Thursday, July 30, 2020
Tuesday, July 28, 2020
Late Show - Regis Philbin on the Marquee
I've watched Regis Philbin countless times on TV and always enjoyed him. That said, I was trying to think of a write up to memorialize him here and haven't come up with anything. He was just a funny, likable TV presence.
This clip is cute because Regis was always trying to get to hang out with Letterman and be friends. It's nice to know it worked at least once.
"Remember Jack Paar took a hike?"
This clip is cute because Regis was always trying to get to hang out with Letterman and be friends. It's nice to know it worked at least once.
"Remember Jack Paar took a hike?"
Monday, July 27, 2020
William Shatner Responds
Captain Kirk has responded to RLM's latest video here.
I have to say, I predicted it, pretty much. I said:
And he absolutely did that very thing.
The relevant part of the response:
The one thing I couldn't predict was that there would be a giant medium post "article". And another baffling thing is where Shatner gets the idea that Red Letter Media is connected to Breitbart. Bill creates so many misunderstandings, he should be on "Three's Company".
He wants to complain about online "toxicity" and "harassment"... what is it when you make unfounded accusations in writing? Every principle must apply equally to everyone. He thinks Red Letter Media incited their fans to go after him, what does he think his own fans are going to do in response to this "article"? Is this the dumbest online controversy of all-time? Isn't Social Media awesome?
I have to say, I predicted it, pretty much. I said:
Captain Kirk seems to have a habit of seeing the first few seconds of a video, taking it literally, stopping it before it gets good and coming away with the worst take possible. In this video, they start out with moronic Star Trak mistakes before they get to anything substantive.
And he absolutely did that very thing.
The relevant part of the response:
I honestly haven’t watched it but someone sent me ‘the most important part of the video’ as a clip to watch because “Mike is crying because he is so upset.” (Note: I honestly don’t know if this is even in their video or if it’s from some other video of theirs but it is the two of them)Also:
So what they are doing is using the fanbase they have cultivated into a mob of trolls to get eyeballs on their monetized videos without a care for anyone and nobody has heard of these guys but if all of their videos are getting hundred of thousands of views then they are laughing all the way to the bank!
The one thing I couldn't predict was that there would be a giant medium post "article". And another baffling thing is where Shatner gets the idea that Red Letter Media is connected to Breitbart. Bill creates so many misunderstandings, he should be on "Three's Company".
He wants to complain about online "toxicity" and "harassment"... what is it when you make unfounded accusations in writing? Every principle must apply equally to everyone. He thinks Red Letter Media incited their fans to go after him, what does he think his own fans are going to do in response to this "article"? Is this the dumbest online controversy of all-time? Isn't Social Media awesome?
Thursday, July 23, 2020
RLM - A Twitter Beef with William Shatner
Red Letter Media are feuding with William Shatner on Twitter and they explain it in this video.
Actually, I shouldn't say "feuding" - it's more accurate to say that Big Star William Shatner is bullying Everyman Mike Stoklasa.
[Oh nice, it's that thing where blogspot doesn't allow embedding again.]
The two leading theories on this are that Shatner is either an "out of it" old man and doesn't understand what he's saying or that he's a troll who's doing it on purpose. Having watched this video, I think both are completely valid and can't decide. I think I lean slightly toward him not knowing what's going on.
Here's the meta of this video that I enjoy... Captain Kirk seems to have a habit of seeing the first few seconds of a video, taking it literally, stopping it before it gets good and coming away with the worst take possible. In this video, they start out with moronic Star Trak mistakes before they get to anything substantive. Seems like we're on a collision course with wackiness!
Actually, I shouldn't say "feuding" - it's more accurate to say that Big Star William Shatner is bullying Everyman Mike Stoklasa.
[Oh nice, it's that thing where blogspot doesn't allow embedding again.]
The two leading theories on this are that Shatner is either an "out of it" old man and doesn't understand what he's saying or that he's a troll who's doing it on purpose. Having watched this video, I think both are completely valid and can't decide. I think I lean slightly toward him not knowing what's going on.
Here's the meta of this video that I enjoy... Captain Kirk seems to have a habit of seeing the first few seconds of a video, taking it literally, stopping it before it gets good and coming away with the worst take possible. In this video, they start out with moronic Star Trak mistakes before they get to anything substantive. Seems like we're on a collision course with wackiness!
Monday, July 20, 2020
Tuesday, July 14, 2020
The Fake Chef
A guy fools local news shows into thinking he's a real chef with a real book and gets on the air.
Monday, July 13, 2020
Neil Armstrong Interview
Famously, after walking on the Moon, Neil Armstrong basically became a hermit and retired from all public life. I mean, he still led a normal life - he was a college professor, for example and I wish I had taken that class - but I don't think ever in my life have I ever seen him on TV or in an interview.
So when I saw this modern interview... on youtube, no less... after he's already died, it seemed unreal to me. I watched this interview half convinced that it was a hoax. I haven't seen any photos of Neil Armstrong post-1969 so how can you tell?
Anyways, there's no new information in this interview, I post it simply because its very existence is amazing.
So when I saw this modern interview... on youtube, no less... after he's already died, it seemed unreal to me. I watched this interview half convinced that it was a hoax. I haven't seen any photos of Neil Armstrong post-1969 so how can you tell?
Anyways, there's no new information in this interview, I post it simply because its very existence is amazing.
Friday, July 10, 2020
The Far Side
Today "Far Side" cartoonist Gary Larson released 3 new comics for the first time in 25 years. You can see them here.
Ray Manzarek - Riders on the Storm
Ray Manzarek was the keyboardist for The Doors. Here he talks about the making of "Riders on the Storm".
He refers to being in the studio with a bassist but on tour, The Doors had no bassist - Ray would play the bass part with his left hand. On nights when Jim Morrison was incapacitated or arrested or otherwise unable to perform, Ray Manzarek would take over the vocals. So there you have one guy playing the bass part with one hand, playing the melody with the other and singing.
I find there's a certain set of songs - a certain collection of keyboard parts in popular music that I just find hypnotizing and feel like I could listen to them forever. It might be a blog post. This is one of those keyboard parts. The falling "rain" scale thing is as evocative to me as anything in music. I've been trying to figure out why but have not. If you think about it, it has nothing to do with rain at all. But it just so plainly evokes rain for some reason.
Part of the keyboard melody sounds like the original sample used in Beck's "Where It's At" but in actuality there is no connection (as far as I know).
In honor of a full day of constant rain.
He refers to being in the studio with a bassist but on tour, The Doors had no bassist - Ray would play the bass part with his left hand. On nights when Jim Morrison was incapacitated or arrested or otherwise unable to perform, Ray Manzarek would take over the vocals. So there you have one guy playing the bass part with one hand, playing the melody with the other and singing.
I find there's a certain set of songs - a certain collection of keyboard parts in popular music that I just find hypnotizing and feel like I could listen to them forever. It might be a blog post. This is one of those keyboard parts. The falling "rain" scale thing is as evocative to me as anything in music. I've been trying to figure out why but have not. If you think about it, it has nothing to do with rain at all. But it just so plainly evokes rain for some reason.
Part of the keyboard melody sounds like the original sample used in Beck's "Where It's At" but in actuality there is no connection (as far as I know).
In honor of a full day of constant rain.
Tuesday, July 7, 2020
Saturday, July 4, 2020
Happy Independence Day
It just so happens that leading up to July 4th, the book I've been reading is "1776" by David McCullough. I actually started reading it without knowing what it's about. I was so amazed by "John Adams" that I bought "1776" sight unseen. That caused a slight problem later on.
It turns out that, whereas "John Adams" gives insight into the Revolutionary War from the perspective of the Continental Congress and diplomacy with Great Britain, "1776" is specifically about the war itself. George Washington, General Howe, the Battle of Long Island, strategy, the soldiers, cannons, it's all here. As fascinating as the subject of John Adams is, the war is even more fascinating and I was delighted and enthralled.
There was just one problem with going in blind that dawned on me slowly as I got further and further and realized how much attention was put into each detail... I kept looking at how far I was into the book and thinking "there's a long way to go here and not many pages to do it". It turns out the book is about the war ONLY DURING the year 1776, not a history of the entire war. I came into it only knowing the title but I should have paid more attention to it. 1776... I get it.
As much as I would have loved an entire history of the war, it still remains that the book is fantastic. If you only read one thing for Independence Day, I recommend "1776". And if you don't read that, read "John Adams". And if you don't read "John Adams" watch the series "John Adams" and if you don't watch the whole series, just watch the second episode. And if you don't watch the second episode, I don't know, I think I'm out.
It turns out that, whereas "John Adams" gives insight into the Revolutionary War from the perspective of the Continental Congress and diplomacy with Great Britain, "1776" is specifically about the war itself. George Washington, General Howe, the Battle of Long Island, strategy, the soldiers, cannons, it's all here. As fascinating as the subject of John Adams is, the war is even more fascinating and I was delighted and enthralled.
There was just one problem with going in blind that dawned on me slowly as I got further and further and realized how much attention was put into each detail... I kept looking at how far I was into the book and thinking "there's a long way to go here and not many pages to do it". It turns out the book is about the war ONLY DURING the year 1776, not a history of the entire war. I came into it only knowing the title but I should have paid more attention to it. 1776... I get it.
As much as I would have loved an entire history of the war, it still remains that the book is fantastic. If you only read one thing for Independence Day, I recommend "1776". And if you don't read that, read "John Adams". And if you don't read "John Adams" watch the series "John Adams" and if you don't watch the whole series, just watch the second episode. And if you don't watch the second episode, I don't know, I think I'm out.
"If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen." - Samuel Adams
Thursday, July 2, 2020
Rad Deleted Scenes - Epilogue
I thought I'd make just one more post about this since I'm sure everyone other than me is tired of it.
About 20 years ago me and a friend bonded over our mutual love of "Rad".
"I know 'Rad', he gets the Murray from the store!", I confidently told him.
"What? That's not in the movie."
And he was right, it wasn't in the movie. But I felt sure that there was something going on - surely I hadn't just made up a movie scene in my mind. There must be multiple versions. The version I rented from the video store must have had scenes that other VHSs didn't. Years later I started buying up tapes, trying to find another one like the one I had seen.
It didn't take too long before I was investing more money in Rad VHSs than I hoped to. I'm a pretty cheap guy and it's not a cheap habit, for anyone. The next phase was contacting Rad VHS sellers on eBay and simply asking them if the copy they were selling had extra scenes. I told them I'd pay more if it did, but this also was fruitless. Many, many messages to many, many people and no one had a special copy like the one of my youth.
The recent news proves that my memory was real, the scene was real and I was not crazy. So I have that. But it does raise another question. If my local video store's copy of Rad had a deleted scene and no other similar copy seems to exist... where did it come from? How?
Well someone on facebook might have a clue:
Is it a coincidence that this took place in the Philadelphia area and that's where I am too?
So the video store recorded a movie off of TV and offered it for rental? Keep in mind, this is before the widespread use of home printers so they can't just make a professional cover and put a VHS in it and pass it off as the real thing. I guess my best theory is that they had a real copy, someone didn't return it and they replaced it with a bootleg.
The funny thing about this idea, if it is what happened, is that my friend had watched his VHS so much he even memorized the movie advertisements before the movie and I... I don't remember any ads before the movie.
About 20 years ago me and a friend bonded over our mutual love of "Rad".
"I know 'Rad', he gets the Murray from the store!", I confidently told him.
"What? That's not in the movie."
And he was right, it wasn't in the movie. But I felt sure that there was something going on - surely I hadn't just made up a movie scene in my mind. There must be multiple versions. The version I rented from the video store must have had scenes that other VHSs didn't. Years later I started buying up tapes, trying to find another one like the one I had seen.
It didn't take too long before I was investing more money in Rad VHSs than I hoped to. I'm a pretty cheap guy and it's not a cheap habit, for anyone. The next phase was contacting Rad VHS sellers on eBay and simply asking them if the copy they were selling had extra scenes. I told them I'd pay more if it did, but this also was fruitless. Many, many messages to many, many people and no one had a special copy like the one of my youth.
The recent news proves that my memory was real, the scene was real and I was not crazy. So I have that. But it does raise another question. If my local video store's copy of Rad had a deleted scene and no other similar copy seems to exist... where did it come from? How?
Well someone on facebook might have a clue:
Is it a coincidence that this took place in the Philadelphia area and that's where I am too?
So the video store recorded a movie off of TV and offered it for rental? Keep in mind, this is before the widespread use of home printers so they can't just make a professional cover and put a VHS in it and pass it off as the real thing. I guess my best theory is that they had a real copy, someone didn't return it and they replaced it with a bootleg.
The funny thing about this idea, if it is what happened, is that my friend had watched his VHS so much he even memorized the movie advertisements before the movie and I... I don't remember any ads before the movie.
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