Merry Christmas

First, a message from the President:

The Band - Christmas Must Be Tonight

A Charlie Brown Christmas (The Ruined Version)

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A Patrick Swayze Christmas (A Christmas Carol based on the movie "Roadhouse")

Darlene Love & The CBS Orchestra - "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)"

[I wanted to avoid repetition but it is unavoidable.]

Merry Christmas.

Late Show Christmas Edition Epilogue

The Late Show does the same Christmas traditions year in and year out over and over and the FIRST TIME I write a blog about them, something different happens. Gutting. I can at least take some consolation in the fact that nobody listens to me anyway.

CUT, yes CUT from the Late Show (due to time, pffff) was Paul's Cher Impression. Nevertheless you can see it here. A classic that never gets old.

As of this posting, CBS hasn't uploaded the full show onto the web. You can check here. But because CBS's web video kinda sucks anyway, I'll go through the list and post segments from Christmas Past.

1) Topping of the Christmas Tree - Like I had warned earlier it looks like this is no longer done on-air anymore. Fair enough. See the very first one here.

2) Paul's Cher Impression - Cut from the show. See THIS YEAR'S as a "web exclusive" here.

3) The Lone Ranger Story - This one was a little flat, I thought, owing partly to the fact that Jay Thomas took a comedy risk and insulted the audience when he came out. Nevertheless you can see one of the past tellings here:

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4) The Late Show Quarterback Challenge - This year there was a bit of a surprise. Dave got the idea to do a recreation of the first Quarterback challenge (see Origins in Previous Post) where he would throw a couple and miss and they Jay Thomas would run out and throw a bomb right on target. Dave throws one... miss, throws another... hit's the meatball right off the tree. The Challenge is over without Jay even throwing a single ball. Here's what it looked like in the past:

5) Darlene Love Performs "Christmas Baby (Please Come Home)" - This is one tradition that was as great and rock solid as ever. Just fantastic. Here's one from the past.

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You won't see anything that good anywhere, I guarantee.

And that about wraps 'er up.

VCR ALERT! DANGER! LATE SHOW!

Tonight is the "Late Show with David Letterman" that the entire Late Show with David Letterman year revolves around. Be sure to tune in / set your tivo / start the VCR / mark it down in your social, political or otherwise daily planner / call the neighbors / wake the kids / call the cops, etc.

It's the Late Show Special Christmas Edition! They do hundreds of shows each year but this is the biggey, this is what it all builds up to, it all comes down to this. If there was just one Late Show to see this year, it would be this one. There are a number of special Christmas Late Show traditions, some ridiculous (okay, most are ridiculous), some emotional, which have gradually and organically built up over the years and now you too can anticipate and look forward to them because I'm here to tell you what they are (hopefully without spoilers).

1) Topping the Christmas Tree

What to Expect: Most people put a star or an angel on top of the Christmas tree. That isn't the Late Show way. In order to represent the city of New York and at the same time bring in people who are part of the "Late Show family" in a creative way, the Christmas tree is topped first with a pizza (from Joe G's Pizza, a former neighbor of the show) then a small model of the Empire State building is placed on top of that (from Mujibar and Sirajul - also former neighbors of the show and frequent correspondents) and finally with a giant meatball with tomato sauce (from Rupert G's Hello Deli, a long time and current neighbor of the show). Traditionally "the topping of the tree" is meant to be done at the beginning of the week but I haven't seen it this year so it's either not shown on-air anymore or it'll be on tonight.

Origins: This tradition goes back to 1993, the first year of the Late Show. It was the first Late Show Christmas tree and they just decided to ask Mujibur and Sirajul to bring items from their shop to commemorate their friendship. They brought an American flag, a commemorative "U.S. Presidents" plate and a figurine of the Statue of Liberty. The Statue of Liberty conveniently fit the top and so it was kept. The pizza and meatball were added later as the show met more neighbors and I believe the Statue of Liberty was changed to the Empire of State building at some point. See the first ever topping here.

2) Paul's Cher Impression

What to Expect: During desk chat, every year, Dave requests and Paul recalls a famous Christmas moment from the old "Sonny and Cher" show where Cher sang "Oh, Holy Night". It always ends with Paul doing a musical impression of what it sounded like that brings down the house. I don't want to give too much away but the word "muff" WILL be mentioned and it gets a laugh ever year.

Origins: This goes back almost to the dawn of Dave History. Paul first told this story in April of 1983 on Late Night. Dave enjoyed it so much that it was later retold at Christmas time of that year and has subsequently become tradition. No link so as to avoid spoiling the fun.

3) The Lone Ranger Story

What to Expect: Jay Thomas comes on and tells the "Lone Ranger Story". Pretty simple, just a man telling a true story from his past. Except to say, (and I won't give anything away) that the reason for this tradition is that it's the greatest true anecdote ever told on a late night talk show ever, in the history of all things. Oh, yes, prepare thyself, citizen.

Origins: This story was first told like every other story. Jay came on the show as a guest and simply told it. Dave describes it as perhaps the best story he's ever heard as a host of a talk show and he's brought Jay back every year since to retell it. I think this became a tradition basically as a Christmas gift that Dave gives himself and in conjunction with the fact that Jay has to be on the show anyway for #4.

4) The Meatball Quarterback Challenge

What to Expect: With the Christmas topping all in place (see #1) Jay Thomas and Dave get a giant vat of footballs and throw the footballs at the tree. The goal is to bullseye the giant meatball head-on and knock it off the tree from a distance of about 20 yards. It's something of a competition although Jay hits it almost ever year. These days, with over a decade of throws gone by, the Challenge is usually preceded by a montage of all past years.

Origins: In 1998, Dave had NFL quaterback Vinny Testaverde on the show and at the end of the segment they played the "Holiday Quarterback Challenge" (trying to throw a football and knock the meatball off the tree). Attempt after attempt, Vinny and Dave missed. Finally, Jay Thomas, who was scheduled as the second guest that night, got so mad that he ran out on stage, grabbed a football and knocked it off on his first throw. He's been back every year since. Recent editions have been preceded by the montage (mentioned previously) and have also incorporated the Late Show Hula Hoop Girl and Late Show Grinder Girl - although I think these two were just temporary and not actual additions to the tradition.

5) Darlene Love Performs "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)"

What to Expect: If you're like me you might not be familiar with the artist or the song. But if you're like me, you'll instantly recognize both once you hear them and go "oooh". Coming at the end of the show, it's meant to be the finale that gets you right into "The Christmas spirit" and it works. I get goosebumps every single time and if you're not dead you will too.

Origins: In 1993, Paul and Darlene were doing a play together about the life of Phil Spector and invited Dave to see it. After the show Dave said to Paul, "We need to get Darlene Love down here to sing that Christmas song. That's the greatest Christmas song I've ever heard." And so they did. Originally, it was just Darlene and the band but each year it gets "bigger" as they try to top last year's performance. The number of instruments grew, the number of back up singers grew, the production grew etc. Until today where they have a full band, full orchestra, full choir, fake snow, costumes, the works. Last year (or a few years ago) they even had a saxophonist descend from the ceiling to do a solo.

And that's your Christmas Late Show. Know it. Watch it. Enjoy it.

I Wish It Was Christmas Today

It might have the legs to become a new Late Night Christmas Tradition (more on that in future)... Here's Jimmy Fallon, Horatio Sanz, Julian Casablancas and The Roots performing "I Wish It Was Christmas Today".

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Jimmy explains how the song came about and how Julian got involved during the "Desk Chat" segment of the full episode found here.

Ricky Gervais on Sesame Street

Ricky Gervais made an amusing appearance on Sesame Street this week as part of the "Celebrity Lullabies" series. This is a recurring sketch where Elmo hires a celebrity to sing him a lullabye. No "Freelove Freeway" encore though.

The better, but more earnest episode, was Andrea Bocelli's seen here.

Conan Works At Best Buy

The title says it all. For some extra cash he's gonna get up every day, get chemically altered, steal from his work and take an 1.5 hour lunch with several courses just like the rest of us.

 

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Boyz II Men Live

I'm not the most massive fan in the world but I know a fantastic live performance when I see it.

Here's Boyz II Men performing with The Roots "Motownphilly":

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They also did a very cool cover of "Iris" by the Goo Goo Dolls. You can only see that by within the full episode here.

Bit o' Trivia: You can see Questlove and Black Thought in the original "Motownphilly" music video. Questlove playing the drums and Black Thought is dancing in the background.

Paul Shaffer on Late Night

Remember how much fun it was when two tv shows "crossed over"? Like "Scooby Doo Meets Batman and Robin" or "The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones"? Sure, we all do. But what's infinitely more enjoyable, to me, is when a talk show host is a guest on another talk show. Not only because of the cross-mojination that happens and the colliding of worlds, but also because the change in roles where the interviewer becomes the interviewee.

Jay Leno and David Letterman were both on Johnny Carson. Letterman was on Conan and vice versa. Craig Kilborn was on Letterman but not the other way around (though he did have Paul Shaffer). Conan was on Carson Daly's show and vice versa. Jimmy Fallon was on Letterman and Conan. And on it goes into the night.

And so it's a huge event for me that Paul Shaffer was on Jimmy Fallon's show recently. It was a great interview. You can see the full interview here starting at 21:24 but only for a limited time! As it's only available within the context of the full show, it'll be taken offline in a few days. In particular Paul confronts the Roots on Questlove's quote in Rolling Stone magazine that when thinking about which song to play for guest intros, he thinks, "What would Paul Schaffer do?" and then does the opposite. OUCH. It's so on.

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Paul's on to promote his new book which is a collection of anecdotes from his experiences in show business over the past 5 decades. I have a pretty strict rule that I only buy books that are educational but I'm thinking of making an exception for this book. Talk about a life worth reading about - he's been a song writer and studio musician for years, he was in the SNL band from the first season so he has stories about that era, he's been on Letterman for the past 30 years, he was in Spinal Tap and, oh yeah, he's the musical director for the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame so he's played with, met or worked with EVERY SIGNIFICANT MUSICIAN OF THE PAST 50 YEARS. And that's not an exaggeration. I want to make a list but if I do, I'll leave out about 30 other giant stars.

Who Cares Wins: Christmas Edition

It seems that some time in the late 80's or early 90's James Fallon made another training video - this time about how to wrap gifts. It's quite infotaining and lives up to the level of quality we've come to expect from the great people at Vision Video.

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Edit: After watching the video, the fact that you had to confirm your birthday to view it will make even less sense.

Dave Vs. The White House Vs. CNN

Freshly uploaded and hot off the youtube presses: Dave vs. The White House vs CNN! This is a classic from 5 years ago.

First the Late Show aired the following segment entitled "George W. Bush: Invigorating America's Youth":

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Then comes the aftermath:

This video is one of the classics in my opinion. The constant unbelievable twists are great.

Blog Bonus #1: It was also shocking. CNN, a trusted news organization, didn't just get the story wrong, they made up the story. I mean, it's very easy to get a fact wrong or misquote someone but I don't have the faintest clue how anyone in the world could mess up by not getting any comment from the White House and then reporting "The White House says..." How does that happen? ... And they did it not just once, but TWICE. They actually correct an earlier made up story with a second made up story! It's the absolute height of ridiculousness. "Newsroom" was the best satire of media ever made but even the characters on that show never did anything this stupid. It makes for great unscripted comedy though.

Blog Bonus #2: Note that Paul and the band's theme for the Schick Quattro is "Take Five" by the Dave Brubeck Quartet. Earlier I thought that he had gotten it wrong because Quattro is 4 and it's "Take 5" but now I think it could be referring to the fact that the artists are a quartet. Quattro... Quartet. Either way, it's very clever.

Blog Bonus #3: The video uses a star wipe! When it became apparent in watching the full-length clip that it required editing, I knew exactly what was called for. ["Star Wipe" Simpsons Clip Not Online]

Classic Roots Choice #14

On Monday Givoanni Ribisi was on Late Night. The Roots played a jazzy version of the "Leave It To Beaver" theme song. Who'd ever of thought anyone would say that.

Ribisi's first ever role was as a kid in "Still The Beaver", a revisiting of the original characters starring almost all of the original cast (Hugh Beaumont, the dad, died earlier). I remember watching the show. It was sooo 80's and I remember thinking it wasn't that great but I enjoyed it anyway because I was such a big fan of the original series.

The Final Countdown

RIGHT... eh.. errmm ... Right ... eh ... Right.

I could watch this all day. The rhythm of it, the silences... This game seems to take place in a joyless, silent, energyless void of a world. It's Simon Sad vs. Liz Tragic. It reminds me exactly of when I used to watch "Lingo" on a Saturday evening. Those days aren't coming back.

The parody is a send up of this game show.

Right... SO, ehhh ... right... right... so ... uh, right....

Classic Roots Choice #13

David Alan Grier was on Late Night yesterday. His intro music was a short bluesy tune sung by Questlove with somewhat muddled lyrics. It went, "Like to hear it? Here it goes! That David Alan Grier on broadway with the fine Eric Washington but won't hook a brother up with no down town ticketsss. AHHH-HAHH."

The Roots wrote their own Calhoun Tubbs song:

This blog post is short. In fact, I wrote a song about it. Like to hear it? Here it goes... Blog post isn't longgg, dunt got that many wordss. AHHHAAA-HAHH-AHH.

Tom Hanks Reaction Shots

First there was "Vlade Divac Reaction Shots" which, by all accounts, vastly enhanced the NBA on NBC broadcasts. Then there was "Abe Lincoln Money Shots" which was totally unrelated. Now, there's "Tom Hanks Reaction Shots" provided as a special bonus feature to the night's Top Ten List.

Let's watch...

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Dave Explains Twitter

If I had access to years of archival footage, one of the things I would do would be to create a series of "David Letterman Explains Stuff". It's a very difficult phenomenon to explain but he always gets certain specific details wrong while adding other fanciful details of his own in such a way that makes the story particularly hilarious.

This is a slight example but my intro aside, the point is that today, he was convinced to start tweeting on-air. It was history in the making:

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Later he got a toaster on the desk, plunged some bread and tweeted that he was making toast. Then to the audience, "I'm the only thing on CBS right now."

Put On Zeppelin And Eat Cheddar Cheese

Having never seen a Star Trek redub in my life, I came across this video which promises to be the weirdest Star Trek redub ever. It delivers.

Turns out there's a few of these. I like this one as well:

Andy Rooney's Lost His Mind

Andy Rooney's lost his mind. This is a phrase I often used in high school when I started specifically setting aside a section of my Sunday evenings to watch Andy Rooney's persuasive essays on "60 Minutes". Imagine having a sectioned off segment on national network television where you had complete editorial freedom to tell millions of viewers anything you wanted. Any issue you felt strongly about, any cause you wanted people to get behind, any product you wanted to promote, anything you wanted to say about anything. Such power is rarely to be found anywhere in all of human history. Andy Rooney has this power. Andy Rooney uses this power to emit the aural equivalent of watching paint dry.

There's some evidence that he used to actually have valid opinions on things and used to write valid TV essays. I remember in 7th grade we had to read one of his essays where he espoused the many advantages of writing a letter as opposed to calling someone on the phone. I remember him making some really good points and the piece did get me thinking. However, I think after about the second or third decade of doing this, he must have run out of all meaningful opinion and slipped, slowly but surely, into the realm of shocking insanity.

Which brings me to why I started watching his "essays" every Sunday. Every Sunday he uses his platform on national television to do something so idiotic that it defies both explanation and belief. I can honestly say, "One time I watched Andy Rooney literally take clothes out of his closet and talk about them for 5 minutes and that was it". No one would believe me but it's a true story. "One time I saw Andy Rooney list the utensils in his kitchen." "In a dream?" "No, that really happened." "One time Andy Rooney's essay consisted of emptying his mailbox and talking about the letters he had received." That really happened. One time Andy Rooney used the mass media of television to deliver a speech so devoid of rational thought that it made my brain shut down and I blacked out.

The worst part, for me, is that all the while that he's spouting nonsense, he compounds the pain by asking "biting" and "rhetorical" questions that are very easily answerable. "What do they do with platinum anyway?", he says in one segment. LOOK IT UP AND STOP WASTING AIR TIME!!! "What in the world does 'sub-prime' mean?" OPEN A BOOK, JACKASS! "I don't understand what 'vamped' means so how could I understand what revamped means?" I HOPE NOAH WEBSTER RISES FROM THE GRAVE TO STAB YOU!

Is it comforting or horrifying, then, that we can know that even in the event of a worldwide nuclear holocaust, Andy Rooney will endure?

Post-Apocalyptic Andy Rooney

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That's What Friends Are For

For his first Thanksgiving in LA, Conan sits down to Thanksgiving Dinner with his closest acquaintances Jordan Schlansky, Pierre Bernard and Wing Peng. There are two certainties in life anytime Conan hangs out with Jordan. 1) There will be pretension and 2) Conan's gonna meet Jordan's pretension head-on with "alcohool". Drink up, Squanto.

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Updated Link.

I really hope this becomes a holiday tradition. This is eerily similar to an another LA talk show host who also gathered his assorted gang for Thanksgiving Dinner Roundtable...

Ahhh, I so wish I had more of these on tape. It was a Thanksgiving tradition that I looked forward to every year. RIP - Rod Roddy.

The Blessing

This works best without an intro. Happy Thanksgiving.

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Classic Roots Choice #11, 12

#11. Guest: Joseph Gordon-Levitt. His intro music is some bass and drums and the following rant: "Don't miss it. Now through Monday only, a wide array of furniture has been reduced 35% -86% off!" etc. This is a reference to commercials for Levitz Furniture, from Lebanon, PA. Joseph Gordon-Levitt... Levitz.

#12. Guest: Elvis Costello. The Roots play a few bars of "Radio, Radio" and then suddenly stop. Questlove says, "Whoah! Whoah! Whoah! Ladies and Gentlemen, I'm really sorry, there's no need for us to do this tonight." and then they play "Pump It Up". It was done so well that they actually succeeded in fooling Elvis Costello with his own shtick.

This is a reference to the famous incident when Elvis Costello was the musical guest on SNL. A last-minute replacement for the Sex Pistols, he was specifically told to play "Less Than Zero"and not "Radio, Radio" because the latter was seen as critical of the media. Him and his band played a few seconds of "Less Than Zero", but Elvis stopped, gave the "No reason to do this song" line and launched into a loud version of "Radio, Radio". The stunt caused Lorne Michaels (famously not a fan of such ad libbing / blatant disrespect) to ban Costello from SNL for life.

By 1999 however, all was forgiven and for the 25th Anniversary SNL Show, the incident was playfully (and gloriously) relived with a little help from the Beastie Boys.

Bit 'O Trivia: Friday, Elvis Costello and Jimmy Fallon were both on the same show. Not only are they both talk show hosts, but they also can attribute getting their own talk show, in no small measure, to the fact that they both were guest-hosts on the Late Show during the period where David Letterman was out with the Shingles. Eh? Eh? Eh? Ehhh.

Neil Young, The Prince

Once a decade Neil Young comes out with another absolute classic. He was on Jimmy Fallon playing a new song and I think this is that classic.

An Inconvenient Groove

"What Up With That?" returns with a new episode. As always they tackle the complex issues and difficult problems facing the world today. Leading off the show is internet inventor Al Gore, probably to attempt to explain why "Global Warming" isn't a load of old toss. I'm not sure 'cause I got Pac-Man fever and I got it good.

With special appearance by Jake "The Snake" Roberts!

Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick...

Bread

People who are "experts" in extremely narrow subject matter are like morticians: It's nice to know they're there, but I don't really want to go into any detail. It's reassuring that if someone needed to know about, say, a particular antique barometer, there's someone out there who's the "goto" antique barometer expert and will have an answer for all your antique barometer queries. At the same time though, you know that your interaction should be strictly restricted to the antique barometer subject matter - digging any deeper into the matter will reveal a depressing portrait of a man with an unhealthy obsession. A guy that can't stop collecting antique barometers. A guy who needs antique barometers. A guy whose house is in permanent darkness because the stacks of piled up antique barometers have blocked out the windows. A man who used to be married but his wife left him because she could no longer deal with the antique barometers. A man who's barely functioning within any societal norms at all until one day he stops showering just so he can use the tub for more storage... All for the sake of the antique barometers.

This depressing and overly ominous intro leads us to the video at hand. One day the folks at "Late Night" decided to throw caution to the wind and interview a man who is an expert on bread. Yes, a bread expert. A man who has devoted his entire life to the study and appreciation of bread. The talk show interview format being what it is, it's the guaranteed "look down into the cellar" that one would normally avoid. What follows is one of the funnier and more unusual interviews ever on the show.

Be sure to turn off video annotations and enjoy.

Bread Expert Interview

Politics

Other than The McLaughlin Group this has to be my favorite current events/political/issues talk show. It's called "What Up with That?" and unfortunately, it only airs on BET.

Here's the episode I saw. It tackles a few of the hot button issues currently facing us. With special appearance by Picaboo Street.

Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick...

Going Rogue

"Going Rogue" is Going Rogue.

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The Movie Cell Phone Rule

Any character in a movie or TV show will not say, "Goodbye" at the end of a conversation on a cell phone. You say something important, they say something important, you say something, etc. and then you close the cell phone with no warning. Every character in the history of media on a cell phone telepathically knows exactly when the conversation has ended. In addition, not one has ever had any emotional sentiment toward salutations.

Jimmy Fallon Call of Duty Outtakes

Since the newest Call of Duty game is set in present day, the makers of the game invited Jimmy Fallon to act out a character and improv some topical references for inclusion in the game. In the end, I don't think his footage was used but here are the outtakes from his day of filming:

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Taste the Rainbow.

Top Ten

A somewhat historic Top Ten List the other night. The Late Show aired the first ever Top Ten List with no category. Quoth Dave, "This will make no sense, this will get no laughs."

Top Ten

10. Replace beef with Canada geese -- it's a Sullen-burger

9. "Words George W. Bush Can't Pronounce" for a hundred, Alex

8. Claimed she could see Russian dressing from her house

7. Vibrating underpants

6. Don't look now but Kate Hudson's dating the Balloon Boy's crazy dad

5. Screw Thomas Edison -- this blanket has sleeves!

4. Idiots who answer the phone, "Yello?"

3. You're not Mrs. Paul and that's no fish stick

2. Is there anything in the health care plan to help Sammy Sosa's face?

1. So desperate to get out of town you'll fly Northwest

History, and yet maybe something not so new. A few years ago they collected random Top Ten entries from random lists that weren't good enough to air and assembled them in one list as "Top Ten Leftovers" or something. I suspect this is the same thing.

That's Impossible... Even For A Computer.

We can all remember where we were when we first saw the amazingly realistic CGI on the first Star Wars movie.

In this video, the main man Larry Cuba, explains how it was all done:

The special effects for this shot, and the techniques used for pretty much every special effects shot in Star Wars, had to be invented as they went along. In case after case, people set out to create something without knowing how it can be done and then invent ways to do it. The creative process is usually interesting but the special case of "Special Effects", for me, approximates magic more than almost any other.

The creative solutions revealed in this video are surprising for two reasons:

1) How high tech the solutions were. I would have guessed that these were the days before 3D software and digital-pen-like interfaces but clearly both were available. The computers were even powerful enough and the tools were already developed to manipulate 3D images real-time which, again, I would not have guessed.

and

2) How low tech the solutions were. How do you take images from the computer and put them on film? I don't know, put a camera in front of the monitor and take a thousand stop-motion pictures of the screen, I guess.

Classic Roots Choice #10

I might have to change the title of these entries from "Classic Roots Choice" to "Obscure Roots Choice" though I'm not sure. It seems they make good decisions every night but I really only comment on the most strange and obscure. I'll think about it.

Last night, Jimmy had Troy Polamalu on the show. For those of you who don't follow the football, Troy has a Head and Shoulders Shampoo endorsement deal because he looks like this:

So for his intro music, the Roots played the jingle for "Soul Glo", the fake hair product seen in the movie "Coming To America":

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Peanut Butter: Utopia or Dystopia???

Recently Elmo was a guest on Jimmy Fallon. You can watch most of the "interview" (read: insanity) here.

At the end of the segment the Roots, together with the audience, played the "Pinball" song (or the "Counting Song" or "1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12"). Fun fact: apparently, the song was originally performed by the Pointer Sisters.

The Pinball animation was one of my favorite segments and it got me thinking back to some others that I really enjoyed. Here are a few.

Making Peanut Butter

Looking at it now, the peanut butter doesn't look good at all. But conflang it, that song was catchy and I liked pretty much anything that showed how an everyday item was made.

Rolling Ball (1-2-3)

Looking at this now, it's exactly the same as the Pinball concept - you got a rolling ball, within a complex contraption and counting. It's no wonder I loved them both. I love the completely dark background as if this setup exists in another dimension (see also: Bob Ross). Looking at it now makes me wonder if it could be real at all as opposed to an editing together of isolated shots. I really want it to be real.

Cab Calloway - Hidey Ho Man

I had no idea what this was or who this guy was at the time but I knew I liked it. Loved the song, loved the crazy "scat" style, loved the fact that he's wearing white tails on Sesame Street... I even loved the "lightning bolt" set. So many years later this song still gets stuck in my head and I still don't really know the lyrics.

This one was really hard to find because what are your search terms??? Maybe I should have known the artists name but then, if you want kids to learn someone's name, don't have them introduced by the unintelligible two-headed monster. Note: I never actually utilized this method when I was in new surroundings and looking to make new friends. Wonder if it works.

IMDB 250: The Original

Anyone afraid of text, turn back now! This is an "I am sooo bored at work" thread!

Overview

On September 18th, 2004 I looked at the IMDB Top 250 (the top 250 films of all-time as ranked by IMDB users) and got an idea: try to watch all of them. It's not as easy as it sounds, watching movies, mainly the hardest part is getting a hold of them in the first place - the real movie with working sound and in English - particularly difficult if it's a French silent picture from 1928. Secondly, just watching the movies can be difficult - some of the "best movies of all-time" are some of the worst movies of all-time, you pound on your desk and pray for it to end. Finally, watching all movies on the list is difficult because the list keeps changing - people keep voting and new movies get released all the time. It is for this last reason that the IMDB 250 ballooned, for me, into the IMDB Top 320.

Tonight I finished watching "Slumdog Millionaire" - the final movie on the list.

This has been an extremely interesting experience. Film is part of American culture and there are so many references, phrases, concepts etc. that make so much more sense once you see where they came from. Films themselves make reference to other films (the title to "Oh Brother Where Art Thou" comes from "Sullivan's Travels" [#231], Christopher Lloyd hanging from the clock hands in "Back to the Future"[#142] is an homage to Harold Lloyd hanging from clock hands in "Safety Last" [#224], the title "The Big Lebowski" [#222] is a play on the title "The Big Sleep" [#108], etc, etc, etc).

And yet I wouldn't exactly recommend others do the same. For most people, this would be a HUGE waste of time and even with a list of "good" movies, it's a very subjective medium and you're going to hate what you're watching much of the time.

A Few Brief Observations

The Overrated: First off, at various times, "The Godfather" will bubble up to #1. I've never understood this - "The Godfather" is a good movie but I've never understood this "best movie of all-time" designation (ironic on the Family Business forum I know). Likewise I find Stanley Kubrik extremely uneven. I hate some of his movies ("A Clockwork Orange" [#73] is one of the worst movies I've ever seen imo) however I appreciate others ("Spartacus" [#164] is a classic and "Dr. Strangelove" [#16] is really good). The same with Woody Allen (I don't find any of his movies funny but "Manhattan" [#121] is perhaps the best looking movie ever). Not a fan of Ingmar Bergman - he constantly does something different but it's usually not for me. "Dark Knight" [#4] is a really good movie but there's no way it should be #4. What the hell is "Spiderman 2" doing on this list?

The Appropriately Rated: Alfred Hitchcock was a genius, his movies can age another 50 years and will still be just as amazing. Kurosawa, the director's director completely lives up to his reputation. Frank Capra and Orson Welles also live up to their hefty reputation. I like every movie the Marx brothers ever did. Jimmy Stewart can read the phone book and still be interesting.

The Underrated: This one's probably even more arbitrary than all previous but I'll try. "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" doesn't make the list but would be in my personal top 3. I think "Driving Miss Daisy", "Awakenings", "Giant" and "Apollo 13" should be on there. "Glory" at #119 should be waaay higher. Harold Lloyd and Buster Keaton made silent films that are absolutely brilliant yet are almost completely unknown to the average person nowadays because no one watches silent films.

Best/Worst List

Most Overrated Movie on the List / Worst Movie on the List: "Dogville" [#127] gets both titles. This movie is on this list yet would be a finalist in my list of worst movies ever made. Each successive second of this movie is like having weights of ever increasing mass dropped on my scrotum.

Best Movie: Any one of "It's a Wonderful Life"[#27], "Glory" [#119], "The Shawshank Redemption"[#2], "This is Spinal Tap"[#208] or "The Empire Strikes Back"[#13].

Coolest Actor: James Dean in "Giant".

Favorite Actor: James Stewart in "It's A Wonderful Life" [#27], "Harvey" [#195], "Rear Window" [#14], and on and on.

Favorite Actress: Audrey Hepburn in "Charade" [#170]. Honorable mention to Grace Kelly in "Rear Window" [#14] (I'd honorable HER mention)

Best Movie I Hadn't Seen Before Starting the List: Tie: "The Great Escape"[#78], "Judgement At Nuremberg"[#245] or "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?"[#187].

Worst Comedy: "Some Like It Hot" [#44]. Not funny but it has Marilyn Monroe which I assume is why it's on the list.

Longest Movie: "Fanny och Alexander" [#241] - 312 minutes. I watched a movie that was quite boring and I watched it for over 5 hours.

Most Surprising Movie: "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" [#187] - it's black and white, it's 40 years old, it's three hours of nothing but people talking (really!) and yet it's interesting for every second.

Best Movie Featuring The Elephant Man: "The Elephant Man" [#130].

Best Old-School Violence: "Ben-Hur" [#128] - A dude takes a flaming
torch and shoves it in another guy's face and it looks real.

Weirdest Trivia Factoid: "Rosemary's Baby" [#214] - "Directed by Roman Polanski, whose pregnant wife actress Sharon Tate was murdered in 1969 by Charles Manson and his followers, who titled their death spree "Helter Skelter" after the 1968 song by The Beatles, one of whose members, 'John Lennon,' would one day live (and in 1980 be murdered) in the Manhattan apartment building called The Dakota - where Rosemary's Baby had been filmed."

Least Eventful Movie: "Fa yeung nin wa" [#248] A Chinese film, this is the closest I've ever seen a film come to depicting nothing. The amount of plot really does approach zero.

The Movie None of My Friends Have Even Heard of But Would Definitely Like: "Oldboy" [#205] - Violent Korean action-thriller about revenge with a sufficiently F'ed up ending. Has a fight sequence filmed as one continuous shot that's incredible.

The List

X | Rank | Title (Year) | My Rating

X 1 Godfather, The (1972) - 7
X 2 Shawshank Redemption, The (1994) - 10
X 3 Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, The (2003) - 6
X 4 Godfather: Part II, The (1974) - 6
X 5 Shichinin no samurai (1954) - 8
X 6 Schindler's List (1993) - 9
X 7 Casablanca (1942) - 9
X 8 Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The (2002) - 6
X 9 Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The (2001) - 6
X 10 Star Wars (1977) - 9
X 11 Citizen Kane (1941) - 9
X 12 One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) - 6
X 13 Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) - 10
X 14 Rear Window (1954) - 9
X 15 Pulp Fiction (1994) - 8
X 16 Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) - 9
X 17 Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) - 8
X 18 Usual Suspects, The (1995) - 9
X 19 Memento (2000) - 8
X 20 Buono, il brutto, il cattivo, Il (1966) - 8
X 21 12 Angry Men (1957) - 6
X 22 North by Northwest (1959) - 8
X 23 Cidade de Deus (2002) - 9
X 24 Lawrence of Arabia (1962) - 7
X 25 Psycho (1960) - 8
X 26 Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain, Le (2001) - 8
X 27 It's a Wonderful Life (1946) - 10
X 28 Silence of the Lambs, The (1991) - 6
X 29 Goodfellas (1990) - 6
X 30 American Beauty (1999) - 5
X 31 Sunset Blvd. (1950) - 7
X 32 C'era una volta il West (1968) - 7
X 33 Vertigo (1958) - 8
X 34 Matrix, The (1999) - 8
X 35 Apocalypse Now (1979) - 6
X 36 To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) - 6
X 37 Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) - 8
X 38 Pianist, The (2002) - 9
X 39 Third Man, The (1949) - 8
X 40 Fight Club (1999) - 8
X 41 Paths of Glory (1957) - 6
X 42 Taxi Driver (1976) - 7
X 43 Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi (2001) - 5
X 44 Some Like It Hot (1959) - 4
X 45 Double Indemnity (1944) - 7
X 46 Boot, Das (1981) -
X 47 Singin' in the Rain (1952) - 5
X 48 Chinatown (1974) - 8
X 49 L.A. Confidential (1997) - 8
X 50 M (1931) - 8
X 51 All About Eve (1950) - 6
X 52 Requiem for a Dream (2000) - 6
X 53 Maltese Falcon, The (1941) - 8
X 54 Se7en (1995) - 8
X 55 Bridge on the River Kwai, The (1957) - 6
X 56 Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) - 8
X 57 Rashômon (1950) - 8
X 58 Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) - 8
X 59 Saving Private Ryan (1998) - 9
X 60 Raging Bull (1980) - 7
X 61 Alien (1979) - 7
X 62 American History X (1998) - 6
X 63 Léon (1994) - 7
X 64 Wizard of Oz, The (1939) - 9
X 65 Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) -
X 66 Manchurian Candidate, The (1962) - 7
X 67 Sting, The (1973) -
X 68 Treasure of the Sierra Madre, The (1948) -
X 69 Modern Times (1936) - 6
X 70 Reservoir Dogs (1992) - 8
X 71 Vita è bella, La (1997) - 4
X 72 Touch of Evil (1958) - 9
X 73 Clockwork Orange, A (1971) - 2
X 74 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) - 6
X 75 Ran (1985) -
X 76 On the Waterfront (1954) - 8
X 77 Amadeus (1984) - 3
X 78 Great Escape, The (1963) - 9
X 79 Finding Nemo (2003) - 7
X 80 Apartment, The (1960) - 8
X 81 Annie Hall (1977) - 7
X 82 Jaws (1975) - 7
X 83 Wo hu cang long (2000) - 7
X 84 High Noon (1952) -
X 85 Braveheart (1995) - 9
X 86 Aliens (1986) - 6
X 87 Metropolis (1927) - 9
X 88 Shining, The (1980) - 7
X 89 Fargo (1996) - 9
X 90 City Lights (1931) -
X 91 Strangers on a Train (1951) - 9
X 92 Donnie Darko (2001) - 7
X 93 Blade Runner (1982) -
X 94 Sjunde inseglet, Det (1957) - 7
X 95 General, The (1927) - 9
X 96 Sixth Sense, The (1999) - 8
X 97 Great Dictator, The (1940) -
X 98 Nuovo cinema Paradiso (1989) - 7
X 99 Duck Soup (1933) - 9
X 100 Mononoke-hime (1997) -
X 101 Princess Bride, The (1987) - 9
X 102 Ladri di biciclette (1948) -
X 103 Full Metal Jacket (1987) - 3
X 104 Best Years of Our Lives, The (1946) - 8
X 105 Rebecca (1940) -
X 106 Notorious (1946) -
X 107 Yojimbo (1961) -
X 108 Big Sleep, The (1946) -
X 109 Lola rennt (1998) - 8
X 110 Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) - 8
X 111 Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) - 6
X 112 Forrest Gump (1994) - 9
X 113 Patton (1970) - 8
X 114 Toy Story 2 (1999) - 8
X 115 It Happened One Night (1934) -
X 116 Graduate, The (1967) - 7
X 117 Deer Hunter, The (1978) - 9
X 118 Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004) - 7
X 119 Glory (1989) - 10
X 120 Cool Hand Luke (1967) - 7
X 121 Manhattan (1979) - 7
X 122 Ying xiong (2002) - 9
X 123 Once Upon a Time in America (1984) -
X 124 Mystic River (2003) -
X 125 Unforgiven (1992) -
X 126 Philadelphia Story, The (1940) -
X 127 Dogville (2003) - 1
X 128 Ben-Hur (1959) - 9
X 129 African Queen, The (1951) - 8
X 130 Elephant Man, The (1980) - 9
X 131 Searchers, The (1956) - 7
X 132 Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983) - 9
X 133 Green Mile, The (1999) - 8
X 134 Hable con ella (2002) - 6
X 135 Bringing Up Baby (1938) -
X 136 Grapes of Wrath, The (1940) - 4
X 137 Smultronstället (1957) -
X 138 Stalag 17 (1953) - 8
X 139 Amores perros (2000) -
X 140 Shrek (2001) - 7
X 141 Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) - 8
X 142 Back to the Future (1985) - 9
X 143 Night of the Hunter, The (1955) - 5
X 144 Lost in Translation (2003) - 9
X 145 Platoon (1986) -
X 146 Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) -
X 147 Christmas Story, A (1983) - 9
X 148 Straight Story, The (1999) - 8
X 149 Gold Rush, The (1925) -
X 150 Gone with the Wind (1939) - 7
X 151 Hustler, The (1961) -
X 152 Wild Bunch, The (1969) -
X 153 All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) - 6
X 154 Young Frankenstein (1974) - 6
X 155 His Girl Friday (1940) -
X 156 Bronenosets Potyomkin (1925) - 7
X 157 Die Hard (1988) - 8
X 158 Adventures of Robin Hood, The (1938) -
X 159 Life of Brian (1979) -
X 160 Quatre cents coups, Les (1959) - 7
X 161 Grande illusion, La (1937) - 7
X 162 Monsters, Inc. (2001) - 7
X 163 Witness for the Prosecution (1957) - 8
X 164 Spartacus (1960) - 8
X 165 Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The (1962) - 8
X 166 Gladiator (2000) - 7
X 167 Festen (1998) - 7
X 168 Big Fish (2003) - 6
X 169 Roman Holiday (1953) -
X 170 Charade (1963) -
X 171 Sling Blade (1996) -
X 172 Hotaru no haka (1988) - 7
X 173 Magnolia (1999) - 9
X 174 Day the Earth Stood Still, The (1951) - 7
X 175 Ed Wood (1994) - 6
X 176 Streetcar Named Desire, A (1951) -
X 177 Conversation, The (1974) - 6
X 178 Toy Story (1995) - 8
X 179 Killing, The (1956) - 4
X 180 All the President's Men (1976) -
X 181 Almost Famous (2000) -
X 182 Brazil (1985) - 7
X 183 Trois couleurs: Rouge (1994) -
X 184 Night at the Opera, A (1935) - 9
X 185 Insider, The (1999) - 9
X 186 To Be or Not to Be (1942) - 8
X 187 Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966) - 9
X 188 Shadow of a Doubt (1943) - 7
X 189 Ikiru (1952) - 8
X 190 Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) -
X 191 In America (2002) -
X 192 Gandhi (1982) - 8
X 193 21 Grams (2003) -
X 194 Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (1922) -
X 195 Harvey (1950) - 9
X 196 Dog Day Afternoon (1975) - 6
X 197 Stand by Me (1986) - 8
X 198 Twelve Monkeys (1995) -
X 199 Exorcist, The (1973) - 4
X 200 Being John Malkovich (1999) -
X 201 Trainspotting (1996) - 7
X 202 Terminator, The (1984) -
X 203 Groundhog Day (1993) - 10
X 204 Mulholland Dr. (2001) -
X 205 Miller's Crossing (1990) -
X 206 Lion in Winter, The (1968) - 8
X 207 Passion de Jeanne d'Arc, La (1928) - 7
X 208 This Is Spinal Tap (1984) - 10
X 209 Strada, La (1954) - 7
X 210 Laura (1944) -
X 211 Right Stuff, The (1983) - 7
X 212 Rain Man (1988) - 7
X 213 8½ (1963) -
X 214 Network (1976) - 8
X 215 39 Steps, The (1935) - 8
X 216 King Kong (1933) -
X 217 Whale Rider (2002) - 9
X 218 Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927) - 7
X 219 Bonnie and Clyde (1967) - 4
X 220 Midnight Cowboy (1969) -
X 221 Snatch. (2000) -
X 222 Big Lebowski, The (1998) - 9
X 223 Adaptation. (2002) - 9
X 224 Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) - 8
X 225 Stagecoach (1939) - 8
X 226 Rio Bravo (1959) - 8
X 227 Thin Man, The (1934) - 6
X 228 X2 (2003) - 4
X 229 Station Agent, The (2003) - 5
X 230 In the Heat of the Night (1967) - 8
X 231 Untouchables, The (1987) - 8
X 232 Die xue shuang xiong (1989) - 4
X 233 Persona (1966) - 5
X 234 Planet of the Apes (1968) - 3
X 235 Bride of Frankenstein (1935) - 3
X 236 Others, The (2001) - 6
X 237 Sullivan's Travels (1941) - 8
X 238 Being There (1979) - 5
X 239 Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949) - 8
X 240 Enfants du paradis, Les (1945) - 6
X 241 Fanny och Alexander (1982) - 5
X 242 Heat (1995) - 7
X 243 Beauty and the Beast (1991) - 8
X 244 Sleuth (1972) - 8
X 245 Judgment at Nuremberg (1961) - 9
X 246 Red River (1948) - 9
X 247 Spider-Man 2 (2004) - 3
X 248 Traffic (2000) - 5
X 249 Good Will Hunting (1997) - 6
X 250 Minority Report (2002) - 7
X 179 Garden State (2004) - 7
X 205 Oldboy (2003) - 8
X 215 Before Sunset (2004) - 8
X 246 Last Samurai, The (2003) - 7
X 248 Fa yeung nin wa (2000) - 5
X 250 Barry Lyndon (1975) - 7
X 4 The Dark Knight(2008) - 7
X 33 WALL·E(2008) - 8
X 46 The Departed(2006) - 8
X 52 Leben der Anderen, Das(2006) - 8
X 61 Laberinto del fauno, El(2006) - 8
X 74 Untergang, Der(2004) - 9
X 81 The Prestige(2006) - 7
X 85 Sin City(2005) - 6
X 86 No Country for Old Men(2007) - 8
X 91 Hotel Rwanda(2004) - 8
X 97 Batman Begins(2005) - 7
X 103 There Will Be Blood(2007) - 8
X 136 Into the Wild(2007) - 6
X 139 The Bourne Ultimatum(2007) - 5
X 140 Million Dollar Baby(2004) - 4
X 142 Notti di Cabiria, Le(1957) - 6
X 144 Ratatouille(2007) - 6
X 146 Diaboliques, Les(1955) - 8
X 154 Brief Encounter(1945) - 6
X 161 V for Vendetta(2005) - 5
X 163 The Incredibles(2004) - 7
X 167 Battaglia di Algeri, La(1966) - 7
X 170 The Thing(1982) - 8
X 171 Children of Men(2006) - 8
X 172 Scarface(1983) - 6
X 175 The Lion King(1994) - 5
X 178 Letters from Iwo Jima(2006) - 8
X 182 The Ox-Bow Incident(1943) - 7
X 185 Crash(2004/I) - 8
X 189 Umberto D.(1952) - 5
X 191 Scaphandre et le papillon, Le(2007) - 9
X 196 The Lady Vanishes(1938) - 8
X 197 Belle et la bête, La(1946) - 7
X 198 Casino(1995) - 6
X 200 Dial M for Murder(1954) - 9
X 205 The Lost Weekend(1945) - 8
X 207 The Kid(1921) - 6
X 208 Little Miss Sunshine(2006) - 8
X 214 Rosemary's Baby(1968) - 7
X 215 Rope(1948) - 8
X 216 Anatomy of a Murder(1959) - 8
X 218 Frankenstein(1931) - 3
X 230 In Bruges(2008) - 8
X 231 Sweet Smell of Success(1957) - 5
X 235 Låt den rätte komma in(2008) - 6
X 236 Iron Man(2008) - 7
X 237 Rocky(1976) - 8
X 238 Mou gaan dou(2002) - 7
X 240 Casino Royale(2006) - 5
X 243 Hauru no ugoku shiro(2004) -
X 244 The Nightmare Before Christmas(1993) - 5
X 245 Cabinet des Dr. Caligari., Das(1920) - 4
X 246 Ace in the Hole(1951) - 8
X 250 Shaun of the Dead(2004) - 7
X 42 Slumdog Millionaire(2008) - 7
X 71 The Wrestler(2008) - 8
X 81 Gran Torino(2008) - 8
X 136 Salaire de la peur, Le(1953) - 5
X 145 The Curious Case of Benjamin Button(2008) - 8
X 197 Watchmen(2009) - 7
X 224 Changeling(2008) - 9
X 226 Safety Last!(1923) - 8
X 242 Great Expectations(1946) - 7
X 248 Harold and Maude(1971) - 7

The "shuffled" rankings are due to adding new movies to the end of the list. The rankings are a snapshot of a particular time but of course they've changed and will continue to change. The incomplete personal ratings do not indicate an incomplete list - I've seen every movie. I didn't think to give a rating to each one until well into it and I don't want to rate a movie "in retrospect" just so I can throw a number up there.

Ricky Gervais on Letterman

Ricky Gervais was on the Late Show Friday. A very funny interview in which was premiered a clip of his forthcoming animated show on HBO. Although I'm really excited about it, nevertheless the clip is underwhelming. They've animated Karl Pilkington's new idea to modify the life cycle. It's like when you let the cows out after the winter...

Part 1:

[Broken Video Link Removed]

Part 2:
[Broken Video Link Removed]

Animated Clip:
[Broken Video Link Removed]

The Quadrennial Curse

I realized something Saturday night but I didn't want to bring it up until it was certitude.

Years ago someone realized that Philadelphia's four major sports teams, all in a championship drought, were taking turns getting to the championship in their respective sports in 4 year increments.

1993: The Phillies make it to the World Series and lose.

1997: The Flyers make it to the Stanley Cup Finals and lose.

2001: The 76ers make it to the NBA Finals and lose.

2005: The Eagles make it to the Super Bowl and lose.

And so, when the Philadelphia Phillies made it to the World Series in 2008 (Note: not 2009) I was glad that someone had finally broken the pattern. Far, far more important than that, they actually won. The first championship in this city in any sport in a quarter century and the first of my sports-watching life.

Ghosts exorcised, I put foolish superstitions out of my mind, happy that I had seen at least one championship in my lifetime.

It was Saturday when I remembered the pattern and wondered, where we would be if it were still going. "Well," I thought, "if the curse were to continue it would mean that in the year 2009, the Phillies ... would have to make it into the..... World Series.... and...... lose.

And so here we are 4 days later.

The oddness of the pattern, the fact that I hate it when my team loses and the fact that I hate the Yankees aside, I'm not going to whine about it. Pre-2008 I had always said that any and all teams can lose and suck as much as they want just as long as one team wins just one championship at some point. The Phillies were that team and I'm going to stick to my word. And on some level, just making it to the World Series the year after winning isn't too shabby.

All I'm saying is: all this Mayan calendar 2012 "end of the world" crap is ridiculous. Everybody knows the Philadelphia Flyers have to lose the Stanley Cup Finals in 2013.

The Current Record:

1993: The Phillies make it to the World Series and lose.

1997: The Flyers make it to the Stanley Cup Finals and lose.

2001: The 76ers make it to the NBA Finals and lose.

2005: The Eagles make it to the Super Bowl and lose.

2009: The Phillies make it to the World Series and lose.

Phillie Phanatic Phraud

A closer look at the best mascot in baseball.

"Get To Know The Phillie Phanatic"

[Broken Video Link Removed]

John Cleese Interview

Even though I wasn't old enough to see Late Night with David Letterman, I miss it. There's no show on the air anywhere like it. Not even the Late Show with David Letterman is like it.

There are a million talk shows these days (there are too many talk shows these days) and every single one of them has the same look and feel. They all have a "rocking" (or otherwise upbeat) intro theme, a loud band, a booming announcement "AND NOW HERE'S YOUR HOST...", a raucous crowd, etc.

But while the goal of every current talk show is to be perceived as a cool party every night, Late Night with David Letterman was the cool afterparty every night. The band was four members, the intro theme was subdued, the crowd was small... in general, it had a quietness about it as if we can have fun but we need to be careful not to wake anyone. Basically, it had a "late night" feel in the true sense of the phrase. It's the middle of the night, lots of people are asleep but we're going to have fun.

Unnecessarily long intro aside, John Cleese came on the show July 6, 1988 to promote his new film "A Fish Called Wanda". A wonderful interview, Cleese talks about the British character, fish, cricket, British holidays, etc. This clip doesn't exactly prove my point but it's close. Who can blame the crowd for being excited when they're making toast. Yes, toast!

My favorite part is the toast.

IMDB 250 Challenge Revision 3 Complete

As you probably know, I have a (continuing) mission to watch every movie on the IMDB Top 250. As ratings fluctuate and more movies are released, movies slip out of the 250 and others take their place so I have to continuously revise my list and watch the new ones to keep up. I finished the third revision tonight, finally watching the movie "Moon". Here are the latest movies and a few thoughts.

Up (2009)

My Rating: 9/10.

By far the best movie on the latest revision. It manages to be a kid's movie while not being a kid's movie to a surprising degree. The phrase you always hear with cartoons is that "Kids will love it and there are enough jokes for the adults to keep them from being bored". Pixar is so good at making movies that this is usually true but this movie is a step above the rest in that respect. This movie doesn't strike a balance between kids and adults, it creates characters, drama and comedy that both enjoy simultaneously. The look and use of color looks amazing, and not too "cartooney". I love... LOVE that they had the guts to make a kid's movie where the main character is a ostensibly a cranky old guy. And not the one-dimensional "Oscar the grouch" type of cranky either, the character is fully-realized and sympathetic. The character Dug is instantly one of my favorite animated characters ever. The ending is beautiful and perfect (I teared up, I can admit that) and this movie probably has the most creative/most touching credits (that's right, credits) I've ever seen. If you watch it, you'll see.

Inglourious Basterds (2009)

My Rating: 6/10.

This is a fun movie. It has some excitement and some humor and some nice Tarantino moments. But with one exception there's nothing great here. The movie kept my interest and, being a Tarantino movie, I was expecting a great ending... some great twist or payoff. Instead, it just ended. There isn't enough to this movie for me to really like it in any substantive way. The one exception I mentioned is the first scene which revels in an almost suffocating tension for what seems like hours. It's not far from Hitchcock.

District 9 (2009)

My Rating: 6/10.

This movie is one of the reasons I'm glad I'm not a film critic. The special effects are some of the most seamless in recent memory. The whole "documentary" style is expertly executed by the actors and director. The story is very good. It's a must see for sci-fi lovers everywhere. So there's no reason not to like this movie and yet it didn't grab me for some unknown reason. It was worth watching though but it kind of washed over me.

Star Trek (2009)

My Rating: 8/10.

This is a just a really fun action movie more in the vein of "Die Hard" or "Speed" than "Star Trek 3". Everyone knows Star Trek by now and so the creators of this movie put themselves in an extremely difficult position: attempting to shuffle the deck and produce something new while still satisfying the hardcore critical nerdbase who regard Star Trek as scripture. Somehow they succeeded at both. Some actors impersonate the old characters (Scotty), some go in their own direction (Kirk) and some are in between (Spock). All of them do a good job and the action is quite a departure from the usual Star Trek fare (they gave up and made it like Star Wars). Plus, they successfully set up the possibility for many sequels to come.

(500) Days of Summer (2009)

My Rating: 7/10.

A well done Romantic Comedy. All the "boy meets girl" romantic comedy themes have been played out so many times, it's hard to come up with something original. This movie strives to be "different" and "original" right from a disclaimer at the beginning through to the very end. From non-linear story to dividing the screen in half to show imagination and reality side by side to drawn backgrounds... It almost tries too hard to be different but mostly just succeeds. Quirky story and believable characters - it's a good romantic comedy if you're in the mood for it and Zooey Deschanel doesn't hurt.

The Hangover (2009)

My Rating: 7/10.

Doesn't really need a review, it's exactly what you'd expect. Actually, it's probably better than I expected. It's no "Wedding Crashers" or "Old School" in my opinion, though but I did like it.

Moon (2009)

My Rating: 8/10.

Hype and expectation can be deadly. I really liked this movie. It's weird and thought provoking and sci-fi-tastic. It deals with a deterministic view of the mind, the nature of reality, the nature of consciousness, etc. And yet, I did expect more! I did expect something legendary and it wasn't quite there. I don't want to give anything away... which is cool because this is already waaay to long. If you do see it though, definitely check out this page afterward for some interesting thoughts about what you just saw.

My Man Godfrey (1936)

My Rating: 6/10.

A standard romantic comedy that was probably not so standard when it was made in 1936. A woman finds a hobo on the street, likes his 'tude and hires him to be her family's new butler. It's entertaining if you're desperate for a movie but nothing to hold up as "one of the best of all-time" I don't think.

The Big Parade (1925)

My Rating: 5/10.

A silent World War I movie made just a few years after World War I. The makers of this movie made the interesting choice to make a movie where the "hero" doesn't do anything at all heroic. Instead it focuses on the struggles of the average foot soldier. But that's where the pro's end. It's too long, the characters are pretty much one-dimensional caricatures, the romantic plot is, frankly, stupid and takes up way too much time.

Movies This Revision: 9.

Average Score: 6.88 (of course repeating)

Best Movie This Revision: "Up".

Total "Top 250" Movies Seen: 329.

Talk Show Roundup

Late Night: Last night's episode was the biggest, most amazing episode of 1987! Last night's first guest was Edward Norton (meh). However the second guest was none other than Hulk Hogan. Musical guest? Weird Al Yankovic. It was very unusual, and what made it more so was the serious subject matter of the Hulk Hogan interview. Still, just his presence was enough to make me train, say my prayers and eat my vitamins.

Classic Roots Choice #10, #11: Edward Norton and Hulk Hogan on the same show? Play the opening theme to the classic tv show "The Incredible Hulk" for Norton (who played the Incredible Hulk) and play the theme played at the end of "The Incredible Hulk" for Hulk Hogan. Two "hulks" on one show. Sorted. You might also recognize the end theme from "Family Guy" where it was described as "that sad walking away song".

Late Show: Just as he did in the "Campaign 2000" and "Oprah Log" days, Dave is campaigning. His newest project is to get Sarah Palin on the show. Every day they're calling and reporting any new developments on each show. I don't see it happening but the journey is the important thing.

Tonight Show: Andy's Birthday. Andy's awesome.

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Classic Roots Choice #9

Yesterday I promised a post that would change the future of history and here it is. Imagine you are the Roots and Olivia Munn is on the show, what song do you choose to introduce her? I'll give you a minute to think it over.

Time's up and your choice is pretty good but I think the Roots have done better. To see the song for Olivia Munn, skip to 25:40 here:

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I SUBMIT TO THE COURT THAT THIS SONG COMES FROM WHAT I CALL THE CLASSIC "RAH-GAE" SCENE.

If I am correct, the world as we know it has ceased to be and everything henceforth must be viewed with new eyes.

Rocktober 2 / Tech Support

It's still technically October so here is the conclusion of "Rocktober":

An eternal classic.

Speaking of which... here's one just recently uploaded. [Link Updated] NBC made a copyright claim and that means embedding isn't allowed here and yet it isn't deleted. I don't get it. Anyways, watch it while it's still not deleted. There's a sentence.

Artie and Olivia

Yesterday I reported that I had lost my constant and was probably going to die from the time-shift sickness. (Thanks everyone for the cards and letters.) Fortunately, Questlove is back to the afro, it was just a one show aberration and so I'm fine.

I'm not a big fan of Artie Lange. He seems to have an eating problem/alcohol problem/drug problem that we're all supposed to ignore until he's found dead one day in his bathroom. I also don't listen to Howard Stern and couldn't be payed to. However, be that as it may, I do know that if I'm running a talk show, I'm going to try to get Artie as often as possible as he is talk show dynamite.

His interview to some extent and especially the group dynamic when he stuck around for the second guest, Olivia Munn, reminded me of the old days that I'm too young to remember when Johnny Carson would have Bob Hope, Dean Martin and George Gobel on the same show and it was the comedy gold. Not that Olivia Munn and Artie Lang have the same star power or exchanges that Carson, Hope and Martin had, they don't (let's be clear about that), but it's the same spirit of unscripted hilarious back-and-forth.

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Bonus: Jimmy Fallon, Artie Lange, Olivia Munn and Susan Sarandon play ping pong: 

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Tomorrow we'll examine more closely a very important moment in this show. Something will be revealed which will change everyone's life forever.

Phillies vs. Yankees

Monday's episode of Late Night actually gave me a nosebleed because apparently Questlove's afro is gone and I lost my constant. Instead, he's sporting a new dread look:

That episode was also the first chance they've gotten to discuss the upcoming Phillies/Yankees World Series. Jimmy Fallon being a Yankee fan and his house band, The Roots, being Phillies fans.

Jimmy Fallon: The Roots - I don't know if you guys know this - they're from Philadelphia, they love it so much they go home every night to Philadelphia. I mean- and you guys are really Philly fans.

Questlove: Oh yeah.

Jimmy Fallon: So this is gonna be heated.

Questlove: Yeah, we won't be friends after this series.

[Jimmy Laughs]

Jimmy Fallon: Well, we don't know what's gonna happen.

Questlove: Oh, we know what's gonna happen.

Forrest Gump

In the video PSA found here, Ricky Gervais and Steve Merchant discuss the importance of hiring actors in Hollywood with physical handicaps.

Weighty issues discussed with sensitivity, wisdom and an almost encyclopedic knowledge of the subject.

Davy Gam...

[Enter the KING]

WESTMORELAND. O that we now had here
But one ten thousand of those men in England
That do no work to-day!

KING. What's he that wishes so?
My cousin Westmoreland? No, my fair cousin;
If we are mark'd to die, we are enow
To do our country loss; and if to live,
The fewer men, the greater share of honour.
God's will! I pray thee, wish not one man more.
By Jove, I am not covetous for gold,
Nor care I who doth feed upon my cost;
It yearns me not if men my garments wear;
Such outward things dwell not in my desires.
But if it be a sin to covet honour,
I am the most offending soul alive.
No, faith, my coz, wish not a man from England.
God's peace! I would not lose so great an honour
As one man more methinks would share from me
For the best hope I have. O, do not wish one more!
Rather proclaim it, Westmoreland, through my host,
That he which hath no stomach to this fight,
Let him depart; his passport shall be made,
And crowns for convoy put into his purse;
We would not die in that man's company
That fears his fellowship to die with us.
This day is call'd the feast of Crispian.
He that outlives this day, and comes safe home,
Will stand a tip-toe when this day is nam'd,
And rouse him at the name of Crispian.
He that shall live this day, and see old age,
Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours,
And say 'To-morrow is Saint Crispian.'
Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars,
And say 'These wounds I had on Crispian's day.'
Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot,
But he'll remember, with advantages,
What feats he did that day. Then shall our names,
Familiar in his mouth as household words-
Harry the King, Bedford and Exeter,
Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester-
Be in their flowing cups freshly rememb'red.
This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remembered-
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition;
And gentlemen in England now-a-bed
Shall think themselves accurs'd they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day.

In Legos

Last Summer I told you about how Radiohead had created their video for the song "House of Cards" (off of "In Rainbows") in a slightly unusual way. The entire music video was created without using a single frame of film, a single tape, nor a camera, nor a light (in the traditional sense). Instead, the entire video was created with 3D imaging devices. One, for the outdoor shots, works by rotating 64 lasers in a 360 degree radius 900 times per minute. These devices wrote the real-time 3D data to hard drive, the data was then manipulated in various ways and then finally rendered as a digital video for the final product. And there it was - a filmless, cameraless music video.

The music video can be viewed here.

As a, sort of, "indy", "techie" thing to do, the resulting 3D data was released free to download on the internet at code.google.com/creative/radiohead. People were free to learn more about visualizations, develop there own, etc. Basically the public was given the raw data, to do whatever they wished with it and encouraged to make and share their own videos.

Here's where it gets unusual. I just saw one of the resulting videos today:

In case you missed it, someone has, "frame by frame" (heh), actually modeled the 3D data in lego form. SPROING! WHAT IN THE WORLD?! Absolutely amazing.

Also on the topic of stop motion videos, I found this related video which I really thought was well done.

Not quite the same time sink though, I'd of thought.

The Phightin Philadelphia Philadelphians

The Phillies won their second pennant in a row last night. I, of course, didn't see the game since every darn NL game has been on TBS (Thank you Earnie Johnson for being horrible). Anywho, the Phillies look to be going against the Yankees in the World Series. This video has nothing to do with that, but it's awesome.

FAIR BALL HOME RUN, DICKIE THON!

Best
Phillies
Game
Ever and best
Ending
Ever

You might think that my acronym-making is terrible at this point. I've been watching baseball and I'd say I'm actually about average.

Last night's game was amazing. If you didn't see it, you didn't see it, I'm not going to try to describe it. I had an interesting experience... I don't have cable so I watched it over the internet except the sound wasn't working so I was basically watching the game on 'mute'. A strange way to watch a walk-off double (and post-game interviews for that matter). But I did and it was incredible.

Drop Pants, Fire Rocket

Don Rickles was on the Late Show yesterday night. Classic stories and quips as always.

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Classic Roots Choice #8: Introduced comedian Eddie Izzard with "Walk on the Wild Side" by Lou Reed.

And Now For Something Completely Different

Yesterday night when Jimmy Fallon mentioned who would be on the show tomorrow, I did an audio double-take. "I think he just said... what did he just say?" Rewinding and watching it again confirmed that he just said that tomorrow night he would have "the guys" from "Monty Python". "What does that mean?", I thought. "Ooh, probably from the musical on Broadway."

The reality of the situation is what I dismissed in my mind automatically. He was going to have - in one show - John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones and Eric Idle (all living members of Monty Python except Michael Palin).

The show was amazing. A particular highlight was "Wheel Of Carpet Samples" where the usual Pythonesque silliness was joined with an appearance by John Cleese himself. Then Fallon and Cleese were unable to keep it together and giggled like school children midway through.

Other highlights: The Roots performing "I'm a Lumberjack" and backing Eric Idle on a live performance "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life". And the first 5 minutes of the "interview" is about the zaniest 5 minutes you'll see in any interview ever. They even started the show with the old man climbing out of the sea routine ("It's...").

Wheel Of Carpet Samples 1 + 2:

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"Interview": Parts 1-4. Note: The members were introduced and came out one at a time. John Cleese, being introduced first, quickly hid one of the chairs before the others came out. The last one out, Terry Gilliam found that he didn't have a chair. That's the situation we find ourselves at the beginning of the clip..... Let's watch..... 

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"Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" 

The Tom Hanks Button

The Late Show - Following his monologue, David Letterman went to his desk only to discover a strange device that he doesn't remember seeing before. Lying there is a black box with a red button and no label or information of any kind. Out of curiosity, Dave presses it a few times. Momentarily, Tom Hanks bolts on stage and sits down at the desk, out of breath and ready to chat. Dave apologizes and explains that he already has a booked guest, he only pressed the button out of curiosity. Annoyed, Tom Hanks walks away to thunderous applause.

Having been away for a while, Letterman giggles to himself and explains that now he really wants to press the button. He does and an out of breath Tom Hanks runs on stage and sits down. A false alarm again.

When this happens a third time towards the end of the show, Tom Hanks is fed up. He scolds Dave, violently rips the Tom Hanks button off the desk, throws it into the audience and storms off. This move backfires later when an audience member presses the button and Tom Hanks has to run back in.

That's Ajay Bhatt, He's So Hot Right Now

In a classic interview, Conan talks to the real co-inventor of USB, Ajay Bhatt. Topics include emerging technologies such as the bleeding edge Jub Jub Port.

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We Suck Young Blood

It's time for some angst, baby! Apparently there will be a new "Twilight" movie and it will feature a Thom Yorke song on its soundtrack. "New Moon" is expected to be out October 20th and will feature a Thom Yorke track "Hearing Damage". Get out your pale makeup and feel like no one understands you! CHOO-WOO!

You can listen to the new song here:

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I don't know what to make of any of these new tracks that keep popping up and this one especially. Should I instantly like it because I'm such a fan or should I instantly hate it because it's associated with "Twilight"? So much conflict. On first listen, it is really catchy and has a cool "dance" vibe to it. It actually reminds me a little bit of Joy Division though don't quiz me on that.

In related news, (anything to keep this post from being entirely devoted to Twilight) the online music magazine Gigwise have voted "Idioteque" the best song of the 2000's. I don't know, seems like it doesn't fit. A great song though, no argument about that, but the best song of an entire decade is so hard to judge and in my opinion this wouldn't even achieve "best song on the album" . But it's particularly good live where every performance, around the same time, one of the variations of "the crazy dance" makes an appearance. Never get tired of it, never get tired of the song.

Here's a really good version. I remember a friend of mine taped it off MTV for me a long time ago:

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See the full top 50 list here.

The Best Show on TV That You're Not Watching (And Nor is Anyone Else)

In order to determine whether a car should include a certain safety feature, an auto company breaks the decision down in monetary terms. On one side is the cost, in dollar terms, of manufacturing, testing, assembling the safety feature and including it in the car. On the other is the dollar cost of the deaths that the safety feature would, otherwise, have prevented. By merely comparing the two dollar values, the company has decided which is the right thing to do: the dollar values summarize utility, the lesser cost is the greater good.

Is this right? Can everything be summed in dollar values? If so, what is the dollar value of a single life? $One million? $10 million? $3,409.55? If no, what criteria should be used to make such business decisions?

Such large questions are just a few of the questions raised within the space of a few minutes of the show "Justice: What's the Right Thing To Do?". The show's format is the following: film Michael Sandel's lectures at Harvard in which he surveys significant philosophies and then show them on TV. That's it.

There are no actors, there are no plot twists, there's no comedy or celebrity interviews, no special effects, flashy editing or catchy music. "Justice" merely presents the moral and logical arguments made by philosophers (particularly as they relate to the world today) and asks, "Do you agree?... Why?", often with surprising results. Such are the reasons why almost nobody is watching the show and such are the reasons why the show is so amazing. In short, it forces the viewer to learn, it forces the viewer to think, yet still leaves it up to the viewer to decide. In spirit, it reminds me of the series "Ethics in America" (also fantastic) though with more emphasis on formal philosophical history.

From the show's website: "Is torture ever justified? Would you steal a drug that your child needs to survive? Is it sometimes wrong to tell the truth? How much is one human life worth?"

You may be able to find "Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do?" on your local PBS station.

You can buy the series on DVD here.

But you can watch the episodes online here.