CALIFORNIA YANKEE

Evolving Darth Vader's Voice

David Prowse's voice just isn't intimidating enough for Darth Vader.

Thanks to Chris at the Cynical-C Blog for the tip.

"The Path To 9/11" - My Take

I watched tonight's broadcast of "The Path To 9/11." It is easy to understand why the Clintonista's didn't want you to see the program. With our hindsight, many of the key players look terrible. I'm sure that in the next episode the current players will also look bad.

The frenetic and very public efforts to discredit or censor the program was a huge mistake. I'm sure all the concerted effort to suppress the broadcast accomplished was to ensure it received a larger audience. I probably wouldn't have watched it but for the hullabaloo.

As for the program's accuracy, I found tonight's broadcast consistent with my recollection of the facts presented in "The Age of Sacred Terror" by Daniel Benjamin and Steven Simon, and the 9/11 Commission's report.

We shouldn't judge the officials, or the decisions they made before September 11, 2001, too harshly. Sure, if different decisions were made perhaps the 9/11 terror attacks wouldn't have happened. We know that now. But only a very few would have even imagined something like 9/11 was possible. We must keep in mind that everything changed on that crystal clear morning.

Johnny Carson, Dead At 79

Reuters reports that Johnny Carson has died of emphysema at age 79:

Carson hosted NBC's popular "The Tonight Show" for nearly 30 years, long dominating late-night television with an estimated 12 million viewers each night. He did his final show on Friday, May 22, 1992, seen by 55 million, and was replaced the next Monday by the current host, Jay Leno.

[. . .]

"I am one of the lucky people in the world. I have found something I liked to do, and I have enjoyed every single minute of it," a teary-eyed Carson said as he closed the show for the last time. "I bid you a very heartfelt goodnight."

In later years, Carson became something of a recluse in his Malibu, California, home, rarely venturing into the public eye.

After a 1999 quadruple bypass heart operation, Carson cut back on his tennis and discontinued his annual treks to Africa, the French Riviera and the Wimbledon tennis tournament. He had battled emphysema for years.

God bless him. He was so funny.