samhexum

Apparently, this guy couldn't afford to hire an escort, but wanted some horse hung fun: A Long Island man has been arrested for having sexual contact with two horses, cops said Thursday. Steven Errante was busted Wednesday after cops determined he allegedly had inappropriate contact with the horses on Aug. 25 and Sept. 4 at a stable in his home town of Dix Hills. In 2013, Errante, 30, was arrested for beating his Labrador mix named Chantel Girl with a bat. The dog suffered skull and facial fractures and broken front legs. She had to be euthanized. In addition to beating the dog, Errante also broke his own father’s ribs with a baton in 2013, according to authorities. He was ordered to add his name to Suffolk County’s Animal Abuse Offender Registry. He failed to do so and cops opened an investigation. During the probe, they uncovered the alleged sexual abuse of the horses. Errante is charged with two counts of sexual misconduct with animals and failure to register as an animal abuse offender.

True, but I can watch these GEICO ads over & over: As well as this VW ad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVIWcDIuxZ0

I've loved many Geico ads, but hate this one. Sooooooooooooooo obnoxious! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzjC2WEF6f0

potato/potahto?

negative spin/realistic view... tomato/tomahto

I just saw an ad for this. I don't know if I ever had chicken pox.

DEAR ABBY: I am single and the mother of a 7-year-old girl. When she was 4, I decided there would be no parade of guys coming in and out of my life, or any at all. I have barely dated, and the few times I have gone out, I never talked about it around her. Over the last two or three years, she has come home every few weeks or months with a new boy she likes. I never say much except that she's not allowed to have a boyfriend. She recently swore her grandfather to secrecy and told him she had a boyfriend. Is this normal? Should I be concerned that she likes a new boy every few weeks, or that she didn't tell me she had a boyfriend even though I don't punish her for being honest? I'm concerned about her being interested in boys at too young an age. -- POSSIBLY PRUDE MOTHER DEAR MOTHER: Having a "boyfriend" at the age of 7 means something different than it does to a teenager or an adult. When your daughter tried to confide in you that she liked someone, you cut her off by telling her it "wasn't allowed." If you had let her confide in you, she wouldn't have found the need to do it with her grandfather. I suggest you open up the lines of communication now, before it's too late. DEAR MOTHER: Your daughter is a tramp. Prepare to be a grandmother in 6 years. DEAR ABBY: I need suggestions on what to do to get a close family member to go out to lunch with me. I have offered to pay for lunch, let him pick the restaurant and do the driving. ("Nope. Can't go. Got to check with my wife. No.") I am in my late 80s, and he's in his late 70s. Someday it will be too late. What do you suggest? -- LOOKING TO LUNCH IN THE EAST DEAR LOOKING TO LUNCH: Try this. Invite his wife to come to lunch with the two of you. However, if that doesn't work, forget about trying to get him to go because he may be less eager to see you than you are to see him. DEAR LOOKING TO LUNCH: You probably chew with your mouth open, then floss your teeth at the table. Learn to eat like a civilized person.

Coulrophobes should steer clear of Burger King this Halloween. The burger chain expecting lots and lots of clowns next week. The chain announced today in a video release that they will be offering free Whoppers to anyone dressed up like a clown for their Scary Clown Night. They also took some time in the video to make a few digs at one clown in particular. According to Burger King’s press release, “clowns are the third most sought after Halloween costume of 2017,” which prompted the brand to jump on the trend. The video they released for Scary Clown Night starts with a kid biking through the streets at night when he is confronted by a clown bearing a striking likeness to McDonald’s iconic mascot Ronald McDonald. The advertisement continues with clowns of all shapes and make-up following the bike to Burger King. The video then ends with the Ronald McDonald-like clown demanding a Whopper. The Home of the Whopper takes another jab with the final tag line: come as a clown, eat like a king. This comes after a Burger King in Germany used the two-hour showing of “It” as one epic commercial, and after a Russian Burger King tried to ban the viewing of the film on grounds that it gave free promotion to McDonald’s. The fast food giant will be offering the deal to the first 500 guests that come into participating stores dressed as clowns between 7pm and 3am on October 31.

LAW & ORDER Season 5, episode 15: SEED A woman under the care of fertility doctor Jordan Delbert (David Margulies) dies under suspicious circumstances. An investigation reveals that Delbert has illegally donated his own sperm to expedite at least 31 pregnancies. In trying to prosecute Delbert, the D.A.’s office is stymied by the laws of confidentiality — not to mention the fiercely self-protective “don’t ask, don’t tell” stance taken by the doctor’s past patients. Air Date: Feb 15, 1995 A former fertility doctor in Indiana accused of using his own sperm to impregnate patients plans to plead guilty to two charges of obstruction of justice. Donald Cline, 78, allegedly fathered at least 25 children via sperm donation while he was a fertility doctor, Fox 59 reported, citing Cline’s biological children who were connected through DNA testing and the website 23andme. Cline’s attorneys on Tuesday said the former doctor will admit that he lied to state investigators about inseminating the patients with his own sperm. Paternity tests indicate Cline is likely the biological father of at least two of his patients’ children, according to court records. “This wasn’t just a handful of kids or mothers that this happened to that resulted into a handful of children. We’re now into several dozen. And it’s going to continue to grow,” Matt White, whose mother was also one of Cline’s patients, told The Associated Press. “I’m ecstatic. I couldn’t be any happier,” Jacoba Ballard, one of the children Cline allegedly fathered, told Fox 59. “I wish there were more charges. And I wish that all the senators and everybody would listen to us and do something but this is a start.” No other charges were filed against Cline because Indiana doesn’t specifically prohibit fertility doctors from using their own sperm. “We want to stop this from happening again because it was wrong on so many levels. Even though there are no laws against it, it was wrong and he needs to own up to what he did and we need to prevent this from happening again,” Amber Stafford said to Fox 59. Cline, who retired from his practice in Indianapolis in 2009, is expected to plead guilty Dec. 14. FROM MAY: Families in the Netherlands are accusing the head of a fertility clinic of using his own sperm, and not that of chosen donors, to impregnate women through IVF treatment. Twenty-three parents and children, who were patients at the Bijdorp Medical Center, have gone to court asking for DNA tests on Jan Karbaat, the head of the clinic, who died at age 89 last month, The Telegraph reported. Authorities have already seized personal objects that might contain DNA samples, including a toothbrush, from his home. His patients have come forward to say that Karbaat admitted to using his own seed and cited his good health and intelligence. “He saw it as something noble. He had no concept of ethics,” one of the plaintiffs in the case said. They’ve also noticed that their children resemble the now-dead man. The offspring’s physical traits, including eye color, match Karbaat’s, and not the official donors’ characteristics. “They say it feels like they were raped by Karbaat,” Tim Bueters, a lawyer representing the plaintiffs, told Dutch media. He asked the court for permission to test Karbaat’s DNA, saying, “It’s a fundamental right to know where you came from. It’s a question of identity (and) helps someone to form their personality.” Karbaat’s lawyer is denying the accusations. “There is not the slightest evidence that Mr. Karbaat was the donor,” Lisette de Haan said. Karbaat might have had foresight. In his will, he requests that no DNA tests be carried out on his him post-mortem, The Telegraph reported. Multiple plaintiffs claim Karbaat told them that he may have fathered their children. One woman claims to have an email with evidence, according to Dutch media reports. Another plaintiff said a verdict wouldn’t offer resolution. “As a mother, this judgement won’t give me anything,” said Esther Heij after the court hearing. She said her son was upset that Karbaat didn’t come clean before he died. “I see at home how my son’s life has been affected,” she said. The now-shuttered clinic limited the number of children each donor could father to six. Karbaat allegedly admitted to illicitly fathering over 60 children. FROM JUNE: A Dutch court has ruled that DNA tests may be carried out on the belongings of a late fertility clinic doctor accused of falsely impregnating dozens of women. Jan Karbaat, who died in April at 89, allegedly used his own sperm, rather than samples from chosen donors, to father his patients’ children. “DNA samples of a recently deceased doctor may be taken from sequestered goods to establish a DNA profile,” a Rotterdam court said. The test results must remain sealed, the court added, until another judge rules on whether or not the doctor’s DNA profile can be compared to the DNA of the children born through IVF. “There is currently not enough hard evidence to prove that the doctor actually used his own sperm. The claim by plaintiffs will have to be further substantiated in subsequent proceedings,” the court said in a statement. Karbaat’s patients allege that the fertility expert bragged about his own superior genetics and admitted he used his own seed to impregnate them. “He saw it as something noble. He had no concept of ethics,” Monique Wassensaar, a plaintiff in the case said, The Telegraph reported. Karbaat reportedly admitted to fathering 60 children through IVF treatment, the group’s lawyer, Tim Bueters, told the court. Police seized Karbaat’s personal belongings, including a toothbrush, from his home on May 2nd. The Karbaat family lawyer has argued that DNA testing should not be performed on the objects, out of respect for the privacy of his family. Karbaat reportedly stipulated in his will that he did not want DNA tests performed on him post-mortem. Karbaat’s Bijdorp Medical Center closed eight years ago amid reports that he falsified administrative records. ALSO SEE: https://www.companyofmen.org/threads/dutch-doctor-fathered-at-least-49-children-through-his-fertility-clinic.147987/#post-1706951

yes. I also watch late-night reruns all the time. And I fantasize about Seth MacFarlane during the commercials.

I watched THE BLACKLIST last night, then was too lazy to get up & go back online afterwards, so I watched SVU for the first time in years (since Ray Donovan’s brother abducted Olivia). Lousy episode… I knew what was going to happen right from the start. And it was almost a rehash of an old episode (guest-starring Tessie Harper): A teenage girl shows up at the home of a family whose young daughter went missing years ago, claiming to be the missing child. Instead, she was just trying to escape an abusive parent (in this case, a meth-head mom, in the prior case a father who kept her locked in a basement vault and raped her for 6 years). In both cases, it turned out a sibling had killed the missing daughter years before. But the most notable thing about the episode is that it had a scene that was supposed to take place at a diner on Jamaica Ave. From the brief exterior shot and the supermarket across the street and the barriers erected to prevent mid-block crossings, I recognized it as The Flagship Diner on Queens Blvd, a block and a half from where I used to live. (Back then I could walk more than I can today, & occasionally went in there for an omelet). Many classic diners in Queens and Brooklyn have closed in recent years, as the land they sit on has been purchased for apartment building construction. The Flagship is not long for this world: A Briarwood diner that has served Queens residents for more than five decades is facing a bitter court battle with its new landlord who is trying to get rid of it before its lease expires in more than two years, the owners said. For 53 years, The Flagship Diner, at 138-30 Queens Blvd., has been a popular hangout for the community, as well as lawyers and court officers working at the nearby Queens Criminal Court. But the owners said the diner has been forced to fight for its survival ever since Jamaica-based White Rock Management group purchased the site for $6.125 million last year, with plans to knock down the eatery and replace it with a seven-story, mixed-use apartment building featuring 64 units. Shortly after acquiring the property, White Rock Management filed an application with the Department of Buildings to demolish the diner, which was approved on July 26 last year, and then another application to replace it with a new building, which was approved on June 9 this year, according to city records. The diner’s owners said they were hoping to keep their business open until their lease expires in October 2019. But Jimmy Skartsiaris, who co-owns the eatery with Vincent Pupplo and Frank Lountzis, said the new landlord began harassing them “the minute he bought the building.” First, the landlord wanted to buy them out, offering each of them $100,000, but they turned it down, the owners said. Since then, they said, the landlord sent them several “notices to cure,” requiring them to address a variety of issues within five days if they wanted to avoid eviction. The owners said they were forced to hire a lawyer who was able to obtain a “Yellowstone injunction” for each notice which temporarily suspends the time period during which they must address the issues. The first notice pertained to 13 boiler-related violations the diner began receiving in 1993, some of them issued before the trio bought the business in 1994, according to the owners and the Department of Buildings website. Twelve of those violations are still active, according to the DOB, and the owners are currently working on resolving the issue, they said. The landlord then sent them another letter saying that their parking lot, sidewalk and back steps are in disrepair and have to be ripped up and replaced within five days, followed by a note accusing them of not having proper liability insurance — claims that the diner owners denied. “In my opinion they are trying to bankrupt us in court so that we can’t stay in business,” said Vincent Pupplo. In August, the restaurant owners decided to strike back and filed a lawsuit in the Queens County Supreme Court accusing the landlord of harassing them. They also want the landlord to pay their legal fees. The first hearing was scheduled for Sept. 19. White Rock Management did not return a phone call seeking comment. Meanwhile, the diner also started a petition asking customers for support, which they said was signed by more than 1,300 patrons as of the end of August, Skartsiaris said. On Sept. 12, at 11 a.m., the owners were also planning to organize a rally in front of the diner asking locals for support. “It’s not fair to the people and it’s not fair to us,” Skartsiaris said, adding that the 24-hour restaurant employs around 35 workers. Customers said they can’t even imagine that the diner may one day close. n coming to the Flagship Diner almost every day for over 35 years. (DNAinfo/Ewa Kern-Jedrychowska) “It’s a big part of my life, I feel comfortable here,” said Joe Moskowitz, 72, a retired teacher who has been coming to the Flagship Diner almost every day for more than 35 years. “I know everybody here, this is my home away from home. To me, this is a landmark.” Gayle Malone, 44, a marketing strategist, called the Flagship Diner “the soul of the community.” “I don’t know what we will do without it,” she said. “Where will people gather if they can’t come here?” A review from May of this year: In a city that was once celebrated for its 24-hour culinary delights, the diners of yore are on the decline. In the ethereal childhood memories of every New Yorker’s youth, mom and dad would pack the family into the station wagon and head down the boulevard to the local diner for a Sunday breakfast. Patrons would slide into those booths and a nice lady would call you ‘honey,’ bring crayons for the kids and serve you pancakes with a smile. It’s an iconic scene that Hollywood has preserved on celluloid for years. Briarwood’s Flagship Diner is one of the last bastions of the city’s old school diners. Vinny Pupplo, one of the diner’s four owners, looks around and sees it as “the classic New York diner.” “Most of the classic New York diners have gone the route of cutting corners,” said Pupplo as his nine-hour selection of 1950s and 1960s pop music plays overhead. At the Flagship Diner, everything is made in-house. He said that the owners still buy their own beef for the diner’s classic cheeseburger, grind it and press it to make sure that the customer is getting the very best. The eatery has a baker on duty nearly 50 hours a week to make fresh desserts. “Everything you see, [our baker] makes it,” said Pupplo. “And it’s not like cardboard, it’s actual good stuff.” He said that Forest Hills residents come in every day to buy a couple of his baker’s prune Danishes since they can’t find the level of quality anywhere else. Pupplo said that all of the seafood purchased by the diner is fresh. He added that he would never outsource picking out the food for the diner. “You lose all quality control,” he said. “Most diners are not making their own stuff. You get institutional preservatives. Here, what you see today is in the garbage tomorrow.” Pupplo points out that each of the owners have more than 30 years of experience at Flagship Diner. The restaurant opened in 1965 and has seen many changes, but the menu has not been altered too much. “The old staples are still there,” Pupplo said. “We make them the way they’re supposed to be made.” Younger patrons from the neighborhood come in on the weekend for the diner’s $13.99 brunch entrée. Pupplo said he is proud of the long list of styles that the eatery has created for eggs Benedict, homemade challah bread or homemade whole grain French toast. “We do everything well, breakfast, lunch and dinner,” Pupplo said. “Our Greek food is authentic. It’s made by Greeks. Our Italians food is authentic. I approve of it. We make baked ziti properly. It’s the way it’s supposed to be made. The way you would make it at home.” But not everything lasts. The Flagship Diner is running strong today—but, last year, local media ran with the story that the land owner sold the property to a developer and the diner would be forced to vacate when its lease ran out in 2019. “It was like a knife in my heart,” Pupplo said when he saw the coverage. “Everyone thought we already closed. I still get 10 calls a day [asking if they are open].” There is a still chance to enjoy the Flagship’s service. Pupplo said that many of his staff have been serving at the diner for 20 to 30 years, know the menu by heart and eagerly await their daily customers.

So remember when Leo showed up at Grace’s breast cancer scare? Jill Goodacre, a former model and the wife of musician and actor Harry Connick, Jr., revealed Wednesday her secret five-year battle with breast cancer. Goodacre, 53, told People that she went for a routine annual mammogram in October 2012, and though that test came back clear, her sonogram didn’t. After undergoing a biopsy, the model learned she had Stage 1 invasive ductal carcinoma, the most common form of breast cancer. She immediately underwent a lumpectomy and radiation, which she says “absolutely wiped (her) out.” Connick, who lost his mother to ovarian cancer when he was just 13, admitted that his wife’s health scare left him fearful. “I was scared I was going to lose her, absolutely,” he told People. “I wasn’t going to let her see that, but I was. I know from losing my mom that the worst can happen. She’s my best friend, and I really don’t know what I would do without her.” The couple also revealed that one of the most difficult parts of learning Goodacre had cancer was breaking the news to their three daughters. “It broke my heart,” she said. In the five years since her diagnosis, Goodacre says she’s continued to take Tamoxifen, an estrogen modular that helps halt breast cancer — but that the negative side effects, like weight gain, have been difficult to deal with. “I’ve always been a pretty fit person, and so to be just rounder and heavier and not to really be able to do much about it — that’s been hard,” she said. “It’s taken a lot out of my self-confidence.” Connick and Goodacre — who tied the knot in 1994 — explained that since she’s been in remission for five years now, it felt like the right time to share their battle with the world. “It wasn’t like we were superstitious, like if we said something about being in the clear we’d somehow jinx it,” she said. “But we wanted to be well on the other side of things before we told everybody. The doctors all say that after the five-year mark, things look optimistic, so we’re starting to feel pretty good.” Goodacre will talk more about her breast cancer battle on Thursday’s episode of her husband’s show “Harry.”

You'd prefer "kicked the bucket"?

The Year of Giannis: Is ‘Greek Freak’ already the league’s best player? For four years, John Henson has looked across the locker room at Giannis Antetokounmpo. He remembers the skinny, 6-foot-9, 196-pound teenager who began hisNBA career with little fanfare. And he marvels at the rock-solid, 6-11, 222-pound superstar Antetokounmpo has become. “When you saw his older brother [Thanasis], you knew he was going to be big,” Henson said, laughing. “But, man, I didn’t know he was going to be this big.” The biggest story in the first week of the NBA season is the player who is still growing. At 22, Antetokounmpo is coming off a 22.9-point-per-game season that culminated with some hardware — the NBA’s Most Improved Player Award. Through four games this season, Antetokounmpo is averaging 36.8 points on 65.9 percent shooting — and has found himself in the conversation for MVP. Ask Bucks officials to pinpoint the reasons for Antetokounmpo’s rise, and the answers are similar. They begin with his work ethic. “It’s right up there with LeBron’s, with Kobe’s,” Bucks coach Jason Kidd told The Vertical. “He lives in the gym.” Almost literally. When the Bucks moved into a new $31 million practice facility this summer, Antetokounmpo asked Jon Horst — “Mr. Jon”, as Antetokounmpo refers to Milwaukee’s 34-year-old GM — if he could buy the old one. He wanted to convert it into a house. Horst told Antetokounmpo that for the cost of the facility, he could buy a new house and build a gym in it. Antetokounmpo agreed. Said Horst, laughing, “He’s passionate about gyms.” Sean Sweeney knows. Since coming to Milwaukee with Kidd in 2014, the assistant coach has been Antetokounmpo’s shadow. “He goes everywhere with me,” Antetokounmpo told The Vertical. “Spain. Greece. Fresno. All over the place.” When Antetokounmpo gets up in the morning, often there is a text from Sweeney telling him he’s at the gym. “Some days, I tell him, ‘I’m tired of seeing your face,’ ” Antetokounmpo said, smiling. “Some days, he says it to me.” An Antetokounmpo workout can happen anytime. In 2015, Antetokounmpo was unhappy with the way he defended in a road game. When the Bucks’ plane touched down back in Milwaukee, he asked Sweeney to come to the practice facility to run through a few drills. “The gym is his sanctuary,” Kidd said. “It’s his home.” The Bucks have mined Antetokounmpo’s talents masterfully. It began in 2013, when then-coach Larry Drew played Antetokounmpo 25 minutes per game, a trial by fire that team officials say accelerated his development. Kidd has guided him to the next level. He has shown tough love (benching him in 2015) and empowered him (making him a part-time point guard last season), pushing him to become an unstoppable, two-way player. “He can be Magic Johnson and KG [Kevin Garnett],” Kidd told The Vertical. “When he puts his mind to it, he can do everything defensively.” Kidd recruited Garnett, his former player, last season to swing through Milwaukee on his post-retirement tour. He put Garnett with Antetokounmpo and Thon Maker, the Bucks’ stringy, 7-1 then-rookie center, in the hopes that KG could “breathe that spirit into them.” “I wish I had a GoPro [camera] for that,” Kidd said. “They were just locked in to everything KG was saying.” Antetokounmpo remembers Garnett’s words well. “Have a killer mentality,” Antetokounmpo told The Vertical. “Go out there and play to kill. For me, I’m not going to say I was born with it, but it’s coming. I want to win. It’s hard, you know? With back-to-backs, a lot of games, sometimes you think, ‘I’ve got to take a day off today.’ But you have to push through it. The greats did. KG said you have to have that mentality. If you are hurt, you have to fight through it.” Veteran guard Jason Terry played two seasons with Garnett. He sees similarities with Antetokounmpo. “Not so much the physical, the mental,” Terry said. He recalled a play against Boston, in Milwaukee’s season opener, when Antetokounmpo barreled down the lane, finished at the rim and drew a foul. “He thumped his chest and said, ‘That’s what I do,’ ” Terry said. “It’s a kill mentality. Our team vs. them. He’s oozing confidence right now. Not overconfidence — just a confidence knowing [he] put the work in, believes in his skills and trusts his training.” “He’s gotten everybody’s attention,” Blazers coach Terry Stotts said. “He just keeps getting better. He’s figured out what works for him. Everyone goes into the game with the same scouting report on great players, whether it is [Russell] Westbrook, [stephen] Curry or [Kevin] Durant or Giannis. You try to limit them as much as possible. But they are great for a reason.” Great — and getting better. As good as Antetokounmpo is, he is years from reaching his full potential. He’s electrifying in the open floor and impossible to defend off the dribble. He has a rapidly developing step-through move — think Manu Ginobili’s, but longer — and great touch around the rim. But he is a non-factor from three-point range and his low-post game is still developing. On Monday, Antetokounmpo found himself switched on to Dwight Howard. Instead of facing Howard up, Antetokounmpo dropped his shoulder and tried to overpower him. Said Kidd, “He was trying to show his strength.” Kidd smiled as he spoke. The occasional slip-up is a small price to pay. He sees the confidence growing in Antetokounmpo, the floor opening up in front of him. The potential is limitless. “I kind of know when I can score the ball now,” Antetokounmpo said. “In previous years, I was taking the ball and just racing guys. Now I kind of know my spots, where are my sweet spots. If I’m in the middle of the court, I’ll be able to make plays. I know that guys can’t guard me one-on-one. … I just know when I’m able to score, when I’m able to make a play. My first few years it was always a turnover. I was always getting offensive fouls because I was running fast, speeding up myself. It’s slowed down a little bit for me.” “I don’t think he knows how good he can be,” Terry said.

(continued) A few lockers down, Jason Terry, the 40-year-old vet, marveled at what he's be seeing. He's borne witness to this before, when a teammate went from about-to-be-a-star to a megastar. He with Dirk Nowitzki when Dirk made that jump in Dallas and with James Harden when Harden made that jump in Houston. With both Dirk and Harden, the jump was about mentally taking their game to the next level. But Terry said that with Giannis, there's something a little different. A little more special. "He's had to grow and develop his game at the same time as his mental side, and he's been able to do so at such a rapid rate," Terry marveled. "Each year he's added a new element to his game. He's yet to become a finished product, but you still can say he's one of the top five players in the league." Or maybe top three? "Top three?" Terry replied. "It's not far-fetched. It's not crazy when you see the work ethic he has, when you understand he's a student of the game who is seven feet and all the physical tools of a guard. That's what keeps me smiling, keeps me coming to the gym every day, every night. It's a joy to watch." Giannis tugged on a green hoodie and zipped it up. He turned to Snell, whose locker is next to his, and told him that he still owes him $17: "I have to pay you!" "Take your time," Snell said. "You know where I'm at." Giannis turned to face the media who had been lingering in the locker room. A reporter asked if he could keep up this type of production over an entire season. The subtext to that question? If he does and if the Bucks continue to win, Giannis will likely become the youngest MVP since Derrick Rose. "I know when I can score the ball now," Giannis said. "In previous years I was just taking the ball and just racing guys. Now I kind of know my sweet spots when I get the ball. If I'm in the middle of the court, I'll be able to make plays. I just know when to score and when to make a play." What's most impressive about Giannis is that he is this good and yet still has so much room to grow. That's what makes opposing coaches and players sounds like fans when they talk about his game. And it's why every time Giannis sets foot on a basketball court, it's an event. Because instead of seeing a fully realized superstar at the height of his powers, we get to watch a superstar as he grows into his powers. And I'm not sure if there's a more fun experience in sports than that. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Giannis Antetokounmpo finished with 32 points, 14 rebounds, six assists, two blocks and one steal during Monday's 103-94 victory over the Charlotte Hornets. In doing so, he became the first player in NBA history to accumulate 147 points, 43 rebounds and 21 assists through the first four games of a season, per the Elias Sports Bureau (ESPN.com). The Greek Freak is coming off an impressive 2016-17 campaign where he won the Most Improved Player award and was voted on to both the All-NBA and All-Defensive second teams. He also became the first player in NBA history to finish in the top 20 of all the major statistical categories, perNBA.com.

The Giannis experience: How MVP leader Antetokounmpo captivates even opponents Steve Clifford's Charlotte Hornets notched an 18-point win Friday night against the Atlanta Hawks in their home opener. The moment that game ended, the clock started ticking: 70 hours to prepare for a Monday night game against the Milwaukee Bucks and the player who has been the story of this week-old NBA season, Giannis Antetokounmpo. By the next morning, the coach started catching up on tape of the Greek Freak. Clifford freely admitted it: It was fun. He took joy in watching such a transcendent player, especially one who is so young and is blossoming into a superstar before our eyes. For the first day of watching Bucks' tape, Clifford enjoyed it like a fan. He was like all of us who have been transfixed by the numbers of Giannis' first three games -- averaging 38.3 points on a ridiculous 67.2 percent shooting, with 9.7 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 2.7 steals -- as well as his unprecedented style as a seven-footer running point and dominating every facet of the game. "That's one of the nice things about this league," Clifford said. "We played Friday, so Saturday you start watching the other team. And Saturday you can sit and enjoy his greatness. It's not just his size and his athleticism -- he has an energy level and a flair and a passion for playing that's fun to watch. "And by Sunday night," Clifford said, "you're like, 'What are we going to do?' " Every time Antetokounmpo takes the floor these days, it is a moment. Doesn't matter when, whether it's Friday night prime-time matchup against LeBron and the Cavaliers or just a low-key Monday night in Milwaukee, against the Hornets, a 103-94 Bucks victory that didn't require quite the same theatrics as he needed Saturday night vs. the Trail Blazers. People come out for Giannis because they realize they could be experiencing a generational talent coming into his own. The numbers themselves are awe-inspiring. Like what Giannis did last season, becoming the first player in NBA history to rank in the top 20 in points, rebounds, assists, blocks and steals, which gained him his first All-Star berth. But more inspiring than any statistic is seeing this joy-filled young man in person, and the crowd that comes out for him. "If you enjoy basketball, there's no way you're not a fan of his game," Hornets forward Marvin Williams, a 13-year NBA veteran, said in the locker room before the game. "You want to try to do everything you can to slow him down – you're not going to stop him. He's made that very, very clear. It's almost scary – what is he, 21, 22? It's almost scary how much longer he's going to play and how much better he's going to become." Scary because he's doing all this without having in his toolbox the skill that most dominates today's NBA: an outside shot. Giannis has averaged 1.6 3-point attempts per game over his career and has only made them at a rate of 27.6 percent. He didn't even attempt one Monday night against the Hornets, scoring his 32 points on 13-for-21 shooting from the field and 6-for-8 from the line. That's not good, but what is good is the underlying mechanics, and the fact that he has steadily improved his free-throw shooting in his short career, to 77 percent last season. He makes his living dashing into the paint and scoring in an array of creative ways. He's the type of player who would dominate in any era. The fact he's dominating in an era that's defined by outside shooting is remarkable. He's bigger than Durant, as explosive as LeBron. If he learns to shoot adequately from 3 -- no, when he does -- well, that's what opponents both fear as Giannis' adversaries but enjoy as NBA fans. "I don't know if I've seen anything like him," Williams continued. "His game is so unique, because he's so big, so strong, so fast. A lot of times he's a one-man fast break, which is crazy. And he does it every night. I'm sure he'll do something where we'll look at the film tomorrow and be like, 'Damn – what could you do to stop that?' And more times than not, it's probably nothing. He's just one of those special, special talents." The game tipped, and Giannis quickly scored the Bucks' first seven points. He came straight at Jeremy Lamb in transition and stepped around him with a Eurostep; Lamb turned his back to Giannis and tried to get out of the way, but he was still called for the foul. When Giannis stepped to the free-throw line, the arena chanted, "MVP! MVP!" The Bucks' rowdy fan section, the Clutch Crew, waved a Greek flag. In the middle of the second quarter, he stole the ball from Lamb at the top of the key, saved it from going out of bounds, stepped around Frank Kaminskyand dished it to Tony Snell for an easy dunk. A minute later, he grabbed a rebound, pushed the ball in transition, subtly shoved Treveon Graham out of his way and laid it in over Kaminsky, getting the and-one. On the next play, he ably hounded Kemba Walker on the perimeter and forced him into a contested 3 that Walker missed. Giannis kept working the ball into the paint -- he currently leads the NBA in points in the paint -- and then he kicked it out to 7-foot center Thon Maker, who drained a 3. Later, he was on the break when he tossed a behind-the-back pass to Mirza Teletovic, who knocked down a wide-open 3. In the closing seconds of the third quarter, three Hornets defenders swarmed Giannis on the block, but he calmed tossed it to an open Teletovic for another 3 at the buzzer. Kaminsky threw his hands up in the air. You couldn't stop him. In the end, the Bucks improved to 3-1. Giannis' 32 points came with 14 rebounds, six assists and two blocks. Afterward the telecast flashed an absurd stat: That Antetokounmpo had broken Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's Bucks record for most points in the first four games of a season. Nobody cares about that record. But the fact that this 22-year-old unfinished product was being mentioned in the same breath as Kareem underscores his greatness. In the locker room afterward, the televisions were tuned to Monday Night Football. Giannis leaned forward and flipped through his phone, a towel around his waist and his left foot in a big red ice bucket. Another remarkable game, but just a regular night for him. The room was steamy from the nearby showers. Giannis took a chug from his Cool Blue Gatorade.

“Young and the Restless” star Kristoff St. John is reportedly undergoing psychiatric treatment. The 51-year-old New York native had a “scare regarding his mental health,”according to Entertainment Weekly. St. John, who played young Alex Haley in “Roots: The Next Generations,” is best known as Neil Winters on the daytime soap, on which he’s appeared in more than 1,500 episodes. In 2014, his 24-year-old son Julian, who suffered from schizophrenia, committed suicide at a mental health care facility in Long Beach, Calif. The following year, St. John and ex-wife Mia filed a wrongful death suit against the facility, claiming that they lied about how often they checked on Julian. “His legacy will live on in our hearts and for those that continue to suffer from this insidious disease. My ex-wife Mia, Julian's sisters Paris and Lola and I, are all devastated beyond words and belief,” St. John said in a statement. “We mourn the loss of our son, brother, artist, poet, and a giant of a young man. A beautiful life gone much too soon. Julian will forever be remembered as he now takes flight with angels.” Despite reports, Mia denied that the actor had threatened suicide. “I want the world to know the truth about what is happening with Kristoff, because currently there is inaccurate, and fabricated information being reported by certain online outlets. No parent should ever have to bury their child, and for those who do, it is a nightmare that haunts you forever. The death of our beloved son Julian, has taken a toll on both of us. He is an actor and while he may appear whole on the outside, his heart is broken. As a society we need to start taking mental health seriously and realize that no one is immune,” she said in a statement to Entertainment Tonight. “I hope that at this moment we can all wrap our arms around Kristoff and help him in this time of need. Help him heal and move forward.”

BENSON HAS BOUGHT THE FARM Robert Guillaume, who rose from squalid beginnings in St. Louis slums to become a star in stage musicals and win Emmy Awards for his portrayal of the sharp-tongued butler in the TV sitcoms “Soap” and “Benson,” has died at age 89. Guillaume died at home Tuesday in Los Angeles, according to his widow, Donna Brown Guillaume. He had been battling prostate cancer, she told The Associated Press. Among Guillaume’s achievements was playing Nathan Detroit in the first all-black version of “Guys and Dolls,” earning a Tony nomination in 1977. He became the first African-American to sing the title role of “Phantom of the Opera,” appearing with an all-white cast in Los Angeles. While playing in “Guys and Dolls, he was asked to test for the role of an acerbic butler of a governor’s mansion in “Soap,” a primetime TV sitcom that satirized soap operas. “The minute I saw the script, I knew I had a live one,” he recalled in 2001. “Every role was written against type, especially Benson, who wasn’t subservient to anyone. To me, Benson was the revenge for all those stereotyped guys who looked like Benson in the ’40s and ’50s (movies) and had to keep their mouths shut.” The character became so popular that ABC was persuaded to launch a spinoff, simply called “Benson,” which lasted from 1979 to 1986. The series made Guillaume wealthy and famous, but he regretted that Benson’s wit had to be toned down to make him more appealing as the lead star. The career of Robert Guillaume almost ended in January 1999 at Walt Disney Studio. He was appearing in the TV series “Sports Night” as Isaac Jaffee, executive producer of a sports highlight show. Returning to his dressing room after a meal away from the studio, he suddenly collapsed. “I fell on the floor, and I couldn’t get up,” he told an interviewer in 2001. “I kept floundering about on the floor and I didn’t know why I couldn’t do it. I didn’t know it was it was caused by my left side being weaker than the other.” Fortunately, St. Joseph Hospital was directly across from the studio. The 71-year-old actor was taken there and treated for a stroke— the result of a blood clot that blocked circulation of blood to the brain. They are fatal in 15 percent of the cases. Guillaume’s stroke was minor, causing relatively slight damage and little effect on his speech. After six weeks in the hospital, he underwent a therapy of walks and sessions in the gym. He returned to the second season of “Sports Talk,” and it was written into the script that Isaac Jaffee was recovering from a stroke. Because of slim ratings, the second season proved to be the last for the much-praised show. “I’m a bastard, a Catholic, the son of a prostitute, and a product of the poorest slums of St. Louis.” This was the opening of “Guillaume: A Life,” his 2002 autobiography in which he laid bare his troubled life. He was born fatherless on Nov. 30, 1927, in St. Louis, one of four children. His mother named him Robert Peter Williams; when he became a performer he adopted Guillaume, a French version of Williams, believing the change would give him distinction. His early years were spent in a back-alley apartment without plumbing or electricity; an outhouse was shared with two dozen people. His alcoholic mother hated him because of his dark skin, and his grandmother rescued him, taught him to read and enrolled him in a Catholic school. Seeking but denied his mother’s love and scorned by nuns and students because of his dark skin, the boy became a rebel, and that carried into his adult life. He was expelled from school and then the Army, though he was granted an honorable discharge. He fathered a daughter and abandoned the child and her mother. He did the same to his first wife and two sons and to another woman and a daughter. He worked in a department store, the post office and as St. Louis’s first black streetcar motorman. Seeking something better, he enrolled at St. Louis University, excelling in philosophy and Shakespeare, and then at Washington University (St. Louis) where a music professor trained the young man’s superb tenor singing voice. After serving as an apprentice at theaters in Aspen, Colo., and Cleveland, the newly named Guillaume toured with Broadway shows “Finian’s Rainbow,” ″Golden Boy,” ″Porgy and Bess” and “Purlie,” and began appearing on sitcoms such as “The Jeffersons” and “Sanford and Son.” Then came “Soap” and “Benson.” His period of greatest success was marred by tragedy when his 33-year-old son Jacques died of AIDS. Guillaume’s first stable relationship came when he married TV producer Donna Brown in the mid-1980s and fathered a daughter, Rachel. At last he was able to shrug off the bitterness he had felt throughout his life. “To assuage bitterness requires more than human effort,” he wrote at the end of his autobiography. “Relief comes from a source we cannot see but can only feel. I am content to call that source love.”

Matilda III, the beloved long-haired cat who ruled the lobby of Midtown’s historic Algonquin Hotel, has passed away. The hotel confirmed that the 11-year-old regal ragdoll — who retired from her hotel duties this past July after seven years in residence — died of a stroke in her new home in Duluth, Minn., this weekend. “She died in the lap of love,” Alice de Almeida, the Algonquin’s chief cat officer, told The Post. “[During] her last couple months, she had a huge house to hang out in with all this wildlife. She was able to be a real cat for a change.” The Algonquin has had feline ambassadors stretching back to the 1920s, when a stray named Billy wandered into the lobby. Yet none was as famous, or busy, as Matilda III. The hotel’s 11th kitty arrived at the Algonquin in 2010 from the North Shore Animal League and quickly acclimated herself to the high life. She feasted on chef-prepared crab cakes, had regular primping sessions and appeared on international TV. Visitors, enchanted by her glamorous hauteur, would make pilgrimages to the hotel bearing Bonito flakes from Japan or fan-painted portraits, which now decorate the upstairs offices of the hotel. In October 2016, she was memorialized in hardcover in “Matilda: The Algonquin Cat,” which chronicled her fabulous life. Over the past year, Matilda had been showing her age. She no longer had the patience to pose for thousands of photos, or spend hours entertaining children in the lobby. So a hotel regular who has an animal sanctuary in Duluth offered to adopt her. The Algonquin unveiled its newest cat, an adorable orange tabby named Hamlet, at its annual cat fashion show in July. De Almeida said Matilda III was one of a kind: “She was our girl, our diva. She was the Algonquin Cat.” AND FROM JULY: Stubbs, the honorary feline mayor of the Alaska town of Talkeetna, has died at the age of 20. The animal’s owners announced the cat’s death late Saturday in a statement. “Stubbs lived for 20 years and 3 months,” the family wrote. “He was a trooper until the very last day of his life; meowing at us throughout the day to pet him or to come sit on the bed with him and let him snuggle and purr for hours in our lap. Thank you, Stubbs, for coming into our lives for the past 31 months; you are a remarkable cat and we will dearly miss you. We loved the time we were allowed to spend with you.” According to Stubb’s family, Mayor Stubbs, as the cat was most commonly known, went to bed Thursday and died overnight, KTVA-TV reports. Talkeetna, a town with a population of about 900, elected the yellow cat mayor in a write-in campaign in 1998. There is no human mayor in the town. Stubbs had survived an attack by a dog in 2013 and a false report of his death last year. But by late 2016, he was largely staying at home instead of being out and about at local Nagley’s General Store. Although Stubbs is gone, one of his owners’ kittens might be ready to take up his mayoral mantle. “Amazingly, Denali has the exact personality as Stubbs,” the family wrote of the kitten. “He loves the attention, he’s like a little puppy when he’s around people. We couldn’t have asked for a better understudy than Denali — he really has followed in Stubbs’ pawprints in just about everything.”

No votes yet for Dairy Queen or Jack in the Box? Sacre bleu!

I see from the first 50+ replies that Popeye's is preferred by many to KFC. I prefer the taste of Popeye's, but not by that much. However, while neither is cheap, KFC is more expensive, which makes the final decision easy.

I preferred them, too. There's actually still one in Queens I am occasionally near, but it only has street parking and I can't walk very far, so I've never patronized it. There's a police precinct on the next block, so perhaps that's how they've had enough traffic to stay in business. Alas, I live too far away for them to deliver.

FAVES FROM YESTERYEAR: WETSONS: An east-coast burger chain that was around when I was a kid. I remember its distinctive exterior decor, as well as where at least 3 were located in Queens & the Bronx, but don't remember if the burgers were actually any good. GOLDEN SKILLET: An east-coast fried chicken chain that gradually died out. They had a small location across the street from me when I was little, and I remember my family all LOVED it. My sister kept her plastic mah-jong set in one of their plastic bags for years. I may still have it somewhere. Pudgie's Famous Chicken: was founded in 1981 in Bethpage, New York by George Sanders, who developed a secret batter recipe and skinning progress. This concept was spread throughout Long Island and Queens and by 1989 Pudgie's became a franchise company. TruFoods Systems, Inc., bought the trademark in 2002, and as of 2011, TruFoods operates the Wall St. Deli, Ritter's Frozen Custard, Arthur Treacher's, and Pudgie's. Today, this concept is exclusive to Nathan's Famous, and as such, many of these are cobranded with Nathan's. On July 21, 2014 the first rebranded "Pudgie's Naked Chicken Co." opened in Massapequa, New York. TruFoods President, Gary Occhiogrosso, said he is reinventing the Pudgie's brand which still offers skinless fried chicken but also offers fresher ingredients. Its menu has been modernized to spotlight what Ochiogrosso called “grilled and healthier options." Nothing is frozen, and all items — including fries and roasted vegetables — are freshly prepared, as much to order as possible. As of January 2015 there are only four Pudgie's Famous Chicken restaurants open in East Islip, Selden, West Islip, and Valley Stream. Pudgie's Naked Chicken Co. last location in Massapequa closed in July 2016.