Bert Is Evil was a parody website that showed Sesame Street’s Bert in fake photos with bad people like Saddam Hussein. It was taken down after a pro-Osama Bin Laden rally used a picture of Bin Laden and Bert.
Month: February 2022
Airplane! / Zero Hour!
Did you know that the 1980 comedy film Airplane! is largely based on the 1957 drama Zero Hour!?
Airplane! uses the same basic situation as Zero Hour and plays some of the serious old dialogue for laughs. Just like Airplane! has a pro athlete co-pilot (Kareem Abdul Jabbar), Zero Hour has Elroy “Crazylegs” Hirsch. Zero Hour! is on DVD and Airplane! is on DVD and Blu-ray.
Covers: Sea of Love
“Sea of Love” was originally written and recorded by Phil Phillips in 1959. I remember the 1967 version by the Kit Kats who were popular in the Philadelphia area where I lived then.
Gerrymandering in Louisiana
Toys from my childhood
I was born in 1953. We didn’t have video games. We had physical toys and playing cards. We glued cars together from kits. Here are some of the toys:
Train set
The History Channel ran a series called The Toys That Built America.
My generation was the first exposed to and motivated by toy ads on TV.
Its time to end legacy admissions
Covers: Who’s Sorry Now?
“Who’s Sorry Now?” is a 1923 song by with lyrics by Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby and music by Ted Snyder. I was watching the film about Kalmar and Ruby today (Three Little Words ); the song is sung by Gloria DeHaven in the film. The most famous version is the Connie Francis record from 1958.
My favorite Orioles nicknames
Don Stanhouse – “Full Pack”
Earl Weaver called him “Full Pack” because of how many cigarettes Weaver would smoke when Stanhouse pitched. He was a relief pitcher for the Orioles in 1978 and 1979. He took a long time between pitches and threw a lot of pitches that were not strikes. He counted on hitters being impatient and eager to swing at anything. It was very frustrating to watch as a fan but he got the job done most of the time as a closer. I saw him at an autograph show a few years ago and the long curly hair is gone. I can’t recall if he just had short hair or was bald.
Joe Altobelli – “Cement Head”
Altobelli was the manager who led the Orioles to the last World Series win. He did not come across as a great baseball mind like Earl Weaver, his predecessor. The Orioles owner, Edward Bennett Williams called him “Cement Head”. I guess a famous successful lawyer like Williams didn’t like having his huge investment managed by a guy who only went to high school.
Curt Blefary – “Clank”
Blefary was primarily an outfielder for the Orioles from 1965-1968. He could hit and was Rookie of the Year in 1965. He was not a good fielder and was nicknamed “Clank” by teammate Frank Robinson.
Corporate greed is one cause of inflation
Look at these examples.
Sad! 