The Thanksgiving Day Blog Tradition

It's Turkey Lurkey Time from the musical "Promises, Promises."   This time from an underrated movie called "Camp."   Have a great day, everybody.  Easy on the giblets.

Dinner last night:  Teriyaki ramen noodles.

This Date in History - November 27

Happy birthday, Barbara Anderson.  I remember you from "Ironside."  So do my hormones.

176:  EMPEROR MARCUS AURELIUS GRANTS HIS SON COMMODUS THE RANK OF IMPERATOR.

Commodus? Later the toilet bowl?

395:  RUFINUS, PRAETORIAN PREFECT OF THE EAST, IS MURDERED BY GOTHIC MERCENARIES.

Well, nobody is prefect.

602:  EMPEROR MAURICE IS FORCED TO WATCH HIS FIVE SONS BE EXECUTED BEFORE BEING BEHEADED HIMSELF.

Well, that's a lot of news for their upcoming Christmas newsletter.

1095:  POPE URBAN II DECLARES THE FIRST CRUSADE AT THE COUNCIL OF CLERMONT.

What was this Pope's last name?  Blight?  Legend?

1295:  THE FIRST ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES FROM LANCASHIRE ARE CALLED TO WESTMINSTER BY KING EDWARD I TO ATTEND A "MODEL PARLIAMENT."

As opposed to a "model Winston" or a "model Newport."

1727:  THE FOUNDATION STONE TO THE JERUSALEM'S CHURCH IN BERLIN IS LAID.  

So even stones can be sluts.

1830:  ST. CATHERINE LABOURE EXPERIENCES A VISION OF THE BLESSED BIRGIN STANDING ON A GLOBE, CRUSHING A SERPENT WITH HER FEET, AND EMANATING RAYS OF LIGHT FROM HER HANDS.

That's a little too specific for me.

1835:  JAMES PRATT AND JOHN SMITH ARE HANGED IN LONDON.  THEY ARE THE LAST TWO TO BE EXECUTED FOR SODOMY IN ENGLAND. 

The ones that followed were all elected into government.

1839:  IN BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, THE AMERICAN STATISTICAL ASSOCIATION IS FOUNDED.

And, on this day, somebody starts with the number 1.

1863:  DURING THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR, UNION FORCES UNDER GENERAL GEORGE MEADE POSITION AGAINST TROOPS FROM THE SOUTH.

Also under the General---Mrs. Meade.

1868:  UNITED STATES ARMY LIEUTENANT COLONEL GEORGE ARMSTRONG CUSTER LEADS AN ATTACK ON CHEYENNE.

Pissing them off for a future last stand.

1895:  IN PARIS, ALFRED NOBEL SIGNS HIS LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT, SETTING ASIDE HIS ESTATE TO ESTABLISH THE NOBEL PRIZE.

This used to be a big deal when they announced the winners.   But when they gave it to Durward Kirby, I was done.

1916:  SPORTSCASTER CHICK HEARN IS BORN.

Who names their kid "Chick?"

1917:  TV HOST BUFFALO BOB SMITH IS BORN.

And I looked it up.  He really was born in Buffalo.

1924:  IN NEW YORK CITY, THE FIRST MACY'S THANKSGIVING DAY PARADE IS HELD.

And the very first balloon was Felix the Cat.   For those in the American Statistical Association who are keeping track.

1925:  ACTOR MARSHALL THOMPSON IS BORN.

TV's Daktari!!!

1934:  BANK ROBBER BABY FACE NELSON DIES IN A SHOOTOUT WITH THE FBI.

He had the cutest little.....

1940:  ACTOR BRUCE LEE IS BORN.

A chop off the old block.

1942:  DURING WORLD WAR II, THE FRENCH NAVY SCUTTLES ITS SHIPS AND SUBMARINES TO KEEP THEM OUT OF NAZI HANDS.

It never ceases to amaze me how cowardly the French are.

1942:  ROCK STAR JIMI HENDRIX IS BORN.

Everybody say "high."

1945:  ACTRESS BARBARA ANDERSON IS BORN.

She disappeared after only a few years on television.  Another woman that I had wished was my mother.

1953:  PLAYWRIGHT EUGENE O'NEILL DIES.

A long day's journey into casket.

1954:  ALGER HISS IS RELEASED FROM PRISON AFTER SERVING 44 MONTHS FOR PERJURY.

Boo Hiss.

1957:  AUTHOR CAROLINE KENNEDY IS BORN.

So, yes, her birthday was ruined six years later.

1965:  THE PENTAGON TELLS US PRESIDENT LYNDON JOHNSON THAT IF PLANNED OPERATIONS ARE TO SUCCEED, THE NUMBER OF AMERICAN TROOPS IN VIETNAM HAD TO BE QUADRUPLED.

And, stupid fool that he was, he listened to them.

1968:  PENNY ANN EARLY BECAME THE FIRST WOMAN TO PLAY MAJOR PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL IN AN ABA GAME.

She's still with us so she's not yet the late Penny Ann Early.

1973:  THE US SENATE VOTES 92 TO 3 TO CONFIRM GERALD FORD AS VICE PRESIDENT.

And the three were?

1978:  IN SAN FRANCISCO, CITY MAYOR GEORGE MOSCONE AND GAY CITY SUPERVISOR HARVEY MILK ARE KILLED BY FORMER SUPERVISOR DAN WHITE.

Don't cry over spilled Moscone.

1981:  SINGER LOTTE LENYA DIES.

The big villain versus James Bond in "From Russia With Love."  Oh, yeah, and she did a bunch of other stuff.

1990:  ACTOR DAVID WHITE DIES.

Larry Tate from TV's "Bewitched."

2004:  POPE JOHN PAUL II RETURNS THE RELICS OF SAINT JOHN CHRYSOSTOM TO THE EASTERN ORTHODOX CHURCH.

Who knew he even had them??

2005:  THE FIRST PARTIAL HUMAN FACE TRANSPLANT IS COMPLETED IN FRANCE.

So there is hope for the Phantom of the Opera after all.

2012:  UNION LEADER MARVIN MILLER DIES.

Led the strikes of the players against Major League Baseball.  For ruining my summer, you're getting what you deserve.

2015:  A SHOOTING AT A PLANNED PARENTHOOD FACILITY IN COLORADO SPRINGS.  FOUR COPS ARE KILLED.

Unplanned Death.

Dinner last night:  Salad.

Hollywood Then and Now 2019

This month's installment of seeing how much Hollywood hasn't changed features my very favorite episode of my very favorite sitcom.  "I Love Lucy."  The episode in question is "LA At Last."  It's the first one where the Ricardos and the Mertzes arrive in Hollywood.   You know.  The Brown Derby scene with William Holden and Lucy lighting her nose on fire.  Brilliance.

But, at the very beginning of the episode, there is some stock footage following them on a drive around LA and ultimately pulling up to their Hollywood hotel "The Beverly Carlton."

Except the hotel isn't in Hollywood.  It's on Olympic Boulevard about a mile away from my LA home.

I noticed the similarity a few years ago when driving to my favorite German delicatessen.  Hmm.  That entrance to the Avalon Hotel looks very, very familiar.

I went home and ran the DVD version of the episode.  And sure enough.   

Somebody already beat me to it on the internet.  Look at the side-by-side comparison.  The fire hydrant is still there on the corner.   

This is the kind of history that never gets old.   And there's more to be found.  Stay tuned.

Dinner last night: Leftover brats and red cabbage,

Monday Morning Video Laugh - November 25, 2019

Time to fire up that Thanksgiving oven.

Dinner last night:  Grilled brats and red cabbage.

The Sunday Memory Drawer - Watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade With Me

You can.  Well, sort of.   These days, my Thanksgiving mornings are spent cooking.   I am usually up by 830AM, sauteing sausage, onions, and celery so I can start making the stuffing in the slow cooker.

But, I've only had a Thanksgiving chef hat in recent years.  Most of my life, I was parked in front of the television.   And gaping at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.  And that brings to mind this sidebar comment.

Some years back, I was actually asked this question by a work colleague in New York.

"When is the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade?"

I replied that I was not sure. October sometime?

The idiot said, "Oh," and walked away. I made a mental note never to speak to that person ever again.

Okay, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is an integral part of the holiday's celebration. Right along with football, cranberries, and a post-dinner nap on the couch with your pants unbuttoned. And, for the complete sensory experience, you have to watch the parade on television with either one of two smells emanating from your kitchen. The aforementioned sauteed onions for stuffing. Or a pumpkin pie baking in the oven. It all goes hand in hand.

When I was a kid, I was totally into the balloons, because they were all my favorite cartoon characters. 

Popeye. 

Bullwinkle. 

Bugs Bunny. 

Somewhere along the way, Macy's went off the track and started devoting balloons to commercial sponsors. Because I'm a big fan of the Snuggle Bear? When you're ten years old, you really don't give a shit about what fabric softener your mother is using.

Back in my youthful days, the parade was always hosted by Lorne Greene and Betty White and they were delightful. Later on, they were replaced by the idiots from the "Today Show," who introduced every float as written on the cue cards. It all became a lot less spontaneous. 

"Guess who's coming, kids? I can see his sleigh." 

Duh.

I dreamed always of going to the Macy's parade one year. Of course, this would never happen as it fell totally into my father's tried and true trilogy of excuses.

"It's too crowded."

"It's too far to drive."

"It's too hot and/or cold."

Thanks, Dad. Again.

It would be years later that I would finally see the parade live. Up close and in person. And I would do so for five Thanksgivings in a row.

A company I worked for in New York had offices on Broadway. Third floor directly opposite the Ed Sullivan Theater. With picture windows that were ideal for parade viewing. It became an annual party for employees and clients plus their kids. A continental breakfast was served and then folks would line the windows as soon as the first drum roll was heard.

We were eye level with the balloons. And, despite the fact all these rubber creatures were now nothing more than commercial placements, they were still spectacular to look at. And it was also a great way to see just how broken down they were. The number of patches were plentiful as they did their best to keep the air from going out of Snoopy's ass. It obviously required a lot of surgery to get Underdog through Times Square every year.

Up in our penthouse of viewing, we were above the hordes on the street. Folks down there brought their own ladders in an attempt to get a better look. It was fun for us to watch the ladder climbers eventually fall off their perches sometime during the morning. While the parade was certainly the main attraction, the curbside morons were a delectable side show.

One year, one of our sales managers (sadly he has since passed away) was standing next to me at the window. We started cracking wise about some of the Hollywood has-beens that always seem to show up in the parade. Before you knew it, we were getting laughs up and down the row of windows. A ha! An audience. Our color commentary was appreciated.

"Ah, Joanne Worley is the old woman in the shoe. She has a lot of children and no real career since Laugh-In."

"When do we tie some strings to Al Roker and float him down Broadway?"

"The Popeye balloon has a big tear down his crotch. Must have been a rough night with Olive."

Betty White and Lorne Greene were never like this. 

The next year, one of our annual guests, a young boy, came up to me.

"Are you and that guy going to make jokes again this year?"

There was a look of hope on the kid's face.

"We would be happy to."

And another holiday tradition was born. And I was a heck of a lot funnier than Matt Lauer when he was working it.   He isn't doing the parade anymore.

Ahem.

Dinner last night:  Fried chicken sandwich at the Arclight.

Classic Movie Trailer of the Month - November 2019

This classic premiered sixty years ago this month.   A must-see for the holiday season.

Dinner last night:  The last of the leftover turkey chili.

Your Holiday Weekend Movie Guide for November 2019

This was the first big holiday movie sixty years ago.  And it opened sixty years ago this month.  The most glorious and lushest of all Biblical epics.  People flocked to see this in theaters in 1959 because you couldn't see that chariot race on an episode of "Wagon Train."

What will be the big draws this holiday season which always begins with some releases around the Thanksgiving week?  Will we be running to see something of the ilk of  "Ben-Hur?"  Dream on, Spunky.  You know the monthly drill, ladies and germs.  I'll wander through the movie pages of the LA Times and give you my gut reaction to the newest releases.

Just so you know.  I am guessing the best things to see this week will be whatever is on TCM.  Or in your DVD collection.   Hey, it might even be Charlton Heston and company.

Harriet:  It ain't a movie with Ozzie, Ricky, and David.

The Good Liar:  Anybody in Washington these days.

Jo Jo Rabbit:  I hear good things about this irreverent comedy.  Once I see it, blog review will follow.

Marriage Story:  Read the fine print on the poster.   It's on Netflix in two weeks.

The Irishman:  See "Marriage Story."   Plus I heard it's like ten days long.

Parasite:  Recently reviewed here.   A Hitchcock movie from Korea.

Honey Boy:  Shia LaBoeuf stars in this, so expect somebody to get sucker punched.

The Report:  Read the fine print on the poster.  You can also watch this on Amazon Prime.

Waves:  An African-American family in the suburbs endures a tragic loss.  Okay, you got me.  I'll skip it.

Ford V Ferrari:   The trailer looked dull and I have virtually zero interest in anything automotive.

Last Christmas:   George Michael's song turns into a rom com.  Good that he's not alive to hear that.

The Lighthouse:  One of those titles that screams..."this movie is dull."

Charlie's Angels:  I'm still trying to figure out what happened to Kate Jackson.

Doctor Sleep:   It's never good to put the word "sleep" into the title of your movie.

Joker:  Reviewed here recently.   A slow, slow, slow character study.   Did I say it was slow?

Terminator - Dark Fate:  Maybe it was better off having Arnold as Governor.

Midway:  If my dad was alive, he would take me to this movie.  But he's not.

Age Out:  A foster child turns to crime.  Don't they all?

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood:  A friend of mine is convinced Mister Rogers was a creepy pedophile.  I don't think you will see that in this film.

Dark Waters:  Mark Ruffalo as a lawyer vs. a large chemical company.  Paging Jacoby and Meyers.

Frozen II:  I hated the first one so this sequel can go ahead and melt.

21 Bridges:  A detective looks for a NYPD cop killer.  With DeBlasio as mayor, he'll be busy for years.

3022:  I still haven't seen 2001.

The Courier:  A female motorcycle messenger fights a crime boss.  BTW, I miss the Sopranos.

Mickey and the Bear:  A teenager cares for her veteran dad who has a substance abuse problem.  Ah, a musical.

Hala:  A Chicago teen deals with her strict Muslim upbringing.   Hope she doesn't live on the South Side.

Dinner last night:  Salad.