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(Niels Bohr - Physics owes a lot . . .so does the Atom for that matter)

Tonights Gallimaufry features an address by Niels Bohr from Copenhagen Denmark on the occasion of the 25th anniversary (April 5, 1913) of Bohrs completion of his paper on The Bohr Theory on the Structure of the Atom.

Niels Bohr: “Of course, in a short speech, it would be quite impossible to give any detailed account of the marvelous development of atomic fission in our days. And so therefore only recall a few points, especially suited to illustrate the decisive role cooperation has played.”

The broadcast, via shortwave and Bohr's thick accent make understanding a little difficult, but the historic nature of this recording makes those problems not that big a deal.

Another small dose of history from the Archives at Newstalgia.

hint-hint.

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(The Perceived World Of Leisure - 1958 - it looked good on paper)

From the CBS Radio Documentary series "The Hidden Revolution", broadcast from April 1958 narrated by Edward R. Murrow. The subject was The Twenty Hour Work Week, and how life in 1958 was adjusting to it (which, of course it never really did - then as now, leisure time was a foreign concept). But at the time, all things were possible.

Edward R. Murrow: “Americans living in 1958 face an era in which all of the problems of the good life, including the uses of leisure time can be, indeed must be, assessed as one of the most important parts of the Hidden Revolution. In the next thirty minutes, we intend to explore the possibilities inherent in a situation where most men and women may find themselves working in what our fathers would have thought of as paradise; a time, a place where an individual works a twenty hour week.”

Well . . .it sounded good. But reality was a different thing entirely.

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(What it is, is Baseball)

One last salute to Baseball before it all goes away until next year. This one, from a program called Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow ran a history of baseball up to August 12, 1951 (the date of the broadcast).

Check it out and keep it for that snowy day in January to remind yourself Summer eventually comes.

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(The Waiting Game)

As the threat of war became increasingly inevitable, the evacuations started, the recall of ambassadors and non-essential personnel, packing and going home. Waiting for the next shoe to drop.

The BBC World service reported the goings on during the day of August 27, 1939.

BBC Newsreader: “Railway traffic in Germany is to be still further restricted, and in future the railways will not undertake to carry any private passengers. The German Traffic Minister in a broadcast said that this step is being taken to avoid the serious delay in bringing food to the big cities. In some places the delay is leading to great disorganization. Germany has assured Denmark and Lithuania that she will respect their neutrality.”

Nobody blinked.

Free speech ain't free, and Glenn Beck is learning that lesson the hard way:

Three companies who had run ads during Glenn Beck's Fox News show have distanced themselves from Beck, including LexisNexis-owned Lawyers.com, Procter & Gamble and Progressive Insurance. We're told a P&G spot inadvertently aired during a weekend Beck broadcast, but that the company never had a regular buy for the show.

The group ColorofChange.org called on their members to pressure advertisers to pull ads from Beck's show after he called Pres. Obama a "racist" who "has a deep-seated hatred for white people."

A Fox News spokesperson told TVNewser that the advertisers simply moved their spots from Beck to other programs on the network, "so there has been no revenue lost."

Okay, so the advertisers took money from crazy Peter to pay crazy Paul, but this is a good first step. Perhaps with the right motivation and enough racist, crazy controversies, these, and other companies will pull their money from Fox News altogether.

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(For the Princely sum of 50k and your choice of shrinks)

In the mid-1950s a movement sprang up around the country - a mass exodus West and a mass exodus from the cities. The lure of sprawl, unobstructed views and tranquility screamed loudly everywhere. This was all part of the evolution of modern day America.

So much so, that it became the subject of books. One such book was The Exurbanites by AC Spectorsky.

The book was wildly popular in the 1950's as were its sentiments. So CBS Radio, as part of their "CBS Radio Workshop" did a quasi documentary/dramatic presentation on the book.

Narrated by Eric Sevareid and broadcast on March 30, 1956, The Exurbanites sought to answer the questions about the great trek west, the great exodus from the cities.

In retrospect, it's interesting listening - a distant point in our culture when things evolved and changed.

And one day we woke up and it was all different.

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(Things were heating up with China)

For a lot of people, the name Jawahralal Nehru conjures up a deep-distant past of India during its struggle for independence from Colonial rule. Nehru was a close associate of Mohandas Gandhi and it was Nehru who delivered the historic "Tryst With Destiny" address on the eve of India's independence. But Nehru was a substantial figure in India's rise to power, committing it to a policy of industrialization - largely responsible for what it has become today.

But in 1961, Nehru had come to the U.S. on a State Visit and to meet with President Kennedy regarding the recent resumption of Nuclear testing. Nehru wanted an outright moratorium of nuclear weapons testing for all parties, both Western and Iron Curtain, even though the prospect seemed unlikely. India would have its own conflicts shortly - war with China would erupt a few months after this broadcast. The question about China is asked, but it's carefully danced around, in true political fashion.

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(Almost that time again)

As you know, one of my biggest guilty pleasures is listening to old live concerts - really old ones. A few weeks ago I posted an excerpt of a New York Philharmonic concert from 1960 featuring Fritz Reiner. This time it's the famous Besancon Festival in France featuring L'Orchestre de la Societe des Concerts du Conservatoire (Paris Conservatory) conducted by Andre Cluytens from September 1949 performing Dukas La Peri. Summer is festival season in Europe and there are a ton of them going on . They are mostly all broadcast, as is the tradition going back to the beginning of radio. Luckily, for poverty-stricken culture vultures like myself it's a matter of finding the stream or podcast and downloading it. If you're addicted to time travelling, it's a matter of digging into your archive and pulling out what some radio station tossed in the trash.

Either way, it makes for a non-stress afternoon - especially when the regular Sunday diet consists of televised talking heads.