I had wanted to do this post to celebrate one of my favorite holidays, Halloween. I don't have a lot to celebrate right now. My computer died last night. I'm using my cousin's computer to write this message. I don't know what I'm going to do. I'm going to see if my laptop can be fixed inexpensively. If not, I'm going to have to get a new one before I start back in college the first of the year. I really didn't need this new expense. I'm not going to be able to be online much right now since I don't have my own computer. I'm going to have to take a break from the blogging world. This will be my last post for right now. I'm not going to be able to check out your blogs either for awhile. I'm so sorry about everything. I'll miss you guys so much. I'm hoping to be back as soon as I can. Take care. I wish you all the best.
This photo is from the 1983 horror parody film House of the Long Shadows. It starred Christopher Lee, John Carradine, Peter Cushing & Vincent Price.I thought I would some videos for your viewing and listening pleasure. I hope you enjoy them.
Many of my favorite male stars are those of the 1960's and 1970's. These men oozed masculine coolness. Here are examples of some of the men that I admire the most from that era. You might not know all of them. I'm hoping then that this post will be a springboard for you to discover some celebs of the past. Who do you like amongst these men? If there is somebody you would like to know more about, please let me know. I'll try to fill you in about that particular man.
I thought it was time for another vintage post. Here are some photos of one of the greatest comedy duos of all time, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. The team of Martin and Lewis had the Midas touch for a decade. They captured the public's attention on the radio, in nightclubs, on television, in movies, in comics & so much more. They went their separate ways after ten years of creating magic together. They did each go on to very successful careers as solo entertainers. I hope you like these photos. So who's your favorite comedy team of the past? Let me know what you think.
It's been quite some time since I've posted on my blog. I'm finally ready to start back blogging. While I did enjoy my time away, I have missed blogging and all my friends here. I did need the rest and the time to concentrate on certain goals I wanted to accomplish. I have been able to achieve some of the things I wanted to do during my hiatus. Some of the other items I am still currently working on.
When I took my break, I wasn't really sure how long I would be away. I had figured at most that I might be gone for six weeks to two months. I never would have imagined I would have been away this long. I heard from quite a lot of people who did miss this blog, as well as my Sugar & Spice blog, and wondered when I was coming back. I was never quite sure. I think I got burned out and overwhelmed with my blogs. It got to be where it felt like a job. It just got to a point where I felt stressed out.
There are going to be some changes. One of the biggest changes will be in the amount of postings I do. Before I was doing a post every weekday, but I won't be doing that this time around. One thing is that I don't want to feel the stress and tension I felt before. Plus I no longer have internet access at my house. I don't have the time and so forth these days to do that many posts. I plan to do around two posts per week. They will generally be posted on Mondays and Wednesdays. They will probably be posted around 9AM Eastern Standard Time. Some weeks I might only do one post on this blog, while other weeks I might do three. Two will be the normal amount for this blog though. The same goes for my other blog as well.
While my blog originally focused on Dean Martin and the Rat Pack, I plan to mix it up this time around. You've noticed that I'm now calling this blog Coolness Is Timeless. That was always part of the previous title, The Dino Lounge: Coolness Is Timeless. I did do posts back then that focused on other men I admire from both the past and present. I covered everybody from Cary Grant to Fonzworth Bentley. I want to do more of that. I plan to still cover Dino and those cool cats this time around, but I want to expand the blog out to share some of my other interests. That's the main reason why I didn't feel it was right to continue to keep the previous title since the main focus would no longer be on Dean Martin. I'll continue to do posts on him and the Rat Pack, but there is so much more I want to post about now. Coolness is truly timeless. It never goes out of style. I have a lot of retro interests, but I also embrace the best of our modern times as well. I want to try to find the right balance between the past and the present.
This blog is a work in progress. This is a time of evolution for this blog. I'm really excited about the future here. I've got some great ideas about what I want to do here. I can't wait to start having fun again. I do hope that all my readers from before will return to read my blog. I've missed all of you. I am sorry for going away so long. I also hope that you will enjoy what I do with this blog. I know things are going to be different now, but I do hope you will stick around. Thanks for all your support, encouragement, friendship, etc. I have appreciated all of it so much. Cheers!
P.S. I hope that you will link to my blog. If you add a new link, please let me know so I can add a link to your blog as well. If you already linked to my blog, please change the title of the link to Coolness Is Timeless instead of The Dino Lounge. Thanks.
Happy New Year! I hope that everybody will have a fantastic time ringing in 2010. I do hope that all of you who celebrated Christmas had a wonderful time this year.
I'm still without a cable modem. I've been doing a lot of soul searching lately, plus I've been talking to my sister. We've decided to give up the internet at our house for the time being. Money is really tight right now. It doesn't seem to be getting any better any time soon. We are giving up both our high speed internet and our digital cable service. We are just going to keep basic cable. That will save us some money every month. We are always looking for way to cut expenses.
I am putting this and my other blog on hiatus for the time being. I had been mulling doing this anyway before the situation with the cable modem arose. The modem dying just sealed it for me.
I've got a lot of things I want to try to work on in 2010. The last few years of my life have been rather rocky. Plus I will turn 40 in 2010. That's one of those milestone birthdays. There are some goals I'm setting for myself that I want to accomplish in this year.
I really want to get back into shape. I've gained a lot of weight over the last few years. When I'm stressed out, I eat a lot. I've been stressed out so much due to work and other factors. I want to start eating better and working out again.
I also want to try to find another job this year. It's not getting any better at work. I'm thankful that I've got a job when so many others are still out of work. I still would like to figure out something else to do. I'm not getting the hours or the pay I was a few years back. It's been a real struggle.
I want to work on my spiritual life as well. I'm not sure if it's because I'm getting older or what, but I've been thinking about spiritual matters a lot lately. I plan to start going to a house of worship in a few weeks. I want to work on my relationship with God. Plus it will give me a chance to be part of some community and something greater than myself.
I have so much enjoyed doing both my blogs. I've had a lot of fun. I've meet a lot of great people. I'm going to miss it. But I feel like I need to take this break for now so I can concentrate on some other areas of my life. Blogs tend to take so much time and energy. I need to focus that instead on improving my life. I'm not saying I'll never come back. I may be back in a month or it could be six months or more. I'm not sure. Thanks so much for all the support and friendship you've all given me since I starting blogging. It means the world to me. I care about you guys a lot.
I'll be able to get on the internet a few times a week at my grandmother's. I plan to keep my pages on Facebook and MySpace. For those that I'm friends with on either, we can keep in touch there. If you are on either of those and we are not friends yet, I hope that you will become my friend. I do want to stay in touch.
I hope all of you will understand what's going on. Please don't be upset with you. This is just something I need to do. My sister Stephanie is taking a break from her blog Chic Femme as well. I'm not sure how long her break will be. It could be shorter or longer than mine. She's working on getting into graduate school.
Take care. I wish you all the best in 2010. God bless you all. Cheers!
P.S. I wanted to leave you with a couple of videos. The first is of Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra doing a skit on Dino's television show for New Year's. The other one is Frank Sinatra and Liza Minnelli singing New York, New York. I hope you will enjoy both.
I love this photo of Frank and Nancy Sinatra together. These two make such a great looking father and daughter. Christmas is a wonderful time to spend with our families. I'd love to have these two show up at my home during the holiday season. I'd just have to figure out the perfect gift for each of them.
Here's a video somebody made featuring Nancy Sinatra singing an Italian folk carol called O Bambino.
P.S. Frank's birthday was on December 12th. He would be 94 if he was still living. Happy Belated Birthday to the Chairman of the Board. I raise a toast in his honor. Cheers!
These are some Christmas album covers throughout the years that I like. Many of them I posted last year at this time, but I thought I would share them again. So which do you like the best?
I thought I would end this post with a video of Nat King Cole's Christmas classic The Christmas Song.
P.S. I have some affiliate programs which are in the upper right side of my blog. If you haven't finished all your Christmas shopping, consider buying some items from any of these affiliates. I'm sure you can find something great for your loved ones and even for yourself. I get a small commission on any sales. It would be well appreciated. You can check out the affiliate programs on my other blog Sugar & Spice. Some of them are different than these. Thanks.
One of my favorite tunes to listen to as the Christmas season rolls around each year is Marshmallow World by Dean Martin. It was recorded by Dino for his 1966 Christmas album. I really love this song. It really puts me in the holiday spirit. Here are several different video versions of the song. I hope you will watch all of them. The first one is of Dino singing solo. The second one is a duet with Frank Sinatra. The last one is a duet with Beverly Sills. Let me know which version you like the best.
P.S. Does anybody have any suggestions on how to promote my blog? I was talking to somebody about this the other day. They seemed surprised that I was curious about this subject. I guess they figured I had enough people visiting my blog and commenting. I know I get a lot of comments. I've also got a lot of people who follow my blog, plus there are a lot who are subscribed to the feed. I'm still interested to learn more about how to get more traffic to my blog. I want to build up my readership even more. Any advice at all would be well appreciated? Thanks so much.
Also, I did want to mention this. I know some other bloggers are having the same trouble. I'm having some problems with comments on my blog. It's actually on both my blogs. They are very slow to show up. I also know some people have had trouble leaving comments. Some comments never seem to appear at all. It is very irritating. I'm getting really sick of Blogger right now. I do hope you will bear with me Please continue to leave your comments. They are always well appreciated. I love hearing from you guys. Thanks so much. I did want you all to know what's been happening. Take care.
Here are some random photos of Frank Sinatra and some of his pallies back in the late 50's to mid-60's. I hope you enjoy them. Cheers!
The Rat Pack together in action.
Dean Martin, Judy Garland & Frank Sinatra are rehearsing in Las Vegas in 1958.
Frank's sitting at his piano in his home. That's a model of his personal jet on top of the piano.
Frank's cracking up after falling out of a chair at a Miami party.
Frank's doing what he does best - perform under the spotlight.
Frank's wiping his face off with a towel.
Sammy Davis Jr. and Frank Sinatra point down at some other guy's shoe.
P.S. I hope you liked all those photos. I wanted to let you guys know about this poll, "Sinatra & Jay-Z: Two Generations Of Cool," at the website of Madison Square Garden.
Here is the promo information sent to me:
Two BIG musical legends,one BIG CITY, MSG asks: Who sang New York City's true anthem better? Frank Sinatra and Jay-Z both have recorded sensational hits declaring their love for the city that never sleeps. Sinatra's 1980's hit, "New York, New York" still lives in on people's hearts today while Jay-Z's catchy hip-hop tune, "Empire State of Mind," has become the anthem for all celebrated NY sport victories. Jay-Z claims he's "the new Sinatra" in the hit song also, but does the Hoboken-native Frankie still hold the title for the city's anthem. YOU DECIDE who the king of NY is here:
Also, be sure to tune-in on Friday, December 4th @ 10:30 PM when MSG airs two iconic performances. Leading off is Jay-Z’s Answer the Call September 11th performance, followed at 11:30 p.m. by Frank Sinatra: The Main Event, a concert which originally aired live Oct. 13, 1974.
*Also, you can purchase at the website a box-set titled: Sinatra: New York containing 70 previously unreleased songs and includes four compact discs and one DVD featuring concerts Ol’ Blue Eyes’ performed between 1955 and 1990 in venues all around the city, including Radio City Music Hall. If you purchase the box-set there, you'll receive an exclusive CD of the Main Event concert.
I hope you'll check out the website. Make sure you vote in the poll on whether Frank Sinatra or Jay-Z has the true anthem for the Big Apple. Thanks.
P.S.S. I received the Beautiful Blogger Award from the Wabi & Sabi blog. I greatly appreciate it. Thanks so much.
I mean no copyright infringement by the posting of pictures, videos, etc. on this blog. I do not in any way claim the rights of ownership to any of them. They totally remain the property of their respective owners. I have posted them purely for entertainment purposes only. All written content, unless otherwise noted as being quotes, has been written and copyrighted by me.
