Monday Morning Video Laugh - June 1, 2026

 Welcome to June.  The month of weddings and graduations.  With bloopers galore.  Watch this giggling couple try to get married.

Dinner last night:  Pizza.

The Sunday Memory Drawer - Another Relative

 

Here's Grandma and company seated at a family summer barbecue. I have other photos from the same event and we're all in shorts, t-shirts, etc.. Yet, as I mentioned last Sunday, these two are wearing their winter coats. Just in case the nighttime air chills and the temperature dips below 80.

The other lady in the photo is Tante (German for "aunt") Emma and my grandmother's sister-in-law. She was always around, especially when both were widows and craving somebody to talk German to. I'd listen in to their conversations and, despite the fact that I didn't understand a single word, I'd be laughing at the exchange.

Tante Emma and Grandma had a pretty set routine. On Sunday afternoon, after Grandma's dinner dishes had been cleared, the front door bell would ring. Our dog would bark. We would look at the clock. It was erxactly 1PM. This could only mean one thing.

Tante Emma had come to call. Back in the day this is what people did. They went to visit each other on Sunday afternoons. And the opening dialogue between the two would always be the same. Like Abbott and Costello's "Who's On First?" routine, the lines were repeated.

"How are you feeling?"

"With my fingers."

Or...

"What's new with you?"

"New York and New Jersey."

Or...

"You still kicking?"

"Yeah, bend over. I'll show you."

There were weeks where Tante Emma got the punchline and other weeks where Grandma got to button the joke. But, the lines never varied.

Tante Emma would come to us on the bus from her basement apartment on Burke Avenue in the Bronx. She and Grandma would yak it up in German for a couple of hours and then eat a supper of sandwiches and pickles. Then, my dad would drive Tante Emma home. I frequently came along for the ride and was forced to endure a rather loud conversation with her.

Yep, Tante Emma was hard of hearing.

"WHAT GRADE ARE YOU IN NOW, SWEETHEART?"

Fourth, I'd scream back. My father didn't flinch. It was okay to yell whenever Tante Emma was in the car.

Tante Emma never missed my birthday or Christmas. I'd get the card in the mail. There was always five dollars in the envelope. Never a dollar more. Never a cent less. And never adjusted for cost of living increases.

Of course, the regular gifts had a downside. My mother was very keen on courtesy.

"Call Tante Emma and thank her."

Groan. I knew the drill all too well.

"Thank you for the card and the money, Tante Emma."

"WHO IS THIS?????"

I would repeat the sentiment in a louder voice. My mother didn't flinch. It was okay to yell whenever you were on the telephone with Tante Emma.

"YOU'RE VERY WELCOME, SWEETHEART. BUY YOURSELF SOMETHING NICE."

Then there were the Sunday afternoons when Grandma would go to visit Tante Emma. And, for some inexplicable reason, I would go along. After five minutes, I'd need a break from all the gossiping in German. Tante Emma would bring me into her living room and get the TV warmed up.

"OKAY, YOU'RE ALL SET, SWEETHEART. YOU CAN WATCH MEET THE PRESS."

To this day, I have no idea why Tante Emma thought that I, at the age of ten, had any interest in watching political talk shows. But, I'd sit there and do so, because my mother had always told me never to change the TV channel in somebody else's house. One of those weird rules from my childhood. So, I'd sit there dumbfounded, listening to Senator Everett Dirksen talk about the Vietnam War.

Ultimately, Tante Emma skipped a few gears, as my father would say. She wound up in "one of those places." But, I think she buried most of the people from her generation and, despite not hearing a single word, lasted a long, long time.

And, in my own mind, I envision this dialogue of us telling her that my grandmother had passed on.

"Tante Emma, sorry to tell you that Tante Adele died."

"OH, REALLY? WHAT COLOR?"

Dinner last night:  Dim sum plates at Dan Modern Chinese.

Classic Musical Comedy Number of the Month - May 2026

Woo hoo!  A five Saturday month lets us enjoy a classic moment from the musical comedy stage or screen.  Indeed, this iconic number has been done over and over.  But the version of  this "Company" song I saw with Patti LuPone just might be the best.

Dinner last night:  The pre-game buffet at the Dodger Stadium Club.

That Damn High School Yearbook

 

If you wanted to see what Georgia Engel would look like as a male...

And he's also a rake.

Canon has introduced the first combination digital camera/tazer.

Voted "Most Likely to Swallow a Fly in this Photo Session."

Right after graduation, there was a rewarding career as a busboy at Medieval Times.

Her head is an apartment complex for split ends.

Lips or glasses? Which are bigger? You decide.

You think this kid's school was in a very, er, urban area? I wonder how the hair-do looks after this dude has been stuffed in a gym locker.

Dinner last night:  Sandwich.

Hollywood Now and Then - May 2026

 You see what I did with the blog title this month?  I flipped it to show you the current state first.  And it was easy to get the shot.  I live two blocks away.

That would be the West LA location of the Mormon Temple.

That's a pretty big parcel of land.   And it's no wonder that, a century ago, it was the home of the back lot for comedian Harold Lloyd's film studio.

History resides all over.

Dinner last night:  Sandwich.

This Date in History - May 27

 

Happy birthday to Frasier's engineer, Peri Gilpin.  Queen for today.  But there were a few other heads of royalty anointed on May 27.

927:  DEATH OF SIMEON I THE GREAT, THE FIRST BULGARIAN TO BE RECOGNIZED AS EMPEROR.

....and one that died.

1120:  RICHARD III OF CAPUA IS ANOINTED AS PRINCE TWO WEEKS BEFORE HIS UNTIMELY DEATH.

Richard III, The Prince Formerly Known as Prince.

1703:  TSAR PETER THE GREAT FOUNDS THE CITY OF SAINT PETERSBURG.

This is not, I repeat, not the place when the Mets used to train in Florida.

1813:  IN THE WAR OF 1812, AMERICAN FORCES IN CANADA CAPTURE FORT GEORGE.

So doesn't that make it the War of 1812-1813??

1860:  GUISEPPE GARIBALDI BEGINS HIS ATTACK ON PALERMO, SICILY, AS PART OF THE ITALIAN UNIFICATION.

Guiseppe Garibaldi sounds like one of those names a script writer would come up with for a gondolier.

1883:  ALEXANDER III IS CROWNED TSAR OF RUSSIA.

This is not, I repeat, not the Alexander that you used to be on Fordham Road in the Bronx.

1907:  BUBONIC PLAGUE BREAKS OUT IN SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

So, earthquakes now pale in comparison.

1909:  SINGER DOLORES HOPE IS BORN.

She made it to 102.  Hubby Bob made it to 100.  Allegedly.  My friend and writing partner contends that Bob died several months before he hit 100 and was kept in cold storage so they could say he hit 100.  Gee, I have bizarre friends.

1911:  POLITICIAN HUBERT HUMPHREY IS BORN.

He was a rare Vice President...one with a brain in his head.  Not like the last four.

1911:  ACTOR VINCENT PRICE IS BORN.

Scream, scream for your life!  The Tingler is loose in the theater.

1923:  POLITICIAN HENRY KISSINGER IS BORN.

This less-than-handsome guy was once seen around town with Jill St. John.   So, I guess he really was a genius.

1927:  THE FORD MOTOR COMPANY CEASES MANUFACTURE OF THE FORD MODEL T.

It always ran better with Flubber anyway.

1930:  THE TALLEST-MAN-MADE STRUCTURE AT THE TIME, THE CHRYSLER BUILDING IN NEW YORK, OPENS TO THE PUBLIC.

Which makes me want to know what's the tallest-non-made-man structure.

1933:  WALT DISNEY RELEASES THE CARTOON "THE THREE LITTLE PIGS."

Who's afraid of the big bad wolf?

1935:  ACTRESS LEE MERIWETHER IS BORN.

Miss American 1955.  Catwoman 1966.

1937:  THE GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE OPENS TO PEDESTRIAN TRAFFIC IN SAN FRANCISCO.

Which means they just put up a sign...."Welcome Suicidal Jumpers."

1941:  REGARDING THE COMING WORLD WAR II, US PRESIDENT FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT PROCLAIMS AN "UNLIMITED NATIONAL EMERGENCY."

Um, you figured that out, heh?

1941:  IN THE NORTH ATLANTIC, THE GERMAN BATTLESHIP BISMARCK IS SUNK.

Later a hit song.

1961:  ACTRESS PERI GILPIN IS BORN.

Is it me or does she not work enough?

1965:  ACTOR TODD BRIDGES IS BORN.

Fifty-five today.  And, back when, who thought he would make that??

1967:  THE US NAVY AIR CRAFT CARRIER USS JOHN F. KENNEDY IS LAUNCHED BY JACQUELINE KENNEDY AND HER DAUGHTER CAROLINE.

I always thought these ceremonies were a horrible waste of good champagne.

1968:  MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL'S NATIONAL LEAGUE AWARDS THE MONTREAL THE FIRST FRANCHISE IN CANADA AND THE FIRST OUTSIDE THE US.

Viva Les Expos!

1969:  ACTOR JEFFREY HUNTER DIES.

The original Captain Kirk.  He suffered one head injury after another in 1969 and ultimately bashed his skull on a banister.

1975:  DIBBLES BRIDGE COACH CRASH IN NORTH YORKSHIRE, ENGLAND, KILLS 33 - THE HIGHEST EVER DEATH TOLL IN A ROAD ACCIDENT IN THE UNITED KINGDOM.

Pish tosh, America can beat that.

1986:  DRAGON QUEST, THE GAME CREDITED AS SETTING THE TEMPLATE FOR ROLE-PLAYING VIDEO GAMES, IS RELEASED IN JAPAN.

And this is a positive?

1995:  IN VIRGINIA, ACTOR CHRISTOPHER REEVE IS PARALYZED FROM THE NECK DOWN AFTER FALLING FROM HIS HORSE.

Not a great actor.  Apparently, an even worse rider.

1997:  THE US SUPREME COURT RULES THAT PAULA JONES CAN PURSUE HER SEXUAL HARASSMENT LAWSUIT AGAINST PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON WHILE HE IS IN OFFICE.

Yeah, he didn't touch her either, right?

2007:  ACTRESS GRETCHEN WYLER DIES.

A hidden talent from the 50s.  Check out her old photos.   She was hot.

2006:  THE MAY 2006 JAVA EARTHQUAKE STRIKES BANTUL KILLING 6,600 PEOPLE.

Who knew Bantul had 6,600 people?

2011:  ACTOR JEFF CONAWAY DIES.

Hearse!

2017:  MUSICIAN GREGG ALLMAN DIES.

Cher loses another ex-husband.

2024:  BASKETBALL STAR BILL WALTON DIES.

That's one long casket.

Dinner last night:  Salad.

Don't Make Me Laugh

 

And he never did.   But, then again, I never really gave Stephen Colbert the opportunity to entertain me.   

A friend texted me the other day to get my opinion on Colbert's last moments on the air which was an homage to the snow globe series finale of "St. Elsewhere."   I told my friend that I was proud to announce that I never saw a single moment of this series.  Ever.  I had made a commitment to Johnny Carson when he retired and I pretty much kept to it.

Of course, I would have little interest in what Colbert has been peddling.   At the end of the day, I don't want to hear bashing of politicians from either party.   I want to smile and laugh at inane things like Carnac and Stump the Band.  All these late night hosts have gotten so politically-focused and, as a by-product, much less funny or entertaining.

Now, if you go by my Facebook page, the majority of my friends bid a tearful farewell to Colbert.  As did most of the mainstream media.   It's not about the end of a TV show that was losing money and ratings by the bucket full.   It was all about Trump-bashing and how Colbert was the victim.   

Here's a little TV math.  When Carson went off the air in 1992, he was reaching 14 million people.   Colbert's audience level towards the end?  2 million.   And sinking.   The longer a show stays on the air, talent contracts and fees increase geometrically.  So there is less income and more outgoing money.   It's the reason Johnny left and the same goes for Colbert.

But everybody wants to think this was a Trump edict.  If everybody who lamented the end of Colbert did indeed watch regularly, his audience wouldn't have dwindled down to nothing.   The same folks are now pledging to never turn on CBS ever again.   Again more Trump hysteria.   If people found out Trump's grandfather invented the toilet bowl, these nuts would probably resort to squatting and shitting in the front yard.

Hey, that's a funny joke.   If Colbert had told one like it, he may have lasted longer.

Dinner last night:  Leftover Honey Chicken.