Friday Song #21 - The Who

"Going Mobile" - the Who, from the album "Who's Next"
Released: 1971

True Story #2

On the night of February 19, 1994, Gloria Ramirez was brought into the ER at Riverside Regional Hospital in Southern California. She had been suffering from cervical cancer, and was brought in specifically for bradycardia (a slowing of the heart beat), Cheyne-Stokes respiration (an irregular breathing pattern), and confusion. She was given injections of Valium, Versed, and Ativan to sedate her, and she was also given Lidocaine for her heartbeat. She started getting worse, so they had to defibrillate her heart.

It was at that moment when things got weird. Hospital staff noticed an oily sheen on Gloria's skin and a fruity garlic smell coming from her mouth. An RN took a blood sample and smelled an ammonia odor coming from the sample tube. The RN passed the syringe to the doctor who saw what appeared to be crystals floating in the blood. The RN then passed out and was taken out. The doctor started feeling ill and light-headed, so she left as well. The doctor soon passed out as well. A respiratory therapist in the room also passed out, and the ER was forced to evacuate. After 45 minutes in the ER, Gloria Ramirez died. Her death has been attributed to kidney failure due to complications from her cancer.

California's Department of Health and Human Services investigated and found very few things, mostly looking at a mass hysteria leading to the cause of most of the issues. The doctor that night spent two weeks in the ICU with breathing problems, and she actually ended up developing hepatitis and avascular necrosis in her knees. She and the RN chose to seek a second opinion as to the findings. She turned to Livermore Labs for help.

Livermore Labs believed that Gloria Ramirez had been taking Dimethyl Sulfoxide on her own to treat herself. This compound is a solvent that has a garlic taste and can be secreted onto the tongue after exposure. The Lab believed that because of her failing kidneys, this compound built up in her system. When CPR was administered, it added a lot of oxygen into Gloria's system which would've caused the Dimethyl Sulfoxide to combine with the Oxygen to form Dimethyl Sulfone, which crystallizes at room temperature (hence the crystals in the blood sample). When Gloria was defibrullated, the electricity would have caused another chemical reaction to the Dimethyl Sulfone and caused it to change into Dimethyl Sulfate. This compound is highly toxic which could have caused the effects that the hospital staff reported.

Even though Gloria's family didn't agree with the Livermore investigation, it's the only investigation that has been able to explain all the odd occurrences in the ER that night. If the story sounds at all familiar, the premise had been used in an episode of the TV shows 'The X-Files' and 'Grey's Anatomy'. Gloria's story has made itself into medical journals and Livermore Labs have been hailed for their investigation. Unfortunately for Gloria, she has become known as "the toxic lady" by the media. She has been buried in an unmarked grave in Olivewood Memorial Park in Riverside, California.

Friday Song #20 - Steely Dan

"Black Friday" - Steely Dan, from the album "Katy Lied"
Released: 1975

Black Friday

This week is Thanksgiving, and with it comes what has become the busiest shopping day of the year. But How long has it been this way? Where'd the name 'Black Friday' come from? Were other days called 'Black Friday'?

Black Friday as seen in a Nebraska Furniture Mart in Kansas City: November 27, 2009

The term 'Black Friday' has been used for things other than shopping. The first case of its use was for the Financial Crisis of 1869, when the price of gold collapsed because of two stock speculators who tried to corner the market.

The first use of the term in reference to the day after Thanksgiving came from Philadelphia around 1961. An article was published around that time talking about the traffic jams and headaches for business owners. This article talked about both 'Black Friday' and the day after, 'Black Saturday'. They wanted to make things safer and more fluid, which would make these two days 'Big Friday' and 'Big Saturday'. The next time it was really referenced in the media at large was in 1966. The name was growing in the Philadelphia region. It gained a national understanding in 1975 when it was published in a New York Times article on the Army-Navy football game and two other articles in other periodicals. Even though it became national at that time, it still took awhile for the name to spread across the US. In 1985, a Philadelphia periodical reported that retailers in Cincinnati and Los Angeles didn't kow the term yet.

How long has 'Black Friday' been the biggest shopping day? Not that long actually. Once the media grabbed onto it, the idea exploded. From 1993-2001, 'Black Friday' was actually ranked between #5 and #10 on the busiest shopping days of the year. What was usually the busiest? The Saturday before Christmas. The first time that it actually ranked as the busiest shopping day was in 2003. In 2004, it ranked second. However, from 2005 on, it has been the busiest.



Lines to get into Target in Fargo, ND: November 25, 2011

 So why is 'Black Friday' historically known as the beginning of the Christmas shopping season? There are two reasons for this. Firstly, no department stores would advertise their deals until that Friday. Secondly, the parades that were hosted on that Friday (usually sponsored by department stores at the time, such as Macy's) had Santa at the end, a symbol for initiating the Christmas season. It's only been in recent years that Christmas advertising of deals has been before Thanksgiving. Recent trends have stores opening on Thursday night. Penned in 2005, 'Cyber Monday' follows to help those to get deals online if you couldn't find what you were looking for the previous Friday or just didn't want to brave the crowds. Now, the deals flow from Thursday night through Monday. We'll see what the future holds.

If you decide to brave the crows this Friday, good luck and stay safe!

Friday Song #19 - Aerosmith

"Kings and Queens" - Aerosmith, from the album "Draw the Line"
Released: 1977

Bond's 50th Anniversary, Part 2

What better way to pay homage to the character that has endured in movies for 50 years than than to recognize the many people who have played the super spy. Most people know of the movie versions and even debate which one is the best. But here's a list of people who played the character over the years.

Barry Nelson

Barry Nelson in Casino Royale

The first actor to play James Bond was Barry Nelson in a live TV broadcast of "Casino Royale" in 1954. CBS paid Ian Fleming $1000 to adapt his book into an hour long episode for a show of theirs.

Bob Holness

Bob Holness

Bob Holness played as James Bond in a radio broadcast in South Africa of the novel "Moonraker" in 1956.

Sean Connery

Sean Connery in Goldfinger

The most recognizable Bond is Sean Connery, who was the first to play Bond in a movie. He starred in 7 Bond movies total (1962's Dr. No, 1963's From Russia with Love, 1964's Goldfinger, 1965's Thunderball, 1967's You Only Live Twice, 1971's Diamonds Are Forever, and the non-official 1983's Never Say Never Again).

David Niven

David Niven in Casino Royale

In 1967, a non-official Bond movie was released as a spoof of the spy movie and was called Casino Royale. It starred David Niven as Sir James Bond, and a number of other fake Bonds. I could put them up here as well, but the real Bond of the movie was Niven.

George Lazenby

George Lazenby

The second Bond on the movie screen was George Lazenby. Most don't like Lazenby for the simple reason that he was replacing Connery. He only appeared in On Her Majesty's Secret Service in 1969.

Roger Moore

Roger Moore in Live and Let Die

Roger Moore starred in 7 official Bond movies, which makes him the longest tenured Bond. His movies are 1973's Live and Let Die, 1974's The Man with the Golden Gun, 1977's The Spy Who Loved Me, 1979's Moonraker, 1981's For Your Eyes Only, 1983's Octopussy, and 1985's A View to a Kill. Most Bond fans are separated by Moore: you either love him or hate him without much in between.

Timothy Dalton

Timothy Dalton in The Living Daylights

Timothy Dalton is another Bond that usually separates fans into two camps. He made two movies in the role: 1987's The Living Daylights and 1989's License to Kill.

Michael Jayston

Michael Jayston

Jayston played as James Bond in 1990 when BBC Radio 4 broadcast a 90-minute radio play of "You Only Live Twice".

Pierce Brosnan

Pierce Brosnan in Goldeneye

After a lapse of a few years between movies, Pierce Brosnan took over the Bond mantle. Many enjoy Brosnan, but some do have some negative feelings as his movies went on. He was in 4 Bond movies: 1995's Goldeneye, 1997's Tomorrow Never Dies, 1999's The World Is Not Enough, and 2002's Die Another Day.

Daniel Craig

Daniel Craig in Casino Royale

A blonder Bond was chosen as the next Bond. Daniel Craig added some life into the Bond series but many were disappointed with his second appearance as the spy. To date, he has been in 3 Bond movies: 2006's Casino Royale, 2008's Quantum of Solace, and 2012's Skyfall.

Toby Stephens


Toby Stephens as the villain from Die Another Day

BBC Radio 4 decided that the 1990 Bond broadcast play was popular enough to make another. Toby Stephens (who played as the villain in Die Another Day) was cast to play the voice of Bond. So far, he has been in 3 of this radio plays: 2008's Dr. No, 2010's Goldfinger, and 2012's From Russia with Love.

And those are your James Bonds. More than you thought, right?

Friday Song #18 - Santana

"Open Invitation" - Santana, from the album "Inner Secrets"
Released: 1978

Bond's 50th Anniversary, Part 1

On Friday, the latest installment of the James Bond franchise opens. But we've come so far from the original James Bond. It's hard to believe that the original James Bond movie opened 50 years ago, and the first novel was published almost 60 years ago. The trademark of the Bond movies has been to have an action-packed movie,  female "companion", a eccentric and/or maniacal villain, an irritated boss, gadgets, and an old man to give the gadgets. Almost sounds cliche. The recent set of movies have been trying to change some of that (little more on the irritated boss, a little less on the gadgets at times, little more on the action...), but the real question is if the books were written in the 50's, how can there be technology as advanced as what we see in the novels?

The fact is the Bond novels were written in the 50's and 60's by Ian Fleming, and the movies were begun in the early 60's, mostly out of Fleming's control. At the time, Kennedy was President, and he released a top 10 favorite books list, and listed "From Russia with Love" on the list. MGM wanted to make the movie, but it isn't exactly full of action, so instead, they chose to make "Dr. No", which actually is the book after "From Russia with Love". But with the success of "Dr. No", people would watch anything with Bond in it. From there, the titles for the movies came from the books, but out of order from the books. There were some loose threads that went from book to book and some character changes (the best example is in "Live and Let Die", the 2nd book, Felix Leiter is partially mauled by alligators and has a hook hand for the rest of the series). As the movies continued on, two things happened: 1. they ran out of titles to use, 2. they used less and less content from the books they were named after. By the 80's, they were being titled after short stories that Fleming had written, and by the 90's, they were completely original names. There was almost always some element that was borrowed from a Bond novel/story, but for the most part, they were separate from the books.

So, if you're a fan of the Bond movies and wonder what the difference is in the order of the books and movies, here's your list:

1962 - Dr. No movie released, named for novel of same name, published 1958, sixth novel.
1963 - From Russia with Love movie released, named for novel of same name, published 1957, fifth novel.
1964 - Goldfinger movie released, named for novel of same name, published 1959, seventh novel.
1965 - Thunderball movie released, named for novel of same name, published 1961, eighth novel.
1967 - You Only Live Twice movie released, named for novel of same name, published 1964, eleventh novel.
1969 - On Her Majesty's Secret Service movie released, named for novel of same name, published 1963, tenth novel.
1971 - Diamonds Are Forever movie released, named for novel of same name, published 1956, fourth novel.
1973 - Live and Let Die movie released, named for novel of same name, published 1954, second novel.
1974 - The Man with the Golden Gun movie released, named for novel of same name, published 1965, twelfth novel.
1977 - The Spy Who Loved Me movie released, named for novel of same name, published 1962, ninth novel.
1979 - Moonraker movie released, named for novel of same name, published 1955, third novel.
1981 - For Your Eyes Only movie released, named for short story of same name/also name of compilation of short stories, compilation published 1960, first compilation.
1983 - Octopussy movie released, named for short story of same name/also co-name of compilation of short stories, compilation published 1966, second compilation.
1985 - A View to a Kill movie released, named for short story "From a View to a Kill" from the For Your Eyes Only compilation, published 1960.
1987 - The Living Daylights movie released, named for short story of same name (from compilation "Octopussy and the Living Daylights"), compilation published 1966.
1989 - License to Kill movie released, original name.
1995 - Goldeneye movie released, named after Fleming's home in Jamaica, original name.
1997 - Tomorrow Never Dies movie released, original name.
1999 - The World Is Not Enough movie released, original name.
2002 - Die Another Day movie released, original name.
2006 - Casino Royale movie released, named for novel of same name, published 1953, first novel.
2008 - Quantum of Solace movie released, named for short story of same name (from compilation "For Your Eyes Only" compilation, published 1960.
2012 - Skyfall movie released, original name.

If you're a true Bond fan, you might be wondering if any movies are missing. These movies are the "official" Bond movies from MGM/United Artists. There have been two other "unofficial" Bond movies made.

1967 - Casino Royale, spoof movie, named for first novel.
1983 - Never Say Never Again, original name.

Check back in Part 2 for more expendablenlightenment!

Friday Song #17 - Supertramp

"Babaji" - Supertramp, from the album "Even in the Quiestest Moments"
Released: 1977