Oh, Joe! February 15, 2008
Posted by merujo in Hollywood, actors, commerce, crime, death, general weirdness, obituary, snack attack.1 comment so far
Actor David Groh, who played Joe Gerard on the “Mary Tyler Moore Show” spin-off “Rhoda” has died after battling kidney cancer. He was 68. For my friends who are not yet growing long of tooth as I am, “Rhoda” was a really popular show back in the day. I remember watching the episode where Rhoda and Joe got married – it got amazing ratings. Shockingly, for American audiences of the 70s, the characters eventually divorced. That was an era of all sorts of firsts on TV. Hell, now I can’t think of a single show that doesn’t have divorce in it somewhere. A whole lot has changed in 30 years. A whole heck of a lot.
After the TV divorce of Rhoda and Joe happened, Groh was divorced from the show. The guy had talent, and he became one of those actors who pops up everywhere on TV. One of his performances I remember well was as a foul, vile abusive doctor in an early episode of “Law & Order.” (Back in the dark ages, when there was only ONE “Law & Order”…) That particular episode featured one of their first “ripped from the headlines” plots, inspired by the horrible real-life case of the vicious murder of six-year-old Lisa Steinberg by her pseudo-guardian, attorney Joel Steinberg, while Joel’s massively abused partner, Hedda Nussbaum was too messed up to do anything about it. I’ll never forget the police photos of Hedda Nussbaum’s permanently altered face after one episode of battery by crazy Joel. Terrifying images for a kid to see.
Well, at least for a kid in the 1980s, that is.
I imagine most American kids are immune to images like that now. Exposed to so much pixelated death and mayhem, a real-life pounding doesn’t mean squat to many of them, I fear. They’d shrug it off. And that saddens me.
Another thing that saddens me? That a talented character actor’s last role, while he was battling the cancer that killed him, it would appear, would be in one of the most grotesque TV commercials I’ve ever seen.
You see, Groh was the old dude in the creepy Skittles commercial, hooked up to a milking machine. Yep, Groh was the man flashing the man-boobies, giving up milk, apparently tainted by him eating Sour Skittles. (Are you shuddering yet?)
If you haven’t tasted this particularly freakish rainbow, here it is:
Yeesh.
And, again… yeesh.
I hope that ad paid really, really well.
And I hope Heaven isn’t full of Sour Skittles.
Note to the people at my old Job X January 31, 2008
Posted by merujo in The Axe Incident, bullshit, crime, nepotism, ridiculous ideas, sexism, work.add a comment
I know this will be hard for some of you to believe, but amazingly I wasn’t responsible for this.
Of course, I imagine someone over at Job X still might figure out a way to connect me to it, despite me not being an unhinged, axe-wielding young black guy in Minnesota. (Just like I wasn’t an unhinged, axe-wielding young white guy in England back in 2005…)
A couple of people over there come to my blog every day, for what it’s worth. I have their IP address labeled on StatCounter, so it pops up in big bold letters each time a Job X’er drops by. (Actually, I don’t even really have to label it — it shows up with the federal agency ID and the specific bureau ID, too – it’s pretty easy to figure it out.) Every day, every day. That’s your tax dollars at work, my fellow Americans! One of them, though, never just comes to the blog directly – it’s always through a Yahoo search. After almost three years, you’d think they’d be able to just type in the URL. But that’s just me.
So, since you’re still reading, why not leave a comment? I’m curious why you’re interested in reading what I’m writing.
You guys sure as hell had no interest in me during eight horrific months of financially devastating unemployment after I was removed from the office we shared. For no good, decent, sane reason.
Man up.
Leave a comment.
After all, you are reading this on time paid by my tax dollars. The least you can do is acknowledge that.
Oh, and another thing… September 12, 2007
Posted by merujo in DC, crime, drugs.4 comments
…a good reason to not stay at work late: I was accosted by a drug dealer at the corner of 16th and M tonight.
“Whatchew need, baby? Whatchew need? I got it all, I got it all, I got it all, see?” He touted his junk while I waited for the light to change. His sales pitch never stopped. “Whatchew need, huh? C’mon, baby, seriously, I got it all!” He took his hand from his pocket and uncurled his fingers to show me a variety of stuff. Looked like a grubby mobile pharmacy.
Either that, or the contents of Lindsay Lohan’s purse.
I just kept walking to my car, but, damn, he was aggressive. Three blocks from the White House, folks. Just three blocks.
Is it any wonder Paris Hilton is a dumbass? May 4, 2007
Posted by merujo in crime, self-entitlement, stupidity.3 comments
So, Paris has been sentenced to 45 days in jail. About friggin’ time. While 45 days is really a slap on the wrist for a weasel driving on a suspended license after an “alcohol-related reckless driving” situation, I’m sure it will be hellish for (hasn’t everyone spent a night in the) Paris Hilton. She might find her time in jail quite… interesting considering her penchant for flashing her bare crotch in a number of tabloid photos. Perhaps she will be inspired to slap on a thong after a few nights shared with some lonely fellow convicts. Hell, by the time she’s out, maybe she’ll be wearing granny panties and sweats.
(Yeah, I know. I suck at cut and paste. I don’t have the mad dee-sign skillz…)What got me about today isn’t Paris’ behavior in court, which from all accounts, was somber, sober and appropriate, shockingly. No, it’s mama Kathy Hilton’s response to her daughter’s jail sentence. From CNN.com:
“As a city prosecutor said during closing arguments that Hilton deserved jail time, Hilton’s mother, Kathy, laughed. When the judge ruled, Kathy Hilton then blurted out: ‘May I have your autograph?’”
Nice, Kathy. Real nice. If this is how you react to your kid being sentenced for having broken the law and having put other lives at risk by driving under the influence, it’s no surprise your daughter has turned out the way she has. Just think of how many minds you could have changed, Mrs. Hilton, had you been as respectful as your daughter finally was today. Think of how great it would have been had you, after the sentencing, told the press, “My daughter is paying a modest price for endangering others and breaking the law. No one should be above the law. I hope she learns a valuable lesson.”
No, instead, you were a jerk. And the panty-free apple didn’t fall far from the tree, did it?
Yuck.
Just thinking about Paris Hilton makes me want to bathe in Purell.
