I have been going through some more of my old tapes from the 1970s and 1980s, and found these newscasts. You can play these in the embedded media players below.
The first one is from AM 790, KULF, and adult-contemporary station at the time. It is now "The Sports Animal", KBME.
Friday, May 29, 2009
Lose Weight With AYDS
Why take diet pills, when you can enjoy Ayds?Before the outbreak of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), there was a appetite suppresant candy on the market to help folks lose weight. It carried the unfortunate brand, AYDS. This was pronounced exactly like the deadly disease. Needless to say, you don’t see AYDS for sale anymore.
While going through some of my old tapes of my radio days, I came across a radio commercial from the 1970s for this product. Imagine someone telling you to get a date with AYDS today! You may hear this recording in the embedded player below.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
One Giant Bong
I was recording some cartoons for my 5-year-old grandson to watch when he comes over to visit with grandma and grandpa. Today I decided to grab some Huckleberry Hound and Pink Panther shows for him. One of the Pink Panther cartoons had our favorite pink feline working as a waiter in a Chinese restaurant. He presented a menu to the patrons, and it was quite amusing. I am not sure if the word "bong" did not carry its current meaning (a water pipe used by people to smoke marijuana) back in the 1960s; or if the writers were oblivious; or perhaps it was their little inside joke. In any case, I got a laugh out of the menu item of "1-Giant Bong, Serves Four Persons" on the menu.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Poorly Written Headline #2
This time, from MSNBC.com. This gives the opposite meaning to the story, based upon the definition of a "Bronx Cheer".
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Stupid Corporate Tricks - #6
Time for yet another story from the front lines in the ridiculous world of business. This one is at the same company as the Stupid Corporate Tricks - #5, and involves the same two guys. Will had asked Doug about some research he had asked him to do a couple of months previous. Doug realized he had totally forgotten about the project, and had done absolutely nothing toward getting it done. So he says to Will, "Don't you remember, you sent me a memo telling me to forget about it?" Will looked puzzled and said, "No, I don't remember that." So Doug says he will try to find it.
He goes over to his desk and writes a memo to himself, ostensibly from Will, and backdates it by a few weeks. He was pretty good at forging signatures too, so he printed the memo and put a reasonable facsimile of Will's initials on it. He then wrinkles it up a little and stuffs it into his file drawer in a bunch of other papers.
The next time Will came walking by Doug's cubicle, Doug shouts out, "Oh Will, let me see if I have that memo you sent me." He opens his file drawer and shuffles through the papers and says, "Oh, here it is!" He hands it over to Will who says, "Hmmm....I guess I forgot about this. Okay then."
HOLY SHIT! It worked!! I could not believe it, and it was all I could do to keep from laughing out loud. I suppose Doug has had to update his repertoire of trickery now that email has largely supplanted printed memoranda.
He goes over to his desk and writes a memo to himself, ostensibly from Will, and backdates it by a few weeks. He was pretty good at forging signatures too, so he printed the memo and put a reasonable facsimile of Will's initials on it. He then wrinkles it up a little and stuffs it into his file drawer in a bunch of other papers.
The next time Will came walking by Doug's cubicle, Doug shouts out, "Oh Will, let me see if I have that memo you sent me." He opens his file drawer and shuffles through the papers and says, "Oh, here it is!" He hands it over to Will who says, "Hmmm....I guess I forgot about this. Okay then."
HOLY SHIT! It worked!! I could not believe it, and it was all I could do to keep from laughing out loud. I suppose Doug has had to update his repertoire of trickery now that email has largely supplanted printed memoranda.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Boldly Going Where Many Have Gone Before
I rarely go to watch movies at the theater. The cost has just gotten out of hand. I may average about one film a year at such a venue. The feature that got me out of the house this year is J.J. Abrams' reboot of Star Trek. The lovely spouse and I went to see it today, and got in for a fairly decent matinee price of $5.50 each.I have to say, this movie is a refreshing change. Star Trek movies, while entertaining, had strayed too far from the roots of the original series which debuted on the NBC Television Network back in 1966. Filmed at Desilu Studios, Star Trek, pitched by creator Gene Roddenberry as "Wagon Train to the Stars", was not a big hit initially. It took on a cult following after its cancellation. Eventually the franchise spawned five spin off series in addition to the original; along with what is now 11 feature films. Now, in a mostly brilliantly done movie, Star Trek returns to the original crew of Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Scotty, and Uhura.
The actors who played the characters in the 1960s have long been past the age where it was believable to see then cavorting around the galaxy. The new cast did an outstanding job of paying homage to the history of the characters, while bringing their own talents to bear. Probably the most amazing of all was the performances of Zachary Quinto as Spock, and Karl Urban in the role of Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy.
This film will be enjoyed by Trekkies (or is it Trekkers), as well as people who never got into the Star Trek series. While largely true to the original, this reboot of the franchise ends up creating an alternate timeline with some differences to the continuity established over the years. I won't share any spoilers here, but nothing that is changed detracted from the story.
In fact, my only complaint is the fact that science fiction films seem to require a silly alien character. In the Star Wars series, it was the worthless, floppy-eared Jar Jar Binks. In the new Star Trek, engineer Montgomery "Scotty" Scott, has a silly alien pet of some sort. They could have dispensed with him.
There seems to be odd coincidences that sometimes crop up in Hollywood, and this film has one as well. For example, in the 1950s Superman television series, the actor portraying the Man of Steel was George Reeves. In the 1978 film Superman, The Movie, the actor was Christopher Reeve. One letter difference from the actor in the TV show. In this Star Trek film, the actor playing the role of Captain James Kirk is Chris Pine. That is one letter changed from the original Enterprise captain, Christopher Pike. It doesn't mean a thing, but I noticed it.
The bottom line? I give Star Trek a 4.5 out of 5. Highly entertaining for Trekkie and Non-Trekkie alike. Lots of action, good ties to the original, and a fresh start for a franchise whose mythos had begun to get too cluttered to follow. If you can, you should see this movie.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Stupid Corporate Tricks - #5
Today, let us continue the series of stupid corporate tricks. For this tale of workplace merriment, we will go back to the early 1990s. This particular story is more of an employee tale than something done by the company itself. One of my coworkers (let's call him Doug here) was always at odds with our boss (we'll call him Will). This boss will play into several tales before we are done.
To the point of this story, you need to know two things about Will. His desk was always piled high with so many papers that he could never find anything. The other thing is that he had a beloved HP 12C calculator. These used to be very common in business, and used RPN, or Reverse Polish Notation. This allowed for complex calculations in the days before calculators could use pure algebraic order of computation. Will had this one since his business school days, and he was quite fond of it.
One particular morning, we came to work and found a lost and found poster taped to the wall at every elevator landing in our building. Will's calculator had gone missing, and he was quite distressed about it. Now Doug always enjoyed Will's distress, so as you might imagine, he was enjoying this immensely. But then things took a nasty turn.
Will approached Doug and asked him if he had taken his calculator. Doug took great offense at the suggestion, and it didn't take long for him to find his response. As he was walking past Will's cubicle, he noticed the 12c was visible edgewise underneath a huge pile of papers on Will's desk. Doug said, "If I am accused of taking it, I will!" He took it from under the pile and hid it in his desk. He then proceded to create some ransom notes from an anonymous calculator kidnapper. leaving them where Will would find them. Will was going nuts trying to figure it out before Doug tired of the game and put the calculator back, where Will eventually found it.
The story doesn't end there however. A few years later Doug was working in another state for another firm. As fate would have it, I was again working for Will, but at a different company. During this time, Will again misplaced his calculator. I mentioned this to Doug, who immediately created another ransom note and faxed it to Will anonymously. Even though I was quite amused by it all, I also didn't have the heart to tell him what was going on. A couple of days later, Will found his calculator...in a pile of papers on his desk!
To the point of this story, you need to know two things about Will. His desk was always piled high with so many papers that he could never find anything. The other thing is that he had a beloved HP 12C calculator. These used to be very common in business, and used RPN, or Reverse Polish Notation. This allowed for complex calculations in the days before calculators could use pure algebraic order of computation. Will had this one since his business school days, and he was quite fond of it.One particular morning, we came to work and found a lost and found poster taped to the wall at every elevator landing in our building. Will's calculator had gone missing, and he was quite distressed about it. Now Doug always enjoyed Will's distress, so as you might imagine, he was enjoying this immensely. But then things took a nasty turn.
Will approached Doug and asked him if he had taken his calculator. Doug took great offense at the suggestion, and it didn't take long for him to find his response. As he was walking past Will's cubicle, he noticed the 12c was visible edgewise underneath a huge pile of papers on Will's desk. Doug said, "If I am accused of taking it, I will!" He took it from under the pile and hid it in his desk. He then proceded to create some ransom notes from an anonymous calculator kidnapper. leaving them where Will would find them. Will was going nuts trying to figure it out before Doug tired of the game and put the calculator back, where Will eventually found it.
The story doesn't end there however. A few years later Doug was working in another state for another firm. As fate would have it, I was again working for Will, but at a different company. During this time, Will again misplaced his calculator. I mentioned this to Doug, who immediately created another ransom note and faxed it to Will anonymously. Even though I was quite amused by it all, I also didn't have the heart to tell him what was going on. A couple of days later, Will found his calculator...in a pile of papers on his desk!
King of the Hill
One of my favorite TV shows is Fox's King of the Hill. Sadly, the show has apparently reached the end of its run. There are unconfirmed reports that Fox has ordered a few more episodes, but these may appear on DVD rather than the network.
The program is the brain child of Mike Judge, who gave us Beavis and Butthead, and more importantly (in my estimation) the great movie that shows the inanity of working in corporate America, Office Space. While I didn't much care for B&B, both Office Space and King were strokes of genius.
So here is perhaps the final episode of King of the Hill, starring America's favorite salesman of "propane and propane accessories", Arlen, Texas' Hank Hill.
The program is the brain child of Mike Judge, who gave us Beavis and Butthead, and more importantly (in my estimation) the great movie that shows the inanity of working in corporate America, Office Space. While I didn't much care for B&B, both Office Space and King were strokes of genius.
So here is perhaps the final episode of King of the Hill, starring America's favorite salesman of "propane and propane accessories", Arlen, Texas' Hank Hill.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Jesse Gets It!
Former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura doesn't take crap from anybody. Here is a YouTube video of a clip where he takes on the mindless talking heads of Fox & Friends. True patriots do not condone our country torturing people. It is anti-American and puts us at risk. Governor Ventura get it. Fox does not.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Estes Park, Colorado
Just another photo from last Saturday. This time it's the rock sign along US 36 as you begin the descent into the town of Estes Park.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Sovereignty, Secession, and the Nutty Right Wing
Many right-wingers rightfully ridiculed some celebrities on the left who threatened to move out of the United States if George W. Bush was elected President in 2000. But now, many righty politicians are doing things that are even more bizarre. Upset with the Democratic administration's policies, these nutty politicians are threatening to take their ball and go home. Last month, Texas Governor Rick Perry threw support behind HCR 50, a resolution in the Texas House of Representatives that asserts the state's sovereignty. (He also uses the oft-used, but false analogy of how to boil a frog).
Now, last Wednesday, the Oklahoma Senate has passed HCR 1028, a similar resolution to the one in Texas. How the Senate passes a resolution of the House seems odd to me. In any case, the verbiage of the resolution states that the Sooner State is "claiming sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States over certain powers; serving notice to the federal government to cease and desist certain mandates; providing that certain federal legislation be prohibited or repealed; and directing distribution.”
Now, last Wednesday, the Oklahoma Senate has passed HCR 1028, a similar resolution to the one in Texas. How the Senate passes a resolution of the House seems odd to me. In any case, the verbiage of the resolution states that the Sooner State is "claiming sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States over certain powers; serving notice to the federal government to cease and desist certain mandates; providing that certain federal legislation be prohibited or repealed; and directing distribution.”
The resolution, also passed the Oklahoma House 73-22 on May 4th. It does not require a signature from the Governor.
Kurt Hochenauer, creator of the political blog Okie Funk: Notes From The Outback, has a good analysis on his site. He correctly notes that if Oklahoma were to secede from the United States, it would lead to military confrontation, widespread poverty, and a mass exodus from the state. I would add that if Oklahoma wants to leave the US, it had better make doggone sure that Texas goes with it, otherwise it will be a landlocked nation surrounded by the U.S.
Hochenauer also has posted an audio clip from Montel Williams' radio program where he interviews Charles Key, the Oklahoma City Republican Representative who introduced the resolution in the House. Williams calls Key on the fact that Oklahoma pays $19-Billion in federal taxes, but receives $28 billion in federal funding per year. So Oklahoma, good luck with that.
I don't think that either state will actually secede over this, any more than Alec Baldwin left the US over the Bush presidency. But it does demonstrate the lack of rational thinking within the minds of some elected officials in red-state America.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Stupid Corporate Tricks - #4
The same boss that pulled the antics in my previous post, Stupid Corporate Tricks - #3, was well known around the office for another reason. It seems he had some kind of disorder that caused him to doze off at inappropriate times. For example, all of us who worked in the group would watch him when we were in meetings, because invariably the longer the meeting, the more likely it was that he would fall asleep. You would notice his eyes growing heavy. Then he would begin nodding off a bit, and finally, with eyes closed, his head would go down and he would be sound asleep.
While this was a bit amusing to witness, it was also kind of sad, because I am sure it must be some type of medical condition. But the thing that made it most annoying is when he would do this while with you in the office of a customer. The company required our managers to accompany us on the occasional sales call to evaluate and improve our selling skills. This man, who I shall call John, did this on several occasions while with me. One instance I distinctly recall, involved him not only falling asleep in the customer's office, but he began to snore loudly as I made my sales presentation. The customer looked at me and said, "I think John must not have gotten enough sleep last night."
Still, that isn't the worst part. On the way back to the office, John had the audacity to critique my performance, all of which he slept through. He had absolutely no idea what had transpired.
On another occasion, John walked into a customer's office with me. After we shook hands, John sat down in a chair and immediately let out a very loud blast of flatulence! He chuckled and told the customer, "Hey, it sounds like you have a frog problem out here."
Needless to say, when John indicated he wanted to go on a sales call with me, I was not happy, nor did I know what to expect.
While this was a bit amusing to witness, it was also kind of sad, because I am sure it must be some type of medical condition. But the thing that made it most annoying is when he would do this while with you in the office of a customer. The company required our managers to accompany us on the occasional sales call to evaluate and improve our selling skills. This man, who I shall call John, did this on several occasions while with me. One instance I distinctly recall, involved him not only falling asleep in the customer's office, but he began to snore loudly as I made my sales presentation. The customer looked at me and said, "I think John must not have gotten enough sleep last night."
Still, that isn't the worst part. On the way back to the office, John had the audacity to critique my performance, all of which he slept through. He had absolutely no idea what had transpired.
On another occasion, John walked into a customer's office with me. After we shook hands, John sat down in a chair and immediately let out a very loud blast of flatulence! He chuckled and told the customer, "Hey, it sounds like you have a frog problem out here."
Needless to say, when John indicated he wanted to go on a sales call with me, I was not happy, nor did I know what to expect.
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