Life in the Mind of a Modest Genius

Thank You, Captain Smith

It always amazes me when I see a picture of a brotha on the front of the Des Moines Register's website and it's not an athlete or the President.  It is a VERY rare occurrence so when it happens, I'm curios to know what he did to get so lucky.  Too bad it was unfortunate news in this instance.

Luther Smith, a native Iowan and a Tuskegee Airman passed away Wednesday morning at Bryn Mawr Hospital in Philadelphia.  He was 89-years-old.

I never realized that any of the Tuskegee Airmen were from Iowa.  However, I should have known better based on the law of averages.  Afterall, Des Moines was home to Fort Des Moines which was the U.S. Army's first officer candidate class for African American men in 1917.  Iowa does have more Black history than people give it credit for.

This picture was taken in 2002 after he was being photographed with the plane after a ceremony honoring seven Tuskegee Airmen at the Iowa Air National Guard base.  I'm mad that that event didn't get hardly any pub.  I definitely would have been there.  I don't remmber hearing anything about that even, but I bet whatever latest rock band was coming to Wells Fargo that year was all over the news. 

Smith actually grew up in Des Moines and flew over 133 combat missions with the Airmen.  He would later retire in 1947 and earn his engineering degree right here in Iowa (more specifically at the University of Iowa, but we won't hold that against him).

There was a little buzz a couple of years ago that the Des Moines airport board had considered renaming the Des Moines International Airport after Smith.  They need to go ahead and make that happen.  Once a Tuskegee Airman...always a Tuskegee Airman and he is certainly worthy of such an honor.  It's just too bad he won't be around to see it happen if they do finally come to their senses and rename it.

Rest in peace, Captain Smith.

Another Wrestler Gone

I was just watching a special the other day on the rise and fall of the WCW.  At one time, they were the rival organization to the more widely known WWE when professional wrestling was at its apex in the 80s.  It had me thinking of the good old days when it was fun to watch wrestling because of all the vibrant personalities they had.  That included Umaga who is now no longer with us.

Edward Fatu, better known as his wrestling name "Umaga", died Friday from a heart attack in a Houston hospital.  He was only 36-years-old.

Umaga was one of those wrestlers who I knew more for their look rather than their personality.  I don't even recall him doing much talking or having much of a dominant storyline.  I just distinctly remember his tattooed body (including his face) and his ability to be fairly agile for his overweight size.

Unfortunately, Umaga is the latest in a slew of nearly a dozen wrestlers that have all passed away within the last ten years.  There were a few that were due to old age, but most of them were all under the age of 45 and had something to do with heart problems.  Which can be directly attributed to steroids.

I never have understood the allure of drugs for any purpose at all.  Not even in the instance of enhancing one's self for sports entertainment.  It seems to be such common sense to stay away from them.  Especially when these cats know the history of the wrestlers that have suffered untimely deaths because of it.  Still they do them anyway.

Hopefully, more of the new breed of pro wrestlers will take heed of this latest tragedy and stay away from performance enhancing drugs.  That doesn't seem very likely though considering the disturbing trend that continues to exist.  It may not be long before I'm on here writing about another one gone too soon.

It was reported that just earlier this year, Umaga had his contract terminated due to violating the WWE's "Wellness Program".  I translate that as meaning he got caught using roids.  They offered him rehab but he refused.  Maybe if he would have accepted, he would still be alive today. 

Rest in peace, Umaga.

It's Ober

It seems like an eternity ago when MTV's programming shifted from videos to them taking a stab at series television.  Even when they did it, they still stayed true to their pop culture roots with one of the first efforts being a game show themed around that.  Now the host of that first game show is gone.

Longtime MTV "Remote Control" host Ken Ober has passed away this past weekend.  So far, no cause of death has been given.  He was only 52-years-old.

I have to be honest and say that I can count on one hand how many episodes of "Remote Control" I watched.  Quite frankly, I never could understand what the fuss was about.  I tried to get into it because it was the latest buzz in school but just couldn't do it.  It wasn't the only MTV fad that held that distinction with me.  I never understood the whole "Beavis and Butthead" craze either.

What it probably was was even back then I was a little bitter about the fact that the airtime for videos was being depleted.  I was used to turning on MTV to catch the latest from my favorite artist and would see this corny game show instead.  I never would have guessed then that "Remote Control" would be the beginning of the end for videos on that network.

Not that any of this was Ober's fault.  He was just doing what he was hired to do which was to be mildly entertaining on this new show in hopes that it would catch on and diversify MTV's portfolio.  It apparently worked at least to an extent even if Ober didn't get to fully reap the benefits.  As the host, you would have thought his career would have taken off.  Instead, it was two then-unknowns who were able to capitalize:  Colin Quinn and Adam Sandler.

Even though I was never enamored by "Remote Control" as much as some of my other Gen X'ers were, Ober is still a part of our 80s history for being a part of that show.  I will always acknowledge anyone that contributed to the pop culture of that era.  Rest in peace, Ken.

O the Randomness

Soupy Sales died.  Many folks my age and younger (myself included) couldn't name a show and/or a single movie he played in if you paid us, but we recognize the name.  Anyway, rest in peace, Soups.

Whatever happened to Charlie Pride?

I wonder if the "Saw" movies will eventually surpass the "Friday the 13th" franchise and churn out over 13 installments.  Pretty sure it will happen.

I'm determined to win one of those prizes in that McDonald's Monopoly game.  And not one of the freebie breakfast sammiches and/or medium drinks.

If I don't win anything again this year, I am confident that those "winners" they list and name are all actors.

After a disagreement with a Papa's Murphy pizza (which I lost decisively), I am convinced I won't ever be doing any "Man vs. Food" challenges

I wonder if NFL teams have a play or two designed to purposely use that ref in the middle of the field as interference

Time to step up my game for the 31 Days of Horror Marathon.  I'll have to watch about two a day for the rest of the week to get 31 in for the month.  I don't see that happening.

It's hard to be an Iowa Hawkeye hater when they're #4 in the polls and representing for the entire state.  Although it's making their fans that much more obnoxious and we can all do without that.

The next time I decide to get out of pocket, I'm going to blame it on the rain...or the boogie...haven't decided which yet

So Lionel Ritchie's cut "Hello" was really kinda stalkerish.  Even the music sounds a little horror movie-ish.  How did I not pick up on that before?

It doesn't change the fact that I had a crush on the blind girl from that video for the longest.  Whatever happened to her?

I used to know how to make hospital corners.  I couldn't do it now if you paid me.

Now they're trying to imply President Obama is sexist because he doesn't have any women play ball with him when he hoops?  Give me a break already

A FB friend of mine introduced me to a new interesting site:  www.iseecolor.com.  It appears to be very time-consuming if you get caught up in some of the forums out there, but some of the conversations are very interesting.

Facebook is killing me with their "Reconnect with" suggestions.  What they really should be suggesting is that we delete those friends since it's obvious they never use FB.

'Nuff said.

 

Oh Snap, Look Who's Gone...

The name Vic Mizzy probably won't sound familiar to many of you.  Don't feel bad because it didn't to me either.  Until I was informed of what his claim to fame was.

Mizzy passed away due to heart failure on Saturday.  He was 93-years old. 

The composer became legendary thanks to his creation of "The Addams Family" theme song.  I don't think there's a soul around who's not familiar with that intro.  Thanks to the movie version(s) in the 90s, the youth of today even got reacquainted with it.  Folks may not remember all of the lyrics (even though I do), but we all remember the snaps.

That wasn't his only known work though.  He also did the theme song for "Green Acres".  I can honestly say that I have never seen a single episode.  The premise just seemed too ridiculous for me.  Apparently I wasn't the only one who thought so because there hasn't been a movie remake for that show yet.   Oddly enough, I still knew the theme song.  

Mizzy always joked that he didn't have a problem only being remembered for the snaps in "The Addams Family" intro because those snaps got him a mansion in Bel-Air.  Not bad work if you can get it.  Rest in peace, Vic.

So Long, Captain

Thanks to the prevalent use of steroids, the news of another wrestler death no longer comes as that big of a shock.  However, when one of those cats happens to live a prolonged a life, it's quite a refreshing turn of events.

Captain Lou Albano made it all the way to the ripe age of 76-years-old before he ultimately passed away today due to undisclosed causes.

The Captain was once part of the WWE stable of wrestlers back when it was known as WWF and Hulk Hogan reigned supreme.  Even though I watched wrestling at the time, I honestly can't remember him actually performing him in nan match.  He was always around, but I just don't recall him doing in any actual wrestling.

It's rather odd because one of my earliest memories of him is him being one of the cartoons in that Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n Wrestling cartoon.  I could never figure out how he got to be one of the personalities big enough to earn a spot on the show.  Most of all, I always wondered why he had rubberbands stuck to his face. 

His biggest claim to fame from a pop culture standpoint was probably his association with Cyndi Lauper.  At the height of her popularity, she inexplicably cast him in her "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" video.  No clue how and/or why she chose him.  Was he her bodyguard at the time?  I certainly hope not because he wasn't the most fit person around which would probably be the last person you would want protecting you.

At any rate, his face and quirky style caused him to be a permanent fixture of the 80s landscape.  Although I may never know how exactly you were a captain, may you rest in peace, Lou. 

Goodbye, Henry

The name may not sound familiar to many of you.  It does to me only because I remember him in bit parts in a few movies that I enjoyed as well as his recurring role on "Boston Legal".  Now, he is gone.

Actor Henry Gibson passed away Wednesday.  No details of death have been released as of yet.  He was 73-years-old.

Apparently he has been doing his thing ever since the days of "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In". That was clearly before my time.  My first recollection of seeing him was as in one of my top 5 movies of all-time, "The Blues Brothers".  He played one of the several cast of characters that were out to get Jake and Elwood.  His was the head Nazi determined to make sure the Blues Brothers paid the cost for disrupting their Illinois Nazi rally. 

As he got even older, he would go on to play the more squirrelly roles that were the ideal match for his demeanor and appearance.  He was the wrongly accused and soon-to-be executed felon in the underrated comedy  "Switching Channels".  He played one of the corrupt villains in "Innerspace".  And most recently, he was a semi-regular on "Boston Legal" as a judge William Shattner's character constantly butted heads with.

MTV used to have give out a pseud0-award during their MTV Movie Awards called the MTV Lifetime Achievement Award.  It was a spoof on Lifetime Achievement Awards as it largely recognized actors who didn't get their just recognition.  Past recipients jokingly included Jason Voorhees and even Chewbacca.  However, when they gave it to Clint Howard during the final year they retired it, they may have been onto something.

There's a lot to be said for those actors that we see a lot in significant minor roles, but don't get the shine that the major stars of the film do.  Their parts are small enough that they can't even really be considered supporting cast yet they are crucial to the film.  That would be the type of character  Gibson typically played and he was one of the best at it.  He could have easily gotten one of those MTV Lifetime Achievement Awards.

Rest in peace, Mr. Gibson.

Patrick is Ghost

2009 has been one heck of a year for celebrities.  And to think we've still got a few months left yet.  Although we did all see this one coming.  Not that that lessens the finality any that he is no longer with us.

Patrick Swayze passed away peacefully Monday night after eventually succumbing to his fight with pancreatic cancer.  He was 57-years-old.

It's so ironic when you think about it that he is now synonymous with the phrase that he helped make famous.  All because of his legendary role in "Ghost".  Folks would often try to be hip with the saying "I'm Swayze" meaning they were out, just like he was in that role.  Now that he is physically gone, it takes that phrase to an entirely different level.

I'm going to man up and admit that "Dirty Dancing" remains one of my all-time favorite movies.  I know that for all intents and purposes it was a chick flick, but I can't help it.  I really enjoyed the music and the dancing.  Swayze's charisma made it seem like the ballroom style dance was both cool and seductive.  And let's face it, both Jennifer Grey and Cynthia Rhodes (Penny) were pretty easy on the eyes.

It's not like that film was even Pat's first rodeo so he was entitled to come with a bit of a softer role.  He had earned it after already establishing himself with a couple of bonafide action flicks that have already graced my Vault list: "Red Dawn" and "The Outsiders".  Don't forget the inimitable "Point Break" that would eventually come along later.  Swaye easily knew how to make movies that guys could geek out over yet still cater to his crushing female fan base when he felt the need.

When the news came last year that Swayze had pancreatic cancer, a lot of folks were writing him off quickly.  Word is pancreatic cancer is one of the worst kinds of cancer to get so many of us were thinking he only had weeks to live.  Pat managed to stretch his time here out for another year.  Even kept working while he did it.  Just like many of the characters he always played, he wasn't going down without a fight. 

Rest in peace, Patrick.

O the Randomness

It's 1am and someone is outside grillin' up something.  And it smells SOOO good.

So I guess DJ AM died.  He survives a plane crash that kills four people only to eventually die of a drug overdose.  That's too bad.  Rest in peace, dude.

I'm starting to realize that having the noise of other people around was something I had gotten used  to.  Something I probably took for granted.

Still want to relocate, but it may be at least next March before it's able to happen.

I'm finally back into the swing of things with my Netflix.  I've even started using their Watch Instantly feature more.

The charger for my iPhone is already starting to fall apart and it's only a couple of months old.

One of these days, I'm going to get that Fandango offer in time to get movie tickets for a dollar. 

While I'm at it, one of these days I'm going to take the time to figure out how the whole RSS feeder thingamajiggit works.

Blue Bell Ice Cream needs to be available in Iowa.  Period.  

My lunch the other day came to $6.66.  I HATE when that happens.

That creepy Craigslist lady STLL has her posting out there looking for a dude to shack up with her. 

I'm SO tempted to call the number just to see if it's a joke.

My site still only has a lowly Google page rank of 2.  Pathetic.  I don't understand how that whole thing works because I swear I have more readers now than I did back when it had a page rank of 4 for a minute.

I don't know why I even care about that whole page rank business anyway.  It's not like I get any financial gain off it regardless what my page rank is.

So I guess just because my relationship status changes, that doesn't mean everyone else's does too?  Huh...

I'm going to try a new church tomorrow to see how I like it.

The more I look at my car, the more I like it.  It's not just the fact that I have transportation either.  I really do like the way it looks.

It's about time Facebook updated their iPhone app with the ability to do landscape mode.  That was irritating me having to type on the touchpad the standard way.

'Nuff said.

And Then There Was One...

This is now the second time in a short while that I found out about a famous death by way of my Twitter feed.  The first time was when I started seeing the buzz out there about Mike.  Then, of all people, I saw Diddy twit something about Uncle Ted passing away.  I immediately thought it was Teddy Pendergrass for some reason.  The most obvious Ted never occurred to me.

Massachusetts Democratic Senator Edward "Ted" Kennedy died late Tuesday at his home in Hyannis Port, MA after a lengthy battle with brain cancer.  He was 77-years-old.

The first time I realized that Ted was even sick was around last year's Democratic Convention.  There was news of him suffering a seizure during a post-inaugural luncheon and he had to be hospitalized.  I remember thinking then that it would be terrible if he met his demise there to dampen the occasion.  Especially since Ted's endorsement played a big factor in President Obama getting the Democratic nomination in the first place.

Additionally, I didn't know until just now that his name was actually Edward.  Or maybe I was aware of it at one point in time and had just forgotten (which is probably the more likely scenario).  He had just been Ted Kennedy for so long that I always assumed that was his real name.

I also wasn't aware that he made a brief run at the presidency in 1980 only to get defeated in primary challenge to then-President Jimmy Carter.  I wonder how many people look back in hindsight at that voting decision.  Carter was arguably one of our worst presidents in recent history(fortunately, Georgie has him beat for the top spot by a mile).  How much different and possibly even better had the country had been if a Kennedy had been in office instead?

The reason why I gave this post that particular title is because now there is only one remaining Kennedy offspring left from the legendary Joe Kennedy.  Although Jean Kennedy-Smith has managed to outlive them all, all of the sons are now gone.  Ted did manage to live the longest live of the sons; however, even the manner of his ultimate passing(via brain cancer) still show signs that perhaps there truly was a curse on the Kennedy boys. 

Ted may have never reached the grand prize of the Presidency, but he made a powerful impact during his 40+ years as a Democratic senator.  He did the first family of Democratic politics proud.  Rest in peace, Senator Kennedy.