Cindy asked me what I wanted for Christmas this past year and I told her I wanted a dashboard/windshield phone holder for my cellphone.
When we are pulling our travel trailer Nomad as The Wandering Wetheringtons, we have an RV GPS navigation unit attached to our windshield that directs us on routes that are safe for our travel trailer. We’ve entered the length, width, and height of Nomad (as well as our tow vehicle truck, Voyager) and the maximum speed we want to travel at and it makes sure to guide us to and over roads that can handle our equipment with no low bridges, narrow roads, dirt roads, etc. Being on the windshield at eye level makes it easy to look at it without really taking my eyes off the road.
But, when we’re NOT pulling our travel trailer we don’t use the RV GPS because it would take us on potentially longer, less direct routes that are safe for Nomad, and we don’t need that when it’s just the truck. For those kinds of trips we use Google or Apple Map apps on my cell phone with a Bluetooth connection to the truck’s sound system. Since we started traveling 4 1/2 years ago, we’ve used a WeatherTech phone holder that sits in our middle console cup holder to hold my cellphone. That works fine if you’re just listening to turn-by-turn directions, but I’m the kind of driver who likes to look at the map on the screen as well. To do that, I’ve got to look down at the phone in the cup holder, which means my eyes leave the road.
Shot of our RV GPS in the top photo and windshield cellphone holder in bottom photo
So, when Cindy asked me what I wanted for Christmas, the first thing I thought of was a cellphone holder I could attach to the dashboard or windshield. I looked at ratings and reviews for several different models and picked one I thought would work best for me and sent her the link.
Imagine my surprise Christmas morning when I opened one of my gifts and it was the cellphone holder I could attach to the dashboard or windshield, lol!
Now, I actually knew it would HAVE to attach to the windshield because our dashboard is textured and nothing really sticks to it for very long. And I knew I wanted to have it on the lower left side of the steering wheel so it would not interfere with my wider field of view through the windshield.
It’s been up now for about three weeks and has worked great for when we’re driving without the trailer behind us. It’s easy to see the screen (most of the time-a couple of times the sun has hit it just right and caused a glare) and I just feel a lot safer not having to look down to see the map.
Thanks to my wonderful wife for this great gift of a windshield phone holder.
It was 60 years ago today, Wednesday January 12, 1966 when I was 10 1/2 years old, that the new Batman TV series premiered that night at 7:30 pm. Today, we celebrate the Batman TV series 60th anniversary!
Batman TV Series and Batman: The Movie
The Batman television series premiered on January 12, 1966, and ran until March 14, 1968. It starred Adam West as Batman and Burt Ward as Robin during the first two seasons, then added Yvonne Craig as Batgirl in the third and final season. Over its three-year run the TV show aired 120 episodes.
For the first two seasons, the show aired twice a week on Wednesday and Thursday nights. The Wednesday show always ended with a cliffhanger that found The Dynamic Duo in danger of dying with the announcer ominously urging viewers to tune in the following night “Same Bat-Time, Same Bat-Channel” to see if Batman and The Boy Wonder could escape certain doom.
The third season reduced their show to once a week, but added the extremely attractive Batgirl to the mix in an effort to retain or draw in the young males in my age group who might have been moving into puberty or growing tired of the TV series. Or both.
In July of 1966, after the first season had ended, a Batman feature film was released in movie theaters across the country. Batman: The Movie saw our heroes facing four of their major villains, The Joker, The Riddler, The Penguin, and Catwoman, all at the same time. The film also introduced the Batcopter, Batcycle (with sidecar for Robin), and the Batboat as new vehicles for transporting The Caped Crusaders in their crime-fighting efforts.
Oh, and it famously debuted the renowned Bat-Shark Repellent Spray which Batman always kept in his utility belt.
The first TV season and the summer movie were such popular hits that huge (at the time) Hollywood luminaries such as Victor Buono, Liberace, Otto Preminger, Anne Baxter, and Carolyn Jones, among many others, were banging on the door trying to get parts in the second and third seasons. Some were cast as villains, some were content with a simple cameo of them opening a skyscraper window to peer out and engage the heroes in a short conversation as Batman and Robin “climbed” up or down the side of the building. It was actually a set building exterior turned on its side so that West and Ward could easily walk while pretending to pull themselves up on their Batropes, with their capes held out streaming behind them with a string to make it appear the capes were being pulled downward by gravity.
Batman And Me
Along with Superman, Justice League and Flash, from DC Comics, I had been reading Batman and Detective comics for about 4 years at that point. I’d already watched the live-action Superman show starring George Reeves from the late 1950’s every time an episode aired, so I was very excited to see The Caped Crusader make his live-action debut.
And I had seen ads, of course, for the upcoming TV series of the new Batman show, in comic books and TV Guide, so I was more than ready to see another one of my comic books heroes come to life on the small screen.
Naturally, as a 10-year old superhero fan, I ate up the TV series each week and yes, if you had peeked inside our TV room you would have seen young Jeff punching the air, leaping over the chairs, tumbling across the room, and pretending his 4-year old brother was Robin.
As I wrote in this blog post, that first Halloween after the premiere of the TV show my costume was, of course, Batman.
I even had a Batman lunch box the next year that I proudly took to school each day.
So while Batman was never my number one (or even numbers two three or four) superhero, I still enjoyed the TV series and movie, like most 10 year olds did.
Batman Cultural Impact
The Batman TV show was quite different than the older Superman show. Superman had some humor in it, of course, but Batman was played as “campy” which Webster defines as “absurdly exaggerated, artificial, or affected in a usually humorous way.” If you’ve ever seen the show, you know what I mean. Batman, as portrayed by Adam West, was SO serious and staid while surrounded by craziness as to be laughable. Yet he always got the job done and good triumphed over evil.
The show was meant to appeal to kids who read the comic books, of course, but also to their parents who could laugh, out loud or quietly, at the inside jokes and humor that was presented to them. Not that I EVER recall my parents watching the show.
But that campy style made it a hit! Batman on TV entered the cultural zeitgeist in a way that Batman in the comics never did up to that point. In fact, the comic books were in danger of being cancelled for low readership when the TV series premiered and breathed new life back into that medium.
Suddenly the “Pow” and “Bang” and “Zwonk” that flashed on the screen during the obligatory fights between our heroes and the villains found Batman on the cover of obvious publications like TV Guide and Photoplay, but also famously on the cover of mainstream Life Magazine.
And Robin’s catchphrase of “Holy (whatever they were dealing with at the moment), Batman!” became the catchphrase of every kid who wanted to BE Robin.
Thus, Batmania spread across the country in a manner similar to K-pop the past couple of years.
Batman has undergone many different changes since his TV debut 60 years ago today, as any longtime fan can tell you. The character has been in serious movies, comedy movies, Lego stop-action movies, animated movies, animated TV series, and appeared in multitudes of comic books, both his own and as a guest star in others.
He has been known as Batman, THE Batman, The Dark Knight, The Caped Crusader, The World’s Greatest Detective, The Goddamn Batman (his own reference to himself), The Gotham Guardian, Bats, and The Bat. But no matter what Bruce Wayne calls himself (or others call him) he will always be the little boy who witnessed the murder of his parents and dedicated himself to becoming a force for good and justice in the world.
So today, on the Batman TV Series 60th Anniversary, we celebrate what Adam West, Burt Ward, and Yvonne Craig brought to us those many years ago in all its forms.
Or, as Robin would say, “Holy 60th Anniversary, Batman!”
It’s true, there seems to be a day for EVERYONE and today, January 2nd, is the annual observance of World Introvert Day. A day set aside for those of us who are introverts.
I’ve had some fun with posts about introverts before like here.
Introverts, as a rule, are not shy, afraid, or arrogant. They are just people who need their own space and time to recharge to function at their best. Small talk is not their forte; but have a discussion about ideas, philosophies, or deeper subjects they know or want to know more about and they are there for it.
If you just want to debate or argue, well maybe not so much.
My mom was an introvert, my father an extrovert. Being an introvert myself I was always amazed at how my dad could walk into a room full of strangers and in a short time know something about almost all of them by interacting with them. He was not adverse to just walking up to strangers and start talking to them.
For me, that is not usually going to happen.
But, later in life, I often thought I may have inherited some of that ability, even though it was not my default behavior.
Introverts Are Not Anti-Social
I have held public speaking jobs, jobs where I had to go out and meet people and engage with them. My last job of 14 years involved walking into the offices of elected officials or their staffers (who were complete strangers to me) and engaging with them and explaining complex federal government programs, policies and procedures to them. Going to their town halls and speaking to their constituents. Being available all hours of the day (and sometimes night) to answer their questions. These are not the career choices for someone who is shy, afraid or arrogant. When needed, I can be the most friendly, outgoing and solicitous person that most people would ever meet.
When there is a reason to be so.
But, when the day is over or the job is over or the need is over, introverts welcome (and require) the time and space to be alone and recharge their “social batteries” so to speak. We may not always want to engage in drinks after work or the company picnic or mindless chit chat. I well remember walking into my hotel room at the end of the day or the end of the week, closing the door and not emerging until the next morning or when the weekend was over. I relished that time alone, not because I had no where else to go or be, but because I needed that solitude for the night or the weekend.
We’re not anti-social, just deliberate about our socializing.
In fact, if I count you among my closest of family or friends, I will heartily enjoy socializing with you. Make no mistake, I will still need some time to myself, but I will also very much enjoy spending time with you.
So if you know an introvert, wish them well today if you see them, lol!
And, if you’re an introvert yourself, celebrate your time and have a Happy World Introvert Day.
It’s that time of year again. I’ve written about this day before, but December 23rd is traditionally (or at least since 1997) observed as Festivus, a secular alternative to the commercialism of Christmas as proposed and observed by George Costanza’s father, Frank (played by Jerry Stiller) on the TV comedy series Seinfeld episode which first aired on December 18, 1997. As Frank declares; “Festivus for the rest of us!”
The holiday is marked by five different traditions
The Festivus Pole
The Festivus Dinner
The Airing of Grievances
Feats of Strength
Festivus Miracles
I never watched Seinfeld that much, but this episode always stuck with me, for some reason. Here’s a short recap from the TV series:
So, Happy Festivus! I got a lot of problems with you people! Now you’re gonna hear about it!
PolitiFact, an organization of fact-checking journalists who have, since 2007, published independent, transparent, and fair reporting with the aim to “give citizens the information they need to govern themselves in a democracy” has declared 2025 the Year of the Lies.
If you follow political news at all you probably have no problem identifying some of the most heinous “falsehoods” we’ve had to endure. But just in case you don’t or can’t, PolitiFact gives you a list of the top lies we’ve been told in 2025 at the link above.
We all know that most politicians lie, but man we’ve had some doozies this year and what’s sad is that we know that next year will probably top 2025 as the Year of the Lies.
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Sixty years ago tonight, on December 9, 1965, the soon-to-become-a-classic Christmas animated special “A Charlie Brown Christmas” aired on the CBS network for the first time. Happy 60th Anniversary to “A Charlie Brown Christmas”
As a 10-year old, I was a big fan of the “Peanuts” daily comic strip by Charles Schultz in the newspaper, so there was no doubt I was going to watch this 25-minute comic strip come to “life” on the TV screen. If I remember correctly, it aired from 7:30 to 8:00 pm in our home city of Miami.
The plot revolves around Charlie Brown feeling depressed during the start of the holiday season, and wondering what Christmas is really all about. He then tries to direct a neighborhood play with his friends, but he is laughed at for choosing a tiny, almost barren Christmas tree as a centerpiece.
“A Charlie Brown Christmas” aired on CBS during the holiday season for the next 35 years. While no longer on network television, “A Charlie Brown Christmas” IS available on AppleTV. It will be available to stream FOR FREE for viewers without a subscription this weekend, December 13-14, and at any time to AppleTV subscribers.
We are planning to watch it on Christmas Eve when the Florida kids and grandkids are visiting.
Today is National Princess Day and I wanted to send out Happy National Princess Day wishes to MY Princess.
Here’s a recent photo we took together after Cindy and I gave Ann a Cabbage Patch Doll (Princess version) following our trip to Babyland in August. I wanted to make up for never getting her one when she was little.
This has always been one of my favorite comic book covers and I well remember the first time I saw it 55 years ago.
I was 15 years old and my family was living in South Miami. A couple of blocks from our home was a 7-11 convenience store and I had walked up there to see what new comic books were out that week. This was back in the stone-ages when comics were sold in convenience stores and drug stores on the now-old comic book wire spinner racks.
The rack was off to the right of the entrance and I made a beeline to it, after waving “hello” to the cashier. And I saw the top half of the comic book cover for Superman #233 from across the store.
Now, a Superman comics was ALWAYS a book I would buy because I loved (and still do) the character. But the art I could see on the top half of the cover, Superman from the upper chest up to the cover logo, immediately got my attention and I quickened my pace.
But, these weren’t just ANY chains. They were chains made of Kryptonite, the only substance that could weaken and eventually kill The Last Son of Krypton. And now he was effortlessly shrugging off those deadly chains.
Still, that wasn’t the biggest thing about the cover, though the story of Kryptonite no longer affecting Superman WAS intriguing to this young comic book fan.
No, the biggest thing was that the artwork was by a comic book artist that I absolutely LOVED; Neal Adams. He was one of four comic artists I put on MY Mount Rushmore of Comic Book Artists. Adams had the talent and ability to illustrate these formerly-rendered-as-cartoon-characters into beings that looked like they stepped from our world into the pages of comic books. His illustration skills were as life-like as possible for the times.
And this cover of Superman #233 looked like Superman had come to life, right there in my hands.
I took that book, and a few others, back home and devoured them. But Superman #233 with its magnificent cover, was always a favorite book and piece of art for me.
So, when I saw the original artwork was being auctioned I wondered if I could possibly afford to bid on it.
Lol, no. The latest bid showed more than $200,000 so no way I could afford to bid on it. Not that it isn’t worth every penny of that to fans, but this fan just could not.
His fans have always disagreed, finding this cover art to be iconic to the character of Superman.
Anyway, if YOU have the ability to afford bidding on this master’s original artwork, I hope you will and I wish you all the luck in the world in making the winning bid.
The rest of us will just have to remain content with re-printed copies.
Our youngest granddaughter, Jade, has been performing in community theater projects for several years. We’ve been fortunate to be able to see some of those productions in person while visiting her in her home state, and many more via personally-made video clips of plays that her parents have shared with us. Like our other grandchildren with their various talents, we’ve always been so proud of our actress granddaughter.
A couple of days ago Jade’s mom sent us a link to a short film Jade acted in this past summer from Youth Theatre Northwest! for release this Halloween season titled, “The Night Of A Thousand Scares 2025.”
This film is a collection of three horror film shorts starring a cast of YTN! performers. Jade plays the part of a teen girl named Juniper in the 11-minute long “Demon Clown Doll” film that is about her Grandma’s antique doll that possesses those it comes in contact with, including poor Juniper.
Cindy and I decided to wait until last night, Halloween night, to watch the video so we could enjoy it in the proper spirit of the film. What was especially funny is that Cindy, Jade’s real-life Grandma, does NOT like clowns or creepy dolls at all. They freak her out and give her nightmares, lol! But, she endured watching it because she loves and supports her granddaughter.
All three of the short films, lasting about a total of 35 minutes together, were fun to watch. But of course, we especially enjoyed the one Jade was performing in the most.
The film is a PPV and we would not expect anyone other than her loved ones to be interested in paying to see her, so I’m not including the link. But I grabbed a few screen shots while we watched it to share with you in this blog post.
Kudos to Jade for her performance and for all the hard work she does in learning and perfecting her craft of acting and singing. And to her parents for shuttling her around to auditions, rehearsals and performances. Soon, Jade will get her driver’s license and be able to get herself to those activities.
Then the REAL scary stuff will begin, lol!
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