Good
evening, 919 Gang, and Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. No. 1 son is working
Thursday, so Mary's usual Thanksgiving meal --Turkey, pies, cookies, apple
dumplings, etc. -- will be put off until Sunday when everyone can be here.
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CARL LARSEN writes:
So, there I was, on my cell phone to
the Butterball Turkey hot line, when I opened the front door to pick up the
L.A. Times.
I nearly had a heart attack, without
ingesting the pounds of butter on today's menu.
Take a look. I usually don't have much
criticism for this newspaper. They've done fairly well maintaining some
journalistic integrity amid the deluge of years-long cutbacks ordered by parent
Tribune Co. But this was an unspeakable new low.
So what we have here is a sacrilege.
Sure, we purists long ago lost the battle to prevent advertising on Page One.
But this breaks new ground. The ad dictates how many stories can be featured on
the front page, and raises numerous ethical questions. In the past, the Times
might sell a "wraparound" to the highest bidder -- an ad sometimes
looking as news coverage that wrapped around the front page. But here we have
an intrusion into the news package. We've seen it before, but usually on Page
A-22.
It leads to some hard questions.
1) What happens if a story broke on
the Disney Company that needed to be put on A-1: something like a sex
harassment case involving upper management or corporate tax chicanery. Would
the placement of the ad influence editors not to feature such a story on A-1?
2) There is clearly, for the reader, a
reduction in the number of stories on A-1. What was pushed inside, or
eliminated?
3) How does this policy work? Would
the Times sell a Page 1 ad to a movie such as "Texas Chainsaw Massacre --
the Dealey Plaza Cover-up" I can't wait to see the Times A-1 ad on
Lifestyle Lift.
4) What would have happened if a BIG
story had broken when this ad was scheduled -- one requiring a major headline
and numerous sidebars? Something like: China downs B-52 in test of new
air-space rule.
5) Under the paper's logo, there's the
word "Advertisement." Unfortunately one could surmise that the ad
extends to "news" stories. In the past, advertisers have tried to
pitch their wares using type similar to authentic stories.
6) What if the Times editors' wanted
to "refer" to a negative review inside of the Disney movie from Page
A-1. Could that have ever happened?
I don't know why advertisers are so
smitten with these "takeover" ads. It doesn't influence my film-going
behavior.
Surely, the editors must have balked,
so one wonders where the accountability on this falls. The only ones
"Frozen" here were readers in a chilling breakthrough. Or, maybe it's
a way of the paper saying: "Hey, folks, not much is going on today."
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DON FREEMAN writes:
One afternoon, sports editor Jack
Murphy and I were walking back to the paper after lunch.
Jack said, "Did you ever hear of
an eating contest?"
I said, "I think Damon Runyon
wrote about one, didn't he?"
"Well, I'm going to have
one," Jack said.
And of course he did. The contestants
were Ernie Ladd, 300 pound tackle for the Chargers, and a bait barge owner, a
small but mighty eater.
The contest went on with Regis
Philbin, in a tuxedo, as emcee.
The event went on in the basement of
the Grant Hotel. In the lobby, Stuart Lake, biographer of Wyatt Earp, urged
everyone not to attend.
"It's vulgar", he warned.
And of course, it was.
But it was a memorable event in our
city's past.
REBER: Great to hear from you, Don. An Internet reference I found says
Ladd's opponent was Nick Cordileone and the contest was April 22, 1961. The
story said 1,800 people turned out to watch them eat. Here's Ladd's summation:
“I agreed to meet him on his own
ground, which was Italian style. He started fast as we went through a two-pound
salad, a platter of meatballs and spaghetti, two stuffed lobsters, a three-pound steak, a four-pound prime rib,
half a dozen hamburgers, and two whole chickens. He began slowing down. I
knocked off two plates of rolls and butter, a quart of ice cream and cake, and
he was finished.”
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DAVE COHEN writes:
Lady Bird Johnson wore my mother's
nightgown.
I guess I should explain.
I don't recall the year, but he had
been out of the White House for some time. The Johnsons were headed from the
ranch to Austin for an engagement; they expected to return to the ranch that
afternoon. However, LBJ became ill on the helicopter ride, and the pilot
diverted to San Antonio to Brooke Army Medical Center, where my dad was the
executive officer. It so happened that my mom was in the hospital at the time
for a minor procedure (they're always minor when someone else is the patient).
While LBJ was made comfortable in a
top-floor suite reserved specifically for him, as needed, Lady Bird was given
an adjacent room. Because the Johnsons had not packed any overnight items, Mrs.
Johnson had no clothing for an overnight stay. Dad found out about this dilemma
and went downstairs to retrieve one of mom's extra nightgowns for the former
First lady. I'm told Mrs. Johnson was extremely grateful; I don't know if LBJ
ever knew about the loan.
Two other side notes: LBJ was very
fond of the chili prepared by his chef on the ranch. His doctors at BAMC were
not so pleased that a heart patient was living largely on Pedernales chili
loaded with heartburn and other wonderful side effects. But to his credit, LBJ
did partake of diet soda: dad told me his suite at the hospital had a closet
that was packed with Diet Dr. Pepper and only Diet Dr. Pepper.
And not long before he died, LBJ was
in poor shape and was taken by helicopter to BAMC for an extensive examination.
But dad told me that Johnson -- ever in control -- did not want to be seen
looking as poorly as he did at the time. Media had learned that LBJ was en
route. Dad was assigned the task of devising a ruse to keep LBJ's arrival as
secret as possible. He had the helicopter set down at another location, had LBJ
transferred to a beat-up old station wagon and sent the now empty helicopter on
its way to BAMC's landing pad in front of the hospital. Meanwhile, the old
station wagon quietly pulled in near a rear door of BAMC to discharge the
former president. Alas, the best-laid plan wasn't quite successful: one of the
wire services had stationed a photographer at the rear, and he was able to get
a photo of Mr. Johnson as he got out of the car. The photo told the country how
poorly the former president was doing; I believe he died not long afterward.
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JIM OKERBLOM writes:
What Frank Green fails to understand
is that many people -- including me -- would never want to be with a Rick
Steves' tour group or with any other tour group that had an
"entourage" tagging along.
When I recommended "tour
pimp" Rick Steves, I was referring specifically to what he calls the
"My Way" tours. They book the hotels, and get you from one city to
the next, by bus in our case. When you arrive at your destination, you are on
your own. You can get up as early as you want, stay out late as you want, go
wherever you want, no "awestruck laggards" anywhere in sight, no
itinerary or tour guide. If you decide to stay somewhere longer, as a few
people did, you can do that, too.
All you have to worry about is being
there when the bus leaves, or how you will catch up down the road. I am glad I
did not have to drive in Rome and Florence. Public transport was good in both,
traffic horrible, parking nonexistent.
I found the hotels we stayed at were
always centrally located, not glamorous or luxurious by high-end American
standards, but charming and comfortable, and even a little funky. One on Lake
Como was a marvelous old villa with a stunning view; in Florence, the building
dated to the 13th century. Maybe Frank the globe trotter wants to spend hours
on the Internet trying to determine whether a hotel is really what it is
portrayed to be, and whether it is conveniently located. I liked the fact that
someone with some knowledge chose the hotels, and was not disappointed in the least
with the choices.
It allowed us to research what we
wanted to see, to book our museum tours and make all the other required
reservations on the Internet ahead of time, while not being concerned about
where we should stay or how we would get from city to city. Maybe the next trip
to Italy I would choose differently. But I would recommend this as a good way
to go for many people who don't want to go on a tour.
REBER: This is not a recommendation, because I
haven't tried this company, but Untours does something similar. For your money,
you get one or two weeks in a private apartment (not a hotel) and a bus or rail
pass good for that period. And they have a concierge available by telephone if
you need recommendations or have questions or problems.
------------------------------------------------
PRESTON TUREGANO writes:
On the U.S. history test posted by Rick
Smith, I got 27 out of 33 questions right, or 81.82 percent. I was most vexed
by the economic-related questions. Then again, I do well to just balance my
checkbook. Happy T day to all!
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MICHAEL
KINSMAN writes:
Oops. I must have been out to lunch
the day UTC acquired Goodrich in 2011. Thanks to Janet Lowe for the fix. She's
been doing that for me since 1983.
------------------------------------------
REBER:
Bob Dietrich has two holidays tomorrow. Happy Birthday, Nov. 28.
--------------------------------------------
JAMIE RENO forwards:
VA Is
Broken: Death, Medical Mistreatment, Claims Backlogs And Neglect At Veterans
Affairs Hospitals And Clinics
CARL LARSEN forwards:
You don't see many people eating
eagle, or crow for that matter...
P.O.
Box 2239
Ramona,
CA 92065
U.S.A.
