Classic TV Commercial of the Month - October 2024

 Well, it is Oktoberfest.   Let's promote a German beer.

Dinner last night:  Bourbon chicken from Panda Express.

The Mugs of October

 

Real hair, my Aunt Fanny!

Those Macy's Doorbuster sales can be violent.

Oh, my God!  John Candy is alive!  And they've arrested him!

Arrest the plastic surgeon and the hair stylist, too.

Well, blow me down.

I wonder what stage of transgendering he or she is in.

Yeah, my hair is real.   Whacha you wanna make of it?

It's the police photographer, not your dentist.

That ain't chocolate milk.

Mad Magazine's Alfred E. Neuman has a sister.

It's Funny Face Day at the local prison.

Maybe it's the Gotham City Jail.

Speaking of Batman, here's the Joker.

Dinner last night:  Cheese omelet.

Morons of the Month - October 2024

 

This is the second time I have used this now iconic photo that will go down in history.

Since then, there has been another attempt on Trump's life.   And there is still very little information on what happened in either incident.  In this day of over-details, we have very few...particularly about the background of the would-be assassins.  

Okay, folks, this is not a blog piece that will chastise you for voting one way or the other.  You can save that nonsense for social media.  Indeed, I have watched friendships end because of political affiliations.  Let's face it.  Elections in this country used to be so civilized.  Not any more.  Our once-great nation has such a bi-polarity for which there is no medication.

There is a hatred in this country that cuts right down the middle.   And, on our watch...the descendants of the so-called Greatest Generation...we now have a political change in our nation that just might end in violence.

You may have heard recently that it is very possible that Iran, not a fan of DJT, might be orchestrating this shooting attempts.   To that, I said it is very, very, very possible.

And I'll go a little further.  The hatred and fear of a Trump second presidency is so strong and palpable that they (the Democrats) could stoop to new lows in their quest for power.

Might that include murder?   Do you think that's impossible?

If so, you, cherished blog reader, are a moron.  

Ours is a country that has staged government takeovers and coups all over the globe.   We may have been justified in doing so, but we interfered nonetheless.  Heck, we just had a coup on our side of the pond recently.  Or are you really believing that story about Biden stepping out of the race all on his own?

Trust me, when it comes to these political shenanigans, there are equal perpetrators with both Ds and Rs following their names.  

Come on, folks.   We have already killed a US President in America.   Or are you really believing that story about Lee Harvey Oswald acting alone?

Wake up and smell the gun smoke.  If anything happens like that to alter this election, this country will have turned into a dark corner from which there is no return.   Sadly, we might be just mere steps away.

And it happened on our watch.   Taking the land our parents and grandparents fought so valiantly for in World War II and turned it to shit.

So, keep "unfollowing" Facebook friends who disagree with you.  Those actions, when magnified, have dire consequences.

Dinner last night:  Sausage and salad.

This Date in History - October 2

 

Happy birthday to Tony Soprano's favorite shrink, Lorraine Bracco.

1187:  SALADIN CAPTURES JERUSALEM AFTER 88 YEARS OF CRUSADER RULE.

Saladin?  Wasn't he the guy on "Have Gun, Will Travel?"

1535:  JACQUES CARTIER DISCOVERS THE AREA WHERE MONTREAL, QUEBEC IS LOCATED.

And opens a jewelry store.

1552:  CONQUEST OF KAZAN BY IVAN THE TERRIBLE.

Elia or Lainie?

1780:  JOHN ANDRE, BRITISH ARMY OFFICE OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, IS HANGED AS A SPY BY AMERICAN FORCES.

These days, we'd let him go free. And then give him his show on MSNBC.

1789:  GEORGE WASHINGTON SENDS THE PROPOSED CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS (BILL OF RIGHTS) TO THE STATES FOR RATIFICATION.

Back when our government actually worked.

1803:  POLITICIAN SAMUEL ADAMS DIES.

Loved his beer.

1835:  THE TEXAS REVOLUTION BEGINS WITH THE BATTLE OF GONZALES.

Adrian or Pancho?

1864: DURING THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR, UNION FORCES ATTACK SALTVILLE, VIRGINIA, BUT THEY ARE DEFEATED BY CONFEDERATE TROOPS.

In a peppered attack.

1889:  IN COLORADO, NICHOLAS CREEDE STRIKES IT RICH IN SILVER DURING THE LAST GREAT SILVER BOOM OF THE OLD WEST.

Although there were several mediocre silver booms later on.

1890:  COMEDIAN GROUCHO MARX IS BORN.

Swordfish.

1895:  COMEDIAN BUD ABBOTT IS BORN.

Costello was born in 1906, so, technically, Abbott's on first.

1919:  US PRESIDENT WOODROW WILSON HAS A MAJOR STROKE.

Something Natalie Wood desperately needed years later.

1924:  THE GENEVA PROTOCOL IS ADOPTED AS A MEANS TO STRENGTHEN THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS.

The League of Nations?  No designated hitter, right?

1928:  ACTOR GEORGE MCFARLAND IS BORN.

It's Spanky!!!

1928:  OPUS DEI IS FOUNDED BY SAINT JOSEMARIA ESCRIVA.  

Four years after Doris Dei was founded.

1932:  BASEBALL STAR MAURY WILLS IS BORN.

Speaking of Doris Day....

1937:  LAWYER JOHNNIE COCHRAN IS BORN.

OJ Simpson celebrates this date every year.

1937:  DOMINICAN REPUBLIC STRONGMAN RAFAEL TRUJILLO ORDERS THE EXECUTION OF THE HAITIAN POPULATION, APPROXIMATELY 20,000 PEOPLE.

Meanwhile, several decades later, there were plenty of them left and all of them lived in my hometown of Mount Vernon, New York.

1938:  CRITIC REX REED IS BORN.

The man who has never liked a single movie ever.

1942:  OCEAN LINER RMS QUEEN MARY ACCIDENTALLY RAMS AND SINKS HER OWN ESCORT SHIP OFF THE COAST OF IRELAND.

"Hey, lady, watch where you're going!"

1945:  SINGER DON MCLEAN IS BORN.

The singer and writer of the song I detest most.  "American Pie."  Yeech!!!

1950:  PEANUTS BY CHARLES M. SCHULTZ IS FIRST PUBLISHED.

Welcome to you, Charlie Brown.

1951:  ROCK STAR STING IS BORN.

The first day he took a breath.

1954:  ACTRESS LORRAINE BRACCO IS BORN.

I always thought her voice was sexy.

1959:  THE TWILIGHT ZONE PREMIERES ON CBS TELEVISION.

The very first episode starred Earl Holliman.  For those of you still playing Trivial Pursuit.

1967:  THURGOOD MARSHALL IS SWORN IN AS SUPREME COURT JUSTICE OF THE US.

He was the first Black to do so.   For the rest of you still playing Trivial Pursuit.

1970:  A PLANE CARRYING THE WICHITA STATE FOOTBALL TEAM, ADMINISTRATORS, AND SUPPORTERS CRASHES IN COLORADO.

Okay, but what about the cheerleaders????

1973:  ACTOR PAUL HARTMAN DIES.

Emmett from "The Andy Griffith Show."

1979:  POPE JOHN PAUL II DENOUNCES ALL FORMS OF CONCENTRATION CAMPS AND TORTURE WHILE SPEAKING AT THE UN IN NEW YORK CITY.

So I guess he wasn't a fan of "Hogan's Heroes."

1985:  ACTOR ROCK HUDSON DIES OF AIDS.

He was gay????????

1994:  ACTRESS HARRIET NELSON DIES.

Outliving a son, but, then again, she didn't fly much.

1996:  AEROPERU FLIGHT 603 CRASHES INTO THE PACIFIC AFTER TAKEOFF FROM PERU.  70 ARE KILLED.

Another reason why Harriet wouldn't fly much when she was alive.

1998:  SINGER GENE AUTRY DIES.

Dare I even attempt a "riding off into the sunset" reference?  Wait, I just did.

2002:  THE BELTWAY SNIPER ATTACKS BEGIN AND THEY LAST THREE WEEKS.

Longer than some TV series on the OWN Network.

2005:  COMEDIAN NIPSEY RUSSELL DIES.

On this October's second day, here's the ground where Nipsey Russell will lay.

2017:  MUSICIAN TOM PETTY DIES.

Heartbreaker.

2022:  SACHEEN LITTLEFEATHER DIES.

She's the screwball Indian who accepted Brando's Oscar for the Godfather.

Dinner last night:   Smoked sausage.

Just How Old Am I?

 

It's the reliable joke.   Walk through any assisted living place and you'll hear two things coming out of each room's TV..."Wheel of Fortune" and the Andy Griffith-starring "Matlock."   Indeed, while not in a facility, both of my parents got hooked on these shows in their later years.

So, in the true spirit that every TV show can be rebooted, "Matlock" now has its renewed time in the sun.   This time, it's Kathy Bates in the title role as it is now standard for genders to be flipped.  Frankly, I was a wee bit curious as I always have liked Kathy Bates' work.   Also, while I was on the Paramount lot over the summer, we saw the crew setting up on the NY street for an exterior scene.

Hmmm.

Then I read that the pilot airing on regular over-the-air CBS got phenomenal ratings.

Hmmm again.

Since it also is running on Paramount Plus, I decided to climb into bed and let "Matlock" on my tablet lure me to sleep.

Except, at the show's end, I was wide awake.  And exhilarated by how good Episode One was.

Oh, this is the old series, but not.   Kathy Bates is channeling Andy Griffith, but not.  It's a standard courtroom drama, but not.

Indeed, the whole concept is turned upside down.   With a twist in the last five minutes that sets up the rest of the series.  Trust me.   I didn't see that coming.  Neither will you.

Okay, Mom and Dad, I'm hooked on the new "Matlock."  Just as you instructed me back in the 90s, don't call me while it's on.

Dinner last night:  Salisbury steak.