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11 years after he last won a major, Tiger did it again. To be fair, I have never seen so many shots in the water on the 12th hole before. Everyone in the last two groups except Tiger got wet on the 12th. Tiger ultimately won by 1. Nevertheless, Tiger drove the ball well when it mattered. His approach on the 16th was clutch.

Peter Gabriel left Genesis mainly because he got tired of clashing so much with Tony Banks. He went on to do some pretty good things. "Humdrum" (1977) "Games Without Frontiers" (1980) "Wallflower" (1982) "San Jacino" (1982) This just scratches the surface....Still, I think the tension of Genesis made for something unusual. But I do love what Pete's done on his own.

Don't get me wrong, I love Stairway to Heaven, but I think I prefer this.

I really do not know how to classify her. See what you think. Some favorites.

"The Stepford Wives" (1975) - Directed by Bryan Forbes (Director of "The Whisperers") Produced by Edgar Scherick (Producer of "Sleuth") Written by: Screenplay - William Goldman (Academy Award Winner for Best Original Screenplay for "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" and for Best Adapted Screenplay for "All the President's Men"), Story - "The Stepford Wives" by Ira Levin (Author of "Rosemary's Baby") Featuring Katharine Ross as Joanna Eberhart (Etta Place in "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," Elaine Robinson in "The Graduate"), Paula Prentiss as Bobbie Markowe (Liz Bien in "What's New, Pussycat?" Lee Carter in "The Parallax View"), Peter Masterson as Walter Eberhart (Fryer in "In the Heat of the Night"), Nanette Newman as Carol van Sant (Girl Upstairs in "The Whisperers"), Tina Louise as Charmaine Wimperis (Ginger Grant on "Gilligan's Island"), Patrick O'Neal (George Maxwell in "Bed of Roses" on "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour," Harmon Gordon in "A Short Drink from a Certain Fountain" on "The Twilight Zone," Jonathan Meridith in "Wolf 359" on "The Outer Limits," Justus Walters in "A Fear of Spiders" on "Night Gallery"), Josef Sommer as Ted van Sant (District Attorney William T. Rothko in "Dirty Harry"), Franklin Cover as Ed Wimperis (Tom Willis on "The Jeffersons") --- I had managed to avoid "The Stepford Wives" (the original version) for my entire life, but given that the term has entered our lexicon, and more importantly, that the 1975 version was at least an attempt at horror (the latter version mixed in comedy), I thought I'd give it a go. While I can't say "it was a great movie," I also don't regret watching it. My biggest gripe about this film is one that other critics have repeated: It feels like a made-for-TV film, and is also about thirty minutes too long. I can't imagine walking into a movie theater, even when I was fourteen years old, and seeing this on the big screen. Katherine Ross is eight years older than when she played Elaine in "The Graduate," but she weathered those eight years beautifully - she has a very unique loveliness to her, and did a pretty good acting job in this role (I can't honestly say it was "great," but that's because she didn't have much to work with - this script would fit nicely in a thirty-minute episode, or perhaps a sixty-minute episode, of "The Twilight Zone"). *** SPOILERS FOLLOW *** One thing that isn't entirely clear to me is whether or not her husband, Walter, knew about the goings-on in Stepford before leaving New York City - his conversion to one of the Stepford Husbands was seamless and total; yet, how could the town of Stepford trust a complete stranger, whom they'd never before met (or had they?), with this information? Two-thirds of the way through the movie (I'm loathe to call it a "film"), I wasn't quite sure how the transition would be done - was it drugs? Surgery? Or something else entirely? Make sure to see the outstanding 2017 film, "Get Out," which was clearly influenced by this movie, as well as by several other films (I won't insult you by naming them). "The Stepford Wives" is optional viewing; "Get Out" is an absolute requirement.

Just as "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?" (1962) fell into an obscure sub-genre of films being produced around the early 1960s called "Psycho-Biddy" - essentially old, famous actresses cast in new movies as "old ladies gone mad," "Satan's Triangle" (1975) falls into a cluster of films around the mid-1970s - including "The Exorcist" (1973), "The Omen" (1975), and "The Devils" (1971) that I would term, "Catholic Horror." I've never heard of this sub-genre before, but I remember an unusually high concentration of "Priest and Devil" films that came out right when I was transitioning from child to teenager (the exact time in someone's life when these would scare one the most). And "Satan's Triangle" scared the beejesus out of me when I saw it on TV, so much so that I've spent my entire life thinking it was one of the scariest films I've ever seen. However, I saw it last night for the first time in 42 years (!), and although parts are very creepy (if you watch it, make sure to stick with it until the very end), it just isn't all that terrifying, and although the actors themselves are extremely talented (Kim Novak, Doug McClure, Michael Conrad, Alejandro Rey), the film itself just doesn't bring out their very best. I also recently rewatched "Duel" (1971), Steven Spielberg's first feature-length film, which I saw when I was ten years old, and that film has not only withstood the test of time, but I enjoy it almost as much as a 56-year-old, as I did as a 10-year-old - Spielberg takes an almost painfully simple plot, and nearly impossibly turns it into 90-minutes of genuine, nail-biting thrills - I urge everyone reading this to click on that link and to watch "Duel." As for "Satan's Triangle," it isn't "dated" so much as I've grown up - any teenager who doesn't question the existence of God would probably still be scared by it, but I've turned into such a cynic that it just doesn't do as much for me. However, I can still be scared by a good, old-fashioned Catholic Horror film, if it was done well-enough; this particular one just isn't there. It's perhaps worth watching, and there are currently two free versions on YouTube which I cannot recommend (and won't even link to), as the quality is mediocre-to-poor (I made the mistake of watching one of these, and the quality of the presentation *really* diminished the experience). The one I watched even got worse in quality as it went along - if you're going to watch it, pay a few bucks and rent it: This might be the difference between "scary" and "not scary."

I never knew that Al Pacino told Sidney Lumet, before the filming of "Dog Day Afternoon" began, that he was too exhausted and depressed to take the role - he had just finished filming "The Godfather Part II." Lumet accepted his decision, and offered the part to Dustin Hoffman, whom Pacino considered to be "his rival" - and that was enough for Pacino to secrete enough adrenaline to do the part after all. Funny - while I think of Pacino and Hoffman as "contemporaries," I've never once thought of them as "rivals." I wonder if Lumet knew what he was doing, psychologically, when he made this move. Who knew? When Sonny was being interviewed by the television statement, and he dropped the F-bomb, they (apparently on a several-second delay), cut to the Looney Tunes theme song - now, *that* was funny. I had no idea that I hadn't seen this film before, but I hadn't. It's a fascinating movie - I thought after fifteen minutes it would be a real stinker (completely failed bank robbery - yawn), but then it started to get interesting, and Sonny started to acquire a Rambo-type of popularity with the general population, acquiring a folk-hero-like following, and there was still almost ninety minutes remaining. You know what? This movie is appropriate for these times (just as I'm sure other people have said about other times). People are so damned miserable that they view Sonny as a hero for their own crummy lives.

I suspect a lot of people here are too young to remember this (it only went to #13 on the American Top 40), but might find it interesting in light of the fact that it's over 40-years-old. I loved this song when I was a teenager, except I always wished it took itself a little more seriously - when it gets hurdy-gurdy, it loses some of its gravitas, and that's a shame - don't forget, this was released shortly after Richard Nixon resigned.

Can someone please help me identify the artist who is the brain behind this piece? A colleague told me it may be Mr Brainwash? In learning about Art, I wish there was Shazam app for Art identification. Art novice, kat

"Adam-12" was a favorite of mine as a pre-teen and early teen - it stars Martin Milner and Kent McCord as two LAPD officers, and follows them while they're on duty, running into various real-time situations. It was co-created by Robert Cinader, who also co-created the Adam-12 spin-off, "Emergency!," and Jack Webb, who played Sgt. Joe Friday on "Dragnet." A special mention should be made of William Boyett, who plays the tertiary character of Sergeant William "Mac" MacDonald - also of Gary Crosby, who plays the recurring, impish character of Officer Edward "Ed" Wells (cf. Season 1, Episode 22). Likewise Shaaron Claridge, who portrayed the radio dispatcher in nearly every episode - Claridge was a real-life LAPD radio dispatcher, so they never showed her face; however, she did have a cameo in one episode (Season Five's "Suspended") - she was shot from above, and wearing a wig so her identity would remain confidential. Here are the LAPD codes - this comes in very handy when you're watching the series, if you care about such detail. And I found a *wonderful* blog about Adam-12 - written by a person named Keely with whom I've exchanged a cordial email. I'll be linking to the blog entries for each episode, because it's the absolute best that I've found, and Keely is a nice person. Anyone who is looking for some in-depth information about the episodes - I heartily encourage you to explore lincolnxrayida.blogspot.com. Keely tells me it will take a couple of years to finish the entire series, but that's A-OK with me - we've got the time. I just watched Season 1, Episode 1, "The Impossible Mission," for the first time ever. Especially in this day-and-age, it is an *exceedingly* heart-warming story that might even bring tears to your eyes (as the picture below hints at). I highly recommend that if you belong to Hulu, you watch this first episode (it's free with a membership). Season One (Sep 21, 1968 - Apr 1, 1969) - 1.1 - "Log 1: The Impossible Mission" <--- These are the links to the excellent lincolnxrayida.blogspot.com Directed by Jack Webb, Written by John Randolph (Pseudonym for Jack Webb) Featuring Ann Morgan Guilbert (Millie Helper in "The Dick Van Dyke Show") - 1.2 "Log 141 - The Color TV Bandit" Directed by Phil Rawlins, Written by Richard Neil Morgan Featuring Cloris Leachman (Academy Award Winner for Best Supporting Actress in "The Last Picture Show") - 1.3 - "Log 11 - It's Just a Little Dent, Isn't It?" Directed by Hollingsworth Morse, Written by Preston Wood Featuring Zalman King (Director of "Wild Orchid") - 1.4 - "Log 131 - Reed, the Dicks Have Their Job, and We Have Ours" Directed by Hollingsworth Morse (2), Written by Preston Wood (2) Featuring Bob Hastings (Lt. Elroy Carpenter on "McHale's Navy") - 1.5 - "Log 91 - You're Not the First Guy's Had the Problem" Directed by Alan Crosland, Written by Preston Wood (3) Featuring Richard Van Vleet (Dr. Chuck Tyler on "All My Children") - 1.6 - "Log 161 - And You Want Me To Get Married!" Directed by Phil Rawlins (2) and Phil Bowles, Written by Preston Wood (4) Featuring Eve Brent (Saturn Award Winner for Best Supporting Actress in "Fade to Black") - 1.7 - "Log 71 - I Feel Like a Fool, Malloy" Directed by Alan Crosland (2), Written by Robert I. Holt Featuring Catlin Adams (Rivka Rabinovitch in "The Jazz Singer") - 1.8 - "Log 72 - El Presidente" Directed by Phil Rawlins (3), Written by Robert H. Forward Featuring Stafford Repp (Police Chief Clancy O'Hara on "Batman") - 1.9 - "Log 714 - Everyone Nods (The Lost Crossover)" Directed by Hollingsworth Morse (3), Written by Tom Dunphry Featuring Bruce Watson (Crewman Green in "The Man Trap" on "Star Trek") - 1.10 - "Log 132 - Producer" Directed by Phil Rawlins (4), Written by Richard Neil Morgan (2) Featuring Karen Black (Academy Award Nominee for Best Supporting Actress in "Five Easy Pieces") - 1.11 - "Log 111 - The Boa Constrictor" Directed by Hollingsworth Morse (4), Written by Preston Wood (5) Featuring Luana Anders (Catherine Medina in "The Pit and the Pendulum") - 1.12 - "Log 61 - The Runaway" Directed by Phil Rawlins (5), Written by Noel Nosseck Featuring Dorothy Neumann (Elizabeth Jennings in "Sorry, Wrong Number") - 1.13 - "Log 122 - Christmas - The Yellow Dump Truck" Directed by Hollingsworth Morse (5), Written by Preston Wood (6) Featuring Mittie Lawrence (Emma in "Funny Girl") - 1.14 - "Log 81 - The Long Walk" Directed by Phil Rawlins (6), Directred by Robert C. Dennis Featuring Richard Hale (Narrated "Peter and the Wolf" in 1939 for "Sergei Prokofiev" at Tanglewood) - 1.15 - "Log 32 - Jimmy Eisley's Dealing Smack" Directed by Hollingsworth Morse (6), Written by Preston Wood (7) Featuring Jenny Sullivan (Kristine Walsh in the NBC Miniseries, "V") - 1.16 - "Log 62 - Grand Theft Horse?" Directed by Hollingsworth Morse (7), Written by Richard Neil Morgan (3) Featuring Tim Matheson (Eric "Otter" Stratton in "National Lampoon's Animal House") - 1.17 - "Log 33 - It All Happened So Fast" <--- If you're only going to watch one episode, make this the one. Directed by Bruce Kessler, Written by Preston Wood (8) Featuring Jack Hogan (PFC William G. Kirby on "Combat!") - 1.18 - "Log 112 - You Blew It" Directed by Hollingsworth Morse (8), Written by Michael Donovan Featuring John Lupton ("Sister Mary" in "Battle Cry") - 1.19 - "Log 52 - A Jumper - Code Two" Directed by Harry Morgan (Colonel Sherman T. Potter on "M*A*S*H*"), Written by Richard Neil Morgan (4) Featuring Henry Beckman (Commander Paul Richard on "Flash Gordon") - 1.20 - "Log 73 - I'm Still a Cop" Directed by Phil Rawlins (7), Written by Harold Jack Bloom Featuring Jerry Quarry (Yes, *that* Jerry Quarry: "The Bellflower Bomber") - 1.21 - "We Can't Just Walk Away from It" Directed by Hollingsworth Morse (9), Written by Michael Donovan (2) Featuring Mary Gregory (Dr. Melik in "Sleeper") - 1.22 - "Log 152 - A Dead Cop Can't Help Anyone" Directed by Hollingsworth Morse (10), Written by Michael Donovan (3) Featuring Barry Williams (Greg Brady on "The Brady Bunch") and the first appearance of Gary Crosby (Son of Bing Crosby) - 1.23 - "Log 12 - He Was Trying To Kill Me" <--- Perhaps the single saddest thirty minutes of TV I've ever watched in my life. Directed by Hollingsworth Morse (11), Written by Robert I. Holt (2) Featuring Dawn Lyn (Dodie Douglas on "My Three Sons") - 1.24 "Log 172 - Boy, The Things You Do for The Job" Directed by Hollingsworth Morse (12), Written by Michael Donovan (4) Featuring Ahna Capri (Tania in "Enter the Dragon") - 1.25 - "Log 92 - Tell Him He Pushed Back a Little Too Hard" Directed by Phil Rawlins (8), Written by Preston Wood (9) Featuring Dick Sargent (Darrin Stephens (#2) on "Bewitched") - 1.26 - "Log 22 - So This Little Guy Goes into This Bar, and ...." Directed by Phil Rawlins (9), Written by Preston Wood (10) Featuring Harry Dean Stanton (Brett in "Alien")

Many of you might not know who Terrence Tao is, but suffice it to say he's *smart as hell*. A mathematician and Fields Medal winner, Tao's primary love (forgive the pun) is prime numbers. And yet, he makes a pretty blatant boo-boo in this clip on The Colbert Report - see if you can spot it: Here's a question for mathemeticians: 13 is number that can be paired with a sexy prime on either side of it (19 and 7) - is this a special genre of sexy prime? Does it have a name? Actually, now that I think about it, you have 5, 11, 17, 23, and 29, making five consecutive numbers that are sexy primes: Has this been proven to be the greatest number of consecutive sexy primes, or does it remain unproven? Or, does nobody give a shit? ETA: Actually, I know for a fact that {5, 11, 17, 23, 29} is the largest possible sequence of sexy primes. It would be impossible to come up with a sequence of 6, and there aren't any other sequences of 5. I can explain it more easily than I can prove it: Any other number ending in 5 is not prime (obviously, since it would be divisible by 5). Therefore, the sequence must start with a number ending in 1. So, the numbers would be X1, X7, X3, X9, and ... you're back to a number ending in 5 again at the 5th number in the sequence, so this is the *only* occurrence of 5 consecutive sexy primes there is. How's that! Did I just win a Fields Medal? What this does, is make 17 a unique number, in that it has *2* sexy primes on either side of it - out of every number in the universe, this is the only number with this property. That's a big deal. I think.

I've always been amused by John McGiver, most recently seeing him in an Alfred Hitchcock Presents episode (S03 E29 - "Fatal Figures"). Due to his thick accent, I always thought he was British, but he isn't. You probably don't recognize his name, but you'd recognize his face - in fact, he was the very first person ever to be in the American Express "Do You Know Me?" commercials. I remember him best as the salesman at Tiffany's in "Breakfast at Tiffany's," but have seen him numerous times in who-knows-what. He was a wonderful character actor who is *so* British that it shocks me that he isn't. Jan 6, 2016 - "How To Cancel John McGiver" on tralfaz.blogspot.com John McGiver as the Tiffany's salesman:

I post this not because I like David Ortiz (I am, after all, a Yankees fan) but for a number of reasons both positive and negative. On the positive side, and setting aside my Yankee fandom, he is an icon for the Red Sox. He is a beloved character in Boston and was a member of three world championships ... after 86 years without a championship in Fenway Park. And there have only been four players to play on three world championships and hit 500 HRs, with Mickey Mantle, Babe Ruth, and Reggie Jackson preceding him. On the negative side, he has an association with PEDs. Of course, there is no "proof" per se, but his best friend on the Red Sox during those championship years was Manny Ramirez, who was caught and suspended multiple times for PEDs use. A few others of those Red Sox players during that period of time were also suspected of PEDs use, and Big Papi (or "Big Sloppy" to Yankees fans) was at least gulty by association. Besides, how did he lose that hole in his swing that he had when he was David Arias of the Twins? (But my primary gripe about any and all of this is simply that the 500 HR Club is not what it once was. When I was growing up, it was the absolute power hitter mark of excellence, the line of demarcation between the very good and the great. Now, it has been removed from that status by the stench of PEDs use. And that is a shame, pure and simple.) Anyway, from a Yankees fan, here is a tip of the cap to Ortiz, for his accomplishments, for what he means to his fan base, and for his eventual enshrinement in baseball's Hall of Fame.

Cookbook author Andrea Nguyen, who also runs the wonderful blog, Viet World Kitchen, revisits the Fall of Saigon 40 Years Later. Looks like she might be doing a series of blog posts about her family's flight from Vietnam during April 1975.

Continuing my series on 20th-century chanteuses, here is the wonderful Lee Wiley singing "Manhattan" (1925) by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart (Rogers and Hart) in a recording from 1951. How anyone can listen to this material and prefer Rodgers and Hammerstein is bewildering to me, but apparently there are such people. The lyric to this song has been commonly "updated" to reflect newer Broadway shows. This version refers to "South Pacific." The original lyric, which is much smarter than any of the subsequent revisions, is Our future babies We'll take to Abie's Irish Rose I hope they'll live to see It close (At the time (1925), this was a comment on the show "Abie's Irish Rose," which was a long-running Broadway hit universally derided by the critics. The early 1970s sitcom stinker "Bridget Loves Bernie" was sort of based on it.) The first line of the chorus is also often changed from "We'll have Manhattan" to "I'll take Manhattan" for unknown reasons. Anyway, listen to Lee Wiley. Her style of singing was already old-fashioned by 1951, but so fresh and lovely and loveable.