphere, its own ethos. The experienced and sensitive reader or writer can pick up on this and use it to good advantage for enhanced, more effective communication. It's rather like with the "vocabulary" of cinema: overtones and parallels, be they visual or aural, enrich the experience to the sophisticated member of the audience, but just exist on the surface level for the audience member with an as of yet more limited background. The resonances exist for those able to hear them.

This is reminding me of a great book I read: The Tyranny of Words by Stuart Chase.

It explores the problems that arise when people think that their understanding of a word is the same as everyone's.

For the last few months, I've been doing a word study on the word "glory."

Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There:

'... there are three hundred and sixty-four days when you might get un-birthday presents —'

'Certainly,' said Alice.

'And only one for birthday presents, you know. There's glory for you!'

'I don't know what you mean by "glory",' Alice said.

Humpty Dumpty smiled contemptuously. 'Of course you don't — till I tell you. I meant "there's a nice knock-down argument for you!"'

'But "glory" doesn't mean "a nice knock-down argument",' Alice objected.

'When I use a word,' Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, 'it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.'

'The question is,' said Alice, 'whether you can make words mean so many different things.'

'The question is,' said Humpty Dumpty, 'which is to be master — that's all.'

One does come across quite a few Humpty Dumptys in this world.

Monocles

Surely there are mature leading men and villains
today with 20/40-60 vision that could benefit from
the wearing of a monocle.

Eric Von Stroheim and George Arliss sported
monocles and were the cooler for it.

Monocles themselves are no monolith.
There are of different sizes and use
different chains.

A banker's monocle is not going to look like
a general's monocle.

How effective would that scene in Lawrence
of Arabia been had Jack Hawkins not
look through his monocle and drop it in shock?

A guy at work here is using a pince-nez as his computer glasses.

greta

There's an effort to revive them: http://pincenez1.blogspot.com/ and I wear a pince nez myself on occasion- I'll do it more often once I getr one made with my bifocal prescription

NAME HIS CELEBRITY CONQUESTS !!!

To indicate an underachiever in 1925, there'd be
1. A shot of a crowing rooster,
2. then a cut to a ne'er do well in bed.

To indicate an underachiever (or corpse) in 1975, there'd be
1. A close-up of a TV test pattern,
2. with a pan to a ne'er do well on a sofa.

Evening wear, as described by Fred Astaire: top hat, white tie, tails, dicky etc. If you aspired to be anybody you had to change into that sort of gear before going out on the town. Do even diplomats wear tails these days?

Do even diplomats wear tails these days?

Just political dogs, cats, and rats - mostly the latter (they've eaten most of the dogs and cats at other functions)...

My husband wore Astaire-grade top hat and tails to our wedding, so the stuff is still around in one form or another. Occasionally, you'll see men dressed that way at Australian horse races, particularly the Melbourne Cup.

(Just to veer off topic here, I had also requested 'Night and Day' as the going-down-the-aisle music for my wedding, but didn't get it because the pianist ... ... had never heard of the song, or of Cole Porter. I cut him a break because he was a young fella, but still ... )

Do even diplomats wear tails these days?

Just political dogs, cats, and rats - mostly the latter (they've eaten most of the dogs and cats at other functions)...

You forgot the monkeys...

The proper gentleman, as depicted in movies
from the 'teens (1910-20), wore collarless shirts
with collars a separate accessory available from a wide
variety of manufacturers needing pins to attach them
to the shirts which are also available from different
sources....................

It was more than cuff links and tie clips.

Don't forget the collar studs for those detachable collars. The main purpose, it seems, of collar studs has always been to get lost under or behind furniture, with hilarity ensuing.

Wikipedia actually has a good article on detachable collars, their story, and their hardware:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detachable_collar" target="_blank