Hollywood Then and Now - September 2026

Few movie theater come.  Most go.   Indeed, we are going to have a bit of a resurgence shortly.  The Westwood Village and the Bruin are classic movie houses and they are headed to re-opening.   The same goes for the Arclight Hollywood and adjoining Cinerama Dome which shut down the first weekend of the COVID pandemic in March of 2020.  That venue re-opens in 2028.

But there are a few that never close.   They just evolve.   We salute the Laemmle theater chain for keeping as many screens open as possible.  One such place is the Royal right down the block from my home.

Here it is many years ago.  And today?  It's been carved up into four screens.   But it remains open and we applaud vociferously.

God bless.

Dinner last night: Sandwich.

Monday Morning Video Laugh - September 28, 2026

 Blucher!

Dinner last night:  Sausage, peppers, and onions.

The Sunday Memory Drawer - The Blank Side of the Family Tree

 

Unfortunately, this Memory Drawer is empty.  And the fact that it prompts, of all things, some memories.

Confused?

A few years ago, I was watching the season finale of the TNT reboot of "Dallas."  And I noted the plot developments.

We learn that J.R. Ewing had a daughter.   And that John Ross Ewing, his son, is now aware that, somewhere in the world, he has a sister.

To find such close relatives at such a point in your life.  How unsettling, miraculous, and fun that can be simultaneously. 

I thought about it all.  Indeed, if you are regular visitors to this on-line nonsense, you've heard a lot of tales about my family as I grew up.  My paternal grandparents who owned the house that my parents and I lived in.  You've seen a lot of old photos of my family's holiday gatherings.  There have been no mysteries.  My life has been an open blog.

Alas, amidst all those Technicolor photos, you have seen very little evidence or information about the other side of the family.  My mom's.   Hence, the empty picture frame that adorns the top of today's entry.

There are no pictures because I never saw any.   I'm not sure if my mom even had photos of her parents.  If she did, they might have been stored way back in her own memory drawer.

I know this.   My mom and her older sister were born in New York City.  Depending upon how she felt on a given day, the actual year of birth would change by one or two.  Their parents were named John and Esther.  As the slim story goes, they both got sick with influenza about that time in our history when such an ailment was a fatal disease.  Allegedly, they died practically in succession.  One apparently got sick and then gave it to the other.  And out.  My mom was about ten.  Her sister was about twelve.

I know they both wound up in the Leake and Watts orphanage that I still believe exists in Yonkers, New York.  As a matter of fact, my mom had to contact them for some records when she was filing some official documents when she retired.  She was on their mailing list.  How long were she and my aunt there?  No clue. 

When the inquisitive me asked questions about any of this, my mom's standard response was sort of like a press representative for a politician.

"I have no information at this time."

Or something like that.

Do you have any photos? 

"No."

What did they do for a living?

"I was too young."

Were there any other relatives?

"I don't think so."

Hmmm.  I don't think so.

Back when I was a kid, there was a common resource when you wanted information from one parent.  You asked the other one.

Dad was no help.

"Your mother doesn't want to talk about any of that."

Okay, so that means he asked the question, too.

Opening the curtain on our lives even further, I can tell you that, in later years, both my mother and my aunt had...well...a love of beer.  I wouldn't say they were out-and-out alcoholics but there were frequent evenings with multiple buzzes going.  If we went to visit my aunt and her family out on Long Island, both women were fairly fuzzy within the first two hours. 

Hmmm.  What is behind that?

I never knew it.  And was only left to purely speculate.

Years later, I tried to broach the issue again coming at it from my status as a full-grown adult.  Not long before she passed away, my mom got the question again.

"It was complicated."

Today that's why people use Facebook to describe their relationship status.  Back then, it was my family's way of avoiding a question and/or an issue.

So, now you know why my mind was working overtime in the middle of the Dallas season finale.   John Ross has a sister. 

Are there any relatives I am missing?  Did John and Esther have brothers and sisters?   This would have given my mother and my aunt cousins.  Maybe it gives me second and third cousins removed.  A whole extended family.   I mean, my maternal grandparents weren't aliens from outer space who just showed up on Planet Earth.

I've used Ancestry.com and 23andMe to flesh things out.   If I spit in a cup, I connect with some cousins several times removed.  I learned that my mom's mother had a maiden name of Larson.  But the people I connected with were just as confused as I am

More stuff I will never know.

And likely never will.

Dinner last night:  Hot dog at the movies.

Classic Movie Trailer of the Month - September 2026

Hard to believe it came out 30 years ago this month.   And I forgot Rob Reiner was in it.

Dinner last night:  Sandwich.

Open For Business

 

Dinner last night:  Sandwich.

Len's Recipe of the Month - September 2026

 

Actually there are numerous ones every month.  Because I am now addicted to making meals in an air fryer.   This is mine...called InstantPot...and you can tell it gets used a lot by the fingerprints on it.   Frankly, I would probably be the last person you would expect such an addiction from.

I bought it on a whim...actually an Amazon Prime sale...several years, largely because I heard it's great to make French fries and chicken wings.   I was intrigued by the lack of oil needed.   I figured this is a healthy device.

Now, several years later, I still haven't made chicken wings in this thing.   But I have done a lot more.   Because all you have to do is Google "how to make _____ in an air fryer" and you get your answers.   Pretty much, everything gets done in 12 to 14 minutes.

I am continually shocked at what you can do with the right prep.   Ribeye steak?  Phenomenal.  Roasted vegetables?  Magnificent.  Korean chicken thighs?  Terrific.  A juicy hamburger.  Perfection.  Even my prized pan-roasted grape tomatoes now doesn't need the...well...pan.

Plus the number of frozen entrees that can get quickly cooked is amazing.  On the web, I have found a recipe that allows you to make an olive oil cake in this thing.  And clean-up is a breeze.  No different than washing a pot or a pan.

There's an Amazon Prime sales day coming.   Note to you.

Dinner last night:  Sandwich.

This Date in History - September 23

 

Happy birthday, Julio Iglesias.  See you down by the school yard.

1122:  POPE CALLIXTUS II AND HOLY ROMAN EMPEROR HENRY V AGREE TO THE CONCORDAT OF WORMS.

The mention of worms?   Never good.

1215:  EMPEROR KUBLAI KHAN IS BORN.

Great, great grandfather to Chaka.

1409:  BATTLE OF KHERLEN, THE SECOND SIGNIFICANT VICTORY OVER MING CHINA BY THE MONGOLS SINCE 1368.

I read all about it in a blog.  Kherlen Speaks.

1641:  THE MERCHANT ROYAL, CARRYING A TREASURE WORTH OVER A BILLION US DOLLARS, IS LOST AT SEA.

A billion dollars dumped overboard.  The 1641 version of affordable health care.

1642:  THE FIRST COMMENCEMENT EXERCISES OCCUR AT HARVARD.

In September?   They have some kinks to work out.

1779:  THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION - JOHN PAUL JONES ON BOARD THE USS BONHOMME RICHARD WINS THE BATTLE OF FLAMBOROUGH HEAD.

Way to go, JP.

1780:  THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION - BRITISH MAJOR JOHN ANDRE IS ARRESTED AS A SPY BY AMERICAN SOLDIERS EXPOSING BENEDICT ARNOLD'S CHANGE OF SIDES.

What???  Benedict Arnold is a turncoat???

1806:  LEWIS AND CLARK RETURN TO ST. LOUIS AFTER EXPLORING THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST OF THE US.

Just in time for playoff baseball.

1845:  THE KNICKERBOCKERS BASEBALL CLUB, THE FIRST BASEBALL TEAM TO PLAY UNDER THE MODERN RULES, IS FOUNDED.

Wait.   Isn't there another team they would be playing?  

1869:  TYPHOID MARY IS BORN.

Mary, Typhoid as printed in the phone book.

1889:  NINTENDO KOPPAI IS FOUNDED TO PRODUCE AND MARKET THE PLAYING CARD GAME OF HANAFUDA.

Yes, that Nintendo.

1897:  ACTOR WALTER PIDGEON IS BORN.

Mr. Miniver.

1909:  THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, A NOVEL, IS FIRST PUBLISHED.

Boy, will this have some residuals??!!

1920:  ACTOR MICKEY ROONEY IS BORN.

He probably kept the same height all his life.

1927:  SINGER MIGHTY JOE YOUNG IS BORN.

Not the ape.

1930:  SINGER RAY CHARLES IS BORN.

Georgia on his mind.

1943:  WORLD WAR II - THE NAZI PUPPET STATE IN THE ITALIAN SOCIAL REPUBLIC IS FOUNDED.

Why do I think these weren't exactly Muppets?

1943:  SINGER JULIO IGLESIAS IS BORN.

My mother loved his records.  But whose mother didn't?

1945:  ACTOR PAUL PETERSEN IS BORN.

I traded e-mails with him on a project about ten years ago.  Nice guy.

1947:  ACTRESS MARY KAY PLACE IS BORN.

I've always thought she was very underrated as an actress.

1949:  SINGER BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN IS BORN.

Yes, gang, I am not a fan.  Never saw him in person.   Never wanted to.

1952:  RICHARD NIXON MAKES HIS FAMOUS CHECKERS SPEECH.

King me.

1962:  THE LINCOLN CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS OPENS IN NEW YORK CITY.

Funny because it still looks new.

1969:  THE CHICAGO EIGHT TRIAL OPENS IN CHICAGO.

The Chicago Nine were busy losing the NL East to the Mets at the same time.

1973:  JUAN PERON RETURNS TO POWER IN ARGENTINA.

Soon to be a musical in your town.

1974:  ACTOR CLIFF ARQUETTE DIES.

Charlie Weaver!

1981:  ACTOR CHIEF DAN GEORGE DIES.

I always get him mixed up with that other Indian who was crying about the garbage on the road.

1986:  JIM DESHAIES OF THE HOUSTON ASTROS SETS THE MAJOR LEAGUE RECORD BY STRIKING OUT THE FIRST EIGHT BATTERS OF THE GAME AGAINST THE LOS ANGELES DODGERS.

Two silhouettes....

1987:  DANCER/DIRECTOR BOB FOSSE DIES.

And all that jazz.

1988:  JOSE CANSECO OF THE OAKLAND ATHLETICS BECOMES THE FIRST MEMBER OF THE 40-40 CLUB.

Yeah, but I still remember him most for the ball hitting him in the head and then bouncing over the wall.

1998:  ACTRESS MARY FRANN DIES.

The TV wife of Bob Newhart that nobody remembers.

1999:  CELEBRATE BISEXUALITY DAY IS FIRST OBSERVED IN THE US.

I can't make up my mind which joke to use.

2002:  THE FIRST PUBLIC VERSION OF THE WEB BROWSER MOZILLA FIREFOX IS RELEASED.

The most recent version messed up my laptop.

Dinner last night:  Hamburger.