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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Dec 5, 2021 19:32:19 GMT
R.I.P. Robert Joseph "Bob" Dole (July 22, 1923 - December 5, 2021), an attorney, World War II veteran (received two Purple Hearts and the Bronze Star), Representative, Senator, and recipient of the Presidential Medal Of Freedom.
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Post by Kapitan on Dec 6, 2021 13:25:58 GMT
Dole was a key national figure during my coming of age. A prominent senator, of course, to the point that he was caricatured by Norm Macdonald on Saturday Night Live. A presidential candidate during the first election in which I was of legal voting age. And then of course simultaneously both a respected elder statesman and a Viagra spokesman!
One of my strongest memories of him is how awkward he seemed in the debates leading up to the '96 election when his closing remarks included something like "to learn more, go to my internet web site at double-you, double-you, double-you, Bob Dole-dot-com." It wasn't exactly what he said (though I do vaguely recall he might have phrased it strangely), but how he said it: it seemed he had no idea what the words coming out of his mouth might actually mean. And yet it makes sense: I heard on the radio this morning that he first entered the House the same year John F. Kennedy took the presidency. His was not the internet era!
But another thing I think of with Dole is how during that election, and through that era, he (and others) made a point of insisting he could reach across the aisle to get things done. He differed from Clinton, sure, but it wasn't the kind of polar opposite situation we have now, where if Candidate A says "up," Candidate B will say "down" without the slightest hesitation. I truly appreciate and miss the idea of the objective being coming together in the end, even though realistically it wasn't as if people rushed to compromise; at least they tried to win over the other side's voters. Now insulting the other side's voters seems more the norm. "If you're not on my side, you're an evil moron. And if you're not sure? Well, you don't want to be an evil moron, do you?" From roughly the Tea Party era (e.g. just after Obama's first win) through the present, it seems that has been our national, and increasingly more regional and local, politics. It's good for clicks, good for ratings, good for building team spirit/identity, and very very bad for the people of this country.
RIP to Sen. Dole.
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Post by carllove on Dec 31, 2021 20:21:03 GMT
Oh No! Betty White has passed away at 99! I was so looking forward to her birthday celebration in January. 😢
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Dec 31, 2021 20:37:56 GMT
What a career! What a life! Yes, I thought for sure we'd be celebrating Betty's 100th birthday in another couple of weeks. However, she hasn't been in public for awhile so I thought her health might've been...declining. It seemed like every TV show Betty appeared on turned to gold. My first recollections of Betty on TV go back to her days on Password, hosted by her husband, Allen Ludden. R.I.P. Betty.
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Post by carllove on Dec 31, 2021 20:44:45 GMT
Betty White never remarried after Allen Ludden’s untimely passing. Now, I’d like to think they are reunited.
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Post by The Cincinnati Kid on Jan 7, 2022 15:58:39 GMT
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Jan 8, 2022 13:58:51 GMT
I was a fan of some of Sidney Poitier's movies, especially Guess Who's Coming To Dinner and In The Heat Of The Night. I recently saw a movie with Sidney and Bobby Darin, Pressure Point. Darin is outstanding as a prisoner/Nazi sympathizer. I also liked one of Sidney's last movies, The Jackal, with Bruce Willis and Richard Gere, though Sidney's role was a supporting one. R.I.P. Sidney Poitier.
One of my favorite Sidney Poitier scenes, from Guess Who's Coming To Dinner:
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Post by The Cincinnati Kid on Jan 10, 2022 1:19:52 GMT
RIP Bob Saget. This was an unexpected one.
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Post by Kapitan on Jan 10, 2022 1:22:12 GMT
RIP Bob Saget. This was an unexpected one. Just 65 years old. Found dead in a Florida hotel room, where he had been doing standup.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Jan 10, 2022 1:27:43 GMT
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Post by Kapitan on Jan 21, 2022 16:13:25 GMT
His stand-up was from another era, in my opinion very funny but not at all the kind of edgy routines that dominated the art after the likes of Carlin Pryor, and Murphy. It was clean and thus seemed of earlier days. Very few people were funnier about childhood, parents, and family relationships.
If you haven't seen him in the Zach Galifinakis series Baskets, I strongly recommend it. He played Christine Baskets, mother of Galifinakis--a character he said was basically him doing an imitation of his own mother--and was absolutely brilliant in it. It is available on Hulu, at least.
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Post by kds on Jan 21, 2022 18:02:22 GMT
His stand-up was from another era, in my opinion very funny but not at all the kind of edgy routines that dominated the art after the likes of Carlin Pryor, and Murphy. It was clean and thus seemed of earlier days. Very few people were funnier about childhood, parents, and family relationships.
If you haven't seen him in the Zach Galifinakis series Baskets, I strongly recommend it. He played Christine Baskets, mother of Galifinakis--a character he said was basically him doing an imitation of his own mother--and was absolutely brilliant in it. It is available on Hulu, at least.
I didn't know he was from Minnesota. Based on his Saturday morning cartoon - Life with Louie - I thought he was from Wisconsin.
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Post by Kapitan on Jan 21, 2022 18:06:32 GMT
His stand-up was from another era, in my opinion very funny but not at all the kind of edgy routines that dominated the art after the likes of Carlin Pryor, and Murphy. It was clean and thus seemed of earlier days. Very few people were funnier about childhood, parents, and family relationships.
If you haven't seen him in the Zach Galifinakis series Baskets, I strongly recommend it. He played Christine Baskets, mother of Galifinakis--a character he said was basically him doing an imitation of his own mother--and was absolutely brilliant in it. It is available on Hulu, at least.
I didn't know he was from Minnesota. Based on his Saturday morning cartoon - Life with Louie - I thought he was from Wisconsin. Born and raised in St. Paul, which to be fair is less than half an hour's drive from the Wisconsin border, depending on where you are in the city.
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Post by kds on Jan 21, 2022 18:11:14 GMT
I didn't know he was from Minnesota. Based on his Saturday morning cartoon - Life with Louie - I thought he was from Wisconsin. Born and raised in St. Paul, which to be fair is less than half an hour's drive from the Wisconsin border, depending on where you are in the city. Gotcha. I think I made the WI association because of the episode where Louie and his Dad went to Lambeau Field to see the Packers.
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Post by Kapitan on Jan 21, 2022 19:50:19 GMT
Maybe I'm just corny, but I've had this running in the background while I'm working and I keep cracking up. Airports, potluck dinners, cars not starting in winter ... like I said, it's another era (and it was even in the 80s, the time of Andrew Dice Clay and Eddie Murphy's dominance).
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