Monday, February 28, 2022
Marley Memories!
My Saturday Night, a Review
Xmastime 10 Years Ago Today!
10 years later and I must say, Do the Right Thing is probably still the best answer here.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Poll du Jour
What is pizza's best movie role?
Do The Right Thing. It's omnipresent. A case could be made for Mystic Pizza, I guess.
Left out is the awesome I Love You to Death, dammit!
Pop Culture Question du Jour
Something That Drives Me Bananas
Rock God Worlds Colliding
The Holy Grail of 80's College Rock: a recording of Paul Westerberg joining R.E.M. onstage ("onstage"...as opposed to joining them at an Arby's I suppose?) in Minneapolis in 1984 to sing Color Me Impressed. It's a great moment, and any true Replacements fan will be amused to note that when playing the song with his own band there's no way he bothers to get the words close to right, yet when playing it with R.E.M. he magically seems to know the words by heart. 🤣
What Are We Doing Here, People?
Saturday, February 26, 2022
Thoughts. I Have Them.
I really don’t understand how we can assume America to be the greatest country in the world when the Brits are the ones who have a frying pan solely dedicated to french fries. 😡😡😡😡
Movie Thought
Don’t call your movie I Want You Back and then have I Want You Back play during a scene and it’s not the Jackson 5 version 😡😡😡😡 
State du Moi
The only reason I use 3-in-1 shampoo is that as far as I know there is no 4-in-1 shampoo.
Friday, February 25, 2022
Happy Birfday George
A Hard Day's Face-Plant
Yesterday I pointed out the craziness that was George Harrison falling flat on his face during the intro scene for A Hard Day's Night and merely bouncing back up, but this video points out something I've never noticed before (tho I've only watched the film 19,003 times), some poor girl getting COMPLETELY wiped out, face first. Who was this girl? Was she alright? Is she still alive, can we find her? Does she tell this story every day, driving everyone she knows bananas?
By George!
Besides having the best Beatles solo record with All Things Must Pass, which includes superslices What is Life?, Apple Scruffs, Waiting on You All and the title track, my top 5 George songs with the Beatles are:
Here Comes the SunThe single-most UPLIFTING moment in any Beatles song might have actually come from the Dark Horse himself, i.e. coming out of the middle 8 of Here Comes the Sun. Kills me every time. Beat that.
Something
It's All Too Much
While My Guitar Gently Weeps
Piggies
 |
| "Postmates? Someone mention ordering from Postmates? I could eat..." |
Yup.
Pretty much exactly the face you'd expect on a rollerblader so secure in his extreme talent he doesn't feel the need to be credited.
Here's to George
A few great George Harrison moments, including his being funny may be the big reason George Martin decided to work with The Beatles:
When the audition was all over, Martin invited them up for a chat and listen in the control room. Martin gave them a long lecture on recording and what was what at Abbey Road. "We gave them a long lecture about their equipment and what would have to be done about it if they were to become recording artists," says Norman Smith. "They didn't say a word back, not a word, they didn't even nod their heads in agreement. When he finished, George said, 'Look, I've laid into you for quite a time, you haven't responded. Is there anything you don't like?' I remember they all looked at each other for a long while, shuffling their feet, then George Harrison took a long look at George and said, 'Yeah, I don't like your tie.' That cracked the ice for us and for the next 15- 20 minutes they were pure entertainment. When they left to go home George and I just sat there saying 'Phew! What to you think of that lot then?' I had tears running down my face. " Martin was later to comment that it was their wit more than their music that sold him.
And of course without him, there'd be no Life Of Brian:
When asked why he was willing to mortgage his house and put in $4M so that Monty Python could make Life of Brian, George Harrison supposedly replied "because I want to see the film."
Eric Idle famously called it "the most expensive movie ticket ever bought.
And for some reason, it was George who out of the four of them believed they'd make it in America?
PLAYBOY: "We've heard it said that when you first went to America you were doubtful that you'd make it over there."
JOHN: "That's true. We didn't think we were going to make it at all. It was only Brian telling us we were gonna make it. Brian Epstein our manager, and George Harrison."
Maybe this is because he had a sister living in America and had visited a year earlier The Beatles landed?
...the first American disc jockey to play a Beatles song in the United States in the summer of 1963. (Marcia's junior year of high school) she met a young lad from Liverpool, England. His name was George Harrison. Marcia had worked for her father's radio station, WFRX, in West Frankfort, Illinois. Marcia interviewed George in the summer of 1963 on WFRX. Marcia got a sneak preview of the Beatles' music, and also a Beatles photograph signed by George Harrison! Thanks to Marcia, Illinois became the birth place of the Beatles music in North America.
And the time he told a Princess to STFU in about as much of a no-nonsense way that only George could:
The member of the Royal family most associated with the Beatles is
Princess Margaret, who John Lennon referred to in one of his book as
Priceless Margarine. On July 6, 1964 the Princess and Lord Snowdon
attended the premier of 'A Hard Day's Night' at the London Pavilion.
After the premier there was a private party at the Dorchester Hotel and
the Princess and Lord Snowdon dropped by with some friends. The Princess
and her entourage seemed to be enjoying themselves when George Harrison
approached Walter Shenson, the film's producer and said, "When are we
going to eat?" Shenson told him that they couldn't possibly eat until
Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon had left. "Just be patient," he said.
After another 15 minutes had elapsed, George walked up to the Princess
and said, "Your Highness, we really are hungry and we can't eat until
you two go."
"I see," said the Princess. "Well, in that case, we'd better run."Thank God for George Harrison.
HBD George Harrison
In this post from 2011, we see that for all his talk about love & peace blah blah blah, Harrison hated 1) taxes 2) hippies.
The Tea Party Beatle!
Happy 79th Birthday George Harrison
From MEETTHEBEATLESFORREAL, a site bringing together photos and stories of fans who have actually met the Beatles:
We arrived back at George’s a little before 3:30 and stood at the door, waiting for something. We saw George walk past the window, heard him cough and the telephone ring. Then we heard the clock strike half-past. Reading the sign, “doorbell push”, I did and out popped George. I wasn’t scared, but I said, “Do you want to make me cry?” for lack of something intelligent to say. And George replied thoughtfully and seriously, “I don’t want to make you do anything.” That did it. I no longer thought of him as George Harrison, famous person, but as a friend, which he is. He talked to us for over three quarters of an hour about religion, love, life, music – everything. He said he enjoyed talking with us and he wished he could spend some time with everyone in the world. I gave him some beads and the Sgt. Pepper handshake – well never mind. I took movies of George doing the Charleston with my beads. I’ve never met a man so intelligent and understanding. HE seemed to have the answer for everything. He was very funny too. He laughed when I told him I was taking TWA home the next day. I found out the next day he left London for the States the same time on Pan Am. He recommend a book for me to read, The Autobiography of a Yogi, which if you find it (which isn’t likely) please sent it to me. I can’t explain how nice George was. He just talked to us like old friends. He made me realize so much about the world. I’ll never forget him or what he’s done for me. I love him like he loves me and everyone else in the world. He really does. This isn’t just something he says. He believes it, and talking with him made me realize this. When we left he said, “Be seein’ ya!” and he meant it. He will. Maybe next year, I hope because I just have to visit this wonderful man again.
"Are they gone yet?" (upon hearing "no", submerges self back under water)
Thursday, February 24, 2022
HBD Dark Horse
Tomorrow is George Harrison's birthday, and while I'm sure I'll have plenty to say about it then, I'll always love this about him:
One thing that's always struck me is that in the opening seconds to A Hard Day's Night, George trips and falls when running down the sidewalk. If this happened today to any of our FABULOUS!!! pop stars, said fabulous pop star would shut down production for 6 weeks while they checked themselves into a hospital and worked up a nice little painkiller addiction, all while suing the ass off of the production company. But George (with Ringo on top of him) just bounces right back up, laughing and running. Camera never stops.
Dag, Ray!
The third episode of The Beatles' Get Back doc - which you can enjoy my live-blogging of RIGHT HERE! - of course features their famous rooftop concert, and a big part of the comedy of it all was the baby-faced, hapless poor bastard cop who was sent to the building to, of all things, tell The Beatles to knock it off already (kinda like the poor kid who almost became hated by his own generation for beating up Paul McCartney). And to celebrate his role in this event from 50 years ago, here's the cop, Ray Dagg. What a great name, by the way.
The Office. A Question.
Is this the only example of Ryan and Oscar directly acknowledging each other throughout the entire series? 🤔🤷♂️
Devil's Music!
I've blathered on for months now how much I'm loving The Wonder Years reboot, and here's just another example of why 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Wednesday, February 23, 2022
Am I a Racist?
I've spent 15 years honestly thinking the actor in this scene was Cedric the Entertainer. It is not, it is an actor named Edward James Gage. Sorry Edward!
Killer du Jour
I have no idea what this song is or anything but I've watched this clip about 98,000 times this week 🤣🤣🤣🤣
For Realz
Yeah the Get Back doc was amazing but I'm really gonna need to see another 8 hours on how the hell Paul convinced the others to record Maxwell's Silver Hammer. I mean, wow. 😬
And yes you may enjoy my Get Back live-blogging genius!
Whack, Dawg!
Both Mel Brooks and Neil Diamond have been so famous for so long that they're name-dropped in an episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show from 1974...and they're still alive!
RIP Shucklebuck
Thought I had invented a great new word: Shucklebuck. Snappy, sounds great, both funny somehow and somehow edgy. Thn, on a whim, I Googled to make sure it wasn't already a word and was greeted with:
Shucklebuck:To get raped in a fruit field or under an apple tree, usually by a small adorable creature, who doesn't seem like they are capable of such an action.
So....guess I'll need to invent another word instead. 😬
Tuesday, February 22, 2022
More Love for PBS
Over the past few years I've marveled that of all places, its PBS that has kept up a great portfolio of rock and roll, including even loud speed metal!
And of course there's this:
(The below was originally posted in 2012)
The Ramones filling up theaters in Minnesota in 1978:
Ferocious live footage of the Ramones at the State Theatre in Minneapolis from Wylde Rice, a super-hip Minnesota PBS show of the time. Backstage, the boys discuss the punk scene in England, dismiss the notion of punk “politics” and the reporting of violence at punk gigs as overblown.
The Ramones. In Minnesota. In 1978. Captured forever on PBS!!!!
Some Spots Still Available...
I apparently posted this to Craigslist 6 years ago today:
Feb 22, 2022 as of 6:24 pm, no takers yet. 🤷♂️
PROGNOSIS: Same as the Other Sitcoms, I Guess
Two years ago HERE I rather brilliantly pointed out that both Only Fools and Horses and Seinfeld, about a decade apart, used the comedy trope of "character gets blood test results back and thinks 'negative' is a bad result and reacts thusly'", and now I remember we can add The Office to this ever-growing list of sitcoms using this trope.
Welcome, The Office!
Today's Date
Happy Derek Jeter Day
— 161 Street Media (@161StreetMedia) February 22, 2022
2/22/22
pic.twitter.com/BiCjVGzjyh
The Office Thoughts du Jour
2) My big regret for the entire series is that we didn't get enough Clark.
3) Sometimes I worry that Tim Meadows' guest appearance in The Client is greatly overlooked/forgotten.
Friday, February 18, 2022
TV Review
Ah yes, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is back, the exact same as ever: wildly entertaining, very nostalgic-inducing for a time most of us never actually experienced, and instantly forgettable. Perfect. 
Thoughts on Covid. I Have Them.
Seriously, how much would Del Boy have crushed it during a quarantine lockdown? $$$$ #onlyfoolsandhorses
OFAH du Jour
This place here has a random Five Best and Five Worst Episodes of Only Fools and Horses. And since you people asked, here's my thoughts on whether or not each belongs in their given spot.
THE BEST
The Jolly Boys Outing: absolutely belongs here. Not the single funniest episode but its warmth, and having the whole gang together, make it endlessly re-watchable.
Time On Our Hands: the "real" ending of the series, and one of the greatest finishing moments of any show ever. Yes!
Heroes and Villains: part of the 1996 Christmas Trilogy along with Time On Our Hands, this is a stone-cold classic with the Batman & Robin scene finishing a close third to Del falling through the bar/dropping the chandelier for funniest OFAH moment ever.
Chain Gang: as I said, I just love it when the when the gang is all together. It rarely happens, and it does here and it's fantastic.
Yuppy Love: includes the BBC's most iconic scene ever, Del Boy falling through the bar, and introduces us to Cassandra, Rodney's great love. Yes!
THE WORST
Video Nasty: a POX on whoever put together this list! I absolutely LOVE this episode - it includes one of the Top 5 scenes ever, Del Boy's "There is a rhino loose in the city!" movie idea.
v
A Slow Bus to Chingford: not a great episode, not a classic, but definitely not top 5 "worst" episodes. Has a great story from Grandad about the attache cases, and Del Boy fooling Rodney into working for him is always classic.
Diamonds are for Heather: okay yeah, this belongs on this list, it's definitely in my Bottom 5. Just meh.
If They Could See Us Now: for some reason this gets dissed because it came AFTER the legendary 1996 Xmas Trilogy that was supposed to be the end of the series but this episode is great; them going to the wrong funeral for Uncle Albert could've been made into an entire movie.
A Royal Flush: a strange episode , and John Sullivan's least favorite as it was rushed for Christmas, and a lot of fans don't like how mean Del comes out in it, but I don't hate it. It's got some great Del stuff - like shooting skeet for instance, and really highlights the despair Rodney feels, always being stuck under Del and never seeing what he can really make of himself.
Wednesday, February 16, 2022
Take a Second Look
Tea Loves You Yeah, Yeah, Yeah!
As you Xmastime superfans know, an all-time slice of mine is Stephen Banks' I Miss Paul, a song from the viewpoint of John Lennon missing his old friend, which includes the great lines:
I wish Paul was here with me, singing songs & drinking tea
No one could make a pot of tea like Paul could, it was so good,
I miss Paul
Aaaaaaaaaaand now I've found this picture of Paul generously helping John learn how to make a cup of tea himself! What a nice guy!!!
Ummm, Yeah...
It's Really Happening! 🤗🕺🇬🇧
But...dafuck is up with Lord Grantham's skin? Did he invent the tanning bed and then fall asleep in it?
Tuesday, February 15, 2022
RIP PJ P'Rourke
P.J. O'Rourke has just died. I'll say this: nobody ever seemed to be having more fun than P.J. O'Rourke. As I said in 2008:
Ever since inexplicably picking up a PJ O'Rourke book in 1991, I've always had a mild fascination with him and vaguely wished I was him. Not that I agree with most or anything he ever says (although I do like his recent Adam Smith stuff), but I feel I would enjoy his lifestyle. Flop around in a tie and jacket from tv show to tv show, writing books and articles about whatever he wants. He can be smart if he wants, he can be funny when he wants, he agrees and disagrees with everybody. A blueblood who would still be fascinating to find yourself sitting next to at the Turkey's Nest.
Michael Scott Growth
Nice job, Michael Scott!
Monday, February 14, 2022
Hold On.
I think I just heard Eddie Vedder on a podcast pronounce ukulele as ooka-lay-lee instead of yuke-a-lay-lee and now I’m wondering just how much other shit is the world keeping secret from me? 🤔😳
Arms Race
Watching All Creatures Great and Small this morning it occurred to me to wonder why so many British pubs have the word "Arms" in their name....is it "we welcome you with welcome arms", I wondered?
Of course this is the answer:
“'Arms' refers to the heraldic coats of arms which represent families of royal or noble birth, as well as towns, cities and historic guilds. Many pubs take local nobility or landowners into their names.
So I am a fucking idiot. Oh well.
"An idiot for sure, but did you hear about his blocked extra point at Lancaster? I mean camon, gents..."
Happy Valentine's Day!
What
with my over the top, bordering on the dangerous luck with the ladies,
Valentines Day has always been a big deal for me. Let's take a walk
through the years and, starting with 8th grade, see how each Valentine's
Day went for our guy Xmastime.
1986: nothing
1987: nothing
1988: nothing
1989:
bought rose for a girl I was into and later dated for two years. My first love. Of course by the time
it got to her it had died and shriveled up. And that ended up being the highlight of our relationship.
1990: I think I got a keychain shaped like a heart from her. Ring-a-ding fucking ding.
1991: nothing
1992: nothing
1993: nothing
1994: had a girlfriend, but can't remember doing anything special. Sounds like it must have been amazing.
1995: broke up with her, inciting what surely was 4-sleeve Snackwells emergency at Stubbs Dorm.
1996: nothing
1997: nothing
1998: nothing
1999: nothing
2000: nothing
2001: nothing
2002: nothing
2003: nothing
2004: nothing
2005: nothing
2006: nothing
2007: nothing
2008: nothing
2009: nothing
2010: nothing
2011: nothing
2012: nothing
2013: nothing
2014: nothing
2015: nothing
2016: nothing
2017: nothing
2018: nothing
2019: nothing
2020: nothing
2021: nothing
2022: nothing (as of 1:36pm)
Advice. I Have Some.
GENTLEMEN: always wait to moisturize your face AFTER clipping your nails; otherwise, the clippers slide out of your hand and the clippings fly up & stick to your face.
You're welcome!
#XmastimeAdvice
Bonds 90210
Here's a scene from Season 4 of Bevelry Hills 90210:
Aaaaaaaaaaaaand here's who Steve and his dad were playing golf against:
That's right, people: BH 90210 knew steroids were coming all the way back in 1994 AND YOU PEOPLE DID NOTHING!!!!!
Beautiful Girls
Matt Dillon seems bemused throughout this whole great scene with Rosie O'Donnell but his reaction to her talking about a weave here gets a legit LOL 😜🤣🤣🤣🤣
Super Bowl Commercials Song d'Annee
Last year was the "wait, what are you kidding me?" cover of my favorite song by The Kinks, and this year it's Xmastime Hall of Fame Superslice, Wreckless Eric's classic Whole Wide World. It's about 50 years too late but hopefully this'll give him the $$$ he fucking deserves.
(You can hear the whole song HERE)
Gavin and Stacey V-Day
1) the sex must be amazing
2) nobody cares, so boring they can just break up already
3) an excuse for another season! or Xmas special!
4) relationship goals forever ❤️
Friday, February 11, 2022
OFAH du Jour
Just a minute and a half of pure Del Boy (speaks French! thinks of himself as good-looking! acknowledges he's a bit of a ducker & diver down at the market!) and Trigger (well-meaning! dumb! stumbles upon remembering Del Boy is a bit of a ducker & diver down at the market!) 🤣🤣🤣🤣
February Footnotes
I'm fascinated by uber-footnotes in history; either in
pictures (ie. who's the woman in the picture they always show kneeling
over the body at Kent State?) or otherwise (Raymond Jones walking into the NEMS shop and asking Brian Epstein for
the "My Bonnie" single, which made Epstein curious about The Beatles)
Who are these people? Has anyone ever interviewed them? That should be a
whole book, interviews with these footnote people. - MORE XMASTIME FOOTNOTES HERE
The other day HERE I reiterated a Broadway play idea I had, about the people staying in the NYC hotel The Beatles stayed at when they came to America being annoyed at all the craziness. And now I read this, about the hotel The Beatles stayed at on February 11, 1964, to play their first-ever American concert in Washington DC:
The group and their entourage checked in at the Shoreham Hotel, where they took the entire seventh floor to avoid fans. One family refused to be relocated so the hotel staff cut off the hot water, electricity and central heating, telling them there was a power failure and they had to move.
WHO WAS THIS FAMILY?!?!?!?!?!!?!?!?!!
Retro TV Thoughts. I Have Them.
Thursday, February 10, 2022
Things I Just Don't Understand Right Now
1) How we can have seedless fruit and yet haven't solved all the world's problems
2) Why the hell The White Shadow's not streaming anywhere 😡
3) How the hell in over 40 years nobody's picked up on the fact that the sound right before 0:02 in this trailer sounds like a fart
Beatle Certainty
Via Tim Riley's What Goes On: The Beatles Their Music, Their Time we see:
Really? 1981? We have 100% certainty that the first time someone taught The Beatles in college was 1981? And not just 1981, but he SUMMER of 1981? Are we sure? How are we sure? 🤔 🤷
Hey Hey Hey!
Just 21 seconds of Shirley throwing about 100 miles an hour with pure comedy genius 🤗🤗🕺🕺🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 #whatshappening!!
Yaaaaasssssssssss!!!!
Now THIS is great news!!! 🤗🕺
IFC’s Documentary Now! has been off the air for almost three years now. The third season came out all the way back in early 2019—ah, pre-pandemic times. At the Television Critics Association’s winter press tour, the cable network has finally announced that a long-awaited season four will arrive later this year.
Seeso Says So
Like everybody who remembers the comedy streaming platform Seeso, my main memory is that it kinda came and went and I didn't think much about it. But based on this oral history of it, it looks like we all missed out on some great British comedy:
The Seeso thesis banked on viewers being attracted to its library: Universal-owned comedies like Fletch, late-night shows, SNL, Saved by the Bell, and every British comedy show you’ve (n)ever heard of.
Shapiro had worked with Monty Python on a documentary for IFC in 2009 and, years later, was able to convince their reps to let Seeso digitize, remix, and remaster nearly all Python contentThe Python content available on Seeso included Flying Circus, The Holy Grail, Life of Brian, The Meaning of Life,and three specials: Parrot Sketch Not Included: 20 Years Of Monty Python; The Meaning of Monty Python; and Monty Python: The Meaning of Live. for online consumption for the first time. That acquisition was part of a larger strategy to attract fans of British comedies not widely available in the U.S.
Jumping from Python, I went for all things Mighty Boosh. It just felt totally like those things are very similar to each other. So now, what shows have Noel Fielding and Julian Barratt and Rich Fulcher done? Why don’t we acquire these things?
They had all of Alan Partridge, including super obscure stuff. They had a lot of British comedy that you can’t get anywhere.
Just looking at his whiteboard above, I see a few shows I love: Alan Partridge, The IT Crowd, Count Arthur Strong, Fawlty Towers, Flowers, Blackadder...been waiting years to be able to find Trollied...
PS - get thee NOW to watch the 6-part Monty Python doc the guy Shapiro worked on, it is stupendous!!!
Casting Ideas. I Have Them.
If a biopic about Quentin Tarantino is ever made, Richard Kind must play him.
Depressing Mad Men Thoughts du Jour
2) Was the entire point of Don's 40th birthday party to make sure we realize he has no real friends? So...that's kinda depressing.
Wednesday, February 09, 2022
Oooooooh!
SPOILER ALERT: he totally did it.
Questions. I Have Them.
Recent events notwithstanding, can we all just assume Alec Baldwin has been spending his career waiting to play Tony Curtis?
It Was 50 Years Ago Today
Movie Ideas. I Have Them.
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