Poking through the Complete New Yorker

Santa was kind enough to bring The Complete New Yorker to the house this past week, and while a bit interfacially clunky, is giving up a lot of very interesting tidbits. To close up the new year, here are a couple.

First, have a look at this ad, and see how much things have changed since the late thirties. She's smoking on a plane, wearing a fur, and there's no security. These were the days when folks got all dressed up to ride a plane, and she's taking it seriously. Notice that she not only has a hat to match her dress, but her dress and hat match the TWA logo on the plane. Note also that this is a "Lindbergh Line" plane. In the thirties, TWA hired Lindbergh as an advisor for their transcontinental service, and as part of the deal, all of the transcontinental planes had that designation - a deal that fell apart when Lindbergh became recognized as a Nazi sympathizer.



And in another direction, here's a couple of little reviews for someone that I hope to mention more in depth in the coming year:

The Comic Strip, Part 15 - In it for the money

"The Supergrass" - Feature Film, 1985

I decided to go have a rummage and dig out my old cassette tape of Frankie Goes to Hollywood's "Welcome to the Pleasuredome." The album came out when I was in High School and it was the most brilliant thing that was ever created from the beginning of time. The thing that was so brilliant was that between the songs there was all of this stuff: monologues about nuclear war, Orchestral fiddley-bits, some guy yelling "The world is my oyster! Wahhhh-hayy-yaya." It was just sheer top-down classy.

What I somehow didn't realize at the time was that the good bits was all the stuff between the songs. When the songs started proper, we all started jumping up and down, and for all anyone cared, the band could have done three minutes of arm-farts with a back beat, because the ramp-up was so brilliant.


One of the best moments in "The Supergrass" starts with Robbie Coltrane walking across the beach. It is wonderfully shot on a windy, blustery day. The waves are crashing, and there's this incredible background music playing. As Robbie Coltrane walks out onto the jetty, the water beating on him in this incredible set piece, I finally figured out what I was listening to as the music resolved into Frankie Goes to Hollywood's "Two Tribes." And as this amazing shot was unfolding, I had to think to myself: "Man, this song really isn't that good, is it?"

We have two seasons under our belts, time to venture forth onto the big screen. I'm not sure how the Comic Strip crew got the green light, but I'm sure that they were delighted for the opportunities that the jump provided. The story of the film: Dennis Carter is a chronic liar. In the process of pretending to be involved with a drug ring so he can impress a girl, he is overheard by some police officers who take his tale seriously. One bluff leads to another, and Dennis has now become a well paid informant, even though he doesn't have any concrete information to share. He is given a sportscar, a big wad of cash, and two undercover cops to pose as his friend and girlfriend, and sent to Devon to wait for the big shipment of drugs that he invented. When it transpires that there really is a drug smuggling ring waiting for a shipment of drugs, wackiness ensues.

Well, moderated wackiness. Nobody seems to be much of a threat to anyone. Even the actual drug smugglers who manage to really actually kill someone in a threatening, scary way, come across as being not terribly dangerous. The protagonists (Ade Edmonson as the "Supergrass," Jennifer Saunders as Lesley, the cop posing as his girlfriend, and Peter Richardson as the other cop, who is in love with Lesley and has to watch them sort of pretend to be a couple) are straight to the point of being overly bland. It seems almost like they were afraid of being too broad, and decided to err on the side of sweet. They take advantage of the ratings freedom to throw in a light smattering of swearing and nudity, but it's all rather (if you'll pardon the phrase) half-assed. It's like watching a bunch of high school kids doing Mamet and realizing halfway through that Grandma is in the audience. The plot too - it feels like they didn't trust it to actually go anywhere. Apart from the two cops realizing that they are, in fact, in love with each other, there is nothing that feels like any sort of climax.

The one thing that they take advantage of well is the set pieces. The opening scene of Dennis coming ashore, the Robbie Coltrane on the jetty sequence, the bit where they get pulled over by Alexi Sayle's motorcycle cop (and I'm amazed that it's taken this long to see him show up in one of these - glad to finally see him here). It's these little images and shots that the whole series has done well, and it is great to see that they have an opportunity to take their time and really let some of them come together. But ultimately it is a lot like that Frankie Goes to Hollywood album. All the interstitial bits are wonderful, and the actual meat that it's supposed to hang on is, in retrospect, a bit crap.

Another opportunity that they had was to put together a soundtrack album, so the film is definitely nailed down to its era. At one point Dennis takes Lesley to a town hall dance; he is dressed in a replica of the jacket that Michael Jackson wore in the "Beat It" video, she's wearing a "Frankie say Relax" shirt, and they get out of the car as "Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick" starts up. I'd like to think that they were doing a piss-take, but they're just so sincere.

not to mention the possibilities for comic mayhem

>Let us say that you live in an upper story apartment (or condo). One that is rather downscale, so you do not have some of the amenities that a more deluxe apartment (or condo) might have. For instance, a balcony.

In centuries past, your only options would be to either visit a friend and covetously enjoy their balcony, or sit forlornly in your downscale apartment (or condo) cursing the ceiling over your head and looking out the window at the wide open space that you might wish your balcony to occupy.

No Longer!

As an answer to your cabin-feverish prayers comes "The Rein Raus Serial Space Extension." Just bolt it to your window and you can enjoy the sensation of sitting on your very own balcony.

To be more precise, you will be hauled out of the window on a giant motorized spatula.

Be sure to notice the fine print, which helpfully points out that as the "structure" is only temporarily outside of your private dwelling, its use "lies outside the defined possibilities for formal objection available to property owners, neighbours and regulatory authorities."

The more things change, part one

We were having a happy rewatch of the DVD of Sullivan's Travels and decided to go through the extras.

Nestled in the middle was a radio interview with Preston Sturges about the state of the film industry. Asked why Hollywood was having a horrible financial crisis and how to reverse it, Sturges responded that the biggest problem with the moviegoing experience is that the audience is treated poorly for the amount of money that they have to shell out for tickets - either lower ticket prices or make the experience more pleasant (if not both), and the audiences will return.

This interview was done in 1951.

Oh, and I'd like to take a moment to thank Sullivan's Travels for something else:

Got on a lucky one, came in eighteen to one

The Christmas Single turns out to have been "That's My Goal" by Shayne Ward. Ward's website is sharing the news that it was a massive landslide - and notes that downloads are now counted in the chart tally. You can see the video for the song on his website. It is made up of clips from his run on The X factor. I desperately want to say something cruel, but every time I try I feel like I'm pistol-whipping a bunny.

I see that a re-release of The Pogues' "Fairytale of New York" jumped onto the charts at number four. I'm happy to see that.

Last minute stocking stuffer idea

Cheetos lip balm.

More Christmas Hits

The odds on favorite for the UK Christmas single has been "the winner of X Factor." X Factor seems to be the current incarnation of Pop Idol (or American Idol) - so it is an interesting situation in that an almost unknown quantity is the front runner.

Shayne Ward was voted the winner on December 17th, and his single "That's My Goal" was released yesterday. I have not heard it, but I imagine that it sounds much like everything else that wins those shows.

Currently at number one on the charts is a sentimental favorite (and second place in the booking odds). The band Nizlopi has re-released their summertime hit "JCB" which is (as I understand it) about a boy going for a ride on his father's backhoe. I haven't heard this particular song either, but going by the songs available to listen to on their site, it's a good one. They seem to be one of those bands that are intelligent, talented, love music in all forms, and are far too clever for their own good.

The Comic Strip, Addendum - dubba dubba dubba cha

The Bad News Album - released sometime in the eighties. Apparently.

When I was in high school, a friend of mine went off on a trip to Australia and the Orient for summer vacation. Upon his return, the souvenir that surpassed all else from his long and eventful journey was a cassette tape. This was an illegal knock-off of some top-40 hair band that he picked up in a market somewhere for the equivalent of fifty cents. The thing that was so enticing about this (apart from the cachet of illegal-ness) is that the folks who made the tape added a track to the beginning - two minutes of a jet taking off. In stereo. So it started rumbling off way over in the right speaker and went "ne-e-e-e-e-Yowwwwww" through the room. Or, if you were using headphones, your head. And then Foreigner 4, or whatever the tape was, started, and we would shut it off, rewind and listen to the jet again.

In a number of places, The Bad News Album reminds me of that tape.

The conceit of the album is that the band last seen in the Bad News Tour episode has somehow been given a recording contract and is now in the studio attempting to cut their first album.

We hear some finished tunes that are hilariously over-produced - laden with sound effects of motorcycles gunning, horses galloping and so forth - the sort of thing that sounds cool when you're hanging out at three in the morning and you want to pass the headphones around and listen to the jet again.

We also hear a lot of them talking between takes. This stuff is utterly spot on. I'm not sure how much of this is improvised, but it feels exactly like the tapes that get passed around between recording engineers of bands that are thoroughly out of their depth attempting to create their vision (the tape of the Troggs in the studio trying to get the drummer to do what the lead singer wants him to comes to mind) or bands that are using the studio as a venue of discovery, in particular the discovery that they want nothing to do with each other (There's a hilarious moment in The Monkees' Headquarters Sessions where Peter and Mike are fervently discussing the folk scene with one of the engineers, while Davy tries futilely to interrupt with his thoughts on the new Wayne Newton album.) The discussion of their contract is particularly amusing - they argue about how the cash is distributed while ignoring the fact that they are supposed to pay for the studio time that they are burning up while arguing.

A moment of absolute comic joy comes during their attempt at "Bohemian Rhapsody" where Brian May (who produced the album) gets to dismantle his own guitar solo. You can feel every awful cover he had ever heard being exorcised. It is spectacularly, wonderfully horrible.

The whole thing ends with their attempt at a Christmas single. As it comes at an appropriate time of the year, and is stuck playing in my head, it merits a mention. "It's Christmas. Let's open a four-pack and snog." God bless us, every one.

And so this is Christmas.

One of the kerjillion plot points in "Love Actually" is the drive for musical acts to score a number one single in the UK charts on Christmas. Mindful of this, I had a little rummage around to see what sorts of things might be rocketing up the charts over there this year.

First up, The Baarmy Sheep, who are baa-ing to the tune of "Jingle Bells." You can go to their site and see their video as well as downloading their "megamix." They are particularly interested in showing higher on the charts than The Crazy Frog, who also is doing "Jingle Bells" as, um, his single this year. Note that you can purchase a limited edition full-length Crazy Frog Christmas CD which includes festive seasonal fare as "Last Christmas," "Wonderland," and the theme from "Dallas."

It transpires that The Baarmy Sheep are a creation of the Lake District Tourist Board, where they might have a bit too much time on their hands. Still, I'd like to put my money on the Sheep. They might be a trifle annoying, but I have to say that The Crazy Frog just flat out gives me the creeps.

Currently (as of December 18th), The Crazy Frog was far ahead at number 5.

My hopes for a new scooter are dashed.

The new word for edible kangaroo meat is australus.

How appetizing.

The best podcast I've ever heard

I've been listening to a few podcasts here and there, and I have to say that most of them are sort of dismal affairs. Even the professional ones can be a trifle annoying - why do NPR podcasts have to keep interjecting station idents that say "you are listening to an NPR podcast" every two minutes.

They Might Be Giants has launched a promotional podcast, and I have to say it's the best thing I've heard them do in over a decade. The host is not one of the band, but somebody named Cecil Portesque (googling the name only seems to pull up people talking about the podcast) who manages to capture the essence of every single first-time amateur podcaster: "well, I guess it's raining outside" he says, in a voice that sounds like the song ended before he could put away his bag of potato chips.

The gold is in the TMBG tracks themselves - played straight through, not just excerpts - particularly a gob-smacking cover of "It Was a Very Good Year" and a segment on "wild turtle calls of North America."

Susan?

This showed up on Forbes.net. I'm copying the text in full because it might disappear

AFX News Limited
WTO MEETING - Narnia walks out of talks; says tired of EU, US 'bullying'
12.18.2005, 07:16 AM

HONG KONG (AFX) - The independent state of Narnia has walked out of trade negotiations here, citing pressure from the European Union and the US to enforce liberalization of its garment-related sector.
Narnian spokeswoman Susan Aslan said in a statement that delegates 'were tired of bullying by EU and US delegations and would be returning immediately to their state capital at Cair Parvel.'
'If this brings the Hong Kong talks to the knees we will be delighted. Many other delegates told us they are sick of the eternal Lamy winter and are longing for a new trade spring,' Aslan said.
The walkout was a first in this round of talks, and follows a similar move by some developing country delegates at the Cancun summit two years ago, the statement said.

Last night I was down in the lab

Yesterday afternoon actually.

The Pinot Noir is ready for bottling - It has a bunch of tastes running around in it like a bunch of happy puppies. It should settle down in the bottle and come together into some really good wine.

My experiment with tyttebaer (lingonberry or cowberry) wine is about ready for bottling as well, I think. Tyttebaer is a very cranberryish sort of fruit and it is coming out quite dry. I might end up blending it with something, or a bunch of things.

Finally, I started some malbec. The starting gravity was off the charts. This means a ton of sugar, and that means it will end up on the sweet side, or it will have a bit of a kick to it.

Last night I was down in the lab

Yesterday afternoon actually.

The Pinot Noir is ready for bottling - It has a bunch of tastes running around in it like a bunch of happy puppies. It should settle down in the bottle and come together into some really good wine.

My experiment with tyttebaer (lingonberry or cowberry) wine is about ready for bottling as well, I think. Tyttebaer is a very cranberryish sort of fruit and it is coming out quite dry. I might end up blending it with something, or a bunch of things.

Finally, I started some malbec. The starting gravity was off the charts. This means a ton of sugar, and that means it will end up on the sweet side, or it will have a bit of a kick to it.

The Comic Strip, Part 14.5 - You know those cartoons where the guy has the little angel talking in one ear and the little devil talking in the other?

So I was looking for information on The Professionals.

During my searching, I find my way to a fan site dedicated to Martin Shaw (He played "Ray Doyle.")

I click around the site and find a newspaper article transcription:

Why I risked violence to rescue two dying ducks from their farmyard hell (2001)
Actor Martin Shaw reveals how he and his wife Vicky were mistaken for Animal Rights activists when they broke into a duck farm

I've been trying to search my gut and figure out if I find it touching or hilarious. It isn't often that I find something that seems exactly halfway in between.

The Comic Strip, Part 14 - "/"

"The Bullshitters: Roll out the Gunbarrel" - November 3, 1984

This episode has an entry in the ITV Encyclopedia of Adventure, which is the first place I heard of it. I've not seen it until now, but I've known about it for fifteenish years now. So I knew what was coming. A spoof of The Professionals. I've barely seen The Professionals, so I was figuring that I would have to do some research into the show to help inform my analysis of this episode. I think I've seen one episode of The Professionals in my life. I recall finding it to be almost stupefyingly dull - but in the name of blogging I prepared for the worst.


I lucked out.

I get to talk about Star Trek for a bit instead.

After Star Trek was cancelled, fans of the show began writing stories continuing the series for their own entertainment. Many of these stories were designed to flesh out ideas that some of the fans had about the show. Some of those ideas were of a nature that the creators of the show had not intended, or even considered for a moment. Of those, a surprisingly popular idea was that Kirk and Spock were, in fact, gay lovers. Thus was a genre born, and that genre was called "slash" for the "/" from "Kirk/Spock." The genre expanded to other shows, was parodied, those parodies were taken seriously and now you can find everything from Shakespearian characters to Rocky and Bullwinkle having at it.

I've not read too much slash in my life, but this is it. And I mean that not only in the most basic sense - the "oooh they're gay" sense, but also because the whole episode is just a setup to get the two of them to kiss. The other day, I was flipping through the channels, and found a decade old episode of Law and Order. In the course of the episode, the cops du jour got the chance to look at a computer and marvel at the brave new world of dial-up modems and text-based bulletin boards. I had the same feeling watching that as I did watching this - time had passed. The shocking and strange is now commonplace. It's become a cliche for me to note that the sting has gone out of some of these episodes. This time, I'm actually rather glad of it.

Well of course

This has been making the rounds, but it still makes for an interesting read:

A story Nov. 15 about mathematical references on "The Simpsons" TV show mistakenly said that 1,782 to the 12th power plus 1,841 to the 12th power equals 1,922 to the 12th power. Actually, 1,782 to the 12th power plus 1,841 to the 12th power equals 2,541,210,258,614, 589,176,288, 669, 958, 142, 428, 526,657, while 1,922 to the 12th power equals 2,541,210,259,314,801,410, 819, 278,649, 643,651,567,616.

Read the story behind the correction here

TV roundup.

TV Squad is on the heels of some big breaking news.

• Might Arrested Development be going to Showtime or ABC? They checked their sources who all said "No Comment."
• A spoiler for an upcoming episode of ER: "A fairly major character is going to get shot." So we're going to be plowing into some virgin territory there.

It's December, do you know where your Winter Olympics are?

The 2006 Winter Olympics will be in the city that English speaking population of the world calls Turin, Italy. The official logo has the word "Torino" on it, because the Italian word for "Turin" is "Torino."

Journalists are finding this confusing. <

awwww.

Once upon a time, there was a fellow who was bored while waiting for a London Tube train. With little else to do, he took to staring at the Tube Map and noticed that you can trace some of the lines to make an elephant. A hobby was born.

Now you can go to his Animals on the Underground site and look at the animals, play games, even buy merchandise. I have to say that some of these are quite beautiful: the "bird in flight" is particularly fine (some others are a bit of a stretch - the flamingo looks a little too much like Quincy the Iguana from FoxTrot for my liking. Of course, I can be particular about my flamingos).

I'm most taken with this one as not only did he (or one of his posse - you can join his club and find your own) find a dog, he found a Thurber Dog!


I also like how it looks like the dog is playing with the underground logo.

Top this, Springsteen!

Let us suppose that you are a fan of a musical artist.

And you have a ton of money.

You can't buy a CD from the artist, you've bought them all. All the boxed sets? Got 'em. Some DVD's? Already on the shelf - every single one.

How about a new release of a DVD box set - you already have it, but let's do a limited edition in a solid gold case? No. That would be silly. Why should you buy another copy of a DVD set you already own?

Here's what we'll do: Instead of a DVD box set in a solid gold case, how about a solid gold replica of the DVD box set? That wouldn't be at all silly, now would it? Engaget reports that it'll run you about $415,000. Here's a link to the store, but it's in Japanese.

What might of entertainment the lowly cucumber yield

Gadling (a Travel news clearinghouse blog) is reporting that there are (at least) two separate communities ringing in 2006 by dropping an oversized illuminated pickle.

Meanwhile, it seems that the BBC will be celebrating Christmas by blowing up a Gherkin.

The Comic Strip, Part 13.5 - Hey! Look who just showed up!

It's Emma Thompson!


And there! It's Anthony Stewart Head!

The Comic Strip, Part 13 - This is not your father's post-apocalypse

"Slags" - February 11, 1984

Wow.

Holy Flipping Wow.

I was having trouble pulling stills from "The Beat Generation" because there were so many excellent shots - I ended up throwing in the towel and just grabbing one at random. This is the same deal. Every shot - every moment is perfect. Iconic. Wow.

The story takes place in a run-down, blade runner type of near-future. We can tell this because the protagonists are all dudded up in New-Romantic era post-punk club gear, and because it is filmed in London's South Bank - where every British produced vision of a rundown near-future was filmed from the late sixties to the early nineties. Passion (Dawn French - we know her better now as "The Vicar of Dibley") and Little Sister (Jennifer Saunders - we know her better now as "Edina Monsoon" (familiar name...) on Absolutely Fabulous) are released from prison (The Bankside power station - we know it better now as The Tate Modern). Before they were put away, they were the leaders of The Slags, who controlled the area with their naughty post-punk mayhem. While they were away, The Slags went their separate ways and a new gang came in to take over; The Hawaiians.

That's right. Flower shirt, cocoanut umbrella drinks, ukulele music. Hawaiians.

The Slags regroup and challenge The Hawaiians to a rumble, but the night before, Ricki, the leader of the Hawaiians and Little Sister fall in love - leading to the inevitable tragic conclusion.

Post-apocalyptic visions were big in the eighties - Mad Max and all that - it was some sort of comfort that as the world fell apart, us young whippersnappers could adapt with it. One of the scenes in this episode was filmed in a well known street in Shad Thames. This is a group of Victorian-era warehouses that have a complex series of bridges connecting them. Almost from the moment this area was created, it was known as a bit dodgy sort of a place, and into the eighties the long-abandoned buildings only found use as a film location. Now it has been yuppified. The once empty buildings now contain spacious (and expensive) condos, art galleries, design firms and posh restaurants. Entropy works in ways more complicated than one might have imagined.

We've ratcheted ourselves far beyond the classy area

As part of the ongoing marketing push for the new Narnia movie, there is now a clergy-based product placement opportunity.

The deal is this - deliver a sermon based on the film (or book, if you must) and submit the transcript or outline to the contest site. Your sermon may be chosen at random to win a trip to England to take a CS Lewis related package tour!

You also get $1,000 pin money.

How to raise blog awareness

Japundit had a post about a new Japanese "Blog Promotion committee" naming an official spokesperson - It seems that the Japanese, while happy to read blogs by others are hesitant to start and maintain their own - and this committee (which seems to be sponsored by one or more blog hosting sites) seeks to change all that.

But that isn't what caught my eye.

What caught my eye is the URL of the committee, featured on the wall behind the spokesperson pictured here:

The Comic Strip, Part 12 - That's sugar cane that tasted good. That's cinnamon. That's Hollywood.

"Eddie Monsoon, a Life" - February 4, 1984

Frankly, I wasn't looking forward to seeing this one.

Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmonson have two themes that they are drawn to time and again:

1) Fame and the horrible emotional toil that it takes out on a person - both when they are trying to achieve it (Filthy Rich and Catflap), and when they have it and are attempting to keep it (Rik Mayall Presents: Micky Love)

2) People being horrifically awful. (The Dangerous Brothers, Filthy Rich and Catflap, Bottom)

I wasn't opposed to either of those things either as themes or coming from them, it was more of a sense of "Oh great. Here they go again."

I've found much of the time I've spent on this adventure to be amusing - but I didn't realize until this one ended that this was the first time I've actually laughed out loud at one.


As you might recall, the last episode of the first season was withdrawn because the jokes therein were deemed too slanderous or violent or obscene. Apparently.

This episode ("A Life") is about what seems to have been the fallout from that episode's ("Back to Normal") cancellation. It is unclear to me how much "A Life" refers to "Back to Normal." We see a clip, but was it shot for the original episode? Was it shot for the new episode from the original script? Is it a complete fabrication? Likewise, there is a news clipping - real or fake? I've been keeping away from the extras, so that I can see the episodes without background info. Hopefully this will be the only episode that causes a great deal of regret for that stance.

"A Life" plays like an episode of "This is David Lander" (a show which is sadly unavailable on DVD) in that the documentary style is pitch-perfect. A stand out moment is the clip of Monsoon's ill fated children's show. The cliche of the children's entertainer who hates kids is an old and well used one, but this version cannot be topped - it ends with him dropping the sock puppets and actually firing a pistol at the children. First of all this is inexplicably somehow funny. Secondly, it begs the question: If Channel 4 let this on, what on Earth was in the episode that had to be pulled?

The Christmas ideas just keep rolling in

The "Late Show Bear" suit is up for sale. Only $9,500.

I think I'd rather have a glass of the dog beer, thanks

Coke is releasing yet another flavor variety: Coca-Cola Blak.

Coca-Cola Blak is Classic Coke mixed with coffee. The word "Blak" is either a corruption of the word "black" as in "black coffee," or the sound that you will make after having a sip.

It will be debuting in France.

My dog likes carrots, so what do I know?

These folks went camping with their dog and discovered that he enjoyed knocking over their beers and licking it off of the ground. So what do they invent?

I would invent a beer container that can't be knocked over by a dog.

They invented Beer For Dogs! It's non-alcoholic! It isn't carbonated! It's flavored with beef and fortified with Glucosamine and Vitamin E!

Yum!

I tip my hat to my betters.

I'd like to take a moment to put up some links to blogs that I've been enjoying quite a bit lately.

I am several sorts of nerd. One of the sorts that I am particularly galled to be is a transit nerd. Going Underground's Blog is piles of cool info about the London Underground past and present. And look! There might be another tube strike!

World of Kane looks at 1960s space-pop designs. Heavy on imagery. Heavier on coolness. He looks at Doctor Who for the music, The Avengers for the costumes, and Space:1999 for the furniture.

Locust St. is the sort of thing that I dream that I could put together. Long, detailed, well thought out posts drawing upon a wide scope of knowledge - music, history, art, pop culture, you name it - this blog pulls it all together into long, interesting, well thought out posts. Currently "Judge Parker" is riffing on the "7 Drinks of Mankind," most recently, wine.

The Comic Strip, Part 11 - I guess my race is run

"Gino: Full Story and Pics" - January 28, 1984

From the first shot of the episode, handsome young Gino is being chased by police. As he continues to be for the duration of the episode. As he runs from place to place he hooks up with attractive young Fiona and interact with various individuals who try to use Gino's status as a fugitive from justice to achieve their own ends.

Another new one for me. The first time through this one it almost seemed like they were playing it straight. The reason for this is that the once again this is the product of its time. What plays as edgy and cynical in the same month as Reagan's second inaugural, is now, after a parade of movies like Natural Born Killers, almost demure.

No sign of the mesh shirt, but this is the second time this season that Rik Mayall is in a wheelchair, so it has that going for it.

Just how badly do I want a new HDTV?

Verizon is holding a contest for novice lugers. It is on what they call a "simulated track" using what they call "plastic replicas of the real luge ice sleds." Real Olympic Luge champions will be on hand to offer tips, cheer you on, and perhaps even shake your hand. I'm hoping for an appearance by my long-standing (or sitting) luge hero, Georg Hackl.

I did a quick search to see if Hackl will be competing in the upcoming Winter Olympics, to extend his record to medalling in six consecutive Olympics (he is currently the only winter olympian to medal in five). No word so far, but I see that he has branched out. The past two years he came in first place in the individual "wok race" where people slide down a hill while sitting in a wok.

I love the smell of cab sav in the morning

The Niebaum-Coppola Winery has just come out with an Apocalypse Now wine. It comes in a three liter bottle, and when you fiddle with the bottle's bottom a little drawer flips out, revealing a DVD of the movie!

Price - $200.

Breaking the price down, that's the equivalent of four 750ml bottles at $36 each, plus a $12 DVD without a case. Total - $156.

So $44 for a strange bottle/DVD holder that won't fit in your DVD case. Cool!

My, this is the super-finest screwdriver In The World!

Donald Trump is introducing a new line of vodka named after himself. After a week of reports that it will be called "Trump Vodka," we now learn the real official title.

"Trump: The World's Finest Super Premium Vodka"

It's just that sort of day