Bruce Littlefield's Life 101 » American Icons

Garage Sale – Find of the week!

Bruce Littlefield — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 15:24:51 +0000

$200 million return on $45 garage sale grab.

Rick Norsigian is my kind of garage sale shopper. He bought a collection of 65 glass negatives at a garage sale for $45. Today, his find–a never before seen collection of photographs by Ansel Adams–will go on display in California. They are estimated to be worth $200 million!!! Pardon me while I run out to follow the arrows. Surely someone has something way underpriced. I’m finding it before someone else does.

Gossip! – Stream the New Los Lobos Album

Bruce Littlefield — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 17:39:21 +0000

Los Lobos, the band that brought the world La Bamba (you’ll know it when you hear it, even if you didn’t know the actual title) is back for more. The Chicano rock band is scheduled to release a new album on August 3. Los Lobos has been performing since the 70′s, but they’ve embraced the new millennium, and their entire album can be streamed before its release on the NPR website. Break out the limbo stick, and get ready for some new Tex-Mex hits. Perfect for late summer barn parties.

Gossip! – Betty White is the new black

Bruce Littlefield — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 17:00:14 +0000

Betty White is the new black.

Come fall, I’m wearing Betty. Yep, Betty White is branching out into fashion. Women’s Wear Daily is saying the uber-star is launching a line of T-shirts and hoodies in August featuring her smiling face. Targeting the digital generation, the $48 hoodies (what a bargain!) feature washable earbuds and a jack to plug into iPods. Portions of sales will go to the Morris Animal Foundation, an animal health organization dear to Betty’s sweet heart. Betty, you are the face of twenty-ten.

American Icons – Marilyn’s Chest X-ray

Bruce Littlefield — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 13:22:38 +0000

A healthy priced x-ray!

Proving that there’s a buyer for everything… a 1954 x-ray taken of Marilyn Monroe’s chest sold for a whopping $45,000 in a heated auction at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas! The 1954 X-ray was estimated to have a maximum selling price of $1,200! According to the President/CEO of Julien’s Auction, then 28-year-old Monroe was supposedly pregnant at the time. Now, that’s a collector’s item! The unforeseen high price goes along with my theory that a unique story adds exponential value and all you need for a BIG $ale is two people who buy that story! In addition to the X-ray, the chair from Monroe’s last photo shoot went for $35,000! Hey, big spenders, somewhere I have the x-ray of my broken pinky…and boy, can I tell you a story!

American Icons – George Steinbrenner dies at 80

Bruce Littlefield — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 15:17:16 +0000

The Yankees’ iconic owner George Steinbrenner died this early this morning from a heart attack. Steinbrenner bought the Yankees in 1973, then a slightly pathetic excuse for a baseball team, and turned them into the sports powerhouse they are today. Whether you’re a Yankee or Mets (or, okay, Phillies) fan, join the baseball world in mourning the loss of one of its legends.

American Icons – The Kiss

Bruce Littlefield — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 17:24:47 +0000

It has been 65 years since LIFE’s Alfred Eisenstaedt snapped the photograph of a sailor planting a kiss on the lips of a nurse in Times Square. The August 14, 1945 photograph (shortly after the Japanese surrender effectively ended World War II) has become one of the most famous photographs ever made. The image is still visual shorthand that the “War is over!” Edith Shain, the woman in the photograph (or, at least, the woman widely believed to be in the photograph … read about it here!), died this week in Los Angeles at the age of 91. But the story of the picture will never die. Now, I ask you, look closely at the photograph. What’s that headlock move the sailor has on her? Shall we politely call it the kissing cradle?

Dinner Party Talk – Malena Ernman

Bruce Littlefield — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 12:59:56 +0000

As much as I wish I could do this, I sort of don’t. Watching this video of Swedish opera singer Malena Ernman sing (yes, sing) Flight of the Bumblebee actually makes my voice box hurt. Learning to play the original on the piano seems like a much more attainable goal, right? Sure.

Pop Culture Pop-Up – Macy Gray Album Premier

Bruce Littlefield — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 22:13:41 +0000

After having some trouble with being herself, Macy Gray is back. It’s been ten years since her hit “I Try” and since leaving her record label and starting all over as a new artist, Gray’s newest album, The Sellout, is ready. The album won’t be released until June 22, but you can listen to the whole thing here. Hopefully, it will be more of a sellout than her early-aughts projects, “The Id,” and “The Trouble with Being Myself.” Heard of them? No, me either. Good luck on this one, Macy.

American Icons – John Wooden Dies

Bruce Littlefield — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 13:31:50 +0000

The sports world lost a major icon this week. John Wooden, former UCLA basketball coach, died on Friday at 99. The coach became an American sports icon in his 27 years at UCLA as he took the Bruins through 10 national titles. He was the first person to be inducted in to the Hall of Fame as both a player and a coach. This week, there’s a plethora of tributes and stories about the coach, but one of the most touching is ESPN essayist Rick Reilly’s memories of interviewing Wooden about his high school sweetheart and wife of over 50 years, Nell. It’s a nice read. Lakers or Celts fan, the country’s thoughts are with Los Angeles this week.

American Icons – Sasha and Malia

Bruce Littlefield — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 21:49:42 +0000

We’ve all heard President Obama refer to his daughters, Sasha and Malia almost as many times as we’ve seen him pull that oh-so endearing “Change” face. New York Magazine has put together this hilarious slideshow of Obama referring to the girls’ clever antics, from Malia’s demands to “plug the hole, Daddy!”, and, when he received the Nobel Peace Prize in January, the girls’ reminders that it was also Bo‘s birthday. We all need someone to keep our egos in check, right? Happy weekend.