Hot Doggin'

Thank Skeletor It's Friday!

"Actually no, I'm NOT the governor of Florida. Common mistake, though."

White House Visit

President Obama displays his custom-made Royals jersey

My beloved Kansas City Royals didn't lose yesterday, but only because they didn't play.

They used the day off
to visit the White House and be celebrated as 2015 World Series champions.



The team gifted President Obama with a special jersey to commemorate the visit.

Given the team's current stumbles, perhaps they should give him a shot at DH,
or possibly as a starting pitcher. Oh, wait...I forgot that our president can't throw a baseball...

"Wow. I could throw better than that, and I don't even have hands!"

I know, right? He probably puts ketchup on his hot dogs, too...

Feast Day

The Penitent Mary Magdalene, by El Greco

Today we celebrate the feast day of
St. Mary Magdalene, one of the most significant women in all of the New Testament.

Although we know relatively little about her life or her death, according to the accounts of both John (20:17-18) and Mark (16:9) Mary Magdalene was the first person to whom Jesus appeared following the Resurrection. She was also present at his crucifixion.

Among her many patronages, Mary Magdalene is the patron saint of penitent sinners and all those who are ridiculed for their piety.

Around the World

Wiley and Winnie just before take-off on July 15, 1933

My dad was both a pilot and a fan of model-building. One of his first finished models was a 1/48 scale replica of Wiley Post's famous Lockheed Vega 5C, named "Winnie Mae."







On July 22, 1933 Post completed an around-the-world solo flight in this aircraft. The first aviator to accomplish this feat, he took just 7 days, 18 hours, and 49 minutes.

Adventures in Babysitting

From the pen of Henry Payne, whose editorial cartoons you should read often, as I do.

Until Next Time...

By the late spring of 1963 The Beach Boys had already had six charting singles in two years, including their commercial breakthrough "Surfin' U.S.A.," which peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart. Their brand of "surf music" featured uptempo songs and tight multi-part harmonies extolling the virtues of surfing, pretty girls, and fast cars.

When the group elected to try its hand at a ballad, the song chosen was the very first one Brian Wilson had ever written, a tender ode to his first girlfriend. The original recording of the song made in early 1962 had been shelved, but when Brian took over as the group's full-time producer in the spring of 1963, that was the first song he chose to record at the famous United Western Recorders studio complex. The result would become one of the group's most iconic hits.

Original 1963 45 rpm single sleeve

On July 22, 1963 the group released "Surfer Girl," which charted a week later and eventually peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart.

The success of the single prompted the group to use the name for their second album release of the year that September. "Surfer Girl" has remained a staple of the band's live act for more than half a century.

Not bad for a song written by a shy, introverted 19-year-old kid.


Today's send-off is the original 1963 single release, paired with some video of beautiful women surfing. Enjoy...