The "suit & tie" requirement for off duty personnel seemed a bit harsh to me, but then I put it in the context of the Cold War. It makes sense from a PR perspective to portray a positive image of clean-cut Americans, lest they be perceived as uncouth louts.
How were the logistics in the American Sector of Berlin handled? Was everything brought in by air? I can't imagine supply convoys, loaded with goodies for the PX, cruising along the autobahn in East Germany.
And were the other sectors freely accessible? Could you go to the British Sector for a little taste of fine English cuisine? Movies have often depicted occupied Berlin as gray and dreary; I'm sure it couldn't always have been like that. I'm thinking particularly of Billy Wilder's One, Two, Three (1961), with Jimmy Cagney.
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Speaking of movies, I don't see how describing a movie as uneven puts it into a dustbin, and the statement about the uniform was a separate thought having nothing to do with it being uneven. I should have used a period and not the word and. Grammar be hard.
But really funny, really good are not words I would use, but that's just a matter of opinion. For a folk music related movie A Mighty Wind was better and funnier, and that's another opinion. I'll withhold further comment until Mr. Beagles weighs in with his assessment.
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Just listened to a live version of Dave Van Ronk's rendition of Both Sides, Now (from Joni Mitchell's Clouds album). And versions by Neil Diamond, Natalie Cole, Willie Nelson, Susan Boyle, The Brother Four, Glen Campbell, Dolly Parton, Leonard Nimoy, Dion DiMucci...jeez, I'm getting tired of that song; never got to Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Claudine Longet, or the Osmond Brothers. And there were many more versions, some by singers I've never heard of.
I saw Joni Mitchell in a small club in D.C. (1968), and I still prefer the way Judy Collins sang the song.
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Finally some good news regarding atmospheric carbon dioxide...some really clever university folk have created a catalyst that converts CO2 (dissolved in water) to ethanol, with an efficiency of 65%. No home should be without this.
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