Railroaders place to shoot the shit.

Didn't some of you used to watch this show? Not that there's anything wrong with that.

British actor Simon Shelton Barnes, who played Tinky Winky in the children's television series "Teletubbies," has died. He was 52.

The Liverpool Coroner's Office said Thursday it is investigating the death of Barnes, whose body was found in the northwestern English city on Jan. 17. Police say the death is not suspicious, and have referred it to the coroner to determine the cause.

Barnes played one of four gentle, brightly colored characters in the toddler-centric show between 1998 and 2001. "Teletubbies" became such a global hit that Barnes once called it The Beatles of children's television.

It became the surprising subject of controversy in 1999 when a newspaper published by evangelical preacher Jerry Falwell said Tinky Winky's purple color, triangle antenna and handbag indicated the character was gay.

The BBC, which broadcast the show, said at the time that "as far as we are concerned Tinky Winky is simply a sweet, technological baby with a magic bag."

"Teletubbies" producer Ragdoll Productions tweeted that Barnes was "a joy to work with, which was clear from the fun and energy that came through the screen, in all of his performances as Tinky Winky."

Rosie the Riveter... Myth busted?

http://www.philly.com/philly/opinion/rosie-the-riveter-new-york-times-obit-questions-20180126.html

Between the two newspapers NYT & PHILLY) which one has it right, and are they both bullshitting us?

https://www.cnn.com/2018/01/23/us/fraley-rosie-the-riveter-dies/index.html

-- Edited by Uke on Friday 26th of January 2018 12:38:28 PM

From way on back in the earlier days of 60 Minutes, Point-Counter Point:

Nicholas von Hoffman died yesterday. He was 88 years old and he wasn't that famous anymore, but he used to be all over the media: He had a Washington Post column that was syndicated across the country, he recorded radio commentaries for the CBS show Spectrum, and he had a recurring gig doing point/counterpoint segments for 60 Minutes, speaking for the left while James Kilpatrick represented the right. He was fired from that last job after the night he compared Richard Nixon to a dead mouse on a kitchen floor. "The question," he said of the president, "is who is going to pick it up by the tail and drop it in the trash. At this point it makes no difference whether he resigns, thereby depositing himself in a sanitary container, or whether Congress scoops him up in the dustpan of impeachment. But as an urgent national health measure, we've got to get that decomposing political corpse out of the White House."

http://reason.com/blog/2018/02/02/nicholas-von-hoffman-rip

Another old crooner:

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/vic-damon-dead-legendary-crooner_us_5a829371e4b01467fcf0d914

Another old baseball player:

BRYAN, Texas -- Former National League Rookie of the Year Wally Moon, who played on three World Series-winning teams with the Los Angeles Dodgers, has died. He was 87.

Erin Giese, the funeral director at Memorial Funeral Chapel in Bryan, Texas, said Monday that Moon died Friday at his home in Bryan.

Moon, a left-handed-hitting outfielder, played for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1954 to '58 and was named NL Rookie of the Year in 1954, when he batted .304 with 12 homers and 76 RBIs.

Billy Graham. I saw Billy once, went with a friend's family to a big revival meeting that was held at what was then Jet Stadium in Columbus, now a hollowed out shell, still partially standing, after at least three lives as Red Birds Stadium, Jet Stadium, and Cooper Stadium. Anyway, Billy's moved on:

http://abcnews.go.com/US/evangelist-billy-graham-dies-99/story?id=53241650

Uke wrote:

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Thoughts and prayers.

 

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 Thoughts and prayers.