Cry Me a River

 

Are you okay?   Can I get you anything?  Do you want to cry on my shoulder?

This is what I want to ask my friends who are absolutely devastated by the firing of Jimmy Kimmel from his late night perch.   Here is apparently one more move fostered by Donald Trump in his ongoing threat to create the Fourth Reich.  I'm guessing some of my sad friends didn't even watch Kimmel.  But his right to free speech is being challenged and it gives my Trump-hating brethren another reason to seethe as they get out of bed each morning.

Oh, fucking please.   

Okay, let's get the obvious out of the way.   The "joke" that Jimmy said which led to his dismissal was stupid, inappropriate, and, most of all, not funny.  Does he have a right to say it?   Of course.  But so did Roseanne Barr have a right to speak the stupid comment she uttered that got her bounced from "The Conners" sitcom.  By the way, she lost her gig mainly because the magical couple called the Obamas complained.

Uh huh.  You see how this works.   Freedom of speech is really a one-way street.

So, while Jimmy Kimmel is now being revered like Jesus Christ complete with the wound on the side from the centurion's spear, I can add another perspective.  You see, I've always known a lot about what goes on at his joke.  My ex-trainer used to work there.   Her brother-in-law was the musical director.  Her good friend was on the writing staff.   These connections gave me a perspective like no other.  And, from it all, I have one conclusion.

Jimmy Kimmel is a shithead.

So you want to know about this bastion of free speech?

He fired anybody on staff who wouldn't get a COVID vaccine.

He queried his musicians as to how they recently voted.   If you went Republican, you lost your job.

The Writers Guild made a very public statement regarding Kimmel's right to free speech.  This was amusing to me since several writers filed grievances with the union for wrongful termination.

Wait.  There's more.  

A cute girl got hired to be the writers' room assistant.   Jimmy very quickly was fucking her.  And that led to her elevation to Head Writer.   Oh, and he ultimately married her.   This is ironic to the staff since they were all waiting for Jimmy to get snared by the #MeToo movement.   Yes, they were all waiting for harassment charges that apparently got bought out.

Oh, and after he would go through some of his reigns of terror with the staff, he would blame it on his narcoleptic condition.  

Uh huh.

Free speech.   Jimmy has a right.   So do I.  

PS, ABC is allegedly giving him another chance.  Too bad.   Roseanne Barr, please note.

Dinner last night:  Coconut chicken tenders.

Monday Morning Video Laugh - September 22, 2025

 Studying multiple languages...Lucy style.

Dinner last night:  Leftover Chinese noodles.

The Sunday Memory Drawer - Remembering a Day at the Car Wash

 

This used to be my car wash.  It was located right down the block from my old apartment.  It closed in April 2020 right when COVID started to spiral.  In fact, that was why they closed.   Three of the workers got sick and died.   To this day, the building still stands as is.  Just empty.

I used to enjoy my trips there.   You never knew who you would and what you would hear.  Every so often, there was a celebrity in the midst.  Ellen Degeneres with a really crappy Toyota Corolla.  Diane Lane working hard not to make eye contact.  Greg Kinnear working very hard to get recognized.  And Della Reese advising some Mexican on how to correctly wipe down her church bus.

This car wash also got some screen time many years ago.  Located virtually next door to the 20th Century-Fox lot, it was used for a major slapstick scene in the Doris Day movie "Move Over Darling."  Back in 1963, the car wash looks eerily like it does today.  Except, as far as I know, Doris Day is no longer covered with soap suds.

But, even with these Hollywood connections, my car wash visits were usually nondescript.  In and out.  Quiet time for me, even if I am trying to make eye contact with Diane Lane.

Except one Saturday.  

It all started so innocently.  My Toyota Highlander had gone through the machine.  The super-short illegal immigrant had moved my seat as far up as possible as he drove it to the spot where he would be performing all his post-car wash obligations.  I was standing quietly alongside a wall.  Sipping a Diet Pepsi.  And, then.....

"So, what kind of gas mileage you get out of that Highlander Hybrid?"

A STRANGER WAS TRYING TO ENGAGE ME IN CONVERSATION.

I probably should have gone into Marlee Matlin mode and feigned deafness.  But, in one of my life's mistakes, I didn't.  I told him that a hybrid isn't everything it's cracked up to be.  

The floodgates opened.

"I have a car that's twelve years old and it's still running like a top."

"My mechanic has all the parts for my car and he says I could keep driving it for years."

"I'd never buy anything that didn't have at least eight cylinders."

"I like to hear my engine when I'm driving.  Those Hybrids don't make noise."

I had yet to even turn to my right to look at this guy.  I was afraid to.  The eye contact that Diane Lane had so carefully avoided would be devastating here.

"My wife likes the subcompacts.  I won't drive one.  My legs are too long."

"Boy, September sure does get hot in Los Angeles."

Ah, a subject change.

"How does the AC work in your Hybrid?"

Okay, not quite.

"They say the heat wave will break by the end of next week, but those guys on TV are just guessing."

"Probably start up a bunch of fires.  Most of them are arson."

As if on cue, a fire truck sped by.

"Those trucks are beautiful.  I once got to watch them take one apart."

"Those engines are something else.  Amazing piece of machinery."

"I bet they'll be electrically powered at some point."

The conversation was making a complete circle.  He was making a point with all his pointlessness.  Meanwhile, I kept staring at the kid wiping down my car and I wondered if somebody with a chamois cloth could work any slower.

"We've got some big elections coming up."

Okay, the aforementioned circle was not unbroken.

"It will be interesting to see how the tea party does.  People are really fed up with Obama."

Pedro, come on, there's no need to empty out the ash trays.  I don't smoke.

"I think it's going to be close between Meg Whitman and Jerry Brown for Governor."

Where are you, Lord?!

At last, a wave of the towel.  My car was pronounced fit to leave.  And I was none too ready.

"Okay, nice talking with you."

I had said less than two sentences to the man.  He has a very low threshold on how he defines a conversation.

I waved politely.  Walking away, I knew exactly how Diane Lane felt.  Please don't look at me.  And definitely don't say a word.

Despite this encounter, I still miss this car wash.

Dinner last night:  Beef night noodles from Chin Chin.

Classic TV Theme Song of the Month - September 2025

This premiered 60 years ago this month and ran for just one season.   Boy, Sally Field is old. .

Dinner last night:  Sandwich.

Len's Jukebox of the Month - September 2025

This was arguably one of my mother's favorite songs.   Played over and over and over on our record player.

Dinner last night:  Sandwich.

Saving the Day

 

Timing is everything.

Now the last installment of the "Downton Abbey" franchise was scheduled to be released last weekend over a year ago.  Who know that this would be the most perfect timing in movie release history?   At the end of a week where America desperately needed a breath of fresh air, "Downton Abbey - The Grand Finale" provided us all with a release.   Hope.  A respite from the nasty world around us.

I'm a big Downton fan from the seasons on television and the first two films that it spawned.   I was not looking forward to the final film, but seeing it now, I can tell you that it is the most perfect conclusion to this tale featuring a potpourri of fabulously drawn characters.  Even without the late Maggie Smith whose character died at the end of the second movie, there is plenty of juice in the tent.

All of Downton comes from the luminous writer Julian Fellowes who wrote every single word of the TV series and the film.  His storytelling was always exquisite.  And, in this conclusion, he was mindful to give every single character a moment in the spotlight.  No stone was left unturned.  Nobody was given short shrift.  These people are all old friends.  We will never see the likes of them again.   But the wonderful memories will be held in our minds forever.

The final five minutes of the film capture every emotion you are feeling at the time.  I began to cry.   

Yep, those tears of mine meant the film was that good.

Bravo, one and all.  And thank you for saving the psyche of so many Americans.

LEN'S RATING:  Four stars.

Dinner last night:  Sandwich.

This Date in History - September 17

 

Happy birthday, John Franco.   You saved a lot of Met games.  So how come I only remember the ones you blew?

456:  ROMAN GENERAL REMISTUS IS BESIEGED WITH A GOTHIC FORCE AT RAVENNA AND LATER EXECUTED.

I would be remist not mentioning this today.

1176:  THE BATTLE OF MYRIOKEPHALON IS FOUGHT.

Sounds like something you take when you comedown with Myrio.

1462:  THE BATTLE OF SWIECINO IS FOUGHT DURING THE THIRTEEN YEARS' WAR. 

Included here for no reason other than to mention I have no clue what the Thirteen Year's War was fought over.

1630:  THE CITY OF BOSTON IS FOUNDED.

I guess it had to start some time.

1683:  ANTONIE VAN LEEUWENHOEK WRITES A LETTER TO THE ROYAL SOCIETY AND INCLUDES THE FIRST KNOWN DESCRIPTION OF PROTOZOA.

As if anybody is antitozoa.

1775:  DURING THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, THE INVASION OF CANADA BEGINS.

Why bother now?   Winter is coming.

1787:  THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION IS SIGNED IN PHILADELPHIA.

And now it's not worth the parchment it was written on.

1814:  FRANCIS SCOTT KEY FINISHES HIS POEM "DEFENCE OF FORT MCHENRY," LATER TO BE THE LYRICS OF THE "STAR SPANGLED BANNER."

What so proudly we hail.

1849:  ABOLITIONIST HARRIET TUBMAN ESCAPES FROM SLAVERY.

But she's no Steve McQueen.

1859:  JOSHUA A. NORTON DECLARES HIMSELF "NORTON 1, EMPEROR OF THE US."

We should have had the Norton Anti-Virus.

1862:  DURING THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR, GEORGE MCCLELLAN HALTS THE NORTHWARD DRIVE OF ROBERT E. LEE'S CONFEDERATE ARMY IN THE BATTLE OF ANTIETAM, THE BLOODIEST DAY IN AMERICAN MILITARY HISTORY.

Take that, Vietnam.

1904:  ACTOR JERRY COLONNA IS BORN.

Hey, Hope!

1908:  THE WRIGHT FLYER FLOWN BY ORVILLE WRIGHT WITH LIEUTENANT THOMAS SELFRIDGE AS PASSENGER, CRASHES KILLING SELFRIDGE.   HE BECOMES THE FIRST AIRPLANE FATALITY.

Well, the count had to start some time.

1916:  DURING WORLD WAR I, MANFRED VON RICHTHOFEN (THE RED BARON" WINS HIS FIRST AERIAL COMBAT.

My money's on Snoopy.

1928:  ACTOR RODDY MCDOWALL IS BORN.

I just realized that the spelling was not "McDowell."

1931:  ACTRESS ANNE BANCROFT IS BORN.

Mrs. Mel Brooks to you.

1939:  DURING WORLD WAR II, A GERMAN U-BOAT U 29 SINKS THE BRITISH AIRCRAFT CARRIER HMS COURAGEOUS.

Yeah, not so much.

1940:  DURING WORLD WAR II, FOLLOWING THE GERMAN DEFEAT IN THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN, HITLER POSTPONES OPERATION SEA LION INDEFINITELY.

Reset.

1945:  BASKETBALL PLAYER/COACH PHIL JACKSON IS BORN.

Two points.

1957:  MALAYSIA JOINS THE UNITED NATIONS.

Yeah, I still wouldn't fly their airline.

1960:  BASEBALL STAR JOHN FRANCO IS BORN.

No walks, please.

1978:  THE CAMP DAVID ACCORDS ARE SIGNED BY ISRAEL AND EGYPT.

Yeah, that worked well.

1983:   VANESSA WILLIAMS BECOMES THE FIRST BLACK MISS AMERICA.

What nude photos?

1996:  POLITICIAN SPIRO AGNEW DIES. 

Almost exactly 23 years after his political career did.

1997:  COMIC RED SKELTON DIES.

Two seagulls......

2001:  THE NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE REOPENS FOR TRADING AFTER THE SEPTEMBER 11 ATTACKS, THE LONGEST CLOSURE SINCE THE GREAT DEPRESSION.

I remember it so vividly.

2006:  PATRICIA KENNEDY LAWFORD DIES. 

No conspiracy theory needed.  Natural causes.

2011:  THE OCCUPY WALL STREET MOVEMENT BEGINS.

Some haven't bathed since.

2013:  BUSINESSMAN EIJI TOYODA DIES.

Death.  You got it.  Toyoda.

2019:  JOURNALIST COKIE ROBERTS DIES.

Wonder if she had a sister named Pepsi?

Dinner last night:  Leftover SPO.