And now for something different: here’s the UK in black & white face

The United States & United Kingdom have always had a sort of “best mates” thing, don’t you think?  We love the Beatles, the Royal Family, British telly (especially that British Bake Off) and of course those English accents. 

The UK loves our big-budget Hollywood movies, our early rock n’ roll, and Bridget Jones had a thing for Frasier.  Anyway, we sort of keep tabs on one another, know what the other is up to.  At least, I always thought so.

So imagine my surprise the other night when I was on Youtube and came across this.  “It’s the Black & White Minstrel Show!”  The what?

A very popular program (aka programme) that aired on the BBC from 1957-1978, it featured music, dancing, very attractive women, and lots of men in blackface.

This variety show seemed to celebrate early American music.  But didn’t minstrel shows pretty much end in America after the Civil War?  Didn’t anyone tell England?

The Black & White Minstrel Show received a lot of criticism for it’s racial stereotyping, but did so well in the ratings the BBC told their naysayers to sod off (aka get lost) and kept it on the air.  For 21 years!

Youtube comments to these Minstrel show videos are polarizing—older Brits praise the shows for their quality and entertainment, younger Brits slam them.  I’ve watched a couple and while I admire the pretty legs and choreography, the blackfaces are really, REALLY out there.

You don’t have to watch the entire video below, just take a gander at the opening act.  Two minutes should do.  It sort of reminds me of The Lawrence Welk Show, that aired here in America at the same time for the same number of years. 

The only blackface on Lawrence Welk was Arthur Duncan, but his was real of course.  I hope my friends across the pond don’t mind me sharing :-)

 

Our third week in, and I’ve already broken two—no, three resolutions

I got up this morning, looked at the temperature on my phone (-12 in Pittsburgh, for you celsius people that’s minus 24.4) then started my coffee and dug out my weight scales from behind my bathroom vanity.

Okay, it says –8 but I swear this morning it was –12!

My weight is 235.0 – that’s an 8 pound gain since the last time I got on my scales back on Nov 20.  Doggone it.  This is what happens when you stop checking your weight every day.  It’s not as bad as it was one year ago when I weighed 272, but I made a resolution to continue downward in 2025 and have gotten off track.  

Man, the thought of gaining all that weight back terrifies me.

Speaking of terrified, after I put my scales away and got a cup of coffee, I decided to break another resolution and turn on the news; I honestly just wanted to hear how people were dealing locally with these subzero temps.  Instead I got a big earful of national news.

The first thing Trump did after moving back into the White House was go after the Affordable Care Act, stripping away the recent additions made by Biden while in office.  Well, that’s no surprise.  Trump then went after the Federal agencies promoting racial & sexual equality in the government workplace, mustn’t have that.  And now 22 states are threatening lawsuits as Trump tries to dismantle the 14th amendment in the Constitution, granting citizenship to anyone born on American soil. 

Yes, yes I know what he’s doing there but at the same time, this would have pretty far reaching implications.  Oh and then they showed Elon Musk giving Trump a Nazi salute.  That’s no surprise either.

Now I’m breaking a third resolution by getting on my blog and writing about him, I promised myself I wouldn’t spend a single day of the next 4 years putting my despair on display, blogging about this monster.  And yet, here I am.  Wishing very much I was somewhere else.  Like Finland.

Yes, yes I know—no one’s stopping me, there’s the door.

I just wanted to say I’m probably going to continue posting upbeat, dorky things on here because like it or not, it’s who I am.  Also, I want to focus my energies on a happier existence while I can.  Y’know, I spent the last YEAR in pain and isolation fighting this long covid and while I’m not fully out of the woods yet, I’m seeing better days. 

But I also want it known that deep down I hope & wait for Trump to drop over; as for the people who support the man, we’ll never see eye to eye and hopefully never come face to face. 

Oh and thanks for the calendar, Congressman Deluzio.  Boy have you got an uphill battle.

When it’s 5-10 below zero in Pittsburgh, you go (fried) fishing with friends

When I awoke Wednesday morning, I looked out my bedroom window and saw a snow-squall.  I turned on the local news and heard “The snow will continue off & on until noon, but it’s only 8 degrees out there—with the wind chill it feels more like 5 to 10 below zero.  All city schools are on a 2 hour delay.”

Oh no… I was scheduled to go on my first senior outing since last May, to the North Park Lounge in McCandless Township.  That is, if I could make the 3/4 mile walk to the Lutheran Senior Center first.

So I bundled up good and headed out, with a couple shop-stops along the way to warm my face and defrost my glasses. 

I was almost sorry I made the trip when I was told 23 people were scheduled to go, and all but 10 cancelled. 

Fortunately, the ones who DID make it were some of my favorite people at the center.  As for the Lounge, we never saw the place—it was so busy we were herded into their enclosed patio.  Here’s some pics of my friends and our good eats.

Mary needs a couple minutes to look at the menu.. Mary you look lovely today and I am really digging those glasses!Is this picture perfect or what?  They don’t come any better than Evvie and I dearly love her.

Dennis is looking a little out of sorts, waiting for his first double shot Bloody Mary.  He didn’t blink an eye when I asked him for an invite to his apartment above the bakery, he just said of course and rattled off his phone number.  He owns a lot of police memorabilia, and has lived at the same address for 40 years!“Debbie, thanks for saving me a seat at the cool kids table.  Can I share your photo on my blog?  I want to show you to my online friends.  Thanks Deb!”Rose is 92 years old and God bless her, going strong as ever.  Here she is with her customary draft of beer, filled with ice.  That’s her year-round lunch drink.Mary’s food arrived first, a mushroom & swiss burger.  Those hand-cut fries were sizzling hot and seasoned perfectly.And finally…  a one pound fried fish sandwich with fries & coleslaw.  (I requested those onions.)  These come in two sizes, Large & G-I-A-N-T.  I ordered the giant to take half home for dinner, as did Deb & Dennis.  It was excellent. 

We all laughed and carried on (Mary was cracking me up good, demanding to know why Evvie gets all the attention) and I was doing pretty well aside from a little tumble I took on the Access shuttle on the trip home.  (A dizzy spell from I-don’t-know-where.)

But I’m very glad I got to go, I missed everybody—and as cold as it was, the very next day we got a real blizzard!

I wasn’t looking for anything, but wasn’t expecting this either, if that even makes any sense :-)

What is this?  Three conversations that went in directions I didn’t expect, which gives me something to blog about I suppose.  Of course I’m shaking my head in disbelief at the fires in California and Frump’s latest shenanigans, but meanwhile, here at least, life goes on.

A couple weeks ago I was talking to my sister, and remarked as soon as I had this long covid under control (still having relapses) I needed to go to the dentist—specifically, a dental surgeon and get molar implants.  

I am missing all my molars in my lower left quadrant—the last one (a stump) broke off and my dentist said could not be built up or support a partial denture.  I was told a dental implant bridge will cost $15,000 and that is not including the bone graft surgery I’ll require beforehand.

My sister said “Well, my coworker needs $50,000 worth of dental work.”  Did that make mine not as bad compared to his?  I guess so, but I’m still anxious and afraid to get this started.  I wrestle with TMJ a lot, and people have shared some scary stories about their implants on Reddit.

Last week I got a letter from Steiner Realty (my landlord).  They were apologetic, said the cost of everything is out of control and they hope I remain a tenant--but effective April 1, my rent will be $880.00 per month.  That’s a $40.00 increase.

I’m used to my rent going up $20.00 a month every year, but this is double that!

When I told my friend Diana, she said “That’s nothing.  My son and his wife pay twice that for their place!”  She’s right, twice mine is a lot!  But they live in beautiful Salt Lake City Utah and have jobs and I don’t.  My rent is still high where I live and I worry this $40 increase will be the new norm come next year.

This past Friday I went to the store for some milk & eggs, saw they had Spicy Pineapple Ham on special—that is good stuff.  I could just picture it on some King’s Hawaiian rolls.  After I got both and was checking out, it occurred to me some Ruffles Cheddar & Sour Cream potato chips would go perfectly with these spicy ham sliders.  I don’t know why I even thought of chips, it’s probably been 2 years since I last bought a bag. 

I asked the cashier if I could run back and get some, she said sure.  I run over, grab a bag, Carol rings them up—$5.99.  What!  It’s not even a big bag, and they cost $5.99?  Did I just crawl out from under some rock?

Before we moved to the farmhouse in 1970 and still lived in town, my mom often sent me up the street to Howard’s Market for items like milk, lunchmeat, cigarettes. 

If we were having a cookout, Mom would tell me to grab a bag of DiMarco Potato Chips, produced in nearby Uniontown Pa. 

They were 49 cents for a large bag. Yes yes I know—that was over 50 years ago but still.

Back in the present, I said to Carol—“When did potato chips become a luxury item?  $5.99 for a bag of chips, how can people afford to eat these?”   

Carol said “Consider yourself lucky you’re not buying cigarettes.  Mine cost $13 for one pack.”

I said “Yes that’s awful, but you don’t NEED to smoke.  I DO need to eat, there’s a difference.” 

Carol snapped “You don’t NEED to eat chips.  Go grab a can of beans!”  I laughed and said okay, I’ll shut up.  I said I was sure she’s heard plenty already about the steep price of these chips. 

She said “I hear it every day about meat and cereal and other things, but not about potato chips!”  OKAY CAROL.

I wanted to crawl back under that rock I must’ve recently crawled out from.  By the way, the ham sliders were delicious but those Ruffles potato chips really hurt my gums.

 

 

Video Review: I live in Squaresville now, but even I have my limits

When I was in high school in the late 1970s, my mom went thru this phase where she was calling everybody a turkey.  At first it was amusing, then it got old pretty fast. 

One day after telling us a corny joke, I suppose I rolled my eyes and she said “Doug you turkey!” 

I said “MOM PLEASE STOP CALLING ME A TURKEY.”  She said “What’s wrong?  Don’t you want your old mom to sound cool?”  I said “Yes but that’s not cool.” 

She said “Up your nose with a rubber hose!”   I laughed and said “NOBODY says that—only the Sweathogs did, and that was 3 years ago!”  

She said “Sit on it, Potsie!”  All I could do was shake my head.  Hopeless!

I wonder what kids say today?  Doesn’t matter.  I live in Squaresville now and I’m not SUPPOSED to know.  I remember way back in 1975, watching Soul Train one Saturday on tv.  Don Cornelius introduced the Sylvers, who came out and sang “Boogie Fever”.  They had good moves, an awesome sound and even the term “boogie fever” sounded funny and cool.

Three years later on The Love Boat, when Captain Steubing invited his sixtysomething dinner guests to join him on the dance floor and boogie, I wanted to throw up.

The reason I’m sharing this nonsense is because the other night I came across this video from 1968, and watched in disbelief.  With some help from the ‘Young Folk’, Liberace was on his way to becoming a Flower Child.  I couldn’t help but think about the real flower children, the hippies in San Francisco with flowers in their hair.  The squares were taking over.  I suppose that’s what they always do.

Okay, I’m done—if you have a couple minutes, check this out and tell me if ya think it’s bussin or crashy.  (That’s “now” talk for awesome or crazy trashy!)

 

A couple holiday chestnuts and 9 oddball facts about me & tv over the years

I watched two holiday movies this Christmas, Miracle on 34th Street and Meet Me in St. Louis.  I love Natalie Wood, I love Judy Garland.  Here’s something interesting about these old chestnuts, it was my first time seeing both. 

In a nutshell, they surprised me: 

1. 34th Street was not the charmer I expected—but I enjoyed the ‘retail wars’ and even at this age, Natalie Wood’s talent was remarkable.
2. I’ve seen clips of Judy Garland singing “The Trolley Song” and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” so many times over the years, I figured the rest of the movie was unnecessary.  I was wrong of course, and Margaret O’Brien as Judy’s death-obsessed sister Tootie was a real treat. 

Now that the holiday viewing is over, here are 9 boring random facts about myself and television I thought I’d share. 

1.  The movie “M*A*S*H” from 1970 with Donald Sutherland and Elliott Gould?  Never saw it, plan to someday.  I’ve never watched the 1970s tv show MASH with Alan Alda either.  I don’t plan to.  

2.  Remember when everyone was wondering “Who shot JR” on Dallas in 1980?  I wasn’t, I’ve never seen the show.  Here’s some other shows from the 1980s I’ve never seen:  Cagney & Lacey, The A Team, Dukes of Hazard, Remington Steele, Miami Vice, Hill Street Blues, Magnum PI, Knots Landing, MacGyver, Married with Children.

3.  Murder She Wrote (1984-1996) & Baywatch (1989-2001) both ran for 12 years and I only saw one episode of each. 

4.  The Mary Tyler Moore Show is my second all-time favorite show—when I was a kid, my Uncle Shane told me that Laura Petrie on The Dick Van Dyke Show was Mary Tyler Moore’s kid sister and I believed this until MY MID TWENTIES.

5. When Happy Days premiered on January 15 1974, I was more excited to see it than anyone.  But earlier that night I’d been terrorizing my little sister with stories about spooks in our basement, so I got sent to my room and missed that first episode.

When ABC repeated it that summer, I asked if I could spend the night at my friend Dan’s house to ensure I wouldn’t do something stupid and miss it again.  That night at Dan’s, 10 minutes before the show, there was a big storm and their electric went out.   

It would be 20+ years before I FINALLY saw the first episode on TV Land!

6.  For as long as I can remember, The Ten Commandments has aired the Saturday before Easter.  I may be a heathen but I watch it every year, and when God instructs Moses to “Put off thy shoes from thy feet, for the place where thou stands is holy ground” I become a Christian for the next couple days. 

(I’m usually a heathen again by late Monday, early Tuesday morning.)

7.  I have never missed an episode of Saturday Night Live (which premiered on October 11, 1975) until their current season.  48 years of SNL is quite enough for this old noodle of mine, thanks.

8.  The older I get, the less network television I watch.  I’m down to 2 shows: Matlock (the new one with Kathy Bates) and Elsbeth (from the makers of The Good Wife), both on CBS. 

9.  When I was 10-11 years old, I fell in love with Barbara Eden on I Dream of Jeannie.  When my mom saw a record album with Barbara Eden on the front, she bought it for me—not knowing the various celebrities (and Barbara) on the album weren’t singing songs, but speaking on behalf of the Epilepsy Foundation in 1969. 

By unlucky coincidence, in my early teens I was diagnosed with epilepsy.  When the doctor told my parents, my mom told him about Barbara Eden and that Epilepsy album.  She asked if my subconscious could be causing my seizures, to win Barbara’s approval.  The doctor told her no, the subconscious couldn’t do that. 

Here’s that album.  Mom’s theory sounded good to me then, still does.  Love you Mom… you too Barbara.