Popcorn in Bed - City Slickers

 

Similar to "Twins," another wide-release, crowd-pleasing, mainstream movie that we don't get anymore, it seems.

A little depressing that the Billy Crystal character has a mid-life crisis when he's younger than I am. Of course he also thinks his life sucks when he has a steady job, a wife and kids. Best not think about it too much.

Why Are You Laughing? - Karl Pilkington

Worlds collide as the history-of-comedy podcast "Why Are You Laughing?" examines the career of Karl Pilkington.

This is one where I can say "I lived it." I was listening to the XFM broadcasts basically on a loop from around 2003 to around 2013. I was there when they reunited for the BBC, did the podcast, made the HBO show, and so on. I mention this by way of reminiscing, rather than some form of bragging. I recommended Ricky, Steve and Karl to so many people and only one person really got it. But that was a big hit.

There's a project underway that's unearthing "new" XFM material and remastering the archives. I've lost track of it though. For whatever reason, the clip I shared of the new material has been deleted. But if you're looking to track down that project, you can start here.

I Love the 90s

 The website:

https://www.ilovethe90s.app/

Is in Beta. It's meant to simulate watching television in the 1990s using Youtube as its database. Check it out, if that's you're thing.

It's similar to http://www.my80stv.com/ and http://www.my90stv.com/ which appear to be offline or permanently shut down.

Popcorn in Bed - Twins

Another delightful look back at an 80's classic.

Cassie's final thoughts in this reaction include the sentiment that "They don't make movies like this anymore." That got me thinking... I think I agree. Yes, that's become a trope but I believe it to be true. But, for the life of me, I can't figure out why. It's not Shakespeare, it's not the smartest or most elaborate movie of all-time, it's just a simple, fun, buddy comedy. In fact, I don't know if I'd even call this a "smart" comedy - this is a not-stupid, charming, general-audience pleasing light comedy. That's the bar we seemingly aren't able to reach.

Am I blinded by nostalgia? Was there a fundamental change of culture? Have studios decided they're not profitable? (And even if the latter is so, a movie of this type could easily be done independently.)

This is the movie equivalent of the secret formula of Coca-Cola. I intuit that it should be reproducible yet no one is reproducing it.

And one more mystery while we're here...

The movie makes it clear that the engine/suitcase is worth $5 million. The movie makes it abundantly, perfectly clear that the engine/suitcase is worth $5 million. And then at the end, Devito says that by turning it into the authorities, they got a $50,000 reward when they could have had $4 million. 

I've wondered about this for decades. Is that an obvious mistake or are they implying that Vincent is still dishonest, and muddling the happy ending?

Re-Creating the Coca-Cola Recipe

Remember a while back when Glen and Friends Cooking tried re-creating the recipe for KFC? Another project he tackled, and ultimately didn't succeed with, was re-creating the recipe for Coke.

Now a chemist from the internet claims to have cracked it, more or less.

The Coca-Cola recipe being secret has always been a fascination to me. I imagine a hundred large trucks pulling up to the Coke factory, loaded with cinnamon extract (for instance) every single day and it's all a big mystery what the recipe is. This video doesn't really get into that aspect but it at least clears up the other thing I was wondering - why not just analyze it chemically. Pretty interesting.

As with the KFC recipe, I'm disappointed that it's not doable at home (or at least, it would take a lot of money).

[I just realized my illustration above is not my own, it's basically in the "Flaming Homer" episode of "The Simpsons." The point stands though]

Lemon and Paeroa (L&P)

It may be the most expensive soda I've ever bought.

L&P is a lemon-flavored soda from New Zealand. The name, Lemon and Paeroa, comes from the fact that it is lemon flavored and was first created in Paeroa, New Zealand.

Even though it's now owned by Coca-Cola, it is not easily obtained. Or, it is, but it's going to cost you the shipping expense of traveling from New Zealand. I did some shopping and some deep thinking and basically figured the cheapest I could get it was to buy a single can for $3 plus $31 shipping. So one can of soda for $34.

How is it? Well, from the branding I had it in my head that it was something like ice tea. Nothing of the sort. It tastes like lemons (as has been said) but I have something more accurate than that. I can tell you, it tastes like the candy Lemonheads. This is Lemonheads in soda form. And I like Lemonheads so I enjoyed it.

RiffTrax - Moose Baby

RiffTrax has made "Moose Baby" free on their Youtube channel. "Moose Baby" looms large in RiffTrax lore - I forget why - because it's arguably the most dull or the most pointless maybe. All I remember is it gets mentioned a lot.

For what it's worth, I don't get the hype other than it's a great title. I'm still more of a "Setting Up a Room" guy.

One Armed Drummer Plays Tom Sawyer

Like the drummer from Def Leppard's only got one arm.

The drummer from Def Leppard's only got one arm!

The drummer from Def Leppard's only got one arm!

The drummer from Def Leppard's only got one arm!

The drummer from Def Leppard's only got one arm!

Blind Mike - Breaking Down a Bryan Callen Interview

Bryan Callen wants to be known as something of an intellectual and gives an interview where he espouses the benefits of reading books. Blind Mike watches the interview and mocks him.

Polyphonic - When Artists Don't Write Their Own Songs

 

An artist that performs songs written by others is just as talented as an artist that writes their own songs.

This is an impossible argument. It is an argument that I would never agree to. There is no way that Beyonce is on the same artistic level as Billy Joel.

And yet, Polyphonic probably makes as good an argument in the affirmative as anyone can make. It's  actually impressive... and certainly worth considering.

Conan's 2 Worst Interviews

I saw the title of this video and tried to think what I thought Conan's worst interviews were. I came up empty. When interviews went bad, Conan was always good at pointing it out and making comedy out of it.  And so when the bad interviews were the best interviews, coming up with the worst ones becomes an odd, mind-bending exercise.

With that in mind, I think this guy has done a good job of identifying the worst, and so I thought this was worth sharing.

And don't be put off by the fact that it starts with Jennifer Garner. Fortunately, the video is better than that nonsense. Fake conflict to promote a movie (or whatever it was), in my opinion.

The Wirtz Pump

 

 Not only does this video explain Wirtz pumps, which are pretty cool, it follows up and clarifies the earlier "Can Water Solve a Maze?"

Paul Rudd Surprises Conan With A Clip From His Film “Anaconda”

I mean... it's just going through the motions at this point but it is also tradition.

17 Minutes of Charles Schultz Drawing

 17 minutes of cartoon drawing - it has a relaxing/meditative feel to it.

"If I could write better than I can, perhaps I would've tried to become a novelist and I might've become a failure. If I could draw better than I can, I might've tried to become an illustrator or an artist and would've failed there. But my entire being seems to be just right for being a cartoonist." - Charles Schulz

Best of the Worst - Christmas or Chance

Buckle up, this year's Best of the Worst Christmas episode is nearly 2 hours long. But it's worth it, I think.

Gary Busey Pet Judge

Gary Busey has a new show where he presides, as judge, over real disputes involving pets. And by "new show" I mean it's labelled 2020 but I've never heard anything about it until now. And by "real disputes" I mean "probably fake but it's not worth thinking about."

The following preview gives more context than the trailer, I think:

There are a collection of clips on youtube like the one above. The show itself is on pluto.tv.

The announcer for this show appears to be Shadoe Stevens.

LiteWeight Reacting - Rocky

Yes, I've found another girl on Youtube watching the Rocky franchise. And while I don't expect anyone to still be with me on this pointless journey, it has to be noted.

Let it be noted that the pattern continues: women love Rocky.

Let it be noted that this is the first girl who appreciates the character of Mickey.

Let it be noted that this is the first girl who actually shows anything resembling tolerance of the character of Paulie.

I also want to re-state how impressed I am by their ability to intuit film analysis while watching a movie for the first time. As many times as I've seen "Forrest Gump," I never connected that Jenny prays to become a bird and then, during a certain climactic scene, "Free Bird" is played - she registered that. Even more impressive, she connects Lt. Dan saying "If you're ever a shrimp boat captain, that's the day I'm an astronaut." with the detail that when Dan gets prosthetic legs he mentions that they're "titanium alloy, it's what they use on the space shuttle". I believe I've heard people point out the irony that both Tom Hanks and Gary Sinise would both be playing astronauts together in "Apollo 13" but I've never heard anyone make that connection before. And on one watch. Impressive.

The Shoji Tabuchi Christmas Rap

From the description: "Rap may have been born in the Bronx but it was perfected in Branson."

A few notes. I believe the backing melody is "Humpin' Around." That's Christmasey.

Secondly, the shaking dance at 1:25 seems to be a reference to Dane Parker, a break dancer who appeared in the "Beat It" music video. See Andy Richter Spends a Day with Dane Parker.

An Incomplete History of the Concert Film

Another great one from Polyphonic if you're into the topic.

My review of "Woodstock". 

My review of "The Last Waltz".

I should have made a review of "Stop Making Sense" by now.

Christmas Music From Another Room

You might find this useful: "Christmas Music From Another Room - Relaxing Christmas Ambience with Muffled Christmas Music." I suggest putting it on in the background as you wrap gifts or cook or generally go about your day. I'm loving it.