Brady Correction Apology
August 22nd, 2018 by Proprietor
Rather than edit a post, I decided to post the edit.
Recently, I was watching the Brady Bunch on Hulu, and realized I made a mistake in a previous post. It was in reference to the Season 2, Episode 8, “A Fistful of Reasons” where Cindy is picked on by a bully, Buddy Hinton. Peter would go on to fight Buddy, and be the only Brady boy to not only fight the battle of the sexes by becoming a Sunflower Girl, he actually physically fought. The post “Brother Fighter Buddy” was an elaboration on the episode.
In the post, I misattributed the place where Carol grew up as Saskatoon, Massachusetts, which is incorrect, and does not exist. Saskatoon does exist in Massachusetts, but it is a city in the province of Saskatchewan, Canada. I was remise in my research, and apologize. It was due to Cindy’s lisp and the attempt of Mike and Carol to correct that problem, in which Carol revealed where she grew up. I was writing on the fly of sorts, and Saskatoon seemed to work. Again, I apologize for the error.
Carol Brady grew up in Swampscott, Massachusetts, which does exist. The writers of the Brady Bunch did their research, I had a brain fart. Carol later was married and lived with her husband somewhere, had Marcia, Jan and Cindy, was either widowed or divorced, then moved in with her parents in California. Where they all lived with Fluffy, the cat, until Carol met Mike, and married. Thus they became the Brady Bunch.
Sorry for the error.
Thanks for stopping by.
Delays Delays Delays
August 15th, 2018 by Proprietor
There are few times that I travel, where I am not going to Las Vegas. As stated in pervious posts (here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here) I love Las Vegas, and I travel regularly. The few exceptions are usually that, few. I went to Toronto one time and Miami another. I have never travelled for work. Recently, I traveled to Boca Raton, Florida for training. I have learned many things traveling, and this work trip taught me some things.
When you are traveling, and have to switch planes, make sure you have at least a four hour layover. Why? On the Boca trip, a co-worker and I had to switch planes in Charlotte, North Carolina. The plane arrived on time, but took forever to taxi to a gate. We had 45 minutes to get to the next plane. When the plane we arrived on taxied to a gate, it was E22 and we had to get to gate B4. My co-worker and I only had 20 minutes by the time we deplaned to get to our next plane. We made it with a few minutes to spare, only to find out our next flight was delayed. If we had a few hours or even several hours, yes it makes the journey longer, but we would have had plenty of time. That extra time meant we could get something to eat. By the time we arrived at our final destination, it was midnight, and we had not eaten since breakfast. Boca Raton is a city that closes down early, even by midwestern standards.
On the return trip from Boca Raton, our flight was delayed out of West Palm Beach due to thunderstorm activity. It is no one’s fault, but the delay was 2 hours, and we missed out connecting flight from Chicago. Luckily it was to Milwaukee, and we able to take a bus. Our luggage though, had to be picked up the next day at the airport. If we had made it on time for the connecting flight, from Chicago to Milwaukee, we would have had about an hour and a half of time. Had there been some proper planning, and a four hour layover planned into the situation, the two hour delay would have still given us enough time to get to the connection. There were people on our flight whom had a three or four hour window, so they made their connections.
Research back up plans. When flying from one place to another, research possible back up plans. For the Chicago to Milwaukee flight, I mentioned in the paragraph above, my co-worker knew about a bus that travelled from O’Hare to Mitchell. Coach USA Airport Express has regular buses traveling to and from O’Hare and Mitchell. We managed to get the last bus for the day from O’Hare to Mitchell, which would have been our final destination. From Mitchell we made it home, but had to get our luggage at a later time. Find out if there are any alternative flights with the carrier you are using, and when you have to deal with airline representatives you can explain there are other flights. Even with other airlines if you know there are other ways to get to your destination, you can use them. The real problem is getting your luggage. Once you get that, you can go onto another flight. Airlines do not have to refund your money on a connecting flight that is missed. The airline just has to get you another connecting flight on their airline. If you choose to use a competitor, you have to pay. The airline does have to return your luggage. The airline can be bitchy about it, and make it difficult, but these days with social media, that is not a wise thing.
Do not make any plans your first night you arrive. One of the major reasons I do not make plans for the first night at a location is due to travel delays. I learned this a long time ago when my flight was delayed from Milwaukee to Las Vegas. It was a 12 hour delay for a direct flight. I had plans to see a show that night, and knew I was not going to go to the show, so I had to cancel the tickets to the show. It sucked, I was looking forward to seeing Blue Man Group. I saw them on a different trip a year later. When flights are delayed, any plans you have are probably screwed. So, leave the first day for travel. If you are staying several nights, make plans the next night. If you get in on time, and can make other plans for the night, do so then.
Do not get angry or frustrated. Yes, it sucks your flight is delayed and your connection is missed, your plans are screwed, but it happens. The people at the airline will help you. Those innocent people are just doing their job and can identify with your anxiety, just do not take out anger on them. Even though those customer service people were not responsible for your delay, they are accepting responsibility to fix the situation, it does not make them culpable. That is the weird part of the human brain you have to turn off. The part that makes responsibility equate to culpability. The person taking responsibility for fixing a situation that was created by bad weather is not the cause of the problem, the bad weather is. The person helping fix the problem is being responsible, and will help you if you are nice, otherwise there are plenty of ways they could make your life more miserable. Smile, explain your problem, and thank the person for the help. You will find a good attitude will get you miracles. The person who is helping you might offer you a solution that you never thought of.
Traveling sucks. No matter how much you try to plan. Airlines do not really take any responsibility for their mistakes, because they understand they are the only game in town when it comes from fast point to point travel. The only other options are buses, trains or driving. If you drive, you are one hundred percent responsible for issues.
The key to not having real problems with traveling is research. Find the flights that are the most direct, it costs more, but the money is worth it. Flights with stops but no deplaning. Flights with at least a four hour layover. Two hour layover minimum so you have time to get from one gate to another. It seems due to airline hub and spoke method, going from point A to point B via flying requires at least one stop and change of planes. Find ways to make your life easier, even if it costs more money. It is worth the effort. I found a flight from Milwaukee to Chicago that went to Minneapolis first. I scratched my head and laughed at that.
Thanks for stopping by.
New video
August 12th, 2018 by Proprietor
This time I spent some money on Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes.
https://youtu.be/7NYqk5auHY4
I, Tonya
August 8th, 2018 by Proprietor
I watched it on Hulu, because I was bored and the movie was talked about a lot during the Winter Olympics. Hulu was promoting it heavily as well. Turns out it was worth watching.
I,Tonya is a biography, dark comedy, drama about the life of figure skater Tonya Harding. I call it a Mockumentary. It documents Tonya’s life, in spite of her abusive childhood and early marriage, she was an incredible figure skater, and could perform the triple axel, which is considered one of the hardest jumps in figure skating.
The movie essentially shows Tonya’s personality and how she made excuses for failures, and blamed others for problems. Ultimately it is a somewhat comedic movie, if you have a dark sense of humor.
It leads up to the event which Tonya Harding is associated with, and most famous for, the attack on rival, Nancy Kerrigan. In the movie, Tonya claims that she and Nancy were roommates, and even partied together, drinking beer and smoking marijuana.
Granted figure skating judging is somewhat biased and corrupt, Tonya in the movie made the excuse that is why she failed so much. Ultimately, Tonya would end up finishing eighth in the 1994 Winter Olympics, Nancy would take silver.
Tonya would go on to female boxing, and because of her pop culture significance appear on Dancing With The Stars. Taking third place.
Worth watching if you have nothing to watch.
Thanks for stopping by.
Brady Baby Brady
August 1st, 2018 by Proprietor
The actual ages of Mike or Carol Brady are never explicitly given, but their ages can be guessed at with some logic and inference. Look at the two oldest children, Greg and Marcia. Greg is fourteen when the Brady Bunch starts, and Marcia is twelve. Mike graduated from architectural school, which implies a four year degree. If Mike had met his former wife in college, married her, and had Greg right out of college, Mike would have been at minimum 22. At the start of the Brady Bunch, Mike is probably 36. By 1970s standards he was moving into mature years, but by today’s standards Mike was still a young man. Given a normal period for morning a lost wife, getting back into the dating game, finding a woman, dating her to a point where a man is sure he wants to marry her, and about a year long engagement; Mike probably met Carol at the age of 34. Which means Mike’s wife probably passed away, when he was 32.
Carol is more than likely one or two years younger than Mike, and so when the show started was 34 years old. Carol could have still have given birth to Marcia at the age of 22. Then had Jan and Cindy, with her husband passing away when Cindy was 3 or 4. Cindy remembering her father is never discussed, and Bobby in the Pilot episode does remember his first mom with some deep affection.
Given that Mike is 36, and Carol is 34 or even if she was the same age at 36, a baby is possible. Alice in one episode attempts to get information on a mysterious crush Greg had on a “girl” named Linda, while talking to Jan. Jan jumps to the conclusion that Carol is pregnant. Though possible, the notion is quashed.
It seems interesting through, out the entire series and through five seasons, Mike and Carol having children together is only joked about, but never seriously discussed. Even when Cousin Oliver is coming, Carol jokes about possibly being pregnant, and Mike seems relived Carol is not. Though the children at times are excited about the possibility of having a new sibling.
If the producers had wanted to make the show more serious, and shift directions, Carol becoming pregnant would have been a great way to do so. Mike and Carol could have had a child together even in the last season. Mike would have been 41 and Carol, even if she was the same age as Mike, could have had a “change of life” baby. Imagine Carol being pregnant at the start of the fifth season? Instead of Cousin Oliver, the Brady Brunch could have a new member. A half sibling to Greg, Marcia, Peter, Jan, Bobby, and Cindy. Alice could have helped with raising a new infant. Marcia could have moved into the attic now that Greg is off to college. This might have helped extend the show a few more seasons. It most definitely would have been celebrated with cake, and maybe a new Tiger?
Instead the producers tried to back end a pilot involving the Kelly Family, then create the ultimate event that signaled a show was beyond sell by date. The Cousin Oliver syndrome is a valid television meme, it signals that a show that is centered around children needs refreshing. Producers always fall into the trap when sitcoms featuring young children become problematic. Children age, and as the cute child ages into a awkward teenager, and viewership falls off, producers scramble to make the show more fresh with younger children. There are several articles on the worst such cases in shows, here and here. Though Mike and Carol having a change of life child at the start of season five could be viewed as such an attempt, maybe the child would have been a boy called Oliver? Then it would have been Brother Oliver Syndrome.
Thanks for stopping by.