Friday, May 24, 2013

Another long day on the horizon

I had planned to see two movies today before going to meet my friends for an evening of fine food and trivia.  Now I'm going to stay home until it's time to leave for trivia.  I'll leave early enough so I can avoid the major portion of "drive-time" traffic, but I am just too tired to contemplate spending 12 to 14 hours away from home.  I will end up seeing all of the movies that I'd planned to see, but by doing this I can see them at a closer theater, at more convenient times, at a lower cost.  Win-win for me.  Speaking of wins.....GO KINGS GO!!

I thought of a couple of bowling centers that I left off of the list I compiled last night.  La Cienega Lanes was at the NorthEast corner of La Cienega and Santa Monica Boulevards.  It would later become Flippers Roller Disco, and then the flagship store for Esprit clothing.  I think it's a drugstore now.

Rocket Bowl was somewhere in Chatsworth, I think.

Manchester-Western was right where it sounds like it would be.  At Western and Manchester.

I remember having to take a bus to bowl in a tournament in Lynwood, but can't remember the name of the center.  I had to transfer busses twice.  I guess I should have waited until I was old enough to drive.

Bahama Lanes was in Pasadena somewhere.

Tropicana Lanes was on Prairie in Inglewood. 

I was reminded by a good friend of Java Lanes and Santa Fe Bowl.  Java was on PCH in Long Beach and was torn down in 2004.  I think Santa Fe was so named because it was on Santa Fe Avenue.  I also now remember Belmont Bowl which became home to the now shuttered Yankee Doodles.

That's all I remembered so far.  More later if they come to mind.

* * * * *

Jody Arias will be re-tried in the penalty phase of her trial.  I think it's a waste of time.  The prosecution should work out a deal with her lawyers.  She does life without parole and in return they drop all appeals.  In return for this, they take the death penalty off the table.  Enough time and money has been spent on this trial.  Let's move forward.

Operation Swill is what they're calling an investigation in New Jersey where bars and restaurants are apparently switching out high-priced alcohol with other beverages but selling it as though it was the replaced product.  Selling low-end booze as top-shelf stuff is cheap and misleading, but in some cases they were apparently selling rubbing alcohol in place of the booze.  That's downright dangerous.

Aside from fatigue, another reason I don't want to venture out this morning is that a large chunk of Sepulveda is closed because of a late-night accident.  Two young men were in a car that was apparently travelling in excess of 80 mph and they ran into a pole.  The pole won.  The car was broken into pieces and the two didn't stand a chance, as the reporter said.  Both died right there.  DRT is what cops sometimes say instead of DOA.

Does the fact that Morgan Freeman fell asleep during an interview for his upcoming movie means he finds the film, the interview or just life, boring?  Or is he really, as he claimed, a "beta tester for Google Eyelids"? 

When they say Mariah Carey is falling out of her dress, they mean it.  It happened on Good Morning America this morning.  Fortunately, the "girls" were not injured.

A 65 year old, non-tenured teacher was fired for using the word "negro" during a class lesson.  Well, she's black (a native of the West Indies) and she was teaching the colors during a Spanish class.  IIRC, the Spanish word for black is "negro".  So if you were to mistake a skunk for a cat and it was a fat skunk, you would describe it as "el gato es gordo, blanco and negro".  Assuming my poor Spanish is accurate of course.

I'm working on a production deal to start a reality TV show.  "Saving Amanda and Lindsay" will take place in a sober living facility in a converted Beverly Hills mansion, with full-time sobriety specialists monitoring the ladies 24/7.  A team of publicists, psychologists, psychiatrists, agents and so on will work to recover the careers of the two performers.  It should last two or three short seasons of 12 episodes each, before all of their new handlers quit in frustration over the inability to get anyone to work with their clients.

Once I get that one up and running, the next project will be Athlete Ex-Wives.  Starring the ex's of Kordell Stewart, Steve Nash and Deion Sanders, and hosted by one of the most famous of athlete ex-wives, Cyndy Garvey, this will be all about how these women try to survive on the big alimony and settlements they got from their ex's while trying to keep that same standard of living.

Then I'll be bringing back an old reality show, with a twist.  "The Drake" will be the male version of the old "The Swan".  Men who aren't happy with their appearance and lives will volunteer to be "made-over" during an intense 90 day period with plastic surgery, cosmetic dentistry, diet and exercise and a full-time life-coach on the premises. 

This Date in History:

On this date in 1218, the Fifth Crusade leaves Acre for Egypt.
On this date in 1607, 100 English settlers disembark in Jamestown, first English colony in America.
On this date in 1626, Peter Minuit buys Manhattan.
On this date in 1813, Simon Bolivar leads the invasion of Venezuela and is proclaimed El Libertador.
On this date in 1844, Samuel Morse sends the words "What hath God wrought", the first telegraph message.
On this date in 1883, after 14 years of construction, the Brooklyn Bridge is opened to traffic.
On this date in 1921, the trial of Sacco and Vanzetti opens.
On this date in 1943, Joseph Mengele becomes "chief medical officer" at Auschwitz.  May he rot in hell.
On this date in 1962, Scott Carpenter orbits the Earth three times aboard Aurora 7.
On this date in 1992, the last dictator of Thailand resigns, in the wake of pro-democracy protests.

Famous Folk Born on This Date:

Jean-Paul Marat
Benjamin Cardozo
Wilbur Mills (who can remember the name of the stripper who derailed his political career?  answer at the bottom of the blog)
Michael Lonsdale (an ok Bond villain)
Jane Byrne
Tommy Chong
Bob Dylan
Gary Burghoff
Patti LaBelle
Jim Broadbent
Alfred Molina
Kristin Scott Thomas
Michael Chabon
Joe Dumars
John C. Reilly
Rich Robinson


Movie quote of the day comes from the 1979 film "All That Jazz".  It's at 3:25 of this clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=l31jP8n95aU

If you don't feel like watching it, here it is:

Joe Gideon: Kate, I try to give you everything I can give.
Kate Jagger: Oh, you give all right; presents, clothes. I just wish you weren't so generous with your cock.