While Away From The Internet........Part Three - We're Back.

As I write this, it is Tuesday, July 23 2019. We've just returned home from the cable/Internet office. We've paid the required fee and signed the appropriate papers and were told we should have service in 3 to 5 days - today being day one and Saturday being day five. We'll see just how accurate they are in their estimate.

Update:
When we signed up for cable service on Tuesday, we were told that, depending on the work load, the fibre-optic cable would be installed wihin 3 to 5 days, with Tuesday being day one. That would mean that we might expect service as early as today (Thursday). Honestly, I was not expecting to be connected today.

However, much to my surprise, the men from Fil-Products arrived this morning just after 9:00 AM. They managed to run the cable from the Magatas road to just inside our house, and after securing the cable, the men started their lunch break (11:30). There shouldn't be much more work to do after lunch.

Update:
The workers from Fil Products returned from lunch at 2 o'clock......after 2 1/2 hours. When they arrived, they went right to work and we have wifi and cable tv 30 minutes after they resumed work. Too bad they couldn't just work until noon before taking lunch. Oh well......

Superman

A few days ago, I came upon a five minute video clip, posted onto Facebook, from the first episode of a 1948 movie serial, Superman. The serial starred Kirk Alyn as Superman/Clark Kent, Noel Neill as Lois Lane, and Tommy Bond as Jimmy Olsen. Neill would later be cast as Lois Lane in the T.V. series, Adventures of Superman. As a child, Bond was best known for his work as Butch in the Our Gang (Little Rascals) comedies.

After watching the short video clip, I went in search for the entire 15 episode serial online. The serial isn't available on Youtube, but it is available on the dailymotion.com website. A link to episode one is found here.

In 1950, another 15 part serial, starring the same characters was released. This serial, Atom Man vs Superman also starred Lyle Talbot as Lex Luthor. This serial can be found on dailymotion.com as well.

I've watched the entire 30 episodes and found the serials entertaining in their own way. The only negative I can say, is that special effects being what they were during the late 40's - early 50's, animation was used to show Superman in flight and the effect is a bit cheesy.

After watching the two serials, I searched for videos of the Adventures of Superman TV series. Season one is the only season available online, and unfortunately, not all the original 26 episodes are to be found.

In season one, Phyllis Coates played the part of Lois Lane, Noel Neill taking over beginning with season two.

 I want to make special mention of episode 13 from season one of the TV series, The Stolen Costume. The early episodes of the TV series were unusual in that characters were seen dying on screen. In The Stolen Costume, Superman is actually responsible for the deaths of two characters who had discovered his identity as Clark Kent.

The Maltese Falcon (Novel)

Back when I was a kid - you know, when dinosaurs still walked the Earth - we were only able to get 3 channels on our television. Now, many years later, we're able to get more that 100 stations; and we're in a third world country. Imagine the number of channels available in a first world nation.

Still, even with more than 100 channels to choose from, there are only a handful of stations that I care to watch regularly.

One of those channels is TCM - which, at one time, stood for Turner Classic Movies. I enjoy watching the old films - most in black and white. For good or bad, the TCM channel available here in Philippines will repeat movies several times through out the month. This month, I'm given plenty of opportunities to watch one of my favorite oldies - The Maltese Falcon starring Humphrey Bogart. After watching the movie again last night, I thought I'd look online for information about the novel on which the movie is based.

The novel was published in 1930, and I discovered that the book is in the public domain in Canada and available for download at a Canadian website, fadedpage.com.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I'm currently reading volume one (Swann's Way) of Proust's multi-volume, In Search of Lost Time. I'll finish reading this volume before beginning The Maltese Falcon, but I won't wait to finish the other six volumes. I'll go on to volume two of Proust's work after I've read the Dashiell Hammett crime novel.

Comedians' Theme Songs

In my recent post on Al Bowlly, I put up a Youtube video of Bowlly's recording, with Lew Stone's orchestra of  Love in Bloom. The tune is best remembered today as the theme song of comedian Jack Benny. It was only during these days of Youtube that I learned the song actually has lyrics.

Growing up during the early days of TV, I received a heavy dose of old radio comedians such as Benny, Bob Hope and Burns and Allen as they made the move over to television. Unlike comedians today, these comedians had "theme songs" which became identified with their persona. Benny had "Love in Bloom, Hope had Thanks for the Memory, while the theme song for Burns and Allen was The Love Nest, written by Louis Hirsch.

I learned yesterday - thanks to the Internet - that the Benny theme and the Hope theme song were both written by the same song writing team, Ralph Rainger and Leo Robin. Having died in 1924, Hirsch would not reap the financial benefits of having his music played on radio and TV every time Burns and Allen made an appearance. Likewise, Rainger died in 1942 - long before Hope's heyday on television.

Leo Robin, however, lived until 1984 - dying long before Bob Hope, but ten years after Benny. I'm hoping he was able to live comfortably on the residuals.

A Tale of Two Technicians

We began experiencing problems with our two year old TV a few weeks ago. The problem was minor, at first. There was difficulty turning the set on, but it would eventually start up after a couple of attempts. Then, it became even more difficult - if one unplugged and then plugged in the TV, it would start up like a wayward PC rebooting. Finally, nothing we could do would restart the TV.

We had had problems before when the TV was still under warranty, and I wanted to take to the set back there. I assumed that the problem could easily be the result of too much dust inside the television. Rather than take the set there, we tried someone else. As mentioned in another post, I had taken small electrical jobs to a shop in Sibulan - Alfred's Electronic Shop. Unfortunately the technician who owned the shop moved to Mindanao months ago. However, we had heard through the grapevine that he had returned to the area and was using a Facebook page -facebook.com/bidformephilippines- to get business, rather than pay the high cost of renting a shop.

We were able to contact the technician and he came by the apartment this past Saturday afternoon. After doing his inspection, and testing and other assorted electronic wizardry, he told us that the motherboard was shot, and because you couldn't order the motherboard without ordering the entire electronic holster, the price for repairing the TV would not be worth it.

We accepted his diagnosis and went window shopping for new televisions yesterday. The appliance stores in Dumaguete really love their televisions. Let me just say that the prices were staggering.

I told my wife that before buying a new TV, we should go back to the shop that had worked on it while under warranty. I was not completely convinced that the tech who looked at the TV Saturday was correct. Besides, even if he was right about the motherboard, his idea of what constituted an unreasonable repair cost might not be the same as mine - particularly in light of the cost of a new TV.

A friend agreed that getting a second opinion was the way to go. He said it had been his experience that techs here will tell you "it's the motherboard" rather than admit that they don't really have a clue what the problem is.

So, this morning, we drove to the shop. The folks there told my wife that there was a "virus" in the TV's software. I didn't really buy that, but they were able to fix the set right away and charged us only PHP 1000 (about $20 in U.S.dollars).

Now, I can go back to watching "The Five".

Where Does the Spin Stop?

When I was living and working in the U.S., I rarely found the time to watch the O'Reilly Factor on TV. Now that I'm retired and living halfway around the world, I must say that the show on Fox News has become my favorite morning television program.

Needless to say, I was completely shocked by news that the show may not return after Bill's "vacation". Claims that O'Reilly has sexually harassed a number of women have led many to speculate that his show will be canceled and his vacation may be permanent.

Of course I have no way of knowing if the allegations against O'Reilly are true; I'd like to believe that the accusations are false. However, if true then it's goodbye Bill.

Krauthammer, Putin, and Defenestration by Hot Tub

While discussing Putin's involvement in the death of one of his opponents, Charles Krauthammer introduced me to a word previously unknown to me -

"Two days earlier, a week ago on Tuesday, another critic of the regime who represents the Magnitsky family, the one of another guy who died on orders of the Kremlin, he falls out of a four-story window, according to the regime, while installing a hot tub in the fourth-floor apartment. Now I don’t know about Russia, but in the United States, installing hot tubs is not a known cause of defenestration, so this is a little bit suspicious."

Defenestration is defined as the act of throwing someone or something out of a window. The word originates from two incidents in history, both occurring in Prague. In 1419, seven town officials were thrown from the Town Hall leading to the Hussite war.

Thank you, Mr Krauthammer for introducing me to my new favorite word.

Rugby?

One of the sports networks available on cable in Philippines - and not available in the U.S. - and quickly becoming one of my favorites is Setanta Sports. The network broadcasts Rugby football matches - both Rugby league and Rugby union. Until coming across this network, I had no understanding of Rugby. Not only did I not know the rules of the game, but I had no idea that there were two versions of the game. Not being able to watch College Football from the U.S., Rugby has become my favorite form of football - it's far and away better than soccer.

Now that I'm beginning to appreciate the game, I find that I prefer Rugby union over Rugby league. Although the rules of the game as followed by the two codes are very similar, I have noticed differences concerning tackling and the Scrum. The Scrum in Rugby union is a bit more rough and tumble than Rugby league Scrum. These additional rough and tumble aspects lead me to choose union over league matches, if given an option.

Saturday on the Setanta network is the day for Super Rugby - the largest rugby union competition in the southern hemisphere, consisting of teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

In addition to the Setanta network, Rugby matches are also shown on other European based cable channels in Philippines. I've been able to watch northern hemisphere matches between French teams as well as teams from Great Britain and Ireland.  My friends in the U.S. don't know what they're missing.

Something Good to Say About DST.

When living in the U.S., I made no secret of my dislike for Daylight Saving Time. I never bought into the lie that, somehow the scheme increased daylight hours. The whole thing was simply manipulation of the clock and it really made no difference if you called sundown 8 or 9 o'clock.

Being so close to the equator, it would make absolutely no sense for Philippines to buy into Daylight Saving Time. The sun comes up and goes down at pretty much the same time all throughout the year and sanity concerning DST is one of the things I like about living here. No more Spring Forward - Fall Back for me.

But, after all these years, I have something nice to say about DST. During the winter months, when the U.S. is on Standard Time, Philippines is 13 hours ahead of the Eastern Time Zone. When it's 5 PM in New York, it's 6 AM the following day here. When the U.S. goes over to DST, we are 12 hours ahead of New York. So now, with DST being in effect, one of my favorite TV shows, The Five, airs at 5 AM local time instead of 6 AM. Now, I'm able to watch the entire program without interruption. When it airs at 6 AM Philippine time, I have to leave half way through to take my son to school.

I can now watch the entire hour.......at least until Fall when the U.S. changes over once again.

The Ever Clueless Meryl Streep

Speaking the at the Golden Globes Awards, Meryl Streep had this to say about Trump's America -

"Hollywood is crawling with outsiders and foreigners and if we kick them all out we’ll have nothing to watch but football and Mixed Martial Arts, which are not the Arts."

First of all, I know a good many people who would be ok with just football and MMA on television. She could have included NASCAR as well, since it isn't known to be a hotbed of "outsiders and foreigners".

Secondly, neither Trump, nor any of the folks who support him, is calling for the deportation of all foreigners from the U.S.A.. This is simply Leftist propaganda; removal of illegal, undocumented aliens, yes -removal of all foreigners, no.

The Leftists and elitists in Hollywood need to face the reality that they are, in many ways. responsible for Trump's election. The everyday, typical American is tired of being lied to by these people who believe themselves to be our betters. Meryl Streep doesn't understand that, whenever she opens her mouth, she's driving people into Trump's camp.

The "cool kids" are fooling themselves when the think their blathering is important to everyone else.

Game Seven

After the Cleveland Indians won game 4 of the World Series - putting them ahead of the Chicago Cubs 3 games to one - I really expected the Indians to win the series. After all, at that point, they needed only one more win while Chicago needed all three of the remaining games. I absolutely did not expect the series to go to the full seven games. It never crossed my mind at the beginning that the seventh game would go into 10 innings.

The only downside to watching the games on Philippine time is that if the game is played on a school day, I'll have to fetch my son from school for lunch before the game is over. I always have to leave the apartment during either the 8th or 9th inning. Today, I left the apartment at the top of the ninth while the score was still tied 6-6.

I was plesantly surprised when we arrived from school to find that there was a 10th inning rain dely. The game resumed while we were there. Sadly, I was home when the Cubs took 2 runs in the 10th. I had to take my son back to school before the Indians had their 10th inning.

When I returned from school the 2nd time the game was finally over. I'd wanted the Indians to win. Even though they lost the final game, it was something that they were able to bring it down to a one run win.

Games 3 and 4

Due to major time zone differences, Saturday morning here was when Game 3 of the 2016 World Series was shown live on Fox Sports 2. During Game 1, I started out as a neutral observer but was quickly impressed with the Cleveland Indians performance. Upon learning that Hillary Clinton was reported to be a fan of the Chicago Cubs, I decided to go all out for Cleveland.

Naturally, I was disappointed with Game 2, but I wasn't about to switch teams.

Saturday morning here, my son had to be at his school; I took him and my wife there just after the game started and due to a few SNAFU, I had to drive to the school a couple of times before the game ended. I had to pick them up and bring them home during the bottom of the ninth inning. I was confident that the Cubs wouldn't score in there final inning, but I wish I could have seen the end. A one run lead is a nail biter.

It would be Sunday morning here for Game 4. Not wanting to miss Mass, I went to the vigil Mass Saturday night.

Needless to say, I enjoyed this game more than I had Games 2 and 3. Two didn't go my way, and 3 was too close for comfort.

Monday morning's game (AKA Sunday night in US) will be the final game in Chicago. I'm hoping it will also be the final game in the 2016 World Series. The Cubs haven't won a World Series since 1908 and I'm sure many Cubs fans will be devastated to see their team lose all three of their games at home, but as Tom Hanks so aptly told us, there's no crying in baseball.

Game Two

In yesterday's post [World Series 2016 Game One] I mentioned that, because I had no emotional involvement with either the Cubs nor the Indians, it made little difference to me which team wins the 2016 World Series. In the aftermath of yesterday's game, my view towards the teams changed slightly.

I was much more impressed with Cleveland's performance in game one, and when I learned that Hillary Clinton claimed to be a Cubs fan, it was much easier for me to root for the Indians. Today's game was very much different from the first. It was as if two different teams were playing. To say that I was disappointed in Cleveland's game would be an under statement.

Also, yesterday, I wrote that I "suspected" that Cleveland would win the World Series this year. I may have spoken too soon, but the odds still appear in their favor. Home team, won first game. That's a good sign. AL teams have won the series more often - another good sign. Lastly, even though Cleveland hasn't won the World Series since 1948, the Cubs were in a 40 year slump then - which they've yet to pull out of.

Again, I'd rather see the Cleveland Indians win this year, but if the Chicago Cubs win, I won't shed any tears.

The next three games will be Saturday, Sunday and Monday mornings Philippines time. Looks like I'll need to find something else to blog on until then.

World Series 2016 Game One.

Now that I'm retired and living outside the U.S., I try to watch Major League Baseball when ever I can. There are a number of reasons for that. One, because I don't have to sent my time to a work schedule, I don't have to worry about games interfering with a job. Secondly, it is nice to be a part of something going on in the United States. Unfortunately, I'm unable to watch college football here - no SEC - but Fox Sports 2 does show MLB regularly. I'm not anal about the sport. I don't have to follow the games obsessively, but I do enjoy the opportunity to watch a game fairly regularly.

I've been looking forward to watching this year's World Series. I'm not emotionally involved with either Chicago or Cleveland. It doesn't really matter a great deal to me which team wins - as long as the games are played well.

Due to the time difference, the first game of the series began at 8:00 AM today - Philippine time. I'd have plenty of time to take my son to school and return home to watch the game. The only drawback is that I need to fetch my son around 11:30 AM for lunch, which means with the 10 to 15 minute drive time to his school, I have to leave before the bottom of the eight inning. After Chicago missed their chance in the 7th and 8th innings, I was confident that Cleveland would win the game while I was on my way to pick my son, but I was surprised when I returned and discovered - via the Internet - that Cleveland doubled their score in the eight.

It was announced during the game that tomorrow's game will be moved ahead one hour due to the possibility of bad weather in Cleveland. That means the game will begin at 7:00 AM Philippine time and I should be able to watch the entire game before time to fetch my son for lunch.

Three hours before the game, Dana Perino was asked by one of her co-anchors on The Five which team she believed would win the World Series. I'm not sure why her prediction would be any better or worse than anyone else. She said she'd wait until after she watched the first game before predicting the final winner. I have no inside information, but I suspect Perino will pick the Cleveland Indians. If she does, I suspect she'll be correct.

Quick, Change the Channel

One of the most popular and long lasting day time television programs in Philippines is Eat Bulaga!. It's been on the air for more than 30 years, and can be seen, around lunch time, six days a week.

The program is basically a variety show with comedy, dancing and music. My wife and our domestic helper love the program and they're tuned in whenever it's on the air.

I have been, for the most part, neutral concerning the show. Because of the language differences, I don't understand most of the comedy. The music isn't quite the sort I'd normally listen to, but it isn't absolutely horrible.

I've never felt the desire, before today, to comment on the program. There's been a "meme" of sorts on the show recently, which I can't leave alone. I don't know when it started, but I've noticed recently that the program is featuring, on a regular basis, men wearing high heel shoes while dancing and performing musical numbers.

I don't like this one bit.

Happy Birthday, Killer.

Sept. 29, 2016 is the 81st birthday of the Killer, Jerry Lee Lewis.

Two of Jerry Lee's hits from 1957 - Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On and Great Balls of Fire - propelled Lewis to world wide fame. Sadly, it was his marriage to his 13 year old cousin at age 22 that nearly put an end to his musical career. In comparison, today a 22 year old male singer could marry his 13 year old male cousin (or brother) and it would be seen as a career enhancement......yes, times have changed that much.

Not only have the times changed, but Jerry Lee Lewis has changed a bit, as well. Once seen as rock n' roll's first "wild man", years later, when he recorded the Rolling Stones' song,  Sweet Virginia, with Keith Richards, Lewis self-censored himself by changing the line "gotta scrape the shit right off you shoes" to "gotta scrape that shine right off your shoes".

To celebrate the Killer's 81st birthday today, I'm posting 2 videos from 1957 when Lewis appeared on the Steve Allen Show.

First Debate Did Nothing to Change My Mind.

Like 100 million other folks, I suffered through the first debate in the Clinton/Trump Slugfest, and as I expected, both sides are claiming its candidate the winner. The Clinton News Network (aka CNN) has "fact checked" many of Trump's statements during the debate and , naturally found those particular statements untrue. Of course, that is CNN after all, and you wouldn't expect otherwise.

I also expected, before the debate, that my dislike for both these douchebags would remain the same no matter what happened. That expectation was realized. All through out this election, I've maintained that choosing between Trump and Clinton is like choosing between mustard or mayo on your shit sandwich. I have not wavered in this assessment.

One expectation not met was my believe that Clinton might very well have a medical episode during the 90 minute debate. That medical episode didn't happen, of course, but we still have two more to go.

What we saw in Trump was a true non-politician - an unpolished, off the cuff speaker. In Clinton we saw a politician who came with her list of practiced talking points who, for the most part, followed the script written for her. With Trump, we saw the real Donald Trump. We saw the real Hillary as well - a programed robot who doesn't understand spontaneity, except for perhaps programed spontaneity.

Tomorrow's Debate.

As I write this post, it is just after 7:00 PM - Monday the 26th - here in Philippines. In 14 hours I'll watch the Clinton/ Trump debate live on television. It'll be 9:00 AM Tuesday here; I'll pour a cup of coffee and enjoy the circus.

I won't bother to predict who'll win the debate on points; both sides will claim victory no matter what the results.

Mostly, I'll be watching in the event that Mrs.Clinton will have one of her coughing fits or perhaps a minor fainting spell. Should either of those happen during the debate, Mrs. Clinton can kiss the White House goodbye. I can't think of any one single thing that could happen concerning Trump which would have the same disastrous affect, and for better or worse, Clinton has to face the same challenge in all three of the POTUS debates.

I don't believe the odds are in Clinton's favor. It will be much easier for Trump to waltz through the debates without a major screw up; it's less likely that Clinton will escape unscathed.

Paul Simon Can't Save this Election

I'm hardly the first person to compare the 2016 election for POTUS to the 1968 slugfest. Racial tensions, violent demonstrations through out the country and, not one, but two Nixonian candidates. The Baby Boomers, who were coming of age politically in 1968, and who haven't elected one of their own since 2004, appear to be on the receiving end of political Karma this election cycle.

With the election of Barack Obama, many believed that George W. Bush and Bill Clinton would be the last Baby Boomers to serve as POTUS. Sadly, with Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, Gary Johnson and Jill Stein in the race, it looks like the boomers will get at least one more shot.

We here in Philippines are 12 hours ahead of the Eastern Time zone in the U.S.. This morning, I had plans to watch a live, Major League Baseball game on television. When my only option for that turned out to be the Kansas City Royals versus the Los Angeles Angels, I decided to  waste  spend my time instead watching some of the Democrat convention coverage.

Changing the TV, I was just in time to see my least favorite politician - Al Franken - and my 2nd least favorite comedian (after Al Franken), Sarah Silverman try to convince Bernie Sanders supporters to fall in line behind Hillary.

I actually stuck around to see if Silverman would get booed for her betrayal to the Bern man.

Before leaving the stage, Silverman and Franken introduced singer/songwriter Paul Simon, who sang "A Bridge Over Troubled Water" in what some might call an attempt to bring about unity within the Democrat Party.

In 1968, I was a huge fan of Paul Simon and his partner, Art Garfunkel. In 1968, a political endorsement from Paul Simon would have impressed me and could have actually swayed my decision (had I been able to vote in 1968). Today, Paul Simon could never convince me to vote for anyone, not even for old time's sake.

Naturally, RollingStone.com and Breitbart.com have contrary views on Simon's performance. RollingStone said Simon's singing was "spirited" while Breitbart said a "Hoarse Paul Simon Croaks Out 'Bridge Over Troubled Water.' ". As much as I hate writing this, I have to agree with Breitbart.

Simon's singing was pitiful. Simon was never a strong singer, but it was always pleasant enough. Not now. I was embarrassed for the soon to be 75 year old. I was also embarrassed for the hand holding, side to side swaying Democrats in attendance.

Can the up and coming, young Bernie Sanders Democrats relate to Paul Simon? In 1968, Frank Sinatra was twenty years younger that Paul Simon is today. I can't imagine anyone in 1968 expecting to win over young voters with Frank Sinatra.

I really don't enjoy knocking Paul Simon. He was, at one time, one of my musical heroes. I wish, however, he would stay away from political endorsements and for the sake of our memories, retire from singing.

Sepak Takraw

As I mentioned in a post from March, we get more than 120 TV channels with our cable TV package, quite a few of those being sports networks.

Unfortunately, American college football is unavailable. The nearest we get to football is rugby, which I suppose is very popular in Australia. Occasionally, I can watch American Major League Baseball. Basketball seems to be the most popular sport on TV here, but I actually prefer volleyball.

In was in that post from March that I mentioned seeing televised camel racing. In that post, I was wondering how the the promoters could be certain that the camels would continue to run around the track without a jockey guiding them and pushing them in the right direction. A friend living in U.A.E. told me that the camel were chasing something mechanical much like greyhounds do when they're racing.

Channel surfing last night, I came upon another sport that was new to me - Sepak takraw. Basically, the game is volleyball played with one's feet. In the game, the players use a rattan ball and are only allowed to use their feet, knee, chest and head to touch the ball.

I came upon a match between Vietnam and Thailand. The jpg is a shot of the TV. Just to give an idea how the game is played, I videoed a minute or so of the game. It isn't the highest quality video, but it gets the point across.

For those interested, Thailand, in red, won the match in all three sets.