119 – What a Great Friggin’ Day – An Editorial

Was this day alone worth having to live through these past four years? 

Hardly …

But damn, it was close !

From the inaugural ceremonies at noon, to the first working afternoon of both the new Pres and Vice Pres, to the wonderful Celebrating America production on television this evening, I can’t imagine that this day could have gone any better, or have been any more personally enjoyable.

For all of the disquiet and apprehension leading up to this day, there were no disruptions at all of which I am aware.  For all of the military presence that there most certainly was, I was not aware of it at all during any of today’s activities.

I hope that you got a chance to see this evening’s 90 minute Celebrating America  shown at least on both CNN and MSNBC, and possibly NBC, ABC  and CBS as well.  Meanwhile, not only was it not shown on Fox, Fox spent its time talking about no less than the “Hunter Biden scandal” and how the Democratic war on the police will now continue and accelerate.

If you were able to see any of the virtual Democratic National Convention this past summer, and you enjoyed that, well tonight’s production was that on steroids.  There were so many excellent musical performances – my favorites being those of John Legend, and also Lovely Day belted out by Demi Lovato.

I particularly enjoyed seeing the three former Presidents speaking together and all wishing Biden and Harris their best, and offering their assistance if ever they want it.

Other high points for me today were …

• All three singers at this noon’s inauguration ceremony – Lady Gaga (dressed in her best Hunger Games outfit), J Lo, and even Garth Brooks (sans his ubiquitous hat).
• The wonderful young poet Laureate, Amanda Gorman, and her inspiring delivery.
• Vice President Harris swearing in the three, new Democratic Senators – Warnock and Ossoff from Georgia and Padilla from California.  It was cute when Harris introduced Padilla and laughed when she read that he was appointed to replace former Senator Kamala Harris who had resigned.
• President Biden telling the newly, virtually sworn in government employees that if he ever hears that they have treated someone with disrespect, or have talked down to someone … “I will fire you on the spot.”
• Jen Psaki’s first edition of the return to what promises to be professional, competent daily White House press briefings.
• The interviews of new Senators Rev. Ralph Warnock and Luis Padilla by Rachel Maddow on MSNBC.  Both came across as intelligent, fresh, serious additions to a U.S. Senate which is badly in need of all of those qualities.
• Katy Perry’s final song that accompanied the spectacular fireworks that engulfed the Washington Monument, and which completed this evening’s Celebrating America.

I found myself smiling at the television today perhaps more than I have in total over these past four horrible years. Best of all, I don’t think I so much as thought of He Who Must Not Be Named even once.

We’re a long way from being out of the woods with our multiple national crises. But I for one certainly feel so much more optimistic with the people who took charge today.  

We should all hope that my optimism is not misplaced.

Featured Video of the Week: “If my grandmother had wheels …”

PUT THE IMMIGRANT RELOCATION DILEMMA RIGHT BACK IN THE LAPS OF DESANTIS AND ABBOTT (An Editorial)

This is from a morning talk show, ITV’s This Morning, on British television.  The male and female hosts, Holly Willoughby and Phil Schofield are doing a segment with their celebrity chef Gino, who is very Italian, as this clip will attest.  Holly has a suggestion for Gino’s macaroni and cheese dish.  If you check out You Tube, you will also find quite a few more funny segments with Holly and Phil.

Here’s another clip of Holly, Phil and Gino …

Featured Video of the Week: “Hugh Janus”

The weather guy’s name is Henry DiCarlo.  He is part of the KTLA early morning TV team out in Los Angeles and I believe he is still broadcasting.  Check out some of his other You Tube videos.  They are generally hilarious.

Quick Quips: YOU GOTTA ADMIT. TRUMP DOES OCCASIONALLY SPUR CREATIVITY.

Pithy Quotes

From  Cold Cold Bones … A Kathy Reichs’ novel featuring Temperance Brennan (aka Bones)

Tempe is speaking with a medical examiner who is working on the body of a guy who had recently fallen from a zip line.

Tempe asks her what might be the possible cause of death?

           She says, “Acute Numerical Assumption.”

           Tempe looks at her quizzically

           She responds, “His number was up.”

 

 

From  Jack Reacher … A Lee Child novel made into a TV series on Amazon Prime

Reacher is surrounded by toughs in an alley.  When they ask him what he thinks he’s gonna’ do, Reacher tells them that he is going to break the wrists of three guys.

One of them says, “But there are four of us?”

Reacher responds, “One of you has to be able to drive to the hospital.”

 

From  The New Girl … A Gabriel Allon novel by Daniel Silva

An Israeli agent asks a doctor about the condition of a Russian oligarch who was just exposed to radiation used in an assassination attempt.  

“How bad is he?” 

“A little south of Hiroshima … but not much”

 

 

From  Vanished … A  novel by Joseph Finder

Nick Heller after speaking with the corrupt CEO of a private security company …

“Wash DC is to lying what Hershey PA is to chocolate.“

 

From  Killing Season… A  Peter Decker/Rina Lazurus novel by Faye Kellerman

(An old joke)  “The difference between involvement and commitment is like the difference between bacon and eggs.

The chicken is involved.

             The pig is committed.”

From Monday Mourning … A Temperance Brennan novel by Kathy Reichs.

          A woman calls a man up at 5 in the morning.

“Did I wake you up?”, she asks.   “Nahh. I had to get up anyway to answer the phone.“

 

 

From Terminal Freeze… A novel by Lincoln Child.

          In the Arctic, the ratio of men to women is said to be 10 to 1.

It is also said that “If a woman is interested, the odds are good … but the goods are odd.“

 

 

From Lethal Agent … A Mitch Rapp CIA thriller by Kyle Mills.

Rapp’s mentor, Stan Hurley:  “It’s not how you play the game, its whether or not your opponent ends up dismembered in some woods..

From The Lost Boys … A Peter Decker/Rina Lazurus novel by Faye Kellerman.

              Fool me once, shame on you.

              Fool me twice, shame on me.

              Fool me a third time, and someone is

                    a moronic dumbass.   (Chris Donatti)

A woman in need of a liver transplant is told by her Russian boyfriend (who happens to be an assassin!) that he offered to donate part of his own liver to her, but was refused.

She told him, “Doesn’t matter.  They say you should never accept a liver from a Russian.”      (From the Mitch Rapp spy novel, Red War, by Kyle Mills.)

He was so dumb … “He couldn’t plan a fart after eating beans.”  (from The Mercedes Coffin by Faye Kellerman)

Police Lieutenant Milo Sturgis gets a call from a murder suspect who says he wants to talk and he asks Milo if they can meet.

Milo looks at his friend, Alex Delaware, and says, “If I respond ‘Hell, yeah’, do you think that would sound too eager?”

“His hometown is so fuckin’ small, the Laundromat uses a clothesline.” (Author John Sandford, paraphrased slightly from his novel Golden Prey)

“Spank me, I’ve been a bad boy.”  (The Donald, 2006, to Stormy Daniels)

After getting roughed up in a fight, Hawk asks Spenser what happened.  “I cut myself shaving.”  To which Hawk replies, “What, you shaving with a weed wacker now?”

Hawk to Spenser talking about two thugs they are tailing:  “If those boys were any dumber, you’d have to water ’em.”

Capt. Marty Quirk to Spenser:  “Shit happens.  You should probably Just put that on your business cards.”

“Your mother was a vending machine and your father was a roto-rooter.”  An annoyed Louise Baltimore speaking to her robot Sherman in the 1983 novel Millennium.

“I solve all my cases.  They’re just not all solved yet.”  Spenser, 1994

“Better here than Philadelphia” on WC Fields’ tombstone

“I’ll have what she’s having” from When Harry Met Sally, 1989

 

From the movie Absence of Malice starring Paul Newman and Sally Field, and with one of the recently passed Wilford Brimley’s best character performances.

 

A dirty, local district attorney tells Brimley, who is an Asst. Attorney General, that recent bad publicity for the justice department was due to a leak.

 

Brimley answers, “A leak? You call that a leak? The last time there was a leak like that, Noah built hisself a boat!”

 

 

 

“Ending Theme” from “Field of Dreams”

As befitting of my all-time favorite movie – 1989’s Field of Dreams, starring Kevin Costner, there are already two other links here in the My Favorite Music section of this blog to the original soundtrack.

James Horner composed the music for this movie.  Along with John Williams, he is my favorite composer.  Horner went on to compose music for many of our best known films, such as An American Tail, Avatar  and Titanic, to name just a few.  Horner tragically died in June of 2015 at the age of just 61 in a private plane crash.

Near the end of this music section is a link to Horner’s original “A Catch With My Father“. The link I am providing now is to a wonderful, spot-on performance of that same, ending theme of Field of Dreams, which was performed at Fumicité – the Tenerife International Film Music Festival in 2012.

If you are a music nerd like me, please consider listening to “A Catch With My Father” first, and then listen to this link. I have never heard a more perfect rendition, even by the original composer.

This was conducted by Spanish composer Diego Navarro, and is performed by the Tenerife Symphony Orchestra.

Please feel free to add a Comment below if perhaps you too have enjoyed this movie as much as I have over the years, and what you think of this performance. You may also wish to scroll through and listen to some of my other Favorite Music clips. I would like to hear which of them you might also like, and perhaps you can suggest some others to me as well.

Thank you for reading and listening.

Pithy Quotes

From  Cold Cold Bones … A Kathy Reichs’ novel featuring Temperance Brennan (aka Bones)

Tempe is speaking with a medical examiner who is working on the body of a guy who had recently fallen from a zip line.

Tempe asks her what might be the possible cause of death?

           She says, “Acute Numerical Assumption.”

           Tempe looks at her quizzically

           She responds, “His number was up.”

 

 

From  Jack Reacher … A Lee Child novel made into a TV series on Amazon Prime

Reacher is surrounded by toughs in an alley.  When they ask him what he thinks he’s gonna’ do, Reacher tells them that he is going to break the wrists of three guys.

One of them says, “But there are four of us?”

Reacher responds, “One of you has to be able to drive to the hospital.”

 

From  The New Girl … A Gabriel Allon novel by Daniel Silva

An Israeli agent asks a doctor about the condition of a Russian oligarch who was just exposed to radiation used in an assassination attempt.  

“How bad is he?” 

“A little south of Hiroshima … but not much”

 

 

From  Vanished … A  novel by Joseph Finder

Nick Heller after speaking with the corrupt CEO of a private security company …

“Wash DC is to lying what Hershey PA is to chocolate.“

 

From  Killing Season… A  Peter Decker/Rina Lazurus novel by Faye Kellerman

(An old joke)  “The difference between involvement and commitment is like the difference between bacon and eggs.

The chicken is involved.

             The pig is committed.”

From Monday Mourning … A Temperance Brennan novel by Kathy Reichs.

          A woman calls a man up at 5 in the morning.

“Did I wake you up?”, she asks.   “Nahh. I had to get up anyway to answer the phone.“

 

 

From Terminal Freeze… A novel by Lincoln Child.

          In the Arctic, the ratio of men to women is said to be 10 to 1.

It is also said that “If a woman is interested, the odds are good … but the goods are odd.“

 

 

From Lethal Agent … A Mitch Rapp CIA thriller by Kyle Mills.

Rapp’s mentor, Stan Hurley:  “It’s not how you play the game, its whether or not your opponent ends up dismembered in some woods..

From The Lost Boys … A Peter Decker/Rina Lazurus novel by Faye Kellerman.

              Fool me once, shame on you.

              Fool me twice, shame on me.

              Fool me a third time, and someone is

                    a moronic dumbass.   (Chris Donatti)

A woman in need of a liver transplant is told by her Russian boyfriend (who happens to be an assassin!) that he offered to donate part of his own liver to her, but was refused.

She told him, “Doesn’t matter.  They say you should never accept a liver from a Russian.”      (From the Mitch Rapp spy novel, Red War, by Kyle Mills.)

He was so dumb … “He couldn’t plan a fart after eating beans.”  (from The Mercedes Coffin by Faye Kellerman)

Police Lieutenant Milo Sturgis gets a call from a murder suspect who says he wants to talk and he asks Milo if they can meet.

Milo looks at his friend, Alex Delaware, and says, “If I respond ‘Hell, yeah’, do you think that would sound too eager?”

“His hometown is so fuckin’ small, the Laundromat uses a clothesline.” (Author John Sandford, paraphrased slightly from his novel Golden Prey)

“Spank me, I’ve been a bad boy.”  (The Donald, 2006, to Stormy Daniels)

After getting roughed up in a fight, Hawk asks Spenser what happened.  “I cut myself shaving.”  To which Hawk replies, “What, you shaving with a weed wacker now?”

Hawk to Spenser talking about two thugs they are tailing:  “If those boys were any dumber, you’d have to water ’em.”

Capt. Marty Quirk to Spenser:  “Shit happens.  You should probably Just put that on your business cards.”

“Your mother was a vending machine and your father was a roto-rooter.”  An annoyed Louise Baltimore speaking to her robot Sherman in the 1983 novel Millennium.

“I solve all my cases.  They’re just not all solved yet.”  Spenser, 1994

“Better here than Philadelphia” on WC Fields’ tombstone

“I’ll have what she’s having” from When Harry Met Sally, 1989

 

From the movie Absence of Malice starring Paul Newman and Sally Field, and with one of the recently passed Wilford Brimley’s best character performances.

 

A dirty, local district attorney tells Brimley, who is an Asst. Attorney General, that recent bad publicity for the justice department was due to a leak.

 

Brimley answers, “A leak? You call that a leak? The last time there was a leak like that, Noah built hisself a boat!”