by John Walters
Tweet Me Right
https://t.co/nX60KJv5rg
Check out my Senior Year High School Highlight!!! From a Redskin to a Fighting Irish. Irish fans are you ready? #GoIrish— Zeke Correll (@zekecorrell) December 18, 2018
Who’s hungry for pancakes?!?
Starting Five
“Here come the judge, here come the judge, here come the judge…”
1. The Wrath of Emmet
We’ve heard of crooks receiving suspended sentences, but rare is the moment when the sentencing itself is suspended. That’s what happened in a D.C. courtroom yesterday when 71 year-old federal judge Emmet Sullivan went off on an 8-minute screed against former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, saying, “You sold your country out” and “I’m not going to hide my disgust, my disdain…”
Then again, who better to be judgmental than a federal judge (answer: your mother-in-law)? After a recess it was decided that Flynn will not be sentenced until March, while Sullivan hinted there will likely be jail time. Flynn must surrender his passport and will no longer be able to travel more than 50 miles outside of D.C. So he may still attend Wizards games (that may be the punishment, actually).
You need to watch this video. It’s just the beginning… pic.twitter.com/aKa3bYCUtV
— The Resistance (@NightlyPolitics) December 17, 2018
If you’re scoring at home, Cohen guilty, Manafort guilty, Flynn guilty. Where there’s fire, there’s fire.
2. Penny From Heaven
Marshall directing Hanks in “Big”
You may know her primarily as an L.A. Laker fan, but Penny Marshall, who passed away yesterday at the age of 75, was a comic actress who had a highly successful foray into films behind the camera.
It all began for Marshall, as it did for Robin Williams, with a guest-shot on Happy Days. There she and Cindy Williams (as Laverne DeFazio and Shirley Feeney) appeared as either blind dates for Richie (Ron Howard) and Fonzie (Henry Winkler) or backup singers for the Fonz or maybe both. I forget; I barely was allowed to stay up that late. The year was 1975.
The episode was a smash, Penny’s big brother happened to be the creator of Happy Days (which was for a few seasons THE hottest sitcom in America back when that really, really mattered) and by next season a spin-off, Laverne & Shirley, which aired immediately after Happy Days on Tuesday nights, was on the air (which provided the big career break for Michael McKean). It was “just a spinoff,” but it was also the top-rated show on television for two consecutive years in the late Seventies.
Marshall went on to direct Big and A League Of Their Own (the latter of which resurrected Tom Hanks career and remains our favorite performance of his).
3. Antarctica Adventure Race
Not sure if you were following this story, but American Colin O’Brady and Brit Louis Rudd are racing one another across Antarctica because, after all, it’s late spring there and positively balmy. As one of the (ahem) few bloggers you know who (humblebrag alert) has actually raced across Antarctica, I can assure you this ain’t easy (although just getting there is half the challenge).
O’Brady an Rudd are 46 days into their odyssey across Antarctica, which we remind you is a continent larger than the United States (Alaska included) or Europe (although somewhat less populated than either). As this New York Times story details, the two disembarked from the same plane on November 3rd and started their treks across the bleak, desolate and wind-swept landscape about 10 minutes apart.
Whoever wins, assuming one (or both) finishes, will become the first man to have trekked solo across the continent.
4. Photo Shoppe
Photo editors from ABC News selected 38 favorite photos from 2018 because nothing works on the web quite like a slide show. This one, shot by Andrew Carter of the Raleigh News & Observer during the North Carolina floods earlier this autumn, stands out. But then we do love kitties.
5. Brooklyn Block Party!
We’d like a poster of this, please. The Nets’ Jarrett Allen gives an early Christmas present to Susie B. by blocking this attempted dunk by LeBron “Sweet Pea” James. Talk about skyscrapers. The Nets (8-14) defeated the Lakers in Brooklyn, 115-110, for their sixth straight victory, giving them the longest current win streak in the NBA .
Meanwhile, the Denver Nuggets are atop the Western Conference, and someone really ought to inform ESPN and The Big Lead about this development. Me, I’m just going to wait for The Ringer’s 5,000-word think piece on how the public/media aspirational obsession with the Lakers is just a Samuel Beckett play being transferred to sport.
Music 101
Little Drummer Boy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADbJLo4x-tk
I remember being an 11 year-old boy for Christmas ’77 and seeing this pairing, near the end of Bing Crosby’s Christmas special (the Christmas special that did not introduce the AP All-America team), and not quite being able to understand it. I mean, Was this the same guy?
You gotta hand it to Bing, though. The Gonzaga grad did iconic duets over the years with Fred Astaire, Frank Sinatra and here, Ziggy Stardust.
Remote Patrol
Relatable
Netflix
Ellen DeGeneres‘ first stand-up gig in 15 years. What’s she been doing with herself all this time? According to The New York Times, she’s not as nice as we thought. Horrors!
That might be LeBron James getting stuffed back in his face, but it ain’t “Sweet Pea”! The latter would have NEVER sold his soul to move to LA/join the Lakers. In fact, it’s too bad LBJ didn’t watch Laverne & Shirley as if he had, he’d have known that show went rapidly down hill & then off the air once they “moved to LA”!
BTW, I know you must know the REAL reason ESPN was/is so obsessed with the Lakers since LBJ joined – they were TERRIFED what would happen to the TV ratings once LeBron was no longer playing semi-nightly in the eastern time zone & hoped to get folks to forgo sleep & watch the new King of Late Night. And apparently, that terror was justified – ratings are DOWN.
Also, an update : if you’ve ever watched skiing’s World Cup races, you’ll know that the current leader sits on a throne-like chair near the Finish line, watching & waiting to see if they get knocked off & if they do, they have to vacate the throne. Well, Santa’s Boots got knocked off the “Worst Xmas TV-Movie of 2018” throne over the weekend! Step right “UP” (that was the channel) – “Christmas with a Prince”. Hands down, it’s the current leader in the clubhouse, the sitter on the throne, the worst of the worst. If Xmas TV-Movies are Ugly Xmas Sweaters, then this movies is the ugliest by a country mile. Even if that country is a mythical European kingdom whose name MUST end with “-AVIA”. (How do you know it’s Christmas in TV-Movie land? Because a “royal romance” or two will figure prominently. Apparently, it’s a LAW! Why? Because American women had FAR too many fairytales read to them as children & we pathetically keep waiting for a freakin prince (real or otherwise) appear & save us from our drab lives.) ARGH!
Hey jdubs – I finally see the SILVER LINING for the market smackdown that’s been in progress since early October! If you own mutual funds (taxable acct, 401-K, or Roth) that declare capital gains/dividend distributions in December (as many do), you get MANY MORE SHARES (than if the distribution had been in, let’s say, September) since the prices have been smacked down! And THIS year is a BIG year for distributions in many growth-type funds. So, silver, maybe even “gold” lining. 🙂
And I don’t know about you but I NEED something to buck me up while perusing my accounts these days. Not even Santa wants any part of this market! Which is rare. Heck, even back during the 2008 Economic Armageddon there was a December Santa Rally, but not THIS year!
Also, I was at the dentist office yesterday skimming thru an US Weekly & it appears you’ve waited too long to make your move on T-Swift; it seems she has a “serious boyfriend” who may pop the question soon. All hope should not be lost though as, er, going by her track record, I wouldn’t be buying a wedding gift just yet. Keep hope alive, jdubs! 🙂
And finally, have you seen the Walmart online/delivery Xmas commercial? I know you’re currently a “cat guy” but I just LOVE this commercial & think you may too. It’s the one with a dog in the house with his human family at Xmas time & the doorbell rings & off he goes to answer. Since the floor is wood, he gallops, slips & slides all the way there. When the doorbell rings again, we see the dog in some Walmart-bought Xmas finery – 1st an Xmas collar, then Xmas antlers, then an Xmas sweater & finally, some Xmas booties (& oh, he doesn’t walk too happy in those). It makes me laugh & smile every time.