Category: Uncategorized
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Victor Sen Yung
A while back I applauded “Hawaiian Eye,” the old Warner Brothers series, for providing parts for Asian-American actors and actresses at a time when the black-and-white screens of America were predominantly white. The parts of that 60s era were small (you certainly didn’t see Asian-Americans as detectives (like Grace Park was in the last reincarnation…
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HELL PIGS
For 20 million years North America was ruled by pigs. These hell pigs (that’s not their scientific name) roamed the globe after the dinosaurs and long before man arrived on the scene. Scientists estimate that the last of these creatures disappeared about 17 million years ago. Just as in the case of the dinosaurs, these…
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REVIVING THE NBA ALL-STAR GAME
It’s time to replace the NBA All-Star game with a three-on-three tournament. More NBA players would be involved and they might actually compete unlike the lackadaisical exhibition of last Sunday, termed “the worst basketball game ever played” by Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone, on the sidelines “coaching” for the game in Salt Lake City. I’ll…
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MOVIE LISTS
The New York Times ran a feature on Sunday, Feb. 19 that showed how Sight and Sound, a British monthly film magazine, had changed its list of the 100 top movies (as chosen by critics) over the last 10 years. “Vertigo went from number-one to number-two and “Citizen Kane” from two to three, stuff like…
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Sports betting
Watched any sports recently on TV or listened to a game or sports talk show? Noticed something—how about the fact that it seems like every other commercial now promotes gambling? Here in Illinois where sports betting was recently legalized, come-ons to place bets on sports abound. A host of gambling outfits run TV ads often…
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BEVERLY GARLAND
When actress Beverly Garland died at the age of 82 in 2008, obituaries depicted her as queen of the B’s, having starred in 50s monster movies like “Neanderthal Man,” “It Conquered the World,” “Curucu, Beast of the Amazon,” “Not Of This Earth” and “Alligator People.” A horrifying resume, indeed, but not Garland’s only roles over…
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Childhood heroes: living up to the legend
Chuck Swirsky, the radio play-by-play announcer for the Chicago Bulls, recently recounted a story about Michael Jordan when the basketball superstar was at the height of his powers in the 1990s while the Bulls were winning championships. Swirsky, whose book, “Always a Pleasure,” recounts a career in sports broadcasting that started in Chicago in 1979,…
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READ BEAT: THE PODCAST
Podcast website:https://www.buzzsprout.com/1950812 Before we lose track of 2022, I’d like to provide a review of the “Read Beat” podcast that I started back in March. Here’s a sampling from more than 90 interviews produced last year: –Nathaniel Philbrick talked about his book, “Travels with George.” The book cover features George Washington’s reflection in the car’s…
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MAKING A PITCH FOR CHICAGO
The recent story about traffic problems in Chicago reminds me of an opportunity that’s waiting for Peoria. Traffic congestion in Chicago is no secret, of course. There was a brief respite for commuters during the heart of the pandemic when everyone had to stay home but things are back to a crawl if you’re trying…
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CINEMA SPECULATION
“By the time I walked up to that podium and accepted that little gold man, with Dustin Hoffman and Charlize Theron standing behind me, Floyd was long since dead. I don’t know how he died, where he died, or where he’s buried. But I do know I should’ve thanked him.” Thus Quentin Tarantino closes his…