Wally the WTF Frog Has a Few Questions

WARNING: this post is kind of long. 

If you wanna skip it, fine, go ahead, it's not like me and Wally the WTF Frog put a lot of work in it.

We're back tomorrow with a post about the Lanterns debut, the Superman season finale and Celebrity Wheel of Fortune where I will attempt to identify these so called "celebrities".

Yeah, just wait until Tuesday and skip today's post.  

But it'll break Wally's heart.   💔

_____________________________________

It's time for a return visit for this blog's most erudite and wise political observer, Wally the WTF Frog!

Wally the WTF Frog has a few questions.

WTF as in...

• What the Fuck?
• Why the Fuck?
• Where the Fuck?
• Who the Fuck?

Such as....

Who the Fuck Is Natalie Harp?

Natalie Harp is an archetype pro-Trump blonde Nazi Barbie who fervently and faithfully follows Donald Trump everywhere.

Known as "the human printer", Natalie's main job is to follow der Führer with a portable printer and print out anything positive that will appease Li'l Donnie's fragile, needy ego.  

She's like a fluffer on a porn set. 

The ubiquitous nature of her presence to immediately stoke Trump's delusions of grandeur and power is troubling enough. 

The depths of her devotion to Donnie are also disturbing. 

She's prone to writing letters of lavish praise and fealty to der Führer.  Such as this passage:  

“I never want to bring you anything but joy. You are all that matters to me. I don’t want to ever let you down. Thank you for being my Guardian and Protector in this Life.”

Seeing such over the top pledges of affection and loyalty set off red flags for the Secret Service who were concerned this woman was batshit crazy and might pose a threat.

Seeing such over the top pledges of affection and loyalty made Donald Trump want to give her a job.  

Natalie's back story includes a cancer diagnosis.  She beat back cancer through some experimental treatments.  Her recovery from cancer led Natalie to offer her undying thanks to one of the following:

1. Jesus Christ
2. Her doctors
3. Donald Trump

Ding! Ding! Ding! #3 is the one! 

Apparently in his first term, Trump signed some legislation to give certain cancer patients the right to try to untested drugs and medical procedures.   

Natalie Harp credits Donald Trump with her salvation.  

We found out about Natalie and her peculiarly close relationship with Donald Trump  in the book Regime Change by Maggie Haberstom and Jonathan Swan.  

But she gained some renewed attention when Sen. Jon Ossoff named dropped her in a speech recently.  "Trump doesn’t want to do the job of President! Instead  he wants to build his ballroom and travel with Natalie on their apparently defenseless flying palace." 

That sly reference to "travel with Natalie" has caught fire and drawn attention to this slavishly devoted woman who ceaselessly feeds Li'l Donnie all the information he wants to hear. 

Speaking of the "apparently defenseless flying palace",  Wally the WTF Frog wants to know....

Where the Fuck Is Donald Trump? or Plane Chicken

I've been meaning to comment on the shenanigans involving Trump switching out planes to get out of Turkey.

Trump took his gussied up palatial plane he got from the Qatari government as Air Force One to Europe to attend a NATO summit.  

Halfway there he switched over to the classic plane to use as Air Force One to finish the trip. Rumor has it that the new Qatari plane looks pretty but is sorely lacking in all the doo-dads and fiddly bits used to protect the lives of Presidents.   

Leaving the summit, Trump is seen entering the O.G. Air Force One but was then spirited off in a catering truck to take another flight out of Turkey. And Air Force One took off without him.  

The official spin is there was some credible threat the Iranians had a plan to missile Air Force One out of the sky. Shuffling Li'l Donnie off the plane to another plane did nothing to stop that plot.  Which means the Iranians could've still lobbed a rocket at Air Force One anyway and killed everyone on board including Secretary of State of Marco Rubio or maybe even Trump's other blonde Nazi Barbie, propoganda minister Karoline Leavitt.

OK, it seems that Leavitt was still on maternity leave when the incident in Turkey occurred so she wasn't on the decoy plane.

But super loyal super devoted Nazi Barbie Karoline Leavitt resigned as propoganda minister a few days after the decoy plane story broke .  She claimed it was to spend more time with her family including her newborn baby and who knows, maybe this perpetually lying syncophant may have been telling the truth for once. Or maybe this Nazi Barbie was incensed she could've been left as target practice by the Iranians and the other Nazi Barbie was not.  

In case you're wondering, Natalie Harp did make the cut for the catering truck.  

IMHO (and I do stress this is very humble and very much only an opinion) but I think Air Force One is ALWAYS under some kind of threat of attack.  So why all the cloak and dagger about this threat?

Trump wants to project that he's some kind of tough guy badass.  "I'm so big and strong and such a threat that other people are trying to kill me!"  

I don't think whatever threat was made to Air Force One was any more significant than what the Secret Service has to deal with everytime that bird goes up in the sky. It was a chance to play the martyr card without actually being martyred.  Trump may be a very old man but he still thinks like a child: it was a chance to play spy and pretend he's some kind of James Bond on a covert mission.

OR... Donald Trump is just a big ol' scaredy cat who ran away from the consequences of his belligerence! And like the gutless coward he is, left others in the path of danger. 

Wally the WTF Frog has other things on his mind.  

Why the Fuck Is Morale Sinkin' On the Abrabam Lincoln?

For weeks we've been hearing how life is a living hell on the aircraft carrier, the USS Abraham Lincoln.  Lack of food, clean water, medicine and working toilets are among the indignities being endured by America's sailors.

No, they're not, says Pete Hegseth.

Yes, they are, says the military newspaper Stars & Stripes.

No, they are not, counters Hegseth and to the publisher and editor of Stars & Stripes, you're fired.

Yes, they are, says the families of those serving on the Abraham Lincoln who have heard from their sons and daughters who are in the middle of this hellhole on the waves. 

No, they're not, Hegseth insists. 

Preferring to be a perveyor of propoganda than a teller of truth, lest he offend the delusions of der Führer, Hegseth insists that those serving on the Lincoln are only getting the best of the best of what America's finest fighting force can provide blah blah blah you know the drill.

One source of the Lincoln's woes comes from a crucial supply port that Iran bombed a couple of months back and Hegseth didn't tell anyone about that.

He was too busy making sure his "war fighters" have enough testosterone.  

Another problem is the USS Abraham Lincoln has been deployed longer than the usual 6 months for U.S. air craft carriers.   

The USS Abrahan Lincoln left San Diego in November 2025 and hasn't put into port since then.   

One sailor expressed his perspective on the duration of his time at sea: he has not stood on land at all in the year 2026.   

When asked about the extended duration of the Lincoln's deployment, Donald Trump said "it hasn't been long enough."

Yes, draft dodging Commander fucking Bone Spurs doesn't think the Lincoln has been deployed long enough.

Meanwhile, the solution to the problems on the Lincoln (which Hegseth insists do not exist) is to replace it with the USS George Washington.  

Which means the United States does not have an air craft carrier to defend our interests and assets in the Pacific.  

So if China starts some shit towards Taiwan, well, we're fucked.

OK, this post is going on way longer than I planned and Wally the WTF Frog is wondering.

Why the Fuck Is There So Much Shit?

Trump Is Mad At Oman NOW? 

Trump threatened to bomb the shit out of Oman.  I think Oman is more or less on our side?  

Is Trump Gonna Bomb the Bond Market?

Li'l Donnie was asked about about increased volatility in the bond market and what steps he and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent were taking to address the problem.

Trump said,  “We have many types of intervention; that’s one. The ultimate intervention is our military, and if we have to use that, we will.”

Seriously, what the unholy fuck was THAT?

• Is he gonna bomb bond traders?
• Are bond traders 2 weeks from having a nuclear bomb?
• Are bond traders blocking the Strait of Hormuz?

I suspect Dementia Don may have... dementia?

Ways For Donnie To Remember His Name 

A judge had ordered Donald Trump's name be removed from the Kennedy Center.  This was done BUT a tarp covering the front of the building is still there to spare widdle Donnie's hurt feelings.

The Kennedy Center board front loaded with Trump loyalists had a two hour meeting to figure out an end run around that ruling by agreeing to a commemorative plaque citing Donald Trump for saving the iconic venue.  Trump called in to the two hour meeting.

Jon Ossoff certainly hit the nail on the head when he said "Trump doesn’t want to do the job of President!" if der Führer has two fucking hours to dedicate to this ego stroking bullshit.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Navy is considering naming a new warship after Donald Trump instead of after Doris Miller as originally agreed.

Doris Miller was a black man (so don't let the name throw you) serving as a mess hall attendant on a battleship in Pearl Harbor who took up arms alongside his ship's captain and fought off the Japanese planes that attacked on December 7th, 1941. Because of segregation in the U.S. military, Miller was not allowed to serve as a sailor and had to settle for working in the mess hall. But that didn't stop him from stepping up and helping in the bloody chaos of that infamous day, tending to the wounded and shooting back at the attacking planes.

Doris Miller was by any definition a hero and deserves the honor of having a ship named after him.

Instead, the Navy might name the ship after that draft dodging Commander fucking Bone Spurs!

You know some Trump lackey in the Pentagon (Hegseth!) saw the name "Doris" and assumed this was some kind of Woke DEI transgender shit or something that needed to be stopped.  

So Many Holes In the Ground 

Trump is on track to spend $900 million on construction projects at the White House.

• the goddam ballroom nobody wanted or asked for
• a new helipad 
• new columns for the front of the White House 

Trump took time out of his "busy" schedule to give reporters a tour of all his wonderful construction.  He took time to brag about the grass which was put in by Scott's Miracle-Gro who donated to Trump's last campaign.  

Trump said he's a big expert on grass and that the grass is "happy".   

Well, as long as the U.S. governmen has money to burn, who gives a fuck, am I right?

Yeah, about that....

So Many Holes in the Budget 

The U.S Government has run up $40 trillion in debt.

Wally the WTF Frog has questions! 

• Hey, wasn't all those slashes and cuts made by Elon Musk and his DOGE goons supposed to fix that?
• Hey, wasn't all those tax breaks to billionaires supposed to fix that?
• Hey, wasn't kicking poor people off food stamps and Medicare supposed to fix that?  
• Hey, wasn't all that "revenue" that Trump's tariffs were collecting supposed to fix that?

And finally but really no one really cares about this one but still, let's ask anyway.

Where the Fuck Is Melania?

After showing up with Li'l Donnie at the World Cup Final, Melania Trump was invisible for a month.

She showed up last week at an event called "Fostering the Future",  some kind of project to provide help to foster kids to get on with life and go to college.  OK, that seems commendable and all but to my knowledge, not a cause that was associated with the alleged "First Lady".  

Seeing a bunch of "where the fuck is Melania" posts going up on the internet, it's like someone at the White House realized they needed to prop up Melania in front of a camera for something, anything, what about that foster kids things, hey why not?  

Maybe Melania's been busy with her follow up to her Melania movie?  Director Brett Ratner posted online,  “Here we go again. The saga continues …. can’t wait to share with everyone around the world the next two chapters of MELANIA, THE DOCU SERIES!”

Showing her doing what, exactly? 

Like Seinfeld, Melania's docu series will be a show about nothing. But just not as funny.

OK, it might be funnier than the Seinfeld series finale.    

What the fuck indeed, Wally! 

Whoa that was a LONG post!

And we didn't cover everything! 

• Tainted food! 
• Rising prices! 
• AI run amuck!
• Trump vs. MAGA!
• ICE vs. America!
• Trump vs. Canada!
• Trump vs. Iran!
• It's Joe Biden's fault! 
• Running out of missiles!
• Vaccines undermined!
• Patriots Games & the 250 Grand Prix!
• Election interference!
• Dictators are our friends! 
• Financial fraud!

Wally the WTF Frog is feeling a bit anxious.

Jesus Christ! Will this nightmare ever end?

StarTrekking: Star Trek: Strange New Worlds - Season 4 - “Level Five Transporter Accident"

When I first heard about a year ago that Star Trek: Strange New Worlds would have a puppet episode, I FELT some concern about that.

WARNING: This post will employ several labored puns involving the word "felt". Because puppets are, you know, made of... felt. Get it?  

While SNW is known for taking some big swings (crossover with Lower Decks, musical episode, low budget 1960's sci-fi, etc), it FELT like doing an episode with puppets might be going too far.

Well, with “Level Five Transporter Accident", the moment was here to finally deal with the puppets whether I FELT like it or not. So let's take a leap of faith and throw ourselves into this episode.

It's time for The Great Star Trek Puppet Caper! 

An experiment by Scotty and Spock to expand the range of the transporters FELT like a good idea at the time.  Using a childhood puppet called "Little Ricky", Scotty aims to test the transporter to beam the puppet over a distance of 30,000 kilometers.

Spock is off the Enterprise in a shuttle, monitoring a relay bouy used in the experiment.  Something goes awry and everyone on the Enterprise finds themselves being beamed away and returned as puppets.

Scotty explains: “Something about the puppet’s quantum particulates caused the energy in the transporter to expand outward across the ship.”

Ah, you just gotta love Star Trek technobabble.  

Spock is the only one still in humanoid form and has to do all the work of running the starship as puppets... can't.

Lacking skeletons and muscles, puppets can't handle even the most mundane tasks like pushing buttons without difficulty.

You may ask, "Hey, if they lack skeletons and muscles, how do they move about or sit upright?"  And I will reply "You ask too many questions!" 

OK, I suppose I could come up with a less snarky response if I FELT like it.  But I don't.  

Pike is able to get a communication to Admiral April who is trying to wrap his head around this situation.

APRIL:  "So you're a puppet?"

PIKE: "Yes!"

APRIL: "So who's controlling you?"

PIKE: "I'M CONTROLLING ME!"

I can understand why the Admiral FELT confused.

(No, I will not stop the "felt" puns!)  

April says a ship is on the way to help but it's a couple of days out from Enterprise.  

So if everyone can just keep their heads down and stay out of trouble until...

Oh SHIT! It's an Orion pirate ship!

SIDEBAR:  These Orions! I KNOW this guys! (Yes, I FELT like I recognized them somehow!)  It's driving me crazier than I already am! Who are these guys?!?!

The Orion captain is played by Rachael Harris! OMG, guys! It's Dr. Linda Martin from Lucifer. Man, I hadn't thought about Lucifer in ages and it was such an integral part of our TV viewing around here. I miss that show! 

The Orion captain's second in commond is portrayed by Joe Lo Truglio!  Yep, that's Det. Charles Boyle on Brooklyn Nine-Nine! Man, it's old school week here on the Tuesday TV Touchbase!

Let me say that even as a puppet, Commander Una Chin-Riley still has beautiful hair.  

Am I having lustful thoughts about a puppet? I'm not sure why I FELT I should share that information.

The Orion pirates board the ship to steal it since their sensors only register one single life form on the Enterprise, Spock.

So the puppets, in addition to lacking bones and muscles, also lack circulatory, respiratory and nerve systems that would be recognized by sensors as biological life forms.  But they are able to think, talk and move and... and... and...  HOW DO THEY DO THAT?!?!

So... many... questions.

The Orions capture Spock and take over the ship as the puppets are well...   you know... puppets. 

Just pick 'em up and toss 'em.

Capt. Pike has the epiphany that his crew is failing to stop the Orions because they are are trying to fight back like humans and the key to success is to embrace their puppetness.  

Long story made short: the puppets rescue Spock, defeat the Orions, take back the ship, Spock wakes up and....

And...

Spock. Wakes. Up? 

NO! Do not tell me! Do NOT tell that it was....

IT WAS ALL A DREAM?  REALLY?!?!?

Yes, Scotty's transporter experiment did get all bolloxed up but only Spock was caught up in it and has been in a coma and....

IT WAS ALL A DREAM?!?! Oh HELL NO! We can't be going there. 

I should've realized.  I FELT like the writers might go in that direction.  

I suppose the "it was all a dream" ending does effectively address all the questions about puppets being alive AND not alive at the same time.  

And essentially this is Spock's story as he evolves from the "human curious" Spock of SNW to the  "dedicated Vulcan" Spock of TOS.  His subconscious creating a scenario of puppets and what not serve as an effective metaphor for his changing yadda yadda yadda .... IT WAS ALL A DREAM?

At the end of “Level Five Transporter Accident", I wasn't sure how I FELT about that "it was all a dream" resolution. On one hand, it such an overused cliche. On the other hand, I can't deny it does tie a pretty effective bow on all the came before.

All in all, putting aside any qualms about the ending, I think The Great Star Trek Puppet Caper is a win. 

Next week, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds enters the 2nd half of it's 4th season. 

Until next time, live long and prosper.

...

...

...

Why are the puppets still here?   

...

...

...

I FELT like that was a pretty good blog post.  

Movie Time: How to Murder Your Wife

So here's an idea for a movie.

There's this guy who just loves his 1960's era swinging batchelor life, just flitting from woman to woman like a busy little bee. "The married life is not for me!" 

But then he winds up married to a woman and he just can't stand it! 

But efforts to get the marriage annulled or to get divorced don't work so he's left (HA! HA!) with no choice (HA! HA!) but to murder her! 

(HA! HA!) 

Why are not you laughing yet?

Should you be?

Let's find out together.

It's...MOVIE TIME!

There I am one day watching TCM and it's Jack Lemmon day.

Well, that's cool. I like Jack Lemmon whether it's in comedies like Some Like It Hot or dramatic roles like Days of Wine and Roses.  So I'm probably in for some quality entertainment whether it's Jack in a comedic or dramatic roles.

On the program of films for Jack Lemmon day included this title: How to Murder Your Wife from 1965.

Oh, so this must be Jack Lemmon in a dramatic role as a nefarious scoundrel with a despicable scheme to murder his wife.

No, it's a comedy.

OK, you got my attention. Let's see what the hell this is about!

Stanley Ford is a carefree bachelor who lives a life of fun and luxury in his Manhattan townhouse with his English valet, Charles.

A fancy butler and an upscale Manhattan address? How can Stanley afford such things?

He's a newspaper cartoonist. (So right off the bat, you know we're not going for realism here.)

Stanley is the creator of the nationally syndicated comic strip Bash Bannigan, Secret Agent.  

Stanley's big on authenticity so he draws from real life and will even re-enact Bash's exploits around the city with Charles taking photos for Stanley to use as reference.  

Stanley Ford loves his carefree single life and is absolutely positively against the institution of marriage.  

While he might be against marriage, he's still up for a good time at marriage's expense so he attends a friend's bachelor party where someone bursts out of a cake.  Like this! 

Except instead of Matt Smith, it's a beautiful young blonde Italian woman who comes out of the cake. Like this!

After a night of drunken debauchery, Stanley wakes up to find himself married to the beautiful young blonde Italian woman.

Well, Stanley immediately regrets this and goes to the office of Harold Lampson, his friend and attorney, bringing with him the beautiful young blonde Italian woman.

Now you might wonder why I keep referring to this person as "the beautiful young blonde Italian woman".  Even though it is factually true.  She is 

• beautiful 
• young 
• blonde
• Italian 
• and a woman.

And played by Virna Lisi, a beautiful young blonde Italian woman.

So that is true and all that but does this beautiful young blonde Italian woman not have a name? Let me check.

...

...

...

No, she does not.

OK, she has to have a name but the script does not give her one. 

Because she is married to Stanley Ford, we can call her a) Mrs. Ford (as she is identified in the closing credits) or 2) I keep pasting in "beautiful young blonde Italian woman" through the rest of the post.  

I will for the purpose of this post defer to the movie credits and address her as "Mrs. Ford". But man, that is some top level sexist shit there, even for the 1960's.  

Maybe I should even the playing field and refer to Stanley Ford as "Mr. Ford". If his wife can't have a first name, then neither can he. 

But all my notes refer to this selfish prick as "Stanley" and I'm not committed enough to this cause to re-write all of that.  

Where were we? Oh, yeah, meeting with the attorney.

Harold Lampson tells Stanley that annulment and divorce are not options for some vague reasons of the plot requires it.

I don't think Harold is a very good lawyer. And I think he's a bit resentful of his friend Stanley's swinging bachelor life, just flitting from woman to woman like a busy little bee. 

"The married life is not for me? Well, screw you, Stanley! You're caught now, motherfucker! Just like me!"

Harold is married to Edna, a manipulative, henpecking cliched wife person who happens to speak fluent Italian and is the only one who can communicate with Mrs. Ford. Edna's more than willing to help this young woman getting settled in with Stanley.

Something butler Charles cannot abide. Not willing to give up his quasi gay adjacent life style with his employer and share Stanley with a (gasp!) woman, Charles quits! 

Just who is this "Mrs. Ford" who represents such a loathsome burden to poor Stanley?  Besides being a beautiful young blonde Italian woman, she has a cheerful disposition, she's kind, she's affectionate (wink-wink, nudge-nudge, say no more, say no more) and a really good cook. 

Quite frankly, Mr. Ford is lucky to have this woman as "Mrs. Ford".

It is not all wonderful. Mrs. Ford has a little dog who is constantly yapping.  Which is really annoying for me watching the movie so yeah, I get how that might bother someone living with that.

And Mrs. Ford watches a LOT of TV ALL the time, ostensibly to help her learn to speak English. Her English gets better even if most of what she knows is repeating vapid lines from TV commercials. 

Also marriage to Mrs. Ford has affected Stanley's fantasy outlet, his comic strip Bash Bannigan, Secret Agent.  The strip has morphed into The Bannigans, a domestic comedy series which is more popular than before because women are reading it now and getting a kick out of the misadventures of the beautiful young blonde Italian woman and her hapless, idiotic husband.

Stanley Ford wants out! 

Since annulment and divorce aren't options, Stanley must turn to murder. 

To be clear, the murder Stanley is plotting is that of Mrs. Bannigan. 

But in his quest for authenticity in his comic strip, he has to plot it out against Mrs. Ford. Which includes spiking her drink at a party to render her unconscious. 

But the final stage, the actual killing of the spouse, will be carried out using a mannequin.

So the plot is exposed day by day as Bash carries out his plot in the nations' newspapers so he can become once more Bash Bannigan, Secret Agent!

When she sees Stanley is carrying out a plot to murder her fictional counterpart, Mrs. Ford takes her dog and vanishes. 

Since Mrs. Ford is nowhere to be found and Stanley just laid out a plot to kill her for all the nation to read, Stanley is arrested and tried for murdering his wife. 

Since there is no body and only circumstantial evidence, it seems that Stanley's attorney friend Harold Lampson should be able to keep him out of the electric chair.  

But that does seem to be where Stanley is heading because as I said before, I don't think Harold is a very good lawyer.

OK, we're about to head into some messed up misogynistic shit!

So Stanley takes over his own defense, appealing to the ALL MALE jury and their frustrations regarding their own wives and marriages. 

Stanley declares he killed her and what man on that jury wouldn't do the same if they had the chance? 

The ALL MALE jury can't acquit him fast enough as  the men in the courtroom applaud wildly and carry Stanley out on their shoulders.

Seriously, this is a thing that happens in this movie.

A joyful Charles is willing to return as Stanley's valet on the belief Stanley really killed his wife.  He's very disappointed to find out Stanley didn't actually murder anyone other than a mannequin.   

What if Mrs. Ford returns? Charles gleefully advises Stanley he can kill her for real since a jury just acquitted him of murdering her and he can't be charged with the same crime twice. 

A despondent Stanley is hoping she will return.  And when he goes back home, he is pleased to find a certain beautiful young blonde Italian woman naked under the covers in his bedroom.

Hello, Mrs. Ford! 

OK, I need a moment.

_______________________________

The "It's That Person Who Was In That Thing" Department 

Claire Trevor repeatedly steals the movie as Edna Lampson, the wife of Stanley's attorney.  Claire starred with John Wayne in Stagecoach,  

The Claire Trevor School of the Arts at the University of California - Irvine was named in her honor.

Terry-Thomas who played Stanley's put upon butler was a unbiquitous presence in 1960's cinema with his ever so proper English accent and a very noticeable gap between his two front teeth.   

Terry-Thomas specialized in characters that were  pretentious, elitist, seedy, sometimes lecherous cads which pretty much describes Charley in How To Murder Your Wife.  Terry-Thomas said this film was his favorite one which doesn't speak well to his good taste. (Yeah, I've got something to say about this movie in a minute.)  

Terry-Thomas also starred in It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

Jack Albertson who played Dr. Bentley was perhaps best known as Grandpa Joe in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

Here's an obsure one: Max Showalter who played Tobey Rawlins was the hotel desk clerk in Move Over, Darling which I  posted about in a Move Time post in August of last year.

I don't know who Khigh Dhiegh is but here's his role as it appears in the credits: "the bald actor playing a thug". 

Hey, I do know who he is: he played the recurring villain Wo Fat on Hawaii Five-O from 1968 to 1980.  

____________________________________

FUN FACT:  The Bash Bannigan comic strips that appear in the movie were created by professional comic strip creator person Mel Keefer.  

Mel created comic strips based on the TV series Dragnet.

And western actor/singer Gene Autry.

The Bash Bannigan strips have been incorrectly attributed to Alex Toth. Toth did draw one teaser strip that was drawn in Keefer's style to promote the movie but all the other strips were done by Mel Keefer himself.   

ANOTHER FACT THAT IS NOT FUN BUT HERE IT IS: There is a character named Bash Bannigan in the TV series Reprisal which ran for one season on Hulu in 2019.  

______________________________

Okay, back to the movie. 

When I watch a movie, I try to imagine the perspective of the time it was made, if not to justify then to at least mitigate any inadvertant racism or sexism or some other 3rd thing that might be problematic for today's audience.

Hey, it was 1965! It was a different time, right?  

How to Murder Your Wife does not stand up to the kind of leveraged scrutiny.  

Change it to 1935 even and there's some stuff that just ain't good.

Make it a silent film from 1925 and really?

Jack Lemmon does what he can with some great physical comedy and facial expressions to wring laughs from this mess but he's fighting an uphill battle for an irredeemable character. Stanley's change of heart after the murder trial is out of left field due to the mandate that we need a happy ending, dammit! 

The murder trial? Maybe I'm missing some kind of satirical commentary on the victimization of women. But all I'm seeing is a celebration of the victimization of women.  If there is a deeper context there, that's on me for missing it. 

A moment for Mrs. Ford. I can't blame the 1960's for not giving her a first name. In 1988,  Mississippi Burning had a prominent female character known only as Mrs. Pell, no first name.  

And Mrs. Ford is a vibrant character brought wonderfully to life by Virna Lisi whose performance is filled with joy and passion. 

Why she comes back to Stanley, I have no idea. This beautiful young blonde Italian woman deserves better than Stanley Ford.

And she deserves a name! 

Your Friday Video Link: Feeling Groovy

Hello young folk!

What you're shakin'?

I gotta try that scene you're makin'!

This is Dave-El and I am here to show you that I am down with the young people.

I get where you're comin' from, dudes and dudettes!

Your Friday Video Link#1 is... whatever this is.

FUN FACT: Did you know Liberace was gay?

My mom did not know that. 

A lot of mothers and grandmothers were oblivious to this fact.

A lot of them entertained the notion of their daughters marrying a good honest red blooded American man like LIberace. 

Up next for Your Friday Video Link#2,it's... this thing.

FUN FACT:  "The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins", released in 1967, appeared on Leonard Nimoy's SECOND album. Yep, Mr. Nimoy put out more than one album.

The same guy who (checks notes) "sung" that song about The Hobbit recorded FIVE albums. 

• Leonard Nimoy Presents Mr. Spock's Music from Outer Space (1967)
• Two Sides of Leonard Nimoy (1968)
• The Way I Feel (1968)
• The Touch of Leonard Nimoy (1969)
• The New World of Leonard Nimoy (1970)

I'm kind of curious about that 4th one. What does it mean to experience "the touch of Leonard Nimoy"? 

Your mind to my mind.

Your thoughts to my thoughts.

Anybody else feeling... tingly? 

OK, this is getting kinda weird, guys!  

Your Friday Video Link#3 is.... some other 3rd thing.  

FUN FACT:  In addition to Petula Clark's 1966 hit "Sign Of the Times", Harry Styles, Prince, The Belle Stars, Slade, Bryan Ferrry and Queensrÿche have all released different songs with that title.  

ANOTHER FUN FACT: Petula Clark, born November 1932, is as of today still alive and still active at 94 years old.   

I hope you've enjoyed today's post. 

I think we've had a laugh or two, experienced a little joy in our hearts and maybe even learned a little something today.

The 1960's were fucking weird, man! 

Dave-El's Spinner Rack: Alfred Is Still Dead (Batman and Justice League)

 Welcome to another edition of the Spinner Rack where I post about new comics I most recently purchased.

OK, not so recently as these were from about 3 weeks ago.

First up is Batman#11 by Matt Fraction and Jorge Jimenez.

The Minotaur has brought increased wealth to the crime bosses of Gotham City. But at a brutal price that those criminal kingpins are no longer willing to pay.

The Penguin is particularly chafing under the Minotaur's ruthless and unrelenting grasp on power.  

Meanwhile Batman has his hands full with his ongoing war with Vandal Savage, the mysterious crime network ran by the Minotaur and and an attack by The Ōjō, the fatal female sword wielding assassin who can turn herself into ravens. 

(She was the one who led the attack on Bruce Wayne and Annika Zeller in their date/not a date in Batman#5.)

Poor Bruce Wayne has a lot on his plate and really could use the help of a Pennyworth right now.

Too bad Alfred is dead.

But the last page of Batman#11 offers an alternative.

Enter Verity Pennyworth, here to maintain the family legacy of service to the Wayne family.

Batman#12 will I presume offer more insight into this person but caution, I haven't read this issue yet.

But this brings me to an topic I want to address.

Alfred Pennyworth is still dead.

Alfred was murdered by Bane back in 2019 in a storyline written by Tom King.  Since then, King was followed by Joshua Williamson who was followed by Chip Zdarsky and now Matt Fraction.

And so far, none of these writers have delivered the "mind blowing, unexpected plot twist of the resurrection of Alfred Pennyworth". 

These being comic books, 7 years is a long time for a character to stay dead.  

"Seven years dead? This is coming out of your pay, mister," says a petulant Bruce Wayne.  

A  cover painting by Alex Ross
 of Alfred mourning the death of Bruce Wayne
who did not stay dead.

This is NOT the first time Alfred has been dead.

When Julius Schwartz took over as editor of the Batman titles in 1964, one of his first directives was to remove Alfred the butler who died saving the lives of Batman and Robin.

But then the Batman TV show went into production with Alfed the butler as a principal character so Julie Schwartz had to bring 'im back. 

Over several issues of Batman and Detective Comics, Batman and Robin were bedevilled by a super villian called the Outsider, a villain of remarkable psionic powers and an intimate knowledge of Batman and Robin's secrets. 

In a mind blowing, unexpected plot twist, the Outsider's true identity was revealed to be... (gasp!) Alfred! 

That relevation happens in "Inside Story of the Outsider!"  in Detective Comics #356 in 1966.  So Alfred was dead for 2 years.

His current death has lasted for 7 years.

And with the introduction of a NEW Pennyworth, how much longer can that lazy layabout Alfred continue to just hang out in his grave like he ain't got nothing to do?

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Just a quick note about Justice League Unlimited#20-#21.  I'm still enjoying Mark Waid's exploration of a near limitless playing field of super heroes and villains in a connected universe.

The knock down drag out fight with the Braniac Queen is an epic display of power that it resolved by a clever ruse from Ryan Choi's The Atom and the Red Tornado. 

The Amnesty plan is showing some strain where Lex Luthor refuses to act like a super villain on a short lease parole and insists on taking initiatives like he's Batman's goddam equal. 

It is kind of frustrating that Mark spends a lot of time plugging holes from previous events (Absolute Power and DC K.O.) and setting the table for the next big event.  

OK, that is that for my newest comics.

Next week, it's the Comic Book Retro 50! What comic books did a young Dave-El buy 50 years ago in August 1976? 

Two weeks after that, a look at a facsimile reprint of Batman#156 and the classic "Robin Dies At Dawn".