NIPPIES® online magazine
Issue #11 - August 13 to October 16, 2003
Welcome to NIPPIES - since 1999!
We take little "nippies" out of every subject.
VIP = (Very Important Person).
NIP = (Not Important Person) - to some.
News about:
celebrities, entertainment, politics, business, finance, health insurance, society, pop culture & more - from a working class viewpoint!
October 16th, 2003
Illinois governor is our kinda man...
Goovernor Rod Blagojevich of Illinois takes on the FDA re: Canadian drug imports.
Reuters carried a story yesterday that warmed the heart of the NIPPIES staff. The story, by Kim Dixon, stated that the governor of Illinois, Rod Blagojevich (Democrat), has launched a campaign to urge citizens of this densely populated state to lobby the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to stop opposing the importation of cheaper drugs from Canada.
We at NIPPIES are constantly reporting, and have been for far longer than the mainstream media has, that Canadians enjoy savings of 20-80% on the same prescription drugs that we U.S. citizens get gouged for. This is because the Cnaadian government cares enough about its sick, poor and elderly to pass and enforce laws which prevent prescription medications from being sold at exorbitant mark-ups, as they are in the U.S.
"I'm launching an electronic petition drive so the people can be heard on this issue," said Gov. Rod Blagojevich. He then announced that the state has "set up a 1-800 phone line and an Internet site to make it easy for citizens to petition the FDA. The web site also compares prices on prescriptions bought here and in Canada.", according to the Reuters article by Kim Dixon.
Many U.S. citizens are not aware, or only vaguely aware, of the drug import issue. If you're healthy, have good health coverage, and plenty of money, you don't need to concern yourself about such issues. But you'd better believe that once everyone here in the U.S. sees how much more we are being charged for prescription meds compared to whatCanadians are charged- well, let's just say that "something" is going to hit the fan.
Major U.S. pharmaceutical companies, who are losing millions of dollars in profits as more and more U.S. citizens travel to Canadian pharmacies to fill their prescriptions or order through internet sites which are the middle-men for Canadian pharmacies, are attempting to frighten U.S. citizens away from the import habit by stating their concern about the "safety" of drug re-importation.
But, as one cynic said on the radio last week, the U.S. allows importation of foodstuffs such as canned goods and fruits and other consumable goods. These items are just as easily tampered with than are prescription meds. He's got a valid point.
But instead of all this pooh-pooh about concern over the safety of re-imported drugs, why not just pass the same laws to protect consumers as the Canadian government has??
"And now, a word from our sponsor..."
October 15th, 2003
Tis the season for wax paper (or, if you will, waxed paper)...
We at Nippies always have a roll of Cut-Rite® wax paper in our cupboard. It's a must-have in my home. Unfortunately, we don't use wax paper every day - it seems that plastic wrap has taken its place in our home when it comes to covering the tops of bowls or wrapping sandwiches. But wax paper holds a sentimental corner of my heart; wax paper always reminds me of my mother.
Years ago, on a summer's eve, it was not unusual for father to announce that we were going to the drive-in. Immediately, my mother would pull out her roll of Cut-Rite® wax paper, a loaf of bread, some boiled ham (which was already wrapped in wax paper), and the butter. She'd set to work making about ten boiled-ham sandwiches on white Sunbeam bread, which she would individually wrap in wax paper and pack in brown paper bags. Once that was accomplished, and we all had our pajamas on, we'd set off for the old Comerford drive-in movie theatre up the road from our home.
Sometime after the movie started we kids would hear the first crinkling of a wax-paper-wrapped sandwich being fished out from that brown paper bag. My mother would then proceed to dole out the wax paper wrapped snacks. Yum. I can still taste the soft-white bread, salty-sweet ham, and delicious butter that made up those wax-paper wrapped sandwiches. Boiled ham sandwiches never tasted as good at home as they did at the drive-ins.
My mother used wax paper on everything. She'd put it on top of pudding to keep a "skin" from forming. No one in our house liked that thick scum, as we kids called it, that always seemed to form on home-made chocolate or vanilla My-T-Fine® pudding. Mom also used wax paper to cover bowls by putting a rubber band around the bowl after she'd applied the wax paper over the top. Sometimes she used wax paper to line drawers. Often, after she'd opened a jar of pickles or mayonaisse, she'd put a small square of wax paper over the top of the jar before screwing the lid back on. "Keeps things fresher," she always claimed. Mom also used wax paper to grease cookie sheets and cake pans with Crisco®. Nothing else but wax paper would do for these myriad of everyday jobs-Mom had a million uses for the translucent wonder-paper.
I myself have fond memories of wrapping a plastic comb in wax paper and then "playing the comb". My brother and I used wax paper to draw on by scraping it wiah the end of a rat-tailed comb, a dull pencil or any other handy object which would work. Or we'd put the first leaves of autumn between two layers of wax paper, get out the iron, and press the leaves on low heat between the wax paper. In those days, schools gave you extra credit for little things like that.
If there is another brand of wax paper besides "Cut-Rite®", I don't know about it. Mom only bought "Cut Rite®". Today, the color of the box has changed from medium blue to a multi-color, gradiated sort of blue. Cut-Rite® wax paper is now owned by Reynolds and is called "Reynolds Cut-Rite®" wax paper. Wax paper has been around now for 75 years, having debuted in 1927- the same year that Charles Lindbergh crossed the Atlantic.
Recently, when the first leaves began to fall, my little girl ran and got out the wax paper. Ironing leaves and the last flowers of the summer between two pieces of wax paper is an annual event in our home. The ritual comes as naturally to my little one and I as shopping for back-to-school clothes. Yes, 'tis the season for wax paper.
October 9th, 2003
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger!
Is anyone surprised by Arnold Schwarzenegger's victory over all the other wannabes for governor of California? We at NIPPIES are not.
If you've ever watched or read an Arnold Schwarzenegger interview, you know that the man is a formidable opponent. We at NIPPIES have watched such interviews. In one long-ago interview, I clearly remember Arnold telling the interviewer that, on the eve before a Mr. Olympia contest he often "psyched out" his fellow competitors. When pressed to elaborate, Mr. Schwarzenegger said he would say something to them like (paraphrased) "Oh, don't be nervous. Just because I've won __ years in a row, that doesn't mean anything." The ploy worked. Arnold Schwarzenegger won the Mr. Olympia title 7 times: 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975 and in 1980.
So, when Arnold threw his hat into the governor's race in California, I had the feeling he would be victorious. He's got a winning combination of smarts, guts, tenacity, wit, looks, money and fame. He doesn't seem to enter into a contest unless he thinks he stands a good chance of winning. Unfortunately, he had to make it through a California mud-slide of sexual harassment allegations before he could pull off that victory. And whether Arnold was behind the last minute allegations of temper tantrums and staff mistreatment against Gray Davis, we might never know. But the allegations did come at the last minute. And Gray Davis lost big.
It's interesting that Arnold has accomplished what no Kennedy has: he has become the governor of one of the United States of America. Maria Shriver must be very proud of her husband. Maria, by the way, was reportedly against Arnold running for governor at one time, but supported her husband's decision to run once he announced his candidacy. Maria only granted one interview during the entire campaign, and that was on Oprah.
Congratulations, Arnold and Maria. And good luck!
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Slimfast pasta commercial - are they or aren't they?
A current Slimfast commercial for their pasta products shows two men in a kitchen comparing their tummies. The first man lifts his shirt and brags that he lost 10 lbs. by eating Slimfast and the second man lifts his shirt, exposes his considerably taut abdomen, and brags that he lost more. There is an affectionate cheek (facial) pinch at the end of the commercial.
Is this supposed to be a gay couple? In my opinion, they are. So what, you say? Sure, so what. Just thought I'd mention I noticed it.
*************************************************************************************** I Dream of Jeannie - and Farrah!
Farrah Fawcett had several small rolls in television series before hitting it big with Charlie's Angels. Did you know she appeared, in 1969, twice in episodes of I Dream of Jeannie? She played "Tina" (credited as Cindy) in November and again in December, 1969. She was 23 and a full 7 years away from superstardom.
October 6th, 2003
What is in your Kraft Singles?
We at NIPPIES went grocery shopping a few weeks ago. A man sat at a card table in front of the grocery store handing out green flyers. We politely took one. The title of this article is slightly changed from the title of that flyer.
The flyer is distributed by the Family Farmer Defenders, P.O. Box 1772, Madison, WI 53701 and the America Raw Milk Producers Pricing Association (ARMPA), P.O. Box 134, Waunakee, WI. The following text states (text in italics) exactly what was said on that flyer:
Do you know what is in your Kraft Singles?
On every package of Kraft Singles American cheese slices, you'll find the words "Milk Makes 'Em Taste Great!" Ads for Kraft Singles feature kids describing how much milk goes into every slice. But the fine print of their ingredient list tells a different story - the fifth ingredient on that list is something called "Milk Protein Concentrate." This ingredient, called MPC for short, in an unregulated, untested substance that is far from the wholesome milk Kraft brags about.
What is MPC?
Big food processors, like Kraft - the largest U.S. cheese company, owned by tobacco giant Philip-Morris- use MPC in many popular products: cheese, frozen desserts, and high protein sports drinks, energy bars, and nutritional supplements.
But when it comes to explaining what Milk Protein Concentrate is, it's actually easier to explain what it is not.
MCP is not dry or powdered milk. MPC usually comes in powder form. But unlike dry milk, MPC is what is left after processing to remove more valuable components of milk.
MPC is not produced in the U.S. Dairy farmers here turn extra milk into dry milk, much of which goes to cheese production. But around the world, the leftovers of dairy processing are often mixed together and called MPC, in order to exploit a loophole the U.S. trade rules that allows it to be imported with lower tariffs.
MPC is not an approved food ingredient. There is not enough research on MPC to qualify it for the list of food ingredients that th efederal government classifies as "Generally Regarded as Safe." But even though MPC is not an approved food inredient, it can be found on most grocery store shelves!
MPC has not been defined by the Food and Drug Administration and the agency has no standard for the purity of MPC. The FDA admits that they do "minimal monitoring" of MPC as it enters the U.S. This is important because MPC is imported from around the world - including countries where dairy sanitation and food regulations are less stringent or virtually nonexistent.
So Why is Anyone Allowed to Use MPC?
When it comes to cheese, technically, no one is allowed to use MPC. The FDA has "standards of identity" for most cheeses, including Pasteurized Processed Cheese Food (like Kraft Singles). MPC is not an approved ingredient under FDA's standards of identity. Yet the agency has looked the otehr way as imports of MPC skyrocketed. In 2000 along dairy processors like kraft imported 52,000 metric tons of MPC - that's the equivalent of 4.6 billion pounds of milk!
Who Benefits from Using MPC?
Big food processing companies save money by buying cheap imported MPC rather than paying a fair price to U.S. dairy farmers. In fact, these companies are so anxious to use cheap imports that last year they petitioned the FDA to change the definition of milk! They want to be able to list the liquid form of MPC as "milk" on product labels.
SAVE FAMILY FARMERS! BOYCOTT MPCs
Kraft "Singles" come in many varieties, but they are all considered "Pasteurized Process Cheese Food." The problem is, these "Singles" contain imported Milk Protein Concentrate (MPC). MPC is not a legal food ingredient. Imported MPC has displaced tons of dry milk from the U.S.- reducing dairy farmers' income and denying consumers an honest product.
What Can You Do?
1.) Don't Buy Kraft Singles!! Tell Kraft you think their "American" cheese ought to be made from U.S. milk - not from imported MPC that is unapproved, unregulated, and untested. Call Kraft: #1-800-323-0768 or write them:
Kraft Foods, 1 Kraft Court, Glenview, IL 60025
2.) Be a smart consumer and carefully read labels. If you discover MPC in a food product, don't buy it, and don't hesitate to let the manufacturer and grocery store manager know about this illegal food ingredient.
Tell your U.S. Representative and U.S. Senators to get MPC out of our food! Call the Congressional switchboard: #1-202-224-3121
3.) Urge teh FDA to enforce the existing laws on using MPC in food. Call the FDA: # 1-888-463-6332 or write them: FDA, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20857
Who Gets Hurt by MPC?
Family Farmers - As imports of MPC rise, farmers face even more depressed domestic milk prices and lose opti(sic) fo rselling their product. In dairy states like Minnesota, Wisconsin, three to four family farmers go out of business every day due to such unfair business practices.
Consumers - People who think they're buying a healthy wholesome product need to think again when they buy cheese made from MPC, an un-tested, unregulated dairy waste from other countries.
Taxpayers- As domestic farm prices stagnate and rural communities suffer, the federal government is pressured to help agriculture more. Unfortunately, most of these subsidies are quickly siphoned off by agribusiness corporations like Kraft, who refuse to pay a fair price to farmers while being dishonest with consumers.
For more information, contact:
Family Farm Defenders, P.O. Box 1772, Madison, WI 53701 tel./fax 608-20-0900
America Raw Milk Producers Pricing Association (ARMPA), P.O. Box 134, Waunakee, WI 53597
1-888-276-7720
Milkweed, P.O. Box 10, Brooklyn, WI 53521
Pro Ag 570-833-5776 (end of flyer)
There are a few things here I feel I should mention.
First of all, my kids don't like Kraft Singles for some reason and won't eat the "toast-a-cheeses" I make when I use the Kraft product. I buy Boar's Head cheese, which they love. And believe me, they know the difference. If I cannot make the trip to the specialty store that sells the preferred brand of Boar's Head, I can sometimes get them to eat Borden's white american. I can find no evidence of MPCs in the Borden's brand, but it does taste similar, in my opinion, to the Kraft Singles.
Secondly, the man handing out the flyers in front of my neighborhood grocery store most definitely looked like a farmer. And I don't mean that in a derogatory fashion. The man's appearance was that of someone who works at hard and long at physical labor for a living; his rough hands, open and weathered face, clean, but faded, plaid shirt and heavy-duty denim pants gave me the impression he'd only taken a few hours out of his long day to sit and give out those flyers. And there was a humble, almost pleading look on his face as he held forth that green piece of paper.
Finally, I found an article on the internet which gives a degree of credence to the anonymous farmer's claim:(2023 update: sorry, article no longer available) OBEY INTRODUCES NEW BILL TO CLOSE MILK PROTEIN CONCENTRATE LOOPHOLE
The first paragraph of the article states:
"We Should Stop Illegal Foreign Imports From Undercutting Milk Prices," Says Obey
WASHINGTON 7th District Congressman Dave Obey today introduced legislation to close a tariff loophole that allows foreign-made Milk Protein Concentrates (MPCs) into the country virtually tariff-free, deflates domestic milk prices, and costs American taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars. Obey and Congressman Don Sherwood, R-Pa., introduced the bill with a bipartisan coalition of more than 50 Members of Congress.
There was also a letter sent to Kraft by the Dept. of Health and Human Services to Ms. Betsy D. Holden, President and CEO of Kraft Foods North America, on Dec. 18th, 2002. The letter was regarding violations of Section 403 of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (the use of MPCs in some of Kraft's cheese "food"):
2023 update: FDA.gov article is no longer online. Dept. Of Health and Human Services Letter to Kraft Regarding MPC
There you have it. I've passed along the information. If Kraft has something to say about all this, I will give them equal time. This is, after all, America.
September 29th, 2003
This is what happens when...
I first heard about the following incident from a doctor/friend a few days ago. I couldn't believe what I was hearing, so I did some research in the local newspapers (which I don't always have time to read), and found the article which tells this horrible story. This is what happens when winning becomes "everything" in the mind of an athlete. The names have been omitted:
Four __________ High School football players have been suspended from school and kicked off the football team after allegedly assaulting a teammate after Wednesday's practice, according to School Board member _________.
"I'd be surprised if these individuals ever stepped foot in ________ again," ____ said. "Right now it's in the hands of the police and the (district attorney)."
_________, a 15-year-old sophomore quarterback, alleges the incident took place because of his performance during a junior varsity game on Monday against _________; he threw several interceptions.
"They told me this is what happens when you throw interceptions," said ______, who suffered a fractured jaw, a laceration that required nine stitches and a bruised shoulder and elbow in the incident. "Those were their exact words."
______ said the four unidentified players - three seniors and a junior according to several sources - grabbed him in the junior-senior high school locker room while he was changing clothes. ______ and his mother, _____, declined to name the players.
The players taped his hands, feet and head to the chair and proceeded to rub Icy Hot balm on his face, ______ said. Icy Hot is an ointment to ease muscle pain; it can irritate sensitive areas of the body.
______ said the players attempted to push the chair into the gymnasium but the wheels struck the barrier between the hallway and the gym floor, causing ______ and the chair to flip forward.
"My hands were taped down so there was nothing I could do," ______ said. "I landed flat on my face."
The four players ran from the scene after seeing the blood, ______ said.
"I'm pretty angry about everything," said the 5-foot-10, 145-pound ______, whose jaw will be wired for at least six weeks. "My jaw's wired down and I can't eat any solid food."
______ Township Police Chief ______ ______ was at the school Thursday collecting evidence, including a chair and several Icy Hot containers. He did not return several phone calls Thursday.
___________ District Attorney ____________ has assigned a county detective to assist ______ Township police with the investigation. "This matter is being treated very seriously."
___________ School Board member ______ _______said: "I think this started as a hazing incident, then it got worse. This was sort of vicious. But I don't know all of the circumstances and have to try and keep an open mind."
______ was freed from the chair by a senior teammate. _____ commended the player for helping _______ and added, "some great kids stepped forward."
_____ said head coach ___________, who could not be reached for comment, kicked the players off the football team soon after learning of the incident.
"That's the least of their worries," _____ said.
School officials immediately suspended the four players, according to _____. "Nothing is going to be shoved under any rug here," he said. "We don't tolerate this at ______."
______ _______said she saw a large amount of blood on her son's shirt and face when she arrived at the school to pick him up after Wednesday's practice.
"At first I thought he got hurt during practice. When I heard what happened, I couldn't believe it. I'm still in shock. It's been horrible watching my son go through this. It's been hard on our whole family. We've really been through a lot."
Co-Principal/Acting Superintendent ____ _______ and Athletic Director ____ ________ visited ______ and his mother at their house Thursday morning. ____ _____ said he repeated his story to the school officials during the visit.
_______ said an internal investigation was being conducted Thursday by _______ and Co-Principal ____ _______. ________ did not return numerous telephone messages left at the school office.
"This is an isolated incident," _______ said. "We've had minor problems here or there over the years, but nothing like this. We don't tolerate it."
Other than the morning visit, _____ _______ hasn't had much contact with officials at _________, and has had no contact with the _____ ________ police.
"I heard the police were doing their own investigation," she said. "But no one in my family has talked to the police."
_____ _______ says she hasn't spoken to an attorney and isn't sure if she will in the future.
"In all honesty, between the hospital and everything else, I haven't had much time to think about it. I guess we'll just wait and see what the police are going to do."
__________ is scheduled to play _______ at 7 p.m. tomorrow at ________ Memorial Stadium. ______ said the game has not been postponed.
September 28th, 2003
Remembering "Jerry West"...
I went to a wake last week. It was for one of my high school classmates. His name wasn't Joey, but I'll call him by that name for now.
The first thing anyone would say about Joey was that he was a great basketball player. That round orange-and-black ball was like an extension of his hand. Joey could dribble like crazy, run like a deer, and his shots from anywhere on the court were extremely accurate. So accurate, in fact, that Joey scored over 1000 points during his high school career - a feat more difficult to accomplish a few decades ago than it is today because high school basketball seasons were shorter with fewer games. This was an era when sports - and winning - wasn't everything...they were just a nice "extras", as in "extracurricular".
Like most high school kids, Joey had a dream: he wanted to be a professional basketball player like his idol, Jerry West, the legendary #44 player-coach-executive for the Los Angeles Lakers. We even called Joey "Jerry West", a nickname he relished.
Joey wasn't very tall as far as basketball players go. He was only about 5'7". I never learned if his height thwarted his hoop dreams or if it was the tragedy that took place in Joey's life during the beginning of our senior year. At any rate, Joey never achieved his goal of becoming an NBA player. Life, as it often seems to do, took Joey by the hand and led him down another path.
We were only a few months into our final year in high school when that terrible day in Joey's life occured. It was an ordinary, hum-drum autumn day. Suddenly, there was horrible news. My best friend, who was Joey's cousin, pulled me aside between classes and told me that Joey had been picked up by a relative and taken home. There had been an car accident, she said, involving Joey's one-year-older sister, Liz. We later learned that Liz, a beautiful, quiet girl who had just begun her freshman year at a local all-girls college, was sitting in the front passenger seat of her friend's car during their morning commute to the campus when the accident occured. The friend misjudged a turn across traffic. A truck broadsided the car. Liz died instantly.
Joey returned to school the next week. But he was a different Joey. The once ebullient, full-of-fun guy who always had a mischievious smile on his face was now often quiet and noticeably sullen. He still played a great game of basketball, but he seemed to get less joy and satisfaction from his athletic accomplishments. We all noticed that something was missing in the Joey we'd cheered on during so many games. Joey must have felt that something was missing, too, because it was soon after Liz's death he began searching for that "something" in the bottom of a bottle.
I don't know much about what Joey did immediately after high school. I do remember hearing dribs and drabs about his drinking, which he was doing more and more frequently. But we all drank beer at week-end college "keg parties" in those carefree, euphoric, post-high-school days. A story about Joey getting drunk would only make a minor register on my consciousness.
A few years later, when most of us were launching careers and our drinking was limited to week-ends at the fashionable singles' establishments, the phrase "drinking problem" began to be used whenever anyone would talk about Joey. I heard that the beautiful girl he'd married a few years earlier had divorced him.
During the first years after his divorce, I'd often see Joey hitch-hiking on the outskirts of our small town. I'd stop and give him a ride - usually around midnight when I was on my way to meet friends after my 3-11 shift at the hospital - to one of the serious-drinkers-only bars he liked to frequent. We'd ask about the welfare of our mutual acquaintances, laugh over a few old memories, and then go our separate ways. Joey always had alcohol on his breath, but he was always a gentleman and still had that boyish charm. As I watched him pull open yet another saloon door, a silent prayer would go up that he would straighten out soon.
Joey continued his drinking well into his thirties. By now he was a full-blown alcoholic who didn't stick with any job for very long. His now-elderly mother, who had taken him in after his divorce, moved out-of-state to live with one of Joey's elder sisters. His cousin, and still my best friend, told me stories of liver problems and other messes that Joey'd gotten himself into. The family had all but given up hope that Joey would ever stop drinking.
Then one snowy, crisp December 23rd night my husband and I were out on our annual last-minute "Santa's List" shopping expedition. After they'd locked up Toys-R-Us for the night, we drove across the highway and stopped in at Red Lobster for something to eat. And there in a booth was Joey, sitting with a woman about his age, and looking fit as a fiddle and quite sober against the background window of falling snowflakes and dark blue skies.
He recognized me immediately, hopped up from his seat, and came forward to give me a hug. His first words were not "hello" but rather "I haven't had a drink in two years." His face was beaming he was, obviously, very proud of himself. And I felt proud for him. As our companions politely and patiently smiled at each other, Joey and I played catch-up. Joey told me he was attending AA meetings regularly, working steadily and was volunteering his time by coaching a boy's basketball team. He shook his head when he recalled his low point during his drinking years: sitting on an abandoned freight car in the middle of the afternoon and drinking until he'd pass-out. I told him about my young son, himself a dead-eye shot even though he was very young. And that I had inspired my son with stories how great our own "Jerry West" was during his basketball days. Joey really seemed to like that. After a few minutes, we said our farewells and went our separate ways. I never saw Joey again.
Joey stayed sober for the rest of his life. He and his companion had several good years together, and she was with him until the end. He even survived a near fatal esophageal condition and several risky surgeries to remedy that condition. But life again took a wrong - and very unfair - turn. Joey contracted Alzheimer's disease a few years ago, and he passed away after spending over a year in a nursing home. He wasn't even 50.
You had to stand in line to get into the funeral home to view Joey's casket. Everyone loved Joey, and everyone rooted for him both on the basketball court and, many years later, during his continuing struggle to maintain sobriety. His sisters, now very-elderly and frail mother, and his longtime companion had decided to have him dressed in his favorite type of outfit: jeans, a flannel shirt - and sneakers. Near those sneakered-feet was a basketball with many sentiments and signatures on it. I don't know what it said on that ball because the sight of it caused my vision to blur a bit.
The real Jerry West had a street in Morgantown, W.V. named after him on August 14, 2000. The real Jerry West is very much alive and active in basketball: last year he was named "President of Basketball Operations" for the Memphis Grizzlies.
No one has ever named a street after Joey. As far as I know, Joey was never president of anything. But I'm doing what I can to honor this little-known champion who defeated his most formidable opponents - alcohol and himself. I'd like to think that Joey would be pleased about what I've written.
September 21st, 2003
Whatever happened to Peter Kastner?
Chances are you won't remember Peter Kastner, a popular television and movie actor from the 60s 70s, if you are under 40. But we at NIPPIES remember him well and have been unsuccessful in our quest to find out what happened to him! Peter Kastner seems to have disappeared off the face of the earth (at least in relation to his acting career) since 1981, when he appeared in an episode of Simon & Simon.
Peter Kastner was young during his acting heydey. He was born in 1944 and appeared in a number of television series and movies during his twenties and thirties, most notably on the popular weekly series, Love American Style. He had curly brown hair and a rather gravely - yet soft - voice. Peter was not conventionally handsome, but he was interesting to listen to and watch, and you remembered him if you saw him even once.
If anyone out there knows where Peter is now, perhaps you can write to the NIPPIES staff, and we'll pass the word on to our readers.
Thank you!
September 17th, 2003
Flashdance...where did time go? Ohmygosh...we at NIPPIES are sitting here watching the grand finale of Flashdance, and wondering where our youth went? I remember when I actually had a body that looked something like Jennifer Beals' body in that movie.
This was the movie which catapulted plain, grey sweatshirts to the height of fashion. Every young woman, and girl, cut a large swath out of the neckline of their fleece-lined sweatshirt and let that neckline drape over one of their shoulders. This was a fad with function: not only did the sweatshirts look better, but they were infinitely more comfortable to wear with that much-looser neckline. (Three things I've never liked about sweatshirts are the too-high necklines, the banded wrists, and the banded waistlines, which tend to bunch up and make one look pot-bellied no matter how thin one may be.)
How very gorgeous Michael Nouri looked in that movie! (OK, we at NIPPIES still care!) He was something to behold: that dark curly hair, those sensuous, full lips, those eyes! (The guy was, and is, many years older than moi but that mattered not).
Speaking of Michael Nouri...is he or isn't he married to Roma Downey? Neither his nor her official bio on imdb.com tells anything about this couple being married. However, there are many photos of them together on the internet, and one we at NIPPIES just pulled up refers to the couple as "Michael Nouri and his actress/wife Roma Downey".
At any rate, Michael Nouri currently lives in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He still is appearing regularly in movies, although he hasn't been in any blockbusters lately (that we know of). But we at NIPPIES are still fans of his and have been since we first set eyes on him on Search For Tomorrow (as "Steve Kazlow") way back in '75 when he was a regular and used to strum the guitar on the show. Michael also sang the theme song for the long-running soap opera during the 1976 season.
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Beanie Babies Galore on Ebay
We were just watching a commercial on TV for Ebay. Before we get into the Beanie Baby subject: guess who stars in what is the first commercial on telelvision we at NIPPIES have ever seen for the auction house? It's none other than the actor from the ice cream man commercial (for Kohn's department stores) that was so popular all summer!
We at NIPPIES still don't know this guy's name. If you do, please let us know! He's also great in the Cingular commericial. No, he's not of the chiseled-chin variety. Instead, he has an interesting and unforgettable face...not unlike Bob (Gilligan Denver's.
Anyway, we have digressed from the our topic, which was Beanie Babies! Remember how hot these little stuffed toys by Ty were a few years back? Well, there are over 6700 auctions on Ebay by folks trying to dump their Beanie Babies - cheap. And most of offerings have no takers. The auctions who do have bidders are only getting about $1 - $3 each. Whole collections of over 400 Beanie Babies are going for $1200.00, while scores of individual auctions have no bidders even though the starting price is under $1.00.
We at NIPPIES never bought into that whole Beanie Baby mania. We have a husband who went through the baseball-card collecting cycle in the 1990s and learned the hard way that when people are buying things as collectibles, they aren't going to be worth much. After all, a true collectible is something that nobody saved or put away safely and there are none but a precious few left! Things being sold as collectibles, on the other hand, are being carefully tucked away with the hope of fetching a high price later on.
It just doesn't work that way, from our experience. God help the poor devils who cashed in their savings to "invest" in Beanie Babies.
Finally...give a celebrity a virtual face-lift online!
We at NIPPIES found the coolest and most fun site and we want to share it with our readers. Go to http://www.wrrv.com/musicallmorning/ and click on "Celebrity Warp" on the menu. You will find a photo of a featured celebrity. (Today's was Corey Feldman). You can then have a blast by dragging and pulling at the picture to give the celebrity a complete "makeover".
