Friday’s ad is for Budweiser, from 1962. In this ad, part of series entitled “This calls for …,” in this case “The Tavern.” Two men in suits sit at a fancy bar, reading the newspaper, eating popcorn and having a few beers. As the ad confirms, it’s a “friendly spot.”
Today is the day when Steamboat Willie debuted in 1928, the first Mickey Mouse cartoon, the one that made the Disney company the entertainment powerhouse that it is today. But even though Steamboat Willie is the famous one, it actually wasn’t the first Mickey Mouse cartoon created. Plane Crazy was actually the first one made, and The Gallopin’ Gaucho was the second, but both were shelved to work on Steamboat Willie, and specifically to add a synchronized soundtrack, which is what helped make Mickey Mouse so famous. A couple of years ago, I posted Mickey Mouse Drinking A Beer, about when Mickey is seen drinking a beer in “The Gallopin’ Gaucho.”
So for Mickey Mouse’s birthday this year, I thought I’d show a different cartoon, this one a little later, from 1932. It’s maybe the 46th Mickey Mouse cartoon, called “Mickey in Arabia.” There are plenty of racial stereotypes in the cartoon, sadly typical for 1932. And while Mickey doesn’t actually drink in this one, the camel that he and Minnie ride does drink some from a barrel.
After Minnie is abducted by a sultan and rides off on his camel, Mickey runs back to his camel, who’s apparently been drinking beer the entire time and is obviously inebriated.
So first he has to chase the drunk camel.
Finally, catching the camel, now he has to chase after the sultan, who’s taken Minnie.
And riding a drunk camel is no picnic.
The drunk camel even passes out at one point but continues on running upside down on its humps!
Below is the whole cartoon, the relevant beer barrel drinking takes place just after 1:30 into the 7-minute video.
Today in 1890, US Patent 440916 A was issued, an invention of William R. Dannals, for his “Bottle Filling Machine.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes these claims:
My invention relates to that class of bottle filling machines in which a series of bottles are filled at one time, my invention comprising certain details in construction of the machine, as fully described and claimed hereinafter, with a view of simplifying said construction and insuring a rapid and accurate filling of the bottles.
It’s day five of my jolly jog to Christmas featuring all 42 labels from Anchor’s Christmas Ale — a.k.a. Our Special Ale — all different beers (well, mostly different) and all different labels, each one designed by local artist Jim Stitt, up to and including this year’s label.
1979 was the fifth year that Anchor made their Christmas Ale, and it was similar to the four previous year’s beers, another variation based on Liberty Ale, with no spices added. This fifth label was “[i]nspired by the Original Christmas Ale Tree.”
Thursday’s ad is for Budweiser, from 1962. In this ad, part of series entitled “This calls for …,” in this case “The Neighbors?” Four men, presumably all neighbors, are drinking beer in one of their kitchens, and, apparently “swapping ideas.” I can’t figure out why one of the men there is holding two bottles behind his back, almost hidden from the other three people. He’s also the only one without a glass of beer in his hand. Maybe he just arrived, and pulled them out of the refrigerator, and grabbed two so he could catch up?
It’s day four of my marathon run to Christmas featuring all 42 labels from Anchor’s Christmas Ale — a.k.a. Our Special Ale — all different beers (well, mostly different) and all different labels, each one designed by local artist Jim Stitt, up to and including this year’s label.
1978 was the fourth year that Anchor made their Christmas Ale, and it was similar to the three previous year’s beers, a variation based on Liberty Ale, with no spices added. This fourth label was “[i]nspired by an evergreen in the Sierra Nevadas.”
Wednesday’s ad is for Budweiser, from 1962. In this ad, part of series entitled “This calls for …,” in this case a “Hungry?” A man sits in front of a fireplace, nose deep in a glass of beer, holding the can in the other hand. In front of him is a big slab of ribeye steak on an indoor Hibachi grill. I can’t quite work out if he’s cooking the steak, or eating it right off the grill. It does look like it’s on a table, and probably not in a kitchen, so maybe. Although that is a lot of steak for one man. Until, of course, you remember this was when men were still manly men.
It’s day three of my mad dash to Christmas featuring all 42 labels from Anchor’s Christmas Ale — a.k.a. Our Special Ale — all different beers (well, mostly different) and all different labels, each one designed by local artist Jim Stitt, up to and including this year’s label.
1977 was the third year that Anchor made their Christmas Ale, and it was similar to the two previous year’s beer, a variation based on Liberty Ale, with no spices added. This third label featured a “Douglas Fir,” or “Pseudotsuga menziesii.”
Tuesday’s ad is for Budweiser, from 1962. In this ad, part of series entitled “This calls for …,” in this case a “Home From Work….” “The day’s problems melt when there are ‘little things’ to talk about.” I assume the little things refer to their baby, since they’re both looking down, and you can see a highchair behind the woman wearing the apron. I love that he needed a beer first, though.
Marianne Moore was an American poet, born in Missouri today in 1887. Here’s her basic information, from Wikipedia: “Marianne Craig Moore (November 15, 1887 – February 5, 1972) was an American Modernist poet, critic, translator, and editor. Her poetry is noted for formal innovation, precise diction, irony, and wit.”
One of her well-known poems is called “Armor’s Undermining Modesty,” and was written in 1950. Here is a two-stanza excerpt:
Arise, for it is day.
Even gifted scholars lose their way
through faulty etymology.
No wonder we hate poetry,
and new stars and harps and the new moon. If tributes cannot
be implicit,give me diatribes and the fragrance of iodine,
the cork oak acorn grown in Spain;
the pale-ale-eyed impersonal look
which the sales-placard gives the bock beer buck.
What is more precise than precision? Illusion.
According to the footnote to the poem, the “bock beer buck” Moore referred to was a New Jersey brand called “Old Bohemian Bock Beer,” which was brewed by Eastern Beverage Company of Hammonton. Below is a label of “Old Bohemian Bock Beer” from the year she wrote the poem, 1950.
But according to Moore herself, the inspiration for that line came from a poster, not a beer label, that was advertising their bock beer, and the “buck” refers to the male goat used in both the poster and labels. I don’t know if this is the same poster (probably not) but it was the only one I could find.
