Barry White Performing with Luciano Pavarotti

Barry White performs "You're the First, the Last, My Everything" with Luciano Pavarotti.

While it's not the worst thing ever (it's not the Christmas version of "The Macarena") it's still... it doesn't work; it's bizarre.

Continuing The Worst Stand-Up Special

Blind Mike continues trudging through GD Fenderson's "worst stand-up special in history." Getting toward the end now but I think I'm looking for a full compilation so I can catch up on what I missed.

Chi-Chi's is Coming Back

A while back I did a deep-dive roundup on old restaurant chains. I have two updates.

Firstly, the Friendly's that was near me that was barely hanging on has since closed. As I noted then, there was nothing I could do.

Secondly, and more importantly, Chi-Chi's is coming back. From wikipedia:

On December 3, 2024, it was announced that the restaurant chain will re-launch in the United States in 2025. Michael McDermott, son of original owner, Marno McDermott, will lead and operate the new restaurants under Chi-Chi's Restaurants, LLC. Hormel Foods, the current owner of the Chi-Chi's trademark, has allowed the use of the Chi-Chi's name for the physical restaurant locations. A few months later, McDermott announced that he will convert his two Rojo Mexican Grill restaurants in St. Louis Park and Maple Grove to the revived Chi-Chi’s brand.

As far as I can tell, the St. Louis locations are the only announced locations. Stay tuned. 

Radiohead on Conan 1995

The official Conan channel posted this today. Radiohead play "Fake Plastic Trees" promoting their new album The Bends, 6/12/95.

Another data point where they seem perfectly happy to be there and are friendly to the host.

Why Are You Laughing - Harvey Pekar vs. Letterman

I posted the full Harvey Pekar/David Letterman collection a while back, but I know from firsthand experience that that's not for everyone. If you want just the highlights as well as humorous commentary, Blind Mike takes you through Harvey Pekar's appearances on Letterman.

And in case anyone's wondering, I'm fully on Letterman's side in this. The "you're a guest in my house" paradigm is 100% correct. But while I don't fully agree with the thrust of "American Splendor," it is quite a good film.

Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros - Johnny Appleseed

Aside from the fact that this is a great Summer-to-Fall transition song, I just noticed recently that one of the guys in the band is wearing a Penn State shirt. I did some research to try to figure out what the connection is between a British band member and Penn State and I found absolutely nothing.

Last known photo of this guy

Plus, at 2:44, Joe Strummer narrowly avoids getting run over.

RLM - Ranking the Films of Joe Dante (Part 2)

Ranking the films of Joe Dante continued. Another great movie discussion.

I don't have the same relationship with the "Gremlins" movies that other people seem to have. It's probably that I didn't see them when I was a kid, I watched them later, so that may be it. I love "The 'Burbs" though and I'm glad to see it high on the list.

Star Wars Deleted Scenes, Return of the Jedi and THX 1138

Within the youtube rabbit hole, I found a trilogy of Star Wars deleted scenes compilations. If you're interested, there's "16 minutes of A New Hope You've Never Seen!" "12 Minutes of the Empire Strikes Back You've Never Seen!" and "10 Minutes of Return of the Jedi You’ve Never Seen!" (above).

It's all pretty much for hardcore Star Wars fans only. Nothing crazy here, just small subplots and insignificant bits of dialogue. I did find one thing though that is worth noting.

When I was a kid, growing up in the days before the internet, the word went around - I don't know where it came from and how it moved - that George Lucas' student film was called "THX 1138" and he had hid references to it in "all" his movies. From that point, the hunt was on, to find the hidden references in all the Star Wars movies.

• A New Hope - Luke (posing as a Storm Trooper) claims that Chewbacca is a prisoner being transferred from "Cellblock 1138." I remember being surprised that "THX" was left off but there it was, obvious enough.
• The Empire Strikes Back - A little trickier this time. During the Battle of Hoth, an officer is heard to say "Send Rogues 10 and 11 to Sector 38." It required close attention and some processing to decipher but it was plain enough.
• Return of the Jedi - Nothing.

There I was scrutinizing every line of dialogue, looking at every sign, trying to pause on shots of computer screens while watching on blurry VHS... and I found nothing. And not just me but all my friends.

Fast forward a few years and the internet exists. I "google" (or whatever it was) the answer. Other people are online looking for the answer and also stumped. I seem to remember some person claimed to have found the answer because of a new, higher quality home release. The number flashes on a computer screen briefly, they say. I didn't have access to that version and never confirmed it later - all I saw was gibberish on every screen.

A few years after that, someone else claims the answer, "1138" was printed on the bounty hunter's helmet. It was discovered via photographing the prop in better lighting. Well, that's disappointing because that remained strictly behind-the-scenes - they gambled on the lighting, shot angles, shot selection and so forth, and lost. But if that's what they did, it is what it is.

Why is this relevant? Because now it's like 30 years later and at 7 minutes into the above video, I hear Moff Jerjerrod say, "Open the power discharge gates. Flood sectors 304 and 1138. That should slow them up a bit." Unreal. After all that time, the mystery is finally solved. Sure, it's still not a reference in the movie, but it's clear, it's spoken - just like in the other two movies - it's on film. It's great. It was in the script, it was filmed and it just happened that that scene was cut from the final edit..

Editor's Note: This "newest" Easter Egg is not noted on Wookiepedia. Am I a bigger nerd than the entire community of editors of Wookiepedia? In fact, I don't see anyone else mentioning it anywhere, but I'm not digging too deep.

Codex 9/11

A new 9/11 documentary attempts to explain what happened using original research and gaining clues from raw footage from the day. Check it out before it's deleted, if you're interested.

The Stadium That May Have Killed Its Players

This is a story and an angle I've never heard.

Growing up, I've been aware of the various baseball stars dying of cancer, but each one is chalked up as "just one of those things." The idea that they may be connected is pretty amazing.

A possible rebuttal to this argument, or at least something that needs to be investigated further, is: they played football there too, do we see the same problems in football players? Going off my own limited memory right now, I don't think we do.

A Short History of Radiohead and Letterman

On August 29, 1997, Radiohead played "Karma Police" to promote their new album "Ok Computer" - their first appearance on Letterman.

Big deal for me since Radiohead were my favorite band and the "Late Show" was my favorite TV show. That's why it always pained me that Radiohead hated either Letterman or his show, at least that's the impression I got.

Rewind back a few days earlier - August 26, 1997 - playing the Hammerstein Ballroom, and before playing "Karma Police, Thom remarks, "In two day's time, we have to do this song on a TV show called 'Mr. Letterman'... bullshit." That's it, simple and concise. Perfectly cryptic: no reasons listed, no explanation given.

Then we move forward to the day of the appearance. At the soundcheck on the Late Show, documented in the film "Meeting People is Easy." Thom tells the sound booth, "Twenty minutes to rehearse spinning a wheel and we don't get five minutes to play the fucking guitar?" Later, offstage he complains, "There [was] a guy on stage giving us shit." What he says after that has never been clear to me and the exact nature of the conflict is not explained to any degree that I can discern.

Fast-forward to 2003 and it's time to promote "Hail to the Thief." Radiohead go on the "Late Show" again to perform "2+2=5." The song ends and no handshake or communication of any kind.

Ah, but let's rewind to just before that... we gain more context by remembering the "Late Show" era we're in. This is during the period where Paul Shaffer is doing his James Brown bit. If you don't know, there was a running bit from 2002-2004 where Paul Shaffer would sing "I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know" in the style of James Brown, even to the point of falling to his knees, getting covered in a cape, ushered away from the microphone, before throwing off the cape and returning to sing. The bit was made more elaborate by having guest cape operators who were celebrities. The apex of the bit was  the time when James Brown himself came out to do the cape. The full song was only for the theater audience (played during commercial) but the TV broadcast would come back in time for the cape part.

So Radiohead are on stage waiting to perform "2+2=5" and are confronted by this bizarre ritual. And it probably didn't help that the cape person that night was CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer. I doubt they know who that is. I don't believe they appreciated the joke. I seem to recall someone saying so in an interview later but I have not been able to find the source so it may be my own hallucination. Nevertheless, I challenge you to look at the expressions and body language of the band and decide for yourself . And, again, after the performance they avoid shaking hands with Dave or even acknowledging him. Significant? Coincidence? Thom's a big Michael Stipe fan, perhaps he's doing an impression.

Apparently someone agreed with my assessment that something was going on and thought to submit a question about it to BBC Radio 1 in an interview a few months later:

Mark: Right, James in South Korea, says: I saw Radiohead perform on David Letterman a few weeks ago, and they seemed a little annoyed by the whole thing, was there a reason?

Thom: (laughs) I'll tell you why, man

Mark: What was going on there?

Thom: I'll tell you

Mark: Well do, yeah

Thom: In order for Mr. Letterman not to break into a sweat, he has the studio at sub-zero temperatures

Mark: Does he?

Thom: Yeah

Ed: Yeah

Thom: So our hands went numb (laughs)

Lard: Ahhhhhh!

Thom: So there you go

So maybe it's that innocent, laughed off as a joke. Radiohead are a very tough band to figure out, it remains a possibility that I may be overthinking everything.

1997 and 2003 are the only two times Radiohead performed on the "Late Show."

But ever since 1997 (or 1998), when I discovered the Hammerstein ballroom quote, I've been wondering "why the hatred?" One might look at "Meeting People is Easy" and just assume they hated the show because they had a bad experience there. But the key here is Thom was complaining about having to go on the show before he was ever on the show. Another possibility, then, it may be just a matter of: they hated doing television appearances in general and Letterman just happened to be in the way. I'm certainly open to that possibility, they probably don't like TV. But then, they've also done Conan's show, Leno, Jool's Holland, Stephen Colbert and "Saturday Night Live" and I've never heard them complain about those, show disdain or avoiding shaking hands with the host. In fact, on Leno and SNL, they seemed delighted.

Reddit had a thought that could connect the dots. In a thread speculating on who the song "Talk Show Host" was based on, a redditor points out that Radiohead were big fans of "comedian" Bill Hicks, even dedicating their second album to him and Bill Hicks was famously censored in his last "Late Show" performance before dying of cancer in 1994. If this is the cause, it would completely explain why they hated Letterman and resented having to do the show sight unseen. I personally don't think it's likely. Remember: this is in the days where the different sides of the Atlantic had completely separate spheres of entertainment and the internet was still very nascent. I doubt they even knew who Letterman was, let alone knowing about the behind-the-scenes censorship controversy. [Footnote: years later, Letterman would air the performance in full and apologize to Hicks' mother.]

Another possibility: it may be a matter of timing; the band was in a bad place at this point and things were only getting worse. According to Yorke in a Rolling Stone interview, the band's all-time low point would come only two months after their 1997 appearance. Bad timing, bad mood... maybe.

But that's the history of my favorite band "feuding" (perhaps) with my favorite talk show host. It's always bothered me and the "feud" is made all the more irksome because it seemed to arise without a cause. My best guess is that their disdain for doing the show was a combination of being a famously temperamental band, resenting having to do TV appearances and the particular timing of August 1997. But that's only a best guess, and not very satisfying.

RLM - Ranking the Films of Joe Dante

Even if you aren't a Joe Dante fan, this is just a fun movie discussion.

Mr. Plinkett's What Happened To Star Wars?

 

I largely agree with Mr. Plinkett, aside from the fact that I have no opinions on "Andor" and "The Acolyte" because I haven't seen them. I am an old Star Wars fan who is not passionate enough to continue through the crap and also not passionate enough to complain about the crap. I've made my peace with reality, although this review brings the mourning back to the surface, ironically enough.

I miss the humorous Mr. Plinkett videos. This is solid anal-sis but it's a bit depressing, to be honest.

Build Your Own Cuckoo Clock

 

A good while ago I opined that I would love a "build your own" slot machine kit. I figured it was unrealistic because the amount of work to create the kit compared to the demand probably makes such an endeavor unprofitable.

But now there's a "build your own" cuckoo clock kit, which is pretty close. Such an interesting idea, though I'm unsure if I will pull the trigger on it. I have no need for the end result and I'm skeptical about how hands-on it will be with the clock mechanism itself - does the clock just come as a single piece or are you going to be assembling intricate gears?

Interesting, I thought.

Clue is Coming Back to Theaters

 

Clue is being re-released to theaters to mark its 40th anniversary. Check showtimes here.

The movie will reportedly be shown for 3 nights (August 24-26), with a different ending each night. Though when I search my area for show times it has more than 3 dates, so... repeats, I guess.

Pool Cleaning Videos Are Almost My Thing

 Continuing my series of discovering and cataloging Youtube genres, I've discovered Pool Cleaning Videos and they're somewhat compelling but not compelling enough, for reasons I'll explain.

There are at least two types of pool cleaning videos. In the first type, the pool is empty and they're cleaning the cement. These are fine, these are pleasing but you'll note they don't differ in any meaningful way from the Pressure Wash genre so I will omit talking about them. See below for an example.

Categories: "Things Going from Disorder to Order", "Cleaning", "Pressure Washing", "Oddly Satisfying."

The other type of pool cleaning video - the main one for the topic of this discussion - is a pool cleaning where the pool is full of water. You'll find my favorite example below.

Categories: "Things Going from Disorder to Order", "Cleaning", "Bright Colors", "Oddly Satisfying."

There are two aspects of this example I need to point out. First, you'll see the pouring of chemicals, the churning of the water and the color of the pool changing from dark dirt to a crystalline blue. It's an amazing phenomenon and one that I'd never seen before. This process is the main feature that all videos in this genre have in common. But as much as I find the color change satisfying, it's also too slow and usually involves "checking back in" periodically so you don't really get the satisfaction of watching it change before your eyes. This is the main disappointment of the genre - the pretty color change that I want to watch mostly happens off-screen.

The second aspect of this video to discuss is pretty rare and the reason this one rises above the rest... The part where they run some sort of pool vacuum and you watch the pool bottom getting cleaned in neat strips - the part starting around 11:00 - that's superb. That's the best. More of that please, because I haven't seen other videos that feature it.

So in summary, I find the Pool Cleaning Genre to be compelling but not as satisfying as other similar genres.

Popcorn in Bed - Bringing Up Baby

Absolutely delightful.

And now I'm looking forward to "The Philadelphia Story" which DOES star Jimmy Stewart and Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn.

The Blind Mike Project - Reacting to Jon Stewart Reacting to Colbert's Firing

Blind Mike has some thoughts on Jon Stewart's reaction to the Late Show's cancellation and it serves as an incisive look at the entire late night talkshow landscape.

My first reaction to the idea that talkshows can be more like podcasts was to dismiss it. But then he mentions Charlie Rose and Tom Snyder and it seems reasonable. That is essentially what those shows were. And they never got great ratings but they could be successful because they were so inexpensive to produce.

The Blind Mike Project - The Worst Comedy Special

I don't believe I've mentioned GD Fenderson already. GD is a stand-up comedian who's alledgedly made the worst stand-up special of all-time. Blind Mike is watching/reacting to the entire special in installments - every week or so, they're trudging through a few more minutes.

In this episode, they find a fun way to treat the added captions. It really elevates the material.

The official designations from Blind Mike are: Tom Myers is the worst stand-up comedian of all-time but GD Fenderson has the worst special of all-time. I haven't looked into it in-depth but I find these terms to be reasonable.

Best of the Worst - Star Slammer, Talos, and The Apple

RedLetterMedia's "Best of the Worst" Episode 141.

I won't spoil it but the ambition and execution of what they do at the end is what elevates this episode above the average.

Late Night - Norm's MTV Beach House Story

Conan's youtube channel has officially released this classic appearance by Norm Macdonald.

There are a number of mysteries with this particular clip.

1. I had every beat of this interview memorized and I don't remember where/how I watched it originally.
2. Why does the video start whilst coming back from commercial? There's a first segment that's omitted. You can watch that here. 
3. It's now 2025 and so we should be able to find and watch the MTV appearance Norm describes.  Norm was actually on for a week of shows, Days 1 through 4 are online, the incident should be found on Day 5 which did exist on the internet at one time, but has been thoroughly scrubbed from the internet. If you find it, let me know.

The Late Show is Ending

CBS has announced that the Late Show with Stephen Colbert will end its run in May 2026.

Stephen isn't being replaced, the show is simply ending for financial reasons.

Mr. T and Trees

As much as I did a deep-dive on Mr. T a while back (or several deep-dives) I believe I missed that he was in the National Guard for a short stint and the legendary story, now posted on military.com, from his time there:

At some point during his military career, a platoon sergeant started "throwing his weight around." He ordered Pvt. Mr. T to chop down trees on the base but failed to mention how many. Mr. T axed 70 trees in 3.5 hours before the company commander ordered him to stop.

A tall tale? The new Chuck Norris? A modern day Paul Bunyan? I sure don't know. But, reddit has already made the connection to other obscure Mr. T Tree lore (from Curbed Chicago):

 Now, in honor of Curbed Outdoors Week, let's take a look back at one of the Chicago area's most infamous landscaping debacles: Mr. T's 1987 inexplicable destruction of more than 100 trees (actual tree counts vary) on the old Armour estate in Lake Forest... 

...The home in question was built in 1910 for a banker named Orville Elias Babcock, and it was later occupied by meatpacking magnet[sic] Laurance Armour... In 1986, Mr. T (a Chicago native, by the way) bought the sprawling English Tudor estate for $1.7 million... Then, a year later, he went all Paul Bunyan on the hundreds of trees that filled his property. He even wiped out four 12-foot topiary trees that had been sculpted to represent birds in nests....

The papers called it the 'Lake Forest Chainsaw Massacre.' Arborists were stunned. And for his part, Mr. T never bothered to fully explain why he fired up a chainsaw and, alongside hired workmen, got busy clearcutting the oaks, elms and maples that populated his seven-acre estate...

So, I don't know, it seems that Mr. T hates trees. If we're looking to see if this can be added to the Mr. T Cinematic Universe, it maps to the S03E05 "A-Team" episode "Timber!" where the A-Team helps out a lumber company, but I don't know of any other connections.

Radiohead - Lift (Live at Pinkpop)

This performance, officially released today by the Pinkpop channel, is from 1996. From this time, it would be another 21 years before this song would be officially released. But the official release would be a disappointment, in my opinion, because the studio version can't compare to this one perfect live version from 1996. 

Of course, I wasn't a fan of any of the long-awaited releases ("I Promise", "Man of War") so maybe it's just me.

NOPE

 

NOPE.

The Mitch Hedberg Project

 

In 2001, Mitch Hedberg filmed a pilot for MTV which would document the comedy tour of himself and his friends.

The show was not picked up and never aired. The footage has recently re-surfaced and is presented above.

It's quite rare to hear a new Mitch Hedberg joke, these days.

Late Show - The Best of Norm Macdonald

A two part compilation of Norm Macdonald's best appearances on the Late Show with David Letterman.

Vanilla Coke Discontinued?

 A few weeks ago, I got the inexplicable urge to buy a Vanilla Coke.

I first visited a pharmacy, but it wasn't there. No surprise, this particular location is slowly going out of business. Then I went to another pharmacy, then another, then a Wawa. On this fourth location, I found one. 

Since then I've been curious. I looked for it at a Wegman's then a Weiss, then a 7-11. None available. Not a big deal, I just went back to the Wawa... not there this time.

Though I see no official word anywhere online, I theorize that Vanilla Coke is being discontinued. Everywhere where I might have found it, I see Coke Zero or the NEW Orange Coke, which is pretty good. It's possible that Coke is slowly and quietly phasing it out so as not to create a panic - a run on the bank if you will. 

Or not. But if you're a fan of Vanilla Coke, maybe keep an eye out and stock up. My impression is nobody really likes it much. It came out when I was in college so I suppose maybe I only like it due to some nostalgia. 

1980s Drug PSA

This is a drug PSA that aired in the mid-80s.

I saw this repeatedly when I was 4 or 5 and it freaked me out and haunted my dreams. I've been looking for it for a while but all I remember is a creepy girl waving a white stick and I remembered it involved climbing stairs, for some reason. Finally found it.

It'll make you feel good, good, good, good.

The Restored Original Cut of Dirty Work

As you may know,  "Dirty Work" was supposed to be an R movie but the executives intervened and made it PG-13. Now Vinegar Syndrome has re-created the original cut and released it.

I'm not much of a fan of "Dirty Work." As much as I love Norm, and I love Chris Farley, it's an "Ok" movie that doesn't live up to the talents of either. So my first instinct toward buying this is to pass. But then again, maybe that's exactly why I should buy it. Maybe I don't like it because I've only ever seen the wrong version.

The Haunting Balloon Boy Theme

Presented without comment.

Fixing Up a $1 House

Another video I found fascinating: it's just a timelapse on renovating a beaten down shack. Makes me wish I could do this. But maybe not... When it seems like they're still getting started and it says "Week 15" maybe it's not as satisfying as I imagine.

Happy Hell Track Day

It's Hell Track Day today.

Last year I explained what Hell Track Day was and where it came from. I also put off the question of how we're supposed to celebrate it until this year.  I still don't know. I'll try to come up with something in 2026, I guess.

Re:View - Back to the Future

 

Mike and Jay look back at "Back to the Future."

Nintendo Released an Album in 1991

 In 1990 Bobby Brooks, a talent agent, died in a helicopter crash along with Stevie Ray Vaughan. To honor him, MCA Records released a Nintendo-themed CD ("White Knuckle Scorin'") that included a whole host of songs and artists that had absolutely nothing to do with Nintendo or video games in general.

The first song, "Ignorance is Bliss" by Jellyfish is the only Nintendo-related track. It's set within the Super Mario World... world. Sung by Bowser, he tells the kids not to read. It's a clever case of that reverse psychology - the kids ARE encouraged to read, you see! I'm not sure how successful that was, considering that the kids are already into video games - that's time not spend reading - and all the time spent listening to a song on a CD is just more time not spent reading. So...

From there on, not only does it have no connection to Nintendo games, check out the hot artists that the kids love: Crosby, Stills and Nash; Dire Straits; Roy Orbison; Britny Fox; Sheena Easton among others.

The Roy Orbison track deserves a drill-down. "I Drove All Night" is a previously unreleased track and was also released posthumously, as Orbison had died in 1988. Releasing his music on Nintendo CDs is probably what he would have wanted, I guess. The music video features black and white footage of Jason Priestly making out with Jennifer Connelly, which makes it all-time peak 1991, as far as I'm concerned. The video also features old footage of Orbison and "subtle background references to the Mario series and the album's title" according to Wikipedia. 

But does it contain subtle references? I see a sign that says "Princess" and a sign flashes on screen that says "White Knuckle Scorin.'" It's up there for about a tenth of a second, so I guess the claim is technically true. I guess. There's also a "Dino Dogs" sign that could be construed as referring to Yoshi. Seems pointless.

Having listened to the full album (time I could have spent reading, by the way), it just makes no sense. The artists are pretty stellar, the songs are generally good, it's just they don't belong together and the fact that they're released within a Nintendo context is just crazy.

Hey, I have an idea how you could make a CD with a collection of unrelated pop artists which would have a Nintendo/Mario connection AND it just so happens that my plan ALSO involves Roy Orbison.

As you probably remember, almost all of the Koopalings in Super Mario Bros 3 (and Super Mario World), were named and styled after some musician:

So there's your lineup. You've got your album right there. You're coming straight outta the gate with U2, then on to The Plasmatics, then some Iggy Pop, then Roy Orbison, then Motorhead and finally Beethoven. Then, since Bowser is the final boss, you can tack on the "Ignorance is Bliss" track. Going out on a bang. That's your absolutely absurd collection of bands/artists all on one compact disc that has the Nintendo label on the front. Sure, it'll appeal to no one but at least this one has a tenuous connection to Nintendo.

Cheri Oteri Interview

I don't know if you're in the market for a longform interview with SNL cast member Cheri Oteri but I saw this and said, "Yes, please."

I think it was already pretty known that the Rita Delvecchio character was based on growing up in Upper Darby but it was fun hearing about it. And SNL stories are always fun, especially when Christopher Walken is involved.

Best of the Worst - Plinketto #12

The boys watch 3 movies based on the randomization of a not-so-legally-distinct Plinko board.

Of interest to me, and perhaps to you, they watch "The Peanut Butter Solution" which I covered myself here. It's fun to see that our thoughts mesh well. Of particular note: we both compare "The Peanut Butter Solution" to "Rosemary's Baby," which is wildly specific.

Upscaled Film From WWI

Film footage from WWI that has been cleaned, upscaled, increased in framerate, colorized, etc.

Apologies if this is boring to you. I saw it and was struck, once again, at how close this is to time travel.

The Blind Mike Project - Alec Baldwin

 

I don't understand it all but Alec Baldwin makes a video about his dead mother (for some reason) and it somehow turns into comedy gold.

Music Video for Psycho Killer Released

 

Strange times. "Psycho Killer" was a song by the Talking Heads released in 1977. The official music video was just released today.

I'm a big Talking Heads fan and a big fan of "Psycho Killer." In the abstract, I'm not opposed to making a modern music video for it - I don't see the point, really, but not opposed. But I don't get this. The contrast in era between the music and video is too great, it's jarring. I think maybe it could be helped if you go for a 70s aesthetic, but I don't know. Certainly a better concept/story is called for, for such a classic song.

BrutalMoose - Tupperware Tapes

Brutalmoose watches VHS tapes about how to throw a Tupperware party.

My grandmother was the queen of Tupperware. One of things of hers that I inherited is the "How to Throw a Tupperware Party" book, which was probably the forerunner of the tape. But I never realized the multi-level marketing aspect to it before. We were constantly bombarded with new Tupperware but I don't remember ever hearing a pitch about becoming a salesperson once.

In Time (Vaporwave)

Does the vaporwave version improve upon Robbie Robb's "In Time?" Well, I think it's a lateral move but it's pretty cool and you can decide for yourself.

New Puddings #2

Whereas we previously covered two chocolate bar based puddings, we're onto Sonic milkshake puddings. 

It should be noted that I know nothing about Sonic shakes. There's a Sonic near me and I've gotten food there maybe twice and I don't think I ever included a shake. So I won't be attempting to evaluate how well they simulate what they're trying to simulate and I'll just focus on whether they're enjoyable.

Sonic Birthday Cake Shake Pudding

You can probably imagine how this tastes by the name but I was trying to figure out how to describe "birthday cake" flavor anyway. Is it... vanilla + butter + more sugar? It's that in pudding.

What shines here is the Vanilla. I am a huge Vanilla pudding fan, so I'm down for this. Nothing spectacular but good.

Sonic Strawberry Shake Pudding

What are the top dessert flavors? Vanilla, Chocolate, Strawberry, right? So it would seem to follow logically that we've had Strawberry pudding a million times and yet... I think this is the first time in my life I have had it. That is a strange revelation.

And I don't think I like it. I mean, it's not bad, I'm not sure any pudding is bad, but I don't like it. It's obviously an artificial strawberry flavor but it's just not a good artificial strawberry. Mine also had a hint of garlic but that was picked up from sitting in my fridge. Even taking the garlic out of the equation, it's just not a hit.

Sonic Banana Shake Pudding

I love Banana pudding. That's my bias. I love this. This is my favorite. Is this better than the other brands of Banana pudding? I can't tell. That would take a side-by-side comparison. Does the "shake" simulation part throw it off somewhat, or is it an improvement? I don't know. But it's great.

---

My favorite pudding is Vanilla so I would have liked to try that, but it appears to have been discontinued. I'd also like to try plain old Chocolate but that's hard to find also.

RLM - The Future of AI Cinema

Mike and Jay discuss the state of AI in cinema and what it means for the future.

New Puddings #1

 Pudding's been a stale game for a while - it's Jell-O, with the standard flavors, and it's the other guys. But I recently saw - I don't remember where - some people are changing up the game, ya dig?

Milky Way Pudding

Now between the two candy bars represented in this post, Milky Way is my favorite, so this pudding theoretically had the greatest chance of success.

The pudding, I suppose, is attempting to simulate the chocolate, the nougat and the caramel. The chocolate and nougat, it simulates well. The caramel is represented by a weird taste that seems to me to have nothing to do with caramel. I'd call it butterscotch... maybe.

I wouldn't say this tastes at all like a Milky Way bar but, at the same time, it has a deep earthy cocoa flavor that I really appreciate, so I would marginally recommend it (if that's your thing).

Snickers Pudding

I think Snickers are Milky Ways with peanuts. Am I wrong about that? I think so. So this has to simulate the same flavors plus peanuts. And this it does well - there is a definite peanut flavor with the chocolate. I would give this a thumb's up in the aspect of simulating the candy bar.

The thing is, though, do you really want this kind of smooth artificial peanut simulation? Make regular chocolate pudding and add real peanuts. Even better, make regular chocolate pudding and add peanut butter. Have you ever done that? It's the best (aside from the seed oil aspect).

Conclusion

In the end, these aren't terrible but are also skippable. Try them if you really want to. Available at Walmart and Amazon, and probably other places. Peanut butter and chocolate pudding is the real MVP.

On the Authorship of Shakespeare's Plays

When the subject of "who wrote Shakespeare's plays" comes up, this video is a fair representation of what you're told about the controversy.

The controversy is waved off as merely down to intellectual snobbery - an uneducated man couldn't be the greatest writer of all-time. And just in case you don't find that retort satisfying, well remember that the people who are quick to dismiss any conspiracy theories will also tell you it also doesn't really matter. Well why'd you bring it up at all?

But it isn't intellectual snobbery to think that a man living in the late 1500's, with little or no education, and who owned no books, could have "a profound knowledge of English, Latin, Greek and Italian as well as a deep and wide knowledge of history, mythology and multiple subjects like jurisprudence, military matters, foreign geography, seamanship amongst much else."

In fact, the official story sounds pretty ridiculous, when you really look at it.

Check out "On The Impossibility Of Shakespeare Having Written The Plays" by The Hidden Life is Best.

AVGN - Dragon's Lair Revisited

The Angry Video Game Nerd revisits one of the games from his early episodes: Dragon's Lair. He attempts to get further into the game, and possibly even beat it.

It seems so apparent to me that this game was specifically designed to ruin the lives of children, that I looked up a speedrun to see to what extent a best-case scenario is possible. Here it is:

If Star Wars Had Danger Zone

Star Wars with Kenny Loggins' "Danger Zone."

The Charismatic Voice - Virtual Insanity

 

I don't have any real opinions on Jamiroquai one way or the other but it's a nice trip back to the late 90's.

Oh, I do have one opinion, actually. It's amazing to me how all the elements of this video came together perfectly. You don't just have the concept but the "slipperiness" of the floor is combined with a great dancer who can make it amazing. And they didn't just combine the concept and the dancing and say "we'll improvise" - this is meticulously planned and choreographed. And how are we going to hide the edits? It's just in time for early CGI. Everything just comes together perfectly to make a hit video.

Burt Reynolds Made an Album

Sometimes when a celebrity's at the height of fame and fortune, the praise can be so momentous that they're convinced making an album is a good idea.

Such is the case with Burt Reynolds' in 1973 and the resulting album was "Ask Me What I Am." 

It's very much of-its-time, with the Folk-Country talk-singing style. With titles such as:

• The First One That I Lay With
• She's Taken A Gentle Lover
• I Didn't Shake The World Today
• There's A Slight Misunderstanding Between God And Man
• I Like Having You Around

Is it like Neil Diamond? You bet your balls it's like Neil Diamond!

The thing is, though: I don't hate it. It's actually pretty charming. 

For a complete "analysis" of the album check out the podcast "Billion Dollar Record Club" and their episode about it here.

New Glitch Discovered in Super Mario Bros.

 

A new glitch was recently discovered in Super Mario Bros. which allows speedrunners to shave 20 seconds off their time (though pulling it off is very difficult).

This is another video that gets into the nature of the glitch by digging into the programming.

Shoji Tabuchi Died Two Years Ago

 I guess I'm way behind on entertainment news but Shoji Tabuchi apparently died in 2023.

RIP Shoji.

 

Scorch Update for April 2025

 

Checking in on Scorch.

Scorch is on tour, living the dream, without Meghan who can't be on because selling old napkin holders for 25 cents each takes priority. Scorch still has the antagonistic relationship with the chat, which is why I stopped watching regularly.

When a Youtube Suggestion Offers Nothing

 

Peter Schickele?

 The credit to this discovery goes to the "Why Are You Laughing" podcast, which you can listen to here.

In 1990, the nominees for the Grammy for Best Comedy Album were:

• Sandra Bernhard - Without You I'm Nothing
• Erma Bombeck - Motherhood: The Second Oldest Profession
• Andrew Dice Clay - Dice
• Sam Kinison - "Wild Thing"
• Peter Schickele - P.D.Q. Bach: 1712 Overture and Other Musical Assaults

Winner: Peter Schickele

In 1991, the nominees for the Best Comedy Album Grammy were:

• Bob Elliott & Ray Goulding - The Best of Bob and Ray: Selections from a Career, Vol. 4
• Garrison Keillor - More News from Lake Wobegon
• Various artists - The Best of Comic Relief '90
• Jonathan Winters - Jonathan Winters into the '90s
• Peter Schickele - P.D.Q. Bach: Oedipus Tex and Other Choral Calamities

Winner: Peter Schickele

1992, Best Comedy Album:

• Erma Bombeck - When You Look Like Your Passport Photo, It's Time to Go Home
• George Carlin - Parental Advisory: Explicit Lyrics
• Garrison Keillor - Local Man Moves to the City
• Jackie Mason - Brand New
• Peter Schickele - P.D.Q. Bach: WTWP Classical Talkity-Talk Radio

Winner: Peter Schickele

1993:

• George Burns - An Evening with George Burns
• Rita Rudner - Naked Beneath My Clothes
• Jonathan Winters - Jonathan Winters is Terminator 3
• "Weird Al" Yankovic - Off the Deep End
• Peter Schickele - P.D.Q. Bach: Music for an Awful Lot of Winds and Percussion

Winner: Peter Schickele

Peter Schickele won 4 times in 4 straight years, against a murderer's row of talent: George Burns, Jonathan Winters, Weird Al, Jackie Mason, George Carlin, Sam Kinison, Various Artists... this guy beat them all.

Have you ever heard of him? Have you ever heard of someone who's heard of him? Isn't this guy on the Mt. Rushmore of comedy? How did this happen? Is this guy the most critically acclaimed yet underrated comedian in history? Well, let's take a look at his act.

Okay, well that's not great. But it's also pretty visual and he got his awards from his "P.D.Q. Bach" albums. We need to examine those.

Wikipedia:

Schickele developed an elaborate parody around his studies of P.D.Q. Bach, the fictional "youngest and the oddest of the twenty-odd children" of Johann Sebastian Bach.

Okay, well I can't find his albums on youtube directly but here's one of the songs on an album:

Comedy?! Man, awards mean nothing. People still venerate them and I used to do that myself but they are literally meaningless.

Why Are You Laughing? - Late Night Wars

 For those of you who want to learn about the Late Night wars of Leno vs. Letterman, there is no better resource than Bill Carter's book "The Late Shift."

But if you don't want to commit hours and hours of reading time, the "Why Are You Laughing?" podcast is perhaps the second best source of information.

The book was turned into a made-for-tv movie also (same name), for those of you who would prefer that. But that's a distant 3rd place, as the movie is less informative and a bit cheesy.

And for those of you who want to learn about the Late Night wars of Leno vs. Conan, there is no better resource than Bill Carter's book "The War for Late Night."

But, as above, if books aren't for you, the following podcast has you covered. There has been no made-for-tv movie about this topic, to my knowledge, but can you imagine?

If you'd like to read my book review of "The War for Late Night" see here.

As a self-proclaimed expert, I have my disagreements and differences with the podcast, just as I do with the TV movie. But they're mainly minor quibbles and who cares anyway? I enjoy their fresh perspective shedding light on my own.

Paul Shaffer: Behind the Music

 

A classic bit from the Late Show.

I watched this a million times on the Late Show website, back in the day. This is the first time I'm seeing it in actual video rather than the horror that was RealAudio/RealMedia over slow internet. Remember RealAudio?

The Charismatic Voice - No Rain

 

There is a thing that seems to happen often where a band will put an unusual "outlier" song on their album and that will be the big hit that everyone likes. People buying the album for that song, may be disappointed that the rest of the album is so different. And the band may feel the pressure of success and be forced to change their entire sound to satisfy expectations.

Such is the case with Blind Melon's eponymous album. "No Rain" is a complete outlier: rather than Country-tinged hippy rock, the album is mainly is bluesy, hard-ish rock, somewhat reminiscent of Led Zeppelin. Seriously. With the benefit of this hindsight, listen again to the vocals of "No Rain" and you will hear the Robert Plant in there.

I don't say that "No Rain" is one of the greatest songs of all-time but the music video for "No Rain" is one of the greatest music videos of all-time. So simple, so effective, so affecting.

Rad References in Hot Rod

 

In a previous post I mentioned that "Rad" is available on AltaVod and that one of the special features is an interview between Jorma Taccone (of The Lonely Island) and the cast. Jorma makes it clear that he is a huge fan and says he put "a ton" of "Rad" references into his own works. I thought it would be fun to go through some of them.

First, the phrase "set to jet" used in the "Rad" dance scene is in "MacGruber."

"Hot Rod" and "Rad" are both bike movies, culminating in a big event at the end with crowded bleachers. 

Rod's uniform often has a big star on it, reminiscent of Cru's outfit for the big race.

Both Rod and Cru get special outfits before the big race replete with stars.

Rod's friends' "Team Rod" t-shirts, are clearly referencing "Rad Racing." In both movies, the friends wear them to show support in the big climactic event.

Wesley's "Charming-Check, Witty-Check, etc" shirt is recreated for Richardson in "Hot Rod."

And in both movies, the villains drive a red corvette.

There may be more references that I didn't catch and there are other cases where it's hard to tell the difference between a reference and a coincidence.

Finally, there's a similarity that's a bit of a riddle. In "Hot Rod," Rod gets gifted a new bike in honor of the big event at the end. When Cru is gifted a new bike for Hell Track only in the deleted scene that I grew up with and remembered. Did Jorma watch the same version that I did or is this just a complete coincidence?

Rad on AltaVod

Unbeknownst to me, a special "Superfan" edition of "Rad" was released on AltaVod in 2020. It includes "original bonus footage and an exclusive Q&A with the Rad cast, moderated by The Lonely Island's Jorma Taccone." I bought it, mostly to define exactly what the bonus footage is.

Before the bonus footage, obviously there is a remastered version of the movie. It looks good.

Bonus footage. First, there is the aforementioned interview with the cast. It includes Bart Conner, Bill Allen, the co-writer of the script Sam Bernard and the producer/actor Talia Shire. It's a fairly standard interview with many of the stories and factoids that we've heard already. There's one notable thing within it and I'll be making a post about that later.

Secondly, there is a promotional "making of" film from the time of the movie's release. Aside from the novelty of a 1980s documentary (it reminds me of "Plymouth International Ice Spectacular"), it's mostly just filler: how the movie was made, who's in it, constructing Hell Track, footage from the set. There is one gem. It contains an alternate angle of "Hollywood" Mike Moranda's second dramatic exit of the day. That is the gold nugget in the tons and tons of dirt. Will we ever again uncover more footage of his iconic wipeout? I doubt it. I would share a screenshot but the image is interlaced and so the still looks so bad it's not worth sharing.

Finally, there are interviews with Bart Conner, Bill Allen, Lori Loughlin and Hal Needham. The interviews were conducted at the time that the movie was being made. Aside from the fact that interviews with Hal Needham seem fairly rare, and you learn a little bit more about the actors, it's standard stuff.

And that's it. The movie and special features are all combined into a single video file, which is annoying, but in keeping with the experience of a VHS.

Late Show - Best of Vince Vaughn

It's the best of Vince Vaughn and it's all gold.

Best of the Worst: Terror Squad, Back from Hell, and Traxx

A really solid "Best of the Worst" where they discover "Traxx" - perhaps an all-timer.

Gordon Ramsey Makes Pancakes?

A clever edit of Gordon Ramsey cooking.

I love how this is such a simple idea but so effective.

An Update on the Status of Jabez Rockwell's Powder Horn

 Ever since I reported Jabez Rockwell's powder horn as missing from Valley Forge, I know everyone has been on pins and needles waiting to hear where to find it. I now have an answer.

After being given a contact in the government(?) to ask, I sent an email. And after waiting for them to find my email in their SPAM folder and respond, I can report...

The Jabez Rockwell powder horn is currently on loan for the 250th Revolutionary War special exhibit, “Call to Arms: The Soldier and the Revolutionary War." This exhibit will run from June 14, 2025, through July 2027 and is being displayed in the National Museum of the U.S. Army (NMUSA) located at Ft. Belvoir, VA. National Museum of the United States Army.

That's bad news for me but good news for all the people in Virginia looking to view that particular item (maybe 1 person, maybe as many as 2). Well, June to July is a while but I can re-try sometime after July, maybe. Oh wait... July 2027.

Alright then. Enjoy it, Virginians.

If you'd like to learn the story of Washington and Jabez Rockwell, click here.

Simulated Marble Races

I've posted a number of youtube genres over the years under the heading of "oddly satisfying" but this one has to be the most pointless. Not just a marble race, but a virtual marble race. There are a million of these and they all have millions of views.

Please, no wagering.

I'm wondering if the same race is run multiple times, if the result is exactly the same each time.