The cultural landscape of television changed forever in 1967 when the pilot for a new series debuted. It featured two nightclub comics dressed in tuxedos but was anything but a show for the blue-haired set. It also featured a youngish, “hip”cast and revolved around a series of lightning fast sketches, skits and visual gags interspersed with one-liners that lampooned the staid old time views on the world and yet did it using techniques as old as vaudeville. The show was “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh In” and it made stars of many in it’s huge cast of zany regulars. Arte Johnson, Henry Gibson, Lily Tomlin, Goldie Hawn, Judy Carne, Jo Anne Worley, Ruth Buzzi and on and on. The pilot had so many jokes with topics that hadn’t been heard on network TV that it seemed the censors had taken the hour off. Jokes about a nudist colony…about dropping a “roach”…about sex…about the war in Viet Nam…about womens lib…about civil rights…about transvestites….even if the jokes were gentle by today’s standards…viewers had really never seen or heard anything like it. I bring it up because I have stumbled on the show again. Amazon Prime has the original episodes and even though much of the material seems hokey now…what a joy it was to see it in all of it’s day-glo wonder. It also gave us John Wayne in a bunny suit, and other stars old and new got in on the fun. Jack Benny, Johnny Carson, Sammy Davis Jr, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Phyllis Diller and dozens more. It had features like Laugh In looks at The News (predating Weekend Update on SNL by 7 years), the Joke Wall, The Farkel Family, The Cocktail Party and It’s a Mod Mod World wher jokes would be told while Goldie Hawn or Judy Carne would dance in a bikini with slogans written all over their bodies. It ran from 1968 to 1972 at the height of the counter-culture upheavel in the country. And took great joy in skewering the pompous and the repressed folks of the world. It also gave us a ton of catch phrases that live on. Live from beautiful downtown Burbank”, “Sock it to Me”….Here Comes Da Judge”…Flying Fickle Finger of fate, “Look That Up In Your Funk and Wagnalls” “Veeery Interesting, but Stupid” and of course “You bet your sweet bippy” . I think my favorite character was Rabbi Shankar played by Arte Johnson. He was a stoned Indian guru dispensing wisdom in the form of bad puns. Lily Tomlin, of course, gave us Ernestine the telephone operator and Edith Ann who would finish each of her soliquies with “and that’s the truth” followed by a raspberry. It also featured music videos in it’s early days from some big name bands of the time. I’m going to have a gas re-watching this stuff…why don’t you join me?
I’m sad that Bosch has finished filming what will be their final season (if you havent checked it out on Amazon Prime…get on it). But one of Michael Connelly’s other characters is getting the streaming treatment. The Lincoln Lawyer, Mickey Haller, played by Matthew McConaughey in the movie, will be a series on Netflix. Manuel Garcia-Rulfo will play the character. Let’s hope he grabs it just like Titus Welliver did with Harry Bosch.
Denzel, Rami & Jared? Ok, I’m in. On Netflix
A new song from John Fogarty….
Covers Of The Day (remembering Animals guitarist Hilton Valentine who died this week)
The Animals cover Ma Rainey (yeah that Ma Rainey)
The Animals cover John Lee Hooker
And of course Valentine’s iconic intro to this classic
Next time someone “cherry-picks” a bible quote at you…it’s a few years old…but still relevant
In her radio show, Dr Laura Schlesinger said that, as an observant Orthodox Jew, homosexuality is an abomination according to Leviticus 18:22, and cannot be condoned under any circumstance.
The following response is an open letter to Dr. Laura, penned by a US resident, which was posted on the Internet. It’s funny, as well as informative:
Dear Dr. Laura:
Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God’s Law. I have learned a great deal from your show, and try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind them that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination … End of debate.
I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some other elements of God’s Laws and how to follow them.
1. Leviticus 25:44 states that I may possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighbouring nations.
A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can’t I own Canadians?
2. I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?
3. I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of Menstrual uncleanliness – Lev.15: 19-24.
The problem is how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offence.
4. When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odour for the Lord – Lev.1:9.
The problem is my neighbours. They claim the odour is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?
5. I have a neighbour who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death.
Am I morally obligated to kill him myself, or should I ask the police to do it?
6. A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an abomination, Lev. 11:10, it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don’t agree. Can you settle this? Are there ‘degrees’ of abomination?
7. Lev. 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle-room here?
8. Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev. 19:27. How should they die?
9. I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?
10. My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev.19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? Lev.24:10-16. Couldn’t we just burn them to death at a private family affair, like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14)
I know you have studied these things extensively and thus enjoy considerable expertise in such matters, so I’m confident you can help.
Thank you again for reminding us that God’s word is eternal and unchanging.
Your adoring fan.
James M. Kauffman, Ed.D. Professor Emeritus, Dept. Of Curriculum, Instruction, and Special Education University of Virginia
(It would be a damn shame if we couldn’t own a Canadian)
In honor of the Reddit boys kicking the hedge fund jackasses in the balls. The market is free until rich people start getting creamed….
“The problem with Wall Street, like so much else in our economy, lies not in the people but in the system. That’s why a financial transactions tax, ban on corporate stock buybacks, and stricter regulation of short selling are needed. Don’t demonize individuals. Fix the system.”-Robert Reich
Quotes Of The Day
“I really feel like Marjorie Taylor Greene’s extreme anti-Semitism gets lost in the discussion of her broader seditious nuttiness. If Ilhan Omar ever said anything like this — which she wouldn’t — every Democrat would have to answer for it.”- Michelle Goldberg
“The head of the Republican Party endorsed @mtgreenee. Unless a Republican contradicts Trump and takes a different position, it’s fair to say that Republican agrees. Make every Republican run with her. Put her on the ballot. She’s the most prominent Republican in Congress.”-Stuart Stevens
“The “Jewish Space Laser” jokes will be a lot less funny when @mtgreenee shows up in your state capitol accompanied by her friends in the Camp Auschwitz t-shirts.”-Dave Zirin
“Call me old-fashioned, but I remember when it would have been deemed unacceptable for a member of Congress to call for the execution of the Speaker of the House. Or claim that wildfires were started by laser-wielding Jews in space. Or use the R-word. But that’s me.”-Steve Silbermann
“#JewishSpaceLasers may be funny unless you contemplate how many of these conspiracy theories are rooted in anti Semitism and racism and how many elected officials are helping to mainstream them because they frankly don’t care if it ends up getting anyone hurt or killed.”-Jake Tapper
The far left wants a living wage, police accountability, and universal healthcare. The far right thinks a Jewish space laser caused the California wildfires and that Democrats should be executed.
“Asking whether Biden is “abandoning his pledge of bipartisanship” is a false narrative. Talk instead about how Republicans have abandoned Americans.”-Renee Graham
“Rudy Giuliani seriously needs to be arrested for organizing a hit job on our elections with his Russian intel agents that he has been knowingly dealing with for years. Why is everyone allowed to work w Kremlin linked figures to attack America w no consequences?”-Olga Lautman
“On Jan 6th, Trump tried to steal an election through inciting a violent mob to storm the Capitol. On Jan 26th, 45 Republican Senators voted against holding an impeachment, making another coup attempt all but certain. How many of those Senators hope the next one is successful?”-The Lincoln Project
“Expel Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley, Kevin McCarthy, Lindsey Graham, Mitch McConnell, Mo Brooks, Ron Johnson, Louis Gohmert, John Kennedy (LA), Jim Jordan, Andy Biggs, Paul Gosar, Matt Gaetz, Steve Scalise, Lauren Boebert & Marjorie Taylor Greene. Convict Donald Trump. Repair and heal.”Andrea Junker
No other President in history has ever tried to subvert the will of the people through insurrection, and the GOP is acting like he returned a library book late.
“There are no consequences in the Republican caucus for violence. No consequences for racism. No consequences for misogyny. No consequences for insurrection. And no consequences means that they condone it,” Rep. Ocasio-Cortez says about the House GOP.
“The right wing got sick of trying to defend their views so they made up phrases to use any time they are subject to criticism These include “cancel culture” and “woke orthodoxy” These phrases have no substantive meaning. They are a substitute for actually defending yourself”-Judd Legum
“As someone who has spent quite a lot of time living in/ researching authoritarian countries, let me just say Josh Hawley should perhaps spend some time in, say, Belarus, or speak to a dissident who was tortured before he, an actual US Senator, complains about being “muzzled.”-Brian Klaas
“The Founding Fathers really underestimated the possibility of a malevolent man backed by immoral collaborators taking over the Presidency.”-Fred Wellman
“I used to think the Democrats were the main opposition to the Republicans. But more and more, it’s looking like law enforcement must serve that role.”-Steven Beschloss
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