This past Sunday, May 25, 2014 was the end of 6 1/2 seasons of the HBO series Mad Men, the wildly popular period piece about the advertising business in the 1960’s. It’s been a very serious show, and one of the stars has been 83 year old Robert Morse, who plays the beloved senior partner of the firm McCann-Erickson who dies during this episode. However Matt Weiner, the show’s creator, never forgot that Robert Morse, as a young actor, performed as a Tony winning song and dance man in the film/Broadway show How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.
So it was a thrill when, at the conclusion of a superb final episode for 2014, a moment of TV magic occurred as Robert Morse got to do a musical/dance number as part of a fantasy sequence. It was such a wonderful surprise, something like a Woody Allen movie when a bunch of hospital patients break out into song in Everyone Says I Love You. I was mesmerized and enthralled by the scene, wishing that it could go on longer.
The song “The Best Things in Life are Free” cast a moment of musical wisdom and joy onto the ending (for now—7 more scenes in 2015) because it is a lyric with a message that is so special, especially in the context of the Mad Men story.
A commenter on the YouTube video, Molly, said, “This was so beautiful and had me smiling the entire time. When I noticed he wasn’t wearing any shoes I started to tear up; Mad Men is flawless.”
Miley Cyrus performs her Bangerz Tour live at Perth Arena on October 23, 2014 in Perth, Australia.
Miley Cyrus is a 22 year old pop star who has been evolving from her kid-stuff role on the Disney Channel as Hannah Montana. As she segues into a woman, some of her antics have garnered negative attention, but she was the host of Saturday Night Live on October 3, and her performance of the “Twinkle Song” (shown below) revealed her to be a vulnerable and emotional young lady who can dig deep into her soul and come up with a sensational heart-felt rendering of her new composition. —Paul Goldfinger @Blogfinger
Maybe just a little too close for comfort! That is a pit bull, isn’t it?
It was a ferociously breezy March Day ….but it was a beauty down on the O.G. Boardwalk…the old part!
Bob (Bowné)
ST. VINCENT and VINCE GIORDANO and the NIGHTHAWKS (from HBO’s Boardwalk Empire) with “Make Believe.”
Editor’s note: It seems that Bobby is nostalgic for the real wooden boardwalks of yesteryear. There still is a portion at the north end that is intact thanks to a bulkhead made of rocks. I think that wooden portion will be replaced when the north boardwalk is rebuilt (soon.)
But Bob knows about the feel and smell of real wood, even though it would be all stained and dangerous due to splinters. Ow, ow, ow when it gets very hot. But under the boardwalk the sand is cool and damp, and the light filters through between the boards.
Checkpoint photo from Venango County, Pennsylvania.
(NTPD press release from Lt. Michael J. McGhee) — Law enforcement officials from Neptune Township will be cracking down on drunk drivers as part of the annual holiday season “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” statewide campaign. Beginning December 5, 2014 and continuing through January 2, 2015, local and state law enforcement officials will conduct saturation patrols and sobriety checkpoints looking for motorists who may be driving while intoxicated.
The national “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over”effort endeavors to raise awareness about the dangers of drinking and driving through a combination of high-visibility enforcement and public education.
“This is a critical law enforcement program that can save lives during a time of the year when impaired driving traditionally increases by nearly 10 percent,” said Chief James Hunt. “This initiative brings attention to the serious consequences of drunk driving and the grave danger those who choose to drink and drive pose to all who share the road with them.”
Last year, 22% of all motor vehicle fatalities in New Jersey were alcohol-related. Nationally, more than 10,000 people die each year in drunk driving crashes. The societal cost associated with drunk driving crashes is estimated to be $37 billion annually.
Law enforcement agencies participating in the Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over2014 Year End Holiday Crackdown offer the following advice for holiday season:
Take mass transit, a taxicab, or ask a sober friend to drive you home.
Spend the night where the activity or party is held.
If you see an impaired driver on the road, contact law enforcement. Your actions may save someone’s life, and inaction could cost a life.
Always buckle-up, every ride. It’s your best defense against an impaired driver.
If you are intoxicated and traveling on foot, the safest way to get home is to take a cab or have a sober friend or family member drive or escort you to your doorstep.
Be responsible. If someone you know is drinking, do not let that person get behind the wheel.
Blogfinger Medical Commentary by Paul Goldfinger, MD.
When people say that they are “going to party” they usually mean that they will consume alcohol. Drinking lowers inhibitions and increases sex drive, although, for men, it reduces performance. Alcohol also is a depressant and can cause drowsiness. In addition, it is a cardiac stimulant that may result in heart rhythm disturbances (arrhythmias.)
Alcohol also reduces judgement, reflexes, concentration, reasoning, depth perception, vision and reaction times. These effects are seen when the legal limit of blood alcohol is reached (see below,) but milder versions of these impairments can occur even after one drink in some individuals.
A BAC (blood alcohol concentration) of .08% is the definition of “drunk driving.” It is the same in all states. You can get there after about 3 drinks, but that varies with body size, metabolism, weight and sex (women BAC’s rise higher).
If your level is under .08% you may not be legally drunk, but if you are driving erratically, you can still be charged with “driving under the influence.” For drivers under the age of 21, the legal BAC level for drunk driving is .01%.
It takes about 3 hours for 2 drinks to clear out of your body. Coffee or showers will not speed that process.
Chief Hunt mentions the number who die yearly in motor vehicle accidents related to alcohol, but the number with serious injuries is over 300,000 each year in the US.
This song captures the allure of “getting high,” but it highlights the social weakness inherent in the plan. (“We don’t know what to say. So we get high.”) People can overcome that addictive crutch and learn to party without drugs and alcohol. Or, at least to have the confidence and self control to drink responsibly.
At the September 22, 2014 meeting of the Township Committee an Ocean Grover suggested that garbage pickups be reduced from two per week to one. The idea is that the recycling program is so effective that money could be saved by changing the pick up frequency. What do you think?
