African American Voices from Ventura County’s Past (via Museum of Ventura County)

Written by Andy Ludlum, Library Volunteer

Recorded interviews in the Research Library’s oral history collection give us a glimpse into the lives of two remarkable women who were members of the earliest African American families to settle in Ventura.

Source: Museum of Ventura County

Come on CVS, who needs a 4 1/2 foot receipt?

So my wife buys one item at a CVS pharmacy for $4.17 cash and gets this receipt back. It’s 4 1/2 feet long!!! It turns out I’m not the only one disgusted by the practice. My sister says she saw a meme comparing a CVS receipt to Megan Markle’s wedding veil! A friend said she asked CVS if they owned a tree farm! Come on CVS, this does not make me want buy anything from you. Do the right thing. Save a forest.

How stereo was first sold to a skeptical public

Record companies tried to hook listeners with demonstration records featuring vivid graphics. From the collection of Janet Borgerson and Jonathan Schroeder.

Sixty years ago, stereo promised to forever change the way people listened to music. But how could record companies convince customers to buy a new record player, speakers and amplifier?

Source: The Conversation

Surprises in the ashes

 

The Woolsey Fire burned nearly all the vegetation on the hills surrounding our home.  One of the surprises in the aftermath of the fire is discovering the things that have been completely obscured by brush for years, such as this car wreck which is just below the ridgeline.  My wife Rodi and our trusty dog Luna hiked straight up the steep hill to get this view of the long lost car.

Time to admit owning 40% of the world’s guns is wrong

Mourners after the shooting at the Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks. Credit: CNN

I used to think after each horrific shooting that now -finally – something would have to be done.

Each event seemed more terrible than the last. Surely murdering kindergarteners would bring people together to demand change. Surely cutting down teenagers in their classrooms would make people say enough is enough. Surely mowing down a crowd in a Las Vegas plaza would lead people to cry out for this senseless violence to stop. Continue reading “Time to admit owning 40% of the world’s guns is wrong”

Overlooked No More: Jackie Mitchell, Who Fanned Two of Baseball‘s Greats

The baseball pitcher Jackie Mitchell. She was on the roster of the minor league Chattanooga Lookouts when she faced the Yankees. Credit George Rinhart/Corbis, via Getty Images

Mitchell was a 17-year-old pitcher in 1931 when she struck out Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in an exhibition game, but questions about that exploit linger.

Source: www.nytimes.com