Maybe we could see an international coalition of America, Canada, Britain, United Nations, European Union, the Slavic states, not including Russia, but also Ukraine stepping up with economic sanctions against Russia and even starting to put together a force from NATO to be deployed, if necessary, to back Ukraine against any Russian invasion of Ukraine. And perhaps Vladimir, seeing this, would know he's better off backing off and getting out of Ukraine because he would be undermanned and underfunded against an international coalition like this.
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
CBS Sports: NFL 1978-NFL Today Complete Episode 11/12/78
Source:The New Democrat
1978 was one of the best NFL seasons of all time, and I believe the National Football League was at its best with rule changes as they relate to blocking and pass defending to equalize the defense and offense so neither side of the ball has an unfair advantage, with blockers now being able to extend their arms to block, which is critical when you are trying to block a 265-270 pound muscle man who probably runs a 4.7 forty. Now the OL has a fair shot at blocking a big man like that based on the rules: the coverage rules on defense, with defensive backs no longer being able to manhandle receivers at the line of scrimmage but at least run their routes even if they are not opened and completely covered.
Monday, March 3, 2014
Marilyn Monroe History: Marilyn Monroe- On The Jack Benny Show (1953)
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| Source:Marilyn Monroe History- Jack and Marilyn, on the Jack Benny Show, in 1953. |
"Marilyn Monroe On The Jack Benny Television Show 1953(full episode) Rare Television Appearance By Marilyn. September 1953."
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| Source:Marilyn Monroe History- Jack and Marilyn on the Jack Benny Show, in 1953. |
From Marilyn Monroe History
There is no better way to kick off the Jack Benny Program than with Marilyn Monroe highlighting her excellent comedic abilities, which includes playing the dumb blonde but doing it intentionally for entertainment. Jack Benny is living out his fantasy with a goddess sent to his cruise ship. He believes he has Marilyn all to himself, whereas he is just having a great dream as he lies in the sun next to a very large woman instead.
Jack did a similar show but with Jayne Mansfield instead of Marilyn. (Speaking of great comedians with a knack for playing the dumb blonde) And Marilyn had other abilities as an entertainer and could play drama well like in the movie Don't Bother To Knock where she plays an ex-mental patient who gets a job babysitting and becomes impatient with the girl she's supposed to be looking after and ends up locking the kid in a room.
But like with Jayne Mansfield, I at least believe Marilyn was a natural comedian and someone who didn't need a script to be funny, because she was funny and and did funny things intentionally and was accustomed to making people laugh when she wanted them to laugh with her and not at her.
She also had a habit of getting people to laugh at her with some of her irresponsible behavior. But she was a natural entertainer and a very good one, as well as a good actress.
Sunday, March 2, 2014
One Minute News: Actor, Writer & Director Harold Ramis Dead At 69
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| Source:The Jerusalem Post- Actor, writer, director, and comedian Harold Ramis. |
Harold Ramis will be missed for his comic writing and acting because he comes from the old school, which is about being funny, but being funny in an intelligent way. Instead of being funny in a clumsy way, telling the fans to look at the klutz, Ramis brought intelligence to his humor that wasn't obvious. You had to think to get it. To me, Harold Ramis was a master of dry wit and humor that wasn't obvious, but definitely noticeable if you paid attention and figured it out.
Harold Ramis's movies were about real people who tended to be bright but were underachievers or slackers who needed inspiration to reach their full potential. The movie Stripes is the perfect example of that, where two lazy wiseass guys sign up for the U.S. Army because they needed something constructive to do. Groundhog Day is another example, where an obnoxious fellow who considers himself superior to the Pittsburgh weathermen gets stuck repeatedly in Groundhog Day and discovers what is really important and how to deal with his colleagues responsibly.
The movie Vacation, perhaps one of the top five comedies of all time, with Chevy Chase, is a perfect example of a middle-class family man who aims to give his family the vacation of their lives. He drives his wife and children from Chicago to Los Angeles to an amusement park called Wally World. He is over his head, with the trip turning into a series of disasters. The dog incident is hilariously brilliant, although theoretically should be sad. Enough said!
Harold Ramis's movies weren't based on klutzy people and his humor wasn't cookie cutter, borrowing lines and humor from other films because supposedly everyone laughs at the same thing. His humor was smart and off the cuff, with a great innovative wit. Harold Ramis would have been a great writer for Saturday Night Live and MASH because he had their type of humor. That is what I'll miss most about him.
Source:One Minute News
Saturday, March 1, 2014
Slate Magazine: Helen Bera: Against Solitary Confinement: States Finding it Impractical As Well As Immoral
Source:The New Democrat
The current use of the process of solitary confinement in U.S. prisons is deplorable. There are no guidelines relating the length of confinement to severity of offense. The process is used at the discretion of onsite officials. This results in wide variations with some cruel and counterproductive results. Indefinite solitary confinement is simply inhumane and can only intensify anti-social tendencies in inmates suffering any psychological disturbance.
Solitary confinement should be used as a punishment that is commensurate with the offense committed and the need to convince the inmate that objectionable behavior is unacceptable. It may provide a needed cooling-off period when there is conflict in the prison population. It should be managed by psychological professionals.
Inmates considered too disturbed to live in the prison population are sometimes subjected to indefinite solitary confinement because the onsite authorities have no other strategy for managing them. This experience only makes them worse and makes the job of dealing with them much more difficult for the prison staff whose professional training is often inadequate. These inmates need to be in prison hospitals where they can do their time and get the mental health care they need. Rotting away in solitary confinement only makes them worse. Cutting them off from the prison world and outside world all together just makes them meaner and angrier and more convinced that they have nothing left to lose. They take that anger out on the first people they see. The really hard to manage inmates, who have consistent records of violently acting out, should be in mental institutions where they can get the help that they need.
A lot of us when we were kids had the experience of being sent to the office for acting out in class and even doing an in-school suspension. The penalty box in a hockey game is an example of what isolation units in prisons should be for the mentally healthy inmates, a place they go for short-term punishment but then they go back to their normal prison life.
Film Society at Lincoln Center: Q&A With Raquel Welch On Myra Breckinridge
Source:The New Democrat
Friday, February 28, 2014
Biography: Jayne Mansfield
To put it simply, Jayne Mansfield was the ultimate hot baby-face goddess who never grew up, and in all of her 34 years, I'm not sure she ever looked old enough to even drive. That is how I see her, as someone who never quite became an adult woman emotionally, and I believe she was never very happy even though she basically had it all and was a very good entertainer. She had a very quick comedic wit and the ability to sing and act as well.
She wasn't a dumb blonde, but someone with real talent. She was immature and never quite grew up or appreciate what she had, but if she had lived a normal, she would probably have won many awards with her comedic wit and versatility and ability to entertain people in multiple ways, but she never understood and was not able to appreciate any of that.
I haven't seen many Jayne Mansfield movies but Who Will Spoil Rock Hunter with the great comedic actor Tony Randall is the perfect example of a movie where you get to see all her talent, where she could purposely play the role of the dumb sexy blonde, which is how she wanted to be portrayed, when behind the scenes she was as smart and cunning as anyone and knew how to get what she wanted when she wanted it.
In Who Will Spoil Rock Hunter, Tony Randall plays a struggling advertising executive who needs a big client to make a lot of money for his company. And that is where the Jayne Mansfield character comes in as an incredible Hollywood bombshell who needs what Rock Hunter can give her, which is credibility and good publicity on Madison Avenue and to be taken seriously. And she and Rock make for good partners in that film
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