Simonizing nostalgic

• I've got a boatload of notes for a full-length blog post, but my muse seems to be on holiday.
• It's no secret or surprise that I enjoy curating memories of the 20th century.  Specifically, I have as of late, been watching several TV reruns.
• On the weekends, The Magnificent Seven television series - which ran about two seasons (22 episodes), has aged well.  It probably doesn't hurt that I enjoy the Western genre.  The Young Riders, running three seasons in the early '90s, is also decent, although I haven't watched as many episodes.
• All In the Family still scores well on my list, as well as Carroll O'Connor's later work on In the Heat of the Night.  I enjoy an occasional episode of Sanford and Son, but am less enthusiastic about The Jeffersons.  I don't remember having much of an opinion about Maude back in the day, but I absolutely loathe that show now.  I will sometimes watch both episodes of Wings when it follows Carson.
• Now in its second year of syndicated reruns, The Tonight Show (only the Carson-hosted episodes, from the mid-'70s to the show's end) is still a fun watch, even if some of the initial novelty has worn off.  Most evenings I'll try to catch the monologue, as kind of a time capsule of where the culture was at that time, and continue watching if there are some interesting guests.
• Last week I saw Leno's first stand up routine on Tonight, which aired March 2, 1977.  Interesting to note that just 10 years later, he began guest hosting, and five years after that had it for his own.
• This past week, the classic episode with Robin Williams and Jonathan Winters was on again, and last night Billy Crystal, air date uncertain, showed just how uptight our culture has become.  In his segment, he was wearing a shirt with an Indian head on it, and he did some schtick about  a Texas TV wrestling announcer who called out a Mexican contender with references about stealing his TV, then later imitated midgets running in the circus.  Of course, this wasn't done for shock value, it was just funny, but what struck me is that if he were to do the same performance today, 95% of Hollywood would demand his head on a platter.
• Took my daughter to the carnival last night.  We rode some kind of superman ride, flying through the air face down, the Alien Abduction centrifuge ride, aerial chair swings, and the Ferris wheel. Each time we go, I'm reminded of how blessed I am - yes, she's a teenager now, but as long as she enjoys hanging out and riding the rides with Dad, I'm going to savor it for all it's worth.  

I felt kinda like Aykroyd and Chase in Spies Like Us...

•  No political commentary today.  I'll resume solving the world's problems...next week.