Sunday, June 29, 2014

Mondays' Music Makes me Celebrate

Since Friday is July 4th, the first part of this Mondays' music is easy for me, a piece of music to celebrate this nations independence.

What better selections than the music of George M Cohan 


Hope you have a great 4th of July.   No matter where you are in the world.






Saturday, June 28, 2014

1 ADAM 12 two episodes in Review

Last week, I watched an old series on Me-TV, the show was Adam 12, one of the many shows that Jack Webb produced back in the day.

I found two episodes very interesting because of what they were about.

The first Episode Extreme Force

Martin Milner as Officer Malloy is involved in a door to door search for a missing six year old girl.  He finds her unconscious in a house and gives pursuit to the man who had abducted her.  The man has the opportunity to run, because Malloy did not react fast enough upon seeing the unconscious child.

There is a long foot chase during which Malloy finally tackles the suspect, because Malloy had no cell phone or blue tooth he had no way to advise officers he was in pursuit.

Because of the tackle and the forceful manner that Malloy used when handcuffing the suspect, the suspect is able to file charges of extreme force leading to Malloys suspension and being put under review.

The suspect is a sex offender and has been arrested several times but was never convicted.

This Episode aired in 1974, long before Child perverts were in the news daily, and it brings to light the human aspect of Police work, how many of us get outraged when a child comes to harm because of an adult?

In this episode again it was the criminal who had rights and the victim and  Police Officer who were left out in the cold.  What is sad, is how little things change.

Pressure Point 1975, final season.

A new rookie not yet a graduate from the  Police academy freezes in the field, he is unable to speak because he is a stutter and freezes under pressure.  The rookie had undergone speach therapy to learn to control the problem, and in controlled environments is able to control his stuttering.

However he is sent out on an assignment and when the time comes he freezes, he is unable to speak at all.  When he reveals his disability it ends his career as a Police Officer, before it can begin.


Again an episode that shows the human condition.  How many of us hide our limitations so we can pursue a job, relationship or simply be accepted by our friends?  The young rookie resigned realizing that he could not carry out the job, because of his handicap.

Adam 12 was a show that looked at the human aspect in Police work and did complex stories in half an hour.

Was it perfect ?  No,no television series ever is.   Was it overly simplistic?  Perhaps at times, but this was in an era where we did not have realistic shows like Hill Street Blues and Law and Order.

But it was and is a show that was well written and asks the viewer to put themselves in the position of the character. 

What would you have done?  How would you have reacted instead of telling us how we should respond, it left it up to us to decide.  

This is why Adam 12 is still one of those shows I watch 40 years later.


Friday, June 27, 2014

A New favorite Old TV Series

When I was growing up, I had a limited type of Television shows I would watch.  Mostly Action Adventures and comedies.

However I was limited even in what I watched in Action Adventure shows.  I loved Police and Law shows, Perry Mason, Adam 12 STAR Trek were among those I watched; however I never watched EMERGENCY.

I just never was interested in being a fireman when I was growing up.

A few years back a new channel came onto the air, it is called Me-TV or Memorable Entertainment Television.  It has a lot of classic shows, many that I grew up watching and a few I had never seen before.

One of the shows I discovered, that I do like as an adult is Emergency.  The only thing that makes it difficult in viewing this show is that it is on at 4:P.M. weekly which means I miss a few episodes because of my work schedule.

Here are a couple photos from the show.




Thursday, June 26, 2014

I want to live forever, baby remember my name... FAME

A few nights ago, my wife and I watched FAME, the movie from 1980 that launched a long running T.V. Series and made stars out of many of its cast including Irene Cara who was an established Broadway actress by the time this movie came out.

It was amazing looking back at the original movie and seeing how some of the characters were changed dramatically for the T.V. Series.  Leroy Johnson, being one of the major changes.  

In the movie he was unable to read and a street tough who had an attitude problem.  This was rewritten and toned down for the series.  
Debbie Allen who was the dance teacher in the series had only a walk on part with one scene in the movie.

The movie also did something amazing, it compressed four years into two hours.

The music and dance was amazing and some of the supporting characters, like Bruno Martelli's father were as interesting and fun as the main characters.

If you have never seen this movie, or it has been a long time since the last time you saw it, then it is well worth it to rent this or borrow it through Netflix.

5 stars for this classic.

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

#100HAPPYDAYS June 25th 2014

I found this album at my favorite thrift store in Aurora.  This is one of my favorite PINK FLOYD albums, it is one of the few PINK FLOYD albums, I have had in three different mediums.  I had the VHS tape, the CD and now the Record album.



A great book for kids

The Crew Goes Coconuts by Carole P Roman

This is the most recent book in the Captain No Beard series by Carole P Roman.

The book deals with how the crew passes judgement on a new member, a goat named Maatie for drinking the last of the fruit juice.

The book is fast paced yet keeps you interested in the struggle that takes place until Captain No Beard becomes involved.

Maatie after being so abused still is willing to help the crew overcome the situation.

The book is well written and makes you look at people from a different perspective.

If you have children or Grand Children, this is a book that they will enjoy and you will enjoy as well since it deals with issues in a warm positive way.


#ICAD June 24th BROWN

The prompt for yesterdays ICAD was Brown.  

I had been working on two models last night, one was my MPC kit of the B-24 Liberator, which is Dark Olive Drab and Gray, and which I had done an ICAD on earlier.

The second model was the Revelle model of the Panther Tank, which I am doing in a two tone Brown camoflague for Italy in 1943.

So I did a hand drawing of the tank, painted it the two tone brown scheme and then my wife had some art paper that is like a forest scene and I glued it to this and then glued both to an index card.  

This is the final result..




#100happydays

 My 100 happy days pictures for today June 24th 2014 are photos I took on my walk on Montview Blvd.  These are of the Anschutz Medical facility and Colorado University Medical Center along with the old Chapel and facility from Fitzsimmons Army Medical Center.










































Monday, June 23, 2014

#ICAD June 22nd 2014

 First 3 icads London Burning 1941, Berlin Burning 1944, Tokyo Burning 1944


From Light into Darkness

#100happydays

This is an ongoing project my wife is doing, using post cards from the U.S. and around the world.

I am very happy for her and think this is a great project she has undertaken.