Wednesday, September 30, 2020
Xmastime Book Review
Tuesday, September 29, 2020
"You beating yourself up is like Woody Allen playing the clarinet: I don’t want to hear it."
The show vends a soothing vision of a red state–coded American as a kindly, gentle internationalist, as well as a world in which American soft power still works and does good, and an underestimated, know-nothing American can teach a bunch of foreigners a thing or two about the Beautiful Game and the game of life. On Ted Lasso, American innocence, humility, and heroism are all alive and well—and you don’t have to consciously notice any of that for it to bring you comfort.
MY NOTES:
1. The show is a must-watch.
2. PRETTY certain I'll be fighting off the waterworks during the season finale.
Monday, September 28, 2020
New Springsteen
Bruce’s latest release is overly long, plodding, kinda corny, filled with awkward phrasing and exactly what I, for one, needed right now. 👻🤗
OFAH du Jour
Personal message from Boycie himself! 🤗
UPDATE: by the end of the first paragraph of the book, I’ve learned this is impossible to read without doing so in Boycie’s super-snobby voice. 😜
Sunday, September 27, 2020
Thompson/Unseld/Mitchell/Sayers
Longtime Xmastime favorite Michael Wilbon with a great, warm article on four of his sports icons who became friends, all dying within 171 days of each other during Covid:
One of the many things the four of them shared was the dignified way they entered a room and interacted with people, despite each having navigated the hostilities of a world that didn’t particularly want them before they became wildly successful. The funeral of any one of them would fill an arena in normal times when such gatherings were not only welcome but expected. Losing all four in so little time seems unthinkably cruel. As is, we turned to mainstream and social media, private conversations and texts. Getting out of this pandemic cannot come quickly enough, for a million reasons, among them that if we have to lose such beloved and precious icons, we ought to have the chance to give them the warmest and most proper send-off imaginable.
Book Worlds Colliding
"They were 'Black Protestants', all of them, in virtue of their descent from a godly soldier of Cromwell, and all were prepared at any moment of the day or night to sell a horse."
Silas Marner:
“Bryce of course divined that Dunstan wanted to sell the horse, and Dunstan knew that he divined it (horse-dealing is only one of many human transactions carried on in this ingenious manner).”
Saturday, September 26, 2020
Oh For Fuck’s Sake du Jour
“I disagree with Colonel Sanders on almost everything. But I still think he's brilliant." - Chickens
Friday, September 25, 2020
Funny Cuz It's True du Jour
“Faced with death as I am, Carter, do you know what y great consolation is?”
“No,” said Carter.
“It’s the knowledge that every day there are hundreds and thousands of perfectly fit and healthy people dropping dead without warning.”
“I see,” said Carter. “Cheering isn’t it?”
“Very,” said Vernon. “You’re a case in point. To us you look a picture of a vigorous young man in full blooming health, but underneath you could be harboring some fatal illness that no one could possibly detect.”
‘Ta very much,” said Carter.
“It could be a tumor of the brain. It could be some crucial weakness of the heart valves. I’m not mithered. But one morning you’d get up, sit down to breakfast and before you had one spoonful of your Shredded Wheat, you’d give a stifled groan and drop dead. I’ve heard hundreds of tales like that. You’ve only to pick up the paper on a Monday morning to read of some young man cut down in the prime of life playing an impromptu game of logger on a Sunday afternoon. Then comes the inquest, the coroner offers his condolences to the heart-broken widow, the father-in-law breaks down at the graveside, the deceased’s logger boots are placed on the lid of the coffin which slowly slips into the yielding earth and everyone is left to reflect ruefully on the fragile mutability of life.”
“Mm,” said Carter.
“It’s a great comfort to me to know that it’s not only the chronologically sick what are prone to death,” said Vernon.
NBA Questions. I Have Them.
Can anyone explain how the hell Anthony Davis had a total of 7 rebounds in the last 2 games? 🤔🤷
Hit It, Booooooooooob
Hi, Bob is a drinking game in which players watch The Bob Newhart Show and consume alcohol whenever a character utters the phrase "Hi, Bob". Believed to have originated on American university campuses in the 1980s, it is thought to be the first documented instance of a drinking game using prompts from a television show to initiate player action.
I haven't had a drink in a few weeks, but when I do I'm gonna try this out...and based on what I've seen so far from the show I'll last about 6 minutes.
Thursday, September 24, 2020
The Tower of London
When I stumbled into this Tower of London Facts article I kind of rolled my eyes re: okay, same old shit I'm sure, but this fact jumped out at me:
6. BEEFEATERS LIVE IN THE TOWER OF LONDON WITH THEIR FAMILIES.
A 19th-century illustration of the vibrantly clad Yeomen Warders at the Tower of London. DUNCAN1890/GETTY IMAGES The Yeoman Warders (also known as Beefeaters) have been guarding the Tower since the Tudor era. Clad in a sharp red dress, these 37 men and women give tours of the fortress. Every night at 9:53 p.m., they lock the tower, a 700-year-old tradition called the Ceremony of Keys. Beefeaters and their families, around 150 people in total, live in the supposedly haunted Tower of London, and also frequent a secret pub in the fortress.
Dafuck? How is this not more of a known thing - how is this not a goddam tv reality show?!?!!?!
OFAH du Jour
Big Brother
The Second Time Around
A Touch of Glass
Friday the 14th
Strained Relations
Video Nasty
Yuppy Love
Little Problems
The Jolly Boys Outing
Class of ’62
Modern Men
Time On Our Hands
Something I Learned Today
It's generally known as the "Willis Reed game" for his early game heroics of actually showing up and limping through the first few minutes with his injured leg, but what unfortunately gets lost is Clyde had a monster game with 36 points and 19 (yes, 19) assists. Clyde either made or assisted on 31 of the Knicks' 46 field goals that evening.
This has become sports' most "famous but obscure/obscure but famous" facts, and second place may be something I just heard for the first time a few minutes ago about former Laker Jamal Wilkes:
One of the most memorable games of his career was the series clinching Game 6 of the 1980 NBA Finals against the Philadelphia 76ers; Wilkes had 37 points and 10 rebounds, but was overshadowed by rookie teammate Magic Johnson, who started at center in place of an injured Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and finished with 42 points, 15 rebounds, and 7 assists.
Timing, people. Like one of my earliest posts ever about CS Lewis, sometimes life is all about timing.
I Give Up du Jour
I 100% agree with everything Andrew Yang is suggesting in this article and have have 100% faith that exactly none of it will happen because, you know, America is so great and the market blah blah nonsense blah.
Dear God We're All Old Now.
If you didn't already feel old af, the Oasis classic Wonderwall is 25 years old. That's the exact number of years between the release of the song and the breakup of The Beatles, whom the Brothers Gallagher openly emulated with pride. What the hell happened:
For a song that would live on as long as it has, “Wonderwall” came together remarkably fast. On a Tuesday that May, Noel recorded his acoustic guitar foundation for the song to a click track. Alan White, newly hired as Oasis’ drummer, overdubbed his part, after which Noel added additional guitar parts (including on an electric) and played the bass himself. The basic track was finished that evening. “It was kind of quick,” producer Owen Morris recalls. “When Noel played it through, he was unsure how to come in and out of the bridge, and he asked me which was best, and I told him the simpler way. That would have been a minute decision like that. There wasn’t a lot of agonizing.”
The next morning, Liam drank some tea, took maybe a few puffs from a cigarette, and sat down at the microphone. “At that period, Noel would sing a song through once to Liam on acoustic,” Morris says. “Once. With all the phrasing and some of the lines he’d just written. Then Liam would go in and sing it once through. And he would always fucking nail the phrasing start to end. I found that quite freaky. With ‘Wonderwall,’ he said, ‘I’m singing it now!’ And he did, I think, four takes and that was it. People ask me, ‘How outrageous were the sessions?’ I say, ‘We just worked, really.’”
Liam has similar memories of an efficient process. “I was always desperate to get to the pub,” he says. “As soon as I got my singing done, I went to the nearest pub. I didn’t want to sit around and watch people fuck around with guitars and amps.” Listening to a mix, Liam told Morris his vocals were too loud and should be lowered. “That’s the only time he ever said that,” Morris says with a chuckle.
“Wonderwall” may well be one of the last major standards from what we could call the rock era. Since the mid-Nineties, only a select few rock-based songs — like Bob Dylan’s “To Make You Feel My Love” — have been recorded by a wide range of big-name acts the way earlier classics like the Beatles’ “Yesterday,” Dylan’s “Forever Young,” or Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” have been. “Wonderwall” is now on that very short list.
I'd never known this little tidbit:
In the end, the Gallagher brothers decided to split the lead vocals on “Wonderwall” and “Don’t Look Back in Anger.” Despite his initial qualms, Liam grabbed “Wonderwall.” “I would have sung them both,” he says. “But he got to sing one of them. I’m the singer in the band and that was my job. And once I sung it, I realized it’s a good fucking tune.”
True confession time: I've always liked Don't Look Back in Anger more than Wonderwall.
Dudes Suck.
Via HERE we see this brilliant Tweet:
I am QUITE pleased to announce to all you ladies that I am not a fan of any of these shitty authors/books. Hit me up on Tinder!
WTF du Jour
There should be a component of Touch ID on iPhones that tells you the reason you can't log in is the Cheetos dust on your fingers. - XMASTIME
From the "Why is this a thing?" lab:
Cheetos and fingers covered in orange cheese dust are kind of a package deal—at least they are if you binge a bag of Cheetos without protection. For a more sanitary snacking experience, there's Chip Fingers. Chip Fingers are finger guards that block the crumbs, powders, and seasonings coating the chip of your choice. Just slip them onto your thumb, index finger, and middle finger before opening a new bag and proceed with your snack attack.
The finger covers are made from BPA-free silicon and are designed to fit most finger sizes. After using them, just run them through the dishwasher to ensure they're clean for your next Cheetos craving.
So...I hafta then lick these things instead of my OWN fingers after a great Cheetos sesh? What idiot thinks this is even possibly a good idea?
Questions. I Have Them.
Isn’t Mark Zuckerberg bored with Facebook yet? Every day it seems he's testifying before Congress, getting scorch-Earthed for whatever Facebook policies are going on at the moment, being blamed (however rightfully so) for paving the way for a fifth Trump presidential term and on and on and on. Why does he still do it? Facebook's been around for over 15 years now and it's basically the same shit as it's been for a decade - if he's such a brilliant guy, isn't he bored with it by now? Why wouldn't he say "fuck this shit", cash the fuck out with his bazillions and do something more interesting? 🤔🤷
Things That Make No Sense to Me, Vol. XXVIXVDCLL
Over the course of their 22 years as a live band, The Ramones - THE quintessential New York band - never played Saturday Night Live. Which still sounds impossible to believe.
Wednesday, September 23, 2020
Oh FFS
I've been trying to keep these pages relatively Trump-free as a service to both myself and fellow humans, but this is fucking bananas:
According to sources in the Republican Party at the state and national levels, the Trump campaign is discussing contingency plans to bypass election results and appoint loyal electors in battleground states where Republicans hold the legislative majority. With a justification based on claims of rampant fraud, Trump would ask state legislators to set aside the popular vote and exercise their power to choose a slate of electors directly. The longer Trump succeeds in keeping the vote count in doubt, the more pressure legislators will feel to act before the safe-harbor deadline expires.
But of course, the whole "justification based on claims of rampant fraud" is complete and utter bullshit. They won't be "claims", it'll just be Trump SAYING there are "claims". Much like his insisting on being a "winner" in golf, it's just him saying something and then for some reason everybody scrambling to make it happen for...reasons? 🤷
71
Interestingly - well, to me if nobody else, and barely then - I've never heard any of Bruce's vocals isolated in the recording booth, so this snippet from Born to Run is pretty amazing to hear.
Happy birthday Bruuuuuuuce.
— Tim Burgess (@Tim_Burgess) September 23, 2020
Anyone with a spare 48 seconds will feel better after listening to this 🤘 pic.twitter.com/Z8zaebHQDR
No Shit?
I thought Cracker Barrel took the cake with the whole "wait, that wasn't already a thing?" before, but now it turns out the MTA is officially making it a no-no to shit in subway cars.
I did many things in my 14+ years riding the trains - (enjoy some previous subway memories here!) - but I can honestly say I never shit on them.
I think.
As Usual, Oscar Wilde Was Right
Everything in moderation, including moderation. - Oscar Wilde
Super-smart researchers have decided that particularly in Covid times, it's okay to knock off being so serious all the time and take a few moments to be a hedonistic waste of space:
Still, I come with good news: If you’re seeking happiness, a little pleasure, some temporary relief amid all this global melancholy, it’s OK to occasionally lie on the couch and eat chips and whipped cream from a bottle. Science says it’s fine. In fact, it may be good for you.
“We should start appreciating [short-term pleasures] as an important part of our every day lives, because they contribute to our well-being."
To be clear: She’s not endorsing sloth. The researchers did not conclude we should spend the rest of our lives watching “Three Stooges” marathons, especially if lying on the couch watching a “Three Stooges” marathon is going to give you a panic attack about not jogging. “Certainly there is a point when pursuing short-term pleasures too often or too much might get into the way of your long-term projects,” Dr. Bernecker said. “The challenge is to find the balance between doing things that provide pleasure in the moment and things that provide pleasure in the long run.”
I, for one, have enough of these moments saved up for more than my own share of lifetimes.
Bruuuuuuce
In the early days of Springsteen’s first real band, an assemblage of teenage central-Jersey greasers called the Castiles, there was one member marked for success. He had a smooth, pure tenor. He was the group’s designated heartthrob. His name was George Theiss, and he invited Springsteen into the band as lead guitarist in the first place. “We were the only five freaks in Monmouth County,” Theiss once told Rolling Stone. Theiss and Springsteen were close, often walking to high school together, but they clashed as time went on, especially as Springsteen began singing more. “They were competing for the same spot in the band,” says Diana Theiss, George’s widow. “And George was a little threatened.” The Castiles broke up in 1968.
It wasn’t always easy for Theiss to watch his former bandmate leap from one unimaginable triumph to another. “It’s just different paths,” says Springsteen. “I don’t know how to make much more sense of it than that.” He and his friend never fully fell out of touch, but Springsteen and Theiss reconnected in the past few years. When Springsteen learned in July 2018 that Theiss was in the final stages of terminal lung cancer, he chartered a plane to North Carolina to sit with him just before his passing. The whole way back, Springsteen was silent, lost in his thoughts. He was, at that point, performing on Broadway five nights a week, talking about his past again and again. Springsteen realized he was the last surviving member of the Castiles, a revelation he sat with for a while. “You can’t think about it,” he says, “without thinking of your own mortality. Most of the guys in the band died young for one reason or another, and so it really kind of came down to George and myself.”
Happy Birfday!!
To longtime Xmastime buddy, Bruce Springsteen, who turns 71 today. On the cover of this week's Rolling Stone, he appears to have no intentions of slowing down anytime soon:
Springsteen acknowledges that “no tomorrows are guaranteed,” but that’s as far as he’ll go on the subject. And it’s probably worth noting that the chorus of “Ghosts” finds him practically screaming, “I’m alive!” “I plan,” says Springsteen, “to have a long road in front of me.… Some of my recent projects have been kind of summational, but really, for me, it’s summational for this stage of my work life. I’ve got a lot left to do, and I plan to carry on.”
He’s got “a lot of projects” in the works, including all of that work on his archives, which include various full “lost albums” along with more scattered outtakes. (Weinberg, for one, has been in the studio to overdub at least 40 old songs “in all different styles” over the past three years. “Any other artist would kill to get these songs,” the drummer says.) Some of these songs will appear on a second volume of Tracks, some perhaps in other formats. “There’s a lot of really good music left,” Springsteen says, noting that he enjoys collaborating with his former selves. “You just go back there. It’s not that hard. If I pull out something from 1980, or 1985, or 1970, it’s amazing how you can slip into that voice. It’s just sort of a headspace. All of those voices remain available to me, if I want to go to them.”
"GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM MY OREO DOUBLESTUFS!!!"
Confessions. I Have Them.
I get annoyed when kids don't name their stuffed animals. There, I said it.
Tuesday, September 22, 2020
Rewatchables
I've loved The Ringer's Rewatchables podcast for years, and today they're celebrating their 150th with a very detailed review/airing of all 150.
Yet somehow the question I've been screaming for years remains unanswered: how on Earth has Bill Simmons, Mr. Hoosiers himself, NOT done a Rewatchables on Hoosiers yet?!?!?!?!
 |
| "What the fuck is wrong with you, Simmons?" |
Yogi 2015
Yogi Berra died five years ago today.
He's (rightfully) cherished for being a lovable character, which I think has come to overshadow the fact that he was a ridiculously great player. See his stacked plaque: 3-time MVP, 10 rings! 100 RBI 5 times, 4 years in a row - AND he fought at D-Day! Oh, and over 19 years he struck out a grand total of 414 times.
Not that the strikeout thing should be the closer after D-Day, but still very impressive.
My favorite from all the billions of Yogi-isms is, upon being asked at a pizzeria if he wanted the pizza cut into 4 slices or 6:
"You better cut the pizza in four pieces because I'm not hungry enough to eat six."
It was also on his triumphant return to The Stadium that David Cone threw his perfect game. Don Larson threw the first pitch to Yogi. Shit was spooky, and I didn't miss a minute of it.
A truly great Yankee who will always be missed.
Cracker Barrel to Booze: "We Surrender"
Loosened liquor laws and alcohol sales have helped keep some restaurants afloat during the pandemic, with eateries selling cocktail kits, bottles straight from the inventory, and drinks to-go over the past six months. It seems even Cracker Barrel, which has long held onto its old-fashioned, family-oriented, “old country store” image — to the point where it once prohibited the hiring of LGBTQ workers and has been sued for racial discrimination — is no longer immune to the financial allure of booze.
Still no word yet though on the mystery re: why they have cheese hash browns, but not regular hash browns. Hmm.
Black Sitcom Update (and It's Not Good)
About 8 years ago I posted an article asking why in the hell A Different World had been the last last black sitcom that was a national Nielsons hit, over 20 years earlier:
In his essential memoir depicting his life in the TV-writing trenches, Billion-Dollar Kiss, Jeffrey Stepakoff gives the most succinct answer to a perpetual question in television circles: Whatever happened to the black sitcom? In the ’70s, series like The Jeffersons, Sanford & Son, and Good Times were Nielsen mainstays, all with either black leads or predominantly black casts. Even more sitcoms featured prominent black characters, often navigating or dealing with a white world. This was all prelude, of course, to the popularity of The Cosby Show, one of the most-watched programs in television history and one that spawned both popular imitators—Family Matters—and a popular sitcom in A Different World. Yet A Different World is the last program with a predominantly black cast to land in the top 10 of the Nielsens, and it seems entirely possible it will hold that title for as long as television continues to exist. Through the ’90s, black sitcoms migrated first to Fox, then to The WB and UPN, and finally to cable outlets like TBS, instead of their once prominent homes on the original “big three” networks. Why?
And today that question is updated: what's taken so long for black sitcoms to join streaming platforms?
The ’90s and early aughts was a particularly ripe decade for black sitcoms. Often described as a golden age for storytelling centered on African American lives, the era produced hits such as “Martin,” “In Living Color,” “The Fresh Prince,” “Moesha,” “The Jamie Foxx Show,” “Sister Sister,” “Half and Half,” “The Bernie Mac Show,” “The Steve Harvey Show,” “The Hughleys,” “Girlfriends” and a dozen more debuting on major networks. But in the years since, the vast majority of these popular shows have gone the way of the dodo. But most of the vast vault of this specific cultural history is nowhere to be found on the major established streaming platforms fans engage with most. The core of the issue, according to Alfred L. Martin Jr., assistant professor of media studies at the University of Iowa, is that blackness is often cast by the mainstream as “extraordinarily culturally specific,” so then the shows that resonate for the black demographic writ large are defined as “niche” and therefore not as palatable for wide-ranging audiences.
Fucking crazy. There are so many great black sitcoms, and it's a shame that generation after generation we're ensuring they languish in obscurity.
Monday, September 21, 2020
More MTM Love
Incredibly, The Mary Tyler Moore Show may be one of the more underrated/overlooked sitcoms considering its incredible influence:
Looking back on the event of MTM’s 50th anniversary, it’s actually staggering just how massive this one show’s impact was—especially since Mary Tyler Moore isn’t as omnipresent on social media as Friends, Seinfeld, or The Golden Girls, all shows that can trace their roots back, in some form or fashion, to what James L. Brooks and Allan Burns put on screen on September 19, 1970.
I believe it’s safe to say that nothing on TV in the last 50 years would be the same had she not tossed her hat up in the sky.
This is why The Mary Tyler Moore Show works so well today, better than any show from 50 years ago and—honestly?—better than most shows right now. The show talked about still-relevant topics while providing killer jokes for every cast member, men and women, all in front of a live studio audience for seven years. The Mary Tyler Moore Show didn’t just turn the world on with her smile 50 years ago—it changed the world, and TV is better for it.
Now THIS Is Some Bullshit
I don't really give a damn about the Emmys one way or the other - have 'em, don't have 'em, I don't care - but I just learned that they left David Schramm, aka Roy Biggins, out of the In Memoriam section and so the Emmys may now officially go fuck themselves.
Nice to see Schitt's Creek apparently sweep the comedy categories, however.
Happy (Belated) 50th!
I missed September 19th being the 50th anniversary of the debut of Xmastime superslice The Mary Tyler Moore Show - hey, I'm pretending to have a life here, people - but thankfully there's been a million articles celebrating it, including this one pointing out 50 great things to love about the show, a show without which who knows how many great sitcoms that followed would not have existed. I've pulled out a few selections I agree with the most. You're welcome!
2. No marriage, no problem: Mary had boyfriends, but marriage and motherhood were not her primary goals, as had been the case for so many TV characters who preceded her. Her fulfilling life delivered a strong message.
4. Home at work: It established a new dynamic, the workplace family, which soon became its own comedy format.
22. "Love Is All Around" (Season 1): The series premiere gets so many things right: Mary parrying Lou's inappropriate job interview questions; Mary and Rhoda bonding after an apartment battle; and Mary, in a series-defining stand, declaring independence from her ex.
26. "Chuckles Bites the Dust" (Season 6): The grimly hilarious death of WJM's Chuckles the Clown – a parade elephant tried to shell him when he was dressed as character Peter Peanut – is a wonderful treatise on grief and has been hailed as the best sitcom episodes ever. Mary's laughing/crying jag at Chuckles' funeral is genius.
27. "The Last Show" (series finale): As new station management fires the staff – keeping only the incompetent Ted – everyone says goodbye to each other as viewers say goodbye to them. The group-hug shuffle to Mary's tissue box is an indelible highlight of one of TV's best finales.
28. "You've got spunk. I hate spunk!" "MTM" signaled its originality when Lou rejected, rather than embraced, Mary's all-American moxie.
31. "A little song, a little dance, a little seltzer down your pants.” Chuckles the Clown's motto-turned-eulogy.
41. The big "M" on Mary's apartment wall: Her first apartment was so much better than her second.
45.“Love Is All Around”: The theme's memorable lyrics, recorded by Sonny Curtis, evolved from uncertain hope in Season 1 ("How will you make it on your own?"/"You might just make it after all") into an anthem of affirmation (“You’re gonna make it after all”).
47. The opening-credits shot of Mary flinging her tam into the air is one of TV’s most iconic moments. A Minneapolis statue commemorates the image. Long may she stand.
Indeed.
All Hail King Albert!
Because my eyes and ears are connected to mybrain I love Albert Brooks, and a series of his films is playing on the Criterion Channel now through October 31, 2020. I wholeheartedly ageee with this sentiment:
How I envy the wretch who has not yet discovered Albert Brooks! The opportunity to now watch these five remarkable films on the Criterion Channel—each looking crisper than I’ve ever seen them and retaining all of their original bite—is one to be celebrated and then mourned when it’s over. There’s never been an artist like Brooks (imitators included), and these films are true wonders, all of them treasured in knowing circles but none given their due in their own time. It’s an honor to be able to gush about them here, preaching to the devoted choir and perhaps—hopefully—introducing these boons to a few unenlightened innocents who might also emerge feeling less defeated, less alone.
The films being highlighted are his classics - ranked in order of personal preference by me,
Lost in AmericaDefending Your LifeReal LifeMotherModern Romance
I also personally have a soft spot for The Muse, which to me is as "Albert Brook-ish" as any of the others and a great follow-up to Mother.
My one beef is I don't get why everyone thinks Modern Romance is such a great film. It's Brooks at his characters' absolute worst, and not funny save for it being the one time (why????!?!!?!) he featured his brother Super Dave Osbourne/Marty Funkhouser in one of his films.
You should watch all these movies, and follow him on Twitter since he's one of the best at it.
Good Ol' Notré Dame
A year after the terrible Notré Dame fire, French carpenters et al have fought back against "common sense" and are beautifully rebuilding the structure not only with the same ancient oak instead of steel, but doing do with some of the very methods that built the original in the first place:
With precision and boundless energy, a team of carpenters used medieval techniques to raise up — by hand — a three-ton oak truss Saturday in front of Notre Dame Cathedral, a replica of the wooden structures that were consumed in the landmark’s devastating April 2019 fire that also toppled its spire.
The demonstration to mark European Heritage Days gave the hundreds of people a first-hand look at the rustic methods used 800 years ago to build the triangular frames in the nave of Notre Dame de Paris.
It also showed that the decision to replicate the cathedral in its original form was the right one, said Gen. Jean-Louis Georgelin, who heads the cathedral’s reconstruction.
“It shows … firstly that we made the right choice in choosing to rebuild the carpentry identically, in oak from France,” Georgelin said in an interview. “Secondly, it shows us the ... method by which we will rebuild the framework, truss after truss.”
A debate over whether the new spire should have a futuristic design or whether the trusses should be made of fireproof cement like in the Cathedral of Nantes, which was destroyed in a 1972 fire, ended with the decision in July to respect Notre Dame’s original design and materials.
I consider myself incredibly lucky to have been able to visit the Cathedral a few years before the fire, a few hours I'll never forget. I only have a pic from outside (I know, pretty amazing one, right?), there was a 'no photos" policy. I do remember being shocked to learn they still held church services in it, thinking wow can you imagine going to ND for Sunday mass just because you happen to live nearby and it's no big deal?!?!?!
Meta Worlds Colliding!
David Bowie - who's mentioned in Only Fools and Horses' closing credit lyrics - records versions of the show's opening and closing themes (both written by creator/writer/legend John Sullivan.) The internet is a crazy place.
Dream Syndicate Show
Back in 2010 I posted about one of my favorite nights I had while living in Brooklyn, when I commandeered legendary Dream syndicate leader Steve Wynn's set list at a random solo show nobody came to:
Shortly after I moved to Brooklyn in January of 1998 GodIHateYourSteveWynn, Lux and I went to some basement in the city, where Steve Wynn of the Dream Syndicate was playing a solo acoustic show. He was trying to plug his latest album, of which he releases about 50 a year, and nobody was really giving a shit, everybody kinda milling around chatting. After I had partook in a few warm Heinekins I thought I'd do Mr. Wynn a favor, and I started shouting out Dream Synicate songs I wanted to hear, and he simply shrugged "fuck it" and played whatever I shouted out over the next 45 minutes or so.
I've always hated that "Only in New York, kids!" saying, but later on while standing there talking to Steve Wynn I remember thinking "there's no way I'd be standing here talking to Steve Wynn after picking out his set list anywhere else."
Anyhoo, I randomly stumbled upon a great recording of a Dream Syndicate show in their absolute prime in 1983. You're welcome, mother scratchers!
Brilliant BBC du Jour
Fantastic BBC commercial from the 80s (?) riffing off a classic scene from monty Python's Life of Brian (don't miss a Del Boy cameo!). Absolutely hilarious.
Freeeeeeeeeeeze, Mister!!
Finally, after 30 years, an appreciation of one of the all-time Top 5 supporting sitcom characters, the great Carlton Banks:
There’s a reason Carlton Banks stands out after 30 years, aside from being responsible for a dance so iconic that it was recently at the center of a lawsuit against Fortnite. The tension between Carlton and Will was the tension at the heart of the show. Carlton was the more complex character because he wasn’t as easy to digest or categorize. But even if you disagreed with his politics or wanted to slap the haughtiness out of him, you were able to empathize with him. Love Carlton Banks or hate him, he was genuine.
Carlton’s comfort with himself rubbed some people the wrong way. It was one thing that his cousin—who loved him, all jokes aside—made fun of him. It was something else entirely when he was being humiliated by an outsider out of spite. In “Blood Is Thicker Than Mud,” from the show’s fourth season, Will and Carlton pledged to join the fictional Black fraternity Phi Beta Gamma. Carlton was hazed worse than his fellow pledges and ultimately denied entry to the organization because Top Dog (Glenn Plummer) took offense to pretty much everything about him. “I’m not accepting no prep-school, Bel-Air-bred sellout into my fraternity,” he told Carlton. In his eyes, Carlton didn’t reflect Phi Beta Gamma’s values because of his background. “He saw Carlton as a guy who escaped the reality of being Black,” says producer and screenwriter Devon Shepard, who wrote the episode.
Whole article is fantastic.
Friday, September 18, 2020
More Happy Birthday Dee Dee
If there ever was a perfect autobiographical song Dee Dee wrote, this is it. It’s a miracle he made it to 50. Was always laughed at as a cartoon character, which he welcomed, but was one of the best songwriters of all time.
HBD DD
Tuesday, September 08, 2020
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