Showing posts with label mathis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mathis. Show all posts
Thursday, November 28, 2013
Thursday, February 21, 2013
A stroll down memory lane
Nick Lucas (August 22, 1897, Newark, New Jersey -- July 28, 1982, Colorado Springs, Colorado) born Dominic Nicholas Anthony Lucanese was an American singer and pioneer jazz guitarist, remembered as "the grandfather of the jazz guitar", whose peak of popularity lasted from the mid-1920s to the early 1930s.
Why bring him up? I saw him entertain a number of times in Reno, at I think the Holiday Hotel. He did such nice little "airy" lite songs, very entertaining, and in awe of him and the career that he had. He did the original "Tiptoe through the Tulips," NOT Tiny Tim. He was a true, entertainer, very captivating, he held you in the palm of his hand while he performed. Not all can do that.
My thoughts went back to him from one of my blogs, Smile Awhile was another of his songs. Carl Ravazza was another "old timer" who I often saw at Harold's Club. He was also from that time frame.
Speaking of entertainers, I saw many during my time in Nevada, but only a few stand out as really being "entertainers." I think Wayne Newton worked harder than anyone to entertain ....... he was a true "pro" and knocked himself out to be entertaining. I saw him a number of times in his early days in Reno at the Riverside, late 50's or early 60's. Not the big time or Vegas yet, but he was on his way.
Della Reese entertained, as well as Johnny Mathis, and, of course, Louis Prima and Sam Butera. Some of the "lounge" acts were better than the "headliners." They tried harder and were less impressed by themselves. I have walked out on a few BIG names, some were very disappointing.
Some if the "old time" dealers and casino folks I first turned out and worked with, looked upon all entertainers as "B Flats." They were only bait to get customers in, so they had little respect for entertainers, a necessary evil, just like food and free bingo. In those days, the "dealer" was more important than any entertainer. I turned out in that environment.
Nick Lucas and Johnny Carson
Why bring him up? I saw him entertain a number of times in Reno, at I think the Holiday Hotel. He did such nice little "airy" lite songs, very entertaining, and in awe of him and the career that he had. He did the original "Tiptoe through the Tulips," NOT Tiny Tim. He was a true, entertainer, very captivating, he held you in the palm of his hand while he performed. Not all can do that.
My thoughts went back to him from one of my blogs, Smile Awhile was another of his songs. Carl Ravazza was another "old timer" who I often saw at Harold's Club. He was also from that time frame.
Speaking of entertainers, I saw many during my time in Nevada, but only a few stand out as really being "entertainers." I think Wayne Newton worked harder than anyone to entertain ....... he was a true "pro" and knocked himself out to be entertaining. I saw him a number of times in his early days in Reno at the Riverside, late 50's or early 60's. Not the big time or Vegas yet, but he was on his way.
Della Reese entertained, as well as Johnny Mathis, and, of course, Louis Prima and Sam Butera. Some of the "lounge" acts were better than the "headliners." They tried harder and were less impressed by themselves. I have walked out on a few BIG names, some were very disappointing.
Some if the "old time" dealers and casino folks I first turned out and worked with, looked upon all entertainers as "B Flats." They were only bait to get customers in, so they had little respect for entertainers, a necessary evil, just like food and free bingo. In those days, the "dealer" was more important than any entertainer. I turned out in that environment.
Nick Lucas and Johnny Carson
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Welfare Spending Now Over $1 Trillion
The total sum taxpayers spent on federal welfare programs was derived from a new Congressional Research Service (CRS) report on federal welfare spending — which topped out at $745.84 billion for fiscal year 2011 — combined with an analysis from the Republican Senate Budget Committee staff of state spending on federal welfare programs, which reached $282.7 billion in fiscal year 2011.
Another one bites the dust .
After years of losing money, Newsweek announced on Thursday that it will stop printing its magazine and become a digital-only publication.
"Newsweek will transition to an all-digital format in early 2013," editor Tina Brown wrote in an email to employees early Thursday. "As part of this transition, the last print edition in the U.S. will be our December 31st issue."
The new all-digital publication, called Newsweek Global, "will be a single, worldwide edition," Brown continued. The e-magazine will be supported by paid subscriptions and made available for e-readers for both tablet and the Web, with select content available on The Daily Beast.
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Harvard Poll Says Young Voters Back Obama Less Than 4 Years Ago
Young U.S. voters support President Barack Obama by a narrower margin than they did in the 2008 election and backers of Republican challenger Mitt Romney are more enthusiastic about going to the polls, according to a poll released today.
In a survey by Harvard University’s Institute of Politics of likely voters under 30 years of age, Obama led Romney 55 percent to 36 percent. Exit polls of voters in the 2008 election showed Obama defeating Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona among those 18 to 29 years of age by 34 percentage points, a key to the president’s victory.
Participants in the latest Harvard poll who were eligible to vote four years ago backed Obama over McCain by a margin of 25 points, 58 percent to 33 percent.
California Prepares For Powerful Earthquakes
When a quake hits, the first instinct for many is to run outdoors or huddle in a doorway.
But as hundreds of YouTube videos prove, powerful earthquakes send furniture and glass flying and fracture buildings, raining down debris.
Instead, experts say the safest place during a big earthquake is under a desk or table, where you can drop, cover and hold on.
"If you think back to big earthquakes around the world, the people who survived were those who were underneath something that protected them from debris falling down on them," said Steve Walter, a seismologist with the U.S. Geological Survey in Menlo Park, Calif.
Tomorrow (Oct. 18) more than 9 million California residents plan to practice dropping and covering at 10:18 a.m. PDT, during the Great American Shakeout.
Frank Beckmann - WJR
The Frank Beckmann Show
Quite the debate last night.....Obama scored some points but was playing on home field.....That crowd didn't seem all that undecided judging by applause for Crowley backing Obama statement on Benghazi.....Romney did just fine.....Crowley came off as what she is -- an Obama sycophant......Remember, she chose the questions so she drove the topics in that regard, and almost every one of them played into Obama's campaign themes......Her frequent interruptions of Romney and refusal to allow him to rebut some points, was telling.....She gave Obama 9% more time and allowed him far more latitude......And he still couldn't close the deal....this is going to be an interesting last 3 weeks!!
Quite the debate last night.....Obama scored some points but was playing on home field.....That crowd didn't seem all that undecided judging by applause for Crowley backing Obama statement on Benghazi.....Romney did just fine.....Crowley came off as what she is -- an Obama sycophant......Remember, she chose the questions so she drove the topics in that regard, and almost every one of them played into Obama's campaign themes......Her frequent interruptions of Romney and refusal to allow him to rebut some points, was telling.....She gave Obama 9% more time and allowed him far more latitude......And he still couldn't close the deal....this is going to be an interesting last 3 weeks!!
CNN’s Candy Crowley: Romney Was Actually Right On Libya
I think actually, you know, because right after that, I did turn to Romney and said you were totally correct but they spent two weeks telling us that this was about a tape and that there was this riot outside of the Benghazi consulate, which there wasn’t. So he was right in the main, I just think that he picked the wrong word.
Four Score ............................................
I've been perusing presidential speeches this morning, not just reading them, but, REALLY, reading them and "listening" to the message. I am beginning to think that almost everything that our founding fathers intended for this country has been lost. I remember sitting in front of our Philco radio listening to President Roosevelt, Walter Winchell, H. V. Kaltenborn, Peter Grant, from WLW in Cincinnati and others, and not just "listening" but "hearing" what was being said. I remember hearing Truman give his farewell address. Read Lincoln's words, slowly, and listen to them, think about them .....
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting-place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract.
The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.
It is for us the living rather to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced.
It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain, that this nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth.
Millwork Engineering The Gettysburg Address 2 Part , Framed Art/ 2 Part /Textured, by The Craft Room, Model # WI1004
How simple life used to be ...........
Given on Thursday, January 19, 1953
Good Evening, My Fellow Americans:
Next Tuesday, General Eisenhower will be inaugurated as President of the United States. I will be on a train on my way home to Independence, Missouri, to become a plain citizen. Inauguration Day will be a great demonstration of the Democratic Process. I am glad to be a part of the peaceful transfer of the vast power of the Presidency from my hands to his. There is no job like it on the face of the Earth. I want you all to realize how hard it is and to give Ike all the help he will need. The Cold War and the “hot war” in Korea will be great tests of his strength.
How will the Cold War end? It will end…someday…because of the great weakness of the Communist system. I have not a doubt in the world that a great change will occur. I have a deep and abiding faith in the destiny of free men. With strength and courage, we shall, someday, overcome.
When Franklin Roosevelt died, I thought there must be a million men more qualified than I to take up the Presidential task. But the work was mine to do. But always, I knew that I was not alone. I knew that you were working with me. And now, the time has come for me to say goodnight and God bless you all.
It was his time to step in to history, he did his job, and it was time to get on the train and head home. Life and times were simpler then. If Obama loses the election, can you see him saying anything like this? If he wins the election, can you imagine what the country will be like .... then?
Harry S. Truman By Dallek, Robert/ Schlesinger, Arthur Meier (EDT)/ Wilentz, Sean (EDT)
Harry S. Truman: Presidential Rhetoric
Historic Photos of Harry S. Truman
PVT-Superstock SAL1457634 F-14B Tomcat USS Harry S. Truman -CVN 75 US Navy -24 x 18 Poster Print
Perot gives unequivocal support to Romney
Tuesday morning, in an op-ed in the Des Moines Register, businessman and former presidential candidate Ross Perot declared his unequivocal support for Republican candidate Mitt Romney.
"President Obama promised a great deal. He has had his chance," Perot wrote. "The results are visible for all to see. It is time for a new beginning. It is time for Mitt Romney."
Complaining of Obama's policy writ large, Perot echoed the GOP challenger's campaign slogan, writing that America "can't afford four more years in which debt mushrooms out of control, our government grows and our military is weakened."
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Ants and grasshoppers ..... revised edition
The following is the Democratic "common good" version of the old favorite, the Ant and the Grasshopper: Remember the ant and the grasshopper?
OLD VERSION . . .
The ant works hard, in the withering heat, all summer long. He builds his house and stores supplies for the winter.
The grasshopper thinks that the ant is a fool. He laughs, dances and plays the summer away, preparing nothing for the coming winter.
Winter comes, the ant is safe and warm. The grasshopper has no food or shelter, so he dies out in the cold.
The moral to the story being: BE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOURSELF!
NEW VERSION . . . (sad but true)
The ant works hard, in the withering heat, all summer long.
He builds his house and stores supplies for the winter.
The grasshopper thinks that the ant is a fool.
He laughs, dances and plays the summer away, preparing nothing for the coming winter.
Winter comes, the ant is safe and warm. The shivering grasshopper calls a press conference and demands to know why the ant should be allowed to be warm and fed, while others are cold and starving!
CBS, NBC, ABC & CNN show up to provide pictures of shivering grasshoppers, next to a video of an ant
in his comfortable home, with a table filled with food.
America is stunned by the sharp contrast! How can this be, that in a country of such wealth, this poor
grasshopper is allowed to suffer this way?
Kermit the Frog appears on Oprah, with the grasshopper. Everyone cries when they sing "It's Not Easy Being Green".
Jesse Jackson stages a demonstration in front of the ant's house, where the news stations film the group
singing "We Shall Overcome". Jesse then has the group pray for the grasshopper's sake, and reminds the group to contribute to his group, so that he can "continue the fight" for grasshoppers, everywhere!
John Kerry exclaim, in an interview with Tom Brokaw, that the ant has gotten rich, off the back of the poor grasshopper! He calls for an immediate tax hike, to make the ant pay "his fair share"!
Finally, the EEOC drafts the "Economic Equity For Grasshoppers Act", retroactive to the beginning of the
summer.
The ant is fined for failing to hire the proportionate number of green bugs and, having nothing left to
pay his retroactive taxes, his house is confiscated by the government.
Hillary Clinton gets her old law firm to represent the grasshopper, in a defamation suit against the ant.
The case is tried in federal court, with a jury comprised of unemployed welfare recipients.
Surprise! The ant loses the case!
The story ends, as we see the grasshopper finishing up the last bits of the ant's food, while the government house he lives in (which happens to be the ant's old house) crumbles around him, due to lack of maintenance!
The ant has disappeared in the snow.
The grasshopper is found, dead, in a drug-related incident.
The house, now abandoned, is taken over by a gang of spiders, who terrorize this once-peaceful neighborhood.
The moral of this version? Don't vote for Democrats or liberals.
Clinton: 'I Take Responsibility' For Benghazi Consulate Attack Categories: America
"You want me to do .......... what ....?"
As we've reported, what the White House knew and what they told the public officially has come under heavy scrutiny and sharp criticism from Republicans.
In fact, during the vice presidential debate, the first question asked of Vice President Joe Biden was about the incident and whether it represented a major intelligence failure. Biden said the White House did not know extra security had been requested by the outpost and he also asserted that the intelligence community believed that the attacks were, indeed, triggered by a protest against an anti-Muslim film.
In an interview with CNN last night, Clinton was asked if the Obama administration was trying to throw her "under the bus."
"I take responsibility," Clinton told CNN. "I'm in charge of the State Department's 60,000-plus people all over the world — 275 posts. The president and the vice president wouldn't be knowledgeable about specific decisions that are made by security professionals. They're the ones who weigh all of the threats and the risks and the needs."
More on "Post Election" threats .....
Obama Supporters Threaten To Kill Romney If He Wins Election
Posted on October 16, 2012 by Conservative Byte
Having already threatened to riot if Obama is unsuccessful in securing a second term, Obama supporters are also flooding Twitter with threats to assassinate Mitt Romney if he wins the presidential election. As we reported yesterday, innumerable Obama supporters spoke of their plans to provoke violence and mayhem if Obama lost, aggrieved at fears that Mitt Romney would take away government handouts.
However, it seems that threats to assassinate Romney are proving just as popular on the social network as threats to riot. Twitchy first reported on the death threats on Sunday but a deluge of new ones have flooded in since.
While the Secret Service routinely harasses Americans for criticizing Obama, in one recent case vowing to investigate a man who hung an empty chair from a tree in his garden in reference to Clint Eastwood’s RNC speech, or even merely making a political You Tube video, there is no indication that any of the Twitter users who made these threats will be investigated.
New Threats to Riot if Obama Loses Election
Posted on October 16, 2012 by Conservative Byte
Despite the issue receiving national media attention, Obama supporters continue to threaten to riot if Mitt Romney wins the presidential election, raising the prospect of civil unrest if Obama fails to secure a second term.
The new threats continue to dominate Twitter and the vast majority make no reference to press coverage of the issue over the last week, illustrating the fact that they are a legitimate expression of how many Obama voters plan to respond if Romney comes out on top, and not merely a reaction to media hype.
An Infowars.com story written by Michael Snyder which was picked up by the Drudge Report over the weekend and has since gone viral documented how Twitter was flooded with messages from Obama supporters threatening to riot, a sign that “whichever side loses this election will accuse the other side of stealing the election.”
I am posting this for information only, I find it intriguing. I have to wonder who and why this got started, was it a threat to voters? This came from a conservative group. Rather scary stuff when you think about it .............
Monday, October 15, 2012
More QUESTIONABLE politics ... what else are they NOT telling us ...
Lockheed Martin and other defense contractors, are about to lay off 123,000 defense workers due to Obama's 109 billion-dollar downsizing of the military budget - which starts in January, 2013. (How does that work for the kagillion jobs he "created" in the private sector? Are those private-sector jobs or government jobs? Either way, they're gone.)
The (WARN Act of 1988 - passed by Democrats) requires employers to give 60-days notice to all to-be-fired employees. That drop dead date would be November 1st.
Since this would be bad for the election, (i.e. BO) Obama has promised that our government (This means YOU) would cover all of Lockheed's severance packages to fired employees... if Lockheed would not release the names and locations of those losing their jobs until after the election!
This posting is from a defense contract newspaper called The Hill. Read details below:
READ ON ..................
See also:
MORE INFORMATION
AND FINALLY .........
The Quadski - ATV to boat
DETROIT (AP) — Amphibious vehicles could soon be zooming out of James Bond's garage — or pond — and into yours.
The Quadski — a one-person all-terrain vehicle that doubles as a personal watercraft — is being billed by its makers as the first high-speed, commercially available amphibious vehicle. It's scheduled to go on sale in the U.S. by the end of this year for around $40,000.
Michigan-based Gibbs Sports Amphibians Inc. hopes to sell the vehicle worldwide by 2014.
With its all-terrain tires and four-cylinder, BMW-supplied engine, the Quadski can drive up to 45 miles per hour on land. To take it into the water, the driver presses a button. In five seconds, the four wheels fold up and tuck into the sides. The Quadski can go a brisk 45 miles per hour in the water before a press of the button brings the wheels out again.
"You just drive straight into the water, quite fast, and keep on going. It's sort of magic," the founder of Gibbs Sports Amphibians, Alan Gibbs, told The Associated Press in a recent interview.
Bike of cardboard - 20 bucks WOW
Izhar Gafni, 50, is an expert in designing automated mass-production lines. He is an amateur cycling enthusiast who for years toyed with an idea of making a bicycle from cardboard.
He told Reuters during a recent demonstration that after much trial and error, his latest prototype has now proven itself and mass production will begin in a few months.
The bicycles are not only very cheap to make, they are very light and do not need to be adjusted or repaired, the solid tires that are made of reconstituted rubber from old car tires will never get a puncture, Elmish said.
"These bikes need no maintenance and no adjustment, a car timing belt is used instead of a chain, and the tires do not need inflating and can last for 10 years," he said.
Gafni owns several top-of-the-range bicycles which he said are worth thousands of dollars each, but when his own creation reaches mass production, it should cost no more than about $20 to buy. The cost of materials used are estimated at $9 per unit.
Sunday, October 14, 2012
I wonder why - there have been others also ....
Koch Industries, the Wichita, Kan.-based company run by the billionaire Koch brothers, sent a voter information packet to 45,000 employees of its Georgia Pacific subsidiary earlier this month.
In it was a letter, dated Oct. 1, from Koch Industries president Dave Robertson implicitly warning that "many of our more than 50,000 U.S. employees and contractors may suffer the consequences" of voting for President Obama and other Democrats in the 2012 elections, a list of conservative candidates the company's political action committee endorses and a pair of editorials: one, by David Koch, supporting Mitt Romney, and the other, by Charles Koch, condemning Obama.
In it was a letter, dated Oct. 1, from Koch Industries president Dave Robertson implicitly warning that "many of our more than 50,000 U.S. employees and contractors may suffer the consequences" of voting for President Obama and other Democrats in the 2012 elections, a list of conservative candidates the company's political action committee endorses and a pair of editorials: one, by David Koch, supporting Mitt Romney, and the other, by Charles Koch, condemning Obama.
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