My Daily Life and Thoughts while in San Diego |
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This blog is where I express myself to the world or at least to those who might stop by to read what I post 
. Maybe God will use what I post (I am a Christian and this blog will have a most decidedly Christian bent to it) to good effect in the lives of my readers.
I may turn some of my posts into a book. I may cease blogging here altogether. Who knows. But for now..I am content to post away in this, my own little corner of the world.
Rather than reading through my now lengthy list of posts you may wish to read what I consider to be my very best posts or you can just read the posts that deal with a single subject category that might interest you.
Please know that I am open to any input on any topic I write about. If you have something to say about anything you see written here please....feel free to speak up in the form of leaving a comment or sending me a PM (private message).
And if you are in San Diego and wish to meet the one and only Carlos (that's me)...drop me a private message. I always enjoy meeting one of my readers!
Thanks.
Carlos
PS. If you want to follow my blog such that you will get an email when I write new posts you can subscribe to my blog.
. Maybe God will use what I post (I am a Christian and this blog will have a most decidedly Christian bent to it) to good effect in the lives of my readers. I may turn some of my posts into a book. I may cease blogging here altogether. Who knows. But for now..I am content to post away in this, my own little corner of the world.
Rather than reading through my now lengthy list of posts you may wish to read what I consider to be my very best posts or you can just read the posts that deal with a single subject category that might interest you.
Please know that I am open to any input on any topic I write about. If you have something to say about anything you see written here please....feel free to speak up in the form of leaving a comment or sending me a PM (private message).
And if you are in San Diego and wish to meet the one and only Carlos (that's me
)...drop me a private message. I always enjoy meeting one of my readers!Thanks.
Carlos
PS. If you want to follow my blog such that you will get an email when I write new posts you can subscribe to my blog.
Old George Burns and Gracie show is captivating in the different cultural norms that are displayed within it.
Posted 07-02-2009 at 12:42 AM by carlos123
I just watched a very interesting old George Burns and Gracie Allen show.
It captivated me to keep watching it by it being so...well...different than today's shows. It was like watching some sort of strange show with weird actors who made comedy out of the simplest things.
It's hard to describe.
Back in it's day I am sure it was popular and the in thing but watching it from today's vantage point made it seem altogether strange and intriguing.
The sponsor of the show was Carnation evaporated milk from "contended cows" LOL.
The way they blended the pitch about the benefits of using Carnation evaporated milk into the show struck me as just downright facinating in how products used to be pitched this way on TV as a matter of course. Where such a means of pitching products was considered the latest thing in advertising whereas today it would be considered quite ridiculous.
I felt embarrased for George Burns in that at times he seemed so silly in some of his lines. How could he have stood up and stood there narrating a live show as though he was a part of the show but not a part of it at the same time.
Of course that was all watching it from my vantage point of today. Back then I am sure his approach was very sophisticated and modern.
How times have changed.
Here's a link to the show...YouTube - Burns and Allen TV 1
Carlos
PS. The modern day Scientology ad and the one at the end about getting away from drugs take a bit away from an otherwise wholesome show that is as seemingly innocent as the days in which it was made.
It captivated me to keep watching it by it being so...well...different than today's shows. It was like watching some sort of strange show with weird actors who made comedy out of the simplest things.
It's hard to describe.
Back in it's day I am sure it was popular and the in thing but watching it from today's vantage point made it seem altogether strange and intriguing.
The sponsor of the show was Carnation evaporated milk from "contended cows" LOL.
The way they blended the pitch about the benefits of using Carnation evaporated milk into the show struck me as just downright facinating in how products used to be pitched this way on TV as a matter of course. Where such a means of pitching products was considered the latest thing in advertising whereas today it would be considered quite ridiculous.
I felt embarrased for George Burns in that at times he seemed so silly in some of his lines. How could he have stood up and stood there narrating a live show as though he was a part of the show but not a part of it at the same time.
Of course that was all watching it from my vantage point of today. Back then I am sure his approach was very sophisticated and modern.
How times have changed.
Here's a link to the show...YouTube - Burns and Allen TV 1
Carlos
PS. The modern day Scientology ad and the one at the end about getting away from drugs take a bit away from an otherwise wholesome show that is as seemingly innocent as the days in which it was made.
Total Comments 8
Comments
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I personally watched this show when I was a child. I thought it made women look stupid at first then I realized that with the right approach, women could get anything they wanted. George Burns lived to be 100 years old and he loved and respected his wife to the end. Every woman should be so lucky.
In the same timeframe there was a black version of this show called Amos and Andy about two black male friends who talked about their trials and tribulations of everyday living.
You may find that interesting if you can find a reference on line.Posted 07-02-2009 at 03:11 AM by yukiko11
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Yes...the love that George Burns had for Gracie Allen (his wife) is very touching. It was always clear that the true comedic talent of the George and Gracie team was Gracie. When Gracie was forced to retire from the show and from showbusiness in 1958 due to a worsening heart condition (which led to her death of a heart attack in 1964) George simply could not keep the show going without her. He tried but his efforts only kept the show going for one more year before it folded.
Gracie was not the dufus she played in the show.
There are actually two streets in Los Angeles named after George and Gracie that intersect. Can you believe that! Even streets named after them are interwined in loving embrace.
You know another wonderfully touching love that outlived the grave was that of Jack Benny's to his wife Mary Livingston. Jack was George's best friend.
Jack stipulated in his will that upon his death his wife, Mary, should have a long stem rose delivered to her every day for the rest of her life!
I sometimes love watching these old shows as they are so innocent and so uplifting when compared and contrasted with much of today's television filth.
CarlosPosted 07-02-2009 at 05:02 AM by carlos123
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I never heard about the rose for Jack Benny's wife, but I did hear about it for Marilyn Monroe.
Her Ex husband Joe Di maggio, the baseball player sent a red rose to her gravesite every day for the rest of his life and left instructions in his will to continue it to this day.
It must be nice to be so loved in this life that someone would do that for you.Posted 07-02-2009 at 05:33 AM by yukiko11
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I found an online episode of Amos and Andy by the way...at Amos n Andy – 9 shows (1930s-50’s) - Free Movies, Watch TV online - Retrovision.tv
It's funny but not quite in the same way. What makes George and Gracy unique is the way George kept coming out of the show to talk to the audience. A technique that was commonly called breaking the fourth wall at the time.
Also George was a straight guy who brought intelligence to the show as the opposite of his supposedly witless but illogically logical, wife.
Both Amos and Andy seem rather dumb in their roles (not in real life of course).
Still...it's worth watching. It can get quite funny. In this episode Amos (I think or maybe it's Andy) finds out that he is almost out of money in his bank account so he gets the bright idea to go to an employment agency. Makes sense. But rather than applying for a job himself he applies on behalf of his wife saying that she would not mind any kind of work no matter how hard. The employment agency ends up giving her a good job and she decides to use her maiden name to avoid Amos causing her problems. Meanwhile Amos ends up holding a get together for his old high school buddies that have come to town and which he has fooled for years by leading them to believe that he is super successful. While in town one of his high school buddies hires a maid who turns out to be his wife LOL. Makes for interesting twists and turns as Amos tries to keep his relationship to the maid secret.
Carlos
PS. The Amos and Andy show gets really funny! So I take back what I said about it not being quite as good as George and Gracy. It's just different. Amos ends up thinking his high school buddy is after his wife as maid and ends up spying on his buddy. In one scene the buddy is seen dancing with a tall light that he is using in place of partner as he practices the latest rumba dance moves. Amos sees him and the light prop he is using and mistakes the prop for his wife through the shadows on the curtain exclaiming to a friend that is with him that he'd "recognize that shape anywhere!" referring to the shadow "shape" of his wife! LOL.Posted 07-02-2009 at 12:17 PM by carlos123
Updated 07-02-2009 at 12:30 PM by carlos123 -
Amos and Andy, were indeed way before the days of MLK and equal rights, so they were portrayed in a way that would not be possible today. But I still think that show was really funny and even as a kid, I appreciated not only the humor, but more importantly the friendship of those two people who always managed to work it out.
As far as George Burns is concerned, don't you find it interesting that he was the choice to play God?
I always knew that God had a sense of humor, otherwise, there would be absolutely no reason for me to exist.Posted 07-03-2009 at 01:30 AM by yukiko11
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I've never really thought about why George Burns was chosen to play God in the movie.
As for God having a sense of humour yukiko...I'm not sure that this oft repeated concept is really valid. Kinda like the other oft repeated phrase that God helps those who helps themselves (no where to be found in the Bible).
There is some element of truth in both phrases but not quite in the way they are often understood.
Some concepts of God just don't square with what is biblically true. I could be wrong about this but I don't think God has a sense of humour as we tend to understand it.
There is abundant reason for you to exist yukiko aside from you being an expression of God's supposed sense of humor.
CarlosPosted 07-03-2009 at 09:59 AM by carlos123
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I respect you Carlos, but I am so greatful that I am not burdened with your particular view of faith. If I were, I would have died long ago either from not getting through my personal trials or just plain boredom.
I always told my staff members that it takes just as much energy to cry as it does to laugh and the results are the same except your eyes don't swell up and get red. (That is important for women) I depend on my sense of humor every day to see the positive over the negative and deal with the irony in life. I consider it my personal best gift from God and I am very greatful. In my career as an accountant, I have met many people with no sense of humor and found them to be not only boring, but rather sad.
OH here is a treat! I am sitting on the couch and there is a patio door across the room that is open because it is warm. I just looked out and there are 2 deer in my backyard. The door is open but the screen is closed. There is one standing on my porch looking in at me. They live in the forest behind my house and I see them often. I saw them about a week ago when I was mowing and I had to turn the mower off and sit there for about 20 minutes until they were ready to move on. I so appreciate all the lovely creatures that come to visit.Posted 07-03-2009 at 08:50 PM by yukiko11
Updated 07-03-2009 at 09:00 PM by yukiko11 -
That's wonderful about you seeing the deer right out your porch yukiko! What a treat!
You sound like you live in a wonderful place. After all you have gone through in life to end up where you have must be a joy for you.
Regarding the humor...if you knew me you would realize that I have a finally tuned sense of humor. I laugh easily and often have funny things to say that make others laugh too.
It's just that I am not sure that God has the same sense of humor that we do is all.
Incidentally yukiko my faith in God is not a burden to me at all. If anything He strengthens my heart and brings joy when there might not be any apart from Him.
CarlosPosted 07-05-2009 at 01:03 AM by carlos123
