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Scott A. MacKenzie

@5thborderstate.bsky.social

340 followers 300 following 3.6K posts

Canadian historian of the American Civil War, author of The Fifth Border State: Slavery, Emancipation, and the Formation of West Virginia 1829-1872 (WVU Press, 2023), remover of mattress tags. Big #hatm fan.

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Political science 46%

Business 16%

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Scott A. MacKenzie @5thborderstate.bsky.social · 6d

There’s a story that Peter Sellers asked that Glenn Miller’s in the mood be played at his funeral. It was a joke: his friends knew how much he hated the song #hatm

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Scott A. MacKenzie @5thborderstate.bsky.social · 6d

It's not something I would do. Come to think of it, I don't know what music I want played at my funeral. Hmm, maybe that song from Office Space ;) #hatm

a man in a purple shirt is standing in a field with two other men .

ALT: a man in a purple shirt is standing in a field with two other men .

media.tenor.com

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Scott A. MacKenzie @5thborderstate.bsky.social · 6d

Final Thoughts: this was my first time seeing Dirty Dancing. Middle class Baby meets working class Johnny at a summer resort. He teaches her dancing against family's wishes. While its plot is cliched with a forced ending, its casting, dance numbers, and music are so appealing it's a winner. #hatm

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Scott A. MacKenzie @5thborderstate.bsky.social · 6d

Remember: not everyone joined up on December 8, 1941. Many didn't until 1944 or 45.

My favorite example is Ben Salomon, a U.S. Army dentist who posthumously won the Medal of Honor on Saipan. Drafted into the infantry, he excelled there but they made him a dental officer. #hatm

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Scott A. MacKenzie @5thborderstate.bsky.social · 6d

Yes it's on the Dirty Dancing wikipedia page. #hatm

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Scott A. MacKenzie @5thborderstate.bsky.social · 6d

And you'd never know that they had big arguments on and off the set. #hatm

Scott A. MacKenzie @5thborderstate.bsky.social · 6d

This is definitely not a period accurate song, but it won the film's only Oscar - and a pile of other awards and nominations. Plus it made its composers a pile of money. Wiki says it's the third most requested song for a funeral in the UK. #hatm

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Scott A. MacKenzie @5thborderstate.bsky.social · 6d

Well this last number seems a little forced, but it's beautifully done. #hatm

Scott A. MacKenzie @5thborderstate.bsky.social · 6d

He's quite right: the rise of inexpensive trips to Europe, South America, and Asia weakened the appeal of these old resorts. One of my favorite visits was to the Greenbrier Resort in WV - one used to take the train to get there. Then cars. #hatm

a very large building with a lot of windows

ALT: a very large building with a lot of windows

media.tenor.com

Scott A. MacKenzie @5thborderstate.bsky.social · 6d

Im looking for Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd, and Scatman Crothers to walk in the front door as the guests leave Kellermans. #hatm

a man in a red jacket is dancing in a hallway next to a shelf with glasses on it

ALT: a man in a red jacket is dancing in a hallway next to a shelf with glasses on it

media.tenor.com

Scott A. MacKenzie @5thborderstate.bsky.social · 6d

He was born in 1935. His character could have been born in 1915, making him 26 in 1941. He could have been in medical school or just having finished it - and then drafted or enrolled. #hatm

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Scott A. MacKenzie @5thborderstate.bsky.social · 6d

Hmm fingerprints travel that fast in 1963??? Maybe in 2003. I watched too much Forensic Files. #hatm

Scott A. MacKenzie @5thborderstate.bsky.social · 6d

Your math works, but you know as well as I that movies rarely follow exact ages. They often cast actors and actresses who are older or younger than their characters. Jessie Royce Landis was 2 years older than Cary Grant in North by Northwest, despite playing his mother. #hatm

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Scott A. MacKenzie @5thborderstate.bsky.social · 6d

Patrick Swayze appeared as a dancer in one of Grey's plays. #hatm

Scott A. MacKenzie @5thborderstate.bsky.social · 6d

Are these costumes appropriate for the 60s? #hatm

Scott A. MacKenzie @5thborderstate.bsky.social · 6d

In his 1957 car too. He mentions having one in Point Break. #hatm

Scott A. MacKenzie @5thborderstate.bsky.social · 6d

Maybe mix the two: he was the U.S.-born son of Jewish immigrants who left many family members behind in Europe. He becomes a doctor, then an Army doctor, and sees the war and the Holocaust first hand. In his gut he suspects that his aunts, uncles, and cousins didn't survive. #hatm

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Scott A. MacKenzie @5thborderstate.bsky.social · 6d

I knew it! Her parents were Demon-crat New Dealers allies of Franklin Roosevelt!!! Now wonder their kids are so devilish! Well one of them is. The other is pristine. #hatm

Scott A. MacKenzie @5thborderstate.bsky.social · 6d

Charades is right!!! #hatm

Scott A. MacKenzie @5thborderstate.bsky.social · 6d

I'm sorry to see my beloved Yankees struggle against, of all teams, the Tronna people. I can understand the Red Sox - that's the rivalry of all time - but not that country to the north. Ick. #hatm

Scott A. MacKenzie @5thborderstate.bsky.social · 6d

Your patients should thank you for your excellent work. I admire all medical professionals. #hatm

Scott A. MacKenzie @5thborderstate.bsky.social · 6d

Gasp! Sin! Sin! #hatm

Scott A. MacKenzie @5thborderstate.bsky.social · 6d

One time I was skiing with my Dad. We saw the ski patrol bring in an injured skier. He went in, told them who he was, and he diagnosed them. They were grateful for his help. #hatm

Scott A. MacKenzie @5thborderstate.bsky.social · 6d

Ive been watching a lot of British documentaries about "Accident and Emergency Rooms" and surgeons lately. I definitely dont have the ability to be a medical professional. Those people are legends. If only I could do back and study math and science instead of history. #hatm

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Scott A. MacKenzie @5thborderstate.bsky.social · 6d

Wow, this movie just took a turn - into Roe v. Wade territory if you catch my drift. #hatm

Scott A. MacKenzie @5thborderstate.bsky.social · 6d

You don't know her family though ;) #hatm

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Scott A. MacKenzie @5thborderstate.bsky.social · 6d

While her sister definitely looks the part for the 60s. Heck 50s. #hatm

Scott A. MacKenzie @5thborderstate.bsky.social · 6d

If she was a boy, he'd be heading to Nam. #hatm

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Scott A. MacKenzie @5thborderstate.bsky.social · 6d

And that would have been a big taboo! #hatm

Scott A. MacKenzie @5thborderstate.bsky.social · 6d

We saw Paula Trueman in The Outlaw Josey Wales, but her career dated back to the 1930s. #hatm