Advertising For Dummies: A talking cat goes shopping (1966)

 In the 60's, Puss 'n' Boots cat food was part of Quaker Oats, part of a much larger catalogue of products, including Ken'L Ration dog food, to supplement Quaker's line of cereals.

In this 1966 spot, designed to introduce the variety pack box, not too dissimilar, really, from their variety packs of instant oatmeal, a talking cat walks to a clerk (Bill Hinnant), looking for the special of the day....

Not sure who voiced the cat.

It's over, but someone's not paying attention

 Yesterday was "safe harbor" day, in which states would finalize the certification of the results of last month's Presidential election. Per Yahoo!, only Hawaii, as of Monday, hadn't certified the results.

For President "Dumb" Donald Trump, that means the ballgame's over. He lost, big time, but he just can't reconcile that detail publicly for fear his brainwashed base would turn on him.

"WAAAAHHHH! I won! I won! Don't listen to them! WAAAAAHH!"

And, then, there's word that some brainless drones in Texas are filing suit against Michigan, Pennsylvania, et al, over the election results, and America's Oldest Baby says he'll intervene.

"WAAAAHHHH!! We'll straighten them out! WAAAAHHH!"

Think again, O Prince of Petulance. This is what you should be doing at this point:

If Trump were to finally capitulate, he'd have to gird himself for litigation coming from NY Attorney General Letitia James. Just imagine Trump as the Sheriff of Nottingham having to deal with Bugs Bunny.......!

Come January 20, sometime after noon (ET), Trump plans on holding another superspreader rally in an effort to upstage incoming President Joe Biden. He's got a better chance of being shipped off to Bellevue Hospital instead.

                           

A Lifetime movie about Colonel Sanders? What's next? An expose on Burger King?

 Colonel Harland Sanders, founding father of Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), is likely rolling in his grave right now.

It's not enough that Yum Foods, the current owners of KFC, decided to market Sanders as a mascot in recent years, with everyone from Norm MacDonald to Reba McIntire wearing the famous white suit (Jason Alexander, at last check, is still doing voiceovers) in commercials. No, what Yum suits did was partner with Lifetime, the cable network specializing in movies that have viewers reaching for either Kleenex or Maalox, depending on content, for a 15 minute infomercial disguised as a matinee featurette set to air Sunday at Noon (ET).

Yeah. 12 Noon. When football pre-game shows are on, sponsored by----wait for it----KFC and its sister brands.

Real swift. NOT!

"Recipe For Seduction" stars Mario Lopez (Saved by The Bell, Extra) as a younger Sanders, as seen in the image below:

Calling it right now. "Recipe" is going to get slaughtered in the ratings. Never mind that Lifetime will spam the movie with multiple airings, and, trust me, it'll probably be accessible On Demand, so you can suffer at your leisure.

While the late Ray Kroc, former owner of McDonald's, merited a feature film, this is likely to be included in pre-feature packages at the multiplexes if/when most theatres are allowed to reopen.

Oh, yeah, if you do have the courage to watch "Recipe", have some laxative handy.

Sports this 'n' that

 The most storied rivalry in college football will not be revived this year.

The University of Michigan announced earlier today that their annual regular-season ending game vs. Ohio State will not take place due to a coronavirus outbreak on the Wolverines.

Coach Jim Harbaugh, 0-5 vs. the Buckeyes, is fighting an even tougher opponent this year, and the circumstances surrounding this season might actually help Harbaugh survive for another season.

As for the Buckeyes, a 3rd cancellation will cost them the Big 10 title, even though some media outlets are speculating that the Big 10, because of Ohio State being one of their elite teams, might risk some backlash within the league by giving the Buckeyes a waiver. If they hold to their dictum at the start of the season, however, surprising Indiana, who gave Ohio State all they could handle recently before losing, would play Northwestern for the Big 10 title on December 19.

Kinda makes one wish they decided to use bubbles....!

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It's being reported that Catskill native Mike Tyson was paid $10 million for what ended up a draw vs. Roy Jones, Jr. a couple of weeks back. Tyson can always use the money to help budget his [adult swim] animated series.

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The Chicago White Sox have made a couple of deals in the last 24 hours to improve their team as Tony LaRussa returns to the dugout in 2021.

Free agent outfielder Adam Eaton returns to Chicago after spending the last few years in Washington with the Nationals, winning a World Series along the way. The ChiSox have also traded for journeyman pitcher Lance Lynn, who has made a home in the AL with the likes of the Yankees, Texas, & Minnesota in recent years after St. Louis gave up on him.

Shopping season has just started.

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Traditionally, when a team fails to finish the season undefeated, the surviving members of the Miami Dolphins' 1972 team, the only one to run the table, will celebrate in grand style. Of course, that's being done virtually this year, but they're celebrating just the same.

This is after the Pittsburgh Steelers were upset, 27-24, by the Washington Deviants Monday night, a nightmare scenario that Steelers coach Mike Tomlin had to have in the back of his mind going into the game. Pittsburgh didn't exactly play clean football in beating Baltimore five nights earlier, either, and defensive lineman/Subway shill T. J. Watt did get to Washington QB Alex Smith for a sack or two, but the offense simply ran out of magic and luck.

It's not going to get any easier for Pittsburgh, as they will play AFC East leader Buffalo on Sunday night. The Bills dismissed San Francisco, 34-24, in Monday's nightcap, retaining a 1 game lead in the AFC East over Miami, with New England 3 games back with 4 to play, and none of those teams will have it so easy in Week 14.

On Thursday, New England will have a Super Bowl rematch vs. the Los Angeles Rams, their 2nd straight game at So-Fi Stadium, which the Rams share with the Chargers. On Sunday, Miami will play the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. Bills-Steelers is the nightcap.

As for the Deviants, they share 1st place in the NFC Least with the Giants, but Big Blue still holds the tiebreaker after upsetting Seattle for their 4th straight win.

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We do have to close with some sad news.

Olympic decathlete Rafer Johnson passed away last week, and former American League MVP Dick Allen died on Monday. Allen has been shut out of the Hall of Fame up to this point, but you have to believe that his contributions to the game of baseball will lead to a posthumous induction later on. 

Johnson, 86, turned to acting after winning the Decathlon 60 years ago, appearing in 2 "Tarzan" movies with Mike Henry, with Elvis Presley in "Wild in The Country", with Timothy Dalton in the James Bond adventure "Licence to Kill", and in the miniseries, Roots: The Next Generations. Johnson, along with football legend-turned-actor-singer Rosey Grier (Daniel Boone) was credited with capturing Sirhan Sirhan after he had shot Robert F. Kennedy in 1968.

Rest in peace.

Countdown to Christmas: Adam-12 Christmas episode (1974)

 It may seem like a routine day for Officers Reed & Malloy (Kent McCord & Martin Milner), but it's close to "Christmas" on Adam-12. This offering, from the series' final season, was the only holiday episode of the series. Go figure.

Rating: A.

A little of this and a little of that

 The Jests canned defensive coordinator Gregg Williams this morning after his last play call, an ill-advised blitz with time running down in the 4th quarter vs. Las Vegas, cost the Jests the game.

With only one defensive back left in coverage, Raiders QB Derek Carr found Henry Ruggs for a 46 yard game winning TD, as the Jests sank to 0-12.

Head coach Adam Gase must be buying shampoo on behalf of owner Chris Johnson in order to keep his job, as he should've been bounced already. He's as good as gone after the Jests finish at New England January 3.

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In sharp contrast, the Giants upset Seattle, 17-12, knocking the Seahawks out of 1st in the NFC West. The LA Rams moved into first by virtue of beating Arizona. Big Blue remains atop the NFC Least at 5-7. The Washington Deviants will try to keep pace later today. Problem is, they're playing unbeaten Pittsburgh.

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You knew it was going to happen, and, of course it did.

President Trump's pet ambulance chaser, Rudy Giuliani, 76, was hospitalized Sunday after testing positive for coronavirus. The fact that Giuliani is the latest member of Team Pampers to contract the virus doesn't deter the Legion of the Brainwashed from trying to forcibly have the results of the election overturned in different states. 

This is despite the fact that "battleground" states such as Arizona, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Michigan have certified Joe Biden as the winner. A shade more than six weeks remain in the reign of error for Trump, but his minions, like the man-child himself, don't know enough to wave the white flag.

In Michigan, for example, an armed mob showed up at the home of Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson on Sunday. You'd think these morons would be begging to be arrested for the following:

Unlawful assembly.

Disorderly conduct.

Harrassment.

Need I go on?

Image courtesy of Yahoo!

Benson, pictured above, doesn't deserve the harrassment. She's just doing her job, which, I suspect, most of these brainless boobs aren't doing, following blindly behind Trump.

Countdown to Christmas: Christmas With Donny & Marie (1976)

 Donny & Marie began what they hoped would become an annual tradition with a Christmas episode in December 1976. Series regular Paul Lynde (Hollywood Squares; he was also contracted to ABC, and would get a couple of primetime specials as part of the deal) and the rest of the Osmond family are the guests. This series would be one of the last gigs for George Fenneman (ex-You Bet Your Life, Dragnet), as he serves as announcer here. When the series shifted to Utah in season 3, Fenneman was cut.

Edit, 11/29/24: The video was deleted. In its place is an excerpt.

No rating. Just a public service. I wasn't home when this first aired.