Mark's Xmas Video Countdown – #5
13 hours ago
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Beach Vacation
Beginning tomorrow, I will be away for 11 days. There may not be too much in the way of new posts, and the Mets No-Hitter Count may not be updated as timely as I'd like - as always, Dirk's site is the first stop there. Think of him as DiamondVision, and me as an auxiliary scoreboard.
I am not bringing my notebook computer, but will have my BlackBerry and will be blithely checking my email on it. IN July, I'll be back. (Yes, always!)
I am not bringing my notebook computer, but will have my BlackBerry and will be blithely checking my email on it. IN July, I'll be back. (Yes, always!)
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Michael Jackson 1958-2009 and Farrah Fawcett 1947-2009
Okay, Michael Jackson was a bit of a flake. Especially in later years. But absolutely no reason to characterize him as Jacko The Clown. I am very appreciative that the newsmedia, in general, have refrained from using this nickname in their news stories about his death today from a heart attack at the age of 50.
I would rather focus on his accomplishments as a songwriter and musician, and apart from the songs he made famous, this is perhaps my favorite of the songs he wrote. "Centipede" was the only record charted by his sister, Rebbie, who was eight years his senior. Michael sings backup on this along with one of his other sisters, LaToya. It was a big hit in 1985, and very frequently played on Y107 when I was working there and it was a hit music station, so I heard this song maybe four or five times a day. And it grew on me. The embed is to an audio capture, instead of the actual music video which unfortunately I cannot embed.
Now Farrah Fawcett. Spectacular embodiment of 70's beauty. Who didn't want to be Jill when playing "Charlie's Angels"? All flowing blonde hair, white teeth. And, as known to anyone who hung That Poster in their bedroom - me included - nipples. She did show acting chops later on, but in later years, like Michael Jackson, became a bit of a flake, as evidenced by a wild appearance on CBS' "Late Show with David Letterman" in 1997. Farrah had been fighting cancer for years, finally taking her today.
Whatever judgments you want to make about their personal lives, all we know is that two giants of entertainment have left us, cruelly on the same day.
I would rather focus on his accomplishments as a songwriter and musician, and apart from the songs he made famous, this is perhaps my favorite of the songs he wrote. "Centipede" was the only record charted by his sister, Rebbie, who was eight years his senior. Michael sings backup on this along with one of his other sisters, LaToya. It was a big hit in 1985, and very frequently played on Y107 when I was working there and it was a hit music station, so I heard this song maybe four or five times a day. And it grew on me. The embed is to an audio capture, instead of the actual music video which unfortunately I cannot embed.
Now Farrah Fawcett. Spectacular embodiment of 70's beauty. Who didn't want to be Jill when playing "Charlie's Angels"? All flowing blonde hair, white teeth. And, as known to anyone who hung That Poster in their bedroom - me included - nipples. She did show acting chops later on, but in later years, like Michael Jackson, became a bit of a flake, as evidenced by a wild appearance on CBS' "Late Show with David Letterman" in 1997. Farrah had been fighting cancer for years, finally taking her today.
Whatever judgments you want to make about their personal lives, all we know is that two giants of entertainment have left us, cruelly on the same day.
Monday, June 22, 2009
One More Blogroll Addition
Drew Carey now has a blog. He's one of the most tech-savvy guys in Hollywood yet is using plain vanilla Blogspot to create his blog, called "Drew From TV". You may know Drew from his long running sitcom, or "Whose Line Is Is Anyway", or his current pet project, "The Price is Right", for which he's just begun taping his third season as host. Drew's taking it to the fans big time - imagine Barker doing that.
Now You Don't Have To Watch
The Gosselins have filed divorce papers today in Bucks County, PA.
That's all I have to say. From here on this is a Gosselin-free zone.
That's all I have to say. From here on this is a Gosselin-free zone.
Changes To The Blogroll
We are making a few changes to the blogroll. We have added a thoughtful blog from Case Wagenvoord, who is a member of my church choir. We have moved Pastor Adam's blog to the taxi squad, as Pastor Adam Tietje will be leaving our church and will be on active duty as a chaplain at Fort Campbell, KY. It's going to be pretty much Landy and Tricia's call on a new blog for the youth ministry.
And we have totally removed "This Week In Milford". Yeah, we get the point. Gil Thorp sucks, and we're done with it.
And we have totally removed "This Week In Milford". Yeah, we get the point. Gil Thorp sucks, and we're done with it.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Bowling For Dollars... Pittsburgh Style
Here's a taste of the Pittsburgh version of the venerable "Bowling for Dollars". The format was devised by Bert Claster, who specialized in creating formats then selling the production rights locally. Besides "BFD" Claster also marketed "Romper Room" in this manner.
Although people in my area would remember the New York "Bowling For Dollars" variously hosted by Bob Murphy and Larry Kenney, here is Pittsburgh handled by the late Nick Perry. Mr. Perry is notorious for the 1980 Pennsylvania Lottery scandal, in which he managed to rig a Numbers drawing by loading up some of the ping pong balls with paint so they wouldn't bounce as high in the air-powered mixing devices. By buying possible tickets with more limited outcomes (only the "4" and "6" balls were unpainted), Perry was able to clean up when one of those numbers - 666 - was drawn. Lottery officials noted unusual betting on that and other numbers, and an investigation resulted in a grand jury bringing charges against Perry. He did spend a couple of years of a seven-year prison term before being paroled. He died in 2003.
Although people in my area would remember the New York "Bowling For Dollars" variously hosted by Bob Murphy and Larry Kenney, here is Pittsburgh handled by the late Nick Perry. Mr. Perry is notorious for the 1980 Pennsylvania Lottery scandal, in which he managed to rig a Numbers drawing by loading up some of the ping pong balls with paint so they wouldn't bounce as high in the air-powered mixing devices. By buying possible tickets with more limited outcomes (only the "4" and "6" balls were unpainted), Perry was able to clean up when one of those numbers - 666 - was drawn. Lottery officials noted unusual betting on that and other numbers, and an investigation resulted in a grand jury bringing charges against Perry. He did spend a couple of years of a seven-year prison term before being paroled. He died in 2003.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
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