Obit watch: June 3, 2022.

June 3rd, 2022

Brad Johnson, actor. Other credits include “The Outer Limits” (the 2000-ish revival), several appearances on “CSI: Original Recipe”, and “The Robinsons: Lost in Space”.

The last Howard Johnson’s. But there’s a quibble:

The Lake George, N.Y., location is closed, and the property is up for lease, listing agent Bill Moon of Exit Realty Empire Associates confirmed. However, Moon said, for the last several years, the restaurant wasn’t operated as a “traditional Howard Johnson’s experience.”
“It was a local lessee that was running a restaurant out of the Howard Johnson’s building,” he said.

Howard Johnson’s fried clams.

Apparently, there’s a Kindle edition of The Oranging of America and Other Stories by Max Apple. (The titular story is about Howard Johnson and his personal assistant. It is a fun collection. Affiliate link.)

Ten Restaurants That Changed America by Paul Freedman. HoJo’s was one of them.

The Apprentice: My Life in the Kitchen by Jacques Pépin. Mr. Pépin worked for HoJo’s in the early 1960s.

“Eat My Globe” interview with Mr. Pépin, which is notable for the following:

…But the dish that everybody loved was the fried clams from Howard Johnson’s.

Posted in Food, Kindleing, Obits, TV | 1 Comment »

Baseball season is finally underway…

June 3rd, 2022

…with the ceremonial throwing out of the first manager.

Joe Girardi out as manager of the Phillies.

The Phillies hired Girardi after the 2019 season to replace deposed Gabe Kapler. At the time, owner John Middleton hailed Girardi’s track record, including a World Series championship with the New York Yankees in 2009, and his reputation for blending old-school feel with the use of analytics and data.
But the Phillies went 28-32 under Girardi in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season and 82-80 last season, missing the playoffs both times. They were 132-141 overall with Girardi at the wheel.

…

The Phillies are 22-29, 12 games out of first place the National League East. Entering this weekend’s series with the Los Angeles Angels at Citizens Bank Park, they have lost 12 of the last 17 games.

Posted in Firings, Sports | Comments Closed

Obit watch: June 2, 2022.

June 2nd, 2022

Marion Barber III, of the Dallas Cowboys. (He also spent one season with Chicago.) He was 38.

Barber led the Cowboys in rushing for three consecutive seasons. The highlight of his time with the club came in 2007, when he rushed for 975 yards with 10 touchdowns and was named to the Pro Bowl for a Dallas team that compiled a 13-3 record.
Barber finished his career with 4,780 rushing yards and 53 touchdowns. He caught 179 passes for another 1,330 yards and six touchdowns.

Krishna Kumar Kunnath, aka “KK”, Bollywood singer. He was 53.

KK had been performing in an auditorium packed with college students when, after singing his last song of the evening, cameras caught him wiping his brow as he was led offstage in a hurry.
He was declared dead at a hospital soon after. The cause was not yet known, his publicist said.

Posted in NFL, Obits, Sports | Comments Closed

Obit watch: June 1, 2022.

June 1st, 2022

Lester Piggott, one of the great British jockeys. I don’t know a lot about British horse racing (or Irish horse racing, for that matter, though I can tell you who Shergar was) but even I’d heard of him.

With 30 victories, Piggott holds the record for the most wins by a jockey in the five British Classics races — the Epsom Derby, the 2,000 Guineas Stakes, the 1,000 Guineas, the Oaks Stakes and the St. Leger Stakes — and he is the last British jockey to win his country’s Triple Crown, aboard Nijinsky in 1970.

…

“The way he rode, with an unusually short length of stirrup for a relatively tall man and his bottom high in the air, must have made the horses feel there was no weight on them,” Luck said in a phone interview. “People said to him, ‘Why do you ride with your butt in the air?’ And he said, ‘Well I have to put it somewhere.’”
Luck added, “Piggott ushered in a golden generation of riders in Europe; he was the one they all aspired to.”

Kenny Moore. He sounds like an interesting guy: he was an Olympic marathon runner, an early tester of Bill Bowerman’s shoes (which went on to become Nike), an All-American in cross-country…

…and a long-time Sports Illustrated writer, specializing in track coverage.

“He wasn’t a writer of devices,” Peter Carry, a former executive editor of Sports Illustrated, said in a phone interview. “He was a guy with a real literary bent and a real sense of language. He was quite economical and eloquent at the same time.”

…

George Hirsch, a former publisher of Runner’s World magazine, which Mr. Moore wrote for after he left Sports Illustrated, said that Mr. Moore’s athletic past had enhanced his access to his subjects.
“I can remember when he interviewed someone like Bill Rodgers or Joan Benoit,” Mr. Hirsch said in a phone interview, referring to two elite marathoners, “and he would run with them and see who they were in ways that he couldn’t have done if he had not been an elite runner.”

Charles Siebert, actor. Other credits include “Xena: Warrior Princess”, “Mancuso, FBI”, “And Justice for All”, “Richie Brockelman, Private Eye” (and of course “The Rockford Files”), and “Tarantulas: The Deadly Cargo”.

Posted in Horses, Movies, Obits, Spiders, Sports, TV | Comments Closed

A little late…

May 31st, 2022

…for Memorial Day, and I don’t know how old this story is. (It just came across Hacker News, for what that’s worth.)

From Hodinkee, a story about a Rolex watch. The serial number dates it to 1947.

But there’s more to the story than it being an old watch. It spent 52 years buried in an unmarked grave…because it belonged to a CIA pilot that was killed in action.

The method for recovering the agent in question was not only difficult, but it was also dangerous. This was one of the first implementations of the so-called “All American Pick Up.” It was a technique that Downey and Fecteau had only recently trained for, and this was their first time trying it in the field. The agent on the ground would retrieve some dropped equipment: a harness, a pair of poles, and a length of line. He would then set up the poles, string the line between them, and attach the harness. The C-47 would then come in low and slow, trailing a grappling hook. The hook would snag the line, lifting the harnessed operative off the ground and into the air behind the airplane, where he’d be winched on board.

(Previously.)

Posted in Geek, History, Planes | 4 Comments »

Angelo J. Liteky.

May 30th, 2022

Those who have been following my entries for Memorial Day and Veteran’s Day may have figured out there’s a theme going on here.

I went back and forth on whether I wanted to include this entry or not. In the end, I felt like: a person who receives the Medal of Honor, no matter what they do with their life later on, deserves praise and credit for heroism.

I can’t find a lot of information about Mr. Liteky’s early life, his ordination, or his joining the military online. But he did join the Army and served as a chaplain (with the rank of captain) with the 199th Infantry Brigade of the 12th Infantry Regiment.

He was out with the troops on December 6, 1967 when they came under fire from what’s described as a “numerically superior enemy force”. From his Medal of Honor citation:

Chaplain Liteky distinguished himself by exceptional heroism while serving with Company A, 4th Battalion, 12th Infantry, 199th Light Infantry Brigade. He was participating in a search and destroy operation when Company A came under intense fire from a battalion size enemy force. Momentarily stunned from the immediate encounter that ensued, the men hugged the ground for cover. Observing 2 wounded men, Chaplain Liteky moved to within 15 meters of an enemy machine gun position to reach them, placing himself between the enemy and the wounded men. When there was a brief respite in the fighting, he managed to drag them to the relative safety of the landing zone. Inspired by his courageous actions, the company rallied and began placing a heavy volume of fire upon the enemy’s positions. In a magnificent display of courage and leadership, Chaplain Liteky began moving upright through the enemy fire, administering last rites to the dying and evacuating the wounded. Noticing another trapped and seriously wounded man, Chaplain Liteky crawled to his aid. Realizing that the wounded man was too heavy to carry, he rolled on his back, placed the man on his chest and through sheer determination and fortitude crawled back to the landing zone using his elbows and heels to push himself along. pausing for breath momentarily, he returned to the action and came upon a man entangled in the dense, thorny underbrush. Once more intense enemy fire was directed at him, but Chaplain Liteky stood his ground and calmly broke the vines and carried the man to the landing zone for evacuation. On several occasions when the landing zone was under small arms and rocket fire, Chaplain Liteky stood up in the face of hostile fire and personally directed the medivac helicopters into and out of the area. With the wounded safely evacuated, Chaplain Liteky returned to the perimeter, constantly encouraging and inspiring the men. Upon the unit’s relief on the morning of 7 December 1967, it was discovered that despite painful wounds in the neck and foot, Chaplain Liteky had personally carried over 20 men to the landing zone for evacuation during the savage fighting. Through his indomitable inspiration and heroic actions, Chaplain Liteky saved the lives of a number of his comrades and enabled the company to repulse the enemy. Chaplain Liteky’s actions reflect great credit upon himself and were in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Army.

At some point, he changed his name to Charles James Liteky. In 1975, he left the priesthood. In 1983, he married: his wife was a former nun.

He went on to become a peace activist (out of respect for his views, I am not using his military rank), and, on July 29, 1986, he renounced his Medal of Honor. According to his Wikipedia entry, he placed “it in an envelope addressed to then-President Ronald Reagan near the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.” He is the only recipient of the Medal of Honor who renounced the award. He went on to participate in protests against US intervention in Central America and the invasion of Iraq.

He died on January 20, 2017, at the age of 85.

There is a website devoted to Charles Liteky which discusses his life (and quotes from his Medal of Honor citation). Mr. Liteky also wrote a book, Renunciation: My Pilgrimage from Catholic Military Chaplain, Vietnam Hawk, and Medal of Honor Recipient to Civilian Warrior for Peace.

Posted in Heroism, History | Comments Closed

Mixed drink note.

May 29th, 2022

I could have out this in an earlier entry, but, well, I forgot.

After dinner at Mala, Mike the Musicologist stopped off at Anvil Bar and Refuge for a drink. Because it was in the neighborhood, I’d heard about it but never been, and it was a weeknight so the crowd was more manageable.

One of the classic cocktails on their list – which I had not heard of before – was the Up to Date. This cocktail is credited to Hugo Ensslin – who I had also not heard of before – around 1917.

Mr. Ensslin was an interesting guy. In 1917 (or 1916 – sources differ) he published a book called Recipes for Mixed Drinks, which many people consider the last gasp of cocktail culture before Prohibition. Mr. Ensslin was a hotel bartender, and Mixed Drinks is mostly based on his hotel recipes, not on ones he got from other people. It is supposed to have been a big influence on people like Harry Craddock (of The Savoy Cocktail Book).

There was a reprint edition a few years back (WP review) that seems to still be in print. But there’s also a scanned version online.

It was a good cocktail. I liked the balance, and may try making one at home at some point.

Also: The Chanticleer Society, though they aren’t updating as much as I would like them to.

Also also: the Sazerac at the Rainbow Lodge is very good.

Posted in Bookmarks, Books, Mixology | Comments Closed

NRA Annual Meeting day 3: show’s over, back on your heads.

May 29th, 2022

The lens pen was from Trijicon. Yeah, like they need an endorsement from me, but consider this one anyway.

At the weird intersection of SF geekery and gun geekery:

The other thing I wanted from Speer/Federal/CCI, which I did go back and get:

Not that much new to report, really. As I mentioned yesterday, we used today to go back and re-visit various targets of opportunity.

I had a good conversation with the folks at XS Sights: I have ghost ring sights on my Marlin lever gun, and I want to set up my social shotgun the same way.

We also had a nice conversation with the husband and wife who run Gru-Bee scopes. Gru-Bee sells (among other things) a modern version of the old 4X “baby” Redfield scope. These look great on a Browning SA-22, and the eye relief is enough so I can actually get a good sight picture. I sense an order in the near future, good Lord willing and the creek don’t rise.

The folks at Elite Tactical Systems are very nice, but I am a little frustrated with them. They make 7, 9, and 12 round magazines for the Glock 42. I thought the 9 and 12 rounders might be worth trying out: they had the 9, but did not have the 12 at the show. They did give me a card with a 20% discount code so I could order one online though. Except: the 7 and 12 round mags are out of stock online. The 9 is the only one that’s available. And the code expires June 1st, and there’s no backorder option. Sigh.

I see that I haven’t said much about food, other than the $14 bagels, coffee, and juice in the lobby. Breakfast has been pretty much catch as catch can. Lunch has been “what’s lunch?”.

We have had very good dinners, though, at all of the following places:

Tonight, since it is traditional as part of these affairs to have a good dinner on Sunday night: Rainbow Lodge.

Posted in Endorsements, Food, Guns, NRA, NRAAM | Comments Closed

Obit watch: May 29, 2022.

May 29th, 2022

Still in on the road mode:

Bo Hopkins, actor. My mother described him as one of those “oh, yeah, that guy” guys.

Ronnie Hawkins, musician. I feel like some of my readers will have more to say about him (and they are welcome to do so in the comments) but I did like this:

“Ninety percent of what I made went to women, whiskey, drugs and cars,” he said. “I guess I just wasted the other 10 percent.”

Posted in Movies, Music, Obits | 1 Comment »

And while I am thinking of it…

May 28th, 2022

…I wanted to bookmark this article: “What Ever Happened to Scandium Bike Frames?” which I ran across the other day.

I think it’s a pretty good explanation of why scandium is significant, and the basic metallurgy of the aluminum/scandium mix.

One thing that isn’t mentioned, except in a passing reference in the end-user chart: Scandium is also being used in firearms. Smith and Wesson in particular has built a number of guns using scandium frames, like the 1911 E-Series.

Posted in 1911, Bookmarks, Cycling, Guns | Comments Closed

NRA Annual Meeting day 2: short quick impressions.

May 28th, 2022

On second impression, while I still like the bag from SAR USA, the Brownells bag was a little more comfortable to use. It has more of a shoulder strap, and proved to be fully capable of carrying the weight.

Best swag of the day: the grips side of Hogue (not to be confused with the knife side, which was across the aisle) was giving away thick heavy rubber gun mats. You know, the kind of thing that your local gunshop puts on top of the glass display case before they get out that vintage Smith and Wesson. Or the kind of thing you put down on the kitchen table at home before you start tinkering with your own gun.

Still haven’t found anything that grabs me, but the Cimarron people let me handle one of their Wyatt Earp Buntline Specials: it is a nice looking gun. Sadly, they did not have a Billy Dixon Sharps reproduction, for reasons related to being unable to secure them at night. However, they are up in Fredericksburg, and have a storefront there…

Something else that makes me go “Hmmmmmm…”: Walther has a new line of auto pistols, the WMP, chambered in .22 Magnum, which has not been a very common auto pistol caliber. And the price does not break the bank.

Guns are not sold at the show. But other items are (or can be) and I have picked up a few things.

Wilson Combat Zippo and Gun Guy from Wilson Combat. CEO from Columbia River Knife and Tool. Coffee mug from Eley.

I also picked up a t-shirt that should make Robert Francis O’Rourke cry.

There seems to be a little less swag this time around, and what there is, is of somewhat lower quality. But I have picked up lots of free hats and bags, some pins, lots of stickers and key chains, a few screwdrivers, and even some lens cleaning cloths. (One vendor was even giving away lens pens, which I thought was nice. Unfortunately, I can’t lay my hands on that item right now, but when I do dig it out, I’ll update.) Eley also let me have several sets of foam earplugs when I bought my mug from them. And, of course, more morale patches than Carter had liver pills.

(Once I sort through everything and take out the stuff I want, the rest of it is going to my brother’s children. Generally, if it’s something I like, and a fairly small and inexpensive give-away item, I try to get at least three of them: one for myself, and two for the nephews and nieces.)

Mike the Musicologist and I actually bailed on the show early today. By 3 PM, we’d seen the entire exhibit floor, and we’d revisited specific vendors we wanted to come back to. The plan for tomorrow is still to use it as a targets of opportunity day. (Speer had something else I want, but didn’t want to try to lug back to the hotel today.) Also, folks may be more willing to make deals if it means not having to lug stuff back with them…

It does seem like a smaller show than the last one we went to. And there were some vendors we would have expected to see that didn’t come: SIG and Crimson Trace being two that we specifically noticed.

We also noticed a very strong law enforcement presence, including a lot of folks running around the exhibit hall in full battle rattle. But I can’t tell if they were supposed to be between us and the protestors, or if they were attending the show on their own time (in full uniform, complete with tactical gear), or if they were there in case we all spontaneously rose up and started a mass insurrection against Brandon.

I report, you decide.

Edited to add: Walking distance today: 4.9 miles.

Posted in Books, Clothing, Guns, Knives, NRA, NRAAM, Shirts | Comments Closed

Obit watch: May 27, 2022.

May 27th, 2022

Still somewhat time constrained due to my vacation, so short and quick: Alan White, drummer for Yes. (He replaced Bill Bruford in 1972.)

Andy Fletcher, of Depeche Mode.

Posted in Music, Obits | Comments Closed

NRA Annual Meeting day 1: short quick impressions.

May 27th, 2022

Not doing the press badge thing this year: I missed the deadline for applying, and it didn’t really buy me anything last time except access to the free drinks and snacks in the press room.

Best swag bag award (so far): SAR USA.

Walking distance today according to my phone: 5.8 miles (including the round trip from the Hyatt Regency in downtown Houston to the convention center).

It seems smaller than Wanenmacher’s, even though the Houston convention center is larger. It feels like the NRA show is more spread out and there’s a lot more space to move around. Mike the Musicologist and I covered a little more than half the exhibit floor today, and expect to finish off tomorrow. Which leaves us Sunday for return visits to targets of opportunity.

Cool stuff seen: well, not a whole lot that has me drooling, and nothing that made me go “ooooh, that’s a cool and clever idea”. Yet. Though I’m becoming more interested in the new Smith and Wesson CSX, and I get the impression some people have made a commitment to 30 Super Carry. I’m waiting for someone I trust to try out the CSX and report.

Encounters with protestors: very few. I didn’t notice any coming in this morning, and while there were some coming out this afternoon, they were all on the other side of the street. And quite frankly, their chanting was so poorly synchronized I couldn’t understand any of what they were yelling.

Price for two bagels, a medium coffee, and a juice at the Einstein Brothers bagels in the lobby of the Hyatt Regency: $14+.

More tomorrow, I hope.

Posted in Guns, NRA, NRAAM | Comments Closed

Obit watch: May 26, 2022.

May 26th, 2022

Still on the road, so this will be short: Ray Liotta. NYT.

67 doesn’t seem that old these days.

Posted in Movies, Obits | Comments Closed

Random gun crankery, some filler.

May 24th, 2022

Long delayed BAG Day update:

It took a while to get things lined up (my local gun shop had trouble getting in touch with their S&W rep) but I have my birthday gun on order. Unfortunately, there’s a 60 day lead time from S&W on that gun, so I don’t expect to see it before the end of June.

In the meantime, though, my local gun shop took in a foster Smith and Wesson. It looked so sad and lonely sitting in the display case all by itself. Plus, they had a very reasonable price tag on it, and…well…I adopted it. Details and photos to come eventually. It really isn’t much to write home about. There’s a fair amount of wear, but the trigger feels good, it is something I can easily slip into a pocket or carry inside the waistband, and it was $250+tax out the door (thanks to my local gun shop knocking $50 off the tagged price: yes, this is an endorsement).

Tomorrow, I’m heading down to Houston for the NRA Annual Meeting. Blogging will be catch as catch can, but I’m hoping to get in some reports from the road, and maybe even get a chance to handle a few cool things.

Posted in Guns, Smith and Wesson | 3 Comments »

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