This was previously posted a while ago at Saturday Morning Archives, but we're taking a fresh look at this 1975 episode of Insight.
"All Out" is a morality play about greed. Philip Abbott (ex-The F. B. I.) and Bob Hastings (All in The Family, ex-Dealer's Choice, McHale's Navy) are among the stars.
From season 2 of Daniel Boone:
Daniel (Fess Parker) takes in a Native American couple expecting the birth of their first child. As Mingo (Ed Ames) points out, the couple also helped end a dispute between their warring tribes.
Jay Silverheels (ex-The Lone Ranger) appears as a representative of one of the tribes sent to retrieve the mother-to-be. In the midst of a blizzard.
Watch for the climax, which suggests some divine intervention........
A few months back, we reported that 420 Bliss, a cannabis dispensary at Brunswick Plaza, had changed its name to Just a Little Higher. That didn't last.
As much as a month or two ago, 420 Bliss reverted to that name, likely due to a falling out with the Higher chain owners in New York.
The Fantastic Four made their Marvel Comics debut in 1961. Next year marks the franchise's 65th anniversary, and Marvel finally released a movie based on it that actually worked.
In "First Steps", we get a capsulized recap of the team's earliest adventures, plus the reformation of their first foe, the Mole Man (Paul Walter Hauser), whose civilian name is given here as Harvey Elder, a homage to EC legends Harvey Kurtzman & Will Elder. Flash forward to the period of the movie, somewhere around 1965 or so (Wikipedia says 1964, but take that with a can of salt). Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal, The Mandalorian) and his wife, Sue (Vanessa Kirby), are expecting their first child. Problem is, this attracts the attention of Galactus (Ralph Ineson), who eats planets for a living. Galactus desires the child, and sends the Silver Surfer (Julia Garner) to convey his request.
Yes, the Surfer is female this time. The writers flipped the traditional Surfer story, as it is Shalla-Bal who becomes Galactus' herald, instead of Norrin Radd. Predictably, Johnny (Joseph Quinn) finds her attractive, and decides he needs to convince her to call off Galactus' feast.
There are Easter eggs, including some you haven't heard about, including casting the 4 leads in Roger Corman's unreleased FF film in 1994, and a left-handed tribute to the FF's early animation history. The writers decided to skip past the oft-told origin of the FF.
Check the trailer:
Jackie Gleason's 1966 Christmas show features a show-length Honeymooners episode, in which Ralph (Gleason) & Ed Norton (Art Carney) take up gigs as a sidewalk Santa and his Helper to make some extra money, but run afoul of a shady type (Robert Strauss) taking advantage of them.....
The open & close were edited off this print, so we won't hear from announcer Johnny Olson.
Yes, it's Thanksgiving Day, but today, we're also starting our annual Countdown to Christmas.
First up is a holiday entry from Bonanza, circa 1961. Hoss & Little Joe (Dan Blocker & Michael Landon) find a blind orphan (Diane Mountford) alone in the wilderness after her parents' deaths. She wants to find her grandfather, and that becomes a problem.........
Here's "Gabrielle":
The Aldrich Family, a radio sitcom built around teenager Henry Aldrich, began as a summer replacement for The Jack Benny Program, and proved popular enough to stand on its own for the next 14 years.
The series actually began as a series of sketches on Rudy Vallee's program, after it'd been adapted from a Broadway play. Ezra Stone, better known for his later work as a director (i.e. The Munsters and the TV version of Aldrich) had played Henry on Broadway, and had two tours of duty in the role on radio.
Stone left the show in 1942 to serve in World War II, and thus began a revolving door in casting the lead. Stone returned after the war for another 7 year run.
Following is a Thanksgiving episode.
Reggae icon Jimmy Cliff contributed to the soundtrack of the 1993 film, "Cool Runnings", with a cover of Johnny Nash's "I Can See Clearly Now", more than 20 years after Nash had climbed the charts.
First, it was Alina Habba in New Jersey, then some jobroni in California. Now, in Virginia, another inexperienced ambulance chaser, because Donnie Diapers won't hire competent lawyers, Lindsey Halligan, had her cases against former FBI director James Comey and NY Attorney General Letitia James dismissed, albeit without prejudice, because, in particular, Donald Trump and US Attorney General Pam "Dumb" Bondi refused to follow protocols in order to hasten Trump's obsession with prosecuting his perceived political enemies (i.e. Comey & James) into existence.
We're reading that there is a statute of limitations on prosecuting Comey, and that's soon to expire, so it's unlikely, barring another attempt at an end-around from Team Pampers, that they'll try Comey again. Letitia James? Not so much, but here's the thing. Prosecuting James alone would open up another can of worms for Trump, as there would be cries of not only political motivation, but also racism, coming from James and her supporters. Trump's child-like understanding of the law is, in this case, a detriment, whether he realizes it or not, and it's doubtful that he does.
CNN offers more:
What is Troy Mayor Carmella Mantello so afraid of?
As she reaches the halfway point of her first term (assuming she gets re-elected in 2027), Madame Mayor vetoed legislation that would allow for council members and/or citizens to take part in council meetings remotely, something that hasn't happened since the COVID pandemic 5 years ago. She says reopening the remote streams would open the door to abuses of power.
In another attack of idiocy, the mayor's office announced that the annual city tree lighting, which usually closes out the Victorian Stroll, will take place ahead of the Stroll, on Wednesday, December 3. The Stroll is 4 days later, December 7. The graphics department fumbled, though, misspelling December on the announcement.
Dyslexia, anyone?
One would think people coming to town for the Stroll would stick around for the full six hours (11 am-5 pm) so they can see the tree lighting.
As Dynamite's adaptation of ThunderCats approaches its 2 year anniversary (and it seems it'll surpass Marvel's 2 year output), the publisher is offering some 1-shot solo specials of some of the key characters.
Pumyra is one of the key players in the spin-off series, ThunderCats: Lost, which wraps next month. The book flashes back to her childhood, and the sacrifices that her father made to protect the family. I've a feeling Pumyra and the rest of the Lost team will be fully integrated into the main book soon.
Rating: A-.
After a miniseries several months back, Cheetara gets a solo 1-shot, but artistically, is not in line with the earlier work. Newcomer David Coussens seems to be missing some spark, and Cheetara doesn't look the same as normal.
Rating: B--.
Panthro gets his own book, and, like Pumyra, it has ties to ThunderCats: Lost. Writer Ed Brisson wrote all three books, and seems to be in line to take over the main book should Declan Shalvey leave at some point. However, he's got work to do. And I know a better writer who can move him aside, as we'll discuss in a moment.
In short, Panthro's tale is also a character study, and a fair one.
Rating: A.
Marvel & Dynamite have united the Fantastic Four and Disney's Gargoyles in a pair of 1-shots, one for each publisher, that also insert some Marvel characters that haven't been seen in forever. Gargoyles creator Greg Weisman wrote both books, making use of an old Iron Man foe, the Grey Gargoyle, and Isaac Christians, a human-turned-Gargoyle from The Defenders dating all the way back to 1980, in the first, and an evil Gargoyle who was a foe of the Hulk back in the day. Plus, Dragon Man, or, Dragonus, factors into both. Further, David Xanatos meets Tony Stark. How cool is that?
So not digging the Skottie Young cover to the Marvel 1-shot, though. Then again, Dynamite is using an artist to remind ThunderCats fans of the atrocity that was ThunderCats Roar from 5 years ago. Ugh.
Rating: A-.
With Blue Falcon & Dynomutt set to end, and, as noted above, ThunderCats: Lost finishing, plus Silverhawks ending with 10 issues, but with a promise of a return, Dynamite is reaching into the Warner vaults again, this time for a futuristic hero, also from 1980:
YouTube describes "Watts Made Out of Thread" as a wild comedy about redemption. Paul Frees returns to Insight (he was the announcer during season 1) to voice a pair of figurines. Otherwise, our cast consists of Roscoe Lee Browne, Harold Gould, and Alice Ghostley (Bewitched):
Everyone knows Elvis Presley made his first television appearance on Milton Berle's variety show. Well, here it is, from 1956. The audio is down at first on "Heartbreak Hotel", but things pick up in time for "Blue Suede Shoes":
A little change of pace, as we're reaching back for some old time radio to start our climb to Thanksgiving.
First up is a 1950 episode of Father Knows Best, starring Robert Young. This would be from season 2, in 1950.
Here's an in-show ad from season 1 of Gomer Pyle, USMC:
Gomer (Jim Nabors) gets a package in the mail from Sheriff Andy Taylor (Andy Griffith, who appears near the end of the ad), which gets the attention of Duke Slater (Ronnie Schell)........
Two weeks ago, we featured a skit from The Carol Burnett Show in which Eunice (Burnett) appeared on The Gong Show.
Well, Carol stuck around long enough to actually introduce Chuck Barris for a day, and oh, did Chuck get roasted, or what? The Family skit was, I believe, part of this taping, with judges Jamie Farr (M*A*S*H), Jaye P. Morgan, & Allen Ludden.
As the header says, Gene Gene The Dancing Machine (Gene Patton) makes his debut, billed as "Gene & His Magic Feet", but you know he'd soon become a semi-regular. The Unknown Comic (Murray Langston) also makes his Gong debut. Unfortunately for the contestants, with Carol as an "opening act", it was difficult to follow.....
After a bill to officially release the files on the late Jeffrey Epstein swept through Congress, it won't surprise anyone if Orange Beavis himself, president Trump, reneges on his promise to sign the bill into law.
On Friday, aboard Air Force One, Bloomberg News reporter Catherine Lucey tried to ask Trump if he would keep his word, and sign the bill. Donnie Diapers cut her off and fat-shamed her for no reason.
But that ain't all.
After being interviewed by ABC's Mary Bruce, reports surfaced that Trump is again demanding that his lapdog at the FCC, Brendan "Used" Carr, revoke ABC's broadcast license, which is something Carr does not have the authority to do, but Donnie Diapers doesn't understand that.
This is all he understands:
And, then, there is a recent case where Trump was in conversation with Just Dumb Vance, actually told Vance while being interviewed by another female reporter, "I just like to watch her talk".
CNN's Anderson Cooper had Ana Navarro, a CNN contributor in addition to being a part-time panelist on The View, on his program, and expressed disbelief, as it seemed Trump dismissed yet another woman just doing her job, this time going so far as to call her, "darling". Flirting while being interview ain't part of your duties, fella. The perception, unfortunately, is that the White House staff accepts it because "it's what he does". Translated: Orange Beavis ain't changing his habits for anyone, ever.
Sooner or later, the Archduke of Affluenza will find out the hard way how wrong he's always been. Preferably sooner.
There are those occasions when the white man will work with a Native American to preserve peace. This installment of Death Valley Days dramatizes such an event. Wayne Rogers & John Hoyt star in "Mission to The Mountains":
The Kim Sisters, from Korea, covered the Coasters' classic, "Charlie Brown", on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964. The added instruments were either pre-recorded, or live off to the side.
Giants rookie running back Cam Skattebo may be out for the season with leg issues, but that didn't stop him from showing up on Monday Night Raw at Madison Square Garden, along with a few teammates, including fellow rookie Abdul Carter, and in the company of Netflix personality Andrew Schultz.
Schultz & Skattebo were being interviewed by Jackie Redmond when the men of the Judgment Day disrupted the proceedings. This led to Schultz & the players tussling across the barricade with Finn Balor, JD McDonaugh, and Dominik Mysterio until security intervened.
After the breakup of his partnership with Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis had a good amount of success going solo in movies. His first self-titled variety show, however, was abruptly cut short after three months in 1963, but other than that, Lewis became a tireless advocate for a cure for muscular dystrophy, a cause that would lead to the annual telethons every September for several decades.
Lewis also began to take on more dramatic roles, such as this one, from season 4 of Ben Casey. Lewis plays a doctor who uses humor to mask his true concern for his patients. Lewis also directed the episode, which also features Tige Andrews (ex-The Detectives) and James Best.
Does Orange Narcissus (Donald Trump) have any idea what he's saying at any time?
On Sunday, Trump falsely claimed the Democrats were deflecting away from the "great success" Republicans have had, and pushed for the release----finally---of the files on his former friend, Jeffrey Epstein.
No, Dumb Donald, you're the one deflecting. As usual. The release of the files is bi-partisan in nature, as both major parties feel the public has a right to know.
But, oh, that ain't all.
The orange toddler is also complaining about Indiana Senator Greg Goode refusing to redistrict state maps to favor the GOP, as Trump wants.
Meanwhile, Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene reportedly is getting death threats because of her feud with President Pampers. A construction company Greene's family owns received a pipe bomb threat. Greene, too, has been swatted, this time with fake pizza deliveries.
However, Loopy Loomer claims this is fake. Unfortunately, Loomer made a fatal mistake. She claimed to call the police in Rome, Georgia, but Greene's company is in Alpharetta, not Rome, so Loomer, like Trump, is lying. Nothing new there.
Let's understand one salient point. Dumb Donald doesn't like being told "no" at all. Loyalty is a one way street with him. Even though he issued a pardon to America's Disgrace, Rudy Giuliani, the other day, he's not doing anything else that would help Giuliani, like picking up the tab for Giuliani's legal bills.
Finally, President Pampers renewed his call for NBC to dump Late Night host Seth Meyers, just because Trump can't take a joke. FCC Chairman Brendan "Used" Carr reposted Trump's message, but this threat isn't going anywhere. Notice how Donnie Diapers hasn't said anything about James Austin Johnson's portrayal of him on Saturday Night Live. Yet.
It's time to cut the cord, Donnie. For everyone's sake, yours included.
A wealthy attorney acts as a surrogate father for his niece, leading to all sorts of standard sitcom fare for its day.
Bachelor Father spent 5 seasons across three networks (CBS, ABC, NBC), with John Forsythe in the title role as lawyer Bentley Gregg, and Sammee Tong as his personal assistant, Peter. Currently, the series airs on Cozi TV at last check, but the series was used as replacement programming for cable superstations that had to adhere to the syndication exclusitivity (Syndex) rules of the 90's.
Following is a sample episode about a common social issue of the 50's. Teenagers and phones.
Columbia-Tri-Star marked the 75th anniversary of The Three Stooges with a primetime special airing on ABC.
Martin Short (ex-SCTV, Saturday Night Live, The Associates) serves as host, with a pastiche of archived film footage, sorted by topic, including the boys' run with Ted Healy. Barry Williams (ex-The Brady Bunch) and Little Richard are the guests, with the latter performing a cover of "The Curly Shuffle".
Burton Richardson is your announcer.
From season 4 of I Love Lucy:
Harpo Marx is the special guest, and serenades Ethel Mertz (Vivian Vance) & Carolyn Appleby (Doris Singleton) with a cover of the baseball standard, "Take Me Out To The Ballgame", on his harp.
On Wednesday, Arizona Rep. Adelita Grijalva was finally, formally sworn in by House Mis-Speaker Mike Johnson, the ceremony delayed in part due to the government shutdown, in part due to Johnson continuing to carry water for president Trump to block the release of the so-called Epstein Files.
As expected, Rep. Grijalva voted for the release, and a torrent of e-mails were released, revealing some potentially damning information about Trump's relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender who died under questionable circumstances six years ago. The vote was bi-partisan, with a number of prominent Republicans voting for release, including Trump allies Marjorie Taylor Greene (Georgia), Lauren Boebert (Colorado), & Nancy Mace (South Carolina). For the women, the Epstein files represent a line they were not willing to cross. Greene in particular has become a critic of Trump in recent weeks, something Orange Beavis has dismissed as "an act". Well, maybe, maybe not. Boebert's hands aren't exactly clean, of course, given the scandal that erupted a while back on a date night at a theatre production of "Beetlejuice". Still, it is very telling that these three, who've been prominent in headlines the last few years, feel trying to protect Trump in this case is a bridge too far.
And, then, there's Megyn Kelly.
Now a podcaster after getting chased off Fox & NBC in recent years, Kelly caused a stir with some remarks in relation to the case, and her verbal waffling on Epstein might make Kellogg's and its Eggo brand jealous. Fellow blogger Chuck Miller offers this:
Megyn Kelly and weasel words – Chuck The Writer
Trump is trying to dismiss the e-mail mass release as part of a Democratic hoax. Sorry, Donald, but that ain't happening. While e-mails can be faked, you can't just wish them away. Remember, the vote was bi-partisan. In other words, fella, your own party wants to see those files, right along with the Democrats, and all of America.
While there is a belief that Trump might not survive his 2nd term due to health issues, more physical than mental, by the way, due largely to his age and poor physical appearance, he cannot hide from the reality that his past is what will ultimately bring him down.
As you could probably surmise, Megyn Kelly gets the Weasel ears this week. Thanks, Chuck, for helping me with that decision.
In two weeks, the Detroit Lions will have their annual Thanksgiving game, but the wags are already chirping that their halftime show be even better than what the NFL has planned for the Super Bowl in February.
With all due respect to Bad Bunny, one of the hottest artists today, Detroit, with its own rich, diverse musical history, reached out to one of their own in Eminem to help produce their Turkey Day halftime show.
What? You were expecting Kid Rock? Shame on you!
The reason that mainstream media won't address the obvious elephant in the room, if you will, that being president Trump's mental issues, is because they don't want to upset a 79 year old man with self-esteem issues who's prone to filing lawsuits at the drop of a hat because he's sooooooooo easily offended.
Unfortunately, President Onions has given us plenty of ammunition this week alone.
For starters, he wants the Supreme Court to overturn the liability judgments against him in favor of journalist and former cable personality E. Jean Carroll, cleaning up the mess that telegenic airhead Alina Habba had left. Farron Cousins explains.
It's been a while since we checked in on The Three Stooges.
In "False Alarms", the boys are firemen who just can't seem to stay out of trouble, especially when it comes to their girlfriends. Ohhhh, boy.......
Roy Orbison's final CD, "Mystery Girl", was released posthumously after the singer passed away in December 1988. "She's a Mystery To Me", the 2nd single, had a video release in April 1989. Ali Hewson, the wife of U2 singer Bono (Paul Hewson), is the featured actress in the video.
I was going to save this for Wild West Wednesdays next week, but, with today being Veterans Day, I thought this might be something worth looking at, considering this episode of Death Valley Days aired earlier today on Grit.
A 4 year old boy wanders off an Army base, leaving his mother worried, as "The Little Trooper" walks in the desert, putting himself in danger with Apache chief Geronimo in the vicinity.
But, oh, little did we know, until it's explained at the end of the show, who this little boy would grow up to become......
If Donald Trump thought he'd be roundly cheered at the Lions-Commanders game Sunday, he was way wrong.
Sure, Detroit receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown pointed in the direction of the rhythm-challenged Trump and did Trump's infamous attempt at dancing after a touchdown, acknowledging the presence of a president born with two left feet.
However, it's clear that the crowd reaction had an effect on Trump:
Ya should've known better than a stunt like that, fella. Deep down, this is how he feels:
Maybe the next game you should attend might be more your speed, like a badminton tournament.
It isn't very often that the Giants will cave to fan pressure, and fire a head coach in mid-season. Ben McAdoo was the last one to get sacked mid-season, until today.
Brian Daboll, halfway through his 4th season, was fired today after the Giants got off to a 2-8 start, this after Big Blue blew another 2nd half lead.
After rookie QB Jaxson Dart was knocked from the game with a concussion Sunday against Chicago, the Bears rallied to beat the Giants, 24-20, and, as it turns out, sealing Daboll's fate. Offensive coordinator Mike Kafka was named interim coach.
From "At The Circus": Harpo Marx has an audience appreciating his abilities as he performs "Blue Moon":
This installment of Insight is literally a family affair.
Dick Van Patten (Eight is Enough) is joined by sons James, Nels, & Timothy, the latter wrapping up The White Shadow, in "High Powder", billed under the Reflections series. Timothy plays a skiier who has to make a choice when he sees a teammate accepting drugs.
John Laughin (The White Shadow), Ralph Macchio, Christopher Connelly (ex-Peyton Place, Paper Moon), and Grant Goodeve (Eight is Enough) co-star.
It's also a reminder that winter is right around the corner.
Alleged GOP strategist Steve Bannon is a professional moron.
Three days after this year's elections, Bannon is whining, and demanding that investigations be engaged in overturning Proposition 50 in California, and the election of Zohran Mamdani as the Mayor of NYC. All this cretin is, really, is a lone voice in the wilderness, baying at the moon, if you will, because the GOP suffered huge losses on Tuesday.
Proposition 50? It was put on the ballot for the people of California to decide if they wanted that, or not, unlike in Republican-controlled states where the lawmakers don't care about the people in their lustful quest to attain extra power. Of course, a weasel like Bannon can't comprehend the difference.
Bannon, like other right wingers, wants Mamdani deported. Why? Because he won a free & fair election? None of this whining would be happening, fella, if you and the GOP didn't turn your backs on Curtis Sliwa, your own party's candidate. Instead, Sliwa finished dead last, and now, he's raging at both Mamdani and the GOP.
Farron Cousins breaks it down.
To my knowledge, Chuck Barris never sold a show to CBS. Until The Gong Show, he hadn't sold anything to NBC, either. Up until Gong launched in 1976, Barris was almost exclusive to ABC, with his remake of Treasure Hunt in syndication.
Carol Burnett was a fan of Gong, and thought it might be a good idea to stitch the show into a Family skit on her variety show. So, in 1977, you had Eunice (Burnett) seeing an appearance on Gong as a means of making the big time, at a time when her family is struggling.
Allen Ludden, Jaye P. Morgan, & M*A*S*H's Jamie Farr are the judges. Ya gotta feel sorry for Morris Albert, whose "Feelings" gets a rough rendition from Eunice.
Procter & Gamble doesn't make Prell shampoo anymore---it was sold off to a smaller company---but in the 70's, they used a gimmick where the ads would end with a pearl being dropped into a bottle of the product.
One such example is this item from approximately 1973 with a pre-Mork & Mindy Pam Dawber.
From season 2 of Iron Horse:
Warren Oates has the title role as Hode Avery, an ex-Army troublemaker seeking to avenge himself on Ben Calhoun (Dale Robertson). Ellen McRae (Burstyn), Susan Howard, Sid Haig, & Dallas McKennon (Daniel Boone) also appear.
Albany elected its first African-American Mayor Tuesday, with Dorcey Applyrs running away with the election over Rocco Pezullo. In historically blue Albany, this was a foregone conclusion, regardless of who won the Democratic nomination to succeed Kathy Sheehan.
The makers of those foam replica heads used in the Tri-City Valleycats' Mayors Race will be looking for some new felt foam for May. Former police chief Eric Hawkins was the capital city's 1st African-American chief, so it tracks that Albany would also elect an African-American as Mayor, and its 2nd straight female leader, after Sheehan.
Several miles to the south, in New York, Queens Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani ascended to City Hall, defying the whims and meddling of president Donald Trump, and riding a wave of momentum that has built since he won the Democratic nomination in June, beating Andrew Cuomo.
There are parallels between Mamdani and some other prominent politicians.
Like former President Barack Obama, Mamdani is a Muslim, which is why conservatives had their briefs all twisted, and their pearls on the verge of being crushed, and, until June, few knew he was in the state Assembly. 17 years ago, Obama, then a junior Senator from Illinois, became the first African-American President, which still roils the GOP and conservatives to this day.
Like Lt. Governor Antonio Delgado, who is looking to primary his boss, Kathy Hochul, next year, Mamdani had a brief career as a rapper.
As we've talked about, the GOP betrayed its own candidate, Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa, or, more specifically, the charismatically challenged Trump chose to throw his support behind frenemy Cuomo, a childhood pal turned political foe. Sliwa lost to Eric Adams four years ago, and this time, he was buried by his own party, despite a strong showing in recent debates.
If anyone can relate to what Sliwa has to deal with, it's current Troy Mayor Carmella Mantello, who was elected to City Hall on her third try 2 years ago. In 2011, a last minute attack ad against Democrat Lou Rosamillia backfired on the GOP. Six years ago, local GOP operatives betrayed their own candidate, Tom Reale, enabling Patrick Madden to earn a 2nd and final term. Could Sliwa make one last run in 2029? We don't know for sure, but by then, we may not need to deal with the stench of Trump.
To his credit, Andrew Cuomo conceded the election. Something Trump refused to do 5 years ago, and still won't publicly admit he was beaten to this day. And if Trump thinks this is bad, wait 'til next year, and the prospect of the GOP losing the House and/or Senate. If that happens, I'd move the White House out of Washington, and to some place where Trump would feel right at home. Like a psychiatric hospital.
Australia's Icehouse burned up the charts in the fall of 1987 with "Electric Blue", off the CD, "Man of Colours". Lead singer-guitarist Iva Davies co-wrote the song with John Oates.
Today is election day. Regional races are the order of the day, though New York has two of the biggest mayor's races in the country. New York City and Albany will elect new leaders, and it's the race in the Big Apple that we need to talk about.
The current mayor, Eric Adams, recently withdrew his independent candidacy, realizing he had 0 chance to be re-elected. Former governor Andrew "Casanova" Cuomo, also running as an independent, gained the endorsement of long time frenemy Donald Trump, who made a last ditch plea on Truthless Social Monday, urging NYC voters to reject the GOP's own candidate, Guardian Angels founder and NYC icon Curtis Sliwa, and Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani, in favor of the scandal scarred Cuomo.
Cuomo, for his part, can see right through Donnie Diapers, and dismissed the kiss of death from Trump, stating that "(Trump)'s not endorsing me. He's opposing Mamdani."
The xenophobia is raging inside the oldest baby in America, claiming that Mamdani "is not" capable of running the biggest city in the country.
To this writer, this is just another example of the GOP losing their best chance. Again. It's happened twice in Troy in recent times.
2011: Hudson Valley Community College professor Lou Rosamillia swapped out a seat in the Rensselaer County Legislature for City Hall after upsetting current mayor Carmella Mantello.
2019: City GOP operatives bullied another newbie, Tom Reale, out of the race to unseat Patrick Madden, only for Reale to re-enter the race with a week to go, thereby splitting the vote on the GOP side (the idiots went with independent Rodney Wiltshire), gift-wrapping a 2nd & final term for Madden.
This is Sliwa's 2nd chance to become mayor. He lost to Adams last time, but the fact that his own party's national leader, the orange toddler in Washington, has no faith in him, suggests that there are some unspoken issues the media doesn't know about. Unlike Trump, Sliwa has shown to be engaging, personable, and funny when on TV (i.e. Inside City Hall on NY 1). Things that Trump is not. He doesn't have even the combined baggage of Trump & Cuomo. Unlike Trump, Sliwa didn't turn his back on the city.
Until this year, Mamdani was largely an unknown, an anonymous state assemblyman. He has the backing of Governor Hochul. He's getting attacked because of his beliefs, his mixed heritage, et al, by a xenophobic GOP lusting for more power. If he should win tonight, you know what the reaction will be in either Washington or Mar-a-Lame-O, or wherever Orange Narcissus might be......
From season 5 of Ben Casey:
Dr. Casey (Vince Edwards) treats a fellow doctor who has returned from Africa with a mysterious illness. Dick Clark (American Bandstand) guest stars. Rockne Tarkington, later of Tarzan & Danger Island, plays a bodyguard assigned to Dr. Langley (Clark).
Remember this Time cover?
For what it's worth, and it's probably not much, Pecos Donnie polluted the airwaves by appearing on 60 Minutes Sunday, and lied his face off while being interviewed by Norah O'Donnell. I tell you, they're afraid of strapping a lie detector next to him for fear it'll explode in 5 seconds. Anyone else would not have minded that original cover for Time. It's actually a perfect shot of what Orange Narcissus is supposed to be, a statesman, but his vanity gets in the way. In the new cover, he looks more like he'd be more at home contemplating his next move in a chess game. Assuming, of course, he knows how to play. Which I doubt.
In his haste to have political foes like NY Attorney General Letitia James prosecuted in retaliation for his having been prosecuted, president Donald Trump's shortcuts have come back to bite him and his hand picked attorney, Lindsey Halligan, because a judge has indicated that the case against James----and former FBI director James Comey, as well----could be dismissed before Thanksgiving. Farron Cousins explains.
The Bee Gees had been away from the charts for a while during the 80's. Barry Gibb was writing hits for Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton ("Islands in The Stream"), Dionne Warwick ("Heartbreaker"), and writing and recording duets with Barbra Streisand ("Guilty"). In 1987, the Bee Gees returned with the CD, "ESP", their debut on Warner Bros.. The first single, "You Win Again", was ready for adult contemporary radio as well as the Top 40.
For six months & change, WROW AM/FM (Magic 590 AM/100.5 FM) had branded itself as "The Capital Region's Classic Hits". It was clear that they were looking at challenging WTRY, which has traded on a similar format for years.
As of this morning, WROW waved the white flag, and now is rebranding as "Your Good Time Music Station".
And there are the acts that bridge the gap, like the Beach Boys, Beatles, and the Rolling Stones, though in the case of the latter, 70's hits like "Miss You" are being swapped out for 60's classics such as "You Can't Always Get What You Want". You'll still hear "Paint it Black", as that was from the late 60's.
As per usual, the ratings tell the story. Even with getting rid of locally produced public affairs programs promoting local businesses, and, as of this morning, ditching the 10 in a row blocks that had been a staple since 2023, WROW was still trailing WTRY. Iron man Ben Patten, you have to assume, was getting routed on middays by Little Ms. 80's herself, Albany native Martha Quinn, and her syndicated show. I have no access to ratings, so I have to speculate.
Now, let's see how long this lasts.
