The Curious Case of Thadeus J. Phillips

And just who is Thadeus J. Phillips?  Beats the shit out of me.  But I've been consistently getting his mail over the past two weeks.   His name.   My address plus apartment number.   I've been in this apartment now for three years.   This is the first time I've been getting mail for Thadeus J. Phillips.

I asked the owner of the condo I rent.   She's been renting it out for almost 13 years.   But never to a Thadeus J. Phillips.

So what kind of mail has Thadeus J. Phillips been getting?   Lots of notices from law firms.   The IRS.   Personal letters.   He obviously lives.

So I've been doing the same thing on my end.   I write in big black letters on the front.."NOT AT THIS ADDRESS.  RETURN TO SENDER."  But, since this requires reading and the employees of my local post office have no more than a second grade education, the same mail gets re-delivered to me about half the time.

Grrrr.

So, as my Thadeus J. Phillips adventure drifts into its third week, I opted to do some detective work.   Via the private investigator's best friend in 2019.

Google.

The Thadeus J. Phillips that resides in California is 45 and apparently lives in Riverside.  Oh, and for $14.95, I could get his arrest record and, according to sources, there might be one.

Terrific.

Now I am hoping for two things.   That this guy actually Googles himself and realizes his mail is going to an address where he apparently has never lived.  Fingers crossed that his past arrests don't involve violence.

More likely, I am really hoping and praying that my mail carriers finally take some remedial reading courses.

Dinner last night:  Leftover beef and potato salad.

Monday Morning Video Laugh - August 19, 2019

God bless surveillance cameras.

Dinner last night:  Grilled beef, pan roasted tomatoes, and potato salad.

The Sunday Memory Drawer - The Crud

It'll take a while to get to the memory that was spurred this week, so hang with me.

This past week was an awful one for me.  Besides having a deadline on a project, I came down with a massive sinus infection.  Full blown and nose blown.   It came up suddenly and with a vengeance like one of those summer late afternoon thunderstorms back in New York.

Truth be told, when I live in NY, I averaged about five to six of them a year.  That's all due to changeable weather conditions, dirty air vents, and funky allergies.

Since moving to LA, I really only get about one a year.  There is different pollen out here,so different allergy triggers.   Plus I do a nasal rinse every morning and that certainly helps.

But, this past week, I got hit with a major one.   Mind-numbing headache. A constant nasal drip that resulted in an annoying sore throat.  Plus coughing fits so intense that the muscles in my chest and back are now aching.   

It was what I have always called "The Crud."

I immediately called my internist for an over-the-phone consultation although, given the nasal leakage, I wasn't sure I needed a plumber more than a doctor.  As per usual, he put me on Claritin D plus Flonase.  He tried to give me an antibiotic called Augmentin but my last experience with that pill was akin to a seven day colonoscopy prep.  He substituted another antibiotic and told me to get some rest.

I couldn't help but do that.   I was non-functioning as it was.   I laid down on my bed at 630PM.   Except for hourly coughing exercises that woke me up like an alarm clock on the hour, I was there till the next morning.   Then there were chills and body aches and assorted other nuisances.   I was cold.  I was hot.  The temperature gauge in my body was apparently broken.

So what does this have to do with a Sunday Memory given it all happened this week?

Well, as I was lying semi-conscious on my bed, I kept flashing back to sicknesses when I was a kid.  Those nasty colds you pick up in school.   And the single sensory perception I kept having was of this...

This was my mom's cure all.   When I had respiratory issues, this gooey shit went a variety of places on my body.

Up my nose.

In a pot of steaming water next to my bed.

And liberally it was rubbed all over my chest.

I could never get the smell out of my head.   And suddenly, this week, it came back to me.

I wondered if they still made it.   The next morning, when I turned on my computer, I went to the obvious place.   If it existed, Amazon would sell it.

And sure enough.

I do remember that, as lousy as it smelled, the stuff did work.   I debated putting in an order for a jar.   And then thought about how it would linger if I rubbed it on my chest now, given it's a little hairier than when I was five.   In that case, the odor would probably linger around me until perhaps Game One of the World Series.

I clicked off and crawled back to bed.   Now if I could only remember the name of that cough syrup always prescribed for me by my pediatrician Dr. Fiegoli.

Dinner last night:  Hot and sour soup plus chicken dumplings at Wokcano.

Classic TV Theme Song of the Month - August 2019

This very underrated and neglected sitcom was getting set to premiere fifty summers ago.   Sadly, it lasted only a year and a half.

Dinner last night:  Egg and cheese omelet with candied bacon.

Your Weekend Movie Guide for August 2019

This creep fest opened sixty years ago this month and, watching it on cable, I was curious to how Percepto worked.   Apparently, as the crawling monster appeared on screen, there were seats in theaters wired to give you a little jolt.

Frankly, I'd love to do the same to seats occupied by idiots who go to see these Marvel superhero movies, but that's just me.   The bottom line is that this is when Hollywood got clever in trying to attract an audience.   If only they could be that clever in 2019.   You know the monthly drill, gang.  I'll sift through the LA Times entertainment pages and give you my knee jerk reaction to the crap in theaters right now.

Trust me.   When you hear about this garbage, you might want to scream, too.

Once Upon A Time...In Hollywood:   Recently reviewed here.   This one will make you scream...with delight.   A huge surprise for me.   A Tarantino movie that I liked.

The Lion King:   Note to Disney.   People like me who didn't like the cartoon version probably won't go to see the lazy live action edition.

Love, Antosha:   A documentary about the actor Anton Yelchin who got run over by his own car.

The Farewell:   This one could be renamed "Crazy Old Asians."

The Kitchen:  Melissa McCarthy and Tiffany Haddish.   I'll eat elsewhere.

Blinded by the Light:  A British Pakistani teen idolizes Bruce Springsteen in 1987.   Given how much of a Springsteen fan I am....pass.

Luce:  The Bad Seed redone with an older Black teen.   If you see me entering a theater where this is playing, you have the right to hit me over the head with a baseball bat.

Brian Banks:  Another true story about a professional football player whose youth was interrupted by an unjustified prison stay.   Remember what I said above about the baseball bat?

The Peanut Butter Falcon:  It stars Shia LaBoeuf so it was obviously filmed in between his arrests.

After The Wedding: Family drama and secrets at a wedding.  This is new?

Fast and Furious Presents Hobbs and Shaw:   Who?  What?  Why?

Scary Stories To Tell in the Dark:  There once was a President named Bernie...

The Angry Birds Movie 2:  Still missing 1.

Where'd You Go, Bernadette?:  Cate Blanchett as a housewife who willingly disappears.   Promise?

One Last Night:  Two young people on their first date become trapped in a movie theater overnight.  And ultimately attacked by gigantic Raisinets?

Gwen:  A young girl in Wales...oh, who am I kidding?  I'm not going to see this.

Low Low:  Four girls from the wrong side of the tracks.   That's your opinion.  Maybe it's the right side of the tracks.

Good Boys:  Sixth graders act inappropriately.  It's rated R so leave the real sixth graders at home.

47 Meters Down - Uncaged:  Sharks menace four teen girls.  But are they from the wrong side of the tracks??

Cold Case Hammarskjold:  A documentary on the missing plane that contained the former UN Secretary General.   Give me credit at least for typing the title correctly.

Awake:  A man with amnesia may have contained murders.  Or maybe not.

The Art of Racing in the Rain:  A race car driver and his dog.  Apparently this was a best selling book.  I don't read.

Them That Follow:  Snake handlers in Appalachia.   The snake handling was bad enough, but to see them in Appalachia is worse.

Maiden:  A true story about an all female crew in a yacht race.  I'll sit this one out.

Dinner last night:  Sausage pizza.

Well, He Used to Be....

Given the title of the documentary, the statement isn't very accurate. Mike Wallace died in 2012. So, he used to be here.

But he is back in a way via this new documentary by Avi Belkin.  And trust me.  He still has his fan base.  The theater I saw it at was packed.   And the crowd was largely over 80.   I mean, that's the median age of the "60 Minutes" viewer, right?

Oddly enough, I remember Mike Wallace more from a program that I had to watch when I was a kid.   It was a syndicated TV offering from perhaps the early 60s called "Biography."   Teachers encouraged us to watch it as every installment told the story of a famous American.  Mike's distinctive voice was the narrator.

Years later, after doing commercials and acting and hosting game shows, Wallace found his niche at CBS News in the days of Walter Cronkite, Eric Sevareid, and Harry Reasoner.  Back when journalists gave you facts and you could formulate your own opinions.  In 2019, so-called "journalists" give you their opinions and encourage you to accept them.   A different world.

Wallace, of course, made his biggest leap when he became one of the original hosts of "60 Minutes."  At that place, Wallace became famous for doing one-on-one interviews with everybody from Johnny Carson to Bette Davis to the Ayatollah.  His no-nonsense style became legend.  And a little bit contradictory when tables were turned and interviews tried to chat Wallace up.

This documentary essentially focuses on those interviews.  Most of the movie is a juxtaposing of clips from interviews Mike did on both the asking and the receiving sides.   As a result, this probably barely skims the surface of Mike Wallace, the man.   I have one friend who worked with at CBS News and she told me there was a lot to like about the guy.  Unfortunately, you only get one side here.

Oh, sure, there are snippets of his personal life.  There is one clip where he is being interviewed by son Chris.  And there's a segment detailing how he found the body of his late son who fell off a cliff.   And, of course, Wallace did suffer through bouts of depression.  

As a result, there is a lot of darkness here and I'm pretty sure there was a lot of light when it came to Mike Wallace.  You just don't see it here.   Instead, the film maker uses this as a showcase for his own opinions about journalism today.   Insert your favorite 'Trump fake news" reference here.  It probably shows up in this documentary.

From what I have told, Mike Wallace was a heck of a guy.  Too bad it doesn't come through in this film, which is interesting but ultimately a tad unsatisfying.

LEN'S RATING:  Two-and-a-half stars.

 Dinner last night:   Chopped salad with the last of the beef tri-tip.

This Date in History - August 14

Happy birthday to this wild-and-crazy guy.

1183:  TAIRA NO MUNEMORI AND THE TAIRA CLAN TAKE THE YOUNG EMPEROR ANTOKU AND THE THREE SACRED TREASURES AND FLEE TO WESTERN JAPAN.

The Taira Clan?  A busted TV pilot from Sherwood Schwartz?

1415:  HENRY THE NAVIGATOR LEADS PORTUGUESE FORCES TO VICTORY OVER THE MARINIDS AT THE BATTLE OF CEUTA.

Why does everything in this sentence look misspelled?

1592:  DURING THE IMJIN WAR, ADMIRAL YI SUN-SIN DECISIVELY DFEATS THE JAPANESE NAVY AT HANSAN ISLAND.

As we later find out, they're much better from the air.

1816:  THE UNITED KINGDOM FORMALLY ANNEXED THE TRISTAN DA CUNHA ARCHIPELAGO, RULING THEM FROM THE CAPE COLONY IN SOUTH AFRICA.

Also a candidate for spell check.

1842:  THE SECOND SEMINOLE WAR ENDS, WITH THE SEMINOLES FORCED FROM FLORIDA TO OKLAHOMA.

In the middle of tornado season.  Yeah, the Seminoles will be safe there.

1851:  GAMBLER DOC HOLLIDAY IS BORN.

I repeat, this is not the dead pitcher on the Philadelphia Phillies.  Just in case you are confused.

1880:  CONSTRUCTION OF COLOGNE CATHEDRAL, THE MOST FAMOUS LANDMARK IN COLOGNE, GERMANY, IS COMPLETED.

Until, of course, Romy Schneider came along.

1885:  JAPAN'S FIRST PATENT IS ISSUED TO THE INVENTOR OF A RUST-PROOF PAINT.

Rust-proof?  Wait for the first tsunami.

1893:  FRANCE BECOMES THE FIRST COUNTRY TO INTRODUCE MOTOR VEHICLE REGISTRATION. 

With a first-day line that stretched from the Eiffel Tower to Notre Dame.

1901:  THE FIRST CLAIMED POWERED FLIGHT, BY GUSTAVE WHITEHEAD IN HIS NUMBER 21.

Claimed?  He could be lying??

1911:  US SENATE LEADERS AGREE TO ROTATE THE OFFICE OF PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE OF THE SENATE AMONG LEADING CANDIDATES TO FILL THE VACANCY LEFT BY WILLIAM P. FRYE'S DEATH.

Harry Reid was there, right?

1916:  GIANTS OWNER WELLINGTON MARA IS BORN.

Little known first name: Beef.

1926:  ACTRESS ALICE GHOSTLEY IS BORN.

The female Paul Lynde.  Except she was straight.

1926:  DIRECTOR LINA WERTMULLER IS BORN.

I saw her "Seven Beauties."  About seven too many for me.

1930:  BASEBALL MANAGER EARL WEAVER IS BORN.

He argued that it really happened on August 13.

1935:  THE SOCIAL SECURITY ACT CREATES A PENSION SYSTEM FOR THE RETIRED.

And, by 2025, most of the money will be gone.

1936:  RAINEY BETHEA IS HANGED IN OWENSBORO, KENTUCKY IN THE LAST PUBLIC EXECUTION IN THE UNITED STATES.

You mean there's still privately held?  How do I get on that e-mail alert?

1941:  ROCK SINGER DAVID CROSBY IS BORN.

Stills, Nash, and Young are waiting for you.

1941:  WINSTON CHURCHILL AND FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT SIGN THE ATLANTIC CHARTER OF WAR STATING POSTWAR AIMS.

Any excuse for these guys to open up the good scotch.

1945:  JAPAN ACCEPTS THE ALLIED TERMS OF SURRENDER IN WORLD WAR II AND THE EMPEROR RECORDS THE IMPERIAL RESCRIPT ON SURRENDER.

Bonsai yourself!

1945:  COMIC ACTOR STEVE MARTIN IS BORN.

Why they don't let him host the Oscars every year is beyond me.

1946:  ACTRESS SUSAN SAINT JAMES IS BORN.

Jane Curtin is waiting for you.

1951:  PUBLISHER WILLIAM RANDOLPH HEARST DIES.

Rosebud.

1959:  FOUNDING AND FIRST OFFICIAL MEETING OF THE AMERICAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE.

And you'll be waiting for Joe Namath.

1972:  ACTOR OSCAR LEVANT DIES.

An American in Casket.

1975:  THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW, THE LONGEST RUNNING RELEASE IN FILM HISTORY, OPENS AT THE USA THEATER IN WESTWOOD, CALIFORNIA.

And the theater is long gone.  But it still plays frequently at the Nuart several blocks from my house.

1980:  ACTRESS DOROTHY STRATTEN DIES.

I've seen pictures.  She was hot.  Now she's cold.

1985:  ACTRESS GALE SONDERGAARD DIES.

Everybody's favorite creepy housekeeper.

1999:  BASEBALL STAR PEE WEE REESE DIES.

I hope it wasn't his wife who gave him that nickname.

2003:  WIDE SCALE POWER BLACKOUT IN THE NORTHEAST UNITED STATES AND CANADA.

Every time the lights went out when my grandfather was alive, he blamed the Communists.

2012:  ACTOR RON PALILLO DIES.

Welcome back....oh, never mind.

2012:  ACTRESS PHYLLIS THAXTER DIES.

Thirty Seconds Over Heaven.

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