Did You Catch the License Plate On That Cape?

 

So, the Superman character is what?  A 150 or so years old.   It seems like every generation has one.  There were the Hollywood 2 reelers in the 30s and 40s.   You had the kitschy TV show in the 50s.   In the 70s, you had Superman and Lois Lane flying around on a date like it was some Hallmark movie.

And now you have Superman for this younger generation.   You know who they are?   Avoiding direct contact with people and living on social media, which has them all expecting the world to end tomorrow.  And that's the world doomsday problem that this new edition of Superman must deal with it.

As I read friends' comments on the movie via Facebook, I know the audience was aligning themselves on political sides.  Half of them were big fans of this film and they were all liberal voters.   This is likely due to the fact that the general premise  is that our government is evil.   And, oh, yeah, one villain is a metaphor for Trump.   The other side of viewers, largely conservative, are longing for the days of George Reeves and Christopher Reeve.

As for me, I liked it but didn't love it.   The perfect moderate response.   It is entertaining but stupid all at the same time.  The world is being challenged by Lex Luthor who looks suspiciously like Tom Cruise with a bald wig on.   The Daily Planet of Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen, and Perry White (who is Black) are in the forefront of the coming war, despite the fact that most people stopped reading newspapers twenty years ago.

And there's the new generation's Superman.  Still good looking but with many flaws as you expect from the first "woke" super hero.   When we first meet him,  he just had gotten his ass kicked.   Oh, and he is not above using foul language. Superman is helped by his dog Crypto and no animals were harmed during this production because he was nothing but digitally produced.  To wit, I recommended none of the actors in the cast except for Lois Lane doing her best Mrs. Maisel impersonation.  And, naturally, it's set up at the end for the half dozen sequels still to come.

Now my side note is that I saw this film in a theater equipped with 4D.  Trust me.  That's not an apartment number.   Matched to the action on the screen, the audience is rocked and tossed and sprayed with water and cold air.  It was fun for a while, but ultimately the gimmick exhausted me.   It was something akin to what it would be like if I was an eighty-year-old Katharine Hepburn going to the movies.

Oh, well.  Such is life in current day Hollywood.

LEN'S RATING:  Three stars.   

Dinner last night:  General Tso's Chicken.

Monday Morning Video Laugh - July 21, 2025

 As if it's not hot enough...

Dinner last night:  Sandwich.

The Sunday Memory Drawer - Me and Maxine

 

Ah, here she is.  With the face only a baboon's mother would love.  With Trump in office again, Mad Maxine Waters is flapping those big Ubangi lips again.   She is a detestable human being who has skimmed millions of dollars off innocent tax payers for years.   Close to 90, I keep looking for your expiration date.   I guess Billy Joel's song is on the mark.  Only the good die young.

Luckily, I don't live in Maxine's "hood" district.  So, I should be thankful that her antics have nothing to do with me.  But...

That was not the case about 15 or so years ago.  A time when Ms. Cheeta got me and good.

It was back in the day when I was making a LA-to-NY trip every six weeks.   Now, despite the fact that I flew a lot and got rewarded a million plus miles, it wasn't always easy to upgrade to business or first class on American Airlines.

I was all set to travel out to NY on the 8AM flight.  The night before, I got one of those rare notifications.

"You have been upgraded to business class."

Sweet.  No need to buy some overpriced airport cookies or cupcakes for breakfast.   I could taste the omelet already.

Except...

I was seated comfortably in the terminal the next morning waiting to board.   And then I got called to the desk.

"Um, we are so sorry but somebody's party bumped your upgrade off the grid."

Okay, so it's somebody with millions of miles more than me.  But that was not the scenario in play.

About five minutes later, an entourage of 20 Black travelers showed up.  Their Pied Piper leading the parade?

You guessed it.

This group essentially took over business class.  The Queen herself grabbed the available seat in First Class...which is an oxymoron.

I always made it a practice to chat with the flight attendants.  Some even saw me multiple times.  So I asked about some intel of what happened.  It seems AA got a distress call the night before.  Maxine and her entire office was being flown last minute for an appearance on...wait for it...

The View.

Kill me now.  Naturally, Maxine and her fiefdom flew for free.   And somebody paid for it via their income taxes.  

As for me, I got bonused 10,000 miles.   Nevertheless, I suddenly realized I could hate this woman even more.

Dinner last night:  Burger at Nomad.

Classic TV Theme Song of the Month - July 2025

 She didn't make the opening credits, but, trust me...this is the show that first gave us Goldie Hawn.

Dinner last night:  Jersey Mike's Italian sandwich.

What Is a Photo Disaster?

 Apparently this...

Talk about brown nosers.

"Spiderman: The High School Musical."

What happens when the neighborhood gang gets into Mrs. Jenkins' blackberry brandy.

Aren't there less violent ways to hunt for watermelon?"

Going over where ICE was last spotted.

Dinner last night:  Pork potstickers and ramen noodles.

Another Case of the Munchies

 

What have there been?   70 or 80 different films under the Jurassic movie franchise.   It seems like they release a new one every week.

Truth be told, I am a sucker for them.  Sure, none come close to the wonderful original from thirty or so years ago.   But they are good summer popcorn fare as you munch your treat while the lesser-known characters get munched themselves.

Every three or so films, they swap out the cast for newer players.  Now it's Scarlett Johansson leading the expedition into some jungle areas where you know, lurking behind a bush, is some dinosaur from yesteryear.   

While the cast can change, the plots don't.   Minor characters get eaten.   There is one who is the big villain.   They will last till the end but ultimately get eaten. There are always two kids in the cast.  They never get eaten but are often put through the wringer of terror.

All of the above is as reliable as a hot fudge sundae.   It doesn't tax the brain and isn't supposed to.   Yep, the Jurassic movies are all the same and that's not necessarily a bad thing.

I was captivated by this one, even though it was as plausible as a Kamala Harris presidency.   

Enjoy.  With extra butter.

LEN'S RATING:  Three stars.

Dinner last night:  Pizza.

This Date in History - July 16

 

Happy birthday in Heaven to Bess Myerson.   Hope you still aren't hanging with Ed Koch up there.

622:  THE BEGINNING OF THE ISLAMIC CALENDAR.

Pick one up at your friendly neighborhood Islamic dry cleaner.

1661:  THE FIRST BANKNOTES IN EUROPE ARE ISSUED BY THE SWEDISH BANK STOCKHOLMS BANCO.

With a free toaster to the first 50 customers.

1769;  FATHER JUNIPERO SERRA FOUNDS CALIFORNIA'S FIRST MISSION, WHICH WILL LATER BECOME THE CITY OF SAN DIEGO.

Hence, the Padres.

1782:  FIRST PERFORMANCE OF WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART'S OPERA "DIE ENTFUHRUNG AUS DEM SERAIL."

Try going up to the box office and asking for tickets to that.

1790:  THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA IS ESTABLISHED AS THE CAPITAL OF THE UNITED STATES.

Let the graft begin.

1849:  ANTONIO MARIA CLARET Y CLARA FOUNDED THE CONGREGATION OF THE MISSIONARY SONS OF THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY IN BARCELONA, SPAIN.

Sons?   It sounds like a convent to me.

1861:  AT THE ORDER OF PRESIDENT ABRAHAM LINCOLN, UNION TROOPS BEGIN A 25 MILE MARCH INTO VIRGINIA FOR WHAT WILL BECOME THE FIRST BATTLE OF BULL RUN DURING THE CIVIL WAR.

Virginia in July can be hot and muggy.

1882:  MARY TODD LINCOLN DIES.

She was supposedly a bit of a nut.

1907:  ACTRESS BARBARA STANWYCK IS BORN.

So sexy on screen.  It's amazing she was a lesbian.

1907:  BUSINESSMAN ORVILLE REDENBACHER IS BORN.

Pop.

1909:  MOHAMMAD ALI SHAH QAJAR IS FORCED OUT AS SHAH OF PERSIA AND IS REPLACED BY HIS SON AHMAD SHAH QAJAR.

Was it something he said?

1911:  ACTRESS GINGER ROGERS IS BORN.

Let's face the music and dance.

1924:  TV PERSONALITY BESS MYERSON IS BORN.

How did that romance with Ed Koch work out for you?

1925:  SURGEON FRANK JOBE IS BORN.

One-half of Kerlan-Jobe.  Tommy John sends his thanks.

1931:  EMPEROR HAILE SELASSIE I SIGNS THE FIRST CONSTITUTION OF ETHIOPIA.

Does Haile Selassie II sign the second?

1935:  THE WORLD'S FIRST PARKING METER IS INSTALLED IN OKLAHOMA CITY.

Crap, I thought I had a quarter.

1941:  JOE DIMAGGIO HITS SAFELY FOR THE 56TH CONSECUTIVE GAME, A STREAK THAT STILL STANDS AS A MLB RECORD.

A record that will stand forever.

1945:  THE MANHATTAN PROJECT - THE ATOMIC AGE BEGINS WHEN THE UNITED STATES SUCCESSFULY DETONATES A NUCLEAR WEAPON NEAR NEW MEXICO.

Watch out, Japan.  It's coming.

1951:  "THE CATCHER IN THE RYE" BY JD SALINGER IS PUBLISHED FOR THE FIRST TIME.

Book report due by Monday.

1956:  RINGLING BROS. AND BARNUM AND BAILEY CIRCUS CLOSES ITS VERY LAST "BIG TENT" IN PITTSBURGH.

Ever since they're held in arenas.   And the elephants do their business on city streets outside.

1969:  APOLLO 11, THE FIRST MISSION TO LAND ASTRONAUTS ON THE MOON, IS LAUNCHED.

And Neil Armstrong starts thinking about what to say.

1973:  WATERGATE SCANDAL - FORMER WHITE HOUSE AIDE ALEXANDER BUTTERFIELD INFORMS THE US SENATE THAT PRESIDENT RICHARD NIXON HAD SECRETLY RECORDED CONVERSATIONS.

What tape recorder?

1979:  IRAQI PRESIDENT AHMED HASSAN AL-BAKR RESIGNS AND IS REPLACED BY SADDAM HUSSEIN.

Uh oh.

1981:  SONGWRITER HARRY CHAPIN DIES IN AN AUTO ACCIDENT ON LONG ISLAND.

Should have taken the taxi.

1999:  JOHN F. KENNEDY JR, PILOTING A SMALL PLANE, CRASHES IN THE OCEAN NEAR MARTHA'S VINEYARD.  THE CRASH ALSO KILLS HIS WIFE AND SISTER-IN-LAW.

He barely passed the bar.  What makes anybody think he could fly a plane?

2008:  SINGER JO STAFFORD DIES.

Her stuff was played on the record player over and over and over when I was a kid.

2012:  DIRECTOR WILLIAM ASHER DIES.

He directed "I Love Lucy" and was married to Elizabeth Montgomery, so I guess life was good.

Dinner last night:  Salad.

Keep On Truckin'

 

Go figure.

Gourmet food trucks have been a thing for about 15 years, but I only recently frequented one.   

Not only did I live to tell the story, but I wanted to keep it continuing.   CHX Sandwiches offers some of the best food I ever had.

Somehow I got connected to this food truck run by a 20-year-old kid who trained at the Michelin-rated restaurant Kali in Hollywood.    Specializing in fried chicken dishes, the truck listed on the menu a Korean fried chicken sando which called to me.   After all, one of the best meals I have had this year was a Korean on in, of all places, Glendale, Arizona.   When I saw that CHX delivered, I ordered one.

OMG!   This was the most phenomenal sandwich I have had in years.   For sides, I included a spicy cucumber salad and some Korean cole slaw.

OMG!

I frantically did a Google search to get on this truck's schedule of appearances. Luckily, one of this kid's regular stops is ten minutes away.   Two days ago, I craved it all over again.  They were out of the sides so I settled for some French fries.

OMG!!!

Crispy and salted to perfection.   Fast food fries are never this good.

Again, I have yet to go to the truck myself, but I plan to do because I want to meet this boy wonder of the kitchen.   From my looks on his social media, I am not alone as a fan.   I see such followers as Helen Hunt and Peri Gilpin.

And me!   So far, I'm batting 1.000 when it comes to food trucks.

Dinner last night:  Sandwich.

Monday Morning Video Laugh - July 14, 2025

 Everybody in the pool...whether you like it or not.

Dinner last night:  Ribeye steak and sauteed mushrooms.

The Sunday Memory Drawer - Mayberry and Me

 

Here comes an odd admission.

I used to have a crush on Ronny Howard.

Oh, not in a sexual way, since I was not even in double digits of age at the time. But, I really wanted to be his friend. Well, maybe Opie Taylor's friend. So, I could live in Mayberry, hang out with the kid, and do everything you can do on a summer's day in your average American small town.

With Andy, Barney, Floyd, Gomer, Goober, Helen, Thelma Lou, Aunt Bee, and Otis.

My weekly desire to be a part of this world resulted in a fairly regular battle with the Warden of Bedtime, namely my mother. You see, for a while, "The Andy Griffith Show" aired on Monday nights at 930PM. The problem was that, in those formative Wonder years, my bedtime on school nights was 830PM. After much negotiation, my mother added an amendment to the Parental Constitution and extended my bedtime on Monday night to 10PM. Sweet. Of course, there was the fine print disclaimer that often now follows most TV ads for pharmaceuticals. I could stay up to watch Andy provided I had gotten to bed at the regular time on Sunday night.

It didn't take me long to figure out that I had been snookered on this one. Because, indeed, we were always visiting some relative on Sunday and usually never got home until 9PM or later. The biggest fly in the household ointment was if we had traveled to visit my aunt and uncle in Deer Park, Long Island. Over an hour away. This is not the way you learn to love your relatives. If we had gone out to Suffolk County, I would be relentless in my behavior. Starting around 5PM, I would start the patented whine.

"Can we go soon?"

"Can we go home now?"

"I'm tired."

It became a race to get home so I could hit the hay by 830PM. After a while, my bedtime on Monday was permanently unrestricted. Perhaps they were tired of hearing me bitch, moan, and groan at some family gathering. And I didn't really lose that much sleep since I always managed to catch up on the ZZZZs in class the next day. It also helped that CBS eventually bumped Andy up to 9PM.

Unlike some of the other sitcoms I liked as a kid, "The Andy Griffith Show" was quieter and softer in its approach to humor. It was simple. It was homespun. It was virtually devoid of any of the usual complications offered by life. Even the romance was sweeter. When you would see Andy in a loving moment with girlfriend Helen Crump, there was usually nothing more than hand holding or a peck on the cheek. I do, however, recall one episode where Andy was reunited with an old high school flame. At the end of the show, Andy gave her a dead-on, right on the mouth, probably a little tongue kiss. It was jarring and now widely regarded by devout fans as one of the worst episodes in the entire series.

This wasn't Andy to us.

Andy Griffith was also a very wise actor. In the first year, Sheriff Andy Taylor comes off as a country bumpkin with lots of "gollee" and "shucks." He knew that, ultimately, this would sink the show. So, he eased his portrayal into more of a straight man and he let all the wonderfully drawn supporting actors get all the laughs. It made for a much richer series. And one that I liked a great deal. This was back in the day when the stars stayed in character to shill for their sponsors. Here's Andy teaching Barney all about the benefits of Grape Nuts Cereal. 

I understand that Andy himself used to come to my apartment building frequently to visit the ailing Don Knotts, who died just one month before we moved in. I wished that I would have run into him in the elevator while I was getting the mail. I could have shared with him my fervent love of this series.

I could also have asked what time he made Opie go to bed on Monday nights.

Andy Griffith, as you used to end your show every week...

"We appreciate it and good night."

Dinner last night:   Crispy orange chicken at Wokcano.

Classic Newsreel of the Month - July 2025

The big news...70 years ago. 

Dinner last night:  Korean fried chicken sandwich from CHX Sandwiches.

Len's Jukebox of the Month - July 2025

 And who else?   Let's all remember the late Brian Wilson.

Dinner last night:  Swedish meatballs.

Moron of the Month - June 2025

 

This one pains me to write it.   The identity of this month's moron will remain incognito because it's somebody I know.   I doubt she reads this blog these days. And, yes, while she is guilty of some truly moronic behavior, I still worry about her long term mental health.

There is clearly something wrong with...well, let's call her...Marisol.

Marisol was a work colleague in the media world back in my NY days.   Pleasant to be on the same team with.   Great sense of humor.  We made fun of the same people.   I only remember one boyfriend in her midst, but I never viewed her as anything but a work mate.

I left the company and ultimately the East Coast.  I heard she gravitated to another media firm.   At one point, I ran into a mutual friend and I inquired about Marisol.  The woman waved her off.

"She's gotten so weird."

This is not something I could confirm from the annual Christmas card we traded.

Through one of the Christmas salutations, I learned she had made some major career switch ditching the media.   Good for her.    But, ultimately I heard she wound up as...I will be nice...a wellness coach.   

But, my thought was...if she's happy...knock 'em dead.

I first started to notice the problems in her social media posts about a year ago.  She started to post a lot of Tik Toks from the extreme left.   You know the ones I mean.   From these hackneyed pundits who take 10% of truth and spin it into a 100% fact...or so they think.  There are videos from both sides of the addled aisle.   But the left ones are always the most visceral.   And insulting if you don't agree with her.  I personally took great offense to her thrashing of the Dodgers for "bowing down to Trump" when they visited the White House.   Had Marisol done a soupcon of homework, she would have realized their visit was an edict from the MLB commissioner.   But, Marisol doesn't have time for a lot of facts.

I watched initially with amusement, but the hatred on her side became more hostile and venomous.  She started to cut ties gleefully with any one who slightly disagreed with her.   I'm still attached largely because I keep my many diverse political views hidden.   But if I didn't, Marisol would have offed me months ago.

When Trump won last November, Marisol went over the cliff.   The first few days post-election prompted almost hourly videos from the bed she seemingly couldn't get out of.  I noticed also that, almost immediately, a fairly attractive woman started to look like an old lady.   

But, like Lazarus, she eventually rose from the dead.  She devoted her every waking moment to destroying the current Presidential administration.   The postings got wilder and featured more fiction.  She moved to more right wing platforms, saying that Instagram and X were the work of the devil.  At one point, she devoted her social media posts to figuring out how she could move to Canada.  And she cut out more and more people.

She devotes time now to going to protests every week.   Because, as she continues to point out, we live now in a fascist country where there is no freedom.

Here's where Marisol earns the moronic ribbon.   One thing I noticed even up to last year was Marisol never denied herself to vacation...alone...all over the place. Last year, in this "freedom-less"nation, Marisol enjoyed a few weeks on international vacations.   Not a bad reward for watching a so-called dying democracy.

And chances are that Marisol will travel again...Trump be damned.   But count on her being alone because that's where it is headed.

As stupid as she is acting, I truly hope somebody gets her the mental health she needs.

Dinner last night:  Leftover SPO.

This Date in History - July 9

 

Happy birthday in Heaven, OJ Simpson.   Honoring you with your very best head shot.

455:  THE ROMAN MILITARY COMMANDER AVITUS IS PROCLAIMED EMPEROR OF THE WESTERN ROMAN EMPIRE.

The Western Roman Empire is the one with the designated hitter, right?

869:  A MAGNITUDE 8.6 EARTHQUAKE AND SUBSEQUENT TSUNAMI STRIKES JAPAN.

When doesn't it?

1540:  KING HENRY VIII OF ENGLAND ANNULS HIS MARRIAGE TO HIS FOURTH WIFE, ANNE OF CLEVES.

The Frank Sinatra of royalty.

1572:  NINETEEN CATHOLICS SUFFER MARTYRDOM FOR THEIR BELIEFS IN THE DUTCH TOWN OF GORKUM.

So I'm guessing Gorkum's not a good place to sell parochial school candy bars.

1776:  GEORGE WASHINGTON ORDERS THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE TO BE READ OUT LOUD TO THE CONTINENTAL ARMY.

With all those cannons firing, they were probably all deaf anyway.

1789:  IN VERSAILLES, THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY RECONSTITUTES ITSELF AS THE NATIONAL CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY.  

Leave it to the French to be completely redundant.

1793:  THE ACT AGAINST SLAVERY IS PASSED IN UPPER CANADA AND THE IMPORTATION OF SLAVES INTO LOWER CANADA IS PROHIBITED.

Who the heck lives in Upper Canada anyway?

1816:  ARGENTINA DECLARES INDEPENDENCE FROM SPAIN.

Go ahead and cry for me.

1850:  US PRESIDENT ZACHARY TAYLOR DIES AND IS REPLACED BY MILLARD FILLMORE.

Well, that sounds like a downgrade.

1868:  THE 14TH AMENDMENT TO THE US CONSTITUTION IS RATIFIED GUARANTEEING AFRICAN AMERICANS FULL CITIZENSHIP.

Somehow that didn't get completely enforced for a while.

1877:  THE FIRST WIMBLEDON CHAMPIONSHIPS BEGIN.

Pass the clotted cream.

1903:  FUTURE SOVIET DICTATOR JOSEPH STALIN IS EXILED TO SIBERIA FOR THREE YEARS.

Should have made it thirty.

1922:  JOHNNY WEISSMULLER SWIMS THE 100 METERS FREESTYLE IN 58.6 SECONDS, BREAKING THE WORLD SWIMMING RECORD.

And you should see how fast he can go when he's being chased by a crocodile.

1927:  SINGER ED AMES IS BORN.

I didn't know he was Jewish either.

1928:  ACTOR VINCE EDWARDS IS BORN.

Ben Casey!

1942:  ACTOR RICHARD ROUNDTREE IS BORN.

Talking about Shaft!

1944:  DURING WORLD WAR II, BRITISH AND CANADIAN FORCES CAPTURE CAEN, FRANCE.

Just to show that it wasn't only the Americans who fought the winning fight.

1947:  FOOTBALL STAR/ACTOR OJ SIMPSON IS BORN.

Still guilty.

1952:  MUSICIAN JOHN TESH IS BORN.

 And the only thing I know him from is Entertainment Tonight.

1962: ANDY WARHOL'S CAMPBELL SOUP CAN EXHIBITION OPENS IN LOS ANGELES.

Mmm Mmm Good.

1974:  JUDGE EARL WARREN DIES.

And there's no report on this.

1976:  ACTOR FRED SAVAGE IS BORN.

Eight years after 1968, which is when the Wonder Years started.

1981:  THE VIDEO GAME, DONKEY KONG, IS RELEASED BY NINTENDO.

Anybody got a quarter?

1992:  JOURNALIST ERIC SEVAREID DIES.

That's the way he was.

2002: ACTOR ROD STEIGER DIES.

The Heat of the Night has cooled.

2004:  ACTRESS ISABEL SANFORD DIES.

Weezie!

2007:  ACTOR CHARLES LANE DIES.

He appeared in every sitcom that ever aired.

2019:  PRESIDENTIAL HOPEFUL ROSS PEROT DIES.

Years after his campaign did the same thing.

Dinner last night:   Sandwich and salad.

Baba Wawa

 

Today's blog title was a must.  It reminds me of the late great Gilda Radner who got a lot of SNL mileage from impersonating the legendary reporter.  For a few seconds, Gilda even makes it into this new Hulu documentary.

You know I love a good doc, especially if I learn something new.  In this profile of Walters, nothing really jumped out at me as being new information.   She was a hard boiled reporter.  Check.   She was hated by most veteran newsmen like Frank McGee and Harry Reasoner.  Check.  And she revived her career by doing those celeb interviews where she asked what kind of tree they wanted to be.

Check.

It's all here for the taking and it's a serviceable but not particularly relevatory film.  That said, I wouldn't have wanted to see somebody on her staff.   She strikes me as a real tyrant.

Now, jumping forward as far as I'm concerned, Baba should get a special spot in Satan's world for creating "The View."   Yeah, that's the footage that closes the film.

Check.   And vomit.

LEN'S RATING:  Three stars.

Dinner last night:  Grilled sausage and salad.

Monday Morning Video Laugh - July 7, 2025

 Summer fun?

Dinner last night:  Snacks at the Hollywood Bowl.

The Sunday Memory Drawer - Pool Time

 

So I'm trying to figure out when I can spend a summer week at my Hastings-Yonkers border apartment and this makes me a little wistful.  I am trying to figure out how much longer I will keep it and boast of this very nice, but growing-more-expensive bi-coastal existence.  Indeed, I had the unit renovated 15 years ago with the idea of putting it on the market.   You see how far I got.

Yes, it is tougher to afford this luxury today, but I do love having this little oasis in the Lenoir Nature Preserve.   My view from the terrace, which covers the length of the apartment, is nothing but leafy trees in the summer and snow-covered branches in the winter.  What is not to like?

I've had this place for 32 years and, statistically, probably have spent less than ten years of nights there.  I've been there through all sorts of blizzards and heat waves and rainstorms and blackouts.   For the snowy days when I was cooped up there for several days in a row, there was a certain decadence being able to do some laps in the indoor pool downstairs.

As for the outdoor pool shown above, I have not used those facilities since I lived there full time.  But, when I did, I became one of those people.   You know, the lazy summer person who just spent one day after another lounging at the pool.

As a matter of fact, the summer prior to my move west I was down at the pool almost four or five days a week.   I took a lot of time off that year and went into the same robotic mode I bet regular patrons of the Hamptons fall into.   

You know the drill.  Get up in the morning.  Look outside.  Ah, hazy, hot, and humid as only New York weather can be in the summer.   I methodically grabbed my towel and my lounge chair.   Packed the newspaper and my current book and my sun screen and a water bottle and my Walkman (yes, Walkman) and headed down to the pool next to our building.  I was there in five minutes, tops.   Seven minutes if the building custodians were slowing the elevator with a garbage pick-up run.

And then I would be there the whole day.   I would go upstairs at lunchtime to eat a quick sandwich and then back to the chair.

This was the first and only time I ever spent a summer like this.  And it heralded a lot of other firsts.

I finished about ten books over a two month period.   This is an enormous accomplishment for me.

I got the best tan I ever had in my life.

I was in the best shape of my life for some reason.   Why else run around in a bathing suit?

I listened to more current music on local radio stations than I had since I was 12.

I met neighbors I had never seen or barely talked to before.

Most importantly, it was the most relaxed I had ever been in my life.

And it never happened again.   I long for one more summer like that.  Oh, unlikely.   I worry about skin cancer.   I'm not in that same shape anymore. And I stopped listening to current day music a long time ago.

But, still, as I contemplate what to do with my New York apartment, I wonder if there could be one more summer like that.   Doing nothing and not having a care in the world.

Dinner last night:  Beef sausage and salad.

Classic TV Commercial of the Month - July 2025

I apologize for the quality, but it is Joey Heatherton after all.  And do they still make this soda???

Dinner last night:  Japanese hot dog at the Dodger game.

Folks Who Won't Be Able to See Fireworks From Their Jail Cells

 

Honey, you do realize that this photo is not for the school yearbook.

He's ready just in case his jail cell has some cracked ceiling plaster.

Yes, you can...in about three to six years.

Will this be enough change for you?

Color of eyes: blue.  I mean, black.  I mean, black and blue.

That's what she gets for being nosy.

Oh, my God!  They've arrested Doc Severinsen!

Oh, my God!  They've arrested Bert Lahr as the Cowardly Lion!

Yeah, that's a talent that will come in handy when you hit the women's showers.

That's either a bad dye job or a vintage Montreal Expo cap on her head.

Dinner last night:  Sandqich.

Who Knew?

 

The calling card for a good documentary works on several levels.  It educates.   It brings you into a world you know nothing about.  And, for me, a great one prompts two words out of me upon its conclusion.

Who knew?

I ask that over and over when the HBO doc "My Mom Jayne" concluded.   I had no idea what the story was behind this amazing film directed with passion by Jayne's daughter Mariska Hargitay.

Now I knew very little about the actress Mansfield except that she was a bargain basement version of Marilyn Monroe.  I don't think I ever saw a single thing she acted in.  I did know that she was married for a while to Mr. Universe, Mickey Hargitay.  And she was killed in an auto accident which comes equipped with an urban legend that she was beheaded.   (Research tells me that's not true).   Other than that, my Jayne knowledge was at a minimum.

And, despite the fact that she starred on that Law and Order series for 80 or so TV seasons, I knew little about Mariska.   She takes care of that here.   She provides this amazing in-depth look at the lady who was killed when she was just three years old.   She knew nothing about her mom.   And, as the years passed, she learned more than she could ever imagine.  And this viewer had the same discoveries all along the way.

Many people probably are not surprised about the second half of this film, but I indeed was.   And, so as not to spoil the same wonderment I experienced, I won't say much more than that in this review.   Just suffice it to say, there are siblings who are not really siblings and others who are.   Parents you thought you knew.  Parents who appear suddenly out of the woodwork.

At every turn, there is a big reveal and I wonder how Mariska got through it all.  Indeed, I'm sure she's been in analysis over all this for years.   And, as a result of her work on this film, she's probably re-upped with her shrink for another ten years.

And again I ask.  Who knew?   See this astounding movie and learn like I did.

LEN'S RATING:  Five stars.

Dinner last night:  Hot dogs at the Hollywood Bowl.

This Date in History - July 2

 

Happy birthday, Lindsay Lohan.   From the looks of it, this could be your last.

437:  EMPEROR VALENTINIAN III BEGINS HIS REIGN OVER THE WESTERN ROMAN EMPIRE.  

Who's running the Eastern Roman Empire?

626:  LI SHIMIN, THE FUTURE EMPEROR TAIZONG OF TANG, AMBUSHES AND KILLS HIS RIVAL BROTHER LI YUANJI AND LI JIANCHENG IN THE XUANWU GATE INCIDENT.

Hey, that sentence is one helluva of a typing test.

963: THE IMPERIAL ARMY PROCLAIMS NICEPHORUS PHOCAS EMPEROR OF THE ROMANS ON THE PLAINS OUTSIDE CAPPADOCIAN CAESAREA. 

Typing test, following semester.

1555:  THE OTTOMAN ADMIRAL TURGUT REIS SACKS THE ITALIAN CITY OF PAOLA.

Paola?  Didn't that impact the record industry?

1561:  MENAS, EMPEROR OF ETHIOPIA, DEFEATS A REVOLT IN EMFRAZ.

No joke to type.   Fingers need a rest after the last couple of dates.

1582:  DURING THE BATTLE OF YAMAZAKI, TOYOTOMI HIDEYOSHI DEFEATS AKECHI MITSUHIDE.

Toyotomi Cares.

1679:  EUROPEANS FIRST VISIT MINNESOTA AND SEE HEADWATERS OF MISSISSIPPI IN AN EXPEDITION.

But did they stop at the Mall of America?

1698:  THOMAS SAVERY PATENTS THE FIRST STEAM ENGINE.

Choo choo.

1776:  THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS ADOPTS A RESOLUTION SEVERING TIES WITH THE KINGDOM OF BRITAIN ALTHOUGH THE THE OFFICIAL WORDING OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE IS NOT APPROVED UNTIL JULY 4.

Well, there's always a first draft.

1777:  VERMONT BECOMES THE FIRST AMERICAN TERRITORY TO ABOLISH SLAVERY.

For all those slaves tapping trees to make maple syrup.

1822:  35 BLACK SLAVES ARE HANGED IN SOUTH CAROLINA.

They should have moved to Vermont when they had the chance.

1839: TWENTY MILES OFF THE COAST OF CUBA, 53 REBELLING AFRICAN SLAVES TAKE OVER THE SLAVE SHIP AMISTAD.

They should have also taken over the production of Amistad, that awful Steven Spielberg movie.

1881:  CHARLES J. GUITEAU SHOOTS AND FATALY WOUNDS US PRESIDENT JAMES GARFIELD, WHO EVENTUALLY DIES FROM AN INFECTION ON SEPTEMBER 19.

Do you remember where you were when Garfield was shot?

1897:  ITALIAN SCIENTIST GUGLIELMO MARCONI OBTAINS A PATENT FOR RADIO IN LONDON.

It will never last.

1900:  THE FIRST ZEPPELIN FLIGHT TAKES PLACE IN GERMANY.

Where else?

1932:  WENDY'S FOUNDER DAVE THOMAS IS BORN.

Here's the beef.

1937:  AMELIA EARHART AND NAVIGATOR FRED NOONAN ARE LAST HEARD FROM OVER THE PACIFIC OCEAN WHILE ATTEMPTING TO MAKE THE FIRST EQUATORIAL ROUND-THE-WORLD FLIGHT.

And they'll find her sooner than they will find that damn Malaysian plane.

1937:  ACTRESS POLLY HOLLIDAY IS BORN.

Kiss her grits.

1947:  LUCI BAINES JOHNSON IS BORN.  

She's the one who dated George Hamilton, right?  But, then again, who didn't?

1962:  THE FIRST WAL-MART OPENS FOR BUSINESS IN ARKANSAS.

Again...where else?

1964:  US PRESIDENT LYNDON B. JOHNSON SIGNS THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964.

A nice way to spend your daughter's birthday.

1973:  ACTRESS BETTY GRABLE DIES.

But the legs?   What about the legs???

1986:  ACTRESS LINDSAY LOHAN IS BORN.

And was immediately arrested.

1991:  ACTRESS LEE REMICK DIES.

Days of Wine and Corpses.

1993:  ACTOR FRED GWYNNE DIES.

Hearse 54, Where Are You?

1997:  ACTOR JAMES STEWART DIES.

Mr. Hobbs Takes a Very Long Vacation.

1999:  AUTHOR MARIO PUZO DIES.

The author of the infamous Page 27 of the Godfather.

2002:  STEVE FOSSETT BECOMES THE FIRST PERSON TO FLY SOLO AROUND THE WORLD NONSTOP IN A BALLOON.

So Amelia Earhart should have taken a balloon instead?

2006:  COMEDIAN JAN MURRAY DIES.

X gets the casket.

2007:  OPERA SINGER BEVERLY SILLS DIES.

Her last solo.

Dinner last night:   Had a big lunch, so just a sandwich.

More Than I Can Bear

 

Sorry for the pun.  But it fits.

Here's one of those streamed TV shows that I follow and I don't know why.  Actually, I do.   Embedded deep down in this Hulu series is the inner workings of being a chef and opening a restaurant.   That is indeed fascinating to me.

The rest of it?   Pure garbage.   It's like getting invited for a dinner featuring food I detest but there's the promise of a spoonful of a nifty dessert.

I watch because I long for that dessert.   It has yet to appear.

We're into Season 4 already and I can easily compartmentalize (wow, what a word) this series.   Season 1 introduced you to all the characters in a restaurant kitchen and the frenetic pace that goes with it.   The pace was exhausting but I hung in there.

Season 2 was interesting.  It actually had a plot and a direction and you started to care about a few of the characters.  Season 3 was an absolute mess with dangling plots and new characters and overwritten scenes drove the show into a bus station urinal.

To make matters even more insulting, "The Bear" competes in the Emmy categories for comedy and that is ridiculous.  There is very little funny about this show and its very mentally damaged cast of characters.  But my suspicion is that it's the only way the creator-show runner Christopher Storer can compete for gold and he grabs that opportunity.

Indeed, I believe that it's Storer who is the problem with this series.   As seasons have passed and accolades have been bestowed, the show has completely become his vanity project.   He's buying his own press and essentially doing what he wants, which is a big FU to the viewing audience.   No plot?  He doesn't care.  Long drawn out scenes that are clearly there for the Emmy reel?  He doesn't care.  Plot points that are introduced and dropped?  He doesn't care.

So, Season 4 has dropped and, like a patsy, I'm already four episodes in.   Storer has set up the bare bones of story development and then suddenly upends it by devoting a single episode to one of the characters babysitting for a friend's kid.

WTF?

Now am I getting off this bumpy ride?  Nope.  Should I?  Yes.

But I keep hearing about this decadent dessert.

Dinner last night:  Grilled steak salad.