Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the almighty.
Psalm 91:1
Psalm 91:1
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DEAR POLITICAL BLOG
October 18, 2021
A Republican Governor in Virginia? Not so fast, my friend.
Youngkin may be a RINO but he beats a running dog progressive/statist like McAuliffe.
Dear Political Blog:
October 18, 2001
Glenn Youngkin was thought to be the sacrificial lamb to another Democrat victory in Virginia, but recent events show that he has a chance to pull off a major, if not seismic upset. But Dear Political Blog too many people are forgetting something. The elephant, or if you prefer, the donkey in the room is that the Democrats and will cheat big time.
October 18, 2001
Glenn Youngkin was thought to be the sacrificial lamb to another Democrat victory in Virginia, but recent events show that he has a chance to pull off a major, if not seismic upset. But Dear Political Blog too many people are forgetting something. The elephant, or if you prefer, the donkey in the room is that the Democrats and will cheat big time.
- Let me not mince any words; McAulliffe will not lose in Virginia. there's no way in Earth that the Democrats are going to let Virginians elect a Republican Governor, and possibly a Republican state legislature. I told my wife that the only way the Democrats would win in November 2020 was that they would have to egregiously cheat and not care who knows; and that what happened then and that's what will happen in Virginia. The current polls have Youngkins with a slight lead and slight is not enough. For Youngkins to have a chance he needs to have at least a four or five point lead to have chance.
- If McAuliffe (let me be positive for a moment and not accept it as a fait accompli) wins the question arises as to what progressive/statist laws will he impose on the states. A few of the bills Newsom passed were: No more gas-powered lawn mowers and leaf blowers, gender-neutral toy sections in stores, Ethnic studies requirement along with twenty-nine other bills. IMO, McAuliffe will do whatever he can to ensure that Virginia continues on its path to becoming a California and New York State.
DEAR BASEBALL BLOG:
October 15,2021
1960 Game 7-Where was Ford and who put that pebble there?
DEAR BASEBALL BLOG:
October 15, 2021
A couple of days ago was the 61st Anniversary of Bill Mazeroski's game winning home in the bottom of the ninth of game seven to beat the New York Yankees.
As you know Dear Baseball Blog that homer is still as fresh in my mind now as it was then. I was surfing youtube and came upon a show commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Pirates 1960 World Championship. There were a lot of Pirate players from that team. Series MVP Bobby Richardson was the only Yankee. They replayed the final three innings of what many consider the greatest World Series game in baseball history. I watched the grainy black and white game and it was as if it happened yesterday.
I was in fifth grade. Robert Schroeder brought his transistor radio and was secretly filling us in on the game, until the teacher, who knew all along, gave him the okay and we could listen until the bell rang and school was out. I lived only a block away and was able to watch the last three innings. The Yankees three wins were by scores 16-1, 10-0, and 12-0. The Bucs victories were 6-4, 3-2, and 5-2. Casey Stengel was fired after game seven. He cited his age as a reason and said he’d never make the mistake of turning 70 again. But, the entire series was mismanaged and game seven was the final straw.
The biggest controversy was why he didn’t have Ford start game one. Art Ditmar started games one and four for a total of 1.2 innings. Ford threw complete game shut outs in Games three and six with respective scores of 10-0 and 12-0. In both games the Yankees were ahead 10-0 going into the seventh, so why didn’t he take him out and save him for a possible seventh game? Stengel had him warming up in game seven and had he not pitched 18 innings in two blow outs it would have a no brainer to put him in the game.
When the slow moving Dale Long pinch hit a single in the eighth Stengel kept him in the game when it called for a pinch runner. On a single to right Long "raced" to third. If Clemente not bobbled Mantle’s ground single he would have easily thrown out Long going to third. It was then the Ol' Perfesser had Gil McDougald run for Long. Better late than never, huh?
The bad hop grounder that hit Tony Kubek in the throat on what would have been a sure DP was a punch to the gut. A few batters there would be Hal Smith’s three run homer. It should be noted that with two strikes Smith tried to check his swing. I say tried because it's evident that the bat easily crossed the plate. Had it been called properly then Smith is out and there's no three run shot.The ninth saw Mantle evading a double play that allowed the Yanks to tie the game, and then-in the bottom of the ninth-Mazeroski’s shot. It’s been almost sixty years, and it’s like it happened yesterday.
There were some interesting things. On a two strike pitch Hal Smith’s check swing easily crossed the plate and could have been called a strike. The legendary Roberto Clemente bobbled two ground singles. The first had no impact, but the second would have seen Long thrown out at third. There were NO strike-outs in that game. There was a beautiful double play from Kubek to Richardson to Skowron that would be on ESPN all week long. Bobby Shantz pitched five scoring innings and if the ball doesn’t hit a rock more than likely would have thrown six scoreless innings.
It’s not sour grapes to say the Pirates got the breaks. The former Pirate players on the show said that game seven was symbolic of their entire season. Maybe a Pittsburgh win was meant to be. Who knows? Although I missed the first six innings I’m glad it was played in the day time for part of the mystique was sitting anxiously and nervously listening to Robert Schroeder giving us updates and then me flying home to see the ending of the greatest WS game in baseball.
As for me…well it was a shock. I couldn’t believe it. I was a fan. A true fan. There is no crying in baseball? Not all the time.
October 15, 2021
A couple of days ago was the 61st Anniversary of Bill Mazeroski's game winning home in the bottom of the ninth of game seven to beat the New York Yankees.
As you know Dear Baseball Blog that homer is still as fresh in my mind now as it was then. I was surfing youtube and came upon a show commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Pirates 1960 World Championship. There were a lot of Pirate players from that team. Series MVP Bobby Richardson was the only Yankee. They replayed the final three innings of what many consider the greatest World Series game in baseball history. I watched the grainy black and white game and it was as if it happened yesterday.
I was in fifth grade. Robert Schroeder brought his transistor radio and was secretly filling us in on the game, until the teacher, who knew all along, gave him the okay and we could listen until the bell rang and school was out. I lived only a block away and was able to watch the last three innings. The Yankees three wins were by scores 16-1, 10-0, and 12-0. The Bucs victories were 6-4, 3-2, and 5-2. Casey Stengel was fired after game seven. He cited his age as a reason and said he’d never make the mistake of turning 70 again. But, the entire series was mismanaged and game seven was the final straw.
The biggest controversy was why he didn’t have Ford start game one. Art Ditmar started games one and four for a total of 1.2 innings. Ford threw complete game shut outs in Games three and six with respective scores of 10-0 and 12-0. In both games the Yankees were ahead 10-0 going into the seventh, so why didn’t he take him out and save him for a possible seventh game? Stengel had him warming up in game seven and had he not pitched 18 innings in two blow outs it would have a no brainer to put him in the game.
When the slow moving Dale Long pinch hit a single in the eighth Stengel kept him in the game when it called for a pinch runner. On a single to right Long "raced" to third. If Clemente not bobbled Mantle’s ground single he would have easily thrown out Long going to third. It was then the Ol' Perfesser had Gil McDougald run for Long. Better late than never, huh?
The bad hop grounder that hit Tony Kubek in the throat on what would have been a sure DP was a punch to the gut. A few batters there would be Hal Smith’s three run homer. It should be noted that with two strikes Smith tried to check his swing. I say tried because it's evident that the bat easily crossed the plate. Had it been called properly then Smith is out and there's no three run shot.The ninth saw Mantle evading a double play that allowed the Yanks to tie the game, and then-in the bottom of the ninth-Mazeroski’s shot. It’s been almost sixty years, and it’s like it happened yesterday.
There were some interesting things. On a two strike pitch Hal Smith’s check swing easily crossed the plate and could have been called a strike. The legendary Roberto Clemente bobbled two ground singles. The first had no impact, but the second would have seen Long thrown out at third. There were NO strike-outs in that game. There was a beautiful double play from Kubek to Richardson to Skowron that would be on ESPN all week long. Bobby Shantz pitched five scoring innings and if the ball doesn’t hit a rock more than likely would have thrown six scoreless innings.
It’s not sour grapes to say the Pirates got the breaks. The former Pirate players on the show said that game seven was symbolic of their entire season. Maybe a Pittsburgh win was meant to be. Who knows? Although I missed the first six innings I’m glad it was played in the day time for part of the mystique was sitting anxiously and nervously listening to Robert Schroeder giving us updates and then me flying home to see the ending of the greatest WS game in baseball.
As for me…well it was a shock. I couldn’t believe it. I was a fan. A true fan. There is no crying in baseball? Not all the time.
WEEK 7PICKS
Home Teams in CAPS
Best Best in RED
Week 7: 10-5
Cumulative: 56W 47L 2T
Best 3-0
Cumulative 12-9
Best Best in RED
Week 7: 10-5
Cumulative: 56W 47L 2T
Best 3-0
Cumulative 12-9
MURDER, MY SWEET |
ACT OF VIOLENCE |
Murder, My Sweet, was the first, and best of the Philip Marlowe films. It incorporates certain noir elements with familiar tropes of the detective/mystery films that preceeded film noir. It is literally a beginner's template for the genre.
A film with a private eye as protagonist starts out with several points against it; the detective is not going to be doomed to a fate he can’t escape; he is on the right side of the law and will invariably bring the bad guy to justice. He is usually too smart to be taken in by the femme fatale, and there will be an ending where at the very worst he is no better off than when he started. As the saying going, 'Behind every great noir is a great actress,' and in, Murder, My Sweet, that actress is Claire Trevor... Click to read the rest of the review. |
Frank Enley (Van Heflin) is a success story. He is a pillar of his community with a lovely young wife Edith (Janet Leigh) and a toddler son. The community knows him as a decorated bomber pilot and former P.O.W. They do not know that he is a coward responsible for the deaths of ten fellow P.O.W.s. For a trope listed as one of Film Noir's most significant there is very little of post-war trauma to be found in film noirs. The attempt to portray America as a country in a state of malaise might be a case of critics projecting their own feelings of hopelessness, desperation and pessimism. Act of Violence far more than any film noir emphasizes the stress of returning veterans. Click to read the rest of the review. |
ELISHA COOK, JR |
FEMALE JUNGLE |
Elisha Cook, Jr. was usually cast as the as the weak, put down, neurotic, wanna be tough guy. Had his character a philosophical bent it would been along the line of Robert Browning’s quote, “A man’s reach should exceed his grasp/Or what’s a heaven for?”
Whether it was confronting Jack Palance, Lawrence Tierney or Humphrey Bogart, or trying to make it with women like Ella Raines or Marie Windsor, his character never knew when he was out of his league. Often Cook had so little screen time his character was only given a nickname, ”Sweeper,” “Inky,” “Banjo,” “Shorty,” or he’d be referred to by the role he played like ‘piano player,’ ‘crazed drummer,’ or ‘taxi driver. His high water mark in screen credits was in Magnum P.I. (where he had twelve appearances) where not only was he given a first and last name but also a nick-name any tough guy would be proud to have: Francis(Ice-Pick)Hofstetler. With over 215 screen credits it is tough to pin down his best performance. A lot of people remember him from, Phantom Lady, House on Haunted Hill, Electraglide in Blue, Rosemary’s Baby, A Kiss Before Dying, and scores of television appearances. And of course there are, The Maltese Falcon, Shane, and The Killing. Read the rest here. |
The more crime/mystery/noir films I watch the tougher it is to find one worth my time to write a review. So, when Female Jungle opened with a blaring saxophone, a hot female getting out of a cab in front of an empty bar and then getting murdered across the street I thought to myself, 'so far so good.' Suffice it to say but 'so far so good,' made it all the way to the end.
Perhaps the biggest reason why the 50s were called The Golden Age of Television was the combination of seasoned actors, primarily from the 40s but some as far back as the silents, with equally talented newer and younger actors. This is a must have template for almost any new director and especially those with a limited budget. We first see Lawrence Tierney leaning outside the back door of a bar literally three sheets to the wind wondering how he got there and then being ripped a new one by his superior.John Carradine joins Lawrence Tierney as another of the prerequisite seasoned actors. There are a couple of respectful homages to their previous screen personas. John Carradine stands outside a door dressed as if he's just off the boat from Transylvania. Female Jungle is a bona fide, relatively unknown film that I definitely recommend. Click for the full review. |
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Johnny Mack Brown-1904-1974. All-American HB at Alabama, Cowboy Actor. When my Dad was a kid growing up on E. 113th in NYC, he wanted to be a cowboy and Mr. Brown was his favorite. This is for you, Dad. Miss you.
Robert Praino. Born in Manhattan, grew up in Hackensack, living in Gulfport.
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