Goodbye Ed McMahon - It Was The Best Of Times !

Ed McMahon, legendary announcer and side-kick to Johnny Carson for more than 30 years, died yesterday at the age of 86. McMahon died shortly after midnight at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center surrounded by his wife, Pam, and other family members.

Ed McMahon was well known as a spokesman for Budweiser Beer and Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes. Ed was also the emcee for Star Search, an earlier version and foundation for the current television hit, "American Idol."

I watched the Tonight Show religiously over the years and the banter and quips between Johnny and Ed are etched into my memory forever. Much like the classic comedy of The Honeymooners' Ralph Kramden and Ed Norton, the likes of Oliver and Hardy, and other comic teams, the antics of Johnny Carson and Ed McMahon will live on forever. Rest in peace, my friend.

As a tribute to Johnny Carson and Ed McMahon, here is an old clip from 1974 of "Carnak the Magnificent" with Johnny and Ed at their finest (Please remember to turn off the audio from my music playlist).

The list of mispronounced words continues to grow and I'm continuing to collect them for a future fictional story. I am prone to refer to this list as "Dimwiticisms" and if anyone has another idea on what to call this collection, please let me know in your comments.

For those of you who have asked about Possum's Journal, I want to let you know that Shithead is alive and well and living part time in Argentina (I made that last part up). I have been behind on my own projects and the problem with Shi.., Possum is that he dictates the entry and I have to type it. Evidently, he doesn't understand the fact that one of us has to work. We'll have an entry for Possum's Journal soon.

This Date In History: 1314; At the Battle of Bannockburn, Robert Bruce, king of Scotland, defeats Edward II, king of England. 1497; An English expedition led by John Cabot makes the first recorded sighting of North America by a European, landing at what may have been Cape Breton Island.

1701; The Act of Settlement gets royal assent to ensure a Protestant monarchy in England. 1901; Pablo Picasso exhibits in Paris for the first time, at the age of 19. 1922; German nationalists assassinate foreign minister Walther Rathenau in response to his policy of paying war reparations for Germany's role in World War I.

1947; An American pilot reports seeing objects he describes as "saucers" flying near Mount Rainier in Washington, leading to the popular term "flying saucers". 1948; Soviet forces impose a total land blockade of West Berlin to drive the Western Allies from the city.

Picture Of The Day: In honor of Ed McMahon who was the spokesman for Budweiser Beer, the fact that I drink Budweiser beer as well and, of course, today is Hump Day, today's theme is Budweiser.

It also doesn't hurt to mention that I am a bit fond of naked women holding Budweiser bottles.

Birthdays: Eleuthère Irénée Du Pont de Nemours, French-born American industrialist 1771, Ambrose Bierce, American satirist 1842, Horatio Herbert Kitchener, soldier and imperialist 1850, Harry Partch, American composer and instrument maker 1901, Claude Chabrol, French film director and screenwriter 1930.

Printable Things I Never Told You: 1) My patience for the noise of late night partying is growing thinner, yet I do not call the police. I think it's probably due to being guilty of the same offense myself. 2) I had a lady friend ask me if I thought she should have a baby after 35 and I told her 35 children was enough. 3) Childbirth is the most reliable method to determine a baby's sex. 4) The early bird may get the worm, but it's the second mouse that gets the cheese 5) I've heard that giving up wine, women and song will add ten years to your life. All things considered, I'll give up the ten years. What am I going to miss, drooling?

The Hits Just Keep On Coming:

Miss Annabell had just returned from her big trip to New York City and was having refreshments on the front porch of her daddy's mansion with her southern belle friends. She tells them the stories of her trip as they stare spellbound.

Miss Annabell said, "You just wouldn't believe what they have there in New York City. They have men there who kiss other men on the lips." Miss Annabell's friends fan themselves and say, "Oh my!" Miss Annabell said, "They call them homosexuals." The young girls fan themselves and say "Oh my! Oh my!"

Miss Annabell continued, "They also have women there in New York City who kiss other women on the lips!" The girls asked, "What do they call them?" Miss Annabell said, "They call them lesbians."

Miss Annabell said, "They also have men who kiss women between the legs, there in New York City." The young girls squealed, "Oh My! Oh My!," as they sat on the edge of their chairs and fanned themselves even faster. "What do they call them?" they asked in unison.

Miss Annabell leans forward and said in a hush, "Why, when I caught my breath, I called him Precious."

While a Texan was busily preparing for the first day of deer hunting season, his wife started nagging that he never asked her to go along. After several hours of argument the wife won.

The next morning they drove out to the country, and the wife climbed up in a tree for a better hidden view, about 100 yards from his blind. Just as the hunter reached the blind, he heard a loud bang coming from the wife's position.

As the Texan ran up to her, he saw that she was holding her gun on a man nearby and shouting, "It's my deer! Get away from It!!

The sheepish-looking stranger just nodded slowly and said, "OK, lady..... It's your deer.... Just let me get my saddle off of it!"

That's it for today my little chickadees. It's Hump Day which is a damned good excuse to mosey over to AREA 51 and check things out. More on Friday.

Stay Tuned !