Utica, Meet Hooterville

This little exercise pretty much defines my "divertimenti" label. It's totally useless and of no real value, but it should provide a few minutes entertainment. Herewith, proof that the City of Utica exists in the same fictional universe as Hooterville of "Green Acres" fame.

1. Dunder-Mifflin, the paper company featured in NBC's "The Office", has a satellite office in Utica, NY.

2. Dunder-Mifflin reserved a large conference room at the Montecito casino in an episode of "Las Vegas".

3. "Las Vegas" had a crossover episode featuring the characters from "Crossing Jordan".

4. An episode of "Crossing Jordan" featured a priest from St. Eligius, the sponsoring church of the St. Eligius Hospital featured on "St. Elsewhere".

5. Three characters from "St. Elsewhere" payed a visit to the bar in "Cheers"

6. "Cheers" spun off "Frasier", where both Daphne and Niles read the comic-strip produced by the titular character of "Caroline in the City".

7. An episode of "Caroline in the City" featured a visit from Chandler of "Friends".

8. Phoebe from "Friends" and Ursula from "Mad About You" are sisters.

9. An episode of "Mad About You" featured Alan Brady from "The Dick Van Dyke Show".

10. Buddy from "The Dick Van Dyke Show" appeared in "The Danny Thomas Show".

11. The Williams family from "The Danny Thomas Show", aka "Make Room For Daddy", also appeared in the remake/revival "Make Room For Granddaddy".

12. "Make Room For Granddaddy" had an episode featuring a visit from Lucy Carter of "Here's Lucy".

13. The character of Mary Jane Lewis on "Here’s Lucy" originally appeared on "The Lucy Show".

14. Lucy Carmichael from "The Lucy Show" appeared in a crossover episode of "Gomer Pyle, USMC".

15. The titular character from "Gomer Pyle, USMC" made an appearance on "Hi Honey, I'm Home!".

16. Another episode of "Hi Honey, I'm Home!" featured Alice from "The Brady Bunch".

17. "The Brady Bunch" featured a visit from...tada...Hank Thackery of "Petticoat Junction", completing the Utica/Hooterville linkage.

That also means, BTW, that in the fictional world of "The Office" Col. Klink from "Hogan's Heroes" actually did command a Nazi prisoner-of-war camp. How do we know this? The Hooterville of "Petticoat Junction" is the same Hooterville featured on "Green Acres". In the infamous "how we met" episode of "Green Acres" we learn that Oliver Wendell Holmes met his future wife Lisa after being shot down in Hungary during WW II. Part of his briefing before that ill-fated mission included instructions that if he should end up at Stalag 13, the prison camp in "Hogan's Heroes", he was to contact Col. Hogan for assistance.

Three More Down

Later today I'll have the unfortunate task of removing even more central New York blogs from the listing to the right. CNY Political Insider has vanished, Eye on Arcuri has been silent for close to six months, and the Upstate-focused Knickerbocker blog went "on haitus" February 1st. This is all in addition to the four dead blogs I trimmed out last month.

Make of that what you will.

We Will Never Stop Fighting NYRI...Unless It Goes Down the Thruway. That's Cool.

Strikeslip pretty much sums up my feelings on the latest iteration of the NYRI story:

The impression that one gets from reading today's editorial and an accompanying article is that the Observer-Dispatch is cozying up to the idea that NYRI could be a good thing for us . . . as long as it follows that Thruway Corridor.

The O-D argues that the Thruway is the "best" option because:


* It would run along a corridor that is already there.
* It would create less disruption to area neighborhoods.
* It would be more likely to avoid the Marcy Nanotech site, which has been touted as an economic key to the Mohawk Valley’s economic future.

The obvious questions that the OD's 3 arguments should raise are: (1) Isn't the railroad right-of-way that NYRI proposes to use also a "corridor that is already there?" (2) What "area neighborhoods" would a Thruway route disrupt? and (3) Why is a Thruway route less likely to disrupt the Nanotech site than the alternative routes already on the table? The arguments are "B.S."

The fact that the area's federal and state elected officials appear to be endorsing this plan is, at best, disturbing. I'm pretty sure it's just more kabuki, but I'm surprised the whole "We'll fight against this thing tooth and nail...unless it's along the Thruway" about-face hasn't generated more blowback.

Strike's other recent articles on NYRI are worth a look while you're there.