The Double Cheeseburger with Fried Egg @ The Burger Junction.
Month: August 2017
AOC Rejects Chelsea For Liverpool
Liverpool have agreed a fee of £35m for Arsenal midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who had a medical with the Anfield club on Wednesday evening, according to Sky sources. The 24-year-old is set to join Liverpool on a six-year deal after the two clubs came to an agreement on Wednesday, although Oxlade-Chamberlain is yet to agree personal terms with the Reds. Liverpool will pay a fee of £35m for Oxlade-Chamberlain – the same figure that was previously agreed with Chelsea for the versatile midfielder. Oxlade-Chamberlain, currently away on international duty with England, conducted a medical at St George’s Park ahead of his proposed move to Anfield.
The former Southampton youngster turned down a new improved deal at Arsenal earlier this month which would have seen him earn £180,000 a week. Arsenal agreed a deal with Chelsea for Oxlade-Chamberlain earlier this week but the midfielder rejected the chance to join the Blues in favour of a move to Anfield. News of the deal will come as a major blow to Gunners boss Arsene Wenger, who urged Oxlade-Chamberlain to commit his future to Arsenal last week. “I think we invested a lot of time and confidence and money in players like Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain that we bought at a very young age” said Wenger.
“For me, they have a responsibility for the future of this club because Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will be one of the big English players in the coming years and I personally am highly determined to keep him here at the club in the hope that he will commit.” The 4-0 defeat to Liverpool on Sunday forced a change of heart at the Emirates and the decision was made to cash in on Oxlade-Chamberlain.Sky sources understand Oxlade-Chamberlain will earn a minimum of £120,000 a week at Anfield – a figure which could increase with win bonuses and loyalty payments. It means Wenger will face serious questions about his ability to manage a fractured Arsenal squad. And the final day of the transfer window could see the likes of Alexis Sanchez, Shkodran Mustafi, Lucas Perez and Joel Campbell all leave the Emirates.
Arsenal Sells Gibbs To West Brom
West Bromwich Albion have signed defender Kieran Gibbs from Arsenal in a deal reported to be worth up to £7 million. Gibbs joined West Brom on a four-year contract after turning down a chance to move to Watford, with the transfer ending a 13-year Arsenal career that began in the club’s academy. The move should improve the left-back’s chances of regular firstfootball after he was relegated to a back-up role at the Emirates for the past couple of seasons, and could resurrect his England career. It also fills a major gap for West Brom manager Tony Pulis, who operated without a recognised senior left-back last season.
“I spoke to him and have always been impressed by him and how he goes about his work,” Gibbs told West Brom’s official website. “He’s different to what I’ve had before and I feel he can develop me in certain areas I may be need work on. He can help me progress.” Pulis added: “Kieran’s a good age and has made over 200 appearances for Arsenal, represented his country and has Premier League and Champions League experience. “To add these qualities to our squad is exactly what we’re looking for.” Gibbs had been widely expected to leave Arsenal after the summer signing of Sead Kolasinac from Schalke and did not feature in either preseason or any of their first three league games. He leaves Arsenal having made 230 appearances since his League Cup debut in 2007, scoring six goals.
Gibbs came through the youth ranks at Arsenal, but having played regularly between 2012 and 2015, he subsequently found himself on the fringes of the first team. Gibbs, who won the last of his 10 England caps in 2010, follows Jay Rodriguez, Ahmed Hegazi, Gareth Barry, Yuning Zhang and Oliver Burke in signing for West Brom during the current transfer window. Gibbs also posted a personal message on Twitter, describing his time at Arsenal as “a dream” and thanking manager Arsene Wenger, the staff, his team-mates and the club’s fans.
Cannot Wait For Thursday Evening
I’ve had two long days at work yesterday and today. And for no reason. All I want is to work my 9 hour shift and go home at the end of it. But no – due to some stupid reason or the other I am extending it for over 2 hours and it is all for no use. I wake up by 6 am and get ready and leave the apartment by 7:30 am and reach the office by 8 am as there is very little traffic at that time.
I start my training batch from 8:30 am to 5:30 with a long break for lunch. And then the last two days I have been waiting around for over two hours because of some stupid reason. Hence I have left the office at 7:45 the last two days and while yesterday there was very little traffic I reached home by 15 minutes past 8pm, today due to a huge traffic jam I reached home by 8:45pm.
I barely have much time for myself, let alone enjoy a cup of coffee someplace, before I have to go to sleep. This is ridiculous. I dunno how many days I can go on like this but I am ok for a while. But I still cannot wait for the long weekend to start.
The Ox To Be Sold To Chelsea? Good!
Chelsea are believed to have agreed a fee with Arsenal to bring Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to Stamford Bridge. Oxlade-Chamberlain, who joined Arsenal in 2011, is pushing for a move and rejected a contract offer from the Gunners last week. Liverpool and Chelsea had been showing substantial interest in the 24-year-old but Sky Sports say it is the Premier League champions who are set to land their man. It is claimed a fee of around £35million has been agreed between the London rivals and a medical will take place in the next few days. Oxlade-Chamberlain, who started for Arsenal in Sunday’s 4-0 defeat at Anfield, is currently with the England squad at St George’s Park.
And it is believed large parts of his medical could take place at England’s training centre, with Chelsea keen to make progress on the deal ahead of Thursday’s deadline. Speaking to the media on Sunday, Conte confirmed the club were working ‘very hard’ on incoming transfers. ‘There are four days to go in the transfer market,’ Conte said. ‘I think the club is working very hard to try to improve our squad. ‘Don’t forget that in September we have to play seven games and I need to rotate my players because it’s very difficult to play seven games in a month with the same players.
Arsenal are ready to sell Oxlade-Chamberlain after he refused to sign an improved £180,000-a-week contract. The Blues look set to beat Liverpool to the England international, although the Reds have themselves today confirmed the signing of Naby Keita for 2018. Chelsea manager Antoni Conte has been adamant in recent days that his side will sign more players before Thursday’s transfer deadline. Oxlade-Chamberlain was criticised for his performance for Arsenal in the 4-0 defeat at Liverpool yesterday. Oxlade-Chamberlain joined Arsenal from Southampton in a £12million deal in 2011. He made just 68 Premier League starts for Arsenal in his six years at the club, coming on off the bench 64 times. Oxlade-Chamberlain had played in all four of Arsenal’s games this term but refused to pen a new deal. His move could end Chelsea’s interest in Leicester midfielder Danny Drinkwater.
Liverpool 4 Arsenal 0
Liverpool produced a dazzling attacking display to destroy Arsenal as Arsene Wenger’s side were humiliated at Anfield. Wenger surprisingly chose to leave out summer signing Alexandre Lacazette, and the £52.6m striker could only look on as every one of the Gunners’ old, familiar failings were brutally exposed by Liverpool’s pace, movement and sheer desire. Roberto Firmino headed in Joe Gomez’s cross to give Liverpool a 17th-minute lead to start an attacking blitz that ended in a final scoreline that actually flattered Arsenal.
Sadio Mane curled in Liverpool’s second before Mohamed Salah ran half the length of the field on the break to stroke home the third after 57 minutes. The fact that the goal came from an Arsenal corner merely emphasised the shambolic nature of their display, which lacked organisation, commitment and passion. Arsenal – who have now lost two of their first three league games – were overrun and showed no stomach for the fight. Liverpool substitute Daniel Sturridge gave the scoreline a more realistic appearance when he headed home the fourth at the far post from Salah’s cross 13 minutes from the end. Wenger insists Alexis Sanchez, who made his first appearance of the season, will not be sold before Thursday’s transfer deadline – but that is unlikely to stop Manchester City making one final attempt to prise the Chilean away from Emirates Stadium.
Sanchez has shown no inclination to sign a new contract at Arsenal so Wenger’s decision means the Gunners now risk losing an asset worth at least £50m for nothing at the end of this season. The brutal question after Arsenal’s ambitions were laid bare once more is: what is there on offer in terms of serious success that would keep him at Arsenal? Liverpool looked light years ahead of Arsenal as potential title contenders, and with no Champions League football, there was very little that was appetising enough to tempt Sanchez to stay. Sanchez was even denied the assistance of Lacazette, who was reduced to the role of substitute while Arsenal were subjected to the sort of hammering they have received at Anfield on a couple of occasions in recent seasons. It is now a question of whether Arsenal stick or twist in the next few days – and whether a huge offer from City might just be tempting.
In a further irony, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who looks certain to leave Arsenal before the transfer deadline, was warmly applauded by Liverpool’s fans when he was substituted, clearly in the hope he could be tempted to Anfield rather than Chelsea. Lacazette – who came on for the final 28 minutes – was probably best being kept out of this one, as Arsenal were swept aside by a red tidal wave of attacks. But it is a mystery why Wenger would spend big money on a player then leave him out for such a vital game. Arsenal’s other summer signing, defender Sead Kolasinac, the man who was supposedly going to beef up a soft side, was also excluded on a chastening day that left Wenger facing familiar and painful questions.
Catch You On The Flip Side
RIP Tobe Hooper
Tobe Hooper, the horror director best known for helming “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre” and “Poltergeist,” died Saturday in Sherman Oaks, Calif., according to the Los Angeles County Coroner. He was 74. The circumstances of his death were not known. The 1974 “Texas Chain Saw Massacre” became one of the most influential horror films of all time for its realistic approach and deranged vision. Shot for less than $300,000, it tells the story of a group of unfortunate friends who encounter a group of cannibals on their way to visit an old homestead. Though it was banned in several countries for violence, it was one of the most profitable independent films of the 1970s in the U.S. The character of Leatherface was loosely based on serial killer Ed Gein.
The Austin, Texas born Hooper spent the 1960s as a college professor and documentary cameraman. His short film The Heisters (1965) was invited to be entered in the short subject category for an Academy Award, but was not finished in time for the competition that year. He directed The Texas Chain Saw Massacre in 1974. He later directed The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 in 1986. In 1982, Hooper directed Poltergeist, which was based on a story by Steven Spielberg. He also directed cult Scifi film Lifeforce. Another horror film was the Mangler, based on a story by Stephen King. In October 2009, Twisted Pictures, the company behind the Saw films, bought the rights to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and made a new Chainsaw film in 3D, Texas Chainsaw 3D (2013).
In 2010, writer and actor Mark Gatiss interviewed the director for his BBC documentary series A History of Horror; Hooper appeared in the third episode. Hooper’s first novel, Midnight Movie, was published on Three Rivers Press in 2011. His supernatural thriller film Djinn premiered at the 2013 Abu Dhabi Film Festival. In May 2017, Tobe Hooper was attacked by a former girlfriend. Director Ridley Scott has stated that his work on Alien was influenced by Hooper’s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre more than any other B-level genre product.
Fifty Shades Darker
Fifty Shades Darker is a 2017 American erotic romantic drama film directed by James Foley and written by Niall Leonard, based on E. L. James’s novel of the same name. The second film in the Fifty Shades film series, it is the sequel to the 2015 film Fifty Shades of Grey. The film stars Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan as Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey, respectively, with Eric Johnson, Eloise Mumford, Bella Heathcote, Rita Ora, Luke Grimes, Victor Rasuk, Kim Basinger and Marcia Gay Harden in supporting roles.
So the first one was good, enticed me a bit with the scenes of sex amidst the banter of a love story. This one though – it seems like a bad Bollywood romance film with bits of fucking happening just because they don’t have enough scenes to fill out the film. After they split up, Christian has nightmares about his abusive childhood and hence goes to try and win Ana back. Ana begins a new job as an assistant to Jack Hyde, an editor at Seattle Independent Publishing (SIP) whose previous assistants all quit within the last eighteen months. Ana unexpectedly runs into Christian at the opening of her friend Jose Rodriguez’s photography exhibit. He says he wants Ana back and agrees to her no rules, no punishments, and no more secrets terms.
So they fuck and they have disagreements and in between Jack tries to molest Ana, so she fights him off and using his influence Christian gets him fired. At a meeting in SIP where Ana sits in, she gives an idea and is therefore asked to temporarily fill in for Jack’s post. That is the most contrived thing I have ever seen in a long, long time. Bollywood has better reasonings for promotions. In between we have a troubled young woman who looks a lot like Ana, who turns out to be Leila, a former submissive. After their contract ended, Leila wanted more, but Christian ended the relationship. Leila married a man who later died, causing Leila to have a mental breakdown. She has been stalking Ana and Christian. She busts up Ana’s car and approaches her at her home with a gun and it takes Christian to show dominance to stop her. Ana is disturbed by this.
Enter Elena, the older woman and close friend of Christian’s adoptive mother – Christian takes Ana to her saloon and Ana is furious when she finds out that she was the one who introduced a teenage Christian to BDSM and now she is a business partner of his. At a party Elena tells Ana to stay away from Christian. Christian submissively drops to his knees and confesses that he is not a dominant, but a sadist who enjoyed hurting women who looked like his birth mother. He insists he wants to change. During the night, Ana awakens Christian while he is having a nightmare. He proposes but she needs time before accepting. Christian leaves on a business trip, piloting his own helicopter. An engine failure forces Christian to ditch the craft in a heavily forested area, prompting a massive search and rescue effort. Ana and Christian’s family gather to wait for news. When Christian suddenly arrives home safely, Ana, realizing she loves him, accepts his marriage proposal.
At Christian’s birthday party, Elena accuses Ana of being a gold digger. Ana orders her to stop interfering in their lives. Christian overhears and dismissively tells Elena that she taught him, “how to fuck and not how to love.” Grace intervenes and, furious that Elena preyed on her teen-aged son, demands she leave for good; Christian also cuts all ties with Elena. Later that evening, Christian proposes to Ana, this time with a ring, and she accepts. As fireworks erupt in the sky, Jack Hyde watches the festivities from afar.
The movie was panned by critics and with good reason. It’s hardly a story – and I have seen better storylines in a soft porn film. Heck porn films have better storylines and even better sex. I give it a 5.5 outta 10! Atleast the women are gorgeous.
Food Review #183
Buffalo Chicken Wings & Fish n Chips from Lil America – bread crumb batter fried fish and potato wedges, chicken wings in buffalo sauce.
A Second Tattoo?
Would You Ever Consider Getting a Tattoo?
I already have a tattoo. I got my first one after years of thinking about getting one and when I got one I was already 39 years old. I would consider getting a second and a third one if I do get the chance and find a good tattoo artist. The question is what design would I choose to get for my second tattoo?
I keep thinking I want a skullhead tattoo and I really would love that. I dunno how it would end up looking but I have several designs that I would love to be on my skin. Heavy metal and hard rock style logos or design is also something I would love to get done. I have a design that I got someone to create for me which is a skullhead in a top hat with vampire teeth and a cape and which I have dubbed Count Roshculla. That would be awesome.
Other things I have considered are Star Trek logos and a few other things here and there. Someday I will get them.
Prompt from The Learning Network at The New York Times
Arsehole Wanker & His Excuses
Arsene says 33 is a huge squad to have – isn’t he the one who buys and sells players? Fix the problem fucker! You just know that Arsehole Wanker is gonna use his “too big squad and needs to sell” as an excuse for not buying players we need! Whats all this rumours linking Mustafi with Inter Milan and now Juventus? Who is Arsenal gonna field in defense? Kos & Holding & Per alone?
Two more years of Arsene Wenger’s nonsense and his excuses and bullshit. UGH! If the Arsenal board had a set of balls between them they would have sacked Wenger 3 years ago. We need players, better players than what we currently have and Wenger is back to his own excuses. He’s not signing anyone else. The lame excuses, which no other club has by the way, has started. The board & Wenger sucks!
I have stopped planning my weekend evenings around Arsenal games. I will watch less games this season. If I am free I will watch, if not nope! Because it’s more of the same rubbish. Same shit, different toilet, different year! I’ll watch and support but Wenger needs to leave as do a bunch of cunts at @Arsenal. Cannot sell the players he has to, cannot buy the players the club needs. #Wengerout you fucking senile old goat, shove your dick up ur ass! Those fucking idiots that want Wenger to stay on – YOU CAN KISS MY ASS! THE BOARD IS A BUNCH OF SPINELESS DICKHEADS! EAT SHIT MORONS! Pedestrian at best, #Arsenal are not exciting and they lack ambition. Just like the board and just like their impotent, limp dick manager!
4 Days Of Bliss Upcoming
I know it’s still a few days away but I am so looking forward to a 4 day mini-vacation / holiday coming up. I gotta say, when you work night shifts, you star looking forward to the weekend by Tuesday morning! Even before you finish two days of work. It’s Wednesday afternoon now, me having just woken up about 90 minutes ago and I am tired and could use another 2 hours of sleep.
I have had an early lunch at 12:45 pm, since I do not eat breakfast on days that I wake up this late due to my work shift. I usually get up, brush my teeth and wash my face and then get my coffee at come to the laptop. After lunch, it’s back to the laptop again and maybe watch a couple of tv show episodes till 3:30 pm or 4pm when it’s more coffee and maybe a snack before I start to get ready for work. I shower, shave and poop and get dressed. In between I will find 20 minutes or so for some quiet time.
But yeah back to the 4 day holiday -September 1st to the 4th – I am thinking, why not take a nice hotel room for 203 days and just relax? Somewhere here in the city or a little further away. Take a nice, comfy room and chill. Sleep in, enjoy some room service, watch hours of countless tv on cable and maybe a drink or two. I’ve never done that but I am thinking that I could use some time away from home. That would be nice!
2017 Pic Of The Year – Eclipse
The Founder
I must say that for several years I heard nothing about Michael Keaton – since 1996 or atleast I haven’t seen a movie of his since 1997’s Jackie Brown – and then since 2014, he’s a hot commodity. And it’s good because I’m a fan and that’s why I checked out The Founder. The movie is is a 2016 American biographical drama film directed by John Lee Hancock and written by Robert Siegel. The film stars Keaton as businessman Ray Kroc, and portrays the story of his creation of the McDonald’s fast food chain. Nick Offerman and John Carroll Lynch co-star as McDonald’s founders Richard and Maurice McDonald.
The story starts with seeing ambitious but not so lucky traveling salesman selling Prince Castle brand milkshake mixers in 1954. Still he has a comfortable life in a nice house with his wife Ethel (Laura Dern) who wants him to spend more time with her. After learning that a drive-in in San Bernardino is ordering an unusually large number of milkshake mixers, Ray drives to California to see it. What he finds is McDonald’s—a highly popular walk-up restaurant with fast service, high-quality food, disposable packaging, and a family-friendly atmosphere. Ray meets the owners brothers Maurice “Mac” and Richard “Dick” McDonald and gets a tour noting the employees’ strong work ethic, the high-quality food and lightning-fast service.
Ray invites the brothers for dinner and learns their story. He then suggests that the brothers franchise the restaurant and discovers that they had previously attempted to do so only to encounter absentee owners and inconsistent standards which ultimately led to the failure of the endeavor. Ray persists and eventually convinces the brothers to allow him to lead their franchising efforts on the condition that he agree to a contract which requires all changes to receive the McDonald brothers’ approval in writing. Ray starts the first franchise in Des Plaines, Illinois while attempting to entice wealthy investors (specifically fellow members at the country club he and Ethel were members of) to open franchises, but encounters the same poor management ethic which doomed the original franchise efforts. Ray hits on the idea of franchising to middle-class investors, who are more likely to be hands-on and willing to follow the McDonald’s formula. This proves successful, and new franchises begin opening across the Midwest, with Ray representing himself as the creator of McDonald’s. During this time, Ray meets Rollie Smith, an upscale restaurant owner in Minnesota who wishes to invest, and his wife Joan, to whom Ray is immediately attracted.
Despite his success he is still struggling financially as his share of franchise profits is limited due to his contract. The franchise owners have huge costs due to the ice cream refrigeration for the milkshakes & Joan suggests a powdered milkshake to Ray as a way to avoid these costs, but the brothers refuse to compromise the quality of their food. His debts starts to pile up and the bank threatens to foreclose on his house, which he had mortgaged to finance his expansions and he approaches them for a loan but is refused. However his discussion is overheard by Harry Sonneborn, a financial consultant for Tastee-Freez, who agrees to review Ray’s books. Harry informs Ray that the money to be made is in real estate providing real estate to the franchisees, which will not only provide a revenue stream, but give Ray leverage over his franchisees and over the McDonald brothers. Ray incorporates a new company, Franchise Realty Corporation, and attracts new investors. This move upsets the brothers and emboldens Ray: he increasingly defies them by circumventing their authority and providing powdered milkshakes to all franchisees. Ray divorces Ethel and leaves her the house, but doesn’t give her any share of the profit.
Ray renames his company to The McDonald’s Corporation and demands to be released from his contract and buy the brothers out, the news of which sends Mac into diabetic shock. Ray visits him in the hospital and offers a blank check to settle their business. The brothers agree to a $2.7 million lump sum payment, ownership of their original restaurant in San Bernardino, and a 1% annual royalty, but when the time comes to finalize the agreement, Ray refuses to include the royalty in the settlement and instead offers it as a handshake deal. Afterwards, in the men’s room, Dick asks Ray why he had to take over their business, when he could have easily stolen their idea and recreated it. Ray reveals that the true value of McDonald’s is the name itself, which expresses all the attributes of Americana (vs his Czech Slavic-sounding name of Kroc).
The McDonald brothers are forced to take their own name off the original restaurant and Ray opens a new McDonald’s franchise directly across the street from the original restaurant to finally put the McDonald brothers out of business. The movie ends in 1970 when Ray is practicing his speech about him starting/founding the McDonald’s company in his mansion with his wife Joan. An epilogue reveals that the McDonald brothers were never paid their royalties, which could have been in the area of $100 million a year.
Fascinating story with a marquee performance by Keaton. The supporting cast is also wonderful. The low budget film of $25 million only made $23.7 million back at the box office, which is a shame as this is a must see film if you’ve even heard the name McDonald’s. 8.5 outta 10!
Jenkinson and Bramall Loaned to Birmingham
Birmingham have completed the double loan signing of Arsenal defenders Carl Jenkinson and Cohen Bramall. The duo move to St Andrews for the 2017/18 season, although there is no option to buy for the Sky Bet Championship club. Blues boss Harry Redknapp has made no secret of the fact he wants to add numbers to his squad before the transfer deadline. Former England international Jenkinson, 25, has been surplus to requirements at Arsenal and played just five games for the Gunners last season.
He spent two seasons on loan at West Ham between 2014 and 2016 before a serious knee injury saw him return to the Emirates Stadium, where he found himself well down the pecking order in Arsene Wenger’s ranks.
Bramall has yet to feature for Arsenal’s first-team in a competitive match but was part of their pre-season tour squad. The 21-year-old left-back was plucked from non-league last season, joining from Hednesford Town. Both players go straight into the Birmingham squad for their Carabao Cup second-round clash at home to Bournemouth on Tuesday night.
RIP Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis, the comedian and filmmaker who was adored by many, disdained by others, but unquestionably a defining figure of American entertainment in the 20th century, died on Sunday morning at his home in Las Vegas. He was 91. His death was confirmed by his publicist, Candi Cazau.
Mr. Lewis knew success in movies, on television, in nightclubs, on the Broadway stage and in the university lecture hall. His career had its ups and downs, but when it was at its zenith there were few stars any bigger. And he got there remarkably quickly. Barely out of his teens, he shot to fame shortly after World War II with a nightclub act in which the rakish, imperturbable Dean Martin crooned and the skinny, hyperactive Mr. Lewis capered around the stage, a dangerously volatile id to Mr. Martin’s supremely relaxed ego. After his break with Mr. Martin in 1956, Mr. Lewis went on to a successful solo career, eventually writing, producing and directing many of his own films. As a spokesman for the Muscular Dystrophy Association, Mr. Lewis raised vast sums for charity; as a filmmaker of great personal force and technical skill, he made many contributions to the industry, including the invention in 1960 of a device — the video assist, which allowed directors to review their work immediately on the set — still in common use.
Jerry Lewis was born on March 16, 1926, in Newark. Most sources, including his 1982 autobiography, “Jerry Lewis: In Person,” give his birth name as Joseph Levitch. But Shawn Levy, author of the exhaustive 1996 biography “King of Comedy: The Life and Art of Jerry Lewis,” unearthed a birth record that gave his first name as Jerome. In 1944 — a 4F classification kept him out of the war — he was performing at the Downtown Theater in Detroit when he met Patti Palmer, a 23-year-old singer. Three months later they were married, and on July 31, 1945, while Patti was living with Jerry’s parents in Newark and he was performing at a Baltimore nightclub, she gave birth to the first of the couple’s six sons, Gary, who in the 1960s had a series of hit records with his band Gary Lewis and the Playboys. The couple divorced in 1980.
Between his first date with Ms. Palmer and the birth of his first son, Mr. Lewis had met Dean Martin, a promising young crooner from Steubenville, Ohio. The two men made many appearances on early live television, their first on the June 20, 1948, debut broadcast of Toast of the Town on CBS (later officially renamed The Ed Sullivan Show on September 25, 1955). This was followed on October 3, 1948, by an appearance on the NBC series Welcome Aboard, then a stint as the first of a series of hosts of The Colgate Comedy Hour in 1950. Just before appearing on The Colgate Comedy Hour, Lewis hired Norman Lear and Ed Simmons to become regular writers for the Martin and Lewis bits. The duo began their Paramount film careers as ensemble players in My Friend Irma (1949), based on the popular radio series of the same name. This was followed by a sequel My Friend Irma Goes West (1950).
Starting with At War with the Army (1950), Martin and Lewis were the stars of their own vehicles in fourteen additional titles, That’s My Boy (1951), Sailor Beware (1952), Jumping Jacks (1952; also appearing in the Crosby and Hope film, Road to Bali as cameos), The Stooge (1952), Scared Stiff (1953), The Caddy (1953), Money from Home (1953), Living It Up (1954), 3 Ring Circus (1954), You’re Never Too Young (1955), Artists and Models (1955) and Pardners (1956) at Paramount, ending with Hollywood or Bust (1956). All sixteen movies were produced by Hal B. Wallis. Attesting to the comedy team’s popularity, DC Comics published the best-selling The Adventures of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis comics from 1952 to 1957. As Martin’s roles in their films became less important over time, the partnership came under strain. Martin’s participation became an embarrassment in 1954 when Look magazine published a publicity photo of the team for the magazine cover but cropped Martin out. The partnership ended on July 24, 1956.
Lewis remained at Paramount and became a comedy star in his own right with his first film as a solo comic, The Delicate Delinquent (1957). Meanwhile, DC Comics published a new comic book series titled The Adventures of Jerry Lewis, running from 1957 to 1971. Teaming with director Frank Tashlin, whose background as a Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoon director suited Lewis’s brand of humor, he starred in five more films, The Sad Sack (1957), Rock-A-Bye Baby (1958), The Geisha Boy (1958), Don’t Give Up The Ship (1959) and even appeared uncredited as Itchy McRabbitt in Li’l Abner (1959). By the end of his contract with producer Hal B. Wallis, Lewis had several productions of his own under his belt. In 1959, a contract between Paramount Pictures and Jerry Lewis Productions was signed specifying a payment of $10 million plus 60% of the profits for 14 films over a seven-year period.[21] In 1960, Lewis finished his contract with Wallis with Visit to a Small Planet (1960) and wrapped up work on his own production Cinderfella, which was postponed for a Christmas 1960 release and Paramount, needing a quickie feature film for its summer 1960 schedule, held Lewis to his contract to produce one.
Lewis came up with The Bellboy (1960). Lewis followed The Bellboy by directing several more films that he co-wrote with Richmond while some were directed by Tashlin, including The Ladies Man(1961), The Errand Boy (1961), It’s Only Money (1962) and The Nutty Professor (1963). Lewis did a cameo appearance in It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963). Further on, more Lewis films were Who’s Minding the Store? (1963), The Patsy (1964) and The Disorderly Orderly (1964). Also in 1961, Lewis guest starred in an episode of The Garry Moore Show. Lewis hosted two different versions of The Jerry Lewis Show (a 1963 lavish, big-budget 13-week show for ABC and a 1967 one-hour variety show for NBC). Lewis directed and co-wrote The Family Jewels (1965) about a young heiress who must choose among six uncles, one of whom is up to no good and out to harm the girl’s beloved bodyguard who practically raised her. Lewis played all six uncles and the bodyguard. Lewis would next appear in Boeing Boeing (1965).
Also in 1965, Lewis made television appearances on Ben Casey, The Andy Williams Show and Hullabaloo. Lewis packed up and went to Columbia Pictures, where he made Three On A Couch (1966), then appeared in Way…Way Out (1966) for 20th Century Fox. During 1966, Lewis guest starred in Batman, Password and in a pilot for Sheriff Who. Lewis continued with more movies, such as The Big Mouth (1967) and Don’t Raise the Bridge, Lower the River (1968). He continued to act in the 70s but didn’t appear in a film for 11 years returned to film in Hardly Working (1981), a movie in which he both directed and starred. Despite being panned by critics, it eventually earned $50 million. Lewis next appeared in Martin Scorsese’s film The King of Comedy (1983). Lewis guest hosted SNL and also appeared in Cracking Up a.k.a. Smorgasbord (1983) and Slapstick (Of Another Kind) (1984). In France, Lewis starred in both To Catch a Cop a.k.a. The Defective Detective (1984) and How Did You Get In? We Didn’t See You Leave (1984).
In 2012, Lewis directed a musical theatre version of The Nutty Professor at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center in Nashville from July 31 to August 19 over the summer. In Brazil, Lewis appeared in Till Luck Do Us Part 2 (2013). He then next starred in a small role in the crime drama The Trust (2016). Lewis made a comeback in a lead role in Max Rose (2016). Lewis was married twice: Patti Palmer, a former singer with Ted Fio Rito; married October 3, 1944, divorced September 1980; SanDee Pitnick; married February 13, 1983; a 32-year-old Las Vegas dancer; married in Key Biscayne, Florida. He had six sons (one adopted) and one daughter (adopted).
Annabelle: Creation
Annabelle: Creation is a 2017 American supernatural horror film directed by David F. Sandberg and written by Gary Dauberman. It is a prequel to 2014’s Annabelle and the fourth installment in The Conjuring series. The film stars Stephanie Sigman, Talitha Bateman, Anthony LaPaglia, and Miranda Otto, and depicts the possessed Annabelle doll’s origin.
We get to see the origin of Annabelle (why do they have to do prequels? Why not tell the story properly). Porcelain doll maker Samuel Mullins & his wife Esther lose their daughter Beee (Annabell) to a car accident back in the 1943. Later what they think is their daughter’s spirit contacts them and the mourning couple are happy to transfer its essence into one of Samuel’s crafted porcelain dolls. Even though they only get glipses of their daughter from time to time it seems to be enough for the couple until they realize that it is infact a demon that has possessed the doll and it gouges out one eye and part of Esther’s cheek. The Mullins have the doll locked in a closet in a room and have priests paste pages from the bible on the door and the wall in order to prevent the demon from escaping.
12 years pass and the stupid couple then allow Sister Charlotte and six girls left homeless by the closing of their orphanage into their home offering them a temporary residence. Samuel forbids the girls to enter the locked bedroom which was Bee’s but that night Janice, who was crippled by polio, enters the room which she finds is mysteriously open. She finds a key for Bee’s closet and unlocks it, unwittingly releasing the demon, who begins to terrorize the girls, displaying a special interest in Janice. A night later Janice is picked up and thrown down to the ground floor, injuring her more. The next day while taken out on her wheelchair by Charlotte and left alone for just a minute she is dragged to a shed by the demon where in Bee’s form the demon possess her. Janice’s screams are heard by the others but she tells them she got frightened because she couldn’t open the door.
Only her best friend Linda notices the change in Janice. She admits to Samuel that Janice had snuck into Bee’s room and found the doll two nights earlier. Charlotte talks to Esther who tells them about the demon and the doll and that night the demon viciously kills the Mullins before turning it’s attention to the girls. The girls are chased to the shed and back and a possessed Janice pursues Linda. Eventually Charlotte, who was attacked earlier, is able to lock Janice in the same closet along with the doll. The cops are called but they find only the doll there as Janice through a hole in the closet wall and relocates to an orphanage in Santa Monica. She now goes by the name “Annabelle” and is adopted by the Higgins family. We then see “Annabelle” grow up and kill her parents her adoptive parents in their bedroom, which catches the attention of their next door neighbors, the Forms, setting off the events of the first Annabelle film.
I must say that the casting is top notch with a serious Anthony LaPaglia almost unrecognizable from his earlier comedic roles and the girls did fantastic jobs. The movie though was a bit boring, even during the chase scenes and I was napping. You only get to see the monster in small glimpses. It’s better than the original but I was more excited for the pizza dinner I was going to afterwards. I would give it a 7 outta 10!