Ronald Reagan and Grover Cleveland Alexander

Ronald Reagan played Hall of Fame pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander in the 1952 film The Winning Team. TCM will broadcast it on March 16 at 6:30 am. I’ve never seen it and I’m going to record it.

Apparently, Reagan confused Alexander with Grover Cleveland who the pitcher was named after.

Grover Cleveland Birthplace Memorial Association has this in their article on baseball:

The Speaker pointed out that a desk the new President was using belonged to Grover Cleveland. O’Neill wrote that Reagan was thrilled and stated, “Hey, Grover Cleveland! I played him in the movies!”. Reagan was referring to Grover Cleveland Alexander in 1952’s The Winning Team. O’ Neill stated, “No, no, Mr. President. You played Grover Cleveland Alexander, the baseball player”.

Happy Birthday to Sly Stone

I was fortunate to see Sly and the Family Stone twice (in 1969 and again in 1970 or 1971). They were amazing both times. They even made the hockey rink built in to the Spectrum in Philadelphia vibrate. To me, the live shows were even better than the records. The records don’t capture the energy and volume. Try the footage from Woodstock for an idea. By the second show, they could just play extended versions of hit songs for an entire concert. The opening act was Little Sister, which included Sly’s sister, that had two hits.

Happy birthday to Sly Stone, born on this day in 1943 in Denton, Texas. Here’s Sly and the Family Stone performing “Everyday People” and “Dance to the Music” in 1969. pic.twitter.com/Buy2dbSBds
— Dust-to-Digital (@dusttodigital) March 15, 2021

This has the poster for the 1971 show I saw at the bottom of the page

Trump reportedly showed naked pictures at a shiva

Former #US President Donald #Trump reportedly decided to cheer up mourners at a shiva by sharing pictures he took of naked women.

Report by @kampeas https://t.co/i8yhK6vHdp
— The Jerusalem Post (@Jerusalem_Post) March 13, 2021

A stunning anecdote —about a shiva! — from the former daughter-in-law of Allen Weisselberg (the CFO of the Trump Organization).

Via @JaneMayerNYer https://t.co/Yn1qKtJj6x pic.twitter.com/4Iu92wLdoo
— Bill Grueskin (@BGrueskin) March 12, 2021

“After that, he starts hitting on me,” Jennifer Weisselberg said of Trump, and complained that her future father-in-law, one of Trump's closest confidants, “didn’t stand up for me” https://t.co/bJq5ap5n73
— Haaretz.com (@haaretzcom) March 14, 2021

Trump at a shiva versus Biden at a shiva pic.twitter.com/kmEzTDCd1a
— Jacob Rubashkin (@JacobRubashkin) March 12, 2021

We all grieve in our own way. https://t.co/RLIhJZxij0
— Scott Shapiro (@scottjshapiro) March 13, 2021

Trump administration CDC downplayed pandemic

Trump’s bad response to the virus has caused thousands of needless deaths.

A review of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Covid-19 guidance has found that some of the agency's guidance during the Trump administration was not grounded in science or free from undue influence https://t.co/QvoSGrCtmg
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) March 15, 2021

SCOOP: CDC has completed its review of covid-19 guidance and removed several controversial ones authored under Trump administration that downplayed severity of pandemic. My story. https://t.co/48Ex7uCjQw
— LenaSun (@bylenasun) March 15, 2021

Covers: Hernando’s Hideaway

“Hernando’s Hideaway” was originally in the 1954 musical The Pajama Game. Try the Brave Combo cover.

John Prine’s last song honored at the Grammys

Brandi Carlile peformed John Prine’s “I Remember Everthing” at the Grammys last night.

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A post shared by Brandi Carlile (@brandicarlile)

Remarkable drone video

A drone operator shot a short video in a Minneapolis bowling alley to rally support for the business. It was viewed hundreds of thousands of times on social media and won high praise from Hollywood directors. https://t.co/1hzsXQa7ev pic.twitter.com/1SHY1HDy1d
— The New York Times (@nytimes) March 11, 2021

A video captured by a single flight of a drone as it passed through a bowling alley in Minnesota is captivating the internet https://t.co/7GQjfQEzRd pic.twitter.com/7UysuDKADC
— CNN (@CNN) March 13, 2021

Covers: Shiny Happy People

R.E.M.’s “Shiny Happy People” was on their album Out of Time which was released 30 years ago yesterday on March 12, 1991. It was also issued as a single. Sesame Street made a version called “Happy Furry Monsters” with the band’s participation.

I don't know why everyone is talking about Shiny Happy People today but it's a terrible song and a black mark in the REM discography.
— Philip Bump (@pbump) March 12, 2021

R.E.M.'s 'Out of Time' turns 30 today. Rob Sheffield on how the album invented Nineties rock, and why even "Shiny Happy People" is great https://t.co/lPZlId3U2X
— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) March 12, 2021

Kate Pierson Likes to Think ‘Shiny Happy People’ Was an ‘Homage to the B-52’s’ https://t.co/gDHvmbMaLA via @vulture
— R.E.M. HQ (@remhq) March 11, 2021

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A post shared by R.E.M. (@rem)

Racist Ron Johnson

He’s a Russian stooge, a liar and a racist.

Rewriting the history of Jan 6 to make the rioters who threatened Pence, Pelosi, AOC peace-abiding protestors while describing BLM protesters as violent. https://t.co/ruKdVwdXsv
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) March 13, 2021

Sen. Ron Johnson says he “never felt threatened” during the Jan. 6 Capitol attack but that if they were Black Lives Matter protesters, “I might have been a little concerned.” https://t.co/msv4Ruv6SS
— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) March 13, 2021

Not only open racism, but continuing a process of normalizing white nationalist extremism as a legitimate component of the GOP coalition. As he makes clear, the GOP's extremist wing is now too big to expel. Do R voters who don't want to lock arms w/Proud Boys stay in that party? https://t.co/XeT4yyarN6
— Ronald Brownstein (@RonBrownstein) March 13, 2021

Senator Ron Johnson saw the Auschwitz Hoodie Guy and felt comforted that the rioters loved their country. Had that guy have had dreads and a Colin Kaepernick hoodie, Ron would have hid under his desk.
— Mr. Newberger (@jeremynewberger) March 13, 2021

Holding Trump #Republican Sen. Ron Johnson accountable is critical to protecting our democracy. He's been a key insurrection enabler as lead Chief Disinformation Officer in Congress. His ongoing rhetoric fans the flames of dangerous movements that are a #homelandsecurity threat.
— Olivia of Troye (@OliviaTroye) March 13, 2021

I'm reporting on this for my book and I can tell you that Sen. Johnson is not the only Republican who on Jan 6 felt safe bc they knew the rioters were on the same team https://t.co/ySyJ6NQazs
— Robert Draper (@DraperRobert) March 14, 2021

He's not getting backlash from Republicans – you should point that out. The white nationalist Trump cult is fine with his comments.
— Harris Levy (@HarrisL585) March 14, 2021

Covers: The World Is Going Wrong

“World Gone Wrong” was originally written and recorded by the Mississippi Sheiks. Bob Dylan used it as the title song for his 1993 album (as World Gone Wrong) but there’s no YouTube video for it. B.B. King, who was from Mississippi did an electric blues cover in 2008 which is very different from the original version.