Happy St. Patrick’s Day

Know Your Medal of Honor Recipients:

Private Michael A. Dillon (US Army) received his Medal of Honor for his actions on May 5, 1862 at Williamsburg, Virginia and June 25, 1862 at Oak Grove, Virginia. His citation reads:

Bravery in repulsing the enemy's charge on a battery, at Williamsburg, Va. At Oak Grove, Va., crawled outside the lines and brought in important information.

Quartermaster John Ditzenback (US Navy) received his Medal of Honor for his actions on December 6, 1864 on board the US Monitor Neosho. His citation reads:

Served on board the U.S. Monitor Neosho during the engagement with enemy batteries at Bells Mills, Cumberland River, near Nashville, Tenn., 6 December 1864. Carrying out his duties courageously during the engagement, Ditzenback gallantly left the pilot house after the flag and signal staffs of that vessel had been shot away and, taking the flag which was drooping over the wheelhouse, made it fast to the stump of the highest mast remaining, although the ship was still under a heavy fire from the enemy.

Staff Sergeant Drew Dennis Dix (US Army) received his Medal of Honor for his actions on January 31 and February 1, 1968 in the Chau Doc Province, Republic of Vietnam. His citation reads:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. S/Sgt. Dix distinguished himself by exceptional heroism while serving as a unit adviser. Two heavily armed Viet Cong battalions attacked the Province capital city of Chau Phu resulting in the complete breakdown and fragmentation of the defenses of the city. S/Sgt. Dix, with a patrol of Vietnamese soldiers, was recalled to assist in the defense of Chau Phu. Learning that a nurse was trapped in a house near the center of the city, S/Sgt. Dix organized a relief force, successfully rescued the nurse, and returned her to the safety of the Tactical Operations Center. Being informed of other trapped civilians within the city, S/Sgt. Dix voluntarily led another force to rescue 8 civilian employees located in a building which was under heavy mortar and small-arms fire. S/Sgt. Dix then returned to the center of the city. Upon approaching a building, he was subjected to intense automatic rifle and machine gun fire from an unknown number of Viet Cong. He personally assaulted the building, killing 6 Viet Cong, and rescuing 2 Filipinos. The following day S/Sgt. Dix, still on his own volition, assembled a 20-man force and though under intense enemy fire cleared the Viet Cong out of the hotel, theater, and other adjacent buildings within the city. During this portion of the attack, Army Republic of Vietnam soldiers inspired by the heroism and success of S/Sgt. Dix, rallied and commenced firing upon the Viet Cong. S/Sgt. Dix captured 20 prisoners, including a high ranking Viet Cong official. He then attacked enemy troops who had entered the residence of the Deputy Province Chief and was successful in rescuing the official's wife and children. S/Sgt. Dix's personal heroic actions resulted in 14 confirmed Viet Cong killed in action and possibly 25 more, the capture of 20 prisoners, 15 weapons, and the rescue of the 14 United States and free world civilians. The heroism of S/Sgt. Dix was in the highest tradition and reflects great credit upon the U.S. Army.


Congrats to Lehigh (a 15 seed) for their win over Duke (a 2 seed) last night. I know there were other upsets last night, but that’s the only one I’ll remember after the tournament.


The I’m just sayin… Kid Show of the Week

Thanks again to Wikipedia for the info…

Our kid show of the week this week is PSYCH. Psych is comedy series that is broadcast on USA Network. It stars James Roday as Shawn Spencer, a young crime consultant for the Santa Barbara Police Department whose "heightened observational skills" and impressive detective instincts allow him to convince people that he solves cases with psychic abilities. The program also stars Dulé Hill as Shawn's best friend and reluctant partner Burton "Gus" Guster, as well as Corbin Bernsen as Shawn's father, Henry (a former police detective).

The series airs new episodes on Wednesdays at 10PM. It is currently USA Network's longest-running original series on air. USA has renewed the series for a seventh season, to include 16 episodes.

Most episodes begin with a cold open in the form of a flashback. These flashbacks show that Henry Spencer (Corbin Bernsen) wished that his son would follow in his footsteps and become a law enforcement officer. In preparation, Henry helps Shawn hone his powers of observation and deduction, often using games and challenges to test him. Each flashback also sets the theme for the episode, based on the challenge Shawn's father presents him.

Shawn originally becomes known as a psychic when, after calling in tips on dozens of crime covered on the news, which help the police to close the case, the police become suspicious of his knowledge. The police theorize that such knowledge could only come from the "inside" and they decide to arrest him as a suspect. To avoid being sent to jail, Shawn uses his observational skills to convince the police that he is psychic. The interim police chief warns Shawn that if his "powers" are fake, he will be prosecuted. With no choice but to keep up the act, and having proven himself an effective aid to the police in solving crimes, he establishes a psychic detective agency, Psych, and becomes a consultant to the police. Pretending to have psychic powers allows him to engage in strange and comic behavior as he turns real clues into hunches and otherworldly visitations. He enjoys teasing lifelong friend Gus, a pharmaceutical representative, about Gus's eclectic interests.

Head detective Carlton Lassiter (Timothy Omundson), playfully named "Lassie" by Shawn and Gus, quietly respects Shawn's crime-solving skills but doubts his psychic abilities and is constantly exasperated by his antics. On the contrary, junior detective Juliet O'Hara (Maggie Lawson) and Chief Vick (Kirsten Nelson) are far less antagonistic – with O'Hara expressing belief in Shawn's abilities, while Vick is mum on the subject – and usually willing to give Shawn the leeway he needs to solve cases. Henry and Shawn have a difficult relationship, but despite this, Henry reluctantly helps Shawn on various occasions.

Here’s a quick look at the main characters of the show:

• Shawn Spencer (James Roday) is a freelance consultant with the Santa Barbara Police Department, pretending to be a psychic. However, it is really his exceptional observational skills and eidetic memory that allow him to obtain his "visions". He refuses to take anything seriously, though has matured slowly throughout the seasons. He has had romantic tension with Juliet since they met, which led them to start dating in the middle of season 5.

• Burton "Gus" Guster (Dulé Hill) is Shawn's best friend and business partner. He also is a pharmaceuticals salesman. Unlike Shawn, he takes his work very seriously, and usually tries to act professionally, yet usually ends up as invested in jokes and snacks as Shawn is. He is famous for his many aliases (usually given to him by Shawn), including "Magic Head," "Lavender Gooms," "Ghee Buttersnaps", and "Control Alt Delete". He is known for being attracted to all types of females, who usually end up as the prime suspect. One running joke in the show is people thinking Gus played “Bud” on The Cosby Show (for the record, Dule Hill didn’t play Bud… yes, I checked).

• Carlton "Lassie" Lassiter (Timothy Omundson) is the head detective for the Santa Barbara Police Department. He is skeptical of Shawn's psychic abilities, and is extremely annoyed by Shawn's comic antics. However, he occasionally must come to Psych for help with his more difficult cases.

• Juliet "Jules" O'Hara (Maggie Lawson) is a junior detective for the Santa Barbara Police Department, and is Lassiter's partner. She joined the SBPD after Lassiter's old partner got transferred in season 1, and was originally a cop in Miami. Throughout the series she and Shawn share constant romantic tension, and the two start dating in season 5.

• Chief Karen Vick (Kirsten Nelson) is the SBPD Chief. She is tough but fair, usually reluctant to hire Shawn and Gus for cases, but almost always gives in. She respects Shawn's help and input but firmly keeps him in check (as much as she can) when he pushes the limits of the law or her patience.

• Henry Spencer (Corbin Bernsen) is Shawn's uptight and precise father and a former police sergeant. He is usually visited by Shawn with questions about various cases, but is usually reluctant to help. He has been rehired to the SBPD to be in charge of the department's consultants, much to Shawn's chagrin.

Some of the recurring characters in the show include:

• Buzz McNab (Sage Brocklebank) is a naive but lovable cop who often provides Shawn and Gus with clues. Shawn gives him a "little boy cat" (who is actually a girl cat) that once helped him solve a case in season one. In "Shawn Gets the Yips" (4.05), McNab is severely injured when a bomb went off in his mailbox while he was getting his mail. Later in the episode, he returns to work with a severe concussion and on crutches, but alive; he remarks to Shawn and Gus that he had lost part of three toes, though. In the fourth season finale episode, "Mr. Yin Presents..." (4.16), McNab is attacked and knocked unconscious by the unseen killer, otherwise known as Yin, but survives. He returns in season 5.

• Madeleine Spencer (Cybill Shepherd) is a police psychologist who is Shawn's mother and Henry's ex-wife. In the episode "Ghosts" (3.01), she tells Lassiter that she has eidetic tonal memory, which is like Shawn's photographic memory but with sound. She appears in "Ghosts" (3.01), "Murder? ... Anyone? ... Anyone? ... Bueller?" (3.02), "An Evening with Mr. Yang" (3.16), and "Yang 3 in 2D" (5.16). She was portrayed over-the-shoulder by a different actress in "Shawn (and Gus) of the Dead" (2.16).

• Winnie Guster (Phylicia Rashad) is Gus' mother. She appears in the first two of the series' Christmas episodes, "Gus's Dad May Have Killed an Old Guy" (2.10) and "Christmas Joy" (3.09).

• Woody the Coroner (Kurt Fuller) is a police coroner that Shawn shares a mutual respect with. His wife cheats on him with multiple men, some of which he has approved. He is also apparently wanted in the Philippines. He first appeared in "High Top Fade Out" (4.07), and his most recent appearance was in "Heeeeere's Lassie" (6.11).

The show has also had a number of famous guest stars including Ralph Macchio, C. Thomas Howell, Keshia Knight Pulliam, Carl Weathers, Molly Ringwald, Jason Priestley and William Shatner.

The show uses White Rock, British Columbia, Canada for its Santa Barbara, California setting (making it one of the few good things to come out of Canada). Psych also incorporates Vancouver and various locations around the Lower Mainland of British Columbia as a backdrop. Santa Barbara is on a mountainous coastline without bays and just has the few Channel Islands miles offshore. Many of the overlooking helicopter shots and set up shots (in which the exterior of the Santa Barbara Courthouse is shown) are actually filmed in Santa Barbara.

Since the series first aired, a pineapple has been a recurring theme, with one visible or with an implied presence in every episode. The pineapple is a major marketing point for items related to the show on the USA website.