This Date in History - February 19

 

Happy birthday to Smokey Robinson.  Ah, the miracle of childbirth.

197:   EMPEROR SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS DEFEATS USURPER CLODIUS ALBINUS IN THE BATTLE OF LUGDUNUM.

Five points if you know either of these guys and where Lugdunum is.

356:  EMPEROR CONSTANTIUS II ISSUES A DECREE CLOSING ALL PAGAN TEMPLES IN THE ROMAN EMPIRE.

So, I'm assuming he is anti-Pagan.

1600:  THE PERUVIAN STRATOVOLCANO HUAYNAPUTINA EXPLODES IN THE MOST VIOLENT RECORDED ERUPTION OF SOUTH AMERICA.

Was the stratovolcano by the same people who produced Strat-O-Matic Baseball?

1807:  FORMER US VICE PRESIDENT AARON BURR IS ARRESTED FOR TREASON IN ALABAMA.

Hence, the word "former."

1846:  IN AUSTIN, TEXAS, THE NEWLY FORMED TEXAS STATE GOVERNMENT IS OFFICIALLY INSTALLED.  

Today, they want to be their own country.

1847:  THE FIRST GROUP OF RESCUERS REACHES THE DONNER PARTY.

And why do I think this group failed, necessitating a second group of rescuers?

1859:  DANIEL E. SICKLES, A NEW YORK CONGRESSMAN, IS ACQUITTED OF MURDER ON GROUNDS OF TEMPORARY INSANITY.

As opposed to NY Congressman Charles Rangel, whose insanity was permanent.

1861:  SERFDOM IS ABOLISHED IN RUSSIA.

Serfs Up!

1878:  THOMAS EDISON PATENTS THE PHONOGRAPH.

So we should blame him for Lady GaGa.

1884:  MORE THAN SIXTY TORNADOES STRIKE THE SOUTHERN US.

The nineteenth century's edition of Global Warming.

1916:  JOCKEY EDDIE ARCARO IS BORN.

Paying $5.50, $4.30, and $3.70.

1940:  SINGER SMOKEY ROBINSON IS BORN.

Named because one of his relatives wanted to remind him always that he was Black.  Okay, done.

1942:  DURING WORLD WAR II, NEARLY 250 JAPANESE WARPLANES ATTACK THE AUSTRALIAN CITY OF DARWIN.

I never knew that Australia was under attack, too.

1942:  PRESIDENT FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT SIGNS THE EXECUTIVE ORDER 9066, ALLOWING FOR JAPANESE-AMERICANS TO BE RELOCATED INTO INTERNMENT CAMPS.

That's what they get for bombing kangaroos.

 1945:  ABOUT 30,000 US MARINES LAND ON THE ISLAND OF IWO JIMA.

Who's got the flag???

1953:  GEORGIA APPROVES THE FIRST LITERATURE CENSORSHIP BOARD IN THE US.

For those in the state who could actually read.

1963: THE PUBLICATION OF BETTY FRIEDAN'S "THE FEMININE MYSTIQUE."

The end of the American housewife begins.

1969:  ACTRESS MADGE BLAKE DIES.

Aunt Harriet on TV's "Batman."

1976:  EXECUTIVE ORDER 9066, AS BEGAN IN 1942, IS RESCINDED BY PRESIDENT GERALD FORD.

Well, it was fun while it lasted.

1985:  WILLIAM SCHROEDER BECOMES THE FIRST RECIPIENT OF AN ARTIFICIAL HEART TO LEAVE THE HOSPITAL.

Key phrase is "leave the hospital."

1996:  BASEBALL OWNER CHARLIE FINLEY DIES.

Now who's the real jackass?

2001:  THE OKLAHOMA CITY BOMBING MUSEUM IS DEDICATED.

Wow, that went up fast.  Unlike the memorial near Ground Zero.

2001:  FILM DIRECTOR STANLEY KRAMER DIES.

Guess Who's Coming to Heaven?

2003:  SINGER JOHNNY PAYCHECK DIES.

Cashing it in.

2016:  AUTHOR HARPER LEE DIES.

Mockingbird.  Dead.

Dinner last night:   Chili from my freezer.

Len's Recipe of the Month - February 2025

 

Back when I was a kid, my parents and I had a roast dinner every Sunday around 2PM.   A very nice and sweet tradition in retrospect.

Now my dad often did the cooking and, for a while, he loved to make a dish that became quite popular in the day.  London Broil.   The attraction of this piece of meat was that it could be tasty but it was from the part of the cow that is reasonably inexpensive.

Truth be told, I was not a fan as Dad didn't necessarily have success making it. The end product was often gray in color and chewy.  He truly cooked it too long.

I've been thinking about this of late and given that I am now a better chef than both of my parents ever were, could I possibly make a good London Broil.   With my research, I did and see the result above.   Not a gray speck in the photo.

The secret is a 24-hour-marinade and I'm pretty sure my father never marinaded anything.  This guarantees the meat will be flavorful.   Now, there are several ways to do this per the internet.   But I will detail my route.

First, I got a rather small-ish London Broil.   Some comes two to three inches high.   I went small first for my experiment.

Next, the marinade.   I pulled a few from the internet but also added my touch.

In a bowl, mix the following.

1/3 cup soy sauce.

2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar.

3 tablespoons of EVO.

1 tablespoon of brown sugar.

Salt and pepper.

4 cloves of minced garlic.

Place the meat in a freezer lock bag and pour the mixture in.   Put it in the refrigerator for at least one day.

Okay, a lot of on-line cooks tell you to cook the meat in the oven broiler or on a grill.  I used a cast-iron pan and it worked just fine.  Pat the meat dry and put it in a sizzling pan.

Sear it on one side for about ten minutes.  Flip it and then let it go on this hot pan another five minutes.

Remove from heat and tent it with foil for at least 15 to 20 minutes so juices can circulate.   You should still have the marinade liquid in the bag.   You could use it to make a sauce.   I used it as the base to saute two cups of baby bella mushrooms.

Slice the meat on a angle and enjoy with the mushrooms.

Sorry, Dad.   I outdid you this time.

Dinner last night:  Salad with leftover...London broil.

Monday Morning Video Laugh - February 17, 2025

 These never ever get old.

Dinner last night:  London broil and sauted mushrooms.

The Sunday Memory Drawer - When Birthdays Attack

 

Yeah, that's sort of the look I have every year at this time.  

Not to be completely narcissistic, my birthday was last week.  This is not mentioned to induce any congratulatory words or merit undue attention.  I clearly hate the spotlight and always have.  Why then, you may ask, do you open up your life every day and in every way on this blog?

I never promised you a simple human being, did I?  

But, indeed, I have always been uncomfortable getting any attention, both good or bad.  And, of course, the celebration of one's birthday is the annual pinnacle of being focused upon.  It has never been easy for me, but, these days, the day arrives with even more intensity.  There are Facebook greetings from people you haven't seen in thirty years.  Folks are reminded on that website that there is a birthday to be recognized on that day.   Like a robot, you respond with a message.  I'm the same way.

"Happy, happy birthday.  Have a great day."

Of course, if it's somebody I am close with, the greeting is more personalized.  But, those folks are likely still getting the old fashioned recognition from me.

Yes, I still send a birthday card.  In an envelope.  With a stamp.  I'm stuck in the past and loving it.

Unlike some people,  I view every birthday equally.  No one year is more important than the next or the last.   I don't pay more attention to those ages that end with a "5" or a "0."  To me, age is still a number and not representative of who you are as a person.  Besides, when I think of my parents at the age that I now possess, we are as different as night and day.  Yes, ninety is the new eighty.  Eighty is the new seventy.  And orange is the new black.  Whatever.

Truth be told, I prefer the day to pass simply.  If there's dinner with a good friend or two, that's ideal.  For years here in Los Angeles, my writing partner and my good friend, Djinn from the Bronx, did this round robin birthday tournament.  Two of the three would take the third out to a surprise restaurant.  We never went to the same place twice.  And ultimately sampled the best eateries in town.  Other friends participate with me throughout the month of February.  A good meal with a terrific pal is perfect.

A few years ago, I actually and unintentionally returned to the scene of the crime.  I spent my birthday in New York for the first time since 1997.  As I looked at the calendar, I realized that my birthday, as it did in that year, fell on a Tuesday.  Two days later in 1997, I moved to Los Angeles.  On February 13, 2014, I was also scheduled for a flight to Los Angeles.   Symmetry that is interesting but ultimately means nothing.  I will, however, never fly on my actual birthday.  That's too convenient a feng shui for the fatalist buried inside me.

Meanwhile, the symmetry didn't hold up.   A major snow storm pushed my flight to Friday.  And the birthday week took another hit.

So, as simple as I like my birthday, there have been years where it was much more.  Whether I liked it or, in most cases, not.

Look at the photo above.  In my family, hosting a birthday party for one of the kids was a D-Day-like military ploy.  My older cousins would be there with their minds elsewhere.  The children of my mother's friends would be there and, other than their own birthday parties, we never saw each other.  Where were my neighborhood pals?   Where were my classmates?   The kids I was going through the wars with each and every day.

Another mystery of life I never could understand.   You can see how puzzled I am in this photo.  I still don't.

Dinner last night:  BBQ Chicken Breasts at the home of good friends Amir and Kevin.

Classic TV Theme Song of the Month - February 2025

This was in its first season...fifty years ago this month.  The show never really caught on. 

Dinner last night:  Sandwich.

Will You Be My Whatever?

 

Dinner last night:    Leftover chicken cacciatore from my freezer.

F Bombs Away

 

For those that are still paying attention, "Anora" is one of the front runners to win the Oscar for Best Picture.  It's got a bunch of other noms including somebody named Mikey Madison for Best Actress.  Despite my disdain these days for anything Oscar, I decided to give it a ride.

I must admit that I was entertained by this movie which walks the tightrope of being a drama and a raucous comedy.  Or should I say "fucking" movie?   Because there is a lot of that as a verb.  And an adjective.   And a noun?  And a dangling participle. If director Sean Baker was paid by the use of this word throughout the script, he literally would win the equivalent of a Power Ball.

Because the word is used a fucking lot.

Anora is a NYC sex worker.   That's the nice way of calling her a paid whore who...fucks...a lot.  One night at a sex club, she hooks up with a 21-year-old Russian with a ton of money.  After some fucking...the verb..., they actually head off to Vegas and get married.  Then they settle down in some fucking...the adjective...Long Island mansion.

But they don't live happily fucking after.  It turns out the boy is the son of one of Putin's oligarchs who sends some Russian thugs to break up the marriage.  By break up the marriage, they mean lots of fucking punches to the body.  The boy runs away, leaving Anora to fend off the cretins as best as she fucking knows how.

As I said, the movie manages to walk the fine line of drama and comedy, because Anora's dialogue with the thugs...punches to the face notwithstanding...is pretty amusing.   Indeed, I somehow found this all entertaining, so fuck me.  Is it the best fucking picture of the year?   Let's see what the Oscar voters say.  

In a now traditional lackluster Oscar season, "Anora" just might fucking surprise us all.

LEN'S RATING:  Three stars.

Dinner last night:  Leftover eggplant.

This Date in History - February 12

 

Happy birthday, Abraham Lincoln.   I'm sorry you now have to share your birthday with George Washington.

41:  BRITANNICUS, ROMAN SON OF CLAUDIUS, IS BORN.

And his sister Encyclopedia.

881:  POPE JOHN VIII CROWNS CHARLES THE FAT HOLY ROMAN EMPEROR.

So if Charles loses a lot of weight, does his title change?

1502:  VASCO DA GAMA SETS SAILS FROM SPAIN ON HIS SECOND VOYAGE TO INDIA.

For me, one voyage to India would be plenty.

1541:  SANTIAGO, CHILE IS FOUNDED BY PEDRA DE VALDIVIA.

I think Valdivia, Chile sounds nicer.

1554:  A YEAR AFTER CLAIMING THE THRONE OF ENGLAND FOR NINE DAYS, LADY JANE GREY IS BEHEADED FOR TREASON.

For her country, she gave...her head.  And you thought that was going to be a dirty joke.

1733: ENGLISHMAN JAMES OLGETHORPE FOUNDS GEORGIA, THE 13TH COLONY OF THE THIRTEEN COLONIES.

So how come it's not the Oglethorpe Braves?

1789:  POLITICIAN ETHAN ALLEN DIES.

But there's a big furniture sale today.

1809:  THEORIST CHARLES DARWIN IS BORN.

Or descended.

1809:  PRESIDENT ABRAHAM LINCOLN IS BORN.

On the same day as Darwin.   I love what we learn every Wednesday.

1832:  ECUADOR ANNEXES THE GALAPAGOS ISLANDS.

Love those turtles.

1855:  MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY IS ESTABLISHED.

When's kick-off?

1907:  ACTOR JOSEPH KEARNS IS BORN.

Hey, Mr. Wilson!

1909:  THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF COLORED PEOPLE (NAACP) IS FOUNDED.

So how come they haven't changed the name of this organization, eh?

1914:  IN WASHINGTON DC, THE FIRST STONE OF THE LINCOLN MEMORIAL IS PUT INTO PLACE.

Aw, on his birthday.  How clever.

1915:  ACTOR LORNE GREENE IS BORN.

Bonanza!!

1926:  BASEBALL PERSONALITY JOE GARAGIOLA IS BORN.

My grandmother used to call him Joe Garabaldi.

1934:  BASKETBALL STAR BILL RUSSELL IS BORN.

Score the goal.

1935:  USS MACON, ONE OF THE TWO LARGEST HELIUM-FILLED AIRSHIPS EVER CREATED, CRASHES INTO THE PACIFIC OCEAN OFF THE COAST OF CALIFORNIA.

Well, there were two.

1946:  AFRICAN AMERICAN US ARMY VETERAN ISAAC WOODARD IS SEVERELY BEATEN BY A SOUTH CAROLINA POLICE OFFICER TO THE POINT WHERE HE LOSES HIS VISION IS BOTH EYES.  THIS GALVANIZES THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT.

Okay, back in 1946, he wasn't called an African American.  He was probably called "colored."

1947:  CHRISTIAN DIOR UNVEILS A NEW LOOK, HELPING PARIS REGAIN ITS POSITION AS THE CAPITAL OF THE FASHION WORLD.

As if it was going to be in Prague.

1963:  CONSTRUCTION BEGINS ON THE GATEWAY ARCH IN ST. LOUIS.

A landmark that I've never really understood.   I mean...it's nothing but an arch.

1974:  ALEKSANDR SOLZHENITSYN, WINNER OF THE 1970 LITERATURE NOBEL PRIZE, IS EXILED FROM THE SOVIET UNION.

He needs to buy a vowel.

1976:  ACTOR SAL MINEO DIES.

Well, murdered really.   And I drive by the spot frequently.

1994:  FOUR MEN BREAK INTO THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF NORWAY AND STEAL EDVARD MUNCH'S ICONIC PAINTING THE SCREAM.

Now it really has something to scream about.

1999:  PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON IS ACQUITTED BY THE UNITED STATES SENATE IN HIS IMPEACHMENT TRIAL.

Lincoln never had an intern.

2000:  FOOTBALL COACH TOM LANDRY DIES.

No overtime for him.

2000:  CARTOONIST CHARLES M. SCHULZ DIES.

What are you gonna do now, Charlie Brown?

2004:  THE CITY OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA BEGINS ISSUING MARRIAGE LICENSES TO SAME-SEX COUPLES.

As if you thought this was going to happen in Omaha.

2001:  ACTRESS BETTY GARRETT DIES.

From On the Town to Under It.

2011:  ACTOR KENNETH MARS DIES.

Loved him in The Producers and Young Frankenstein.

2014:  COMIC SID CAESAR DIES.

He had Mel Brooks, Neil Simon, and Woody Allen on his writing staff.  Not bad.

2015:  ANNOUNCER GARY OWENS DIES.

The true Fickle Finger of Fate.

2017:  SINGER ALL JARREAU DIES.

It ain't "Mornin'" any more.

2019:  POLITICIAN LYNDON LA ROUCHE DIES.

I still plan to give him a write-in vote this year.

2022:  DIRECTOR IVAN REITMAN DIES.

Who were you going to call?

Dinner last night:  Eggplant parmagiana at Rao's.

Just Like a Woman

 

Or something like that.

I use that song title as a blog headline today because, frankly, it's the only Bob Dylan song I can remember off the top of my head.   This Nobel Prize winner has always been a mystery to me.  But, nonetheless, he is legendary.   And the kudos thrown at this film of his life were enough for me to learn more about it.

And see the movie, of course.

That said, I can say I did enjoy "A Complete Unknown."  It held my interest.  And, even better, it was a bit of an education for me.  It's like the college course that sounds boring, but you take it because you know you will learn something.

I did learn something from this James Mangold film.  I still am not a huge Dylan fan, but I understand him a bit better.  And it also provides a sweeping history of the folk music scene back in the 60s with such characters depicted as Joan Baez, Pete Seeger, and Johnny Cash.  With that in mind, there are Oscar noms galore here and Timothee Chalamet is a standout.  But, so is Elle Fanning as his girlfriend and Monica Barbaro as Baez.   Indeed, the two women almost steal the picture.  They are that good.

Indeed, what I like about this movie is that none of the actors really attempt to mimic the musicians they are playing.  That will never work as those voices are so recognizable that they are impossible to imitate.  But they put enough of their own spin on the songs and the audience is not cheated.

Now this movie didn't prompt me to find a Bob Dylan song on my Sirius/XM.  But the film did provide me with a sort of "Folk Music 101" and it was a class I was happy to take.

LEN'S RATING:  Three-and-a-half stars.

Dinner last night:  Leftover chili.

Monday Morning Video Laugh - February 10, 2025

 I am revisiting the original "Frasier" series and there is nothing like it.  And there was nobody like David Hyde Pierce who stole every scene he was in.

Dinner last night:  Sausage chili.

The Sunday Memory Drawer- Joe Namath and Vomit

 

Just to be clear, I hate the Super Bowl.  I rarely watch it.  I don't care who wins or who loses.  I try to avoid house parties built around watching the game.  There are dozens of reasons why you should invite folks over to your house for a soiree.  Watching an overhyped football game is not one of them.  And, each year, it's more of the same.  Nothing ever changes even though we're up to what Super Bowl number?  175?

And don't you just love how they amp up the importance of this contest by numbering it with Roman numerals.  As if this is even remotely Biblical??  What are we supposed to think?  Disciple Simon Peter was the treasurer for the big football pool set up by Jesus.  Come on!  Get a grip, gang.

Of course, there was a time and a year, ages ago, that I did care.  And it would be the first time in my very young life as as a crazy and likely obnoxious sports fan that I would be vindicated.

Super Bowl III.  My team was in it.  The New York Jets.  How lucky could I get?  Somebody that actually was rooting for was playing in the big game.  Woo hoo!  I might not ever get the opportunity to have a moment like this in my life ever again.  Of course, about nine months later, I would be in a frenzy all over again when the Mets...my Mets...came out of complete mediocrity to win the World Series.

Of course, I would get to see the Mets do this again...well, one more time...in my life.  As for the Jets and the Super Bowl?  Yeah, we're still waiting.

But, in that football season preceding Super Bowl III, it was all that this kid could think about it.  I hung on every pass and every penalty.  You may have remembered that I previously wrote about the year where I went to a lot of Jets games at Shea Stadium courtesy of my mother's boss and her amorous boyfriend.  Well, that ticket opportunity had dried up already.  I didn't get to go to any Jets home games in that championship season.  But I was glued to the television.  Or, in the case of the big American Football League championship game, the radio.  Back then, television coverage of pro football was not abundant. 

I did what I could to stay intimately connected to the New York Jets.

When it was clear that my guys were moving onto the Super Bowl, I could focus on little else.  I sat in class coloring in shapes on my textbook covers with shades of green and white.  Around the house, I walked around with my little toy Jets football all day long.  Tossing up and down.  Side to side.  In the air and then down.  Grandma started to get fed up.  She started to visualize some of her dining room crystal in pieces.

"You're gonna break something with that stupid thing of yours."

I didn't really listen.  If I put the little toy ball down, I almost felt as if I would be severing the connection to my Jets. 

Upstairs in our end of the house, I walked around nervously with my little toy Jets football all day.  Tossing it up and down.  My mother started to get fed up.

"One more time and that goes into the garbage."

Nobody understood what I was feeling.

As would be the case with most teams I rooted for in my life, the Jets never got any respect.  But, for that matter, neither did the whole AFL, which was essentially gum on the shoe of any pro football fan.  They can't be that important because, after all, it's not the NFL.  The AFL team had gotten destroyed in the first two Super Bowls by those assholes from Wisconsin, the Green Bay Packers.  What the heck could the Jets possibly do against this year's NFL juggernaut, the Baltimore Colts?  Especially with quarterback Joe Namath, who had a big mouth and might be a regular wearer of panty hose.

Nevertheless, I viewed the upcoming game with excitement.  And trepidation.

And a little toy Jets football in my hand.

For me, the week preceding the Super Bowl couldn't have gone faster.  I awoke Saturday mentally preparing myself for the contest on Sunday.  Back then, there wasn't the frenzy and chaos behind the Super Bowl that you witness today.  But, in my mind on that day, there was enough frenzy and chaos in my mind to cover a dozen Super Bowl parties in 2013.

But, as I tried to mentally prepare myself, something else weird was going on.  I had a headache.

Now, when I go for my annual physical every December, my current internist and I go through our traditional dialogue.

"You want a flu shot?"

"Doc, I don't get the flu."

"Then, okay, you don't need to get a flu shot."

And that's a fact.  I never get a flu shot.  Because there are only two times in my entire life when I got the flu.  On New Year's Eve freshman year in college.

And on the Saturday before Super Bowl III.

By that night, I was as sick as a dog.  It was the perfect storm of ailments.  Head, stomach, and every bodily portal of entry and exit.  I could barely lift my head off the pillow in my room to watch my favorite TV show, "Get Smart."  I prayed silently that I would be better the next day.  The Jets needed me in perfect condition.

Sunday morning was even worse.  I got parental approval to move my carcass from my bedroom to the living room sofa so I could at least watch the game with my father.

Hugging my little toy Jets football, I curled up on the couch just as the opening whistle blew.

And promptly fell asleep.

As you probably know, this would be the greatest moment in Jets history ever. 

I was in a coma for all of it.

My dad rustled me awake to tell me the final score.  In my body of aches and torment, I could barely muster a smile.

And then I ran down to the bathroom so I could throw up. 

Over time, I have gone in and out of fandom with the New York Jets.  But they have never been in the Super Bowl since.  And, given my luck, likely will be there.  Because, somewhere in this crazy world of irony, somebody will note that the one time the Jets made the Super Bowl, this fan slept right through it.

And then threw up.

Dinner last night:  Orange chicken lo mein.

Classic Newsreel of the Month - February 2025

 And I can hear my grandmother all over again.

"Ed Sullivan ruined this country."

Dinner last night:  Sandwich.

Your February 2025 Rap Sheet

 This month I am including the actual crime...some of them so weird that they are worth mentioning.

 Arrested for attacking herself with a sword.

 Substitute teacher caught selling narcotics to her students.

 College professor caught taping sexual encounters with his students.

Yet another member of college academia caught having sex with a student.

Broke into a u-Haul to save a rabbit.

 ROTC instructor caught having sex with his students.

 Threw her infant out of the car window into the woods.

 Kept 44 rats, 16 horses, 8 dogs, and one cat in her house.

 Regularly inhaled nitrous oxide with her child.

 Raped a boy at knifepoint.

 Arrested for regularly burying puppies alive.

Pledged on his Facebook page to kill Trump on Inauguration Day.

Dinner last night:  Taylor ham and cheese omelet.

Morons of the Month - February 2025

 

Well, it's got to be somebody's fault, right?

That's the way it works in America these days.  When one political party is in power, any problem and/or calamity is immediately their fault.   Right now, it's the Republican party in power and they are the evil empire with Donald Trump walking around like Darth Vader.  I know lots of folks who are so disgusted that they pledge to get off social media for the next four years.  Except they spend every waking moment telling people they're going off social media on...where else?...social media.

Clearly, there are folks out there who have watched every episode of "The West Wing" way too many times.  When the Democrats comprise the majority in DC, the Republicans act like only "24's" Jack Bauer can save us.  

This is the evil cycle our country is stuck in and it gets more and more pronounced with each successive administration.   As soon as one party gets in, they are responsible for every single thing that happens almost as soon as they all take their oaths of office.

Take, for instance, last week.  Admittedly, not a good week to fly in the United States.  Lots of souls lost, but it didn't take long for conspiracy theories to pop out like candy from a Pez dispenser.   

And it's all Trump's fault even though he's only been in office for two weeks.  Now if the parties were reversed and this happened a month ago, it would have been Old Man Biden's problem.  Equally as misguided.  

What the morons around us don't understand is changes don't have results that quickly.   Government moves at a snail's pace and things don't have immediate causes and effects.

The two deadly plane crashes last week are not the fault of Trump or Biden or Obama or Bush.   Actually, it is the fault of all of them.  Our leaders have taken their eyes off the ball and spent more time trying to get and keep jobs as opposed to actually doing them.

Trust me, there's plenty of blame to go around to everybody.   But the real culprits are those who have let this happen.  I mean, we embody all the positives of a democracy at work.   

We are also responsible for the negatives as well.   This is a worthy message but sadly people won't read it because they're boycotting the internet.

Dinner last night:  Leftover meat loaf.

This Date in History - February 5

 

Happy birthday, Laura Linney.  When you were younger, I had a great part for you.  I still have the part available, but you're too old now.

62:  A EARTHQUAKE IN POMPEII, ITALY.

Before or after the volcano?   Either way, it sucks to be in Pompeii.

756:  AN LUSHAN, LEADER OF A REVOLT AGAINST THE TANG DYNASTY, DECLARES HIMSELF EMPEROR AND ESTABLISHES THE STATE OF YAN.

And the second state will be called New Yan.

1631:  ROGER WILLIAMS EMIGRATES TO BOSTON.

This is not the guy who played the piano.

1778:  SOUTH CAROLINA BECOMES THE SECOND STATE TO RATIFY THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION.

So it takes almost 80 more years for this fight to begin?

1783:  IN CALABRIA, A SEQUENCE OF STRONG EARTHQUAKES BEGINS.

Talk to the folks in Pompeii.

1818: JEAN-BAPTISTE BERNADOTTE ASCENDS TO THE THRONES OF SWEDEN AND NORWAY.

That's being a little piggy, if you ask me.

1852:  THE HERMITAGE MUSEUM IN ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA, ONE OF THE LARGEST AND OLDEST MUSEUMS IN THE WORLD, OPENS TO THE PUBLIC.

And schoolchildren in Russia can be bored with the rest of us who had to endure class trips.

1869:  THE LARGEST ALLUVIAL GOLD NUGGET IN HISTORY, IS FOUND IN AUSTRALIA.

Thar's gold in them dere outbacks.

1900:  THE UNITED STATES AND THE UNITED KINGDOM SIGN A TREATY FOR THE PANAMA CANAL.

Over tea and scones, no doubt.

1900:  POLITICIAN ADLAI STEVENSON IS BORN.

And gets hit over the head with a picket sign in Dallas 63 years later.

1903:  BUSINESSWOMAN JOAN WHITNEY PAYSON IS BORN.

Meet the Mets!

1909:  BELGIAN CHEMIST LEO BAEKELAND ANNOUNCES THE CREATION OF BAKELITE, THE WORLD'S FIRST SYNTHETIC PLASTIC.

Like the guy told Dustin Hoffman in the Graduate...."Bakelite."

1917:  THE CONGRESS OF THE US PASSES THE IMMIGRATION ACT OF 1917 OVER PRESIDENT WILSON'S VETO.  IT FORBADE IMMIGRATION FROM NEARLY ALL OF SOUTHERN ASIA.

Can we bring this back please?

1918:  SS TUSCANIA IS TORPEDOED OFF THE COAST OF IRELAND.  IT IS THE FIRST SHIP CARRYING AMERICAN TROOPS TO EUROPE TO BE TORPEDOED.

And not the last.

1919:  CHARLIE CHAPLIN, MARY PICKFORD, DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS, AND DW GRIFFITH LAUNCH UNITED ARTISTS.

Coming soon to a multiplex near you.

1919:  ACTOR RED BUTTONS IS BORN.

Had a birthday, but never a dinner.

1934:  BASEBALL STAR HANK AARON IS BORN.

As far as I am concerned, he still is the only one to break Babe Ruth's HR record.

1937:  PRESIDENT FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT PROPOSES A PLAN TO ENLARGE THE SUPREME COURT OF THE US.

The Supreme Court, to this day, remains one of the biggest jokes in this country.

1939:  GENERALISIMO FRANCISCO FRANCO BECOMES THE 68TH CAUDILLO DE ESPANA OR LEADER OF SPAIN.

Whatever.   He's still dead.

1945:  GENERAL DOUGLAS MACARTHUR RETURNS TO MANILA.

Well, he said he would.

1948:  ACTRESS BARBARA HERSHEY IS BORN.

I'm sure that she endured some jokes in school with that last name.

1962: FRENCH PRESIDENT CHARLES DE GAULLE CALLS FOR ALGERIA TO BE GRANTED INDEPENDENCE.

Show of hands.  Who cares?

1964:  ACTRESS LAURA LINNEY IS BORN.

A talented actress.   Could have used her.  Too late.

1969:  ACTRESS THELMA RITTER DIES.

A talented actress.   Could have used her.   Too late...for her.

1971:  ASTRONAUTS LAND ON THE MOON FOR THE APOLLO 14 MISSION.

Not destined to be a Ron Howard movie.

1972: BOB DOUGLAS BECOMES THE FIRST AFRICAN-AMERICAN ELECTED TO THE BASKETBALL HALL OF FAME.

I looked him up and an old newspaper clipping referred to him as the "first Negro."  How times have flipped.

 1976:  THE 1976 SWINE FLU OUTBREAK BEGINS AT FORT DIX, NJ.

Oink.

1988:  MANUEL NORIEGA IS INDICTED ON DRUG SMUGGLING AND MONEY LAUNDERING CHARGES.

Plus his penmanship was really bad.

1991:  ACTOR DEAN JAGGER DIES.

General Waverly in White Christmas.

1993:  PRODUCER JOSEPH L. MANKIEWICZ DIES.

All About Death.

1994:  BYRON DE LA BECKWITH IS CONVICTED OF THE 1963 MURDER OF CIVIL RIGHTS LEADER MEDGAR EVERS.

Thirty one years later??   That's one slow jury.

1995:  ACTOR DOUG MCCLURE DIES.

Trampas on TV's The Virginian.

2006:  ACTOR FRANKLIN COVER DIES.

Tom Willis on TV's The Jeffersons.

2007 ACTOR FRED BALL DIES.

Lucy's brother.   Really.

2020:  ACTOR KIRK DOUGLAS DIES.

I was Spartacus.

2021:  ACTOR CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER DIES.

Edelwas.

Dinner last night:   Fried shrimp at Musso and Frank's.

Dead From NY...

 

Except for maybe the legendary "Network" or the Edward R. Murrow flick "Good Night and Good Luck," movies about making TV rarely work.   The two media don't mix well.

In the case of the recently released "Saturday Night," the above adage was never more apropos.  This film, based on the 90 minutes before the Saturday night show premiered in 1975, is a particular mess.  Filmed with a hand held camera, the audience is forced to follow the action to the point of motion sickness.   The frenzy is so ramped up that the moviegoer has little time to focus and/or rest.   If you're going to be exhausted by a film, it should be a good one.

"Saturday Night" by director/writer Jason Reitman is not.

As I wrote, this follows the production ninety minutes before premiere, which, according to the film, was seconds away from being cancelled at the last minute.  The hero of the piece is producer Lorne Michaels and the real guy must be friends with Reitman because he can do no wrong in this film.   Indeed, it's Saint Lorne.

From my perspective, ninety percent of what is depicted in the movie likely never happened.  Did Chevy Chase replace Michaels last minute at the Weekend Update desk?   Did a sofa on stage catch on fire during rehearsal?  Did Johnny Carson call Lorne Michaels and tell him that he would lose the time slot if he fucked up? Did Milton Berle show up and tell everybody how big a dick he had?   

Save for Belushi doing drugs, I doubt any of this happened.   At the same time, we are subjected to bad actors impersonating the SNL (actually it wasn't called that till the 90s).  We also see horrible replicas of host George Carlin, Billy Crystal, and Billy Preston.   And why does the same actor play both Andy Kaufman and Jim Henson???

You have really enough time to consider any of that because you are moved onto the next disaster on show night.   Meanwhile, fifty years later, the show somehow still exists even though it hasn't been funny in decades.   So, likely, this is a worthy tribute to the show.   The show now stinks and so does this movie.

LEN'S RATING:  One-half star.

Dinner last night:  Leftover chicken cacciatore.

Monday Morning Video Laugh - February 3, 2025

 A little delayed on this one.    We still miss the wonderful Bob Newhart.

Dinner last night:  Chicken cacciatore.

The Sunday Memory Drawer - The Beatles Are Here

 

When the calendar turns to February, it always reminds me of this significant moment in history.

As a good friend joked, yes, it is the anniversary of Tessie O'Shea's appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show.  And, oh, yeah, some other guys.

Yes, today we remember again the Beatles' first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show.  An event which my grandmother used to say "ruined America."  But, despite the dour outlook for our nation per Grandma, millions will be remembering this tonight at 8PM.   CBS even is having a special to commemorate it all.  Ed's gone.  

To Hell, according to my grandmother.   And, so too are a couple of the Moptops themselves.

Actually, this all seems like it just happened this morning. As a matter of fact, every Sunday morning in LA, there are at least six different radio stations devoted to “Breakfast with the Beatles.” As much as I like the boys from Liverpool, that’s overkill in any dialect. 

But, I digress…

I first heard about the Beatles several months prior to their virgin appearance with Old Stone Face. It was some sort of family gathering at a relative’s house, and I was undoubtedly bored shitless. My grandmother, ever the last word on proper and neat appearance, was asking my older teenage cousin why his hair had gotten so long.

”It’s the way the Beatles look.”

My grandmother was unimpressed.

”You look like a girl.”

As if to further validate his decision to avoid a barbershop, he quickly pulled out the Beatles’ first 45 RPM single and showed the cover to Grandma.

”They look like girls, too.”

My cousin popped the single onto the record player and we listened to “She Loves You” for the very first time. My cousins grooved to the beat. Everybody else looked like they were listening to Joseph Stalin singing from the Gershwin songbook.

My grandmother waved in indignation.

”Cut your hair.”

When the Beatles hit the Sullivan stage on February 9, 1964, we were watching at another cousin’s house. Grandma was not in the group that evening, so we didn’t have to listen to comparing them to the Lennon Sisters. Especially since I once tried to convince her that John Lennon was their brother. But, we all sat and listened and watched the screaming girls. The kids in the rooms were singing along with amazement. The adults were merely waiting for Frank Gorshin and Georgia Brown to come out.

Another Beatle memory was going to the Loews Mt. Vernon Theater with my friend Leo on the first day and the very first showing of “A Hard Day’s Night.” All the girls in the theater were still screaming and I remember not understanding this because, indeed, this was film, not live. 

Hello?

When the Beatles played Shea Stadium the following summer, I merely worried that the screwballs there wouldn’t mess up the Mets’ infield. 

As fate would have it, we were driving home from a Sunday visit on Long Island. As we drove by, my father lowered the car window. Even though we were probably a mile or so away, we could hear the crowd screaming clear as a bell. He shook his head in silence and rolled up the window. He turned up the volume on the car radio and blared Bert Kaempfert's "Red Roses for a Blue Lady." Clearly, he was done with it all.

And I don't think my cousin ever really did cut his hair.

Dinner last night:  Sausage and peppers sandwich.