Happy Birthday Paddington Bear!

Happy Birthday Paddington Bear! Paddington, one of my favorite children's book characters, turns 50 years old today. On Christmas Eve 1956, while looking for a gift for his wife, English author Michael Bond saw a teddy bear on the shelf of a store inside the Paddington Railway Station in London. The toy inspired him to write a story about a little bear in a blue coat, yellow hat and a tag marked "Please Look After this Bear" discovered by an English family at the Paddington Railway Station. The book, A Bear Called Paddington, was published on this day in 1958. Since then 10 collections of Paddington stories have been published in 30 languages to the joy of millions of children and adults (including this one) around the world. The Paddington Railway Station contains a bronze statue of the bear in his honor.

Paddington is an exceedingly polite bear with a fondness for marmalade (my mom explained it to me back then as "British Jelly") and a knack for doing the wrong thing while trying very hard to do right. I was a klutzy kid who talked too loud, tripped over his own feet but was acutely sensitive to upsetting others (little has changed). I've also had a special fondness for bears since age 6 when my first grade teacher nicknamed me "Smokey." Pair that with Paddington's blue and yellow wardrobe, colors matching those of my beloved University of Michigan, and I didn't stand a chance. Paddington and I became best friends and remained so for many years until i gave my room a "teenagers makeover" at 14 and put away childish things.

As an adult, I feel more than comfortable bringing them back. So I believe I'm going to purchase a Paddington Bear in honor of his birthday. He will reside comfortably with the Winnie the Pooh that sits on my nightstand and Snuggle Bear, a little white polar bear I bought for my girlfriend last year at Kip's Toyland in Los Angeles.

Happy Birthday, my dear Paddington, from an old and new best friend. And if you out there have your own  Paddington Bear stories, I'd love to hear them.

Regression 2.0: Casey Kasem from the 1970s:

I've spoken previously about XM Satellite Radio's replays of Casey Kasem's American Top 40 from the 1980s which is like getting a liquid injection of my childhood every Sunday morning. Bliss. Now I find they also replay the same program from the 1970s on Saturday morning. Since most were before my time, the music is familiar to me only as the source for elevator soundtracks, commericials, television themes, and porn backgrounds.

Bliss again.

UPDATE: This little portal will lead you to streams of every countdown imaginable. Did you John Tesh had a radio show? Best that stays here.

Pop-up Video is a Place on Earth:

Please tell me you miss Pop-up Video as much as I do.

Lovely Time...

Man, did I have a lovely time here in Ann Arbor. Made a new friend at the Book Festival and caught up with old allies Masha Hamilton and Dan Wickett. Went to Zingerman's three times and saw a fabulous movie at the Michigan. Spent an hour at the Hands On Museum (where I volunteered as a high school student) and learned about mufflers. I bought an obscene of vinyl (there's at least three vinyl shops within 6 blocks of my family's apartment) for my new turntable and had meals with two sets of parents of childhood friends. We called each other by our first names. I guess once you have a morgage and a job, you're entitled.

Today I got up early, had breakfast at Angelo's then took a long walk. On the grounds of my elementary school, I exercised, did pushups and squats, ran the sprints I ran in little league, home plate to the warming house way out in center field and back again. I was hot, sweaty, and for nearly 2 hours, back in 1983.

I can tell though it's time to go home. I'm a little bored. My stride feels lazy instead of relaxed. I miss my cat, my own bed, my friends.

I love this little town in the midwest. It's where I'm from. It made me who I am. But it's not where I am now. It's the place I go to recharge, not to dream.

Still, I'd like to take a few of my behaviors this week home with me. I spent less time distracted by my iPod and more just listening as a walked. I saw the sunset twice from the window of the apartment's office as I wrote. That was nice. I hear they have sunsets in California too.

I heard a few songs on Wilco's new album "Sky Blue Sky" this morning. These lights from "What Light" stuck out...

"And if the whole world's singing your songs
And all you're paintings have been hung
Just remember what was yours is everyone's from now on

And that's not wrong or right
But you can struggle with it all you like
You'll only get uptight

There's a light
White light
There's a light
One light."

I take it this way: What you once saw as only yours someday belongs to everyone. You can either see that as loss or the beginning of transcendence, as your story joining the world's story. It feels like a little bit of both.

I think Wilco meant the song to be about creativity. I think it applies to hometowns and childhoods too.

On this Day in History (The Civil War):

On this day in 1865, General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant in Appomattox Court House, Virginia, thus ending the Civil War. The Writer's Almanac today had a lovely little write-up of the event.

After it was over, Grant said, "[I felt] sad and depressed at the downfall of a foe who had fought so long and valiantly and had suffered so much for a cause, though that cause was, I believe, the worst for which people ever fought." When the Union soldiers began to cheer and celebrate, Grant ordered them to be silent out of respect.

Lee rode back to his camp, and crowds of Confederate soldiers along the road began to weep as he passed. When he reached his tent, Lee said to the crowd, "Go home now, and if you make as good citizens as you have soldiers, you will do well, and I shall always be proud of you. Goodbye, and God bless you all."

Does this kind of respect for an enemy in battle even exist anymore? If no, isn't this a sign of backsliding rather than progress?

Missed it in High School:

I can't believe I went through high school and never read Andrew Marvell's fantastic poem "To His Coy Mistress." Check this out...

"Had we but world enough, and time,
This coyness, lady, were no crime ...
But at my back I always hear
Time's winged chariot hurrying near;
And yonder all before us lie
Deserts of vast eternity."

Isn't that great?

Oh it's also Marvell's birthday today (via The Writer's Almanac)

Hometown Knowledge:

Yes, I know nobody trusts Wikipedia anymore. But I had a super time this morning checking out the entries of every place I've ever lived and learning a thing or two...

Ann Arbor, Michigan (1973-1991): President Lyndon Johnson announced the "Great Society" in Ann Arbor in 1964.

Baltimore, Maryland (1991-1997): Baltimore is home to the world's tallest five-sided equilateral building, the Baltimore World Trade Center.

Los Angeles, California (Summers of 1991, 1992): Los Angeles and its suburbs have 13 area codes.

Austin, Texas (1997-2000): Austin is situated on the Balcones Fault, a non-active earthquake zone.

San Francisco, California (2000-Present): San Francisco's city flag is a rising pheonix, adopted after the devastating 1906 earthquake. The motto beneath it reads "Gold in Peace, Iron in War."

Try it with your hometowns. It's fun.

Little Glimmer of Home:

I'm way tied up in catch up from my many weeks away and won't be able to blog for a few days. Until then Suzan took this awesome picture of the State Theatre in Ann Arbor that I'd like to share with you. Enjoy. I'll speak to you soon.

Flickr + Your Home Town:

Flickr has a pool dedicated to the architecture of my home town of Ann Arbor, Michigan, which brings back all kinds of memories. Bet your hometown is in there too.

Why You Shouldn't Read Alumni Bulletins: Lesson #1, Gub'ment.

So this guy and I grew up down the street from one another. I just found out that's he's now a member of the Ann Arbor City Council, recently elected. That's the town where we both grew up. He was interviewed on the local political cable access show by our 8th grade civics teacher.

Sheesh.

Oh, and this is the second time this has happened. This guy and I graduated from college the same year. He was "Jamie" back then.

Update: Leigh and I have been exchanging emails. Which is wild.