We COME, we DO, we GO!!!!!

Hi Gang!   First of all, thanks for your responses to the Social Security rant that was in last week's blog.

I call your attention to the headline you can see above.

That phrase is a phrase that is used often by Claude Hall.   Anybody in radio who was lucky enough to have become a "SOMEBODY" in radio knows who Claude Hall is.   He's the Godfather of all columns written about radio.   I first heard about him in the late 60's when he was writing a radio column for Billboard Magazine.   Since then, he's written a number of books and his weekly radio column can be read in Jack Roberts' fine "Hollywood Hills" column, a column that Jack writes 7-days a week.   If you would like to read Jack's column (I read it everyday), here's what you click on to;   www.hollywoodhillsgroup.com

And by the way, MY column is also printed by Jack Roberts.

Back to Claude Hall's "We Come, we DO, we GO" phrase and why I'M using it in this blog.

I was affected by three deaths this week and the week isn't over yet.  I've written about the fact that the idea for this blog was presented to me by Kevin Gershan, a guy I've known for more than 30-years.   I met him when he was radio hall famer Robert W. Morgan's producer at Gene Autry's KMPC.   Kevin also began working at "Entertainment Tonight" the first day that show went on the air, he's still there and he long ago worked himself up to the positions of being a director and producer.   Yesterday, Kevin's long time mentor, Milt Hoffman passed away.   Kevin wrote a terrific tribute about Hoffman and you can read it in Jack Roberts' column.

I hurt for my friend Kevin.   Three days earlier, Jerry Buss, a guy I knew for 33+years died.   He was the very, very successful owner of the L.A. Lakers basketball team.   I could easily write a hundred pages about Jerry, but I'm going to keep this relatively brief.   I arrived in Los Angeles from St. Louis in the latter part of '79 which was about the time that Buss bought the Lakers.   His birthday was January 27 and on that date in 1980, he came on my radio show (by phone) and the first thing he heard was me singing happy birthday to him.   Looking back, I think he probably thought that was "different enough" for him to be interested in knowing a little more about me.   During the Showtime years (the 80's), I saw a lot of Jerry Buss.   Mostly in upper level nightclubs (when the Lakers weren't playing or the game had ended) and while having a few drinks and laughing a lot, we both had our eyes on women in those establishments.   I never saw him "look down" on anyone.  I had the pleasure of being at his home, having dinner at the Forum when the Lakers were playing there and sitting in his private box that had room for lots of "playahs".   God, those were good and fun times.   Along the way, I stopped being a radio and television sports guy here because I had gotten the "acting bug".   And I also got the "writing bug".   I seldom saw him when those things happened, the last time I saw him was ten or so years ago when he invited me to attend a boxing match with him.   I couldn't go, we departed while both of us were smiling and.....All these years later....I get the message that Jerry had died.   That was this past Monday.   Jerry Buss?   Dead?   Impossible!   Why?   Because he was living the "impossible dream"!   A Jerry Jerry Buss CAN'T die!   Like many of you, I watched the tribute to Jerry Buss that took place yesterday and it was televised.   What a tribute!   And everything that was said, was true.

R.I.P., Jerry.   You were an "original"!!!

Just when the Jerry Buss tribute was about to end, my phone rang.   It was my sister.   She was calling to tell me our mother had just died.

This was not one of those "shock-shock" messages.   I knew that she was fading, but.....   Jerry Buss, you would have liked my mother.   And vice versa.   And right now I find myself remembering a song;   "Only the Good die Young".   Is that fair?   No it isn't.

R.I.P. Milt Hoffman, Jerry Buss and my mother.

"We come!   We DO!   We GO!".

Truer words were never spoken, Claude Hall.   But I, for one, am tired of the dying.   I close this subject by suddenly thinking of another song that began with the words, "Let's think about living!".

Please!   Let's!

Here come some quick items and yes, there will be some Oscar predictions...

For all you people who have made yourselves believe that we are in danger of having our guns taken away from us, do what Vice President Joe Biden suggests.   In case you hadn't heard, he's suggesting that for home protection, you buy a shotgun.   I know there's a lot of talk about assault rifles and guns that are like machine guns that people are afraid will be taken from them (which I happen to believe is paranoid nonsense), but a shotgun?   I have one.   12-gauge.   I believe I'm very well protected.   Assault rifle?   Machine gun?   For what?   Unless you want to hang it on a wall like a trophy.

Are you checking out the gas prices?   Fun, huh?

Do you understand this "sequester business"?   If anyone would like to explain the totality of what this is about, I'd be happy to print it in a future blog.   www.scottstjames.blogspot.com

President Obama....Liberal?   Really?

He continued Bush's wars, he's ordering the dropping of deadly drones on people, he directed the Osama killing, etc., etc.   Liberal?  Because he's concerned about all these gun deaths here?   Aren't YOU concerned about them?  

Feel free to send me your thoughts.   www.scottstjames.blogspot.com

I think President Obama is more of a Conservative than a Liberal.  Am I the only one who thinks that?

Have you heard about the possible Senate race coming up in Kentucky soon?   Actress/activist Ashley Judd might take a crack at beating Kentucky's #1 cracker, Mitch McConnell for a U.S. Senate seat?   Hmmmm....

ENTERTAINMENT STUFF:

Diane Lane filed for divorce against Josh Brolin the day after Valentine's Day?   I'm not making this up.   They've been married for 8-years.   Do you think she'll have any trouble getting dates?

I've never met her, but I've had a long distance crush on her for many years.   She's now 48, but still hot-hot-hot!!!

Saw one new film this past week.   "Would you Rather?"   It stars Brittany Snow, Jeffrey Combs, John Heard, Sasha Grey and some other fine supporting actors.   This is most definitely not for everyone folks.   The title, "Would you Rather?" has to do with a diabolical game that is played in this film.   This film had me on the edge of my chair.   It's not a great film, but it's a film you can't take your eyes off of.   Brittany Snow, a beautiful actress who made a name for herself by playing the role of sweet and innocent Meg Pryor in the show "American Dreams".   Ah, how times change.   From sweet and innocent to being (in addition to being the star) the executive producer of this horror film.   Like Dylan once said;   "The times...they are a changin'."

I saw a lot of good television this past week.   And if you had the time, I'm sure you did as well.   In no particular order, this short list represents to me some big time quality television;   ABC's "Revenge", ABC's "Castle", FOX's "The Following", TNT's "Dallas", ABC's "Scandal" and CBS's "The Good Wife".   I am now concerned about FOX's "American Idol".   I've been a big fan for years, but something is wrong.

OSCAR PREDICTIONS:

This Sunday, most of us will be watching the Oscars.   In my role as film judge this past year, I saw every film that was nominated for something and a lot of films that weren't.

Best Film:   "Argo"   If not, my second choice would be "Silver Linings Playbook".

Director:   David O. Russell, "Silver Linings Playbook".  

Best Actor:   Denzel Washington, "Flight".

Best Actress:   Jennifer Lawrence, "Silver Linings Playbook".

Supporting Actor:   Tommy Lee Jones, "Lincoln".

Supporting Actress:   Anne Hathaway, "Les Miserables".

It looks like the producers have gone "all out" while trying to make Sunday's show a very entertaining show.   I hope they're successful.

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 wouldn't be able to respond to you.   I respond to everyone unless you identify yourself as "Anonymous".

THE NEXT BLOG?   Well, the way things have been going, it might be Friday again, but what I'll try to do is write it next Thursday evening, February 28 or very early Friday morning, March 1.

Meanwhile, I hope that all of you have a very pleasant weekend which includes enjoying the Oscars and don't forget...

AMERICA FIRST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Social Security!!! Ex-Cop Christopher Dorner!!! Gas prices! Who can afford to go ANYWHERE?!? Deregulation!!! Small businesses have turned into mini-casinos!!! The NRA has an ENEMIES List?!? Annnd...New films and TV stuff!!!

Hi Gang!   No long personal rant at the beginning of THIS blog!   Are you successfully avoiding the flu bug?   If not, I feel your discomfort.   In fact, I was seriously thinking of taking the big flu bug that's been terrorizing me to a cabin at Big Bear.   If you haven't been paying attention, you have no idea what I'm talking about, but pass this on to a friend or relative who will probably tell you that I had/have simply written a bad joke.

The first thing we're going to cover here is the subject of "Social Security".   I'm involved with several things.   Writing this blog, acting, judging films and am a proud member of the "Pacific Pioneer Broadcasters".   I am also on the "Board of Directors" of that fine organization.   As is a woman named Kay Henley who sent me a rant about Social Security and people who think that those who get a monthly Social Security check are people who are somehow getting something "free" and in essence, "ripping off" tax payers like you and me.   There's also talk about how these Social Security payments are in some way responsible for the financial mess we're in.

I don't know if Kay wrote this rant, but I'm about to print word for word what she sent me.

"The only thing wrong with the government's calculation of available "Social Security" is they forgot to figure in the people who died before they ever collected a Social Security check!!!   Where did that money go?

Remember, not only did you and I contribute to Social Security but our employer did, too.   It totaled 15% of our income before taxes.   If you averaged only $30K over your working life, that's close to $220,500.   Did you see where the Government paid in one single penny?

We are talking about the money you and your employer put in a Government bank to insure you and I that we would have a retirement check from the money WE put in, NOT the Government.   Now they are calling the money we put in an 'entitlement' when we reach the age to take it back.   If you calculate the future invested value of  $4,500 per year (yours & your employer's contribution) at a simple 5% interest (less than what the government pays on the money that it borrows) after 49 years of working, you'd have $892,919.98.

If you took out only 3% per year, you'd receive $26,787.60 per year and it would last better than 30 years (until you're 95 if you retire at age 65) and that's with no interest paid on that final amount on deposit!   If you bought an annuity and it paid 4% per year, you'd have a lifetime income of $2,976.40 per month.

Another thing...If a woman had a husband who died before the age of 65, before one percent of his Social Security could be drawn, and if the woman worked all her life and is drawing 100% on her own Social Security, his S.S. money never had one cent drawn from it...so...where did it go????

THE FOLKS IN WASHINGTON HAVE PULLED OFF A BIGGER PONZI SCHEME THAN BERNIE MADOFF EVER DID!!!

Entitlement my foot, we paid cash for our Social Security insurance!   Just because they borrowed the money for other government spending, doesn't make our benefits some kind of charity or handout!   Remember Congressional benefits?   Free healthcare, outrageous retirement packages, 67 paid holidays, three weeks paid vacation, unlimited paid sick days.

Now THAT'S welfare, and they have the nerve to call our Social Security retirement payments 'entitlements'???

We're 'broke' and we can't help our own seniors, veterans, orphans, or homeless.   Yet in the last few months we have provided aid to Haiti, Chile and Turkey.   And now, Pakistan...home of bin Laden.   Literally, BILLIONS of DOLLARS!!!   And they can't help our own citizens in New York and New Jersey?   Our retired seniors living on a 'fixed S.S. income' receive no additional federal aid nor do they get any financial breaks, while our government and religious organizations pour hundreds of billions of $$$ and tons of food to foreign countries!

They call Social Security and Medicare an 'entitlement' even though most of us have been paying for it all our working lives!  Now, when it's time to collect, the government is running out of money.   Why did the government borrow from the Social Security money in the first place?   It was supposed to be in a locked box, not part of the general fund.

Sad, isn't it?"

Sad indeed, Kay Henley.

Kay, I'm going to add only thing to what you sent me.   "AMERICA FIRST"!!!   I use those two words at the end of each blog I write.

Before I get to our next subjects, I want all of you readers to know that I tried to reach Kay Henley so I could find out if she wrote this rant or if she could tell me who did.   In the final analysis, I guess it really doesn't matter because the rant speaks for itself.   And yes, if you have any thoughts and or comments about this rant, please write to me at scottstjames@sbcglobal.net and I will respond to you ASAP.

But for now, ONWARD!!!

#2:   Ex-Cop Christopher Dorner!   He was the reason the ratings were down for President Obama's State of the Union address.   Hey, I had my eyes glued to what was going on at Big Bear, too.   He is now just another dead murderer.   Good thing, too.   We'd hate to have more nervous LAPD guys shooting a bunch of bullets at two women who were simply trying to deliver some newspapers.

#3:   Gas Hikes!   If you are living somewhere where the cheapest gas prices are less than four dollars and ten cents per gallon, you are a very lucky person.   I mean, the way these prices are being jacked up, we will soon be at the point where most of us won't be able to afford driving anywhere that's more than 20 miles from where we live.   Oh, yeah!   Let's give those greedy bastard oil barons MORE tax breaks, right?

#4:   Deregulation!   I bring this up because of a great column I read in today's L.A. Times about how deregulation involving phone companies and cable companies has led to a royal screwing of consumers.   Yes, consumers like you and me.   The argument is always posed that deregulation will result in lower prices for everyone and everytime that is said is something that we end up learning is just another lie!   A very expensive lie!   Those of us who are no longer in the radio business learned a long time ago what deregulation did to THAT business!

#5:   Many small businesses have turned into mini-casinos.   Am I the only one who has noticed this?   Scratcher tickets, lottery tickets, etc. in places where you buy milk, gasoline, soft drinks, liquor, etc., etc.   Am I the only one who thinks we might have been better off if things like that were still illegal except for places like Vegas, Reno and Atlantic City?   In unison, now...Hmmmmm...

#6:   The NRA has an ENEMIES List?   I'm not making this up.  I was watching a cable talk show the other night and while I was hearing all these "enemies" that were being listed, I couldn't help but think of our late president, Richard Nixon.   And speaking of the NRA....People should have guns in case our government comes after us?   First of all, that's a dumb argument.   Ain't gonna happen in THIS country.   But just for the sake of argument....Do we honestly think we could defend ourselves with a house full of guns if government folks came after us?   Ask ex-cop Christopher Dorner how that worked out.   I have guns.   But not because I think our government might come pounding on my door.   Lose the paranoia and enjoy your hunting and or target shooting.   Everything else is conversation.

ENTERTAINMENT STUFF:   Saw three new films since the last blog.   "Side Effects" starring Rooney Mara, Jude Law, Channing Tatum and Catherine Zeta-Jones.   I liked this film.   A lot.   And Rooney Mara, in this film, was/is a lot different than she was in "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo".   And what I mean by "different" is in a good way.

"Identity Thief" starring Melissa McCarthy, and Jason Bateman.   There was some stuff going on in the middle of this film that made me think I was watching the worst film I had EVER seen, but they got the film back in gear (so to speak) and I walked out of the cineplex feeling that I had been entertained enough to give it a "B-Minus".

"Safe Haven" starring Josh Duhamel, Julianne Hough and some very good supporting players.   Ms. Hough, in case you didn't know, is Ryan Seacrest's girlfriend and she got blistered in a review written by Betsy Sharkey in the L.A. Times.   I was prepared to (maybe) agree with Ms. Sharkey when I arrived at the cineplex, but when the film ended I thought that Ms. Sharkey was wrong.   Dead wrong.   I liked the film.

TV stuff:   Speaking of Ryan Seacrest....I finally saw an episode of this season's "American Idol".   Some bad things have been said about the ratings that show has gotten, but I chalked it off to jealously which has usually been the case.   The episode I saw Tuesday night, (except for what new judge Nicki Minaj brought to the table) had me nodding my head.   I've been a big fan of this show, but what I saw the other night wasn't the fun show I've been used to seeing over the years.

Meanwhile, shows like ABC's "Revenge", "Nashville" and "Scandal" are knocking my socks off as are shows like TNT's "Southland" and "Dallas" are doing.

Two Sundays from now, the Oscars will be announced.   I think "Argo" will win the Best Picture Oscar and I think it should win.   I'll tell you my other faves in next week's blog.

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 every email unless you identify yourself as "Anonymous".   Those emails are ignored.

THE NEXT BLOG?   Late Thursday night, February 21 or very early Friday morning, February 22.   Unless of course, I end up writing it next Friday evening like I have the last two weeks.

I hope you all have a very pleasant weekend which will include (for many of you) "Presidents' Day" on Monday and maybe "Washington's Birthday" next Friday.

And don't forget....AMERICA FIRST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

"I Take A Lot Of Pride In What I Am!!!"

Hi Gang!   Did you get a flu shot during this flu season?   Pause....
If you didn't, you're not alone.   I DIDN'T and now I'm paying the price.   Woke up yesterday and was face to face with a giant flu bug.

Okay, stuff happens...The flu is the reason I'm a day late with this week's blog.

Let me please call your attention to the headline at the top of this page.   That's the title of a song that was a big hit for Merle Haggard, a guy I had the pleasure of M.C.-ing a show of his 6 or 7 years ago.   This song was also recorded on Dean Martin's album, "Dean Martin on Reprise".   I love both versions.

I begin this blog with a few personal responses that is unusual for me.   I have graciously turned down interviews in the past because I'm one of those "Just do the Work" kind of guys.

At the risk of of you great readers saying, "Bor-ring", I'm going to admit to something I did that I was "called out" on which was careless on my part and to clarify a thing or two about some things I've been quiet about.

I know.   This has "boring" written all over it, doesn't it?

Onward!

During my radio and television days, I wrote a lot of commentaries that were seen and heard.   I was lucky enough to have been awarded a few gold statues for some of these commentaries.   I was never (correctly) challenged for being wrong about anything I wrote or said because I was very careful.

A couple or so weeks ago, I was challenged by a guy who said I was wrong about a couple of things I had written and he chose to forward his complaint to a lot of other people while suggesting I might be a guy who makes up a lot of stuff in these blogs that I write.   I'm not going to mention his name, but I will say I was surprised by what he decided to do because I had voiced some free image liners for his online radio station and when he wanted me to say nice things about a book he had written, I did that (for him) on two radio stations.   Uh, huh.   Classic example of "No good deed goes unpunished", right?   In this case, it was "deeds", but who's counting?   What bothered me about this was him not simply bringing up his correction complaint to me about two mistakes he was sure I made.   In this case, he was right about one thing and wrong about the other.   He was also ticked off because of some things I had written about "Colonel" Tom Parker, but that will be covered a little later here.

Those of us who have been part of the Los Angeles radio community lost one of our favorite members when Bill Mouzis passed away recently.   I wrote several items about Bill in these blogs and I had the pleasure of communicating with him often about politics and military things because he and I were "brothers".   Before finishing two or three paragraphs about him in one of the blogs I wrote, I told him I was planning on referring to him as having been a "highly decorated" soldier and would he be cool with that?   He laughed and said, "Write what you want!".   Right after Bill died, I wrote another piece about him.   Before I began writing I spoke with a guy who (unintentionally) gave me bad information when he said that Bill had been stationed at Pearl Harbor.   The person who told me this thought it was true, I accepted what he said as being truthful and printed it.   The person who complained about this was right and I felt like an idiot.   There was another person who lives walking distance from me I could have contacted for verification (or not) about Pearl Harbor, but for reasons I'll never know, I didn't.

Shame, shame on me!   The truth?   Bill Mouzis was supposed to be in Pearl Harbor, but his orders were changed and the rest, as they say, is history.   Later on, Bill was discharged from the military because of injuries he had suffered.

Right now I feel a need to clear something else up.

Are we bored yet?

Bill liked to talk about a 2-hour Gene Autry special he produced.   Yes, he did do that, but along the way he seemed to have either forgotten something or there were things he didn't know.

There was a Gene Autry special that was done more than 7 or 8 years earlier than that.   The person chosen to do that by Gene Autry his own self, was me.   It was a 7-hour special.   I had a staff of three.   Me, KMPC Engineer Bob Maryon and KMPC Program Assistant, Marilyn Covington.   I sent Marilyn to Nashville and her mission was to try to talk every Nashville star she could find into coming on the phone with me so that our conversation(s) could be recorded.   Marilyn was a beautiful young woman, those Nashville hound dogs couldn't resist her and she would later become the love of my life.   But that's another story.   I decided on what would be played and when, but Bob Maryon, in addition to being great at editing, also had some great ideas about "order".

The people who ended up on that special were a number of our presidents, (Ronald Reagan participated just before he won his first election), singing stars like Frank Sinatra who of course did it "his way" and big name actors who had worked with and or were friends with "The Singing Cowboy".

I mention all this because Bill never said that the famous people he had on the special he produced were people that I had interviewed.   I'm assuming that the people who lifted those interviews from my special simply forgot to tell Bill.

Because of the length of what I just finished writing, I'm going to hold off on "Colonel" Parker and Elvis stuff, buuut...In a future blog, I'll tell you some Elvis related stories, some "Colonel" Parker stories that are in best selling books, stories about Parker that were told to me by people who were in charge of "who sat where" at Elvis shows and my invitation to see Elvis at "The International" in the first week of his "comeback" in 1969.

OTHER QUICK STUFF:

As you probably know, we have a killer on the loose here in the Southern California area.   A killer who used to be a cop and a guy who's made it very clear that he wants to kill more cops and family members of cops.   So far, he's killed three people that we know of with guns.

And speaking of guns...I think that most of you are familiar with the name Jim Lampley.   I call him, "Mr. Boxing".   In a note he sent to me recently, Lampley reminded me that he and I have been friends for 25+years, he's a regular reader of this blog, but he also made it clear there could be limits to his blog reading if I don't (in essence) drop the "Hammer" on the N.R.A.

In the past, I've been a supporter of the NRA folks, but like a lot of other people who have been supporters, I find myself saying things like, "Hmmmmm" when I read or hear something said by NRA leaders that amounts to, "Our way or the highway" positions.

Yo, NRA folks.   Chill it with this nonsense about our government taking your guns away from you.   Ain't gonna happen.   For me personally, I know it ain't gonna happen where I live.  Let's live with tougher "background checks" for openers.   To take the position that no "changes" are acceptable is an idiot's position.  I mean look at all these gun killings we keep reading about.

You hear about what the Postal service is going to do?   Sometime in August, unless something changes, we will no longer be getting mail on Saturdays except for packages.

Are you paying attention to this business involving the Boy Scouts?  Delaying a possible "acceptance decision" regarding gays?   And am I the only one who wonders if the reason for this might be because they are trying to make sure they've gotten rid of all the pedophile "leaders"?

BRIEF ENTERTAINMENT STUFF:

First of all, if you would like to read what I think is the best daily radio column in America, I call your attention to the daily column written by Jack Roberts here in Los Angeles.   I mean, this guy hasn't taken long at all to become THE column to read if you care about the radio and music business.   How can YOU read his column.   Very simple;   www.hollywoodhillsgroup.com   Once you check it out, you'll be thanking me.

Do you plan to watch the Grammy Awards this Sunday?   It'll be on CBS and a lot of big stars will be performing.

I saw three new films this past week.   "Bullet to the Head", starring Sly Stallone, "Gangster Squad", starring an all-star cast and "Girls against Boys", starring Danielle Panabaker and Nicole LaLiberte.

I thought "Bullet to the Head" was fun, "Gangster Squad" was more fun (I love you, Emma Stone) and that "Girls against Boys" was mind blowing.   Heavy, heavy stuff.   Not for everyone, but done well.

THOUGHTS AND OR COMMENTS:   Please write to me at scottstjames@sbcglobal.net and I'll 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 wouldn't be able to respond to you.   I respond to everyone unless you refer to yourself as "Anonymous".   Those emails are ignored.

THE NEXT BLOG?   Barring unforeseen circumstances, next Thursday (Valentine's Day) night, February 14 or very early Friday morning, February 15.

Meanwhile, I hope that all of you have a very pleasant weekend, a very nice Valentine's Day and don't forget...
AMERICA FIRST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!     

Because of a problem I'm dealing with, this will be a short blog!!!

Hi Gang!!!

Because of a monumental debate I'm having with myself over a story I'm thinking of writing or not writing and how DEEP I'll be willing to go into this story if I DO write it is a decision I'm unable make right now.   Sooooo....I'll definitely make a decision when I write a new blog next Thursday.

For now, these brief items....

In case you hadn't heard, Rush Limbaugh was escorted out of a Mexican restaurant in Florida by security officers because the restaurant has a "strict-no-racist-policy".   Rush Limbaugh?   A racist?   Who da thunked THAT?!?   HUH?!?

I'm sure that between now and next Thursday you will have heard more about this.

Did you know that Sarah Palin was released by Fox news?   They supposedly offered Palin about 50% of what she was making if she wanted to stay, but she chose to decline the offer.

Did you know that Fox News is suffering its worst ratings in twelve years?   Nothing lasts forever, folks.

GAS PRICES!!!   Where I live, prices have gone up more than 60-cents a gallon in less than a week.   And I'm sure that wherever YOU live, you're getting whacked, too!   Outrageous, outrageous, outrageous.   Why oh why do we keep giving these oil baron bandits the tax breaks that we do???

BRIEF ENTERTAINMENT STUFF:

First of all, big time congratulations to singer Aaron Neville who is making a very successful comeback with his new CD ("Aaron Neville, my true story".   You can get a copy at your favorite music store and or Amazon.   You've probably seen Mr. Neville on a few television shows, too.   Big time congrats to world famous music guy and all around great guy, Don Graham for the hard work he's put into Aaron Neville's successful comeback.

Of course when we're talking about entertainment, is there anything bigger (entertainment wise) than THE SUPER BOWL?!?

The game will be played this Sunday.   Baltimore against San Francisco.   San Francisco is favored by 3 points.   I grew up in that area and I'll be rooting for the 49ers.   In previous Super Bowl games, the 49ers are undefeated.

Are you getting ready for the Oscars show on February 24?   For the first time in 36 years, Barbara Streisand will be singing on that show.

Did you watch the SAG Awards last Sunday?   I was an Awards Judge for that show and I (surprisingly so) voted for many of the performers who won.

I hope "Argo" wins the Oscar for Best Picture, but all the films that have been nominated are good enough TO win.

Did you see the new FX show that debuted earlier this week?   "The Americans", starring Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys.   It got great reviews and I liked it as well.

Very good ratings for "American Idol" earlier this week.   Mark Harmon's "NCIS" has been renewed for it's 11th season.   Year in and year out, that show gets the best ratings.   Yes, even better than Sunday Night Football.

Have you checked out "Scandal" (ABC), "Nashville" (ABC), "The Following" (FOX), "Suits" (USA)?   All four (and many others) are worth your time.   If you HAVE the time.

I plan to see (at least) 3 new films between now and next Thursday's blog.   I'll give you yay or nay thoughts about them.

And here's something we can all hope for between now and next Thursday;   No more gas price hikes and no more killings with guns.

THOUGHTS AND OR COMMENTS?   I told you this blog would be "brief".   Any thoughts and or comments should be sent to me at scottstjames@sbcglobal.net   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 wouldn't be able to respond to you.   I respond to everyone unless you identify yourself as "Anonymous".   Those emails are ignored.

THE NEXT BLOG?   Barring unforeseen circumstances, next Thursday night, February 7 or very early Friday morning, February 8.

Meanwhile, I hope that all of you have a very nice Super Bowl Sunday and that the team you're rooting for is the team that wins.

And please join us with the following wish:   AMERICA FIRST!!!