This Date in History - January 31

 

Happy birthday to Nolan Ryan.  I had to dig deep to find a photo of him in a Met uniform.   Where he should have stayed.

314:  POPE SYLVESTER I SUCCEEDS POPE MILTIADES.

This is not going to make Tweety happy.

1606:  GUNPOWDER PLOT - GUY FAWKES IS EXECUTED FOR PLOTTING AGAINST PARLIAMENT AND KING JAMES.

What a Guy.

1747:  THE FIRST VENEREAL DISEASE CLINIC OPENS IN LONDON.

Hey now.

1801:  JOHN MARSHALL IS APPOINTED THE CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE US.

Back when these judges actually were independent thinkers.

1846:  AFTER THE MILWAUKEE BRIDE WAR, JUNEAUTOWN AND KILBOURNTOWN UNIFY AS THE CITY OF MILWAUKEE.

Good, because it would be tough to fit Juneautown and Kilbourntown Brewers on a uniform jersey.

1849:  CORN LAWS ARE ABOLISHED IN THE UNITED KINGDOM.

So, no Hee Haw on the BBC?

1862:  ALVAIN GRAHAM CLARK DISCOVERS THE WHITE DWARF STAR SIRIUS B THROUGH A TELESCOPE AT NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY.

Insert your favorite satellite radio joke here.

1865:  AMERICAN CIVIL WAR - THE US CONGRESS PASSES THE THIRTEENTH AMENDMENT TO THE US CONSTITUTION, ABOLISHING SLAVERY.

So almost 160 years later why the hell are we still arguing about this???

1865:  CONFEDERATE GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE BECOMES GENERAL-IN-CHIEF.

Don't get too comfortable in that saddle.

1902:  ACTRESS TALLULAH BANKHEAD IS BORN.

With a voice like that, you know she had a pack of Pall Malls in her purse.

1915:  TV PERSONALITY GARRY MOORE IS BORN.

King of the Crewcuts.

1917:  WORLD WAR I - GERMANY ANNOUNCES THAT ITS U-BOATS WILL RESUME UNRESTRICTED SUBMARINE WARFARE.

In 2024, this is the set-up for an X-Box game.

1918:  A SERIES OF ACCIDENTAL COLLISIONS ON A MISTY SCOTTISH NIGHT LEADERS TO THE LOSS OF TWO ROYAL NAVY SUBMARINES AND DAMAGE TO ANOTHER FIVE BRITISH WARSHIPS.

Did you get the license plate of that warship?

1921:  ACTRESS CAROL CHANNING IS BORN.

And hung up her big hat in 2019.  Goodbye, Dolly.

1922:  ACTRESS JOANNE DRU IS BORN.

The only thing I know about her is she was Peter Marshall's sister.

1930:  3M BEGINS MARKETING SCOTCH TAPE.

How did they wrap Christmas presents before this?

1931:  BASEBALL STAR ERNIE BANKS IS BORN.

Didn't live to see the Cubs win the World Series.

1937:  ACTRESS SUZANNE PLESHETTE IS BORN.

With that voice, you knew she had three packs of Pall Malls in her purse.

1945:  US ARMY PRIVATE EDDIE SLOVIK IS EXECUTED FOR DESERTION, THE FIRST SUCH EXECUTION OF AN AMERICAN SOLDIER SINCE THE CIVIL WAR.  

Sharing this day with Guy Fawkes.

1946:  THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM INTRODUCES THE DONG.

I have no clue but it sounds funny.

1947:  BASEBALL STAR NOLAN RYAN IS BORN.

I remember his wife was really hot back in the day.

1949:  THESE ARE MY CHILDREN, THE FIRST TELEVISION DAYTIME SOAP OPERA, IS BROADCAST BY NBC.

As opposed to All My Children which debuted on ABC in 1970.

1950:  US PRESIDENT HARRY TRUMAN ANNOUNCES A PROGRAM TO DEVELOP THE HYDROGEN BOMB.

Give 'em hell.

1956:  AUTHOR A.A. MILNE DIES.

No more honey jars for you.

1961:  PROJECT MERCURY SPACE PROGRAM:  HAM THE CHIMP TRAVELS INTO OUTER SPACE.

Do you want cheese with that?

1968:  VIET CONG GUERRILLAS ATTACK THE US EMBASSY IN SAIGON.  THIS IS CALLED THE TET OFFENSIVE.

And pretty offensive at that.

1971:  THE WINTER SOLDIER INVESTIGATION, ORGANIZED BY THE VIETNAM VETERANS AGAINST THE WAR TO PUBLICIZE WAR CRIMES AND ATROCITIES BY AMERICANS IN VIETNAM, BEGINS IN DETROIT.

That war was truly a mess.

1974:  PRODUCER SAMUEL GOLDWYN DIES.

The G between two Ms.

2006:  ACTRESS MOIRA SHEARER DIES.

You don't need those red shoes now.

Dinner last night:   Chicken lo mein.

When Emmy Categories Attack

 

I sometimes use the Emmy Awards as a barometer to find new TV shows to watch.  If a series cleans up with some gold statues and I am intrigued, I will give it a shot.

So, recently, we had a pack of Emmys unleashed and a Hulu show called "The Bear" scored all the major comedy categories.   Actor, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress, Writer, Director, Show.  Now I had sampled its very first episode from Season 1 way back when and my initial reaction was ambivalent.  Given it only recently finished Season 2, I declared myself not that far behind and opted to see what all the Emmy buzz was about.

I liked what I watched.  Indeed, I finished the first eight half-hour episodes in three days.   I found the story interested.   A young Michelin-rated chef returns home to Chicago and takes over his brother's sandwich shop following the latter's suicide.   The new chef is met with an unruly staff, a decaying neighborhood, and mounting pills.  As cooking is my hobby, I enjoyed the inner workings of a restaurant kitchen.

But, as I watched it as engaged as I was, something was bugging me.

This show is not a comedy.   It is far from it.   There is violence and substance abuse and suicide grief and the "F Bomb" is used liberally as a noun, a verb, an adjective, and a participle.   I didn't laugh once in Season 1.   I was intrigued but as stone-faced as Buster Keaton.

I thought about some great drama shows that had gotten more laughs out of me, namely, "The Sopranos" and "Picket Fences."  I was also a big fan of "Ally McBeal" which was classified as a comedy and, in my mind, rightfully so.

But "The Bear?"  To me, it's an out-and-out drama.   Does it rank as a comedy because it is only 30 minutes long.  It shouldn't be the time that dictates the Emmy classification.   The content is dark and serious and nothing to laugh at.

Thinking about this, I started to worry a bit about the world around us.   Are our lives so freakin' dark that we can't tell the difference between comedy and drama?  And, as a result, do out-and-out laughfests from TV history even have a chance in today's dispirited society.

Rarely, does an Emmy Award telecast provoke such deep and concerning worries?

Dinner last night:  Bang bang chicken and shrimp at the Cheesecake Factory.

Monday Morning Video Laugh - January 29, 2024

 I still miss Johnny.  Especially when he had animals on.

Dinner last night:  Eggplant parmagiana at Trattoria Dell Arte.

The Sunday Memory Drawer - Strong to the Finish

 

When you're five or six and your leisure hours are spent in front of the television, it's only natural that your very first obsession would come from the tube.  

For me, it was Popeye the Sailor Man.

Back when, I waited for the late afternoon hours when cartoons prevailed on WPIX Channel 11 in New York.  The station had all these staff announcers who would do station breaks.  To maximize their salaries, they'd then dress them up into costumes and let them introduce the fare for the kiddies.  You had Joe Bolton who became Officer Joe Bolton when they put him in a policeman's get-up.  He'd introduce the Three Stooges, which was sort of verboten in my house. I'm thinking my parents were afraid I'd follow suit and hit my grandfather in the head with a metal pipe.

The guy I really waited for was Captain Jack McCarthy.

Once again, another staff announcer who was costumed for the youngsters.   Around 4PM every afternoon, he'd walk in on some boat set constructed for three bucks.  He'd ring a ship's bell and extol...

"Three bells, four o'clock, time for Popeye the Sailor..."

I never understood how three bells signified four PM, but I didn't care.  I'd lie down on the floor in front of the television and revel in my spinach-eating hero.

I hear today that kids are turned off when watching anything shot in black-and-white.  That was not the case with me.   The older, the better.  And that went with Popeye cartoons as well.  I'd long for the ones from the early 1930s because they were the best.  

It was sheer euphoria for me if the cartoon opened with those opening and closing boat doors.   Because those were my very favorite Popeye adventures.

Those were indeed the funniest cartoons.  Oh, sure, they all followed the same script and plot line. Popeye is out with Olive Oyl.  Bluto tries to steal her away. Popeye gets pounded into a manhole cover or an iron press.  Out comes the spinach.  Munch, munch.  And Bluto gets his ass thoroughly kicked.

But the oldest ones featured this guy Jack Mercer's voice as Popeye and the man loved to ad lib.   So, as a result, you had to listen closely to the words because Popeye was always muttering something funny under his breath.  So, every time a cartoon was rerun for the twelfth or thirteenth time, I was still mesmerized.   My ear was glued to the soundtrack because I was convinced I had missed something funny.  Or maybe I thought there would be new jokes replacing the old ones.  

Yeah, I was a weird kid.

Of course, my obsession carried over to other facets of my world.   

Popeye pajamas.

A Popeye doll that kicked Zippy the Chimp out of my bed for a while.

A toothpaste company had a promotion.  If you sent in two box tops, you got this nifty Popeye hand puppet.

Of course, to quote my grandmother...

"You're too rough with everything."

In short order, Popeye's head went the way of Marie Antoinette.   This forced Grandma into action.

"Don't come into the kitchen.  Popeye is having an operation."

I waited dutifully outside in the same way that my grandmother the orthopedist had surgically repaired Jerry Mahoney's arm onto this body.  He was soon as good as new.

I then spotted sheer ecstasy.  In Shipman's Toy Store on Fourth Avenue in Mount Vernon, New York.  The ideal melding of my favorite toy and my beloved TV hero.

I was a Colorforms nut.  And now Popeye was the subject of its newest edition. I never quite grasped the concept of Popeye's career change.  But I was in heaven.  Of course, as I did with most of my Colorforms, pieces kept disappearing.  My mom would find them all over the house.

"I found Wimpy's hamburger in the living room ash tray."

Oh.

Now my mother apparently hoped that my Popeye mania would extend to the dinner table.  Just like my hero, she wanted me to develop a taste for spinach.   The first spoonful that went into my mouth?

Bleeech!!!

Okay, so I wasn't completely Popeye-driven.

It's funny that, as I look back upon this time in my life, this obsession never really changed.  A few year back, a DVD company put out all the black-and-white cartoons in one set.   I devoured them one rainy Sunday afternoon.  And I was still straining to hear Popeye's ad libs as if a new one had emerged.  

Meanwhile, on my desk at home, there are two bendable plastic figures.

If I'm writing and I am stuck on something, I will pick one of them and channel back.   To that day when I first heard a funny line muttered by Popeye under his breath.  All of a sudden, I'm five again.

But, the more things stay the same, some do change.

I will happily eat a spinach salad these days.

Dinner last night:  SPO at Carlo's.

Classic Movie Trailer of the Month - January 2024

 Sixty years ago this month, the local theater was playing this...

Dinner last night:  Smashed burger at Emma's in White Plains.

One Picture Is Worth a Thousand Idiots

 

The same mixing bowl was using for both of their haircuts.

Somebody finally adopted Wednesday Addams.

"Yep, your shoulder does look infected to me."

Hedda Hopper's great great grandchildren.

On your wedding day, grin and bear it.

Hair today, even more hair tomorrow.

Now this bunch should have been the real targets of Michelle Obama's "better nutrition" initiative.

Look what Mommy doesn't have.

Isn't there an age limit for a fairy godmother?

There are amazing things you can do with a Sharpie.

Dinner last night:  Eggplant parm at Lombardo's.                  

Heap Big Long

 

Today's blog title comes with apologies to the Indians...er...I mean Native Americans.

So, director Martin Scorsese has done well being able to provide us with tight and taut feature films over the years.  But, of late, Marty might be giving into an advancing edge.  He doesn't seem to want to sit too long in the editing room.  How well would you explain that his recent works are all close to three hours long.  Indeed, the latest one pictured above clocks in at a ghastly 3 hours and 26 minutes.

Now there are movies over three hours duration that require every bit of the time to tell the story.   "Lawrence of Arabia" and "Ben-Hur" are two that I can think of right off the bat.  And then there's bloated junk like "Heaven's Gate" that had no business being made in the first place.

"Killers of the Flower Moon" falls somewhere in the middle of those two criteria. Scorsese has a story to tell but it is hijacked by scenes that go on way too long and some that never should have started in the first place.  Clearly, Marty was renting the editing equipment by the hour.

The story is the Midwest in the 1920s.  The Osage Indian tribe has hit oil on their land and the evil White man wants a cut.  Suddenly, Indians are all getting offed in one way or another.   Enter Leonardo DiCaprio as the nephew of the town boss played by Robert DeNiro and, frankly, I'm officially sick of seeing the latter on the big screen.   Leo is joining in on the murderous mayhem but he faces a conflict when he marries an Indian.

That's the clothesline that hangs the story out to dry and it could all have been told in half the running time.  Meanwhile, Scorsese uses captions whenever the Indians are talking in their language.   But, given the way Leo and DeNiro garble their words in every scene, there's an argument that the subtitles run for the entire film.   Hello?  Who's working on the sound in this movie?

We know nobody's in the editing room.

PS, if you must watch, stream it at home.  You will want to build in your own intermissions.

LEN'S RATING:  Two stars.

Dinner last night:  Pork chop at La Fontanella in Pelham.

This Date in History - January 24

 

Happy birthday to Mary Lou Retton.   Recently in the news because she almost just died.  

AD 41:  ROMAN EMPEROR CALIGULA, KNOWN FOR HIS SADISTIC DESPOTISM, IS ASSASSINATED BY HIS DISGRUNTLED GUARDS.

If he lived in Hollywood these days, his latest film would be pulled.

1438:  THE COUNCIL OF BASEL SUSPENDS POPE EUGENE IV.

Without pay?

1679:  KING CHARLES II OF ENGLAND DISSOLVES THE CAVALIER PARLIAMENT.

In water.

1758:  DURING THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR, THE LEADING BURGHERS OF KONIGSBERG SUBMIT TO ELIZABETH OF RUSSIA, THUS FORMING PRUSSIA.

Elizabeth always liked a good burgher.

1835:  SLAVES IN BRAZIL STATE A REVOLT, WHICH IS INSTRUMENTAL IN ENDING SLAVERY THERE 50 YEARS LATER.

Which was only 20 years ahead of us.

1848:  JAMES MARSHALL FINDS GOLD AT SUTTER'S MILL NEAR SACRAMENTO.

Thar's gold in dem thar hills.

1857:  THE UNIVERSITY OF CALCUTTA IS FOUNDED IN EAST ASIA.

I bet there's a 7/11 on campus.

1908:  THE FIRST BOY SCOUT TROOP IS ORGANIZED IN ENGLAND BY ROBERT BADEN-POWELL.

And I bet there are some who thought he was a pretty creepy guy.

1916:  IN BRUSHABER VS. UNION PACIFIC, THE US SUPREME COURT DECLARES THE FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSTITUTIONAL.

Bastards.

1917:  ACTOR ERNEST BORGNINE IS BORN.

Let's celebrate.   Whaddaya wanna do, Marty?

1933:  THE 20TH AMENDMENT TO THE US CONSTITUTION IS RATIFIED, CHANGING THE BEGINNING AND END OF TERMS FOR ALL ELECTED FEDERAL OFFICES.

This is a good thing?

1941:  SINGER NEIL DIAMOND IS BORN.

I'd celebrate but he introduced us to the song "Sweet Caroline" so...no.   And, no, I am not retracting that joke because of his admission of Parkinson's.

1943:  ACTRESS SHARON TATE IS BORN.

Poor kid.

1943:  FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT AND WINSTON CHURCHILL CONCLUDE A CONFERENCE IN CASABLANCA.

Play it again, Sam.   Little does Winston know that, on this date 22 years later....well, read on.

1949:  ACTOR JOHN BELUSHI IS BORN.

What a waste of talent.

1960:  ALGERIAN WAR - SOME UNITS OF EUROPEAN VOLUNTEERS IN ALGIERS STAGE AN INSURRECTION KNOWN AS THE "BARRICADES WEEK," DURING WHICH THEY SEIZE GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS.

So just a regular day.

1965:  WINSTON CHURCHILL DIES.

See!

1968:  GYMNAST MARY LOU RETTON IS BORN.

9.2, 9.3, 9.5.

1972:  JAPANESE SGT. SHOICHI YOKOI IS FOUND HIDING IN A GUAM JUNGLE, WHERE HE HAD BEEN SINCE THE END OF WORLD WAR II.

Gee, I hope he stopped his newspaper.

1975:  STOOGE LARRY FINE DIES.

Why I oughta!

1983:  DIRECTOR GEORGE CUKOR DIES.

In Hollywood, he made a lot of movies.   And a lot of young guys, too.

1984:  APPLE COMPUTER PLACES THE MACINTOSH PC ON SALE IN THE US.

Nobody will buy it.

1986:  RELIGIOUS LEADER L. RON HUBBARD DIES.

L as in Lunatic.

1986:  SINGER GORDON MACRAE DIES.

No liver transplant would save him.

1989:  SERIAL KILLER TED BUNDY DIES.

What goes around...

1993:  LAWYER THURGOOD MARSHALL DIES.

So the black robe is fitting today.

2003:  THE US DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY BEGINS OPERATION.

Please remove your shoes.

2010:  ACTOR PERNELL ROBERTS DIES.

The Cartwright brother nobody liked.

2015:  TV HOST JOE FRANKLIN DIES.

No more memories in that lane.

2021:  TV HOST SONNY FOX DIES.

Deatharama.

2023:  ACTOR LANCE KERWIN DIES.

James at...never mind.

Dinner last night:  Roast beef and German potato salad at the NY abode.

Len's Recipe of the Month - January 2024

 

Well, it's not exactly my recipe.   This is Julia Child's famous Beef Bourguignon.  And I duplicated with two small variations.

I approach new recipes with caution.  I will always check out my favorite on-line chefs---Laura Vitali, Sip and Feast, and Valerie Bertinelli---for their take first. And guidance from America's Test Kitchen is also welcomed.   The variations from Julia were small.   She parboils bacon before browning it.   Unnecessary in my book.  The other difference came from Laura and Sip.   She cooks it on the stove.  Sip puts it in the oven.   I opted for the latter.  But, except for not having a bay leaf in the house, I followed Julia to a tee.   And I think it worked.

There are a lot of steps so take notes.   First off, get a 2-3 pound chuck roast and cut it up into two inch pieces.   Place in a bowl and thoroughly cover with a mix of flour, salt, and pepper.   Put aside.

In a Dutch oven, brown 1/2 pound of bacon cut into inch-long strips.   Brown for about ten minutes.   Remove and drain with a paper towel.

The bacon should have rendered some grease and brown bits so you will use that to brown the meat.  Pour the beef in, along with the rest of flour mixture.  When they get nice color, remove.

Now, again to the Dutch oven, add two to three carrots cut in two inch piece.  Add a chopped onion.   If there isn't much liquid on the bottom, add a few drops of water.  

Now add six cloves of minced garlic, along with a a tablespoon of tomato paste.

Okay, here comes the liquor.   Laura Vitali adds some cognac first...a shot glass full.  I didn't have cognac so I used brandy.   Then pour in three cups of a chianti or pinot noir wine.   Don't use a cabernet or anything pricey.   It will burn off anyway.   Three cups is mostly one bottle with enough wine left over for a glass with the finished product.

Add three cups of beef broth, along with some thyme.   Stir it all together.  Cover the pot and put in a pre-heated oven at 350 degrees.   This will all need to cook for 2.5 to 3 hours.  

When you get to the two hour mark, you want to start on the two other essentials for this dish.   In a pan with butter, saute a pound of sliced mushrooms.  Then add about eight ounces of thawed pearl onions (most people buy them frozen).  Pour the mushrooms and the onions into the Dutch oven and let it stay in the oven another ten minutes or so.

And, then, as Julia would say, bon appetit!

Dinner last night:  Swedish meatballs.

Monday Morning Video Laugh - January 22, 2024

Can you tell that people aren't used to snow in Seattle? 

Dinner last night:  Leftover chili.

The Sunday Memory Drawer - Snow Place Like Home

 

I am making a rare January visit to NY this week and I hope temperatures moderate before I arrive.   I've gotten soft at this age.   I mean, in LA, I put the heat on in the apartment if the temperature dips below 60.

When I was younger in my hometown of Mount Vernon, New York, I was a bit more resilient.  Here's me and Frosty in the backyard. I doubt I had little to do with his erection, so to speak. My guess is that my father crafted him and I was just made available for these Technicolor photo ops.  You can see my grandmother taking a gander outside from her kitchen window.

But, snapshots of freezing conditions tend to warm me now. Only folks who grew up in the cold can fully appreciate the heavenly nirvana that the winter season often provided those of us in the younger demos.  And these days, we live vicariously in California when those winter storms or plunging degrees hit the Northeast.  

Since I have friends back East, I go a little bit into "Storm Watch" myself.  I pay a bit more attention to the Weather Channel when they talk about impending doom.  Sometimes, I even listen to 1010 WINS on my phone for a while as if the closure of the Long Island Expressway matters to me three thousand miles away.

I live now vicariously with the white stuff and the cold that always accompanies it.  This is a direct reversal of what I longed for when I was the kid in the picture above.  Back when, I couldn't wait for....

A snow day.

Watching it come out of the sky in buckets.  Enjoying the comedy with my grandmother from her living room window as we watched people make that last trek to the grocery store for a pack of cigarettes.  Seeing my mother dig into the hall closet for that outfit I would be wearing just two or three days every year.

God, how I hated to wear all those layers.  And putting on boots??  Help!!!

This is what all us kids lived for. Indeed, the weather stars had to align perfectly and almost magically for us to get a day off from school. Ideally, you prayed for a big snow storm that would begin around 9PM on Sunday. Then it had to go all night long. That would result in teachers getting stuck coming back from a weekend. A healthy snowfall in the overnight hours could potentially screw up the entire school week.

Sweet.

Now, living in Mount Vernon and in close proximity to New York City, our snow days were tougher to come by. Mount Vernon liked to fancy itself as tough a gotham as the five boroughs to the south. It was hard to get a snow day in New York City. Mount Vernon was almost as difficult. Half the time, the two school systems played a game of chicken, waiting to see who was going to cave into the snow drifts first.

But, if you went to bed and it was snowing, you could dream. And wait for the alert. Oh, sure, there were the radio stations that listed school closings. You'd wait alongside the radio to hear your mom's favorite morning host and hold your breath.

"Rye Country Day School closed. All South Salem schools closed. All White Plains schools closed. Mount Vernon schools will be open."

Shit.

Or whatever expletive I would use when I was a seven-year-old.

In Mount Vernon, there was another snow day alert system in place. If schools were to be closed due to inclement weather, they would sound the loud piercing fire whistle at both 7AM and 8AM. It was terrifying to listen to, but glorious at the same time. It meant that schools were closed for the snow storm. Or we were being bombed by Russia.

If it was confirmed that I was now free for the day, I could leisurely go about my favorite indoor activities. Colorforms. Reading my current book borrowed from the public library. "I Love Lucy" reruns. "The Hollywood Squares." All would be sheer bliss until the expected cry from below. Either from my grandparents or my parents.

"Come help shovel!"

Fuck.

Or whatever expletive I might use as a ten-year-old.

When I countered that I was just a kid and of little help, I'd get a horrible threat thrown right back at me.

"Do you want your father to have a heart attack and die?"

Well, er, no.

I'd go outside and make a feeble attempt at pushing some snow around. Eventually, somebody would notice.

"Oh, you're just making a mess. Go in the house."

Done.

Once the clean-up was over, I was free and clear to go play in the snow. If drifts were high enough in the yard, I'd take my dog Tuffy and watch her get lost in the yard. When I got older and graduated from cute little snowmen, we'd focus our time on constructing snow forts from the huge hills plowed by the Sanitation Department in the street. I'd seek out my neighborhood best friend Leo and we'd have ourselves a time defending some Alaskan stronghold from enemy attackers.

Or with the slight slope of 15th Avenue, we'd all commence belly flopping and hit the sleds. You had to be crafty at the bottom of the incline or else you would sled yourself right into busy traffic on First Street. Down there, you'd find some of the neighborhood urchins engaged in more sinister winter activities. Throwing iceballs at bus windows whizzing by.

Looking back, I don't think we had more than a handful of these snow days. 

The one I remember most happened around my birthday in February of 1969. A Sunday night storm that lasted into Monday. We didn't go anywhere for three days. If you lived in Queens where New York Mayor John Lindsay had forgotten that he had snow plows, you didn't leave your block until April.

When I went to college, we absolutely craved the prospect of a crippling snow storm for completely different reasons. Holed up in the co-ed dorms with no classes. Sadly, it never happened during my four years at Fordham. Essentially, the Jesuit-based school administration told us to go to chapel and pray to the Virgin Mary that the snow would melt. So much for twelve inches of snow and some sex, beer, and rock and roll.

Once you start working for a living, snow stories are no longer anticipated with glee. Because, even with eight inches of the white stuff on the ground, that usually isn't enough to close your office. When I commuted to Manhattan from Westchester, I used to laugh at the folks in the office around me. Those who had to travel the farthest in the blizzard all made it to work. The Manhattan dwellers, meanwhile, had major problems simply trying to cross the street.

I do recall one blizzard that crippled everybody and closed offices all over New York. Again, it was a perfectly timed storm. On January 8, 1996. It started to snow around 8PM on Sunday and it didn't stop until Tuesday afternoon. The entire metropolitan area came to a screeching halt. 

Me?  I hunkered down in my Westchester apartment and even remembered swimming laps in the pool downstairs. An odd thing to do on one of the worst days of the winter. I subsisted on chicken noodle soup, Taylor Ham sandwiches, and Turner Classic Movies. And ultimately unplugged the phone to stop all the annoying telemarketing calls that come in during the daytime hours.

By Thursday, New York tried to go back to work. The only problem was that Westchester commuters had no way into the city. Metro North had about five trains left that weren't stuck in some Doctor Zhivago-like snow drift. And it was even worse trying to get home. At 5PM, Grand Central Station was so crowded that it looked like Ellis Island in 1912. 

To make a bad night horrific, my train north broke down at the Sputen Duyvil station in the Bronx. We were all cast adrift in some dark neighborhood, each city block more sinister than the next. I had to piece together a route home that included a bus, a subway, and a lot of walking through slushy water. I didn't get home until 9PM. My feet didn't dry until August.

That would be the last major snowstorm I would live through as a New Yorker. 

I moved to Los Angeles the following year. Now, when I go back East, a few inches of snow are a personal delight. Because I know that I'm not there on a permanent basis. I always know I can go home. Where a predicted 20% percent chance of rain can cripple Beverly Hills.

No, I don't go on Storm Watch for rain here.   But, when it's snowing back in New York, I climb into my bed and turn on 1010 WINS.  It's a lot more fun hearing about the closure of the Saw Mill River Parkway when you're under your comforter in Los Angeles.

Okay, Mother Nature, I am eastbound this week.  Behave!

Dinner last night:  Gelson's chili.

Classic TV Theme Song of the Month - January 2024

I've been binging this show lately on Hulu having never seen it the first time.  The opening song remains eternally infectious.

Dinner last night:  Sausage and diced tomatoes.

Your Weekend Movie Guide for January 2024

 

Well, something had to open the Radio City Music Hall in 1933.  It might as well have been Mr. Ape himself.   I wonder how many Rockettes got stepped on.

So what is destroying our theaters in January 2024?   I am guessing plenty.  You know the monthly drill, guys.  I'll give you my gut reaction to what's playing at the movie houses via Fandango.   Instead of bananas, you might want to bring some rotten eggs.  To throw at the screen.

Mean Girls:  A remake of junk filmed in 2004.  Isn't that a little quick?

Wonka:  At least the original was shot in the 60s.

The Beekeeper:  Don't get stung.

Killers of the Flower Moon:  Blog review coming.  I'm still waiting for the movie to end.

Anyone But You:   The way Democrats view Trump.

The Book of Clarence:   The Bible except with Black people.  Turning water into Ripple.

Oppenheimer:  Reviewed here recently.   The Oscar front runner.   Not on my ballot.

The Boys in the Boat:   Reviewed here recently.  The best picture of 2023 and getting no Oscar buzz.  Inexplicable.

The Color Purple:   Apparently there are people who think they can improve on Steven Spielberg's work.

The Iron Claw:  Not craw, it's claw!   Get Smart circa 1967.

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom:  All wet.

Night Swim:  A killer pool.  I guess they used too much chlorine.

Migration:  Animation.  Unlike the cartoon going on at the southern border.

American Fiction:   White people are bad...the next installment.

Poor Things:  Reviewed here recently.  Perhaps the worst movie I have ever seen.

The Boy and the Heron:   To be followed by "Heron, Come Home."

Double Down South:  Keno-pool gambling, whatever the fuck that is.

Cult Killer:  About a cult killer?

Founder's Day:  A slash fest in a small town.   Yeah, that's been done before.

The Hunted:  Refugees capsize and rich Europeans take them in on an idyllic island.  Sounds like Sanctuary Island.

Wanted Man:  Starring Dolph Lundren and Kelsey Grammer?????!!!

Which Brings Me to You:  Without even looking, I can tell you this is a dreary romcom.

Ferrari:   The car designer.   Post-battle with Ford?

All of Us Strangers:   A gay ghost story.   I always wondered about Casper.

Zone of Interest:  The commandant of Auschwitz moves his family next door to the camp.  Kids, don't worry about that smell.

Dinner last night:  Grilled beef sausage.

Mediocrity On Steroids

 

Whoops.  What happened here?

You may have heard about this on the news.   An Alaska Airlines door broke in the early stages of flight.   Unlike Van Heflin in the movie "Airport," nobody got sucked to their death.   Somebody actually found the door in their backyard.   And, oh, yeah, they also found a passenger's cell phone...still working.

Now I am sure this is aberration.  A quirk in design.   A faulty nut or bolt.   The odds of this happening are a billion to one.

Or are they?

You see, I am of the opinion that you are going to see this happening more and more.   In cars.  Buses.  Trains.   Or anything really that requires engineering to be superlative and flawless.  Back in the day, companies hired the best of the best to do their maintenance.   The best person got the job.

Not so much anymore.   In our D-E-I world, qualifications often take a back seat to employment quotas.   Wait!  We don't have enough women.  Or Blacks.  Or Asians.  Or transgendering folks.  You see, those requirements come first.   Then they will take into account someone's skills on a secondary basis.

You think I'm kidding?   It's now happening in doctor's offices and hospitals, too.  As well as the United States Postal Service.   You may have read about my frustrations there in a previous blog post.  

This has become a nation no longer of excellence.  It is a country where mediocrity is not only welcomed, but strived for.

And the toilet bowl flushes one more time.

Dinner last night:  Leftover beef bourguignon.

This Date in History - January 17

 

Remembering the Northridge earthquake which happened on this date in 1994.  Mercifully, I was in my living room in Yonkers, New York.

38 BC:  OCTAVIAN DIVORCES HIS WIFE SCRIBONIA AND MARRIES LIVIA DRUSILLA, ENDING THE FRAGILE PEACE BETWEEN THE SECOND TRIUMVIRATE AND SEXTUS POMPEY.

I want to know more about this Sextus thing.

395:  UPON THE DEATH OF EMPEROR THEODOSIUS I, THE ROMAN EMPIRE IS PERMANENTLY DIVIDED INTO THE EASTERN ROMAN EMPIRE UNDER ARCADIUS.

At the Arcadius, can you play Pacmanius?

1524:  GIOVANNI DA VERRAZZANO SETS SAIL WESTWARD FROM MADEIRA TO FIND A SEA ROUTE TO THE PACIFIC OCEAN.

So how come the bridge goes to Staten Island?

1608:  EMPEROR SUSENYOS I OF ETHIOPIA SURPRISES AN OROMO ARMY AT EBERNAT.  HIS ARMY REPORTEDLY KILLS 12,000 AT THE COST OF 400 OF HIS MEN.

12,000 to 400?  That's like a New York Giants score this past season.

1773:  CAPTAIN JAMES COOK COMMANDS THE FIRST EXPEDITION TO SAIL SOUTH OF THE ANTARCTIC CIRCLE.

You know it's going to be cold there?

1799:  MALTESE PATRIOT DUN MIKIEL XERRI AND OTHER PATRIOTS ARE EXECUTED.

And    Tom Brady was spared.

1880:  FILM PRODUCER MACK SENNETT IS BORN.

Hit somebody in the face with a pie.

1885:  A BRITISH FORCE DEFEATS A LARGE DERVISH ARMY IN THE SUDAN.

Those Dervish were sent whirling.

1899:  THE UNITED STATES TAKES POSSESSION OF WAKE ISLAND IN THE PACIFIC.

World War II battle to follow.

1899:  MOBSTER AL CAPONE IS BORN.

Chicago gun battle to follow.

1904:  CHEKHOV'S "THE CHERRY ORCHARD" RECEIVES ITS PREMIERE PERFORMANCE AT THE MOSCOW ART THEATER.

Book report to follow.

1912:  CAPTAIN ROBERT FALCON SCOTT REACHES THE SOUTH POLE, ONE MONTH AFTER ROALD AMUNDSEN.

What was this?  Season 1 of the Amazing Race?

1917:  THE UNITED STATES PAYS DENMARK $25 MILLION FOR THE VIRGIN ISLANDS.

It would been $20 million if they were the Non-Virgin Islands.

1922:  ACTRESS BETTY WHITE IS BORN.

Still pissed that she just missed 100.

1927:  SINGER EARTHA KITT IS BORN.

Santa baby, I'm gonna need a crib.

1928:  HAIR STYLIST VIDAL SASSOON IS BORN.

Oooh la la.

1929:  POPEYE THE SAILOR MAN FIRST APPEARS AS A COMIC STRIP.

Well, blow me down.

1931:  BASEBALL STAR DON ZIMMER IS BORN.

The metal plate in his head came later.

1933:  PUPPETEER SHARI LEWIS IS BORN.

Oddly, Lamb Chop was born the previous year.

1942:  BOXER MUHAMMAD ALI IS BORN.

Well, he was Cassius Clay on that day.

1946:  THE UN SECURITY COUNCIL HOLDS ITS FIRST SESSION.

And immediately breaks for lunch.

1949:  COMIC ANDY KAUFMAN IS BORN.

Or so we're told.

1950:  THE GREAT BRINK'S ROBBERY IN BOSTON.

Two million dollars stolen from an armored car.  Which makes it a lousy armored car.

1961:  US PRESIDENT DWIGHT EISENHOWER DELIVERS A FAREWELL ADDRESS TO THE NATION BEFORE LEAVING OFFICE, WARNING PEOPLE AGAINST THE DANGERS OF MASSIVE SPENDING.

Meanwhile, when is tee off time?

1964:  MICHELLE OBAMA IS BORN.

Calorie count on that birthday cake:  850.

1977:  CAPITAL PUNISHMENT IN THE US RESUMES AFTER A TEN YEAR HIATUS, AS CONVICTED MURDERED GARY GILMORE IS EXECUTED BY FIRING SQUAD.

Glad they didn't miss.

1991:  OPERATION DESERT STORM BEGINS EARLY IN THE MORNING.

And was over six weeks later.

1994:  THE 6.7 NORTHRIDGE EARTHQUAKE.

And, to think, they're waiting for the one here that will be 7.3.

1998:  MATT DRUDGE BREAKS THE STORY OF THE BILL CLINTON-MONICA LEWINSKY AFFAIR ON HIS WEBSITE.

Who broke the story about the ten others he screwed?

2003:  ACTOR RICHARD CRENNA DIES.

The Real McCoy.

2005:  ACTRESS VIRGINIA MAYO DIES.

Held.

2008:  CHESS PLAYER BOBBY FISCHER DIES.

Checkmate.

2010:  AUTHOR ERICH SEGAL DIES.

Death Story.

2011:  PRODUCER DON KIRSHNER DIES.

It's midnight again.

Dinner last night:  Coconut chicken tenders.