Rant #2,058: Bits and Pieces

Welcome to another week, the first full work week of 2018 for many of us.

Here are a couple of stories that I wanted to cover, none of which really demand a full-coverage Rant, only a smaller mention.

Here goes ...

Jerry Van Dyke Passes: Jerry Van Dyke died this weekend. He was 86, and with him, went a lot of good TV memories.

The younger brother of Dick Van Dyke, he could never compete with his older brother's overall popularity with the public.

I think he knew that early on in his career, and he carved out his own niche, but it took a really long time for it to take hold with the public.

Poor choices probably led to that situation.

Among other things, he chose the lead role in "My Mother the Car" over the lead role in "Gilligan's Island," which probably didn't seem that significant then, but with more than 50 years of reruns under its belt, well, Gilligan won out, made Bob Denver one of the most recognizable faces in TV history, and, well, "My Mother the Car" is often called the worst sitcom in TV history.

Upon further review, it really wasn't, but it could not compete with the popularity of "Gilligan" in any way, shape or form.

He also had the recurring role of Stacey Petrie in "The Dick Van Dyke Show," further solidifying himself as Dick's kid brother, both in real life and in the classic sitcom.

Van Dyke starred or was featured in numerous other TV shows and films--he was the comedic foil on the short-lived and highly controversial for the time "The Judy Garland Show," but it took him well into the 1980s to make his real mark on TV, as one of the stars on "Coach."

Not only did that show allow him to separate himself from his brother for good, but it netted him four Emmy nominations and, according to the man himself, "a lot of money."

He will be missed.

Golden Globes Protest: Well, the Golden Globes went on last night, and continued the political slant of recent years of the Academy, where actors and actresses appear to wear their gowns and tuxedos all the while protesting one thing or another in their own personally insipid way.

Last year, they ranted and raved against the new president, who they felt wasn't up to their supposedly high standards, and this year, the protest was sexual harassment, which, evidently, is so rampant in their industry that even though it was so clear in black and white, nobody saw anything happen, or at least shut their mouths when it did.

All of a sudden, everything supposedly is out in the open, and to show solidarity for their current cause, most of the participants wore black to demonstrate that they were all in for the cause.

However, not every actor and actress wore black, which was interesting, almost as interesting as many of the women still showing lots of skin in their black gowns, protesting sexual harassment with their chests hanging out for all to see.

Obviously, this group still doesn't get it; they are far from heroes. If you have heard many of them speak over the past few months about this problem, you know that so many of them saw this type of harassment, and some even were pawns in it, but few did anything to stop it.

All of sudden, now they are in solidarity. Or at least almost all.

Please, enough already, I don't think the American public is as stupid as the Academy thinks it is, falling for this nonsense.

Yes, sexual harassment does happen, nobody is going to doubt or argue that.

It is an absolutely horrible crime.

But the witch hunt going on now ... you can't blink at a woman now without being accused of this, and it negates the situations of the real victims of this crime, both inside and outside of the movie and TV industry, people these actors and actresses haven't a clue about.

And what do these champions of decency say to those who did not join in the "black" protest?

Weather Stabilizes This Week: According to the weather forecasters, the northeast part of the country, at least, will be getting back to more "normal" weather as this week unfolds.

Last week and into yesterday, single and low-double digit temperatures hit this part of the country, coupled with a midweek major snow storm that brought the northeast to a standstill.

My family was greatly impacted, as my son was pretty much out most of the week with a stomach ailment that was certainly brought on by him going in and out of the cold.

I, personally, was frozen to the gills, which, if you know me, is kind of unusual, because I generally am rarely what you would call "cold."

Heck, last Friday night, after doing the family food shopping, I was so cold that I put off getting gas for the car until the next day, when it was colder--3 degrees--but there was less wind.

Anyway, today is supposed to be in the 30s with a wintery mix of rain and show later in the day or into the early evening, and by the end of the week, we will supposedly be in the 50s with some rain, so a lot of this slop will be gone.

Good. I hate the snow anyway, so let the piles from last week's snowstorm go away as quickly as possible.

My Job Situation:

Speak to you again tomorrow.