The Echo of a Distant Time

Wednesday, June 11, 2025

Brian Wilson, 20 June 1942 to 11 June 2025

Kevin Winter/Getty Images

{BBC News 11 June} Brian Wilson, creator of iconic 1960s band The Beach Boys, dies aged 82

Fare thee well, Brian Wilson — and thank you for your extraordinary life and legacy. In my 47 years, I have spent many hours listening to the Beach Boys, devouring books and documentaries about them. Yet now, I struggle to find the words for this moment.

From 1962 to about 1973, the Beach Boys were America’s soundtrack, and Wilson was their mad genius. Imagining a world without them is like envisioning one without JS Bach, Louis Armstrong, or The Beatles: we cannot know what might have filled that void, if anything, only that music and culture would be unrecognisable.

The sun has set — not just on a transformative musician, but on a dream, a way of life, and on a nation. Brian Wilson’s idyllic songs, though escapist, captured our highest hopes. He never surfed; his mental health battles were fierce. Yet his art soared above these contradictions, much like America itself once transcended its many flaws.

In those mid-20th-century halcyon days, a reasonable degree of happiness was attainable to ordinary folks. That hope has died and is not coming back to life. And so, it feels tragically fitting that Brian Wilson — who so brilliantly and vividly soundtracked America at its idealistic best – departs as said country succumbs to the darkness of the blackest night.

Rest among the legends, good sir. —Arthur Newhook, 11 June 2025.

Copyright 2025, Arthur Newhook. @Sunking278 on X-TWITTER, and @FloydEtcetera on FACEBOOK. BLUESKY - @arthurnewhook.bsky.social. REDDIT - https://www.reddit.com/r/EchoOfADistantTime/new/. DONATIONS GRATEFULLY ACCEPTED at https://tinyurl.com/ArthurNewhook.

Friday, May 2, 2025

Kentucky Oaks day, but I am tapping out

Age has rendered my misophonia increasingly insurmountable, and I find myself incapable of enduring the sensory onslaught of contemporary horse racing coverage. The dual-screen ordeal—balancing NBC/Peacock’s maudlin human-interest vignettes with FanDuel TV’s (né TVG) ceaseless barrage of adverts and inane commentary—has become an exercise in futility, and I will not and cannot do it. That FanDuel, with its on-site personnel and equipment, remains barred from broadcasting the very races it documents, epitomises the absurdity of it all.

My enthusiasm for this ‘sport of kings’ has clearly diminished, eroded by my growing distaste for its plutocratic cadre of owners and trainers—many of whom, no doubt, support the orange s**tbag. The gambling, the saccharine artifice of NBC’s storytelling, the ethical compromises demanded of any conscientious spectator—all now weigh too heavily. I revere the horses themselves; the kinetic poetry of a stretch duel remains unparalleled. Yet after years of looking the other way, my tolerance is just about exhausted, though I dearly wish it were not so.

I came to follow horse racing in my 30s, enthralled by the brilliance of Wise Dan, California Chrome, American Pharoah, and Arrogate, among others. Now, at 47, apparently my engagement must be relegated to archival footage on Youtube—a melancholy retreat, yet an inevitable and necessary one. Another passion succumbs to the attrition of time and disillusionment.

Television, in the main, is an assault on my senses. Apart from Sky News, TCM, and not much else, I simply cannot endure it. Since the 2022 World Cup, I have been seeking refuge in European football: its uninterrupted cadence (stoppage time is a blessing), the sonorous ebb and flow of the crowd—a tonic for my frayed nerves. And as one of English and German blood, I consider it a duty to connect with my heritage in some faint, but meaningful way. The atmosphere is transcendent.

So let me be clear—this is no declaration that I will no longer follow baseball, American football, hockey, nor even the turf in spite of what I outlined above. But it does exhaust far too much of the little energy I have. I yearn for a quieter, more civilised world, and with each passing day, I grow more acutely aware that I can no longer push my limits anymore. - Arthur Newhook, 2 May 2025.

Copyright 2025, Arthur Newhook. @Sunking278 on X-Twitter, and at the same handle on FACEBOOK. BLUESKY - @arthurnewhook.bsky.social. DONATIONS GRATEFULLY ACCEPTED at https://tinyurl.com/ArthurNewhook.

Sunday, December 15, 2024

Christmas in a hellscape

Pictured: Yvonne Craig, who departed this world on 17 August 2015 and was thus mercifully spared from the current dystopian realities.

Is anyone truly in the Yuletide spirit this year? I concede that certain irrepressibly optimistic—or perhaps delusional—individuals will remain ‘holly jolly’ regardless of circumstances; we shall forever be cursed with such Pollyannas in any given debate. For many Americans, however, 25 December is often marked by profound melancholy and solitude. In light of the rotten year we have had and the absolute horrors awaiting in 2025, one might argue that we scarcely deserve a holiday. Part of me believes it would be prudent to forgo the occasion altogether for the foreseeable future, as we have proven unworthy of its respite and have forgotten the ‘reason for the season’. #JustSaying

Copyright 2024, Arthur Newhook. @Sunking278 and @FloydEtcetera on X, and at the same handles on FACEBOOK. MASTODON - @ArthurNewhook@mastodon.world, BLUESKY - @arthurnewhook.bsky.social. DONATIONS GRATEFULLY ACCEPTED at https://tinyurl.com/ArthurNewhook.

Thursday, November 28, 2024

A few thoughts on my English Puritan ancestors on this day of gratitude in Massachusetts Bay Colony

'Stepping Stones of American History', 1904. Via the Library of Congress

Heartfelt wishes of gratitude to all those celebrating Thanksgiving in the US. May everyone, everywhere, take the opportunity to count their blessings on this day. While I cannot definitively claim any Mayflower ancestry, many of my forebears were among the original English Puritan settlers of New England and New York. My primary lineage traces back to a gentleman who emigrated to Prince Edward Island, Canada, from West Yorkshire in the very early 19th century. However, extant family lines dating back as early as the 1630s reveal extensive English ancestry throughout Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Maine, and, eventually, the Canadian Maritimes, most of whom were exiled there following the American Revolution.

I harbour mixed feelings about the Puritans and their motivations. A substantial part of me wishes that none of my ancestors—English or otherwise—had ever set foot on this land, especially in light of current circumstances. Nevertheless, it is impossible to speculate on the state of the world today had it not been for centuries of mass emigration from Europe. Would I be living in England, Germany, or elsewhere? Would I even exist?

So, in the spirit of Thanksgiving and the adage that the ‘grass is not always greener on the other side’, I am grateful to my Puritan ancestors for their role in establishing, most notably, Massachusetts, and for their positive contributions to society. They were far from perfect, yet there were many positive aspects to their faith—such as their steadfast commitment to literacy and knowledge; their appreciation of music and the arts; their charitable missions, including, at certain times and in specific circumstances, toward the Native Americans; dare I say, their fashion sense; and their deep, passionate devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ.

- Arthur Newhook, 28 November 2024

Sunday, November 17, 2024

Hell to Eternity (1960, Allied Artists)

Hell to Eternity is a profoundly moving cinematic work recounting the true story of Pfc. Guy Gabaldon (played by Jeffrey Hunter), a U.S. Marine who, having been adopted as a boy by a Japanese-American family, finds himself serving in Japan during World War II. While war films hold a particular fascination for me, they are a challenge, as my misophonia renders the cacophony of gunfire and explosions almost intolerable. Otherwise, I tend to love the genre. This film also features the enchanting Patricia Owens (below), who delivers a captivating and sultry performance in a truly magnificent scene.

Sunday, October 6, 2024

Born #OTD 1922: Teala Loring

Noted for her appearances in several ‘poverty row’ films of the mid-1940s for Monogram Pictures, Teala Loring (née Marcia Eloise Griffin) grew up as the daughter of a vaudeville performer. Her three siblings, including Debra Paget, also achieved varying degrees of success in the entertainment business. Unfortunately, those B-movies were not typically well-received by critics or audiences, and Ms Loring – who also went by the name ‘Judith Gibson’ – left Hollywood for good after marrying in 1950. She passed away at the age of 84 in 2007 and is interred at Houston National Cemetery.

Saturday, October 5, 2024

#OTD 1927: 'The Jazz Singer' premiers, the first major motion picture to utilize sound

'The Jazz Singer', starring Al Jolson. 1927, Warner Bros.

The Jazz Singer: Starring the always entertaining, though quite politically incorrect by today's standards, Al Jolson. This film's success arguably was the beginning of the end of the silent era of cinema, and it's importance cannot be overstated.

#OTD 1969: The distinguished Protestant theologian Harry Emerson Fosdick did depart at the ripe age of 91

A sagacious and honourable man of humanity who fervently and boldly opposed the schemes of the fundamentalists and nationalists who perpetually pervert the Christian faith. Truth be told, American Christianity needs individuals such as he in these dire and most unholy times.

Thursday, October 3, 2024

#OTD 1929: the tragic passing of Jeanne Eagels

Photo: Library of Congress

3 October 1929: The esteemed stage and film actress Jeanne Eagels (nee Eugenia Eagles) tragically perished at the tender age of 39 in New York City, her death being attributed to ‘an overdose of the chloral hydrate'.

Tuesday, October 1, 2024

Quotables 1 October 2024: Jayne Mansfield on sex, war, and God

‘I love sex.... It should be animalistic, it should be sadistic, it should at times be masochistic.... There are few rules and moral conventions.’

‘War is a foolish, childish, animalistic, unthinking, unintelligent way of trying to accomplish a purpose.’

‘I guess a lot of people think that a girl who shows her bosom and wears tight dresses can't be close to God. God has always been close to me. Only He knew what was in my heart.’

Quotes via https://www.azquotes.com/author/9408-Jayne_Mansfield

John Amos, 1939-2024

Rest in peace, John Amos. A supremely talented actor, he masterfully portrayed the role of working-class family patriarch James Evans on the ’70s sitcom Good Times. It was a poignant portrayal he left when it became clear that audiences were more interested in the comedic antics of co-star JJ Walker than in the overarching story of an inner-city Chicago family trying to get by. Shortly after leaving Good Times, however, he gained public acclaim and earned an Emmy for his role as the adult Kunta Kinte in the 1977 blockbuster mini-series Roots. Mr Amos’s résumé is second to none. From the Mary Tyler Moore Show to Coming to America to the Broadway stage, John Amos was a respected fixture of his profession for many decades, and he will be dearly missed.

Born #OTD 1938: Stella Stevens

Stella Stevens, 1 October 1938 – 17 February 2023. Pictured here in 'The Nutty Professor' (1963), produced by Paramount Pictures.

Sunday, September 29, 2024

Keri Russell in Esquire magazine, circa 2010

Keri Russell. Girly Pics of Yesteryear: Everlasting Loveliness and Timeless Grace on Facebook. Join today

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Ukrainian beauty Tetyana Piskun

Olivia Newton-John

Olivia Newton-John. Girly Pics of Yesteryear: Everlasting Loveliness and Timeless Grace on Facebook. Join today

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Brigitte Bardot

Girly Pics of Yesteryear: Everlasting Loveliness and Timeless Grace on Facebook. Join today

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Girly Pics of Yesteryear: Everlasting Loveliness and Timeless Grace on Facebook. Join today

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Friday, September 27, 2024

#OTD 1972: the noted actress Gwyneth Paltrow is born in Los Angeles

Photo: Architectural Digest

Gwyneth Paltrow, born on 27 September 1972. I do not believe I have watched a single one of her films; for some reason, I was mistakenly under the impression that she was English-born. No matter, she is certainly a most exquisite lady.

#OTD 1066: the Norman Conquest of England begins

Illustration via Historic UK

Complete tomes cannot recount the narrative, let alone a mere one or two sentences, of how profoundly this invasion transformed the entire framework of the English nation and populace. Read more via Historic UK.

Wednesday, September 25, 2024

Born #OTD 1894: Gladys Brockwell, a luminary of the silent era who met a sudden and tragic end just as the age of the 'Talkies' was dawning

Photos by Albert Witzel

A Brooklyn-born beauty, Gladys Brockwell (née Lindeman), was touring the country in theatrical productions as early as age seven. Over the course of two decades, she starred in numerous silent films and was 'regarded as one of the finest character actresses of the day who not only adapted to sound films but excelled in them.' However, as this bold new era of sound in cinema was gaining momentum, tragedy struck on 27 June 1929. Ms Brockwell was involved in a horrific car crash that sent the vehicle over a 75-foot embankment on the Ventura Highway, trapping her beneath the wreckage. Despite four blood transfusions, she succumbed to internal injuries and sadly departed this cruel earth on 2 July 1929, at just 34 years of age.

Born #OTD 1947: Cheryl Tiegs, America’s first supermodel

SI 1975

The resplendent Cheryl Tiegs, pictured here in 1975 and 1983, is a fair maiden of Minnesota, born of German lineage. She shall forever be renowned as one of the most prolific Sports Illustrated swimsuit beauties, and was the first to grace the covers of the publication's annual swimsuit editions on multiple occasions. Although she revealed as much skin as others in her trade, she always maintained a wholesome, 'girl next door' aura that few, if any, have been able to emulate.

1983

Quotables 25 September 2024: On the 44th anniversary of his passing, John Bonham reflects on the importance of maintaining one’s drum kit and what neglecting it equates to

Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham. Photo: Neal Preston

‘Mistreating your drum set is just one step below child abuse’. - John Bonham, 31 May 1948 to 25 September 1980.

Quote via https://www.azquotes.com/author/1636-John_Bonham

Marilyn Monroe seated in a Jeep, basking in the summer sun

Shaw Family Archives/Getty Images

Marilyn Monroe, captured by Sam Shaw on Long Island, 1957. Commanding the scene as she always did with her radiance.

Tuesday, September 24, 2024

Quotables 24 September 2024: Orwell on the increasing ‘slovenliness’ of the English language and its impact on thought

Photo: BBC

‘A man may take to drink because he feels himself to be a failure, and then fail all the more completely because he drinks. It is rather the same thing that is happening to the English language. It becomes ugly and inaccurate because our thoughts are foolish, but the slovenliness of our language makes it easier for us to have foolish thoughts’. - George Orwell, ‘Politics and the English Language’, 1946.

Born #OTD 1944: 1968 Playmate of the Year Angela Dorian (née Victoria Vetri)

Photos copyright of Playboy

Behold her in all her radiant splendour, as captured by the lens of Carl Gunther. The Italian-American beauty, known by law as Victoria Vetri, yet famed as Angela Dorian, was chosen as the Playmate of the Month in September 1967, and later crowned Playmate of the Year for 1968. In her teenage years, she was considered for the role of Maria in ‘West Side Story’; this part, of course, ultimately went to Natalie Wood.

Monday, September 23, 2024

Rest in Peace, Benny Golson

Photo: Joseph Berg

Benny Golson, the esteemed tenor saxophonist who performed and recorded with numerous jazz luminaries, departs at 95. {AP 23 September}

Wednesday, September 18, 2024

Born #OTD 1905: the melancholy Swedish screen goddess, Greta Garbo

Photo: Ruth Harriet Louise, circa 1926

‘Life would be so wonderful if we only knew what to do with it’. - Greta Garbo, 18 September 1905 to 15 April 1990.

Tuesday, September 17, 2024

Quotables 17 September 2024: Myrna Loy on her lack of success in marriage

Actress Myrna Loy in ‘A Connecticut Yankee’, 1931, Fox Film Corporation

JD Vance and the rest of the extreme natalists and zealous pro-marriage advocates in today’s Republican Party would be appalled: ‘Some perfect wife I am. I've been married four times, divorced four times, have no children, and can't boil an egg’.

Quote via https://www.azquotes.com/quote/630966

Photo: actress Myrna Loy in 1931’s ‘A Connecticut Yankee’, adorned in sumptuous attire befitting a queen. Her elaborate and resplendent crown rests upon her brow like a circlet of stars, glittering with jewels that seem to capture the very light of the heavens. Her gown, richly embroidered with fine threads of gold and silver, cascades down her form, while a necklace of exquisite gems graces her neck. Her steady and serene gaze suggests both wisdom and power, as though she commands dominion over all she surveys. A vision of majesty and grace, Myrna Loy embodies the very essence of royalty.