Primary idiocy

This process of moving the presidential primaries earlier and earlier has got to stop! Just do us all a favor and pass a law that all of the primaries have to be on the same day.

How many of you (besides my wife) have seen a Dick Powell movie from his song-and-dance era AND from his hard-boiled era?

Johnny Staccato

We bought a new TV series from the late 1950s: Johnny Staccato, starring John Cassavetes and Eduardo Cianelli. It looks like it was patterned after Peter Gunn. Interesting, but not great.

Richard Strauss writing for the horn section

Richard Strauss stands alone atop the list of composers for the horn. True, on the elegant side of the lecture, Mozart was a wonderful writer. However, in those heroic passages that make hornists drool, it was Strauss. Ein Heldenleben, Don Juan, Der Rosenkavalier, Till Eugenspiegel: those are the passages that horn players stand in line to get to play.

Both political parties have blind spots

Republicans look at the forest; Democrats look at the trees. Both have glaring gaps in their vision. Republicans recognize that the free market creates the most gross wealth, and that a rising boat lifts the most people. The problem is that that rising boat does not lift ALL people, and those that are not lifted are the ones the Democrats worry about. However, in their worrying about the individuals, they minimize the positive effects of the economy as a whole. Two parties with blind spots.

It may have seemed to you today that I was unintelligent; but hopefully it will ease your mind to know that that is not the case. I am just plain stupid.

A top-notch phrase

"Brazen effrontery" is such a good phrase that it is worth manipulating conversations just to work it in.

The memories for addresses of the characters on the Philip Marlowe detective program were amazing. They seemingly knew all the street numbers of all their acquaintances without having to look them up. Very convenient if you have to get your story crammed into 30 minutes.

I recommend one particular episode of the Fred Allen program entitled "King for a Day," with Jack Benny as the guest star. Jack wins the prizes, one of which is to have his pants pressed, which they evidently proceed to do right there on stage. The audience is cracking up.

William Conrad (Matt Dillon) and Parley Baer (Chester) were a great team on the old Gunsmoke radio program. They played off each other very well. Good chemistry on the air.

I wonder how many old radio shows I do have on CD. Maybe thousands? Great hobby.

1938-1953. I recommend this period for movies. By 1938 the industry had their quality going well enough to be enjoyable. Past 1953 things began to be more gradually more explicit.

Let's outlaw these!

Two things I wish they would outlaw: blue headlights on cars and yellow shoes on football fields. Both look too much like law (rule) enforcement colors.