Saturday 9: California Nights (1967)
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.
1) Lesley Gore premiered this song on an episode of Batman. She played Pussycat, the protegee of Catwoman. (That explains her outfit in the video.) How many of Batman's nemeses can you name?
A. The Riddler, The Joker, The Penguin, Catwoman, Mr. Freeze.
2) At least five actors have played The Caped Crusader already (Adam West, Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, George Clooney, Christian Bale) and Ben Affleck will play him in 2016's Batman vs. Superman. Who is your favorite Batman? (If any Batmen were inadvertently omitted, Sam apologizes.)
A. I am partial to the original, Adam West.
3) Unlike most superheroes, Batman doesn't have any superpowers. This Saturday, you're more fortunate. We're bestowing any superpower on you that you want. Which would you like?
A. I'd like to be able to travel back and forth through time.
4) Though she's singing of warm California nights, Lesley Gore was a New Yorker, born in Brooklyn and, in February of this year, dying in Manhattan. Which coast have you spent more time on, the West Coast or the East Coast?
A. I'm on the east coast. I've only been to the west coast once.
5) Not many people know that while she was making records, Lesley was also a student at Sarah Lawrence and graduated with her BA in 1968. What's something we would be surprised to know about you?
A. I am addicted to video games.
6) In 1967, when this song was popular, the best selling new camera in the United States was the new Polaroid Swinger. Think about the most recent photo you took. Did you use a camera, a tablet, or a phone?
A. I used a camera. I haven't figured out how to take photos with my tablet. My phone, an old flip phone, will take pictures in an emergency. I own several point-and-shoot cameras and two DSLRs. I'm partial to Nikons, though I think Canons are easier to use. I prefer the saturation level of a Nikon lens.
7) The big fashion trend of 1967 was bright tights, in shades like Hot Pink, Shock Orange and Grass Green. Tell us about something you wore when it was trendy but now you look back and think, "Oh, God, that was awful!"
A. I have never been trendy and probably never will be. However, I did once have my hair permed and I look really tragic in photos of that era. Kind of like I ran around with my hand perpetually trapped in a light socket.
8) In 1967, drivers complained about "gas wars." The price was unpredictable and would rise and fall, day by day, as much as 30¢ per gallon. How much does it cost you to fill up your tank today?
A. I paid $2.37 cents per gallon today. I remember a time when it was 25 cents. When I began to drive, I think it was about $1 per gallon.
9) Random question: Are there dishes in your kitchen sink right now?
A. No. There was when I originally started to answer this, but I have since rectified the situation.
You're right, I'd never figure you for a gamer. And you're right about Adam West.
ReplyDeleteI think I tagged an extra dollar on the price of gas. Whoops! I'm not used to it being below $3!
ReplyDeleteLOL! " Kind of like I ran around with my hand perpetually trapped in a light socket." I know what you mean, there is a professor in grad school who still wears her hair that way.
ReplyDeleteI have have a few bad perms in the past as well!
ReplyDeleteMy son use to get me to play video games with him when he was younger. I was really bad- he must have been desperate.
ReplyDeleteCalifornians have always paid more for gas. Darn those oil companies! Video games are different than MPOLGs aren't they? I play those. Love them!
ReplyDeleteI've had two perms in my life, one when I was five that burnt my scalp-what was my mother thinking?, and one at 16 that gave me an Afro. It has made me certain that people with curly hair should stay away from beauty parlors.