Raphael "Ted" Cruz must've been a school bully when he was growing up.
How else to explain how this Texas Twit keeps picking fights on Twitter that he can't win? Either it's comedians (Jimmy Kimmel, Patton Oswalt), other politicians (Alex From The Block), or Sesame Street. Cruz comes across like a bully, and ends looking like a dunce.
The latest example comes after Sesame Workshop, the producers of Sesame Street, co-produced a PSA with the Centers for Disease Control, presenting Elmo and his father, Louie. Check it.
You'll recall that back in November, Cruz similarly raged over the perpetually six year old Big Bird getting a COVID vaccine. Elmo's permanently three, and he got the shot, so Cruz pulled out his bully card on Twitter. Cruz needs to stop vexing on fictional characters illustrating a very important health & safety issue, and start doing what he was elected to do for his constituents in Texas. As it is, he picks up another Dunce Cap for this latest bout of stupidity.
The first time I'd heard the B-52's, it was 1983's "Song For a Future Generation", the 3rd and final single off "Whammy". At the time a quintet, the B-52's were FM radio staples, and were like a family untio themselves.
In the video, the wigs make it hard to tell Cindy Wilson & Kate Pierson apart. It was also, unfortunately, the last video to feature Cindy's brother, Ricky, who passed away from AIDS two years later.
Despite the band's success, singer Fred Schneider's solo effort, "Fred Schneider & The Shake Society", landed in cutout bins before the band's next album, but was later reissued as 1989's "Cosmic Thing" became a mainstream breakthrough.
It's official. Governor Kathy Hochul will run for a formal election in November after blowing away the Democratic primary field on Tuesday.
On the other side, Long Island Rep. Lee Zeldin defeated three challengers, including Andrew Goofiani, to claim the GOP nod. All of this was expected. Goofiani flushed his chances due to his father's rumblin', bumblin', and stumblin' on the campaign trail (apologies to Chris Berman), culminating in exaggerating what had happened at a ShopRite in Staten Island Saturday that may cost a store employee his job.
For Zeldin to end a long GOP drought in the Executive Mansion, he has to do one important thing, even if he doesn't believe he needs to. He has to denounce Donald Trump!!
That's right. Zeldin, more than anyone in the state GOP, has to move on from the 2020 election, and the Archduke of Affluenza. For the GOP to be taken seriously again, they need to begin the post-Trump era yesterday.
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Meanwhile, Colorado misrepresentative Lauren BowWow offered the possibility that she might've skipped a few history classes when she was in school, suggesting that the church should "direct" the government. She's pandering to the evangelicals still enthralled in what is now a pointless deference to Citizen Pampers.
Farron Cousins explains:
President Biden is a practicing Catholic, as was the late John F. Kennedy, 60 years ago. Donald Trump conned evangelicals and secular citizens alike, and for all we know has an allergic reaction to holy water. He nervously held a Bible upside down for a photo op he shouldn't have needed 2 years ago. There have been true Christians in the White House (Jimmy Carter, the Bushes). Lauren, unfortunately, thinks Trump is a legit Christian, but when was the last time the Tangerine Turncoat actually walked into a church? Why do you think Tiffany is having her wedding at Mar-a-Lago?
If Lauren was a high school dropout, it's not too late for a GED.
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If the testimony of Cassidy Hutchinson, an aide to Trump Chief of Staff "Easy" Mark Meadows, is to be believed, America's Oldest Baby actually wanted to be a part of the insurrection after all, only to be rebuffed by the Secret Service. Not only that, but documentarian Alex Holder's footage reveals that Team Pampers began plotting to steal the election mere weeks before the election actually took place. Holder has video evidence of Stupid E (Eric) reminding someone on the (cell) phone to vote in Florida instead of "someplace else". Alleged strategist Steve Bannon, who looks more like he's forgotten how to play chess in his old age, based on photos, went so far as to give an interview declaring Trump would be in the White House on January 20, 2021, which, of course, didn't happen.
All this tells us is that the GOP, while Trump was president, lost its collective spine, and some of them still haven't recovered their individual ones.
America's Disgrace, Rudy Giuliani, is back in the news, and is showing the world that as he approaches 80, his mental faculties have all but abandoned him.
Giuliani was on the campaign trail (why bother?) for son Andrew in Staten Island on Saturday when he visited a local ShopRite supermarket. A store employee slapped him on the back, and Goofiani took it like it was an assault, leading the police to arrest the poor schlep.
WNYW and the New York Post provided the footage:
There is zero chance of Andrew getting the GOP nomination for governor, unless frontrunner Lee Zeldin collapses in the polls, and that seems unlikely. Having his bumbling dad on the road isn't helping. The Goofianis are embellishing what happened for sympathy points, but there's no sympathy from this desk. If you really want to do something noble, Andrew, you can do two things.
First, give it up as far as being governor is concerned. Too much baggage because of your association (and your dad's) with Citizen Pampers.
Second, you're going to have to explain to dear old dad, as painful as it's going to be, that it's time to retire, and hire a nurse to protect him. It's for his own good. His reputation's already destroyed.
The chances of either happening are slim at the moment, but then.....
Roosevelt "Rosey" Grier was a man who could do just about anything. NFL legend with the LA Rams. Actor (Daniel Boone). Singer. It's that last part people have forgotten.
Grier appeared on Hullabaloo in March 1965 with a solo cover of The Drifters' "On Broadway", which was later covered with more of a jazz bent by George Benson. Intro by host du jour Jack Jones.
One of the most recognizable instrumental hits of the late 20th century, Percy Faith's "Theme From 'A Summer Place'", is used year round on WROW (Magic 590/100.5) as background music when morning host Ben Patten reads birthdays every weekday.
Here's a rare live performance. From what show, I don't know.
"He", of course, is Citizen Pampers himself, Donald John Narcissus Trump, who has been throwing daily tantrums because, in his warped mind, there was fraud that cost him the 2020 election. Here we are, nearly 20 months later, and the oldest baby in America still can't accept that the loss was the fault of one man, and one man alone. Himself.
File photo courtesy of Yahoo!.
We all know the story. Trump, in a butt-backwards way of trying to allay fears of COVID in its early stages, downplayed the severity of the virus. In the months leading to the election, this paranoid, insecure man-child knew he had to reverse course if he had any hope of re-election. Instead, he acted like the schoolyard bully he's always played, the kind who has affluenza from wealthy parents. He deflected blame for the poor response to COVID, and his marks played right along.
However, there were, as it turned out, enough people tired of his juvenile act, and, despite his sounding the warning himself that if he lost, he would see it as unfair, America decided they had tired of this pompous, pathetic, geriatric con man pretending to care about the country, and voted him out.
Today, he again raged at the January 6 select committee, demanding non-existent evidence of fraud.
"WAAAHHHH!!! I was robbed! WAAAHHHH!"
No, you weren't. You sank your own ship, jackass, by ignoring COVID, even after you contracted the disease yourself. As the evidence continues to mount against him, he continues to cry wolf, and you know what happens when you cry wolf too often.
We're now finding out that Trump's daughter, Ivanka, may have actually committed perjury in her testimony, after it was revealed that she originally supported her father's pathetic scheme. She changed her story in recent testimony, presumably, to save her own skin.
Watergate did in Richard Nixon, ending his career. COVID, and his own childish actions, will send Trump on the biggest walk of shame ever.
By the late 70's, reruns of The Andy Griffith Show & Gomer Pyle, USMC were plentiful in syndication. Jim Nabors was seven years removed from his self-titled CBS variety hour, and had spent those years making movies and appearing on an annual basis on The Carol Burnett Show. The Lost Saucer, Nabors' foray into Saturday morning science-fiction, was a distant memory.
Someone, though, convinced the Alabama native he could try a daily talk-variety show, like the biggest names in daytime talk in those days (i.e. Mike Douglas, Merv Griffin, though Griffin aired at night in most cities). I was in high school at the time, and never saw The Jim Nabors Show. Then again, I don't think it played in the northeast.
The gimmick to the show was the use of a guest announcer for each episode, a mix of average folks and celebrities, such as Jo Anne Worley (ex-Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In) and, in this sampler, Fred Travalena (ex-The Kopykats), who nails a perfect Nabors mimic to start the show.
Edit, 1/18/24: Had to change the video. Here's the opener, with Carol Burnett:
No rating. While Nabors was inspired, and likely influenced, by his good friend, Carol Burnett, he only got 15 weeks.
The Bee Gees' "Fanny (Be Tender With My Love)" is getting lots of airplay on oldies & adult contemporary channels. Until the other day, I didn't know the title of the song, until WROW morning host Ben Patten ID'd it on his show.
On June 16, staff members from The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, including comedian-puppeteer Robert Smigel (w/Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog) had finished taping some segments for future use, but lingered too long, it seems, and were arrested. As Colbert himself explained on Monday, everything was fine and professionally handled.
Courtesy CBS.
But try telling that to right wing morons like Tabloid Carlson, who claimed the skits were part of an insurrection. Colbert, of course, set him straight, but I doubt ol' Tabloid will be listening. Instead, what Carlson decided to do, predictably, was deflect from the January 6 select committee's public hearings, which Carlson thinks aren't drawing flies. Get out of the bubble and enjoy reality, you trust fund jackass.
What Colbert did, in describing what happened, was, on behalf of his staff, own the situation. Something GOPers don't know anything about. The GOPers have lost sight of what their party actually represents, trapped in a Twilight Zone-esque netherworld created by the Human Annoying Orange. They'll cry wolf too often, and, well, I think you know how that ends.......
We're referring to Andrew Giuliani, who refuses to get a vaccine for COVID 19, so he has had to participate in two debates for the GOP nomination for governor remotely. WCBS & Spectrum News NY1 refused to admit him for the debates, and set up a remote relay.
They shouldn't have bothered.
In the latter debate, Junior Goofiani hit all the usual lamebrained talking points of former president Donald Trump, including the long debunked claim that the 2020 election was stolen. The other candidates, including party favorite Lee Zeldin, either avoided the topic, or acknowledged that Joe Biden won fair & square 19 1/2 months ago. Andrew needs to put the topic to bed, right alongside his national disgrace of a father, who was on the stump for him in Western NY.
By refusing to vaccinate, Junior Goofiani has flushed his chances of getting the nomination in the toilet, as if pops hadn't already done that for him. Ya should've taken your dream job, kid, as ball boy for the Yankees.
If this kid wants to do something truly humanitarian, he might need to take power of attorney over his father, and force Rudy Retread into retirement.
Washington Commanders owner Daniel Snyder is refusing to meet with the House Oversight Committee, tasked to investigate allegations of sexual misconduct involving the team's cheerleaders and front office staff. A business trip overseas this week created a scheduling conflict, but while Snyder could've gone remote to testify, as NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is planning to do, he's blowing off the committee completely.
Not a good look for a team that will play its first season under its new name in September after taking on a generic label for 2 seasons, winning one division title.
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The Houston Astros' pitching staff pulled off a 1 of a kind feat last week.
In one game, the Astros pitched two "immaculate innings". What are those, you ask?
An "immaculate inning" is when a team gets three outs, all on strikeouts, on nine total pitches. You'd think with the kind of dominant pitching in MLB, this would happen more often, but it doesn't.
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WWE CEO/Chairman Vince McMahon stepped down on a temporary basis on Friday while an investigation continues into allegations of inappropriate conduct involving a former paralegal who was paid $3 million in "hush money" after leaving the company last year.
So what happens? McMahon, 76, goes on Smackdown on Friday, and in a short promo, touts the company's tagline, "Then. Now. Forever. Together". Not a word was said about the case. McMahon remains in charge of creative for the company's TV programs, which speaks volumes about his stubborn unwillingness to completely step aside. Daughter Stephanie had to put her leave of absence aside after nearly a full month to take over as CEO/Chairperson for the duration, but she shouldn't have to be a figurehead to cover for her father.
It makes you wonder about a certain friend of Vince's, too, doesn't it?
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WWE also granted permission for AJ Styles to appear via video during Impact's Slammiversary pay per view last night, marking the company's 20th anniversary. AEW did likewise for Sting, and retired wrestler Kurt Angle also appeared via video.
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A year ago, Yermin Mercedes was a sensation as a rookie with the Chicago White Sox. However, lack of consistent production led to Mercedes being designated for assignment last week. Today, Mercedes, after being released, signed a minor league deal with San Francisco. How quickly things change.
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WNBA star Sue Bird, one of a bazillion UConn alumni in the league, is retiring at the end of the season. The NYC native led the Seattle Storm to a win over the NY Liberty Sunday at Barclays Center (the Liberty moved to the Barclays after being sold by former owner James Dolan a ways back) in what will be her last regular season appearance in NYC. Congratulations to the future hall of famer.
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More WWE: With Cody Rhodes (torn pectoral muscle) and Randy Orton (back) on the DL, Vince McMahon hit the emergency button at the end of Smackdown on Friday:
Brock Lesnar's last match was back in April at Wrestlemania in a loss to Roman Reigns, whom he'll now face once more on July 30 at Summerslam. This is the product of McMahon's refusal to properly build up challengers to Reigns, as he continues to stoke fan apathy because there are those who believe McMahon wants Reigns to remain champion up until next year's Wrestlemania, where his actor-cousin, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, would be the opponent. The title won't be necessary for that match to happen, actually, but McMahon doesn't care what we think, even though he should.
As usual, he won't own up to his mistakes, and viewers will suffer.
If Archie Comics really wanted to celebrate The Best Archie Comic Ever, it would not be a standard 1-off for $4. They could've gone all out, and covered as much of the company's history, as it relates to Archie Andrews himself, with more pages, and a more marketable title.
Epic fail!
The book opens with Archie's on-again, off-again alter-ego, Pureheart the Powerful, in a short piece by ex-Marvel writer Fred Van Lente and artist Tim Seeley. It plays out the way those Pureheart shorts did in the 60's, complete with the amnesia-inducing purity fog to protect Pureheart's true identity, as he faces off with a Chameleon knockoff.
While Jughead's heroic persona of Captain Hero is featured on a variant cover, Jug instead plays a barbarian, a parody of the likes of Conan, Kull, et al. The book closes with Betty & Veronica as secret agents. All three stories are short on page length so the company can indulge on house ads. It's like they went bargain basement at the wrong time.
Rating: C-.
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Other Archie news: "Big" Ethel Muggs has been given a 21st century makeover for a webtoon series dropping weekly on Archie's website, but it seems she has issues with the gang for---bullying her. Big Ethel Energy is one of two August debuts in print.
The other sees the return of Jinx Holliday, formerly known as L'il Jinx, who was last seen in Life With Archie (2nd series). She's been moved to the otherwise dormant horror line for a 1-shot, Chilling Adventures Presents: Jinx's Grim Fairy Tales. Veteran writer Magdalene Visaggio is scripting, and Francisco Francavilla is doing one of the variant covers.
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The last Free Comic Book Day 1-shot we looked at previewed what's ahead at Valiant. The upside is that Ninjak is relaunching with better artwork, plus new stuff with Archer & Armstrong, Armorines, & Bloodshot. On the whole, a much better presentation than last year.
Three times in the last year, and twice within the last month, the cannabis market has featured items supposedly endorsed by well known celebrities. But, the reality is, they're not.
Foreign distributors in India and the Dominican Republic have been selling products bearing the likenesses of actors Clint Eastwood, Sacha Baron Cohen, and, more recently, actress-neuroscientist-game show host Mayim Bialik (Jeopardy!, Call Me Kat). All three have filed suit. Eastwood and Cohen have settled, and Bialik is looking to do the same.
From Mayim Bialik's Instagram.
So why do companies like Smilz, which is using Bialik's imagery, do this? They're expecting consumers to see the images, and assume that their favorite stars are willing to promote the product. This time, Smilz, having already incurred "Dirty Harry"'s wrath, clearly targeted the wrong star.
Even if they settle (likely), they'll just try again, and remarket their brands with another celebrity "endorser", and this will start over again, unless Smilz is shut down for good.
Hollywood's message? Taking a line from "Dirty Harry", go ahead, make our day. Yes, please do.
Mike Lindell, aka Prince Pillow, CEO of MyPillow.com, announced he's holding another pathetic fundraiser under the guise of a cyber-symposium next month, still claiming he has evidence that would reverse the result of the 2020 election.
News flash, Whinedell. The election was 19 1/2 months ago. It's over. Get over it. You've got nothing, and everyone knows it.
Still, Whinedell insists he does, and is holding this "cyber-symposium" July 16-17, but all it is, really, is a means for him to sell his overpriced product, which is losing retail outlets, Walmart being the latest to pull his product from shelves.
Farron Cousins explains the grift:
A few years ago, I had seen some MyPillow product at Walmart, with a sticker price of $39.95. As I've noted previously, Walmart has lesser brands that sell for half as much. Bed, Bath, & Beyond, Target, Walmart, and other retailers have stopped carrying Lindell's product, which means a massive loss of revenue, hence the fundraising for the pillows under the guise of a cyber-symposium. When you've cried wolf as much as Lindell has in the last 19 1/2 months, people will stop listening, because at the end of the day, all he has is a box of nothing.
I honestly think that what would be more damaging to former president Pecos Pampers (Donald Trump for the rest of y'all) is if it got out that at 75, soon to be 76, he still sucks his thumb. I have that image in my head, you see, and it's more disturbing than anything else.
After three televised hearings of the January 6 select committee, which has produced damaging evidence against America's Oldest Baby, Trump predictably threw a tantrum.
"WAAAAHHHHHH!!!! Not fair!!! I want equal time!! WAAAAHHHH!!!"
Trump issued his tantrum on Truth Social (so maybe it should be a truthrum?), as usual dissing the committee and persisting with the big lie that he was screwed in 2020 (he wasn't).
The truth hurts, doesn't it? No one wants to listen to your false declarations anymore, save for the tiny minds gullible enough to listen to you. Everything that has come out over the last week has told us what has long been suspected. That you're a spoiled child who never grew up, who never learned to accept "no" as an answer, who turns on friends on a dime because they won't do what you want when it's wrong (i.e. Mike Pence).
Come to think of it, that last part may be why you're on your third wife.
As a rule, con artists, even teenagers, are not good role models.
In a nutshell, it explains why It's Your Move failed to finish the 1984-5 season on NBC despite a strong start in the ratings. Parents complained about the teen lead, Matt (Jason Bateman, ex-Silver Spoons, Little House on The Prairie), running one scam after another like he was a Sgt. Bilko-in training. Seems some kids saw Matt's antics, and thought it was cool, when it certainly wasn't.
Bateman fronted an ensemble that also featured Caren Kaye (ex-Blansky's Beauties, Who's Watching The Kids), Garrett Morris (ex-Saturday Night Live), Tricia Cast (ex-The Bad News Bears), and David Garrison, later of Married....With Children, whose producers, Ron Leavitt & Michael Moye, were also in charge of It's Your Move.
Another factor in Move's abrupt departure? It aired opposite Dynasty. Thanks for coming. Justine Bateman (Family Ties), Jason's sister, guest starred in one episode, and MTV's Nina Blackwood made her acting debut in the back end of a 2 parter.
Let's look at a sample episode:
Jason Bateman keeps busy with various projects these days, including movies and the recent revival of Arrested Development.
For someone professing to be a Christian, Colorado misrepresentative Lauren Boebert is demonstrating that she hasn't done enough reading of the Gospels.
Like a deer in the headlights, isn't she?
Boebert's latest gaffe was to try to sell the idea that despite being crucified for our sins being His holy mission, Jesus could've saved himself if he was armed with an AR-15, which, of course, hadn't been invented yet.
If she was attempting to do stand-up comedy, she failed. Badly. Worse for her, she may have just cost herself the evangelical vote in mile high country, and, in turn, re-election.
Thanks for coming. Don't quit your day job. Yet.
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30 years ago, the then-World Wrestling Federation was getting its first taste of scandal involving a ring announcer, a road agent-producer, and some "ring boys". Mind you, this was six years after the first female referee to work for the company was chased off after being forced to perform oral sex for her boss.
The boss? Vincent Kennedy McMahon, who at the time was a play-by-play announcer who had bought the company from his father a few years earlier, and began rebuilding it into the global brand it is today. As we know, McMahon was publicly outed as the owner of the company in the 90's after he went on trial in another scandal, this one involving steroids.
We bring this up because today, McMahon, 76, is embroiled in another sex scandal, but this time of the more traditional variety, if ya will.
The Wall Street Journal broke the story on Wednesday that McMahon had had an affair with an unnamed paralegal assistant, who has since left the company, and received a settlement to the tune of $3 million. On-again, off-again VP/Talent Relations John Laurinaitis took on the woman as his assistant, and, keep in mind, this was after Laurinaitis had married the mom of the Bella Twins (Brianna & Nicole Garcia).
As of press time, McMahon & Laurinaitis were still on track to be at Smackdown tomorrow night in Minneapolis. Many feel that McMahon will come out of this unscathed, but Laurinaitis won't.
Laurinaitis, you'll remember, was a big reason why Naomi (Trinity Fatu) & Sasha Banks (Mercedes Varnado) had left the company last month over creative differences. If he's gone, do they return? Rumors are also circulating that Banks could be released, but that would be highly unlikely, since All Elite Wrestling would scoop her up in about half a heartbeat if that were true.
While there are those who will look toward Chief Revenue Officer/President Nick Khan, who has been with the company just 19 months, as being the beneficiary of this scandal, that would be overthinking it. He's a numbers type of guy with no wrestling knowledge.
Prediction: If Laurinaitis is gone by the end of the summer, Naomi & Sasha will return, and so will Vince's daughter, Stephanie.
Disney Channel's So Weird, a mid-season replacement when it launched in 1999, can be best described as The Partridge Family meets The X-Files, especially during its 1st 2 seasons.
So Weird was a TV comeback for Mackenzie Phillips (ex-One Day at a Time), who plays a widow back on the road as a singer as she recovers from the loss of her husband and singing partner. Cara DeLizia top-lined in the first two seasons, and doubled as narrator, but left after 1 episode in season 3 to seek other career opportunities outside the Disney umbrella. After she left, So Weird took on a lighter tone, and was cancelled after the final season.
I've barely seen this show, so I can't fairly rate it. We'll leave you with a trailer:
I refer, of course, to Marjorie Taylor Greene, a wealthy misrepresentative from Georgia who puts on the act of being a real-life Dumb Dora to raise money from her supporters. However, her act has gotten stale in recent months.
On her podcast, Empty-G tried to claim that global warming is actually healthy. Yeah, right, and I'm a distant cousin of Euell Gibbons. Farron Cousins explains how Empty-G is wrong yet again.
As Farron is quick to remind, Empty-G's base is not smart enough to realize they're being conned all over again. The rest of us see her and we see someone who thinks that just because it worked for stars like Gracie Allen, Goldie Hawn, and Suzanne Somers, it'll work for her, too. It only works for a percentage of the country, though. If she was running for re-election anywhere else other than Georgia, Empty-G probably would've been spanked out of office already, just like her pal, Foghorn Cawthorn.
I'd sooner sit in on a science lesson from Thomas Dolby than this flashbulb.
Prior to Monday's game 5 of the NBA Finals, a well known YouTuber showed up at Chase Center (formerly Oracle Arena), pretending to be Golden State star Klay Thompson.
Dawson Gurley was shooting baskets on the court before he was ejected from the building, and banned from Chase Center indefinitely. He even had the gumption to post the banishment letter on social media....
Just because he looks like Thompson, but isn't built the same way enables Gurley to have a following on YouTube. However, the party's over for Gurley, who gets the Weasel ears for his brazen stunt. Apparently, he spent too much time bingeing the same State Farm commercial where Alfonso Ribiero pretends to be Chris Paul.
I'd say Gurley would be a good candidate for To Tell The Truth.
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Just 2 1/2 months ago, the Hardy Boys were in town at the Washington Avenue Armory.
This morning, Jeff Hardy is waking up to the reality that he may have put his wrestling career in jeopardy yet again.
As fellow blogger Chuck Miller noted, Hardy was picked up Sunday night for DUI and driving with a suspended license, his third DUI arrest in the last four years. Hardy posted bond Monday night, and his status for tomorrow's AEW Dynamite show in St. Louis is questionable at best. A YouTube commentator suggested that Hardy should seek help from wrestler-turned-yoga guru Diamond Dallas Page, who successfully rehabilitated Jake "The Snake" Roberts (now a manager with AEW) and the late Scott Hall in recent years. Two other wrestlers, Jon Moxley and Chris Jericho, sought other forms of rehabilitative therapy to defeat their addictions within the last year or two, and it wasn't so long ago that Jericho & Hardy shared the stage at a concert.
Music is Hardy's other passion, one that right now is safer to pursue.
Update, 2:29 pm (ET): AEW has suspended Hardy without pay while he goes through a rehab program.
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The Atlanta Braves will have to move forward for the summer without slugging 2nd baseman Ozzie Albies.
Albies suffered a fractured foot in Monday's win over Washington, and will miss at least a month or two. Orlando Arcia, whom the Braves acquired a while back, will fill in at 2nd in the interim as the Braves, winners of 12 in a row, have trimmed the Mets' lead in the NL East to 5 games as of today.
It is said that the short-lived ABC series, No Soap, Radio, was inspired by the legendary British sketch series, Monty Python's Flying Circus. The difference between the two is that the blackout skits provide bridges between the various plots in each episode.
Steve Guttenberg (ex-Billy) was still a couple of years away from "Police Academy" when he landed the lead in this ensemble series from producer Alan Landsburg (In Search Of..., That's Incredible, Gimme a Break). There are a few more familiar faces in this sampler, the series finale, including Edie McClurg (ex-The David Letterman Show, Harper Valley), Bob Hastings (General Hospital, ex-McHale's Navy, All in The Family), who lightened his hair for his role here, Gary Owens (ex-Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, The Green Hornet), Bill Calloway (ex-Love, American Style), and comedy legend Bill Dana, in his first series since his self-titled sitcom had ended nearly 20 years earlier. Stuart Pankin later achieved greater fame in HBO's Not Necessarily The News, and Gregg Burger is better known, as is Calloway, for his cartoon voice work (i.e. Duckman).
Five weeks was all this show got. A year later, Landsburg tried again, this time with a more traditional domestic sitcom, Baby Makes Five, which also bombed (previously reviewed).
MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell just keeps digging a deeper rabbit hole.
While the January 6 select committee is holding more hearings today, Prince Pillow is touting a movie he's funding, and produced by ex-CBS reporter Lara Logan, now a far right loser herself, insisting that the 2020 election was stolen. "{S}Election Code" is due out next month, or so Lindell says.
Fittingly, his hair is blowing to the right, but not much else.
More than likely, this hastily prepared propaganda trash will be DTV, and sold on Lindell's Frank Speech site. That's all it is. Another grift. You won't see this film at Walmart, Best Buy, Target, or any other retailer any time soon.
As the evidence continues to mount against former president Donald Trump and his allies, why is Lindell insisting on this? Because, like Trump and Rudy Giuliani, he's lost his marbles.
We sought comment from someone other than Lindell at MyPillow:
"He won't listen to us, so we're not interested."
Whatever journalistic credibility Lara Logan had is gone with this release. Lindell's reputation is destroyed, but he doesn't care. We attempted to get a comment from his therapist:
"Sorry. Can't help you. Doctor-patient privilege, you know."
What a shock, eh? All Lindell is doing is trying to deflect attention away from the hearings, and failing. That's no surprise, either. "{S}Election Code" will tank, and so will Lindell.
The geek in question is former NYC Mayor-turned-national disgrace Rudy Goofiani. Seems he has a podcast, and an episode was released on Saturday where Goofiani claimed that former president Donald Trump "had nothing to do" with the insurrection 17 months ago at the Capitol.
Bellevue is calling.
Goofiani also says the Democratic party needs to be "destroyed". These are the ramblings of an old man who has disgraced himself many times over, as if being on The Masked Singer wasn't enough public embarrassment for him. I'm sorry, but I wouldn't buy into anything this geezer has to say at this point.
I wonder if Thomas Dolby has the number of the Home For Deranged Scientists (Dolby fans will get the reference).
Washington Commanders defensive coach Jack Del Rio is under fire for some ill-timed and ill-phrased remarks, foolishly making a correlation between the January 6 committee hearings and riots that broke out after the murder of George Floyd two years ago.
The NAACP is calling for Del Rio to be fined and/or fired. Commanders head coach Ron Rivera opted to fine Del Rio, who'd apologized for his poor wordplay. Unfortunately, Tabloid Carlson whined about it, claiming Rivera, of all people, was a "racist idiot". No, Tabloid, look in the mirror before you say that next time.
Carlson, of course, had nothing better to do than stir up trouble, as usual, instead of devoting his Fox Shmooze garbage hour to actual news. Par for the course.
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Two of the oldest franchises in baseball met on Saturday in the Bronx, as the Yankees and Cubs met in the Fox game of the week. Chicago rookie Matt Swarmer was ambushed immediately as Aaron Judge led off the home 1st inning with a homer. Judge would add a second bomb later in the game, and Swarmer gave up six homers total in 5 innings (Giancarlo Stanton, Anthony Rizzo, Gleyber Torres, and Jose Trevino had the others), as the Yanks shut down the Cubs, 8-0.
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Meanwhile, the Mets will finish their SoCal road trip tonight on ESPN after losing Saturday, 11-6, to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, who got two homers from Mike Trout, and one each from Shohei Ohtani and Jared Walsh, the latter of whom went for the cycle, as the Mets' Eduardo Escobar did five nights earlier at San Diego.
Tonight's game was flexed into the Sunday Night Baseball slot by MLB, with the lure being that ex-Met Noah Syndergaard would face his former team. Acting Angels manager Phil Nevin decided on Friday that Syndergaard would not pitch as scheduled tonight, as they're giving him extra rest before he faces the Dodgers on Tuesday. Mets fans, of course, are angry, feeling gypped of the opportunity of seeing Syndergaard face his former team on national television.
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There won't be a Stanley Cup in New York, after the two-time defending champions, the Tampa Bay Lightning, eliminated the Rangers on Saturday night. The Lightning now will look for a 3-peat vs. Colorado in the finals, which begin later this week. There's always next year.
From the point where I first heard Lipps, Inc.'s 1-hit wonder, "Funkytown", I, like everyone else, assumed correctly that this was more of an African-American disco group, like Chic. Lipps, Inc. was based in Minneapolis, and would be signed to a national deal by Casablanca Records, home to Donna Summer and KISS.
While it's true that it was an African American combo, for some reason, a white singer, Debbie Jenner, aka Doris D, was brought on as the "face" of Lipps, Inc., as shown in the video, while the actual singer, Cynthia Johnson, was kept off camera. If this sounds familiar, it should. A few years later, Weather Girls singer Martha Wash filed suit over her vocals being mimed by other singers in videos for Black Box and C & C Music Factory.
Here's the original "Funkytown". Pseudo Echo covered the track six years later.
The Wash case convinced record executives to stop the deceptive practice of using substitutes in music videos.
Florida misrepresentative DoorMatt Gaetz put his foot in his mouth again when he decided to claim that Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin was too distracted by the suicide of his son, Tommy, in the fall of 2020.
Yes, folks, evidence of a male airhead.
Unsurprisingly, New York's Jerry Nadler and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez came to Raskin's defense.
In particular, Alex From The Block decided some character assassination was in order for Gaetz. To wit:
@RepRaskin is a greater statesman, Congressman, human being than most of us. History will remember him. Tommy was a remarkable person and testament of his parents’ love.
Gaetz is a bad haircut in a cheap suit, a feat of mediocrity given that he’s here on papa’s money. Bye
From AOC's Twitter.
DoorMatt went on Empty-G's podcast, and he should've known better than to go after Raskin and his involvement with the January 6 select committee. There, then, is the motive for Gaetz's remarks. Trying to distract from the fact that he and Empty-G and the rest of the idiot squad are complicit in helping with Donald Trump's attempt at overthrowing the government in a hissy fit over losing the 2020 election.
There was a time when Procter & Gamble arranged for their celebrity endorsers to interview real families to better promote their product.
One such example is this mid-60's offering with June Lockhart (Lost in Space, ex-Lassie) doing just that for Crest toothpaste. At the time, June was also hosting beauty pageants (Miss USA & Miss Universe) for CBS before the baton was passed to Bob Barker.
It's the human interest angle that drives spots like this. June spent a couple of years doing these ads, and Crest had a tradition of having celebrities doing ads, including Chuck Connors, and, after Lockhart, Arthur O'Connell (ex-The Second Hundred Years), the latter of which we've already seen as Mr. Goodwin, the kindly shopkeeper. June is still with us at 96, still going strong.
Well, just about everyone outside of Fox Shmooze carried coverage of last night's January 6 committee hearings in Washington, and it was meant to give people hope that Citizen Pampers and his allies would be ultimately held accountable for the insurrection that took place 17 months ago.
Unfortunately, Pecos Pampers, aka Donald John Pinocchio Trump, can't handle it.
America's Oldest Baby went on Truth Social, and, as usual, sold his followers a bill of goods, denying any involvement in the incident. The evidence, including testimony from his own daughter, Ivanka, and her husband, Jared Kushner, says otherwise. The hearings will resume in the daylight on Monday, and there'll be more whining and tantrums from the Annoying Orange and his acolytes, including Hee Hawley, Empty-G, Screwy Louie, Fibber Jordan, Lauren Bow-Wow, and the rest of the Washington Idiot Squad.
What this Nectarine Napoleon wanted was to keep the White House despite getting smacked down in the polls 19 months ago. Legally, he couldn't, but it didn't matter to him, drunk on power as he was.
"WAAAHHHH! I didn't do anything! WAAAHHH!!"
There's no use in lying now, man. That perp walk of shame is coming.
The GOPers would like you to believe that there is widespread voter fraud. What they won't tell you at the national level, though, is that they're the ones committing the fraud, while party leaders try to deflect and pin the blame on the Democrats.
As fate would have it, one of those cases is in the hometown.
Troy councilwoman Kimberly Ashe-McPherson of Lansingburgh pleaded guilty on Wednesday on fraud charges in connection with last year's election, in which she'd won her 4th term. Mrs. McPherson resigned this morning, per the Albany Times-Union.
Photo courtesy of the Albany Times-Union.
Mrs. McPherson e-mailed her letter of resignation to council president Carmella Mantello and president pro tempore James Gulli.
The difference between local Republicans and their national counterparts is that around here, we own our mistakes. Mantello did just a few years ago when she was picked up for DUI. Why can't the national GOP do the same? Because they bend the knee for a certain bloviating man-child who's allergic to truth and honesty. He'd never last more than 5 minutes in the hometown.
USA Network has been running ads for the forthcoming season of Chrisley Knows Best, which will air on Thursdays starting June 23. What they can't tell you is that this may well be the final season.
That's because Todd & Julie Chrisley were convicted on tax fraud charges on Tuesday morning. The Chrisleys plan to appeal the conviction.
Image courtesy of NBC News.
The reality show has been based in first Georgia, and now in Nashville. Even though Chrisley Knows Best has been a USA staple since 2014, the series is entering its 10th "season" with the June 23 launch. Sentencing is scheduled for October, and by then, the current season will have run its course. While the case will likely be appealed, I would not be surprised if USA feels the pressure to pull the plug on the show early.
The attorney in question is Kash Patel, who is putting his loyalty to America's Oldest Baby, Donald Trump, on the line with a children's book, out soon, but preview copies are circulating, that purports to spread Trump's lies about Russian involvement in the 2016 election. The way it's been described, the 35 page book tries to paint the Archduke of Affluenza as a benevolent king and his challenger, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, as the villain.
It inevitably will tank, and the negative reviews have already gotten this:
"WAAAAAHHHH!"
In other words, Mr. Patel, don't give up your day job.
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As the January 6 committee will hold televised hearings, starting Thursday, airing on ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, et al, Fox Shmooze is ignoring the hearings like the plague, opting instead to go with their regular lineup of space cadet "opinion" hosts, that being Tabloid Carlson, Spam Hannity, and Laura Inkblot. Respected, legit journalists like Bret Baier and Martha McCallum are being shunted over to Fox Business for the occasion. As one Yahoo! commentator summed it up, it's so Trump doesn't get his feelings hurt again.
Personally, I'd lock Trump in a padded cell and make him binge on reruns of Romper Room, since that would be his speed, given he has the mentality of a 3 year old.
Then again, he'd find Mr. Do-Bee scary.
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President Biden will appear on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Wednesday while he hosts a summit of world leaders in Los Angeles that day. As Kimmel himself pointed out on Monday's show, Fox Shmooze will have reason to complain, but, then again, when was the last time Citizen Pampers went on a late night talk show while president?
Far as I know, he might've broken a tradition.
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If anything, Kyle Rittenhouse learned how to lie from the GOPers.
After dropping out of Arizona State, Rittenhouse went on Charlie Kirk's show on Saturday, and claimed he was transferring to Texas A & M. In reality, it's not happening, but now Rittenhouse is pivoting, and claiming he's going to a smaller school he says is a "feeder" for Texas A & M.. Here's an idea, kid. Why not enroll in your home state's university? Seems the Texas A & M student body doesn't want him after he was acquitted of murder.
Watch. He'll end up getting a job with Fox Shmooze as Kaylame McEneny's intern. If you know what I mean, and I think you do.
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After being indicted and arrested at the end of last week, Peter Navarro, 72, is whining about how he's supposedly being treated. Same BS, different idiot, that's all it is.
The other day, former House Speaker Paul Ryan had some very harsh things to say about former president Donald Trump. As Farron Cousins explains, America's Oldest Baby didn't take it too well (of course).
Comparing Ryan's political track record to that of Trump, of course, is ridiculous. Ryan retired three years ago, but, as Farron notes, he may be thinking about a 2024 run for the White House. His constituents in Wisconsin love him. Trump and his mindless minions, including Senator Cheesehead (Ron Johnson)? Not so much. Truth Social is exactly what we all thought it would be. A forum for Trump to do this:
Black Saddle was a mid-season replacement that bowed in January 1959 from Four Star. Western vet Chris Alcaide had the lead in the pilot, but by the time the series launched, he'd been replaced by Peter Breck.
Clay Culhane (Breck) is a gunfighter-turned-lawyer who settles in Latigo, New Mexico, which, as depicted in the opener, is a lawless town whose only lawman is Marshal Gibson Scott (Russell Johnson). While Culhane plans on starting his law practice, he doubles as Scott's de facto deputy to keep the bad guys in check.
Black Saddle began on NBC, but shifted to ABC for season 2 in October 1959, paired with Four Star stablemate The Detectives. The main competition appeared to be Edward R. Murrow's legendary Person to Person.
Last night, America's current tour rolled into town, but concerts these days are mostly way too expensive for the expense account, so we passed.
2022 marks 50 years since the band's self-titled debut on Warner Bros. Records, and the first single, "A Horse With no Name", has been a staple of oldies & adult contemporary channels in recent years.
The pop trio Expose hit #1 on the Hot 100 & Adult Contemporary charts in early 1988 with the gentle ballad, "Seasons Change", written by Lewis Martinee. Since the setting appears to be a beach house it fits in with the "Videos of Summer", even though summer itself is still 2 1/2 weeks away.
So they had 4 NFL quarterbacks, but no PGA touring players, taking part in The Match the other night. Old foes Tom Brady (Tampa Bay) and Aaron Rodgers (Green Bay) bested young guns Patrick Mahomes (Kansas City) & Josh Allen (Buffalo) in a made-for-TV event likely sponsored by State Farm, which employs Mahomes and Rodgers as endorsers. Allen, in fact, is the only one without a commercial endorsement presently (Brady had a 5 second cameo in one of those Subway ads).
As the late Gorilla Monsoon would often opine of a wrestling match that wasn't a technical masterpiece, it wasn't a feast for the eyeballs. We think.
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As the Philadelphia Phillies sit 12 games in arrears of the Mets headed into the weekend, the team decided to cut bait on Joe Girardi after two seasons and change.
Currently 22-29 after snapping a 5 game losing streak Wednesday vs. San Francisco, the Phillies needed changes. Perhaps the most glaring number staring management in the face was 3-9 vs. the Mets, including 0-2 on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball. Their best player, reigning NL MVP Bryce Harper, has been limited to DH duty due to elbow issues, and sat out Wednesday due to a forearm problem. The outfield defense, without Harper, was exposed in the last series against the Mets as being ineffective.
Bench coach Rob Thomson takes over for the rest of the season.
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One week ago, the Tampa Bay Rays took a stand, alongside the Yankees, in the wake of the Robb Elementary massacre in Texas.
Florida Governor Ron DeStupid decided to deny the Rays funding for a new practice facility, all because the Rays are now supporting gun control. DeStupid would rather pander to his base of low information yokels than do the right thing. The Rays would be well served to offer DeStupid a special seat at a future home game. In the dunk tank.
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Tampa Bay's winter sports heroes, the NHL Lightning, are looking to even things with the Rangers tonight at Madison Square Garden, as the Blueshirts blitzed Tampa, 6-2, on Wednesday in game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals. The Lightning are looking for the 3-peat, while the Rangers would like to end a 28 year title drought. I wonder what DeStupid thinks of the Lightning if they lose......
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Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant shredded Fox's Skip Bayless and Shannon Sharpe, and ESPN bloviator Stephen (Screamin') A. Smith over recent comments, including Smith excoriating Durant's teammate and part-time actor, Kyrie Irving. To paraphrase the late Don Rickles, just give Smith some beef jerky and make him go away. Sharpe has sounded like he's gotten elocution classes from Shaquille O'Neal's voice coach, and Bayless would be better off selling shoes after getting out of the journalism business.
On Tuesday, South Korea's BTS came to the White House as guests of President Biden. The occasion being the final day of Asian-Pacific Islander Heritage Month. K-Pop's Magnificent 7 advocated for an end to anti-Asian discrimination and attacks.
18 months earlier, BTS appeared on The Late Late Show With James Corden to perform "Dynamite", not to be confused with Jermaine Jackson's hit of the same name in 1984.
Back to the present. On Tuesday night, Fox Shmooze garbage dispenser Tabloid Carlson took issue with BTS for no other reason than to inflame his audience of suburban bigots. BTS' devoted fan base, aka the BTS Army, took exception to Tabloid's remarks, but of course, there won't be any sort of retraction from Carlson, whose preference for fabricating crises that don't exist brings him big ratings. Unless, of course, the BTS Army finds a way to teach him a lesson.
There's also a duet between BTS and Coldplay. We'll probably get that here sometime soon.
Today, the Mets are in the midst of their 61st season, the 60th anniversary of their debut. Ten years ago, they marked the 50th anniversary with their first no-hitter, authored by Johan Santana against the St. Louis Cardinals.
At 134 pitches, Santana had completed the no-hitter, but he would not be the same pitcher after that. Injuries forced his departure from the Mets, and a comeback in Baltimore was aborted a couple of years later.
In the wake of the team's 2nd no-no, a combined effort against Philadelphia, Santana returned to Flushing Tuesday night, as the team is marking the anniversary during their series against Washington. You have to hope they don't wait 10 years for the next one.....
Walmart's Hoosick Road store is missing a few things today, but should have everything back to normal, they say, before the end of the week.
Why? Some jabroni started a fire in the pet department on May 26, which Troy police are still investigating. Security cameras have not, as of press time, discerned a specific party involved, due to camera angles. A fair amount of merchandise, including stationary, bubble mailers, etc., had to be tossed due to water & smoke damage, and are being replaced.
Makes shopping that much harder in the short term.
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Marjorie Taylor Greene lives to get attention, and calls it to herself every time she says or does something stupid.
The Matriarch of Malaprops now says that in 3-4 generations, heterosexuals will be "extinct", but as usual, has no evidence to support this latest National Enquirer-worthy piece of BS.
Farron Cousins explains:
All this is, of course, is a hypersonic dog whistle to the bigots to target the LGBTQIA+ community to "prevent this from happening". Sure, Empty-G won her primary last week, and, barring even more offensive commentary that could land her in jail, will gain a 2nd term misrepresenting Georgia. And speaking of the Peach State.......
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Former football star Herschel Walker won his primary last week, too, but, according to Yahoo!, Walker is not digging the fact that Citizen Pampers is taking credit for the victory. Well, what did you expect, Herschel? Donald Trump wants the attention on him, no matter what. That's just the way he is, and you should've known that when you signed to his USFL team nearly 40 years ago. Turn your back on him (please), and he'll turn on you in a Palm Beach minute, and you'd wind up losing to Rev. Raphael Warnock in the general election.
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Former Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard returned to New York Tuesday night with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim to face the Yankees, and couldn't get out of the 2nd inning. Syndergaard was strafed for 4 runs in 1 1/3 innings as the Yankees extended the Angels' current losing streak to 6 in a row with a 9-1 win.
Meanwhile, in Flushing, the Mets ran their winning streak to 5 in a row with the second straight rout of the Washington Nationals, 10-0. They'll visit Syndergaard and the Angels June 10-12, with the June 10 game on Apple TV+, and the June 12 game on ESPN. It would be assumed that Syndergaard would pitch against his former team on the 12th, but the short outing last night may change that. Stay tuned.
