THE WEEK IN REVIEW: JULY 8-14, 2012

TODAY IS BASTILLE DAY IN FRANCE.

Amongst events that have happened around the world this past week...
*Americans are up in arms that manufacturing of the 2012 USA Olympic and Paralympic team uniforms were outsourced to China. United States based fashion designer Ralph Lauren has vowed to make the 2014 Winter Olympic uniforms for all US contestants.
*Civil unrest continues in Afghanistan, Nigeria, and Syria, where reports of a massacre killing over 250 people have been confirmed.
*Astronomers have confirmed that Pluto has a FIFTH moon!

IN UNITED STATES POLITICS
*According to Rueters; Texas, Florida, South Carolina, Wisconsin, Mississippi, and Louisiana have all announced that they will NOT be implementing the upcoming expansion of Medicaid to give additional medical coverage to the poor, nor will they create a health insurance exchange program. Each state has a Republican Governor who hopes GOP Presidential candidate Mitt Romney wins the election this fall and keeps his campaign promise to abolish the Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act (aka "Obama Care").
*A recent study of Congressional statistics reveals that the Republican controlled House of Representatives has voted THIRTY-THREE times to repeal the Health Care Act! But has yet to even hear motions for a job stimulus program.
*Meanwhile, President Barack Obama would like Congress to extend the "Bush Tax Cuts" that lower and middle class income families are eligible for through 2013, in hopes that a more formal tax plan can be agreed upon soon. The House is willing to consider the measure, but only if ALL the tax cuts are extended, including those favoring the rich.

IN SPORTS...
*The final 2012 Wimbledon Tennis results are: Roger Federer won the Men's Singles, Serena Williams won the Women's Singles. Serena and Venus Williams won the Women's Doubles title, while Jonathan Marray and Frederik Nielsen won the Men's Doubles. Mike Baron and Lisa Raymond won the Mixed Doubles title.
*The Olympic Torch has arrived in the London area on the final leg of its marathon before the opening ceremonies of the 2012 Olympics.

IN ENTERTAINMENT NEWS...
*Actor Ernest Borgnine (McHale's Navy, Marty) has passed away.
*The Rolling Stones are celebrating their 50th anniversary this year.
*For those interested, it has been announced that Jennifer Lopez and Stephen Tyler will NOT be back as judges on the next season of FOX's American Idol. No official word on their replacements yet.

For more news at any time, either scroll down to our IN OTHER NEWS feature at the bottom of your screen, or visit any other reputable news source.

THE PUZZLE CORNER, JULY 14, 2012

Actor Ernest Borgnine (McHale's Navy, the television version of Airwolf, and other TV and film  productions) passed away this past weekend, so this week's Puzzle Corner is in his memory with this brief quiz.


01. Borgnine actually served in the United States Navy until the end of World War 2. What was his real life Naval ranking?
02. What was McHale's rarely used first name?
03. What was McHale's naval rank on television?
04. For what did Borgnine win an Academy Award?
05. Ernest Borgnine reteamed with his former McHale Navy costar Tim Conway to do what in 1999?


We'll reveal all next weekend, but for now, let us solemnly peek into THE ANSWERS BOX, as we reveal the results from our memorial Andy Griffith Puzzle Corner of July 7.

TRIVIA TIME
Practically everybody remembers Mayberry first and foremost when thinking about Griffith. But do you know on what show Andy Griffith appeared in character as Sheriff Taylor first?
An episode of The Danny Thomas Show ("Danny Meets Andy") served as a backdoor pilot for Griffith's series.

COMMON BONDS
Believe it or not, Andy Griffith did a lot more in his career than just Andy Taylor and Ben Matlock.
Each subset below contains a list of costars that appeared with Griffith in the past.
Can you name each production?

01. {Patricia Neal, Walter Matthau, Tony Franciosa, Lee Remick} = A Face In The Crowd, 1957 movie
02. {Anita Corsaut, Hal Smith, Howard McNear, Jack Dodson} = The original Andy Griffith Show, 1960-1968
03. {Jerry Van Dyke, Claudette Nevins, Parker Fennelly} = The Headmaster, 1970 TV series
04. {Lee Meriwether, Ann Morgan Gullbert, Lori Rutherford, Marty McCall} = The New Andy Griffith Show, 1971 series
05. {Abby Dalton, Nick Nolte} = Adams of Eagle Lake, 1975 series
06. {Joel Higgins, Trish Stewart} = Salvage 1, 1979 series
07. {David Ackroyd, Guy Boyd, Kevin Brophy} = The Yeagers, 1980 series
08. {Linda Purl, Kene Holiday, Nancy Stafford} = Matlock, 1986-1995 series

SUNDAY FUNNIES: REMEMBERING ANDY GRIFFITH

Hello Everybody. Editor-In-Chief Lee Houston, Junior here. I've given Autumn the Puppy and Ms. Waxy Dragon the weekend off to handle something a bit of a departure for this installment of the Sunday Funnies.

Entertainment legend Andy Griffith passed away Tuesday, July 3.
Now a lot has been said about the man, but I would like to add a few words of my own, if I may.
The first time I saw Griffith act in anything was not a rerun of the original Andy Griffith Show, but on another television program called Salvage 1, about a junk man (Griffith) with aspirations of going to the moon. Something as a science fiction fan I could relate to, especially since no one has made the journey since the end of the Apollo missions! The series lasted only 20 episodes between the Spring and Fall of 1979, but are definitely worth watching and owning on DVD.

But perhaps next to attorney Ben Matlock, the role Griffith will probably best be remembered for is the apparently easy going Sheriff Andy Taylor of Mayberry.
The original Andy Griffith Show is still very popular in reruns today, perhaps because it harkens back to a more simpler time in life, or because it never talked down to its audience. Sheriff Taylor kept the peace in Mayberry for eight television seasons, without ever once firing his weapon!

Now, many people can whistle or hum the famous opening theme, but did you know that it has lyrics?
Andy Griffith recorded the song for the album Songs, Themes, and Laughs from the Andy Griffith Show in 1961.
Here now, courtesy of YouTube, is the single, accompanied by visuals from the show.

And even before gaining fame as Sheriff Taylor, Andy Griffith was already developing his laid back comic routine. Here, also courtesy of YouTube, is one of my father's favorite singles, Griffith performing his classic routine "What It Was, Was Football" from 1953.

The world is a little sadder with his passing, but at least Andy Griffith can still make us laugh.

(One of the ladies will be back next weekend with the regularly scheduled Sunday Funnies).
All copyrights held by their respective owner(s). Videos courtesy of YouTube.

THE WEEK IN REVIEW: JULY 1-7, 2012

*Feeling lucky? Today is July 7, or 7-7. The 7th day of the 7th month.
The 2012 All Star Game of Major League Baseball is to be played Tuesday night, July 10.
*The annual San Diego (California, USA) Comics Con, aka Comics Con International, is to be held July 11-15.

AMONGST EVENTS HAPPENING AROUND THE WORLD THIS PAST WEEK...
*Republican Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney said he would "have to get back to you" when asked about resolving the imbalance between men's and women's pay, while incumbent President Barack Obama stated ideas on addressing the issue and ending the imbalance between the genders' salaries.
*Libya is preparing to elect the conference members who will appoint a new Prime Minister and accompanying cabinet and eventually establish a new constitution.
*NASA and Lockheed Martin held a joint unveiling of the new Orion spacecraft, to replace the space shuttles, earlier this week.
*Despite public protests, Japan restarted a nuclear reactor post-Fukushima Daiichi.
*California (USA) is hoping to establish a bullet train between Los Angeles and San Francisco.
*This past week, Hong Kong celebrated the 15th anniversary of going from being part of the United Kingdom to joining the People's Republic of China.
*Civil unrest continues in Syria.
*The Shard in London, England has been declared the tallest European building at 310 meters/1,020 feet.

IN ENTERTAINMENT NEWS...
*Entertainer Andy Griffith (Sheriff Andy Taylor of Mayberry, Matlock) passed away July 3.

IN SPORTS...
*Serena Williams won the Women's Singles title at Wimbledon 2012.
*Spain defeated Italy to win the UEFA Euro 2012 European football championship.
*Tiger Woods won the 2012 AT&T National in professional golf, making him now the second, all time winning player. Sam Snead still holds the title for most tournament wins, but Woods recent victory now pushes Jack Nicklaus to third place.
*Antonio Esfandiari won the 2012 World Series of Poker $1 Millon (US Dollar) Buy-in tournament.

For more news at any time, either scroll down to our IN OTHER NEWS feature at the bottom of your screen or visit any other reputable news source.

THE PUZZLE CORNER: JULY 7, 2012

Ladies and gentlemen. Earlier this week, the world lost entertainment legend Andy Griffith.
This week's Puzzle Corner is themed in his memory.

TRIVIA TIME
Practically everybody remembers Mayberry first and foremost when thinking about Griffith. But do you know on what show Andy Griffith appeared in character as Sheriff Taylor first?

COMMON BONDS
Believe it or not, Andy Griffith did a lot more in his career than just Andy Taylor and Ben Matlock.
Each subset below contains a list of costars that appeared with Griffith in the past.
Can you name each production?


01. {Patricia Neal, Walter Matthau, Tony Franciosa, Lee Remick}
02. {Anita Corsaut, Hal Smith, Howard McNear, Jack Dodson}
03. {Jerry Van Dyke, Claudette Nevins, Parker Fennelly}
04. {Lee Meriwether, Ann Morgan Gullbert, Lori Rutherford, Marty McCall}
05. {Abby Dalton, Nick Nolte}
06. {Joel Higgins, Trish Stewart}
07. {David Ackroyd, Guy Boyd, Kevin Brophy}
08. {Linda Purl, Kene Holiday, Nancy Stafford}


We'll reveal all next weekend. But for now, let's cut the cake and open THE ANSWERS BOX as we reveal the results from THE ANNIVERSARY QUIZ from the June 30 Puzzle Corner.
And while I played fair and noted the studios were first, no one tumbled on to the fact that the questions were listed from oldest to youngest item.


01. Universal Studios is famous for its original monster movies and Woody Woodpecker, amongst other things, and started business in 1912, celebrating their 100th anniversary this year.
02. Paramount also started entertaining the world in 1912, and branched out into television production when it acquired the Desilu Studios (Star Trek, Mission: Impossible, etc) in the late 1960s.
03. The 1980s remake of Scarface starred Al Pacino in the title role. The original gangster movie was released in 1932, to celebrate its 80th anniversary this year!
04. Elmo Lincoln originated the role in the silent movie adaptation of Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs, but you couldn't hear the yell until the talking picture was made in 1932 too.
05. "We'll always have Paris." is a famous line from Casablanca, as that classic movie celebrates the 70th anniversary of its 1942 release this year.
06. "But Moses supposes erroneously." because "Moses Supposes (His Toe-is Are Roses)" during the great MGM musical Singin' In The Rain, which celebrates the 60th anniversary of its original 1952 release.
07. Doctor No was the first movie in the James Bond franchise, but is actually an adaptation of the sixth book by Ian Fleming, and was released in 1962, making the movie 50 years old this year, and it still holds up well on screen!
08. "Shoot all the blue jays you want, if you can hit them, but remember: it's a sin..." To Kill A Mockingbird admonishes Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch in the 1962 motion picture.
09. "I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse." vowed Marlon Brando in The Godfather, as that movie celebrates the 40th anniversary of its 1972 release this year.

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!

Happy Fourth of July everybody!
Now we've come a mighty long way since the days of our forefathers.
England and the United States of America are staunch friends and allies, having been through much together, but unfortunately it was not always so.
But I'm not here to give you a history lesson.
Or at least, not a boring one.
Below, courtesy of You Tube, is a classic video from the America Rock! chapter of the beloved series Schoolhouse Rock!
"Fireworks" was written by Lynn Ahrens, performed by Grady Tate and first aired in 1976.

ENJOY!

Schoolhouse Rock (c) by whoever currently holds the rights.
Video provided by You Tube.com

THE SUNDAY FUNNIES: OXYMORONIC

"Ollie Ollie Oxymorons Free!"

Hello Everyone. Autumn the Puppy here!
So, are you working hard or hardly working?
Considering this is the Sunday Funnies, the answer should be NONE OF THE ABOVE.
But the latter of the two choices is actually an oxymoron, which is a phrase or term composed of contradicting words, like the following:
*Original copy
*Dark light, (also known as black light)
*Open secret (aka public knowledge, which is not an oxymoron)
*Living dead (aka zombies or vampires)
*Guest host (or permanent guest host, terms that became popular back when Johnny Carson hosted The Tonight Show)
*The Sound of Silence (although it's a great Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel tune!)
*Controlled chaos and/or Organized mess (both for busy offices and homes)
*Same difference (like "Six of one and half a dozen of another")
*Jumbo shrimp
*Hot ice (which is criminal slang for stolen jewelry)
*Bitter sweet
*Irregular pattern
*Quiet riot (which is also the oxymoronic name of a hard rock band)
*Sweet sorrow (accredited to William Shakespeare)
*Artificial grass
*Business ethics (sorely lacking over the last couple of decades as it is!)
*Electric candles
*Invisible ink
*Wax fruit (only good for decorations, not eating!)
*Rubber bones (which dogs love to chew on to keep our teeth sharp, but not a substitute for actual food!)

Well, there's plenty more where that came from, but I think I'll save them for another edition of the Sunday Funnies. Have a great week everybody!-AtP.