What’s it like to step into the clothing of people from another century? There are few occasions in life that afford us that opportunity, such as a Halloween party or a masquerade party. Unless we’re theatrically inclined, these are about the only times we get to find what it’s like to dress up in knight costumes or Indian costumes , giving us incentive to learn a little about what it might have been like in the Middle Ages or on the Great Plains of the Midwest in the 13th Century. Of course, we can dress up without the need for research, but it might be entertaining at a party to come up with a few facts that will surprise the other guests.

For instance, if you were to dress as a Native American, you could tell others that you have been in North America perhaps somewhere between 25,000 to 60,000 years. The shortest amount of time you might have been in this land was 12,000 years ago. Most likely, you arrived by immigrating from Eurasia over a piece of land most people don’t know about, Beringia , which was a land bridge that once joined the two continents. Today, it’s known as the Bering Straight. These Native Americans were known as Paleoamericans, and were the ancestors of all the subsequent nations and tribes of the American Indian. Of course, at a party, a little bit of this information goes a long way, but you’ll be surprised how many people will welcome that you’ve coordinated your conversation with your costume.

Read more of Indian Costumes and Berengia…

If Dick Clark is the world’s oldest teenager, then Normal Fell has got to go down in the history books as the world’s perennial middle aged man. His looks could never really be characterized as good, or even ruggedly handsome, but he had a good look. A very good look. And he had the talent to know how to work it, giving some fuel to the notion that there’s no such thing as a bad destiny.

He made a career out of looking like the kind of guy who would know how to swindle people on the streets, go a little mad somewhere on the road, or poke a broom on the ceiling when the kids upstairs got loud. The movies and television are filled with these kinds of characters, and he was able to fill the roles with what will one day be recognized as a consummate actor’s ability.

He’s the kind of guy that one would expect to see on the street outside the hotel. Philadelphia has lots of characters like this, and so it’s no wonder that this is also his birthplace. As time is showing, it’s also a great place to grow up, where it’s tough enough to build calluses for the world, and also cultured enough to hone talent to the point where the world might become an oyster. It might one day even build a church on you.

One of his great talents, of course, was his amazing ability to make us believe. That’s because he believed, too, in what he was doing, in the characters he was making. He had a technique that was solid enough that it would earn him the respect of the Rat Pack, and even membership in that problematic organization. It was also enough to make everyone a little bit annoyed whenever Mr. Roper walked in the room. Growing up on the idea of the Ropers upstairs, no one would have ever guessed that years later, we would ever miss Mr. Roper. But we sure miss Norman Fell.

Read more of Philadelphia Fell…

Posting by Charlie Cooper

I really am a college sports junkie who needs some type of daily competition fix. Back in the day the only way to keep up was with late night programming. My co-workers could never understand why I was always tired. When a direct tv sports package came out with a subscription for CBS College Sports Television, fulfilling every sports fantasy that had traveled across my brain, I immediately signed up.

CBS College Sports is about more than the scheduled sporting event itself. There are interviews with students on campus about their school and sport teams. Of course it’s all done in fun but it helps lend an air of familiarity to the sports hoopla. Sometimes, it can seem that the athletes themselves are not a part of the sports process because they are usually only shown on game day. In-depth interviews before the game with the players help bring them into a closer perspective and showing a human side to what can look like a robotic process.

College sports truly are the last bastion of competition. The collegiate athletes refuse to give up on their games. Countless basketball games have been decided in the last shot of the game and it usually comes after a team has been down by more than ten points for the majority of the game. They scratch and claw while making adjustments to their game plan and keep charging forward to win.

Read more of CBS College Sports Television…

New York is famous for a lot of things, but it’s virtually impossible to set foot in any neighborhood in the city without doing a little bit of shopping. Even window shopping counts, and that might be one of the most fulfilling activities here, because the windows are not simply displays, but works of art in their own rite. It’s one of the key fashion cities in the world, and with the trend for vintage sticking around as long as it has, there are plenty of vintage stores for every bargain hunter.

Perhaps bargains aren’t necessarily the first thing on the menu, however, because even places like Cheap Jack’s has plenty of vintage items that come with a contemporary price tag. But if you are looking for stylish clothes that are particular to any era, this is one of the best in the city. The clothes are arranged by decade, so if the mid-60s look is getting to be too 2009 for you, then you might enjoy entering into the 1930s. The results will be stunning.

Resurrection is a higher-end vintage store, started by designers that have a very keen eye for elegance. There are also plenty of touches of whimsy here, and the feel of the place has nothing vintage about it, unless you’re looking for a high-class boutique from days gone by. The owners now live in Los Angeles, with new vintage stores there as well, as the trends become more bi-coastal as the world gets smaller.

For the window shopper, however, it’s hard to imagine a more perfect day than waking up in a gorgeous luxury hotel and then heading out to see what’s on at Screaming Mimi’s . Here, there is a gorgeous aesthetic in the layout and the selection inside the store, and the windows are as close to splendid as a store window can get. Seasonal and small, the window always evokes a strong reaction, where touches of the pastoral enter into tasteful goth, and it’s hard not to imagine yourself in the scene.

Read more of Vintage NY…