Ponderings of the random sort
The first thing I saw Tuesday morning after putting on my eyeglasses was an IM from a friend letting me know that Roger Moore had died. Some think he was the worst James Bond in the franchise's history but I am not one of those people. I think his version of Bond was the "tongue-in-cheek" spy, quick with the one-liners. The actor said he hated guns IRL.
In 1978 he made a movie with Richard Burton, Richard Harris, Hardy Kruger and Stewart Granger titled "The Wild Geese." It was a movie about mercenaries and while it is not considered a good movie by most, it is a film I enjoy watching. Somewhere around here I have a rare DVD of the film and I plan to watch it later on this week. RIP, Sir Roger Moore.
* * *
Katy Perry is proud of her new contract to be a judge on the reboot of American Idol and she talked about it during a radio interview in New York City. Reports are she signed a deal for a salary of $25 million for her new gig.
TMZ reports she will need a substantial raise to catch up to the $45 million Simon Cowell reportedly earns.
* * *
Staying with news from TMZ, they say that Charlie Sheen claims that Major League III will happen, he has a great script and the entire original cast on board.
Reporter's note: Sheen is 57 and will be tough to buy as a pitcher in Major League Baseball. Tom Berenger is even older, and Margaret Whitton (played the team owner) & James Gammon (played the team's manager) are both deceased. I'm sure Bob Uecker would love to reprise his role as announcer Harry Doyle.
* * *
Staying with potential sequels in the wind, Tom Cruise told a London talk show that Top Gun 2 is definitely happening. It's been over 30 years since the original Top Gun soared to the top of the box office for 1986. Cruise has met with Jerry Bruckheimer in the past to discuss a sequel and with David Ellison's Skydance Media producing the film, it could very well happen.
Reporter's note: To be a Navy Lieutenant as Cruise's "Maverick" was in the original film his character had to have at least four years on active duty at the time Top Gun was set. In the real Navy, the only rank that either Cruise or Val Kilmer (who is reportedly going to reprise his role as "Iceman") could be serving at would be as a Rear Admiral or higher. Both are way beyond the age where one is flying a fighter jet. Then again when did movies have anything to do with reality? :)
* * *
Trying to stay away from the Cheeto-in-Chief in this blog but couldn't resist positing if the reason Melania Trump keeps slapping his hand away is because she knows where those hands have been.
* * *
Hundreds, maybe thousands of Uber drivers in New York City will be getting paid as the ride-sharing firm admitted under-paying those drivers millions of dollars.
But the union that represents those drivers is claiming that the settlement amount is not a full reimbursement of what they are owed.
Reporter's note: Perhaps Uber should change its name to "Screw Our Drivers" to be more upfront.
* * *
Fox News (or as some prefer, Faux News) ran a story that claimed the murder of Democratic National Committee staff member Seth Conrad Rich was in retaliation for his having leaked DNC emails to WikiLeaks.
The story was debunked almost immediately as one of the primary sources, a private investigator, said that he did not have the information that Fox News claimed he had.
The question is, why did it take this so-called news outlet six full days to retract the story?
* * *
In looking into a story on the SFGate website, I learned something very interesting. But the story first.
The Department of Defense has denied a request to add the names of 74 sailors to the Vietnam Memorial Wall. They were aboard the destroyer USS Frank E. Evans in 1969 and died when it was involved in a collision during a training exercise.
The destroyer had been operating in the waters off Vietnam before the exercise, and was scheduled to return after the conclusion of that exercise, but because it was outside the area of operations according to DOD guidelines, their deaths do not meet the criteria to be included on the Wall. Author John Prados, author of American Boys: The True Story of the Lost 74 of the Vietnam War, claimed in that book that it would take an act of Congress to force the DOD to make an exception.
Without taking a position on the DOD decision, other than to call this extreme nit-picking, it seems that with the support of Senator Chuck Schumer, the survivors of these sailors should be able to get such a bill through this Congress.
As to the lesson learned, I looked into the man the ship had been named for. Marine Corps Brigadier General Frank E. Evans was a veteran of World War I who retired in 1940 and died in 1941. He was awarded the Navy Cross, the nation's second highest decoration for extraordinary heroism in combat.
Wondering what he had done to earn this honor, I looked up the citation for his Navy Cross. It reads as follows:
In 1978 he made a movie with Richard Burton, Richard Harris, Hardy Kruger and Stewart Granger titled "The Wild Geese." It was a movie about mercenaries and while it is not considered a good movie by most, it is a film I enjoy watching. Somewhere around here I have a rare DVD of the film and I plan to watch it later on this week. RIP, Sir Roger Moore.
* * *
Katy Perry is proud of her new contract to be a judge on the reboot of American Idol and she talked about it during a radio interview in New York City. Reports are she signed a deal for a salary of $25 million for her new gig.
TMZ reports she will need a substantial raise to catch up to the $45 million Simon Cowell reportedly earns.
* * *
Staying with news from TMZ, they say that Charlie Sheen claims that Major League III will happen, he has a great script and the entire original cast on board.
Reporter's note: Sheen is 57 and will be tough to buy as a pitcher in Major League Baseball. Tom Berenger is even older, and Margaret Whitton (played the team owner) & James Gammon (played the team's manager) are both deceased. I'm sure Bob Uecker would love to reprise his role as announcer Harry Doyle.
* * *
Staying with potential sequels in the wind, Tom Cruise told a London talk show that Top Gun 2 is definitely happening. It's been over 30 years since the original Top Gun soared to the top of the box office for 1986. Cruise has met with Jerry Bruckheimer in the past to discuss a sequel and with David Ellison's Skydance Media producing the film, it could very well happen.
Reporter's note: To be a Navy Lieutenant as Cruise's "Maverick" was in the original film his character had to have at least four years on active duty at the time Top Gun was set. In the real Navy, the only rank that either Cruise or Val Kilmer (who is reportedly going to reprise his role as "Iceman") could be serving at would be as a Rear Admiral or higher. Both are way beyond the age where one is flying a fighter jet. Then again when did movies have anything to do with reality? :)
* * *
Trying to stay away from the Cheeto-in-Chief in this blog but couldn't resist positing if the reason Melania Trump keeps slapping his hand away is because she knows where those hands have been.
* * *
Hundreds, maybe thousands of Uber drivers in New York City will be getting paid as the ride-sharing firm admitted under-paying those drivers millions of dollars.
But the union that represents those drivers is claiming that the settlement amount is not a full reimbursement of what they are owed.
Reporter's note: Perhaps Uber should change its name to "Screw Our Drivers" to be more upfront.
* * *
Fox News (or as some prefer, Faux News) ran a story that claimed the murder of Democratic National Committee staff member Seth Conrad Rich was in retaliation for his having leaked DNC emails to WikiLeaks.
The story was debunked almost immediately as one of the primary sources, a private investigator, said that he did not have the information that Fox News claimed he had.
The question is, why did it take this so-called news outlet six full days to retract the story?
* * *
In looking into a story on the SFGate website, I learned something very interesting. But the story first.
The Department of Defense has denied a request to add the names of 74 sailors to the Vietnam Memorial Wall. They were aboard the destroyer USS Frank E. Evans in 1969 and died when it was involved in a collision during a training exercise.
The destroyer had been operating in the waters off Vietnam before the exercise, and was scheduled to return after the conclusion of that exercise, but because it was outside the area of operations according to DOD guidelines, their deaths do not meet the criteria to be included on the Wall. Author John Prados, author of American Boys: The True Story of the Lost 74 of the Vietnam War, claimed in that book that it would take an act of Congress to force the DOD to make an exception.
Without taking a position on the DOD decision, other than to call this extreme nit-picking, it seems that with the support of Senator Chuck Schumer, the survivors of these sailors should be able to get such a bill through this Congress.
As to the lesson learned, I looked into the man the ship had been named for. Marine Corps Brigadier General Frank E. Evans was a veteran of World War I who retired in 1940 and died in 1941. He was awarded the Navy Cross, the nation's second highest decoration for extraordinary heroism in combat.
Wondering what he had done to earn this honor, I looked up the citation for his Navy Cross. It reads as follows:
The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Lieutenant Colonel Frank E. Evans (MCSN: 0-271), United States Marine Corps, for exceptionally meritorious and distinguished service as Adjutant, 6th Regiment Marines, 2d Division, A.E.F. During the trying events of the early part of June 1918, while in action against the enemy at Belleau Wood, Lieutenant Colonel Evans carried the administrative burdens of his regiment with great efficiency. His untiring efforts, constant diligence, and intelligent transmission of orders from the Brigade Commander during a number of days when his Regimental Commander was in an advanced headquarters and not always in communication, contributed in no small degree to the successful part played by the 6th Regiment in the operations against the enemy from the 1st to the 16th of June, 1918.
Then it made sense.
* * *
posted by me at 9:55 AM
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