Why We Feared Russians During the Cold War

You may remember I posted the video of the Russian singer a few months back (check it out here).  Well, I saw on a new blog, Mikes's Short Attention Span Theater, the story behind that video and a re-edit  that is even funnier than the original. Genius!

EW's 20 Most Shocking TV Deaths List Incomplete

I love a good list and Entertainment Weekly's list of the 20  Most Shocking TV Deaths has some good ones (Adriana, played by Drea de Matteo, from The Sopranos was one of the best) and some lame ones (Kenny from South Park, really?). 

However, a major omission from their list was one of the most shocking deaths of a major TV character I can remember.  Lt. Col. Henry Blake, played by McLean Stevenson, died offscreen at the end of the third season of MASH.  Stevenson asked to be released from his contract.  The show's writers reluctantly penned him an exit in the final episode of the 1974-75 season, in which Lt. Col. Blake was discharged, only to board a plane that was shot down over the Sea of Japan, killing everyone on board (a development added after scripts were distributed so the show's actors would display genuine emotion as if they had been truly unaware of that part of the storyline).

It was quite a shocker, because they just didn't kill off major characters in TV shows back in the 1970s and nobody had any idea it was going to happen.  How could EW leave that out?

Click here to see the (in)complete list.

5 on the Fifth -- My Journey Home from Work

This is an idea from State of the Nation UK -- taking five photos around the fifth of the month and share them with the world.  The theme this time around was a Journey, so I did a photo essay of my commute home from work.  These were all taken on May 4, 2010.  My commute is about 25 minutes, door to door, depending on how long I have to wait for trains.

Outside the Pentagon City Metro (subway) Station,

which is across the street from where I work.

Here comes my train.

Crossing the Potomac River on the DC 

Metro with a view of another bridge.  

Outside of Eastern Market Metro, 

about 2 blocks from my home.

Home again, home again, jiggity jig.

Use of Tazer on Phillies Fan Shocking

Though this AP photo is an amazing shot, there is no reason police should be using tazers to apprehend a kid running around a baseball field.  He was not a threat to anyone.  The ending of the movie Fever Pitch would of been quite different in Philadelphia.  In that film, Drew Barrymore runs across Fenway Park to get to Jimmy Fallon, to prevent him from selling his valuable season tickets and they then have a romantic moment before her arrest.  She would have just been twitching in center field had it happened in Philly. 

Tony Award Nominations Announced Today

Fela! and revivial of La Cage aux Folles got the most nominations this year with 11 each.  The revivial of the play, Fences, was next with 10 nominations.  Here are the major Tony Award Nominations announced today:

Best Play
In the Next Room or the Vibrator Play
Next Fall
Red
Time Stands Still

Best Musical
American Idiot
Fela!
Memphis
Million Dollar Quartet

Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre
The Addams Family
Enron
Fences
Memphis

Best Revival of a Play
Fences
Lend Me a Tenor
The Royal Family
A View from the Bridge

Best Revival of a Musical
Finian's Rainbow
La Cage aux Folles
A Little Night Music
Ragtime

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play
Jude Law in Hamlet
Alfred Molina in Red
Liev Schreiber in A View from the Bridge
Christopher Walken in A Behanding in Spokane
Denzel Washington in Fences

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
Viola Davis in Fences
Valerie Harper in Looped
Linda Lavin in Collected Stories
Laura Linney in Time Stands Still
Jan Maxwell in The Royal Family

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical
Kelsey Grammer in La Cage aux Folles
Sean Hayes in Promises, Promises
Douglas Hodge in La Cage aux Folles
Chad Kimball in Memphis
Sahr Ngaujah in Fela!

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical
Kate Baldwin in Finian's Rainbow
Sherie Rene Scott in Everyday Rapture
Montego Glover in Memphis
Christiane Noll in Ragtime
Catherine Zeta-Jones in A Little Night Music

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play
David Alan Grier in Race
Stephen McKinley Henderson in Fences
Jon Michael Hill in Superior Donuts
Stephen Kunken in Enron
Eddie Redmayne in Red

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play
Maria Dizzia in In the Next Room or the Vibrator Play
Rosemary Harris in The Royal Family
Jessica Hecht in A View from the Bridge
Scarlett Johansson in A View from the Bridge
Jan Maxwell in Lend Me a Tenor

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical
Kevin Chamberlin in The Addams Family
Robin De Jesús in La Cage aux Folles
Christopher Fitzgerald in Finian's Rainbow
Levi Kreis in Million Dollar Quartet
Bobby Steggert in Ragtime

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical
Barbara Cook in Sondheim on Sondheim
Katie Finneran in Promises, Promises
Angela Lansbury in A Little Night Music
Karine Plantadit in Come Fly Away
Lillias White in Fela!

Click here for the complete list of nominations.

Pass On the Salt -- Wisdom for Your Brain

I thought I would start providing some tips on improving your (and my) health.  John Tesh has a syndicated radio show where he provides "Intelligence for Your Life."  So here is my version I call, "Wisdom for Your Brain." 

The first one is about sodium. As someone who has had heart disease galore in their family tree, salt is something I should think about as I get older. 

Generally, 1.5 teaspoons of salt a day is sufficient to obtain the recommended 3,000 milligrams of sodium. However, the average American ingests two to four times that much each day. Too much salt in the diet causes extra water to be drawn into the blood vessels. This increases the pressure on the artery walls, causing high blood pressure.

According to today's Express newspaper, extra salt can be hiding in foods you may not think would have much salt.  Salt solutions are pumped into chicken parts to plump them up.  That can add 60 mg of sodium to one chicken breast.  Also, there is lots of sodium in some breakfast cereals.  A big bowl of corn flakes (2 cups) has 532 mg sodium. 

Another surprise for me was cottage cheese.  It has 918 mg of sodium per cup!  Now I'm glad I don't like the stuff. 

If you eat a lot of frozen dinners, they are usually jammed full of sodium.  Check labels and watch to see if the foods you eat are loaded with extra salt.  Also, add salt to your food sparingly.  Use more pepper or try other non-sodium seasonings that flavor foods that won't kill you in the long run (or make this one).

New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #239

I don't care if you're bored Mr. Flynt.  Please keep

both hands above the water line at all times.

The above cartoon is the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #239. Let me know if you come up with any captions too. Click on the link above to enter.

Happy 12th Anniversary To Us

Today is our 12th Anniversary and this song is one of Shane's favorites (and coincidentally, the 12th year is the Soul Train anniversary). I am often out of my head over you Shane! Love you. We're flying home from Florida to DC today and plan on going out to dinner to celebrate tonight.

Blogging from the Beach

Shane and I are back in Florida and spending this afternoon at Blind
Pass Beach, located at Englewood. The weather is perfect and the Gulf
water is clear and not too cold. I even went for a swim shortly after
this picture was taken. I figure I better enjoy the clean water while
I can--before the giant oil slick hits SW Florida.

Yesterday, we had to spend time getting permits so we could replace
the exterior doors on our house. We also finally got a tv. Since
we're not here that often, we aren't getting cable. However, I got an
Over-the-Air antenna and was amazed at the HD reception I got for the
broadcast stations with digital tv. Gotta love getting free tv,
except for the commercials.

DC Metro Jerk of the Week

This "winner" must have paid for three fares on DC's Metro subway system, because he is taking up three seats on a crowded car. He was sleeping like a baby while the handicapped and old people were forced to stand. He wins the prize for DC Metro Jerk of the Week. The prize is public humiliation.

The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #238

First he invents the wheel... then fire... Now he's just showing off.

The above cartoon is the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #238. Let me know if you come up with any captions too. Click on the link above to enter.

Our Front Garden

Last weekend, we fixed up our garden in front of our house.  I should have taken some "before" pictures, because the difference is considerable.  It is always a risk to plant flowers prior to Mother's Day, since we have had flowers stolen out of our garden and we believe they ended up being someone's gift to their Mom.  Anyway, we decided to risk it again.

*I took these with my iPhone, so they aren't the best quality.  You can do the double clicky thing to make the pictures a bit bigger.

Virtual Run from DC to FL--Update #14

This is another update on my progress doing a virtual run from our home in DC to our new vacation home in Punta Gorda, Fl. It is a distance of about 1,003 miles.  


Today, I ran about 10 miles--from my house, down to the National Mall (past the National Earth Day Concert), down to the Lincoln Memorial, over to Georgetown, across the bridge to Rosslyn, down the Potomac to the 14th Street Bridge, over the bridge to the Jefferson Memorial, back up to the Mall and back home. The total distance is more than 11.5 miles, but I got pooped and walked the last mile and a half. I only count running time.

Total Distance Run This Week: 20 miles

Total Distance Run in 2010: 327.5 miles

Total Run Time: 45 hours 15 minutes

My Virtual Distance to Punta Gorda: 675.5 miles

PUSH UPS

Goal for the year: 10,000

Total Push Ups This Week: 140

Total Push Ups in 2010: 2,401

The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #237

It's a wonderful talent, but you really should see a doctor.

The above cartoon is the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #237. Let me know if you come up with any captions too. Click on the link above to enter.

Do I Smell Fish?

Just in case you were wonder, according to the Web site, http://www.abevigoda.com/, TV star Abe Vigoda is, as of this writing, still alive.  Mr. Vigoda played the character "Fish" on the 1970s sitcom, Barney Miller.  He seemed close to death at the time that show was filmed, but here it is 2010 and he is apparently still living.  God bless medical science. 

The Abe Vigoda Web site advises that you refresh the page to get Mr. Vigoda's latest status.  The site also features a link to the the song, Abe Vigoda's Dead (The Premortem Mix).

Virtual Run from DC to FL--Update #13

This is another update on my progress doing a virtual run from our home in DC to our new vacation home in Punta Gorda, Fl. It is a distance of about 1,003 miles. It has been 3 weeks since my last update.

Total Distance Run Week 1: 15 miles

Total Distance Run Week 2: 24 miles

Total Distance Run Week 3: 19.5 miles

Total Distance Run in 2010: 307.5 miles

Total Run Time: 42 hours 11 minutes

My Virtual Distance to Punta Gorda: 695.5 miles

PUSH UPS

Goal for the year: 10,000

Total Push Ups Week 1: 120

Total Push Ups Week 2: 145

Total Push Ups Week 3: 170

Total Push Ups in 2010: 2,261

Taking In a Nats Game

Shane and I watched the Washington Nationals take on the Milwaukee Brewers at Nationals Park Friday Night. It was not the best weather for a baseball game. It sprinkled on and off for most of the game with rain coming down fairly hard a few times. We had our trusty umbrellas though, and it never got so bad that they delayed the game. It was a really good game. The lead went back and forth several times, but the Nats pulled off a miracle in the bottom of the 8th inning and won 5 to 3. We had a great time!

Sneezing Baby Panda -- Try Not to Laugh

New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #236

If you goo goo gajoob once more, I'm outta here!

The above cartoon is the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #236. Let me know if you come up with any captions too. Click on the link above to enter.

Looking Out Shane's Hotel Window in Norman, OK