Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Best laid plans....

I was going to see a movie today at the local “art-house” theater, but upon awakening this morning I decided I shouldn't. Just too exhausted. So I'll stay home, watch at least one of the DVDs I have to watch, go and run a few errands and then use my limited energy to drive to Long Beach to play trivia tonight. It's a good plan.

There was a hit and run accident near Griffith Park where a cyclist lost a leg. The driver of the minivan that dragged him 600 feet didn't even stop. Didn't even slow down. In my mind, murder and the various degrees of it (along with attempted murder), sex crimes and other violent assaults are the three worst crimes. Hit and run runs close behind them in my mind. How can a human strike another human and then flee the scene? I hope they catch this person and throw the book at them.

“The Biggest Loser” has concluded its 14th season.  The winner got $250,000.  She looks amazing.  Their “season” ran 12 weeks.  I checked what it would cost for an ordinary human being, not appearing on the TV show, to spend 12 weeks in a semi-private room at the Biggest Loser’s Malibu Resort.  Only $27,600.  Plus tax.  Makes you want to run right out and start selling pints of your blood to save up.

NBC television executives are upset that Jay Leno referred to them as “snakes” in his monologue on Monday night.  Rumors are swirling that he is about to be replaced by Jimmy Fallon.  Why should his departure from the Tonight Show be any different than anyone else’s?   Will we see a “The Late Shift II” to tell the story in a few years?

Hooters Girls are great at slinging wings and beer, making customers spend more than they should on only-average food, bikini contests and hula-hooping; among other things.  But they’re proving this spring that they don’t make good “ball girls” at spring training baseball games.  They are making more errors than Jose Offerman used to make.  By the way, if someone asks how to spell “Offerman”, respond “with two F’s and 50 E’s”.

When you see the designation “501(c)(3)” you may scratch your forehead and go “huh?” but it is the section of the Internal Revenue Code that allows organizations to be designated as “not-for-profits”.  That means taxpayers can deduct contributions made to such organizations.  Well it turns out a number of the charities that sprang up to allegedly raise money for victims of Hurricane Sandy (some were outright scams) didn’t get that designation.  That means people who donate to them and then try to take a charitable contribution on their taxes may face penalties and loss of the deduction.  Watch out.

Turns out that Octo-Mom may have committed welfare fraud.  Now she’s allowed to make up to $119,000 in a year and still get benefits.  But someone’s alleging that she actually earned more than $200,000 and still got food-stamps and other benefits.  She might wind up in the gray-bar hotel for this.  At least she can’t have any more kids behind bars.

So the new Pope was “dazzled” by a woman once and isn’t entirely opposed to the idea of changing the rules about chastity for priests.  How many religious orders require their religious leaders to keep celibate anyway?

MGM says the next Bond film will be released within the next three years.  In the first days of the franchise, they came every year, then every other year.  Now it will be three years before the next one?  What gives?

This Date in History:

On this date in 1602, the Dutch East India Company is established.
On this date in 1616, Sir Walter Raleigh is freed after 13 years of imprisonment in the Tower of London.
On this date in 1760, the great fire of Boston destroys 349 buildings.
On this date in 1852, Harriet Beecher Stowe’s “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” is published.
On this date in 1854, the Republican Party of the United States is organized.
On this date in 1861, an earthquake destroys Mendoza, Argentina.
On this date in 1916, Albert Einstein publishes his theory of relativity.
On this date in 1922, the USS Langley is commissioned as the first US Navy aircraft carrier.
On this date in 1933, Giuseppe Zangara is electrocuted in Florida’s electric chair for fatally shooting Anton Cermak in an attempt to assassinate FDR.
On this date in 1942, General Douglas MacArthur gives his famous “I shall return” speech.
On this date in 1952, the U.S. Senate ratifies a peace treaty with Japan (a bit late…)
On this date in 1985, Libby Riddles becomes the first woman to win the Iditarod.
On this date in 1995, a Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway kills 12 and wounds 1,300.
On this date in 2003, the U.S. and some allies invade Iraq.

Famous Folk born this date:

Ovid
Henrik Ibsen
Ozzie Nelson
Carl Reiner
Jerry Reed (sadly, the “Snowman” has gone ’10-7’ forever)
Pat Riley
Bobby Orr
William Hurt
Spike Lee
Holly Hunter
Sting (the wrestler, not the singer)
Kathy Ireland
Michael Rappaport

 

And on this date in 1995, the loser of the first “slam match” at the first Wrestlemania, “Big John Stud” passed away.  RIP.