Your Bag of Nothing for Friday, April 25, 2025

  • Jimmy Kimmel had Jelly Roll on his show. He brought up Oxford University, noting that it is considered the university of universities, and that they had invited him (Jelly Roll) to speak. Jelly Roll talked about how intimidating and unlikely it is that a guy who earned his GED in a Tennessee prison got that opportunity. When he put it like that, it really gave me some perspective.
  • Random tip for any men attending a funeral and even a wedding. Bring a few tissues, and be ready to hand them over when you see someone crying.
  • Here’s something I’ve been chewing on:

    “Blood is thicker than water” is actually “The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb”, meaning the opposite of what people think (i.e., your chosen family is more important than blood relations).
  • Japan ‘executes’ the death penalty in a unique way.
    • Death row inmates are only given one or two hours’ notice prior to their execution, and the family is only notified after the fact.
    • The method they use is hanging, and there have been times when it took over two minutes for the inmate to lose consciousness.
    • Every five years, the Cabinet Office​ surveys public opinion on the topic. In the 2019 survey, 80.8% of respondents said the death penalty was “unavoidable.” This compares with the 2009 survey (published in February 2010), when 85.6% responded “unavoidable,” the highest figure ever.
  • Spoiler Alert for The Conners: I didn’t watch the show, but I think John Goodman is universally loved by all. He was praised for breaking the fourth wall to end the final scene in the series finale by sincerely telling the audience, “Goodnight.” It was heartfelt. And I think he’s the type of person to really appreciate and be grateful for that very unique moment; let me explain. Consider how emotional it must have been for the entire cast and crew, and especially him. The show first ran for 10 successful seasons in the late 1980s and 1990s, and they had an opportunity to have a series finale, which I’m sure was emotional, something very few people get to experience.. And then, decades later, the entire cast gets back together to do it again for seven years, reuniting with their closest coworkers in their careers. Who gets to have two series finales for the same show with the same people twice? 

    If you’re interested, here’s a nice writeup: ‘I’m Old And Resistant To Change.’ – John Goodman’s Comments About The Conners Ending Make Me Feel So Bittersweet As A Fan




  • I saw this headline on the Dallas Morning News website and thought it was strange that I didn’t know the former Cowboys backup quarterback and head coach was coaching at a local high school. Initially, I thought, ‘Wow, that’s pretty noble,’ and I researched when he first took on the job. Then I discovered that the person the story is about isn’t the former Cowboy, but just another football coach who shares the same first and last name.
  • You have no idea how much I wish I could have built this house for and when I was part of a whole family.

     

    View this post on Instagram

     

    A post shared by Justin Flom (@justinflom)

  • In case you needed a weekend project, here ya go.

    Interesting

    [image or embed]

    — superhackers (@superhackers.bsky.social) April 21, 2025 at 12:44 PM

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Your Bag of Nothing for Wednesday, April 23, 2025

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Your Bag of Nothing for Tuesday, April 22, 2025

  • While no one wants to be involved in a plane crash, I know we all want an opportunity to go down the slide.

  • BoyGeeding and I have started watching the Amazon series Invincible together. I was delightfully surprised to see that the main character is half-Asian, with an Asian mother and a white father.

    I remember being a young kid watching television and thinking I must have been adopted because no shows had a mixed-race family like mine. In my kid logic, it kind of made sense. I was a loyal viewer of Different Strokes, where the boys were adopted by a white man. So in my little mind, seeing a family like mine just didn’t seem possible unless someone was adopted. Whatchu talkin’ ’bout, young Keith?

    Of course, it made no real sense. I was just an ignorant kid trying to fit myself into the stories I saw. It’s funny looking back now. Too bad I didn’t realize back then that Desi Arnaz wasn’t white either.

    Speaking of Desi Arnaz, he died shortly before Lucille Ball was honored at the Kennedy Center in 1986. Unknown to her, Desi had written a final note that was read aloud during the ceremony after his passing. Sadly, I bet too many today don’t understand the significance of that moment.

    “I Love Lucy was never just a title.”

    That simple line hit her hard. It hits differently knowing Desi died just days before. That tribute became both a love letter and a goodbye. Wild how something written for a formal event ends up feeling so personal.

    The way Robert Stack, with that incredible voice, reads it — calm, reverent, and with so much understated emotion — and Lucy trying to hold it together in the audience, it’s one of those rare TV moments where everything feels honest and real.

    Even though they had divorced back in 1960, there was still a deep, complicated love and respect between them. In private, Lucy reportedly said that Desi’s words “meant the world” to her and that they gave her a sense of closure she hadn’t realized she needed. She also said something to the effect of “it was like Desi was there with me one last time.”

    Turns out TV was teaching me more about life than I realized, even if young Keith was a little slow on the uptake. Guess it only took 40 years, a cartoon, and a Cuban bandleader to finally make it click. Representation matters, even if it took me half a lifetime to notice.

  • No other celebrity is having a better year than Walter Goggins.
  • I watched the first few seasons of Mythic Quest and enjoyed it. After season four aired, Apple decided to abruptly cancel the series. But it’s interesting how Apple allowed the show to edit its season finale to make it a series finale, and fans are no longer able to watch the original ending. For someone like me who takes the canon of television and movies seriously, this raises a lot of questions.
  • It wouldn’t surprise you to know that, as a presidential history nerd, I follow presidential library Twitter accounts. One reason is that they will sometimes post interesting footage of them out of the public eye, acting natural, as in this case with Nixon and Clinton. I’m so used to these men acting formal in front of the camera, it takes a moment or two for me to adjust to just seeing two men talk. Pat Nixon died three months later. In one book I read, Nixon held a grievance against Clinton for not calling on the day of her passing.

  • Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, also known as Friendly Fire Barbie, needs a lesson in optics. But then again, she’s the one who doubled down on shooting a dog that wasn’t up to her standards. Her own party has roasted her for her ‘ICE Barbie’ stunts, calling her out for ‘cosplaying’ as an ICE agent. She wore full makeup and her hair blown out when she toured a prison in El Salvador, sporting a $50,000 gold Rolex. On Easter, while at a burger spot, a thief nabbed her purse, which contained Noem’s driver’s license and passport, DHS access badge, checks, medicine, makeup, and roughly $3,000 in cash.
  • In a guest essay for the NY Times, Larry David skewers Bill Maher for dining with President Trump at the White House.
    “Two hours later, the dinner was over, and the Führer escorted me to the door. “I am so glad to have met you. I hope I’m no longer the monster you thought I was.” “I must say, mein Führer, I’m so thankful I came. Although we disagree on many issues, …”
    “…it doesn’t mean that we have to hate each other.” And with that, I gave him a Nazi salute and walked out into the night.”
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Your Bag of Nothing for Monday, April 21, 2025

  • A few quick thoughts about A Few Good Men.


    The film is directed by Rob Reiner. Do you remember Aunt Ginny?


    Kaffe: “I was expecting someone older.”
    Aunt Ginny: “Me too..”


    That’s his daughter-in-law, Maud Winchester. She is married to his son, Lucas.



    J.A. Preston, the judge in the film, does an exceptional job in the role, and I think everyone who has watched the film would totally agree without hesitation. He’s still alive at 92, and his last film credit was in 2006.





    Colonel Jessup sure showed his true colors, when, during his diatribe, he calls out Lt. Weinberg for no good reason.


    Ah heck, here’s the full clip.
  • I had The Godfather Part II on in the background on Saturday.


    Here’s an idea: how about a new TV series of Michael Coleone’s time in the Marine Corps?

  • I’m serious when I say this. I don’t think there’s been a more hurtful thing a woman has said or could ever say to a man in all of cinema than when Kay Coleone told Michael she didn’t have a miscarriage but had an abortion. My jaw literally dropped the first time I saw that scene.


  • My kids and I have this inside joke about them eating fresh pretzels and sipping on ICEEs at my funeral. So, when I came across this clip from The Family Guy, I just had to send it to them.
  • Last week, on Last Week with Jon Oliver, the host shared something I didn’t know about Eerie, Pennsylvania:





    Intrigued. I had to look up more about that story.



    You know what’s a funny coincidence? The president and CEO of VisitErie, Erie County’s tourism promotion agency, is named John Oliver, just like the television host. Their first name is just spelled differently. And of course, VisitErie is doing what it can to capitalize on the attention.

    From (Erie’s) John Oliver to (TV’s) John Oliver: Learn more about Erie, Pennsylvania – VisitErie CEO details the city’s attractions for his television namesake and ‘Last Week Tonight’ host who only knows that ‘Mad’ Anthony Wayne’s body was boiled in Erie.
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