LikeTelevision Blog

Happy President's Day

2010-02-15T12:44:00.011-05:00

Woo woo - break out the bubbly because it's President's Day. OK - so President's Day is a total non-holiday where typically - whoa, cool - no work today but in all honesty, we would do well to remember the two guys today's holiday honors - Abraham Lincoln and George Washington. George W. (no, no, no, not Dubya), the first US Prez, was a great president and we should be thankful he devoted a great part of his life to giving his talents to found this great country. But, unlike most politicians today - I am just thrilled he set a great precedent, and did not wish to become King George. By the time the war was over, all he wanted to do was to retire and chill at Mt. Vernon. So far, we have yet to have a president who was hard to kick the heck out, though FDR did his best to push the envelope of term limits - he actually did the USA a favor, because soon there was a new law - just two terms and buh bye.

And how can you not like Abraham Lincoln? OK - I am sure there are a bunch of you knuckleheads out there, but at least concede he kept the country together. Yes, we have all heard recently that he suspended Habeas Corpus, and that was bad.... very bad, probably worse than when Seinfeld told Babu to change the theme of his restaurant to specialize in Pakistani food. But give old Honest Abe some props - slavery did indeed put a huge wound on the words in our US Constitution and Bill of Rights. Can you say - hypocrisy?

Anyway - for me, these are two of my favorite presidents. I regret we do not have any decent video on Abe Lincoln... but we do have a really cool George Washington tale from sci-fi bizarro land. Yep, no kidding. Check out this classic One Step Beyond episode - Night in Decision. Another interesting George Washington short video clip worth watching comes from a super trailer made by LikeTelevision's resident maestro, Frank Random.

or watch the whole movie. McLintock - starring John Wayne as George Washington McLintock.

India Gains Independence - Made an I.P.A.

2010-01-26T16:27:00.006-05:00

It was 60 years ago today, on January 26, 1950 that Indian finally gained its independence from Great Britain. Two Indian heroes were mostly responsible for the country's freedom - Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru. Their weapon of choice - passive resistance. Though they were promised independence by British Prime Minister Atlee in 1945, those stubborn Brits were downright slow to let go... I mean 5 years is a long time mates. Here's a video with some historic footage of the landmark event in India's history.

So - to honor this historic day - I decided to bottle a batch of some home brew, an India Pale Ale to be exact - which had been fermenting in a lovely state of what is called wort. Zymergy (the art of fermentation), Moshing - or making home brew is my new hobby. One of these days I will make a video about it as it is loads of fun and downright delicious if you know what you like in brewskis and are patient. Since this I.P.A. was a strong batch - meaning a bunch of alcohol content by volume, it is best to let it ferment in this wort state for at least 2 weeks. After that - it is time to bottle it - which entails adding 3/4 teaspoon of sugar into each 12 oz. bottle, pouring in the wort and capping it. Give it a good shake, and let it sit for about 10 days to get the beer nice and carbonated. The yeast is still active and it will ferment the sugar, letting off gas which has no place to go except into the beer to give it that nice fizz and a solid head when you pour it. After this - it is two months of lagering - which just means you put it into the fridge and try not to drink it because it is still immature. Well, I am immature too - and as of yet - I cannot wait the whole time and try a few before they are totally ready - but waiting does make the beer a ton smoother, so you really want to. Knowing my weakness - I have brewed several batches so far - with fun names to boot. Fat Man in a Bathtub Stout, St Arnold's Schwartz a Negre, Squirrelly's Nut Brown Ale, Fat Ass Bass, and most recently - Jenny's Juicy Juice, which is my favorite to date, already half gone and less than a month of lagering. Yikes! So - in an effort to stay ahead of the game, I also began a new keg of wort - I am calling Crazy Mixed Up Kid - because I am using a Pilsner Hopped Malt Extract combined with an Amber Unhopped Malt Extract and Gr Spalt Grand Hops and some Galcier Hops, with a cup and a 1/4 of brown sugar. This batch will be ready around planting time in the garden.

If you are interested in a how to make beer video, just drop me a line at info-at-liketelevision-dot-com. Cheers! And especially to all my friends from India - Cheers!

Newspapers back in the day

2010-01-17T18:06:00.004-05:00

Many years ago - newspapers were the primary source of information for most Americans. The industry grew for decades - and believe it or not, there was a time when most big cities had 2 thriving newspapers, usually broken down political lines. Which is why a bunch were named the Democrat or the Republican, with a prefix of the city in question. First radio, and then TV began to eat away at their monopoly for supplying information. And today - with the onset of the internet, you can pretty much get the news just the way you like and have only the narrowest point of view, a blog where only you are the reader for instance. ahaha. All kidding aside - there still are a lot of good newspapers out there, but it is no secret they are struggling with all the competition for providing information.

But back in the day - say the 1930s and 1940s - newspapers were the only game in town. They owned the information and were paid very well to tell the information in a way that was honest and fair, and struggle to keep clean amidst a world that had many rich people wanting to present in a way favorable to their business or power related projects. A few of my favorites are His Girl Friday, starring Cary Grant and Rosiland Russell and Meet John Doe starring Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck. You can also check out a lot of newspaper related stories, whether it is Clark Kent, alias Superman working at The Daily Planet or Frederic March and Janet Gaynor in A Star is Born. But don't stop checking out the history there - just do a search for Newspaper - and you will find a ton of newspaper related content. Oh - here's one more favorite - from an old TV show called One Step Beyond. The episode is called Where Are They? and it begins in an old newspaper office in Chico California with reporters covering a very odd story - of rocks falling out of the sky. Cool episode indeed.

Tonight Show Videos

2010-01-14T15:03:00.006-05:00

When I was a kid the Tonight Show was a really big deal. In the early days it was hosted by Jack Parr, and when it was time for him to move on - a new unknown named Johnny Carson was chosen to host the show. Everybody thought he would fail and would be replaced by somebody as known and famous as Jack Parr, but Carson took the show to a totally new level of comedy and entertainment.

Anyway - we have a ton of the classic moments from The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson - prepared in a fast paced montage of best of moments. One of the best known is the series of blooper sexual innuendo classics - featuring Jane Fonda's line about Pet My Pussy, and Johnny's offer to trim Raquel Welch's hedges, etc etc. No - the Arnold Palmer clip about how he allegedly said his wife kisses his ball before every tee shot is not included. And a further urban legend says that this clip will never see the light of day, as lawyers are lined up to keep that Tiger deep in the woods forever. But according to Snopes, that urban legend never even happened.

But Johnny was the master of the live clip. Don't believe me - watch this one below with Ed Ames throwing a hatchet on live TV. It does not get better than this.

Johnny also introduced a ton of great comedians to huge nation wide audience - from Rosanne Barr, George Carlin, Bill Maher, to Gary Shandling and a really young Drew Barrymore, who pulled out her baby retainer and plopped it on Johnny's desk.

And the video below featuring Sam Kinison is a just too funny. With Carson at the helm of the Tonight Show, it was always on the cutting edge of comedy. Watch them all!

So, today's current spat with the Tonight Show featuring Jay Leno in one corner with Conan O'Brien in the other - with NBC's Jeff Zucker being the one most likely to get the axe - is not so much about the Tonight Show as it is about the bickering. After Johnny left - and cable began to grow new channels every month, the Tonight Show was really never the same. Johnny Carson was the Tonight Show. If you could put him back on the show - all the networks would be in the bidding and it would go for an astronomical price. I bet Leno, Conan, and Zucker would even agree this was true.

Sherlock Holmes Movies

2010-01-04T15:43:00.007-05:00

The other day, my girls suggested that I would enjoy the new Sherlock Holmes movie starring Robert Downey jr. as the great detective created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle many years ago. Even as a kid, I loved Sherlock Holmes and my favorite Sherlock was always Basil Rathbone, though I did enjoy Jeremy Brett in the PBS series a while back as well. He was probably closer to the literary character than Rathbone - but for me, Brett was just a bit too arrogant - while Rathbone had that just right aura of self-importance. And Nigel Bruce was just the most delightful Doctor Watson - the perfect blend of intelligent doctor, and blind as a bat buffoon who always made Sherlock Holmes seem even more astute in his observations. Anyway - I hope to take the advice of my girls and check out the new film. I have always been a fan of Robert Downey jr - who judging by the stories in the news, he would make a wonderful Sherlock.

But - if you are like me, you still have a huge spot in your heart for the old B&W Sherlock Holmes movies starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce. And here at LikeTelevision - we have a bunch of the best Sherlock Holmes movies from that era. One of my favorites is called Secret Weapon, where Sherlock is fighting the Nazis to save a very secret weapon developed by a foreign scientist behind enemy lines. Sherlock must figure out a way to bring the hi-tech bomb sight back to the allies without it being discovered by those nasty Gestapo types in leather trench coats. And of course, the evil Professor Moriarty has allied himself with those nasty Nazi types.

Another Moriarty classic is called The Women in Green. Here Sherlock must not only match wits with the evil genius Moriarty, but also stay cool while being wooed and charmed by a beautiful woman, played by Hilary Brook. And of course, she's a no good stooge working for the evil Moriarty. I wonder if this is where the whole Batman / Cat Woman love weirdness all started. Ahhh... Julie Newmar... but I digress.

PLUS... More classic Sherlock Holmes movies starring Basil Rathbone - Dressed To Kill and Terror By Night. There's a few more Sherlock related videos to - including one starring Popeye the sailor man in Private Eye Popeye, and another cartoon with Mutt and Jeff.

Crazy Brids Come Home

2009-11-18T16:10:00.003-05:00

In case you didn't know - I just love birds. And being a man of passion, when I say I love birds - that means to normal people, I am a bird freak. No kidding. Every day, rain or shine - I go out with a few buckets of all kinds of food, and fill up feeders, scatter some on the ground, replace suet, and even get peanuts and some weird stuff too - cause I just love birds. These little critters bring me so much joy - and by far, they are the best weathermen in the world. (better than Grady Norton or George Carlin, the Hippy Dippy Weatherman). Early in the year, I knew something crazy was up because of the birds, and indeed - it snowed a few inches the next day. Compared to these bird brains, Al Gore knows next to nothing about climate, which is perhaps an inconvenient truth, but true all the same.

So - I thought I would highlight a few of my favorite bird related video clips at LikeTelevision. Bill and Coo is a really bizarre and entertaining movie - starring birds! I mean it is just plain silly. And speaking of bird related comedy - Johnny Carson has a TV classic video with the rooster as a special guest. Speaking of roosters - there's Foghorn Leghorn(sorry, no video for this), or check out this cartoon classic with Herman and Henry. And in case you didn't think birds were political animals - well think again! Watch this WWII classic called the Ducktators. And while we are into cartoons - Talking Magpies introduces the great comedy duo of Heckle and Jeckle. And what about Woody Woodpecker? And a search for Crow has a ton of good stuff too.

This summer - I tried and tried to have a bird eat from my hand. No, not a caged bird - I could never have a bird in a cage, like I said, i Love birds. I wanted a wild bird in the hand, coming to feed on the tons of seed provided every year. While I never achieved my goal this summer - I got so close. There was a family of brown capped nuthatches that would shimmy down a 4x4 pole, and come within and inch of my hand, and then think better of it. It must have happened 50 times - but no luck in actually getting a peanut from my hand. The closest I got was once or twice - one of them would graze my hand as it flew away. Well, the cat made this a lot harder... but sometime soon, I just know it is gonna happen. Or at least I hope so.

Muhammad Ali and the Smothers Brothers

2009-10-22T15:57:00.003-04:00

I just finished watching an interesting clip of Penn Jillette talking about how he was screamed at by Tommy Smothers for going on some stupid news show. Not sure which one, I think it was Glenn Beck on Fox News, but who cares. Let's face it, it does not matter which side of the fence you are on today, you can just flip through the cable channels and have no trouble finding something that is annoying to you. Thank goodness there are so many channels. Just use your remote control - you do not even have to get up.

Anyway - I remembered a really funny clip when the Smothers Brothers were on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and thought it was worth highlighting. Also featured in this short clip is Muhammad Ali and George Foreman, way before he ever got into grilling burgers or chicken. Hope you enjoy it - check out the Smothers Brothers doing a really funny little ditty about what their Daddy's do for a living.

October 13th - Happy Birthday Grandma

2009-10-13T09:01:00.006-04:00

On October 13, 1902, my grandmother was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She was the child of what they used to call, a girl in trouble - meaning Grandma was born out of wedlock, and the father had decided to disappear after having relations with the young teenage girl. And so, because times were much different a century ago, this poor frightened kid had her child and my Grandmother was immediately put up for adoption. Though she never met her mom, I was told she believed she was of Scandinavian decent, probably Finnish. Today I feel blessed to have enjoyed so many wonderful times with my grandmother - she was an amazing woman who went on to do great things. Her biggest gift to the world was not the Ape House at the Milwaukee County Zoo, or the countless donations to charity. In truth, her biggest gift was that she poured out the love in her heart on everyone she met in a way that could only be described as reckless abandon. It didn't matter if you were the fancy pants CEO or the humble maid, or the guy on the Harley Davidson riding in big parade every summer in Milwaukee - she loved them all. And with all of her heart too.

So in honor of this great lady, Frank Random and I created a special video for her on her 100th birthday, which was back in 2002. Having seen it a million times before (video editing, writing the narration, re-purposing the music etc does take a lot of time and effort you know), I decided to just look out at the crowd as they took it in for the first time. The room was filled with over 100 people easy, and I have never seen so many people well up with tears. You see, when you love people like Grandma did over the course of her 100 years of living well, people have no choice to love you in return. God bless you Grandma. I love you too.

Sharon Tate as Janet Trego

2009-09-25T12:46:00.008-04:00

Back when I was a kid growing up in Milwaukee, I loved to watch the Beverly Hillbillies. As a Wisconsin yokel, one could easily relate to the Tennessee hillbillies who were all too often taken as rubes by the hoitey toity of Beverly Hills, California. In truth, all too often, Jed Clampett (Buddy Ebsen) was as wise as old King Solomon. The show was a huge hit, in spite of the supercilious critics who loved to hate the show.

Well, as a young boy (age 6-8 years old) - I loved the episodes with Miss Jane's assistant Janet Trego, played by Sharon Tate. She was really pretty and had a wonderful innocence about her that I found especially appealing. I was way too young to understand all the sexual innuendo jokes and I was a big fan of her white rain helmet hair, a style worn by many of the young women and mothers of the day. And though I did not really know what it meant, I always thought she was really cool. I had no idea who Roman Polanski was or anything, I was just a kid.

And I will never forget the news one day (August 9, 1969) - when I learned that a lady named Sharon Tate, the actress who played Janet Trego on the show, was murdered. And worse - she was very pregnant when it happened, so her soon to be born baby was also killed in the murder. It is hard to describe how awful such things are in the mind of a young boy, but I remember it to this day. And I was a huge fan of The Beatles too, but for a long time, The White album, filled with songs like Helter Skelter and Little Piggies gave me the creeps for several years. Till I was a teenager - and had grown as creepy as the society I lived in. (for a sample of the times, check out Angels as Hard as They Come, Maybe I'll Come home in the Spring, or Born to Win) - Lots of people thought the "new age" of the 1960s with free love (see Harrad Experiment) and all the new way of thinking was really cool, but as a young kid, I am awful glad my parents were squares.

Anyway - Susan Atkins, the woman who killed Sharon Tate died today of cancer. She was 61. That is all the ink she is going to get from me today. Personally, I would rather remember Sharon Tate, and how I thought she was really pretty when I just a seven year old kid. Nothing nasty like so much of today's world. I just thought she was really pretty, and as one often does at that age, I imagined she was also quite a nice person. Of course I never knew her, but I am happy to remember her today.

William Bonney - Billy The Kid

2009-09-09T15:35:00.005-04:00

William Henry Bonney, better known as Billy the Kid was born in New York and as a young boy, moved out west with his family, which was more dysfunctional than most. The history on this man, who died at the young age of 21 is so difficult to unravel because most of what is known about him comes from the sheriff, Pat Garrett who killed him. Garrett's book, The Authentic Life of Billy, the Kid was published after Garrett shot Billy with four other guys after Billy escaped his first arrest by Garrett by killing four guys on the break-out. Garrett completely sensationalized the young gunslinger punk and made him out to be a legend, when in fact he was much closer to a nobody, than a somebody in the Wild Wild West. He was more likely from the Mild, Mild West.

And then there's that weird picture which a actually a mirror image of the young outlaw. (here's an even bigger photo of Billy the Kid, who knew there was a color version available?)

Hollywood, as is often the case, made history even weirder. The first big movie about Billy the Kid was a result of Howard Hughes having the hots for Jane Russell. She started in the film, The Outlaw as a sympathetic young girl who was in love with Billy. In an effort to boost publicity, Hughes aircraft engineered a special cantilevered bra for Ms. Russel's ample bosom and provided promo 8x10 glossies of Jane Russell to the newspapers with more cleavage than all the Leave it Beaver episodes combined. She wore one of those floppy peasant girl blouses that have come back in and out of style since time began. As you might expect - the press was outraged, and huge lines formed outside theaters for a simply dreadful movie - just the kind we often like to feature at LikeTelevision. The movie just begs for a mystery science theater treatment.

Wanna get weirder? Well how about Billy the Kid versus Dracula? Huh? yes, John Carradine as Dracula no less. And the film even features Mrs. Olsen, of Folgers coffee fame as a concerned mother - who makes no java for anyone. As I recall, she does die near the mountain grown area, where the flavor of coffee beans is richest. And while the authorities searched for Juan Valdez, the real killer was of course, Carradine. Got it?

September 1, 1939 - WWII Begins

2009-09-01T11:15:00.003-04:00

On September 1, 1939 - World War II begins as Germany invades Poland. Hard to believe it was only 70 years ago, when the 2nd war to end all wars did not end all wars after all. I mean, my dad is older than that, and I don't consider him to be that old - so in truth, it is not really that long ago after all. As a simple search for WII reveals - there's a lot of movies, tv shows and even cartoons related to World War Two, so we thought it best to highlight some of the best content to watch and save some precious time for our cherished viewers.

For movies - we recommend Roberto Rossellini's Open City, Escape From Sobibor, Forbidden Games and Orson Welles' The Third Man. There are also a bunch of WWII movie documentaries that are quite good but we thought it best to create another short list as there are a bunch to sift through. The top three would probably include - The Battle of Britain, December 7, 1941 and The Battle of Midway, with War Comes to America and The Secret Life of Adolph Hitler as honorable mentions.

In the TV Shows related to World War II, our top picks include - 3 episodes of One Step Beyond, Dream, Emergency Only and Prisoner.

In the cartoon category - we'd like to suggest, Scrap Happy Daffy, The Ductators and Superman in Eleventh Hour. In all honesty - there are a ton of war related cartoons, too many great ones to even list. But allow us to add a few more choice toons to check out. Boom Boom, Superman's Japoteurs (incorrect PC, big time) and Superman's Destruction Inc. Even though it is pre WWII, check out this Popeye classics, I'm in the Army Now. Okay - that should keep you busy for a while. And don't forget to Buy US Bonds.

Facebook - Days of The Primordial Ooze

2009-08-21T12:36:00.003-04:00

Whoa - I was able to impress my kids. As any parent knows, or shall I say, a parent who is more interested in being a good parent than a good friend to their children, this is rare air. And for about 5-10 seconds, the duration of their being impressed, I took a deep breath and held it in as long as I could. ahhhhhhh. Exhale.

Here's what impressed them. I told them, girls - your dad was on Facebook over a decade before the founder was born. Incredulous, no way Daddy. Yes... Way! I was able to pull some information from the Wikipedia entry on Mark Zuckerberg, and as we all know - Wikipedia is just like the internet. It is all true (haha). Then I highlighted this part of his bio:

The idea for Facebook came from his days at Phillips Exeter Academy which, like most colleges and prep schools, had a long-standing tradition of publishing an annual student directory with headshot photos of all students, faculty and staff known as the "Facebook".

The truth is, when this old dinosaur went to school at PEA, the Exeter address book was a somewhat new idea. Printing costs had come down, and the concept of an in school address book became a reasonable idea. Thanks to my buddy Whit from Dunbar, I saw this primordial homepage of Facebook from 1974-75 (pic). Back then, we called this - a cover, not a homepage, but that is just semantics. And much to my surprise, whoa - my brother was on the homepage of facebook! And in case you were wondering, my blessed little offspring of nematodes - back then computers looked like this. The year I was born, Jack Kilby and Robert Noyce invented a really fancy thing called an integrated circuit. Noyce founded Intel - which was a new company in 1968. Here's a one minute video history lesson of modern computers- I am certain will leave you laughing, especially that super nifty GPS Garmin wanna be thing in the car.

And once again, thanks to my buddy Whit - I was able to prove my claim, that I was on Facebook well over a decade before the founder Mark Zuckerberg was born. I mean, even to kids today - a picture is worth over a thousand words. Sorry about the focus, but Whit just snapped a quick photo with his cell and uploaded to Facebook using an application in his phone. So my dear, sweet, precious children - I am getting old, and still have every intention of living long enough to be a burden to you... but I ain't THAT olde... yet.

Hurricane Season History

2009-08-20T10:54:00.003-04:00

Even with all the modern updates, we still get slammed by hurricanes from time to time. But it was not that long ago, when there was no warning system at all. The beach could be filled with tourists or locals, the weather gets a little overcast and folks would go about their business as if nothing was out of the ordinary. And then - WHAM. Out of nowhere, a category 4 or category 5 hurricane would blow in and lead to not only massive destruction of property, but also many many thousands casualties.

And, you can thank a guy named Grady Norton, a weather guy pioneer from Miami who worked to create many of the safety features we take for granted today.

Check out this cool episode of a show called Man Behind the Badge for a half hour TV dramatization of Grady Norton and the way they used to try and predict Hurricanes. Pretty interesting, we have come a long way over the last 60 years.

In this show, Grady Norton is played by an actor named Milburn Stone.

In the real world, Grady Norton looked like much more of a mild mannered science nerd.

And here we are in late August 2009. Hurricane Bill has just been upgraded to a category 4. Hmmm, something tells me that old Marvelettes song might come into play. You remember the song - Don't mess with Bill. Here's the latest Bill updates from the National Hurricane Center at NOAA.

Back to Olde School Special

2009-08-19T13:16:00.003-04:00

As a child born in the 1950s, I have been having this weird deja-vu experience, wondering to myself if I am in some kind of time warp or something. Growing up as a kid in the 1960s made the whole "revolution thing" kinda weird. I was very young, and actually was innocent too - which is nothing remarkable for children below the age of ten. So people doing drugs, experimenting with free love, and all the peace, love beautiful experience was at best, admirable yet quirky and at worst, gross and creepy. (see Born to Win Trailer for further clarification). And as I listen to people talk on TV about current politics - sorry - but it all has a familiar ring to it. Nice in theory, but people are still those pesky human creatures in spite of the best altruistic intentions. (Despotism or Democracy? provides an interesting angle on this).

To further clarify the point I am trying to make - check out a few movies from back in the 1970s that in retrospect seem downright idiotic. First up - The Harrad Experiment, featuring Tippi Hedron and Don Johnson, the film was all about free love and the desire to express our sexuality without the hassles of marriage - which really just made "us possessive and jealous in our expressions of love". Yeah - just fine thinking - unless you are a child of divorce. From that perspective, it just seems like you have self-absorbed parents who should have been more concerned about the kids "needs" than their own. It gets weird. Don Johnson is a student at Harrad College, where the kids are schooled in free love. Don wants to have sexual relations with a teacher, Tippi Hedron - who undresses herself to try and scare him away. Like I said - weird. Want weirder? In the real world - years later, Don Johnson would marry Melanie Griffith - who was Tippi Hedron's daughter. And don't fret about difficulty at holiday gatherings. They got divorced.

Now before you start thinking I am some kind of Joe Friday, you know, a square who works for "the man" type - rest assured I went through the teenage experience with unbridled passion for hippies, peace, love and all kinds of anti-capitalist ideology. At Duke, I took classes in Socialism and Communism, thinking it was a potential answer to the problems of the world. Jimi Hendrix was my favorite musician, I had an oversized libido (see Guido's Libido) like everyone else, and I might very well have tried a few pharmaceuticals that were not prescribed by my attending physician.

You see, from my befuddled perspective - both sides have a point, but it does no good when nobody is listening. For example - sexuality is a wonderful blessing and gift, and I love children - but is it right that I am subjected to old people in bathtubs musing about hooking up while trying to watch tv with my young daughter. Sorry - make it go away - please. And how could you do that do an Elvis movie about Vegas? Stop it.

And for those who have no recourse but to call people who disagree with them racists - go check out a few movie blasts from the past. The Klansman, is a really creepy, annoying, contrived, preachy film reduced to silliness. And then the real world makes it even weirder. The film features a scene where Linda Evans is raped by O.J. Simpson, who later tries to escape while holding a knife to Richard Burton's throat. The getaway car? - oh my, would you believe it is a Ford Bronco. I believe Martin Luther King's dream (see some MLK video snippets from the I Have a dream speech) - and the Bob Marley song, War - where he wished for a day when the color of a man's skin was of no more significance than the color of his eyes. And I like this dream, and I share in Dr. King's hope that is becomes reality. But calling people racist because they disagree with another man's views who has a different skin color - belittles the indelible images in my brain, of defenseless Black people getting slammed by blasting water from firehouses in a peaceful protest. It cheapens the courage of Rosa Parks, it makes light of a hard and long battle fought by your grandparents and their grandparents before them.

And war is wrong and terrible. (Grand Illusion, Forbidden Games, search for War) No two ways around it. Yet sometimes - a good man must fight to defend the rights of his family and children. Don't buy that? Watch Escape From Sobibor and convince yourself that good men should do nothing. It is not so easy as black and white.

In conclusion - I wish we would spend more time listening to another person's views, rather than shouting louder with this week's talking points. In most cases - both sides have valid things to say, that are heartfelt and true. And as Flannery O'Connor once said - The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it.

And if this is way too serious - let me say, fine with me. I would rather laugh watching some early George Carlin doing the Hippy Dippy Weatherman.

Maximilian Kolbe - August 14th

2009-08-14T12:51:00.005-04:00

Each year on August 14 - there's a celebration and memorial of a wonderful man you probably never even heard of. His name was Maximilian Kolbe and he was a Catholic priest in Poland during World War II. During the war, Catholic priests were marked for death by the nazis, and Max was no exception to this rule. But Max was exceptionally wicked as far as any nazi was concerned. His crimes also included trying to harbor Jews and to try and get them out safely. But that is not why he is honored today.

He lived a very good life as a priest - a Franciscan, ordained in Rome, and did much more in his life - but he is honored not so much for his life, but for his heroic death. The nazis sent him to Auschwitz, and someone tried to escape. The punishment for this included not only death for the prisoner trying to escape, but the nazis decided that someone else must be killed as well - just to make the point that escaping was not a good idea. When a father of several children was selected to be killed and tortured for the escape - Fr. Max Kolbe asked to be killed and tortured in his place, telling the guards - he had no family - so please take me instead. And he was brutally tortured, and finally died from the torture. And Fr. Kolbe knew what was coming, yet he still chose to volunteer his life for the young father of several children.

The Catholic church at first was a bit perplexed as to whether or not to honor Max Kolbe as a martyr - because he volunteered to die. But, in the end he was designated as a martyr, specifically, a martyr of charity. Years later, when the church was planning to beatify Kolbe as a saint - the father whose life was spared many years before - spent most of his life's savings to attend the ceremony.

To honor Max Kolbe today - we thought we'd suggest a powerful movie in the movie library you might have missed. Escape from Sobibor, starring Alan Arkin, Rutger Hauer, and Joana Pacula - tells the story of the most successful escape from a concentration camp in Poland during World War II. Yep - another great story you probably never heard about. If time allows - check it out, it is a great film, and an even better story.

Beer Summit - The Conference at Malta

2009-07-30T15:10:00.010-04:00

Time for a beer summit of our own at LikeTelevision - yep, it looks like the time is right - it just turned beer thirty. And today we have an incredible cast of characters joining us today. PLUS this lovely portrait taken by an olde artist at a beer session with a dog - be careful not to tip the Cold Nukie lil fella!

Our dear chum - W.C. Fields starts off the tap with - A Fatal Glass of Beer. Now, no worries as Mr. Fields has been dead for some time now. Not sure - I think Mae West might have devoured him a few decades back after she objected to being called a chickadee.

And sorry folks - ain't no way we are going with a Budweiser. Not gonna happen - sheesh, it is made outta rice and this is a beer summit, not a Saki Session with Sushi. And we are not really that interested in Blue Moon or a Red Stripe either, though we have always been big fans of Jamaica, especially the Sunsplash Music Festival in late summer in honor of Bob Marley. For our taste - we prefer a cool Newcastle, a Bass Ale and if we want something light - few brewskis top the PBR, or Pabst Blue Ribbon to the uninitiated.

But - lest we forget, we are olde school here - so let's get some top picks from back in the day. Well - Colt 45 (Skydiving) or Colt 45 (Surfing) has got to be way up near the top. Besides having some awesome commercials, it tasted pretty good and believe it or not, we were in a band that had a slight twist on the name. The band was called Cult 45 - and was known for the ridiculous album cover (Will design web pages for beer). The top radio cuts off the vinyl were Popemobile and Turn Me on Dead Man. Now before you get your opus dei cilice all tangled up in your panties, another name in NASCAR for new tires is Virgin Rubber and we are from the south, where people actually like shrimp with grits.... so Chill Ace. You will have to listen to Popemobile to understand what the heck I am talking about.

And to wrap it up - one of our favorite beer commercials from back in the sweet days of gentle women happy to go get us guys a beer while we relaxed in the hammock --- ahhh. Was it so long ago. I do miss the days when women were actually less ambitious and obnoxious as men - but that was then and this is now. Remember back with this Carling Black Label beer classic.

Old School Horror Movies

2009-07-24T12:26:00.002-04:00

Back when I was a kid, we'd watch scary movies at the local theater or on Shock Theater, which came on every Saturday at 2 PM. This was a great way to spend some time. Sure, most of the movies were pretty schlock-y, and not really that scary - but that was part of the fun. Back then, two of the greats in the horror movie genre were Vincent Price and Roger Corman. And sometimes, the two collaborated and this combination was almost always a treat for the avid fan. We decided to highlight one of the best for the upcoming weekend - but first, we thought we should offer a few older classics you might have missed.

If you have never seem The Last Man on Earth or Theater of Blood, you are missing two of Vincent Price's best films. Please, take the time and see the horror master at the peak of his long and storied career. Another film also seems timely - given all the yammering about health care reform. Check out Shock, for a view of old school health care horror stories. HA!

As for Roger Corman, you really have to check out Little Shop of Horrors and Bucket of Blood, both of which offer fun stories and also a great snapshot of the era when they were filmed. Bucket of Blood is especially fun, with the beatnik poet lounge where people are all pretentious about their art. LikeTelevision offers many more Roger Corman films too. Personally, I am a big fan of all his work. He was the master of making a film with almost money to do so.

And now for the weekend featured film - Tales of Terror. A cool old school horror classic featuring a collaboration of Roger Corman working with Vincent Price, serving up three short stories from the master of scary prose, Edgar Allen Poe. No, you are going to loads of severed limbs or have your senses assaulted by bloody body parts. This old school scary, which asks you to have a little imagination. Think you can handle it? I hope so. Enjoy the show.

Man on the Moon Videos

2009-07-20T13:56:00.003-04:00

I remember July 20, 1969 quite well. I was nine years old at the time, and was woken up in the middle of the night by my dad to watch something historic. I had no idea what historic meant, but I was old enough to understand that some men landing on the moon was pretty amazing. The TV picture was really grainy, even for the TVs of the day which were quite prehistoric compared to today's models. Heck, we often used tin foil on the rabbit ears (the antennae) to try and get better reception. We watched it on a big RCA color tv and it was the only tv in the house that worked well. HA - times sure have changed huh? Check out the newsreel video of the moon landing and imagine for a minute what that day was like for kids all over the world.

To mark this historic day - we thought you might enjoy a few classic movies and tv shows related to the moon, space travel, and aliens. First up - check out the classic serial, Radar Men From the Moon starring Clayton Moore, best known for his role as the Lone Ranger. In this serial, he plays a thug for the evil radar men from the moon. It is really funny, but in the day, it was actually supposed to be scary. Another classic on space travel is The First Spaceship to Venus. Again, this is funny, though it was not supposed to be. Speaking of Venus, check out this music video from the great Unknown Hinson called Venus Bound. Want more - no problem. Check out Planet Outlaws, starring Buster Crabb and Killer from Space is awesome! It stars Peter Graves and a bunch of aliens with ping pong ball eyes. If you are looking for something a little more modern, we would suggest Brother from Another Planet and a Peter Jackson alien classic called Bad Taste.

And from the classic tv channel - please check out the Burns and Allen episode titled Space Patrol Girls. FUNNY STUFF! There's also a few Flash Gordon tv shows to review, our top pick is Akim the Terrible. If you enjoy all things weird as much as we do - check out this old cheerios V-8 tv commercial offering a free spaceship game with your box of cherios. And oh yeah, have a V-8 with that too. and speaking of tv commercials - yep, there was an astronaut doll for young boys named Major Matt Mason. And let's not forget Santa Claus Conquers the Martians.

There is so much space related video at LikeTelevision, honestly there's not enough time to write about all of it - just search for space and you will busy for hours. Or search for moon. And when that gets old, try a search for aliens for even more movies and tv shows from the great beyond.

Baseball Back in the Day

2009-07-14T11:55:00.003-04:00

As the baseball season takes a mid-season break for the All-Star game, we thought it would be fun to highlight some great baseball related video content from back in the day. You know, those glorious days before steroids, multimillion dollar contracts and those pesky agents, the era when baseball really was our National Pastime. The bygone days of Lou Gehrig, and Babe Ruth, and Joe Dimaggio and cheap seats. So break out your weber grill, soak a few brats in beer, and enjoy the big show.

If you are looking for drama, meaning cool stories that are very enjoyable but not funny, then watch a free online movie like The Jackie Robinson Story, Paul Newman in Bang the Drum Slowly, and The Lou Gehrig Story. Also an interesting movie, though not really about baseball per se is The Marilyn Monroe Story - which features some interesting footage of The Yankee Clipper, Jolting Joe Dimaggio. And here's a short news clip about the day when Joe Dimaggio married Marilyn Monroe.

If humor is more what you are looking for - check out the Clampetts vs. The Dodgers. Leo Durocher of the L.A. Dodgers plays himself, and he's very impressed with Jethro's throwing arm. Hidden in the You Asked for It video archive is an episode featuring Max Patkin, the clown prince of baseball. Though you might not have heard of him, back in the day - Max was a legend. LikeTelevision's video library also offers a few choice baseball related TV commercials - 1) Baseball & Razor Blades, features some big stars from days gone by selling razors. Baseball greats like Pee Reese, Roy Campenella and yes, even Don Zimmer as a young guy - way before the day a few years back when he got slammed to the ground as an old guy by Pedro Martinez in the American League Championship game in 2003. 2) A 1960s Coke commercial featuring the great Willie Mays taking a big chug of Coke. Yeah - back in the days when Coke was just a soft drink.

Need more baseball video content? Just search for Baseball. So - if the All-Star Game tonight gets boring, by all means come by and watch some classic content from the glory days of Baseball.

Happy Birthday Nikola Tesla

2009-07-10T12:45:00.002-04:00

July 10, 1856 - Nikola Tesla was born in Vojna Krajina, which is now part of Croatia. Tesla was probably the greatest inventor, scientist and electrical engineer of his day, if not of all time, though because he was a decent, honest and eccentric fellow, I regret most people hardly even know of him. But you can thank Tesla every time you plug something into your wall socket, turn on a radio, and use a little electricity. You can learn more about his life at the Tesla Society, Wikipedia, or of course, Google. Yeah - you know Tesla has coils, but did you know Tesla also has a cool car named after him? Or, that LikeTelevision named their first server after Tesla?

To honor our hero today on his birthday - we thought we'd highlight some cool videos that were inspired by Nikola Tesla's genius. First - check out a few classic Superman episodes - Electronic Earthquake and Magnetic Telescope. Both these terrific cartoons feature some mondo electronic gear inspired by Tesla's ideas. For a vintage look at some Tesla Coils - you can check out Fritz Lang's Metropolis, or the hilarious old serial called the Lost City.

If you asked most people in the US - who gave us electricity?, most would answer Thomas Edison. In truth - Edison almost killed it for all of us. Of course it took a lot of people to make it happen, but if you had to credit just one guy, that man would most surely be - Nikola Tesla. Happy Birthday Mr. Tesla!!

Happy Birthday Helen Keller

2009-06-26T10:43:00.005-04:00

On June 27, 1880 Helen Keller was born as a normal kid in Alabama - but due to an illness at 19 months, that was probably either scarlet fever or meningitis, she was left without the ability to see or to hear, and yet she lived one of the most amazing lives in the course of human history. As a young child, she was befriended by Martha Washington the 6 year old daughter of the family cook , who was crucial in the journey of Helen's life that allowed her to transcend the darkness of being blind, deaf, and unable to speak. We all know the name of Anne Sullivan, but no one seems to remember this lovely six year old child - so I will mention her name again - Martha Washington. As is often the case, people forget how important kids can be to others in life and it is never too early to start being a good person. Martha's friendship with Helen helped her to create a very simple sign language that allowed her to communicate with her family, and it seems pretty obvious that this played a vital role in Helen's life in years to come.

Helen's parents worked hard to do all they could to help Helen - searching for the right doctors, a visit to Alexander Graham Bell who was working with deaf children, and finally at age seven, Anne Sullivan came to the Keller house to help Helen learn how to communicate. Anne Sullivan, a young 20 year old who was also visually impaired, worked hard to teach Helen how to communicate by spelling words with her hand - simple formations that represented each letter of the alphabet. The big breakthrough came was Helen was able to spell the word - water, which was brilliantly portrayed in the movie - The Miracle Worker, starring Anne Bancroft as Anne Sullivan and Patty Duke as Helen.

Helen would go on to be the first blind deaf person to earn a college. She attended Radcliffe, which at the time was the "girl" sister school of Harvard. Many many more accomplishments were in store for Helen in her life, some of which are chronicled in the newsreel footage below. (from This day in History - June 1, the day Helen Keller died in 1968).

But for me, her life's story is really the amazing part - in addition to some of the wonderful quotes she had regarding life. She was a very wise woman, having learned a great deal early in life, about how to live. I will leave you with just a few of my Helen Keller quotes. Think about these, next time you consider being such a fool, as to offer a Helen Keller joke. The joke is on you if your heart becomes so cold.

Life is an exciting business, and most exciting when it is lived for others. Helen Keller

Faith is the strength by which a shattered world shall emerge into the light. Helen Keller

Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. The fearful are caught as often as the bold. Helen Keller

It is a terrible thing to see and have no vision. Helen Keller

Many more terrific Helen Keller quotes can be found here. Better still - check out Helen Keller's book - The Story of My Life - online at Project Gutenberg.

June Weddings Video Archive

2009-06-16T15:22:00.005-04:00

Well - it's June again, and June is the month jam packed full of weddings. I will be out for the rest of the week in New York for a super duper, mondo NY wedding. So, in honor of this celebration of love - let me put offer a few suggestions of our best wedding related video content. Royal Wedding with Fred Astaire, Jane Powell and Peter Lawford is a classic - it's the movie where Fred dances on the walls and the ceiling, created in a special room that could rotate slightly with the best dancer of all time. And who could forget - Mountain Wedding, with Ernest T. Bass, Barney Fife dressed in a bride outfit and some killer jug band bluegrass with the Dillards. Need more? Check out the Woody Allen special for a vintage wedding musical classic, and if animation is your bag, look no further than Popeye in Bride and Gloom. PLUS some archive footage of Princess Grace Kelly at her wedding, Prince Charles and Lady Di, Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor and much more. Just search for wedding and watch till your eyes get tired.

D-Day Remebered

2009-06-06T16:17:00.003-04:00

While most of our users are pretty young, some of them are old enough to remember June 6, 1941 with the proper respect and the cost of the freedom we enjoy today. It is a price measured in blood and tears. I encourage our younger users to give up 60 seconds - and to watch this short video clip remembering the sacrifices of D-Day. LikeTelevision would like to thank you for what you went through. We give you respect and honor your place in history. With a humble heart, and great admiration - thanks.

Quai Chang & Koko

2009-06-05T13:32:00.003-04:00

Yesterday was an especially tough day - as the world lost David Carradine and Koko Taylor, no relation to sheriff Andy Taylor. When i was a young wild man in my late teens, I had the chance to see Koko Taylor in a small bar in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, playing with a terrific back-up band called The Blues Machine. I remember the show like it was yesterday, and anyone who had the chance to see Koko Taylor perform live knows exactly why. She sang with such a passion it was unforgettable. Life changing, somebody get my jaw off the floor, WOW !!! Honestly, I never even knew people had that kind of passion within them until I saw Koko Taylor perform. She came on at 11pm and played ON FIRE - for over 4 hours. She was sweating like an Alabama work crew in 100 degree weather, and she was just one person. Honestly - sweat was literally flying off of her into the crowd, and not only did you not mind, you felt blessed by Holy Water. WOW !!! It was beyond anything Rod Serling of Twilight Zone could even imagine. She sang her brains out, and her heart out, and every cell of her body just screamed... YEAH! How do like that! If there was any doubt that Rock 'n Roll heaven has a hell of band... doubt no more.

And when I was a kid, I will always remember waiting all day Wednesday for Kung Fu to come on. There were so many amazing episodes - my favorites included the one where the the bad guy wanted a gold chalice from the poor Catholic church and attacked grasshopper with some massive chains. And the one with a 18 or 19 year old Don Johnson as an American Indian was also very memorable. I think my favorite was the episode featuring a very young Jodie Foster whose name was Alethia, which Quai Chang told her meant truth. One of those - perception is reality things going on, and she had to tell the truth. And her truth was based on her angle of vision, where it sure looked like grasshopper shot a guy. Anyway, it was very sad to hear of his death and worse, the circumstances surrounding his death. If you are a David Carradine fan - check out this bizarre 1970s classic preachy movie called Maybe I'll Come in the Spring, and learn why the hippy dippy generation was such a load of crappola. Like peace, love and wow man, I got no money - let me steal some tacos (watch it, it'll make sense). But, that said - well the George Carlin as the Hippy Dippy Weatherman was awesome! We also offer a bunch of movies with David Carradine's famous thesbian father - John Carradine.

Sara Takes a Dive

2009-06-02T20:19:00.007-04:00

On Sunday - May 31st, my dear friend Sara and I felt compelled to jump out of a plane with no parachute. Yes - we obviously survived, this is Wednesday after all. For me, this was my third trip to Skydive Carolina(1-800-SKYDIVE) and once again, B.B. King was nowhere to be found - the thrill is NOT gone. (for a trip down memory lane, see Jump 1.0 and Jump 2.0)

At some point - I will add this video to the video database, but right now we are slammed like a pizza delivery kid on Friday night. Soon come, as they say in Jamaica.