Weekend OTR: Jack Benny–“Jack and Mary See Colman’s Movie”

Yes, it’s another weekend and that means it’s time for another old time radio episode.

Exciting, huh? Of course it is! What’s on tap this weekend? A Jack Benny episode that’ll make you laugh so hard you’ll break all your furniture (yes, it is that funny).

As usual, this weekend’s episode is courtesy of our friends at OTRCat.com. If you’re a fan of old time radio, you owe it to yourself to pay The Cat a visit. Of course, OTR fans should also head over to First Arkansas News every Sunday to check on the latest Lum and Abner comic strip. Yes, that’s an original series over there and you don’t want to miss it, ace.

Having said all of that, click the below link to listen to this weekend’s OTR episode.

Jack Benny – Jack and Mary See Colman’s Movie (2/1/1948)

DS9 is the finest ‘Trek’ series of them all and I’ll fight any man who doesn’t agree with me

When you get a bunch of Star Trek fans together, the conversation will often devolve into a bunch of squabbling over which series in the franchise was the best.

Such wrangling is pointless as we’re almost always talking about subjective opinions. Here’s the only objective opinion that carries any weight in those discussions – Deep Space 9 was the best series of them all. Don’t get me wrong – I’ll gladly agree that every series in the Star Trek franchise has merit. The original is simply classic, The Next Generation was the series fans had wanted for years and had a deservedly long run and who could resist the Gilligan's Island meets Lost in Space vibe of Boyager? Even Enterprise and that animated version of Star Trek and Enterprise had something to bring to the table.

Still, DS9 tops them all. Anyone who disagrees with me on this is simply wrong and begging for a fight. And we’re talking about a particularly nasty fight in a gravel parking lot.

What makes DS9 so great? The character development is incredible as is the continuity of the series. Yes, other Treks typically featured people wandering around space, dealing with creepy aliens for an hour, resolving some problems and then warping off to a new destination. In short, it was no problem missing a few episodes and then coming back to it later. That wasn’t the case on DS9 – they didn’t have to look for trouble as trouble came looking for them. Furthermore, the crew was generally in a static environment, so it was easy for recurring characters to stick around for several episodes.

Also, the location of the station was important. The thing was of Caradassian design and that sneaky bunch clearly wanted it back. Of course, the Cardassian station became the property of the Bajorans after that world booted the occupying Cardassians off their planet. The Federation came in to help administer the station and rebuild the Bajoran economy. It was obvious there were millions on Bajor that didn’t appreciate the Federation’s appearance.

So, there was more than enough resentment and political intrigue to go around. Complicating matters further was a stable wormhole discovered near the station and Bajor that made travel to the distant Delta quadrant a breeze. All sorts of species popped through that wormhole and the station played host to plenty of people wanting to travel through it and go to the Delta quadrant.

The wormhole itself was the home of an advanced race of beings that operated on, well, a higher plane. The Bajorans worshipped those aliens, thus bringing in the concept of gods that were demonstrably real and interacted regularly with those that worshiped them. Intriguing stuff.

Here’s another thing. The notion that the Federation was a perfect organization governed by optimism and fair play was tossed out the window during the season. The Federation spied on its own people, engaged in questionable moral behavior to win its generation-changing war against the Dominion (a race of shape shifters from the Delta quadrant.

In other words, the series was dark and cynical as apposed to touchy-feely and that was a refreshing change of pace.

Besides, DS9 was run by the coolest captain to ever show up in a Trek series. Avery Brooks is the man. Period.

There you go. Disagree with me only if you’re willing to get into a fight on a gravel parking lot.

Wordless Wednesday–Broccoli’s baby picture

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Music Monday–Plastics

Let's see how well you cats remember the 1980s!

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Horoscope for the week of January 30

I was a bit concerned about the mysterious Dr. Zodiac this week as I figured he was going to skip the horoscope altogether.

The good doctor was always punctual when he was posting horoscopes (or StarCasts as he calls them) over at First Arkansas News, so I wondered if something terrible had happened to him. He doesn’t have a cell phone and rarely checks his email, so I had no real way of getting in touch with him (over than driving up to Little Rock and trying to find his home, of course). When all seemed lost, he came through with a horoscope and the following explanation:

I am so sorry this is late. I was called on by the stars to help them settle a dispute. It seems they were considering rearranging themselves so as to confuse mankind even more than they already have. I talked them out of it.

That whole business took some time and they were more interested in scheming than talking to me, so this StarCast was delayed. Sorry about that. Enjoy!

What do the stars have in store for us this week? Read on and find out for yourself.

Aries

Mar 21-Apr 19

You just never learn, do you Aries? Whenever you figure a project won’t take much time and you plan accordingly, things go terribly wrong. Once again you will find yourself in trouble be engaging in such wishful calculations. It’s all your own fault, Aries. Maybe you’ll learn from your failed time-management mistake this time, but I doubt it. Your lucky number this week is 10 minutes past your deadline.

Taurus

Apr 20-May 20

Well, here we go again, Taurus. Staying up all night might have been great fun when you were younger, but you need more sleep these days. A person can’t function off of three hours of sleep a night, but you keep trying. Remember – sleep is good and necessary. Now, go to bed on time at least half the nights this week. You’ll feel better. Your lucky number this week is 3 a.m.

Gemini

May 21-Jun 21

Don’t do it. You know what I’m talking about, don’t you? That’s right – a new collectible you are convinced will make you rich. Beanie babies didn’t pan out for you and comic books didn’t, either. This thing you’re considering now – whatever it is – will do nothing but cost you money and take up space in your home. Trust me on this. Your lucky number this week is 75.

Cancer

Jun 22-Jul 22

You will find out for sure and certain that evil isn’t just some vague concept dreamed up by religious types. No, some people are just rotten and up to no good. You’ll learn for yourself that there is such a thing as pure evil and it is a nasty thing, indeed. In case you haven’t guessed by now, someone you wouldn’t suspect of foul behavior will plot mightily against you this week. Watch out! Your lucky number this week is 666.

Leo

Jul 23-Aug 22

You kept telling yourself you’d clean out those gutters, but you never did it. No, you just figured you’d wait until next fall and everything would be fine. It won’t be fine, Leo. You’re in for some serious roof trouble. The good news is that it might not be too late to take action and get busy on those gutters. Don’t delay! Oh, Leo! Your lucky number this week is 3 hours.

Virgo

Aug 23-Sep 22

You’ll give some change to someone in need this week and – absolutely nothing good will happen to you because of it. Hey, life isn’t a fairy tale, ace. Still, give that unfortunate soul a bit of change, anyway. It’s the nice thing to do. Your lucky number this week is 63 cents.

Libra

Sep 23-Oct 23

A song will get stuck in your head and drive you batty all week long. It’ll be a song you hate, too, and that’s absolutely worse. It might be a jingle, something embarrassing like one of those “tween hits” that are all over the place, an Eric Clapton song or something equally dreadful. It’s only for a week, so it could be worse. Your lucky number this week is No. 1 with a bullet.

Scorpio

Oct 24-Nov 21

You will finally decide who you want to vote for in the upcoming presidential election. If you’re a Republican, that means you’ll finally pick a favorite out of the primary candidates. If you’re a Democrat, well you know who to back, don’t you? It doesn’t really matter much – you’ll likely be unhappy with the election results regardless of which candidate actually wins. We do live in interesting times, I’m afraid. Your lucky number this week is Nov. 6.

Sagittarius

Nov 22-Dec 21

A fool and his money are soon parted and the stars tell me you will be a fool this week, indeed. I would tell you to watch your spending habits, but the stars assure me you won’t be able to help yourself. Still, it can’t hurt to exercise some restraint, so you might give that a try. Your lucky number this week is a penny saved is a penny earned.

Capricorn

Dec 22-Jan 19

I once knew a man who got struck by lightening and went on to live a full, happy life. That, I’m sure, is a rare thing. What does this all mean for you this week? Well, I’d stay indoors as much as possible this week if I were you. Your lucky number this week is 13.

Aquarius

Jan 20-Feb 18

You’re in for a week of head-slapping annoyances. You’ll forget to take the trash down to the curve, not set your alarm clock, leave your cell phone at home, mail a bill a day late and deal with the consequences of all manner of things. Hang on there, baby – Friday’s coming. Your lucky number this week is just almost 31.

Pisces

Feb 19-Mar 20

No one likes a trash mouth, Pisces. Either clean up your language or stay away from people all week long. Where did you learn to talk like that? What would your mother say? Shame, shame. Your lucky number this week is $&*@.