Femme Fatale Friday : NURSES = Frontline HEROES

 Today's Nurses are possibly, if not probably, the most unsung heroes in America.  Doctors do a lot, don't get me wrong, but nurses are the ones who pull the ultra-long shifts and clean up the messes that doctors don't/don't have to.  Yet they also seem to be the first ones thrown under the bus when it comes time to change things or cut the budget and that's just plain WRONG!

If you're for the vaccine, good for you, but you have no right to demand/force it on others, by any means, and vilifying anyone who says no, says more bad about you than them.

Check this out... 

SHARED FROM A FRIEND!!!!

FINALLY SOMEONE HAS SAID IT!!!!!

I have done my best to respect the diverse opinions regarding COVID-19 over these past few months, however the ER nurse that posted this brilliantly sums up my train of thought :

Please just take politics out of it and read this with an open mind using COMMON SENSE.

"Anyone out there who can tell me what our end game is with the covid 19?

What is the magic formula that is going to allow us to sound the all clear?

Is it zero cases?

The only way that will happen is if we just stop testing and stop reporting.

Is it a vaccine?

It took 25 years for a chicken pox vaccine to be developed.

The smallpox inoculation was discovered in 1796 the last known natural case was in 1977.

We have a flu vaccine that is only 40 to 60% effective and less than half of the US population choose to get one, and roughly 20,000 Americans will die of the flu or flu complications.

Oh, you'll mandate it, like other vaccines are mandated in order to attend school, travel to some foreign countries, etc.

We already have a growing number of anti-vaxxers refusing proven, tested, well known vaccines that have been administered for decades but aren’t necessarily safe!

Do you really think people will flock to get a fast tracked, quickly tested vaccine, whose long term side effects and overall efficacy are anyone's best guess?

How long are we going to cancel and postpone and reconsider?

You aren't doing in person school until second quarter?

What if October's numbers are the same as August's?

You moved football to spring?

What if next March is worse than this one was?

When do we decide quality of life outweighs the risks?

I understand Covid can be deadly or very dangerous for SOME people, but so are strawberries and so is shellfish.

We take risks multiple times a day without a second thought.

We know driving a car can be dangerous, we don't leave it in the garage. Many speed and don't wear seat belts.

We know the dangers of smoking, drinking and eating fried foods, we do it anyway.

Is hugging Grandma really more dangerous than rush hour on the freeway?

Is going out with friends after work more risky than 4 day old gas station sushi?

Or operating a chainsaw?

When and how did we so quickly lose our free will and give up our liberty?

Is there a waiver somewhere I can sign that says, "I understand the risks, but I choose a life with Hugs and Smiles, and the State Fair and go to Church and go hug my Mom in her retirement home?

I understand that there is a minuscule possibility I could die, but I will most likely end up feeling like crap for a few days.

I understand I could possibly pass it to someone else, if I'm not careful, but I can pass any virus onto someone else.

I'm struggling to see where or how this ends.

We either get busy living or we get busy dying.

When God decides it's your time, you don't get any mulligans, so I guess I would rather spend my time enjoying it and living in the moment and not worrying about what ifs and maybes, and I bet I'm not the only one.

(I copied this from someone else. Feel free to do the same!)

Super Sunday : The Angel

 Among the MANY classic mutant characters that Bryan Singer completely screwed up, The Angel stands as one of the worst.  It started off great, one of the few bright points of the third X-Men film, a good backstory of problems with his bigoted father and him finally breaking free to seek shelter in the Mansion but it quickly ended there.  

Warren Worthington III is one of the original X-Men and should have been treated far better… but then again, Singer pretty much screwed up everything X he touched, although Quick Silver and First Class were good, but that was probably more the writers than him.  

The Angel is worthy of a beautiful and uplifting film, if not a two

film arch that ends with him joining the X-Men.  No need for Archangel at all, at least not for a while, no need to rush into anything, he also needs some time with, The Defenders.  This could also be the chance to introduce Mutants into the MCU, Strange forms the Defenders in the teaser at the end of Angel 2, then later joins the X-Men.

The main problem with getting any super hero movie done right are directors like Singer (clueless) and studio execs who don’t care about story telling and only think about toy lines and $$$, often with no clue about the characters or how films are even made.

For Angel, a love story, not some teeny-bopper nonsense that Disney or Singer would do, a good one, with actual heart and, INSPIRATION, that should be a big part of it.  

Billionaire heir apparent and his bigoted father war over a woman that Warren has fallen for, maybe another mutant, and in a final outburst of defiance he shows his father who he really is, saving his girl and others.

This all came to me one day driving around and Faith Hills, If My Heart Had Wings, came on the radio, it’s perfect for a story with Angel.  Keep the original by Hill, if not add some more power to the background music, don’t let some hip-hop fool revamp and pervert it.

This is one of those great opportunities that Marvel has, but is probably overlooking and not seeing the potential of the character, it could be an incredible movie.

https://youtu.be/sFeD1sHuA-Q

Another Icon of Americana is Gone

 While the, Washington Football Team is still trying to figure out a new team name and logo, the Cleveland Indians have jumped into the stanky pool of "political correctness" and done away with one of the most iconic logos in American Sports history... what's next, banning the film, Major League?

This decision comes with a flood of foolishness and infantile whining from leftists (most of which are whiter than a major league baseball) in something that is called, "virtue signaling" a made up term that basically means, "we know better than the people we are claiming to be protecting" but really just means, "we're a bunch of dumbasses who are ignorant of accurate history and the basics of the English Language".

Baseball, and sports in general, used to be the last great refuge away from political nonsense (for the most part), a way to get away from the nonsense in the public and just enjoy America's Pastime with family and friends.  A day at the ball park, hotdog in one hand, beer in another, ready to drop both if a foul ball comes your way.  Or a day in the hammock, radio on, cold beer, burgers on the grill, family and friends enjoying the sun & breeze... but no more of that nonsense 😡 (am I still allowed to use that emoji?).

Speaking of the Washington Football Team, I agree with the

name change on that, but there was and remains nothing wrong with the logo, it was actually designed by an American Indian (shut up, there is nothing wrong with that term).  They should have been done in 24-48 hours going from the old name to the, Washington Warrior and that would be that, but you had all the pale faces whining and crying about a logo they hadn't even bothered to research at all.

"The Redskins primary logo used today was first designed in 1971 in close consultation with Native American leaders. Among those who unanimously approved and voiced praise for the logo was Walter "Blackie" Wetzel, a former President of the National Congress of American Indians and Chairman of the Blackfeet Nation."

Cleveland's decision to change it's name and logo make no damn sense at all, none, zip, zilch, nada... especially with a major motion picture backing up the teams heritage and iconic standing in American sports.

This is the man behind the name, Indians, his name is Louis

Francis Sockalexis and was known as, The Deerfoot of the Diamond, a member of the Penobscot Tribe, he played 3 years of professional baseball, all for the Cleveland Spiders.  He played outfield, had 3 home runs and 55 RBI’s in his career with a .313 batting average.

The logo of Chief Wahoo, as we see it here, has been a part of Americana since 1951 and before that still that of an American Indian Warrior swinging a baseball bat rather than a weapon of war.  It

was only made more iconic and beloved in the 1989 sports classic, Major League, starring Charlie Sheen, Tom Beringer & Wesley Snipes.  The Indians logo became a symbol of the Underdog Team, it brought fans to the team and the game, a lot of new ones.

The bottom line is this, "political correctness" is an intellectual disease, robbing the individual of any and all trace of Common Sense, Logic and Reason, thus why they always act like such petulant children, screaming at the top of their lungs and/or name calling rather than engage in rational debate with substance and facts.  "Virtue Signaling" is the latest political weapon that is used like a blunt object, based in inaccurate history, guilt trips and false feelings of entitlement.

History is riddled with things  like this, “oh it’s only a baseball team”… that’s how it starts, little things that don’t seem to matter on the grand scale of life but have always ended with it being taken to extremes and creating some of the darkest times in human history, despite what it’s called in the beginning.

I will always proudly wear my Cleveland Indians baseball hats and anything else I own with that historical and logo based in pure Americana, it's an icon and deserves to be treated better than banishment based in ignorance.

Remembering Robin

 Today would have been the 70th Birthday of the great, Robin Williams, and the world is such a sadder place without him.  His loss should be mentioned with those like Elvis, Marilyn and Dean, gone too soon for reasons that could have been helped, and far too soon.

We saw a lot of Robin in the characters he portrayed because most producers were smart enough to give him the basics then just let him go, so many of his most memorable scenes were completely Robin just doing what he did best, go with the moment.  

Not enough people really get the greatness of, The World According to Garp (1982), and what it told us about Robin, how much he loved life and it's wonders, it's a film that should be talked about more often.  I felt it was better to start with this film because it was the first time that the masses really got to see HIM.  It was a bit odd, but also about the oddity of life itself and how one odd individual tried to live it, showing that, in reality, we're all odd.

I'm not sure how much of Robin we got from, Mork & Mindy, because sit-coms of the day were pretty structured and I know from reading about him, Robin didn't like that part of it, he like films where he had more freedom to just be himself and let fly, so I'm going to skip that part.

At the time, and for a long time after, Popeye (1980) really wasn't

appreciated, but in fact, it was fairly straight up with the classic characters, we'd just never seen them come to life before but it really was a Popeye cartoon just with real people.  Put it in with 1990's Dick Tracy and 1980's Flash Gordon and you suddenly realize that the movie was pretty good.  The soundtrack was great and I always felt that Robin's interpretation of the character was spot on, just not sure if people were ready to see it live on the big screen.

Many great films between, but when, Dead Poets Society came out, it really did throw some people off because of how serious the nature of the content was.  Yes, we got Robin, but a side of him that was more down to earth, a true Teacher, trying to enlighten young minds and enflame young passions with life.  To this day, I have to be in the right mood to watch this or it haunts me for a week, the realism of these kids and the pressures they were under pulls you in.  Keeting feels like he's teaching you as you watch it, you really get pulled in and live it with them.  Although the poster centers on Robin, the film is far more about the boys in his class, far and away more.

Taking on a true story, or even one just "inspired by" would

restrict a lot of people but it seems that, Adrian Cronauer though wasn't a restriction for Robin, in fact, it seemed perfect for him.  The over the top DJ from the war was just right and only lent itself to Robin's impromptu style, he learned about the man and just let loose.  Again though, there was the element of a younger bunch that his character was influencing when he suddenly took over the language class.  It also showed the darkest sides of war, deceit and betrayal of someone taken in like a brother.  But it left you with laughter as he summed up Sgt Major Dickerson in one line... you know the one... 

Then along came Disney, with the opportunity to have Robin let loose on the silver screen in even bigger ways than he'd ever done, with a Genie and we've felt the magic ever since. He received an honorary Oscar for the performance, but many felt that it was also an apology for his being ignored for an award in, Dead Poets Society (which he should have won), but either way, Oscar didn't matter in this one.  This will be forever his best known role, even with the atrocious live-action film Disney would later make, Robin will always be Genie to the world.  We heard him sing, we felt him dance and we FELT the magic!  That was Robin's truest gift, we FELT it, in whatever role, he got to our soul and touched it.

Looking back, Adrian Cronauer seems like a test run for the role

that would be Robin's true masterpiece, Patch Adams.  This was more like hand & glove than any other role he ever had, he really was Patch... In this film, you feel all those other roles, you see the development and growth and blossoming of both actor and the person he portrayed.  Like Johnny Depp for Capt Jack or Robert Downy Jr as Tony Stark, Robin Williams was born, created, tailored for Patch Adams and the messages he had for the medical community and the world.  I've given away at least a dozen copies to young people who wanted to be Doctors, "watch it until you GET IT", is what I tell them.

So many films left off this list; Moscow on the Hudson, The Fisher King, Good Will Hunting, Hook, What Dreams May Come, Toys.... the man is truly one of the greatest legends in the history of all entertainment.

It wasn't until it was too late that we found out the deeper side of Robin, the issues of depression and later, starting to lose his faculties.  Robin died actually believing that nobody love him or remembered him, that is the darkness of depression.  I think I can easily speak for most of the world when I say he was one of the most beloved people to EVER honor us with his talent and the beauty of his soul.  Even though they say it was suicide, I still say that he'd already gone, passed from a broken heart and I feel that pain and only wish he knew how loved he was.

Keep an eye on loved ones, don't let yourself get caught up in the world to the point that you overlook those who truly have a place in your heart.  Depression, more than anything else, is a true silent killer.  This is something we CAN beat, a tragedy we do have the ability to slow down and sometimes stop.  Depression is as real as it gets, it affects everyone, weather people admit it or not, we've all had issue with it.  Don't ignore it, don't deny it, be honest with it and about it.  Nobody deserves to feel worthless.

We love you Robin and we miss you dearly. 💓

Aliens, 35 years later, still ACTION PACKED!

Even though today is #MovieMonday, I did the big review for Dick Tracy this past weekend, but wanted to pop a quickie for this sci-fi/action classic that just had it's 35th Anniversary less than a week ago.

Hands down, my favorite of the Alien franchise, Aliens is (as I said) far more sci-fi/action than the horror/sci-fi film in the original installment, which felt more industrial than space ship to me.  The original film literally scared the hell out of people in the theater, and did so with such impact, most of us who saw it originally in theaters still can't help but jump at certain scenes, it left the lasting impression that a horror film is supposed to leave, this time in space as Jaws once did for the water.  With Titanic, Terminator, The Abyss, True Lies, and Avatar director, James Cameron at the helm. 

Here Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) has been found after 57 years in stasis, she's accused of destroying the Nostromo for "untold reasons" in a kangaroo board room court, only to find out that LV426 now has a colony of teraformers on it, but in 20 years, haven't encountered anything...

Of course the colony suddenly goes quiet and Ripley is recruited to accompany a group of Galactic Marines to investigate why they lost contact.  Here we encounter the only predictably down side of the plot, a "commanding officer" who obviously got promoted by kissing @$$ rather than battlefield experience and Ripley has to rev-up the tank to save the Marines.  

During all this, they find a survivor, a young girl nicknamed Newt, who's got quite the confidence/attitude and, as kids sometimes do, kinda steals the show, but the script keeps Ripley and Hicks (Michael Biehn) at the forefront of the story.

In one battle Newt is taken by the Aliens and Ripley must rescue her, but not only from a station full of deadly aliens but from a queen mother of the hive, who eventually comes after Ripley herself. 

This film isn't the scarefest that the original was, and is much more a straight up action film, lots of gun fire, explosives, acid dripping and spraying, but still lots of humans getting bumped off.

As a pair, this one and the first are great together, they seem the films together nicely and this one goes along with most of the first, but I can't recommend the 3rd installment as part of movie night, just stick with the Double Feature. 🎥🎬

This one gets 🌟🌟🌟 stars out of five, it's fun and exciting but can be a bit predicable ... and Weaver's wardrobe isn't as good as the first 😉... okay, it gets Four Stars...

 

Great Americana Legends : Dick Tracy

 Even against today's movies, Dick Tracy (1990) stands on its own as a great example of the legendary newspaper comic strip hero.

Director/star Warren Beatty did a phenomenal job with brining this classic to life on the big screen, unfortunately not many knew who Dick Tracy was at the time, he'd been somewhat forgotten to the masses.

Produced by Disney Studios, but released

under their Touchstone banner, it has it's great points, it's bad points and it's incredibly bright points.  One of the brightest points, aside from the costumes, was the MASSIVE marketing campaign, that began almost a year early with the teaser you see to the right, but a lot of movie goers were asking the question, "who the hell is Dick Tracy?"  Disney went all out except in the way they needed to, informing the public of Tracy's history and the character of the man.

Then, in the early spring of 1990, another teaser poster was released, this one with a bit more bang... 

Disney had also released the trailer, featuring pop legend, Madonna and great shots of Beatty in the legendary yellow hat and coat, fans who didn't know much about Tracy thought it was going to be more a comedy than an action/hero film, especially with those crazy looking bad guys.

Again, Disney was all over the marketing campaign, they were already working with fast food giant McDonald's for a toy release in their Happy Meals.

Then Disney did a marketing release that was beyond brilliant, a

special opening night ticket that would let everyone around you know you were going, a ticket ON a t-shirt (still got mine) and theater owners/managers encouraged all to wear their shirts all day opening day, now he was EVERYWHERE and IN MOTION, which has a big play on people's minds, it was a very successful opening weekend, but some of the reviews were mixed on the actual story.

Roger Ebbert raved about the lavish colors and the incredible fantasy world the film took us to, and he was correct, the film had NO actual live sets in the real world.  Backlots, soundstages, giant mats, miniatures and straight up animation were used and in many combinations.  It took over 4 months to design and create the costumes for the wild villains of Tracy's world.

But, who was Dick Tracy, finally some of the history started coming out, but after the films release rather than before.  Tracy was the creation of Chicago cartoonist, Chuck Gould and the character was still owned and published by Tribune Media Service Inc.  Gould's daughter spent time on the set and was thrilled with the accuracy and production of the film.

Another great part of the marketing was their association with co-star (and then Beatty girlfriend), Madonna, who portrayed, Breathless Mahoney (the other woman) to tempt Tracy away from longtime girlfriend Tess Trueheart, brilliantly played by the wildly underrated, Glenne Headly. 

The regular soundtrack for the film was from SuperHero staple of the time, Danny Elfman, whose Batman soundtrack was an amazing success and what drew Beatty to lure him into working on Dick Tracy.  The theme that Elfman came up with for Tracy himself was good but the overall soundtrack isn't his best work.  When asked about working with Beatty, Elfman said, "Warren was insane." 😆

Oscar Winnier, Vitorio Slorano was brought in as the Cinematographer and took the comic strip and along with the set designers brought the legendary comic world to real life, it really sucked you in and made you feel it.

Like the comic strips, the story is short & sweet and gets to the point, although it was a one shot film, it used up all of Tracy's main villains in one big bang, leaving no room for sequels (which Beatty isn't a fan of anyway).  But like some of the other period hero films of the early 90's (The Shadow, The Phantom) it stayed on point and was true to the character, thanks to writers Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr.

The cast was an incredible who's-who of major Hollywood names, Al Pacino portrayed the villain, the loud and crass, Big Boy Caprice.  Dustin Hoffman as the mumbling Mumbles, who did an outstanding job for such a "quiet" role, the man is a true acting artist.  William Forsythe as Flattop, one of Tracy's biggest enemies (second only to Big Boy) he was mainly used as just another hired gun.  Mandy Patinkin, Dick Van Dyke and Paul Sorvino also played great parts.

Another interesting part of the film, something you might overlook at first, no brand names.  A hotel was just "hotel" and even the city they are in is never named.  Streets are all numbered and products have no brand names on them either, even the cars.  This was a giant leap away from 80s Hollywood that really overdid a lot of their product placement (no wonder Wayne's World made such fun of it) but Beatty didn't want anything in there.

With a budget of just over $46M (small potatoes to films of today) it made $162.7M, not sure if that is up to date, but is a respectable amount given how little the masses knew about the character before release, the marketing campaign did a great bit of that.

Some still claim it was just a Disney vehicle for album and toy sales, an hour and fifty minute commercial for Madonna.... and toys, but it's so much more than that.  The combination of filming styles and the mixing of animation into other parts of production really are a monumental achievement.

The film gets 🌟🌟🌟🌟  out of 5 stars, leaving one off because it left absolutely no room for a sequel to continue the legend of Tracy on the big screen.  I pity the person who tries to do a remake/reboot of this one.

Critics felt that Beatty himself was a bit two dimensional as the character, but I thought he pulled it off just right, always sticking to Tracy's straight-arrow approach to The Law but also giving way for his co-stars to shine, to me, it was one of his more humble performances... but he was directing to 😎

This are just some of the posters that were produced to promote the film, there were many more, almost all the speaking cast got a poster.  Disney would have done a bit better to produce a one season animated series to let the people know who Dick Tracy was.  Personally, I feel that Tracy is one of the characters that Filmation should have done a run with from the late 70's to the early/mid 80's since they'd already done Tarzan, Lone Ranger, Zorro and Flash Gordon, it seems like a good fit for what they were doing then.

The toy line did not fare well, mainly because of lack of

knowledge of the character and his world with today's kids, and Madonna's outfits kept a lot of kids out of the theaters for the film itself, including a sheer robe that left almost nothing to the imagination.  This is why an animated series leading up to the film, or after could have helped with the toy line.

But, like with other classic hero films of the early 90's I highly recommend this for anyone who hasn't seen it.  Make sure to watch more than once so the second time you can look for all the different realms of production they went through and focus on the amazing special effects with make up! 👍

Baseball on Radio, another American Pastime

 Listening to Horton and Clairborne call a St. Louis Cardinals game is like listening to two college kids, that none of the fraternities wanted, try to call a high school ball game.  I change the station when they both came on to call the game.

Rick Horton is bad enough when he’s on with Jon Rooney, as he talks far too much and way too fast, as if he’s calling a horse race instead of a baseball game.  Not to mention he talks about himself too much, I didn’t even know who he was until I looked him up and still don’t know who he is.  If he was a somebody when he was a player, I can understand, but he tries to make everything about him.

Clairborne just seems very green and hasn’t done much on a microphone, still talks as if he’s a player, if he was one, he just has a lot of growing up to do and needs to speak more clearly, he’s calling a game, not talking to buddies in a bar.

Great sports announcers on radio are getting fewer and further between and that’s a crying shame, there is a lot of old tape they could listen to from pairs like, Jack Buck & Mike Shannon or Harry Carey and Pee Wee Reese, that really knew how to call baseball.

People want to chill while listening to baseball, in the hammock or on the couch, and if the announcer is calling it all like a horse race then you can’t relax, nothing wrong with a little bit of (almost) silence here and there, we can still hear the crowd.

Slow down, take your time… it’s baseball, enjoy it.

Femme Fatale Friday - Dita Von Teese

 Yes, could have waited until closer to her birthday (Sept 28th, just incase you were wondering) but couldn't wait, can you blame me? 😍

The woman who not only brought back Burlesque but also became its reigning Queen, she reformed this great artform for a new age and took it over the top, yet always maintaining a level of class and dignity that no other comes close to.  Her performances around the world are regular sellouts in any city from Las Vegas to Paris to Tokyo, she has the world wrapped around her silk gloved finger.

Von Teese grew up in Rochester Michigan with the last name, Sweet, which to me seems very appropriate. 😉 Spending

afternoons at the movies with her mother watching some of the greats who inspired her like Betty Grable, Mae West, Carmen Miranda, Marlene Dietrich.  Peaks at her father's Playboy magazines also inspired her, especially the lacey lingerie that the legendary Playmates would wear.

While in college in California she studied historic costuming and trained as a costume designer, even then, she would produce and copyrighting her fashion shoots herself.

Von Teese began work in a California strip club at age 19 but was not impressed with her fellow performers lack of imagination and originality, often working classical looks into her performances.

Her stage name Dita, was a tribute to silent film star Dita Parlo and her famous "beauty mark" is actually at tattoo even though she wears it better than anyone with a natural one.

Dita was later featured in Playboy in 1999, 2001 & 2002, where she also graced the cover.  She has published books on burlesque and fetish while giving birth to a new age of burlesque.

I will confess, I fell for this beauty the first time I ever saw her picture, which I mistook for a vintage shot from the 30's or 40's, but was delighted to find out she was here and now. 💘

Today, she continues to design and sell her lingerie as well as book and many other items, including the vase she holds in the picture at the top of the page, please check out her website and social media who share some LOVE 💖

What happened to Area 51?

 Remember two years ago when we were all going to storm Area 51?  It was the hip hashtag and the main thing to talk/joke about in social media, then it actually kinda started to gain some ground, less than a year later, the nightmare hit… coincidence?  No. 😆

But it was funny as hell, especially when you realize who posted about it, we had Stone Cold Steve Austin, Chuck Norris, and freakin’ Iron Man ready to go with… well, Austin if someone brought him beer, I readily volunteered, he got a kick out of it.

It came up in my “memories” on a social media platform so I thought I’d share the FUN we were having 2 years ago… and need to start having again, badly … too many killjoys and buzzkills out there whining and crying like that one whiny kid we all had in our home room in grade school, always tattling, always spoiling the fun, grown up and hosting videos online ruining movie plots, “busting” myths, and telling you a little too much about what’s in your favorite hotdog brand 😡 I guess it’s his revenge for always getting picked last for dodgeball 😆 

Crashing and invading Area 51 sure sounded like fun at the time, and honestly still does, maybe some celebrity needs to post up about it and get it started again… 😉 I’m not a celebrity, so don’t look at me… but oh the team we had going back then… 🍺😎👊

Mannix, a forgotten television classic for gumshoe fans!

 During a facebook exile, I get the chance to get caught up on binging classic television shows, lately I've gotten back into an old favorite, the Mike Connors hit, Mannix.

The basic story is about a classic television gumshoe, Joe Mannix, a US Army Veteran, who starts out as part of a major investigation company, corporate PI for hire, that builds to him going out on his own, realizing that such a structure to do PI work, doesn't work.  The decision for the change actually came from television legend, Lucille Ball herself (the show was produced by, Desi-Lu Studios), who thought all the computers didn't work and wanted the show to go more along the lines of a classic private investigator.

In season two, Mannix was on his own, along with secretary Peggy Fair (Gail Fisher), a policeman's widow.  In the shows existence, Fisher was nominated for 4 Emmy's, winning one and 3 Golden Globes, winning twice.

The show lasted an awesome 8 seasons, from 1967 to 1975.  The writing was consistently good, with action from start to finish, always with a quality opening teaser, it's easy to see how it influenced other similar shows for the 10 years after Mannix went off the air.  The show had both blind and deaf characters and tackled racism on several occasions, as well as gambling and alcohol addictions and the problems with PTSD in Veterans.

Mike Connors himself was nominated for 6 Golden Globes, winning once and 4 Emmy nominations.  He graced the cover of TV Guide on multiple occasions. 

The guests on the show reads like a whos-who of television/film legends... Julie Adams (Creature from the Black Lagoon), Adam West (Batman), Yvonne Craig (Star Trek, Batman), Dana Elcar (McGyver), Darrin McGavin (Kolchak the Night Stalker), Tom Selleck (Magnum PI), William Shatner (Star Trek), Martin Sheen (The West Wing), Linda Evans (Dynasty), Milton Berle (comedy legend), Lou Rawls (singing legend), Bill Bixby (The Incredible Hulk), Sally Kellerman (MASH), Burgess Meredith (Batman - television, Rocky -films), Richard Roundtree (Shaft) and SO many more.

Like many classic television shows, I'd love to have seen the actor reprise his character on later shows like, Magnum PI or even an episode of The Love Boat needing a private investigator, or even helping David Banner through a tough spot on, The Hulk.  Network executives just never saw the potential for such cameo's. 

No matter what, it was 8 years of a really great television classic, that stands the test of time today, find it on DVD to enjoy with your family & friends!

Happy Birthday Mike Shannon

 68 young years in the world and 50 years in Baseball, Mike Shannon is a true treasure to the St. Louis Cardinals, the state of Missouri and to Sports Broadcasting. 

Born Thomas Michael Shannon, he was the second oldest of six kids, raised on the south side of St. Louis.  His senior year in high school he was, Player of the Year in Football and Basketball (only student ever to win both in the same year) ... but not...? okay LOL  He went on to play football at the University of Missouri but would leave in 1958 to begin his baseball career with the Cardinals.  His former coach, Frank Broyles said that if Shannon had stayed at MU Football, he might have won the Heisman.

With the Cardinals as a player, he helped the team to two World Championships in 1964 and 1967, in July of 66 he was named NL Player of the Month.  Shannon hit the final home run in the original Busch Stadium and then hit the first homerun in the second Busch Stadium, his playing career was cut short in 1970 when he was diagnosed with a kidney disease.  He would go on to be part of three more World Championships as part of the Cardinals broadcast team.

In 1971 he began in the radio broadcast booth alongside the legendary, Jack Buck and was partnered with him for almost 30 years, in 2002 Shannon was named as the lead broadcaster, and he's been there ever since. Shannon was inducted into the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame in 2014 and in 2016 he moved to only broadcasting home games, 2021 will be his final season broadcasting for the team.

For many years he was the proprietor of, Mike Shannon's Steak & Seafood House in downtown St. Louis (I've got four of the original dinner menus) and still has two, Mike Shannon's Grill, one in Edwardsville IL and one, that many eat at, in the St Louis airport, I always stop in for a bite when traveling.

Growing up a Royals fan, I missed the last part of the Jack Buck era, but since becoming a Cardinals fan, Mike Shannon has been the The Man when it comes to the radio calls of the Cards games and it's not going to be the same without him.  

Happy Birthday Mike, and Thank You. 💖⚾

My sports collection shelf, dedicated to Mike Shannon, just to the left is a couple of things for Michael Wacha (wacha wacha) 😆

City of Springfield Screws Citizens, again

 Once again the “leaders” of Springfield MO have given in to the fear mongering, propaganda and LIES that have been driving the media’s “pandemic” of misinformation and misleading the masses, they have cancelled this years 2021 Route 66 Festival “due to local covid-19 concerns” when there has not been one single prediction of a “super-spreader” event that’s come true yet, not one.

The “experts” predicted super-spreader events for Trump Rallies

in 2020, didn’t happen.  The “experts” predicted super-spreader events for Memorial Day 2020, didn’t happen.  The “experts” predicted super-spreader events for Sturgis 2020, didn’t happen, but the city of Springfield is still pushing the fear mongering.

To people across the nation this, once again, makes Springfield Missouri look like a bunch of inbred fools, once again our city is the butt of the joke, thanks to our cities “leaders” and the witless fools who keep voting for them.

Supposedly Springfield/Branson and the Lake of the Ozarks are “hot spots”… funny how that happened right after our Governor signed a bill that protects our 2nd Amendment Rights, and when so many from the Midwest is saying NO to the fake “vaccine”.  The media has initiated a smear campaign on the Show-Me State.  These are just more media lies, boosted by hospital officials who act as our own versions of Fauci, spreading fear and misinformation to the masses.

ALL of the city “officials” who were responsible for this decision need to be fired or voted out of office for disgracing our city and embarrassing our citizens this way, and for the HUGE revenue that our city is, for the 2nd year straight, screwed out of.

Springfield/Greene County was the last area to drop mandatory masks, and it is still mandatory in certain businesses and jobs, dragging knuckles behind the rest of the state and country.

It’s either the religious right or the liberal left constantly embarrassing the people of Springfield and the Ozarks.

Thin air between the ears of MLB execs

 

The decision to move the 2021 All-Star Game was based in misinformation, propaganda and outright LIES.

Originally slated to take place in Atlanta GA, MLB claims that it didn’t move the game to protest the states new Voter Laws but it was too obvious and the denial has stopped, though they have yet to actually admit it.  These laws, in spite of the lies of the media, shored up voter security and made it easier for legal citizens to vote in the state. It also helped to prevent the potential for voter fraud, which, again despite the lies of the national media, does exist all too much.

But, the misinformed public cried foul ball on the new Georgia laws, that they neither read or understand at all, and the “leadership” at MLB announced the move to Coors Field in Denver Colorado, a state, up until the last election cycle, was a “red state” before voting laws were illegally changed.

I’m happy to say that I won’t be tuning in on television or the MLB app.  Yeah, I know, they won’t miss me, but that’s too bad that today’s MLB only seems to listen to one side of an argument and never seems to listen to Common Sense anymore.

Along with the greedy kids wishlist to Santa style number of new rules, that keep on coming, the Major Leagues are going to see a major exodus of fans, if they are not careful.  Major League Baseball has almost failed several times in my life and might see the end sooner than they think if they keep allowing politics to make decisions for the game.

This issue shows, more than ever, that politics and sports need to stay as far away from each other as possible, as much as possible.  Don’t like the game being held in Georgia, fine don’t go, and petition for the game to be had in Colorado down the road.

Personally, I’ve been a far bigger fan of Minor League Baseball for over 20 years than that of Major League, and the list of WHY just keeps on growing, as I’m sure it is for a lot of fans.

The move of the 2021 All-Star Game was/is/always will be a black eye on the American Pastime. 🇺🇸⚾️

Movie Monday : Batman Returns, Parenting ENDS

 Who knew the Dark Knight would be used as a weapon against responsible parenting and to strip filmmaker Tim Burton of his grasp on the franchise which made his career...

After the incredible success of Batman in 1989, it was easy to see why Tim Burton would be handed the reigns for a sequel, but it would be this sequel that studio execs would use to take the franchise from him and stop his third installment.

Not only was this going on, but the film was also used by certain special interest groups to attack the film industry and fast food franchises for marketing to children, to the point an entire episode of a talk show was done about it.

Parents were "angry" that the 2nd Batman film was so dark and thought that it scared their children, to the point that these obviously coached kids were drug out and used as props on Jenny Jones talk show, an entire episode attacking Batman.  They were also attacking McDonalds and toy companies for making toys from this film to market to children.

Instead of telling their children "NO, that's too mature for you." they attacked everything else, they didn't want to be parents anymore, they wanted to lay the blame elsewhere, rather than say "no" to their whining brats, and it's only gotten worse from there.  Since then, good parenting is considered a crime by some and poor parenting is rewarded & glorified.

At the same time the studio was angry with Burton's vision because they didn't sell enough toys from the second film, they thought it was too dark and too far from the campy, colorful comic book version they wanted ... so they could sell toys.

Burton has always been one of my favorite filmmakers because he doesn't give a crap about selling toys, just making the best film he can from his own vision of the story and characters and I thought his vision for Batman was outstanding and awesome.  Very gothic, tragic, moody, as the best stories from the comics have been for the Bat, it's what makes The Bat unique to the other heroes who are bright and positive (yet now, we've seen how miserable a fail it is when you try to make the other heroes dark like the Bat, it does not work).

So, this film was taking a strong attack from two different sources, neither should have ever happened, they should have let Burton have that 3rd film.  If they wanted toys about Batman, concentrate more on, the Animated Series.  

Burton had a vision of Billy Dee Williams as Two-Face, of Robin Williams as The Riddler, of Patrick Stewart as the dark and VERY cold, Mr Freeze, it would have been epic, but now we just have to sit and wonder how good it could have been.

Another example of how outsiders can destroy an industry they know nothing about, because the only vision they have is their own greed for money and power, rather than what is best for that industry. 

A Real American Soccer Star

 

Kelly O’Hare is a professional soccer player and two time FIFA Champion, not to mention an American athlete to be proud of. 🇺🇸⚽️

While playing abroad, one of her teammates carelessly discarded the American flag that she was carrying and Kelly ran over to retrieve it.

She is proud of her country and proud to represent the United States of America in the sport she loves.

Kelly is currently a Defender for the Washington Spirit in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) 

In 2012 she played every minute (and these game periods are long) of the 2012 Olympics Women’s Football (Soccer) Tournament where they won gold 🥇

Many other members of that Women’s Soccer team have been glorified in the media over and over for their political stances but how little we’ve heard about the one who took the time to see that her flag wasn’t disgarded and honored her country.  🇺🇸