On the Antenna TV Network, Vintage Comedy Shows Rule

                                                                                                                        Updated in September 2022

Since January 1, 2011, my favorite TV network has been the Antenna TV network. Thet's the date that the Antenna TV network became available to TV viewers in the Hartford area. The vintage comedy network's debut programming was a marathon of Three Stooges episodes. Located at 61.2 on the digital dial, it's right next to FOX 61 (channel 61.1).

Originating from WGN-TV in Chicago, Antenna TV is owned by Nexstar Inc, and it's completely free to watch.

When you start watching a TV program again that you haven't seen in years, it's easy to gain a different perspective on the show. Sometimes, us humans tend to build-up and romanticize things from our past, and when we revisit them, it can be a little eye-opening.

In the early-morning hours, the current Antenna TV network schedule includes I Dream of Jeannie, Barney Miller and four shows with one-word titles; Benson, Alice, Soap and Maude.

The weekday morning lineup of shows on the Antenna TV network features Bachelor Father, Dennis the Menace, the Burns and Allen Show, Hazel, the Jack Benny Program and Father Knows Best.

Bewitched, Welcome Back Kotter, my personal favorite, That Girl, My Favorite Martian, Too Close for Comfort are among the weekday afternoon programming choices on the Antenna TV Network.

Even though I like most of the shows on the Antenna TV network my favorites are Hazel, Bachelor Father, That Girl and Dennis the Menace. 

On weekday mornings and Saturday nights between 7:00 and 8:00 pm, the one and only Hazel runs the show in two different episodes on the Antenna TV network. The one-of-a-kind, maid Hazel played by Shirley Booth, regularly served some awesome meals to the Baxters, as well as to a wide range of unusual people.

When she was a teenager, Shirley Booth lived in Hartford and/or West Hartford. It depends on which website you read the information. At any rate, it's always nice to hear Hazel talking about lasagna, donuts, tuna casserole, bacon and eggs and chocolate mousse cake.

From 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm on Saturay nights, two episodes of Dennis the Menace are broadcast on the Antenna TV network. As a kid, Dennis the Menace was one of my favorite shows, and I still think the plot-writing and character-development on the show are first-rate.

Dennis the Menace originally aired  from 1959 through 1963, and the episodes are all in black and white format. Even though the show's protagonist is a child, the plot-lines are quite imaginative, and there are usually interesting sub-plots in place.

On weekend afternoons, the Antenna TV network airs shows such as Silver Spoons, Dear John, One Day at a Time, Father Knows Best, It's a Living and Benson.

Saturday nights bring about several classic shows on the Antenna TV network. These include Bewitched, McHale's Navy, I Dream of Jeannie and My Favorite Martian.

On Sunday nights, the Antenna TV network schedule features Family Ties, Wings and Becker. One of the shows that brings back lots of memories for myself is Alice. Set in a diner in rural Arizona, this 1970s sitcom is always fun to watch, and reminds me of how life used to be. 

Alice is now airing at 2:00 am on weekdays, on the Antenna TV network.

Seven days a week, 24-hours-a-day, the Antenna TV network broadcasts a wide variety of vintage comedy programs. Tune-in for yourself, and enjoy some excellent shows.

Why Do Some West End Businesses Neglect to Shovel Their Sidewalks Every Year?

In recent years, I've noticed several different instances of the Hartford area experiencing very cold and/or snowy weather early in the winter season, followed up by a period of unusually mild weather.

While November and early-December were quite cold and windy in this winter season, much of January has been warmer than average and fairly pleasant. With rain forecast for the coming weekend, the snow that remains from last weekend's storm will have a chance to melt.

A couple of nights ago, I walked a couple of blocks, to Amigo's Market in Hartford's West End, to pick up a few items. Repeating a pattern that has been in places for years now, all of the sidewalks on Farmington Avenue between Tremont Street and Evergreen Avenue were shoveled, except for the area in front of two cafes.

Even though I worked as a cook at one of the eateries for quite a while, and they have exhibited my paintings numerous times, I feel strongly that every business is responsible for removing snow from the public sidewalks. By not removing the snow, the cafe is creating a dangerous situation for local residents, as well as for its customers.

The owner of one of the cafes is a decent guy who is largely community-minded. Because he is so busy running several different eateries, my guess is that he is probably unaware of the snowy sidewalk situation. The newer restaurant, I know nothing about.

I'd bet money that these businesses could get their sidewalks shoveled if they put just a little bit of effort into it. They could either hire a contractor, have some of their employees do it, or hire local residents to shovel.

There are lots of responsibilities associated with operating a business. When a business operates in an area that experiences shovelable amounts of snow each year, they really should have some sort of snow-removal policy in place. It's simply the right thing to do.

Puritan Furniture, Ye Shall Be Missed

On Fox-61 News a few minutes ago, they ran a story about the upcoming closure of the West Hartford institution known as Puritan Furniture. The Puritan Furniture store opened in 1931 and is a well-known fixture on New Britain Avenue in the Elmwood section of town.

The property that Puritan Furniture occupies is prime West Hartford real estate. It can only be hoped that conventional practices don't win out, and the property won't be turned into yet another over-priced, yuppie-schmuppie condo or townhouse project.

When I was a kid, Puritan Furniture used to run full-page ads on the back cover of the Hartford Courant's Sunday TV supplement for many years.  When I was in my early 20's, I worked there a couple of times on temp jobs. The store had a vast inventory of furniture, and also had a massive furniture distribution warehouse in Wethersfield.

Ever since I was about 10 years old, I've maintained a big interest in motorcycles, particularly Triumphs, and other British bikes. I'm not sure about the dates, but in the 1970s and '80s, a custom motorcycle repair shop occupied a yellow building located next to East end of the Puritan Furniture building.

If I'm not mistaken, the motorcycle shop was named "House of the Iron Horse," and the owners were a very cool couple named Joe and Jeanette. When I was about 15, I rode my Raleigh chopper bicycle (with an extra pair of front forks just hammered onto the original forks) down to the House of the Iron Horse and introduced myself to the owners. The owners let me hang around sometimes, and I had the opportunity to be around some awesome bikes, and learn a few things.

A busy gas station used to be located diagonally across from Puritan Furniture, and a small, excellent breakfast and lunch restaurant named "Teddy's Lunch" sat just a few doors down.

Family-owned and operated retail stores are increasingly becoming a thing of the past. We should all make an effort to patronize these businesses, so they can compete against the corporate behemoths / Big-Box stores that are situated across America. 

What a great, 89+-year run. Puritan Furniture, ye shall be missed.

Almond Milk & Blueberry!

Since I like almost anything that has blueberries as an ingredient, it's great to see that Palmolive has introduced an awesome Almond Milk & Blueberry liquid dish soap.

This dish soap maintains an aesthetically pleasing, creamy, purple appearance, and it looks like it should be some type of decadent dessert sauce, or blueberry-milk syrup. This variety of dish soap is one of Palmolive's "Soft Touch" soaps.

 

Several Appealing Scents

The Soft Touch dishwashing liquids are designed to be gentle on users' hands, nails and the planet. Among the other scents that are now available are Aloe & Citrus and Coconut Butter & Orchid. The Soft Touch dishwashing liquids are phosphate-free and made with biodegradable ingredients.

Palmolive Almond Milk & Blueberry dish

washing liquid works very well as a general, all-purpose kitchen soap and it smells great. I wonder how it tastes on top of pancakes. Ha

A Beneficial Product That's Hard to Find

According to Palmolive, their Almond Milk and Blueberry Scent dish liquid is infused with blueberry scent and almond milk extract. This phosphate-free product was first introduced in January, and its regular retail price is about the same as other varieties of Palmolive.

It seems as though lots of other consumers are attracted to the Palmolive Almond Milk & Blueberry liquid dish soap. In recent weeks, I've tried to find the product at Walgreen's and CVS but it was sold-out at each retailer.

Because of its soft and gentle formula, appealing colors and pleasing scents, Palmolive Almond Milk & Blueberry dishwashing liquid would probably be a huge seller if the manufacturer could or would ship more of the product to retail stores.

Updated in August 2022:  

"Pizza Beach"

This silly painting is one of my favorites. Evidently, I'm not the only person who's fond of "Pizza Beach." Through the years, two different people wanted to purchase the original, but I didn't want to part with it.

Instead of selling the painting, I agreed to paint new versions, or copies of it. Ever since then, that's been my painting-sale strategy. The original stays in my portfolio, and the customer gets a brand new painting.

A Cereal That Tastes Similar To Strawberry Licorice?

For months, I've been wanting to try the new strawberry-flavored Rice Krispies that Kellogg's introduced in December 2018. It's been fairly difficult finding a box of this cereal; even the Shop-Rite store that I do business with does not stock it.

Fortunately, I obtained a box of Strawberry Krispies from Target last week, but I'm not sure what to think of the product. The pastel-pink box looks great, and Snap, Crackle and Pop are jumping around on the front.
                                              

                                                  

Appearance / Texture

Kellogg's Strawberry Krispies breakfast cereal is a pleasant shade of pink, and it would probably work well as an edible garnish. As a breakfast cereal, it's always fun to eat Rice Krispies, but their ultra-light texture means they should be eaten quickly one they've been moistened.

Nutritional Facts

Kellogg's Strawberry Krispies contain 150 calories, with 0 grams total fat per 1.25-cup serving. This tasty cereal also contains 0 mg of cholesterol, 11 grams of sugars and 2 grams of protein per serving. When they're eaten with milk in a bowl, you end up with some strawberry milk at the bottom, but it's not as tasty as Strawberry Quik.

                                                                          Price

The average price charged for one 16.5 ounce box of Kellogg's Strawberry Krispies at Hartford, Connecticut-area supermarkets is approximately $5.99

                                                                           Flavor

 As for flavor, it took me a few minutes to figure it out, but this cereal tastes an awful lot like strawberry-flavored licorice. The flavor isn't bad at all, especially with sliced bananas added. As with all other Rice Krispies varieties, this cereal tastes better if it's eaten as soon as you add milk to it.

On an overall scale of one to ten, I would assign Strawberry Krispies a rating of 7.5. They're actually pretty good, but I'm not sure if I would purchase them again. What I'd really like to see are banana-flavored Rice Krispies. You never know, Kellogg's may decide to introduce such a product.

This Is Good: Hannah Williams & The Affirmations and their "50 Foot Woman"

Updated in August 2022

Have you seen any recent Infiniti automobile commercials wherein a female vocalist is singing "I'm standing on a mountain, about to fall?" If you have and you want to hear more, or if you haven't and you want to hear some awesome, soulful rock and roll, be sure to check out Hannah Williams & The Affirmations and their "50 Foot Woman" song.

With its driving rythym accentuated by splashy, pyschedelic-ish guitar fills, 50 Foot Woman sounds to me like some awesome rock music with a funky edge. If you look-up Hannah Williams and the Affirmations on Google Search, you'll find that the majority of posts refer to her as a British Soul singer. The Affirmations are also commonly referred to as a British soul band.

After superstar Jay-Z sampled Hannah Williams & The Affirmation's Late Nights and Heartbreak song  on his "4:44" album, the band has become well-known worldwide.

In 2012, Hannah Williams' debut album, A Hill of Feathers was released. At the time, she was leading another excellent band named Hannah Williams & the Tastemakers.

Try checking-out the YouTube video for the song Work it Out from A Hill of Feathers. The band backing Hannah Williams consists of two violinists, a drummer, keyboardist, guitarist, bass guitarist, a trumpeter and saxophonist. The performance takes place outdoors, in a rural field, and it's pretty powerful.

Hannah's vocals on Work it Out are powerful and passionate, and the only performers I could compare her to are Janis Joplin and Aretha Franklin. Good company. 

    

                    

If you listen to Ain't Enough (Record Kicks) from 2016's Late Nights and Heartbreak CD, you'll encounter a very funky, 1960s-Stax Records-Memphis Soul groove. Hannah Williams' strong vocals on this song again remind me of both Aretha Franklin and Janis Joplin, and the wah-wah guitar intro is very different and tasteful.

There aren't too many musical acts I'd recommend these days, but Hannah Williams and the Affirmations are an act that are worth giving a big thumbs-up to.