Saturday, June 20, 2009

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY, DAD

Dedicated to our Dads who we look up to both here and in Heaven. …

The things you taught me I will always know.
How could I not? The roots have sunk so deep:
All lessons of the heart that I will keep
No matter who I am or where I go.


A Tribute to some of the TV Dads we grew up but they could never top the life lessons we learned from our Dads.

Leave it to Beaver, Ward Cleaver, Hugh Beaumont - 1957~63. An inquisitive but often naive boy named Theodore "Beaver" Cleaver and his adventures at home, in school, and around his suburban neighborhood. The show has attained an iconic status in the United States, with the Cleavers exemplifying the idealized suburban family of the mid-twentieth century.


The courtship of Eddie’s Father, Tom Corbet, Bill Bixby - 1969~72 The show centered around Tom Corbett (Bill Bixby), a handsome, thirtyish magazine publisher and widower from Los Angeles who had shouldered the responsibility of raising his freckled-faced, six-year-old son, Eddie (Brandon Cruz), who often cleverly manipulated his father about getting a new wife.


All In The Family, Archie Bunker, Carroll O’Connor - 1971~79. The show ranked #1 in the yearly Nielsen ratings from 1971 to 1976. As of 2008, The Cosby Show has been the only other show to top the ratings for at least five consecutive seasons. TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time ranked All in the Family as #4. Bravo also named the show's protagonist, Archie Bunker, TV's greatest character of all time, breaking ethnic, racial, feminist, religious, moral barriers and more.


Father Knows Best, Jim Anderson, Robert Young - 1954~60. A total of 203 episodes were produced, running until September 17, 1960, and appearing on all three of the television networks of the time.


Bonanza , Ben Cartwright, Lorne Greene -1959~73 as a widowed father raising his sons Pernell Roberts
Dan Blocker and Michael Landon
Lasting 14 seasons, it is among the longest running Western television series (second behind Gunsmoke) and continues to air in syndication


Make Room for Daddy, Danny Williams, Danny Thomas 1953~64. Danny Thomas played Danny Williams, a successful comedian and nightclub entertainer. Jean Hagen was his wife Margaret, Sherry Jackson their daughter Terry, and Rusty Hamer their son Rusty. Louise Beavers played the maid Louise.
The series was responsible for the creation of another long-running sitcom, The Andy Griffith Show. In the seventh season, Danny Thomas is arrested by Sheriff Andy Taylor (Andy Griffith) and detained in the small town of Mayberry


The Andy Griffith Show, Sheriff Andy Taylor, Andy Griffith - 1960-68 portrayed a widowed sheriff in a fictional small community of Mayberry, North Carolina. His life is complicated by an inept but well-meaning deputy, Barney Fife (Don Knotts), a spinster aunt and housekeeper, Aunt Bee (Frances Bavier), and a young son, Opie (Ron Howard).


My Three Sons, - 1960~72, chronicled the life of an aeronautical engineer and widower Steve Douglas, played by Fred MacMurray, and his three sons, proving that raising sons can be more challenging than daughters.


The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet , October 3, 1952 to September 3, 1966, starred the real life Nelson family. Ozzie Nelson, as the Dad and his wife, singer Harriet Nelson (née Hilliard), and their young sons, David Nelson and Eric Nelson, better known as Ricky, the real life, teen age singing idol for millions of screaming teen girls.


The Flintstones, Fred Flintstone, as Fred Flintstone - 1960~66, the first prime-time animated series geared for adults.


Little House on the Prairie, Michael Landon as Charles Phillip Ingalls - 1974~83. It aired on the NBC network from September 11, 1974, to March 21, 1983, bumping the long-running Adam-12 series to Tuesday nights.


The Cosby Show, Cliff Huxtable, Bill Cosby - 1984-92. Having aired for 197 episodes (201 in syndication), The Cosby Show is the third-longest running U.S. comedy with a predominantly African-American cast, surpassed only by The Jeffersons and Family Matters.


Home Improvement is an American sitcom starring Tim Allen, which aired 1991 to 1999. The show was created by Matt Williams, Carmen Finestra and David MacFadzean. In the 1990s, it was one of the most watched sitcoms, winning many awards. The series launched Tim Allen's acting career and also was the start of the television career of Pamela Anderson, who was part of the cast for the first two seasons.



Kids learn from what their parents are,
and so
You are my book of life, the thoughts I reap;
Only in your arms I quiet sleep;
Under my words your voice sings soft and slow.
From you I learned the rules of right and wrong

Against which I at times had to rebel,
Though with regret I carry with me still.
How lucky I am to have been loved so well,
Even as I pushed against your will,
Relying on a father fair and strong.


Happy Father's Day!!

Winnie

Friday, June 5, 2009

DO YOU REMEMBER

Any wonder why some baby boomers can’t do long hand division. Blame it on Texas Instruments Calculator Slide Rule T130. Invented by T.I. and in 1973 they released the “slide rule” calculator for $149.95. Followed in 1982 with the first solar powered one, any math genius could do complicated calculations just about anywhere - except in the dark.

The first American born sub-compact was born on April 1, 1970 - American Motor’s April Fool joke. The “groovy”
Gremlin SIX-Series 40 in psychedelic colors.

Milton Bradley introduced The Mouse Trap Game in 1963. The goal was to build a mouse trap and catch your opponent’s rodent.

Polaroid’s
The Swinger capped the swinging ‘70's trend in 1972. It took black-and-white wallet size pictures for a cheap price of $19.95. Polaroid’s award winning ads featured the then unknown beauty, Ali MacGraw, grooving to the Swinger jingle - in a bikini. Her career and Swinger sales soared.






The best selling movie track of all times,
Saturday Night Fever, merged pop culture innovations of the period. The Panasonic 8-Track player, a.k.a., the “Dynamite” or “Plunger” let disco freaks PUMP IT UP. Without an automatic track changer, you had to hit the plunger.


Apple Lisa 1,
was the 1st computer to use a Graphical User Interface, featured a 12” black-and-white screen, 1 megabyte of memory, two floppy drives named “Twiggy” after famous skinny model and the very first “Mouse” and “Trashcan” all for the low-low price of $9,995.00.

Tang. by General Foods, 1959. In ‘65 it accompanied the astronauts from Gemini spaceflights through the Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969, establishing Tang as a futuristic food.

Panasonic
"Toot-a-Loop” - 1970 was an AM radio designed to be wrapped around the wrist complete with stickers to accessorize the bold ‘70’s fashion statement.

The advent of the
“Couch Potato” emerged in 1954 when RCA began production of the first 15” color TV, followed that same year with the 21” screen. Dwight D. Eisenhower was the 1st President broadcast in color. And at the time when NBC was owned by RCA, it used the Howdy Doody Show to sell color television sets in the 1950s.











Ah, the good old days, in our memories or for sale on E-bay. Ciao for now!! Winnie

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

REMEMBER THEM


REMEMBER THEM


If you are able, save for them a place inside of you and one backward glance when you are leaving, for the places they can no longer go.

Be not ashamed to say you loved them, though you may or may not always have. Take what they have left and what they have taught you with their dying and keep it with your own.

And in that time when men decide and feel safe to call the war insane, take one moment to embrace those gentle heroes you left behind.

Written January 1, 1970 by Major Michael Davis O'Donnell
Dak To, South Vietnam


Recited by Tom Selleck upon receiving the 2009 TV Land Hero's Award for Magnum, P.I. An OGR gentle hero in his own rite and an accomplished actor who once again pulled unexpected audience emotion, uncontrollable tears and unbounded patriotism.


Though he insisted he is not worthy of that same category as there are others more deserving, he was proud that the Smithsonian recognized Magnum, P.I. as the first series to portray the Vietnam Vet in a positive light. " Now in today's world our vets are treated with respect and we know it wasn't always that way."

His real life crusade is the "Wall that Heals", part of the Vietnam War Memorial, a 45-foot aluminum trailer that travels across the country to people who may not have the opportunity to visit the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington.

Actor Tom Selleck, left, attends an event unveiling a traveling exhibit called "The Wall That Heals", part of the traveling Vietnam Veterans Memorial and Museum, in Washington, Thursday, March 26, 2009. At right is U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Nick Adams, 21. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin).











This Memorial Day take a quiet time to reflect on our friends and family who served, returned or proudly remember as the "gentle
heroes you left behind".




Thursday, May 14, 2009

Rock Geriatrics

A Number or State of Mind?

Dion DiMucci enjoyed a string of early ‘50s/’60’s hits. “A Teenager in Love” (with the Belmonts), and “Runaround Sue” or “The Wanderer”, and still is recording and playing over 30 shows a year and says he’s happier than ever.
“What are you kidding?” says Dion who turns 70 in July. “You have more experience. My voice is much better, I play better. You enjoy it more. You’re more in the moment. Free abandon in the moment, that’s what it’s all about. That’s rock’n’roll.”



Rocks biggest names are older and if you look at the ones who demand the highest prices its groups and singers that date back to the ‘60’s and 70’s. Six of last year’s top 10 grossing tours were headlined by 50 and older acts. Madonna, the Eagles, Springsteen and the E Street Band, Neil Diamond, the Police and Tina Turner.

Many famous names are testing the age limits of rock and the concert circuits.

The likes of Elton John, 62, pairing with Billy Joel, 60.

Neil Young, 63, releasing a jagged rock album or Bob Dylan, 68, and the recent No. 1 hit album, “Together Through Life”, tours with Willie Nelson, 76.

Or....

Pete Townshend, 63, who wrote the lyric “I hope I die before I get old”, is still touring,

Mick Jagger, who turns 66 in July, “I’d rather be dead than singing ‘Satisfaction’ when I’m 45" has coveted an extra 20 years and several world tours,

Mike Love, 68, still sings “Be True to your School” at The Beach Boys' endless concert tours,

Paul McCartney, 67 in June, recently performed a 2-1/2 hour set at the Coachella festival and released “Electric Arguments” CD,

Bruce Springsteen, 60 in Sept., recently played to a sold out crowd in Chicago, proves they still have what it takes to please the OGR-ers.






One noted exception, Robert Plant, 60, shot down a Led Zeppelin reunion for fear fans would be disappointed and “the comparisons to something that was basically fired by youth and a different kind of exuberance…it’s very hard to go back and meet that head on and do it justice.”


OGR-er's recognize Elton John’s voice is deeper than it was in his 70’s heyday, and Aretha Franklin’s thinner, raspier voice may be attributed to smoking and weight.
But Tony Bennett’s classic voice is richer, and Nancy Wilson’ still sound true to hers in the ‘60’s.

That’s Rock-n-Roll…
Eric Clapton, 64
Tina Turner, 69









Billy Joel, 60










So Winnie says, stay tuned to OGR for more trips down memory lane. Music for the '50s, 60's and 70's, that's ages, not years. Ciao for now!!!

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

The Quotables

Special thanks to OGR's DJ Glee, my "roving reporter", for supplying these hilarious quotes. Laughter is the best medicine for any generation.

Sometimes, when I look at my children, I say to myself, 'Lillian, you should have remained a virgin.'
- Lillian Carter (mother of Jimmy Carter)
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I had a rose named after me and I was very flattered. But I was not pleased to read the description in the catalogue: - 'No good in a bed, but fine against a wall.'
- Eleanor Roosevelt
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Last week, I stated this woman was the ugliest woman I had ever seen. I have since been visited by her sister, and now wish to withdraw that statement.
- Mark Twain
Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint.
- Mark Twain

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The secret of a good sermon is to have a good beginning and a good ending; and to have the two as close together as possible.
- George Burns
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Santa Claus has the right idea. Visit people only once a year.
- Victor Borge
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By all means, marry. If you get a good wife, you'll become happy; if you get a bad one, you'll become a philosopher.
- Socrates
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I was married by a judge. I should have asked for a jury.
- Groucho Marx

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My wife has a slight impediment in her speech. Every now and then she stops to breathe.
- Jimmy Durante
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I have never hated a man enough to give his diamonds back.
- Zsa Zsa Gabor
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Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four essential food groups: alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
- Alex Levine
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My luck is so bad that if I bought a cemetery, people would stop dying.
- Rodney Dangerfield
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Money can't buy you happiness ... But it does bring you a more pleasant form of misery.
- Spike Milligan
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Until I was thirteen, I thought my name was SHUT UP .
- Joe Namath
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I don't feel old.. I don't feel anything until noon. Then it's time for my nap.
- Bob Hope
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I never drink water because of the disgusting things that fish do in it
- W. C. Fields
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We could certainly slow the aging process down if it had to work its way through Congress.
- Will Rogers
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Don't worry about avoiding temptation. As you grow older, it will avoid you.
- Winston Churchill
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Maybe it's true that life begins at fifty .. But everything else starts to wear out, fall out, or spread out.
- Phyllis Diller
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By the time a man is wise enough to watch his step, he's too old to go anywhere.
- Billy Crystal
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And the cardiologist's diet: - If it tastes good spit it out.

"See you on the radio." Ciao for now!!






Winnie