So Long Agent 86!

The world is just not as funny anymore. First Bob Denver of Gilligan's Island dies and then Don Adams of Get Smart. Get Smart was one of my favorite shows growing up, it was a spoof on James Bond with Adams as the fumbling Maxwell Smart. Just as bumbling as Gilligan and Gomer Pyle, Smart had crazy devices like a shoe phone, an umbrella gun and a whole lot more. With his straight man "The Chief" and beautiful spy co-hort, known only as "99" the laughs were non-stop. So September has not been a good month for classic TV. It is good to know that Gilligan and Smart will live forever on TV and in our hearts.

Family Matters

Nearly everyone in the family got in the act to celebrate my Father's birthday this week. You can catch the pictures on my brother's blog. Saturday, my brother Steve arrived from Walla Walla to stay with us. My brother Danny and his wife Amy also arrived from Los Angeles. Sunday the whole clan came over to our house for Dinner. You know your family loves you when they are willing to travel a great distance to see you, and I'm just talking about the drive from Bellevue to Maple Valley!
Monday we enjoyed dinner at Bucca di Beppo to celebrate his Dad's Birthday. Danny is still in town so there is more fun to come.

Seahawks beat the Cardinals

In the first half it looked like a close finish, but by the fourth quarter there was no contest as the Seahawks soundly beat the Arizona Cardinals 37-12. Shawn Alexander scored 4 touchdowns as he ran through the Cardinal line with all the ease of driving through Main Street in Walla Walla during rush hour. Chuck Knox was inducted into the Seahawk Ring of Honor and perhaps Mike Holmgren and the boys were thinking of how they would get their names so enshrined. The Seahawks are now 2-1 and will travel to Washington DC to play the Redskins this Sunday.

The Apprentice is Back

This Article has a Spoiler

Yes, My guilty pleasure is back for the 4th time. It's not enough that I watch the show, I have to read all the spins on the episode on the net and in the paper the next day. In the premier this week, Trump welcomes a new group of young people hoping to "run" one of his hundreds of companies. He immediately went back to dividing them up Men vs. Women because in the beginning "it's hard to tell all of you apart" Whatever. The Action starts out at the Trump National Golf Course somewhere in Jersey not to play golf, but for Trump to show off another asset. He has a rather odd task for the contestants, this week he is promoting Bally Fitness Centers. Each team will pick a Bally's gym and teach some type of fitness class. Whoever makes the most money on the task will be the winner. To start it out and to blur the line between The Apprentice and Survivor, the contestants (or job interviewees) have to find the helicopter on the course. The first team to find the chopper gets to ride to New York and get first pick of location. That gets a surrealist image of contestants running in three piece suits and skirts all over the golf course. Donald and his two co-horts have smirks on their faces, thankful they would never have to endure such humiliation. The Men's team wins, flys back and of course, picks the fitness club in the wealthiest area. The women have to limo it back and wind up in Spanish Harlem.
The Women's team has mouthy Melissa. Melissa is Hispanic and makes a huge point of it and will not let anyone get past that fact, she naturally causes them to lose and when Project Manager Kristi has to pick someone to go to the boardroom with her. Melissa is the natural choice. Kristi does not take anyone else in with her, so after Melissa is fired by Trump, noone on the team will have any axe to grind with her

Knox to Be Honored

This Sunday, The Seattle Seahawks play the comically misnamed Arizona Cardinals in another "battle of the birds" The Cardinals, perenially one of the NFL's weakest franchises, always seems to give Seattle a major battle in Qwest Field. The Seahawks will induct Chuck Knox into the "Ring Of Honor" the team's hall of fame.
In yesterday's Seattle Times, Sports columnist Steve Kelley sums up what Knox meant to the Seahawks and the community.
"This Sunday his name will be placed alongside Steve Largent, Jim Zorn, Dave Brown, Jacob Green, Dave Krieg, Pete Gross, Curt Warner and Kenny Easley on the Ring of Honor at Qwest Field.
"He should have been up there sooner," former Hawks defensive tackle Joe Nash said.
Knox is the football father to everyone on that ring. He raised them in the game. He made them better.
When Chuck Knox came to coach the Seahawks in 1983, the newness of NFL football was begging to wear off on Seattle. The city no longer was just happy to have a franchise. It was tired of losing. It was frustrated by three consecutive bad seasons. It wanted something more.
And from the day he arrived from Buffalo, Knox gave this town what it wanted. He changed the psychology of the franchise. He brought in veteran players who never accepted losing — Reggie McKenzie, Charle Young, Blair Bush.
"When he came we were, I don't want to say in disarray, but he brought a little more stability to the program," said Nash, who is a banker in South Boston. "He was the kind of coach who didn't take any guff. He brought a new feeling when he came in and brought with him a group of veterans who'd won before. He shook things up. By bringing in those guys he raised the bar for all of us."
Knox made Seattle into a winner. He didn't just get to the playoffs. He won playoff games, something no other Seahawks coach has done."
It has been about 20 years since Seattle's last play off win, maybe a little Chuck Knox can rub off on the team and start something that could put Mike Holmgren, and even Matt Hasselbeck in the that ring of honor someday.

Update on Kathi Goertzen

Word from KOMO Channel 4 is that Kathi Goertzen's surgery has been successful. Here is what co anchor Dan Lewis said
"We're told Kathi's surgery went "better than expected." She was in the operating room for 5 and a half hours.
When it was over, Kathi's doctor came out with a big smile on his face. He said he doesn't expect any problems in recovery.
She'll be in intensive care for the next few days. "

The name of Britney's new son will be Sean Preston Federline, it was announced. According to web sources, Britney has a special chef cooking for her in a kitchen adjacent to her hospital suite. 

Hawks dodge a bullet in battle of the birds.

Today's Seattle Seahawks vs Atlanta game was a tale of 2 halves. The Hawks tore it up for the first half. Matt Hasselbeck was hitting his targets and the Seahawks went to the locker room leading 21-0.
I don't know what was going on 2nd half, but the 'Hawks fell apart and before long, the Falcons had closed the gap 21-18. I don't know if Hasselbeck was ailing or tired but the offense stayed in the locker room. The often criticized Hawk defense finally did step up in the closing minute and made a crucial 4th down stop. The Falcons really did command the game. They just ran out of time. I think what this game showed most of all is the Seahawks still are not ready for "prime time".
With the Seahawks win though, all three big Washington football teams won this weekend as the Cougars and Huskies both beat weak opponents. Bellevue High School also had a big win in Qwest field Fridays night against a well regarded opponent.

Wishing Quick Recovery for Kathi Goertzen

Please have Kathi Goertzen (Gert-son) in your thoughts. Kathi, co-anchor for the evening news on KOMO 4 will be undergoing brain surgery this week to remove a benign tumor according to the Seattle Times. At the time she started, TV news people were mostly just pretty faces. Goertzen has helped raise the bar. She is intelligent, articulate and opinionated. Although I do not know Kathi personally, we both went to WSU starting at the same time and we both lived at Neil Hall in our first year on campus. Get well soon Kathi.

40 Year Old Virgin-Review of the hit movie

This movie gets out with a great start, although Steve Carrell's character Andy is eccentric he basically is likeable and projects a sympathetic character. Andy is a technology geek at an electronics store. He has no social life other than watching "Survivor" with his neighbors, while his co-worker have bonded very well and do all the guy things, poker night, booz night etc.
The other worker one night to decide to invite him in for there Poker night and decide that he is a pretty good guy, but with one problem, he has never been with a woman. Each of the others try to use their advise to change his luck but for the most part-- it appears hopeless until he finds a lady he seems to genuinely like him, the down to earth Liz. He all of a sudden is out of his comfort zone and his misteps lay the bed of this comedy.
The problem is, the movie does not know when to quit. In 1976's "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest", Jack Nicholson gets the seemingly hopeless Billy hooked up in about 10 minutes. In 40 year old it seems more like 10 years. The movie spends too much time going into Liz's problems with her children, just what you need in a comedy. After about the first 90 minutes, I thought "OK, would you guys go to bed already".
There is a reason why the network sitcoms are usually only half an hour and 90 minutes with some better editing would have made this the perfect comedy.

Britney Gives Birth

So why not sink to tabloid level? She finally had it. Britney Spears gave birth to boy yesterday at UCLA Medical Center. It's reported that the first Spears production will be named Preston Michael Spears Federline.

Reunion

Sometimes I wonder if I accomplish much with having this blog up besides the chance "to blow my own horn." I stumbled upon Marcie's site and dropped her an e-mail saying how great it is. I also invited her to check my site which was new at the time. She noticed Burl's link, she had been friends with him but had lost contact over the years. I guess they got together over coffee and rekinkled their friendship. She thanked me recently and plugged my site.

Another Day Another Cousin

This is Jan's Brother Burl in the late 60's. His hairstyle (probably inspired by the Beatles) would soon become the norm. Burl is the last of my cousins that I remember living in Walla Walla, (not counting his Walla Walla comeback in the 80s). This picture was taken at KOL in Seattle.

This is my cousin Jan, who has been the inspiration to this blog. She offered some great suggestions to me that helped make this page much better. She is a graduate of Walla Walla High School just like me. Her Dad was one of the sons in "B. Barer And Sons" (The other son was my Grandfather Barer) Jan has been fighting cancer for the last 10 years and is licking it like Muhammed Ali, when he took Sonny Liston down with one punch. I am fortunate enough to be a member of her fan club, which is no ordinary fan club. You can read about it at her site.

We saw the famous floating green at Lake Couer d'alene on our boat tour. I had thought about playing golf there but heard it is expensive and a tricky course so I played in Walla Walla instead.  

On Labor day weekend, Deb and I spent Sunday at the Couer d'alene Resort. The resort has every emenity so you really never have to leave the building. We also had lunch at a local cafe, and took a boat tour ride the next day. The Friday and Saturday before, we stayed with my brother in Walla Walla 

Recognition for Food Channel Diva

The current "Newsweek" has a short article on my favorite cable personality Rachael Ray. Rachael is on the Food Channel and is a joy to watch whether she is hosting her "30 Minute Meals" program or her travel show "(City) on 40 Dollars A Day" She will soon have a magazine out called "Everyday With Rachael Ray"

Bon Voyage Gilligan! Of the original cast only Ginger, the Professor and Mary Anne remain.

Sad News from Classic TV land

Hello everyone, I was going to talk about my holiday weekend, but while surfing around I stumbled upon some sad news of one of my favorite old TV shows The following is quoted from the Web.

"Bob Denver, TV's Gilligan, Dies at Age 70:
Bob Denver, the bumbling namesake of "Gilligan's Island" who embarked on what was supposed to be a three-hour tour and endeared himself to generations of TV fans, has died at age 70.
He died Friday at Wake Forest University Baptist Hospital in North Carolina of complications from treatment he was receiving for cancer, his agent said on Tuesday. "He was my everything and I will love him forever," wife Dreama Denver said.
Denver's signature role was Gilligan, but when he took the role in 1964 he was already widely known to TV audiences for another iconic character, Maynard G. Krebs, the bearded beatnik friend of Dwayne Hickman's Dobie in the "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis," which aired on CBS from 1959 to 1963.
Krebs, whose only desire was to play the bongos and hang out at coffee houses, would shriek every time the word "work" was mentioned in his presence.
Gilligan on the other hand was industrious but inept. And his character was as lovable as he was inept. Viewers embraced the skinny kid in the Buster Brown haircut and white sailor hat. So did the skipper, who was played by Alan Hale Jr. and who always referred to his first mate affectionately as "little buddy."
It was an affection that carried over into real life, the show's creator, Sherwood Schwartz, and several of Denver's surviving castmates said Tuesday.
"I found him to be a dear, sweet generous, loving man," said Russell Johnson, who played the professor on "Gilligan's Island."
Hickman said the two remained lifelong friends although they were as different in real life as their characters had been in "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis."
"I just loved him. He was wonderful. One of my dear, dear friends. I feel like a part of me died," Hickman said.
Denver went on to star in other TV series, including "The Good Guys" and "Dusty's Trail," as well as to make numerous appearances in films and TV shows.
But he never escaped the role of Gilligan, so much so that in one of "Late Show" host David Letterman's top 10 lists things that would make the studio audience applaud one of the items Letterman announced was Denver's presence. The actor's brief appearance yielded a raucous response.
The show's success, according to Schwartz, was rooted in the fact that seven people of entirely different backgrounds were thrown together each week in a comedic setting.
He also credited Denver's acting talent with helping drive the series.
"He was a complex man. He was not a guy who just slipped on banana peels," Schwartz said Tuesday. "He knew most people thought of him as a funny guy who could do funny things. But he was really an intellectual at heart."
TV critics saw the show as anything but intellectual, dismissing the idea of a group of tourists being stranded on an uncharted desert island as inane. After it was canceled by CBS in 1967, "Gilligan's Island" found new audiences over and over in syndicated reruns and reunion films. "

My favorite question has always been why where the three bachelor men not going crazy about the beautiful movie star and the midwestern beauty queen. Issues like that would never come up until the 70s, I guess. So Rest in Peace Giligan and thank you for all the laughs!

More on where to donate

Truth Laid bear has a number of web sites to contribute. My suggestion would be to send whatever you would spend on your cup of coffee in the morning.

Katrina Donations

Many want to donate food, blankets, etc. According to the Red Cross, donors should only send cash.


About Donating Goods to the Red Cross for Areas Impacted by Hurricane Katrina
Written by Leigh-Anne Dennison , Redcross.org Staff
Wednesday, August 31, 2005 — When a disaster of the magnitude of Hurricane Katrina strikes and the news broadcasts images of broken, battered and destroyed homes, it is natural for the public to be eager to help their neighbors – whether they’re across town or across the country. Often, seeing that they have lost everything, people are eager to donate food, clothing or other goods to meet the needs of storm victims and help the affected families begin to replace what they have lost.
Anheuser-Busch donated more than six million cans of water to the American Red Cross and other relief agencies to aid victims and relief workers during the 2004 Atlantic hurricanes. U.S. Navy personnel provided invaluable assistance to the Hurricane Ivan relief operation last year by loading critically needed water donated by Anheuser-Busch onto Red Cross ERVs at the Pensacola Civic Center distribution site, Fla., September 2004. (Photo Credit: Dave Murray/American Red Cross/File)
"While that generous spirit is truly appreciated, the American Red Cross cannot accept this type of donation for the victims it is serving," said Amanda Lepof, an American Red Cross In-Kind Officer.
Today, the Red Cross is operating more than 250 shelters across seven states, providing a safe haven for nearly 42,000 evacuees – many who have been left homeless by Katrina. The first priority is meeting the urgent, critical needs of those people, which include providing emergency shelter, food and water.
"In-kind donations are best when they come from companies that can provide new items in a quantity that meets the mass care needs of victims – for example, Anheuser-Busch is again donating canned water for hurricane victims and response workers," said Lepof. "Unsolicited, spontaneous donations of goods and services from individuals and community groups, although well intentioned, have hidden costs and pose a number of complications for initial relief efforts."
For these reasons, the Red Cross is unable to accept any large collections of items, such as used clothing, hygiene items, furniture, toys, blankets, and canned goods.