Alfred Hitchcock Presents: The Sorcerer's Apprentice (1961)

Source:Alfred Hitchcock- Diana Dors & David Stewart. Perhaps you can tell for yourself who is who.

Source:The Daily Review

If you’re familiar with the movie Berserk from 1967, The Sorcerer Apprentice should look at least somewhat familiar to you. Diana Dors, is in both films. In Berserk, she plays an assistant to a magician at a circus. In The Sorcerer Apprentice she plays an assistant to a magician at a carnival. In Berserk, she thinks she knows who the killer is. In The Sorcerer, she puts the killer up to killing her husband. In neither film is Diana an angel, she just looks like one in both films. As well as anything else she’s ever done, but that is one of the reasons why she was a great actress. Because she could fool people with her hot baby-face looks and play the killer, or a killer angel as well as it can be played. If you’re familiar with the movie The Unholy Wife, where she tries to frame her husband for killing his best friend, you should have an idea what I’m talking about here.

The Sorcerer Apprentice, looks very entertaining to me, but I’m not sure it is very believable. You have a sick kid (I guess) who should be back in the institution that he escaped from (no joke) who gets picked up off the street by a magician. Who picks him up in real-life and is no trick, (ha hah) who I think can tell this kid is not completely there and is told by the kid that he’s escaped from his home. And decides to take him in anyway instead of reporting him to the proper authorities. (Damn! That sounds corny.) Again Diana, is no angel, she just looks like one and can tell Hugo (the kid) likes her and is attractive to her and she’s cheating on her magical husband (lets say) the magician and wants to move on from him. And tries to put the kid up to killing her husband. The kid is at least 4-5 beers short of s six-pack and thinks this would be fun or something.

You would think this couple having seen this kid and figuring out that he’s not completely there and needs close supervision (to put it mildly) and are less qualified to take care of kids than the guy who freaks out when he finds out that his girlfriend is pregnant with his baby and ditches her, that they could give him a bite to eat, find out where he came from, if not turn him in and move on. But instead they keep him around even though they are too busy to take care of him and probably don’t want to either. But no! That could be too boring for the great Alfred Hitchcock. Instead of making it a boring everyday story, they make a killer out of this gorgeous baby-face wife whose cheating on her husband with a high-wire artist (whose probably scared of heights) and this unfortunate boy. Who perhaps nobody wants to take care of him and has really no one who loves him. Just one example of why Alfred Hitchcock was such a great director.

Rod Willerton: 'Hollywood & the Stars- In Search of Kim Novak'

Source:Rod Willerton- in search of Hollywood Goddess Kim Novak.

Source:The Daily Review

"Hollywood & the Stars was a US TV series broadcast in the 1960's by NBC. This episode studies the life and background of the star, Kim Novak." 

From Rod Willerton 

Kim Novak, is Marilyn Monroe and Jayne Mansfield, except that she grew up. She might not be as versatile an entertainer as Marilyn and Jayne when it comes to comedy and music, but physically she's right there with both of them, but she grew up. 

Kim Novak was hot baby-face adorable, sexy blonde goddess, but she grew up and matured and was a woman in Hollywood. Not someone with the body of a woman, but the mind and personality of a teenage girl like Marilyn and Jayne. Who never grew up inside and could never see how valuable and great they could have been as entertainers. And a big reason why they both died in their mid thirties in the 1960s.

It is rare you have an actress that is physically this talented with this body, face and voice, but is also a hell of an actress. Who I believe was a classic real or personal actress where she made all of her characters real and became all of them and brought them to real-life. 

I think what made Kim a great actress is that she made her acting look so real. She literally became the person she was playing and made it look like she wasn't acting at all. And I think a lot of that had to do with the fact that she tended to play characters who she had a lot in common with. Who were physically gorgeous, sexy, and very cute, but lacked self-confidence and not quite sure they belong where they were, or even knew that they wanted to be there at all. Playing Madeline in Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo, is a perfect example of that.

Kim, has also played characters that were gorgeous, sexy, and adorable, but knew exactly who they were and what they wanted. Like in Boys Night Out, where she plays Cathy, who was a college student doing an article on the middle-age married man in New York. 

The other thing that I respect about Kim Novak is that acting wasn't who she was, but what she did. Similar to Ava Gardner, she didn't live to act, but acted to live the lifestyle that she wanted. She didn't need to be a star, but happened to be really good at what she did and was a goddess as well which made her a star. 

Kim would have been perfectly comfortable living on the water in Northern California her whole adult life just as long as she could afford to do that. Which is where her acting career came in, but didn't need to be an actress to be happy. She is truly special and I just wish she acted more.

Greg Engle: Bryan Adams- A Veterans Day Tribute: Tribute to All Men & Women Who've Defended America

Source:Greg Engle- Happy Veterans Day!

Source:The Daily Review

"Veterans Day tribute from a vet to all veterans"

From Greg Engle

Source:Greg Engle- Happy Veterans Day!

I don’t want to say Veterans Days has more meaning today that it twenty years ago, because of course that isn’t true, but I do believe it does have more feeling and appreciation today than it did in lets say 1994-95. Because America has essentially been at war for good and bad for twenty years now. Starting in the Balkans in 1995 and really never leaving there for the rest of the decade to prevent ethnic-Bosniaks and ethnic-Albanians from being victims of an ethnic genocide from Serbians in the former Yugoslavia.

We go from the Balkans, to the Middle East, in the early 2000s and we’re still there fourteen years later in both Afghanistan and Iraq. So Americans I believe have felt Veterans Day and Memorial Day more often in the last twenty years, because almost all of us probably is related to a U.S. military veteran, or knows one. And probably knows someone whose died in combat, or suffered a major injury. Again so others wouldn’t have to do that and to protect innocent people oversees who the average American has never even heard of.

Veterans Day, is the last holiday you want run and dominated by pop culture celebrities. This is a day you don’t want people to take advantage of and use it to make it look like they stand with the troops and are cool. Veterans Days, is as real as a holiday as we have in this country. Arguably the most important day other than Independence Day and Memorial Day. These are truly American holidays that just don’t affect the people who’ve been willing to be severely injured and die so their fellow serviceman wouldn’t be hurt or killed, but to defend America’s freedom.

They haven’t fought for a prize, or to win free tickets to Disneyland, or Hawaii, but for their fellow serviceman and their country. So we wouldn’t have to fight for them. People who could have stayed home and made a lot of money in the private sector, but instead decided to put their lives on the line and risk never seeing their families again so others wouldn’t have to do that as well. Veterans Day, is as real as it gets. It just doesn’t affect our veterans, but their families as well. Their spouses, their kids, who perhaps have had to grow up without their fathers, or mothers and their parents. Why, because so others wouldn’t have to make those ultimate sacrifices as well.

So when you celebrate Veterans Day today and millions of us will all sorts of ways in America as well as oversees and you personally know a veteran, make sure you not only thank them, but make your thanks as real and as genuine as their service to their country and yours. Make sure you not only show appreciation to the veteran and veterans, but their families as well who’ve sacrificed almost as much as the veteran as well and in many cases never had a say in the matter. Thank them for giving you the opportunity just to celebrate Veterans Day and the millions of Americans who have fought for our great country so we could celebrate living in it.

Joshua Waimberg: 'Schenck v. United States: Defining The Limits of Free Speech'

Source: U.S. Constitution Center- U.S. Chief Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes.

Source:The New Democrat

"Note: Landmark Cases, a C-SPAN series on historic Supreme Court decisions—produced in cooperation with the National Constitution Center—continues on Monday, Nov. 2 at 9pm ET. This week’s show features Schenck v. United States.

In a case that would define the limits of the First Amendment’s right to free speech, the Supreme Court decided the early 20th-century case of Schenck v. United States.

The case began, as many do, with an act of Congress. Shortly after the United States entered into World War I, Congress passed the Espionage Act of 1917. It was passed with the goals of prohibiting interference with military operations or recruitment, preventing insubordination in the military, and preventing the support of hostile enemies during wartime." 

You can read the rest of this article at the National Constitution Center. 

"Do you have an absolute right to free speech? The Supreme Court gives it 1919 answer.

 Learn the basics about the must-know US History Supreme Court Case challenging the constitutionality of the Espionage Act. If you are in a US History course you best be knowing this case. Trust me." 

Source:Keith Hughes- on, well perhaps you can figure out the rest yourself.

From Keith Hughes

I’m not a lawyer, which is probably as obvious as Ayn Rand wasn’t a Socialist, but I bet a good lawyer who is sane, sober and awake at the time, could make a damn good case that the military draft is unconstitutional. 

Forcing Americans to fight for causes they not only don’t believe in, but didn’t voluntarily sign up for, looks unconstitutional to me, at least from the outside looking in as a non-lawyer. It is one thing if you decide to join the military and get an assignment to do a mission you don’t believe in. But it is completely another to force people to not only be part of the military, fight for the military and then fight for causes they don’t believe in.

Of course you have to complete missions once you’re already in the military because you signed up for that. And soldiers, marines, sailors, and airmen, can’t pick and choose what missions they accept, or not. The military couldn’t function properly that way. But to force someone to not only give up their personal and even economic freedom, (at least to a certain extent) and then yank them away from their family and community, force them to fight for you and fight for a cause they don’t believe in, sounds like a violation of an American’s personal freedom and constitutional rights there.

As far as this case here: Charles Schenck, was a noted Socialist in the United States in the early 20th Century. The Leader of the Socialist Party in America and a solid anti-war activist, which Democratic Socialists at least tend to be. And what he was doing in this case was protesting strongly against a war that he didn’t believe in as someone who wasn’t a member of the U.S. Military. It would be one thing if he was in the military and he was actively and publicly protesting against a war that he agreed to be part of by signing up for the Military. But he was a private citizen here protesting against the World War I draft and the war itself.

Charles Schenck actively and publicly opposing the World War I draft, would tell people what he thought about it and the war and encourage Americans to oppose the draft as well. This looks like a clear First Amendment case here with an American opposing a war that he was obviously against and had every right to do so. 

The U.S. Supreme Court, has made plenty of bad rulings over the years and this one is probably not in the top ten. Especially when you’re talking about cases that involved Japanese, German and Italian-Americans, being held in deferment camps during World War II, simply because of their ethnicity. But this is one of their worst First Amendment rulings.

Reelz Channel: The Kennedys- The Story Behind the Story

Source:Reelz Channel- Greg Kinnear as JFK.

Source:The Daily Review

It is Joe Kennedy Sr. who made The Kennedy Family the political family and political dynasty that it was and to a certain extent still today. He came from nothing being a son of poor Irish immigrants. Who worked his way up and became very successful on Wall Street and decided that he wanted to get involved in government and even at some point become President of the United States. And got as far up as United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom and when he his career as a future presidential candidate came to an end at the start of World War II with his comments about Germany and that he didn’t see Nazi Germany as a threat. It’s then that he decides that one of his sons is going to accomplish what he couldn’t for him. Which was to become President of the United States. Which started with his son Joe and got up to Ted in the 1960s.

Joe Kennedy, made the Kennedy Family what it was politically with his money. And that he had three really smart and charming sons who all liked politics once they got in them, but perhaps do not get in them and certainly not as far had their father not pushed them the way he did. Jack, Bob and Ted. Joe Sr., originally wanted his son Joe to be the first presidential candidate and serve in Congress and government and everything else, but he died during World War II. So the next inline who also served in World War II, but survived the war was Jack and Joe pushed Jack to get into politics almost as soon as he got back from the war in 1945. JFK, is first elected to Congress in the House of Representatives in 1946 and then elected to the Senate in 1952. And writes a best-selling book Profiles in Courage which is what puts him on the national scene in the Democratic Party.

Joe Sr., is the key player in the Kennedy Family. The general manager and perhaps even president of a great political franchise, The Kennedy’s. But his son Jack is the one that is able to give his father what he wants. And Irish-Catholic President of the United States. Because he was such a handsome charming likable intelligent guy, who gave great speeches, great sense of humor. A great Center-Left Liberal who wanted to win the Cold War, free millions of Americans from poverty, by expanding economic freedom. Free millions of African-Americans from government sponsored racial discrimination, have the first man on the Moon be an American and everything else. And we have seen a national Democratic politician at least, this great since. As far as how many Americans loved the man. And the Kennedy mini-series I believe does a great job of showing all these aspects about this family in their series.
Source:Reelz Channel

Third Way: Ready For The New Economy

Source:Third Way-

Source:The New Democrat

The Democratic economic agenda for 2016 needs to be both different and better than the Republican economic agenda. (assuming either party offers one) For Democrats to retain the presidency and do well in Congress. Which means at the very least picking up a bunch of seats in the House with high Democratic voter turnout and winning back the Senate. 24-34 Senate seats that will be up next year will all be Republican seats. Democrats might be able to put twelve of those in play. A good Republican year in the Senate will be to have a small Senate majority in the next Congress, even if its 51-49. The economy, especially jobs and economic growth, will be the number one issue next year. Republicans, will probably want to talk about national security, especially the Middle East though. Democrats, would be smart to make it all about the economy and how they can help create good jobs.

Democrats, shouldn’t go soft on the economy with some mushy-middle approach that tries to please everyone at the same time, but instead pisses everyone off. And instead gives people the message that they’re saying different things to different voters. (Speaking out of two mouths with one face) They shouldn’t sound Republican light and primarily just concentrate on taxes and regulations. They shouldn’t sound like Democratic Socialists (no offense Bernie Sanders) and offer a new Federal program to solve everyone’s problems for them. Or an expansion of new Federal programs. And claiming that all the government services will be free, when of course they won’t be. And either middle class taxpayers will get stuck with the bills in new taxes, or higher interest rates in new debt.

This is where both Hillary Clinton and Martin O’Malley (they would make a hell of a Democratic national ticket) can step up and go straight to Middle-America and middle class Americans and Americans struggling to get to the middle class with an economic agenda for them.

By empowering small business’s to increase their business’s and higher more workers. Empower people who are struggling financially to further their education and create their own new small business. With an expansion of the small business loans and higher education tax credits, childcare vouchers, especially for low-income, low-skilled workers with kids.

A new national infrastructure plan, like a National Infrastructure Bank, that would be a new independent corporation that would be self-financed, because it would prioritize new infrastructure projects and bring in private sector investors to invest in them. As well as new national energy independence plan that invests in all of our national energy resources so we can get off of foreign oil all together and perhaps within twenty years get off of oil and gas all together, foreign, or domestic. That would create millions of new jobs along with the infrastructure investment.

Comprehensive immigration reform, that brings new high-skilled workers and low-skilled workers to do the jobs that Americans won’t do. That brings the 10-15 millions illegal immigrants out of the shadows and makes income taxpayers out of them. Which would help bring down the budget deficits of all levels of government. Along with the fines and back taxes they would have to pay for coming to America illegally. New trade agreements that get more American products in foreign countries with low tariffs, so we can see Ford’s, GM’s, Chrysler’s, in Europe and Japan and other American products. In exchange low tariffs on foreign products here that would create good American jobs.

I hate this idea, that even the so-called Third Way pushes that if you’re on the Left and you’re liberal or progressive and if you’re on the Right and you’re conservative, that somehow you’re a radical, or something. And that all the good ideas are in the mushy-middle. Its called the mushy-middle for a good reason, Centrists tend to sound like mush. People who aren’t sure what they believe and tend to combine ideas from both sides in one package and talk out of two mouths with one face. When Liberal and Progressives, talk about positive government and smart government, which is what Governor Martin O’Malley is all about and using government to empower people who are struggling like with the ideas that I already put down, Democrats win. Because Americans tend to believe in the same things. When we sound like Soft Republicans, or tax and spend Socialists, we lose. Because Americans tend not to be that Far-Left and would rather have Real Republicans over Soft Republicans.

History: Marilyn Monroe Is Found Dead (8/05/1962)

Source:History- Hollywood Babydoll Marilyn Monroe (1926-62)

Source:The Daily Review 

"On August 5, 1962, movie actress Marilyn Monroe is found dead in her home in Los Angeles. She was discovered lying nude on her bed, face down, with a telephone in one hand. Empty bottles of pills, prescribed to treat her depression, were littered around the room. After a brief investigation, Los Angeles police concluded that her death was “caused by a self-administered overdose of sedative drugs and that the mode of death is probable suicide.” 

From History 

"How did a star whose persona seemed to be all about childlike joy and eternally vibrant sexuality die, single and childless, at the age of 36? In fact, the circumstances of Marilyn Monroe’s death are confusing and disputed. In this episode we will explore the last five years of her life, including the demise of her relationship with Arthur Miller, the troubled making of The Misfits, and Marilyn’s aborted final film, and try to sort out the various facts and conspiracy theories surrounding her death." 

Source:You Must Remember This- Hollywood Babydoll Marilyn Monroe

From You Must Remember This

Source:The Daily Review- Hollywood Babydoll Marilyn Monroe (1926-62)

This might sound disrespectful and I don't mean it to be, but I've always seen Marilyn Monroe as a teenage girl, if not younger. As an overly adorable and not just baby-faced adorable, but with a voice and face to match. 

Beautiful teenage girls, have a tendency to lack self-confidence, because they see beautiful women in Hollywood and think they are not as good as those women, so they must not be good enough. And deal with depression and self-confidence issues and perhaps mess around with drugs.

I just described Marilyn Monroe as a thirty-six year old early middle-aged woman who had now been an adult for almost twenty-years. I think if she had just bothered to grow up personally and perhaps got constructive help for her self-esteem issues, she could definitely be alive today. And probably at least makes it to her eighties. 

Marilyn was a woman was thirty-six when she died, who probably had another 20-25 years as a gorgeous and even baby-faced goddess with a great body. Barbara Eden, now 81, is still gorgeous and cute as a baby. Raquel Welch, 75, still too cute a hot to play a bad girl.

Healthy, responsible, mature women, who know who they are and at least like themselves, because they know what they have and that they have real value, don't drink themselves to sleep every and spend night after night alone and consume all of the medication that Marilyn Monroe consumed in the last few years of their lives. Especially if they're in the entertainment business, because their career means so much to them and love to entertain and to work and that success affords them to live the great lifestyle that they do.

We're not talking about the incredible short life of Marilyn Monroe, had she simply lived a responsible life. And could see what blind people could see. That she was this hot,  sexy, goddess, who was also one of the best entertainers of her generation. And she lived a normal life in years, would have been one of the best entertainer of all-time. Someone who might have still been entertaining her eighties. Which is what Ellen Burstyn at 82 is still doing today. But we were all denied that opportunity to see that.