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Name: James Scott Baumgarner
Place of birth: Norman, Oklahoma, which would make him an Okie, but not from Muskogee.
A school drop out to join the Merchant Marine at 16 to see service in WW II.
Twice a recipient of a Purple Heart for wounds received during the Korean War.
There is a street named for him in his home town of Norman.
Married to the same woman for 57 years. They met at a political rally.

One of the few actors to move effortlessly between films and TV, which he did several times, his beginning salary as an actor was $200.00 per week. By the time of "The Rockford Files" in the '70's and '80's, his salary had increased to $100,000 per episode. But that was not as well paying as his work in commercials. As a spokesperson for Mazda, he was paid over $1,000,000 a year + he got his choice of a new Mazda every year.

While a lifelong liberal Democrat, his best friend was Jack Kelly, who played his brother Bart on the TV show "Maverick" and was a staunch conservative Republican. Towards the end of the series, they were joined by their English cousin Beauregarde, played by Roger Moore. (Yes, that Roger Moore.)

R.I.P. James. You will be missed.

MacGyver puppet trick!	Small | Large

Helen's husband of 30 years, Alfred Shabangu, 66, (right) and their five children, aged between 38 and 28, all attended the ceremonyl.:

I live the picture of this quote, I just think it should have read

Helen's husband of 30 years, Alfred Shabangu, 66, (right, and looking like he's about to commit murder) and their five children, aged between 38 and 28, all attended the ceremony

Chloe Bennet

Ye-es!

Michael Pearce's
The Bride Box
17th in the Mamur Zapt series

When an young girl is found hiding on board a train in Egypt, and her older sister is found dead on the same train, the head of Egypt's secret police, a Welshman, and his best friend, an Egyptian lawyer, head to southern Egypt to find out what is going on and encounter Egyptian rebels, English gunrunners, and Sudanese slavers.


Alex Kava's
Stranded
11th in the Maggie O'Dell series


William Kent Krueger's
Tamarack County
in the Cork O'Connor series


Louise Penry's
How the Light Gets In
8th in the Chief Inspector Gamache series

When an elderly woman is found dead in her home under suspicious circumstances, it is discovered that she was the last surviving member of the 1st set of quintuplets born in Canada. And the chief law enforcement official and the chief politician in Quebec are conspiring together. No doubt to do something very illegal.

Two stories. The 1st one is better than the 2nd (IMHO), but the 2nd one has the better denouement. This would seem to be a good place to end the series, but there is at least 1 more book in the series upcoming.


Lynn Shepherd's
A Fatal Likeness

A series of historical psychological mysteries with a bit of suspense. 2 already in the series, besides this 1. At least 1 more upcoming.


Robert Galbraith's
The Cuckoo's Calling
1st in the Cormoran Strike series

When a high end fashion model takes a dive off her apartment balcony to land smack on the street below, was it an accident? Murder? or Suicide? And if it was murder, who helped her take the dive? Was it . . .

her half brother -- her BFF -- a building employee -- her fiance -- the gay fashion designer -- the make-up artist -- the movie producer, who also lives in the building -- the producer's wife -- the rap artist, who is moving into the building -- the rival model -- or someone else.

Of course, Robert Galbraith is a pseudonym for J. K. (Harry Potter) Rowling. There is a 2nd one coming up in the series, and so far it has gotten stellar reviews, but I wonder if that does not have more to do with who wrote it, then what was written, as the reviews for the 1st one was at best only mediocre.

Plus . . .

The 50 year success of "Dr. Who" had a lot to do with the well-written scripts that were produced. Scripts with . . .

imaginative ideas -- emphatic characters -- no restrictions on place -- no restrictions on time period -- and scripts that emphasized the cheap jack production values, which actually added to the appeal of the program (IMHO.)

Next time: 6 of 1. Half a dozen of the other non-fiction and travel guides + some Sherlock Holmes, as an young man.

bummer

CHAMPAIGN – Matthew Hannon, 56, of Champaign died at 12:26 p.m. Saturday (March 31, 2012) at home. Funeral arrangements were incomplete at Mackey-Wright Funeral Home, 215 E. Washington St., Monticello.

Holy Crap!! He's back from the dead!!

Samurai Cop Alive and Well

Samurai Cop Alive and Well Pt. Deux

And he's turned into Alice Cooper too!! 

SAMURAI COP 2! HELL YEAH!!!!!!!

[The Incredible Petrified World (1957)]

Watched these yet again...I'm not entirely sure as to why for the first one which I've now seen at least 4 times despite it being a drag.

The Incredible Petrified World (1957): Following an unexpected undersea accident, the crew of an experimental diving bell are shocked to discover they aren't crushed by underwater pressures and eventually make their way to an undersea cavern somehow full of open air pockets where they can breathe. There they try to survive and find their way out and are eventually threatened by a rather lackluster lizard and a kooky old man (Maurice Bernard) who been's alone far too long it seems.

This was yet another Jerry Warren borefest featuring lots of scenes of characters walking and swimming and doing ordinary things. The most interesting it gets is when Phyllis Coates and Sheila Noonan get into something of a jealous rivalry over lead Robert Clarke and when the crazy old man is on screen. John Carradine is also involved as the diving bell inventor and leader of the diving experiment but is rather forgettable here for the most part. Just a bore. ** out of ***** stars.

Queen of the Amazons (1947): An adventuress named Jean Preston (Patricia Morison) hires reluctant jungle safari guide Gary Lambert (Robert Lowery) to help lead them on a dangerous search through the jungle for her lost fiancee Greg Jones (Bruce Edwards) rumored to be held captive by an Amazon jungle queen.

At times, this is tough slugging. There's lots of walking and talking and it feels like tonnes of stock footage thrown into the mix here as well. Still leads Morison and Lowery prove likable and entertaining which helps and the cast is seemingly full of kooky characters that would have seemed quite at home in a classic movie serial style adventure. Amira Moustafa adds a certain exotic beauty and charm to the proceedings as the Amazon Queen Zita. J. Edward Bromberg also proves memorable here in his role as well and there's a surprising amount of attention given to this film's trained monkey and crow who do get some cool moments here although as comic relief, they sometimes leave something to be desired. I enjoy this but it can be tough slugging to get through at times despite only running about 1 hour. *** out of ***** stars.

Moon of the Wolf (1972): Louisiana Sheriff Aaron Whitaker (David Janssen) while investigating a series of brutal and vicious murders begin to suspect something supernatural at work, possibly a werewolf.

While this has some problems (it's too slow-moving, too darkly lit in some scenes, makeup disappoints), I rather enjoy this horror/murder mystery from 1970s television. It's not unlike many horror TV series from this period and features some great character actors notably Bradford Dillman, John Beradino, Royal Dano, and Geoffrey Lewis. There's some good suspense scenes and tension is slowly built throughout the film, perhaps much too slowly for some. Me, I still like this one. ***1/2 out of ***** stars.

^ I don't think you'll be disappointed.

And how could I forget...a sound track composed entirely of SPACE LOUNGE!

It kinda elevates the movie to another level, don't ya think?

I know. It just...it just seems so right.

P.S. I'm listening to the diologue, and the comic in me sees SO much POTENTIAL!
Bwa-hahahaha!

GAHhhhh! Am I the only one thinks the whole Anderson Puppet things is just strange?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wujTB-nDe-M
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