Posts Tagged ‘Ken Levine’
November 9th, 2017 | 
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Ken Levine wrote a blogpost recently indicating that one of his quirks is that he hates to keep people waiting. A fair amount of this is true for me as well, but not all of it.
“I am almost always on time.” Well, that’s not true of me, and even less so since I’ve been a father. But it does still aggravate me.
“I’d much rather be early than late.” That’s accurate. And especially at the movies, where my night blindness is acute. It was a decade or more ago when I got to a movie after the previews started and I attempted to sit where there was no seat; it was a carveout for a wheelchair. And. believe me, the lateness was NOT my idea.
“The fact that I’M keeping them waiting drives me crazy.” Very true.
“I’m one of those crazy people that will text saying I’m running two minutes behind.” No, I don’t text.
“When I get on a plane I can’t throw my bag in the overhead compartment and take my seat fast enough. Knowing I’m holding up thirty people while I adjust my carry-on makes my heart palpitate.” Not heart palpitating, but I’m keenly aware of this. The last time I was on a bus, I threw my stuff in the bin, then after the bus started rolling, I got out the stuff I wanted.
“When I’m at a checkout stand, I don’t take five minutes to count my change, rearrange the credit cards in my wallet, etc.” That’s me for certain.
“If I’m at a fast-food place I don’t wait until I get to the counter to look at the menu and decide what I want.” This is one of the few things that annoys me about other people. I mean, when they’re in line for four minutes on their device and they’re suddenly surprised that they’re in the front of the line and have to make a decision.
“And when there’s a long line at the bank I don’t ask the teller to show me the new designs they have available for checks.” I so seldom actually use a teller, this is not applicable. In the bank branch in my work building, there’s almost never a line.
“When the light is green I GO.” Here’s something my wife notices I do on the bicycle: I usually stop at the rear of the two lines at the intersection. When the other light turns yellow, I start rolling forward slowly, but not into the crosswalk, because some last-minute car might be plowing through. But I’m trying to keep the car facing me from making a left in front of me without actually getting myself killed.
“When I’m in TSA lines I take my computer out before I get to the conveyor belt. And I have my ID and boarding pass ready.” Absolutely. And in general, I’m really early for any form of mass transportation. I’ve had TERRIBLE experiences when others have dropped me off later than I asked, ESPECIALLY at the airport.
“I don’t know whether it’s common courtesy or an unhealthy obsession. But I do know this: I wish more people had it.” I tend to agree.
When I was growing up, I always watched the Emmy Awards. It was my opportunity to see my favorite television performers in the surreal moment of being off-script.
But I haven’t watched them in a number of years, and I know why: I’ve never seen most of the programs being honored. A lot of them have been on HBO, which I’ve never subscribed to, and an increasing number on services such as Netflix.
And the Emmy ratings were lower than they were any year except 2016, so it’s not just me. I’m sure the Handmaid’s Tale miniseries was tremendous – I read the book 20 years ago – but the buzz about the TV program is all secondhand to me.
Even the shows that are on basic cable, which I could watch, I don’t. I happened to catch an episode of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia recently – it was on after the Daily Show – and I hated it so much, I couldn’t finish it.
And speaking of hate, Ken Levine, who has won three Emmys for writing Cheers, did his usual snarky review of the event, both as a podcast and in his blog, and apparently he got a lot of backlash. He was critical of Emmy announcer Jermaine Fowler, who is black, and some folks decided that Levine must be racist.
Well, I heard a couple of Fowler’s bits, and I thought they were fine, for WWE (wrestling), or being a home team announcer for a basketball or football game. (Someone else suggested that Fowler should cover sports, and there were those who perceived THAT to be a racist comment, because they were presumably implying that blacks should stay in their lane.)
I have real ambivalence about former White House press secretary Sean Spicer showing up at the Emmys. On one hand, he was a lying [place your favorite profanity here] in his previous position. On the other hand, his sudden appearance caught the audience by surprise, notably Melissa McCarthy, who portrayed him on Saturday Night Live, and Veep’s Anna Chlumsky, whose reaction became a Facebook GIF. I’m just pleased that none of the networks – CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN and even FOX – are going to hire him.
As that list of shows that I “should” watch grows and grows, my chances of watching future Emmy Awards shrinks. The good stuff I’ll catch on YouTube clips.
From MAD via Vanity Fair
“I think I speak for a great number of Americans, in and out of government, when I say: One normal day. Is that too much to ask?” – Charles Pierce in Esquire, July 26, 2017
This is the most clueless, incompetent, self-defeating and weakest, most chaotic, toxic, confusing administration in American history
A new interview reveals his ignorance to be surprisingly wide-ranging
The fact that we’re even talking about it is a measure of how far we’ve fallen
The NATIONAL REVIEW! Death of a Failing Salesman
Boy Scouts president has 85 billion reasons to excuse wildly inappropriate Jamboree speech; the Scouts apologize; cf President Obama Addresses 2010 Boy Scout Jamboree
An open letter from the father of a transgender soldier; BTW, Transgender Troops Fight for Israel, 17 Other Nations
Fatherly Advice to Eric and Don Jr.
Scaramouche – an unscrupulous and unreliable servant. His affinity for intrigue often landed him in difficult situations, yet he always managed to extricate himself, usually leaving an innocent bystander as his victim. Also – He was often beaten by Harlequin for his boasting and cowardice; The Mooch did his homework
“Nobody is standing on the rooftops begging for dirty water, dirty air, dirty soil, and those sorts of things.” – Rep. Mark Amodei (R-Nevada) to EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt (start at 1:42:00)
Wilbur Ross’ fishing ruling could harm conservation
Here are the women who saved healthcare
This Is How Your Fear and Outrage Are Being Sold for Profit
HIV epidemic fight needs black church
Poverty is like a monster, sucking the life out of you
A Death Row Convict’s Final Words Set Two Innocent Men Free
Sperm counts continue to plummet in Western nations
Risks of Harm from Spanking Confirmed by Analysis of Five Decades of Research
The Surprising Truth About The Silent Treatment
Walking Myrtle Ave, end to end (Albany, NY)
Please Stop Saying These Ridiculous Phrases. I’d add “game changer” as a phrase I’ve tired of
The value of theatrical talk-backs
June Foray, RIP, the premier female voice talent of her era
RIP Flo Steinberg, Marvel’s ‘Fabulous Flo’
The 10-game winning streak that ignited Red Sox Nation
These Are Not School Supplies…
Tony Chapek, an original magic act
Many people can’t tell when photos are fake
MUSIC
Dancing Queen – ABBA. The Wife and I saw Mamma Mia at Capital Rep this month and liked it WAY more than the Times Union reviewer. And QE2 allegedly said, “I always try to dance when this song comes on because I am the queen, and I like to dance.”
Everybody Knows – Stephen Stills and Judy Collins
Coverville 1178: Roger McGuinn and The Byrds Cover Story
K-Chuck Radio: You really needed to edit THAT song?
Can’t Prog Rock Get Any Respect Around Here?
A crowd of 65,000 sings ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ while waiting for a Green Day concert
10 Best Guest Performances on Beatles Records
The 150 Greatest Albums Made By Women. I have 50 of them
Posted in Uncategorized | 
Tags: ABBA, Chuck Miller, Coverville, Donald Trump, EPA, HIV, Jaquandor, Judy Collins, Ken Levine, MAD magazine, Mooch, music, Myrtle Avenue, Stephen Stills | 
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An Iceberg the Size of Delaware Just Broke Off a Major Antarctic Ice Shelf
Senator Al Franken and David Letterman in Boiling the Frog
How a Company You’ve Never Heard of Sends You Letters about Your Medical Condition
The End of the American Experiment
Pentagon study declares American empire is ‘collapsing’
Enraged by 18th-Century Custard Recipe: Orange Fool
Simply The Worst Human Being We Can Imagine?
Natalia Veselnitskaya was no stranger to Trump business; the timeline so far
Donald Jr. Reviews Famous Works Of Literature (satire)
Crackdown on immigrants shakes upstate New York economy
He Became a Hate Crime Victim. She Became a Widow
So this one time at a journalism conference…
Emmanuel Carrère’s “The Kingdom” explores how a tiny sect became a global religion
Three Misunderstood Things, including Christianity and abortion
How to Talk With Religious Conservatives About LGBT Rights
The Religious Left is getting under right-wing media’s skin
The invention of heterosexuality
When Black Hair Violates The Dress Code
The Origin of ‘Husky,’ the Word That’s Traumatized Generations of Fat Boys
The Librarian Who Took On Al Qaida
Higher education and budget cuts
How One Leader Set a Toxic Tone, Spurning Allies She Needed Most (Shirley Jackson of RPI)
How Andrew Cuomo Keeps the Left in Check
Join in this first-of-its-kind citizen science project, gathering scientifically valuable data from the total solar eclipse that will traverse North America on August 21, 2017; here’s the eclipse simulator; ALB will only get 70%
The Rise and Fall of Toronto’s Classiest Con Man
Why Popularity Matters So Much—Even After High School
Leonard Maltin (Critic): If you’ve never seen silent films, or foreign language films, if your education with film begins with Star Wars then you’re handicapped
Oscar-winner Martin Landau, who starred in ‘Ed Wood,’ ‘North by Northwest’ and ‘Mission: Impossible,’ dies at 89 – before that, he was a cartoonist
Kermit voice actor Steve Whitmire devastated to lose job after 27 years and Jim Henson’s daughter and son respond; replacements?
A WICKED interview with Winnie Holzman, librettist
Chuck Miller gets a postcard from the 2017 Iowa State Fair Photo Competition
NOT ME: THE STAR spoke with Roger Green, who has been driving hearses for more than a decade. “He said nobody wants their dead in a ‘dead’ hearse.”
Mary Anderson, inventor of the practical car windscreen wiper
There’s No Crying in Professional Wiffle Ball
Now I Know: The New York Police Officer Whose Job is a Buzz and Who Was the Fifth Dentist — That Didn’t Recommend Trident? and A Profitable Way to Stop Telemarketers and The Internet’s Hidden Teapot and The Best Checkers Player in History
MUSIC
Sgt. Pepper – Big Daddy. The whole thing, live
The Strawberry Alarm Clock Celebrate 50 Years of “Incense and Peppermints”
K-Chuck Radio: Awesome and rare 70’s dance classics and Father’s Day Funk
Sufjan Stevens, Nico Muhly And Bryce Dessner Play ‘Planetarium’ Track ‘Mercury’
Amat Te Mehercle: The 1960s Classics Teacher Who Translated Beatles Songs Into Latin
Rapp on This: The Slants’ SCOTUS victory
Posted in Uncategorized |
Tags: Arthur@AmeriNZ, Christianity, Chuck Miller, David Kalish, Donald Trump, Dustbury, eclipse, environment, Ken Levine, Mark Evanier, Martin Landau, music, Now I Know, Paul Rapp, Shooting Parrots, Wicked |
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Plastic pollution in Antarctica 5 times worse than expected
Are You The Husband Or The Wife?
“The good advice my mom gave me that I still don’t like” published in The Lily by Margaret Sullivan
Rachel Maddow: The Rolling Stone Interview
Millennials are the most likely generation of Americans to use public libraries
Political Violence is Our Issue Too
Obama’s secret struggle to punish Russia for Putin’s election assault
Russian official linked to South Florida biker club spent millions on Trump condos
John Oliver blasts ‘human megaphone’ for the anti-vaccine movement
The Daily Show presents: THE DONALD J. TRUMP PRESIDENTIAL TWITTER LIBRARY
Nearly every outright lie he has told publicly since taking the oath of office
The Racist History of America’s Chinese Restaurant Boom
vlogbrothers: Cheyenne, Wyoming
Total Solar Eclipse 2017: When, Where and How to See It (Safely)
Comedian Bill Dana, Who Played the Character Jose Jimenez, Dies at 92. He penned one of the funniest ‘All in the Family’ episodes. Plus the TV Academy has put together a very nice page about Bill Dana
Stephen Furst, who I watched on St. Elsewhere, died at the age of 63. Film director Kevin Smith wrote: “As an awkward round kid, Flounder was the Delta I most identified with in #AnimalHouse, my fave comedy.”
Speaking of Smith, he and TV writer Ken Levine do a podcast crossover, first on Smith’s here, then Levine’s here and here
What Play Finally Brought Tim and Tyne Daly Together Onstage?
Ace magician Misty Lee creates her new show
Leptospirosis Death Warning Hoax – Rat Urine on Soda Can Top
KFC to launch fried chicken sandwich into space
The redesigned Names.org offers origins, statistics and popularity rankings for people names. Users can search and compare the most popular names, find trending names and review various list of names by origin, region decade and more
Stop Sending Me Chain Letters Because They Can Be Dangerous! Also, VERY annoying
Arthur mentions unmentionables
Now I Know: The People Who Can’t Take Socks For Granted and China’s Extremely Personal Loans and Why Parisian Bakers Can’t Always Go On Vacation and The Hamburger on Display in a Canadian Legislature
How do they make cake sprinkles?
MUSIC
The Impressions – Gypsy Woman (1961)
Highway Tune – Greta Van Fleet
With A Little Help From My Friends – The Gibson Brothers Bluegrass
Coverville 1175: 75th Birthday Celebrations for Paul McCartney and Brian Wilson
Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1 – Elgar
Musicians Look Back on the Albums They Don’t Remember Recording
You Can’t Do That! Making Of A HARD DAY’S NIGHT (1995)
Steve Earle: ‘My wife left me for a younger, skinnier, less talented singer’
Posted in Uncategorized |
Tags: Arthur@AmeriNZ, Barack Obama, Beach Boys, Beatles, Bill Dana, Brian Ibbott, Brian Wilson, Chinese restaurants, Daily Show, Donald Trump, Dustbury, elections, Jaquandor, Ken Levine, Kevin Smith, libraries, lies, Marl Evanier, Now I Know, Paul McCartney, Politics, Rachel Maddow, racism, Stephen Furst, Steve Earle, Tim Daly, Tyne Daly, violence, Vladimir Putin |
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