Friday, November 16, 2007

Friday-Sunday, November 16-18, 2007

The real 'Gang Green'...

I remember a promotion we once ran at WXLO called "Green Is Clean" back in the 70s. We collaborated with the New York City Parks Department to help clean up Central Park and made a day of it, sending in the jocks and other members of the staff. There were special garbage bags made up for the occasion and we invited the city to join us in an effort to 'green' the park. We got lots of fellow New Yorkers to help out and good media coverage for what turned into a yearly event. It was an early effort in what has become an ecological obsession to 'green' America, not that I believe that we're doomed to a fate worse than what the 'wicked witch' of 'Oz' suffered, but it would be a good thing to make our environment more pleasant on the eyes, not to mention - ears, nose and throat. Now, along comes an NFL team, of all things, to help the cause...

Enter the Philadelphia Eagles. A lousy team on the field but they've become "the gold standard" for greening according to Tim Sexton who was hired by the Eagles to "Go Green" and here's what they've done:
  • Tickets and programs are printed on recycled paper...
  • Beer cups are made of corn-based material that disintegrates, hopefully after you drink the beer...
  • The cheerleaders use pom-poms made of recyclable material, although I have a better idea, get rid of the cheerleaders...
  • The stadium's lights run on 100% clean energy such as wind power. Booing would provide a lot of that...
  • Organic fertilizer is used to 'green' the field...
  • Plates in executive suites are made of sugar cane and reed, good for sucking on after finishing your meal...
  • To-date, the Eagles have recycled 150 tons of material and have saved more than 200 tons of trees...

I made some attempts at humor on a couple of items but this really is a good effort. It's something that other teams should think about. Now that they've successfully tackled the clean-up, the biggest problem in Philadelphia during the NFL season is how to get the Eagles back to the Super Bowl and right now that looks insurmountable. They are the 'greenest' team though...

10 Timeline Memories:

  1. 1915] Things go better with Coke: Coca-Cola has its prototype for a contoured bottle patented. The bottle makes its commercial debut the following year. The Andrews Sisters knew what to put in their cokes in 1945: http://youtube.com/watch?v=4CUw1Km35Gg ...
  2. 1952] The ball is down, the kick is: Lucy holds the football for Charlie Brown for the first time in 'Peanuts' and he fans on it for the first time...
  3. 1957] The streak ends: Dick Lynch scampers around right end for a touchdown, ending Oklahoma's streak of 47 consecutive wins. Notre Dame beats the #1 ranked Sooners 7-0 in Norman (OK)...
  4. 1959] The birth of the Patriots: William "Billy" Sullivan Jr. and a group of Boston businessmen is awarded the 8th and final franchise in the new American Football League. The Boston Patriots are born...
  5. 1960] "Happy Trails": Clark Gable dies of a heart attack at 59...1961] House Speaker Sam Rayburn is the victim of cancer in Texas at 79...
  6. 1966] Not guilty as charged: Dr. Sam Sheppard is acquitted in his second trial on charges of murdering his pregnant wife Marilyn in 1954. This story was the basis for "The Fugitive"...
  7. 1981] Wedding Bells: Luke marries Laura on "General Hospital" for a TV audience of 16 million viewers...1987] Lenny Kravitz and Lisa Bonet rock down the aisle. They'll separate in 1990 and divorce in 1993...
  8. 1982] The NFL is back: An agreement is reached in the 57th day of a strike by NFL players. The 16-game season is reduced to 9 games with 8 teams seeded from 1 to 8 at the end of the season. The Redskins beat the Dolphins in SB XVII...
  9. 1999] NFL killer: Chrica Adams, pregnant girlfriend of NFLer Rae Carruth is shot 4 times while sitting in her car. She dies one month later. The baby survives. Carruth is sentenced to a minimum of 18+ years for his role in the murder...
  10. 2004] The Condy Woman: President George W. Bush picks National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice as his new Secretary of State, succeeding Colin Powell...

Music Memories:

  • 1960] Number One on this date: "Stay" - Maurice Williams & Zodiacs and heeerrrreee they are: http://youtube.com/watch?v=sUL3sWbLM-U ...1970] "I Think I Love You" - David Cassidy. The song tops the charts 2 months and 4 days after "The Patridge Family" debuts...1974] "Whatever Gets You Through The Night" - John Lennon w/piano & vocals by Elton John. This is the great animated video of the tune: http://youtube.com/watch?v=Ho1yJwvWCrw ...
  • 1974] Released on this date: "Boogie On Reggae Woman" - Stevie Wonder, seen here: http://youtube.com/watch?v=6tCeAZ1nQjk ...1979] "Wonderful Christmas" - Paul McCartney (guaranteed to be #1 at the Brough's in NZ)...

Commentary:

From Sal Ingeme in Naples, Florida: "67 proved to me that YAZ was the greatest all around player in Red Sox history. Yes, I too had chills watching him during the '67 season. It was the single most exciting performance I've ever seen. Thanks for bringing back the memories." You're quite welcome Sal. Now as far as Yaz over Ted Williams, there are those that would disagree. I just caught the tail end of his career and just didn't see enough of him, although he had the best eye of any player I've even seen...

"Happy Birthday...happy birthday":

Osi Umenyiora (27), Oksana Baiul (30), Maggie Gyllenhaal (30), Lisa Bonet (40), Diana Krall (43) - we love you just the way you are, Diana: http://youtube.com/watch?v=V-a_cCBzXRg&feature=related , Dwight Gooden (43), Marg Helgenberger (49) and Clu Gulager (79)...

Saturday-Sunday, November 17-18, 2007...

10 Timeline Memories:

  1. 1956] Quite the wrap: Jim Brown finishes his college career at Syracuse by running for 6 TD's and kicking 7 extra points in a 61-7 massacre of Colgate (11/17)...
  2. 1959] Premiered on this date: William Wyler's "Ben-Hur" starring Charlton Heston opens at a Loew's Theater in Times Square (11/18). Here's the trailer: http://youtube.com/watch?v=8SOT0ofuscU ...1985] Howard Stern brings his morning show to K-Rock (WXRK)(11/17)...2003] Arnold Schwarzenegger makes his debut as the 'Governator'(11/17)...2005] "Walk The Line", the Johnny Cash biopic opens (11/18)...
  3. 1968] The 'Heidi' Game: NBC-TV switches from the exciting ending of the Jets-Raiders game to the singing girl in her apron. Here's what we didn't see: Oakland scores 2 TD's in 9 seconds to hold on to a 43-32 win over the Jets. The final score runs in a crawl under 'Heidi' (11/17)...
  4. 1969] "Happy Trails": The Kennedy patriarch, Joseph P. Kennedy dies in Hyannis Port (MA) at 81. He had suffered a massive stroke 8 years prior (11/18)...1994] Cab Calloway dies in a Delaware nursing home of a stroke at 86 (11/18). Here's the legendary entertainer, you should pardon the expression, hi-de-hoing : http://youtube.com/watch?v=zxcc34Ik2QA&feature=related ...
  5. 1973] I'm Not A Crook: President Richard M. Nixon tells an AP managing editors meeting in Orlando that "People have got to know whether or not their president is a crook. Well, I'm not a crook". In front of a news organization's meeting? Nice timing Mr. President (11/17)...
  6. 1978] Pass on the Kool-Aid: People's Temple leader Jim Jones forces his followers to drink a fruit-flavored, cyanide-laced concoction in Jonestown, Guyana. They do and they die. Only a dozen escape. The final death toll: 913, including 276 children (11/18)...
  7. 1987] SOLD to the highest bidder: CBS, Inc. agrees to sell its record division to SONY Corp. for about $2 billion. The pink slips start flying. Guess which blogger got one 2 years later? (11/18)...
  8. 1990] Wedding Bells: Mick Jagger and Jerry Hall make it official in Bali. The marriage dissolves in 1999 with Jerry claiming that Mick fathered a child by a Brazilian model (Luciana Morad)(11/18)...
  9. 1997] Super Mario: NHL great Mario Lemieux retires, is inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame and then returns to play, eventually getting into ownership in Pittsburgh (11/17)...
  10. 2003] Convicted: John Allen Muhammad is convicted on two counts of capital murder in the Washington, D.C. area sniper shootings. He awaits execution in Virginia (11/17)...

Music Memories:

"Happy Birthday...happy birthday":

(11/17) Daisy Fuentes (41), RuPaul (47), Howard Dean (59), Tom Seaver (63), Lorne Michaels (63), Danny DeVito (63), Lauren Hutton (64), Martin Scorsese (65), Bob Gaudio (65) and Gordon Lightfoot (69)...

(11/18) David Ortiz a.k.a. 'Big Papi' (32), Owen Wilson (39), Gary Sheffield (39), Elizabeth Perkins (47), Kevin Nealon (54), Linda Evans (65) and Brenda Vaccaro (68)...

Timeline Countdown for Sunday, November 17, 2007: 4 days until Thanksgiving, 17 days until Hanukah, 34 days until winter and 37 shopping days until Christmas...

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