Paul Lucas: The California Zephyr

[VIDEO] This was posted to YouTube 10 months ago and I'm sorry I missed it. Paul Lucas took the long journey from Chicago, IL to Emeryville, CA. It's one train I've never been on sadly, perhaps that will change in the future.  

Taking advantage of YouTube handles

 Which you can now find at youtube.com/@LevoisJ

Also it recently passed the 100 subscriber mark earlier this week. So yay me!

Allow me to share this graphic which you might see a variation of in the future on my YouTube channel.

YouTube.com/@LevoisJ

No "Star Trek 4"

 

[VIDEO] The 4th film of the "JJ Abramsverse" Star Trek franchise has been removed from the release schedule for 2023. Check out this vid by Trek Culture discussing this.

I wonder what the plan would've been. It seemed one while it was a done deal and then something changed.

It would be cool to see the new Enterprise-A unveiled at the end of Star Trek Beyond in 2016. And perhaps we can see what the Abramsverse crew would be doing since the events of the last Star Trek film.

Long time no see Beta...

Another vacation idea in New Mexico

 

[VIDEO] The last time I took the train out west I found that Albuquerque has a commuter rail service. YouTuber Russel Sharp is on a train waiting for the RailRunner to pass the Southwest Chief on its way to the state capital of New Mexico in Santa Fe. Well if I wanted to visit the state capitol now I know I can get off in Albuqurque and take the railrunner that way.

Another thing to share on YouTube when I'm able to do so! 

DailyWoo: World's First KFC

 

[VIDEO] Well it's hard to believe the first franchise opened in Salt Lake City, Utah instead of in Kentucky which is where the business began. What an interesting look at this store also referred to as Harman's cafe. Pete Harman struck a deal with Colonel Sanders to open this franchise. Now I have a reason to visit Salt Lake City perhaps I need to visit this place during the NBA season because that's the only other reason to go there. Go see how Utah Jazz fans watch basketball...

Season finale #StrangeNewWorlds

 I think it was a strong episode. It was a retelling of the original Star Trek episode "Balance of Terror" except we see Capt. Pike officiate a wedding between two crewmembers - just as Capt. Kirk had. He's in command of the Enterprise seven years from Season 1. In this retelling he had to deal with the Romulan incursion and of course he does it with tragic consequences.

Oh and while I don't consistently follow any rumors about the series I do already know that Kirk is expected to make an appearance in season 2. He makes an appearance in this episode, but remember in "Balance of Terror" Kirk is supposed to be in command matching wits with the Romulans.

So Pike is going forward in time still gripping with the knowledge of his future. The future we already know from the original Star Trek he's disabled due to his heroic actions saving as many Starfleet cadets as he could severely scarred and unable to communicate.

So anyway Kirk is on board an assisting vessel the USS Farragut which gets knocked out in a Romulan attack. We get a few other "easter eggs" and of course we see why Pike shouldn't be in command of the Enterprise in "Balance of Terror". Kirk was the one telling Pike as a fellow captain to go in and fight, and even after everything falls apart still tells Pike to go in and fight. We find out that Spock is an essential factor in the future of Federation/Romulan relations.

Of course in knowing this Pike realizes he has to accept his fate. He can't escape or even warn those future cadets of their fate. He meets one in this episode just a child who aspires to join Starfleet - as one may aspire to join today's US military - and sadly he knows this child's future fate.

In the reviews of this episode some like it one guy says it was a weak episode. Personally I like it, it made a bit of an impact on me. It was nicely shot especially the scene in the sickbay near the end of the episode. The camera focused on Pike as he rolls through the scene almost like the scene where Malcolm X is rolling ever so slowly to his fate. I almost wondered if Spike Lee directed this episode.

I look forward to more James T. Kirk in season 2 whenever that drops...

Amtrak derailment in Missouri

 As you may know I like trains and one of my favorite trains is Amtrak's Southwest Chief and earlier this week it suffered a derailment in Mendon, Missouri - which is not that far out of Kansas City, Missouri. It hit a dump truck at a crossing which is said to suffer some issues such as a lack of visibility of any oncoming trains, it's at an angle, and there are no gates to discourage cars from crossing the tracks. Unfortunately there were three four fatalities and of course in a situation like this a number of injuries.

The pictures I've seen of this accident the locomotive that hit the truck looks bad, and of course all the superliner cars behind were on the ground on the side. And it looks like the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad has some work to do to repair the tracks.

I've been following the Amtrak Alerts twitter since this derailment and seen that the Southwest Chief had been terminating out of Kansas City until the derailment scene is cleared. Though the twitter account is now showing trains are now departing Chicago.

This below video shows the scene cleared of that Amtrak consist. I see the railroad is already getting ready to get some work done on the tracks to put them back into service. [VIDEO]

Perhaps it won't be too long before the Southwest Chief will again makes stops in LaPlata, Ft. Madison, and Galesburg....

Valuetainment: Confessions of the Mafia hitman for Tony Spilotro

 

[VIDEO] This interview was uploaded to YouTube in June 2019. Frank Cullotta was an associate of Chicago mob caporegime Tony Spilotro and was very involved in the criminal activity occurring in Las Vegas. That was until a botched robbery and fearing Spilotro would kill him led Cullotta to turn informant.

Cullotta speaks of his life how he met Spilotro, surely he speaks of his involvement in the film Casino. And his life after leaving the criminal underworld. His interview with Patrick Ben David was very interesting.

Cullotta died in 2020 of coronavirus and probably time to watch Casino again.

The Latin Language: Not as DEAD as you think

 

[VIDEO] I have a very dubious history with foreign languages, however, I did find this almost half-hour long video very interesting. The history of Latin the language of the Roman Empire and whether or not the language is still around today.

I feel as if the world would be better off today if college students actually learned some of the classical languages such as Latin or Greek. Of course also learn a modern language also such as Chinese or Spanish for example.

Some to think of it some English words are based on Latin and of course some European Romance Languages are based on Latin. As far as Romance Languages think Spanish, Italian, French, or Portuguese for example.

WrestleTalk: What is happening to WWE & Vince McMahon?

 

[VIDEO] The more details I hear about this the more disturbed I am. Of course I'm going to say there are two sides to every story, however, this just sounds bad all around. Just remember this all started with an alleged cash payout (company money) to the WWE employee a paralegal. And also there was a "leaker" involved....

I don't think WWE writers could come up with this.....horrible! 

Currently Stephanie McMahon has taken over WWE as Chair and CEO

I've never seen 'Blow' however if I can find it on streaming

 

[VIDEO] I'm sharing this "Mob Movie Monday" review from former mobster Michael Franzese due to the untimely passing of actor Ray Liotta. I've never actually had the chance to see Blow, but if you want to know in what ways crime doesn't pay watch this film released over 20 years ago. It's based on a true story.

New cam at Flagstaff, Arizona

 When did Virtual Railfans installed a new camera at Flagstaff? They used to have only a static webcam pointed eastbound now they have a Point Tilt Zoom cam for the east. When you see a train arrive well, now you can see it arrive and you no longer have to wait until the train is in view of camera. Check it out below!

[VIDEO] I'll miss the static east cam, however, this is a bit of an upgrade I'm liking the new perspectives. Of course there is still a static west cam so that way you can still see trains arrive at the Flagstaff stop. However, the train when it departs will slowly but surely roll out of full view.

Flagstaff, Arizona was where me and my party departed from Arizona after a day at the Grand Canyon. It's a nice town and it was interesting to set foot there. I'm going all the way back to July 2016 of course! Hmmm I shot some video of that day! [VIDEO]

And I've updated the railcam page.

Railcam is back!

 I've put it on the "Beta" blog this time and this is especially special since Amtrak trains are now running on seven days a week schedule. So on these cams which are along the route of the Southwest Chief the schedule is now seven days. I think that changed since earlier this year due to a surge in coronavirus cases although we're largely back to normal now most states and cities have no mask or vaccine mandates.

However, we're currently hearing about surges in cases.

Dylan's Travel Reports: Amtrak Southwest Chief roomette review

[VIDEO] This video was uploaded to YouTube in 2019 and what a different world we see from back then before the pandemic era. A lot of those storefronts you see at Chicago Union Station are now closed such as a newsstand and a Pret-a-Manger. I look forward to showing you how this major rail hub in Chicago looks in 2022.

This makes me want to take a train somewhere this year. California is always a great place to visit and it's great to see the midwest, the plains and of course the southwest of America. I think it's great to see these places that you might only imagine what it's like to live there.

Now from what I know of Dylan is he is a British national. This is certainly very different for him and he appears to be an ardent world traveler. His more recent videos now have him give narration and he's showing his face. I really do like his presentation and in this earlier example the narration is provided in text form more than via voice.

Mooney DashCam: The "Goodfellas" diner where Jimmy Conway finds out Tommy DeVito was murdered

 

[VIDEO] Mooney DashCam is another YouTube channel that has become something of a guilty pleasure as of late. He has a knack for visiting various sites around New York, New York where infamous events took place. In this case he's visiting a film setting a now closed diner in Queens.

This diner was seen in two parts of the movie, one part is referenced in the title. Jimmy Conway and film protagonist Henry Hill are waiting at the diner, Conway goes out to the phone booth and finds out that their hotheaded associate Tommy DeVito was in fact murdered (or "whacked" in mob parlance). Conway and Hill expected DeVito to be a made man in the mob and because of his role in the murder of another made man he paid for that with his life.

I don't want to get too much into it, just go watch Goodfellas. If you like gangster movies or crime drama it's worth it.

Another scene that took place in the diner was when Hill had been arrested by police and seeking support from his former mob associates. He meets with Burke there again and Hill gets a paranoid feeling from Burke. He realizes that the moment that you're killed in that life usually it's the ones you trust the most who'll do you in. So with this scene Burke wants Hill to go on some run into Florida, Hill realizes there is a good chance we might not come back from Florida alive. This leads to him flipping on his former associates.

It's too bad this diner is no longer in business, they could play off on the reference to Goodfellas. And Mooney DashCam looks inside the place and sees it's largely the same from how it looked in the movie. It's almost as if it just closed yesterday.

In 2018 the diner was reportedly destroyed due to a fire. As you see here it remains standing just not open for business.

#TheOffer

[VIDEO] Earlier today former mobster Michael Franzese reviews the Paramount Plus mini-series The Offer. Franzese describes a dual storyline regarding NYC mob boss Joe Colombo and the Italian Civil Rights League and the making of the classic film The Godfather.

I've seen the first four episodes of this ten episode series and it has me riveted. There is some drama and there is some comedy. The stories are compelling even if some dramatic license was used.

For example reading up, it's unlikely that Al Ruddy - this series is based on his story about the making of The Godfather - and Paramount Pictures CEO Robert Evans had a falling out because Ruddy went around Evans. Though it makes for a dramatic story a producers dealings with studio executives and their corporate overlords.

Other drama included some of Ruddy's personal life, the casting of the main characters for the movie from Vito Corleone to Michael Corleone. Of course using the house used for the wedding at the beginning of the movie, in this series' universe Joe Colombo intimidated - the guy lost control of his bladder he was so scared - a homeowner after he backed out of allowing his home to be used in the movie.

As far as the Italian Civil Rights League they were against the film believing that it depicted Italian Americans in a horrible light. Instead the Colombo led organization had a change of heart and no longer opposed the film however Ruddy and crew still had to contend with NYC politicians who still didn't want this film made.

I would recommend watching this series and especially if you're a fan of one of the greatest movies ever made. And I just saw the movie for the first time, usually I just have difficulty watching this movie. It moves a bit too slow, however, the film works for the most part. And consider the real life behind the scenes moves to get this major motion picture produced.

Texas Chili

 Hey I want some Texas chili. Just made some over the weekend, not Texas chili though as spicy. Might utilize this recipe.

Hat-tip Instapundit

Why were the NXT Tag Team titles held up?

 Nash Carter joined NXT during the pandemic and with tag team partner Wes Lee twice won the NXT Tag Team Titles as MSK. Sadly a few days after winning the tag team titles in NXT Stand & Deliver for the 2nd time they were forced to vacate then as I first saw in an IG post as Carter was released from WWE.

#TheKingsMan Movie review

 I finally saw The King's Man on HBOMax and I really liked it. Of course seeing the feedback especially noted on wikipedia it wasn't that great. The cool thing about this film is how it utilized some real historical events as part of the story.

We see that various events of World War One was influenced by this group known as the Flock. They wanted to pit the British, Russian and German empires against each other. And they started with the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand and his wife in Sarajevo which was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire then. And the events of that unfortunate event was nailed perfectly.

Did you know that the reigning monarchs of Britain, Russia and Germany were first cousins? That was an important part of the story although the reviews I saw noted the personality differences. British King George V was a lot more reasoned, Kaiser Wilhelm II was very aggressive, and the ill-fated Czar Nicholas II was portrayed as weak as he fell under the spell of Rasputin who was yet another member of the flock. One part of The Flock's goal was to take Russia out of the war and isolate the British Empire to insure its defeat.

I also liked certain other aspects of what happened during the four years of war from 1914 to 1918. For example the Zimmermann Telegram was a real thing which was intended to encourage Mexico to go to war against the USA. And it was also correct that then President Woodrow Wilson was not very quick to join the war. Of course one deviation from history involved another member of The Flock the Mata Hari.

From what I do remember Mata Hari was executed in France for espionage. From what I can tell she never quite made it to the US to seduce and blackmail President Wilson to keep America out of WW1. However that was another important plot of The Flock which was foiled once the the first iteration of The Kingsman led by the Duke of Oxford was able to recover film footage of Mata Hari in the Oval Office of the White House seducing President Wilson.

This isn't exactly a war movie but we do see the devastation of WW1. We also see the loss of the Duke of Oxford's son who was shot being mistaken for a German spy. We see him as a concerned father who wants to keep his son out of the war. And then we see his son become the inspiration for creating The Kingsman spy agency.

And another nice touch as President Wilson debates the Zimmerman Telegram at the White House he asks for a Statesman on the rocks. In the Kingsman sequel The Golden Circle, Statesman is a bourbon whiskey distillery which also doubles as an independent spy agency. Just as the Kingsman is a tailor shop that also doubles as a spy agency.

So a few nice touches that keep this movie in the Kingsman film universe and I see opportunities for a sequel. Who's to say that whatever is left of The Flock doesn't turn around and provoke the 2nd World War? We see Adolf Hitler at the end and once Czar Nicholas and his family is executed, Russia is then under the control of Vladimir Lenin who we also see in this movie once Rasputin fails in his mission. 

I can't wait to see if The King's Man will have a sequel. If you haven't seem it check out this trailer. [VIDEO]

Wrestlelamia: Real reason why Cody returned to WWE

 

[VIDEO] He made his return to WWE at WrestleMania 38 nite one on Saturday. He had his match against Seth Freakin Rollins which results

SPOILER ALERT

In a win for the American Nightmare Cody Rhodes. At least he didn't comeback as Dashing Cody Rhodes or even as StarDust.

He was last in AEW back in January having help found the promotion in 2019. He announced not that long after his last appearance that he was leaving that promotion and the "dirt sheets" have frequently reported that he was WWE bound though there were other possibilities. For example he could be involved with AEW Ring of Honor after Tony Khan purchased that promotion. Perhaps he could go back to Impact Wrestling.

As you saw he got a great surprise WrestleMania entrance just last nite. So I'm excited to see what future plans he will have in WWE. In his last few appearances in WWE he was often relegated to the midcards, however, outside of WWE he was certainly a main event talent. If only he ever held the AEW world title though it appeared it was stipulated that he would never hold that belt.

Regardless his transition from AEW to WWE could be a signal to any talent from AEW especially those who are main eventers that they won't automatically be buried. That would be very good business.

'Star Trek Picard' first four episodes review

 

[VIDEO] This review is by Steve Shives who's largely critical of the pacing where he says that some of these first four episodes could've been in only one episode. There was some threat bare stories and aimlessness according to him. It seems he doesn't like the direction so far.

As for my own take, I suppose I'm easily entertained. For some reason I'm enjoying some of the callbacks to the slingshot around the sun to the punk rocker playing his music loudly on the bus. In fact I literally found out that this was the same guy we saw in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home where Spock gave him the Vulcan Nerve Pinch to shut down his music. He wrote that song and performed it and acted in the movie back in the 1980s.

So anyway not as melodramatic as the first season although the only shocking thing happen to Picard in this season was Q slapping the taste out of his old antagonist's mouth. In the first season it seemed as if no one minded disrespecting the old legendary Starfleet Captain.

However as we see episode four end, can't wait for episode five.

TrekCulture: Captain James Kirk has been recast again

 

[VIDEO] Star Trek Strange New Worlds is coming to Paramount Plus in May although if you can't wait we have Star Trek Discovery and Star Trek Picard ongoing now!

Anyway in season two of Strange New Worlds we will see Captain James T. Kirk as portrayed by Paul Wesley debut. Just bear in mind season one has not even dropped yet. We got to wait at least another year to actually see Capt. Kirk in the current iteration of Star Trek available only on streaming.

Leaning on the Everlasting Arms

 I've got religion on my mind lately, I won't elaborate any further. Just wanted to share this song I heard at a Catholic Church many years ago. When this post is published it will be Sunday, so I hope you have an enjoyable and restful one.

Leaning on the Everlasting Arms

What a fellowship! What a joy divine, leaning on the everlasting arms!
What a blessedness! What a peace is mine, leaning on the everlasting arms!

Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarms
Leaning, leaning leaning on the everlasting arms.

Oh, how sweet to walk in this pilgrim way, leaning on the everlasting arms!
Oh, how bright the path grows from day to day, leaning on the everlasting arms! [REFRAIN]

What have I to dread? What have I to fear, leaning on the everlasting arms?
I have blessed peace with my Lord so near, leaning on th everlasting arms! [REFRAIN]

Vince McMahon on #PatMcAfeeShowLive

 

[VIDEO] Check out this hour and a half clip of Pat McAfee talking with one Vince McMahon the chairman of WWE. It was a great interview discussing McMahons life and of course breaking such news as he will be inducting The Undertaker into the WWE Hall of Fame.

Al Capone

 The classic Chicago mob boss is getting recognition for his historical impact. He died 75 years ago, actually he died on January 25, 1947. The story goes that his mind was going bad due to syphilis. Aside from his rather outlaw reputation as a violent gangster he also had a side which was great for public relations.

Either way former mobster Michael Franzese did a video about highlighting primarily the good and does cover a lot of the bad. What he notes that in spite of being in the life Capone was a dedicated family man and was so until his untimely demise at the age of 48. [VIDEO]

And how about a local story. Believe it or not the gang that Capone was at the top of during the Roaring 20s actually still exists. Perhaps not what it was 100 years ago having been decimated by the legalization of some aspects of gambling also by aggressive federal prosecutions. The reporter you see here Chuck Goudie of the ABC affiliate in Chicago discussing what we call the Chicago Outfit and Al Capone's legacy he himself has done significant reporting on the Chicago mob. [VIDEO]

One could find this fascinating, however, remember one thing crime doesn't pay. You may have money, prestige, respect, fear or even women, however, it's still a violent lifestyle. And one concern ought to be not who might be coming for you, it should be whether or not you might spend a lifetime behind bars. Something to think about when we look at these crime figures.

Cookie in a skillet

Well in March winter will be over and that's more than enough time to enjoy this very warm desert with a few squirts of fudge and perhaps a scoop or two of ice cream. Here's a recipe for a cookie in a skillet, hopefully it allows you just a small serving in a small, cast iron skillet. 

I'd like to show you how mine turn out once I finally do take the time to make it. Although here's how it should look when you're done.

Via Berly's Kitchen

Great rails of fire

 

[VIDEO] So far Chicago has experienced one major cold snap this year. And I learned over the last few years that to keep Chicago's rail lines in operation that fire is used to keep the switches from freezing up in the winter time. You read this almost three year old article about this process from The Atlantic.

We see a track worker in Chicago starting this process in the wee hours of the morning. This was captured today on the Railstream YouTube channel. I think this scene took place on the tracks going through Chicago's west side.

Making a measuring cube

 

[VIDEO] Why am I sharing this, because this is cool? Robinson Foundry starts off with the 3D printed model and then uses that model to create a mold to create a bronze metal measuring cube. I was already fascinating by such a contraption like this measuring cube.

Now when I'm ready to create an object with a 3D printer at least I know that I can make this. Of course I'm not quite ready to even work with metal as this man is.

Simply Railway: Sunset Limited from New Orleans to Los Angeles

 

[VIDEO] Simply Railway takes the 46 hour journey which used to go from as far east as Orlando, Florida all the way to Los Angeles. On this day he starts in New Orleans Union Station which was refurbished after hurricane Katrina in 2005. See the longer portion of the Sunset Limited was cut to originating in New Orleans due to Katrina in 2005.

So anyway he starts off in coach class then upgrades to sleeper when he gets to Houston, TX which is a major stop along the way. He did it this way because he found it was cheaper when he was booking his tickets. Since this is more than an overnight trip it's better to do ride in a sleeper than in a coach seat.

He makes another stop in San Antonio, Texas where the train connects with a section of the Texas Eagle. That train terminates in San Antonio however if you're originating from Chicago that is yet another connection to Los Angeles by train as opposed to taking the Southwest Chief.

I didn't know about the Prada Marfa installation in Texas. And then we see the action near the U.S./Mexico border as the train stops in El Paso, Texas. They we see some good shots of southern New Mexico and Arizona. Then arriving in L.A. in the wee hours of the morning.

The Sunset Limited was created by the Southern Pacific Railway in 1894 and inherited by Amtrak in 1971. The train only runs three days a week leaving New Orleans on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday while leaving Los Angeles on Sunday, Wednesday, and Friday.

The Texas Eagle departs from Chicago on a daily basis to San Antonio, however, a section of that train which are numbered 421 to L.A. and 422 to Chicago are attached to the Sunset Limited in San Antonio and heads towards L.A. Of course that section doesn't operate daily so if you plan to make that trip you might want to be sure about scheduling. Perhaps you might want to spend a day in San Antonio before heading towards Los Angeles.

BTW, the total duration from Chicago to L.A. on the Texas Eagle via the Sunset Limited trains 1 westbound to L.A. and 2 eastbound to Chicago is over 65 hours. A long journey indeed....oh and yet another thought noted in the above video delays are an issue on Sunset Limited, Union Pacific owns the trains and their trains get priority so that means Amtrak has delays. It's one of the worst as far as on-time performance...

Here are some related links

• YouTuuba took this train from Chicago to Los Angeles
• And you can catch the live arrivals and departure of this train in Tucson, Arizona via Virtual Railfan. Tucson is yet another major stop for the Sunset Limited.

Casino

 

[VIDEO] I saw the film Casino over the holidays. It's a Martin Scorsese picture which basically is about the story surrounding the skim of Las Vegas casino's.

In this movie, a man by the name of Sam "Ace" Rothstein arrived on the scene to take control of the Tangiers Casino. The mob put some money behind this casino as illustrated during the course of this movie. After seemingly being concerned about his role or having a license Rothstein who's known as a bookmaker that specializes in betting, takes to his role in the casino with vigor.

Of course there would be no mob movie with members of the Mafia. We get treated to the criminal exploits of Nicky Santoro who was sent by the Midwestern Mafia crime syndicates to Las Vegas to look over their interests. He quickly forms a gang specializing in burglary, the like to cut holes in the targets of the burglaries. In real life as this film's basis this gang was known as the Hole in the Wall Gang.

Anyway the train wreck begins when Rothstein marries a beautiful hustler named Ginger McKenna. He woos her with money, however, it seems she has issues that money just won't be able to solve. We see the marriage of Rothstein and Ginger unravel as we head towards the end of the movie.

Then we see Santoro meet his demise as his counterpart does in real life. We see the life that Rothstein enjoyed also unravel as he is denied his license so he can run the fictional Tangiers due to his own ties to organized crime. And worse still he becomes the subject of a very explosive assassination attempt.

The mobsters who were profiting from the casino skim in Las Vegas well they go under the scrutiny of federal authorities. We find out that Las Vegas has become more of a family friend town which is no longer funded by the illicit activities of gangsters. Rothstein survives living in a home in California back to what he does best being an odds maker for sports betting.

I enjoy this movie because in real life a lot of the characters with Rothstein and Santoro were actually Chicago based. I learned that one of the consultants for this movie was a Chicago gangster - though not a "made man" - named Frank Cullotta who you might have seen in a few brief scenes in the movie as a mafia hitman. His character was represented by Frank Vincent - Mr. "Go get your shine box".

Goodfellas

There are no specifics as far as which cities were involved with the skim. We know that this is primarily a Midwestern operation. Kansas City, Missouri is mentioned the most in this film though in real life Chicago and Milwaukee were noted as part of the casino skim in Las Vegas.

So basically the lights of Las Vegas is the most appealing part of this movie. Seeing a man grow into his role of running a casino being given the non-descript title of food and beverage manager. Then it all falls apart from the bedroom to the casino to even falling apart in front of the gaming commission. One scene was inspired by Lefty Frank Rosenthal (Ace Rothstein) and his confrontation of future U.S. Senator Harry Reid. And from the fallout with the mafia to ultimately a very explosive attempt on Rothstein's life just shows us the web that was tangled.

I can't wait for my next visit to Vegas which doesn't have as much organized crime influence as it might have in the 1970s. It's probably more family friendly relatively speaking, and if I wanted a blueberry muffin I hope chefs in casino kitchens use enough blueberries in each muffin. I probably won't be gambling, however, it would be cool to at least visit The Stardust which was one of the casinos that Lefty Rosenthal was charged with running at the behest of the Midwestern crime syndicates.

Beyond that it was great to finally see this movie again after so many years....

This post is really just an excuse

 

[VIDEO] I'm sorry I missed this last month. Remember seeing a post here about Amtrak opening a new train depot in Ft. Madison, Iowa it was over the past summer/fall perhaps August/September but then again it didn't open right away.

Last month the depot opened. And it's been cool to see trains finally stop there since Amtrak used to pass it up since I've been watching the webcam via Virtual Railfan. If you had been watching the webcam you might have seen them working to lay a new boarding platform for Amtrak passengers. Now you can see them get off to stretch their legs or then board or detrain.

BTW, this brief video afflicted with vertical video syndrome is my excuse to unveil my new railcam page which I constructed on another space featuring other webcams via Virtual Railfan along the route of Amtrak's Southwest Chief. Basically cams in Galesburg, Illinois; Ft. Madison, Iowa; LaPlata, Missouri; Santa Fe Junction in Kansas City, Missouri; Flagstaff, Arizona; Barstow, California; and along the Cajon Pass also in California.

Hope you enjoy and as an added convenience I found and posted a link to a Southwest Chief schedule online since Amtrak no longer publishes pdf files of schedules. You can go here before your trip to print a schedule that is very convenient for you. You can at least see where your train will stop and the exact schedule of your train.

I hope you enjoy! 

Why did Brock Lesnar win #WWEChampionship on #WWEDay1via Wrestlelamia

 

[VIDEO] Wrestlelamia takes a look at this most unusual booking decision from last nite's Day 1 PPV. For starters earlier on Saturday Roman Reigns' tweet that he got coronavirus. 

As an aside that's a bit scary since Reigns has an underlying condition. Remember a few years ago he had to drop the Universal Title because he had a recurrence of leukemia from which he returned in less than a years time. He went from being in a feud with Baron Corbin who smeared dog food on the Big Dog to being Head of the Table with a stable known as The Bloodline with his cousins SmackDown tag champs The Usos.

Anyway, Brock Lesnar was supposed to challenge Reigns for his Universal Title however this virus cancelled this match and a change of plans. As Lesnar to the four way match for the WWE Championship and challenge the champ Big E. Lesnar hit the F5 on Big E pinning him for the victory.

Wrestlelamia explores why Lesnar was booked to win the top title on Monday Nite Raw and also why it was a bad idea. Does this mean Lesnar will ultimately face Reigns when he's well enough to return to action? Does this mean the WWE title and the Universal title could be unified at some point? Does this mean that Lesnar will make appearances on both Raw and SmackDown in the absence of Reigns?

Another thing of note is the title reign of Big E. Some of the sources I follow don't consider his reign very memorable. Also Wrestlelamia questions of the booking of Big E being pinned by Lesnar to lose the title. The question here is whether or not this made Big E look weak since he's considered the muscle of the New Day faction.

Otherwise a pretty decent New Years' Day PPV with an unexpected ending as a result of an unexpected real life event....

BTW, forgot to add I like the prospect of finally seeing Bobby Lashley vs Brock Lesnar. We got a taste of that during the fatal 5 way match. It's been said a match with Lesnar was one major point when Lashley returned to WWE. So perhaps Lesnar could drop the belt to the almighty before he faces Roman Reigns again. Time will tell however....