SOMETHING FOR THE WEEKEND

Former Vice President Mike Pence, rather summarily, indicated that he cannot endorse Donald Trump for president.  No surprise, for he previously said:

I believe anyone that puts themselves over the Constitution should never be president of the United States and anyone who asks someone else to put them over the Constitution should never be president of the United States again.

Outlier?  Nope.  So many others:  Attorney General Bill Barr, first Defense Secretary James Mattis, second Defense Secretary Mark Esper, chairman of joint chiefs of staff Gen. Mark Miley, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, his first ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley, presidential transition vice-chairman Chris Christie, second national security advisor HR McMaster, third national security advisor John Bolton, second chief of staff John Kelly and so many others.  This list was dated October 2023.  The Bush family never endorsed him.

There is something about religion, paranormal phenomena like flying saucers, favorite songs, and the like...once someone grows up with certain beliefs, it's impossible to change attitudes no matter what the evidence.  MAGA-Trumpers, and too many others, fall in this category.

Saw Just Call Out My Name, featuring Carole King and James Taylor on PBS.  You too can, but I think you need to send in a donation, or subscribe to HBO Max.  

Was first aired two years ago on CNN.  They sung all their favorites.  They were never married, and had not even a date.  He is 82 and she 76.

I watched the 1945 Spellbound on TCM, starring Ingrid Bergman and Gregory Peck.  Rotten Tomatoes scores of 86/82.  Good film.  Six Academy Award nominations and won Oscar for Best Original Song, by Mikló Rózsa.  Sorry, but if you do not subscribe to Hulu, good luck.  How many films have you seen?  Rózsa wrote the score for 96  of them.

If you got some time, you might want to click on 50 mistakes you may have missed in the best movies of all time.

• #48  Apocalypse Now (1979) supposedly had 395 errors.
• #43  Gone with the Wind (1939) might have been the highest grossing film of all time adjusted for inflation, but the film takes place before the invention of lightbulbs, but you see several of them.
• #2    Casablanca (1942) has Sam playing the piano.  However, he did not know how, so his hand movements didn't match the music.  See if you can find this.

I'm following Shogun on FX.  Four episodes so far with six to go. Rotten Tomatoes scores of 99% for reviewers and 93% for audiences. In the year 1600 Lord Yoshi Toranaga finds a British seaman, John Blackthorne, to make the difference.  Toranaga in real life is Tokugawa Ieyasu, who becomes Shogun, and the European is William Adams. This family leads Japan until 1867 when the Meiji Revolution replaced a shogun with the Emperor, who was mostly controlled by leading politicians.  

I will record the rest of the series, for on March 19 we leave on our around the world adventure.  For those who relish vicarious thrills, details of this trip will be provided on Monday, March 18.  And there is an equivalent journey we just finalized for the Fall/Winter of this year:  Norwegian Encore from Seattle through the Panama Canal to Southampton.  Then a Christmas River Cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest.

I read the 1975 book by James Clavell, and can't remember a thing.  Of course, that was half a century ago.  Chapter 5 shows on March 19 on FX, and the whole series can be streamed on Hulu.  You can begin to view these episodes also via FX on Demand.

Clavell is from Australia, and was in World War II imprisoned in that notorious Japanese prisoner of war camp, Changi, Singapore.  For a long while after the war he carried a can of sardines with him wherever he went.  The country's largest prison is now located here.  Also, the #1 airport in the World, Changi, is here, 15 miles away from downtown.  This will be our second stop on the next trip.

And, by the way, there was a 1980 film, with Richard Chamberlin playing John Blackthorne.  Toshiro Mifune as Lord Yoshi Toranaga and Ann Bancroft moderated.  Rotten Tomatoes 80 score.

Neil Sedaka just turned 85 this week.  He has released more than 1000 songs.

• Went to Juilliard on weekends and is a classically trained pianist.
• Was part writer and piano player for Boby Darin's Dream Lover in 1959.

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  Unlike James Taylor, Sedaka actually dated Carole King when in high school. Oh? Carol was his first top ten hit.  That was his performance on the Dick Clark Show in 1959.
• Earlier, in 1958, he wrote Who's Sorry Now?  and Stupid Cupid for Connie Francis, then Where the Boys Are in 1960.

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  His 1962 Breaking Up Is Hard To do reached #1 in 1962.
• Then came the Beatles, and Sedaka sank, much later becoming an old touring professional.

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  Many of his songs were with Howard Greenfield, as for example Love Will Keep Us Together for Captain & Tennille, which was the biggest hit in 1975.
• Sedaka's 1972 Solitaire was used by Clay Aiken in Season 3 of American Idol, and the song eventually hit #1 on Billboard.
• Regularly came to Hawaii on numerous occasions to entertain, usually for New Year's Eve.
• Inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1983 and gained a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2006.
• Rivals the Rolling Stones in professional longevity.  Not sure who will first quit.

One more.  Shohei Ohtani and his new wife, 27-year old Mamiko Tanaka, with the Los Angeles Dodgers, arrived in Seoul to play the San Diego Padres for official games on Wednesday and Thursday, opening the season for Major League Baseball.

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