Streetcar Sunday - Istanbul, Turkey

The history of the streetcar in Istanbul is not so different from that of many North American cities. The first streetcar service in Istanbul started in 1872 as horse-drawn trams.  Horse-drawn service was halted for a year, because the horses were needed for the Balkan War. That served as the impetus to electrify the system, which happened in 1914. After that, streetcar service quickly became the most popular mode of transportation, reaching its peak in 1956, with 108 million passengers, 56 lines, and 270 streetcars. By then, cars and buses also began to compete with the streetcars though.

If I haven't mentioned it already, I think the demise of the streetcar was largely due to a perception that it was antiquated. Buses seemed modern and more sophisticated at the time. The ride was also smoother, particularly in Istanbul, where  the streetcars had not been updated since the original cars from 1912. As a result, the streetcar network was closed down in the 1960s in favor of buses.

Similar to many North American cities, streetcars have returned to Istanbul. There is the nostalgia streetcar that looks like the ones shown on the postcards, and there are also very modern sleek ones in Istanbul now. 

For more detailed information check out the great Wikipedia page for public transport in Istanbul.

Chi Omega Sorority - University of Oregon

I have posted a number of photo postcards and cabinet cards of unknown people, but never any that included my own family. For a change, I'll post one that does. Here we have the Chi Omega sorority at the University of Oregon in about 1954:

A nice group of wholesome girls. Any resemblance to the Belles of St. Trinian's is purely coincidental, although the movie was made in exactly that year, so it does make you wonder.

Which one's related to me? Well, the blond one in the back holding the plunger over her sorority sister's head is Betty, my mother. The only other one I know anything about is Allison LaRue (originally Leroux, and now McKay), who was is an actress and a dancer. She was also the Plumber's wife on the old Liquid Plumr ads. But my mother is holding the plunger; perhaps she should have been in those ads.

Last year, there was a post on The Lost Oregon Blog entitled Where Have You Gone Allison LaRue? I saw the post and thought the name sounded familiar, so I passed it on to my mother. As a result, there's an exchange of comments and some pictures on that blog, which is a very interesting site by any measure.
By the way, this post is part of a fun event called Sepia Saturday. Click here to see a wonderful assortment of old photos and read the compelling stories that accompany them.

Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog

I picked up this card in one of the local shops, and had every intention of going to the production. Unfortunately, the next time I picked up the card, the performances were all over.  I'm sorry I missed it, but I look forward to checking out a future performance by Blue Monkey Theater.

The card inspired me to find out more about Dr. Horrible and his video blog though.  It turns out that Dr. Horrible's  Sing Along Blog is a short musical video produced exclusively for internet distribution in 2008. Am I the only one who had never heard of it?  The story revolves around the lovable aspiring super-villain, Dr Horrible, his nemesis Captain Hammer, and their mutual love interest, Penny.

The Whedon brothers (writer/directors, and a composer) and Maurissa Tancharoen produced this gem during the WGA writers' strike. They wanted to produce something inexpensive, yet professional, that would also circumvent the issues that were at the heart of the strike. The short film ended up receiving numerous awards. Neil Patrick Harris (remember Doogie Howser?) does a great job as Dr. Horrible.

You can download it off iTunes, but not quite for free from the official Dr. Horrible site.