Pioneering TV cartoon artist Alexander Anderson Jr., who created Rocky the flying squirrel and Bullwinkle the moose, has died at age 90.
Growing up, Rocky & Bullwinkle were my favorite TV cartoon characters. I still laugh at their antics which can be seen on TV re-runs.
Most notably, the Cleveland, Ohio city team I played guard for in 1972, and the 101st MP team that I played small forward with in 1971 (we won the 5th Army Championship that year).
I played in men’s leagues up to 1991 until I sustained a back fracture rebounding. By then, I had broken both ankles, several fingers, both of my knee were in need of surgery, and I was overweight. Reluctantly, I retired from the sport I love. I tried playing briefly 1n 1993 but a back stabilization surgery ended that.
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“There are hundreds of plausible nominees for the title of America’s Second-Smarmiest Politician, but surely the top spot is un-contested.”
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As It Stands “Scum of the Year” candidate, Grayson, has already earned the much coveted top spot on this blog.
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“Americans of all political persuasions can come together in affirming one proposition: Public life would be improved by scrubbing Rep. Alan Grayson from it. This act of civic hygiene probably will be performed Nov. 2 by voters of Florida’s Eighth Congressional District. Polls indicate that a majority of them plan to deny Grayson, 52, a second term by electing his resonantly named opponent, Daniel Webster.”
By Dave Stancliff/For the Times-Standard
Posted: 10/24/2010 01:17:30 AM PDT
We seldom know the impact, negative or positive, we have had on people when we lose touch with them.
I remember when I was in fourth grade, a month into the new semester, my homeroom teacher and principal met with my parents. I was sure I was in trouble.
Instead, as it turned out, my teacher recommended I move up a grade. My parents thought it was a dandy idea, and I was devastated at the thought! All my friends were in fourth grade, and I didn't want to leave them.
The difference between the grades meant separation during recess. Fourth graders and below played on one side of the field -- fifth and six graders on the other. It was an invisible wall that couldn't be breached without consequences.
In the chaos of my new surroundings I found an unlikely friend; my English teacher, Mr. Moore. I'm not sure why he took me under his wing, but he did and I'm forever grateful. He opened up the world of writing to a lonely kid with a chip on his shoulder. I had an imagination without borders and he showed me how to unleash it on paper.
I still haven't written the great American novel, or any novel for that matter, but I've been happily writing for newspapers for decades. I still think about him. Mr. Moore will never know how much he meant to me. I'm sure he's long gone now.
Someone from my past thought that until last August. Like Mark Twain's famous quote, my death was greatly exaggerated. One of my former reporters (from The Desert Trail newspaper) recently wrote a column for The Ventura Star (A Wall Worth Remembering -- Aug. 27) and practically eulogized me.
It turns out the author, Woody Woodburn (Pictured above with his family), tried to find me for years. We parted ways in the mid-1980s. He knew I was a Vietnam veteran who was dealing with issues he could never understand. He feared -- he later told me in an e-mail -- that I was dead when he couldn't find me in the mid-1990s.
In his column, he talked about what an inspiration I had been to him and what a good person he felt I was. I found out about this column when my name popped up under a “Google Alert” on Aug. 27. I was surprised, more like shocked, and humbled. I had no idea how much I had meant to him.
Since then, we have exchanged e-mails and photos. We plan to get together the next time my wife and I go down south to where Woody and his wife, Lisa, live. Woody worked as a sports writer for a several publications, including the Daily Breeze in Torrance, Ventura County Newspapers, and the Ventura County Star.
He even wrote a book titled, “The Pirate Collection: Columns on a Decade of Dominance,” about Ventura College basketball. Woody has become a fixture in the Ventura community since the 1989 season when he wrote a heartwarming column about VC star Lester Neal, who rose from the depths of the Chicago Southside to become the Western State Conference Player of the Year.
To give you an idea how good a sports writer he is, Woody's column about Louis Zamperini, a gifted runner who competed in the 1936 Olympics, was included in the Best American Sports Writing series in 2001. That's hitting the big time.
Quite an honor for the tall, skinny young man fresh out of college I hired so many years ago. Woody also co-wrote a book with Wayne Bryan titled, “Raising Your Child to be a Champion.” Currently he writes a lifestyle column for the Ventura Star, is a freelance writer and is shopping around for an agent for his next book.
As It Stands, it just goes to show that sometimes you can make a more positive impact on people than you think.
PHOTO – Woody is wearing the yellow t-shirt. On his left is daughter Dallas. On his right is his son Greg, and wife Lisa.
Here’s a link to Woody’s column with the Ventura County Star
World-famous guerilla artist Banksy has made many environmental statements in the past, but this one is particularly clever, especially with the events of the past few months.
Check out the video to see the coin-operated kiddie ride in action.
OK…it’s kinda bizarre, but it does make statement.
I think it’s a great reminder that BP still has a long way to go when it comes to cleaning up the mess they made.
I hope this wakes up some people on how pervasive meth is in our society today.
All we hear about are the Feds increasingly senseless attacks on marijuana. In a DEA report earlier this year there was a breakdown of how much money was allocated to fight drugs.Almost two-thirds of the monies went to fight marijuana while the remaining third went to cocaine, heroin, meth, prescription drugs, etc., al.
That imbalance is not only wrong, it’s criminally wrong in my book. Big Pharma and other corporations that have lobbied against pot for decades, purely for financial reasons, are the real criminals!
Making pot a priority and pouring millions of dollars into it’s pursuit isn’t logical, especially when you look at the damage done by meth, cocaine, and heroin. Any right-thinking person can see this. Take the politics out of the issue for a moment, and look at the statistics. Consider what’s really happening. People aren’t overdosing on weed. They don’t become addicted zombies ready to kill for their next shot of THC.
I hope this unusual news story shakes some people up and makes them realize the enemy isn’t pot – it’s the rest of the drugs the Feds fail to prioritize in their so-called “War on Drugs.”
Suspected meth lab found in Georgetown University dorm
“A dormitory for freshmen at prestigious Georgetown University was evacuated after a suspected meth lab was found in a room.
Washington fire and emergency services spokesman Pete Piringer said the department's hazardous materials team responded to Harbin Hall around 6:15 a.m. Saturday.
The dorm was evacuated, but seven people were exposed to noxious chemicals, including three students. No one was transported to the hospital.
The investigation is ongoing. Police are questioning possible suspects and believe some students were involved.
Georgetown spokesman Jordan Gray says about 400 students remained evacuated late Saturday morning while federal agents investigated. Students were sent to various campus buildings.”
Remember Weekend at Bernie’s ?You might ask “Didn’t she…aaahhh smell anything?” Apparently she did because police found a box of baking soda next to the decaying corpse. Isn’t that special?
The woman who carted the mummified remains around - like a scene out of Weekend with Bernie’s - is a 57 year-old real estate agent. She befriended the woman letting her sleep in her car because she was homeless.
When she died, the real estate agent didn’t know what to do and just covered her up. An interesting reaction to say the least. She put a blanket over her and proceeded to drive around for 10 months until accidently discovered.
One investigating police officer observed that she must have gotten use to the smell. How does a person get use to the very ripe small of a decaying corpse? I know it would take a lot more than one box of baking soda (a mountain wouldn’t suffice!).
Just another case of truth being at least as strange as fiction!
No matter what your political views may be, if you’re in a contested race for federal office this cycle, someone, somewhere, is probably calling you “extreme.”
In the pantheon of cult leaders from around the world Trump has emerged as the gold standard for cults in the last nine years. His ...
