Category: Uncategorized

Spoilers QUESTION

I haven’t been watching LOST, but I have it on good authority that the island is really…

As usual, I was watching JEOPARDY! recently, and the show had a whole category devoted to spoilers! In an unJEOPARDYlike fashion, I’ll give you the questions, but NOT the answers, until the end. Planet of the Apes (2001), The Sixth Sense, Chinatown, The Usual Suspects, The Crying Game.

So when is the RIGHT amount of time to give away the “spoiler” ending of a TV show or movie? In early 2005, noted critic Roger Ebert wrote about this regarding Million Dollar Baby when critic Michael Medved and faux critic Rush Limbaugh revealed the crucial plot point because they didn’t LIKE the crucial plot point. (I STILL haven’t seen the movie but learned that plot point at the time. Now I’m feeling the need to rent it.)

With LOST coming to a close, how long can someone recording the program to watch later expect NOT to hear the details? Will it be in the newspaper the next morning? Will it have a spoiler warning, and will that matter? (I haven’t been watching LOST, but I have it on good authority that the island is really little Tommy from St. Elsewhere.)

On a NORMAL show – one that isn’t getting near Super Bowl money for its ads – I think a week is about all one can reasonably expect before its common knowledge. (How long did it take before the greatest ending in history, Newhart, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this month, become revealed?) Although I recall a critic being taken to task because the viewer was waiting to see the program when it was released on DVD. How does THAT work in the equation?

For movies it’s different. Films have two lives: in the theater, and then on DVD, et al. (There’s a third, on broadcast TV, but that may be years out.) It seems that 13 weeks after the release date of home release might be a standard. Of course, if home release becomes simultaneous with theatrical release, as may be coming to pass, that creates an awfully small window.

But what do YOU think about TV shows and movies? What should be the spoiler expectation, Rosebud?
***
Those JEOPARDY answers.
SPOILER ALERT:::SPOILER ALERT

Show #5868, aired 2010-03-03 MOVIE SPOILERS $200: There’s a Washington, D.C. memorial to an ape general when Mark Wahlberg returns to Earth in this 2001 film
#5868, aired 2010-03-03 MOVIE SPOILERS $400: Bruce Willis is dead & doesn’t know it in this 1999 thriller
#5868, aired 2010-03-03 MOVIE SPOILERS $600: Faye Dunaway’s daughter is also her sister in this Jack Nicholson classic from 1974
#5868, aired 2010-03-03 MOVIE SPOILERS $800: The disabled Kevin Spacey seems to be the killer Keyser Soze in this 1995 film
#5868, aired 2010-03-03 MOVIE SPOILERS $1000: In this 1992 IRA thriller starring Stephen Rea, the “girl” is really a guy

30-Day Challenge: Day 1 – Favorite Actor

Who would I pay to go to see in most anything they were in?


I took on this 30-day challenge because I thought it would be interesting. And, just as important, quick and easy. But I got stuck on the first question.

I assume “actor” is gender-neutral in this case.

Starting to parse the category, I began with theater actors. But I don’t really see stage actors that often, though in fact, this year’s Tony nominations feature a lot of familiar names from TV and movies.

Favorite television performer: I could pick actors I watched in more than one series: Bob Newhart (Bob Newhart Show, Newhart); James Garner (Maverick, The Rockford Files); Mary Tyler Moore (Dick van Dyke Show, MTM Show); Jimmy Smits (L.A. Law, NYPD Blue). There are others who qualify because of other functions, such as Alan Alda (writer/director). I might have to go with Betty White, game player extraordinaire, who’s been on TV longer than I’ve been alive, because not only did I record a new Saturday Night Live for the first time in forever, I might even check out her new series on TV Land called Hot in Cleveland.

Still, when I thought about it further, it was always the movies that defined the question in my mind, fairly or not. Which is to say: “Who would I pay to go to see in most anything they were in?” I recognized that the leading males in this category were Robert Redford, Paul Newman (a couple of times together), Dustin Hoffman, and Denzel Washington. It might be Philip Seymour Hoffman or Paul Giamatti down the line.

But there were two actresses for whom I saw a large majority of their films in a particular stretch.

One was Jane Fonda. I saw well over half of the movies she was in between 1969 (They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?) and 1985 (Agnes of God), even the truly dreadful Rollover (1981), filmed partly in Albany, NY.

The other is Meryl Streep, whose output between 1977 (Julia, starring Jane Fonda) and 2009 (the mediocre It’s Complicated) I’ve seen maybe 70% of.

Eventually, Laura Linney will likely be in this category.
***
All pictures from LIFE magazine from the 1990s.

Sugar Doll and Happiness 101

I want to thank Lisa at Peripheral Perceptions for giving some bloggy award called the Sugar Doll and Happiness 101.

As is usually the case, I have obligations:

10 things about myself:

I can no longer remember the names of recent movies if the title is really boring and generic. I’d give you an example, but I can’t remember one.

I hate going to parties with lots of people, because, invariably, I’ll have a difficult time remembering names. I can tell you lots of things ABOUT the person – he skis, she majored in Italian in college – but with names, I’m awful.

Conversely, I’m reasonably great in remembering seven-digit numbers, such as phone numbers. I might go to a blog and see there are three comments, come back two days later, see that there are three comments, and remember that fact.

When I sold my comic book collection in 1994, i kept my collections, such as Marvel Massterworks, because I wanted to be able to just read the stories without worrying about “condition”. So it’s slightly disappointing that the Masterworks themselves have a certain collectible value.

I’m STILL trying to find a Kentucky D (as in Denver) quarter, as well as the 2009 territory coins. I’m not even trying to collect the national parks coins, because the Mint seems to make it a cash cow, not only for itself, but for the coin selling dealers, by circulating such paltry numbers. This rather ticks me off, actually.

When I have two or three glasses of wine, I get loquacious. I mean, more than usual.

I’m collecting Hess trucks so that I can play with them when my wife and daughter are away; this happens infrequently.

I’ve had my Netflix copy of the Hurt Locker since March, shortly before the Oscars, trying to find some free block of time to watch it. I could return it, of course, but now I’m DETERMINED to see it first. Memorial Day weekend is my next window of opportunity.

My second favorite musical, after West Side Story, is Fiddler on the Roof. Fiddler, Hair and The Lion King are all playing at Proctor’s Theatre in Schenectady next year, and we’re seriously considering going to all three.

I get along so well with my daughter because I have stuffed animals of my own.

10 things that make me happy

1. Making other people laugh.
2. Having developed good relationships that I can get help when I need it.
3. Being a Coverville Citizen
4. Voting, even when it doesn’t gob the way I want it to.
5. Riding my bike down a hill. I’d feel the wind blowing through my hair except for the facts that I’m wearing a helmet and that I have no hair to speak of.
6. Words from the French or Italian, even if I don’t understand them.
7. Getting an answer on JEOPARDY! when none of the contestants do.
8. Hugs.
9. Reading the newspaper; happens in spurts.
10. Thunderstorm , when I’m home.

I’m supposed to pass it on, but I’m too tired to think of more than one. SparkleFarkle, who’s just plain weird. I mean that in a GOOD way.

Mother’s Day 2010

I saw, with my wife and daughter, my mother last month. This is a good thing; she lives in North Carolina, so it is a sometimes thing. The previous time was June 2009, with the Daughter, not my favorite visit, let’s say.

She is doing reasonably well. All her vital signs are good. Her cholesterol is in a good range, and we wonder if she still needs her medications.

She’s losing weight, about 9 or 10 pounds, and she can afford to do so, per the Body Weight Index, but it makes her look a little gaunt to me. She’s a little dehydrated, common among people of her vintage. She was 5’7″ when I was growing up, but she looks about 5’5″ now. It’s strange.


I must say that Carol is a very good mother to Lydia. These are pictures I took on the first day of school back in September. As I probably mentioned, Lydia felt ill-prepared for kindergarten, even after having been in daycare for three years. This was a self-imposed pressure, and Carol handled the situation well.

I hear some children try to pit one parent against another, and perhaps Lydia tried that when she was about four. but we’re old/WISE enough to present a united front on most issues.

Happy Mother’s Day to my mom, Lydia’s mom, Carol’s mom, Rebecca’s mom, Alex’s mom (the latter two would be my sisters) and all the moms out there.

The Giveaway

So this is how it works. For every non-spam comment of at least – let’s pick a number at random – FIVE words left on this blog between May 3 and July 3, you get a ticket. No more than one comment per post will be counted, but you can comment on any post in the past five years. Every ticket represents a chance for a prize.

I decided, in honor of the new blog, or the old blog with the new URL, or whatever it is that I’m doing, to have a giveaway here, based on aspects of my life.

There will be five winners. Among the prizes are:


*Top Pop Albums, 1955-2009 from Record Research, a list of every album that charted on the Billboard charts in the past 55 years.

*Beyond Words: Daily Readings in the ABC’s of Faith by Frederick Buechner. A compilation of 366 brief essays of faith.

FGH


*THE NEARLY COMPLETE ESSENTIAL HEMBECK ARCHIVES OMNIBUS. 900 pages of Fred Hembeck goodness. If you don’t know Fred’s work, it is tricky to describe. It is largely a series of stories about a character named Fred Hembeck and his interaction with comic book characters, which I fell in love with long before I even met my friend. Donated and signed by the artist.

And a fourth and fifth item I haven’t decided upon yet; behold I bring you a mystery. And in each case, I reserve the right to throw in additional stuff.

Comments

So this is how it works. For every non-spam comment of at least – let’s pick a number at random – FIVE words left on this blog between May 3 and July 3, you get a ticket. No more than one comment per post will be counted, but you can comment on any post in the past five years. Every ticket represents a chance for a prize.

It is not the case that the person making the most comments wins. It IS the case that the more comments you make, the more CHANCES you get. So someone commenting five times gets five tickets, thus five times more chances to win. Once I get the total number of entries, I will do the random number generator thing. The first person chosen gets his or her choice of the first pick of the prizes, the second person gets the second pick, etc. All winners will also receive a Millard Filmore $1 piece; the coin of one of the worst US Presidents coin was current when this new blog started, so there it is.

Now if I don’t know who you are, it will be pretty difficult to assign you a ticket, so if you want to comment anonymously and don’t leave your name, it’ll be impossible to assign you a ticket.

Decision of the judge (moi) is final. Winners will be announced sometime before Bastille Day 2010.

Speaking of giveaways, a Coke commercial

Tubes

A visual representation of What do you want from life? (The Tubes)

Well, you can’t have that,
but if you’re an American citizen you are entitled to:
a heated kidney shaped pool,
a microwave oven–don’t watch the food cook,
a Dyna-Gym–I’ll personally demonstrate it in the privacy of your own home,
a king-size Titanic unsinkable Molly Brown waterbed with polybendum,
a foolproof plan and an airtight alibi,
real simulated Indian jewelry,
a Gucci shoetree,
a year’s supply of antibiotics,
a personally autographed picture of Randy Mantooth
and Bob Dylan’s new unlisted phone number,
a beautifully restored Third Reich swizzle stick,
Rosemary’s baby,
a dream date in kneepads with Paul Williams,
a new Matador, a new mastodon,
a Maverick, a Mustang, a Montego,
a Merc Montclair, a Mark IV, a meteor,
a Mercedes, an MG, or a Malibu,
a Mort Moriarty, a Maserati, a Mac truck,
a Mazda, a new Monza, or a moped,
a Winnebago–Hell, a herd of Winnebagos we’re giving ’em away,
or how about a McCulloch chainsaw,
a Las Vegas wedding,
a Mexican divorce,
a solid gold Kama Sutra coffee pot,
or a baby’s arm holding an apple?

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