weather Archives - The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit

Jan242014 by Chris HolmesNo Comments

Reliving the Glory Days of the Weather Channel

TV & Radio

I've been clean for several years, but at one time I was a hardcore Weather Channel junkie. From the late '80s through about the mid-1990s, I watched the Weather Channel more in one week than I watched most other channels in a year. And so it makes me just a little bit sad to see what has become of my once-favorite TV destination. Instead of the sober, lo-tech and slightly geeky take on weather that the network used to specialize, we now have a cesspool of lame reality programming and ugly public disputes with cable providers. But it was not always so. When it was launched in May 1982, the Weather Channel had one mission and one mission only -- to broadcast the weather. Sounds so simple, how could it possibly work? Because the internet is so awesome, we have footage from TWC's first...

Feb82013 by Chris HolmesNo Comments

Time Capsule: New York City Blizzard, 1947

Capsules, History

The Christmas of 1947 was certainly a white one for residents of the U.S. northeast and the New York City metro area in particular. Too white in fact. From December 25 through the 26th, a surprise storm dumped more than two feet of snow in areas. The highest recorded amount was 26.4 inches in Central Park. 77 people died as a result of the blizzard. Life photographer Mark Kauffman captured some of the storm and a lot of the cleanup in a series of outstanding photographs covering what would become known as the Great Blizzard of 1947. In this photo gallery you can see the snow falling, streets piled with the white stuff, stranded commuters, and of course some vintage period signs and vehicles. You can also see what famous Gotham locations like Central Park, Rockefeller Center and the

Dec282012 by Chris Holmes1 Comment

The Best of the Man in the Gray Flannel Suit — 2012

Blogstuff

So, 2012. It sure was twelve months, wasn't it? But before the year slips away into 2013, let's take a moment to reflect on just some of the awesome content I've published in Aught 12, as ranked by the number of visits (which I'm aware don't always equate to quality, but that's another topic). For reference, here's last year's review. And as always, I offer a laurel and hearty handshake to everyone who has stopped by this year -- either on the blog, the Facebook page, or any of the ever-growing venues where I waste my time and yours. This site racked up about half a million visits in 2012, which I'm fairly certain is an all-time high. It's probably all downhill from here. Oh and I'd be remiss if I didn't point out the lovely selection of Featured Posts you see to the right. It ma...

Oct292012 by Chris HolmesNo Comments

Album Cover of the Week: Johnny & The Hurricanes, Stormsville

Album Cover of the Week, Music

I have no real reason for this pick other than the fact that Hurricane Sandy -- aka Frankenstorm -- is barreling up the East Coast as I write this. But as it turns out it's a pretty cool piece of cover art in its own right. Here's Johnny & The Hurricanes with their 1960 Warwick Records release, Stormsville. This is a fairly standard rock cover from the late '50s/early '60s period, featuring the band posing in the middle of rocking out. I dig the all upper-case band typeface, complete with hurricane wind lines. Now for a little bit of history -- the band was formed in Toledo, Ohio in 1957 and was led by saxophonist Johnny Paris, who you see front and center on this cover. Their big taste of success was with "Red River Rock," which topped the U.S. charts at #5 in 1959. That tra...

Jun82011 by Chris Holmes2 Comments

Powerful new video of the Joplin, Missouri tornado

Internet

As if the impact of the Joplin tornado hasn't been well-documented enough, now comes new video from storm chasers Jeff and Kathryn Piotrowski. They film the twister as it hits Joplin and are there in the immediate aftermath. There's nothing explicit in here (aka visibly dead people), but the emotion of the moment may be a bit much for some. You've been warned. Related articles Joplin tornado toll rises to 141 (cnn.com) Elephant Helps In Joplin, Missouri (wycd.radio.com) The 10 deadliest tornadoes in world history (grayflannelsuit.net)

Jun12011 by Chris HolmesNo Comments

The 10 Deadliest Atlantic Hurricanes in History

May242011 by Chris Holmes8 Comments

The 10 Deadliest Tornadoes in World History