Cleaning out the inbox- Non-Sports version

After cleaning the sports portion of the inbox, we now move onto the non-sports chunk to be tidied up as we begin with some classic television notes.

As I was reading another classic television piece, I stumbled upon this one which was very well done on a long time TRS favorite "I Dream of Jeannie".
CloserWeekly.com is the host for the long and well-written article on the show, which I have loved since a toddler.
"Jeannie" is one of those 60s shows with a silly premise that much like pro wrestling that you have to set aside the ridiculousness and enjoy a show that just makes you laugh.
Sure, Barbara Eden is downright gorgeous (For my money, using sports style drafting such as I'd take 1968 Bob Gibson as my pitcher in any game, etc, 1966-70 Barbara Eden in Jeannie is my first selection in the beautiful actress draft without a doubt. Call me out now.), but Larry Hagman was terrific in his role as the leading man and pratfall taker and with several talented character actors in Bill Daily, Hayden Roarke and Emmaline Henry to name a few, Jeannie makes me smile and laugh as very few shows do.

What brought me to CloserWeekly was a similar article on "Nanny and the Professor", a show that I remembered faintly from my childhood.
While Jeannie ended in the 1969-1970 and my memories are all from syndication,  my limited memories of "Nanny and the Professor" were mainly from its placement on the ABC schedule in 1970-1971, exactly in between "Brady Bunch" and "Partridge Family".
The ratings in between those shows were good, but an FCC decision for the 1971-72 television season doomed this show which starred Juliet Mills (a long time TV veteran in the United States and the United Kingdom) and Richard Long ( who was a star on the 60s western The Big Valley).
Pre-1971, prime time television started at 7;30, not the current eight o'clock.
The change in prime time meant something had to go and despite Nanny being the eight o'clock program, it was the show bumped from the kid-friendly lineup.
After a move to the more adult Monday schedule, Nanny and the Professor didn't last long and was gone after that season.

We move to the Alzheimer's Association website as the daughter of the late Glen Campbell writes about some of the problems that her father struggled with.
Ashley Campbell writes of the battle and how Alzheimer's is such an insidious disease.
I cannot imagine what an afflicted person and their families have to go through when something like a brain disease strikes a person.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer writes of the recent 50th anniversary of the Cuyahoga River "catching fire" in 1969 and looks back at the event, the River's past and its present.
Even though the Cuyahoga didn't really catch fire (it was floating pollution on the top of it put there by industrial factories) and it was far from the first time that pollution had ignited, it was the 1969 fire reported nationally by Time magazine that woke people up to just what was being done to natural resources and in many ways could be regarded as the start of the environmental movement.
Today, the Cuyahoga has been improved significantly through regulation and cleanup to the point that in March, the Ohio EPA declared fish caught in the river between Cleveland and Cuyahoga Falls safe to eat for the first time in fifty years.

Two political notes that I found interesting with the first being an opinion piece in Politico by Republican commentator Amanda Carpenter on newly resigned White House press secretary Sarah Sanders.
Carpenter discusses Sanders role in not answering right-wing smears from the 2016 campaign from the Donald Trump team that Carpenter, who formerly worked for then-Trump rival Ted Cruz's Senate office and a "Never Trump" Republican, had slept with Cruz.
Carpenter rightfully calls out Sanders' remarkably high number of lies and then claims she is writing the column to place her version of the story to "warn the voters of Arkansas about Sanders".
Arkansas is where Sanders is rumored to be running for Governor in 2022.

The second goes to Vogue, who followed the controversial left-wing congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for 36 hours.
"AOC" has already become a polarizing figure in American politics and it is not difficult to figure out why that is with her ability to find cameras and her age, which has attracted many and repelled others.
No matter your opinion of her politics, it's interesting to see just how busy she is over a specified time period.

Dr.Lisa Alexander sent me this article from Rich Lowry and National Review on Oriole Park at Camden Yards and how it began the retro ballpark process for new stadiums.
The article reviews the new book "Ballpark" by Paul Goldsberger (who is an architectural critic and not a baseball writer)  discusses stadiums along the way and the impact that they have had on the urban surroundings.
One interesting note was how Oriole Park almost didn't become the standard bearer for ballparks as it was originally slated to be another concrete two-team stadium (having the ability to house a football team as the Ravens hadn't been stolen from Cleveland at that time) and might have been placed in a Baltimore suburb.
Count me out on the former and in on the latter- I like the television look of an urban ballpark, but despise all the traffic and urban issues that come with it.

We wrap up with a sad note on satire that's not satirical as it appears that Mad Magazine is about to be the latest casualty of the internet and all the choices that one has and will be printing its final magazine later this year.
I think almost every boy of a certain age read Mad or at least tried it with its satire on about everything from film and television to society at large and like so many things from childhood can be better remembered through memory.
My brother and I used to read Mad with some variation of its iconic face, the gap-toothed Alfred E, Neumann all the time and I remember passing around Mad (and its lesser selling challengers Cracked from 1958-2007 and Crazy 1973-1983) between just as we would the latest issue of World Boxing or Pro Wrestling Illustrated.
It's sad to see an icon of over 67 years go away, but Mad wasn't just another iconic magazine to go away, it was a sign of our changing culture.
I love the internet and all that it offers, but Mad was an object of a simpler time where kids ( and adults too) needed a satirical release that other outlets didn't cover.
I haven't read an issue in lord knows how long and I don't remember if even by Ryan's childhood that he was reading Mad, but I still feel like something tangible was lost today.
Changing times claims another.

Man, that was a lot of heavy lifting, but the inbox is now lighter.
I still have to put together a post that peeks at some recent passings and a recent day trip to a new ballpark, but without a boxing challenge this week, I might have the time to do something different as well.

Cleaning out the inbox-Entertainment Style

Lots of items in the inbox and yet not enough time to post them, so I'm going to start with an entertainment cleaning with a little of everything considered entertainment!!

These lovely gentlemen on the right are Green Goblin, Electro, and Vulture from the classic 1967 Spiderman animated series, which was not only memorable to kids of the 1960's on ABC on Saturday mornings but the 1970's as well in syndication.
The site 13th Dimension takes a glance back at the first mainstream appearances to bring Spiderman outside of comic book racks with this series and picks 13 great things about the show!
I have the DVD set but haven't watched it in quite a while and apparently, it's one of the harder DVD sets to find to the point of being fairly expensive on eBay and Amazon, which is not something that I would have thought.

Staying with animated series, Beth Daniels for Smithsonian Magazine writes about the Rocky and Bullwinkle series from the Jay Ward studios in the early 1960's and how the show was not only entertaining children but teaching viewers about political satire.
Daniels writes about how Bullwinkle gently jabbed at the nuclear age at a time that was the peak of the Cold War and all of the talented voices that were used on the show that was able to appeal to adults as well.
I remember watching that show as a child and even then thinking that this stuff was way over the head of most kids and yet it was funny enough to still get a kid laughing without letting them in on the joke!
It also mentions such comedy from the time when comedy often was released on LP's, Do you remember those Long Playing records with comedians like Tom Lehrer (remember our post on Lehrer?) to name one from the era.
It's great stuff from Daniels, who seems to write about things that I'm interested in and I bet her work appears here in the future...

Rachel Thompson of SeriesFuse discusses how "Root" of  Person of Interest became one of her favorite characters after watching the show on DVD.
You've likely seen Amy Acker, who portrayed Root here often of late as this year's face of the PPM.
Acker's character along with "Shaw" played by Sarah Shahi were the variables in the show that drew a line from before they arrived (although Acker was an occasional guest star early on in the show's run) to after they were regulars.
Some fans loved the new additions, some preferred before they arrived (like Cherie and Rachel), so it was quite polarizing among the fan base.
My opinion?
I liked both versions of the show and respected the differences in them.
I loved Root and Acker, but the Shaw character seemed too much like another character and despite liking Shahi in "Life", her character here was not a favorite of mine.

Hot Press covers the "Wrecking Crew", the legendary group of studio musicians that included Glen Campbell, that played on just about every great record in the 1960's that you've ever heard of.
The Wrecking Crew were the backup band for so many terrific songs that might have been stars had they wanted to tour and spent time promoting records etc and would rather have spent their time playing music with the added advantage of having a regular home life.
Another note is that on the Beach Boys critically acclaimed album "Pet Sounds", the music portion is almost all the Wrecking Crew, not the Beach Boys because the Beach Boys (minus Brian Wilson) were on the road during most of the recording of that album....

We wrap up with another visit to the Smithsonian website for an article about good ol' SPAM, the Hormel mixed meat product that so many either love or hate.
Personally. about twice a year, I really get in the mood for SPAM and I'll grab a can from the grocery store.
I like it on bread (no rolls), yellow mustard, cheez whiz (Cheese perfected by science) and onion.
The article talks about how the products were developed, different countries love of the product and some recent variations of SPAM.
The funny thing about SPAM is that gross jell that always comes with it.
I always rinse SPAM off before using it because of the yucky film all over it!
Anyway, the really funny part is when you look at the knockoff SPAM products by competing companies such as Treet or Dak.
If you think SPAM looks or tastes bad, try Treet (which tastes like those awful Vienna Sausages, if you ground them up and then pressed them into shape) or Dak, which uses a different style of a can, but its taste is the worst of them all!!

Still plenty more from the inbox coming soon that needs to be freed from confinement!!

Glen Campbell

I knew the day was coming soon when I would have to write this post, but I still was dreading having to type the words of Glen Campbell passing away at the age of 81 from complications from Alzheimer's Disease.

I'm sure that most of you know the resume' of Glen Campbell from the studio work with about anyone and everyone that you've ever heard of in the 1960s, his brief stint as a Beach Boy, the massive crossover star that was really the first to be equally large on the pop and country charts at the same, the hugely popular television star and more.

Glen Campbell was all of those things and he had his negatives too including issues with drugs and alcohol in the late 1970s and 1980s, but you always had this underlying feeling that the guy that you saw on TV was closer to the real person even though you could tell his problems were there and the mistakes that those problems caused.

However, you can get a career retrospective in other places, what I'd like to write about is what Glen Campbell meant to me along with the stages of my life all the way back to what I can remember.
When Glen Campbell was at his career peak, I was in my formative toddler years and Glen Campbell was everywhere.
A top-rated television show, building a catalog of hits that rank among the most formidable ever (Campbell outsold the last two Beatles albums in that time), a movie with John Wayne that won Academy Awards in True Grit (Campbell didn't win many awards, he admitted his acting chops were limited at best) and appearing on other shows, One could make the argument that for a period from 1968-72 that all things considered, Glen Campbell might have been the biggest star in the country.

I've always ranked Galveston and Gentle on my mind as my favorites of his best-known songs and have listened to them since I was a kid and my copy of Galveston is still around somewhere, despite my lack of phonograph players.


When you consider that kind of media saturation in the limited outlets of the time, it's pretty easy to see the popularity of Glen Campbell.
As so many young kids do, you like what's available, the difference was that I stayed a fan.
Campbell would have hits through the years including the one most people know in Rhinestone Cowboy, which was never one of the favorites of my collection and went through even more phases as did I.

Right after the Rhinestone era, Glen found himself in some controversy, first by marrying the ex-wife of country star Mac Davis and then when that went awry, began a relationship with the far younger Tanya Tucker.
Campbell and Tucker were noted for a tempestuous relationship filled with drugs, alcohol and reported domestic violence on both sides, hurting the reputations of both.
As for me,I still played records, but it was only on occasion that I played Glen's records and I didn't like Tanya Tucker, so it was mainly the older stuff as I hit middle school and began high school...

Glen and Tucker broke up and he found the lady that he would spend the rest of his life in the mid-80s and so did I.
I played Glen's hits in the car on cassette and discovered that Cherie didn't really like his music!
She associated Glen Campbell, not with Gentle on my mind or even Rhinestone Cowboy, but with music from his Tucker period that saw him make some pretty pedestrian music like "I love my truck".
She didn't know the trendsetting guitar work in the studio or much more than likely his lowest quality of music.
Clearly, this would take time...

Glen got himself cleaned up and I was a husband and father.
I started listening to his music a lot because, in so many of his songs, I found meaning.
It helped me deal with the struggles of being a young spouse and dad and I likely drove Cherie, Ryan, and my friends nuts with playing him so much.
They might not have known why I found solace and they may not look at it this way, but at least a few people will always associate Glen Campbell with some pretty good times with me and my house...

Glen found religion and I never really did, but his release of a Christian album was one of the best releases and I still listen to it to this day.
Jesus and Me may be autobiographical, but even with my personal beliefs, it still speaks to me -it's great music.


I began to dig deeper into Glen's lesser-known music when the internet came into being with my discovering his cover of "Universal Soldier", which is so good that Rachel even likes it, which says more than you know!
Glen took a slow folk ballad and added his guitar work with some speed to produce a little-known classic.


I got older and so did Glen, who decided to start covering some damn good music from the current scene along with continuing to tour and I couldn't write about Glen and me without mentioning the one time that I was able to see him perform live-in Hagerstown at the Maryland Theatre in 2001.
Cherie had heard about this months ahead of time and we bought tickets for the front row.
I enjoyed the music, but just as much as the show, I enjoyed the memories that the songs brought to mind.
That concert also saw me buy a CD of a live concert that he had recorded for PBS (the DVD would come out later) that played his hits and more.
I'd bet PBS replays that soon, so be on the lookout for it!


Glen had been well known on the Christian television circuit doing concerts and talk shows on the various networks and had been known for changing his life when he was suddenly picked up for drunk driving with one of the worst and most well-known mug shots ever.
It had to be embarrassing and Campbell stayed out of trouble thereafter, but I wondered far later if that might have been the first hint of the eventual Alzheimer's beginning to make itself known.

When the family announced the diagnosis of Alzheimer's, you knew the clock was ticking on both the career and Glen's life, but his early and public disclosure brought a lot of attention to the disease as well as made new fans that were exposed to his music as well as the music that he played on others albums too.
Glen Campbell may have had problems remembering, but his fans (old and new) didn't have issues recalling his career.

Glen Campbell wasn't perfect by any means, but his music has in many ways been the soundtrack to my life and there's a little hole there today.
He'll be missed, but he left so much behind to be enjoyed by so many.
Glen's most recent hit and release were about his future with Alzheimer's and his acceptance of not remembering what he had.
It's quite poignant and haunting-another great release for the road...

Podcast-Glen Campbell,Devils Draft and Bradley-Vargas

The latest ThoughtsofRS podcast brought to you by CSA Cards.
We talk about Glen Campbell and his documentary,the Devils draft and Bradley-Vargas.

Cleaning out the inbox

Time to clean the filling inbox again and we start with a convergence of two topics that the lovely Cherie enjoys with the paintings of the late Bob Ross with Metro the painting race horse.
Metro,a retired race horse "paints" and I'm sure most of you know Ross the painter of generic trees on PBS.
I know,I know,I don't appreciate art-it's a flaw of mine,but this is still a neat story.....

Cherie sends me two more notes,one of which is a unlikely source for this dubious author.
Guideposts discusses the decision of Kim Campbell (wife of Glen) to discontinue the home care of the singer,who is suffering from Alzheimer's.
It has to be so tough and I'm hoping that type of call is one that I never have to make...

The other is a more conventional choice from Birds and Blooms as they write about everyday foods
that birds love.
It's much easier (and cheaper) way to attract birds than conventional wild bird food and something for you readers to consider...

My friend Joe Plum has reappeared on Facebook and posts some interesting things for the inbox that I am sure will begin to appear more and more in the inbox.
Joe starts with the Burmese Python story from the New York Times of how this beast is rampaging through (and destroying) the Florida eco-system,which is a story that I'm always interested in.
I've begun to do a little research on this topic (of various invaders,not just the python) and tip-toeing into trying to bring a guest to the podcast to discuss this in the future....

You wouldn't think that goldfish would be invasive,but the common little goldfish proves that any species out of its native zone has such potential with the takeover of a Colorado lake.
Colorado officials estimate that a few goldfish released into this lake have mushroomed into thousands and are slowly choking off the native fish.
I know people in this situation are not acting in malice,but in order not to feel bad about killing a few fish,they are responsible for killing many more....

Two passings of character actors as Geoffrey Lewis and James Best each passed away this week.
Lewis,the 79 year old father of actress Juliet Lewis,appeared in many westerns,but was most noted for his friendship with Clint Eastwood and resulting supporting roles.
Most notable to me was his role as "Orville" in the Every which way but loose films and as a police captain in TRS favorite Tango and Cash.
Best,who passed at 88 was most noted as his role of Sheriff Rosco P.Coltrane on the Dukes of Hazzard,but was first remembered by me as "Jim Lindsay" the guitar picker that wanted to leave Mayberry on the Andy Griffith Show and also in a guest shot on Have Gun Will Travel.
I saw Best in an appearance at an Altoona Curve game,where he did the entire Rosco schtick complete with a car chase around the field,dog in the car and the big bump after getting out of the vehicle.
Seemed like a very nice man....

Back soon with more....

Another Cleaning of the Inbox

I know we just cleaned the inbox a few days ago,but these things can sometimes fill faster than others and since I have no news to write,I figured I would clean it out and keep the totals down.

Before we start I'd like to thank all of you that sent notes,messages,phone calls etc as my mom has suffered another stroke.
Looks like she is headed for a lengthy rehab stay as she attempts therapy to help her return to walking status.
Your thoughts have been appreciated.

Also wanted to thank those of you that have been giving the podcast a try.
I'm planning a podcast over the next few days that will cover the Indians,Pirates and maybe Giants prospects.
Normally this is a blog posting,but I think I'm going to make this a podcast and see how it works out.
Please feel free to pass us along to friends on the various social media platforms and otherwise as we would love to have the podcast become successful...

Two notable (to us) hirings at mid-major college basketball schools and it'll be interesting for us to follow as they head to their new jobs.

Cleveland Cavaliers legend Mark Price has held various jobs in the NBA-shooting consultant,color commentator (in Cleveland) and assistant coach (in Orlando and currently in Charlotte),but he has never been involved in college coaching-until now as Price accepted the head coaching position at Charlotte (formerly UNC-Charlotte).
Price is known as one of the nicest guys in the game and super knowledgeable,so the chops are there to be an excellent coach.
I'm also sure he will be liked by his players,but the top question is this-in this day and age-Can Price not be walked on by his players?
A mid-major job where the players are more likely to stay three or four years seems to be a perfect starting point for Price to test those waters.
I would not surprised in the least to see Price quickly turn Charlotte's fortunes around in Conference USA.....

Eric Musselman is notable for being a solid basketball mind that has some baggage after his NBA head coaching stints in Golden State and Utah,but has spent the last few years learning the college game as an assistant to Herb Sendek at Arizona State and last season to Johnny Jones at LSU.
The 50 year old son of the late Bill Musselman will get his chance to run a college program as he was hired at Nevada (Reno) as their new head coach.
The Mountain West is a better conference than is often given credit for so Musselman has work to do in rebuilding a team that went 9-22 last season,but I bet Musselman's commitment to defense might be able to make the Wolfpack contenders faster than most expect.
Credit to Ryan for sending me word of the Musselman hire.

We recently mentioned the death of former American League batting champion Alex Johnson and Hardball Times has a very interesting article on the career of Johnson.
I didn't know (other than obvious stats) that Johnson's career stalled so badly as an Indian that befuddled teammates watched him bunt time after time as if "he had lost confidence in his ability to swing away".
Good stuff on a player that at one time was among the best in the game.

I usually like making stops on youtube or various sites that show abandoned sites that once were popular and now are just left to fall down.
Some of these are amusement parks,stadiums,buildings etc,but this one from a photojournalist from the UK captures the former NASCAR stronghold at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
The last race at North Wilkesboro as a top level NASCAR track was in the first year of my few year run as a NASCAR fan,so I have a memory of the track,but the removal for the smaller,yet unique tracks in favor of the cookie cutter speedways in larger cities was the beginning of the end of my interest in the sport and (In my opinion) the beginning of the end of the upward fan interest in NASCAR.
Between the loss of the unique tracks and the retirements of the drivers that made the sport different and their replacements being right off the bland conveyor belt,it does not surprise me in the slightest that NASCAR's interest and TV ratings have dropped so far...

Glen Campbell's been in the news a lot lately for his Alzheimer's and the documentary on his final tour,but this note is about another documentary-this one on the legendary studio musicians-The Wrecking Crew.
Rolling Stone offers this article on Campbell's early touring struggles before he hit it big and when he opened for the Doors in the Pacific Northwest.
I'm a fan of both,but I'd be willing to wager that pairing wasn't filled with a ton of fans that crossed over liking both.....

We wrap up with the Asian "Fortune Teller" Spider,which apparently is making its home in the Southeastern region of the US.
The non-poisonous spider most likely hitched a ride on some sort of shipments and the weather in the area likely is a match for the humidity loving arachnid.....