Undisputed Era reunited in All Elite Wrestling

 

[VIDEO] I had the TV on for most of the two hours of AEW Wednesday Nite Dynamite on TNT, which in the new year is expected to move to TBS.

Anyway I missed this segment on that show where Jim Ross returned to the play-by-play booth after taking a medical leave for skin cancer treatment. Kyle O'Reilly joined his former NXT Undisputed Era stablemates Adam Cole (Bay-Bay) and Bobby Fish. References were made to the feud between Cole and O'Reilly before Cole left for AEW over the past summer.

Anyway you see O'Reilly speak with Cole about that feud from over the past summer and he already knows that factions are how you succeed in All Elite Wrestling. O'Reilly wonders if Cole has his back like Fish does. Bobby Fish also joined AEW over the past fall after his own release from WWE. O'Reilly and Fish had a long history before they even arrived in NXT winning tag team gold there.

Anyway since Cole arrived in AEW he has been aligned with the Young Bucks who interfered in a three man tag match in the main event between the Best Friends and Cole, O'Reilly, and Fish. Of course as Cole follows the Bucks after the match, O'Reilly and Fish seem to be left wondering where Cole's loyalty lies.

And now I can see what direction the above segment goes and perhaps the storyline going forward. Perhaps the feud between Cole and O'Reilly might be a huge deal in AEW as it was during the past summer in NXT.

However, I feel as if Cole will get lost in the shuffle in the talent stacked environment of AEW. Cole has the goods to be a main event talent, however, he seems relegated to the midcard and that's not where he belongs. It seems the creative plans for him in WWE before he moved on weren't that good for him as a talent and that's fine, but is AEW where he belongs to get to that next level.

All anyone can do is watch and see....While there are some talents I do enjoy seeing in AEW what I do find a tad troubling is having a stacked roster of good talent that aren't used very well.

CNBC: Can Cadillac And Lincoln Win Back Their American Luxury Status?

 

[VIDEO] Cadillacs and Lincolns are out of my price range but if I could dream I really like Lincoln's lineups of SUV. Just the design is enough for me to go into the showroom and just try to get the right price for a Nautilus or a Corsair as they're the least expensive of the Lincoln line. And now Lincoln plans to go all-electric in the future....

Mr. Beat's brief history of the Italian-American mafia

 

[VIDEO] I've been binge watching the many informative material of one Mr. Beat who is a legit social studies teacher sharing his knowledge to a YouTube audience. And just on Xmas eve I binged watched two mob movies such as GoodFellas & Casino. I tweeted about both when I was watching those films. Mr. Beat talks about the Italian-American mafia and how they became so big here in America.

Stop-motion holiday Lego fireplace

 

[VIDEO] We're now at that time of year and on this Christmas Day I want to share with you the talent of Kevin Parry who's hands you see here set up the shot for the Lego fireplace. Duration is one hour although I also hope you spend time with someone you care about on this day.

Over at Shedd School you may want to check out another fireplace video from DC Comics.

Michael Nesmith R.I.P.

 

[VIDEO] One of the YouTube channels I follow shares clips from David Letterman's career as a TV personality and Friday morning I found this appearance by Nesmith on Late Night with David Letterman back in 1983. Nesmith didn't look as young as he did when he was the star of the 1960s sitcom The Monkees.

I've known about The Monkees perhaps since the 1980s. As a child I watched the reruns on local TV and the theme song was catchy even if I didn't get all the episodes. In my mind this was a rather kid friendly TV program compared to the Late Night show.

I'm very sorry to hear about Nesmith's passing yesterday which was noted as natural causes. With his death only one of The Monkees remain and his name is Mickey Dolenz. Davey Jones had died in 2012 and Peter Tork died in 2019.

Also, The Monkees band were really created for the aforementioned TV series, however, they later did become one of the more successful bands of the 1960s. I do find the 60s very fascinating and perhaps a major pivot point in American history and with the many historic and even national traumas that happened back them.

Tehachapi Loop

 

[VIDEO] Been a while since I've seen videos from the Michigan Central Lines YouTube channel.

On this day they take drone footage of the Tehachapi Loop in California. This is a great piece of engineering which allows trains to move up in elevation. Perhaps better than going up a straight ramp with difficulty.

Artistmac: Chicago Union Station Xmas tree

 

[VIDEO] Now I wish there was somewhere for me to take a train to so that I can see this wonderful Xmas tree for myself. This tree has logos from a number of historic railroads which includes Chicagoland's commuter rail service Metra and of course Amtrak. For travellers I'm sure seeing this makes their trips more festive hopefully.

Enjoy.

Video rental nostalgia

 I saw two sites that I want to buy "membership cards" from. One is from the last Blockbuster video store left in the world located in Bend, Oregon. The other is from a man who recreated a video store in his basement and offers his own merchandise.

I don't remember not only the last time I visited a video store, I don't remember the last time my eyes had seen one. Many years ago I applied for a Blockbuster in the Gold Coast neighborhood ironically just around the corner from a Whole Foods although at the time I hardly paid attention.

The manager at the store seemed uninterested in talking to someone who wanted to work there. Just went up to a kiosk to fill an application and never got a call back. Although I do remember a young woman who came in grooming her hair presumably waiting for an interview. The interest was there however if they had no interest and I had nothing to pay for a rental I likely never returned and ironically the space is now vacant after being a bank branch for many years after that Blockbuster closed.

Hmmmm, I should take a few snapshots when I go up there. Stay tuned got to make the Beta more interesting.

Anyway I wouldn't mind carrying either of this cards in my wallet every day or just have these in my collection at home. Perhaps one day I can use these to decorate my future game room.

The 8-bit Guy: Roadkill NES

 

[VIDEO] This is interesting to me. I'm still a fan of the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). Because of this system I can hardly get into modern gaming the closest I ever got to modern gaming was the original Sony Playstation. Yeah I'm going back 20 years....

Regardless I have more nostalgia for the 8-bit aspects of 1980s gaming and makes this video up my alley. If I wanted to fix my own system now I know how to do it. Of course mine was purchased years ago and never was found on the side of a highway and took some damage in the process.

8-Bit Guy does great work restoring a number of older computers of varying brands, styles, or even eras. He does a great job getting this system working again.

I'm sorry I missed the early days of Late Nite w/ David Letterman

 

[VIDEO] I was a huge fan of David Letterman and it seemed he did take plenty of shots at his former corporate overlords over the NBC network, that company was General Electric GE. Of course times have changed NBC is now owned by Comcast - the good folks who provide the public with telecommunications services from internet, phone, to TV. Now they own a TV network actually a broadcasting company.

However back in 1986 Letterman decided to make a gag of it. Go down to GE HQ and deliver a fruit basket, and almost everyone there was very cold and distant claiming he didn't have authorization. It was great TV and sometimes I wish today's late nite hosts were that daring as Letterman was in his prime.

To be fair this is not something every late nite host should be doing. On Late Nite with David Letterman it seemed there were things done in such a format that wasn't always done. It's probably one reason why he was so popular for so long. I was late to the game, a bit too young to be watching his antics or at least I recognize this now.

However, how he starts off making fun of the idea of GE buying NBC - well actually lets be more technical. GE was actually buying RCA who owned NBC in 1985 in 2011 Comcast will buy GE's stake in NBC Universal and bought the full stake in 2013. Ahhh don't you love the history of corporate mergers.

Anyway I hope you enjoy this Letterman GE compilation. And if you can offer a few bucks to Don Giller who is providing these many Letterman clips. As much as I dream of making money from YouTube due to the content he's sharing he makes no money off of these clips. As he's stated doing so wouldn't be fair since these clips didn't originate with him.

Nice try Anonymous /satire

 

fb.com

Found this on fb which recently came out of its shutdown on Monday from the Babylon Bee. I shared this on my profile with the quote you see in this post's title above.

With Facebook down, and the world basking in the warm glow of a post-Facebook utopia, the hackers responsible for the attack are now warning that if their demands are not met, they will reactivate Facebook once again.

"We know the world is celebrating the peace and unity brought about by us deleting Facebook from the internet," said a cryptic message broadcast from an unknown location. "But if you don't comply with our demand for $700 billion dollars by 8 pm tonight, we will restore Facebook and unleash its evils upon the world once again."

Well I could respond seriously with well I think the hackers were foiled this time.

If anyone from fb is reading this my original fb and ig accounts were disabled last year and I was never able to repeal due to this doggone pandemic. You never had enough reviewers available perhaps you can hit me up at my twitter handle @levois. Thanks.

@levois used to be my original ig handle but when my fb account went down so did that....

Amtrak train shooting in Tucson, AZ

 

[VIDEO] If I have the time to do so I do like to watch Amtrak's Sunset Limited arrive in Tucson, Arizona. Usually like to catch the eastbound train stop in Tucson and it appears to be a very long layover ( about an hour). It appears that there is not only a stop to stretch your legs it's a servicing stop for the train.

Well, I didn't see the stream this morning and I'm glad I didn't. There was a shooting on the train and Virtual Railfan who operates the live webcam has since shuttered the feed for the time being. A DEA agent and a suspect were killed in the shooting about the train. What you see above is what you would've seen on the live webcam via Virtual Railfan.

I saw a condensed AP video that said this the shooting was as a result of a random search for contraband on board the train. The suspect was later found dead in an onboard lavatory on the train. [VIDEO]

I'm curious if they canceled the train so that the police can secure the crime scene and for Amtrak to later clean up the car for future service. I'm also curious if the train will remain in the Tucson area until the police is through with their work.

Looking forward to the Tucson feed being available again on YouTube especially. It was amazing last winter to see snowfall there in a desert city like Tucson, Arizona.

As always happy travels and be careful out there! 

42 hrs in a sleeper - Technology Connextras

 

[VIDEO] Technology Connections and Connextras are two YouTube channels I've been following for a while now. Connections basically looks at everyday technology from dishwashers to TVs to analog cameras to air conditioners to car horns to amusement park rides to basically you name it. You will learn something new when you're done.

Connextras however is considered a companion channel. While it might compliment some of the material covered on the main channel basically what we're seeing here is basically what you might consider "extras". Basically everything else.

Technology Connextras is sharing with us their ride on my favorite Amtrak train The Southwest Chief. He even shows us his footage on board Amtrak's Surfliner. He breaks down his trip, his roomette accommodations, even who owns Amtrak. He might talk about price and how much it costs to see the landscape going back and forth from California to Chicago.

Basically I'm just sharing with you yet another train video that has caught my eye.

ALSO! I want seven more subs to my own YouTube channel. When I get to 100 subs I can have a fancy url like Technology Connections. Much appreciated! :) 

AEW debuts former WWE talent #AEWAllOut

 I'm putting this mildly as both of these talents were former world champs. Adam Cole was the former NXT champion though probably not as high up as Daniel Bryan who had been a former WWE champion. 

Bryan Danielson aka Daniel Bryan was last seen losing to Universal Champion Roman Reigns at WrestleMania Backlash and being taken out with a "con-chair-to". Adam Cole of course was last seen losing to former stablemate in Undisputed Era Kyle O'Reilly effectively ending that ongoing feud.

Bryan Danielson's debut on AEW was widely speculated over most of the past summer and I suppose no one was sure where Adam Cole would go. Cole's contract had already expired and there was some extensions so that Cole could finish up whatever creative i.e. the O'Reilly fued.

Thanks to WrestleTalk since I didn't watch last nite's All Out PPV we know they both signed with AEW. [VIDEO]

It's amazing that they have so much former WWE talent. While I have a difficult time getting into their programming they seem to have a great fanbase. It was shocking to see Paul Wight or Mark Henry or Malakai Black go over there. Wight and Henry especially had long careers in WWE and they went to the upstart who seems to be gaining moment.

In recent weeks we see C.M. Punk debut for AEW and even had a match at All Out last nite here in Chicago. Since Punk had a very strained relationship with WWE even going so far as to state that he might have died if he had stayed it's great to see him return to a wrestling ring after seven years away. And letting go of his not very good MMA career with UFC.

I don't know what the future may hold for AEW, but allow me to posit one thing. You have a number of top guys who were former WWE talent from Jon Moxley, Jake Hager, Chris Jericho, Cody Rhodes, Christian Cage, in addition to the others I have already named so far. I like some of the other talent such as Orange Cassidy.

I begin to wonder if AEW could suffer the issues of WCW towards the end. Getting all these well known talent instead of showcasing the indy talent who should really have the opportunity to shine. Perhaps AEW is a long way from losing money as WCW ultimately did, I just hope plenty of these new signings with former top WWE talent will help put over the indy talent who should be able to sign on a new worldwide stage.

And as for Adam Cole well I hope he does shine a lot more at the top in AEW. I could've bought him as a future WWE world champion, hopefully he gets his show as the AEW world champ.

New depot to open soon in Ft. Madison, Iowa

 

[VIDEO] This is something to look forward to when you watch the Virtual Railfan webcam on Sept. 8th. Amtrak will stop at that depot you see on the webcam in Ft. Madison, Iowa. There was a lot of construction you see going on starting with the road next to the railroad and then creating a platform for those passengers on the Southwest Chief who are "de-training".

Soon this cam will be just like other cams along the Southwest Chief in Galesburg, IL; LaPlata, MO; Flagstaff, AZ; and Barstow, CA. You can see these various stops on my Amtrak webcam page here. I need to update some of my links to share this with you all.

The last time I took the Southwest Chief I got off the train on the way back to Chicago in Ft. Madison at the non-descript depot which the train will currently stop until Sept. 8. A nice man offered to take my pic and I turned him down although one pic was taken on the platform there which ended my recording of the vacation back to Chicago. I barely remember it and like I said that depot was non-descript. It was likely a building in the railyard and who knows how long that has been in service for Amtrak.

Either way it's great to see this nice dept restored for service and look forward to see passengers getting on and off in Ft. Madison live on video.

Wrestlelamia: Is WWE about to implode?

 

[VIDEO] Basically this video discusses the drama behind the possible revamp of NXT - WWE's developmental brand. One proposed revamp involves talent of which a few recently were released some of the names were surprising such as recent former NXT North American champ Bronson Reed.

One explanation for that is that Vince McMahon who controls WWE wants the promotion to cater to younger and larger talent. McMahon has always wanted the muscular and larger than life performers like The Rock, Hulk Hogan and often eschewed smaller performers notwithstanding performers like Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart or even Daniel Bryan.

As stated I'd be disappointed if NXT lost some aspects of its identity as something of a WWE owned indie promotion. I'd be disappointed if they began to eschew much older more seasoned performers for example Mercedez Martinez who got some notice on NXT who was 40 when she was released recently. I'd like to think a very talented indie older performer over 30 could make it to a Wrestlemania main event even if they had to go through NXT.

Finally another concern is the status of Triple H with the developmental brand. NXT is his baby, it's his vision for where WWE could go. There's a reason that the PPV style events are called TakeOvers. Triple H may never leave given that he's married to a McMahon, however, what's next if he's pushed aside.

#WWENXT undergoing a revamp?

 

[VIDEO] A few major wrestling news from the YouTube channel The Sports Entertainer. I really wanted to discuss the ultimate revamp of WWE NXT.

I came late to the party on NXT and only started following that product once I subscribed to the WWE Network in 2017. The product is very different from what you might find on the main roster and it's exciting to see future WWE superstars develop in NXT.

Also many current performers such as Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Bianca Bel Air, The Street Profits, Viking Raiders, Sasha Banks, and countless others started their WWE careers at the NXT Arena at Full Sail (though right now NXT is based at the Capitol Wrestling Center in Orlando, Florida). However one issue that has cropped up with NXT is that once the superstars of NXT make it to Raw or SmackDown they flounder.

As they go through the revamp I hear that if Vince McMahon has his way NXT will be made up of younger talent and I've heard midgets or shorter wrestlers under at least 6 feet tall. There is a want to create a new logo and use different lighting. And Triple H and his crew will ultimately lose control of a brand that they crafted for many years.

Well I've always understood NXT as WWE's homegrown developmental territory. And I get that from NXT hopefully will be the next top superstar to main event at a future WrestleMania.

My disappointment would be in those talents who have that capability to be in the main event and only get cut off because they're on the wrong side of 30 or even 40. I also like the idea of WWE having their own homegrown indie promotion although ultimately you want NXT performers to be able to learn the WWE system. I doubt you can last as a trainee at the WWE Performance Center if you can't adjust to WWE's style.

I think that if the reports I've been seeing out there from pro wrestling outlets prove to be true I think McMahon is hurting the future of his company. I get that NXT essentially lost the "Wednesday Nite Wars" against AEW Dynamite and that necessitates a new direction. Perhaps NXT needs to go back to being WWE's minor league, however, I really do like NXT being it's own self-contained brand unconnected to the events of WWE's main roster.

Youtuuba shows how he edits train videos

 

[VIDEO] I'm a fan of youtuuba on YouTube and he shared with his subscribers this teaser showing us the process of editing and producing his Train Odyssey videos. I want to share this with you and perhaps if you do your own train vacation videos it might give you some tips.

As far as sharing my train videos I use both still shots and videos splicing them together with background music when needed. He doesn't use an editing program that's widely available as he explains in another video years ago. In my case, I use iMovie for the most part finding it relatively easy to use and especially used on an actual computer.

On Shedd School blog I shared the first part of his Train Odyssey as he takes Amtrak's Capitol Limited out of Chicago all the way to Washington, DC although the first part that I share ended with him traveling through Indiana. Then as an extension of his odyssey he visits the Florida Keys and the Everglades Nat'l Park.

LA Times: Can Britney Spears' conservators force her to keep her IUD?

 Until Rose McGowan appeared on Tucker Carlson Tonight this week I had no idea that pop-star Britney Spears was under a conservatorship. I could read this as a court presumably in California has allowed others to be in control of Spears' life and has been true since she was about 25.

What's this IUD mentioned in the blog title? Well it's birth control her conservators doesn't want her to have any children. See having children probably would do no good for her conservators if she has to take a break from performing. I could see this as her conservators see nothing but dollar signs.

Well McGowan spoke out about this on Tucker Carlson and we learn that Spears who's almost 40 is asking the court to let her out of this conservatorship. She wants to take back control of her life. And from the LA Times article where I derive the title this is a bit striking:

In response to Spears’ rousing remarks, Jodi Hicks, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California, called the pop icon’s account of forced contraception “extremely troubling.”

“Planned Parenthood supports her right and the right of all individuals to make informed choices about their sexual and reproductive health, including whether and when to have children, free from coercion and exploitation,” Hicks said in a statement to the Los Angeles Times.

“Given what we’ve seen in this case, the state must do better to ensure that stronger protections are in place with regard to reproductive decision-making for individuals subject to conservatorship.”

Wait, Planned Parenthood is arguing for an individuals right to determine whether or not they want to have children? You know I always think of that organization as one that promotes abortion in this case I applaud them for taking a stand for Spears. And this is a strange turn for this case. Furthermore

What was your initial reaction to Spears’ testimony?

[Khiara M. Bridges, a law professor and faculty director of the Center on Reproductive Rights and Justice at UC Berkeley]: It was outrageous. It recalled, for me, the long history of the denial of decision-making around reproductive matters that marginalized people — women, poor women, white women without class privilege, people of color, disabled people, incarcerated people — there’s a long history of denying those marginalized people the ability to make decisions around their bodies, their reproduction.

Do Spears’ conservators have a legal right to limit her reproductive choices to that degree?

My understanding is that conservators have the ability to direct financial and medical decisions of the person under the conservatorship. And so, in order for this to be legal, her conservators would have to make a claim that controlling her reproduction impacts her financial well-being, or it’s a medical decision. And I think they could make those arguments, but it still seems like an incredible overreach of the decision-making power that they have as conservators of her estate.

I think this one way to look at this. Perhaps this could open up the door to a lot of issues that could be at play. Could some authority somewhere make these decisions for someone and not just in a conservatorship in a variety of situations perhaps you're in jail or in a detention for immigration based violations.

What I'd be curious about is the reasoning for placing on on a conservatorship? I see on her wiki page that she had some psychological issues and OK at some point in the 2000s she was spotted having shaved her head. I see that she has two children with Kevin Federline and there were some issues there.

Well perhaps more will unfold over time.

83 Weeks: Eric Bischoff on why WWE isn't selling out

 

[VIDEO] Bischoff who formerly ran WWE's former competition WCW - the purchase by WWE was done over 20 years ago believe it or not - discusses why he doesn't believe any rumors of the McMahon family selling their longtime promotion going back to the 1950s when they were the Capital Wrestling Corporation.

The word you will hear is fiduciary responsibility. The cuts to their talent roster which I'm includes not only the wrestlers, but perhaps other on-air talent such a play-by-play. Perhaps it makes no sense to keep talent under contract if you're just not using them week to week. And this is more about satisfying shareholders or probably shoring up finances to make an acquisition.

So what you hear Bischoff stating for the record is why they've been releasing a lot of their talent from Samoa Joe to the IIconics to Mickie Jaymes to Braun Strowman to Aleister Black to Buddy Murphy and I could go on. Some of those names are a shame especially since many of them were featured on TV fairly recent. And it leads me to believe some of these just has to be work.

Last year they released Drake Maverick for similar reasons "budget cuts" and this was while he was featured in a tournament to determine the interim cruiserweight champion. Well although he didn't win the cruiserweight title, he did sign a contract to perform on the NXT brand after his match.

I get the feeling for some of the talent released in April, May, or even June we might see them again in a WWE ring. And while this wasn't a part of any mass firings Zelina Vega - who is the legit wife of one Aleister Black - she was released due to discussing unionization and her unwillingness to let go of her twitch accounts as some wrestlers reportedly uses sites like this for extra revenue. She was said via many dirt sheets to be working at the WWE Performance Center.

Who knows, we may find out soon enough the status of these many talents that WWE has let go of.

A movie theater chain bites the dust

 As I returned to the movies as recently as last Friday, this sort of escaped me. A theater chain Arclight has shuttered seemingly permanently. They did have an outpost in Lincoln Park here in Chicago where I've never went to the movies, but I did see their lobby in addition to a lounge and their concession stand also had a place to buy merchandise. This news just shows the longterm effects of this pandemic's mitigations efforts.

Since we're still waiting for the next Bond film

 

[VIDEO] Remember Sam Neill from Jurassic Park or better yet another one of my favorite roles that he played was on The Hunt for Red October with the late Sean Connery playing a Soviet submarine Captain and Neil played his first officer. Well imagine him as James Bond 007.

Well he'd be in the camp of George Lazenby who's from Australia and Pierce Brosnan who's Irish. Neill is actually from New Zealand. And I think I would've liked his portrayal he almost looked like his former co-star Connery who was the first James Bond in this screen test recorded in 1986.

However, in time for 1987 The Living Daylights he lost out to Timothy Dalton.

Simply Railway and the brand new Amtrak Viewliner sleepers

 

[VIDEO] In 2019 I took my only trip so far aboard a Viewliner Sleeper car by Amtrak. Traveling with my mother we did one leg in a handicapped bedroom. Then on another leg we were in a Viewliner Roomette which has a toilet.

I'm glad to see the new cars in the roomettes no longer have a toilet. Utterly no privacy if you have to use the bathroom and especially if you have a roommate. And of course the next question is, if you have to use the bathroom in your roomette where do you go. 

If I wanted privacy in my roomette and have a roommate then I'd have to go to the coach car on the train to do my business at least in the old model Viewliner sleepers. Probably a hell of a trek if you really need to use it bad.

I hope you enjoy this as while I don't think I took the Silver Meteor on one leg, my trip in 2019 took us to Jacksonville, Florida at that time.

I hope you enjoy this half-hour plus video from Simply Railway.

YouTuuba: A Walk Through the original series Star Trek Set Tour

 

[VIDEO] Don't let the date you see to this fool you. This tour occurred in 2018 as part of YouTuuba's Train Odysseys remember those?

Anyway he's in Ticonderoga, New York to go on a tour of the original series Star Trek sets. We see him drive to a building and then a slideshow which he narrates on what he sees during this tour. It's very cool that he had a chance to sit in Capt. Kirk's chair.

This exhibit is actually located in Ticonderoga, N.Y. and you can learn more about this at startrektour.com. This is one place I would like to visit.

Oh and I didn't know this but according to that website this exhibit was created by James Cawley who played Capt. James T. Kirk in fan produced videos that were designed as a continuation of the original Star Trek. According to this Cawley's wiki page the sets here were actually seen on an episode of Star Trek: Enterprise called "In a Mirror, Darkly"

Two other Movie Cabinet posts published here

When I first published this review of Batman: Mask of the Phantasm Roger Ebert hadn't passed away although his longtime partner on TV Gene Siskel had by the time I shared that video. Ebert passed away after a very debilitating illness in 2013 his face unfortunately forever disfigured still had a friendly and approachable personality. They both loved this animated Batman film released in 1993.

• Siskel & Ebert Review Batman Mask of The Phantasm

Also there's this old long ago newsreel from Paramount News about the life of one Huey Long from Louisiana. He was a populist not much different than a Bernie Sanders or a Donald Trump although ideologically he probably was closer to a Bernie Sanders. He was a very powerful and popular Governor of Louisiana and was elected to the U.S. Senator. He developed a very powerful machine that at the time of his assassination in Louisiana he was still largely in control of. 

• Newsreel: Sen. Huey Long

The Movie Cabinet

 

Do any of you remember The Movie Cabinet? It was a blog I had long stopped publishing back in 2009, I've uploaded the archives here and if you click in the archives hierarchy in the sidebar you will see the first three movies I reviewed there.

You might have seen some of those movies

• The American President
• Boyz N the Hood
• Mississippi Burning

What other old movies will you see discussed here. Alas I will keep then as archived from when I posted them originally, however, I promise to share with you all those posts once I've done editing and proofreading them.

A lot of them have missing images or since deleted video previews, etc. Got to work on them a bit.

Either way what I wrote there is what you will also see here at "the Beta"

Enjoy! 

Mid-Atlantic Gateway

 Well since this was really ahead of my time and only got some inkling of this through the internet, it's great to see the Mid Atlantic Championship Wrestling TV get its due especially for wrestling fans through the MidAtlanticGateway.com. You may have seen such wrestlers as Roddy Piper, Ric Flair, and others on this program that aired in the Carolinas.

I feel as if I seen this site before in a different iteration in the past. Either way great to see it's still going strong and you can catch the old episodes of Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling on the WWE Network. Although the theme has been overdubbed on the network - doggone corporate concerns over licensing - you can check out the original open to the program [VIDEO]

I do have some sad news from this week, the promoters of the aforementioned Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling a man by the name of Jim Crockett who owned Jim Crockett Promotions passed away during the week. I had just became aware of an interview which one has to purchase that Crockett had with one Conrad Thompson. Certainly it's one of those shoot style interviews and it would be cool to watch a promoter who tried to go toe-to-toe with Vince McMahon during the initial pro-wrestling boom of the 1980s.

However by 1989 or so Crockett had sold JCP to Turner Broadcasting and thus programs such as Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling had been folded into the new entity known as World Championship Wrestling.

Grand Canyon 2016

 

[VIDEO] As we go through the cold and snowy winter in Chicago which we seem to be experiencing a thaw, let's take a look back to a summer time visit to the Grand Canyon, Arizona back in July 2016. 

We took a one-way trip to the Grand Canyon from Las Vegas via a company Grand Canyon Tours who allowed us a one-way trip there My party left from the Grand Canyon to Flagstaff, Arizona via a shuttle to wait for the Southwest Chief back to Chicago.

Feel free to subscribe to lbj79us or to Levois J - which is at 67 subscribers. I should add YouTube buttons for both of those channels in the future. Need a real plan though one for vacations the other for something else.

Wrestletalk: 10 Worst Mistakes WWE Made With Roman Reigns

 

[VIDEO] I have to admit how much I've enjoyed watching the development of Roman Reigns as the "Tribal Chief" or the "Head of the Table". A man who will do anything to stay at the top even bowl through his family although his cousins mainly Jey Uso are with him. And the promos, light years different from when he was the babyface being pushed down the throats of the WWE Universe.

As a villain as a Tribal Chief his promos have been much better. The way he dressed down his fellow world champion Drew McIntyre before Survivor Series and especially the way he dresses down Kevin Owens or anyone else who goes up against him. Very heelish, very much delivered the message of what motivates the Tribal Chief. He will call you out for disrespecting him and his family.

This video shows how WWE got Roman Reigns wrong until now. I didn't know WWE creative had him wear blue contacts and I don't think they mentioned some of his odd promos as a babyface having him recite lines from Loony Tunes. It seems in the beginning they pushed his character all wrong and found a winner with him as a heel.

Adam Blampied gives us his hilarious take on what WWE does wrong and let's us know to from this point forward follow him on his YouTube channel partsFUNknown.

#StarTrek: Starship Diorama With Realistic Phaser Effect

 

[VIDEO] I had to watch this creative project involved Star Trek models the USS Enterprise or a Constitution class Federation starship firing phasers and damaging a Klingon battlecruiser. The creativity of this young man to get the models just right and the electrical work. To make it look so real though humanity has yet to build starships and so far no indications of a Klingon civilization in real life 😜

The Real World's Championship #RoyalRumble

 

[VIDEO] I vaguely remember this as I anticipate this year's Royal Rumble of which overtime Ric Flair participated in his prime. This clip was likely on WWF's Wrestling Challenge where Bobby Heenan shows of the then WCW/NWA World Heavyweight Title or the Big Gold Belt. As a kid starting off watching wrestling I didn't view this as particularly shocking, but I knew the separation between the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling at the time.

The drama is that Flair was going through negotiations with WCW back in 1991. His stature with the company was fading owing whatever was going on with then WCW President Jim Herd. There is a clip out there where Herd strips Flair of the Big Gold Belt, but one problem. Flair wanted his deposit back per some form of stipulation, Herd never gave him his deposit back and according to Flair the Big Gold Belt got sent to the owner of the World Wrestling Federation Vince McMahon.

I wonder if this was controversial. Perhaps if a financial obligation wasn't met then this definitely made since, though certainly it has to be controversial since well this belt represents another wrestling company. I understand that at some point during this gimmick they started using a different title belt and sometimes they actually pixelated it adding to its credibility. The creative folks at WWF made this work and Flair remained with the company for two years before returning to WCW. And Flair had a couple of runs as WWF champion during that run.

I have to add the Alundra Blayze aka Madusa angle, this I don't really remember she came to WCW and threw into a trash can the WWF Women's Championship. That was controversial for sure and Vince McMahon didn't want a repeat of that so that's where the Montreal Screwjob comes into play by 1997. McMahon didn't want Bret Hart to take the WWF championship with him onto WCW TV and especially after he refused to do business with Shawn Michaels.

I think they chose the right promo person with Bobby Heenan to begin selling this angle. And it's sad that all the three men you see in this brief clip are all gone. Starting with Gorilla Monsoon, then Heenan, and then Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart.

The Reddit revolt against Wall Street #Meme

 Meme's are allowed here, I don't think I have limits on the subjects of meme's here. Especially those that sort of make a statement about real life as illustrated here. Don't understand, read this post over at "the blog".

For the record, Trading Places starring Eddie Murphy, Dan Aykroyd, Ralph Bellamy, Don Ameche, and Jamie Lee Curtis is one my favorite all time movies. The funniest scenes took place on Amtrak's Metroliner train. :P 

July 2016: Hollywood/Beverly Hills Tour

 

[VIDEO] This is the video I promised last nite. This is a reworked and edit video of that time I went on that Hollywood/Beverly Hills Tour in July 2016. I changed the music and added some photos of that tour and it was very fun & entertaining day to see the sites I rarely see. Perhaps see the homes of famous performers and even at one point our driver stopped to speak to a paparazzi. 

As it is winter right now in Chicago, heavy snow fell and it's very cold out it's great look back when the weather was much nicer and warmer. Yes for this video we are talking about California, however, here in Chicago the sun and warm weather will be back before we know it.

Enjoy.

WWE Network purchased by NBC

 Here's a tweet from none other than Stephanie McMahon who's touting this new development. Ultimately WWE Network programming will become part of the offerings to NBC's Peacock service. And I understand the price for joining Peacock will be much lower than the WWE Network's often touted price of $9.99

Excited for @peacockTV to become the new home of @WWENetwork in the U.S., helping to bring premium @WWE content (including @WrestleMania!!!) to a much broader audience and to provide the @WWEUniverse with a wide offering of live sports, news, film & TV! https://t.co/MPzcxjL3IV

— Stephanie McMahon (@StephMcMahon) January 25, 2021

The Arn Show on Tom Magee

 

[VIDEO] Arn Anderson is a legend in the business and he had his match with Mega Man back in the World Wrestling Federation in the 1980s. Mega Man Magee was noted as a future star however as Anderson noted Magee was limited in his ability as a wrestler. He fizzled out long before I started watching the then WWF.

As Anderson also noted the great match that Magee had with Bret "The Hitman" Hart was noted as a great match although since Magee was limited it was probably The Hitman who carried most of the match. Made sure to make Mega Man look very good which was his role. As it turned out The Hitman would be the next big star in WWE. You can watch this match on the WWE Network.

PREVIOUSLY Holy Grail: Lost match between Tom Magee vs. Bret "The Hitman" Hart

Virtual Railfan: Tucson, Arizona

 There's a new webcam from Virtual Railfan which you can enjoy on YouTube from Tucson, Arizona. Here you will see Amtrak's Sunset Limited stop on there east-west runs. Here's an introduction [VIDEO]

And here's the webcam itself a PTZ (point, tilt, & zoom - heh I learned through the above video what that meant for the first time). It's cool to see what goes on in this part of the state of Arizona since Tucson is further south. [VIDEO]

This is a one-month demo so if nothing else if you go to Virtual Railfan's website you will be able to view the live action there. Though even if Tucson doesn't stay on YouTube on a permanent basis it might be up as cam of the week every now and then.

Here's the Amtrak Sunset Limited schedule and another interesting note that also attached to this train is a section of the Texas Eagle. Texas Eagle has a section that would continue from Chicago through San Antonio, Texas and west into Los Angeles, California. That section would be attached to the Sunset Limited in San Antonio and send those passengers on their way west.

I believe I shared that example on here once of such a trip.

UIC - Halsted: December 2007

 

[VIDEO] Shot this video waiting for a train back into downtown from my Sony MiniDV camcorder. I see those old 2200 series cars with those "blinker" or what I call bus-style doors. Those cars were taken out of service during the 2010 and you would usually see them on the Congress-Douglas-O'Hare CTA blue line. Though at this point the Douglas route would become part of the CTA pink line which would be routed into the Loop Elevated tracks.

The UIC - Halsted stop is actually near the University of Illinois at Chicago and into the Greektown neighborhood along Halsted Street.