I finally saw this episode too, it was funny and gross. Meanwhile, a co-worker’s girlfriend knows how to knit or crochet one if you’re interested via her easy-page. Justin and Dan would be thrilled!
It was sad to see him pass away earlier this week but I knew it was inevitable from Alzheimer’s. Before he died, Glen did manage a couple more records I scored. Ghost on the Canvas was the most heartfelt finale in 2011 because he performed songs by “my bands'” writers: Paul Westerberg, Robert Pollard, Jakob Dylan (he’s my age even though I find the Wallflowers dull) and Roger Manning. To me it showed his influence in other genres, especially to those of us who grew in the Seventies and Glen’s stuff was on AM radio.
I remember him fondly for “Rhinestone Cowboy,” which I chose over the more popular “Convoy” by CW McCall in grade school during some silly religion class crap. He also held on to the moniker through variety shows. On Donny & Marie he was this pseudo-bond villain who was going to destroy the heroes with his rhinestone pinky. Then last Summer, I was on a big Seals & Croft kick (don’t laugh, those guys are skilled musicians) and on YouTube there was this variety show Glen had on CBS with the duo as guests. The three of them reminisced about their days as session musicians in the Sixties as they played snippets of hits they were on, e.g. “Tequila” by the Champs.
Anyway, as I grew into a cynical teen, poor Glen fell by the wayside since Country was now uncool. His on-again, off-again engagement to Tanya Tucker had become a joke in Hollywood gossip circles too. Ghost was when I had a bit of a reconciliation with his material, plus his last major hit “Southern Nights” was used to comical effect in Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2.
Thanks for the musical memories Glen. I’m glad your suffering is over too. Losing your memories is one of the most painful things I could imagine given how far back mine go.
One of my earlier experiments of a POV movie at the cat level. My subject is Angel, one of the cats I housesit for. At first he was curious, afterwards he is just annoyed.
I would like to see how my cats react but it will have to be in the kitchen due to all of our carpeting.
Another oddity from my childhood I scored at Waterloo Records. My immediate memory of Watership Down was it being the movie my parents ditched Brian and me to see while they went to Animal House. Who saw the better flick? I would call it a draw, they’re both good in their own ways.
For those not familiar with the story, it’s a peek into the fictional workings of rabbit civilization and mythos through some rebels who travel through Hampshire in search of a new warren safe from man. Led by Hazel (voiced by the late John Hurt), they flee at the advice of his younger brother Fiver, a rabbit psychic; and avoid numerous hazards/predators: a fox, a cat, a dog, cars, snares and a hawk. They also gain the friendship of a seagull (one of Zero Mostel’s last performances) which gives them some advantage by having an ally scouting from above.
Shortly after the new warren is established, the seagull points out the flaw in the this rabbitopia, no females. This leads them to hatch a scheme to get a few female rabbits to defect from a nearby rabbit dictatorship called Efrafan. You have to see the movie to learn how the rest goes.
On the surface, Watership Down sounds silly, weird and a couple notches dumber than all the My Little Pony crap. The technical stuff is mainly details on how the rabbit tribes are organized, they may be herbivores/rodents yet they have a pecking order too. Maybe it’s allegorical to human society but I wouldn’t too much into it. To me this is just something on par with mythology or Aesop’s Fables. I also wouldn’t show it to small kids due to the animal violence, maybe wait until they’re closer to eight or higher.
My personal jukebox…nah, it’s more like my personal Spotify that doesn’t suck and the artists were paid through me buying their music, which is more than they’ll ever earn through streaming services. One day I will have to learn how to do it via Unix because the Mac Mini running Mac OS 10.6.8 Server won’t live forever. Maybe there will be an iPod big enough to store all the songs I have present. As of today it’s 13,865, 13 times larger than any playlist managed by a commercial station, including those so-called Bob, Fred or Dick stations claiming to play “anything.”
This Quote-Along was our anniversary celebration together for number 14. It was an easy choice because Somara is a huge Muppet fan. I can’t remember the last time I saw Labyrinth but I did see it in theaters before left for Marquette. It’s another movie which lived on through secondary distribution (cable, VCRs) to become well loved. Sadly, it tanked pretty badly when it debuted. I think this commercial failure contributed to Jim Henson’s negotiations with Disney while David Bowie, George Lucas and Jennifer Connelly carried on. The latter having a pretty decent film career. I had forgotten how attractive Jennifer was even then.
We all know the story thus I won’t waste time on that.
For the Quote-Along, I had the special fruit shake to go with my bottomless popcorn.
In the prop department we had rattles to shake whenever you heard the baby cry, balloons to hit around the theater when the creatures who can take their heads off appear, a scratch-n-sniff card for the smelly bog and little nerf rockets for the battle with the goblins at the end. There may be some I overlooked. Somara may have the complete list.
How I wish I had a copy of the soundtrack. David Bowie crafted some decent songs for the movie. It may have been around his mid-Eighties period which he came to disavow (he later regretted making Tonight and Never Let Me Down) but they’ve held up over 30 years compared to other soundtracks which feel dated.
Alamo Extras: Flight of the Conchords bit of Labyrinth Bowie meeting Bret; Newsreel showing an Australian guy who makes marionettes; Jim Henson’s earlier work in commercials and variety shows; Trailer for The Dark Crystal; Bowie performing “Boys Keep Swinging” on SNL with his puppet body; this awful telephone propaganda junk from the Fifties using marionettes, it was trying to teach kids phone ettiequte back when most people only could get party lines.
Somara scored these super-fancy Chucks via Men’s Wearhouse of all places. Better yet, they were only $25! They were on clearance. Usually it’s me buying the shoes. They’re very, very shiny so I need to wear them sparingly, like with a suit.
I need to tell Somara the old joke about Catholic schools banning these types of shoes (the material not the brand/shape). Allegedly, they allowed boys to look up girls’ dresses via the reflective nature of the leather. A version of up-skirt photos in the Fifties and Sixties.
Caught this before it dropped out of Netflix (I need to seriously trim my queue). I vaguely recall the title when I was a kid too.
It’s mostly a Heist/Car Chase movie which was based upon a novel. With how this movie was executed, I would say its foundation being a “novel” was rather generous, it’s more like a pamphlet or a page six news story. The character interactions are mainly an excuse for pauses between high-speed chases. This doesn’t mean it’s a terrible movie but DMCL is definitely a grandparent of those craptacular Fast and Furious flicks.
The story is pretty simple. Larry and his partner Deke rob a department store in the farm lands of California. They plan to use the money to build the ultimate stock car to enter into NASCAR. Two complications/flaws derail their plans. The first is Mary tagging along because she didn’t appreciate Larry using her for a one-night stand. The other is their head start against the cops getting shortened by the robbery victims being more resourceful than expected. Throw in a tenacious sheriff (legendary heavy Vic Morrow) hellbent on catching them with his logistical skills and you have a battle of wits for this genre.
What separates DMCL from say Smokey and the Bandit is the ending which makes it a true Seventies flick.
I am glad I saw it though. It’s not often I see anything starring Peter Fonda in his prime.
Maybe I will be able to afford a place in Vancouver to get away from the idiocy plaguing the US and certain family members.
Joe Haldeman’s masterpiece has returned as a six-part comic book series. I vaguely remember seeing the graphic novel version in the early Nineties. Titan Comics found a good way to separate the story into logical chapters. I also know that this story has been in movie development limbo for a couple decades. I think Mayfair made a war-game too.
The story starts in the near future. Humanity begins to travel interstellar distances but quickly runs afoul of an alien race dubbed the Taurans (the attack happened in this constellation’s main star Aldebaran). Allegedly, the majority of earth demands the world governments retaliate. So the UNEF is formed. It drafts 50 people with IQs over 150 to be the first wave. One of them is the story’s narrator William Mandella, a guy who just wanted to earn his PhD in Physics.
The soldiers go through basic training on Earth and then travel to Cerebus (about twice as far away as Pluto) to learn how to survive nuclear attacks, practice combat drills and avoid the dangers of when the temperature is near Absolute Zero. Since they’re practicing with live weapons, a few are killed in horrible ways. The remainder fly out to confront the Taurans on an alien world.
Despite our ability to travel interstellar distances in seconds through collapsars, relativistic effects still occur because the journey to the collapsars require vessels to accelerate near the light speed to get there. This is a key element to Haldeman’s story. It’s also where the “forever” part comes from. Another major hazard is future shock, mainly whenever the Taurus are encountered. The enemy’s technology may be really ahead of us or seriously behind, unlike Star Trek battles, the war is very asymmetrical.
The allegorical part in how Forever parallels the Vietnam War, which Haldeman fought in, is how alienated the UNEF veterans are from the rest of humanity every time they return. The first time, several decades passed while the soldiers only aged a couple years so many didn’t get to say goodbye to their parents, younger siblings are senior citizens, etc. Plus the media does everything it can to keep everyone pro-war, including the falsifying of Mandella’s answers in an interview. Given few options, Mandella re-enlists as an instructor only to be shipped off as an officer in another wave. Should he live, he won’t know anyone on Earth when he returns.
There are other aspects of Earth culture which make Mandella uncomfortable with each sabbatical; homosexuality is the norm to discourage overpopulation, unemployment is very high due to automation, language drifts into something unrecognizable and the human race amalgamates all its ethnicities into what will be just called Man. In Haldeman’s defense, he did write this in the Seventies so attitudes were very different about homosexuality and how dire overpopulation seemed.
I won’t ruin the ending. You have to see how things shake out but it’s a dark tale. In my opinion, it’s a very anti-war story and I think Haldeman makes his personal criticisms about how the American forces are organized through the main character.
Maybe one day Forever will get its movie. It would work better as a modestly budgeted miniseries like SyFy did with Dune before they resorted to bullshit psychics and wrestling.
We attended this last Saturday to celebrate my birthday with the Derrs. It wasn’t all shopping, there were exhibits, stuff made by master builders and plenty of free-play areas. I tried my best to build a decent car in five minutes to win heat number three.
Looks pretty good, plausible that it could win.
Now watch below for the outcome.
One awesome thing we received with our VIP badges were minifigs, never can have too many of those dudes! I added the torso to my collection of “shirts” for my avatar to wear.
Somara and I met Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson’s avatar!
Playing the new videogame cabinets we acquired.
We also love music but at this scale, vinyl is the only option.
Dr. deGrasse Tyson demonstrates the power of Science through our new Meeperbot. More will follow this.
Brickfest continues to tour the country through the rest of the year. Check online to see if it’s coming near you soon, if not, maybe next year.
The grande dame of voice acting passed away last week and she was one of the first greats too, right there with Mel Blanc and Daws Butler.
Most people around my age know June as Rocky the Flying Squirrel’s voice and Natasha, the Russian spy companion to Boris Badanov. Her voice was very distinctive because I easily recall her appearance on The Simpsons from “Some Enchanted Evening” as the lady who answers the phone for the babysitting service. She was also Mulan’s grandmother in the cartoon of the same name. I did learn that it’s her voice as the Talky Tina on The Twilight Zone‘s “Living Doll.” Besides Rocky, June is immortalized at Witch Hazel in several Bugs Bunny cartoons and then Granny for the revivals of new stuff.
Thanks for all the funny voices June and contributions to animation.
A huge favorite of mine from 1992 on came to Austin around Mid July to play two shows at the relatively new ACL3Ten venue. I went to both shows but I also made sure got to the in-store performance/autographing at Waterloo Records. Besides his new album Tomorrow Forever, my friend Ayako and I scored new 180g pressings of Matthew’s past work.
Matthew with his bandmates playing new stuff at Waterloo.
I was so stoked to finally see Matthew play a full-blown show. I hadn’t see a complete set since 2000 at La Zona Rosa, the In Reverse tour. I did catch him around 2006 for a brief show with Susanna Hoffs promoting their Under the Covers series. Other people at the show said he had come by for other events yet nothing like this.
The two new songs “Pretty Please” and “Trick (Of Light)” were excellent and they closed with “Time Capsule.” Afterwards came the autograph fun. Matthew was gracious enough to do photos as you can see. During my brief time to talk to him, I shared my encounter with Lloyd Cole. I said, “a few years ago, I met Lloyd Cole and he had great things to say about you.” Matthew chuckled and responded, “We’re dear friends.”
A favorite album of 1992. The music on Girlfriend remains incredible and its emotional resonance has never been forgotten.
Opening for Matthew Sweet was Tommy Keene, an artist I’ve somehow missed noticing for like 30 years. He’s from the Maryland area, maybe my friend Helen recalls his work during the Eighties. Tommy was very impressive with just his guitars. We talked briefly, Tommy has a new album coming and he plans to return to Austin in a year, I’ll be there.
As for Matthew’s two show, they were worth every penny. I was a total fan boy in the front row for concert number one…
…with the second, I kicked back to let others have their opportunity. I didn’t want to deprive fellow fans.
Turnout was superb, the venue was crowded both nights even if the age curve of the audience put me around the middle. I should’ve known better. Every time I mention his name to people at least 10 years younger than me I receive a confused look. The only difference between the shows was a quick second encore on Saturday in which he played “The Ugly Truth” and someone got “Girlfriend” dedicated to her for her birthday.
A great mix of new stuff, old hits and fan favorites.
Matthew Sweet is still on tour through August and September. He’ll be hitting both coasts. Meanwhile, check out the new album, it’s the best definition of Power Pop I can describe.
Special thanks to my friend Ayako for the pictures I didn’t take successfully.
Loosely based upon Kumail Nanjiani and Emily Gordon’s relationship, Sick covers the chronological events leading up to them getting married with Emily’s coma being the middle act holding the story together. In Kumail’s case, it’s also a story about breaking free from tradition: arranged marriages, having a beard, being devout to your parents’ religion and pursuing an atypical/non-stereotypical career for South Asians. Getting to know Emily’s parents is the other dilemma. Contrary to the trailer, they don’t have a problem with Kumail’s ethnicity, they’re pissed over him breaking their daughter’s heart; the breakup isn’t much of a spoiler, there will be plenty of other surprises.
The duo did a great job of bringing in all the little touches I recall from my past relationships with women, namely the funny and/or uncomfortable little quirks you still encounter despite other “events.” They also had my mother’s number with some of the behaviors exhibited by the great Holly Hunter. Ray Romano is no slouch, he’s amusing in his own way being the former outsider in his wife’s world, hence he can relate to Kumail, plus the dumb questions he asks.
I really like how they presented Kumail’s background from Pakistan. It isn’t ridiculed or made alien, Pakistan is just where he grew up as a child but he’s thoroughly American as demonstrated by his tastes and behavior. At the dramatic climax he brings up a point with his father about why did they come to America if all they’re going to do is bring their cultural bagged with them. It’s a question I’ve actually pondered when my grandmother of Irish descent would carry on over old grudge matches with the English and/or Protestants.
Check it out. Sick is more genuine than the majority of formulaic romantic-comedies Hollywood manufactures, namely when they use stars with little chemistry. Seeing this in a theater is nice but when it comes to TV/Streaming, get it on your to-watch list ASAP. I went to Alamo as a way of voting with my money to the jackass accountants running Hollywood. Lastly, it was nice to Judd Apatow backing a quality film over the dreck he has put his name on in the last several years, Netflix being the exception.
Alamo Extras: Newsreels showing how a cold can be transmitted in a high school with tips on avoidance, and the birth of a giraffe; Trailers for Dr. Phibes and Night of the Living Dead; the scene from When Harry Met Sally, you know the one; some of Kumail’s early standup routine; Alamo’s Six Shooter Q&A series with Kumail and Emily; a weird music video involving people in a hospital ward; Kumail’s commencement speech at Grinnell; and finally why we love Romantic Comedies:
Based upon the supposition we change out all of our cells every seven years, today I should be on my eighth round.
We took it pretty easy by accident, I overslept. Then we took in the BrickFest (Lego convention) downtown. We also had dinner the night before with friends. I wrapped up at Pinballz with a Texas burger.
More will be following.
