Funeral details via cloud connection..

Well, it’s been learned that Frank’s daughter has announced that he has passed away at the age of 96.  Frank died in his home in Wilsonville, Oregon this past Friday.  He’d moved there in the 1990s with his wife Shirley who passed away in 2008.

How ironic, a town with a population of just over 19,000…not all that much bigger than the small towns in which he lived on television for years.  The general store is closed…The family has not given a specific cause of death.

He was a serious actor who learned his craft, when studying drama while attending Stanford University.  He served his country well in WWII and then began to work as a radio announcer after leaving the military.  (Maybe there’s hope for me yet)…then, he began landing acting jobs after that.

Sadly though, Frank felt that he’d been typecast (as so many character actors in Hollywood do) and could never shake the stigma of the “country folk” parts he’d established himself through.  He once was quoted in an interview saying about being remembered for those (backwoods) roles he’d played, “I suppose I ought to be grateful for that. Because otherwise I wouldn’t be remembered at all. I’ve got to be one of the luckiest guys in the world.”

Frank Cady was 96.  R.I.P.  — We’ll remember you Frank…

Also, more bad news from Hollywood.  Leslie Nielsen, known primarily for his roles in the Naked Gun movie series and his unforgettable role in Airplane has passed away as well. Neilsen died of complications from pneumonia.

I know the first time I ever saw Airplane!, I laughed so hard I almost wet myself.  Nielsen, was known as lovable bumbling characters, like the doctor in Airplane! and  detective Lt. Frank Drebin in the Naked Gun movie series.

So many unforgettable lines…Nielsen, who plays a doctor on a flight is told that the pilot and some of the passengers are extremely and violently ill.  Nielsen, with his medical degree states that they must get to a hospital immediately…

“A hospital? What is it?” asks one of the flight attendants, about the illness.

Nielsen delivers (with a straight face)…”It’s a big building with patients, but that’s not important right now.”

Later he asks a passenger if he can fly the plane, the man replies, “Surely you can’t be serious.”

Nielsen responds with the timeless classic line: “I am serious, and don’t call me Shirley.”

He also appeared in a series of other comedic roles in “Repossessed”, a parody in the vain of The Exorcist and “Mr. Magoo,” where he played yet another good-natured bumbler.

However, there were other dramatic roles that many of us forgot. Nielsen, delivered a commanding performance in the 1972 disaster film of an overturned ocean liner The Poseidon Adventure.

Leslie Nielsen died in Ft. Lauderdale at a hospital near his home late this afternoon (Sunday).  Nielsen’s agent John S. Kelly said that at the tie of his death, he was surrounded by his wife, Barbaree, and friends.

Leslie Nielsen was 84.  R.I.P.  Sorry to say we’re serious…and won’t every call you Shirley…

Funny how much the physical setting we’re in affects our impression of a film. Recently my husband and I found ourselves in a makeshift drive-in in Medicine Park, Oklahoma while we were on vacation. There we were, minding our own goat cheese, ambling down the main drag in the soft evening air, when a big parking lot across the street sprang to life with an episode of “The Beverly Hillbillies”, projected onto a screen just slightly too big for someone’s living room. So husband and I found an open park bench and passed a pleasant 20+ minutes in the company of Jed Clampett and kin, along with dozens of fellow Okies watching from lawn chairs and the beds of pickups.

Turns out this was only the beginning: as soon as the final notes of Flatt and Scruggs died away, “The Flying Tigers” blazed onto the screen. Husband is a lifelong fan of the Duke, and I’ll watch just about anything, especially if it’s older than I am and in black-and-white. So we watched as long as we could, til the park bench became too hard and we weren’t sure we could find our way in the dark back to our charming cottage if we waited any longer. Next morning, the drive-in was gone like Brigadoon (although the coffee and outstanding baked goods at Mrs. Chadwick’s were wonderfully real).

This got me thinking about the different environments I’ve watched movies in, aside from the usual living room/auditorium/theater settings. Actual drive-in theaters (not the DIY Medicine Park kind) were a little past their peak by the time I came along. Neither of my parents was that interested in trying to watch a movie with squirmy or drowsy kids from inside a car using a tinny sound system, surrounded by others trying to do the same (or not). So I have only one very hazy memory of being at a drive-in as a youngster, as well as a couple of visits as an adult to the Admiral Twin in Tulsa, Oklahoma with husband. (The films we saw at the Admiral Twin were “Desperado” and “Waterworld”. The drive-in setting wasn’t particularly kind to either one.)

Here are a couple of other offbeat settings I’ve encountered, and the movies I saw there:

• The restored Orpheum Theater in Okmulgee, Oklahoma, for “Lilo and Stitch”. This is the only two-story movie theater I’ve ever been in. (I think our showing was upstairs.) Kinda cramped, but the caged bird in the lobby added to its charm.
• The dining hall of a nursing home in midtown Tulsa, for “Boys Town”, “White Christmas”, and several other old flicks. At one time, my church did kind of a “movie ministry” at one of the local nursing homes. No big agenda, just a way to spend a couple of hours one Sunday afternoon a month with older folks who didn’t get many visitors. Showing movies that they might remember from their younger days seemed like something we could manage without requiring too much time or expense. We did get a few audience members each time, most of whom shuffled in and out, or dozed through whatever VHS tape we were able to coax the home’s balky VCR to play.

What are some unusual settings that you’ve watched movies in? (And would you recommend these environments to others, or not?) Share your experiences in the Comments, won’tcha?

Editor’s Note:  This piece is the first piece in a planned series on teaching humor and television sitcoms.  Jeffrey Melton will be spearheading this feature, but he invites you to contribute to the series, as do I.  Do you have a sitcom that you teach that you would like to write about?  Please contact the editor.  Thanks.

I made my ten-year-old daughter watch the first episode of The Beverly Hillbillies. It was going to be a bonding experience for us. At the end as the credits rolled and the Clampetts waved, she said, “That was dumb.” A rift came between us at that moment, a deep realization of disappointment for both of us. We had expected more from one another. But I couldn’t argue against her basic assertion. So I simply said, “Well, you’re dumb, too,” and sent her to her room. No, I didn’t really say that, but I wanted to. I actually said, “Yes, it is dumb, but not as dumb as it seems.” And that’s the moment when “Dad” shifted to “Academic.” She left the room on her own.

There goes the neighborhood: the Clampetts enter Beverly Hills

Why was The Beverly Hillbillies so popular, as corny as it is?

Janet Staiger, in her Blockbuster TV (New York: New York UP, 2000), notes that the early reviews were brutal. Staiger goes on to point out, however, that over a third of all TV households were tuning in by the close of the first season. It was the top show for the 1962/63 and 63/64 seasons by a substantive margin and remained in the top twenty for six more years after its highpoint. According to Staiger, it was THE blockbuster sitcom of the decade.

The Beverly Hillbillies is a one-joke show. There is no way to argue around that basic point. Many popular shows have simple formulas, but an important difference is that The Beverly Hillbillies never made any pretense of being anything other than a one-joke show. Paul Henning, producer and primary writer, simply chose to perfect it. Moreover, Henning, who also gave us The Real McCoys, Petticoat Junction and Green Acres (I will forever love him), chose to exploit the best joke we have: “The Great American Joke.” The phrase was coined by Louis Rubin in his seminal essay of the same name first published as the Introduction to his edited collection The Comic Imagination in American Literature (New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers UP, 1973). It remains a useful framework for teaching and enjoying American humor.

In short, Rubin claims that the essence of American humor derives from the ever-present gap between our lofty ideals, on the one hand, and the harsh day-to-day reality, on the other. This incongruity provides a wealth of fodder for humorists. The key, however, is that the joke depends on the perpetual but often sublimated discomfort we experience in relation to that gap. We are culturally conflicted by a neurosis that encourages us at one and the same time to seek higher status (climb that ladder) and also to believe with religious fervor that we are all created equal—that there is no legitimate status to seek. That paradox—or schizophrenia—provides a perpetual sore spot for humorists to poke. Of course, the United States is not the only nation to produce humor based on inequalities and social tensions; it is simply the only nation to start with a theoretical governing principle that rejects the existence of inequality altogether.

That’s funny.

American Humor gets its edge from the underlying incoherence of a culture that is often mired in class struggle but uneasy about discussing (or even acknowledging) it directly. The vein runs from “Rip Van Winkle” to “Larry the Cable Guy,” from Huckleberry Finn to Catch-22, from Minstrel Shows to Richard Pryor, from Fanny Fern to Ellen DeGeneres, from Modern Times to Caddyshack, and so on. The comedic and ironic fight in American humor is forever between the forces of Respectability—those with power and a pervasive sense of entitlement—and the forces of Subversion—those without power but with a pervasive sense of entitlement, nonetheless. In shorthand, it is the fight between the “Snobs” and the “Slobs.”

In American humor, the slobs get the best lines.

The premise of The Beverly Hillbillies applies “the great American joke” reduced it to its basic framework:  make poor people rich; place them in high society; laugh as they struggle to adjust. It is a simple fish-out-of-water formula, and the humor derives primarily from the cluelessness of the Clampetts regarding this brave new world they enter—a swimming pool becomes a “cement pond,” etc. Their ignorance is funny. But that is only half of a successful application of  “the great American joke”; the Clampetts also serve as a subversive force undermining American respectability as represented by those fortunate ones who are at the top of the American social ladder in Beverly Hills. So the humor also arises from the superficiality of high class values that are rendered absurd when placed in sharp contrast to the innocent simplicity of outsiders like the Clampetts.  Every episode of The Beverly Hillbillies runs through a variation of the great American joke with sterling success as the audience numbers reveal.

A subversive home for the Clampetts in the Ozarks.

I try to convince students to love it, too. On the whole, they, just like my daughter, are not very impressed with the show. (I should note that they laugh heartily as we watch scenes.)  As a forum for critical thinking, the show offers a useful way to explore important social issues along with the patterns of situation comedy, and the mechanics of humor. Moreover, it rewards viewers with emotional and intellectual pleasure. In discussions, we consider how audiences found it familiar and reassuring, especially as the 1960s quickly became a much more complicated place outside of the family sitcom dream world. We also critique the southern/hillbilly stereotypes that are central to the conceit of the show. Although it exploits substantive social tensions, the Great American Joke is nonetheless comforting and reassuring in that it continually asserts the implied dignity of subversives. The Clampetts are an ideal foil for the power elite of Beverly Hills. Yes, they are comic stereotypes, but such simplistic portrayals become palatable and even lovable when complemented by the core fact of their decency. The Clampetts are uncompromisingly nice. And they are rich to boot!

A respectable home for the Clampetts in Beverly Hills.

And that is the key to the success of this “dumb” sitcom. We all dream to be rich, and, despite much evidence to the contrary, we also believe that once rich we would retain our own core value system. That is rather delusory. Yet, the Clampetts actually pull it off. They retain their dignity and value system. They are not simply funny; they are dignified and respectful no matter how often they seem buffoonish on the surface. Whereas the applications of  “the great American joke” are entertaining if predictable, it is this assertion of values that made The Beverly Hillbillies a huge hit. It may offer a ridiculously simple premise as a setup for countless equally simple sight gags and verbal play, but The Beverly Hillbillies celebrates our favorite premise and our favorite punch-line, and, in the end, our favorite dream.

So what if a ten-year-old girl thinks it is dumb. What the hell does she know? I’m the one with a Ph.D. More to the point, I’m the one who can make her watch more episodes, and I will—however many it takes for her to come around. The same goes for my students.

From the closing credits, a stroke of genius from Paul Henning, a wave of decency at the end of every episode.

Links:

Information provided by the Museum of Broadcast Communications:

http://www.museum.tv/eotvsection.php?entrycode=beverlyhillb

“The Clampetts Strike Oil” (pilot episode, Sep. 26, 1962):

(c) Jeffrey Melton, 2012

Jeffrey Melton (PhD. University of South Carolina, 1993) is an Associate Professor of American Studies at the University of Alabama. He is the author of Mark Twain, Travel Books, and Tourism: The Tide of a Great Popular Movement (University of Alabama Press, 2002, rpt. 2009) and co-editor of Mark Twain on the Move: A Travel Reader(University of Alabama Press, 2009). He has published articles on travel literature, tourism, and humor in South Atlantic Review, Papers on Language and Literature, Studies in American Humor, Popular Culture Review, Studies in American Culture, and Thalia: Studies in Literary Humor.

Mark Twain, Travel Books, and Tourism: The Tide of a Great Popular Movement (Studies in American Literary Realism & Naturalism)
by Jeffrey A. Melton

Beverly Hillbillies Volume 1
by

**************************************************************
Jeffrey Melton at IndieBound

The USA Today is reporting that Mitt Romney is being very secretive as to the identities  “of the fundraisers helping him collect the millions of dollars he needs to win the White House, even as he promises them special access perks.”

This is an important development because it undermines any claim to campaign transparency by Romney. It also leads to the perception that secret deals will cut for those Wall Street bankers and private equity company executives who are most likely to be Romney’s largest contributors.

The USA Today further reports that,

“Romney is not required by law to disclose the identities of his fundraisers with the exception of those who work as federal lobbyists. Releasing the names of bundlers, however, has been standard in presidential campaigns for more than a decade.

Republican George W. Bush established the pattern in the 2000 election, revealing the names of fundraisers who collected at least $100,000. He repeated the practice in 2004. Arizona Sen. John McCain, the Republican nominee four years ago, had disclosed his fundraisers by this point in the 2008 campaign, releasing a list of 106 bundlers on April 18 of that year.

President Obama has released his fundraiser list every three months during this campaign.”

Campaign-finance watchdogs have pressed for Romney to disclose his bundlers. “Should he be elected, these people will be first in line seeking benefits from the new administration and the public won’t even know who these people are and whether they are being rewarded for their role in getting Romney elected,” said Taylor Lincoln, a research director at Public Citizen.

Here’s hoping the main stream media keeps this issue in the spotlight and continues to press Romney to release names. Here’s also hoping that Romney fails to comply and thereby keeps this scandal alive through election day.

Lynnrockets wishes all of you faithful Rocketeers an enjoyable memorial Day Weekend!

Please remember to click on the song link below to familiarize yourselves with the tune and to have more fun singing along with today’s song parody.

The Beverly Hillbillies Theme song link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFI-hhndCek

THE ROMNEY HILLBILLY

(sung to the theme of “The Beverly Hillbillies”)

Come and listen to a story ‘bout a man named Mitt
A rich profiteer who’s been known to pitch a fit.
Unlike Scott Brown he won’t model in the nude,
He likes to run for office but he doesn’t have a clue.

Knowledge that is,   Hates Polls,    Sanity.

Well the one thing we know is Mitt’s a millionaire,
Pinstriped suits and plastic molded hair.
Inside the beltway is the place he wants to be,
So he strapped his dog on top and drove down to D.C.

Washington that is,   Lobbyists,    Big black cars.

(flip-flop break)

Well now its time to say good-bye to Mitt and all his friends,
He will lose this year’s election and that will be his end
He never will return again cuz of the Tea Party,
They much prefer Santorum and his beastiality.

Man on dog, that is,   Ring a bell?,    Take your pants off.

Don’t come back now, y’hear?

The first time I can recall seeing Jim Elser & and Team Sweet Smoke Q, was at a Florida Barbecue Association (FBA) competition in Zephyrhills, FL. I did not get the chance to meet Jim at that competition, I was having some serious pit issues, (that’s another story). Our sites were not that far from one another, and I could see Jim and his son, Garrett, just working their tails off. My first impression was with Garrett, I was thinking to myself, “man, that kid knows his way around the pit!!!” I even brought it to the attention of my wife & team mate. I believe the next time we saw Jim and Garrett was at the FBA competition in Sebring, FL. same deal there, Jim & Garrett working really hard, and putting out some great BBQ. Pleasing not only the crowds, but the judges as well.

I began to notice Jim scoring very well in ribs and especially pork, these are two of my favorite category to cook in competitions, so seeing a young team scoring so well, peeks my interest. We have been back and forth in these two category, one time I will edge him out, next contest Jim gets the higher scores. We always have a short discussion about how our cook went, just before the awards, and wish each other luck. Jim is a real stand-up guy, and brings class and honor to the sport of BBQ. I truly enjoy competing against Jim and team Sweet Smoke Q, because I know they will be bringing there “A” game every time out, and that helps me be a better competitor.

Sweet Smoke Q, set up for BBQ vending

One thing I went away from this interview with is that, Jim is into BBQ for the long haul. Some teams just go out a few times, get lucky and win a trophy or two, then disappear as soon as they realize, this is work!!! That is not the impression I get from Jim, he and Garrett are not ones to shy away from work, that is what will insure them being a success in the world of BBQ.

Without further ado, I give you Sweet Smoke Q, and interview with Jim Esler.

First of all I would like to say thank you to Jim and team Sweet Smoke Q for granting Let’s Talk Hog!!! this interview.

LTH: What is your team name, where are you located & who makes up your team?

Jim: We are “Sweet Smoke Q”, and we are located in Winter Haven, FL. The team is made up of myself and my 15 year old son, Garrett. My girlfriend Deanna and her son Ryan helps us when we vend larger contest, also we get help from friends when needed. Basically, it’s a two man show, I am in charge of the competition side, and Garrett takes care of the vending side. (Deanna supports my BBQ addiction 100%, but she doesn’t understand why I spend all the time, effort and $$$ on this so called “hobby”).

Jim and his son Garrett in November 2010.

LTH: How did you get started in BBQ?

Jim: I started bbqing in the backyard, in Ohio, cooking ribs and pork butts using a Brinkmann-Smoke N’ Grill. I cooked for family and friends and eventually every time we had a get together they always requested I cook ribs. Also, growing up in Ohio, we seemed to have a lot of whole hog roasts. I was given a whole hog roaster. A friend and I started doing a few catering jobs cooking pigs. Every year we attended the Northwest Ohio Rib-Off. I always wanted to enter the Rib-Off, to see how I fared against the local restaurants and rib teams, from across the country. That didn’t happen, because I moved to Florida in 2005 for a job.

LTH: What made you decide to go into competition BBQ?

Jim: One day at work I searched the internet for competition BBQ, and came across the FBA website. I started doing research and attended the Lakeland Pig Fest and Smoke on the Water in Winter Haven, FL. I walked around and sampled some bbq and thought to myself, “I can do this”. A year went by and I decided to do some more research on how and what I needed to compete. I researched different types of smokers and designed and built a vertical cabinet stick burner, (I’m a mechanical engineer). I borrowed my buddies welder and in just 2 weekends, I had a smoker. I fired her up on New Year’s Day 2010, cooked some ribs. After a few modifications, we headed to out first contest in Lakeland. We pulled into the 2010 Pig Fest on Friday morning with a 4 x 8 open trailer with the smoker mounted to it. We looked like the Beverly Hillbillies pulling into the contest. After the contest, the biggest thing I learned was how much work it was (we vended too), not the best place to change a starter in my truck in the parking lot (a big thanks to my buddy who worked all day locating and installing it), not wanting to pack up and go home right before the cooks meeting on Friday (I was really thinking about it), and being prepared before you show up to a contest (we were not even remotely prepared). We didn’t get a call that day (not a big shock) but we didn’t get that DAL (Dead Ass Last) in a category, that is a victory in my book. Our next competition the following week in Winter Haven, FL., we were much more prepared.

Jim and Garrett 6th place pork at Smoke on the Water, Winter Haven, FL.

LTH: What types of cookers do you compete on?

Jim: I cook on 2 UDS with a homemade BBQ Guru system, and my original vertical smoker. I am also in the process of desiging a combo, gravity feed charcoal, and stick burner. I should have it done by the end of the summer.

LTH: Do you compete In the Backyard Division, or the Pro Division?

Jim: The only Backyard Competition we have done was a 3rd competition in Haines City, FL. 2010 (the only reason I cooked in the Backyard, was the entry fee was a lot cheaper, I had a lot of money wrapped up into this “hobby”). The rest of our competitions, we have competed in the Pro Division.

LTH: How many competitions has Sweet Smoke Q competed in?

Jim: We had 6 competitions in our first year (2010), 10 in our second year (2011) and we are looking to compete in a total of 15 competitions this year (2012).

LTH: In you opinion, what has been your biggest award in a BBQ competition?

Jim: I’m still waiting for it, but if I had to pick it, it would be our first call at our 4th contest, in Venice, FL. in the pork category. We have had several 2nd place calls since, but can’t seem to get that 1st place. I feel it’s coming soon, and I’d bet it will be in pork.

2nd place pork award at Haines City, FL 2012

LTH: What is your favorite category to cook at a contest?

Jim: Pork

This pork box by Jim, was at a non-sanctioned event, it did take first place. With turn-ins like that, Jim’s first place, at a sanctioned event, is in the bag!!! Nice box Jim!!!

LTH: What is your least favorite category?

Jim: That damn bird!!! The chicken category has cost me a top 5, and  a top 3 at a few contest this year for sure!!!

LTH: What competition, above all others, would you like to compete in?

Jim: The Jack

LTH: What is one piece of advice you could give to a BBQ team just starting out?

Jim: I would say to a new BBQ team, to do plenty of homework, there are several BBQ forums out there, and to practice, practice and practice, especially their timing.

LTH: What is on your BBQ bucket list?

Jim: To win a Grand Champion, of course. Also, I would like to be featured on The Food Network someday, (my sister-in-law told me she has no doubt that I’ll be on there some day).

LTH: What are some long term BBQ goals for you and your team?

Jim: Just to stay consistent, have fun, and continue to meet great people out there. I want to teach my son, not just how to cook good BBQ, but that if you work hard and don’t give up, you can accomplish anything. Garrett can defiantly cook, he took Grand at his first backyard competition in Eagle Lake, (and no I didn’t help him at all on Friday night or Saturday of the competition). He surprised the hell out of me when I found out that he did that good. I guess he has a good teacher, and he hasn’t let me forget that he got his Grand before I ever had one. He’s a good kid and a very hard worker. I get asked all the time at a contest if he is my son,they all tell me that they can’t believe he works so hard and is compassionate about what we do. I am so proud of him. You’ll probably see Sweet Smoke JR compete in a few more backyard events in the near future.

Garrett showing off his trophies. Great job!!!

LTH: I understand that, not only are you a BBQ competitor, but that you are also a competition organizer. You had your first event, Eagle Lake BBQ Festival on April 28,2012, can you tell me a bit about this event?

Jim: Yes, I was asked by a friend of mine if I’d thought we could put on a contest, I said I don’t see why not. Mark Stallings took care of the non-competition side (sponsors, advertising, the city of Eagle Lake and everything else that you have to do). We were pretty amazed on the response that we got from cook teams, since this was a non-sanctioned event, (12 backyard teams and 16, pretty damn good pro teams). We thought the event was a big success for a first year contest. It was a lot of work on everyone’s part, but I enjoyed seeing that side of our sport. I think I’d rather be cooking. Planning will begin in June 2012, for a FBA sanctioned contest in the near future.

This being a non-sanctioned event, the results were not published on the FBA web-site, Jim has shared the results with Let’s Talk Hog!!!

 Backyard

Garrett showing what is left of Sweet Smoke’s site after a storm in Venice, FL

LTH: Does your team have any sponsors, are you looking for sponsors?

Jim: Right now we do not have any sponsors, I will be approaching some potential sponsors this summer when things slow down. We also have been approached by a, well-known restaurant, in the area, about a partnership in opening a BBQ restaurant.

LTH: Do you have any products available and if so, where can folks find them?

Jim: I do sell my BBQ sauce and rub, I also make an injector that works incredibly well, it saves time injecting a small amount, up to one gallon. Working on bottling my competition pork injection soon (looking for some teams to test it out, it is what I use at competitions). Thinking about releasing my brisket rub, that has been doing well. Please check out my web-site at: www.sweetsmokeQ.com

Thanks to Jim for this great interview, so much information here!!! Jim and Sweet Smoke Q will be competing again at the FBA event in Cocoa, FL. We will see you there Jim!!!

Possibly one of the most arduous treks across this great country would be the stretch of miles along I-20 between Dallas, Texas and El Paso. Historically I have chosen to make this journey at night to avoid the heat and glare of the day. One time as I sojourned on this particular piece of real estate, I saw lights in the distance. I was approaching the small city of Odessa, and as the brightness grew in size, I assumed it WAS Odessa. But as I came closer, I saw that it was an edifice, the size of a city itself–actually invoking a sense of awe, which grew in intensity as I came closer. For me, it merged the sensations of Christmas, Las Vegas and the Beverly Hillbillies–for it was an oil rig. The largest one I had ever seen. 

Black gold.

Texas tea. 

Suddenly my nostrils were assailed by the burn of that unique, pungent odor — and it smelled GOOD. Now, there may be folks who would disagree with me, but I like the smell of fresh oil being pumped from the earth–the very energy of both power and also of prosperity. It was a visceral moment on a very long, dark journey.

I had a similar sensation yesterday doing two performances at St. Stephen’s Lutheran Church of the Valley in Palmdale, California. As I shared, I literally witnessed minds opening–like lubricating the gears on a bicycle with oil. For truly the main problem I have with traditional religion is that the inevitable result of repetition is the literal numbing of  people’s minds.Once-meaningful liturgy, through repetition, becomes mindless drone.

I would like to encourage churches everywhere to make two simple changes in the format of the church service: to replace one liturgical recitation with a moment of personal testimony from a parishoner, and during the passing of the peace, instead of offering one another a “peace be with you,” instead offer the exhortation: “Be of good cheer!”

Because just as repetition produces rusty mental gears, the sharing of personal experiences generates the oil of gladness. After all, Jesus said that in the world we WILL have tribulation. Our only job is to “be of good cheer.” That’s it. We don’t have to solve every problem today–and his job was to overcome the world. We don’t have to do that, either. We only have to understand that our place in the great scheme of things is to avoid repetition, share personal experiences and receive the good cheer that results.

Yesterday, as I witnessed lubricated gears beginning to move and saw the resulting good cheer, I saw that there is another, final culmination in the process–the oil of healing. Yes, mental freshness produces good cheer, which fosters the environment for healing–be it depression or terminal cancer.

Similar to the awe I sensed as I drove past the Odessa oil rig, with its power and energy, I felt the same wonder yesterday at St. Stephen’s Lutheran, viewing–and feeling myself–the energy of the oil of lubrication, the radiation of the good cheer and the power of healing oil passed among my brothers and sisters and back to me.

We try to make it hard. We talk about “contemporary” and “traditional.” But it is really just giving good people a chance to lubricate their rusty gears and then feel the oil of gladness and healing. After all, like the Tin Man, we all need a good oiling now and then.

Why not take the steps to make it happen?

The producers of jonathots would humbly request a yearly subscription donation of $10 for this wonderful, inspirational opportunity

Beverly Hillbillies

Now I can’t say I was a huge fan of the series, I liked it but it was like a hit or miss show for me (plus it was aired before I was even born so some of the humor I just don’t grasp). That being said though from what I have seen of the show the movie is a pretty spot on film. All the characters were there as was the humor only updated a bit for the time period not to mention it stars Jim Varney, I mean come on, Ernest playing Jed Clampett was perfect. The story was perfect, essentially taking the base plot of the series and turning it into a long episode about Jed trying to find a wife to help raise Elly May as a proper young lady while a slime ball banker plots with his superficial girlfriend to try rip Jed off. It’s fun and lighthearted, and a good film for everyone to sit around to.

Beverly Hills Cop (1-3)

What could I possibly say about this classic series that hasn’t already been said, I mean really. It has action, comedy, a little bit of nudity, and a lot of swearing. It’s definitely Eddie Murphy in his prime to be sure. Now it isn’t a perfect series, but it is close, it starts off strong for sure, a lot of action and comedy combined but if you watch all three in one sitting you can see how the culture of the day forced the movie to tone down a little bit each time (not a lot I grant you but still). Regardless though, these three movies should really be in any movie collection for any number of reasons, whether your an Eddie Murphy fan, a fan of action/comedy movies, nostalgic for the 80s, whatever your reason, these three shouldn’t be passed up, or at least the first two shouldn’t, the third is up for grabs it’s good but come on…an amusement park….really?

I’m taking a break from movies tonight though but I’ll be back the next day with Billy Madison and both Bill and Ted movies.

******

______________________________

An Asian Black Bear and a black cat… a cat and a cockatoo… “Well, dog my cat”, as that great philosopher Jed Clampett would say. The world’s FULL of “passing strange” things, isn’t it?

BMD

Now prior to hearing about Pink Slime I grew up thinking the grossest foods on earth were some like you heard of on TV’s “The Beverly Hillbillies.”  Anyone from my generation or older can probably remember Irene Ryan as Granny imploring visitors at the Clampett mansion to dine on such delicacies as “chicken gizzards,” “eye of newt,” “hog jowls,” or “toads brains.”

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has labeled pink slime safe for human consumption.  As I am fond of reminding readers, after 911, Environmental Protection Agency head Christie Whitman told workers they’d be safe working at Ground Zero.  The government also suggested the levees would be safe before Hurricane Katrina. Famous last words.

From what I’ve gleaned about pink slime from Wikipedia, it is of dubious origins.  Pink Slime is also referred to as “lean finely textured beef (LFTB)” or “boneless lean beef trimmings (BLBT).  It is a beef based food additive used as an inexpensive filler.  The key words here as you will see later in this blog are “inexpensive filler.” Pink slime consists of finely ground beef scraps, sinew, fat and connective tissue which is mechanically removed from fat. The recovered material is then processed, heated and treated with either ammonia gas or citric acid to kill off bacteria.  Ammonia gas?  Isn’t ammonia that stuff that if you breathe it in deeply you feel like you’re going to pass out, or maybe just die?

On second thought I'll have fish.

As mentioned though the key words are “inexpensive fillers.”  I watched an episode of Jamie’s Food Revolution back in 2009 and was appalled by the conglomeration of sordid chicken parts including bone chips, liver parts, etc. that go into making a chicken nugget.  These too are inexpensive fillers, designed to maximize the meat suppliers’ profits with little concern to the welfare of the consumer.

It’s also interesting to note that for many years it was conventional wisdom when going to the local butcher to watch him weigh the meat carefully.  The old butcher’s scales had a bowl like platter that the meat was placed in and it was often rumored that they would hide a small stone in it to buoy the weight reading. Thus you thought you were buying a pound of meat but in reality you were buying ¾ of a pound.  Imagine if that practice continued today with Pink Slime.  The butcher would be double whammying you by selling meat with cheap filler added and giving you less than what the scale read!  Fortunately I don’t think things are THAT bad.

Going back some years before, I worked for a wealthy man who owned a meat packing plant in the Bronx.  He told me that there were actually cases where meats sat frozen for as much as ten years before being sold on the open market.  Probably not much nutrition left in those ice caked slabs.

I remember planning to write a blog that asks the question “Why is it that when you eat a quarter pounder with cheese, you don’t gain just a quarter pound but more like three pounds of weight?”  Perhaps that pink slime is the smoking gun.

Given all of the above, I’d like to sign off with a list of some other foods I find totally distasteful.  Bear in mind, some of them may be good for you but maybe just look yucky.

• Pigs Feet.  Don’t take my word for it.  Ask a Muslim some day why they never eat pork.  You will be dumbstruck.
• Cow’s brains.  The Government has banned consumption of cow’s brains from cows that have been slaughtered if they are older than 30 months.  This tells you there’s cause for concern.  Furthermore, I feel if I eat this, I may start walking around mooing at everyone or worse than that perhaps begin walking on all fours and eating grass.
• Sausage. I mean the big fat kind that you get in the meat department.  To me it looks like a person’s intestines and I wouldn’t want to eat that.
• Caviar. Craved by the privileged rich I had it once and thought it was very much overrated as far as taste and appearance.
• Beef tongue.  You never know where that tongue was poking around prior to being served up.
• Sauerkraut.  Looks like something that was once green (even though it wasn’t) but has been lingering in the refrigerator way too long.
• Any kind of liver. Beef, chicken or I don’t care what else. It’s liver and it detoxifies the organism.  You can never be sure what kind of toxins passed through its veins.
• Raisins.  Now don’t get me wrong, I know they are considered one of the healthiest of all foods, but don’t stare at one too long.  It just doesn’t look appealing.
• Last but not least, diet sodas.  The benefits of drinking diet versus regular have been debated for years. All I know is that if you blindfold me and give me one glass of diet cola and one glass of regular I can tell the difference every time. Diet soda just tastes diluted.

In conclusion dieticians for years have been telling us “you are what you eat.”  With that in mind you’d best stay away from fruit cake or upside down cake.

Copyright 2012; Greg S.

First up is Branson, Missouri, a little town in the Ozarks that is about 250 miles southwest of St. Louis.  Branson was founded by and named after general store owner Reuben Branson in 1882.  Since that time it has grown from a one horse hillbilly town to a thriving community that attracts thousands of tourists every year during all four seasons.

Accommodations

While in Branson you obviously need somewhere to stay, and there are many options to choose from.  There’s practically a hotel or motel around every corner.  My choice out of all of them is the Ozark Mountain Inn, located on “the strip” along the historic 76 Country Boulevard, just minutes from all the action.

The Ozark Mountain Inn is comfortable with a friendly staff.  The standard rooms come with central air/heating, a mini fridge for storage, and other standard amenities.  The suites have all the standard amenities plus an in-room whirlpool and sofa.  All rooms offer a free continental breakfast down in the dining room each morning.  I suggest that you get down there early (around 8 a.m.) if you plan on eating there.  If you show up any later than 8 a.m., you’ll be lucky if you can get a crust of bread.

Another option for breakfast (or lunch or dinner) is Peppercorn’s Restaurant and Bakery, also on 76 Country Boulevard, just a few blocks from the inn.  They offer a buffet full of home-cooked goodness with every meal and a nice, down home atmosphere.  You won’t leave hungry…or broke!

Once you are well rested and well fed, you want to get out there and see all the tourist attractions.  And Branson is chock full of them.  It’s hard to narrow down the list of all the things to see and do there, but I managed to whittle down the list to my three favorite things.

Silver Dollar City

Operating between mid-March and Christmastime every year, Silver Dollar City is the first thing most people think about when it comes to Branson, Missouri.  It’s a sprawling 55 acre theme park that opened on May 1, 1960 and offers a peek into late 19th century frontier/hillbilly lifestyle—the Beverly Hillbilly lifestyle.  Silver Dollar City is where the Clampetts come from, you know.  And the people down in that part of Missouri do talk like them, but the real locals might be a wee bit more civilized.

There are more than 20 rides at Silver Dollar City, including about a half-dozen roller coasters.  One of the most popular rides is the Fire in the Hole, an indoor roller coaster that tells the story of the night  bald knobbers set fire to and destroyed the old mining town of Marmaros.  This story is half fact, half legend.  The town was, in fact, destroyed by a massive fire, but the events that led up to the destruction are unclear.

If  roller coasters and other rides aren’t your thing, there is plenty more to do there.  You can stop by the saloon and see an old-time stage show with music and can-can dancers.  Or you can stroll to one of the many crafts attractions.  Watch candy makers, blacksmiths, carpenters, glassblowers and more make beautiful and tasty things, and then drop by the connected shops to do some souvenir shopping.

The Titanic Museum

Titanic Museum - Branson, MO (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic is tomorrow.  If you couldn’t (or didn’t want to) get passage on the sold out anniversary voyage, there is another way for you to have the Titanic experience — you can go to the Titanic museum in Branson, Missouri (there is also one in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee).

The museum is a replica inside and out of the ill-fated ship.  When you enter, they give you a little card with a real-life passenger’s name, and you’re known by that name for the tour.  You are guided through many rooms that show you exactly what the ship looked like, and the tour includes many artifacts retrieved from the shipwreck, including one of the rare menus.

There is another section close to the end of the tour that has many costumes and props from James Cameron’s motion picture epic Titanic.

At the end of the tour you find out if the passenger you played lived or died on that frigid night in April, and then you go off to the gift shop to do some shopping.

Shepherd of the Hills

Author and minister Howard Bell Wright wrote the Shepherd of the Hills in 1907, and was put to film four times, beginning with a silent in 1919.  The best known version was released in 1941 starring John Wayne.

The book masterfully depicts the typical lives, loves, and struggles of Ozark Mountain people in the latter part of the 19th century, but the film, especially the John Wayne version, doesn’t do many of the characters justice.

Branson has an outdoor venue called Old Mill Theater that puts on a live presentation of the drama most nights in March-October each year (they have shows every night in May and June).  But the play isn’t the only thing The Shepherd of the Hills has to offer….

Homestead Tour

Before you go to see the play at night, you should take a tour of the old homestead during the day, which includes the Morgan Community Church, which is similar to the church Howard Bell Wright preached at, a behind-the-scenes tour of the Old Mill Theater, and learn how to make good old mountain moonshine at the Jennings Still.

Horseback Riding

If you’re in Branson between Memorial and Labor Day, you can take a nice, relaxing horseback ride along the trails in the Ozark Mountains.  (Well, it’s relaxing if you’re not the guy who I went on a ride with a couple of years ago; the horse bucked and he fell off and rolled down a mountain…I just had to throw that in there….lol)  Anyway, before you saddle up and ride, you give the staff your height, weight, and experience with riding and they set you up with an right horse.

The 30 minute ride is educational and fun for children over the age of 7 and adults.  You must also be less than 250 pounds for this guided ride.

Now I think I had better wrap up this long-winded post and turn it over to the readers.  What city or state would you pick for your perfect springtime getaway?  Please let me know in the comments below!  And feel free to share this post with friends and family.  The more the merrier!

Related articles

• Five Places To Anchor Yourself In Titanic History (gadling.com)
• Discover Branson (makingtimeformommy.com)
• Lives Turned Upside Down By Tornado In Branson (fox4kc.com)
• Titanic museum to celebrate disaster’s centenary with descendants of victims and survivors aboard half-size replica of doomed ship (dailymail.co.uk)

Kidz Rock! Inc. would like to wish a very happy birthday to Buddy Ebsen (1908-2003), actor/dancer who was Jed Clampett on “The Beverly Hillbillies”

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Source: Famous Birthdays.com

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Earl Scruggs at WLYX - 1974 (C)Joe Spake -all rights reserved

I first heard Earl Scruggs playing on TV for Martha White Flour with long time partner Lester Flatt – The Flatt and Scruggs show came on on Saturday evenings in the 1950s and 1960s, I believe. Even though I was too young to really appreciate the music fully, I was glued to the old TV set.  All these years later, that Martha White jingle is still top of mind.

Even though Earl’s progressive Bluegrass style created a milestone in American music, He went on to do some more progressive music with his sons in the Earl Scruggs Review in the mid 1970s.  I met him, interviewed him, and he spent a lot of time with us at WLYX-FM, Southwestern College’s (now Rhodes) Radio Station (picture above).

You may know his music from 1960s movie, Bonnie and Clyde or the theme from the Beverly Hillbillies, but Earl Scruggs 3-finger style was completely unique and revolutionized banjo music and the Bluegrass genre.  Here’s an example from the old Flatt and Scruggs Show.

By the way, if my Father had lived he would have been the same age as Earl.  They were from the same home town, Shelby, North Carolina.  I wonder if they knew each other.

Oh, and you might not believe this, but that skinny kid with Earl Scruggs in this pic is me.

(c) Joe Spake - all rights reserved

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWXulD-gxuw&feature=fvsr

And an article on his life and career:

http://news-briefs.ew.com/2012/03/29/earl-scruggs-dies-bluegrass/?iid=rcfooter-music-earl+scruggs%2C+bluegrass+pioneer%2C+dies

That’s what life is all about, isn’t it………having a good run? I think he did.

Yep…the Beverly Hillbillies!  While the song was written and composed by Paul Henning, it was played on banjos by the duo of [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Lester Flatt[/lastfm] and Earl Scruggs.  The singer was [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Jerry Scoggins[/lastfm].

Celebrities reflect on the life and career of Scruggs when you CLICK HERE.

Yep…the Beverly Hillbillies!  While the song was written and composed by Paul Henning, it was played on banjos by the duo of [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Lester Flatt[/lastfm] and Earl Scruggs.  The singer was [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Jerry Scoggins[/lastfm].

Celebrities reflect on the life and career of Scruggs when you CLICK HERE.