Coney Island Goes To The Dogs!

 First of all, here's wishing one and all a very happy Independence Day as we get farther and farther from COVID and closer and closer to normal.

John Adams, one of the Founding Fathers,wisely suggested that our independence from Great Britain be celebrated with sports,and one of the premiere events on the sporting calendar is now in the books, and no, it's not the final game of the Yankees-Mets Subway Series, The Championships at Wimbledon, or even the ACL Cornhole Championship. Today, my special Independence Day topic is...

The Nathan's Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest.

Yes, dear readers,Nathan's has a hot dog eating contest that has achieved major league status up there with the World Series, the Super Bowl and WrestleMania. Traditionally, the event has been held at the original Nathan's at the corner of Surf and Stillwell Avenues on Coney Island in Brooklyn,NY, but this year, due to the influx of fans who were shut out last year when the tourney was conducted inside Nathan's on a closed set, the event has been moved to Maimonidies Park.

"My-mon-a-WHO?!?", I hear you ask.

Moses ben Maimon,or Maimonidies, better known by the acronym Rambam, (1138-1204),born in Cordoba,Spain and died in Fostal, Egypt,was a medieval Sephardic Jewish philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah scholars of the Middle Ages. Among his most notable works are the Guide for the Perplexed and the Mishneh Torah, or "Repetition of the Torah,"a code of Jewish religious law.

"And this has to do with hot dogs WHAT?!?"

Let us now turn the clock nearly eight hundred years after the passing of the Rambam to Coney Island(2001,to be exact),where the home of the New York Mets' farm club, the Brooklyn Cyclones (a name honoring the iconic Cyclone ride which directly faces the Park) has risen from the ashes of legendary Steeplechase Park, sponsored by Brooklyn/Long Island utility KeySpan, hence the name KeySpan Park. In 2010, the Cyclones phased out the name KeySpan, which had become a defunct division of the UK-based National Grid plc, and signed a naming rights deal with Municipal Credit Union, changing the name to MCU Park. (Baseball? Hot Dogs? I think we're seeing a pattern here.) When the pandemic changed everything, MCU refused to renew its naming rights deal,leaving the door open for Maimonidies Medical Center,founded in 1920 as a result of the merger of United Israel Zion and Beth Moses Hospitals which was named after (You guessed it!) Maimonidies. In its many iterations, the Park has hosted walkathons, football games,all-star softball, the New York Cosmos, and on 7/11, a pre-Tokyo tune-up for the Israeli baseball team as they muscle in on the home turf of the Fire Department of New York. (I believe that with a handle like THAT, they should hire themselves out for synagogues that have been studying Torah on Zoom all year long so the students can actually talk to each other in person, but that's just me.)

"But what in the name of Sidd Finch about the Hot Dog Eating Contest?"

First of all, Sidd Finch is the subject of an elaborate Google-worthy scheme involving the Mets, Brooklyn, and George Plimpton, second of all, the women's competition was won by Michelle Lesco putting away 30.75 hot dog/bun combinations, but the undisputed ruler of the men's title, the king of 'em all, that would have to be defending champion Joey Chestnut, who broke his own record with 76 hot dogs. (Good thing old Maimonidies' medical namesake was there at the ready with pouches of plop-plop-fizz-fizz!)

Boy, the year isn't over yet, and we've already tackled politics, women's rights,entertainment, sports, food,AND religion! Who says we don't cover all the bases?!? (Sorry, I just HAD to sneak a baseball pun i in!)

"When are you going to shut up and let us enjoy the rest of our holiday weekend?!?"

Is now too soon?

Steve out!

Hey,Hey,Hey, Bill, Just Go Away!

 I just got a comment from Bettijane Eisenpreis, a/k/a Dear Old Mom, and she said that Cos has lived a full life and we should just leave him be and sort it out for himself.

Yesterday I saw FAT ALBERT: THE MOVIE, starring Kenan Thompson in the title role and Kyra Pratt (Disney's "The Proud Family") as Lauri Robinson, a social outcast who has just lost her grandpa and a child of divorce, and I believe old Cos, and his writing-producing partner Charles H. Kipps ("Exiles; A LAW & ORDER Movie," and Hustle performer Van McCoy's right hand man) make a similar point. It begins when Lauri cries and her tears interfere with the circuitry of her remote while she's watching a FAT ALBERT &THE COSBY KIDS rerun and through a stroke of magic (This was distributed by 20th BEFORE the Disney merger, so, if you see it, don't expect any Mouseka-Magic!), Fat Albert, Old Weird Harold, Dumb Donald, Rudy and Mushmouth jump out of the TV because anybody who saw the show remembers that old FA loved to solve problems and he wants something to do while trying to make sense of the real world. (There are some amusing moments, such as Big Al, as he's called in much of the later portion of the movie,and the Kids seeing an ad for their show "now available on DVD" and gibbering about "Divvid".) SPOILER ALERT: As the kids miss the airtime for their next rerun and get try to fit into the modern world, such as Mushmouth learning how to speak clearly, Old Weird Harold dazzling the playground with his basketball prowess, and (Horror of horrors!) Dumb Donald ditching his oversized hat and actually reading books,which  fits into Cos' grand scheme to educate African-American men into becoming intelligent,civilized creatures, they start to literally fade away and a frantic Fat Albert asks Cos for help. Bill explains that Big Al is a fictional animated character inspired by his real-life friend Albert Robinson,who, for purposes of this movie, just happens to be Lauri's grandpa, and that by remaining in our world, he is in danger of becoming celluloid dust. (Reminds me a skosh of the original FROSTY THE SNOWMAN special, all that's missing is a magic hat and Albert coming back to life and saying, "Happy Birthday!") To quote the much funnier Capitol Steps, the storal of this morey is, "If you try to change to fit in, you lose a lot of what made you you!" Bill could have proved this point MUCH better,so the fact of the matter is, if the physically sick and mentally weak Bill Cosby of today tries too hard to be the same multi-talent who shone in so many arenas, he would lose a lot more of the charm he has lost already, so, even though this may be disrespectful to "America's Dad," Bill, Cos, William, Mr. Cosby....

Don't go away mad.

Do us all a favor and JUST GO AWAY and let us remember what made you the great guy you were before this happened.

Oh, before I run away and let you enjoy your long weekend, a quick word about LEONARD: PART 6, his parody of spy thrillers that I also saw why trying to get ready for Cos' return.

YAWN!

Saying More Than Nuff Steve

Wait, I'm Not Finished!

 If Cos agreed to this SNL, he and NBC would have to donate all profits do a women's rights organization of NBC's choosing, and this organization would agree to place PSA's before all segments, including the cold open. 

Th-th-th-that's all,folks!

Oh,One More Thing...

Since Cos has been known for his relentless pursuit of racial equality, SNL could, and should, give the last segment of WEEKEND UPDATE over to him so he could express his opinions on George Floyd, Breana Taylor and Trayvon Martin. THAT would break the internet! How 'bout it, NBC? As I said last post, that's just MY opinion!

Cos For Alarm Or Celebration

 Depending on your point of view, either..

HOORAY! America's Dad, Bill Cosby, has been released from prison and returned to once again amuse and entertain audiences with the unique charm and wit that have endeared him for more than half a decade and the showbiz savvy that has introduced acts from Deep Purple to his beloved television family.

Or...

HELP! That old perv, Bill Cosby, has been released from prison! Lock up your daughters! Isolate the wife, sister, whomever, for just a FEW more, I don't know, days, weeks, months, YEARS, even, he's gonna rock your world, and I don't mean that in a good way!

While the rest of the world has been reopening for business while knowing that the Delta Variant won't stop until we surrender or we force IT to surrender, Dr. William H. Cosby, Jr. has been released from a Philadelphia prison and all charges against him have been dropped. Part of me remembers a more innocent Cos from the famous sitcom that bore his name in the 80's, the 90's Americanization on the Britcom "One Foot In The Grave," ,"The Electric Company","I SPY," and monologues on everything from the day he signed an affadavit promising the Temple University faculty he would not hit visiting Hofstra in the family jewels to Superman getting arrested for indecent exposure in the phone booth and hopes that Cos, and Fat Albert, Old Weird Harold, Mushmouth, Dumb Donald, and Little Bill can all come back. Another part believes it's too soon and Bill should serve his original sentence.

Since Bill was a proud member of the NBC Entertainment family for most of the six decades, I believe he should guest host a 2021-2022 episode of SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE during which he should not only publicly apologize for all his past indiscretions, but also treat us to the full spectrum of his talents from sketch comedy to monologues and end with an all-star jam featuring some of Bill's all-time favorite jazz and soul acts and any stars of today that may tickle his fancy. (I'm sure he might like Lauryn Hill or recent SNL guest Megan Thee Stallion.) Hosting SNL would not only be great entertainment for us, but good penance for Bill. Of course, that's just my opinion. What do YOU Steveophiles think?

Something else happened in Philadelphia almost 250 years ago this Sunday: We declared our independence! Have a great weekend and stay safe!

Steve-celsior!

Clarification

I did NOT mean anything negative about my boss in my last blog! I meant the last blog purely in jest! I love my boss and I can't wait to work  again with him, so, Boss, PLEASE do not feel offended and PLEASE accept my apology! Nuff said!

FOX Report

 I have had the great good fortune(CUT!) I have had quite the experience (CUT!) I have been saddled by my boss with the burden of schlepping over to 1211 Avenue of the Americas, the worldwide headquarters of News Corporation, the parent company of The Wall Street Journal, and FOX Corporation, which includes the FOX Network, the Tubi ad-supported streaming service, (Full disclosure: I've binged "The Honeymooners" on that service, and there's still nobody like The Great Gleason! He was a sweet kid!)and, of course, FOX News Media, and whether it IS news media is open to debate.

One thing that's undeniably true, to borrow a phrase from one of Jackie's greatest hits, is that FOX turned a loud-mouthed reality show star named Trump, who just HAPPENED to dabble in real estate, into a rising star in the GOP and, much to the world's eternal regret, the 45th President of the United States of America. Although there have been a lot of books about the phenomenon that is FOX News (FOX Opinion or FOX Propaganda would be more accurate names!), the only one to fully examine the symbiotic relationship between the network some Americans trust for fair(?) and balanced (?) news(?)  is HOAX:DONALD TRUMP,FOX NEWS, AND THE DANGEROUS DISTORTION OF TRUTH, by the Chief Media Correspondent of a truly fair and balanced news channel ,CNN's Brian Stelter. Brian is currently promoting the heck out of its just-released paperback edition (Available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and your favorite independent bookseller, so snap up your copy ASAP!), and rightly so, because while it was originally released last year, Brian treated the ending like a cliffhanger, because he had no idea whether FOX would guarantee Trump a return engagement at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, but  a few months after that original release, FOX News called the election for our current President, Joseph R. Biden, Jr., and instead of, as is the tradition, conceding and congratulating Biden, Trump accused the Democrats of a fraudulent election, and called his acolytes to DC to protest the certification of all votes on January 6. As the events of 1/6 unfolded, Brian felt compelled to add additional chapters to his already fascinating book, and the results...well, if it didn't actually happen it would have made a great movie!

I DID have the pleasure to see Brian promote the re-release of HOAX on a ZOOM lecture introduced by New York Times Opinion writer Frank Bruni, and he did raise a lot of interesting points, especially about the 8 PM Eastern hour on FOX News which used to be occupied by Bill O'Reilly ("Remember, the spin stops here, 'cause WE'RE looking out for you!") and is now the domain of alarmist Tucker Carlson. ("NOBODY's looking out for you!") The long and short of it, as expressed in both the lecture and Brian's book, is that with Friends like FOX, you DON'T need enemies! But, if you believe in a free press, you DO need this book, and if you need to see this lecture for yourself, head over to http://www.emanuelnyc.org/broadcast and hit the arrow on the Streicker Center logo. It's free, just like the American press should be.

Take care and stay aware, as my friend David Anthony Kraft ,who, unfortunately, died of COVID on May 19, ironically my birthday, used to say!

Steve