Author: DOuG pRATt

Better Call Dell

Watching Monday’s penultimate episode of Better Call Saul, I thought, “Hey… is that a Dell Ultrasharp 1708FP?”

“It doesn’t look big enough to be a 1908FP…”

“… well, maybe it does. Either way.”

I have two Ultrasharp 1708FP monitors.

The timeline of the TV series places that scene circa 2010, so the attention to period detail is spot-on. A noteworthy point is that back then not all computer monitors were suitable for medical imaging use. The 1708FP was, and my dentist’s office has one in every exam room.

When the Ultrasharp 1708FP was being discontinued, I bought mine in a 2-for-1 deal from Dell Direct. As long as these things continue to be reliable and they stay bright enough, I’ll keep using them.

Sorry for the spoiler, but I have to say that Rhea Seehorn outdid herself yet again. Kim Wexler leaving her old life behind was exactly the point, and her portrayal in the “Waterworks” episode is a completely different person than the character everybody knows. If Rhea doesn’t win the Emmy this year, then it will truly be a case of voter fraud.

The Other Harvey Witch

Following up on yesterday’s post about Sid Jacobson, I wasn’t certain if he edited Harvey’s horror comic books in the 50’s. His family confirms it in this remembrance of their late father.

https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/legacyremembers/sidney-jacobson-obituary?id=35995758

This is Wendy the Witch that the Harvey comic books were based on. Wendy enacts a scene from The Red Shoes.

Wendy was quite a change from the Harvey witch comics Jacobson worked on in the 50’s.

Not Peter Pan’s Friend, Not the Song, Not the Square Burger

DC and Marvel weren’t the only comics I enjoyed reading and collecting as a kid. Dennis the Menace from Fawcett, the original publisher of Captain Marvel, was a favorite. Harvey had the Casper line of characters.

Harvey’s titles included Richie Rich and Wendy the Good Little Witch. If it’s possible to have a crush on a cartoon character, Wendy was my age-appropriate alternative to Elizabeth Montgomery in Bewitched.

Sid Jacobson was the editor and writer behind many if not most of those comic books. Thanks in part to a graphic novel he wrote about 9/11, Jacobson has an obituary in The New York Times.


https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/06/arts/sid-jacobson-dead.html

Mark Evanier has these thoughts about Jacobson.

Sid Jacobson, R.I.P.

May She Rest in Peace

I refer you to the video “by Lia & Robbie” in this recent post.

He Goes “Ahhhhh….”

Robbie, out for the evening long ago.

We had this #3 hit in very heavy airplay rotation when I was working in radio.

I shouldn’t say this, but Olivia fell into the plastic surgery trap. Later in life, rather than being an older version of herself, Olivia was unrecognizable. She was perfect just as she was.

The Voice of American History

Popular historian and well-known narrator David McCullough has died. Having a reputation for fairness and honesty comparable to that of Walter Cronkite, how did McCullough view Trump? These comments are from 2017.

In the video Trump is heard saying, “People don’t ask that question. Why was there the Civil War?” That wasn’t a rhetorical question. Trump literally believed his perception as being the reality. Want another example? “Nobody knew health care could be so complicated.” What an unmitigated moron. An unbounded ego spewing the nonsense of a tiny, simple mind.

Musical Telescope

With the Webb Space Telescope now fully operational, albeit with some dings from micro-meteors, it’s a good time to hear, as well as to see, our solar system. Yesterday, the Boston Symphony Orchestra played Gustav Holst’s masterpiece in the summer heat of Tanglewood.

https://www.classicalwcrb.org/show/the-boston-symphony-orchestra/2022-06-13/a-journey-from-the-sea-to-the-planets-with-ades

My all-time favorite recording of The Planets suite is also by the BSO, as recorded over 50 years ago.

Classical Music’s Gateway Drug