I'm Baaaaaaack!: First Blog of 2014

Hi Gang!   This is the first blog I've written since the last blog which was April 8th, 2013.   What will some of the topics be?   Here come the headlines.

#1:   Death and religion!   #2:   Water problems!   #3:   Outrageous gas prices!   #4:   Devices in hands!   #5:   Annnnd...Entertainment stuff which will include new TV shows and thoughts about which nominees will (or should) win Oscars on the 2nd of March.

Okay.   Let's get busy!

Headline #1:   Death and religion!

Is it just me, or has it seemed like (to you) that a lot of famous people have died recently?    I knew some of these people.   Not well, but I couldn't help but wonder about a few things.   The famous actor who died just before he got good reviews in a film that was released a few weeks after he died.   The very famous actor who died with a needle in his arm.   The famous actor who died in a car crash.   I could go on and on, but as we all get older, we can't help but wonder when "the end" hits us, what, if anything, happens next?   If we are religious (I am) we are led to believe that after we die we will go to a place called Heaven or Mansion in the Sky, whatever.   I have never forgotten a line in a song that Peggy Lee sang;   "Is that all there is?".   In other words, after we die?!?   We don't really know, do we?   Every preacher in the world can tell us we have an afterlife to look forward to, but that preacher can't know that for sure because he or she has no proof.   Sooo....we are taught to have faith.   

Play along with me here.    When you die (it will happen to all of us), assuming there is indeed an afterlife for us, what would you like to end up doing in this afterlife?   Being in Heaven, Mansion in the Sky, sitting next to St. Peter, what?   Is there something you would like to do in the afterlife, or would you prefer to be in a comfortable chair, bed or a nice soft cloud for the rest of your afterlife?   I'd love to know how you would like to spend your afterlife days.   Write to me at scottstjames@sbcglobal.net   If I wake up after I've died because I'm in an afterlife of some kind, here's what I would like to do;   ANYTHING!   Anything at all.   I wouldn't want to stay on a couch, in a bed or on a cloud.   I would want to do something.   Anything.   And after I've died, I really hope that I don't end up singing Peggy Lee's words;   "Is that all there is?".

Headline #2:   Water problems!

This is serious business, folks.   Because of the "look the other way" by greedy corporations and bought and paid for talk show hosts, despite what they tell us, the primary reason we're having these water shortage problems is because of climate change, global warming, etc.

Headline #3:   Outrageous gas prices!

Speaking of greedy folks....These gasoline multi billion-airs if not trillion-airs jack up prices whenever they feel like it, hide a whole lot of their profits in foreign countries so they don't have to pay taxes etc. on top of etc.   Here in the Los Angeles area, prices went up 28 cents a gallon in less than a week.   And if you live here, you know that there is a state gasoline tax of 71.9 cents per gallon (highest in the country) on top of the federal gas tax (here) of 18.4 cents a gallon.    No wonder I've been thinking about moving back to St. Louis.

Headline #4:   Devices in hands!

I walk 2-5 miles seven days a week.   While walking, I see a lot of people, young and old, who, while walking, have their heads pointed downward so they can look at a device they're carrying in their hands.   At first I didn't think about this at all, but now....I mean, these people seem to be addicted to what they're holding in their hands.   And quite honestly, with their heads being pointed downward, they look like Zombies.   I do my walking so I can keep my weight down.   But you folks with the thing in your hand?   WHY?!?   This inquiring mind wants to know!

Headline(s) #5:   Entertainment Stuff!

Are you getting ready for the Oscar show?   Sunday night, March 2, on ABC.   I've seen all the films that have been nominated and I've seen all the films in which actors were nominated.   I think the voting is going to be close for all the categories.   Here come my thoughts for six of the categories.   And these will be in the same order you'll see on the Oscar show.  

SUPPORTING ACTRESS:   My choice would be June Squibb ("Nebraska") or Jennifer Lawrence ("American Hustle"), but I think Lupita Nyong'o ("12 Years a Slave") will win.  

SUPPORTING ACTOR:   My choice is Jared Leto ("Dallas Buyers Club") and I think he will win.

ACTRESS:   My choice is Cate Blanchett ("Blue Jasmine") and I think she will win.   I won't be disappointed if Amy Adams or Sandra Bullock wins.

ACTOR:   My choice is Bruce Dern ("Nebraska"), but I think Matthew McConaughey will win and he deserves it.   I mean, right now, McConaughey is ON FIRE!   Have you seen him in his TV show with Woody Harrelson, "True Detective" on HBO?   Terrific show.

DIRECTOR:   Alfonso Cuar'on ("Gravity") seems to be the guy who will win this award, but my choices are any of the other four nominees.

PICTURE:   I think the film "Her" was/is big time overrated.   But I would have no problem voting for any of the 8 other films that were nominated.   Gotta pick one, right?   Here it is:   "12 Years a Slave".   In my heart of hearts, I would love it if "Captain Phillips" or "Nebraska" win.

TV shows:

Congrats to Jimmy Fallon....Have you been watching "The Following" on Fox.   Kevin Bacon is the star and the show has a new "bad girl".   Connie Nielsen.   Drop dead gorgeous and you will be very surprised if you find out how old she is.   The show itself?   A lot of violence, but I like it.   A lot.

I highly recommend the shows "Girls" on HBO, "Intelligence" on CBS, "True Detective" on HBO, "Shameless" on Showtime and the 3rd season of "Dallas" will begin on TNT, Monday night, February 24.   If you miss any of these or other episodes, go to "On Demand" and you'll get all caught up.

Have you been watching American Idol?   They have begun their 13th season.   Their ratings are down, but every other show wishes they had the numbers Idol gets.   Love the three judges (especially J-Lo) but so far, I think the singing has been weaker than it should be.

Pretty soon, some shows that have been on hiatus (because of the Olympics) will be back on the air.   Shows like "The Good Wife" "Nashville", "Revenge", "Black List", etc., etc.

Thoughts and or comments?    Please write to me at scottstjames@sbcglobal.net and I will respond to you ASAP.   I respond to everyone unless you identify yourself as "Anonymous".   Those emails are ignored.

BEFORE I END THIS BLOG, I WANT TO CALL YOUR ATTENTION TO SOMETHING.   JACK ROBERTS, THE OWNER OF HOLLYWOOD HILLS, IS A GOOD FRIEND OF MINE.   HE HAS A DAILY COLUMN THAT HAS THOUSANDS ON TOP OF THOUSANDS READERS FROM DIFFERENT PARTS OF AMERICA.   UNFORTUNATELY, JACK IS IN THE HEALTH FIGHT OF HIS LIFE RIGHT NOW.   IF YOU CAN, PLEASE THINK GOOD THOUGHTS FOR THIS VERY NICE MAN.    HE'S CERTAINLY GETTING A BUNCH OF GOOD THOUGHTS FROM ME!!!

Meanwhile, I hope that all of you are doing well and thank you very much for reading this blog.

Most sincerely,

Scott "The Jammer with the Hammer" St. James         

My Final Blog For A While!!!

Hi Gang!   After writing this blog for more than six years, I'm going to have to walk away from my "Blog Room" for at least 20-weeks because of a new project I'm going to be involved with.

To those of you who have been with us since day one, I thank you for your interest and I've enjoyed the back and forth dialogue I've had with many of you.   Slowly but surely, a lot of people from different states and countries have found this blog and your thoughts and or comments are things I have looked forward to week after week after week.

When I was on television, I had opinions.   When I was on radio, I had opinions.   And yes, you've read a lot of opinions here.   But what's been fun for me was reading and or listening to YOUR opinions.    Yes, I listened and spoke with many of you by phone.

Because of a new adventure, I will have to devote my time (exclusively) TO this new adventure.

But today is a blog day soooo...Here come the headlines:

ANNETTE FUNICELLO!!!   GUNS!!!   GAYS!!!   JAY & JIMMY!!!   "42"!!!   ANNNND...OTHER ENTERTAINMENT STUFF!!!

HEADLINE #1:

In case you haven't heard, at the age of 70, Annette Funicello has passed away.   And with that passing, a chunk of my childhood has also died.   When she showed up on "The Mickey Mouse Club", I couldn't get home fast enough so I could watch her on television.  Like many other guys my age, I was in love with her.  When she showed up on the big screen, I was one of the first in line.   Her future appeared to be priceless.   But as luck would have it, her luck turned bad when she got hit by the terrible disease that is known as Muscular Sclerosis (MS).   She fought it, but sadly, one can't help but assume that those years of suffering were years that could have made many people bitter.  If she was, she "covered" it well.

Annette, I didn't know you, but I loved you then and love you now.  R.I.P. pretty lady and thanks for the pleasure you provided while I was growing up.

HEADLINE #2:

Guns are still being talked about.   A lot of people seem to think we are in danger of law enforcement people coming to our homes with the purpose of taking our guns away from us.

I don't know how this kind of nonsense gets started, but folks you're going to worry yourself into death if you continue to think like this.   YO!!!   And read my lips!   Something like this AIN'T gonna happen!!!   Look, I can complain with the best of you, but THIS is CRAZY!!!

HEADLINE #3:

Gays!   Specifically, Gay Marriage.

The Supreme Court hasn't made a ruling on this yet, so seeing as how a decision will be announced before this blog resumes in September or October, here's my "2-cents" worth as of now.

When I was a lot younger, I believed that gays who were then called "homos" were God's aberration and we'd be better off if they all died.

Buuut....When I got older, I LEARNED a couple of things.

(1)   If we believe in God, we DON'T believe that God makes a mistake when a gay person is born.

(2)   I also learned that there are "straight" people who are bad and there are "gay" people who are bad.   In other words, no difference except for the gender they're attracted to.   It's been my (older) experience that gay folks pretty much want what us straight folks want.   A place to live, a good job and someone to love.

If it's Roy who falls in love with Bob or it's Sally who falls in love with Mary, why the hell should we care about this.

I think by now we know that a marriage of a man and a woman is no guarantee that those two people will be together for life.   All the research that's been done about children living in a home with Roy and Bob or Sally and Mary shows us there's no difference between those homes and homes in which children are living with Roy and Barbara or Sam and Juliet.

In conclusion I understand that the gay community would like to be allowed to legally marry the person they're in love with.   Some of this has to do with legal benefits when one of the partners dies, etc.

If the Supreme Court rules against marriage for gays, I sincerely hope that the Supreme Court will make a ruling having to do with "civil unions" or SOMETHING (no matter what it's called) being allowed that would take care of the "benefits" issue.

HEADLINE #4:

Jay and Jimmy!   In case you hadn't heard, The "Tonight Show" will have a new host next year.   Jay Leno will be replaced by Jimmy Fallon.   Will Jay retire or go to another network?   Stay tuned.

HEADLINE #5:

"42"   That is the title of a new film that will be in your favorite multiplex this coming Friday.   It's the Jackie Robinson story and it has gotten terrific reviews.

OTHER ENTERTAINMENT STUFF:

This will be brief...

NBC's "Smash" has been moved to Saturday night.   I thought Saturday's show was terrific.

So MANY good television shows!!!   And we can't see 'em all!!!

"Bates Motel", Monday nights on A&E has been renewed for a second season.   Good decision.   I think it's a very good show.

"The Following" will be on Fox tonight.   It stars Kevin Bacon and an outstanding supporting cast, it's been renewed for next season and there are only 5 more episodes this season.   I LOVE this show.

Meanwhile, "The Good Wife" on CBS, "Revenge", "Red Widow" "Nashville" and "Scandal" continue to entertain us on ABC.

And yes, it's the NCIS shows on CBS that get the most viewers.

AMERICAN IDOL....I think this show is getting it's groove back.   One big mistake is being made by the voting public.   They are continuing to give enough votes to a singer who has no business being ON this show.   I think they're doing it because they feel sorry for the singer who's name is Lazaro Arbos.   Count your lucky stars, Lazaro.

Big college basketball game tonight.   Louisville against Michigan for the championship.   Louisville is favored, but I won't be surprised if Michigan wins.

THOUGHTS AND OR COMMENTS?   Please write to me at scottstjames@sbcglobal.net and I will respond to you ASAP.   Don't write to the blog because there's no way for me to know your email address which means I won't be able to respond to you.   I respond to everyone ASAP unless you identify yourself as "Anonymous".   Those emails are ignored.

THE NEXT BLOG:   Not until sometime in September or October.  I'm going to miss you!   ALL of you!

Meanwhile, I hope that you have a great rest of the week and remember...   AMERICA FIRST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

HAPPY EASTER!!!

Hi Gang!

No blog this week because of the Easter holiday and other obligations.

The next new blog (barring unforeseen circumstances) will be written and published Thursday, April 4 or Friday, April 5.

Needless to say, if the Supreme Court has made a ruling on Gay Marriage, I will have a comment or two about that subject.

Meanwhile, I hope that all of you have a very HAPPY EASTER!!!

Most sincerely,

Scott "The Jammer with the Hammer" St. James

10th Iraq War Anniversary!!! GOP Says It's Time For An Overhaul...Michele and Sarah Still Think They're Relevant!!! Ronald Reagan and Me!!! Dumb Baseball People!!! Annnnd...Entertainment Stuff!!!

It is now Saturday night and yes, I'm late!   My sincere apologies, but because of several things going on in my life, I might have to soon go on a "Blog Hiatus" for a few weeks.   I'll cross that bridge when I get to it, but for now, Let's get busy with the 6 headlines you see at the top of this blog!

Headline #1:   A few days ago we were reminded of the Iraq war disaster we got involved with/in 10-years ago.   What a load of horse manure we were fed on that deal!   War mongering clowns who put us into this mess.   Most of these war mongering clowns are people who made damn sure THEY didn't have to go to war themselves.   Gang, the Iraq debacle accomplished nothing positive for America.   What WAS accomplished was a lot of Americans getting killed and or severely injured.   What also was accomplished was the tremendous amount of money we spent, money that helped us to be in the horrible economic mess we've been in and are still in.   Stupid, stupid, stupid!!!

Headline #2:   If you've read any newspaper, magazine or the internet recently, you couldn't help but see what in essence were these words;   The Republican Party is smug.   Uncaring.  Rigid.  An immovable collection of "stuffy old men."

What you just read was the opinion from the Republican Party itself. They have come to this conclusion after reading an analysis commissioned by the Republican National Committee that was released this past Monday.

Oh, you didn't hear about this from Rush or Sean, etc.?

Stay tuned.

Headline #3:   The Conservative Political Action Conference was held this past week.   Among the speakers were Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann.   Michele, Michele, Michele....You will say something truthful....um....when?   Sarah, you were funny, but....Here's the deal, gang.   Both of these characters think they're relevant.   Someone needs to wake them up.

Headline #4:   Ronald Reagan and me!   I had the pleasure of getting to know President Reagan (a little) before he was elected.   He was kind enough to participate in a Gene Autry special I did.   Great guy and I'll never forget something he said;   "I didn't leave the Democrat party.   They left ME!"   Did you know Reagan was a Democrat?   If anyone cared enough to have me on a public stage to declare my political leanings, what you'd hear or read would be;   "I didn't leave the Republican party.   They left ME!"   Until the second half of the Bush (Jr.) administration, I was a lifetime Republican.   I am now an Independent.

Headline #5:   Dumb baseball people!   I'm a long time baseball fan who (15 or so years ago) came to conclusion there are more dumb people in professional baseball than all the other professional teams combined.   The latest example is this World Baseball Classic that was being played while major league players here were having their spring training stuff to do.   Allowing major league players to play in a tournament instead of doing the chemistry thing with teammates on the major league teams that pay them big money is to me as dumb as it gets.   Here in Los Angeles, we have been told that the shortstop for the Dodgers will miss at LEAST 8-weeks of regular season play because of a thumb injury in the tournament.   Dumb, dumb dumb!!!

ENTERTAINMENT STUFF:   Speaking of sports...Are you caught up in this "March Madness" business?   The ratings have been great so far and so have most of the games.

I saw one new movie this past week.   "The Call" which stars  Halle Berry, Abigail Breslin and a fine group of supporting players.   This is a high octane thriller that some would call a "horror film".   I sat in a packed auditorium and all of us were on the edge(s) of our seats.  If you like thrill rides, I highly recommend "The Call".

TV stuff....Great episodes this past Sunday of "The Good Wife"on CBS and ABC's "Revenge" and "Red Widow".

Monday, another terrific episode of "The Following" on Fox, "Bates Motel" on A&E and "Dallas" on TNT.

We're hearing a lot of stuff about Jay Leno and NBC.   Leno has the highest late night ratings, but the show isn't promoted properly.   Same deal with NBC's "Smash".   Instead of firing the actors, hosts and shows, I think the NBC owners should fire ALL of their decision making people.

Thursday night on Fox, I enjoyed "Glee" which I hadn't watched in a while and I continue to LOVE ABC's "Scandal".

For the second straight week, I liked "American Idol" on Fox this past Wednesday and Thursday.   I think the changes they've made and continue to make are (so far) the RIGHT changes.  Nicki Minaj is the judge they've been looking for ever since Simon Cowell left the building.   Now there's a performer they need to get rid of.   A performer who is being coddled by the voters because they feel sorry for him.

Back to "Glee" for a minute.   The character "Santana" is still with the show and I'm hard pressed to think of any female actor who is as hot-hot-hot as Naya Rivera (her real name) is.   She's also a terrific actor.

THOUGHTS AND OR COMMENTS?   Please write to me at scottstjames@sbcglobal.net and I will respond to you ASAP.   Don't write to the blog because there's no way for me to know your email address which means I wouldn't be able to respond to you.   I respond to everyone unless you identify yourself as "Anonymous".   Those emails are ignored.

THE NEXT BLOG?   The way things have been going recently, hard to say, huh?   Hopefully, next Thursday, March 28 or Friday, March 29.

Meanwhile, I hope that all of you have a great rest of the weekend and a great (upcoming) week.

Don't forget....AMERICA FIRST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A 76-Year Old New Pope!!! Ohio Republican Senator Changes His Mind When He Learns Something New About His Son!!! After 10 Straight Days Of Great News For Investors, The Dow Went Down A Little Today!!! Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan Is About To Go On Trial... It's Time To Drop The Hammer On American Soldiers Who Sexually Assault American Soldiers!!!

Hi Gang!   Under the category of "Best laid plans, etc.", I wanted to write this blog early this morning but because of a computer problem...   I know.   Everyone has computer problems.   Do you miss your typewriters?

Okay...Right now it's very late in the afternoon and I hope to have this published by sometime this evening which means you subscribers won't get this until very early tomorrow morning.

I think this blog won't be a long blog, sooooo....

Let's get busy!!!

HEADLINE #1:   If you care, you know a new Pope has been elected.   Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina is the new Pope.   A new 76-year old Pope who will be referred to as, "Pope Francis".   I don't know about you, but it seems to me that 76 isn't an age that suggests longevity in a new job, but what the heck do I know.   I wish you much success Pope Francis.

HEADLINE #2:   Did you hear about the Ohio Republican Senator who has been big time against gay marriages?    I mean BIG time against it.   Senator Rob Portman surprised all of his constituents when he announced (very recently) that he has changed his mind and now supports gay marriages.   Why?   Senator Portman's son told him (in essence) "Dad, I'm gay."

HEADLINE #3:   It was a great 10-days in a row for the Dow Jones Industrial folks, a 10-day streak that ended today.   Hopefully, another (at least) 10-day good news streak will begin soon.

HEADLINE #4:   Do you remember that Army Major who opened fire on a lot of soldiers in Ft. Hood, Texas?   13 were killed and 32 were wounded.   Major Nidal Malik Hasan is about to go on trial.   He has managed to delay this trial with arguments that included a beard he chooses to wear even though it's against Army rules.   I have been watching this case since day one because I was in the military.   I know that we're supposed to go along with the "your innocent until proven guilty in court", but to me, because everyone who was there SAW what happened, I honestly believe we could have saved a lot of time and money if we had put him into the hands of a psychiatrist immediately.   If the "head" doctor or doctors determined that he was/is insane, put him in a heavily guarded insane ward and keep him there.   Like forever.   If the "head" doctor or doctors determined he's SANE, march him to a firing squad or a rope immediately.   Think about it.   Everyone knows he killed those people.   And look how much money we could save.

HEADLINE #5:   Have you been reading about all these sexual assault victims who are soldiers?   Soldiers who have been sexually assaulted by other soldiers?   Mostly a case of men soldiers assaulting women soldiers.   What seems to have happened in the past when a female soldier would complain about this to a high ranking officer, next to nothing was done and the complaining female soldier would be (in essence) classified as a "trouble making soldier" and her chances of promotions were not good at all.

FINALLY....Some serious hearings are being held and hopefully some guilty soldiers will have a "legal hammer" dropped on them. If that happens, some of these women soldiers will finally get some justice.  

Okay....That takes care of the serious stuff.   Now it's time for the

ENTERTAINMENT STUFF:

I didn't see any new films this past week, so we'll (just) have a few television items.

The hands down new television show that has been a big hit is "The Following", starring Kevin Bacon.   It is shown Monday nights on FOX.   I love this show and I thought this past Monday's show was their best show.    I think they have 8 more episodes and yes, the show has been renewed for next season.

Another new show that I like is a show that's struggling.   "Red Widow" is shown on ABC, Sunday nights.   It's stars Radha Mitchell.   Only 3 or 4 episodes have been shown so far, but this show is worth checking out, folks.   I'm familiar with Ms. Mitchell's work and the character she plays in THIS show is a character that most women actors don't GET to play!   In addition to the good work done by Mitchell, some outstanding work is done by a fine group of supporting players.

"Smash", on NBC seems to be in big trouble.   It's about to be moved to Saturday nights and I'm worried because I like the show.   A lot!

Did you see Monday night's "Dallas" episode on TNT?   It was all about the death of "J.R. Ewing" who in real life was Larry Hagman.  I thought the producers did a terrific job with this and now we fans of the show will be getting clues about who shot J.R. right up until the final episode this season when we are told that we will know who shot J.R.   Sadly, it won't be like the last time "Dallas" had a campaign like that because this time, J.R. really IS dead.   R.I.P. Mr. Hagman.

Another great episode of "The Good Wife" on CBS this past Sunday.   God, that show is good!   Same deal with Sunday's episode of "Revenge" on ABC.

And then there's "American Idol".   The show was back in Hollywood this past Wednesday and Thursday and to me, the show seems like they might have gotten their groove back.   They've made some interesting changes but the most important change they seem to have made is the hiring of Nicki Minaj as a judge.   I like her more than I liked Simon.   Hopefully (for the show) it will continue to look (a new) good for the remaining 9 episodes.

THOUGHTS AND OR COMMENTS?   Please write to me at scottstjames@sbcglobal.net and I will respond to you ASAP.   Don't write to the blog because there's no way for me to know your email address which means I won't be able to respond to you.   I respond to everyone unless you have identified yourself as "Anonymous".   Those emails are ignored.

THE NEXT BLOG?   I keep WANTING to write on Thursdays.   If so, next Thursday night, March 21 or very early Friday morning, March 22.

A couple of things to remember...This Sunday is St. Patrick's Day.   Next Wednesday is the first day of Spring.

I hope all of you have a very pleasant weekend and if you agree, "AMERICA FIRST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

What My Mother Meant To Me!!! Unemployment Rate Now Lowest In More Than Four Years!!! The Stock Market People Have Gotten All Of Their Losses (and then some) BACK!!! Will Tina Fey Be The New "Tonight Show" Host When Jay Leno Leaves? ANNND...Are We About To Have A SECOND "Who Shot J.R."?!?

Hi Gang!   Once again I'm writing the new blog a day later than usual.   Earlier this week, I drove many miles to be with my sister and and other relatives.  We spent a lot of time talking about the recent "passing" of my mother.   The combination of a lot of driving and developing a personal understanding that I will never see her again are things that caused me to become exhausted.

Sooo...Now that I feel like I can do this, I'm going to write a couple of things that won't be over the top "long" or in any way being "woe is me" stuff.

Briefly, my mother always "had my back".   She bent over backwards to see to it that I got everything I needed when it became apparent that I was going to take a crack at being a radio announcer of some kind.   She paid for a school I attended, bailed me out of a couple of "jams" along the way, paid for other stuff I needed, etc., etc.   When I did television sports for a decade, took a shot at acting (which I'm still doing) and then did more radio for a bunch of years, she was my biggest cheer leader. 

Gang, If I chose to do so, I could write many pages about the support I got from my mother, but what you see above, in short form, speaks volumes.

R.I.P. Mother Beatrice!

OTHER STUFF:

Before the unemployment and stock market news was announced a couple of days ago, I was prepared to do a big time "rip job" on the lack of progress while President Obama has BEEN our president.

Have you heard about this news?   Our unemployment rate (7.7%) is the lowest it's been in more than four years.   We still need it to be lower, but this is great news.

And how about that stock market news?   All that money they lost?   They've gotten it all back and "then some".   Also great news, buuut....we need this kind of direction to not be something that's "temporary".   We need this direction to CONTINUE!!!

Folks, short blog this week because I'm now going to.....

ENTERTAINMENT STUFF:

Will Tina Fey be the new "Tonight Show" host when Jay Leno leaves?   I ask this because there's a lot of talk about Leno leaving sometime next year and he would be replaced by Jimmy Fallon.   But now we're hearing that Tina Fey might "come into play".   Wow!   Tina Fey?   Very talented lady.   I think she'd do a hell of a good job.   Jimmy Fallon?   Very talented man.   I think he'd do a hell of a good job.  

Stay tuned, folks!

I'm sure that most of you know that Larry Hagman died a few weeks ago but that he'd been part of many shows on the new "Dallas" which is on TNT Monday nights.   At the end of last week's show, we hear J.R. talking to his son on the phone.   Then we hear gun shots.   Then the show ended.   When the next episode of "Dallas" is shown on TNT NEXT Monday, will we (long time ago) Dallas fans be going through a "Who Shot J.R." part 2 for a few weeks?!?

Ahhh...Showbiz!!

OTHER ENTERTAINMENT STUFF...

For whatever reason, that great NBC show, "Parenthood" which has been on for four years is a show that hasn't (yet) been told there will be a season five or that they're "done".

Ahhh, showbiz!!

The ratings for "American Idol" are continuing to sink, but they still have numbers that most every other show would love to have.   I've been a big fan of this show since day one.   In my view, there is something wrong with this year's show.   One of the things is the lack of big time talent among the men who have been chosen.   It's obvious the "Idol" bosses are trying to do some things differently, but so far, it ain't working.

Some people will say the problem is that people have gotten tired of ALL these music shows.   In other words, the public is bored.

And that ain't just the music shows, gang.   Ratings show that the public is turning away in droves from sports talk radio and political shows that are one-sided.   Why?   They're (the public) BORED!!!

Yo radio and television boss men and women!!!   Are you noticing this or are you ignoring this?   If you're ignoring it, good luck at the unemployment line(s).

Here are some TV shows that are doing just fine, thank you.   "The Good Wife", "Nashville", "Revenge" and the new Kevin Bacon show, "The Following", a show that's been renewed for next season.

THOUGHTS AND OR COMMENTS?   Please write to me at scottstjames@sbcglobal.net and I will respond to you ASAP.   Don't write to the blog because there's no way for me to know your email address which means I won't be able to respond to you.   I respond to all emails unless you identify yourself as "Anonymous".   Those emails are ignored.

THE NEXT BLOG?   I'm hoping it will be next Thursday night, March 14 or very early Friday morning, March 15.

Meanwhile, I hope that all of you have a very pleasant weekend and I hope you're with us when I say, AMERICA FIRST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A BIG "Thank you!" from ME!!! Sequester??? Bob Woodward!!! Johnny Mathis!!! Oscar Stuff!!! Annnnd...Other Entertainment Stuff!!!

Hi Gang!   First of all, a big THANK YOU from ME!   I lost track of how many of you were kind enough to send sympathy messages because my mother died last week, but your messages were much appreciated and as you know, I sent all of you "Thank You!" notes.  My sister and I have a few things to do and that means this will probably be a pretty short blog.

Soooo...Let's get BUSY!!!

(1)   THE SEQUESTER:   Most of us have no idea what this is and how we will be affected by it.   Supposedly, whatever it is will be "put into play" sometime tonight.   One side of the political aisle says this will have little effect on all of us while the other side of the political aisle is screaming about "gloom and doom".   I guess we'll all learn what this really is the way we usually learn things if they're not pleasant;   The HARD way!   In other words, "stay tuned".

(2)   BOB WOODWARD:   I'm sure that most of you have heard of this guy.   He and another Washington Post reporter were in the middle of the "Watergate" mess when Richard Nixon was our president.   That was a long time ago and Woodward has been using the "Watergate Card" to come across as someone who's important.   He recently got into some kind email skirmish with a White House guy and that led him to find someone who would be sympathetic.   A sympathetic TV guy who's television ratings are getting lower and lower.   Hel-lo, Sean Hannity!   I don't know which of these guys is the most pathetic.   Woodward because he wants to be recognized as being "important" again or Hannity because he's hoping a guest like Woodward will give Hannity a shot at his ratings going up.   So what did Hannity do WHEN Woodward showed up?   He brought up "old news topics" that mean nothing to anyone except Hannity.   Topics he's been crying about since the day Candidate Obama became a candidate for his first term.   In other words, more than five years ago.   Yo, Sean!    Are you a 1-trick pony?   If so, you now know why your ratings are in the toilet.

And Mr. Woodward?   A lot of speculation about how some of things you took credit for in that Watergate business are things that don't seem to be true.   Hmmmmm.....

(3)   JOHNNY MATHIS:   And this is where I say, "On a lighter note..."   I have mentioned in the past that I am a proud member of the PACIFIC PIONEER BROADCASTERS.   I'm also on the Board of Directors.   PPB President Chuck Street presides over a special lunch that we have in Studio City, California every couple of months or so.   I have attended a lot of these lunches.   THIS lunch ended up being (in my view) the BEST lunch we've ever had.

This was a lunch that honored the great singer, Johnny Mathis.   Our PPB members who played a lot of Johnny's songs when they were radio announcers were at the lunch and they said nice things about Johnny.   Those three former announcers were/are former PPB President Chuck Southcott, former big time game show guy Wink Martindale and arguably (when he was on the air) the best broadcaster in the business, Gary Owens.

Three "big names" who are friends of Johnny Mathis drove and or flew long distances to pay tribute to Johnny.   Those three people were the great singer Dionne Warwick, the great golfer Amy Alcott and the great Hall of Fame basketball player, Bill Russell.   All three of those people told terrific stories about their friend Johnny Mathis and I, along with everyone else who were mesmerized by these stories were constantly clapping and doing a lot of smiling.   After Johnny Mathis spoke and the lunch had ended, I walked to where PPB President Chuck Street was and I told him I thought this was the best lunch we had ever had.   And there were people standing next to me who were in total agreement.   I'm inclined to think that everyone who was there agreed with us.

OTHER ENTERTAINMENT STUFF:

First, some personal Oscar observations.

If you read what a lot of critics wrote, you know that Sunday's Oscar host, Seth MacFarlane took a lot of "hits" from these critics.  But when the ratings were revealed, we learned that if the Oscar folks wanted more viewers and especially younger viewers, MacFarlane delivered.   He says he won't host the show again and now a lot of people are letting it be known they'd like to have Tina Fey and Amy Poehler be next year's hosts.   So far, their response has been, "NO!!!"

OTHER OSCAR STUFF:

I was very surprised when Ang Lee won the Oscar for "Best Director".   And I thought giving the Supporting Oscar to Christoph Waltz, a guy who was a "lead actor" in that Tarantino film he did was very unfair.   I mean the guy had ten times the dialogue that ANY of the REAL supporting actors had who were nominated.

I was VERY happy that Jennifer Lawrence won the Oscar she was nominated for.   And did you hear about Jack Nicholson "hitting on her" after the show had ended?   There was film of that and it was delightful.

ONE TV OBSERVATION:

Have you been watching the ABC show, "Nashville"?   If not, you're missing out on a great treat.   I am now convinced that "Nashville" has (from A to Z) the hands down BEST CAST!!!

I like a lot of the other shows that are out there, but I don't think any of them have the wall to wall cast the likes of what "Nashville" gives us.

THOUGHTS AND OR COMMENTS?   Please write to me at scottstjames@sbcglobal.net and I will respond to you ASAP.   Don't write to the blog because there's no way for me to know your email address which means I won't be able to respond to you.   I respond to everyone unless you identify yourself as "Anonymous".   Those emails are ignored.

THE NEXT BLOG?   Well, the way things have been going, I'm tempted to say next Friday, but I'm hoping that I'll be able to write it next Thursday evening, March 7 or very early Friday morning, March 8.

Meanwhile, I hope that all of you have a very pleasant weekend, thanks from the bottom of my heart to all of you who sent very nice notes about the loss of my mother and don't forget.....

AMERICA FIRST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!