Friday, May 20, 2011

Rant #509: Let Me Get This Out Before the World Ends









The world is ending on Saturday, May 21.

Or so claim numerous doomsayers, who predict that the world will end because, well, we deserve it.

So I better get in a lot of stuff that I wanted to say and do during the next 24 hours.

Otherwise, I might not have time.

So here goes:

Back to 1967 Borders?: Sorry, I don't buy President Obama's new stance about Israel going back to the borders that were established before the Six-Day War. If he really believes that, perhaps our own country should give back Texas and other states in that area to Mexico that we won in war. And his decision won't placate the Palestinians. They want their own state, and the annihilation of Israel, not necessarily in that order.

Active Hurricane Season Forecast: Heck, they've predicted active seasons since Katrina in 2005. Why should this year be any different? Twelve to 18 tropical storms are expected to hit the eastern U.S., with about half of them turning into hurricanes, say the supposed experts on this area. Phooey! I don't believe a word of it.

Playboy Launches Online Site Offering All of Its Magazines: Yes, that's true, for a fee ($8 a month, $60 for a year), you can now access all of the issues of Playboy--every breast and all the rest--from 1954 to the present. That includes the articles, which, of course, is the reason the magazine has been so successful for so long. To me, that is nice, but after you find what you want, are you really going to want to ante up the cash on a regular basis?

Big Day in the History of Flight: Today happens to mark the anniversary of several touchstones in the history of flight. In 1927, Charles Lindbergh took off from Roosevelt Field on Long Island aboard the Spirit of St. Louis on his historic flight to France. Five years later, in 1932, Amelia Earhart took off from Newfoundland to become the first woman to fly across the Atlantic solo. And finally, in 1939, regular transatlantic mail service began as Pan Am's Yankee Clipper took off from Port Washington, Long Island on its trip to France. I wonder if both Lindbergh and Earhart had to remove their shoes before being able to board their planes, and was there any powder in those envelopes that went from Long Island to France?

Couric Ends Runs As Nightly CBS News Anchor: And I have to say I am sorry to see her go. I was a doubter when she took over the anchor's chair of the CBS Evening News five years ago, but I grew to really like her. Even though the show faltered right from the get-go in the ratings, it was nice to come home to work and hear and watch her handle the news. I found her to be more focused than I thought she was, and yes, I also found her to be quite fetching, too, a clear difference from the all-male fraternity who have filled the nighttime news slots for ages. Too bad most people felt differently than I did.

Hart Tapes Final Broadcast: Along the same lines, Entertainment Tonight co-anchor Mary Hart taped her final broadcast last night, just about 30 years after she took over that seat from original female anchor Dixie Whatley. It has been a terrific run for her, but the show has been absolutely terrible for about the past decade or so. It has lost its focus, becoming nothing more than a smooze-fest, making it into a snooze-fest for me. Hart is better than that, and she is leaving at the right time.

3D Titanic: And since we are all going to hell anyway, why not go to hell with dozens of passengers of the Titanic--in 3D! Yes, all the death and destruction of that real-life disaster will be displayed in 3D on April 12, 2012--that is, if we all last that long. The 1997 blockbuster film is being worked on right now. The re-release coincides with the 100th anniversary of the day the ship set sail. But in 3D? I don't know, but it might be interesting to see Kate Winslet naked in 3D--that might make it all worthwhile.

But again, we are also supposed to perish tomorrow, so we probably won't be around for that.

I guess I can go to my grave not having seen Winslet in this manner.

Oh well, see you ... sometime.



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