Blergh

If one wants to consider someone else who got the world's attention due to being in a risky life-and-death situation in the 1920's consider reading about Balto the Alaska sled dog who lead his team to race against the clock in the dead of winter to save the cut off community of Nome, Alaska from being wiped out by a diphtheria epidemic in 1925 via bringing in the vaccine. The good news is that Balto and his fellow canines (and their drivers) did indeed save the town to the world's relief. The sad news is that after Balto was taken on tours and given parades,etc., he wound up spending the remaining last years of his life. ..in the Chicago's Brookfield Zoo.Although he was a very popular resident with all the visitors adoring him, one can't help but imagine that he might have wondered what he'd done to deserve being put in a cage and having crowds of folks gawk at him instead of being able to run about as he'd done before.

I wonder how much (if any ) interaction Miss Struthers might have had with the recently deceased Mr. North when they voiced the teen Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm? I know that in the original series the performers voicing Fred and Wilma as well as the senior Rubbles all worked together as though they were doing a radio play but I'm not sure that was still the case of this latter cartoon (and by the 1970's often each voice artist would come in and read their own lines which would then get edited for the final product). The irony though was that the teens' performers were at very different points in their career arcs with Miss Struthers on the way to becoming famous playing another (caustic instead of teddy bear) loudmouth's daughter in All in the Family while Mr. North had already had his main claim to fame as Dennis.

They sure went all over the place on that Podcast. It seemed that they just couldn't accept the fact that Dean Butler had somehow never read Miss Alcott's Little Women before watching that episode. I think having read it or seen an adaptation would have helped (especially when the one-shot girl reveals to have followed Jo's example of literally selling her own hair to raise needed money). However it wasn't a total necessity to 'get' this episode. Funny how AA said that there was this one queen bee in her school who also had a tiger helicopter mom like Harriet who overwhelmed the others trying to show off their 'talent' and she refused to name that girl despite Miss Bob's pestering her to cough up the name. No doubt AA had seen the wisdom of Mrs. Wilder herself having made Nellie a composite of three girls AND changing the surname of the 'main' girl from Owens to Oleson. Ironically AA fessed to having actually liked the black wig both with straight hair and as a fright wig (and told a bit about her hairdresser confidante Gladys Whitten saying it hearkened back to a Dick Tracy character). Yeah, I wish someone had thought to have had an in depth interview with Miss Whitten about her life and career while she was in this world! Oh, also funny how Nellie's insistence wanting 'curls' then having it wind up a fright wig got a rare instance of Harriet putting her foot down due to the major monies that had already been spent on it instead of further catering to Nellie's whim yet again! Also, interesting how Nellie's 'air sewing' (as Amy) had been ad-libbed and deliberately over the top (instead of the usual dainty or ladylike sewing normally depicted on the show) and how the performers kept cracking up. Oh, and funny how Miss Bob likened the sewing to Miss Piggy trying to fake being genteel but winding up being more 'like a football play' which got AA herself to cheerfully admit that she herself IDENTIFIES with the iconic Muppet (I wonder if she brought that up during her lengthy convo with Carroll 'Big Bird/Oscar' Spinney?). Yes, I recall her using 'moi' instead of 'me' or 'I' so no surprise that she embraced that character! Interesting that AA fessed that they DID allow her real scalp hair and noggin to be exposed when she was changing into the black wig but it would have been tricky to have tried to wear on top of the complex Nellie wig (though I can recall Lucy wearing a gag wig on top of her character's supposedly 'real' coiffure). OK, the one shot girl trying to get her bitter widowed mother to at least consider doing stuff besides staying a recluse two years after her father's death was fairly good but it did get distracting seeing her in rather bad wigs (before and after she supposedly sacrificed her long hair) the whole time. Interesitng that the girl was played by Rachel Longacre who soon wound up playing Ike and Corabeth Godsey's adoptive daughter Aimee on The Waltons. It should be noted that the two casts did interact and there have been lasting friendships resulting (e.g. AA wrote an IMO overpraising jacket review of Mary Beth McDonough's bio). Yeah, good quesiton about the lumber. My guess is that the widow herself had chopped the wood in question (good vent for frustrations) when 'the neighbors' weren't looking. Interesting little interlude about single men vs. single women homesteader pioneers with single men more readily breaking down to beg for a single woman to help shoulder the burdens than vice versa! Of course, IRRC, there was an instance in (I believe) Mrs. Wilder's books in which two single MEN had adjoining homesteading plots but had built a single large cabin on the border where they lived together (I wonder if that wound up being a permanent arrangement). Also, it's true that the Ingallses had very little to with the main plot but interesting that Caroline was shown scrubbing a floor. I suppose that Miss Grassle could have insisted on that as opposed to have just swept the floor which wouldn't have been as dramatic. Also, it was funny how the whole chain of events got started with Willie 'borrowing' one of Harriet's more outlandish parade hats to play Robin Hood which instantly landed him in hot water with Mrs. Oleson but somehow inspired Miss Beadle to have Little Women performed (although her patience got stretched to the limit with Harriet's bowlderization of the work giving her Nellie virtually ALL the dialogue). I also can't help but think that the one-shot girl fessing to her mother about the hair sacrifice to spur her to try to at least consider the interested widower's attentions was all the excuse Miss Beadle needed to declare the play 'over' since the female Olesons' ... contributions had already turned it into a complete farce. At least AA had her fun making this but too bad we didn't get to hear from any of the other living performers who'd been in that episode.

Who had the bright idea to bring Rourke there for others to have to be cooped up with him in the first place? Sounds like they were trying to punish all the other participants within!

Dolley Payne Todd Madison (1768-1849) was a beloved pillar of the Washington community to the end of her life and would be invited to send one of the nation's first telegrams as well being photographed at least four times before her death. However, despite being President James Madison's widow, she wound up living hand to mouth due to her only surviving son [by her 1st marriage]( John) Payne Todd (1792-1852) who ran up enormous debts (after frittering away the monies from the sale of President Madison's estate), was an entitled, troubled alcoholic and even was occasionally jailed for 'shooting incidents'. Yes, thanks to Mr. Todd, Mrs. Madison wound up having to depend on friends bringing baskets of provisions to help her survive- and at least one of her former slaves gave monies from his own pocket to help her out. If Mr. Todd ever expressed sincere remorse for having brought his elderly mother to such a state, history does not record this- and he even went so far as to try to sue a cousin who had been caring for Mrs. Madison at the end of her life! Just goes to show that elder abuse is not a recent phenomenon.

Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if such a plot might have been attempted with either Jonathan or Almanzo but ML insisted that NO other male on the show could be heroic OR have his shirt off. ..for more than ten seconds.

Mr. North didn't have an easy life as a child performer. However, even during those tough times, he had friends. Including Jeannie Russell who played Dennis's nemesis Margaret who not only was his friend during that time but the two would STAY friends the rest of Mr. North's life and, in fact, she was the one who made the announcement of his passing, calling him her 'brother'! RIP, Mr. North.

I'll try again later

Although the main focus here is an actual celeb, I'm putting this here because it could be applied to other followers. I'm going to be careful here and stick with the known facts as best as possible but this has bothered me for some time and I need to get this out. OK, I've NEVER been impressed by Billy Ray Cyrus and believe that if sincerity was napalm, he's never had enough to ignite a birthday candle. Anyway, with that said, even though his daughter Miley definitely has had her faults and issues(even as an adult), I recall her saying for public record that #45 reminded her of a . . .'molesting uncle'. I know that Mr. Cyrus appears to be estranged from Miss Cyrus for the last few years. However, even that circumstance, I can't see any positive justification for a parent to actually want to vote for much less perform for someone whom their offspring considers in that light even if said politician personally promised them the moon on a silver platter. Unless Mr. Cyrus does a MAJOR public and sincere mea culpa for having done that (to say nothing of however much he contributed to his offspring's issues), I have no sympathy or use for him!

FWIW, Alan Alda (born 1936) and Phil Donahue (1935-2024) were REAL male feminists. No, I'm not saying either were perfect (or always made the best conclusions). However, they both DID sincerely strive to try to make life better and more fair for women!

Guano,perhaps?

Yeah, alas, in my experience there are fewer scholars in vagabonds' attire than Hyacinth Bucket appearance makers faking knowledge to impress others.

FWIW, While I do believe that folks can and HAVE been saved by God, if that's the case, then that means that one is supposed to 'come to Jesus' be contrite then renounce one's previous hatreds,greed, cultism, sins, lusts,depravities, cruelties,etc. to become compassionate, humble, empathetic, positive,etc. If anything #45 appears to have doubled if not quadrupled down on his un-Christian characteristics since that evident attempt in Pennsylvania. Hence, though I don't claim to speak for the Almighty, I can't imagine He [upper case 'h']has a positive view of someone deliberately has done all he [lower case 'h'] to have tried to destroy others' talents and squandered his own for selfish and destructive purposes instead of trying to multiply them for selfless and positive purposes as per His Teachings! And I don't think He is happy with those behaving as Pharisees while following false prophets!

Corn AKA maize appears to have first been cultivated in what's now south-central Mexico c.7000 BC having been bred from a local grass with individual husks around each seed on tiny ears instead of husks wrapping the entire ear to protect the kernels. Curiously this grain appears to have been reached the Cauca Valley of present day Colombia, South America as early as 5000 BC while not reaching present day New England, USA or New Brunswick, Canada until as late as 1400 A.D- keeping in mind that crossing the Isthmus of Panama including the treacherous Darien Gap jungle would have been no mean feat.

Look at the bright side: this person may have knowledge gaps but at least she IS trying to bridge said gaps via asking you for those definitions- as opposed to someone who revels in using as few non-slang and non-profane terms as possible.

OK, I'm grateful that my city has warning sirens and other instant alerts (e.g. phone) for dangerous weather (though I can't say I was happy having back to back ones starting at 2 AM that prevented me from sleeping before my early shift started). HOWEVER, I don't get why they feel the need to remind me virtually every single hour that there's flash flooding in my area. I got it the first zillion times they told me (especially with heavy rains for the last X #days) , DUH!

FWIW, Val Kilmer was the 2nd cousin twice removed of the poet Mr. Joyce Kilmer. Just thought that needed to be mentioned.

And to add to the horrificness of the whole thing, Miss Noem SHOWED that place that this poor soul got sent to (along with others which none were given due the due process of a hearing to determine whether the prosecution's evidence warranted . ..that). and seemed to be reveling in its . . ghastliness. What have some folks COME to?!!

I wish I could say the same but ,yes indeed, I've met families that messed up in my roughly half-century in this world! Even though neither incarnation of the show was something I was interested it, I somewhat understand why it appeals to so many: there are folks who ARE that 'messed up' or at least have close ties to the 'messed up'.

Miss Allen guested on The Waltons for two episodes playing John-Boy's first serious love-interest Jenny Pendleton. What was interesting was that Miss Allen and Mr. Thomas were themselves an item during that time and she was able to convey someone in love with another person. .. who had very different ideals for the future while both were blinded by love to reality. Of course, circumstances beyond both of these teen characters' control parted them. However, it was a testament to the writing (and both performers' acting) that the teen viewers rooted for these young would-be lovers to live happily ever after while [most of] the adult viewers could see that the bond wouldn't have lasted due to differing goals. It's not my biz why Miss Allen and Mr. Thomas wound up breaking up themselves and marrying others but it was good seeing them believably playing their characters in love. How sad that she (and her family) had to have her twilight so cruelly dimmed before its time due to the horrific Alzheimer's. I just hope that she was able to find happiness with the family she made and they were able to make her last days as pleasant as possible (and that she still had some knowledge of who they were to her at the end). RIP, Miss Allen.

And somehow saw Mr.Daniels onstage 151 years before his own birth?I Impressive. P.S. No Foolin'! LOL

Mr.William Daniels is having a milestone today-his 98th Birthday! Let's hope he and his spouse of 73 years Bonnie Bartlett are celebrating it with their loved ones! Happy Birthday ,Mr. Daniels !

I wonder if Wesley Eure (formerly of Days of Our Lives and Land of the Lost) will weigh in about his evident onetime friend Mr. Chamberlain's passing.

Yes, while I have to say that it's a testament to how layered and nuanced the script and performances of this episode was that made AA's interpretation of the Caleb-Mattie union feasible, IMO it wasn't the ONLY possible interpretation. Speaking strictly for myself, I got the impression that, rather than Mattie having married down and currently over her head not knowing any way out, I thought this was more of a case of birds of a feather flocking together- even with Caleb more openly displaying his plumage than Mattie was. However, the important thing is that both of this evidently previously grifting duo DID have the capacity for redemption and doing actual good works. Yep, I can't help but think that this was not entirely off the mark re the Cashes' offstage union (with both of them also 'getting' because by all accounts both of them were very intelligent). Good for MG somehow getting herself into a single shot despite all the previous efforts to TOTALLY shoot around her (and almost pretend that Laura had never existed- though of course had this been maintained how would the whole series have justified its continuing existence?). Yes, I agree that MG couldn't have carried ALL of the gamut of Caleb interactions on her own the way Miss Anderson did. However, I can't help but imagine that Miss Anderson HAS shown her . .. offended face to her own husband and offspring when they've done things to offend her down the years. It's interesting how Mr. Butler also somewhat nailed ML's control of the cast's individual purse strings as exec producer and likely had been strongarming not just MG and her agent but also MG's somewhat . .tenacious RL mom Barbara via having Laura[ almost ]totally absent from this Season opener. Yes, I thought Mr. Butler had good insight here despite the fact that it would be a few years before he'd join the show as Almanzo (thus ALSO missing out on meeting the Cashes).

Yes, I liked watching the Pod hosts open adoration of both Mr. Cash and Ms. Carter Cash as performers both in the music industry AND on LHOTP! Yes, indeed June had been part of country music from virtually its earliest recording roots! I have to admit I was taken aback by Miss Arngrim's interpretation of Miss Carter's Mattie as somehow having been a resigned if not abused spouse of Mr. Cash's Caleb. I'm not saying that that interpretation isn't a valid possibility re Mattie. However, I more or less viewed Mattie as someone who had known from the start re Caleb's clay feet and had embraced that about him even though she wasn't ready to shout her own knowledge about her spouse's shadowside from the rooftops! I also think by the fact that Caleb and Mattie appear to have been childless, that they DID have a mutual affection for each other to stay with each other in a time when Caleb could have used that as a legal excuse to end the marriage or at the very least to have abandoned her while Mattie could have early on 'visited' relatives for years at a time to end the union but neither of them considered doing that. I STILL think that Ms. Carter Cash's laughs seeing Mr. Cash in ministerial vestments when he was ready to dupe the trusting Walnut Grove citizenry went FAR beyond what the script called for. Yes, I agree with them that it was preposterous for Mary to have gone off with this complete stranger grown man to help him with 'charity' with neither of her parents making the slightest objection (and Miss Anrgrim went so far as to cite Mrs. Wilder's own passages re how protective the Ingalls parents WERE of their daughters in the 1870's). I know it was part of the script but Mary WAS taking a huge risk (not that it would justified any bad things happening to her on Caleb's part). Not surprising that one of the Cashes' six daughters had been a Little House fan and THAT was what motivated them to let the producers know they wanted to be in an episode (though Miss Arngrim didn't specify which of these daughters had lobbied for this). Interesting behind the scenes stuff with the whole Season Three debut evidently having been delayed solely due to contract disputes with MG,etc. (which AA had initially just speculated about before she finally texted and got MG herself to confirm). Yes, not only does it appear that Miss Anderson got an entire Mary-centered episode due to this (and herself has considered working with Mr. Cash a highlight of her life). I have to wonder if perhaps ML might have deliberately done this to attempt to strongarm MG and her agents to back down from some of their salary demands- citing that he COULD have made the whole show Mary-centered if Laura wasn't available. I wouldn't put it past him (and this somewhat leads me to believe that it's possible that he not only WAS aware of the MG's dislike for Miss Anderson but was willing to use it to try to intimidate her despite her believing him to be 'her Pa'). Yeah, too bad that not only was Laura barely even seen in this episode but AA herself was told Nellie wasn't needed (in spite of Harriet having been one of the duped citizens) to AA's chagrin at having never gotten to have met the Cashes. Anyway, I enjoyed the Pod -especially with Miss Bob's contributions and having done her homework from WAY back re June Carter Cash's and her original family's career trajectory (with everyone agreeing that she wasn't the best singer but DID have the most appealing onstage persona of the sisters).