Nine

The handsome and charming fellow on the left is the inimitable Tor Johnson, former pro wrestler turned actor. Though he never won an Academy Award, he always dominates any other actors who share the screen with him. He is included here thanks to his role in the cinema classic "Plan Nine From Outer Space".

To Tor's right is Jeri Ryan, who played the character Seven of Nine on Star Trek – Voyager. She was an expatriot Borg, which means she went from saying things like "Resistance is few-tile" to eventually understanding human emotions and making out with various members of the crew. Many years after Captain Kirk invented the technique, it's good to know that Star Fleet still endorses kissing as an effective way to combat hive minds and computers when karate chops prove ineffective.

The two fellows in the next frame are Matthew Perry and Michael Clarke Duncan in their roles as "Oz" and "Frankie Figs" in "The Whole Nine Yards". Though it may appear in this particular still that they are about to try the aforementioned making out technique, that's just an illusion. The movie is actually about ruthless mob hit men, romantic intrigue, and cosmetic dentistry. Despite having Matthew Perry, Rosanna Arquette, and Harland Williams, it's actually a pretty entertaining movie.

And our final number nine is the Yankee uniform number of Mr. Roger Maris, baseball legend. He's still the only guy to out-homer The Babe without using steroids. During his career, he was overshadowed by his flashy and charismatic teammate Mickey Mantle, but will always be remembered for hitting 61 dingers in 1961. There are those who think his record should be annotated because it took him more games than it took the Bambino, and because he sported an embarrassingly dorky flat-top haircut. But I saw we leave the haircut jeers for Brian Bosworth and give Maris full credit for his prodigious accomplishments. Plus, he seemed like a pretty decent guy.

Oh, and the obscure reference to Yoko Ono was because she participated in the recording of "Revolution #9", which Beatles fans regard as a groundbreaking experiment in musical artistry. The rest of us consider it an indicator of John's assimilation by the Borg, but...whatever.

In any case, thanks for playing. I hope to return with a few blogs about my running rehab over the next week or so. Stay tuned, and have a great day!