In the Race

Titanic Sets Sail: April 10, 1912

Janet Evans — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 04:07:07 GMT

"The vessel began her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, bound for New York City, New York, on Wednesday, 10 April 1912, with Captain Edward J. Smith in command. As the Titanic left her berth, her wake caused the liner City of New York, which was docked nearby, to break away from her moorings, whereupon she was drawn dangerously close (about four feet) to the Titanic before a tugboat towed the New York away. The near accident delayed departure for one hour. After crossing the English Channel, the Titanic stopped at Cherbourg, France, to board additional passengers and stopped again the next day at Queenstown (known today as Cobh), Ireland. As harbour facilities at Queenstown were inadequate for a ship of her size, Titanic had to anchor off-shore, with small boats, known as tenders, ferrying the embarking passengers out to her. When she finally set out for New York, there were 2,240 people aboard." from Wikipedia

Click to Read The Evening News April 10, 1912.pdf

A Great American

Janet Evans — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 11:40:00 GMT

Iconic photo of Los Angeles Dodger Rick Monday pulling the American flag away from
protesters who were about to burn the flag in protest of the Vietnam War.

On April 25, 1976, during a game at Dodger Stadium, two protesters, a man and his son, ran into the outfield and tried to set fire to an American flag they had brought with them.

Rick Monday, then playing with the Cubs, noticed they had placed the flag on the ground and were fumbling with matches and lighter fluid; he then dashed over and grabbed the flag off the ground to thunderous cheers.

He handed the flag to Los Angeles pitcher Doug Rau, after which the ballpark police arrested the two intruders.

When he came up to bat in the next half-inning, he got a standing ovation from the crowd and the big message board behind the left-field bleachers in the stadium flashed the message, "RICK MONDAY... YOU MADE A GREAT PLAY..."

He later said, "If you're going to burn the flag, don't do it around me.

I've been to too many veterans' hospitals and seen too many broken bodies of guys who tried to protect it."

I especially like the expression on the face of the "son" protester as the flag is being snatched away.

What a fine father and son activity...

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What can you do to be a "great American?"

Of course your moments won't be caught on camera, and that's not the point.

Just the small things we do in our lives can make the difference between an American and a great one.

It’s something to think about.

Remembering a Iconic American Comedienne

Janet Evans — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 03:45:00 GMT

Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989)

April 26th was the 19th anniversary of Lucille Ball's death.

She still remains one of the funniest comedians of all time.

Lucille Ball was an iconic American comedienne, film, television, stage and radio actress, glamour girl and star of the landmark sitcoms I Love Lucy, The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour, The Lucy Show and Here's Lucy. Lucille Ball was one of America's favorite stars and had one of Hollywood's longest careers.She was a movie star from the 1930s to the 1970s, and appeared on television for more than thirty years.

She received thirteen Emmy Award nominations and four wins. She was the recipient of the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award in 1979, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Kennedy Center Honors in 1986 and the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Governors Award in 1989.

In 1929, Ball landed work as a model and later began her performing career on Broadway using the stage name "Diane Belmont". She appeared in many small movie roles in the 1930s as a contract player for RKO Radio Pictures. Ball was labeled as the "Queen of the B's" (referring to her many roles in B-films). In 1948, Ball was pivotal in the creation of the television series, I Love Lucy. The show co-starred her then husband, Desi Arnaz as Ricky Ricardo and Vivian Vance and William Frawley as Ethel and Fred Mertz, the Ricardos' lovable landlords. After the show ended in 1960, Ball went on to star in two more successful television series: The Lucy Show, which ran on CBS from 1962 to 1968, and Here's Lucy from 1968 to 1974. Her last attempt at a television series was a 1986 show called Life With Lucy. The show proved to be a critical and commercial flop which was canceled less than two months into its run by ABC.

Ball met and eloped with Cuban bandleader Desi Arnaz in 1940. On July 17, 1951, Ball gave birth to their first child, Lucie Desiree Arnaz. A year and a half later, Ball gave birth to their second child, Desiderio Alberto Arnaz IV, known as Desi Arnaz, Jr.Ball and Arnaz divorced on May 4, 1960. On April 26, 1989, Ball died of a dissecting aortic aneurysm. She was seventy-seven.At the time of her death, she had been married to her second husband of twenty-eight years, standup comedian and business partner Gary Morton. Wikipedia

Lucy & Ethel in the candy factory

About that Fonda Endorsement

Janet Evans — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 01:00:00 GMT

Just the other day I posted about ~~Hanoi~~ Jane Fonda’s “endorsement” of Barack Obama.

Funny thing is, back in April of 2005, Fonda did an interview with Time Magazine where she stated she supported Hillary Clinton.

Now, granted, we all can change who we decide to support for President.

And, of course, Clinton hadn’t yet decided to run back then.

Another puzzling thing, though, is that Jane Fonda is known to be a guest of the Clinton White House. She’s on what’s known as the “Sleepover List.” You’ll see her listed under the category “Arts and Letters."

This same information is listed in a 2005 Newsmax article, that also states Fonda contributed to Clinton"s campaign. More interestingly, it says this:

"Links to Fonda proved toxic for Sen. John Kerry's presidential campaign last year, when NewsMax published an authentic photo showing him standing near the left-wing actress at a 1970 anti-war demonstration in Pennsylvania. [A subsequent photo circulated on the Internet showing Fonda standing side-by-side with Kerry at a 1971 protest was doctored.]

Reaction to the Kerry-Fonda photo was sharp.

"Seeing this picture of Kerry with [Fonda] at anti-war demonstrations in the United States just makes me want to throw up," Rep. Sam Johnson - a former Vietnam POW - told the Washington Times.

Sen. Kerry insisted that he barely knew his fellow protester, though both he and Fonda shared top posts in the group, Vietnam Veterans Against the War."

Jane Fonda is bad news....

So, the conspiracy theory that will be floating around now, since Fonda blurted out that she was voting for Obama, is that it may be a set-up by someone on the Clinton team.

Maybe, maybe not.

We’ll probably never know.

One thing I do know....Jane Fonda is a bit of a kook.

H/T NoMoreMisterNiceBlog

Television Show Cancelled

Janet Evans — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 01:20:00 GMT

CBS Evening News for
Friday, Apr 04, 1969

Headline: Smothers Brothers / Television Show Canceled

(Studio) CBS President Robert Wood regrets cancelling "Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour", but brothers failed to deliver tapes of show consistently in time for review by CBS Bd. Smothers Brothers unavailable for comment.
REPORTER: Walter Cronkite

Tommy and Dick Smothers

The Smothers Brothers are an American music-and-comedy team, consisting of the brothers Tom (or Tommy) (born February 2, 1937) and Dick Smothers (born November 20, 1939). The brothers' trademark act was performing folk songs (Tommy on acoustic guitar, Dick on string bass), which usually led to arguments between the siblings. Tommy's signature line was, "Mom always liked you best!" Tommy (the elder of the two) acted "slow," and Dick, the straight man, acted "superior."

In the 1960s, the brothers frequently appeared on television variety shows and issued several popular record albums of their stage performances. Their own television variety show, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, became one of the most influential and controversial American TV programs of the Vietnam War era. Despite popular success, the brothers' penchant for material that was critical of the political mainstream (and sympathetic to the emerging counterculture) led to their program's cancellation by the CBS network in 1969.

The brothers continued to work, both independently and as a team, on stage, on television and in films during subsequent decades. They continue to tour the country as the longest-lived comedy team in history; 2008 marks their 50th year performing together.

Wikipedia

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As a teenager I looked forward to watching The Smothers Brothers on television.

I enjoyed their comedy routines.

The viewers never knew what was going to come out of Tommy’s mouth next.

Their music was folk music…which wasn't my thing, but their variety show had some good talent.

It was another one of those shows that you watched as a family (although, not with younger children).

And, during the Vietnam war, it just fit in with the times.