How many buildings can be seen in the picture above? Only true Minneapolitans will know!

Got a surprise in the mail today. I'd forgotten I ordered them.

		Field notes! I used to have a subscription to get all the new editions, but I cancelled because they were starting to pile up. I have enough for the daily notes and sundry jottings.

But the new ones looked so useful.

Why do I do this? I’m only setting myself up for disappointment.

I love these notebooks. I have a lot of them. They appeal to people who want to write things down, collect information, have something handy that will contain necessary data. You know, like your phone. But what if your phone goes dead??? What if you lose it? Well, it’s all backed up to the cloud, which is more than I can say for these things.

There are dozens of varieties and styles, and you can subscribe and get them automatically. The problem, of which they are well aware, is that people love some of the designs and colors so much they will not use them, but put them aside and use the plain brown ones. Or order duplicates, so you’ll always have them shrink-wrapped and perfect in case you ever use them, which you never will.

		This one is shiny and has an orange spine; I can’t remember what the theme is supposed to be. I’ll never use it.
		This one has a cover of actual wood. Lovely! I’ll never use it. I can't!

The ones I bought are date books. I must have had a temporary delusion that I would write down future events, and that once I started, I would keep at it. This is like a 12 year old starting a diary. But. I don't like computer calendars. They have no style, no joy. No sense of accomplishment, no personality. So I'll give them a try, and maybe start unsing the ones I've hoarded.

They come in other shapes, too.

god help me

Oh it gets so much worse

Really I can stop any time

A preview of Monday:

Yes, that's right. Electrical valentines. Can you guess when they were printed? Depends on your knowledge of ubiquitous domestic electrification, I suppose.

It's gained a few floors since last we looked.

It's much more substantial than I thought it wpuld be.

I keep wondering the same thing: who will live there? But downtown residency increased last year, by 5 percent. So there's that.

Sorry, but you already know the last panel here. Just not the solution. Yet.

He's in front! He's in front! He's behind! BOO!

Solution is here.

Last week I posted a clip that was supposed to connect something to something else. I don't know if anyone got it in the comments, but it's possible. If you didn't get it right away, it just means the genre is unfamiliar to you. It's not a particularly deplorable lack of cultural knowledge.

For those who said in bright triumphany tones AH HAH! and knew the answer straight away, here's another from the same show.

The answer to all these matters of slight import: you're hearing Orson Welles, of course. The show is The Adventures of Harry Lime. The music cues are from another Welles show, The Black Museum. But they don't appear in any of the Black Museum shows. They're from the same suite, but never used. That's why I noticed them.

Both Harry and Black were produced by the same fellow, Harry Towers. Oh, about that guy:

In 1961 Towers, with girlfriend Mariella Novotny, was charged with operating a vice ring at a New York hotel, but he jumped bail and returned to Europe.

Novotny, in her statement to the FBI, claimed Towers was a Soviet agent responsible for providing compromising information on individuals for the benefit of the U.S.S.R.

Lobster Magazine ran an article in 1983 citing sources who alleged Towers was linked with (among others) Stephen Ward, Peter Lawford, the Soviet Union, and a vice ring at the United Nations. Hearst Corporation newspapers had already mentioned Towers' name in a 1963 article featuring coded references to a liaison between a pre-White House John F. Kennedy and Novotny, a known prostitute.

The charges against Towers were dropped in 1980 after he paid a £4,200 fine for jumping bail.

Novotny worked with MI5, and was part of Christine Keeler's op. Good times, good times. Anyway, Towers produced a lot of movies, with quality talent. And also Ken Russell.

This year we're counting down the top hits of 1922.

The Benson Orchestra of Chicago takes us to Bimini Bay. Getting the hang of the vernacular sound yet? he said, hoping that didn't sound condescending but rather the eager note of someone who wants you all to have at least an indulgent toleration for these archaic sounds?

Wikipedia:

The Benson Orchestra was initially directed by pianist Roy Bargy, and recorded for Victor Records from 1921. The band soon became one of the most popular dance bands of the early 1920s, and had its base at the Marigold Gardens, which had some notoriety as a gangster hang-out.

Edgar Benson himself lost effective control of the Chicago dance band business in the mid- and late 1920s to rival booking agent Jules Stein.

The song was released in late 1921, but charted in 1922, which is why it's here.

Alka-Seltzer took time out to give everyone a little lesson in how to treat returning WW2 vets. They played it quite seriously.

There: another week! A short update to the Gallery, wrapping up our salute to fondues. See you Monday.