Month: July 2016

Culinary no-no #482

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THERE ARE THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF FOOD BLOGS, BUT ONLY ONE CULINARY NO-NO!

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A very ugly  trend has erupted , occurring with some regularity at fast food restaurants in America.

This week, we get right to the point.

Watch, in Alabama about a week ago.


In Texas…

In Virginia…

This is NOT a recent phenomenon. Discriminatory behavior at many fast food joints began after shortly after Ferguson, a definite symptom of the Ferguson effect.

In the above examples, swift, appropriate punishment was administered.

Contrast that to the hemming and hawing by Arby’s last year:

Whatever the restaurant, refusing service to a police officer always wrong and must stop now. Any fast food worker worker denying to serve a police officer must be terminated on the spot.

CULINARY NO-NO BONUSES

The NY Times (of course) asks, “When will food issues be on politicians’ plates?”Truth is I don’t ever want politicians involved in policy-making decisions about the food I eat.

Dems decided to boycott Chick-fil-A at their national convention last week. How’d that work out?

Restaurant recession fears are on the rise

What happens when you eat expired food in a week?

Gimmick or great awareness tool for a cause?

Liberal website asks if colleges should serve crappy food on purpose

Photos of the Week (07/31/16)

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1) Police cars block access to the site where a hot air balloon crashed early Saturday, near Lockhart, Texas. There were 16 people aboard when the balloon caught fire and crashed. There don’t appear to be any survivors, authorities said. Photo: James Vertuno / AP

2) Pope Francis walks through Auschwitz’s notorious gate below lettering that reads “Arbeit Macht Frei,” or “Work Sets You Free,” during his visit to the former Nazi death camp in Poland on July 29. Photo: Filippo Monteforte / AFP – Getty Images

3) Pope Francis addresses the faithful during World Youth Days at Blonia Park in Krakow, Poland. Photo: KACPER PEMPEL / Reuters

4) Police officers investigate at a facility for the disabled, where a deadly attack by a knife-wielding man took place, in Sagamihara, Japan. Photo: Reuters

5) Syrian Civil Defense volunteers, known as the White Helmets, dig out a young boy trapped under the rubble of destroyed buildings following reported air strikes on the rebel-held neighborhood of Al-Mashhad in the northern city of Aleppo. Photo: KARAM AL-MASRI / AFP – Getty Images

6) Residents flee their home as flames from the Sand Fire close in on July 23 near Santa Clarita, California. Triple-digit temperatures and dry conditions fueled the wildfire at a rate of about 10,000 acres per day. Photo: DAVID MCNEW / AFP – Getty Images

7) Rhonda Reed wipes the sweat from her brow as she rakes up the remains of the siding from the south side of her home on July 28 in Pine Bluffs, Wyoming, after a damaging hail storm. Gov. Matt Mead ordered more than two dozen members of the Wyoming National Guard to help residents of Pine Bluffs recover from the storm. Photo: Blaine McCartney / Wyoming Tribune Eagle via AP

8) A high school student is detained during a protest for education reform in Santiago, Chile. Protesters’ demands include free access to school for all ages, including university level. Photo: Esteban Felix / AP

9) Four-year-old Kameron Pitts, nephew and godson of slain Baton Rouge Police Department officer Montrell Jackson, attends his funeral service at Greenoaks Memorial Park in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on July 25. Multiple police officers were killed and wounded in a shooting near a gas station in Baton Rouge on July 17, less than two weeks after a black man was shot and killed by police here, sparking nightly protests across the city. Photo: ONATHAN BACHMAN / Reuters

10) Emily and John Garafola, right, parents of East Baton Rouge Sheriff deputy Brad Garafola, weep after being presented with a flag at the Istrouma Baptist Church in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on July 23. Multiple police officers were killed and wounded in a shooting near a gas station in Baton Rouge on July 17, less than two weeks after a black man was shot and killed by police here, sparking nightly protests across the city. Hilary Scheinuk / Pool via AP

11) At the DNC in  Philadelphia protesters supporting Bernie Sanders prepare for a demonstration in front of City Hall. Photo: TRACIE VANAUKEN / EPA

12) An activist with the coalition “Democracy Spring” is arrested outside the site of the 2016 Democratic National Convention. Photo: Adrees Latif / Reuters

13) Protesters yell at DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz at a breakfast in Philadelphia. Photo: AP

14) Supporters of former US Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders hold a giant inflatable joint calling for the legalization of marijuana during a rally at City Hall in Philadelphia on July 25, 2016. Photo: Getty Images

15) Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, mayor of Baltimore, opens Day 1 of the DNC at the Wells Fargo Center. Photo: SAUL LOEB / AFP – Getty Images

16) Bernie Sanders supporters with tape over their mouths reading ‘Silenced By DNC’ stand in the arena. Although Sanders endorsed Clinton, and reiterated the need to defeat Donald Trump in November when he spoke on Monday night, a number of his delegates were dismayed after the Wikileaks release of emails from party officials, which the DNC apologized for on Monday. Photo: JUSTIN LANE / EPA

17) First lady Michelle Obama addresses the Democratic National Convention. Photo: SCOTT AUDETTE / Reuters

18) Former Democratic Presidential candidate, Sen. Bernie Sanders is met by a supportive crowd as he takes the stage during the first day of the Democratic National Convention. John Locher / AP

19) Supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., yell at delegates through the fence at Franklin Delano Roosevelt Park in Philadelphia during the second day of the Democratic National Convention. Photo: Matt Slocum / AP

20) A protester climbs over the fence near the AT&T Station in Philadelphia on July 26 during the second day of the Democratic National Convention. (Matt Slocum/Associated Press)

21) Supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders march near City Hall in Philadelphia during the second day of the Democratic National Convention. Photo:  John Minchillo / AP

22) Delegates celebrate after formally nominating Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. Photo: Aaron P. Bernstein / Getty Images

23) Former President Bill Clinton arrives on stage to deliver a speech on the second day of the Democratic National Convention at the Wells Fargo Center, July 26, in Philadelphia, Penn. Photo: Jessica Kourkounis / Getty Images

24) Demonstrators square off during a rally outside City Hall in Philadelphia on July 27 during the third day of the Democratic National Convention. (Alex Brandon/Associated Press)

25) President Obama hugs Hillary Clinton after addressing the delegates. Photo: Carolyn Kaster / AP

26) Delegate Sondra Milkie from Madison, Wis., cries during the final day. Photo: John Locher / AP

27) Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton takes the stage during the final day of the Democratic National Convention, Thursday, July 28, 2016, in Philadelphia. Photo: John Locher / AP

28) Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump holds baby cousins Evelyn Kate Keane, 6 months, and Kellen Campbell, 3 months, following his speech at the Gallogly Events Center at University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, on July 29. Photo: Stacie Scott / The Gazette via AP

29) Two men clean Mount Rushmore in South Dakota. Photo: Caters News

30) A group of folk dancers rehearses prior to the arrival of Pope Francis at the military airport in Krakow, Poland. Pope Francis is traveling to Poland to meet young Catholics from around the globe and visit the Auschwitz death camp and many Catholic places in this deeply religious nation. It will be the pope’s first visit to central or Eastern Europe. Alik Keplicz / AP

31) Belgian scientists Marjolein Vanoppen and Sebastiaan Derese demonstrate the use of a machine that turns urine into fertilizer and drinkable water using solar energy at the University of Ghent in Belgium. Photo: FRANCOIS LENOIR / Reuters

32) A man looks up as he uses his phone to play the Pokemon Go app in Hong Kong. The Chinese army garrisoned in Hong Kong has warned people searching for Pikachu and other virtual monsters to stay off its premises as Pokemon Go mania sweeps the smartphone-obsessed city. Photo: ANTHONY WALLACE / AFP – Getty Images

33) Men run along the famous Copacabana Beach at sunrise in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on July 30. The summer Olympics in Rio, which begin Aug. 5, will be the first Games hosted in South America. Photo: BARBARA WALTON / EPA

34) A sun halo is seen in the sky over the pagoda of Wat Bowonniwet temple in Bangkok, Thailand. The halo is created by tiny ice crystals in cirrus clouds in the upper atmosphere. Photo: NARONG SANGNAK / EPA

35) White lion cubs play in a Magdeburg, Germany, zoo. Photo: Zuma Press

36) A red panda peers out of its Yangon, Myanmar, zoo enclosure. Photo: Zuma Press

37) A child climbs onto a giant mock-up laptop keyboard during a promotional event at a shopping center in Beijing.Photo: THOMAS PETER / Reuters

38) Visitors observe the sculpture “That Girl” by U.S. artist Paul McCarthy, at the Hyperrealist Sculpture 1973-2016 exhibition in the Museum of Bellas Artes in Bilbao, Spain. Photo: VINCENT WEST / Reuters

AND FINALLY…

A bald eagle and great blue herons competing for fish

Recommended Reading (07/30/16)

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Here are interesting articles from the past week that are worth a read (even if, on occasion, I do not agree with the author).

Hillary Clinton’s Historic Moment Divides Generations of Women

The irony—and the problem for Mrs. Clinton—is that such progress has become so widespread that some women voters appear indifferent to another glass ceiling shattered. More women graduate from college than men. They are the main breadwinners in four of 10 U.S. households. They run General Motors Co.,  PepsiCo Inc. and IBM Corp.

Why women shouldn’t vote for Hillary Clinton

She got to the top via marriage and connections — is that American exceptionalism?

If Hillary Clinton Were a Man

She’s warm. She’s bright. She’s charming. She has a great sense of humor.

And yet, on the podium, these qualities are rarely in sight. Her voice escalates, the pitch rising, the emphasis misplaced. She is often rhetorically wrong-footed. Her smile seems fake, the wave is to no one, the laugh sounds manufactured. She is defensive.

When do the mothers of ISIS speak?

If Brown’s mother had done something noteworthy, apart from raising a hoodlum — perhaps pioneering a cardiac stent that will save people’s lives — then one could understand her being a “headliner” at the Democrats’ convention. But, as I understand it, her sole claim to fame is giving birth to, and then carefully nurturing, a violent, cop-assaulting criminal.

DNC insiders detail months of escalating dysfunction 

Now, all DNC senior staffers seem to believe they’re on the verge of being fired — and that’s before the next WikiLeaks release, which many fear is coming within days, and which DNC lawyers are bracing for. Several staff members have already been asked to prepare statements about their departures.

Forgiving John Hinckley

Before my father was well enough to go back to the White House he did something completely serious. He said he had forgiven Hinckley.

Not only that, he wanted to go to meet Hinckley face-to-face and tell him that he had forgiven him.

Hinckley’s doctors didn’t think that was a good idea because Hinckley was too mentally unstable, so it never happened.

Veterans can’t keep waiting for reform

No matter what state we live in, we deserve to get better care and treatment from the VA. Whether this means more accountability and better treatment at VA facilities, or greater access to care through a functioning choice program, something must be done.

Fortunately, lawmakers are already working to reform the troubled agency.

Neighbor Disputes Turn Wealthy Areas Into War Zones

It’s the all-too-common hazard that buyers of multimillion-dollar homes often overlook: Disagreements between homeowners can turn even the nicest neighborhoods into war zones. These disputes can happen anywhere, but in wealthy communities, the tendency to lawyer up quickly can ignite small sparks into all-consuming conflagrations. Collateral damage to neighbors can include legal costs, a soured neighborhood feeling and more difficulty in selling homes.

AND FINALLY…

Covers for July 29, 2016

Week-ends (07/30/16)

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A look back at the people and events that made news the past week. Week-ends is a regular weekly feature of This Just In…

HEROES OF THE WEEK

Sgt. Steve Wick

Local blood drive

Those who took the challenge


VILLAINS OF THE WEEK

Cosmo

Senator Chris Murphy

Mary Beth Haglin

John Worden

John Nygren


QUOTES OF THE WEEK

“Apparently speaking at Hillary Clinton’s convention is just one more job Hillary Clinton thinks Americans won’t do. She should have instead invited unemployed Americans, or victims of crime, or law enforcement.”
A Trump campaign aide in an emailed statement as the Democratic Party selected a handful of undocumented immigrants for official roles at this week’s Democratic National Convention, in a bid to highlight the policy divide on immigration between White House hopeful Hillary Clinton and Republican rival Donald Trump. The picks included two members of the convention credentials and platform committees, as well as several speakers.

“What I found over twenty years is over and over again, you know, Bill messes up, Hillary marches in and saves him. Her father told her life is combat. She is ready to fight. He’s the soft hearted victim. She’s going to go out fight his battles for him she saves him again and again. He rewards her with more affection. Sometimes more power and they’re right back together.

“The president looks like he hasn’t slept for weeks and they are sleeping in separate places (during the Lewinsky scandal) but they come together, she gets up to introduce him and she talks about his commitment and she talks about how important their life is together and then she introduces ‘My husband, Bill Clinton.’ And he gets up and he goes over and not just an air kiss, he grabs her in a Rhett and Scarlet clinch and seduces her all over again. That was the aha moment.”
Clinton fan and biographer, Gail Sheehy, appearing on ABC’s Good Morning America program earlier this week to open coverage of the DNC

“HELL NO,  D-N-C, WE WON’T VOTE FOR HILLARY!”
Bernie Sanders’ supporters chanting as they demonstrated in the streets of Philadelphia

“Our credibility as a movement will be damaged by booing, turning of backs, walking out or other similar displays, what the corporate media wants. That’s what Donald Trump wants.”
Bernie Sanders in a last-minute email sent to delegates who didn’t listen, booing when Clinton’s name was mentioned

“We trusted you” and “you let us down.”
Bernie Sanders’ supporters yelling during Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s speech at the DNC

“The DNC is threatening that they might pull my credentials if I don’t take this off… They want to truly silence me. They don’t even want me to have this much free speech.”
A Wisconsin delegate at the DNC supporting Bernie Sanders, Angie Aker, on her Facebook page. She was wearing tape on her mouth that said “Silenced.” A fellow delegate told a reporter Aker was taking advantage of divisions on the convention floor to increase her presence on social media.

“She (Hillary) has the moral depth of a thimble. Are we supposed to take this, or are we supposed to rise up?”
Liz Maratea, 31, a Bernie sanders delegate from New Jersey, said she refuses to lay down arms and accept Mrs. Clinton as the nominee.

“Ageism sucks! You’re old. You shouldn’t be making decisions on our future.”
Robert Shearer, a 33-year old Bernie Sanders delegate from California responding after Sue Savary, a 69-year old delegate  made the mistake of referring to Sanders supporters around her as “kids.”

“Can I just say to the Bernie or Bust people — you’re being ridiculous.”
Actress and comedian Sarah Silverman, an outspoken Sanders supporter who got booed while appearing alongside Sen. Al Franken

“I understand that many people here in this convention hall and around the country are disappointed about the final results of the nominating process. I think it’s fair to say that no one is more disappointed than I am. Hillary Clinton will make an outstanding president and I am proud to stand with her here tonight.”
Bernie Sanders at the DNC

“Sad to watch Bernie Sanders abandon his revolution. We welcome all voters who want to fix our rigged system and bring back our jobs.”
A Donald Trump tweet

“Hillary Clinton has never quit on anything in her life. When she didn’t win the nomination 8 years ago, she didn’t get angry or dissolution.”
Michelle Obama at the DNC

“Note to DNC: Stop Blaming Putin, YOU Wrote the Emails”
Headline, PJMedia, July 26

“I started a business and I didn’t do it with a million dollar check from my father. I believe we need a president who is a problem solver and not a bomb thrower.”
Former NY mayor Michael Bloomberg at the DNC

“This guy [Trump] doesn’t have a clue about the middle class, not a clue.  He has no clue about what makes America great. In fact, he has no clue period.”
VP Joe Biden at the DNC

“Time and again, you picked me up.  I hope I picked you up too.  You’re who I was talking about 12 years ago.  It’s been you who fueled my dogged faith in the future.  Hope in the face of uncertainty.  America, you’ve vindicated that hope.  I’m ready to pass the baton…join me to reject cynicism and fear and elect Hillary Clinton as the next president of the United States and show the world we still believe in the greatness of this nation. ”
President Obama at the DNC

“Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing. I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press.”
Donald Trump, who later said he was being sarcastic about the reference to Hillary’s deleted e-mails.

“I do think there was something about his reference to Russia, which, whether planned or not, is extremely clever. I’m not the first point out that it set a trap that the Clinton campaign fell right into. In that statement that you showed from the Clinton campaign, it said, you know, you’re inviting a foreign power to invade our national security. Now, these are the emails that she deleted because they were supposedly private. These the ones that were supposedly not work-related. These are ones where she discusses her yoga lessons and wedding planning. So, if that’s what really [is] in the 30,000 deleted e-mails, then there’s no national security to be involved at all. So, the Clinton campaign ends up admitting that perhaps there really is work-related, if not classified stuff, on the emails which she deleted, which I think would be the grounds for a charge of obstruction.”
Charles Krauthammer

“A man you can bait with a tweet is not a man we can trust with nuclear weapons.”
Hillary Clinton at the DNC’s final day

“Through all these years of public service, the ‘service’ part has always come easier to me than the ‘public’ part. I get it that some people just don’t know what to make of me.”
Hillary Clinton at the DNC’s final day

“Instead of giving the speech of her life on the biggest night of her life, Clinton delivered an uninspired and uninspiring wish list of all the things she and other Democrats would get Washington to do.

“Big things, little things, everything. Her core principle, if it can be called a principle, is that government is here to take charge, making her theme of ‘stronger together’ suddenly seem like a warning that her main goal is building an all-consuming federal bureaucracy.

“On top of earlier vows to issue even more executive orders than Obama, she promises a more powerful, more intrusive government across the board, with no problem too big or too small for its focus.

“All that ‘compassion’ would be expensive, meaning higher taxes and more national debt.”
Michael Goodwin, NY Post

“We’ve had a quieter convention because the delegates have been threatened. They’ve had food thrown at them. I’ve had people wagging their finger in my face. They can’t threaten us anymore. They can’t take my credentials. It’s over tonight. I don’t have to be a good girl anymore. I don’t have to take it anymore. There’s too much suspicion, too much corruption. They stole this. They took it. I’m mad. I know Bernie says we’re all disappointed. This is so beyond disappointed. This wasn’t a fair election.”
Nadine Gallagher, a Sanders backer from Oklahoma

“They knocked us to the ground. They kicked us, spit on us, stomped on us while we were laying on the ground and then as they walked away they said, ‘Will you be my friend?’ The unity bridge you wanted us to cross over has already been burned to the ground.”
Amber Thomas, an alternate delegate from Oklahoma


OUTRAGE OF THE WEEK

Priest beheaded

John Hinckley released

MOST UNDER-REPORTED STORY OF THE WEEK

The Democratic Party’s platform

MOST OVER-HYPED STORY OF THE WEEK

The CNN Democratic Swoon

STRANGEST, MOST UNUSUAL STORY OF THE WEEK

Those early Olympics

Those ugly uniforms

Hippie parents want your money

The Barking Lot – America’s Finest Dog Blog (07/30/16)

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The Barking Lot is a regular weekly feature of This Just In…Written by my lovely wife, Jennifer and me.  It opens with the weekend dog walking forecast followed by the main blog from dog lover, Jennifer. Then it’s DOGS IN THE NEWS and our close. Enjoy!

THE WEEKEND DOG-WALKING FORECAST: We grade the weather outlook for taking your pet outdoors.

TODAY: Lots of sun. Little chance of rain.  A high of 75.  “A”

SUNDAY:  Partly cloudy.  A high of 78. Again very little chance of rain. “A”

Here’s my lovely wife, Jennifer with this week’s main blog.

My childhood dogs had free reign of our back yard and driveway, and it’s where they did their business.  When the grass was snowed over, they used the driveway.  We weren’t a “walk-to-poop” family.  We just picked up after them.  Before you even BECOME a dog owner, you know what you’re in for.  True, it’s the very last thing on your list of “why I love having a dog” but it is what it is.

Perhaps that’s why so many people jumped at the chance to install an app called “Pooper.”  Call it lazy, selfish, squeamish, or hooked on your phone.  Whatever the reason(s) if there was a chance to have someone else do your dirty work, why not?

Personally, I wouldn’t bother.  The skeptic in me immediately wondered, “Where’s the proof they will actually pick it up?”  The frugalista in me thought, “Why on EARTH would I pay someone to pick up my dog’s poop?”  And the relic in me assumed, “The app wouldn’t work right anyhow and I’d STILL be left holding the bag.  Literally.”

But what about you?  Would YOU take advantage of the service?  I wouldn’t judge, really.  I’m sorry to burst your though.  This time, there really ISN’T an app for that.

Speaking of park amenities, dog owners, dogs, and dog poop…  All of this leads to my recent personal experience at a lovely Franklin park.  Kyla has been taking tennis lessons this summer through the Franklin Recreation Department and they are held at Lions Legend Park.  We love this park… the play sets are great, the tennis courts are well-maintained, and the volleyball pits do double-duty as an endless sandbox for little ones.  There are plenty of picnic tables, an abundance of shade, and the restrooms are incredibly tidy.  What’s NOT to love?

While I watch Kyla play tennis, I also observe many dog-walkers.  Sometimes I’ll chat with them or just comment on their cute four-legged friend.  So far I’ve never met an unfriendly owner who isn’t happy to brag about their companion.  It’s just one more reason to like that park.

But as I was walking from the tennis court to a picnic table, I nearly collided with a fresh pile of dog poop.  I was NOT happy.  It wasn’t that my sandals would have been covered in poop, although that wouldn’t have been entirely pleasant.  It was the laziness of the dog owner!

“Maybe they just didn’t have a bag with them.  I’m sure they didn’t mean to leave a mess.  I’m sure they would have picked up after their pooch.  The probably just forgot a bag.”  Yeah, yeah, yeah.  I’d like to think that way too.  Unfortunately they were about 25 feet away from THIS at the time…

Dog Bag Station Lions Park

I kid you not.  While you might not be able to tell, this photo was actually taken at my beloved park.  Literally 10 steps away from the pile.  I was dumbfounded.  Makes me wonder…  If someone at our park can’t use a FREE bag in plain sight, would they even remotely consider PAYING for a poop service would one be available?  Perhaps, since someone else would be doing the dirty work.  Good grief.
—Jennifer Fischer

Thanks, Jennifer!

Time now for DOGS IN THE NEWS, canines that made headlines the past week.

We’ve said it in the past and it’s true. The news isn’t always good. We don’t post the most graphic, stunning stories. This story doesn’t fall into that category, however it’s very sad.  A truck’s AC failed.

In Appleton, WI there’s a dog controversy that has people talking.

After competition, blind dog from Mineral Point, WI continues to spread anti-bullying message.

Hooch survives severe abuse. Read what he’s doing now.

Why are some dogs better at finding human remains?

You’ve rescued a dog. Now what?

Can I walk your dog?

For people studying dog well-being, dog spit is a highlight of their day.

Nothing WI in these listings.

What about these rules for dog owners in a luxury rental apartment?

This columnist now knows how Jimmy Stewart felt.

Good news. Corky is back home…finally!

I CAN RELATE! Oh my goodness! Could be my most favorite DOGS IN THE NEWS item EVER! Unenthusiastic dad writes incredibly detailed family dog contract.

THAT’S IT FOR DOGS IN THE NEWS.

HERE’S OUR DOG PHOTO OF THE WEEK:

Photographer shoots adorable dog photos before and after a trim at the groomer 

We close as we always do with our closing video. And we have a few.

First, we go to Chicago where burglars became heroes.

SuperDeluxe attempted to break the Guinness world record for most dogs walked by one person. To pull off this extraordinary feat, they called in a professional dog walker from Los Angeles. The goal: 45 dogs. His personal record? 6. Can he do it?

Next, here’s that Tonight Show with Jimmy Stewart referred to in the column above.


AND FINALLY, I think I’ve found the perfect dog for my wife:

That’s it for this week.

Thanks for stopping by..

See ya, BARK, next week!

Goodnight everyone, and have a weekend to sing, sing, sing about!

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Every Friday night we smooth our way into the weekend with music, the universal language. These selections demonstrate that despite what is being passed off as art today, there is plenty of really good music available. Come along and enjoy.

This week we go to the movies, and quite possibly a learning experience. It was for me.

Suppose you’re in the theater. And a charming, beautiful young woman begins to sing. She totally captivates and enraptures, she sings so sweetly, so magnificently.

Of course she did because if forced to sing on her own, she could never totally pull it off. Thank God for an amazing stand-in.

Let’s roll back the clock to …

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Elizabeth “Betty” Noyes Hand dubbed the singing voice of Debbie Reynolds in the 1952 film Singin’ in the Rain.  There’s irony in that Reynolds’s character in the famous film dubbed the singing for another character.

Last week Marnie Dixon died of breast cancer died. She was 86.

Maybe you know. Maybe, like me, you didn’t that she was the voice behind some classic women in some classic movies. We have some of the best of Marnie Dixon this week. Come along and enjoy.

Remember, in this tremendous film’s unforgettable scene that it’s not Deborah Kerr singing. Audiences never knew.

The King and I…

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The magnanimous star of the movie was the late, great Yul Brynner. As an aside, in the early 1980’s he toured with the Broadway performance of The King and I.  I recall getting my parents tickets to see the show at the then Performing  Arts Center in Milwaukee.

When the show ended, and the stars came out for their final bows, Brynner, when all was done, remained onstage, alone, to deliver a somber message. He would later record a shorter version for television audiences, hoping they would not suffer the way he did.

Next, no that wasn’t Audrey Hepburn.

It was Marnie Nixon.

The year is 1964.

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OK. Have you gone back and listened to see if the vocals sounded the same?

Here’s another example.

She is pretty.

She is Natalie Wood.

But it’s not Natalie Wood.

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Before taking to singing for Hollywood Nixon was famed for her work as a concert singer. She sang as a soloist with the New York Philharmonic; a recitalist at Carnegie, Alice Tully and Town Halls in New York; and a featured singer on one of Leonard Bernstein’s TV concerts for young people.

This is astonishing, given today’s onslaught of media attention. Nixon kept a promise to perform only as herself, to not divulge that it was she singing in those clips we’ve shared.

But gossip can last only so long. In 1990, the Los Angeles Times proclaimed Nixon “the best known of the ghost singers.”

Nixon sang for Deborah Kerr in the “King and I.” Kerr.was nominated for an Academy Award for her role. The soundtrack album was a huge success.  For her ghost singing g and . Nixon  received a total of $420.

“You always had to sign a contract that nothing would be revealed,” Nixon told ABC’s “Nightline” in 2007. “Twentieth Century Fox, when I did ‘The King and I,’ threatened me.They said, if anybody ever knows that you did any part of the dubbing for Deborah Kerr, we’ll see to it that you don’t work in town again.”

That’s it for this week’s segment.

Goodnight.

Sleep well.

Have a great weekend.

We close with another example of Marnie Nixon dubbing, however this time, not as much.

The year is 1953. The starlet is the scrumptious Marilyn Monroe.|

She sings all but a note she couldn’t hit.

Enter Marnie Nixon to sing the second line of the couplet “But square-cut or pear-shape/These rocks don’t lose their shape,” with its pinpoint high note on “their,” from “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.”

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Marni Nixon

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Friday Night Forgotten Oldie: “Another Saturday, another date. She would be ready but she’d always make him wait.”

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This week’s featured act formed as a band in North London in 1963 and was part of the British Invasion that swept America.

During their career they endured numerous personnel changes and musical styles ranging from pop, rhythm and blues, beer hall, folk, and pop.

The up and down history of the Kinks eventually ended when the band broke up in 1996.

This week’s oldie is from 1983 that made it up to #6 on the American charts. Note the synthesizer  that sounds like a Jamaican drum.

BONUS! OF COURSE THERE’S A BONUS!!!

 

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UPDATE: Undecided voters

/ This Just In... From Franklin, WI / 2 Comments

Previously on This Just In…I wrote the following prior to the November election of 2008:

Voters in Wisconsin can begin making their choices official today via the absentee ballot. Wisconsin officials predict about 15% of all ballots this year will be cast as absentee votes. In Wisconsin, it’s no questions asked if you want to vote with an absentee ballot. Just ask for one, and you’ll get one. You can then vote in the privacy of your own home and take as much time as you’d like.

Nationwide, about a third of the electorate will vote early this year.

It shouldn’t be surprising that so many people are taking advantage of ever-increasing popular form of voting. Some states were already accepting votes two weeks ago, meaning that four to six weeks out, many Americans have made their decisions. No doubt, there minds were made up a long time ago.

So what’s with the 15-18% of Americans still coveted by news interviewers, pollsters and the candidates who remain undecided?

A few weeks ago while filling in for Mark Belling on Newstalk 1130 WISN, I addressed the topic of the “undecided” voter. Quite frankly, there’s no excuse for being bewitched, bothered and bewildered at this stage of the game.

The Presidential campaign has been going on for what seems like an eternity, but in reality, about two years. That’s an awfully long time.

You’d have to be a hermit locked up in some cave not to have been exposed to the barrage of political information, inescapable for even the most disinterested souls.

The public has been inundated with election news in newspapers and magazines, on talk radio, TV news coverage, on cable, on the Internet, on blogs, in campaign literature and in those incessant TV ads and dinnertime phone calls.

The candidates are light years apart on every single issue. There’s no middle ground, a stark contrast that should render decision-making ever so easy.

If the economy eclipsed the Iraq War as the top issue a long time ago, I submit the choice of who’s best qualified to get us back on track is not the most liberal member of the U.S. Senate that will tax and tax and tax and tax some more. Give me the candidate who will exercise restraint on spending. In the war against terrorism, I’ll take the war hero who’s been there and will take the tough stance rather than the guy who wants to sit down and have tea with our enemies. I certainly would feel safer if John McCain were in the White House.

As a Roman Catholic, I’m baffled that so many Catholics are confounded or leaning towards Obama, forgetting he’s an unborn child’s worst nightmare.

Why so many perplexed voters? As I stated on WISN, I submit they’re undecided for the following reasons:

1) They’re uninformed. Despite the avalanche of available information, they’re clueless on the candidates and the issues. 2) They don’t care. Not everyone is a political junkie. Not everyone is engaged. And many don’t give a damn.

3) They are, let’s face it, not that bright. That’s putting it as diplomatically as I can. How else do you explain that according to some reports, one out of five Americans is still firmly entrenched in the “I don’t know” camp?

Not all undecideds are dumb. But a whole bunch of them are. Take 31-year old Matt Powell of Widefield, Colorado, quoted by the Associated Press:

“Neither one has really come up with anything to make me say, ‘That one right there, I want that one.’ I don’t even know what I’m looking for. Just a little bit of hope.”

“I don’t even know what I am looking for.”

Matt, your answering service called. Your brain will be ready next week. Here’s another beauty. Karen Wamback, also 31 of Rutland, Massachusetts could open a waffle house.”John McCain has a lot of issues I have issues with but Barack Obama has a lot more.” Then, about 15 minutes later, after going through the pros and cons of each candidate, Wamback offered this gem:

“I guess I’m pretty much set with McCain because he’s the lesser of two evils. Then again, I might just vote in (Sesame Street’s) Elmo. At least he’s for the children.”

Yep, she’s a voter. Scary.

Here’s that entire AP article.

Undecided voters, if they truly are undecided, are unreliable.My advice to both camps would be to concentrate on your base. Focus on registering people whoa re apt to vote for you. Don’t waste time trying to coddle or psychoanalyze these softies who can’t make a choice between just two candidates.

Finally, as we get closer to Election Day, newspaper editorial writers will beg for a high turnout, clamoring that it’s a citizen’s right and duty to get out and vote. Ideally, I prefer a lower turnout of more educated voters that have actually given their choice some thought, have done some homework, have conducted the research. No, I’m not suggesting you must possess a PHD, but I’d rather you not going write in Big Bird.

I want those who can’t make up their minds to save their lives, those who will decide based on the last :30 ad they see on television before they walk out the door, to just stay home.
—October 6, 2008

The update, nearly 8 years later:

The myth of the undecided voter