Category: default || By jt3y

We'll get to today's Almanac after this word from our sponsor, Mayorex Exterminating. Remember, one call to 412-55-LUKEY stops pest infestations before they disrupt your golf tournaments or other sporting events.

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Flicker Ticker: Regarding Saturday's Almanac, let me make one thing perfectly clear. There's no question that Michael Wilson is talented and that he can capture McKeesport or any other subject on film.

The problem --- if there is a problem --- is that hiring the director of Michael Moore Hates America instantly alienates a certain percentage of the potential audience. Rightly or wrongly, some people who otherwise might be sympathetic to this documentary are going to view any project that Wilson does with a certain amount of suspicion, instead of judging the project on its own merits. They're going to be looking for hidden biases, even if there aren't any.

It's similar, though not as bad, as if Michael Moore himself or, say, Al Franken were involved. Even if Franken were the funniest thing since the Marx Brothers (I find him tiresome) some percentage of consumers immediately reject his work because of his past political projects.

I am willing to give Wilson a chance and I'm rooting for him. I'd be more comfortable if someone more neutral were working on the project, but perhaps a controversial, contrarian viewpoint is exactly what we need.

For the record, by the way, the Tube City Almanac is neither neutral nor fair and balanced. We love the Mon-Yough area. So nyahh.

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‘Worst ... Musical ... Ever!’: Alert Reader Jonathan sends along this screen-capture from the website of A Local Newspaper. I was on the stage crew (cough, cough, dork!) for the musicals in high school and frankly, a fatal car-accident might have been more entertaining.

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Uh-oh, Better Get Maaco: You probably heard that they finally dug up a 1957 Plymouth Belvedere that was buried in a time capsule under the lawn of the Tulsa, Okla., city hall. As noted before in the Almanac, one of my all-time favorite cars is the 1957-58 Plymouth, but lawdy, they were rust buckets.

The poor '57 in Tulsa was no exception. It didn't help that the concrete used for the burial vault was porous.

Think about that if you're pre-planning your funeral. You might as well get the cheapest casket they offer.

Or have them bury you in a '57 Plymouth.

On second thought, give me the Plymouth and I'll trade you a casket.