THE REAL WOODSTOCK

The festival was 50 years ago and 50 miles away, but Woodstock, New York keeps the spirit alive.

IKE'S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE -- COAST-TO-COAST IN 1919

When he crossed America by convoy in 1919, the future president saw the need for “broader ribbons across our land.” The seed of our interstate highways was planted.

History, HEROESThe AtticAugust 8, 2019Eisenhower, Interstate Highways, Road trips, 1919 Comments

STANDUP TAKES THE STAGE

Long before Netflix and Comedy Central, standup started in a single spot — the Borscht Belt.

WITSThe AtticAugust 5, 2019Borscht Belt, Catskills, Resorts, Jewish humor, Stand-up comedy Comments

VERA RUBIN, DOYENNE OF DARK MATTER

The Mt. Palomar Observatory had no women's restroom. Until Vera Rubin taped a paper skirt on the door. Meet the woman who changed our view of the cosmos and of women in science.

WONDERSThe AtticAugust 2, 2019Vera Rubin, Dark Matter, Physics, Astrophysics Comments

HOLLYWOOD'S TOP DOG -- RIN-TIN-TIN

Beloved dogs abound but none captured hearts like Rin-tin-tin. Not even Hollywood could make this up.

History, HEROESThe AtticJuly 26, 2019Rin-tin-tin, Dogs, Hollywood dogs Comments

THE BEAGLE WHO CHANGED CARTOONS

Snoopy is a salesman now but for five wonderful years, he broke all the cartoon rules and changed American comics.

Humor, WITSThe AtticJuly 23, 2019Snoopy, Charles Schulz, Peanuts, Cartoons, Charlie Brown Comments

A POEM AND ITS PARODIES -- THIS IS JUST TO SAY...

A refrigerator note. A spark of genius. A classic poem and the senders it inspired.

THE ASTRONAUT WHO NEVER CAME DOWN

After Apollo 14, Edgar Mitchell kept soaring. ESP? Psychokinesis? UFOs? When you’ve been to the Moon, anything seems possible.

History, DREAMERSThe AtticJuly 12, 2019Edgar Mitchell, Apollo 14, Parapsychology, ESPComment

THE CONSERVATIVE AND THE 'COMMIE'

When a radical Mexican muralist began to paint at Dartmouth, some wanted his work destroyed. The college president refused.

A FLAG ON THE MOON

The astronauts rehearsed every maneuver for the moon landing, except planting the flag. Oops!

HEROESThe AtticJuly 11, 2019Apollo 11, Moon, Apollo Program, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin Comments

ERIC HOFFER, LONGSHOREMAN FOR THE MASSES

When The True Believer made his name, Eric Hoffer was a San Francisco longshoreman. Decades later, the zealots he labeled “true believers,” are still “everywhere on the march.”

BASEBALL'S P.T. BARNUM

Owing team after team, Bill Veeck loved baseball and fans and fun. Not necessarily in that order.

THE SUPREMES AND THE FLAG

With soldiers coming home in flag-draped caskets, the Supreme Court considered the Pledge of Allegiance. The ruling may surprise you.

THE WOMAN WHO SPOKE TO COMPUTERS

When Grace Hopper met those beastly first computers, they spoke only in numbers. “Grandma COBOL” soon taught them English.

HOLDEN CAULFIELD HITS THE BEACH

June 6, 1944 — Sgt. Salinger, with drafts of The Catcher in the Rye in his pack, lands at Normandy.

HARLEM CHILDREN'S ZONE -- 13,000 KIDS, 97 BLOCKS, AND "WHATEVER IT TAKES"

The streets taught Geoffrey Canada hard lessons. His Harlem Children’s Zone is teaching success.

teachersThe AtticMay 24, 2019Geoffrey Canada, Harlem Children's Zone, Teaching, Inner city schoolsComment

KINDER, COOLER, SMARTER

FIGHT THE MADNESS! SUBSCRIBE TO THE ATTIC (IT’S FREE)