The Yacht Club

Super Bowl of Ties

2012-02-05T20:55:00.000-08:00

The tradition is this: without a rooting interest in either team, spend the Super Bowl engaging in activities that are very un-Super-Bowl-ish (see: 2011, 2010). This year? A "Family Ties" marathon, babay!

Now, "Growing Pains" and "Family Ties" aired around the same time and were pretty similar in many respects. And although I've never seen a survey done, I'd guess that most people's favorite show was "Growing Pains". While I enjoyed both shows, I always preferred "Family Ties". "Growing Pains" was more purely comical, which is fine, but "Family Ties" had real heart - tackling head-on the important issues of the day. Plus, I'd rather watch Michael J. Fox and Meredith Baxter than anyone on the other show. Of course, "Growing Pains" had a character named "Boner" so it's not an entirely cut and dry issue.

So, get a spoon and some ice cream, it's time to run it down....

S01 E03: "I Know Jennifer's Boyfriend" - Jennifer becomes friends with a boy but after being teased and bullied, has second thoughts. Good, we're easing into things slowly with some standard 80's sitcom fare. Fair enough.

S01 E04: "Summer of '82" - A college girl appreciates Alex's economic views and sleeps with him. When she doesn't want a serious relationship, Alex feels cheap. Wow, that got out of hand quickly. It jumped up a notch, didn't it? Only episode 4 and already 17 year old Alex had pre-marital sex. I was NOT expecting that. We got 7 seasons to go, writers, pace yourselves. Save something in the tank for Season 7.

S01 E05: "I Never Killed for My Father" - OK, we tackled pretty heady stuff in the last episode. It's time to break up the seriousness with some comedic relief. Steven's (the dad's) father makes a visit and reveals he's going to die soon and there's nothing the doctor's can do.

S01 E06: "Give Your Uncle Arthur a Kiss" - With the fluff out of the way, it's back to serious mode. When a friend of the family, known as "Uncle Arthur", makes a pass at Jennifer, it leaves her hurt and confused. I can't believe my parents let me watch this show. "Family Ties" is not for the weak. Geeeeez. Let's move on.

S01 E07: "Big Brother is Watching" - An examination of both the role of a free press in exposing governmental corruption and the moral dilemma of whether truth should be sacrificed in the name of privacy to protect "the little fish".

S01 E08: "No Nukes is Good Nukes" - The Keaton family debates the topic of nuclear proliferation. When the parents' anti-nuclear weapon demonstration lands them in jail, will it ruin Thanksgiving dinner? Here's the thing. Regardless of your views on nuclear weapons (for or against), don't schedule a protest on Thanksgiving Day, please. That's just poor planning. It's just that kind of poor leadership from the left that makes me suspect a second term for Ronald Reagan is inevitable.

S01 E09: "Death of a Grocer" - Cue another fatal disease! Actually, despite what the title would have you believe, no one actually dies. Alex ditches his job at a friendly "mom and pop" grocery store to work at the monster corporation supermarket but soon regrets this decision. Unfortunately, I was fooled by the title and just waiting for the kindly old man to keel over at every turn. Then with one minute to go in the episode, he decides to close the store early to watch the sunset and I'm thinking, "Oh, here it is." but credits roll instead.

And that's it. We shared some laughs. We shared tears. We made cocoa in the middle of the night. dWe're all better people.

Observations

We all think of 80's sitcoms as fluffy bubble gum laughs of non-material saccharin frivolity. Even the "very special episodes", the thinking goes, were tackling the "tough" topics of littering or poor clock management. With just the first few episodes of "Family Ties" as proof, this notion could not be further from the truth. The key though is to be implicit not explicit. You gotta disguise everything using code. Here are some examples:

Elyse: Steven, what do you think your father would like with dinner - beer or wine?

Steven: Well definitely beer, Elyse. You know how my father feels about wine... it's OK for women and interior decorators.

"Women and interior decorators". Has anyone ever used this phrase ever? Still, message received.

Here's how Alex informs his father that he's had sex:

Alex: Well, you know what you think might have happened?

Steven: [Nods nervously].

Alex: That's what happened.

Clever. He says it but he doesn't actually say it.

See, apparently any taboo topic that everyone's covering these days could be an episode of "Family Ties", you just gotta be euphemistic. I didn't know that. I guess they were more 90's than 50's after all. At least, "Family Ties" was. I haven't revisited other shows of the era.

As an aside, I noticed that a poster hanging in the Keaton's kitchen is a concert poster for the Paul Butterfield Blues Band. Those crazy hippies.

And that's it.

Sha Na Na Naaaaaaaa.

Steve Merchant on Letterman

2012-02-04T22:09:00.000-08:00

Steve Merchant, co-writer, co-director of "The Office" appeared on the Late Show Thursday and talked about being tall.

Steve's on to promote his new stand-up tour as well as the series "Life's Too Short". As someone who's seen "Life's Too Short", I can say it is awful. On the other hand, Steve's produced a new season of "An Idiot Abroad" (now airing on Science Channel) and that one IS a show that humans might enjoy.

30

2012-02-01T18:50:00.000-08:00

Tonight marks David Letterman's 30th Anniversary of hosting a late night talk show. Dave hosted "Late Night" from Feb 1, 1982 to 1993 and will have hosted the "Late Show" from 1993 to Feb 1, 2012).

The show will celebrate the same way it always celebrates an anniversary - by having Bill Murray on. Or not. Bill Murray was the guest last night (1/31). Instead, tonight's guest will be Howard Stern. Must be some mix up with the mail. During the show, Regis Philbin refereed as Bill Murray kicked a field goal to the sound of bagpipes. For Letterman, that's called "Tuesday".

Dave's 30 years in late night will be celebrated without much fanfare - no special, no "best of" clip show, and no media blitz interviews. The one place it will probably be acknowledged is in tonight's show (probably the Top Ten and the monologue).

Almost all of the news stories about this event mention that, as of tonight, Letterman will be surpassing Johnny Carson who hosted "The Tonight Show" for 30 seasons. It's just another (albeit insignificant) indicator of just how unimportant "facts" and "research" are in today's media. Every news story just parrots every other news story.

In terms of number of days being a late night talk show host, Letterman has already surpassed Johnny Carson. Letterman has reached his exact 30th anniversary (minus 3 months for the transition from "Late Night" to "Late Show", the hiatus for his heart surgery, and the shingles hiatus). And while Carson hosted for 30 seasons, it was 29 years and 7 months in terms of the calendar.

In terms of number of episodes, more of the same. Carson was the host of "The Tonight Show" for 4,531 episodes. Letterman = 1,819 "Late Night" episodes + 3,614 "Late Show" episodes for a total of 5,433 episodes.

It's only in terms of total number of hours of television hosting that it becomes somewhat of a question mark. Johnny Carson's smaller number of episodes is counteracted by the fact that "The Tonight Show" ran 105 minutes per episode from 1962-1966 and 90 minutes per episode from 1967-1980. Letterman's entire run has been in the 60 and 62 minute eras. In order to come up with concrete numbers I'd have to break into the Museum of Television and Radio. As best I can calculate (rough estimates and round numbers though still putting way more effort and thought into it than is called for), it's close but, again, Letterman comes out on top. The difference being the large number of times Johnny had a guest-host (well over 600 episodes) vs. only a handful for Letterman (heart surgery hiatus, shingles hiatus).

By any measure of time, Letterman surpasses Carson tonight in no way whatsoever. It already happened. Thus ends this sports-like examination of late night comedy.

And congratulations on an unprecedented 10,957 days of late-night television hosting.

Jammin' On The One

2012-01-19T15:16:00.000-08:00

The man, the myth, the legend, Bill Cosby was on Late Night last night. He's getting up in age, he's a little bit slower now, he's a bit more rambling. But Bill Cosby not at the top of his game, is still better than almost everyone else at the top of their's.

His walk-on music was, what I call, "Jammin' on the One" from the episode when the Cosby family met Stevie Wonder and helped him make a song using the magic of synthesizers. Awesome. Later, as they throw to commercial, the music is interstitial music from "Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids".

Unfortunately, the interview is so long, the excerpt of it on hulu is not the full interview so I had to create a clip out of the full episode. So the video will expire in a few days.

A word of advice to anyone who books Bill Cosby on their show: don't bother booking any other guests. That's the show.

Blog Poster's Fire

2012-01-15T16:38:00.000-08:00

John Parr recently remade his hit song "St. Elmo's Fire" to ride the recent Tim Tebow hub bub. But Conan reveals that this isn't the first time he's done it.

You just can't put "fire" behind anything.

Weekend Update Roundup

2012-01-11T10:43:00.000-08:00

First, Nicholas Fehn is back with another insightful commentary. Nick is known for taking a sideways glance at the week's news and in these tumultuous times, it's his time to shine. This one is one of his best.

And next Drunk Uncle stops by to offer his views on the year just completed and the year ahead.

Philly Phriction: Fey Vs. Quest

2012-01-11T10:20:00.000-08:00

I was unaware of a feud but apparently fellow Philadelphians Tina Fey and Questlove of The Roots have developed either a misunderstanding or a feud or both.

In last night's episode of Late Night, it was time to either squash it or settle it behind the Wawa.

On a personal note, I love Tina Fey's Philly. I could listen to that all day. I wish I could do one. I can do about a million different accents (more or less badly) but I've never been able to do a Philly accent. It's weird.

The Nog Hog Revealed

2012-01-10T14:15:00.000-08:00

When Conan first saw it he was appalled. He used his Executive Powers to cancel the sketch immediately. But the audience overruled him and the sketch has aired.

All who are weak of heart, turn away now. This is the Nog Hog:

Don't blame me, I voted "No" on the poll. I am the 10 percent.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T16:19:00.000-08:00

Conan participates in the office "secret Santa":

The return of Minty, the candy cane that fell on the ground:

Jay Thomas tells the famous Lone Ranger story (now enhanced with a dramatic reenactment):

Darlene Love performs "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)":

Merry Christmas.

Holiday Tips From Stephon

2011-12-21T09:25:00.000-08:00

Stephon is back with his tips for tourists spending Christmas in New York City:

It seems Spud Webb is really in demand these days.

Classic Conan Callback, "Clutch Cargo" Confuses Crappy Crowd

2011-12-09T20:11:00.000-08:00

THIS IS GONNA BE HUGE, CONAN. Like "Triumph" yet another classic bit has returned on Conan's new show. Again, I am baffled as to how the bit isn't intellectual property of NBC. It's wonderful but it's still puzzling.

Anyways, the classic piece returns and when such a Conan cornerstone unexpectedly comes back from the dead - after a hiatus of literally YEARS (I think) - I would have expected the audience to go crazy. I'd of expected the joy and surprise to overflow forcing the show to pause and wait for the 10 minute standing ovation to subside. Instead, the audience seems to not understand what's going on and, more than anything, they seemed confused.

Loved to see it. Hopefully it's back for good.

Conan - Spaderbating

2011-11-28T21:40:00.000-08:00

Spaderbating? In this clip, Conan explains the new fad that's sweeping the 80's.

Head Swap! - Thanksgiving Edition

2011-11-28T21:35:00.001-08:00

It's time once again for the smart, hip, biting satire that is ... Head Swap!

The Doors - Reading Rainbow

2011-11-11T22:29:00.000-08:00

Underscoring the unpredictable nature of late night television, the Doors stopped by Late Night to reunite and perform live for the first time in four decades.

Legend has it that Jimmy Fallon asked them to change the lyric "I can go twice as high" to "I can go twice as far". Morrison initially agreed but, when it came time for the live performance, sang the taboo version. Jimmy was so angry, he vowed to never have them back.

Take Me Home... Take Me Away

2011-11-11T20:46:00.000-08:00

This cover of Eddie Money's "Take Me Home Tonight" is awesome. It's SO awesome that I've never made it through the whole thing. Is this a joke? Is it serious? Is the dad Neil Young? Why does his bullet wound have a fluorescent glow? If the set of notes contained in the original don't intersect with the set of notes in the cover, can it truly be said to be a cover? Have we reached the very limits of auto-tuning technology? Who are the ad wizards that came up with this one?!

Get caught up in the magic:

Triumph At Occupy Wall Street

2011-11-04T11:27:00.000-07:00

In yet another return of a long time character, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog is back to report on the situation at Occupy Wall Street.

I'm a little surprised that they're able to do this. It would seem to me that "Triumph" is part of the vast array of things they're not allowed to do on the new show because it's intellectual property of NBC.

I love that, in the beginning there was at least a semblance of keeping the "reality" of the skit - there was some effort made to show the puppet but not the arm controlling it. Now it's so big, they just don't care anymore.

Here's something the other "tour guides" won't tell you... there's a weird moment exactly at 8:26, Triumph is shown with an African American guy in a wizard costume. Could it be the same wizard from when Triumph insulted Star Wars fans (Blackwolf the Dragonmaster)?

I think it is! What in the what?!

Andy Across America

2011-11-02T17:22:00.000-07:00

While others flew in a plane, Andy was forced to drive the entire journey from L.A. to New York. He brought along a camera crew to document the experience.

The video vividly relays the excitement mixed with the sleepy boredom, the adventure mixed with the mundanity of the giant undertaking. By the end, his experience of Philadelphia is to groggily force down a cheesesteak. I can't say I blame him. All in all though, I bet it would be pretty cool.

Conan O'brien: Pedicab Driver

2011-11-02T15:06:00.000-07:00

Still in New York City, and having failed as a Chinese deliveryman, Conan drives people around in a pedicab.... with sexy results.

Jimmy Fallon on Conan

2011-11-01T16:14:00.000-07:00

Jimmy Fallon was the first guest of Conan's during his New York stint. It's always fun when talk show worlds collide. This interview takes the normal amount of clock time yet it seems to go by in seconds. I think upwards of 3 topics are covered in ten minutes.

Conan in New York, Delivers Food

2011-11-01T16:01:00.001-07:00

Conan's in New York for a very special week of shows. In this bit, he delivers Chinese food... poorly.

Bit + Andy = Awesome

2011-10-25T16:46:00.000-07:00

In "Fan Corrections" viewers try to spot mistakes in the show. So far no criticism has held up against cross-examination. This routine bit is improved immensely by Andy Richter's contribution.

Steel Panther - Crossfire

2011-10-14T12:35:00.001-07:00

In case you don't know Steel Panther are a tongue-in-cheek novelty 80's hair metal band. Like Spinal Tap, they stay in-character nearly all the time which blurs the line between a "fake" and "real" band. Some people don't even "get" that it's a joke.

I don't know much about them and I'm not on the lookout for a new hair band but I do know this: they've done a cover of the "Crossfire" theme and that needed to happen:

Conan (Back) On Late Night

2011-10-06T21:10:00.000-07:00

For the first time Conan returns to "Late Night" and NBC.

When Conan took over as host, Letterman came on the show for a full interview. Not just a cameo. I wish he had done the same but I'd guess it's unlikely.

I hope we hear the rest of that Fall anecdote at some point.

Late Night - Radiohead

2011-10-04T12:51:00.000-07:00

Last night Radiohead was the musical guest on "Late Night". I'm obviously a big fan but if there's a band out there that's capable of making more delicate and beautiful songs than this, please let me know, because I know of none...

Andy Rooney's Lost His Mind, Has Retired

2011-10-04T12:35:00.000-07:00

After 33 years after he completely lost his mind, Andy Rooney has finally retired from "60 Minutes". Some people say - though I don't know - that he had valid points for at least the first three years or so. Regardless, I can say unequivocally, from first-hand experience, that he hasn't had a good point in the past 22 years.

But despite retiring, old habits die hard:

Eye In The Sky

2011-10-03T08:14:00.000-07:00

Once in a while a song will come on the radio that you haven't heard in a long time and it's the perfect song in that moment. I had that today.

The sound of this song = me on this day.

Top Gun Auditions

2011-10-01T20:30:00.001-07:00

The 25th Anniversary Edition of the "Top Gun" DVD features screen test footage heretofore unseen by the general public. You can see it here for the first time:

If you didn't see the season premiere of SNL last week, it's probably worth checking out. In terms of audience reaction, it was probably the strongest episode I've ever seen. In all episodes of SNL there are at least one or two clunkers. It just happens. This episode - every single sketch the audience was howling with laughter. It's probably and anomaly but who knows, perhaps they've hit a stride of some sort.

Pink Floyd Week: Pearl Jam - "Mother"

2011-10-01T09:23:00.000-07:00

Pearl Jam raps up Pink Floyd Week with a cover of "Mother". Again, not thrilled with the song choice but the execution is really good:

Nick Thune vs. Andy Richter

2011-09-29T18:27:00.001-07:00

After "The Snub Heard Around the World" a new documentary seeks to shed light on the Nick Thune / Andy Richter cold war. The trailer is out and it looks interesting:

Nick and Andy: Coming Soon from Nick Thune

Pink Floyd Week: MGMT - "Lucifer Sam"

2011-09-29T07:18:00.000-07:00

Going back to the old school, MGMT perform "Lucifer Sam" on Late Night:

I was kind of wondering if someone would do a cover from the psychedelic phase. Not really familiar with MGMT (or Management as I call them) but they do a good job.

Pink Floyd Week: Roger Waters, Foo Fighters - In The Flesh

2011-09-28T06:46:00.001-07:00

Last night Roger Waters joined the Foo Fighters to perform "In The Flesh" as Pink Floyd week continues. Great pairing, I'd like to see other songs. They need more guitars though.

Pink Floyd Week: The Shins - Breathe

2011-09-27T10:39:00.000-07:00

It's Pink Floyd Week all this week on the Late Nights with Jim Fallon. Monday they started with The Shins performing "Breathe".

Cinematic Science: Selleck's 'Stache

2011-09-24T15:39:00.000-07:00

Recent research has now proven that all movies are improved by Tom Selleck's moustache. It's a force to be reckoned with! Accept it before it destroys you!

Best Friends No More

2011-09-17T21:26:00.000-07:00

Jimmy and Stephen Colbert agreed to be Best Friends for Six Months but just recently the six month friend lease expired. In this segment, Jimmy and Stephen contemplate where to go from here...

I was trying to remember where "Somewhere Out There" first appeared. I remembered it was a Disney-like film from way back but which one? It's from "An American Tail". That's way back there.

According to wikipedia, it was co-written by James Horner. There's kind of an odd bit o' trivia. Also according to wikipedia, this clip is part of a "multi-episode arc". Let's hope they find a hatch.

Ricky Crashes the Monologue

2011-09-15T21:13:00.001-07:00

Yesterday's monologue on Late Night saw a cameo by an unexpected star:

The Third Guest

2011-08-23T11:29:00.000-07:00

For two weeks Conan has scheduled 4 guests every night and made absolutely no effort to try and fit them all in. Every night, after the musical guest, Conan's saying, "My apolologies to (third guest) - we ran out of time." Meanwhile, I'm wondering what they were thinking.

I wasn't paying much attention to the opening credits but the situation becomes much clearer when you do. Here's the run down of the third guests for the last two weeks:

8/18 - Ghost Doctor Steve Zampanides

8/17 - Sandwich King of Cincinnati Steve Zampanides

8/16 - Shark Whisperer Steve Zampanides

8/15 - Gargling Expert Steve Zampanides

8/11 - Animal Impressionist Steve Zampanides

8/10 - Billionaire Matchmaker Steve Zampanides

8/09 - Font Expert Steve Zampanides

8/08 - Hot-Sauce Expert Steve Zampanides

Slow Jam The News: Debt Ceiling Edition

2011-08-03T07:12:00.000-07:00

It's a serious issue, it's only getting worse, and it deserves to be slow jammed.

Lost: Deleted Scene

2011-07-23T16:46:00.000-07:00

Recently at some "Comic Book-style Convention" the creators of Lost revealed a "Deleted" scene. Frankly, I think a deleted scene from "Lost" should be a "Lost 'Lost' scene". But this lost "Lost" scene was found.

Anyways I thought it was a pretty good "Lost" find...

Losrt

Local Commercials: The Next Generation

2011-07-22T12:58:00.000-07:00

Who doesn't love crappy, low-budget local commercials? I know I probably like them more than most. With the rhythm of bad editing, the stilted acting, and the strange "character" spokespeople, bad commercials get deep into your head like a catchy song. Not to mention that one of the other things that bad commercials may also have IS bad songs. You watch it once and it's stupid. You see it again and you start picking up on things. You see it 200 hundred times and it's an addiction. The commercial's in your blood stream and you need your fix. Sometimes I still quote word-for-word the 80s-style commercials that aired during reruns of "Gilligan's Island" when I was a kid. The large majority of which are the "Call the accident lawyers today" and "Join truck driving school" varieties.

It was therefore a great pleasure and a great surprise to see that the art form is not dead and has been taken into the next millennium through the magic of youtube.

Local Commercial Kings, Rhett and Link discuss their company which continues the tradition:

OH, IT LOOKS GOOD!

Can't Stop, Won't Stop, EhEh EhEh

2011-07-14T20:05:00.000-07:00

In Conan mythology the most important period is the murky, uncertain confusion after "The Tonight Show" ended and "Conan" began. Like European history between WWI and WWII it overlaps the aftermath of one cataclysmic event with the build up towards another. It's also the period of which we know least about, as Conan was legally prohibited from appearing on television. It came as quite a shock, then, to learn that despite the TV ban, cameras were rolling the whole time.

"Conan Can't Stop" is a new "fly on the wall" documentary that shows us exactly this sliver of time. As it begins, Conan is still reeling from losing "The Tonight Show" whilst preparing to go on a 2 month, 30 city tour of live venues. We get to go inside his life, inside his home and inside his mind. "I AM angry", Conan says, contradicting most of what he's said publicly, "I'm REALLY angry at times. I'm trying not to be but I'm really, really angry about - and I just have to be honest - I'm really angry about the way I was treated..." A few minutes later we get to witness Conan as he discovers the power of social media. Conan is shown sending a single tweet about his tour and within minutes he's informed that many cities have already sold out.

This first half hour is documentary gold. It's everything you want, and more - a real insight into the man and the events. It's also very funny. It's often been said (ok, by me) that the funniest parts of Conan's talk show(s) are not the monologue, the guests, the written bits, etc. The funniest thing Conan can do is film a remote where he goes some place and reacts spontaneously with real people. In this sense, the documentary is kind of a marathon-length film chunk of just that. It's high-octane Conan improv. Early on Conan realizes his lunch order is incorrect:

C: "I'm going to have to [fire you] over this."

Assistant: "I think the restaurant just messed up because she--"

C: "Well, either way you're losing your job over this."

Assistant: "I really, really do not want to lose my job."

C: "That's what people who lose their job say."

But as the tour gets under way and continues week after week, the film quickly devolves into the same tour documentary that we've all seen too many times. The tour is emotionally draining, the travel is exhausing, every gig runs into the next, every city is the same, he misses his family, he needs a day off but can't get one, and so on and so forth. This is the kind of material that's been retread endlessly and not with entertaining results. In fact it's shocking how closely it resembles a rockumentary. When highlights from the various performances are shown, they are too often musical performances. And not even comedic songs or parody songs, they're old rock standards. I don't really have a problem watching Conan and his band cover "Rock This Town", as such (and it's quite nice to see Conan play "The Weight"), but after the excellence of the first half hour you're very aware that the film is fully capable of so much more. It drags a bit.

To say that the documentary depicts Conan "warts and all" would be very cliched and also very true. The main element of Conan's humor off-camera, biting sarcasm, is also almost entirely absent on his show. Fans who haven't seen the "off-air" side of him may misunderstand but it's explained in the film as a safe way to release negative emotions. That's all well and good and in fact, as in the conversation above, it provides many of the funnier moments. But as Conan dances on the fine line between a sharp jab and geniuine nastiness, he's shown crossing it as well. Scenes where the TV Conan meets and greets fans, signing autographs and humbly thanking them for their support are followed by scenes of Conan (out of the public eye) pettily whining that he shouldn't have to do it. Later, one of the backup singers who is touring with him, wants him to meet her family. He happily and graciously meets them and as soon as they're gone he's outraged that his time is being wasted. I recognize that when cameras follow anyone around for a lengthy amount of time, they're going to find something bad and I don't expect him to be anything but human but it is an unpleasant glimpse - it shows him as disingenuous and self-centered.

Overall, the first half hour and the final few minutes are excellent and are enough to compensate for a weak hour in the middle. But regardless of the general quality of the film, if you're a Conan fan, it's absolutely required viewing. While there is much here which we've seen before, there is also an unequaled, unrivaled glimpse into events of which we know little. In these latter moments, we get to examine Conan O'brien, the man, up-close, uncensored and in real life. The only hitch is that sometimes, up close, you don't like everything you see.

6/10.

Oh, It Looks Goood!

2011-06-30T13:05:00.000-07:00

Conan has been doing these "Captain America: World Police" or whatever preview skits for a while now and it's so stupid it makes me laugh every time.

Part of the humor is that they play the same "Entertainment Tonight" clip EVERY SINGLE TIME. It appears they've finally discovered the humor there. And boy, have they!

I just made a post. OH, IT LOOKS GOOD!

John Kruk on Letterman

2011-06-20T17:06:00.000-07:00

These old clips are amazing. In just a few decades the entire nature of being a professional athlete has undergone quite a transformation as these clips will show. John Kruk comes on Letterman and talks about baseball with wit and brutal, brutal honesty. This is an interview where political correctness, pretension and ego do not exist.

It takes Krukker about 2 minutes to get warmed up but once he does, it's comedy gold.

Would it even be possible for an athlete to say these things today? I don't think so. The media would eat them alive and leave nothing but a bloody carcass.

Slightly less funny but even more insanely forthright is this interview. Going in reverse chronological order, this one's from 1992:

There's no one like this any more.

Mep Mep Mep

2011-06-14T10:21:00.000-07:00

It's "Video Game Week" on "Late Night" which means that every night they have a demo or an early look at some eagerly anticipated video game. I really couldn't give a bit. I'm so out of touch; all the giant video game franchises are just names to me, I don't know what any of it is about.

But to mark the occasion they've created a special 8-bit opening which is awesome:

Now that's a TKO from Tokyo.

The Ambiguously Gay Duo

2011-05-18T21:52:00.000-07:00

TAGD IS BACK!!! I don't know how or why the skit was resurrected but I don't care. It's a classic cartoon and I've loved it ever since I first saw it on The Dana Carvey Show. That's right - it started on The Dana Carvey Show. Someday I should make a post about that show.

Anyways, it's back and aired on SNL (as well as Late Night). Here it is:

Review: I don't like the changing of Ace and Gary's voices. Colbert and Carrell had the perfect voices for the pair. But it's much more onerous to play multiple parts (as they do) in live action so it's not bad. I could identify Ed Helms, Stephen Colbert and Steve Carrell as the villains but I was stumped on the Lizard Man. Turns out it's current SNL cast member Fred Armisan.

Sports Show - Roller Derby

2011-05-18T14:56:00.000-07:00

Lately I've been enjoying "Sports Show with Norm MacDonald". It's not a talk show (which is good, they're too many of them) it's a kind of comedy show. It's basically "Weekend Update" but about sports.

A recurring segment is sending Norm's nephew Kyle out to a location to report on some event. Here's the latest one where Kyle visits the Roller Derby. I dare say "Kyle" is the master of the awkward interview.

Sports Show with Norm Macdonald

Tuesdays, 10:30/9:30c

Roller Derby With Kyle

www.comedycentral.com

Sports Show

Norm Macdonald

#SportsShow

Bob Marley Week

2011-05-18T14:49:00.000-07:00

Recently Late Night with Jimmy Fallon celebrated Bob Marley Week on the show. Ever day of the week, a special musical guest was on to cover a Bob Marley song.

Of all of them, this one stood out as excellent. It's Chris Cornell covering "Redemption Song":

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

2011-05-11T16:01:00.000-07:00

It's pretty safe to say that the Western, as a genre, is alive and vital once again. With modern movies like "True Grit", "Red Dead Redemption" in the video game realm and on TV, the series "Deadwood", which I continue to rave about even though no one listens, the genre is, in a word, "back".

2007 ALONE saw the release of "No Country for Old Men", "3:10 to Yuma" and "There Will Be Blood". That's impressive. With that many quality Westerns in the same year, it wasn't surprising that the Brad Pitt vehicle "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" got overlooked. In terms of public opinion and critical acclaim it was barely a blip on the movie radar. For these reasons - and as dangerous and slippery as such statements are - it may be the most underrated movie of all-time.

The movie tells the story of the last days of the outlaw bank/train robber Jesse James and his gang. After more than a decade of running from the law, Jesse's brother Frank James decides to go on one last big score and retire. With various gang members being killed, arrested or leaving over the years, Jesse increasingly has to rely on untested, unknown recruits and he's becoming increasingly paranoid. With a hefty ransom on his head, a U.S. Marshall could be anywhere, any ally could be planning to shoot him in the back and any job could go wrong.

This movie has everything I could possibly want in a Western... or really everything I'd want in ANY movie for that matter. When you're in the old west and everyone is carrying a gun on their hip and you're surrounded by outlaws, any moment could mean life or death. This movie has a life, a brutality and a tension that's hard to match. This movie is dark, it's tense, it's brutal and violent and sepia-toned and beautiful. And it's dark. The only criticism I can lob at it is that I can admit that Brad Pitt is essentially too good looking and, as a period drama, it can take you out of the reality of the movie. But such moments are brief.

In fact, all the acting in the movie is excellent. Brad Pitt - great as always, Sam Rockwell plays Charley Ford and is good in everything and Casey Affleck is excellent as the Coward Robert Ford. I think this is one of his first roles (I know I'd never heard of him) and he completely embodies the character. There's also a small "cameo" type role from Zooey Deschanel and a tiny cameo from Nick Cave who did the score.

The thing that stood out immediately was the cinematography. The look, style and shots in this movie are, at times, incredible. Certain sections and shots in this movie are some of the best I've ever seen. The direction is top-notch, the sound is great, the music is great and obviously the writing is excellent.

I spend some time on this blog talking about overrated films and why they're sometimes not all that good. But this movie IS good. It's my favorite film of any I've watched in recent memory. It's a reminder that even after all these years, movies can still stress me out. And a movie can still make me afraid of the dark.

9/10

Yacht Rock 2011 Announced

2011-04-28T21:45:00.000-07:00

Yacht Rock 2011 has been announced. Get your calendars in order. This year's Yacht Rock party is set for this coming Monday. The musical guest will be Ambrosia and they'll sing their classic "Biggest Part of Me". In case this song isn't familiar, this might help: the song should be titled "Make a Wish, Babay".

Here's a preview. Or something to play while you get your Captain's hat and blue blazer out of storage.

NTYCTWD 2K11

2011-04-28T21:29:00.000-07:00

Today was National Take Your Child to Work Day 2011. I enjoyed it but I feel the name should be changed to the more accurate "National Torture Your Child Day". Maybe that's too accurate. Maybe "National Bore Your Child to Death Day".

When I was a kid my parents showed me around where they work and introduced me to their coworkers. It was fun and fascinating. Even if your parents have the most boring job in the world it seems exciting and important. At one point my dad worked for a printing company and I got to see the giant printing press with gears and levers and it was cool. But it was a visit. It was a tour. It was a look around. I was there for about a half hour... maybe 45 minutes. Tops. Do you have any idea how long an 8 hour work day is when you're a kid? You're a little kid and you spend 8 hours sitting in a chair staring at a cubicle wall. That's TORTURE. That's the adult equivalent of 3 days in a desensitization chamber. And that's illegal! Even I'M watching the clock in that cubicaled, fluorescent light environment and I'm an adult and I've got something to do... And I'm getting paid to be there.

Poor kids.

I Would Do Anything For Lunch

2011-04-27T12:29:00.000-07:00

Meatloaf, fresh off his trip into the dark abyss of arts-and-crafts-induced insanity, rises like a bat out of hell and joins Jimmy for a rousing tribute to Bagel Bites.

Soak in the passion:

You might remember these commercials (among others referenced). The song STILL gets stuck in my head.

Everlong

2011-04-13T15:40:00.000-07:00

Anything more needed?

Well, in a web-only, exclusive clip, the Foo Fighters perform their hit "Everlong" with a special introduction from Dave. It's a very special episode.

Did you notice that the name of the band on Taylor's bass drum is in the "Beatles" font? I did. Turns out that is was specially done for the "Live on Letterman" webcast. You can watch that here. They play their new album in its entirety for the first hour. But you can skip to the 50:00 mark for all the classic hits.

RIP Fred (2002 - 2010)

2011-04-11T21:03:00.000-07:00

In the Summer of 2002, I was working a Spring/Summer Co-Op in which I was paid to do nothing. I, of course, didn't actually do "nothing" - and so I should say that I was paid to drink free soda and surf the internet for 8 hours per day exactly. No overtime! If I wanted to surf the web for more than 8 hours per day, I had to do it on my own time! Actually I don't know, I could probably have stayed longer, shipped a few more "units" but I'm not a human dynamo and it's the Summer and I got friends to hang out with.

My personal PC of the time (the Gateway GP6-233), an Intel Pentium II with a 233 MHz processor, was beginning to feel old and with a steady stream of money and plenty of time on my hands I got the particular type of fever for which there is one cure: a new computer.

I threw my self headlong into research, finding that Intel had recently re-asserted superiority and the new Pentium 4s were faster than the latest AMDs. The fastest type of RAM? RDRAM. The best ROM? DVD-RW - but hold on there, I don't need THAT much awesome power, the 16x/48x DVD-ROM is just fine for me (albeit with a 40x/12x/48x CDRW). The 2.6 GHz processor was just about to be released and so, in a shrewd business move, I decided to wait for that release, and buy the no-longer-cutting-edge 2.4 GHz model for cheaper.

And then it was just a waiting game.

Finally, on September 5th 2002 I purchased the Gateway 700S:

Processor: Intel Pentium 4 2.4 GHz with 533 MHz Front-Side Bus.

RAM: 512 MB RDRAM (800 MHz)

HD: 120 GB (I'll NEVER use that much memory!)

Video Card: 128 MB NVIDIA GeForce 4 (with TV Out)

Disk Drive: 3.5" 1.44MB

Modem: 56K PCI Voice Modem (ooh, fast!)

Total Price: $1,544.00.

After years of enjoyment, all good things must come to an end. Recently the C: drive failed and became totally unusable, rendering the computer (arguably) dead. I mean, if I put another drive in, it would still be working today but I think it was time to let go. But I should say that it speaks well for the oft-dissed Gateway brand. Due to my participation in distributed computing projects, I can honestly say that I had a Gateway computer running at 100% CPU capacity for 24 hours per day, 7 days a week for 8 YEARS and the first thing to fail was the hard drive. You don't get stress tests like that every day.

The computer, Fred, made it from Sim City 3000 to Sim City 4... from Warcraft 2 to World of Warcraft...from dialup to DSL.... Windows 98 to XP... countless all-nighters for college... and probably most importantly - all the fun days of the internet(messageboards, instant messaging, file-sharing, MP3s. MIDI files, Windows "Themes", WinAmp Skins, and on and on).

[Pictured: Fred Desktop Screenshot Circa 2000-Something]

'Dance Avenue' Out on DVD

2011-04-06T15:16:00.000-07:00

Jimmy's excited that the "Soul Train" clone "Dance Avenue" is finally being released on a DVD boxset. Somehow Questlove seems to know everything about music and yet, for some reason, he's never heard of "Dance Avenue". I don't get it. It's weird.

Here's a funky, funky dance down memory lane:

Conan Lumbergh

2011-04-06T14:48:00.000-07:00

Conan explores the Office space and has conversations with staffers' parents in order to gain valuable advice as to how to improve the show.

If you want advice to help you improve a show, why go to the parents of your employees? I'm not even going to dignify that with a response.

Fun Fun Fun Fun

2011-04-02T07:35:00.000-07:00

This week "Late Night" and Stephen Colbert did a cross-show promotion in order to raise money for charity. The end result of this was that Colbert had to sing Rebecca Black's biggest hit "Friday".

With backing from The Roots, he did just that:

The previous night the following dialogue took place on the show as Jimmy announced how much money they had raised:

Jimmy: $50,000!

Announcer Steve Higgins: You could buy a lot of Soul Patrol sweatshirts with that.

Jimmy: Yeah, you could- you could- I lost a lot of money; you made me invest in Soul Patrol sweatshirts.

Higgins: Yes.

Jimmy: Taylor- Taylor Hicks.

Higgins: Taylor Hicks... Soul Patrol... you gotta remember they're hyper--

Jimmy: Hypercolor sweatshirts that they don't make anymore.

Higgins: Yeah. But--

Jimmy: You made me lose a lot of money.

Higgins: The money's still there! That's an investment. In the future. Soul Patrol.

Jimmy: Taylor Hicks is- is- he's a great talent, I love that guy--

Higgins: What about the Sanjaya hair clips? And hair extensions?

Jimmy: I lost a lot of money.

Higgins: That's like money in the bank.

And you'll find in the "Friday" performance Jimmy is wearing a Hypercolor Soul Patrol sweatshirt.

Flaming T

2011-03-30T14:52:00.000-07:00

I noticed recently that teamcoco.com had added a new tshirt with the Flaming C logo:

You can view or buy it here.

I love the idea but I'm torn about the execution. I'd love to see a tshirt with a Flaming C Comic Book Cover. Or even just a drawing or something.

Classic Roots Choice #28

2011-03-30T14:36:00.000-07:00

Back to back!

The other night David Schwimmer was on the show. His walk-on song? It's only one of my favorite songs of ALL-TIME....

His song is a special Roots interpretation of ... ROSS'S MUSIC!

MAaANNN, that's awesome. Maybe next time they can play "Electrifying... Infinite Time".

For comparison.

Classic Roots Choice #27

2011-03-25T08:52:00.000-07:00

March 25, 2011 - a date that will live in Late Night history. This is the rundown of the music which the Roots played during Late Night:

Opening: Late Night Theme.

Jimmy's Walkover: "Careless Whisper" as made famous by George Michael

Throw to Commercial #1: "Careless Whisper" as made famous by George Michael

Start of Segment #2: "Careless Whisper" as made famous by George Michael

Throw to Commercial #2: "Careless Whisper" as made famous by George Michael

Start of Segment #3: "Careless Whisper"

Guest #1 Walk-On: "Careless Whisper"

Throw to Commercial #3: "Careless Whisper"

Start of Segment #4: "Careless Whisper"

Throw to Commercial #4: "Careless Whisper"

Start of Segment #5: "Careless Whisper"

Guest #2 Walk-On: "Careless Whisper"

Throw to Commercial #5: "Careless Whisper"

Start of Final Segment: "Careless Whisper"

End Credits: Something different - a "Disco" rendition of "Careless Whisper".

Now THAT'S a show!

Although it was never explained, sitting in with the Roots tonight was the "Sexy Sax Man" Sergio Flores. And when you have a big star like that on your show, you gotta have him play all the hits.

If you're not familiar with this particular phenomenon, prepare for greatness:

Return of the Wolfwaker

2011-03-18T15:36:00.000-07:00

The Wolfwaker was born to a nomadic tribe that wandered the barren plains of Cyrus 6 - a small, rocky world orbiting a dieing sun in a forgotten corner of a distant galaxy.

At age ten, he was captured by Nightwalker sentinels and taught to wield the harmonic spear. His childhood was spent in the cold vacuum of space. His play things - tools of destruction. His education - interstellar war. He became a master of killing and fought along other Nightwalker slaves, some of them organic, some of them machines, all of them orphans.

When he was twenty Earth-years-old, he was sent to annihilate the wolf home world - a peaceful green planet called Lupin. As he stepped from the landing craft, the wolven dawn broke over the mountains reminding him of daybreak on Cyrus 6 when he was a boy. Something awoke within the Wolfwaker and he turned his weapon against the Nightwalker Dropship as it sped off to safety. He swore a blood oath to defend the wolves and as they awakened him, so would he awaken them and lead them in battle beyond the stars...

Buddy Lembeck Meets Woodie Guthrie

2011-03-18T15:18:00.000-07:00

Long lost footage of Bob Dylan singing an unreleased song was recently restored and premiered on Late Night. Interesting, historical stuff.

Apparently song was considered lost because someone spilled blood on the track.

Tiger Tiger Woods Y'all

2011-03-17T14:38:00.000-07:00

Tiger Woods made his first talk show appearance since all the unpleasantness. First off, it was strange to me that he was the second guest. And then, of course, the entire nature of the situation was such that it was bound to be awkward but it's notable how the awkward level spiked sharply in the early going. Here it was:

And then this was the really enjoyable part of the appearance.

That PS3 ball thing is so stupid looking. It's an object that I'll probably never get used to. I refuse to accept it as a valid object, it doesn't deserve my acceptance.

FYI: Tiger's walk-on music was "Creepin'" by Stevie Wonder.

IMDB 250 Challenge Revision 5 Complete (Part 2)

2011-03-14T22:44:00.000-07:00

Continued from Part 1...

The Secret in Their Eyes (2009)

My Rating: 7/10.

An Argentinian film, The Secret in Their Eyes is the story of a prosecutor looking back at his most famous homicide case. The movie spans several decades as it flips between modern day and the events of the past. Basically, this is like all the crime dramas on TV that I don't watch (CSI, Law & Order, etc.) but fortunately, with a level of quality many notches higher. There's also a twist ending but it's not as twisty as the movie seems to intend. The acting is extremely good but the most impressive part of this movie is the hair and makeup. Obviously, the portrayal of different time periods demands that the characters appear to be different ages and this movie has the most realistic, believable aging I've seen in a movie. Very good. There's also a long tracking shot that - even though special effects are utilized - would even make Orson Welles applaud. A good movie and worth watching if you have the time.

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984)

My Rating: 6/10.

Anime keeps popping up in the list, particularly the works of Hayao Miyazaki, and I don't expect that trend to stop any time soon. I have to say upfront that I wasn't in the mood to watch an anime movie (am I ever?) but, frankly, this one was good enough to win me over. Should I even bother summarizing the plot? Hmm, here goes... in a post-apocalyptic world, humanity and nature are at war. The mutated/evil forest keeps expanding and taking over the actual forests which is bad. The humans are even divided amongst themselves and barely surviving against the constant horde. However, there is a prophecy that states that one shall come to unite humanity and nature and bring them in to harmony. There's also a blobby slime monster.

Patrick Stewart gives a standard Patrick Stewart performance as a guy with a voice that sounds a lot like Patrick Stewart. You would think that a Japanese cartoon from 1984 would be a strictly non-Shia LeBeouf affair wouldn't you? WELL YOU'D BE WRONG, SPANKY. Provided you watch the English dubbed version as opposed to subtitles. Oh, and Mark Hamill has a bit part but you would never recognize him.

I've gotta give it up for these movies in the sense that they seem to be endlessly imaginative and that translates to some entertainment value. At the same time I can't take anime seriously enough to really care and get that emotionally involved.

Our Hospitality / Sherlock Jr. (1923)

My Rating: 7/10.

I think it's the first double feature ever on the list. In the first feature, Buster Keaton stars as a man who must return to the west to claim his inheritance but along the way he falls in love. To his surprise, the woman belongs to a family which has a blood feud with his own. When he's invited over for dinner, the men in her family decide that they cannot kill him while he's a guest in their house but as soon as he leaves, he's fair game. You gotta love those rules - you wouldn't want to be bad hosts but murder is just a part of life. Obviously though, such a wacky setup can't help but lead to an interesting movie.

In short - and I've said this before - Buster Keaton's a genius. The action sequences alternate between funny, exciting, amusing, tense and dramatic. All the gags are clever and a few of the stunts are absolutely breathtaking and you know as you watch them that that it's actually happening without special effects. These movies have humor, drama, romance, action, they got every-ting! Everything, except spoken dialogue, which obviously handicaps the ratings of all silent pictures (for me).

The second part of the double feature, "Sherlock Jr." is slower and less well done. It's basically a display of the most cutting-edge special effects of the time, which are actually still impressive, even now. But then, as now, special effects are no substitute for a good story. The second half and the general "silent picture handicap" takes it down from an 8 to a 7 but still, these movies are spectacularly clever. I continue to be a growing Buster Keaton fan and I'll have to look up more of his movies outside of the list.

How to Train Your Dragon (2010)

My Rating: 8/10.

This computer animation movie slipped under the radar for me and I wasn't big on watching YET another animated movie when there were already a number of them in the list but, again, (there's a pattern forming) it won me over. Basically, a village of Vikings lives in constant battle with the surrounding dragon population but one kid finds that they've just been misunderstood and keeps one as his own pet. Hey, it doesn't sound all that different from "Nausicaa...".

Like I said, this one flew under the radar but it's actually (I think) better than Toy Story 3 which is saying something. Although both teach valuable life lessons about caring or sharing or something or other... I don't know I wasn't paying attention to that part. If you're looking for a movie for a kid, this is a "can't miss". If you're an adult, it's still actually good enough to watch, in my opinion. Two things put it over the top for me: 1) Most of the movie is like that part in "The Neverending Story" where the kid rides the luck dragon (Excellent). 2) Certain scenes and shots in this movie genuinely communicate the sensation of flying - probably better than any other movie I've seen.

Kick-Ass (2010)

My Rating: 3/10.

What if there were a superhero with no superpowers? That's Batman. Ok, what if there were a superhero with no superpowers and no money? Why hasn't some moron put on a stupid suit and hit the streets to fight crime? They have. What if there was a superhero with no superpowers, no money, no particular talent and hadn't heard of all the other real-life superheroes? There is, and that poor dope is "Kick-Ass".

"Kick-Ass" is a movie about kids aged 12-18 putting on suits and fighting adult villains. On technical merit, this movie isn't the worst. It has questionable writing, fair acting, good editing and a general sense of style. My problem is with the premise. Do you want to watch a 12 year old beating up adult men? The entire idea is ridiculous. It was ridiculous in "3 Ninjas" in 1992, and it's ridiculous now.

"Kick-Ass" isn't just stupid, it's offensive... and in some parts it's offensively stupid. It appears to have been designed by marketing executives to appeal to the "brainless teen" demographic. Who needs plot when the characters on the movie surf myspace? Why develop characters when you can have them listen to Gnarls Barkley in a "pimped out ride"? "Hey, these kids are dealing with sexuality in a frank way! Nobody's done that before!"

Here's a scene for you: one part of the movie depicts a high-school-aged teen walking through a hallway mowing people down with machine guns in slow-mo with hardcore rock music blasting on the soundtrack. Does this throw up any red flags for anyone? Really? We're not interested in learning from the past or thinking about things before we do them? OK, cool, just checking. But, wait, what about the audience - won't they have problems with it? I don't think so. Teens are stupid. As long as it's in slo-mo while hardcore techno plays, it doesn't matter what's on screen, teens are stupid.

And apparently they are. As is the general public. At least, enough to put this piece of turd on the list. Luckily it's slid just off the list but a lot of good that does me.

----

Maaan, finishing on a high note! Well, this revision is complete. And I'm already behind. During the time in which I've been watching these movies, Oscar season has come and gone so there are probably many changes to catch up on.

Movies This Revision: 11.

Average Score: 6.54.

Best Movie This Revision: "Inception"/"Social Network"/"How to Train Your Dragon" - no clear winner.

Total "Top 250" Movies Seen: 344.

The Nerdiest Moment Ever

2011-03-14T09:41:00.000-07:00

I was lying on the couch watching (I think) the History Channel over the weekend when a commercial came on for an upcoming special. "Did you know two U.S. Presidents were avid skinny dippers?" To which I replied (yes, I spoke out loud to the television), "John Quincy Adams and Theodore Roosevelt".

Now, I wasn't making a joke (to my tv) and I wasn't venturing a guess. I knew the actual two presidents to which they're referring. That's extreme nerdity (good or bad). Nobody should really know that offhand.

But I've come this far so I might as well go all the way....

I object to the term "skinny dipping" in this instance. It's a bit misleading. "Skinny dipping" is something high school kids do during games of "Truth or Dare"; it's something "Stiffler" would do in "American Pie 8: The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull". John Q. Adams and Teddy Roosevelt swam nude outdoors for exercise and health (it was believed that the shock of cold air and/or cold water was invigorating and good for one's constitution). Let's not degrade their legacy with stupid terms. Next they'll be saying that Archimedes yelled, "Eureka!" and went streaking.

iPad 2

2011-03-08T22:06:00.000-08:00

Conan has seen the new iPad 2 commercial and thinks Apple is getting a little cocky...

I don't know if I agree but that guy with the non-specific ethnic accent is so convincing!

Classic Roots Moment #26

2011-03-03T21:37:00.001-08:00

Not walk-on music but it doesn't matter. This quick, tiny moment requires no explanation, it's epic and the video will expire...

Jimmy Fallon... ICE CREAM?!

2011-03-03T21:04:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" for being two years old.

The show celebrated with a Charlie Sheen spoof, a "Jersey Shore" spoof, a Slow-Jamming of the News, Mike Tyson and Motörhead sang "Ace of Spades" (Lem-may!).

Leading up to the show, Jimmy had said that there was going to be a huge surprise that would change everyone's life forever. The big surprise was that Ben and Jerry were revealing a new "Late Night" themed ice cream flavor. Ok, you're thinking, that's not huge at all. That's what I thought. But then I thought, I love iced cream, it's up there as one of nature's perfect foods in my estimation AND let's be real real - this could offer us all a paper-thin rationalization to go out and get loaded with fat so let's hear 'em out....

So what are the ingredients?

Vanilla Bean Ice Cream... (niiiice)

with a salty caramel swirl... (yes!)

and fudge covered .... (keep going)

potato chip clusters.

Eeeeee. Good luck with all that. That sounds like something that I would happily eat on a dare but without the whole challenge-to-my-manhood element, I don't see the point.

By the way the title of this post refers to "Days of Thunder" but that's probably not obvious to the "normal people".

IMDB 250 Challenge Revision 5 Complete (Part 1)

2011-03-02T17:36:00.000-08:00

As you probably know, I have a (continuing) mission to watch every movie on the IMDB Top 250. I had previously accomplished this task a few years ago, however as ratings fluctuate and more movies are released, movies slip out of the 250 and others take their place. This requires that I continuously revise my list and watch the new ones to keep up. I finished the fifth revision earlier this week, watching the movie "Kick-Ass". Here are the latest movies and a few thoughts.

Toy Story 3 (2010)

My Rating: 7/10

Do I need to even write anything? With Pixar, you know you're getting a quality movie and this one is no exception. It's a worthwhile addition to the great "Toy Story" franchise that follows a gang of toys as they are forced to deal with their owner is too old and doesn't want them anymore. It's certainly a good movie but definitely not as good as the previous two. Michael Keaton (Batman) does a nice job as Ken of "Barbie and Ken" fame.

The Social Network (2010)

My Rating: 8/10

I was against this movie. If there's one subject for a movie that doesn't attract my attention, it's facebook. On top of this, I had seen the clips of this movie on late night talk shows which suggested that the movie's thesis is that the creator of "The Facebook", Mark Zuckerberg is supposed to be some sort of intellectual collossus who looks down on us little people with our tiny intellects with disdain. Yeah, copying myspace would make Isaac Newton himself gasp in awe and wonder.

Fortunately, my preconceived notions were largely inaccurate. The Social Network is smart, stylish and fast paced. Aaron Sorkin does his usual "people thinking and speaking too quickly which shows how smart I am" thing but it's fine. Justin Timberlake as Napster founder Sean Parker?

"We need to cast a computer nerd, who can we get?"

"Oh I know, Justin Timberlake!"

"Yess." (Slow fist pump)

But then, that's kind of the point. The point of the movie is not to tell an accurate account of history, it's about making an entertaining movie. And it succeeds. But for everything that it does well in terms of style and building drama, it lacks heart. I thought it was a really good movie and I really enjoyed it and I don't think I'll ever want to watch it again.

Inception (2010)

My Rating: 8/10

The conventional wisdom holds that Leonardo DiCaprio died on the Titanic in 1912 so there's no way he can be in movies anymore. But Chris Nolan is such a genius, he found a loophole. Leo is dreamy and can still exist in people's dreams so if you make a movie about dreaming you can still cast him. BOOM.

Just like "The Social Network" this one is extremely hyped and stylized and similarly it does live up to the hype. "Inception" is a sci-fi action "flick" where a technology exists that allows people to inhabit the same dream. In turn, there arise organizations in the business of "breaking into" people's dreams in order to steal secrets or plant ideas which will yield profit for them in the real world.

"Inception" is a fast-paced, well done action movie with a nice psychological twist - much in the same vein as "The Matrix" (and not too far off in terms of subject matter as well). The key for me was that within the basic premise outlined above, they also go into a dream within a dream for a number of levels until your mind gets twisted a bit. It was a unique experience that really took a good action movie and put it over the top.

Mary and Max (2009)

My Rating: 6/10

A claymation movie for adults, this movie is about being quirky and different. So different, in fact, that at times it's just weird. It tells the story of a young girl in Australia who picks a random person from the US and writes a letter to them. Soon an extremely unlikely pen pal relationship is struck. Though claymation, the movie is nearly colorless in its palette (at times it's nearly black and white) with some color here and there. This visual suits the tone of the movie which depicts a bleak world where people are dealt a bad hand but try to remain hopeful. The characters deal with depression, sadness, emptiness, abandonment, psychosis and generally the sad state of humanity. And yet it's claymation! At times it's very creative and clever, at times I loved the quirky, strange nature of it, at times I really rooted for the characters but unfortunately it doesn't sustain greatness for the entirety of the movie and I thought the ending was very weak.

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring (2003)

My Rating: 5/10

This is a Korean film that centers on two Buddhist monks that live in harmony with nature out in the middle of nowhere. There's very little to say about this movie because it's sparce and slow. There's probably about one line of dialogue for every minute of film time. There are many beautiful shots of pristine nature as the film slowly and quietly shows the passage of time, the imperfect nature of man and the peaceful beauty of the natural world. The main theme of the movie is the cyclical nature of life (as the title suggests). In the end, it's a 5 for me. To value this movie more or less than any other movie would imply that some things are more valuable than others. This view of unequal value leads to a possessive spirit. And a possessive spirit will murder. *gonnNNGGGG*

Black Swan (2010)

My Rating: 7/10

FINALLY they make a ballet-centered movie about the descent into madness! It seemed obvious to me.

Obviously "Black Swan" centers around ballet but the real subject of the movie is psychological illness. We are not merely spectators as the movie attempts to draw us in as much as possible to put us in the unsound mind. And it does a pretty good job. The movie is paranoid, claustrophobic, disjointed, intense and can be, at times, hard to watch. But then, that's the point. But then, that means that it's not a movie for everyone.

I really think it's a good movie, but it's not great - I was moved and I was into it but nothing sort of pushed me in 100%. But within the confines of such a movie, Natalie Portman give an amazing performance as the main ballerina Nina Sayers. Her performance is multi-layered, multi-faceted and completely convincing. I haven't seen all the other nominees but I can only assume her Oscar is completely earned.

Who knew that someone from the Star Wars prequels could actually be good at movies?!

To be continued....

Donald Rumsfeld on Letterman

2011-02-28T09:21:00.000-08:00

I wanted to post this interview for quite a while but it wasn't up anywhere. It's a terrific interview and a terrific return to the "old style" of Letterman political interviews.

I knew that Rumsfeld had been the oldest Secretary of Defense but I had no idea that he had been the youngest as well. And likewise that he had known, interacted with and served for so many U.S. Presidents. A fascinating interview and includes some great "mule" banter.

Segments like this one are one of the main reasons that Letterman is (has been) head and shoulders above every other talk show host. When bringing on political or polarizing figures, he isn't content to be apolitical and have them tell stories about how they love their cat (as other talk shows will do). Instead, he does the opposite - mixing the jokes with direct questions about the important matters of the day. At times like these the show ceases to be just a dumb comedy show and gains an edge of serious journalism.

And the BEST part of the serious political interview segments was that it was entirely detached and objective. When someone from the left was on, for instance, Letterman would ask fair but hard-hitting questions. When someone from the right was on, it was the same deal. Again, in the vein of journalism, the questions would be fair but tough regardless of the guest. This was probably most evident during the presidential campaign of 2000. The "Late Show" were able to book both presidential candidates and the reviews on both interviews were that Letterman had actually been harder-hitting than most interviews done by the "serious" journalists.

Unfortunately all of this is filed under the "old style" above because recently things have changed. Though THIS interview is recent and that shows Letterman is still capable of doing it, lately he's become much more politicized. He'll give guests from the left a free pass and say things to those on the right are treated with outright hostility. Recently in an interview with Rand Paul for instance, Letterman actually uttered the phrase, "You know, I think he’s wrong about some of these things. I just can’t tell you why.” It's a statement so dumb, I couldn't (and can't) believe it was said.

All the more reason to enjoy interviews like these because they're an endangered species.

Gentlemen, Start Your Engines?

2011-02-26T12:07:00.000-08:00

Jason Sudekis tells the story of drinking too much at the NBA All-Star game:

Then, Amber Heard describes her experience announcing the official "Gentlemen, start your engines" at a NASCAR event and Jason Sudekis and Jimmy Fallon argue about the quality of Jimmy's version. They both agree that it's bad but is there more to it than that?

Classic Roots Choice #26

2011-02-26T11:38:00.000-08:00

Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi was on the show the other night to promote the current season of "Jersey Shore". Her walk-on music? A segment of the Oompa Loompa song from "Willy Wonka...".

[Waaaaaa.]

That's classic.

Thank You Notes

2011-02-26T11:35:00.000-08:00

It's Friday and that means "Thank You Notes". This particular edition gets some help from violinist Itzhak Perlman. And yes, I double checked that spelling.

Jordan Schlansky - Valentine's Day

2011-02-24T20:27:00.000-08:00

Oooh, I almost forgot this one. Any time Conan visits with Jordan Schlansky, it's going on the blog. That's my promise to you the viewer and all future generations.

Conan talks to Jordan about Valentine's Day and relationships:

It's too short though. Spoiler: Conan drinks alco-hool. Also, I have to admit that I DO like it when the two bald priests are staring out the highway window from the bus.

Music Roundup

2011-02-24T20:01:00.000-08:00

Thought I'd post a couple recent musical performances that caught my fancy (a bits).

First, this is an increasing trend and I'm not sure if that's a bad thing. There's nothing about this song that's amazing, nothing great, nothing, really, that I can pick out as "above average" and yet I just like it for some reason. It's just wonderfully atmospheric. Listening to it puts me in a specific brain state (a specific feeling of time and place) which is really cool.

Phantogram - Mouthful of Diamonds (note: I wanted to post their Late Night performance with Questlove on drums but that video expired).

This song also holds up after repeated listens. There are a lot of bands out there that are trying to be "retro". There's a whole slew of bands that are "synthy" and trying to recall the 80's style. But this song's on another level. This song successfully sounds exactly like it's FROM the 80's. Take any scene from 80's movie where the "gang" has to fix up an old barn and it's tons of hard work but all the difficulty is made easier by the use of the upbeat montage. Take that scene and play this song over it and it doesn't feel out of place at all. (Edit: Wait, no, it's not the fixing up the barn scene, it's the scene where the guy did something bad to drive the girl away and there's a montage of failed ploys to win her back.)

Chromeo - "Hot Mess"

Seriously, this song has more hooks than a fisherman on vacation.

Letterman Visits Old School

2011-02-20T21:30:00.000-08:00

Hmm, that's a bad title. I was trying to make a play on the title of the last post.

Anyway, here's a video from all the way back to 2003. Vince Vaughn came onto Letterman to promote his new film "Old School". Vince Vaughn is one of the best talk show guests out there, and his Late Show appearances are especially good. That's why it's an absolute crime that he's only on for one segment. Still, it's short and sweet.

Bonus: Paul's walk-on music choice: Steely Dan - "Countdown to Ecstacy". The chorus contains the line "And I'm never going back to my old schoooool."

"I went to a school called 'Life', Dave. Our school colors were black and blue."

Conan Visits Beauty School

2011-02-17T17:41:00.000-08:00

In this classic from 2002-2003, Conan visits a hair styling school and learns the secrets of the trade. The revelation that "if hair is too long, cut it" is mind-blowing.

Let's gather the required postage and follow him to Danger Town:

You may or may not recognize the employee, Aaron Bleyaert. These days he manages the "online" division of Conan's show (the blog, twitter, web exclusive videos, etc).

Conan and The Blizzard of 2003

2011-02-16T09:38:00.000-08:00

---As promised---

With New York City shut down due to the blizzard, Conan takes to the (surprisingly desolate) streets to stir up some comedic comedy.

That news story by Maurice Duvois gets me every time.

New Press Photo

2011-02-15T19:50:00.000-08:00

Sure, we don't want this to become a Radiohead Fan Blog but, uhhhhh....

So anyway a new press photo of the band was released! Desperate for hints and clues as to the new album as we are, this counts as major news (for now).

Here it is:

[Note: The photo contains 3 invisible ponies.]

Now THAT is a sweet photo. Judging by it, I'd say the new album is going to sound like The Band's self-titled album. Yaaaaay! Or perhaps Neil Young's Harvest album. Yaaaayy! Or maybe it'll be like "The Wild Wild West" soundtrack. Oh, BOOOO! Or maybe My Morning Jacket's new album that isn't released yet. Cool? I guess maybe this has become an entire genre of band photo. But still it's good.

Who Cares Wins: Internet

2011-02-15T15:14:00.000-08:00

How did I learn to operate Blogopolis? Max and Gabe taught me.

Thanks Max and Gabe!

Here Comes the Limb King

2011-02-14T18:44:00.000-08:00

The eighth Radiohead album "The King of Limbs" is available for pre-sale now and will be downloadable this Saturday, February 19th 2011.

Its gonna be HUGE, Conan. I've officially been waiting on this album for 4 (calendar) years and after not a hint, not a suggestion, not a word, it's all of the sudden going to be OUT in 5 days. WOW. Their previous album, "In Rainbows" was announced 10 days before it was released. I wish they didn't do things this way. If they would have only announced it two months ago, I would have had something to look forward to for those two months. Instead, it's 4 years... BAM, NOW!

And along the lines of the "no info" front. Little to nothing is known about this album, not even the tracklisting or how many tracks there are. Although the Japanese are saying it's got 8 songs. That would seem low and I don't think that's correct. There were some tracks that have been played live and not yet recorded but there always are. Furthermore, those tracks that ARE known were only played acoustically or with guest musicians so that's not much help. I'm rooting for "Big Boots" or "Follow Me Around" to finally land a spot.*** All in all, I'd venture to say this is the least I've known going into any Radiohead album, ever.

The album purchase is available in two varieties: download only (wav or mp3) or "newspaper album" which comes with the download as well as two vinyl records, the CD, the ability to download everything and tons of artwork. There's been a lot of speculation as to what "newspaper album" means.... Ok, there's been almost no speculation and what little there is has been ridiculous. I would speculate that it's one of two things: 1) An expression of the nature of the artwork (ie. the artwork will be arranged like a newspaper or 2) All of the materials will be recyclable/biodegradable like a newspaper. Radiohead, after all, are known for being super eco-friendly and that would be the kind of thing they would brag about.

Ok, as speculation goes, this probably isn't the most exciting stuff, but that's all I got.

I should say also that I don't like the title... "The King of Limbs". Reminds me of Kings of Leon (it actually comes from a tree (much like a newspaper! mMM!)). But I'm taking that as a possibly good sign. After a 3 year wait in 2000, the new album "Kid A" was announced and I didn't like THAT title because it reminded me of Kid Rock. And that album turned out PRETTY good.

*** Denotes an old-timey, hardcore-fan reference to songs that will probably never see the light of day. Ha ha? But really, I do love those non-songs.

Conan Visits the Day Spa

2011-02-13T23:53:00.000-08:00

Certain dead musicians continue to release new music long after they're gone because people keep "finding" "lost recordings". And so it is with me. Except I'm not dead. But I had ripped all my old VHS tapes long ago and was much disappointed by what I had apparently failed to keep. Recently new VHS tapes were uncovered and so I'll be ripping/editing them for days to come. Some - but not many - will even make it to youtube.

And so here's the first of hopefully many.

This is going all the way back to February of 2003, Conan is feeling run down and decides to visit a day spa for a day of relaxation.

This is one that I can tie to a specific time and place. I brought the tape on which this piece was recorded to a friend's house and we watched it during a particularly heavy snowfall (there was a blizzard in '03 but I think this was a few days later). We went through the tape, laughing, eating, making jokes, cracking wise and generally enjoying life.

And after a good amount of that, a little bit of reality set in. His parents wanted us to shovel the driveway. This was particularly important as it occurred to me that I needed to get home. The next day I had class and I had a paper to do. Problem was, his driveway was like 40 or 50 yards long and the snow was (as I recall it) about 20 inches deep and heavy. In the face of those kinds of numbers, there we were just two regular dudes and a couple of shovels. It was not looking good. I think I shoveled a single strip about 8 feet long before I hit the wall (even in those days I was out of shape) and realized that I wasn't going to survive. Not good. With my primary mission to get myself home, looming in the back of my mind is that I have a paper to write that's due tomorrow and I haven't started yet. It was an essay for a Media class where I had to write a 4 page analysis of a local news broadcast. Sure, it helped that part of the assignment was just watching TV but I dread trying to expand the material to cover 4 pages. The local news is the local news. It loomed over me every bit as much as the snow clouds.

The giant driveway snow tonnage didn't kill me but it was a close call. After an hour of back-breaking labor (over which we made approximately 0% progress), a dude with a snow plow came by and offered to clear the driveway for 20 bucks or something. The deal was made, I was able to get home, record the 11 O'Clock news and get the paper done in the wee hours of the morning.

The day of basking in the warmth of late night comedy while the snow fell down was a fleeting happiness but it's a memory I'll never forget.

David Brent Cameo in The Office

2011-02-11T15:16:00.000-08:00

Brief but alright.

Catfish

2011-02-08T19:45:00.000-08:00

When one thinks of all the great movies within the "psychological thriller documentary" genre, not many movies come to mind. In fact no movies come to mind. This is one of those things that perhaps in a few days it'll suddenly come to me that I forgot one but at the moment there are no movies in this category. Except for the new documentary "Catfish".

We all know that the internet is a place where fiction and reality can be hard to discern. It's a hard and fast rule for instance that the attractive lady you're chatting to in chat rooms is really an overweight 40-year-old man who works as a part-time accountant. But can you be sure either way? And wouldn't you like to find out the stark naked truth (NOT LITERALLY)? This is "Catfish".

"Catfish" is a low-budget indie documentary that only recently came out on DVD and (I assume) if anyone is to find out about it, it will only be via word of mouth. In it a 24-year-old photographer from New York strikes up a friendship with a family in the Midwest over facebook. Through social networking, email, pictures, texts, videos and phone conversations he starts a relationship with the 19-year-old oldest sister and things progress steadily from there. As the relationship starts to get more serious, a series of strange clues cause him to begin to question whether he's actually interacting with a real person. And if he wasn't talking to a real person, what is the alternative possibility? Hoping to finally uncover the truth he decides on an impromptu visit and finds that the reality of the situation is beyond strange.

Obviously, getting at the truth is exactly the point of the movie and I won't spoil anything here. I only suggest that the building mystery is as fascinating as any mystery/fictional movie you're bound to see and the slow descent into the fictional (real) world is absolutely creepy. In fact the creepiness combined with the low-budget one-camera style at one point brought up memories of "The Blair Witch Project". Except this documentary is real (I think) and truth is stranger than fiction. Definitely recommended.

Oh yeah, and don't read or watch anything about the movie beforehand because, like "The Sixth Sense", a large part of the interest of the movie is finding out how it ends. That is, don't read anything about it starting now.

Beavis and Butthead In 2011

2011-02-08T15:22:00.000-08:00

Beavis and Butthead are coming back for a new season of shows to air on MTV this Summer. Yes, you read that sentence correctly.

Not much else is known about the show other than that Mike Judge will still do the voices, the two protagonists will still be in high school, it will still be on MTV and they'll be mocking current music videos. It's unclear how the music video data will actually be pushed through the MTV channel system but sources in the scientific community assure me that the technology exists.

This article about the comeback was written in July of 2010. How am I only hearing about this now?!

SNL - Dana Carvey

2011-02-07T15:23:00.000-08:00

This week was a special event for Saturday Night Live. The guest host was Dana Carvey. The show saw the return of "Church Chat" and special cameos by Mike Meyers and John Lovitz.

Oh yeah and a little something called THIS:

Also, this one isn't so much funny as I just like this song and wish to buy the record album.

And I thought this was pretty funny too.

It was nice to see him back and it was one of the better episodes of the past few years. You can watch the full show here.

Super Bowl of Serenity

2011-02-07T09:43:00.000-08:00

After a week of contemplation, trying to figure out how to fill my Super Bowl hours, I finally settled upon the idea of a "Joy of Painting" with Bob Ross marathon.

Using the power of the internet I was able to get a multitude of episodes and at 30 minutes each it was enough to cover the 8 hour (or whatever) span of overpriced commercials ("The Super Bowl"). The show was on the air for 30 years so there are A TON of episodes to choose from. I tried to sample one episode in each season across different seasons but even with that I didn't even get to Season 10.

And what a Super Bowl it was... there were almighty mountains, happy little trees, little rascal squirrels, clouds who had other cloud friends, trees that were sons of guns, bravery tests and plenty of happy accidents.

Some of the episodes were pretty unusual. One had a predominantly purple motif which I enjoyed and in another episode a woman came on and taught us how to paint saw blades. Turns out it's exactly the same as painting on a canvas... except on a saw blade. That's one of the great things about painting; it's your own little world. When you buy your first tube of paint, you get your Artist's License which allows you to do anything you want within the boundaries of your painting.

The whole experience added up to ultra-relaxation. It wasn't the most exciting Super Bowl ever, it was the most peaceful. ARE YOU READY FOR SOME CONTEMPLATIVE RELAXATION?! Yes.

Super Bowl of Avoidance

2011-01-30T21:24:00.000-08:00

It occurred to me as I watched the Pro Bowl today that this will be my last chance to see the NFL until next season. This made me sad for two reasons. 1) Nothing that happens in the Pro Bowl can really be described as "football" and 2) due to the current collective bargaining agreement, the wait will probably be longer than "next season". "Next season" will start at least a month late (my estimate) if there's even a season at all.

"But what about the Super Bowl?!", you say, quite harshly. A little too harshly, frankly. If I'm going to write a blog, I really don't need that level of sass and I'm not going to take it. Well, to answer the question, the Super Bowl annoys me. It barely has any more to do with football than the Pro Bowl does. Between the people watching just for the commercials, the halftime show where 'NSync does half a song with Aerosmith, the indifferent crowd and the fact that the public at large watches just because everyone else is, I couldn't care less. If my team were in the game, I'd watch and I'd watch harder than anyone else but until that happens, it's banned.

The question now is how to fill my time. I'd like to do something that stands out so that it can be remembered fondly in the future. Past Super Bowls I've:

Watched "Follow That Bird"
Watched "Puppy Bowl I" (play-by-play by Harry Kalas) (the winner was all of us)
Watched "Muppet Treasure Island"

And even though I had a blog during last years game, I don't remember what I did. If I had to guess, I think I was watching a movie of some sort.

So what to do this year? Not sure. It's something to think about this week. The only rules are that it has to be something slightly off the beaten path (or simply ridiculous) and has to be as "opposite" of the Super Bowl as possible. A couple of the frontrunners so far:

Storage Wars Marathon

Watch "Wayne and Garth's Music A-Go-Go" (if I can get it in time)

Read

Watch "Trading Spaces" (I'd have to find that as well)

8-bit Nintendo Night

That's really all I have so far but I have a week to think about it. I'm sure I'll figure something out. Suggestions welcome.

The good news is this: two weeks until aces and catchers.

Wax Conan Revisited

2011-01-28T19:03:00.000-08:00

Conan visits his wax figure made by Madame Tussaud's about a year ago.

This is great because Conan goes in with no material to work with but still improvises a full 6 minute bit. He is to comedy as B.A. Baracus is to machines.

No sign of Wax Tom Cruise and Wax Fonzie.

Letterman-Postian Recursion

2011-01-22T22:48:00.000-08:00

Letterman defended Ricky Gervais' performance hosting the Golden Globes on his show.

You can watch the video here.

The New York Post had printed a story about how the performance was so controversial. Letterman held up the story and said Gervais did a fantastic job, reading some of Ricky's jokes from the article. He then predicted that tomorrow's Post would have a story about what he had just done and print a picture of him holding up the Post. The next day he was proven correct as The New York Post did print a picture of Dave holding up the Post. So he held up the Post article which contained the picture of him holding the Post to see if they would publish a picture of that in the next day's edition.

He says his goal is to eventually get a photo printed in the newspaper that represents infinity.

MECHANT!

2011-01-20T08:18:00.000-08:00

I'm a big Smerch fan so it was nice to see him on Late Night. He talks about "An Idiot Abroad", "The Ricky Gervais Show", the Golden Globes and even touches on his XFM (radio) days.

His walk on music was "6 Foot 7 Foot 8 Foot Bunch" which goes, uh, "Six foot, seven foot, eight foot bunch" (so it's not just a clever name). Steve is 6 foot, 7. My prediction for the walk-on music was "Black or White" by Michael Jackson.

Pros and Cons or Something

2011-01-19T12:43:00.000-08:00

"Pros and Cons" is a regular feature on Late Night but it's usually kind of a waste of time. "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" is supposed to be about being weird and different. But "Pros and Cons" is the one piece they do that's no different from a million different comedy bits done by a million different talk shows throughout history.

But this one rises above that, due mainly to the amount of derailment and improvisation about the "Old Timey" days of radio and myspace. And also the reference to "Macho Man" Randy Savage.

Regis Retires; Drinking with Betty White

2011-01-18T21:50:00.000-08:00

Earlier in the day, Regis Philbin announced he was leaving his show. So Dave calls him to check in:

And later Dave interviews Betty White. Always interesting to hear about the early days of television, etc.

There's always something interesting happening at the Late Show but it's hard to blog about it because the uploaded videos available don't begin to cover them all. Then, when a video is created, it's edited to almost nothing (as seen above). Hopefully two videos almost adds up to one good one.

Tom Tom Club

2011-01-12T16:03:00.000-08:00

Tom Tom Club perform their hit "Genius of Love" on Late Night, or as I call it "THE CATCHIEST SONG EVER". The band is a few years older and they've added a pointless DJ but the song holds up pretty well and it's good to hear it again.

James Brown? James Brown. James Brrroooown? JAMES BROWN!

Conan The Comic Book Guy (Continued)

2011-01-12T15:16:00.000-08:00

In a previous post we learned that Conan had visited Warner Brothers animation studios to make his own comic book character (The Flaming C). Now the character has shown up in an unexpected place.

My favorite part is the steaming oven mit. I'm also surprised that a show for kids (I assume it's for kids) is allowed to have a character with a pot leaf belt buckle and fish net stockings.

Classic Roots Choice #25

2011-01-10T14:07:00.000-08:00

When Patton Oswalt was on the show last Friday his walk on music was a strange, slowed down version of "The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)" with a certain evil overtone.

This was a reference to one of Oswalt's standup bits:

Listen to the actual slowed-audio version of the song here.

It's kind of a strange convention to make chipmunks have extremely high-pitched voices. There's no evidence for it as they don't speak English. Or if you say that they would have higher pitched voices because they're smaller animals then we need to adjust a whole host of animal cartoon characters.

Ricky Gervais Show Season 2 Premieres; Is Free; Is On My Blog

2011-01-07T22:30:00.000-08:00

The second season of the Ricky Gervais show premiered today. And not only that, it's viewable from hbo.com. And not only that, it's free.

Ricky Gervais Show 2-01:

Ep. 14: Clive Warren - Full Episode

And not only that, it's the show where Karl pitches his idea for a new movie starring Clive Warren and Rebecca De Mornay. It's one of the maddest ideas for a movie ever but I kind of get the suspicion that it'll be made some day. After all, Karl pitched the idea that humans should age backwards and they made "Benjamin Button".

I'm not sure of the business model - no commercials, available for free - but I'll take it. Perhaps this is only for the season premiere.

WEETABIX!

Oregon 80s Power Ballad

2011-01-07T15:33:00.001-08:00

In the world of college football there are many fight songs. But until now there have not been any 80's power ballads.... until now. Oh yeah, I already said that.

The A-Team

2011-01-05T22:07:00.001-08:00

[Pictured: The coolest toy ever.]

I'll tell you something interesting about "The A-Team" (movie): it isn't terrible.

Going into it, I had heard nothing but bad things about how bad it is at badness. This, combined with the fact that I despise the current trend of making horrible remakes of things I like (see "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory", "Transformers", "Transformers 2", "G.I. Joe" and so forth), meant that I had no hope for this remake of "The A-Team" TV series from the '80s. Still, my love for that series made me curious about the movie and kept me curious until I felt I should at least see it once.

The main criticism I heard was that it was ridiculous, mindless action that was both ridiculous and mindless. And there's no doubt that was right. I won't get into spoilers of specific actions/scenes/scenarios but I will say that calling it "unrealistic" is an insult to unrealism. If you think about the physics or logistics of this movie - or simply try to place the events somewhere within the space-time continuum in which the rest of us live - for any more than a few seconds, you WILL suffer an aneurysm and probably suffer brainexplosia. This movie takes believability and melts it with underwater fireworks and chocolate sauce.

However (and this is a hard "however" to face), it is most enjoyable. I never go for mindless action and I usually hate when other do, but in this case I do have to say that for me, believability and enjoyment were not on a line extending in opposite directions, but were rather on a circle continuum. In one direction, a movie gets more and more unreal and less enjoyable but then there comes a point where the movie gets SO unreal that it's laughable and fun. This movie is that event. The situations are SO ridiculous and SO over the top that I just chuckled and enjoyed the ride - I think you have to. And - let's be fair - we can't argue that the original A-Team didn't require a certain well-proportioned level of disbelief suspension.

It might be said that my opinion is skewed because I'm probably a pushover for all things A-Team... well, I guess that's a crime I DID commit. But how can you not be? If you got the A-Team theme blasting as the A-Team characters fire guns from a helicopter while being chased by the bad guys and BA is yelling at Murdock and it's all displayed on the big screen, what's not to like?!

And I know there's only one real BA and only one real Face, etc. and it is true... But the actors are good in this "re-imagining". The closest parallel is the new "Star Trek" movie. There are new actors playing iconic roles that are defined by the original actors but somehow it's not offensive, and actually is kinda fun.

In the end, is it Shakespeare? No. Is it smart? Not really. But it IS fun and if you're looking for some escapist entertainment for an hour, it's perfect. And it's The A-Team.

Trivia: Watch for two Phillies shirts worn by Face in the movie. Actor Bradley Cooper is a Philadelphia native. Be sure also to keep watching until after the credits are over.

Trivia Continued: Within the "A-Team" movie, there is an "A-Team" movie... (yeah). The first listed credit of this movie is Reginald Barclay. Reginald Barclay is Dwight Schultz (the original Murdock)'s character's name in "Star Trek: The Next Generation".

Personal Addendum: This may be the first time I've encountered a brainless action flick and gone along with the "turn off your thinker" mentality to laugh at the crazy explosions. So far I'm taking it in stride but it is slightly worrying that I may be getting stupider.

This Peacock Needs to Fly

2010-12-31T15:39:00.000-08:00

P.K. Highsmith and Christopher Danson (Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson) are two balls-to-the-wall cops who don't play by the rules. They're the kind of cops who shoot first and, then, when it gets down to the time where they should be asking questions, they're still shooting - walking away from an explosion in slow mo. This film isn't about them. Instead, it's about "The Other Guys" (Mark Wahlberg, Will Ferrell) - the guys who do paperwork at their desk and have their guns taken away from them because they accidentally shot Derek Jeter. The kind of guys who mount a red police emergency light on top of a Prius as they investigate scaffolding ordinance violations.

"The Other Guys" kind of slipped under the radar this year either because it was going up against dominant competition or people had grown tired of Will Ferrell movies. I can't blame them, his mostly-improvised comedic output has been downhill since "Anchorman". Still, in this case it's unjustified. This is the funniest movie I've seen in a long time - Will Ferrell or otherwise.

The great lines and great scenes of this movie are too numerous to get into. Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg give great performances. Michael Keaton and Steve Coogan are excellent surprises in supporting roles and the movie is narrated by Ice-T. In fact, maybe it's just me but I felt like I could actually hear Ice-T crawling on a log as he spoke. This movie actually made me laugh out loud multiple times - an extreme rarity.

That's why I creep.

Seinfeld Chronicled

2010-12-30T15:28:00.001-08:00

Yesterday I completed a (about) 6 month-long project (I say "project" because it sound more impressive). Using Netflix, I had rented every disc of every season of Seinfeld as fast as the mail allowed.

I had previously confirmed that I had seen every episode and I'm well aware that thousands of reruns are aired every night on TBS alone. But the point was to go through all the deleted scenes, all the commentaries, all the extras as well as the flubs, bloopers, screwups and boners. I'm a big fan of all that "inside" stuff about where the ideas came from, how the show was created, what were the obstacles, etc. And on that count, it pretty much delivered although it was a long haul with a good number of thin spots. Still, next time anyone watches Seinfeld with me, they better prepare to get hit with some knowledge.

That's 9 seasons over 8 DVD seasons and 4 discs per season for 32 DVD rentals and 180 episodes. So, that's that done. On to the next thing...

War with the Postman

2010-12-30T15:14:00.000-08:00

The other day it snowed. We got a few inches (probably 3), no big deal but I noticed something strange... ever since it snowed I haven't gotten my mail. Hmm, that's strange. Oh well. Hey, whose creed is this?

"And neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night, nor the winds of change, nor a nation challenged, will stay us from the swift completion of our appointed rounds. Ever."

Oh yeah, it's the Post Office's creed. SNOW IS THE FIRST ONE.

Hey, I didn't pick that creed but if you're gonna have one that's that hardcore, you really should be able to walk through a light dusting. Allow me to suggest a more accurate creed....

"Lots of things will stay us from swift completion of our appointed rounds - particularly Sundays. Ever."

I really didn't feel like it was enough snow to shovel the driveway but I guess I have to now. They have me over a barrel on this. Who can live without mail? If these trends continue, how am I going to get 3 unsolicited J. Crew catalogs? I NEED Comcast's flyers about XFinity. What is my life if I'm not throwing away giant stacks of coupons for things I don't buy? Nothing, that's what. I have no choice but to at least shovel a path for His Highness from the street to my mailbox. I need those credit card offers.