Cool Song

Here's a live version of the title tune from the first Television album, performed by that band's main figure and ace guitarist, Tom Verlaine. Good stuff!

The Last Movie I Saw

Cedar Rapids, directed by Miguel Arteta, has been very well-reviewed by critics, part of the reason I wanted to see it. I'd kind of gotten the impression that it was something both funny and original, maybe even the best comedy of recent times. After seeing it, I'm kind of scratching my head about how its rated such raves. It's a perfectly agreeable little film, but there's very little about it that I would rate as anything more than formulaic. I guess it's a case of generally thoughtful viewers being so grateful to see a comedy that isn't entirely dependent on the kind of broad, low-brow, scatological material that drives so many contemporary comedies that they over-reacted with their praise. The only way this film looks better than average is in comparison to garbage like The Hangover (which, interestingly, shares star Ed Helms as well as the "strangers in a strange land" plot point) or Hot Tub Time Machine-- watched back to back with stuff like that, Cedar Rapids actually may appear to rank with the all-time greats. But I'd be shocked if that many people recall it a year or two from now as anything special. You can easily find stuff just as good, and often better, every night on Turner Classics in the form of b-features that filled out double-features throughout the thirties and forties, and then were mostly forgotten. I can easily imagine stumbling across Cedar Rapids while channel-surfing twenty or thirty years from now and having a vague enough recollection of enjoyment to sit through it again. But that hardly rates as a masterpiece.

Saturday Morning Cartoon

Here's another one of the great Fractured Fairy Tales that helped make the Rocky and Bullwinkle Show such a delight. Enjoy:

Quote of the Day

Phil Ochs (1940-1976) was one of my favorite musical performers from the first time that I heard him (probably sometime in the seventies). A big part of his appeal to me was that he was an astute observer of the American scene, and I wish more people had paid more attention to him when he was alive. Here's something he once said that I go along with:

"It is wrong to expect a reward for your struggles.
The reward is the act of struggle itself, not what
you win. Even though you can't expect to defeat
the absurdity of the world, you must make that
attempt. That's morality, that's religion.
That's art. That's life."

Cool Song

I generally prefer the harder rocking songs from earlier in the Jesus and Mary Chain's career, but have a soft spot for this ballad nonetheless. Hope Sandoval makes a nice collaborator:

Friday Family Blogging Quiz

Okay, we've done eyes, and we've done feet, but I don't think I've yet done a tongue. The question is, who does this one belong to? Put your guesses in the comments section.

There was no winner last week (and we're back to hardly anyone playing), so I'm going to leave it open another week to see if maybe someone can answer at least one of those questions correctly, so please try or try again.

Soup Diary 110415

I had a surprisingly tasty cup of Broccoli Vegetable Cheddar soup today from an unlikely source-- Subway. I get sandwiches there about once a week (I really like their flatbread, which tastes great wrapped around some chicken and veggies), but rarely order the soup. That's mainly because the offerings are generally limited to vegetable (way too salty) and chicken noodle (way too blah). Maybe the broccoli soup is there regularly too, and I've just failed to notice. Make no mistake, this wasn't a spectacular twist on an old standby, but where lots of places (especially fast food type places) seem to think that the cheese is the big selling point, this had a nice mix of vegetables carrying the load, starting with broccoli, but with plenty of onion, carrots, and I think even a little cauliflower as well. The broth certainly betrayed the presence of cheese, but not to the total obliteration of everything else. So it was a nice, pleasant surprise, and went down nice an easy, soothing the scratchy throat that lingers from my illness earlier this week.

Happy Birthday Raechelle!

Happy birthday to my niece Raechelle. I can't remember exactly how old she is (a consequence of my own aging, I guess), but she's older than she appears above, and definitely younger than implied by the granny look below. I hope you had a great day Rae, and wish I'd been there to help you celebrate.

More Friday Family Blogging

The lighting was way off on this shot of Nik, but the effect turned out pretty good. I think I might title this one "Boy in Motion."

Friday Family Blogging

I don't know if this is a fashion statement (I don't claim to be up on all the styles favored by the young set) or if Emma is just playing a game of peek-a-boo. I think it's pretty cute either way.

Friday Philosophy

I rather like this observation from the French cultural critic Jean Baudrillard (1929-2007):

"The skylines lit up at night, the air-conditioning
systems cooling empty hotels in the desert and
artificial light in the middle of the day all have
something both demented and admirable about
them. The mindless luxury of a rich civilization,
and yet of a civilization perhaps as scared to see
the lights go out as was the hunter in his
primitive night."

A Classic Scene

I read that Arthur Marx, the son of Groucho and a fine writer in his own right (I've read a couple of his books) passed away today. It reminded me that I have not yet posted one of the great performances by his father, from At the Circus. So, here it is, in tribute to the entire talented Marx clan:

Toonerville Thursday

This week we feature some of the hi-jinks of the Skipper. Dig the 'stache on the loafer in the top panel!

Thursday's Thought

Battling a bug all week (much better today) has inevitably put me in mind of the subject of health-- and this line from the well-known American author Elbert Hubbard (1856-1915):

"If you have health, you probably will
be happy, and if you have health and
happiness, you have all the wealth you
need, even if it is not all you want."

Fred and Ginger

I'm still dealing with the aftereffects of the flu (with no pizza left in the house), so posting may be light the next couple days (hopefully I'll be fully recovered to post some family pictures by Friday). But here's the kind of thing you can watch over and over again in the meantime. Astaire and Rogers from the 1935 film Roberta:

Words of Wisdom

It seems to me this as true today as when Mother Jones (1837-1930) first said a hundred odd years ago:

"I learned in the early part of my career
that labor must bear the cross for others'
sins, must be the vicarious sufferer for
the wrongs that others do."

Final Four Contestant

The Who will be representing the Mod Bracket in the semi-finals of the Battle of the Bands playing out on my radio show next week. Here's the song-- a true classic in every sense-- that propelled them into the final four:

Battle of the Bands Update

We went through the entire final eight in the Battle of the Bands this week on Dr. John's Record Shelf. You'll recall that our goal is to determine the greatest British (or Commonwealth) rock band of the 1960 to 1974 era. Unlike the American competition that unfolded last year on the program, ther have bben few upsets along the way, and in fact three of those moving into the final four were top seeds in their bracket, and the fourth was a number two. The results: The Who captured the Mod bracket by upending Deep Purple by a 7-0 score; the Rolling Stones took honors in the Teddy Boy Bracket by knocking off the Animals 6-1; the Kinks upset Led Zeppelin by a 4-3 margin; and the Beatles took care of the Buffalo Springfield 6-1.

The Who

Songs in competition this week included "Bab O'Riley" by the Who, Black Night" by Deep Purple, "Gimme Shelter" by the Rolling Stones, "House of the Rising Sun" by the Animals, "Lola" by the Kinks, "Black Dog" by Led Zeppelin, "Revolution" by the Beatles and "For What It's Worth" by Buffalo Springfield. Next week's final four match-ups will see the Who squaring off against the Rolling Stones, while the Kinks take on the Beatles. I'll post the songs representing each of those groups tomorrow. Please consider voting for your favorites when I do.

This Week's Top Five

Here's a Top Five list for the art-lovers amongst you (others might enjoy it too):

Home Remedy

Sorry if you missed fresh posts here yesterday, but I came down with some kind of 24 hour bug and was pretty much out of it most of the day. The worst part was that it didn't hit me until I'd gone into work, and by the time I got to class I was feeling pretty punk-- all achy and somewhat woozy. I don't think the students minded when I dismissed them a third of the way through. Then, after dragging myself home, I did something last night that was possibly ill-advised, but the outcome was good, so I'm going to recommend it as my solution to the flu: hot pizza. I can't explain why, but a couple of slices of thin crusted pepperoni pizza not only hit the spot, but made me feel a little better right away (although full recovery didn't come until this morning-- possible that last cold dose for breakfast was necessary?). All that remains this evening is a bit of a sniffle so I'm totally sold on this form of self-medication.