BW Manilowe

As someone born & raised in Alabama for 3 years (or almost until I was 3, anyway... my brother, whose birthday was yesterday—NYE—was born where I now live & I’m 3 years & 5 months older than him), I’ll take the black-eyed peas (not to be confused with the rap music group), which look sort of like brown refried beans, with a black dot in the middle—think like a green olive with a pimento in the middle—& don’t really taste like anything, except some might be a little spicy, over collards any day (I’m not very into leafy greens, & every time there’s an E.coli or Listeria recall for any, that discourages me from trying them).

I don’t think he ended up in Heaven, but I hope Whitney gave it to him good over Bobbi Kristina when he got there if he somehow happened to. You know what I mean?

Maybe I’m splitting hairs, but it’s just the first to be announced. There may be another, or others, which has/have occurred but is/are unannounced for whatever reason.

From ESPN: Former NBA Commissioner David Stern Dies at Age 77 He had recently suffered a brain hemorrhage.

From CNN: Neil Innes, Monty Python Collaborator, Dead at 75

From ET Online: Billy and Joe Smith, ‘My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding’ Stars, Dead at 32 After Apparent Joint Suicide

I’ve been watching the usual Sunday TLC marathon today. In 1 of the more recent episodes, there was a woman looking for a dress to wear when the couple, who met in New Orleans, eloped to Paris (which was also the couple shown marrying at the end). The woman’s “entourage” insisted she wear something “conservative”—had an issue with 1 gown which (allegedly, I never saw it) had a floral design (in lace) over what 1 member of the “entourage” called the bride’s “nether regions”. So, the bride ended up picking a dress that was sheer in the front middle & exposed her belly button... of course leading her conservative “entourage” to say she couldn’t wear that because you could see her belly button (although they appeared to like the dress except for that). The Kleinfeld consultant working with the bride placated everybody by saying the dress was 1 of those kinds that could have a lining put into it & the bride said yes to the dress. So... go forward to the end of the show & this couple’s wedding is the 1 they end with. And I can’t figure out what the big deal ever was about how sheer the bride’s dress was or wasn’t, except they were apparently going to say their vows in the public square, so basically anybody could stop & watch. NOBODY from her Kleinfeld “entourage” who objected to various body parts showing through her choice of gowns was there to see whether or not her “nether regions” &/or belly button was/were on display for anyone to see. Except for the camera operator & whomever else was there from TLC, the only people there were the couple & their male wedding planner (though he was also a part of the bride’s Kleinfeld “entourage”—but he also never objected to any parts showing, as I remember, & he also didn’t seem to have been born in France, or anywhere else in Europe, where they have a different, more easygoing, sensibility about nudity than we tend to here in the States.

From The Hollywood Reporter (THR): Don Imus, Legendary ‘Imus in the Morning’ Host, Dies at 79

From USA Today: French Fashion Designer Emanuel Ungaro, a Favorite of Jackie Kennedy, Dead at 86

From NBC 4 Los Angeles: 49ers QB CJ Beathard’s Brother Fatally Stabbed, Nashville Police Say

This is like the year they picked the Miss New York (Kira Kazantsev, the first of, like, 3 Miss New Yorks in a row) whose “talent” was stacking red Solo cups to the song “Happy” by Pharrell Williams (to be fair, I think she could also sing; she just chose not to as her talent presentation). Instead of Miss Georgia, who had a “legitimate” talent in opera singing, they picked a Miss America who’s going to go around the country giving chemistry demonstrations when she needs a talent presentation. Yeah, it was kinda fun to watch in the competition (I keep having to stop myself from calling it a “pageant” now), but I hope she can actually do something a little more “normal”, like singing or dancing, if called upon to perform a talent during an appearance. I think the Judges really missed the boat on the winner this year & they should go back to the original 7-Judge Finals format. I’m really disappointed with the winner this year & the only candidate I had any connection to was Miss Alabama, as that was the state of my birth, & I don’t think she even made the Top 5. And, again, what’s the point of picking a Top 15 if 8 are going to be eliminated immediately after, without even participating in some type of competition before the final judges? If you wanna start with a Top 7, then do that & don’t string along 8 girls who are really there as fillers so you start the competition with an “expected” number of semi-finalists. I really hope they just go straight to the Top 7 next year if the format doesn’t get tweaked again before the next competition.

I’m surprised they picked a Top 15 & didn’t even let 8 of them (including Miss Texas) compete. They went straight to the Top 7 as soon as the Top 15 were picked. I like the 1 with the short hair too—would love to have her hairstyle. She’s Miss Georgia. As soon as I saw her, I thought she’d win. Nothing has changed my mind; I hope I’m right. Dang... What happened? I’d swear Georgia had it in the bag from the start.

The competition to determine who’s Miss America 2020 is on NBC as I write this. It’s airing live from Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut &, yes, it snuck up on us this year. The Top 15 is... Texas, New York, Oklahoma, Hawaii, Colorado, New Jersey, Connecticut, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, Missouri, Alabama, Virginia, California, Kansas I’m a little surprised Miss Texas was chosen; she has a Michael Strahan-like gap between her front teeth. They just chose the Top 15 & are going straight to the Top 7 (who go through a “job interview/question” competition)! Those are: Colorado, Oklahoma, Missouri, Virginia, Alabama, Connecticut, Georgia The Top 5 (performing in the Talent Competition) is... Missouri, Connecticut, Georgia, Oklahoma, Virginia The 4th Runner-up is... Connecticut The 3rd Runner-up is... Oklahoma The Top 3 (participating in the Social Impact [platform-related] competition) is... Missouri, Georgia, Virginia The 2nd Runner-up is... Missouri The 1st Runner-up is... Georgia Miss America is... Virginia

From PRIMETIMER: The Son of Russian Spies Who Inspired The Americans Will Be Allowed to Become a Canadian Citizen

I fell asleep & missed it last night, but saw it this afternoon once it was posted for streaming on Hulu. The only thing I have to comment on is I thought the Latina woman in AITF just seemed to come outta nowhere. I don’t remember Edith or anybody else mentioning her before she just suddenly was walking downstairs at the Bunkers’ & kissing (trying to kiss) any guy she could get under the mistletoe. Was she mentioned before she just appeared, & did she just vanish again by the time the dinner scenes started? She just seemed like “random extraneous person” to me.

From CBS Sports: Legendary Iowa Football Coach, Hall of Famer, Hayden Fry Dies at Age 90 Following Cancer Battle It’s not mentioned in this obit, but others mention that he was apparently the inspiration for Hayden Fox, Craig T. Nelson’s character in the long-running ABC comedy Coach.

From The Sun (UK): Nicky Henson Dead Aged 74–Downton Abbey and EastEnders Star Dies After 19-Year Cancer Battle

When I was involved with the March of Dimes, I once (almost 50 years ago now... how time flies) did a telethon fundraiser in Salt Lake City with, among others, Leonard Nimoy (this was in the very early ‘70s; in thinking about it now, if Star Trek was as big a “thing” that close to the end of ST:TOS as it has been in more recent times, I’m amazed he would’ve actually participated in such a thing—especially since I think it took a lot to get him to appear at Star Trek Conventions over the years; as I remember, he almost never did them & Shatner almost never does them, or else it is/was the “biggest”, most “prestigious” ones). Like I said, it was almost 50 years ago now, so I—obviously—was very young at the time, but I do remember him as being very nice to me, as well.

From E! Online: Chuy Bravo From Chelsea Lately Dead at 63

Regarding the bolded: I remember (I think fairly recently) Tani had to go to the cop she punched, which got her expelled from the police academy, for some help on a Five-0 case. I also remember Steve made Junior go to the police academy before he let him join Five-0 (at least officially). But I also remember, or seem to, that something came up which prevented Junior from officially finishing that though Steve seemed to be OK with whatever prevented him finishing & put him on the team without it. As I remember, Tani never finished, either (I remember people talking, at the time, about how Junior might be pissed he had to go to the academy to get on Five-0 but Tani got on the team without having to finish there & graduate).

Yes, he did. Danny said & Chin went, I mean. But there really wasn’t much choice of who should go with Danny. Lori wasn’t with the team anymore & so the only ones left were Chin & Kono; Chin, at least technically, from before he resigned from the HPD, had more seniority than Kono. So he went with Danny.

It’s belated, but the Law & Order episode with the late Ron Leibman & his wife, Jessica Walter, was just on Sundance Channel earlier this week (after his death was announced).

Regarding the bolded: As I remember, they never explained why Steve wasn’t involved in that crossover when he should’ve been. Alex O’Loughlin was supposed to be in the NCIS episode, with Scott Caan’s Danny character; but right before that crossover was to film, Alex had to take an unexpected leave of absence from the show to deal with problems he was having with prescription painkillers he was taking for injuries he’d received doing his own stunts during the first 2 seasons of H50 to that point (almost the end of S2). Steve’s character was also supposed to have known Sam Hanna through the SEALs, apparently. So they had to do some unexpected, & quick, rewriting to accommodate Alex’s absence (I just now remembered: Steve was off searching around Japan for Doris/Shelburne when Alex was working on the pill problem). They changed it to Chin & Danny going to LA’s NCIS. They also left in a conversation where Kensi & Deeks were talking about how she was supposedly flirting with “Danno”, although the nickname was never mentioned, by anyone, before or after that random conversation (so how did the character who used it know it?)

Regarding the bolded: You should/can probably expect this season’s DVDs for both H50 & Magnum to include BOTH parts of this crossover storyline on each DVD set as an “extra feature”. That way, you only have to buy the DVDs for the show you like, if you don’t like both shows, to get the whole story. That’s what they did in H50 S2 & NCIS: Los Angeles S3 (I think it is), the last time they did this kind of a crossover. The H50 S2 DVDs have the NCIS: Los Angeles part of the “Touch of Death” crossover storyline as an “extra feature”, & the NCIS: Los Angeles S3 DVDs have the H50 “Touch of Death” episode as an “extra feature”. I know, because I have the H50 S2 DVD set & I know someone who has the DVD sets involved for both shows (I plan to get the NCIS DVDs someday, if I find out there are other DVD extras on it involving the H50 actors who crossed over, besides the ep itself). The only place this storyline makes no sense is in syndication, where the respective shows only air their half of the storyline. For that matter, the appropriate H50 DVD sets which include episodes that have been “updated” from the original H50 series (original eps “Hookman” & “Cocoon”) have BOTH the original & modern day versions of the episodes included in them. But, the Magnum & MacGyver episodes where H50 cast members (mostly) just randomly appear, that aren’t legitimate crossovers (like when Noelani appears as the Magnum/HPD Medical Examiner), are only on the DVDs for those shows. There hasn’t been a legitimate crossover involving MacGyver yet (since they’re the only 1 of the 3 Peter Lenkov-run shows which films in Atlanta, that makes a crossover a little harder logistically). H50 characters have been seen in MacGyver, but MacGyver characters haven’t been seen in H50 yet. Characters from each of 2 shows have to go to the other show for the crossover to really be legitimate, just like earlier with H50 & NCIS: Los Angeles & in January with H50 & Magnum P.I..

And here’s the synopsis for the Magnum P.I. half of the crossover, which airs immediately after the Hawaii Five-0 episode (it was in the same press release): Magnum P.I. S02.E12: “Desperate Measures”