Baseball's Early Players: A Worthwhile Documentary Project

"Baseball is ballet without music.  Drama without words..." wrote sportscaster Ernie Harwell in his baseball essay, 'The Game For All America' (originally published in the 1955 edition of The Sporting News)

There's a history behind baseball.  A connection to the past.  A tradition to enjoy into the future. It's a sport I've always loved. I can watch 'Field Of Dreams' any day.  I've seen Ken Burns baseball documentary.  Sometimes, I'll listen to a ballgame on AM radio while sitting in traffic just so I can feel like I'm at the ballpark.  And so there's a sadness I feel when autumn rolls around and I hear the beginnings of football being uttered on the airwaves.  Because the next baseball season feels so far away...

Sure, we're well into football season but in Sunday's Los Angeles Times, baseball still reigned.  And I was delighted to see this.  The cover story of the travel section highlighted Cooperstown, New York. Someday, I want to visit Cooperstown, home to Baseball's Hall Of Fame.  As kids, my father talked about taking my brother there.  But never me.  Maybe because I'm a girl and he didn't think I'd be interested.  Although I may not be fanatical about rooting for certain teams, I enjoy baseball for the true sense of it-- for the pure 'love of the game.'

***

Neftalie Williams, a USC grad student, grew up riding skateboards, not eating hotdogs and watching ballplayers with awe at a local ballpark.  But for the next five years, his life will be all about baseball.  His mission is to document the momentous and rocky beginnings of Major League Baseball's racial integration from 1947 to 1971.  He wants to capitalize on living history by reaching out to each and every living African-American baseball player from that era.  His hope is to interview them on camera, record their thoughts, their stories, their emotions from that time.  By the end, if it all goes well, he'll not only have a comprehensive catalog of baseball's history, but our history as well.  I wish him the best of luck in his mission.  I think it's an absolutely worthwhile cause and a project I feel I'd enjoy researching myself.  Without The Los Angeles Times, I never would've heard of Neftalie Williams nor his baseball project or his passion.  To learn more, read the original article, Living Bridges To History by LA Times writer, Zach Helfand.

Follow this link to read the full content of Ernie Harwell's 1955 baseball essay, 'The Game For All America.'

Copyright © 2015 by KLiedle/@cococaffeine

Banging The Keys: Vintage Typewriters Of The Famous And Infamous

I've always loved the design and feel of a good old-fashioned typewriter.  When I was little, my mom had an electric typewriter and it was always a thrill for me to bang away on the keys and see the letters imprint onto the paper.  That electric typewriter would also sometimes shock my fingers as I typed.  That was always a surprising jolt. In the age of increasingly advancing technology where everyone's laptop looks the same and we're all staring at our phones, I find myself missing the uniqueness of the typewriter.

The other day, I made a long overdue visit to The Paley Center For Media here in Los Angeles.  With locations in New York and Los Angeles, The Paley Center is a nonprofit agency that showcases the importance of media in society.  They have unparalleled archives of television shows, advertising, and news clips that anyone from the public can access from their library.   They also host exhibits and special events throughout the year.

To my sheer delight, the Soboroff Typewriter Collection is the latest exhibit in Los Angeles.  Steve Soboroff has compiled a private collection of 28 original vintage typewriters once owned by the likes of Greta Garbo, Ernest Hemingway, Jack London, Truman Capote, George Burns, Joe Dimaggio and Marilyn Monroe.  As a writer and lover of classy vintage typewriters, I was in awe...

I'll share a few highlights here, but I urge anyone with an interest to go see these in person.  I was blown away by how much I enjoyed it! 

Copyright © 2015 by KLiedle/@cococaffeine
 

 

[Above] Hemingway's vintage typewriter, a 1929 Underwood Standard. He was known to write descriptive elements longhand, but he always typed out his dialogue, often standing at the typewriter.  

Truman Capote's personal typewriter near the end of his life -- A Smith Corona Electra 110. — at The Paley Center for Media.

Orson Welles Underwood Standard Portable 4B73700 which he used to type out "Citizen Kane."

 

The infamous Montgomery Ward Signature Portable F067033 used by Ted Kaczynski (aka The Unabomber.) This is one of two typewriters the FBI confiscated during the investigation.

 

Follow @PaleyCenter

www.paleycenter.org

Exhibit is FREE to the public

Available for viewing Wed-Sun from Noon-5PM

(Closed Mon and Tues) 

 

Finding Vivian Maier: Add To The Doc List Of Must Sees

Through a friend, I recently became aware of this documentary about photographer Vivian Maier.  It looks completely fascinating-- the woman, her photographs, the story behind it all.  Can't wait to see it for myself.

-KLiedle