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Monthly Archives: March 2019
1989: Gorbachev pushes for a reform with Soviet farming
In anticipation of the upcoming documentary Meeting Gorbachev, I found this little piece about Soviet History as their last leader tried to stem the superpower’s decline. I’m looking forward to seeing this movie: German director Werner Herzog will be interviewing Gorbachev, … Continue reading
Happy Pi(e) Day!
This day we didn’t get to celebrate Einstein’s 140th birthday nor my friend Nelson’s with any good fruit or cream pies at work. Bummer. However, at a smaller level we did eat deep-dish pizza from Conan’s Pizza during a team … Continue reading
Ali Saddiq
I saw Ali either this Spring or last year at Moontower Comedyfest. He was part of a showcase and I was really impressed on how he stood out from the others. Firstly, he took a seat. Secondly, he was less … Continue reading
Posted in Brushes with Greatness, The Lost Tales
Tagged Comedy, Overdue Story, Stand-up Comedy
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Annual stupidity begins, aka DST
When I was a kid, I didn’t mind Daylight Savings Time as much. It didn’t start until April and in the Midwest its arrival meant that Spring was here to stay…usually. The original purpose for DST in the Modern Era … Continue reading
1959: Barbie makes her debut
A good place to start on the history of this iconic doll is its own episode on The Toys That Made Us which is also intertwined with the Mattel Corporation’s story. There’s another show on Hulu with the words “tiny waist” in … Continue reading
The annual invasion is upon us again
However, the stars have aligned against us residents even further. The planners behind SXSW forgot to coordinate with UT and AISD and schedule this around Spring Break. So downtown will be even more crowded, terrible and best avoided. It’s also … Continue reading
1994: Duckman debuts
This odd cartoon from Klasky-Csupo (most famous for making Rugrats) made its debut on USA alongside Weird Science the Series. I think USA was trying to branch out into what we would call a more general “network/channel” like TNT or (W)TBS and WGN … Continue reading
The Favorite: Must See
The whole bru-ha-ha and self-congratulating of the Oscars® are over but never the usual finger pointing via identity politics in which the biggest question of “is this movie any good?” gets skipped since it lacked [insert in the blank]. The … Continue reading
Posted in History, In Theaters, Movies
Tagged 18th Century, English History, Enlightenment, Historical Fiction
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My turn to drop the ceremonial puck!!!
This season may be rather up and down compared to previous ones but it’s special because it marks my Stars’ tenth season in Austin and the AHL. A decade in one spot is pretty tough to pull off in a … Continue reading
Satine enjoying the shelter I gave her (March update)
Satine’s belly is starting to show her pregnancy which is pretty easy, she isn’t very big due to her age. This morning I managed to catch her holding still long enough for this cute picture. I did manage to convince … Continue reading
1864: Grant promoted to General of the (US) Army
After firing numerous generals and getting a resounding “no” from Italian hero Garibaldi, President Lincoln finally found the commander he could trust to defeat the Confederacy once and for all. Grant was also the only officer who didn’t suffer any … Continue reading
RIP Katherine Helmond
You may not recognize the name immediately, but for my generation and older, she was the clueless matriarch of the wealthy family in Soap. Younger people will probably know her as Mona from Who’s the Boss? The coolest thing Katherine did though … Continue reading
Posted in Movies, TV
Tagged Celebrity Obituary, Comedy, Dark Comedy, Eighties, SitCom
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1979: The move to Springfield, IL
This month’s header is a picture of Illinois’ capitol building which is mostly at the center of Springfield, IL, the place where my family moved to 40 years ago in March. There was another, smaller place that the state government … Continue reading
Posted in News
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