RIP James Rebhorn

Character Actor James Rebhorn passed away after a ten year battle with skin cancer.   Unlike most people, Mr. Rebhorn knew the end was coming, so he penned his own obituary(emphasis mine).

His Life, According to Jim

James Robert Rebhorn was born on Sept. 1, 1948, in Philadelphia, PA. His mother, Ardell Frances Rebhorn, nee Hoch, loved him very much and supported all his dreams. She taught him the value of good manners and courtesy, and that hospitality is no small thing. His father, James Harry Rebhorn, was no less devoted to him. From him, Jim learned that there is no excuse for poor craftsmanship. A job well done rarely takes more or less time than a job poorly done. They gave him his faith and wisely encouraged him to stay in touch with God.
He is survived by his sister, Janice Barbara Galbraith, of Myrtle Beach, SC. She was his friend, his confidant, and, more often than either of them would like to admit, his bridge over troubled waters.
He is also survived by his wife, Rebecca Fulton Linn, and his two daughters, Emma Rebecca Rebhorn and Hannah Linn Rebhorn. They anchored his life and gave him the freedom to live it. Without them, always at the center of his being, his life would have been little more than a vapor. Rebecca loved him with all his flaws, and in her the concept of ceaseless love could find no better example.
His children made him immensely proud. Their dedication to improving our species and making the world a better place gave him hope for the future. They deal with grief differently, and they should each manage it as they see fit. He hopes, however, that they will grieve his passing only as long as necessary. They have much good work to do, and they should get busy doing it. Time is flying by. His son-in-law, Ben, also survives him. Jim loved Ben, who was as a son to Jim, especially through these last months.
His aunts Jean, Dorothy and Florence, numerous cousins and their families, and many devoted friends also survive Jim. He loved them all, and he knows they loved him.
Jim received his BA at Wittenberg University and his MFA at Columbia. He was a member of Lambda Chi Alpha Nu Zeta 624, a life-long Lutheran, and a longtime member of both the AMC and ACLU.
Jim was fortunate enough to earn his living doing what he loved. He was a professional actor. His unions were always there for him, and he will remain forever grateful for the benefits he gained as a result of the union struggle. Without his exceptional teachers and the representation of the best agents in the business, he wouldn’t have had much of a career. He was a lucky man in every way.

–Jim Rebhorn, March 2014

Don't Call Him Shirley

By Jeff Simpson

We have been here once before, but as the "great spender" once said - "There you go again".

Earlier in the year the Wisconsin Tourism Department gave big money to the Zucker brothers who hail from Wisconsin to produce a tourism ad for Wisconsin.   Since the Zucker's are well known for making spoof films in the 80's, it is only fitting since Scott Walker's version of government is also a spoof from another era.   

While we have made record cuts in public education, the one area that has made out like bandits is the Tourism budget.  The Walkerites raised it from $9.9 million to $12.3 million in Walker's first two years alone!

Walker and Department of Tourism Secretary Stephanie Klett said it's important to increase the tourism budget, even while other departments are seeing cuts, because tourism creates jobs. Tourism is Wisconsin's third-largest industry, drawing $12.3 billion in spending in 2010.

Yes, tourism "creates jobs", unless of course you have no idea what your doing, then it turns into a big waste.  See when looking for someone to give our hard earned money too - the one criteria apparently was they had to be republicans.   So the Zucker's fit the bill!   Now that we found someone who fit the bill, let the silliness begin. 

First off the produced this little fishing video that showed the wold that Wisconsinites are imbeciles:

 Then reality hit and as so often is the case under Walker, the people were leading the way. While we were paying big money in wing nut welfare to the Zucker's to produce "tourism" video's that no one saw, Scott Walker was directing his own video's right in the Capitol that the whole world was able to see

Strike one ....so the Zucker's took another swing at it:

 

 

When trying to persuade people from IL and MN to come visit WI who better to use than a Packer....o wait.  The Viking and Bears fans hate the Packers!   Strike 2!  

Meanwhile back at the ranch, Mike Huebsch was producing and Chief Erwin directing their own WI tourism ad that the world was able to watch:

With two strikes against them and lots of our money in their pockets, the Zucker's tried again.   This time Scott Walker used it as a nice vacation get away (on our tax dollars) to CA to play in Hollywood.   The Governor tweeted this pic today:

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Robert Hayes recreate their Airplane! scene with help of WI natives David and Jerry Zucker and Jim Abrahams to promote tourism in Wisconsin. Nice cheesehead!

Because what shows the true beauty of Wisconsin better than a blow up doll with a cheesehead hat on?  

This from Stephanie Klett our Director of Tourism:



 

On cloud nine! The Wisconsin Department of Tourism just hosted a press conference in Hollywood that is making pop-culture history. We are reuniting two of the stars of the movie Airplane, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Robert Hays (Ted Striker,) with the three writers/producers and directors David Zucker, Jerry Zucker and Jim Abrahams for our next 3 Wisconsin Tourism commercials. The press was insane, with CBS, TMZ, Getty Images, Yahoo Travel and Splash to name a few. We are filming on the original airplane Cockpit set now!

 O great, as if we did not have a bad enough stereotype of the people in WI, we just handed them one of us all wearing cheeseheads, while watching 80's movies and pretending they are new and relevant today.  Next thing you know they will have our most recognizable athlete do an a with the Chicago Bear superfans, who ceased to be funny or relevant the day Ditka left the Bears(1993 for those scoring at home).  

Instead of focusing on our world class educational institutions, our beautiful lakes and wildlife.  The fact that Madison is perpetually in the top 10 places to live rankings.  The beauty of Milwaukee in the summer,  the growth of the Fox valley, etc....

Our Governor and his staff go with this:

 

Yes you can just see the line of people rushing to Wisconsin to spend their money after this one:

Here is a free tip, maybe for the next round of ads, they can reunite another old movie and really promote the Wisconsin music scene: