A Major Oil Company Rep Says, "Get Ready For $4-$5 A Gallon Gas! Too Many People Are Too Fat Or Too Dumb To Get Into The Military! HAPPY 2011!!!

Hi everybody and here's hoping 2011 is better for all of us than 2010 has been.

Before I go any further, here's a heads-up for you regular and once in a while readers of this labor of love of mine.

Because of an unavoidable time consuming obligation that might last as long as a month, this figures to be my last blog until January 26th or February 2nd. If I get lucky, it will be sooner than that. And yes, this obligation is a "good thing". Meanwhile, please check in Thursday or later each of the next few weeks and when you see a new headline, you'll know I have returned to my computer.

Because we're all still remembering the good things about Christmas and getting ready for all that is associated with the beginning of a new year, this blog figures to be relatively short, but because I can never be sure about anything until I stop typing, let's see what happens.

CHRISTMAS:

I hope it was your best ever and I hope you don't have to do too much dieting because of all that good and fattening food you ate. And for those of you where all those snow storms have been, I hope you were able to get to where you wanted to go for Christmas. Here in the Los Angeles area, we had to deal with a lot of rain that was a nuisance as far as driving and (in my case) daily long walks go, but it was also good for our water supply.

NEW YEAR'S EVE:

While a lot of you will be getting dressed up for a nice evening and when midnight comes, having the excuse to kiss everyone in sight, I hope you get a chance to check out the radio show I'll be involved with on CRN that afternoon at 4, Pacific Time. I'll be on the air with CRN owner Mike Horn and his cast of characters on what is the fastest hour on radio. To hear us, click onto http://www.crntalk.com/ and I guarantee you a few laughs and some things you didn't expect to hear. And when that happens, please know that we didn't expect us to hear it either.

NEW YEAR'S DAY! AND BEYOND:

When you wake up New Year's Day, some of you will have the mother of all headaches. Been there, done that, haven't had a drink for 20+ years. But I can damn sure relate.

While doing whatever it takes to remove the head pain, a lot of you will be watching college football Bowl games. The next day, which is a Sunday, some big NFL games will be played, so that might give some of you an excuse to have or to attend another party.

And then Monday, January 3rd, we go back to work and hope that 2011 will be better than 2010 was, because after all, it certainly couldn't be any worse.

Or could it?

2011:

I've been telling you that after the first of the year, we can expect higher gas prices. Probably a lot higher. It appears that the raising of those prices (again) got underway a couple of days ago. And yesterday, we heard from a Shell Oil executive that we need to get ready for gas prices that may go where they've never gone before. $4 a gallon. Followed by $5 a gallon. Followed by....???

And this will happen WHEN?!? I don't think anyone knows. Just drive by your favorite gas station each day and while holding your breath, look to see what the prices are.

How did this happen and or why is it happening? Combination of things. The devaluation of the dollar, deregulation, I could go on and on, but basically it's all part of reckless and in some cases possible illegal moves made by financial folks who have been allowed to do pretty much whatever they felt like doing.

You know those nice banks and financial instutions that were "bailed out" by us, the taxpayers? When they got their "bailout" money, they immediately went back to "business as usual" by handing out exorbitant bonuses to bank and financial institution executives while us taxpayers scratch our heads and say, "If you're going to treat me THIS way, couldn't you at least have taken me to dinner and a show before you bleeped me?"

QUESTION:

Why in the hell has no banker or Wall Street person been forced to walk the plank. And if you don't know what I mean by that, I'll say it another way; Why haven't handcuffs been placed on some of these out of control financial bastards?

MEANWHILE:

Home prices are falling again. Food prices continue to rise at a rapid rate. Senior citizen retirees haven't received Social Security cost of living increases in (I think 2-years, maybe more) and a large number of these same retirees are getting whacked with Medicare monthly increases of $100 and higher.

CAN'T THE MEDIA SOUND THE ALARM?

We know what Sarah Palin likes to say, right? The "lame-stream media"? Sarah Palin, who quit her job as Governor of Alaska, but who has people believing she would be a terrific chief executive. As in President of the United States. Right now, she's a major paid contributor at Fox News. In her mind, every news organization except Fox News is part of the "lame-stream media".

FACT:

Fox News has more viewers than all the other talk show networks combined. In reality, that makes Fox News the REAL "Main-stream media"! And what is Fox News focused on today? A debate hosted by Tucker Carlson about President Obama saying he's glad Michael Vick was given a second chance and Carlson stating he thinks Vick should have been executed because of the dogs who got killed in those illegal dog fights Vick was backing.

Yeah. And looking at the real problems we're facing, someone want to tell me how "main" or "lame" the Vick subject is?

CONTINUING OUR LOOK TOWARDS 2011, WE BRING UP THE SUBJECT OF "EDUCATION" AND THE MILITARY:

I could use fancy words here, but I'm gonna make this real simple. Like the good folks at Fox like to do.

The military is having a problem that is a big concern to them because we no longer have the draft and we have to rely on new recruits who voluntarily join the military. The ages 17-24 were isolated in a recent survey and what that poll tells us is that 75% of the people who were volunteering got rejected by the military because of (at least) one of three things; They had a criminal record, they didn't graduate from high school and or they were way overweight. The other 25%? 23% were unable to pass basic math or were unable to READ the military tests.

ALARM BELLS, ALARM BELLS, ALARM BELLS!!!

What do we really learn from a poll like this? We are allowing our children to get fat which can give them a boatload of medical problems in the future. We are sending our kids to school where teachers are allowing them to graduate even if they can't read or solve elementary math problems. And that causes what? A next to zero opportunity for that child to succeed in the workplace.

TWO SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS:

Kick some serious ass by firing a lot of teachers and as long we insist on being the world's policemen, let's bring back the draft. The physical and mental damage that has been done and will continue to be done to our troops because of too many deployments is going to cost us TRILLION dollar(s) money. And where do we plan to get that money? I know. We won't have that discussion.

ENTERTAINMENT STUFF:

I have four films I'm going to tell you about, but before that, here's something else that to me, would be off the charts entertaining.

Close your eyes and imagine a televised debate between the two presidential nominees for the 2012 election or the 2016 election. And those two nominees ARE....

SARAH PALIN AND HILLARY CLINTON!!!

Can you imagine what the ratings for THAT debate would be?

Okay...Three films that are currently on the cable circuit and one new film.

2004 film that's currently on the HBO channels: "The Door in the Floor". It stars Jeff Bridges, Kim Basinger, and in an absolutely adorable performance, Elle Fanning. This is an adult film about a marriage that's in trouble because of complicated reasons. And one of the main characters makes things even more complicated. This film did quite well at the box office and if you are an HBO subscriber, I recommend this film.

2009 film that's currently on the Encore channels: "Beyond A Reasonable Doubt". It stars the very cute Amber Tamblyn, Jesse Metcalfe, Orlando Jones, Joel Moore and Michael Douglas. For those of you who watch cable, you know that when the title, etc. flashes on the screen, you also see the names of two of the main actors and you see one, two, three or four stars, with four being "best". This film is given no stars by Encore, and I couldn't disagree with them more. This is a film about someone who deliberately gets himself arrested so that he can end up proving that the District Attorney and favorite to be Louisiana's new Governor (played by Michael Douglas) is in fact a district attorney who has evidence "planted" to increase his conviction rate.

"Beyond A Reasonable Doubt" is a bona fide nail biter that has an "end twist" on top of an "end twist" and if you are an Encore subscriber, I highly recommend this film.

An early 2010 film that's currently on the STARZ channels: "Dear John". It stars Channing Tatum, Amanda Seyfried, Richard Jenkins and some very good supporting players. This is about two young people who fall in love (Tatum and Seyfried), but things get complicated when he joins the military and then re-enlists. For those of us who've been in the military, we are all familiar with what a "Dear John" letter is (not good news) and now you know what the title of this film is referring to. This is another film that did well at the box office and now that I've seen it, I know why. You can't help but root for these two people and it ends with.... Hey, if you're a STARZ subscriber, I strongly recommend you finding out for yourself.

Here's the new film: "True Grit". As you probably know, "True Grit" stars Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon and Josh Brolin. Two of them are Oscar winners and the third one, Brolin, has an Oscar nomination. But this film is stolen by a young actress named, Hailee Steinfeld.

And it's a good thing she does steal it because she's pretty much the only thing that's exceptional in this film until Josh Brolin shows up which isn't until the last ten or fifteen minutes of this film.

I was very disappointed in "True Grit". Bridges is okay, Damon is okay, Brolin, when he shows up, is "electric" and Hailee Steinfeld consistently does her thing. Which is talk a lot. And that's good. To a point. Jeff Bridges talks a lot. Too much. Matt Damon probably doesn't talk enough. But hey, these fine actors are working with what they were given and I walked out of the theatre thinking that "True Grit" needed some rewrites.

THOUGHTS AND OR COMMENTS? Please write to me at scottstjames@sbcglobal.net and I will respond to you ASAP. Don't write to the blog because there's no way for me to know your email address which means I won't be able to respond to you. I respond to all emails sent to scottstjames@sbcglobal.net unless they are "Anonymous" emails. Those emails are ignored.

THE NEXT BLOG? As I stated at the beginning of this blog, due to an obligation that might tie me up for a month or so, I don't plan to write a new blog until Wednesday, January 26 or Wednesday, February 2. For a progress report, please check in to the blog every Thursday and when you see a new headline, you'll know I'm back at my computer.

IN CLOSING:

Thank you very much for your thoughts and comments this past year and if you go back with me further than that, I thank you again. Meanwhile, we need things to get better for all of us. 2010 was not a good year for anyone except the ultra-privileged. My sincerest hope is that 2011 will turn out to be the year we were waiting for and with that in mind, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

'Tis The Season To Be Jolly AND To Be Charitable!!!

Here in Los Angeles, we're hoping that Santa's reindeer don't drown on Christmas Eve. I walk 3-5 miles every morning, rain or shine. A discipline that has been greatly challenged over the last few days. There are a lot of areas where water is collected when it rains a lot and that results in two things happening for people like me who are out there walking. (1) Walking detours because of flooded areas and detours that are lengthier than usual when it comes to trying to cross a street without having to walk through ankle deep water. (2) Cars that just can't resist an opportunity to drive quickly through a flooded area so they can "wipe out" that idiot walker like me.

Okay, enough bitching by me.

It's the HOLIDAY season, right? And I want to officially begin this week's blog about some nice people who will be doing some charitable things on Christmas Day.

First of all, my thanks to Entertainment Tonight's long time Producer-Director and long time friend of mine, Kevin Gershan for making sure I got this information.

Jamie Masada is the owner of The Laugh Factory in Hollywood. He knows how tough it is to "make it" in Hollywood. This town is full of talented people who have come here from all over the country. Just because you're talented doesn't mean you'll get that "break" that you need. And while you're struggling just to stay alive and in many cases not having any kind of support group like friends, etc., The Laugh Factory will be doing something on Christmas Day for the 31st year in a row. The underprivileged, the homeless and anyone alone for the holiday can show up and get a free meal during four Christmas dinners annnd...you'll also watch a free comedy show following each of the four meals served. And by the way, generous portions of food will be served. Laugh Factory owner Jamie Masada will welcome each visitor at the door and when you've finished your meal, you will be entertained by comedians like (and in no particular order) Arsenio Hall, Richard Lewis, Paul Rodriguez, Tom Arnold, Kevin Nealon, Jamie Kennedy, Paul Mooney, Larry Miller and many more who in addition to performing for you, will also greet and help serve the food to the guests.

Pretty sweet, huh?

The Laugh Factory is located at 8001 Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood and that's between Laurel Canyon Boulevard and Fairfax.

The free meals will be served on Christmas Day at 1pm, 3pm, 5pm and 7pm.

Way to go, Jamie Masada! And how about all those professional and big name comedians who normally are paid big bucks to perform, but in this case will entertain you for free annnd serve you the food for free! Boy, talk about the Christmas spirit! I don't know about you, but their charitable gesture has me making plans to go there on a different night and pay the admission fee.


This is being written on Wednesday night, December 22. Less than 3 days from now it'll be Christmas and less than 10 days from now it'll be New Year's Day. Most folks figure to not be interested in reading commentaries about "serious newsy" kinds of stuff unless the mentions are whacha call, "short". With that in mind, that's what you're about to get along with a few fun items sent to me by a long time friend of mine and some regular entertainment news stuff.

Brief Serious Newsy Stuff:

We are being told to get ready for what will probably be new and painful hikes in gas prices after the first of the year.

Am I the only one who has noticed the overall hike in food prices at our favorite supermarkets? I don't care what the food is! The price has gone up and is continuing to go up! Meanwhile, most folks are having to take pay cuts and that's if they HAVE a JOB!!!

"Don't Ask, Don't Tell" will soon be officially repealed. And it's about time. I served in the military and I think this is the right thing to do. Gay people aren't stupid. We have an all volunteer military now. No way will they deliberately be doing anything to call attention to themselves. All any soldier of any kind really wants to know is if he or she can rely on the person next to him or her to "cover their back".

Speaking of the military...I can't help but wonder if that Army doctor who disobeyed orders to deploy to Afghanistan because he questioned President Obama's eligibility to be commander in chief, was used by some people because of an agenda they have. I remember when I was a young soldier, some civilian tried that with me and I told him to "take a hike". This Army doctor spent 18 years in the Army, was a Lt. Colonel and now he's in jail and won't get a pension from the Army.

"The Dream Act". It didn't get passed and I'm glad it didn't get passed. Too many things in that bill that would figure to lead to more problems regarding the expenses and more illegal immigrants getting amnesty because of this misguided bill.

Here's one thing regarding illegal immigrants I would support. If an illegal immigrant can speak English and is willing to join one of our military branches for at least three years, when those three years have ended, I want to shake that person's hand and say to him or her, "Welcome aboard, American citizen!"

We've all heard about this "Obamacare" business, right? The part that seems to bother most of the folks who are doing the yelling about it has to do with (in essence) all adults having to buy health insurance. The reason for that is because by having everyone enrolled, that will keep costs lower for everyone because everyone will be insured. Which is definitely not the case now. Virginia's attorney general, with the help of talk show host Mark Levin has/have come up with a ruling stating that mandatory health insurance is unconstitutional.

Well, if that's true, let's all stop paying automobile insurance, too. You do that here in California, you will be in whacha call, "deep doo-doo". And maybe in your state, too.

And would it be a newsflash for Virginia's attorney general (and for that matter, Mark Levin) to learn that owners of motor vehicles are required to buy auto insurance in Virginia? And if Virginia vehicle owners don't buy insurance they are required to pay a yearly motor-vehicle fee of $500. I think that's less than the fee people would have to pay if they chose to not sign up for what is known as Obamacare.

I know. The devil's in the details and I'm sorry (not really) that I'm being a spoilsport.

Time Now For Those "Fun Items" I Mentioned Earlier:

Marilyn Hanish, a.k.a. Marilyn Stafford is a long time friend of mine. She lives in St. Louis with her husband and kids, but when I first knew her, she was a student at the University of Missouri. And the first time I met her was when she showed up in response to a solicitation for attractive women to participate in a radio promotion at a station in St. Louis where I was the morning show host and in charge of this promotion. When she showed up, I did the best acting job I've ever done when I didn't acknowledge how beautiful and sexy she was. Bashful, she ain't and she was whacha call struttin' on that day!

I saw her a few times after that when (among other things) she was a ballgirl for the St. Louis Cardinals, I think she was the runner-up in a Miss Missouri pageant and she was also an actress. An actress who became a fine actress when she moved out here about two or three years after I had moved here.

She's ambitious, she's beautiful, she left the acting arena here when she fell in love and we've continued to stay in touch.

Oh, I could tell you more about her, but I'll stop it with the story telling by simply saying that Marilyn Hanish/Stafford is my kind of lady. A whole lot of brass mixed in with a whole lot of fun and taking shit from no one.

From time to time, Marilyn sends me stuff. Most recently, she sent me some quotes from a book called, "Disorder in the American Courts". This is a book that features things that were actually said in court and were written, word for word, by court reporters. Needless to say, I can't print everything she sent me, but when you read the few examples I'm about to write, imagine your reaction if YOU had heard these things in a courthouse.

Here goes:

Attorney: What was the first thing your husband said to you this morning?
Witness: He said, 'Where am I, Cathy?'
Attorney: And why did that upset you?
Witness: My name is Susan!

Attorney: Are you sexually active?
Witness: No, I just lie there.

Attorney: Were you present when your picture was taken?
Witness: Are you shitting me?

Attorney: Is your appearance here this morning pursuant to a deposition notice which I sent to your attorney?
Witness: No, this is how I dress when I go to work.

Attorney: What gear were you in at the moment of the impact?
Witness: Gucci sweats and Reeboks.

Attorney: So the date of conception (of the baby) was August 8th?
Witness: Yes.
Attorney: And what were doing at that time?
Witness: Getting laid.

Bah-Dah-Bing and thank you very much, Marilyn Hanish/Stafford. Merry Christmas and please give my best to everyone in my adopted home town.

ENTERTAINMENT STUFF:

Did you see Larry King's final show on CNN last week? I did. A couple of awkward moments, but overall, I thought it was a very entertaining exit show. Many years ago, Larry King had a national radio show and shortly after I arrived here to go to work at Gene Autry's KMPC, Larry's show was picked up by KMPC and was heard late at night. One day, King decided he wanted to have the great football coach George Allen come on his show. When I arrived at the station late that afternoon, I heard about the trouble that Larry and his producers were having in reaching George Allen. Coach Allen was a good friend of mine who would end up being my Super Bowl expert every year when I was a television sports anchor every night. Anyway, I volunteered to help Larry make contact with George. Larry King told me that if I got George Allen to come on his show that Larry would have me on his show as a guest when he was finished with Coach Allen. I contacted George, he drove to the station that night and when the interview with Coach Allen had ended, Larry King had me on as a guest for almost an hour.

Katie Couric was on Larry King's final show last week. And a couple of days after that, we read some news about Katie Couric. Her contract with CBS will be up in May and it is expected that she will be asked to take a close to 50% pay cut if she wants to continue her news gig on CBS. This is not unusual, folks. Stuff like this has been happening to radio and television performers for the last more than ten years, but until recently, people never heard about it.

One New Film and Two not so New:

A few nights ago, I saw a film I hadn't seen since it had been released as a new film. 1974's "The Parallax View". It was directed by Alan J. Pakula and it starred Warren Beatty, Hume Cronin, William Daniels, Paula Prentiss and in a terrific role that required very little dialogue, Bill McKinney. Many years later when I decided to try acting, I had the pleasure of working in a film with Bill McKinney, but I had forgotten I had seen his work in "The Parallax View". In that film, he played the role of a silent assassin and he played it superbly.

The other "not so new" film was a 2009 film called, "Mercy". This is a film that was written and produced by Scott Caan, son of James Caan. I'm told that this film was made for about $200,000 and maybe even less than that. Scott got his dad to play in this film as well as other fine actors like Dylan McDermott and the beautful Erika Christensen. I thought this was a pretty good film and you're encouraged to check it out the next time you see that it will be shown on TMC which is where I saw it.

The new film I saw was, "The Fighter". This is a film that Mark Wahlberg worked on for quite a few years before he finally got it made. Wahlberg is a producer and lead actor in this film. A film that also stars Christian Bale, Amy Adams and Melissa Leo. Folks, "The Fighter" is a very, very good film. All four of those people I mentioned are deserving of Oscar nominations. Melissa Leo has an Oscar nomination on her resume and she has publicly questioned the tactics of David O. Russell, who was the director of "The Fighter". Russell is apparently whacha call "a piece of work" when he's directing because he once got into a fist fight with George Clooney on the set of (I think) "Three Kings". Or something like that. Anyway, Melissa Leo tells us that Russell had a habit of yelling at actors in the middle of a scene and that she was one of those actors.

Sometime in the next few days I hope to see "True Grit" and "Country Strong".

THOUGHTS AND OR COMMENTS? Please write to me at scottstjames@sbcglobal.net and I will respond to you as soon as possible. Don't write to the blog because there's no way for me to know your email address so I won't be able to respond. All "Anonymous" emails are ignored.

THE NEXT BLOG? Barring unforeseen circumstances, late Wednesday night, December 29 or early Thursday morning, December 30.

P.S.

If you're near your computer on Friday, I will again be on CRN with CRN owner, Mike Horn from 4-5pm, Pacific Time. As usual, this show will be repeated throughout the weekend. If you'd like to check us out, all you have to do is click on www.CRNTalk.com

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!!!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!!!

Here in the Los Angeles area, no sign of snow, but it has been raining. For many of you readers, snow is on the ground and with that snow comes annoyances having to do with scraping it off your car, shoveling it from your driveway, etc., etc. My adopted home is St. Louis, Missouri and when I was there for almost all of the 70's, I experienced all the snow stuff and I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss it.

Okay, we have rain where I am and snow where a lot of you are. But what prompted me to write the headline you see for this week's blog, is all the people I see walking in this bad weather while carrying packages. Packages of Christmas gifts. Bad weather does not stop people from getting ready for the arrival of Santa. Never has and never will.

Like I said....It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Have you done all of YOUR shopping yet?

I'm aware of the fact that a lot of you have holiday plans to prepare for so my intention is to write a few short stories and observations in this week's blog.

And here goes...

GAS PRICES...

They're still going up, there's a lot of talk about electric cars, if they can be made at an affordable price, we'll also need thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of "power stations" or whatever it is they will call where we would have to go to "recharge" the battery in the car we would be driving. Folks, if something workable could be made to happen regarding electric cars, our need for oil would be next to zero and we could tell those turban wearing potentates to stick their oil where the sun don't shine.

VICE PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN...

I don't know how many times I've gotten emails or have been told in phone conversations about how much of an incompetent hack Joe Biden is. Biden is constantly putting his foot in his mouth, etc., etc.

But who did Mitch McConnell make the recent behind closed doors tax deal with? Joe Biden. Folks, you don't stay a United States Senator for 36 years if you're an uncontrollable dimwit.

DONALD TRUMP...

Did you hear what Donald Trump said recently? He's thinking about running for the 2012 presidential election, he thinks President Obama has been a bad president and he (Trump) is in favor of having a trade war with China.

Short response commentary: Quite frankly, because of some unfair advantages they seem to currently have, I would be in favor of having a trade war with China too. One big problem and apparently Mr. Trump didn't think of this; If we begin a trade war with China, what do we do when China says they want all the money we owe them and we (China) want it NOW!?!

JOHN BOEHNER, "THE WEEPER OF THE HOUSE?"

As opposed to "The Speaker of the House"? Television talk host Joy Behar came up with that line after Boehner was seen crying on "60 Minutes".

I have no problem with men crying in public when they are big time disappointed or big time happy or grateful about something.

But in Boehner's case, his tears seem to be contradictory. Tears because of good fortune he's had after some hard work, but seeming to vote against things that would give others the same opportunities he had.

BIRTHERS...

You probably heard about the results of the court-martial involving a military doctor (Lt. Col.)who refused to obey orders to go to Afghanistan because he contended any orders from the Commander In Chief, President Obama, were illegitimate. Why? This military doctor is what is known as a "Birther" and he was demanding that President Obama appear at his (the doctor's) court-martial and show his signed birth certificate or prove to all of us that he (Obama) is an illegitimate president.

To make a long story short, President Obama didn't appear, the doctor ended up apologizing and what happened after that is something that is still being considered by the court-martial judge. A sentence that will involve time in the brig, the Lt. Col. being ordered to go to Afghanistan again, the Lt. Col. being dishonorably discharged? Any of those things are possibilities up to and including, perhaps, time in a mental institution.

I'll say this for you "Birthers"; You are believers but for the life of me, I don't understand what you think your basing this belief ON!?!

SARAH PALIN...

I can't have a blog without something having to do with Sarah Palin, can I?

In the December 20 issue of Time Magazine there is a 7-page story about Governor Palin that is headlined, "WHAT DOES SHE WANT?"

It's a good read. Check it out.

ENTERTAINMENT STUFF:

On the cover of the new STAR Magazine is this headline: "I CAN'T STOP LOVING BRAD!"

Yes, it's about Jennifer Aniston who apparently said this in a long "woe is me" conversation with Chelsea Handler while the two of them were vacationing somewhere.

Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt split up almost 6 years ago. My first thought when I saw this new headline was, isn't there a statute of limitations on crying over a guy or girl who leaves us?

Believe me when I tell you that I'm very familiar with the pain of having someone leave me. In the more than 30 years I've lived here, TWO women who left me affected me greatly. No, it wasn't at the same time. One was the hands down love of my life and the other was a girl I had the most fun with in my life.

The "fun girl" was someone I managed to get over in a few months. The "love of my life girl" took a little longer to get over. Like two years or so.

But SIX YEARS?!? C'mon Jen! You're still very attractive, you're a movie star, you....

Jen, you probably had the sympathy of a lot of people for a while, but Jen? This whining about Brad has gotten old. Older than old. Statute of Limitations time, Jennifer Aniston! Do yourself a favor. The next time Brad calls you, don't answer the phone or return his call. Trust me. If he ever wanted to get back with you, you'd know it. There are a lot of guys out there who would love to try to make you happy. Give them a chance to do that.

Okay, no more Dr. Phil stuff...

Golden Globes: I've had the pleasure of being at The Golden Globes a few times. It's the best party of the year. Their new film and television nominations were announced yesterday. I'm just going to mention two films that didn't get nominated. "True Grit" and "Never Let Me Go". I'm hearing mixed views about "True Grit" and it's possible that film isn't as good as a lot of people thought it would be. When it comes out, I plan to see it and make that judgment for myself. I have seen "Never Let Me Go" and I understand why the Golden Globe voters wouldn't get behind this film but I'll be shocked if the Oscar folks don't give it some "love". Yes, "Never Let Me Go" is probably what a lot of folks would call an "Art House Film" and I wouldn't argue with that. But damn, "Never Let Me Go" is a VERY good film and at least three of the actors in that film are deserving of Oscar nominations. Andrew Garfield has been given a Supporting Actor nomination by the Golden Globes for his performance in "The Social Network". To me, Garfield is deserving of a Best Actor nomination from the Oscars for "Never Let Me Go".

Television shows: The "Dexter" 5th season finale was great! All the major characters were given a chance to shine and that added to how good the finale was. I can hardly wait for season 6 of "Dexter" to begin, but a couple of days ago, a big "Uh, oh!" reared it's ugly head. Michael C. Hall plays the role of Dexter. Jennifer Carpenter plays the role of Deb who is Dexter's sister. In real life, Michael C. Hall and Jennifer Carpenter are married to each other. A couple of days ago it was announced that Jennifer Carpenter has filed for divorce from Michael C. Hall. You see what I mean about the big "Uh, oh!"?!?

For those of you who don't know, Michael C. Hall's Dexter character is a serial killer. Jennifer Carpenter's Deb character is a Miami police detective. In episode 1 of season number 6, we're not gonna see Dexter put a knife to.....???

Nah. We wouldn't see that! WOULD WE?!?

After the "Dexter" season finale on Showtime, I watched the "Brothers & Sisters" Christmas show on ABC.

Yo, ABC executives! FIRE those "B&S" writers you have! Every damn one of them. What was once the best show on television has now become the dumbest show on television!

Speaking of the best show on television, how about Tuesday night's episode of "The Good Wife"? There are so MANY reasons that Tuesday night's show was as great as it was. The writing, the acting, the directing is.....Well, it's damn off the charts gooder than good is what it is.

CRN PLUG: It will be my pleasure to again sit with CRN owner Mike Horn and his cast of characters on CRN this coming Friday afternoon from 4-5pm, Pacific Time. If you'd like to check us out, all you have to do is click onto www.CRNTalk.com Besides the 4-5 time on Friday, this show will be heard throughout the weekend.

THOUGHTS AND OR COMMENTS? Please write to me at scottstjames@sbcglobal.net and I will respond to you as quickly as possible. Don't write to the blog because there's no way for me to know your email address which means I wouldn't be able to respond to you. All "Anonymous" emails are ignored.

THE NEXT BLOG? Barring unforeseen circumstances, late Wednesday night, December 22 or early Thursday morning, December 23.

Have a great rest of the week and I hope you're able to find that special gift you want to buy for that special person in your life.

"Hate?!?" Are you talkin' to ME?!? And a second look at President Barack Obama!

Because of something unavoidable, I'm a day late with this week's blog and I thank you very much for your patience.

A lot of stuff to talk/write about and I find myself asking, "Where should I begin?"

Have you noticed the gas prices? Our economy is in a ditch, millions of us are unemployed and in many cases have been unemployed for several years and these greedy bastard oil companies have decided to jack up gas prices. Where I live, the company responsible for the oil explosion in Louisiana has raised gas prices close to 30 cents in the last couple of weeks. "Tis the season to be jolly", right? Not according to the oil bandits. Ho, Ho, Ho!!!

CRN: That's the Digital Talk station that's heard around the world and has more than 30-million listeners. For the past several months, I've had the pleasure of being on that station every Friday, 4-5 pm, Pacific Time, unless I've been "under the weather" or had a film obligation. The person I'm usually on the air with is the owner of CRN, Mike Horn. And I'll be there again this Friday, December 10 on a show, that as usual, will be repeated throughout the weekend. You're invited to check us out by clicking onto www.CRNTalk.com We talk about a lot of different things and we also have NFL football picks that feature professional handicapper, "Jimmy Mac".

Here in California, we have a prison population problem. A severe prison population problem. Some other states might have that problem as well, but here is a partial "solution" that to me, is so simple which means it's pretty much guaranteed it'll never be tried, much less, done. DEPORT ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT FELONS.

Too easy a solution, huh? And too many people who are scared of "bleeding hearts" screaming about the "unfairness" of it all.

Yeah, I've always thought dealing with lawbreakers in a punitive way was/is "unfair" (sarcasm intended) but, and I'm sorry for sounding like a "broken record", but I can't get the idea out of my head about illegal immigrants being people who have broken our laws by being here and then when they get put into prison for breaking another law or laws, we still can't think about deporting them?

A SECOND LOOK AT PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA:

WWII military veteran and retired Los Angeles radio legend, Bill Mouzis has written a short commentary about what he sees as the "caving in" by President Obama to Republicans regarding tax cuts for the rich. You are about to see what Bill wrote and after that, I will add some comments of my own.

From Bill Mouzis: "Now that Obama caved in, I am devastated and who do we turn to NOW? The man talked a good game, but now must be considered a total failure for those of us who had placed our faith in him. Can you possibly condone that tax cut continuing for another two years for these billionaires who will simply store the money away in a gopher-like hole? Is anyone naive to think these turds will use the money they are saving to employ people?

Maybe you can shed a bit of sunshine on what I view as a total disaster for Obama and his Chicago henchmen. Who the hell do we turn to for fairness NOW?!? Franklin Delano Roosevelt would have never succumbed to the filthy rich group of greedy pigs, the same ones that got rich supporting Bush's war in Iraq and headed by Cheney. Reinstating the tax for those making above one million dollars a year would have been more than fair, but no, they had to have it all.

In God only do we trust."

Thank you brother veteran, brother radio guy, brother concerned citizen (and friend), Bill Mouzis.

AND NOW SOME PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA SECOND THOUGHTS FROM "The Jammer with the Hammer":

As long time readers of this blog know, I voted for Barack Obama. As long time readers of this blog know, I am a lifetime Republican. Voting for a Democrat for anything was something I had never done until I voted for Barack Obama. Didn't I know that he was relatively inexperienced in the political world? Yes I did, but like so many other Americans, I figured if George W. Bush could be President, anybody could. A frat boy failure in everything he ever did except to be born into a rich family? A Governor of Texas who's main accomplishments seem to have been the amount of prisoners who were given the death penalty? I mean, did "W" lie about the "weapons of mass destruction" excuse for us to invade Iraq? I don't know if he did or didn't, but someone in his administration did and because he was the boss, Bush got the blame. Same deal with the Afghanistan mess and our current economic mess that became the out of control mess that it is while "W" was our President. Again...Was all of the bad stuff that happened totally "W's" fault? No, but when you're the "boss", as Harry Truman once famously said, "The buck stops HERE!"

Before I go any further, let me make something perfectly clear. Do I think that George W. Bush was or is a "bad man"? No! I believe that George W. Bush was a President who was in over his head, but that he honestly wanted things to be done well for everyone in our country while he was a 2-term President of the United States.

And that brings me to President Barack Obama. Because he's the President we have now, I want things to go well for this President and all the rest of us. But after two years, I find myself agreeing with those who think that Barack Obama is in over his head.

And this latest tax business regarding the giving a break to rich people when he said he was against doing that is the "straw that broke the camel's back" for me.

A lot of people who voted for Obama have been complaining about Obama's seeming inability to "fight" for what he wants to get accomplished. To "fight" against Republican and Tea Party politicians who refuse to be helpful in any way shape or form and want only one thing from Obama; For him to fail and to be a one-term President of the United States.

Bi-partisanship? Fuh-git-about-it! Ain't gonna happen.

One option left, Mr. President. You gotta use that "bully pulpit" and fight!

Yes, I know that he appears to have sounded like he was doing that a couple of days ago. Is that too little or too late? Only time will tell, but time is running out.

As a couple of my closest friends know, I've been kicking around a theory about Obama's seeming passivity being related to what the late Hall of Fame baseball player, Jackie Robinson went through. When Jackie Robinson became Major League baseball's first African American player in the late 40's, that was a huge deal. "America's Pastime" allowing a black guy to play? A lot of people didn't like that. Before he went onto the field for the first time, Jackie Robinson knew that he would get a lot of shit from fans in the stands and his marching orders were to put up with that shit. Over and over and over again. What would happen if Jackie Robinson didn't put up with the shit he was having to endure? It would be a long time before a second African American would be allowed to play in baseball's Major Leagues. Well, while hating it, Jackie Robinson did put up with the "shit" and the rest, as they say, is "history". So...Was Jackie Robinson just one of these "easy to push around guys" that the Dodgers found and decided to use him as one of the most famous pioneers in America's existence. Well, not exactly. A little known story about Jackie Robinson is what happened to him before he came to the Dodgers. He was a Lieutenant in the Army when after getting onto a bus one day, he refused to sit in the back of the bus. It didn't matter that he was wearing his uniform that showed he was an Officer in the United States' Army. In the 40's, Jackie Robinson was just another uppity nigger who wasn't doing what he was told. Jackie Robinson continued to refuse to sit in the back of the bus until he was arrested. Robinson then had to suffer the indignity of being court-martialed. The charge? For being a nigger soldier who refused to sit in back of the bus. What was the verdict? An all white jury voted, "Not guilty".

For quite a while, I've been thinking that President Obama's "passivity" was a direct result of the kind of thinking used when Jackie Robinson broke baseball's color barrier in the 40's. In other words, if he, Obama, makes too much noise by fighting too much, the chances of a second person of color making it to the White House anytime soon would be slim and none. And like with baseball, once a "second" person of color is allowed to "play" that's the beginning of everything (except for the biggest of bigots) being accepted as "normal".

Upon reflection and hoping that history will prove me wrong, I now have serious second thoughts about my theory. I don't think Barack Obama is "back of the bus" tough enough.

SARAH PALIN:

If you read last week's blog, you know that I did a piece on Sarah Palin, five women who love her and some other observations. And it was those "other observations" that resulted in one of those five women telling me on the phone that I had printed "hatred" about Sarah Palin in that story. "Hatred" that was coming from ME!

After hearing that, my first thought was, "And good morning to you, too!"

Trust me, I've looked at that story over and over again and even had an "expert" look at it.

I think what happened was something that was innocent and easy to understand at my end. I understand the passion associated with people who believe in Sarah Palin and who will defend her against anything negative that is said and or written about her. Hey, my mother and sister are that way, too. But believe me when I tell you this; If my mother thought I was writing "hateful views" of my own about Sarah Palin, my mother would have already taken me to the "woodshed".

In case there are some of you thinking the same way as the woman who challenged me on what she thought my "meaning" was, but haven't written to me about it, here's all that I ask that you do. Read it again. And when you do, you'll see that I repeated a rumor or two, I wrote about things that Palin has written about in her books, I wrote about an observation made by L.A. Times' columnist, Tim Russert and I wrote what John McCain had refused to allow Palin to do when she was McCain's running mate. I also mentioned that this was something that Palin was angry about, but that she seems to be (again) "okay" with McCain. Here's something I didn't write; That thing that McCain wouldn't let her do? It was something that Sean Hannity and others had encouraged Palin to do.

OTHER POSSIBLE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES FOR 2012:

Barack Obama might run, Sarah Palin might run, but who else might run? My thanks to blog reader Patrick Gallagher for sending me 21 reasons why Ralph Nader thinks Michael Bloomberg would be a good presidential candidate. And I love what Nader wrote at the end of his 21st reason; "Bloomberg would get votes for simply NOT being an 'Obamabush'!"

Here's another candidate who has my attention; Republican Mike Pence. He favors a "Flat Tax" and that's something I've been in favor of for 30-years.

BEFORE THE ENTERTAINMENT STUFF, THIS THOUGHT FROM MY GOOD FRIEND, HAROLD SYLVESTER:

"If we believe that Heaven is a place that's THE place, why do we try so hard to stay ALIVE?!?"

ENTERTAINMENT STUFF:

Don Meredith. Was he entertaining? You betcha! Monday Night Football has never been as good as when Don Meredith, Howard Cosell and Frank Gifford were on the air. A few months ago, I saw a relatively new film on cable that Meredith was in. It was a serious film and I think he was playing a troubled cab driver. After he left Monday Night Football, Meredith became a pretty good actor, but like a lot of actors, he didn't get as many opportunities as he would have liked to have gotten. R.I.P., Dandy Don.

The final episode of "Boardwalk Empire" was shown on HBO last Sunday and we were given a clue as to some of the things that will be happening next season.

The final episode of the 5th season of "Dexter" will be shown on Showtime this Sunday. It has been a great season for "Dexter", I'm very much looking forward to what kind of ending we'll see and yes, there will be a 6th season.

Meanwhile, ABC's "Brothers & Sisters", a show that used to be the best show on television, is now a show that seems to have tried hard to become the "dumbest show on television" and I think they're succeeding.

Two old films and a new film:

On cable, I saw two films I didn't see when they were released. "Original Sin", starring Angelina Jolie, Antonio Banderas and Thomas Jane is a film that didn't do all that well at the box office, but Jolie looks great in it, I actually enjoyed the film until what I thought was a cheesy ending, but if it pops up again, check it out.

A 1998 film called, "Hush", stars Jessica Lange, Gywneth Paltrow, Jonathan Schaech, Debi Mazar, Hal Holbrook and in what might have been her final performance, Nina Foch who was very, very good. I liked the film.

A film that's at your favorite Cineplex now is a film I liked a lot!!! "Love and other Drugs". It stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Anne Hathaway, Oliver Platt, Hank Azaria, Josh Gad and Gabriel Macht. This is an adult love story. When the film begins, it certainly doesn't look like it's going to be an adult love story or any other kind of love story. But that is what it becomes and I thought it was terrific. Especially the performance of Anne Hathaway who has become not only a "good" actress, but a "World-Class actress"! There are a couple of moments when the Josh Gad character is whacha call annoying, but he's good the rest of the time as are all the other supporting actors. To me, "Love and other Drugs" is a very good film.

THOUGHTS AND OR COMMENTS? Please write to me at scottstjames@sbcglobal.net and I will respond to you ASAP. Don't write to the blog because there's no way for me to know your email address which means I won't be able to respond. All "Anonymous" emails are ignored.

THE NEXT BLOG? Well, I was late a day this week, but hopefully the next blog will be late Wednesday night, December 15 or early Thursday morning, December 16.

Have you begun your Christmas shopping yet?

THIS WEEK'S BLOG WILL BE POSTED LATE THURSDAY AFTERNOON, DECEMBER 9 OR THIS EVENING!!!

Hi Gang,

Sorry for the delay. Something unavoidable came up yesterday afternoon and I was tied up until early this morning.

Among the topics that will be covered are reactions to last week's Sarah Palin commentary, a story about monthly Social Security cuts because of an increase in Medicare fees, the political "taxes argument" regarding tax cuts for the rich, a commentary about President Obama from WWII veteran and L.A. radio legend, Bill Mouzis, something to think about regarding Heaven, entertainment stuff and maybe a surprise or two.

Again...This week's blog will be posted late this afternoon, Thursday, December 9 or sometime this evening.

Thanks for your patience.

Scott "The Jammer with the Hammer" St. James

Some LOVE For Sarah Palin, Along With A Couple Of Questions annnd Another Contribution From Patrick Emory!!!

It is late Wednesday night, December 1st and I'm jacked up about what I hope will be a good blog. I never know for sure (exactly) what I'm going to write. It just "happens", if you know what I mean. Because of the positive potential I'm feeling, my number one hope is that I don't somehow screw things up in translation.

Here goes...

Love her or hate her, Sarah Palin is impossible to ignore. I know I can't ignore her. If I see there's a story about her, I read it. If someone sends me a video of hers, I look at it. You regular readers know that I've written some things about Sarah Palin that you didn't like if you're a fan of hers. Same deal in reverse if you're not a fan of hers.

I've heard the same criticisms of her that you have. A few of those criticisms are criticisms that I have not written and I have also not suggested that I agree or disagree with them.

One of them is a criticism I'm going to address right now; That she appeals to stupid people. Older stupid men and women of all ages. Women who, if not stupid, are easily manipulated by simple phrases that include words like God, abortion and normal. As in, "normal people like you and me" as in, people like Sarah Palin and women who are easily manipulated.

I have had email and personal conversations with five women about Sarah Palin that I would like to share with you. No, not the conversations. My observations about these five women. Women who are fans of Sarah Palin. Big time fans. Again....Five women. A Doctor in Missouri. A 20-something years old tax expert in one of those Virginia states. One of my Los Angeles Agents who tries to get me acting jobs. A long time and highly respected Nurse in Arizona who also happens to be my sister. And last but not least, my mother, who is also in Arizona.

All five of these highly accomplished women would like to see Sarah Palin in the White House, but even if she doesn't get there or maybe decides she doesn't want to go there, these five women think Sarah Palin makes a lot of sense to them.

Because I have communicated with all five, I know they're not nuts or easily manipulated. In fact, an argument could be made that all five could be manipulators of their own if they decided to go that way.

As most of you know, Sarah Palin has a new book, "America by Heart". It was reviewed in today's Los Angeles Times by another person I've communicated with, Tim Rutten. In essence, Rutten refers to Palin's book as a political manifesto, he expresses his admiration for her being able to present herself in a positive way despite moves that she's made that would have derailed just about anybody else and he described a political term for her that I had never heard before. Rutten wrote that professional political consultants like to talk about a candidate's "RLC Quotient". R.L.C. Do you know what that stands for? I didn't either. "RAT LIKE CUNNING". And Rutten's book review concludes with, "Off the evidence in 'America by Heart', Palin's RLC Quotient is off the charts."

Okay. So where am I going with this? I've listed five very accomplished women I know who are big fans of Sarah Palin and I make the point that I don't think they're stupid or easily manipulated. And I also make reference to Tim Rutten's review of Palin's new book which would seem to be me planting a negative slant on Palin.

No, folks. That's called giving both sides of an argument, view, whatever. When I had a very successful talk show, something that was called The Fairness Doctrine" was in place. I had no trouble with that at all. I welcomed a view that was different from mine because I wasn't worried about being outmatched on my own radio show. You might change my mind, but more times than not, my mind wasn't changed. The Fairness Doctrine no longer exists, but if you listen to talk radio, you have heard hosts talk about The Fairness Doctrine and how afraid they are that there might be a return of The Fairness Doctrine and they have urged you, the listeners to call or write to your Congress Person and tell them you don't want them to vote for any "Fairness Doctrine".

What do you think those talk show hosts are afraid of, folks?

Back to Sarah Palin.

The five women I mentioned who are big fans of Sarah Palin are also regular readers of this blog. They have read some things I've written about Ms. Palin that they simply don't agree with. And I respect those views and those women.

No one knows for certain (unless it's Palin and she might not know for certain, yet) if Sarah Palin will indeed be a candidate for the Republican nomination to be President of the United States in 2012.

For the five women I've mentioned and all other women and men who are fans of Sarah Palin, I ask you to simply consider what I'm about to write in the way of questions for her, observations I have and one or two things you might not be aware of but that I am aware of.

Did you know that when she was John McCain's running mate that she wanted to play the "race card" regarding President Obama's former pastor and that McCain wouldn't let her because he felt his campaign would be hit with a "racism" charge?

Ms. Palin didn't like that decision at all. And she was angry at McCain. Since then, the two of them seem to be "okay" again and besides, Palin ended up getting madder at some of McCain's people that she had to "answer to", people she seemed to feel who were "lesser" than her. And maybe they were!

There is renewed talk that if the decides to run against Obama in 2012 that she plans to bring up the Reverend Wright stuff and include some things that Wright said that are on tape.

My advice to Sarah Palin would be to try to learn to understand fully why McCain knew that would be a losing strategy for him and would still be a losing strategy for her. Obama is (compared to Reverend Wright) a young man. There is no evidence whatsoever that he agrees with some of things that Reverend Wright railed about. Or any evidence in his wife's direction, either. Reverend Wright is not a young man. Things that he mentioned in sermons figure to be things that he experienced as a child and as a young adult regarding racism. And with that racism came things involving people of color having to (in essence) bow down to us white folks and to not even be able to drink from the same fountains, eat at the same restaurants, stay at the same hotels, etc., etc. and constantly being reminded they were second class citizens and "Doncha dare get uppity, boy!!!"

Here's another reason for Sarah Palin to not be dragging out some old tapes of Reverend Wright saying a lot of things that many of us don't agree with as it pertains to the year 2010. There's a video of Sarah Palin out there, too. Sarah Palin likes to talk about God a lot. That's one of things that a lot of people like about her. In fact, if you're a religious person, it's not at all uncommon for you talk to your reverend, rabbi or priest about problems you might be having. If you're a Catholic, you can unload a lot of "stuff" in the confessional and hopefully what you'll get back from the priest is something that will make you feel better about yourself.

In this video I'm referring to, it appears that Sarah Palin has some issues she wants to get squared away. Because she mentions God a lot, one would assume that any issues requiring counseling and or assistance for whatever's troubling her, would be with a religious figure of some kind.

What we see on this video is her moving around on what appears to be a stage of some kind and seeming to be chanting at times while being guided by a guy who looks like a Witch Doctor. If her presidential campaign turned out to be a dirt smearing campaign, that video would definitely be shown and a question would be asked by every journalist who doesn't work for Fox News. "Governor Palin, you talk about God a lot. Could you please explain what part of the God conversation this Witch Doctor looking guy you were seeking spiritual help from fits in?"

Do you want a campaign like that? I don't.

But here's another question that a lot of people will want to get a straight answer about. "Governor Palin, you completed about half your term as Governor of Alaska and quit. You were the elected leader of a state. Why did you do that and after you answer that question, please tell us why we shouldn't worry that you might walk out of the White House after two years if you are elected to THAT job?"

QUESTIONS and or COMMENTS? Please write to me at scottstjames@sbcglobal.net and I will respond to you as quickly as possible.

In last week's blog, I told you a few things about former CNN News Anchor, Patrick Emory and then I included what he sent me as his "no trial necessary" solution for explosives packing terrorists who try to board our planes.

Earlier today, Patrick Emory sent me something else and I would like to share that with you.

This is something called, "The Fix".

A Florida newspaper's business section asked readers for ideas on, "How would you fix the economy?" And one reader seemed to have come up with a "Fix" that upon reflection, is a fix worth investigating.

Here's what that reader wrote:

Dear Mr. President,

Instead of giving billions of dollars to companies that will squander the money on lavish parties and unearned bonuses, use what you can call, "The Patriotic Retirement Plan".

There are about 40 million people over 50 in the work force. Pay all of them $1,000,000 severance for early retirement with the following stipulations:

(1) They MUST retire. Forty million job openings. Unemployment fixed!!!

(2) They MUST buy a new AMERICAN car. Forty million cars purchased. Auto industry fixed.

(3) They MUST either buy a house or pay off their mortgage. Housing crisis fixed.

P.S. If more money is needed, have all members of Congress pay their taxes. And Mr. President, while you're at it, make Congress retire on Social Security and Medicare. I'll bet both programs would be fixed pronto!

Thank you again, Patrick Emory.

We gotta do something about the condition our condition is in, don't we? And soon!!!

ENTERTAINMENT STUFF:

I don't know how entertaining this is, but in the new issue of Star Magazine that figures to be in your favorite supermarket tomorrow, you'll read about a tape of a conversation that Star says they have of Britney Spears talking to an ex-husband of hers about her most recent boyfriend (who's also her agent) beating her up and that Britney's dad has a shotgun and he's apparently said something about really wanting to use it.

I can't help it, folks. My first (cynical) thought when I hear something like this is to wonder if she has a new album that's about to be released.

Leslie Nielsen, R.I.P. In case you hadn't heard, this very fine actor died a couple of days ago. He had a very good career. Right after he started making those "Naked Gun" films, I had him on my radio show by phone. He kept driving me crazy by constantly calling me "Stan". I didn't know if it was because he was deaf (he wore hearing aids most of his life) or it was just him being "wacky", something he was constantly being. It was a fun interview and if he has gone to a "better place", but is still aware of what's happening down here, I'd like him to do me a favor. Mr. Nielson, please tell the Big Guy that Stan says, "Hello!"

I saw a film on Showtime recently that really got to me. "The Killer Inside Me". It got some pretty good reviews when it was released, but I don't think it did well at the box office. It stars Casey Affleck, Jessica Alba, Kate Hudson, Ned Beatty, Simon Baker and Bill Pullman. Casey Affleck, (yes, he's Ben's younger brother) plays a deputy sheriff who comes across as an All American Mr. Clean kind of guy. I mean, you can mentally see the milk on his lips. The kind of guy that any father would love to have for a son in law.

But behind closed doors, this young clean cut deputy sheriff is the meanest and most sadistic son of a bitch you've ever seen. Especially toward women. This film is very well acted by everyone, I couldn't take my eyes off this film and when it was over, I did a huge exhale.

Quick television stuff: Only two more episodes of "Dexter" on Showtime. This has been a great season for this show and it only figures to get better in the two final wrap-up episodes.

Only one more episode of "Boardwalk Empire" on HBO. Season finale will be this Sunday. I think this show has been good, but it's certainly not "Sopranos" good.

A lot of personal drama on Tuesday night's "Glee" on Fox. That show is so good, they can pretty much do whatever they feel like doing and it will be enjoyable.

Do you like the Host choices for the next Oscar telecast? In case you hadn't heard, the hosts will be Anne Hathaway and James Franco. I'm a big fan of both of these fine young actors. I plan to see Hathaway's new film before the week has ended. I haven't seen Franco's new film that's based on a true story about a guy who had to cut a body part off in order to survive. Performances in Franco's and Hathaway's new films are considered to possibly be Oscar best actor nominations. For both of them.

QUESTIONS AND OR COMMENTS? Please write to me at scottstjames@sbcglobal.net and I will respond ASAP. Don't write to the blog because there's no way for me to know your email address which means I wouldn't be able to respond to you. All Anonymous emails are ignored.

THE NEXT BLOG? Barring unforeseen circumstances, late Wednesday night, December 8 or early Thursday morning, December 9.

Have you started your Christmas shopping yet?

I hope you all have a great rest of the week and weekend!