Here's something interesting.
A man brought in a custom Winchester 1894 made in 1896 to the Antiques Roadshow on PBS for appraisal.
It has a plaque indicating Buffalo Bill's Wild West show on the stock. It may (or may not) be authentic.
Here's the video on the rifle:
Boo-hoo!
New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham is sobbing over the budget cut of Public Broadcasting by the Trump Administration.
According to her X post, she says that the Corporation for Public Broadcasting is closing. It appears that they were not viable enough to continue without money from the public tit. The government had no business of paying for television and radio stations in the first place.
Why should the taxpayers subsidize stations who broadcast leftist propaganda?
Check out the comments to her post.
She posted:
Today marks a sad day for America and for New Mexico families who depend on public broadcasting for critical information and emergency services.
— Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham (@GovMLG) August 1, 2025
The closure of Corporation for Public Broadcasting, resulting from harebrained federal budget cuts by Republicans in Washington, will… pic.twitter.com/E69F80cR7G
A little Los Angeles history, courtesy of Ralph Story of PBS So Cal:
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| Above, William F. Buckley Jr. in an undated photo from Wikipedia. |
I learned a lot about William F. Buckley Jr. from the program. It was interesting that many of the liberals who appeared on Firing Line were also personal friends. It was refreshing to see how friendships can be made despite political differences.
It was interesting to see a photo of Buckley shaking hands with Sen. Robert F. Kennedy. Kennedy would not appear on Firing Line. When asked why, Buckley quipped, "Why does the baloney avoid the slicer?"
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| Above, Buckley and Robert Kennedy. |
The only thing that marred the program for me was the Trump-bashing at the end. Otherwise, it was a worthwhile documentary.
UPDATE:
I just discovered that the full documentary has been posted at YouTube.
Here it is:
PBS American Masters will be airing "The Incomparable Mr. Buckley" on Friday (9:00 PM on New Mexico PBS 5.1) evening. (Check your local listings.)
It takes a look at William F. Buckley Jr., one of the fathers of the modern conservative movement in American politics. This is one program that I am looking forward to seeing.
I have some of Buckley's books such as In The Jeweler's Eye, Quotations From Chairman Bill and Up From Liberalism. I was a regular viewer of his Firing Line television show and read National Review.
I remember seeing Buckley at the 1976 Republican National Convention as he took a "stroll" on the convention floor. I was a California Reagan delegate at that convention in Kansas City, Missouri. He received a great welcome from the delegates.
Here's the official trailer:
Last year, the 80th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, PBS presented a documentary, "Elvis and the USS Arizona".
It is a well-made documentary about Elvis Presley's role in making the USS Arizona Memorial a reality.
As today is National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, here is the documentary.
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| Above, the Gibbon River in Yellowstone National Park. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
The closure of Yellowstone National Park due to the massive flooding last week obviously is causing a number of problems.
One of which is causing people who have plans and reservations to visit the park. The questions arise, "What if you can't get into Yellowstone? What do you do?"
WGCU (PBS and NPR affiliate in Florida) has some suggestions.
They begin with:
Many potential vacationers to Yellowstone National Park are wondering what to do with the possibility that they will be turned away at the gates, even as the park speeds up plans to reopen after unprecedented flooding.
Flash floods devastated the northern part of the park last week, with swelling rivers washing away roads and sweeping entire structures downstream.
On Monday, park officials announced that Yellowstone's north loop, which had been expected to be closed for months, will now reopen within two weeks after a surge of funding was acquired for repairs. Over the weekend the National Park Service said the south loop, which avoided the worst of the flooding damage, will reopen on Wednesday.
To deal with crowding, the Park Service announced over the weekend a new interim entry system based on vehicle license plate numbers. That could change to a reservation or timed entry system, if warranted, in the next three to four weeks.
About 1 million visitors come to Yellowstone each month during the summer. While the park works to fully reopen quicker than expected, it's clear that many vacationers will still be forced to change their itineraries.
But if you've already made your reservations or are already nearby, there are still plenty of options — especially for the outdoor enthusiasts — in the surrounding areas. Many of the towns and recreational areas outside of the park are still open for visitors looking to salvage their summer plans.
To read more, go here.
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| Above, rows of Helms trucks at the Culver City headquarters. |
People living in Los Angeles from the 1930s to the 1960s would be greeted each morning by a distinctive whistle toot from the street.
It signaled that the Helms Bakeries truck was in the neighborhood.
Based out of Culver City, California, Helms Bakeries would deliver baked goods and candies to Los Angeles residents. Kids who lived in L.A. at the time, would run out to the Helms truck to buy donuts and candy. I remember doing so hundreds of times.
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| Above, this was a familiar scene back in the day. |
From PBS:
The Helms Bakery, owned by then newly-retired New York banker Paul Helms, opened its doors in 1931. Helms Bakery operated on a large scale, churning out 150 different types of items—none of which were sold in stores. Helms’ products were delivered directly to customers’ homes.
Helms Bakery Drivers honked a distinctive horn and residents could come out to the coaches where they’d find fresh-baked loaves, doughnuts, rolls and cookies available for purchase. Some Helmsmen, as the drivers were known, even carried milk and butter. During the company’s heyday, Helms coaches extended their delivery zones all the way north to Fresno and south to San Diego.
My elementary school class took a field trip to the Helms bakery and each of us were given a miniature loaf of bread. It was a great time to be a kid in L.A.!
Of course, we must not forget the folding cardboard Helms trucks the drivers handed out.
To read more, go here.
Here's some things that people loved to visit. They still would, if only they were still around.
First, here's a list of places that may or may not exist today or they have been put off-limits due to a variety of reasons from around the world.
It is from Travelerz:
They begin with:
Everybody loves a good vacation and an opportunity to travel and explore. But what if we told you that some of the most stunning tourist destinations in the world are now off-limits? Popular spots our grandparents used to enjoy are no longer accessible, or simply no longer exist, and we are to blame. Take a look back at the vintage travel hotspots that are now confined to history, for an opportunity to appreciate what's lost forever!
To see them, go here.
Here's a couple of videos by the late Ralph Story that is Los Angeles-centric. It is a video of "Things That Aren't Here Anymore".
One of the few shows on television I'll bother watching these days is Antiques Roadshow on PBS on Monday nights.
Which brings me to an article that caught my attention this morning.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reported:
The PBS show Antiques Roadshow announced this week it will be visiting Museum Hill in Santa Fe on June 14, offering expert appraisals of antiques.
That show will produce three episodes from the all-day event, which will air in 2023.
Admission to the Antiques Roadshow event is free, but those hoping to attend must apply for a ticket by March 21 at pbs.org/roadshowtickets. Ticket applicants later will be selected in a random drawing.
To read more, go here.
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| Above, Elvis Presley performs at the USS Arizona Memorial benefit concert in 1961. |
Last night, I saw the documentary, Elvis and the USS Arizona on New Mexico PBS. As this year marks 80 years since the Pearl Harbor attack, we will likely be seeing many commemorative programs such as this.
At first, I thought that the online listing was in error as the PBS station I normally watch (5.1) had a program on national parks following two hours of Antiques Roadshow. But there are several PBS stations in New Mexico and I had the find the right one, which I did (5.4).
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| Above, an unused ticket recently auctioned. Elvis and the USS Arizona gave a history of the battleship along with a look at the weeks prior to the December 7, 1941 attack through the letters of Arizona sailor Bill Woodward to his wife. Several women were also featured, for they witnessed the attack as children and also attended the benefit concert at Bloch Arena of Elvis Presley to raise funds for the building of the USS Arizona Memorial in 1961. |
The hour-long program was interesting as movies and stills of the USS Arizona Memorial construction were shown. Bloch Arena as it is today was also shown. Movie footage of Elvis's arrival at Honolulu Airport was shown, which included Minnie Pearl, who was one of the opening acts of the benefit concert.
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| Above, the memorial wall inside the USS Arizona Memorial. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
Over the years, Elvis would pay visits to the memorial whenever he was in Hawaii.
Elvis and the USS Arizona was well worth a viewing. Check your local PBS listings for future broadcasts.
My grade: A.
Suggested reading: Aloha Elvis by Jerry Hopkins, Bess Press, 2007. The book details Elvis Presley's Hawaii visits from the 1950s to 1970s.
PBS will be airing a new documentary, Elvis and The USS Arizona this month.
According to Elvis News Examiner:
This year, Presley will finally get the historical recognition he deserves with a new documentary by the World War II Foundation called Elvis and The USS Arizona. In addition, filmmaker Tim Gray, the president of the foundation, is organizing the creation of a memorial plaque to be displayed in Honolulu to bring awareness to Presley’s role. Funds for the plaque will rely on public donations.
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| Above, the USS Arizona Memorial in 2016. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
And from the Always Elvis Fan Club:
Elvis was already heading to Hawaii to film a movie called Blue Hawaii. Col. Parker asked Elvis if he would consider holding a benefit concert at Pearl Harbor to help move the USS Arizona Memorial project forward. Elvis did not hesitate and said “yes” right away. Elvis already had a strong connection to Hawaii and was just coming out of the United States Army himself. The planning commission’s work continued.
On March 25th, 1961 Pearl Harbor’s Bloch Arena, which had hosted the “Battle of the Bands” between the battleships anchored at Pearl Harbor on the evening of December 6th, 1941, was chosen as the location to host the Elvis Presley USS Arizona Memorial benefit concert. The ghosts still echoed in old Bloch Arena from the “Battle of the Bands” on Battleship Row, especially since the entire USS Arizona band died on December 7, 1941, during the attack on battleship row.
The concert was sold out. Even the opening acts before Elvis took the stage (such as Minnie Pearl) had to buy their tickets. It was Elvis’s return to performing and there was no better cause one could imagine.
Airing on PBS stations throughout November check your local PBS listings for dates and times in your area.
The New Mexico (where I live) PBS will be showing it Monday, November 8 at 8:00 PM
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| Above, a visit with President Reagan in the Oval Office in 1983. White House photo. |
For the past three nights, I've been watching Ken Burns' Muhammad Ali documentary. It has been an interesting three nights that brings back to life "The Greatest" boxer of all time.
It has been airing on New Mexico's PBS channel 5.1.
Tonight is the final chapter of the documentary. I reminds me of the late 1970s when a friend of mine, Frank "Captain Rowdy" Lunney, and many of us at work were following his bout with Leon Spinks and lost. Lunney was a huge fan of Muhammad Ali.
When Spinks defeated Ali, many at work needled Lunney. Ali eventually beat Spinks in a rematch.
It also brings to mind how revered Ali was in later years. I recall a supervisor of mine going to a Lakers game at the L.A. Forum in Inglewood, California and saw Ali there. He and others greeted him with, "Hey, Champ!" If memory serves, I think the onset of Parkinson's Disease had already affected Ali at the time.
For more on the Ken Burns documentary, go here.
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| Above, in flight over Salt Lake City, Utah. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
As summer travel season rapidly approaches, it may be a good time to start thinking about where and how to travel.
Some airlines have been good about social distancing (such as Delta and Southwest Airlines) and others have been reckless (such as American Airlines, who had people packed in their planes like sardines in January). Cruise lines are starting to gear up, with some new guidelines. RVs and tent camping has seen a surge in interest since last year. That doesn't seem to be abating.
Whatever why one chooses to travel this summer, KCET (PBS in the Los Angeles area) has seven tips on traveling safely.
They start with:
After over a year of travel restrictions, health guidelines and safety protocols, it finally may seem like a good time to get out of the house to visit somewhere else. But as things open up, and the risk of travel takes a nosedive, it's also a good time to brush up on your travel savvy. After all, we're living in a new world now — not quite a post-COVID world, but one that's certainly still evolving.
Travel might not be quite like the "Before Times" quite yet — or ever — but it's entirely doable. And it can still be wonderful.
Whether you're ready for a day trip, a weekend getaway or your first bona fide vacation in forever, here are seven tips for getting back out there and exploring the world beyond your own backyard.
If you're not ready to travel quite yet — the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still recommends against non-essential travel, even if it's currently allowed — it's not too early to start planning that first trip for the summer, fall or even the holidays.
To read more, go here.
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| Above, the 40 Greatest Hits album. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
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| Above, the green of summer from last June. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
Monsoon moisture will result in locally heavy showers and thunderstorms over the Four Corners region, which could lead to flash flooding.
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| Above, a driver's view from the mower. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
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| Above, my new next-door neighbor was keeping a watchful eye on me. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
“Chasing the Moon,” a film by Robert Stone, reimagines the race to the moon for a new generation, upending much of the conventional mythology surrounding the effort. The series recasts the Space Age as a fascinating stew of scientific innovation, political calculation, media spectacle, visionary impulses and personal drama. Utilizing a visual feast of previously overlooked and lost archival material — much of which has never before been seen by the public — the film features a diverse cast of characters who played key roles in these historic events. Among those included are astronauts Buzz Aldrin, Frank Borman and Bill Anders; Sergei Khrushchev, son of the former Soviet premier and a leading Soviet rocket engineer; Poppy Northcutt, a 25-year old “mathematics whiz” who gained worldwide attention as the first woman to serve in the all-male bastion of NASA’s Mission Control; and Ed Dwight, the Air Force pilot selected by the Kennedy administration to train as America’s first black astronaut.
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| Above, Ron Peterson's Firearms in Albuquerque. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
Surely among the most beloved firearms of all time are the Winchester pre 1964 Model 94 carbines. These graceful little rifles are a study in functional walnut and steel. With nearly perfect lines and balance, they became the best selling sporting rifles of all time.
Unfortunately, by the early 1960s the production costs of the traditional Model 94 with all of its forged steel parts had risen dramatically. Winchester executives realized that soon the Model 94 would have to be priced beyond the reach of the average hunter. This is exactly the fate that befell the classic Mannlicher-Schoenauer carbine, and eventually spelled its doom.
To save the Model 94 and restore a reasonable profit margin, Winchester redesigned the action for cheaper manufacture, substituting stamped sheet metal and roll pins for parts previously machined from forged steel. The steel buttplate became plastic and a less durable metal finish was substituted for the traditional bluing. The new guns still worked and shot just fine despite their aesthetic flaws, but the credibility of the Model 94 took a serious hit, and examples manufactured prior to the 1964 changes became instant classics.
Most of the shortcomings of the post 1963 Model 94s were eventually corrected, but the pre '64 versions remain the most desirable of all Winchester Model 94s.
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| Above, my Winchester 94 during the paperwork process. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
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| Above, the sign to Ron Peterson Firearms. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
