Jams, Jellies and Preserves

RIP Iceman (Val Kilmer)

Val Kilmer (December 31, 1959 – April 1, 2025)

C’mon, we all know him as Iceman!

Val Edward Kilmer was an American actor. Initially a stage actor, he later found fame as a leading man in films in a wide variety of genres including comedies, dramas, action adventures, westerns, historical films, crime dramas, science-fiction films, and fantasy films. Films in which Kilmer appeared grossed more than $3.8 billion worldwide. In 1992, film critic Roger Ebert remarked, “if there is an award for the most unsung leading man of his generation, Kilmer should get it.”

Kilmer started his film career in the comedy films Top Secret! (1984) and Real Genius (1985), before transitioning to dramatic films. He rose to prominence for playing Iceman in Top Gun (1986), Jim Morrison in The Doors (1991), Doc Holliday in Tombstone (1993), and Batman / Bruce Wayne in Batman Forever (1995). He also gained acclaim for his roles in Willow (1988), True Romance (1993) and Heat (1995). His later film roles include in The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996), The Ghost and the Darkness (1996), The Saint (1997), The Prince of Egypt (1998), Alexander (2004), Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005), Déjà Vu (2006), and The Snowman (2017). Kilmer made his final film appearance in Top Gun: Maverick (2022), reprising his role from the original film.

Wikipedia Link

Pony Express Debuts

On April 3, 1860, the first Pony Express mail, traveling by horse and rider relay teams, simultaneously leaves St. Joseph, Missouri, and Sacramento, California. Ten days later, on April 13, the westbound rider and mail packet completed the approximately 1,800-mile journey and arrived in Sacramento, beating the eastbound packet’s arrival in St. Joseph by two days and setting a new standard for speedy mail delivery. Although ultimately short-lived and unprofitable, the Pony Express captivated America’s imagination and helped win federal aid for a more economical overland postal system. It also contributed to the economy of the towns on its route and served the mail-service needs of the American West in the days before the telegraph or an efficient transcontinental railroad.

The Pony Express debuted at a time before radios and telephones, when California, which achieved statehood in 1850, was still largely cut off from the eastern part of the country. Letters sent from New York to the West Coast traveled by ship, which typically took at least a month, or by stagecoach on the recently established Butterfield Express overland route, which could take from three weeks to many months to arrive. Compared to the snail’s pace of the existing delivery methods, the Pony Express’ average delivery time of 10 days seemed like lightning speed.

The Pony Express Company, the brainchild of William H. Russell, William Bradford Waddell and Alexander Majors, owners of a freight business, was set up over 150 relay stations along a pioneer trail across the present-day states of Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Nevada and California. Riders, who were paid approximately per week and carried loads estimated at up to 20 pounds of mail, were changed every 75 to 100 miles, with horses switched out every 10 to 15 miles. Among the riders was the legendary frontiersman and showman William “Buffalo Bill” Cody (1846-1917), who reportedly signed on with the Pony Express at age 14. The company’s riders set their fastest time with Lincoln’s inaugural address, which was delivered in just less than eight days.

The initial cost of Pony Express delivery was for every half-ounce of mail. The company began as a private enterprise and its owners hoped to gain a profitable delivery contract from the U.S. government, but that never happened. With the advent of the first transcontinental telegraph line in October 1861, the Pony Express ceased operations. However, the legend of the lone Pony Express rider galloping across the Old West frontier to deliver the mail lives on today

Largest Pinball Machine Collection

Wireless Speakers

RIP Richard Chamberlain (Anjin-san)

Richard Chamberlain (March 31, 1934 – March 29, 2025)

George Richard Chamberlain was an American actor and singer who became a teen idol in the title role of the television show Dr. Kildare (1961–1966). He subsequently earned the title “King of the Mini-Series” for his work in several TV miniseries such as Centennial (1978), Shōgun (1980), and The Thorn Birds (1983). Chamberlain also performed classical stage roles and worked in musical theatre.

Chamberlain played the role of Aramis in the film trilogy The Three Musketeers (1973), The Four Musketeers (1974), and The Return of the Musketeers (1989); portrayed Allan Quatermain in both King Solomon’s Mines (1985) and Lost City of Gold (1986); and was the first to play Jason Bourne in the 1988 television film The Bourne Identity.

Chamberlain as Pilot-Major John Blackthorne “Anjin-san” in Shōgun

I think I heard something…

Tarantula in a Jar

Michael Jackson Cat

Mid-America Truck Show!

2025 Mid-America Trucking Show

MARCH 27-29, 2025

Louisville, KY at the Kentucky Exposition Center

Mid-America Truck Show

Official Site

Pay It Back

Fur… ’nuff said

Dog hears echo for first time

This Warship Sank in Minutes

Mid-America Truck Show!

2025 Mid-America Trucking Show

MARCH 27-29, 2025

Louisville, KY at the Kentucky Exposition Center

Mid-America Truck Show

Official Site

50th Anniversary of Abyssinia, Henry (Col. Blake)

50 years ago today, March 18, 1975, McLean Stevenson’s character Col. Henry Blake dies in the M*A*S*H episode “Abyssinia, Henry”, its third season finale. Out of all the main characters on the show, Henry Blake was the only one to have been killed off.

In order to evoke genuine emotions of shock and sadness from the actors, the final O.R. scene was kept a secret from the cast, with the exception of Alan Alda, until immediately before filming; only then was the last page of the script handed out.

Irish!

Happy St. Patty’s Day!

Happy Pi Day

314pie

Mid-America Truck Show!

2025 Mid-America Trucking Show

MARCH 27-29, 2025

Louisville, KY at the Kentucky Exposition Center

Mid-America Truck Show

Official Site