Guilt

I’m quite a fan of the short-run TV series.  For whatever reason, some programs that are given the green light for production on TV only last a few episodes, or a single season, or something.  Some seem to be by design, (like Harper’s Island), some are summer replacements--although that concept is sort of dated, leading the enlightened reader to conclude that the writer has been around for a really long time (and he has), some were truncated long before their time (like Life and Brimstone), and other reasons--low viewership is a really good reason to cancel a series early on.  There is another important reason that a TV series only lasts a short time.  I’ll let you guess. Television Notes from Vantucky--Vancouver, Washington Having time on my hands, a Netflix subscription, a wide screen high definition TV, my constant companion (the beloved ROKU box), and a working home wireless network, I tackled a one-season wonder known as Persons Unknown.  13 one-hour episodes that originally ra

The Monte Cristo Sandwich, Reminiscent of the Monte Cristo at the Blue Bayou at Disneyland I don't really eat very many of these since, well, they'll pack the weight on you like nobody's business. On the other hand, they are SO GOOD!!!! I've prepared them in the past for my kids and always called them Grandpa's World Famous Non Toxic Deep-Fried Sandwich. So, call it a Monte Cristo, Grandpa's Non Toxic, or just Coronary On A Plate, it's worth it. I've eaten Monte Cristo's in restaurants, bistros, saloons, and taverns all over the country, but the best ones are served at the Blue Bayou in Disneyland. And this recipe will remind you of it (if you've ever eaten it there), or it'll give you a hint of the delight that awaits you (if you haven't). So, for my daughters Helen and Maureen and their kids (OK, and the rest of you, too), here's the recipe: Ingredients 1 quart oil for frying, or as needed 2/

Having time on my hands this Sunday--Look.....If I was a football fan I’d have something else to watch, but I’m not and I didn’t.  Via Netflix and my beloved ROKU box, I partook in that 1956 classic of the Silver Screen, Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Movie Notes From Vantucky--Vancouver, Washington Everybody already knows the story--outer space people pods take over the population of Santa Mira, California.  No, there is no real Santa Mira, and, as far as I know, there are no real outer space people pods.  Learned scholarly  movie people will tell you that this story is either a repudiation of McCarthyism or a warning about Communism, but they are full of (what I call) “Institution Of Higher Learning Bullshit”, or IHLBS as it is known here in Vantucky.  This is a Science Fiction romp, and a pretty scary one too.  Nothing more.  Good guys win, or so it would seem. Genuine terror, even through these jaded eyes. It was based on a serial in Collier’s.  Collier’s was America’s Wee

I read that we now have a new baseball commissioner.  That’s a good thing.  His name is Robert Manfred and I don’t really know anything about him other than he’s not Bud Selig.  What a relief to have that dud gone.  And yes, I meant dud, not dude. The main order of business for the new commish needs to be some method of shortening game times.  Here’s a thought-- MLB Rule 8.04-- “When the bases are unoccupied, the pitcher shall deliver the ball to the batter within 12 seconds after he receives the ball. Each time the pitcher delays the game by violating this rule, the umpire shall call “Ball.”” Just about as likely to be enforced as the “phantom” second base tag or a rule book strike zone. Currently, the average game time is 3 hours, 8 minutes.  As recently as 2010, the average game time was 2 hours, 55 minutes.  In 1981, the average game time was 2 hours, 33 minutes.  1963?  2 hours, 25 minutes. Here’s what I suggest--shorten the game to seven innings instead of the current

What do I think?  Well, I think that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone.  I think that we should buy American.  I think that Mount St. Helens is gonna blow again.  I think the curveball in a full count is cowardly.  I think the price of bottled water is outrageous.  I think the full moon really does bring out the weirdness in people. I believe in America and I’m proud to call myself an American.  I believe in a woman's right to choose. I believe that Disneyland really is the happiest place on earth. I believe Bill O'Reilly usually gets it right. I believe in accepting life as it presents itself. I believe that good things don't necessarily happen to good people nor bad things to bad...... I’m pretty sure that we were better off without Instagram and Twitter.  I prefer the concept of Joe Camel in public places over legal marijuana.  I’m absolutely certain that we need to bring back the military draft.  I liked the country better when we had a President who thought America was a

I’m really not much into vampire movies.  With a single caveat--it’s the NEW vampire movies that are icky.  Starting, I think, with Tom Cruise’s Interview with...um, whoever.  I know that the Twilight series was supposed to be just capital, but I didn’t partake.  My daughters did, and enjoyed the ride.  Not for me, though.  So, with time on my hands, a Netflix subscription, no baseball worth watching, a fully functional wireless home network, a 32 inch HD WS Sceptre, and my beloved ROKU box, I reclined on the couch for a presentation of that 1985 vampire classic--Fright Night. Movie Notes from Vantucky--Vancouver, Washington. This movie is just PACKED with goodness--special effects, stars, a story.....and some really nice big hair disco scenes, circa, well, 1985.  Pretty basic 80s era vampire set-up.  Good looking kid and his single mom wind up living next door to a vampire.  What WERE the chances?  Good looking kid enlists the help of a late-night TV vampire killer to rid his neighbor

Things are quieting down a little since our move from Ohio to Vancouver.  I find I have a little bit of time on my hands, and today I wasted an hour and a half watching a real classic on the 32 inch wide screen high definition Sceptre, fed through the beloved ROKU device, with the assistance of the Xfinity wireless home network (which was functioning, as usual, flawlessly) and my paid Pub-D-Hub GOLD account-- If you do watch Pub-D-Hub on your own ROKU device, you really should go all the way and get the Gold account.  It’s cheap, it’s delightful, it’s got groovy features (like searching) that you don’t get in the free version, and there are no ads.  Oh, go ahead....Go For The Gold.  You won’t regret it.  Find out all about at pubdhub.info. Movie Notes from Vantucky--Vancouver, Washington Today, I caught up with that all-time classic of cinematography, The Wild Women of Wongo.  There’s really not much plot to get in the way of, um, whatever this is.  Filmed entirely in Florida, th