The day of the Palestinian election last week, the early exit polls said that the Hamas party had been defeated by a wide margin and would be a minority party in the Palestinian government. Bush went on TV and said it was a great day for democracy in the Middle East because a million Palestinians had voted in democratic elections. Bush practically took credit for the vote as if it would add to his legacy as the man who democratized that region of the world.
I’ll admit that I didn’t believe we could export American liberalism to the Middle East—especially an administration whose mantra was that they didn’t believe in liberalism. I had that brief optimistic feeling I did on that November evening back in 2004, when the exit polls here held out the very valid hope that Bush had been defeated. It had always been impressed upon me that America was the land of the free; home of the brave. I had read about the great things this country had done and I saw evidence of it around me, and to this day you’d better bet I believe it.
Bush had dishonored the country and the flag. He had failed to protect the constitution and yet there were still voters willing to go into the voting booth and put a checkmark behind his name. While the President entertained us with selections from My Pet Goat, his Saudi friends attacked America. While not being able to defend ourselves from these attacks might have ended the careers of most politicians, it only made Bush more popular. And that November, the election was so close that the Bush campaign brought out their top ally, Osama Bin Laden—the man we generally accept as being responsible for the attacks—to give an eleventh-hour stump speech to try to seal the election.
Even so, after I had voted, and those around me, there was only to wait and wait we did. When we began to see early exit polls, it appeared that Osama’s speech had not swayed enough voters and that Bush would be narrowly defeated. The exit polls that night were wrong, as you may remember, as they were the night of the Palestinian election.
Oops.
The following day, when the votes were counted in the Palestinian election, we found the exit polls were dead wrong and that the majority of Palestinians had put a checkmark behind the name of terror.
“Well, Jimbo,” I’m sure most of you are saying, “You’re not bringing much joy into my Sunday morning.”
My answer, of course, is that it is all in how you look at it—“spin it,” if you will. Every comedy television series has some dope of a sidekick who is doing dumb things, every episode, all season long. No matter how many dumb things he or she does, it is funny—the more dumb things, the funnier. We’ve come to expect this out of our Commander-in- Chief, also, every day; every week, every month, every year. Over and over, over and over. When you see Bush on television, you stop what you’re doing and watch and listen, just as you do when the door to Jerry Seinfeld’s apartment opens and Kramer comes in. What will he do this time?
And, for Hamas? Well, now that they are in power, maybe they’ll straighten up and fly right. And, if they don’t, well, will it be any worse than it is right now?
And, as for Wubya? Well, we have three more years of laughs before some other jughead takes his place. Maybe we won’t get an ex-rummy and ex-junky next time. I’m betting the constitution will be around long after Bush is gone.
At least, that’s our take here in Jimbo’s world.
Sunday, January 29, 2006
Thursday, January 19, 2006
drinking to our health
I know that I’ll be sipping a strong one tonight. I also know it will be making me healthy. And, most of all, I know that if I were a religious man, I would cast my eyes toward the heavens and shout:
Thank you, Jesus!
Not being a religious man, I probably will skip the last one. The strong drink I am referring to is cocoa and you can bet your sweet cup of chocolate-colored beverage that instead of drinking one to your health, I’ll be drinking for my health.
Eureka! I read today more compelling evidence that chocolate is, indeed, man’s best friend. It seems that information presented by the National Academy of Sciences confirms that an ingredient in cocoa called flavanols offers cardiovascular health benefits to those who ingest the stuff. Their study presents information that a group of islanders off the coast of Panama, who imbibe large quantities of cocoa, have very low incidence of high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease.
If this isn’t reason to eat and drink oneself into a chocolate frenzy, then we’re not as dedicated to health as we let on. Perhaps you remember previous occasions where I have extolled the benefits of chocolate. Maybe these will remind you.
http://jimboandhisfriends.blogspot.com/2005/03/sweet-dreams-of-healthy-lifestyle.html
http://jimboandhisfriends.blogspot.com/2004/12/i-want-new-drug.html
http://jimboandhisfriends.blogspot.com/2004/11/cure-for-all-ills.html
Okay, I guess I have chocolate on my mind too often. But sometimes, if you listen to a man long enough, his passion will come to the surface. If you notice my Alfred Hitchcock-like profile, you know my passion runs deep.
But that’s just the way it is, here in Jimbo’s world.
Thank you, Jesus!
Not being a religious man, I probably will skip the last one. The strong drink I am referring to is cocoa and you can bet your sweet cup of chocolate-colored beverage that instead of drinking one to your health, I’ll be drinking for my health.
Eureka! I read today more compelling evidence that chocolate is, indeed, man’s best friend. It seems that information presented by the National Academy of Sciences confirms that an ingredient in cocoa called flavanols offers cardiovascular health benefits to those who ingest the stuff. Their study presents information that a group of islanders off the coast of Panama, who imbibe large quantities of cocoa, have very low incidence of high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease.
If this isn’t reason to eat and drink oneself into a chocolate frenzy, then we’re not as dedicated to health as we let on. Perhaps you remember previous occasions where I have extolled the benefits of chocolate. Maybe these will remind you.
http://jimboandhisfriends.blogspot.com/2005/03/sweet-dreams-of-healthy-lifestyle.html
http://jimboandhisfriends.blogspot.com/2004/12/i-want-new-drug.html
http://jimboandhisfriends.blogspot.com/2004/11/cure-for-all-ills.html
Okay, I guess I have chocolate on my mind too often. But sometimes, if you listen to a man long enough, his passion will come to the surface. If you notice my Alfred Hitchcock-like profile, you know my passion runs deep.
But that’s just the way it is, here in Jimbo’s world.
Sunday, January 15, 2006
don't put off until tomorrow...
Around chez Jimbo’s girlfriend we have a problem. We tend to put off doing things. Well, Jimbo has decided this year will be different. I have made a vow to change my ways.
Oh, you say you put off doing things, too?
I don’t want to get into a game of one-upsmanship with you. In the area of putting things off, Jimbo is a serious procrastinator, while you are just an amateur-crastinator. Let me give you an example or two.
Last year when I did my taxes, I filed on line. The Quicken software I used has a rebate. I filed my taxes in February and the rebate papers had to be mailed by October.
Oops. I didn’t get around to sending it before it expired.
We bought a pressure washer at Home Depot last spring to use to clean the deck prior to resealing it. The first time we used it, something popped inside the spray gun and water started leaking everywhere. We never got around to taking it back. After a few months, I took the wand apart, found out that an o-ring had stretched and failed under pressure. I fixed it temporarily with some TLC and some Vaseline, and we were able to pressure wash the deck with it, but it leaked water badly. I determined the o-ring they used was not thick enough to withstand the pressure. We found a package of o-rings at Wal-Mart that had some the same diameter, but thicker, and we bought them. Where are those o-rings now? Still unopened, on a shelf in the garage above the power washer.
Last winter we noticed the kitchen floor, by the sliding door to the deck, was cold under our feet on sub-freezing days.
“I’ll have to do something about that,” I said, taking another drink of coffee.
Last summer, while working under the house, wiring a duplex receptacle, I noticed there was a vent under the sliding door, which would let in cold air.
“I can fix that by stuffing a little insulation in there this fall,” I announced, and then explained in detail the reason why a vent was necessary in that spot, owing to the construction of the house, using very specific engineering formulae. I further extrapolated that during cold weather plugging the vent to prevent cold air from coming in would not defeat the purpose of having the vent there. I believe I went on from there to explain why we lose one second every year due to the inefficiency of our calendar and that it would be necessary, therefore, to have a leap day every five-hundred years to overcome that inefficiency. From there I think I went into detail about why there was a third, un-insulated wire in the Romex cable I was using and the purpose of that wire. I explained why using the insulated cable was such an improvement over the way wiring was done early last century when the norm was using what was known as “knob and tube” wiring. “Knob and tube” wiring required that single insulated wires be run, in pairs, separated by a distance of six inches or so. Ceramic knobs were attached under floors and above rafters through which to pass the wires and keep them apart and when the wires passed through studs or floor joists, a ceramic tube was inserted to keep the wire from touching wood. I believe I may have gone on to explain some other scientific or engineering principles.
Well, to make a long story short, it is cold weather and I have somehow neglected to put the insulation in the vent.
Yes, sir (or ma’am, if that is your gender), it is time for me to make a change in lifestyle and it is time for me to start doing things right away instead of putting them off. I’m going to start first thing tomorrow.
At least, that’s our plan, here in Jimbo’s world.
Oh, you say you put off doing things, too?
I don’t want to get into a game of one-upsmanship with you. In the area of putting things off, Jimbo is a serious procrastinator, while you are just an amateur-crastinator. Let me give you an example or two.
Last year when I did my taxes, I filed on line. The Quicken software I used has a rebate. I filed my taxes in February and the rebate papers had to be mailed by October.
Oops. I didn’t get around to sending it before it expired.
We bought a pressure washer at Home Depot last spring to use to clean the deck prior to resealing it. The first time we used it, something popped inside the spray gun and water started leaking everywhere. We never got around to taking it back. After a few months, I took the wand apart, found out that an o-ring had stretched and failed under pressure. I fixed it temporarily with some TLC and some Vaseline, and we were able to pressure wash the deck with it, but it leaked water badly. I determined the o-ring they used was not thick enough to withstand the pressure. We found a package of o-rings at Wal-Mart that had some the same diameter, but thicker, and we bought them. Where are those o-rings now? Still unopened, on a shelf in the garage above the power washer.
Last winter we noticed the kitchen floor, by the sliding door to the deck, was cold under our feet on sub-freezing days.
“I’ll have to do something about that,” I said, taking another drink of coffee.
Last summer, while working under the house, wiring a duplex receptacle, I noticed there was a vent under the sliding door, which would let in cold air.
“I can fix that by stuffing a little insulation in there this fall,” I announced, and then explained in detail the reason why a vent was necessary in that spot, owing to the construction of the house, using very specific engineering formulae. I further extrapolated that during cold weather plugging the vent to prevent cold air from coming in would not defeat the purpose of having the vent there. I believe I went on from there to explain why we lose one second every year due to the inefficiency of our calendar and that it would be necessary, therefore, to have a leap day every five-hundred years to overcome that inefficiency. From there I think I went into detail about why there was a third, un-insulated wire in the Romex cable I was using and the purpose of that wire. I explained why using the insulated cable was such an improvement over the way wiring was done early last century when the norm was using what was known as “knob and tube” wiring. “Knob and tube” wiring required that single insulated wires be run, in pairs, separated by a distance of six inches or so. Ceramic knobs were attached under floors and above rafters through which to pass the wires and keep them apart and when the wires passed through studs or floor joists, a ceramic tube was inserted to keep the wire from touching wood. I believe I may have gone on to explain some other scientific or engineering principles.
Well, to make a long story short, it is cold weather and I have somehow neglected to put the insulation in the vent.
Yes, sir (or ma’am, if that is your gender), it is time for me to make a change in lifestyle and it is time for me to start doing things right away instead of putting them off. I’m going to start first thing tomorrow.
At least, that’s our plan, here in Jimbo’s world.
Saturday, January 14, 2006
magic bus
Jimbo’s girlfriend likes to get into bed at night and read for a while before she goes to sleep. I’ve gotten in the habit of doing the same. Last week I finished re-reading Albert Camus’s book, The Stranger, and I looked through my library to find another book to read. I’ve had Tom Wolfe’s The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test for years without ever reading it, so I started it the night before last. I understand that Wolfe’s book documents Ken Kesey and his merry pranksters, and what I have read so far seems to confirm that.
Lo and behold, I read this morning that the bus that Kesey navigated across America is being restored. This would definitely fit somewhere between Sometimes A Great Notion and One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest.
It’s a small world.
It seems that Kesey’s 1939 IHC bus (whose name is Further) has been parked in a swamp for years and Kesey’s family is in the process of spiffing up the old wagon.
Some might say that it is a waste of time to bring this rusting hulk back to it’s status of a rolling junker—after all, the bus was scrap yard material forty years ago. We Americans, however, are defined by our pioneering spirit and Kesey, just like Kerouac, took off to find America.
So I say, fix it up. Make it a monument to American manifest destiny. Just don’t try to drive it anywhere. When they took off in it forty years ago, they weren’t sure if it would make it where they were going, so you know it is not going to be reliable transportation, today.
At least that’s what we think here in Jimbo’s world.
Lo and behold, I read this morning that the bus that Kesey navigated across America is being restored. This would definitely fit somewhere between Sometimes A Great Notion and One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest.
It’s a small world.
It seems that Kesey’s 1939 IHC bus (whose name is Further) has been parked in a swamp for years and Kesey’s family is in the process of spiffing up the old wagon.
Some might say that it is a waste of time to bring this rusting hulk back to it’s status of a rolling junker—after all, the bus was scrap yard material forty years ago. We Americans, however, are defined by our pioneering spirit and Kesey, just like Kerouac, took off to find America.
So I say, fix it up. Make it a monument to American manifest destiny. Just don’t try to drive it anywhere. When they took off in it forty years ago, they weren’t sure if it would make it where they were going, so you know it is not going to be reliable transportation, today.
At least that’s what we think here in Jimbo’s world.
Sunday, January 08, 2006
we can't stand pat
Today, those of us who don’t claim to be devout Christians, nor members of the religious right, can thank God we’re not. We can also thank God that, in his wisdom, he has shown us the truth and the light. He has shown us the error of the ways in one that supposedly speaks for Him.
I’m speaking, of course, of the fact that Pat Robertson has started flapping his gums again in such a manner as to give religion a bad name.
If you haven’t heard, today Mr. Robertson suggested that the severe stroke that threatens the life of Israel’s Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was a punishment from God for giving back some land to the Palestinians.
There goes Pat Robertson putting words in God’s mouth again.
“For both prophet and priest are profane;” reads Jeremiah 23:11. “Yea, in my house have I found their wickedness, saith the lord.”
As Jesus was quoted saying in Matthew 7:15, “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inward they are ravening wolves.”
All I can say is that if this isn’t what Jesus was warning us against, then Jesus and I aren’t on the same page.
Back in November I blogged about another of Pat Robertson’s foibles. You don’t remember? I guess it’s because I never pushed the button to put it on my blogsite. Here it is.
On Tuesday, the residents of Dover, PA, voted out members of their school board who had championed the teaching of “intelligent design” over the teaching of evolution. This prompted televangelist Pat Robertson to declare the residents of Dover had voted God out of their city. Robertson suggested if disaster were to befall those residents, they shouldn’t look to God for help.
Coincidently, also on Tuesday, the Kansas Board of Education approved new standards that celebrate the teaching of intelligent design. The theory of intelligent design assumes that the world is so complex it could only have been created by a higher power. The Board of Education went on record earlier this year as saying that evolution “is an unpredictable and unguided natural process that has no discernible direction or goal. It also assumes life arose from an unguided natural process.”
The day after Christmas last year, a tsunami created havoc in Asia. Late this summer, hurricane Katrina ravaged the gulf coast. Earlier this week a killer tornado tore through parts of Indiana and Kentucky. A common thread running through all three was that they fit the definition of an unguided natural process.
When an earthquake and resulting tsunami killed tens of thousands in Lisbon in 1755, the French philosopher, Voltaire, asked what kind of God would allow such a thing to happen? Perhaps the answer is that these were all natural phenomena, and that God didn’t have anything to do with them. If that is the case, then the residents of Dover are safe from Robertson’s veiled threat.
According to Genesis, chapter three, man’s original sin was to eat fruit from the forbidden tree that looked good, tasted good and made one wise. Adam and Eve’s first sin, therefore, was the pursuit of knowledge. When God found out, he told them they were on their own, as would be their descendents, the whole of mankind. As such, we are all predestined to continue the quest for knowledge. Neither Pat Robertson nor the Kansas Board of Education can reverse that, try as they may. Intelligent design may make us all feel more comfortable, but evolution offers a more rational explanation, even if it isn’t pretty; even if it isn’t flattering and doesn’t make us feel warm and fuzzy.
Voltaire also said, “If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him.”
Voltaire was one frog who could turn a clever phrase.
If Voltaire were alive today it is likely that he and Pat Robertson would not be in total agreement. As a matter of fact, Robertson’s abrasive comments would probably make them enemies. Voltaire is also credited with the following quotation. Both Voltaire and Robertson are considered men of God, but likely it would be Voltaire’s prayer that was answered.
“I have never made but one prayer to God, a very short one: ‘O Lord make my enemies ridiculous.’ And God granted it.”
The Lord, it seems, works in mysterious ways. If Pat Robertson speaks for the Lord, then it would confirm the old fellow’s ways are more mysterious than we mortals are capable of understanding. However, if the Lord chose a spokesman, I would hope he would pick one who wasn’t shooting off his mouth all the time, or opening his mouth in order to insert his foot.
At least, that’s the way it looks, here in Jimbo’s world.
I’m speaking, of course, of the fact that Pat Robertson has started flapping his gums again in such a manner as to give religion a bad name.
If you haven’t heard, today Mr. Robertson suggested that the severe stroke that threatens the life of Israel’s Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was a punishment from God for giving back some land to the Palestinians.
There goes Pat Robertson putting words in God’s mouth again.
“For both prophet and priest are profane;” reads Jeremiah 23:11. “Yea, in my house have I found their wickedness, saith the lord.”
As Jesus was quoted saying in Matthew 7:15, “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inward they are ravening wolves.”
All I can say is that if this isn’t what Jesus was warning us against, then Jesus and I aren’t on the same page.
Back in November I blogged about another of Pat Robertson’s foibles. You don’t remember? I guess it’s because I never pushed the button to put it on my blogsite. Here it is.
On Tuesday, the residents of Dover, PA, voted out members of their school board who had championed the teaching of “intelligent design” over the teaching of evolution. This prompted televangelist Pat Robertson to declare the residents of Dover had voted God out of their city. Robertson suggested if disaster were to befall those residents, they shouldn’t look to God for help.
Coincidently, also on Tuesday, the Kansas Board of Education approved new standards that celebrate the teaching of intelligent design. The theory of intelligent design assumes that the world is so complex it could only have been created by a higher power. The Board of Education went on record earlier this year as saying that evolution “is an unpredictable and unguided natural process that has no discernible direction or goal. It also assumes life arose from an unguided natural process.”
The day after Christmas last year, a tsunami created havoc in Asia. Late this summer, hurricane Katrina ravaged the gulf coast. Earlier this week a killer tornado tore through parts of Indiana and Kentucky. A common thread running through all three was that they fit the definition of an unguided natural process.
When an earthquake and resulting tsunami killed tens of thousands in Lisbon in 1755, the French philosopher, Voltaire, asked what kind of God would allow such a thing to happen? Perhaps the answer is that these were all natural phenomena, and that God didn’t have anything to do with them. If that is the case, then the residents of Dover are safe from Robertson’s veiled threat.
According to Genesis, chapter three, man’s original sin was to eat fruit from the forbidden tree that looked good, tasted good and made one wise. Adam and Eve’s first sin, therefore, was the pursuit of knowledge. When God found out, he told them they were on their own, as would be their descendents, the whole of mankind. As such, we are all predestined to continue the quest for knowledge. Neither Pat Robertson nor the Kansas Board of Education can reverse that, try as they may. Intelligent design may make us all feel more comfortable, but evolution offers a more rational explanation, even if it isn’t pretty; even if it isn’t flattering and doesn’t make us feel warm and fuzzy.
Voltaire also said, “If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him.”
Voltaire was one frog who could turn a clever phrase.
If Voltaire were alive today it is likely that he and Pat Robertson would not be in total agreement. As a matter of fact, Robertson’s abrasive comments would probably make them enemies. Voltaire is also credited with the following quotation. Both Voltaire and Robertson are considered men of God, but likely it would be Voltaire’s prayer that was answered.
“I have never made but one prayer to God, a very short one: ‘O Lord make my enemies ridiculous.’ And God granted it.”
The Lord, it seems, works in mysterious ways. If Pat Robertson speaks for the Lord, then it would confirm the old fellow’s ways are more mysterious than we mortals are capable of understanding. However, if the Lord chose a spokesman, I would hope he would pick one who wasn’t shooting off his mouth all the time, or opening his mouth in order to insert his foot.
At least, that’s the way it looks, here in Jimbo’s world.
Friday, January 06, 2006
howard's way
Last night I saw Howard Stern on Larry King’s show on CNN. I’m not a huge Howard Stern fan, but the brother has helped put a centavo or two into my pocket, and he has the potential of adding another one or two, so I watch when I see him being interviewed on television. I’ve seen him on Letterman a couple of times and once on 60 Minutes.
By the way, Howard and I don’t have any financial partnerships, it is just that I started watching the stock of Sirius Satellite Radio (Nasdaq: SIRI) late last year and I have been in and out several times since then and have turned a profit. You may recall I mentioned Sirius stock in a blog about some beavers a year ago November.
http://jimboandhisfriends.blogspot.com/2004/11/more-money-than-brains.html
Had you bought and held on my recommendation, you would have doubled your money. Unfortunately, Jimbo didn’t buy and hold, but fortunately he has been a player.
The one thing I have noticed about whenever Howard is on television, he seems to have free reign to tout his new employer, Sirius, and to hype their service and their products. One cannot buy that kind of publicity, yet Howard seems to be allowed to turn his interviews into infomercials. No wonder that it was announced yesterday that Sirius has given Howard $220 million worth of stock. He’s earned it by bringing along his audience to pay radio. He has made it, “in spades,” as he told Larry King last night.
If I were with the competition, I would be concerned about Howard’s ability to hype his product for free, but I’m not, so I should be happy.
“Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars,” as Howard says. Oh, wait! That was Casey Kasem.
When the hype is flowing, sometimes we get caught up in it, too, here in Jimbo’s world.
By the way, Howard and I don’t have any financial partnerships, it is just that I started watching the stock of Sirius Satellite Radio (Nasdaq: SIRI) late last year and I have been in and out several times since then and have turned a profit. You may recall I mentioned Sirius stock in a blog about some beavers a year ago November.
http://jimboandhisfriends.blogspot.com/2004/11/more-money-than-brains.html
Had you bought and held on my recommendation, you would have doubled your money. Unfortunately, Jimbo didn’t buy and hold, but fortunately he has been a player.
The one thing I have noticed about whenever Howard is on television, he seems to have free reign to tout his new employer, Sirius, and to hype their service and their products. One cannot buy that kind of publicity, yet Howard seems to be allowed to turn his interviews into infomercials. No wonder that it was announced yesterday that Sirius has given Howard $220 million worth of stock. He’s earned it by bringing along his audience to pay radio. He has made it, “in spades,” as he told Larry King last night.
If I were with the competition, I would be concerned about Howard’s ability to hype his product for free, but I’m not, so I should be happy.
“Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars,” as Howard says. Oh, wait! That was Casey Kasem.
When the hype is flowing, sometimes we get caught up in it, too, here in Jimbo’s world.
Monday, January 02, 2006
a palindrome, a quark and a production
I’m reminded this morning of why the Internet is so important.
We saw The Producers last night and I am considering reviewing it. In doing my research, I was looking back at some of the things Mel Brooks had done before. I was looking for some information about a television program with which I thought he was involved. It turns out I was wrong about his having any involvement, but I was able to find some information about the program. I found it under some other virtual junk, tucked away in a virtual nook, beside a virtual cranny, but it was out there for the finding.
I find that sometimes the mind plays tricks on us. Sometimes the things we remember turn out not to be exactly as we thought. For example, when I was nineteen years old, I remember I was 5’ 11-3/4” tall. Sometimes when they asked my height, I’d just say six feet. I remember that on the basketball court I could jump up and touch a finger or two on the rim. I can still remember how the rim felt to the touch, and it felt good. Today, I can touch the net, but there is a large distance from the bottom of the net to the rim, and last time I measured myself, I was closer to 5’ 10.” Did I imagine touching cold, hard steel? What the hell? I’m sticking with my story. All of which leads me to my next question.
Where were you between late February and mid-April, 1978? If you were alive and in front of the television, you may remember Quark. In space, someone has to pick up the trash, and Quark was about a spaceship and its crew that went around picking up the garbage. Richard Benjamin played Commander Quark (sounds like “Captain Kirk” doesn’t it)? The “Spock” character was a guy named Ficus, who was the science officer and, if memory serves, a plant. No, I don’t mean that some evil villain secretly planted him inside the ship with diabolic intent—I mean he was botanic rather than biologic. He was vegetable rather than animal; he was full of chlorophyll instead of blood. There was Gene/Jean, who was all man, or all woman, or at least 50% of each. They received their orders from Otto Palindrome. I had forgotten that his first name was Otto, which is, in itself, a palindrome. That character was played by Conrad Janis, who played Mindy’s father on Mork and Mindy.
Quark was a clever satire, but if you blinked your eyes you missed it, because it was only on for six episodes.
At this point, many of you are probably saying, “Jimbo, we could have gotten through this day without knowing about this. What about The Producers? Weren’t you going to tell us about that?”
Well, The Producers was good, funny and entertaining, but I’m not recommending it. I thought the original was better. There was too much singing and dancing for my tastes. Plus, they could have used Dick Shawn. Unfortunately, he is dead. Did I mention Dick Shawn was a frigging nut? Oh, yeah. I told you that a couple of days ago, didn’t I? I suppose when it seems to us that a failed television series of almost thirty years ago is more interesting that a hit movie, it tells us all we need to know.
At least that’s what we think here in Jimbo’s world.
We saw The Producers last night and I am considering reviewing it. In doing my research, I was looking back at some of the things Mel Brooks had done before. I was looking for some information about a television program with which I thought he was involved. It turns out I was wrong about his having any involvement, but I was able to find some information about the program. I found it under some other virtual junk, tucked away in a virtual nook, beside a virtual cranny, but it was out there for the finding.
I find that sometimes the mind plays tricks on us. Sometimes the things we remember turn out not to be exactly as we thought. For example, when I was nineteen years old, I remember I was 5’ 11-3/4” tall. Sometimes when they asked my height, I’d just say six feet. I remember that on the basketball court I could jump up and touch a finger or two on the rim. I can still remember how the rim felt to the touch, and it felt good. Today, I can touch the net, but there is a large distance from the bottom of the net to the rim, and last time I measured myself, I was closer to 5’ 10.” Did I imagine touching cold, hard steel? What the hell? I’m sticking with my story. All of which leads me to my next question.
Where were you between late February and mid-April, 1978? If you were alive and in front of the television, you may remember Quark. In space, someone has to pick up the trash, and Quark was about a spaceship and its crew that went around picking up the garbage. Richard Benjamin played Commander Quark (sounds like “Captain Kirk” doesn’t it)? The “Spock” character was a guy named Ficus, who was the science officer and, if memory serves, a plant. No, I don’t mean that some evil villain secretly planted him inside the ship with diabolic intent—I mean he was botanic rather than biologic. He was vegetable rather than animal; he was full of chlorophyll instead of blood. There was Gene/Jean, who was all man, or all woman, or at least 50% of each. They received their orders from Otto Palindrome. I had forgotten that his first name was Otto, which is, in itself, a palindrome. That character was played by Conrad Janis, who played Mindy’s father on Mork and Mindy.
Quark was a clever satire, but if you blinked your eyes you missed it, because it was only on for six episodes.
At this point, many of you are probably saying, “Jimbo, we could have gotten through this day without knowing about this. What about The Producers? Weren’t you going to tell us about that?”
Well, The Producers was good, funny and entertaining, but I’m not recommending it. I thought the original was better. There was too much singing and dancing for my tastes. Plus, they could have used Dick Shawn. Unfortunately, he is dead. Did I mention Dick Shawn was a frigging nut? Oh, yeah. I told you that a couple of days ago, didn’t I? I suppose when it seems to us that a failed television series of almost thirty years ago is more interesting that a hit movie, it tells us all we need to know.
At least that’s what we think here in Jimbo’s world.
Sunday, January 01, 2006
having a smoke together
I guess New Year’s Day is a light news day, because I read a story this morning about the hookah craze. No, this isn’t about a resurgence in popularity of ladies of the evening. Hookah’s are pipes used to smoke tobacco, and are typically used by several people at the same time. There is a community bowl of smoldering tobacco in the hookah and several hoses with mouthpieces connected to them. A group of people typically sits around the hookah and smokes from it at the same time. These things are popular in the Middle East. You may recall the caterpillar in Alice in Wonderland, was toking on one of these things. The general consensus, however, is that this particular insect was smoking something other than Carolina Burleigh in his pipe, and what he was smoking may have, it is suggested, caused his bizarre behavior.
The behavior of the caterpillar takes me back in time a number of years to my youth, when one could purchase a hookah at one of those “tobacco smoking accessories” stores. If you’re old enough you may remember having one in your neighborhood. They were typically places with sitar music playing, a door to the back room made of beads on a string and a guy who welcomed you into the establishment with the greeting, “Hey, man. What’s happening?” There were usually a selection of pipes and incense inside the glass counters and zigzag papers for sale behind the cash register. Or, at least, that’s what I am told as I would never have gone into one of those places myself.
You may recall that I blogged about hookahs a little over a year ago, on what must also have been a slow news day. Okay, you probably don’t. Hell, I barely remember it, myself, but here is what I said. Please disregard my ranting in the first paragraph about how oil prices at $42.50 a barrel were out of sight, as they are nearly 50% higher than that, now.
http://jimboandhisfriends.blogspot.com/2004/12/happy-hookah.html
Anyway, like I said, it appears to be a slow news day, and I guess, for that matter, a slow blogging day. So I guess I just wrap this thing up by telling you HAPPY NEW YEAR from here in Jimbo’s world.
The behavior of the caterpillar takes me back in time a number of years to my youth, when one could purchase a hookah at one of those “tobacco smoking accessories” stores. If you’re old enough you may remember having one in your neighborhood. They were typically places with sitar music playing, a door to the back room made of beads on a string and a guy who welcomed you into the establishment with the greeting, “Hey, man. What’s happening?” There were usually a selection of pipes and incense inside the glass counters and zigzag papers for sale behind the cash register. Or, at least, that’s what I am told as I would never have gone into one of those places myself.
You may recall that I blogged about hookahs a little over a year ago, on what must also have been a slow news day. Okay, you probably don’t. Hell, I barely remember it, myself, but here is what I said. Please disregard my ranting in the first paragraph about how oil prices at $42.50 a barrel were out of sight, as they are nearly 50% higher than that, now.
http://jimboandhisfriends.blogspot.com/2004/12/happy-hookah.html
Anyway, like I said, it appears to be a slow news day, and I guess, for that matter, a slow blogging day. So I guess I just wrap this thing up by telling you HAPPY NEW YEAR from here in Jimbo’s world.
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