Well I Sent a Nukie Tape and It Was Destroyed

 

An examination of value, collectibles and mania. During the Gold Rush, the people who most often made  money were the people selling the mining supplies. I have a feeling the people making the real money off of VHS's is the people grading the tapes.

The ebay auction, in case you want to collect Nukie, is at $35,100 as of this post.

It Happened One Christmas (1977)

 

In Season 3, Episode 21 of "Mystery Science Theater 3000," the crew are forced to watch "Santa Claus Conquers the Martians" and are understandably depressed. To help recover, Joel announces that he's gotten a hold of some good Christmas movies. When he proclaims they'll be able to watch "It's a Wonderful Life," the bots are ecstatic... But then he adds, "Don't get too excited, it's the lame Marlo Thomas version." Another version? Yes, the "lame Marlo Thomas version" is a made-for-tv movie entitled "It Happened One Christmas."

In this version, Marlo Thomas (who is a woman) plays the George Bailey character (basically) only they've swapped sexes so the main character is Mary Bailey. She saves her brother from the ice, she has big plans to see the world but gives them up to run her father's Savings and Loan, she keeps her head during the Great Depression and later, facing ruin, she wants to die until her guardian angel Clara saves her.

The film only partially fails in execution but completely fails in concept. People complain that the sequels and reboots of classic movies have gotten out of hand (and they have), but why would ANYONE think they could remake "It's a Wonderful Life"?! It begs belief. It's insanity, it's an insult to film lovers everywhere. And why would you? The original fell out of copyright, it's cheap to broadcast, why spend lots of money to make it again?

Aside from the problem that, you know, the entire concept of the movie is wrong, it isn't a fun disaster - the movie is competently made in every aspect. The film even boasts some great actors. Most notable is Orson Welles as Old Man Potter. How did they get Orson wrapped up in this? His performance is emblematic of the entire problem of the movie. His Potter is smoother and more subtle, more thoughtful, than Lionel Barrymore's but it's to no effect - Barrymore's performance is definitive. Clara, the guardian angel, is played by one of my favorites Cloris Leachman. Her performance in "The Last Picture Show," is one of the all-time greats. In this movie, she's okay. And Mary's brother is played by Christopher Guest, another forgettable performance. In this version, the old man who loses the S&L's money is played by Barney Martin (the dad from "Seinfeld").

Whether this movie should be true to the original or make its own path is a no-win situation. In this case, they chose to be pretty faithful to the original and lost. This exposes the main weakness of the movie: the lead, Marlo Thomas. She's going through all the same actions and making all the same impassioned speeches as Jimmy Stewart did and she has none of the punch, none of the power. I'm not very familiar with Marlo Thomas' body of work but she appears to be a competent actress, she just doesn't compare to Jimmy Stewart. Likewise, a great deal of the movie hinges on the romance between her and her husband, Wayne Rogers, and these two appear to me to have no chemistry. None. It's pretty amazing. Compare that to Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed - one of the most iconic onscreen couples of all-time. 

This movie is the very definition of a mistake, though it is an interesting experience in one way. Watching the emotionally hollow scenes, I was constantly reminded of the parallel scenes from the original movie and how I feel watching those. It's a rather rare phenomenon to watch a movie that's boring, that's dull, that's flat and which is also, nonetheless, emotionally affecting. This is such an experience.

Mexican Snacks

 Don't worry, the Year of Snacks is over. This is an addendum to a Game Grumps post. On their "10 Minute Power Hour" episode "Candies from Around the World," they tasted a Mexican candy that I needed to track down. And while I was on Amazon, I grabbed a second one.

At 3:12, the Grumps describe an unnamed Mexican candy as basically the combination of every Fruit Roll-Up in the world. But they don't say its name. So I did a little research and people tell me that this candy is most likely Rellerindos.

Rellerindos - Sabor Tamarindo

English Description: Tamarind Flavor with Chili

It turns out The Grumps' description is both apt and misleading and I'll explain why. Firstly, I commend them for instantly coming up with a "headline" description that's so good. The Fruit Roll-Up inclusion is accurate in the way that there's some sweet and some grit. You remember how in strawberry Fruit Roll-Ups they have "seeds" in there that feel like little grains of sand? Well, these have some of that. They also have some sweet and some fruit - also in common with Fruit Roll-Ups. The "every Fruit Roll-Up" is accurate in the way the taste is completely intense and like nothing you've had before.

Here's where the Fruit Roll-Up analogy goes awry and my english translation helps. These are chili flavored. The whole time you're eating them, there is a low-level heat on your tongue which is wayyyy unexpected. It's this "heat" that adds to the overpowering flavor aspect that makes the whole experience just painful and not recommended... unless you're looking for a completely new taste that you've never had before regardless of whether it's pleasant or not.

Revolcaditas - Sabor Flavor

English Description: Watermelon flavored chili covered hard candy.

I picked these up when Amazon recommended them. I love watermelon, I love watermelon-flavored things, why not?

These are much less intense, much less disgusting than the Rellerindos but still run along similar lines. Like Rellerindos, they have the spicy outer flavor (chili) that is absolutely disgusting and, to my American sensibilities, doesn't belong within 50 feet of a "candy." But then, unlike Rellerindos, when you get to the middle, there is a very nice watermelon hard candy taste.

Ah, a thought occurred! Maybe instead of intense disgusting flavor first and then a nice sweet flavor second, the point is I should chew it all and mix it together. I tried and failed. It's a hard candy and so it's a somewhat difficult thing to do and even if you do, the flavors still stay pretty separate. 

So that's that. I bought two very big bags of candy and after eating 2 or 3 pieces, never want to eat any of them again. Merry Christmas.

Game Grumps - Terror in Christmas Town

 

I think it's fair to say this one goes off the rails... and that's a good thing!

Where have you gone Michael Zerbo? Our nation turns its lonely eyes to you.

Christmas Comes to Pac-Land (1982)

 

Not a standalone movie, but rather the Christmas episode of the Saturday Morning Cartoon "Pac-Man," within the first 5 minutes of "Christmas comes to Pac-Land", the four ghosts are chasing Pac-Man, then he's cornered, then he eats power pellets and then the tables are completely turned and he chases down the ghosts to eat them. This may be the most faithful video game adaptation of all-time. It doesn't matter that it makes no sense, that's the way the game is so we're just literally going to play out the things that happen in the game!

Pac-Man has a wife, Mrs. Pepper Pac-Man who is Ms. Pac-Man but they don't call her that. Together they have Pac-Baby and a dog and cat. The Pac-World version of a dog seems to have been created in a lab by scientists tasked with achieving maximum cuteness. The dog is my favorite character:

The Pac-Family lives in a world with no Christmas, so the title checks out, and this episode sees Santa coming to this other planet/land to introduce the Holiday. My only question is why. If they don't celebrate Christmas, why go to the bother of delivering presents to every house? And where was this idea last year? This special is in direct conflict with the many Christmas specials that make it absolutely clear that YOU MUST BELIEVE IN SANTA or he won't come.

But anyways, Santa is there for some reason and crashes his sleigh, so it's up to Pac-Man to repair his sleigh and re-acquire the presents lost in the crash. Unfortunately, the ghosts are working to stop him from accomplishing his mission. But the meaning behind the Pac-Man vs. Ghosts eternal struggle is another question mark. When Pac-Man eats the ghosts, they become sets of eyes and go somewhere else to regroup. When the ghosts eat Pac-Man he just becomes really tired. So what's the point of any of it? What are the stakes, why do anything at all? Somehow the absolute worst fate that can befall Pac-Man is that he becomes like me? Ouch.

So, yeah, it's clear that Pac-Man needs to save Christmas and he is opposed by the ghosts trying to stop him. Except in the climax of the film, he explains the concept of Christmas to them and why it's important that they not oppose him in this and so they agree to call a truce and go peacefully on their separate ways. It is quite a subversion of cartoon expectations, I don't remember any other cartoon conflict that was resolved by just calmly explaining things to the villains.

But even without ghostly opposition, Santa is still in trouble because he's run out of time somehow. He can go to billions of houses in one night but he can still run short on time. But fortunately, Pac-Man takes him to the Power Pellet Forest and gives power pellets to Santa and the reindeer and that's the answer. There's that old standup bit about how Pac-Man caused an entire generation to do drugs and here we have the moral of the Christmas special: if you need increased performance, just take some pills.

This is a strange concept for a Christmas special (obviously) but in execution it's just you're average Saturday Morning Cartoon episode. Nothing great, nothing terrible. Except there is a part where Pac-Man gives a surprise gift to all of his ghost enemies and I kind of choked up a little. It's very touching.

Game Grumps - Nostalgic Toy Memories

 

If you grew up between the 70s and 90s, you may remember these top childhood gifts.

Popcorn in Bed - Lethal Weapon

 

8:51 - Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

It's been a long time since I watched, or thought about "Lethal Weapon" but it really is the perfect 80s action movie. I'm watching Murtaugh's wife and thinking, "She looks like Darlene Love." It IS Darlene Love. That's the first time I realized that.

Re:View - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)

 

A round-table discussion of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie from 1990.

I learned about TMNT from a friend showing me the cartoon and, like Jay, I decided that would be my thing: I would collect all of them. Of course I never had a shot at accomplishing that goal, the corporations were amazing at pumping them out at a torrential pace, but I probably had more TMNT toys than any other "line" at any stage of childhood.

Earlier this year I found in an old box the TMNT movie novelization book that you would buy from Scholastic in those years. And I read it in present day and then I re-watched the movie. But I didn't come up with any original or interesting angle to take to create a worthy blog post about it. But I still remember going to see the original movies in the theater right when they came out and having every pleasure center in my brain firing off at the same time.

Late Show - Artie Lange

 

There is a certain amount of fear whenever Letterman uploads a celebrity interview. I learn about celebrity deaths very often from their new videos. So I should say, to my knowledge, Artie is still alive.

Artie Lange talks about making "Dirty Work" with Don Rickles.

Game Grumps - More Joke Songs

"The Final Egg" is special, real special. 

Late Night - Kid Focus Group

 

After the Late Night episode which featured a full audience of kids, Conan solicits focus group feedback.

The child audience show was real, by the way. And it's funny to see a young Jim Gaffigan here. My sense is, this isn't the only time he appeared on the show pre-fame.

Game Grumps - Waterworld

 This is great.

Half in the Bag Has Ended?

 

1. They don't talk about a movie.

2. They alter the space-time continuum.

3. The video description is "An epic conclusion to a below average story line."

Is this the end of the show? There is an out, as "story line" could just mean the latest story line but if I had to guess, I'd say it's the end of the show.

Game Grumps - Trombone Champ

 

Is this, as the youtube title suggests, the funniest game on planet Earth? No. But it is funny enough to post on the old blog.

Family Feud - Batman vs. Gilligan's Island

 

"Batman" + "Hogan's Heroes" + "Gilligan's Island"? What is this, a dream?

I've always found the Richard Dawson kissing the women thing to be so creepy. It's either totally creepy or I'm just really jealous.

It seems odd to have a "Gilligan's Island" team without Gilligan.

Month #12 - Italy Snacks

 This is the 12th and final month and this month is Italy. Italy is pretty well known for its cuisine so this could be interesting. First some trivia:

• The Colossus statue in Florence, in addition to being amazing, has secret rooms. There is a fireplace in the head that, when lit, fills the nostrils with smoke.

• Tomatoes, being products of the new world, were not always used in Italian dishes. Italian pasta was originally topped with honey.
• There were fast food restaurants in ancient Rome. Thermopolia would line a counter with jarred meals for sale. The counters would sometimes be painted with frescoes of available food, acting as the menu.
• Italy produces more wine than any other country - 25% of the wine produced globally. 

And now for the snacks...

1. Amica Snack - Pizza

Review:

Nothing crazy here. These have the feel and texture of cheese puffs but they're rings and not American cheese flavored. There is a slight cheese flavor but it's within a general pizza flavor. And that's about it - cheese puffs that taste slightly like pizza.

They're not bad, they're not great... they're fine. If I'm going to eat saturated fat chemicals, I'll still prefer cheese puffs.

2. Amarettini Crisp Almond Cookies

Review:

These are pretty much what you would expect except for one surprise. You look at that label and you imagine cookies the size of, well, cookies. But these are the size of cookie crisp cereal. The texture is about the same also.

This is the second or third time there was an almond flavored snack that I thought tasted like cherries. And although I can't help thinking it, it's really the other way around. When you buy cheap imitation maraschino cherries, they are often made with almond flavor. But, to me, that's "cherry" flavor all the way, never "almond."

So if you like the taste of maraschino cherry in a cookie, these are for you. Aside from that, I don't have too much to say. I'm not a big cookie guy anyway. The quantity you get is pretty good also.

3. Amica Chips - Paprika

Review:

Who goes to Italy to get potato chips? I mean, honestly.

Well these are pretty good but there is a slight surprise. The flavor called "paprika" tastes almost exactly like Herr's Barbeque flavor chips. Almost exactly. If we are to believe the Italians that this is real paprika flavor then Herr's conception of "barbeque" is 99% paprika. I don't know who to believe!

So, yeah, these are very good but they're pointless since you can just buy the local product.

4. Nocciolato Novi

Review:

This is a chocolate bar with hazelnuts. The chocolate is super smooth (perhaps too smooth) but doesn't have a great flavor. The hazelnuts are good. That's it. Wouldn't recommend it. It's a good thing these reviews don't have a minimum character count. What can I say?

5. Moretta

Review:

Moretta... Sweet Loretta Fan, she thought she was a cleaner but she was a frying pan... the picker! Picture the fingers, greh... okay.

These are two chocolate cake squares sandwiching vanilla cream, all coated in chocolate. It's good, probably the best thing in this batch. Still, it's not so much better or so different from a Yodel or a Tastykake.

---

So this is how the year of monthly snacks ends - not with a bang but with a whimper. Look, I know Italian snacks in a potato chip bag are a completely different thing from stepping into a restaurant in Rome but I still expected more from Italy. Where are the confectionary delights? Where are the fancy treats? At what point do I yell "mangia!" to the imaginary person with me? Oh well.

Well, it's been a fun ride. The year is over, thanks for joining me on this long, strange trip. If you would like to buy a year of foreign snacks for yourself or as a gift, the service I used was universalyums.com. Though it was given to me as a gift, I'd recommend them - everything was delivered regularly, there's a nice variety of foods and nothing arrived damaged. Check them out if you wish.

WATP - Harrison Young and Nick Payne

 

Who Are These Podcasts? looks at the public access show of Harrison Young who is still on the air in 2022. Then they go down the rabbit hole on Nick Payne (XXII) who is simultaneously a sibling and a spouse of the Kardashians.

The Mystery of the Most Popular Baywatch Nights Episode

 Almost all the episodes of "Baywatch Nights" are on youtube. Below I've charted each episode's views. 

You can probably see there is a general trend with some general fluctuation. The views for the first episode are high (204K views) - people checking out the show - then a general drift downward as people give up. The views of the first season generally drift around 100K to 200K and in the second season they drop to 50K. The sci-fi season is not as viewed as the beach babe season. You can ignore the 0 at Season 2 Episode 17, that episode simply doesn't exist on youtube. Then there is an uptick as people look to see how it ends (70K) and are presumably disappointed.

So that's the general trend, not too different from other shows, but you've probably noticed, as I have, one giant, obvious spike in the graph and that's the mystery I wanted to explore.

While the general average for an episode is 50K to 100K, Season 1 Episode 16 is sitting at 1.3 MILLION views - more than 3X the episode in second place and more than 13X the average.

So what's special about this episode? Episode 17 is entitled "The Curator" the plot is summed up as follows:

A deranged man, named Garth Youngblood, takes a fancy to Baywatch lifeguard Caroline Holden and makes many advances toward her. When Caroline resists, Garth captures her and locks her in a cage furnished like her apartment, while Mitch teams with fellow Baywatch lifeguards, Newman and Barnett, to help him and Garner look for Caroline.

The reference to Caroline Holden is significant. This is the era where, according to my theory, they were trying to raise the ratings by getting Baywatch crossover - Caroline Holden is Yasmine Bleeth making a guest appearance. It's a bummer of an episode - probably one of my least favorite, as I hate all media that focuses on a crazy guy terrorizing normal people. So, I hate it, so what explain the spike in viewership?

Well, first let's remember that this is Youtube views, not TV ratings, so the #1 thing to go to is the title and thumbnail:

"Kit, get me outta here."

The thumbnail is Hasselhoff on the phone and the title is "Baywatch Nights 1x16 - Curator.avi" That's clearly not viral material. Another option is perhaps there's some other video reviewing/skewering this episode that went viral and got people watching. There is a youtube show/podcast that goes through Baywatch Nights episodes ("Baywatching" - a great title and a great concept) but their related episode is only at 38K views so that's clearly not the catalyst.

Another place to look for clues is imdb trivia. There is always the possibility that the episode has someone famous in the background or a child actor that grew up to be a big star; perhaps there is a clip or moment that became a meme; perhaps this was the one episode written by Vince Gilligan, etc. But imdb reveals nada.

The only thing that I can find that makes this episode special is the one and only guest appearance by Yasmine Bleeth. But does that really explain it? Other episodes of Nights have similar cameos with no spike, even the episode with Carmen Electra raunching it up has no increase. In 2022, are there hordes of people still slavishly hunting down Yasmine Bleeth roles?

I'm very skeptical and still, I can come up with no better explanation to explain the mystery of "Baywatch Nights'" most viral episode.

Back to the Future War

 

And here I thought it would be a mashup of "Back to the Future" and "Future War."

Snow Removal Videos

 

Although Snow Removal videos have a much more limited supply and probably a more limited demand than Pressure Washing or Lawn Care, etc. I do find them to be in that same category of "there's something oddly satisfying and hypnotic about this."

Popcorn in Bed - The Great Escape

An absolute classic.

Re:View - The Garbage Pail Kids Movie

When I was a kid there was a certain restaurant that sold Garbage Pail Kids and had a few arcade games and a pinball machine. I remember going there for breakfast and getting a quarter to play the arcade or getting money to buy Garbage Pail Kids. It was so much fun, so exciting.

So that's my memory of GPK. Now the movie on the other hand, I think I was unofficially not allowed to see it. At least that's my memory. So I have no nostalgic connection to the movie whatsoever.

The association of the He-Man movie and this movie is apt. They were both about things that I was obsessed with as a kid but I didn't see either movie until well after the magic had passed. And when I did see these movies, I was still excited for them but subtly or subconsciously aware that they weren't great.

I have The Garbage Pail Kids Movie officially rated as 2/10, which is extremely rare for me. I can't remember the last movie I rated so low. It's almost like it was their goal to make a movie with no redeeming qualities, for some reason. Yeah, I don't get it.

Gerry Rafferty - Baker Street

 

The Cortland Apple - A Review

 In our last installment, "The SweeTango Apple - A Review," I noted that the lowest rated apple was the Newtown Pippin Apple and stated that I would try to find one. I still haven't found any, nor have I found the second-lowest rated apple. Ah, but the third-lowest rated apple is the Cortland Apple, which was readily available and purchased by me.

The AppleRankings review for Cortland describes it as a "damp hacky sack left outside a frat house all winter..." And we have a problem.

Tasting the Cortland Apple and... I love it. It's great! While I'm not an expert, I have had a fair amount of different varieties of apple, I have disliked a great many of them and I find the Cortland has to be one of my favorites. It's super sweet and "appley." I'm trying to figure out exactly what AppleRankings had a problem with. The apples I got were ultra-soft - so if crispness is a criteria, I can see them knocking these. But I reject crispness as a criteria. If apples need to be hard, we need to write off all apple sauce and I am not prepared to do that.

Apples are famously inexact. I'm not willing to guess that AppleRankings got a bad batch - I think they're doing multiple samples to ensure accuracy. But I'm willing to allow the possibility that I got a particularly good batch. Still, the Red Delicious has an overall score of 25 and there is simply no way therefore, that the Cortland deserves to be 1 lower at 24 when it's so superior. 

My world has changed forever. I have to wonder... if AppleRankings is wrong about their apple rankings, what else could they be wrong about?

Late Night - Spike Feresten's Favorite Moments

 Continuing the Writers' Favorite Moments series:

Spike Feresten hosted his own talk show on Fox. It was very good but didn't last long.

10 MPH - Telling Scary Stories and Taking Vitals

 

I Watched Every Episode of Baywatch Nights - Season 2

 

One of my speculations during Season 1 of "Baywatch Nights" was that it was constantly being tweaked due to low ratings. Well, in between Seasons 1 and 2, producers decided tweaking, re-tooling and adjusting just wasn't good enough - forget all that - instead, for Season 2, they pushed the Whopper Button.

From Wikipedia:

"For the second season, facing slipping ratings, which were never as good as the original series, the producers decided to switch to a science-fiction format (inspired by the success of The X-Files)."

Ho boy! Yes, the silly, beach-adjacent detective show with attractive women walking around in the background has changed to a paranormal investigation show set in a darkly lit sound stage. A pretty dramatic switch, I'd say, but do you think they're going to explain it within the logic of the show? Not one bit.

As the season begins, one of the main characters of the show (played by Gregallen Williams) is gone. Did he quit? Did he die? Did he retire? Not a word is spent on him, his name will not even be said. Whereas in the first season, each episode would begin with a customer wanting to hire the detective agency, now episodes begin with a mysterious government agent, Diamont Teague, needing their help for secret government secrets. Why? They were never paranormal experts, they were just an average detective agency, when did they become experts in the paranormal and why does the government, the richest organization in the world, ask THEM for help? We're talking about a former lifeguard and his pals, here. Never discussed, don't worry about it.

Maybe the show is better off not explaining. Because the one time they do make an attempt, the result is hilarious. In S02E07, a woman calls them because she's worried her daughter is in too deep with voodoo. Why does she call them? They explain: because Mitch, as a lifeguard, once saved her daughter. That's what they say. When you're battling a Haitian cult, you call Mitch Buchanan the former lifeguard because....? He swims good and can administer CPR? He'll bring a whistle or even a red floaty thing?

Regardless of the inciting incident, you can imagine the formula: each week is another phenomenon - creature from the black lagoon, aliens, ghosts, mummies, werewolves, time vortexes; they investigate them all, come to a conclusion and give a happy ending that's tinged with some ambiguity or spookiness.

One of the tropes they follow to a painful degree is: two partners on an investigation and one is a skeptic and the other is a believer (or more open to the possibility). Mitch and his partner trade off these roles depending on the episode but most of the time Mitch is the skeptic. It's a tried-and-true formula but it doesn't work so good when you're doing a TV series. "Don't give me those silly wives' tales" is a really weird thing to say when something paranormal has specifically happened to you every single week for the past 17 weeks and you've seen concrete evidence that it's all real. This stupidity reaches unbelievable levels in the episode (again S02E07) where Mitch, the victim of voodoo, is driving in a car alone and finds his hands spontaneously start bleeding, then feels stabs in his side and can barely move, then sees a man's stomach spontaneously explode, finds his hand has spontaneously healed but at the end of the episode he's SURE that voodoo doesn't exist. Mitch, you're a cartoon. It is possible that his denial is said as a joke, but given the tenor of the rest of the season, I don't think so.

Here's my favorite action sequence of the show. I can't decide if that's what they meant to do or somebody screwed up badly. Well someone screwed up badly either way but I mean, is that "style"? What is that? Is it exciting when a fight scene is blurry, hard to follow and shot at 3 frames per second?

Let's talk best and worst episodes. The best episode, I think, is S02E06, the gang goes into an old cabin and gets trapped in a surreal time-portal/time-loop thing. This is one of the more creative plots and the most dreamlike and they mix the sci-fi with some humor. It's still not great but it has, at least, something to it - it's enjoyable, it's different, you can see the kernel of a good show somewhere in there. Also in the "imaginative" category is S02E13, the gang investigates a Virtual Reality D&D computer game that swallows people into another dimension. It's very dumb but full marks for "going for it" with an odd idea, as opposed to just fighting a mummy or a vampire. The worst episode is very tough because the entire series is a slog, but the dumbest episode, I'll say, is S02E12 where a Viking is found in ice, unfrozen by scientists and goes on a rampage in modern day Los Angeles. A Viking, complete with the horn helmet, swinging his sword at trucks... it's so laughable.

Serious Science-Fiction, ya'll.

Let's run through guest stars again. It was more fun the last time but we need to get through it.

• S02E05 - Brant von Hoffman - not a celebrity but I just want to point out that he played two different characters across the two different seasons of "Baywatch Nights." Shyah! Right! As if we wouldn't notice!
• S02E11 - Robert Ginty! Again! He was also in Season 1 as another character.
• S02E12 - Edward Mulhare! He was Michael Knight's boss in "Knight Rider" (which obviously also starred David Hasselhoff) so this is an unofficial reunion episode. This episode also has Tom Dreesen and Johnny Dark. They're both good friends of "Late Show with David Letterman" and they happen to be in the same episode acting along one another in the same scene. Seems like a big coincidence, maybe there's a story there, I don't know.
• S02E16 - Pamela Bach-Hasselhoff. I remember her from "Baywatch" because I had a crush on her. I never knew her name so I never knew that she was actually married to David Hasselhoff in real life.
• S02E18 - Terry Kiser! From "Weekend at Bernies." He's Bernie.
• S02E19 - Alexandra Paul - Stephanie from "Baywatch." She died in "Baywatch" the previous year and appears here as a ghost.
• S02E20 - Rance Howard - father of Ron and Clint.
• S02E22 - Gregallen Williams - the guy who was a major character last season but cut from this one returns to do a cameo in one episode. No, they don't bother to explain anything, he just shows up and he's there now.

A few other unrelated notes. 

• Due to particular structure of S02E13, 21 minutes into a 42 minute episode and the opening credits are still playing. 
• In S02E01, Mitch is reading a real (I think) newspaper that contains the headline "Flyers Will Drink from Stanley Cup." The episode aired September 1996, which means it was filmed before that, and so the headline probably refers to the 1995-1996 playoffs. The Flyers finished first in their conference that year but lost in the second round to the Florida Panthers. In fact, the Flyers have not drunk from the Stanley Cup since then and we're coming up on 30 years later.
• There is a two episode run (S02E20-21) where Mitch and Angie Harmon's character are especially affectionate and playful with each other. Their chemistry has completely changed and it's very cute. I thought a show centered around these characters - a different show - could have really been enjoyable.
• I mentioned the theme song for Season 1 was excellent, the theme for Season 2 is not.

So that's "Baywatch Nights" Season 2. It's not exactly a terrible show but it's incredibly boring and was a complete slog for me. The acting and production are well done but I just don't care at all. When the  first season was stupid and silly, it could fall back on a certain amount of charm and attractive women. This season is stupid and silly but intends to be dark and serious sci-fi/horror and it's all very offputting. Keep in mind, I hate horror so I do have that bias but I like science-fiction. Good science fiction usually has a certain weight of intellect behind it, though, and the word "intellect" is one thing that has never been associated with Mitch Buchanan and "Baywatch". 

Even if the title didn't doom the project from the start, I think the entire concept of aping "X-Files" was doomed for failure. Yes, "The X-Files" was a big hit but that doesn't mean there was a sudden upswell in the public's demand for paranormal investigation shows. Bear in mind, I know almost nothing about "The X-Files" so I could be wrong here, but I don't think people's attraction to it was due to a love of aliens and monsters. I think the idea that "The Truth is out there" struck a chord with the zeitgeist of the time, it tapped into an unexpressed, deep-seated feeling that we were all being lied to. Compare that to the Nights tagline "The nights will never be the same" and you can see why it never made it to a Season 3.

And now that "Baywatch Nights" has inexplicably intersected with the genre of ghosts and goblins, you can see this whole venture into "Baywatch Nights" was in celebration of Halloween. Did you see that one coming? Happy Halloween.

The Munster's Revenge (1981)

 

There is not one, but TWO Munsters movies.

As the movie begins, the Munsters are visiting a wax museum and admiring their own statues. Immediately we're presented with two mysteries. First off, why do they have wax statues in a museum? In the Munsters Universe, they are not famous, as far as I remember. The movie doesn't explain. Secondly, their little boy Eddie who was about 12 in 1966, is still 12 in 1981. I don't get it, are they the same people? Are they not aging? Time travel? The 1966 movie created controversy by replacing the actress who Marilyn in the show and now both Marilyn and Eddie are both different.

So anyways, these wax figures exist but it turns out they're not just wax figures, they're actually robits. The owner of the museum (played by Sid Caesar, who the kids know from nothing) is using science to make the robots go out and commit crime. When witnesses describe the assailants, the police go after the Munsters. Now the family has to prove that they're innocent by convincing the police that it wasn't them, it was evil robot Munsterses.

I don't know the extent, but the premise sounds somewhat similar to "Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park" which came out in 1978.

The difference between this movie and the last Munsters movie is immediately obvious. Though the canned laughter is still missing, the absence isn't noticeable. This movie has better jokes, more jokes, funnier situations and snappier dialogue. It is still dumb, make no mistake, but it's dumb in the best way possible - it's The Munsters, what do you expect? If you see only one Munsters movie this holiday season, make sure it's "The Munster's Revenge!"

And special recognition to Fred Gwynne's performance as Herman Munster and the character in general. Watching the hulking mass act with naivety and gentleness is a pleasure to watch. He is the quintessential gentle giant. Gwynne was such an enjoyable, talented actor; it was unfortunate that he was typecast, though it's understandable in the sense that he was so good in this role. Either way, I'm glad "My Cousin Vinny" was as big a hit as it was, at least we got that.

I Watched Every Episode of Baywatch Nights - Season 1

"Baywatch Nights" is a laughingstock, a joke, the prototypical bad spin-off cash-in. If you are crafting a joke and need an embarrassing show that, nevertheless, people will recognize, I can think of no better punchline than "Baywatch Nights." That's why I watched every (available) episode. But what I found when I watched it surprised me in a number of ways...

Here's the first surprise: the first season is not really that bad. I really wanted the worst show out there and had to constantly admit that it just... isn't... terrible. Yes, on the one hand, it's not good enough to be a good show and I don't claim that it is good, but the sad fact is it's not bad enough to really be hilarious either.

"Baywatch Nights" follows Mitch Buchanan (David Hasselhoff) and his partners (played by Gregallen Williams and Angie Harmon) in their detective agency business. The formula for the show is obvious: every week someone comes in with a case/mystery and every week they catch the bad guys. In the early episodes, nothing is explained. Typically the first episode would be everyone meeting each other, explaining the backstory. The show has no backstory and particularly doesn't bother to explain how this is "Baywatch" aside from the existence of the character Mitch Buchanan. Presumably Mitch isn't a lifeguard by day and a detective by night because we see him doing detective work at night, but nor are we told that he's retired from lifeguarding. The show simply starts without explaining anything.

Throughout the show there's a "will-they-won't-they" between Mitch and Angie Harmon's character which is just as unexplained. Usually, when you put two characters together and show an obvious attraction between them, you also set up an obstacle that keeps them apart. This show sets up the obvious attraction between their characters, has them flirt, has them never becoming involved but gives no reason as to why. It isn't until the 8th episode where they "recall" that they had agreed some time in the past (not depicted) to not mix business with pleasure. Ok fine, you did the bare minimum, congrats, but that's still 7 episodes of "huh? why?"

There are a lot of parallels with "T and T." I get the feeling that this is the show that "T and T" would like to be - they both went for style, they're both detective shows revolving around solving a mystery, they're both cheesy but they both take themselves seriously. But whereas "T and T" had a general serious/downer tone, Nights is fun and generally lighthearted. Whereas "T and T" is the bad watching-tv-on-summer-vacation show, Nights is the acceptable watching-tv-on-summer-vacation show (acceptable, sometimes even fun). And I want it noted that while the "T and T" theme song is a trainwreck, the Nights theme song is excellent. Hasselhoff and Lou Rawls - what a combo.

Another parallel Nights shares with "T and T" is my general feeling that the people making it are constantly saying to themselves, "The ratings are bad so we need to shuffle things around." The first (minor) character is eliminated after just 4 episodes. Two new minor characters (one played by Donna D'Errico and one played by some dude) are introduced mid-way through the season. And those won't be the last cast changes but that will come later.

But another "shuffle" is the format of the show. In the earliest episodes, it's supposed to be a noir detective story, complete with Hasselhoff voiceovers like "My dad told me that once in a while you meet a woman so beautiful that it knocks the wind out of you. Maybe today was my turn..." But the noir narration is dropped fairly early on. There is also a big shift in its relation to "Baywatch." In the beginning, like I said, they avoid the topic completely, but then all of a sudden the mysteries (and therefore the episodes) will arise from the beach, lifeguards, etc. and sometimes they will dwell there. I got the feeling that someone saw low ratings and said "let's get some of that 'Baywatch' going" and quickly brought it front and center. And then suddenly they take the next step and there are actual characters from "Baywatch" crossing over to do a guest appearance!

Adding background actors to your scene can increase visual depth and interest.

And guest appearances, by the way, are one of the more delightful aspects of my experience with the show. I will list the major highlights:

•  S01E02 - J. Peterman from "Seinfeld" teams up with Kevin Arnold's older brother from "The Wonder Years" to steal money using rollerblades. That is real, that is what happens.
• S01E06 - Robert Ginty! Also Nancy Cartwright (Bart Simpson).
• S01E12 - "Stuttering John" Melendez - and actually acting, not playing himself.
• S01E13 - Geraldo Rivera - also acting as a fictional character. His acting is better than I expected from Geraldo but there are a few moments where his performance is funny.
• S01E16 - Yasmine Bleeth from the original "Baywatch."
• S01E19 - Carmen Electra - before she was very well known, I think, and probably before she joined regular "Baywatch." But forget about her - Ben Murphy is in the ep and he's the evil villain of the week! Ben Murphy is always ruining everything.

Speaking of bad acting, do you want to see my favorite performance in all of Season 1? Here it is. #OscarWorthy. It's just the best. Why wasn't there a spin-off for this guy? I'd watch that.

I have to mention, though I don't know how to transition to it, the obvious selling point of the show. The ladies. The attractive woman aspect of the show (I have to assume) is much more toned down than "Baywatch" but it's still very prominent. In any given scene of exposition, the main characters will be talking on a bench with perfectly placed beach babes walking (or rollerblading) across the foreground and/or background. The background and the extras are much of the sex appeal of the show but then occasionally someone's in underwear or taking a shower or "out for a swim" or whatnot. I mean, human females do all of these things and the show needs to reflect reality. There is one episode where something went wrong and it just gets weird. S01E19, is suddenly racier than every episode before or since. For some reason they really seemed to be "going for something," trying to push the envelope on what they could get onto syndicated television.

So that's "Baywatch Nights" Season 1. It's silly, it's stupid, the premise/title makes NO sense; yes it's a bad show but not nearly as bad as it really could, or by rights should, be. It looks slick, it looks stylish, the characters are entirely likable, the writing is as good as it needs to be. It also has the added bonus of a great "of the 90s" nostalgia. It's usually just light and breezy, fairly harmless, casual entertainment. Obviously, I started regularly watching the episodes as an ironic stunt to create some blog posts but I have to admit that the show actually started to grow on me a little bit and so I have little content to speak of. It grew on me for two reasons. Firstly, because it's the time of year where the days are getting shorter and the temperatures are dropping - I found the bright, sunny California beach setting became infectious, almost therapeutic. And secondly, I realized at some point that Donna D'Errico's appearance in the opening credits was often the best part of my day. I'm not happy about it, I don't like to admit it, but this is what happened.

So that's everything I have to say about Season 1. But get ready because moving on to Season 2, EVERYTHING is about to change...

Munster, Go Home! (1966)

 

I really liked "The Munsters" when I was a kid. I liked it so much, I even watched the disastrous 80s reboot. But would you believe that up until a few days ago, I didn't even know there was a Munsters movie? In fact there are two.

"Munster, Go Home!" was made just a few years after the show was cancelled with almost all of the original cast. In it, Herman finds that a distant relative has died and he has inherited a large English estate and become a Lord. The Munsters go to England to be fish-out-of-water because, you know, they're not British. Other relatives who missed out of their inheritance conspire to get rid of the Munsters by scaring them off. Scare tactics obviously don't work, as the Munsters like that sort of thing. There is also a scheme to counterfeit money and the entire plot comes to a head at a hot rod race for reasons I didn't understand.

My first notable observation from this movie was the difference created by the absence of canned laughter. The TV show was the golden age of fake audience laughter, it was so intertwined in the fabric of the show you can't imagine The Munsters existing without it. And yet, in this movie, jokes and gags are followed by silence and it's almost disturbing, the stark contrast. I hate to say it, but the result made me think, "Is The Munsters actually not funny?"

One thing I did find funny that I really never registered when I was a kid was the running gag where Marilyn, the beautiful normal person in the family, is seen by the others as homely. Amongst the slapstick and gags, this is a nice, subtle, wry element.

The other thing I noticed, only now is the acting of the actress who plays Lily, Yvonne De Carlo. Even within a very "big" show like The Munsters, she is the most animated, the most exagerated. Everyone else is in a talkie, Yvonne is in a silent film... an extreme silent film. The thing is though, when I tried to find an example online to prove this assertion, I find all available clips are from the TV show and her acting suits the TV show perfectly. What makes the movie different? Well, if you ever watch "Munster, Go Home!" take a look.

Real Life Seinfeld - The Post Office

 At my lunch break I found a note that a package delivery had been attempted at my location and I needed to go to the USPS to pick it up. Ever ready to go to the post office (it is always a sweet experience) I got in my car and drove over.

As I'm walking on the sidewalk, I see an old woman in front of me. I catch up to her quickly, as she's walking very slowly, and I slow down right behind her. In this situation, I have the debate of what is the right thing to do. What I want to do is pass her, so that I can hold the door for her, but I wonder also whether passing someone who's walking slowly hurts their feelings. Not knowing what to do, I just slow down and stay behind. Then, in front of the door, she stops to put on a surgical mask. I wait behind her for a few seconds and then think, "this is stupid" and so I pass her and open/hold the door for her. In fact, I open and hold 3 doors for her, the design of the post office being what it is.

She says something like "That's nice of you to pass people" to which I smile, not knowing what that means or how to respond. It sounds like she might be angry that I passed her but then I was thinking it was possible that she's playfully thanking me for going ahead and opening the doors for her. Then I get in line to get my package and she says something to the same effect, I still smile and say something like "alright" still not understanding what she's saying. Then, as I'm walking up to the counter, she says, "I bet you wouldn't be smiling if it was you on the other side." And at that moment, I realized oh no, she's angry that I passed her. It was all a plot to get in front of her in line.

So it works as Seinfeld at both ends. From her perspective, she encountered a psychopath who's basically sprinting past old ladies to steal their place in line and then laughing at them when confronted. From my perspective, she stopped. If she was just a slow walker, I would have stayed behind no problem, in fact I did that, but she stopped... and when someone stops in front of you, you're under no obligation to sit and wait behind them. You stop, that's on you.

The SweeTango Apple - A Review

 Recently, during my review of the Cosmic Crisp Apple, I found that there is actually a website dedicated to ranking apples. Shortly after that, I found that the SweeTango apple is ranked #1 in the world. And so here we are.

Before I get to my review, I want to inform you (or remind you if you already know) that you should not buy Red Delicious apples. Red Delicious apples are bred to be red irrespective of taste. That means that unsuspecting people buy them because they look good in the store only to find, when they get home, that they've been ripped off.  Accordingly, applerankings has Red Delicious as 4th from the bottom with the description of "Coffee Grinds in a Leather Glove."

The lowest ranked apple on the list has a rating of 19 and described as "Long Island's Sand-Filled Condom," it's the Newtown Pippin Apple. I will try to get a hold of some of those if I can for a future post but I expect I won't be able. I've looked around and don't see a source anywhere.

So, the SweeTango Apple (with a rating of 93, "The Greatest of All-Time")... I was able to find some and it was pretty easy... and I've now tried them. I'll start with how applerankings is wrong first and then I'll explain why they're right.

Any time you see something described as "perfect" and the "greatest in the world" you build up certain expectations, or at least I do. I picture something in my head that's completely different, perhaps otherworldly or even supernatural. SweeTango apples are not that, they have not completely revolutionized my life. They are just apples. If you've ever enjoyed a good apple in your life, you pretty much have the idea of what SweeTango Apples are already in your mind.

But here's why the "perfect" description is apt. The skin, the texture, the sweetness, the taste, these are all so excellent and nothing in the experience is out of balance with anything else. I can't critique this apple, there is nothing to complain about. Even if it's not "out of this world," even if it's just an apple, still, this apple is excellent at being an apple.

So there you go. If you like apples and haven't already, check out SweeTango for sure. And if you don't care about apples and they don't excite you, just forget about it and keep going on with your life. And if that's the case, apologies for this long diversion into apples.

Month #11 - Spain Snacks

 Yes, this month's snack nation is Spain. I don't have any pre-conceived notions about Spanish snacks other than that, perhaps, they'll be spicy.

Let's start with facts...

• Restaurante Botin in Madrid is the oldest restaurant in the world. When it opened in 1725, you were expected to bring your own ingredients. The oven has supposedly been continuously burning for all that time.
• You can tell how popular a bar is by the trash on the floor. It is a Spanish custom for customers to throw napkins, olive pits and other trash onto the floor.
• The Spanish National Anthem has no lyrics.
• There is a drink in Spanish called kalimotxo, it is red wine mixed with Coca-Cola.
• At the restaurant El Diablo in Lanzarote, food is cooked via active volcano.

Let's go...

1. Acho - Fried Egg Flavored Potato Chips

Review:

Starting with a bang! In all the history of Month of Snacks, I don't know of any packaging/label that's filled me with as much excitement as this one. Fried Egg Potato Chips... Fried Egg. This is weird, this is crazy, this is not so off-the-wall that it can't possibly be good... it even has a shiny, picturesque white and yellow egg calling out from the front of the bag. 

When you hear the term "Fried Egg Flavored Potato Chips," do you have trouble imagining what that would taste like? I'm trying to figure out if it's just me and I lack sufficient imagination. Because tasting these, they taste EXACTLY like fried egg flavored potato chips. Exactly. I even thought I should have bacon flavored chips to go along with them, as in a breakfast. I have no idea what to expect and then one bite and I think, "That's exactly what I should have expected."

I don't have the guts to unabashedly recommend them, they are weird and probably do require a "trying on a dare" mentality, but that being said, I think they're legitimately good and pretty fun.

2. Doble M 

Translation: Honey and Butter Flavored Corn Puffs

Review: 

It was just last month that I talked about my love for Korean Honey Butter Potato Chips, here we are with another Honey Butter snack. Is it fate?

These are the material and consistency of the regular Cheese Puffs you've had a million times. Except you substitute orange cheese flavor for popcorny flavor with some sweetness. I'll be honest, the flavor took a little time to get used to but overall I'd say pretty good. They really aren't too far off from Corn Pops or just regular popcorn, really. Not bad.

3. Conguitos - Peanut Cream

Review:

It's been a while since I had a candy bar.

This package has two "bars" - each is a string of slightly pyramidal chocolate pockets similar to a Caramello, but peanut butter instead of caramel. But not exactly peanut butter...

The inside is a crunchy nougat thing that represents peanut butter flavor. It's not miles away from a Butterfinger, for reference. Oh! It might be closer to a Twix, actually. And it's got the "two bars in one" thing in common too! 

The Europeans mock the ubiquity of peanut butter in American snacks, it's interesting to find they have such a candy. I don't have any strong opinion on this either way. It's good but there's nothing exotic about it, you don't need to go to Spain to eat a Twix.

4. Vidal - Gummi Sour Kiwi

Review:

Here in the U.S. we have sour patch kids and "ultra-sour" candy and all that. And so these seem very American, very much in the vein of what you might expect. Very kiwi-ey, very sour, very sugary. 

Don't have much to say... Pretty good.

5. Lacasitas Gold

Review:

These look a lot like M&Ms, etc. The look like this:

So, it's pretty interesting that the shell has a slight Orange Tic Tac flavor to me. That was unexpected. The packaging says "White Chocolate Candy with Caramel Flavor" and I wouldn't dispute that too much but, to me, I'm getting a Butter Rum flavor from it. Perhaps that's because Butter Rum is made up of white chocolate and caramel? Eh, no, though I can't get solid information. Butter Rum seems to only exist as a flavor for Lifesavers and based on the name, I assume derives from Buttered Rum, a Christmas drink with rum (obviously). But there is also Rum Butter which is an English Christmas spread. Rum Butter, for what it's worth, is made with rum, brown sugar and cinnamon.

Going further, it started to taste more like chocolate. Perhaps it's the Orange Tic Tac mixed with chocolate becomes Butter Rum. This whole entry is just a huge mistake. Unmitigated Disaster.

Final verdict... If you haven't had Reese's Pieces lately, I'd recommend those first - Reese's Pieces are magical - but these are a good second place and I'd recommend them.

---

The previous "Most Like America" post was Israel but Spain has now overtaken them for first. These are very similar to the kinds of things that are released and become successful here. I'm very surprised. Keep in mind, I don't think it's a bad thing, just bad for the "adventure" aspect of the blog.

Overall, very strong showing, there wasn't a single negative food. Somewhat anti-climatic due to the best item being the first but... And I'm going to latch on to that one, the most exotic entry, the egg chips, and offer them to people I know to see how they react.

See you next month for the last month.

Random Frankenstein Thoughts

 Today I was wondering why Frankenstein's (Frankenstein's monster's) head was flat. I don't remember it from the novel and it seems like such a random thing. Where did it come from? Who decided and why?

Well it originates in the movie "Frankenstein" (1931) but specifically un-credited make-up artist Jack Pierce. Says Pierce:

“I discovered there are six ways a surgeon can cut the skull, and I figured Dr. Frankenstein, who was not a practicing surgeon, would take the easiest. That is, he would cut the top of the skull straight across like a pot lid, hinge it, pop the brain in, and clamp it tight. That’s the reason I decided to made the Monster’s head square and flat like a box.”

And I'm so impressed by that. I just don't imagine make-up artists putting that much thought into their craft. They likely don't anymore.

Ok but why is he green? That's apparently still due to Pierce but the explanation is more complex. According to this article, his skin is described as yellow in the book. But Pierce made him green because:

The color sensitivity of the film stock used in the 1930s meant that certain shades of green would show up on screen as a ghostly white. Karloff’s green makeup, then, both tinted the actor’s skin to a cadaverous pallor and gave him a decidedly different complexion than the rest of the cast.

But, of course, the movie is in black and white so why would that matter? Well, when it was time to make color promotional materials, artists used Boris Karloff in his full makeup as reference and so he was depicted to the public as green. And the rest is history.

Another quick Frankenstein-adjacent fun fact... Fred Gwynne, in making his Herman Munster character, based Herman's physical mannerisms on his mother. And it amazes me how I never noticed before, but if you look at him again, it just jumps out at you how feminine his physicality is. Not just feminine but maternal. In retrospect it completely makes sense.

Late Night - James Downey's Favorite Moments (Part 2)

 

See Part 1 here.

10 MPH - Candies From Around the World

 

At one point I was feeling pretty good, thinking I had already tried most of these. But then it keeps going and going and my percentage kept dropping.

Sure, I may be accused of taking it too seriously, but I really want it clearly stated what they're tasting so I can try them myself. The purposely sloppy nature of 10 MPH strikes again.

Duaffy M&S - Rocky IV

 I said no one else had gotten to "Rocky IV," well now they have...

Did we really have robits in the 80s?

There's a running motif(?) throughout "Rocky IV" that I never noticed before. "Rocky IV" is about our ability to change.

When Rocky is trying to convince Apollo not to fight Drago:

Rocky: Let's face it, we got to change sometime.

Apollo: I don't want to change! I like who I am!

and then "You and me, we don't have a choice"

Later, Adrian tries to convince Rocky not to fight:

Adrian: Why can't you change your thinking, everybody else does.

Rocky: Because I'm a fighter [...] we can't change what we are.

Adrian: Yes, you can.

Rocky: Can't change anything, Adrian. All we can do is go with what we are.

And then after the fight, Rocky gives his speech:

"During this fight, I seen a lot of changin' - the way youse felt about me and the way I felt about you. [...] If I can change... and you can change... everybody can change!"

[And when it's time to change, you've got to rearrange.]

This running theme underscores the movie as a allegory for the Cold War itself. Rocky is told that fighting Drago means certain suicide, why is he willing to risk "everything"? But he continues on the path toward the fight, believing that there was no alternative. But the US and Soviet Union don't have to stubbornly march toward mutually assured destruction - it isn't destined, we can choose not to fight, we have a choice.

Late Show Writer's Favorite Moments

 Late Show writer Rodney Rothman recalls his favorite moments on the Late Show:

The thumbnail tells the story.

This video comes with a regret. I absolutely regret not remembering all the fake bands/musical guests. As a religious viewer, I know I saw most of them but I only remember Fresh Step. I have a theory as to why. I don't think there's any way I would determine a bad musical from a real musical. Even the real ones feel like parodies to me. I mean, look at the clips, would you do any better? I also don't remember Fresh Step being on more than once.

And Now My Fresh Step Story...

I'm watching the Late Show and their musical guest is a boy band "Fresh Step." I'm horrified but boy bands were not a new thing on the Late Show so "it is what it is." When the performance is over it's the time when Dave goes over and shakes hands with the guests and says "that was great," "thanks for coming," etc. Except he doesn't, he stays at his desk. At his desk he says "Fresh Step, everyone" or something and it goes to commercial. Dave ALWAYS walks over to greet the guest - always. Sometimes it gets edited out for time but that's what happens every time.

As the kind of viewer that obsessed over every detail of the Late Show, I sensed something was wrong behind the scenes. Dave stayed far away from them like they were the plague. I thought it was pretty obvious he must have hated them. One theory I came up with was that he didn't want to have them on at all but got overruled and was mad about it. 

I always remembered that moment as one of the interesting behind-the-scenes mysteries until many years later I found out the band was fake and... well, I can't explain why Dave wouldn't shake their hands to sell the bit completely... but at least he wasn't being rude and there wasn't some power struggle.

RIP - Don Beveridge (1932-2022)

 

RIP to Don Beveridge who has passed away at the age of 90.

A week before his death, Don commented about his long life saying, "It was quite a ride."[...]

Don was drafted into the U.S. Army, serving in Korea as a Staff Sergeant during the Korean War. This is where he said he learned how to lead people...

As his Mobil responsibilities grew, so did his family. He and Betty raised a family of six children, Donna, Don, Diane, Dirk, Debbie, and Dawn. It has been a family joke that he named all of his kids after his wife, Betty...

While attending an Executive Education program at The University of Wisconsin, Madison, he was underwhelmed. He approached the program director and said, "I could do better than that." He was told to "Prove it."... And prove it he did...

Over the last years of his life, Don struggled with Parkinson's Disease and was lovingly and tirelessly cared for by his wife Betty with loving support from his long-term care giver, Grace Realbuto...

Don would appreciate donations to the Wounded Warrior Project instead of flowers.

The Cosmic Crisp Apple - A Review

It's been almost 3 years since I saw this video...

And since then I've been on a quest to find one. It seemed futile given the "It's only available from Washington" nature but, who knows, maybe apple smugglers would create an apple black market at some point.

Well, yesterday I noticed a market near me was offering Cosmic Crisp Apples so I made the trip and was successful.

My review? Having had one, I can definitely say it tastes like an apple. If you're looking for a weird food adventure, this isn't it. It's 99% apple flavor with 1% extra sweetness - the news stories that say extra sugar content are accurate here. But if you've ever had apple cider, you can imagine how these taste. But the scientists that created it were breeding towards longer shelf life rather than flavor so expecting anything different was my mistake. On that subject, the above video makes reference to people claiming Cosmic Crisps could last a year, but I find no websites claiming that now and I have no interest in testing it myself.

So if I was going for flavor, what should I be hunting for? Well, according to applerankings.com, the SweeTango Apple is the greatest of all-time. Dang it, they were available at the store I was just at and I passed right by. Well, I'll look for those sometime. Deciding to review an apple was kind of a joke, now I see apple reviewing is serious business and people are going to come to my blog and be disappointed.