I'm sorry, but this never gets old.
Happy Father's Day!!!!
Didn't publish last week mainly because I was still licking my wounds over the Rangers getting shown the door by the Panthers. I figured the world didn't need another week of my complaining about my sports teams. Between the Rangers getting knocked out by a team I might be the only person in the world who still thinks we should have beaten, the Knicks gallant but ultimately fruitless pursuit of an NBA Title, the Mets pooping the bed on two continents, and the Jets making news for all the wrong reasons (as usual), 6 weeks away from training camp nonetheless, I have to find me some new hobbies, ones that don't wreak havoc on my nervous system.
For now, we'll start with some politics to get the juices flowin....
CRIME: Hunter Biden Guilty
We'll do this as one of those old Bill O'Reilly Talking Points Memos...
- Was kind of surprised that the son of President Biden didn't have the full-blooded support of the NRA and other such groups. After all, just like Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence, we're all entitled to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Guns*. "All the guns we want" according to comedian John Mulaney. I didn't realize the line for gun purchasing is smoking crack. You could write 100 times in a school notebook how you want to come to school and shoot up your classmates, and they'll give you a gun. But whatever you do, don't try to buy a gun while smoking rock, especially if you are a Democrat. That's a no-no. Live and learn.
- Since my stance on guns can be summed up as less is more, I had no problem with Hunter Biden being found guilty this week. I wasn't sitting on the jury, but from what I read and heard, the evidence against him was well beyond a reasonable doubt. And I kept waiting for the President and his fervent supporters to come out and scream about how the judge, jury and the whole justice system was stacked against them. Still waiting in fact. Guess that only happens when Captain (Convicted Felon) Orange is on trial.
- Speaking of C (CF) O- the Supreme Court on Friday struck down a ban on bump stocks, a device that pretty much turns semiautomatic rifles into machine guns. (Because we need more of those) The ban had been enacted by (believe it or not) the Trump administration in the wake of a mass shooting in Las Vegas that saw 60 people killed and over 400 wounded. I mean, this falls strictly into the "even a broken clock is right twice a day" department. Captain Orange does something smart and sensible, only to have three of the folks he appointed to SCOTUS plus three others who have clearly become his stooges**, overturn it on him. The nerve! I've been anxiously awaiting the angry Truth Social post in which he attacks those spineless, ungrateful losers who so brazenly defied him. How dare they go against their dear leader! He must not have gotten around to it yet. Father's Day and all.
- I also saw that Newtown High School in Connecticut had their graduation ceremony this week. The graduating class of 2024 was about 20 students short, being that they were cut down 12 years ago as first graders at Sandy Hook Elementary School. That this graduation ceremony was held the same week the Supreme Court decided to let people make their already dangerous weapons even more deadly is just one of those things that makes my stomach turn.
TV REVIEW:
Quiet on the Set-The Dark Side of Kids TV.
One of the perks as it were of having kids is that you get to re-introduce yourself to children's programming. When he was really young, Tim was all about Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (in particular) and pretty much whatever Disney Jr. offered up. As he got older, he bopped over to Nickelodeon's Nick Jr. (Bubble Guppies, the Wonder Pets***) before he graduated to regular Nickelodeon. Amongst the shows he watched faithfully, were Henry Danger, iCarly, Game Shakers and iCarly spinoff Sam and Cat. I'm sure there were others, but those are the four than come to mind.
These shows were all the creation of the guy I only knew previous as the fat kid on Head of the Class. I believe I've stated once or twice on these pages that I had a crush on Simone from Head of the Class (which has nothing to do with this topic, but I figured I'd mention it again)
Simone Foster and Dennis Blunden (Khrystyne Haje and Dan Schneider)
Dan Schnieder went from playing Fat Dennis (best friend of nerd Arvid) to creating kids' content on Nickelodeon. He co-hosted the Kids Choice Awards in 1988, where he met some executives at Nickelodeon. Soon after Head of the Class ended, he went to work as a writer on All That. Two shows that spun off from All That were Kenan and Kel, with now 20-year SNL vet Keenan Thompson, and the Amanda Show, starring Amanda Bynes.
Bynes has had her share of problems as an adult, and this documentary seems to very strongly suggest that many of her issues may have resulted from being mistreated either by Schnider himself or people who worked for him.
And it goes from there.
I'm not sure how the hell he heard about it, but Tim insisted that I watch this. He swears it's not to point out what a lousy parent I was for letting him watch these shows. I don't want to give away too much and certainly not some of the more disturbing elements of the docu-series, but there were a couple things that made it on to Sam and Cat that had me questioning my parenting credentials. Cat Valentine (played by current music superstar Ariana Grande) and Sam Puckett (played by Jeanette McCurdy) played roommates. There was a scene they showed where Cat was trying to squeeze juice out of a potato. The way she was doing it though, well, I'm sure it's on-line somewhere. You be the judge.
Some of the stuff is truly disturbing, some of it is in the eyes of the beholder. I was happy for Dan Schnieder when I saw he was creating all these shows. Before the interwebs, it was tough to find out what happened to actors or actresses you watched as a kid. You would have thought he would have been a better person, but like the saying goes, absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Again, watch it and judge it for yourself.
I believe it is still streaming on HBO/Max. Otherwise you can check your local listings. (Do they still have local listings.?) Incidentally, I listen to a show on 107.1 FM in Westchester on Saturday nights called the 90's at Night. The DJ, Meg White (not THE Meg White) plays a lot of Nirvana, Smashing Pumkpins, Oasis etc. She watched the docu-series and thanked HBO/Max for "ruining her childhood."
COMPETITIVE EATING- Joey Chestnut BANNED from Nathan's Hot Dog Contest..
On Tuesday the folks who run the July 4th Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest on Coney Island announced that 8- time defending champion and 16-time overall champ Joey Chestnut would not be allowed to defend his title this year because he had entered into an agreement with a rival hot dog company.
Impossible Foods, the folks who brought us the Impossible Burger, a plant based, meatless burger, have apparently developed a meatless, plant based hot dog. Chestnut reportedly has signed an endorsement deal with the company, and that according to Major League Eating (a name I can't read, much less type without cracking up) is a big no-no.
MLE's statement..
“For nearly two decades we have worked under the same basic hot dog exclusivity provisions,” the statement said. “However, it seems that Joey and his managers have prioritized a new partnership with a different hot dog brand over our long-time relationship.”
and also..
MLE and Nathan’s went to great lengths in recent months to accommodate Joey and his management team, agreeing to the appearance fee and allowing Joey to compete in a rival unbranded hot dog eating contest on Labor Day,
Chestnut for his part says he is "gutted" by MLE's decision, according to Steve Cuozzo in the Post. An interesting choice of words for a man who scarfs down hot dogs for a living.
The Washington Post reported that Chestnut offered to put a stipulation in his deal with Impossible Foods to promote all foods except for hot dogs, but that was turned down.
I'd offer to take Chestnut's place on Coney Island, as Ed (Auggie) DePuy once claimed that I downed "47 one-dollar hot dogs" at the Brendan Byrne Arena on Valentine's Day 1995.****. Problem is I have to work at the hospital on the 5th, and if I attempted to eat half that many hot dogs, the only thing I'd be doing at the hospital on July 5th is having my stomach pumped and my arteries (re)stented.
For everyone's sake, I hope cooler heads prevail and Chestnut gets to compete. It would be like not having Caitlin Clark participate in the Summer Olympics.
Whoops!
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I hope all my fellow Dad's out there had a great day today, and to the people in my life that made my Father's Day special (my wife, son, parents, sisters and in-laws) a from the bottom of my heart thank you to all.
Also, it was 55 years ago this month that my dad was injured in Vietnam. Here is the Father's day special I wrote 5 years ago to honor him on the 50th anniversary.
Like I said in the above blogpost, you don't always have to look far to find your heroes.
Thank you everyone
Stay Safe,
and Have a Great Week
* It's the pursuit of happiness you say? According to John Lennon, Happiness is a Warm Gun. Though I think he had something else in mind when he wrote that.
**I'm still holding out hope that John Roberts isn't in the tank for Trump, as it now appears his fellow Bush and Bush Sr. appointees Samuel Alito and Clearance Thomas are. I'm probably pissing into the wind on that one.
***Timmy went to a classmate's birthday party in 2011 where they had someone dressed as Ming Ming the Duckling from the Wonder Pets. A lot of the kids got upset and wouldn't go near Ming-Ming. When someone wondered aloud what the problem was, I suggested that maybe getting someone as tall as Yao Ming to dress as Ming-Ming wasn't the best idea. Thankfully I wasn't banned from any future parties, but I'm sure the thought crossed the hosts minds.
****It was 4 not 47.
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