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Prompted by Rissa's mentioning that she had a "New Mexico sparkling wine", which I guessed correctly was Gruet, I ask the following -- Is Gruet the new mini-burger? I first had it about 2 years ago at Grapeseed in Bethesda. Since then I have seen it many places, although I haven't kept track of exactly where. I know that they carry it at Adega in SS. Ubiqitous hipster food that gets sold because it is "unusual" or something worth while?

The low point of my life: Shelley Winters giving Cleopatra Jones a run-for-her-money in hand-to-hand combat. Really: Shelley Winters.

I saw "Pulp Fiction" when it came out in 1994, and *hated* it - it was my first Quentin Tarantino film, and I was so turned off by all the gratuitous violence that I just couldn't stand the movie. My second stub of a Tarantino film I saw was "Reservoir Dogs" which did nothing to ingratiate him to me. I am simply not impressed by how much violence you can throw up on a screen, unless that violence is there for an artistic purpose. That said, I really enjoyed "Django Unchained," but oh my God it was hard to watch (remember Paul Dano making the slaves clap while he sang?) And, since I liked Christoph Waltz so much in that film, a friend recommended that I watch "Inglorious Basterds." What I'm hoping, is that in the past twenty years, shows like "The Walking Dead" have gotten me so numb to graphic violence that it won't bother me as much, and I'll be able to "look through it," whereas I was unable to in the past - it makes sense, as things have changed a lot in the past two decades - was Quentin Tarantino the Jack Kevorkian of violent directors? (I used to think Kevorkian was a terrible person, opening up this can of worms; now, I've matured, and strongly support physician-assisted suicide, death-with-dignity, etc., and look at Kevorkian as something of a trailblazer that I was simply not personally ready to handle. Maybe it's a stretch - maybe a *big* stretch - to equate Tarantino with Kevorkian, but it's the same general principle ... I think. I'm not 55 minutes into the film, and I see it more as a comic book-like form of escapism, without any deep meaning (unless I'm missing something), and also without such a terrible amount of violence (Samuel L. Jackson's and John Travolta's shocking kill scene notwithstanding). Travolta is currently rushing Uma Thurman to the hospital, pretty much peeing his pants at the thought of what might happen if things go completely wrong. My biggest issue with Tarantino - not so much "Tarantino" as "Tarantino fans" - is that so many of them seem to think he's such an intellect, and all I see is a kid with brass balls, willing to speak his mind and do what he wants to do, exploiting shock value as a substitute for serious artistic merit. He's kind of like David Mamet with gory pictures. There's nothing wrong with that (goodness knows, I have my little cache of entertainment completely devoid of substance (and no, I'm not talking about porn; I'm talking about some of the more vapid TV series I've been power-watching over the past few years), and I make no pretense that they're any kind of high art). After Thurman and Travolta shook hands on keeping Marcellus in the dark about her OD, and Travolta says he's going to go home now and have a heart attack, she said to him, "Vincent!" He turns towards her. She says, "Don't you want to hear my 'Fox Force Five joke?' Okay, now that came so far out of left-field that it made me laugh out loud - it was truly funny because it was just so random. Tarantino gets points for his capacity to come up with a John Cleese-like joke in the damndest of situations. That was wonderfully silly, especially since the joke itself wasn't funny in the least. Okay! Okay! Christopher Walken's "watch delivery" routine was low humor at its absolute apogee - as it kept going, it kept getting more-and-more outrageous, funny, and cringe-worthy, all at the same time. Like the kid is going to know what dysentery is! Oh, this is just too much! I honestly wonder how many takes the scene took before Walken didn't laugh - he was masterful, but there's a zero-percent chance any human being could have done this in one take without laughing, and once you start laughing, it becomes infectious, so maybe it took twenty takes - regardless of how many it took, the end product was worth it. And sure enough, the watch becomes a major MacGuffin going forward - something powerful enough to compel him to (cue George Takei: "Oh, my!") go back to his old apartment. *** SPOILERS FOLLOW *** (Don't read this part if you haven't seen the movie yet.) "Pulp Fiction" seems (and I don't remember it well, because I haven't seen it since 1994) like it's about to take a major pivot at the point where Bruce Willis shoots John Travolta. Did anyone notice what book John Travolta was reading in the can? He was reading the pulp-fiction classic, "Modesty Blaise." - pretty good humor, but man, Travolta's visage was grim, grim, grim (I mean, I guess that's understandable when you've just been pumped full of lead, but still - he didn't look dead; he looked depressed). I think if I chose a caption for this screen-shot, it would be, "Oh, fuck." Paired with the James Bond-inspired, "00Fuck" and "What the fuck?" I mean, I guess you sow what you reap, but this is pretty brutal (and I'm calling bullshit on how silent the silencer was; nevertheless, that was an imposing piece of iron). Hmm, I wonder if Butch's (Bruce Willis's) chance encounter on the roadway with Marsellus (Ving Rhames) was a tribute to Janet Leigh experiencing the exact same thing in "Psycho" with her boss, Vaughn Taylor - I can't imagine it wasn't, because it was just too closely parallel - they were walking in the same direction, and everything. Anyway, that immediately popped into my mind. Of course, what happened immediately afterwards in the two movies could not have been more different. You know what? I can already tell that I've been desensitized to ultra-violence over the past twenty years, which is kind of a shame - "The Walking Dead" pretty much completed the process for me. The violence in Pulp Fiction - which is *very* violent - just comes across to me now as cartoonish (which, I gather, it was always supposed to be, but twenty years ago, it really bothered me). Society has gone to hell, and I've gone with it - handbasket and everything. I'm not sure this is such a great thing, but it is unquestionably true. What's next for me - maybe ISIS beheading videos won't bother me any more? Damn it, I don't *want* to be like that. Still, the only way anything can be grosser than "The Walking Dead" is if the violence is portrayed more artistically (cf: "The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover." which is a serious piece of art, with violence that's much more disturbing than any of these cartoonish movies and shows). My goodness, speaking of homages - and I don't know how I missed this before - the rape scene *must* be a tribute to "Deliverance": The only thing that's missing is Ned Beatty. I'm every bit as sure of this as I am about "Psycho," and it makes me wonder how many other tributes are in this film that I"m *not* picking up on - I suspect there are several, perhaps even quite a few: The format of the movie lends itself perfectly to random insertion of tributes. (Trivia: Did you know that there was an actual banjo player hidden behind Billy Redden, playing "Dueling Banjos" in "Deliverance?" I've watched that scene a lot of times, and it's amazing how real they make it look.) It's so coincidental - yesterday, I watched "Dog Day Afternoon," and at the end of the film, the FBI agent repeatedly tells John Cazale to point his gun up, in case they "go over a bump in the road." I had a pretty good idea that was a load of BS, but I don't ever remember having heard it before in a film. In "Pulp Fiction," John Travolta turns around and talks with Marvin, who's sitting in the back seat, and guess who accidentally gets a lead facial? All because Travolta wasn't pointing his gun up - and it truly was an accident: I cannot name a third picture where I've seen the subject broached before, and yet, it played a key role in both of these films. Ugh, I just got to the part where Quentin Tarantino tries to act - he can't. I'm not saying he hasn't gotten better in the past 23 years; I'm just saying his acting in this movie was pretty lame. And Samuel L. Jackson is funny as hell. <When they're cleaning out the car from the shooting of Marvin> ... "You the motherfucker should be on brain detail!" The UC Santa Cruz *Banana Slugs*? How can you not be amused by this dialogue? Vincent: Jules, look, what happened this morning, man, I agree it was peculiar. But water into wine, I ..." Jules: "All shapes and sizes, Vincent." Vincent: "Don't fucking talk to me that way, man." Jules: "If my answers frighten you, Vincent, then you should cease asking scary questions." Vincent: "I'm gonna take a shit." Then, it turns out that this is the Epilogue of the Coffee Shop Robbery, the Prologue (which was the exact same moment in time) having been shown during the film's opening, but from a different perspective (the Prologue's perspective of Honey Bunny (Amanda Plummer) and Pumpkin (Tim Roth); the Epilogue's perspective of Jules and Vincent). Wow. When Pumpkin held Jules at gunpoint, and forced him to open the briefcase, the contents of which remained unknown, but clearly contained a mysterious light, shining from within, there was yet another, absolutely unambiguous reference to another classic film: "Kiss Me Deadly." Confidence level? Pretty close to 100%. Some people might think "Raiders of the Lost Ark," especially because Pumpkin looked inside, and said, "It's beautiful" (remember Belloq, in Raiders, opening the ark, and crying aloud, "It's beautiful!"?) But make no mistake - this homage is to "Kiss Me Deadly," not Raiders - the light, which has absolutely no reason to be there, is the giveaway. It took me 23 years to regress into liking "Pulp Fiction." Or, did it take me 23 years to progress into liking "Pulp Fiction?" I'm vastly - vastly - more educated now than I was 23 years ago, and I'm a completely changed person - a much, much better person, and a much, much kinder and gentler person, than I was 23 years ago. Am I simply able to look past the violence now, and recognize the quality of this film? Or have I become so numb and inured to violence, which was prejudicing me from recognizing this film's qualities before? Is it good that I can now look through violence as if it doesn't matter? Or is it bad? Am I reverting to my childhood, or am I progressing into old age? I honestly don't know, but I do know that I really, really liked "Pulp Fiction" this time, and perhaps more than any other movie, I'm glad I saw this again, with a completely open mind. And when Vincent excuses himself before the robbery, what is he reading in the can? Think for a moment before I answer ... Think. Re-read this post if you have to, but think ... He's reading Modesty Blaise.

Well, "The Big Lebowski" is another picture that nobody can believe I'd never seen before, but I hadn't (this, and "This Is Spinal Tap" were the two I'd really been wanting to watch for a long, long time). I was really getting into this film - a great comedy to be sure - when the terrorist attacks hit Nice, and pretty much ruined it for me. Still, that doesn't lessen the movie - Jeff Bridges is brilliant, and so is just about everybody else. I don't think I've ever seen a Coen Brothers film that I don't like - they are geniuses in the mold of Matt Groening. I'm not up for a big, long write-up, but I'd love to discuss the movie with anyone who wants to. This Nice attack has pretty much wiped out any comedic effects the film had on me tonight; tomorrow I'll be better - I'm not going to let those assholes compromise anything about my life.

Trivia questions: 1) Which actor or actress in "Trading Places" got elected to the U.S. Senate? 2) Which actor or actress in "Trading Places" had a prominent role in "Breaking Bad?" Roll your cursor over the right of the pictures for the answers (or, click on the pictures first for strong hints): 1) Al Franken 2) Giancarlo Esposito

It's a dramedy. Micheal Douglas plays an acting coach, Alan Arkin, his agent, shades of Larry David and Jeff Garlin. I almost gave up on it after the first episode, glad I didn't. It's now been nominated for a Golden Globe.

[split off from the Komi thread] I'll bite: As in "too full even to eat a single wafer-thin mint"?

I rewatched "Groundhog Day" a few months ago, and enjoyed it again - I can easily see how this would go on someone's "personal favorite movies" list. There have been some attempts made to address your question: Jan 31, 2018 - "How Many Times Does Bill Murray Reilve Groundhogs Day?" by Dave Wheeler on bigfrog104.com There's another article on whatculture.com It seems to be 10 years at a minimum, with some people guessing more like 30 years - I think it's probably somewhere in between those durations (Murray wasn't a great pianist, but he was good enough to fake it in a nightclub, and that alone would take 5-10 years of multi-hour-per-day practice).

We all remember "All In The Family's" opening theme song, with Archie and Edith Bunker singing in front of an old, slightly-out-of-tune spinet. But there were a couple of words that I wasn't sure of (*), and when I got to thinking about it, I didn't quite know the lyrics. After a bit of investigation, I think I stumbled upon a theory as important, and as obscure, as this one or this one. Here are the lyrics to the theme song - you can find numerous variations all over the internet. But one subtle importance is that I've seen several versions that use the phrase "And you knew who you were then," as opposed to, "And you knew where you were then." That might not seem like much, but knowing a bit about Jean Stapleton (and having proudly seen her in the 1987 revival of "Arsenic And Old Lace" on Broadway <-- that was a humble brag), I suspect she might have taken the more severe lyrics, "who you were," and substituted the more digestible "where you were." Note that this is the part of the song where she goes into a screech, focusing the audience's attention on her singing style rather than the actual song. Sadly, I thought it was, "And if you were human then." Honestly, for years, I did. (*) Perhaps most importantly, does this take a plural or singular? I'm going singular here, but I'm not ruling anything out.

Just for shits and giggles... stick any funny musical performances here. Dudley Moore Beethoven Sonata: I love the never-ending ending. Chico and Harpo: For four funny fists.

Pop-Up Magazine is rolling back to the Warner Theater with its Fall Issue on September 25, 2018. If you have never heard of this or seen it before you can read more about it here: "Pop-Up Magazine Productions Brings You Original, True Stories, for Your Nights and Weekends" on popupmagazine.com I have been twice before and each time there were some memorable performances. There are plenty of tickets available at the moment, but if history is any guide the orchestra will mostly fill in (and much of the balcony as well) by the date of the performance. Expect the unexpected and remember, once it's gone, it's gone. The performances are never recorded. See you there. You deserve a night out.

I began watching Season One of "Orange Is the New Black," because I'm so culturally deficient that I'm clueless when it comes to certain popular things - I'm currently on Episode 3. I like this series very much, and I'm glad I'm watching it. Has anyone seen (and remember) the early episodes of Season One? In particular, "I Wasn't Ready," "Tit Punch," and "Lesbian Request Denied" (episodes 1-3). Not sure how far I'll make it through the series (I just watched SE1 EP1 of "The Andy Griffith Show," for Pete's sake), but it's been a fun ride so far.

What do people think of "Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee," the web series on the Crackle network by Jerry Seinfeld? I've only watched a few episodes, but it has recently caught my eye, and I'm kind of falling in love with it. Such a simple premise: two funny comedians, one interesting car, and beautiful cinematography of such mundane things as coffee coming out of an espresso machine. The episodes are about 15-minutes long, and if they were any longer, it would detract from them because, like "Seinfeld," it's essentially a "show about nothing." So I guess there's really not much to say about it other than a thumbs up or a thumbs down. Thumbs up from me - in limited doses for sure, sort of like a "Word-A-Day Calendar." Plus if you go to the home page, the entire series is right there in front of you, and free-of-charge (there's one (annoyingly repetitive) ad before each episode). This is, I believe, the only complete compendium of restaurants visited during this series on the entire internet. No other website would be able to identify the restaurants (I have to say, I'm pretty proud of myself for Baked By Melissa in Season 2, Episode 3). Season 1 1. Jul 19, 2012, Larry David, 1952 VW Bug, John O'Groat's (West LA, CA) 2. Aug 2, 2012, Ricky Gervais, 1967 Austin Healey 3000 MK III, City Island Diner (City Island, The Bronx, NYC, NY) 3. Aug 9, 2012, Brian Regan, 1970 Dodge Challenger TA, Rae's Restaurant (Santa Monica, CA) 4. Aug 16, 2012, Alec Baldwin, 1970 Mercedes-Benz 280 SL, Fairway Market Cafe (Upper West Side, Manhattan, NYC, NY) 5. Aug 23, 2012, Joel Hodgson, 1963 Volkswagon Karmann Ghia (equpped with a Porsche 912 engine, suspension, and brakes), Skylark Diner (Edison, NJ) 6. Aug 30, 2012, Bob Einstein, 1970 Mercedes-Benz 300 SEL 6.3, Jerry's Famous Deli (Studio City, LA, CA) & Nate & Al's (Beverly Hills, CA) 7. Sep 6, 2012, Barry Marder, 1966 Porsche 356 SC Cabriolet (Dutch police car), Bendix Diner (Hasbrouk Heights, NJ) 8. Sep 13, 2012, Colin Quinn & Mario Joyner, 1976 Triumph TR-6, Fort Defiance Restaurant & Bar (Red Hook, Brooklyn, NYC, NY) 9. Sep 20, 2012, Carl Reiner & Mel Brooks, 1960 Rolls Royce Silver Cloud II & 1970 Porsche 911 S, Norm's Diner (West LA, CA) 10. Sep 27, 2012, Michael Richards, 1962 VW Type 2 (used as body-shop vehicle), Malibu Kitchen & Gourmet Country Market (Malibu, CA) Season 2 1. Jun 13, 2013, Sarah Silverman, 1969 Jaguar E-Type (XK-E) Series 2 Convertible, Millie's Cafe (Silver Lake, LA, CA) & K&C Donuts (Silver Lake, LA, CA) 2. Jun 20, 2013, David Letterman, 1995 Volvo 960 Station Wagon (rebuilt with a racing engine by Paul Newman) & 2011 Nissan Leaf, Green Granary (New Milford, CT) & Taylor & Son True Value Hardware (New Milford, CT) 3. Jun 27, 2013, Gad Elmaleh, 1950 Citroí«n 2CV, Frites Shop (East Village, Manhattan, NYC, NY), Balthazar (East Village, Manhattan, NYC, NY), French Roast (Upper West Side, Manhattan, NYC, NY), & Baked by Melissa (Upper West Side, Manhattan, NYC, NY) 4. Jul 4, 2013, Don Rickles, 1958 Cadillac El Dorado Seville, Factor's Famous Deli (Pico-Robertson, LA, CA) 5. Jul 11, 2013, Seth Meyers, 1973 Porsche 911 Carrera RS, Roebling Tea Room (Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NYC, NY) 6. Jul 18, 2013, Chris Rock, 1969 Lamborghini P400S Miura, Allendale Eats! (Allendale, NJ) Season 3 1. Jan 2, 2014, Louis C.K., 1959 Fiat Jolly, Louis C.K.'s Meridian 341, (Chelsea Piers, Chelsea, Manhattan, NYC, NY) 2. Jan 9, 2014, Patton Oswalt, 1981 DeLorean DMC-12 & 2012 Honda Accord SE Sedan, Handsome Coffee Roasters (Arts District, LA, CA) 3. Jan 16, 2014, Jay Leno, 1949 Porsche 356/2, Jones Coffee Roasters (Pasadena, CA) 4. Jan 23, 2014 Todd Barry, 1966 MGB Roadster, Tom's Brooklyn (Coney Island, Brooklyn, NYC, NY), Nathan's Famous (Coney Island, Brooklyn, NYC, NY), William's Candy (Coney Island, Brooklyn, NYC, NY), It'Sugar (Coney Island, Brooklyn, NYC, NY), Everyman Espresso (lobby of Classic Stage Company, East Village, Manhattan, NYC, NY) 5. Jan 30, 2014, Tina Fey, 1967 Volvo 1800S, Floridita (Harlem, Manhattan, NYC, NY) Dominique Ansel Bakery (Soho, Manhattan, NYC, NY) 6. Feb 2, 2014, George Costanza (Jason Alexander in character), 1976 AMC Pacer D/L, Tom's Restaurant (Morningside Heights, Manhattan, NYC, NY) 7. Feb 6, 2014, Howard Stern, 1969 Pontiac GTO "The Judge", Bel-Aire Diner (Astoria, Queens, NYC, NY), Associated Supermarket (Astoria, Queens, NYC, NY) Season 4 1. Jun 19, 2014, Sarah Jessica Parker, 1976 Ford Country Squire LTD, Starbucks (Kips Bay, Manhattan, NYC, NY), Colony Diner (East Meadow, NY), Francesco's Bakery (Hicksville, NY) 2. Jun 26, 2014, George Wallace, 1965 Buick Riviera 2-Door Hardtop, The Flamingo Hotel (Las Vegas, NV), Peppermill (Las Vegas, NV) 3. Jul 3, 2014, Robert Klein, 1967 Jaguar Mark 2, Landmark Diner (Ossining, NY), Sing Sing Correctional Facility (Ossining, NY) 4. Jul 10, 2014, Aziz Ansari, 2012 Prevost X3-45 VIP Touring Coach, Brody's Diner, (Shrewsbury, MA) 5. Jul 17, 2014, Jon Stewart, 1978 AMC Gremlin & 1969 AMC AMX, NEP Studio 52 (Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, NY), Tick Tock Diner (Clifton, NJ), Petco (Clifton, NJ) Season 5 1. Nov 6, 2014, Kevin Hart & Dick Corcoran (Michael Richards in character), 1959 Porsche 718 RSK Spyder, Pier 212 (Santa Monica, CA), Undefeated (Santa Monica, CA) 2. Nov 13, 2014, Amy Schumer, 1971 Ferrari Daytona 365 GTB/4, Short Stop Coffee Shop (The Bronx, NYC, NY) Parkview Sports Center (The Bronx, NYC, NY) 3, Nov 20, 2014, Bill Burr, 1970 Ford Mustang Boss 302, The Novel Cafe (Santa Monica, CA), Hollywood Smoke (Santa Monica, CA) 4. Nov 27, 2014, Miranda Sings (Colleen Ballinger in character), 1960 Austin-Healey Sprite, Art's Delicatessen and Restaurant (Studio City, CA), Fountain, Hollywood and Highland Center (Hollywood, LA, CA), Hot Topic, Hollywood and Highland Center (Hollywood, LA, CA) 5. Dec 4, 2014, Fred Armisen & Dick Corcoran (Michael Richards in character), 1965 Saab 96 Monte Carlo 850, Coava Brew Bar (Buckman, Portland, OR), The Grilled Cheese Grill (Buckman, Portland, OR), Paxton Gate (Boise, Portland, OR) 6. Dec 11, 2014, Ali Wentworth, 1970 Mercedes-Benz 280 SE Low Grille Cabriolet, Blue Tree (Upper East Side, Manhattan, NYC, NY) (Fiddler's Elbow Country Club, Bedminster, NJ) 7. Dec 18, 2014, Jimmy Fallon (Parts 1 and 2) & Dick Corcoran (Michael Richards in character), 1956 Chevrolet Corvette Convertiblle, 1994 Land Rover Defender 90, & 13-Foot Boston Whaler, John's Pancake House (Montauk, NY) Season 6 1. Jun 3, 2015, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, 1964 Aston Martin DB5, Caffe Luxe (Santa Monica, CA), Art's Table (Santa Monica, CA) 2. Jun 10, 2015, Steve Harvey, 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air V8 Convertible, Manny's Deli & Cafeteria (Chicago, IL), Biggs Mansion (Chicago, IL) 3. Jun 17, 2015, Jim Carrey, 1976 Lamborghini Countach LP400, Killer Cafe (Marina del Rey, CA) 4. Jun 24, 2015, Bill Maher, 1979 VW Beetle Police Car (used in Wofsburg, Germany), Brite Spot (Echo Park, LA, CA) 5. Jul 1, 2015, Trevor Noah, 1985 Ferrari GTB qv, One Girl Cookies, (Dumbo, Brooklyn, NYC, NY) 6. Jul 8, 2015, Stephen Colbert, 1964 Morgan +4, Bluestone Coffee Co. (Montclair, NJ), Watchung Booksellers (Montclair, NJ) Season 7 1. Dec 30, 2015, Barack Obama, 1963 Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray & 2009 Cadillac One (Presidental State Car), The White House (Washington, DC) 2. Jan 6, 2016, Steve Martin, 1954 Siata 8V & 1966 Ford Mustang, Pleasantville Diner (Pleasantville, NY) 3. Jan 13, 2016, Kathleen Madigan & Chuck Martin, 1972 BMW 2002 tii, Alfred Coffee & Kitchen using Stumptown Roasters (West Hollywood, LA, CA)

"Between Two Ferns" is extremely funny, and Zach Galifianakis is a gifted comedian - I recently saw him on an episode of "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee" (now on Netflix), and it was one of the better episodes of that series. As an example, I submit the episode with Barack Obama: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnW3xkHxIEQ

I had never before seen "A Fish Called Wanda." It is one of the smartest and best comedies I've ever watched, with all four leads (John Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline, and Michael Palin) giving career-defining performances (even Cleese, as the straight-man, is uproariously funny, as well as just a great all-around actor). Kline won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar, but all four of these actors were sensational. It takes a *lot* to make me laugh out loud, but this little question and answer made me bleat out like a sheep - it's so subtle that many people will miss it, but for me it was the perfect comedic moment. "Who is this?" "Don't you know?" This movie is up there with "Dr. Strangelove" - if only there were a thousand comedies like this, I'd never leave the house. There are a couple of scenes that devolve into sloppy excess (french fry scene, Curtis salivating), and they really detract from the movie as a whole, but if you can overlook them, you've got nearly two hilarious hours on your hands.

Does this require a new subforum or would it fit into one of the existing ones (or is there already a topic covering this that I am missing)? I listen to the Radio Classics channel on Sirius XM and find the old episodes of The Jack Benny Program to be reliably hilarious. Although that was a scripted radio program with multiple characters and writers, I've always thought Benny's stand up routines were quite funny, as well. For more contemporary stand up comics, the first name that comes to mind is Dave Attell, although I haven't seen any of his recent work. I was a big fan of his old "Insomniac" TV show, which I thought was creative and a good vehicle for his brand of humor. Who are some of your favorite stand up comedians from the past or present?

This is one of the best videos I've ever seen on YouTube:

I just finished reading Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace. I am glad I read it. It is like nothing I have read before, including other works by him. It is challenging, but worth the effort. The 1,079 page story takes place in the future, at a junior tennis academy and a nearby substance-abuse recovery facility. It is brash, brilliant, funny (most of the novel takes place in the Year of the Depend Adult Undergarment), thought-provoking and tragic. Ninety-six pages are devoted to footnotes, located in the back of the book. These need to be read along with the text, as much of the story is told there. (A dear friend gave me book clips to mark my place in the footnotes, and they proved to be invaluable. I recommend them to anyone who reads a printed copy of this book!) Has anyone else read this book? Did you love it? Hate it? Put it down after about 600 pages? I would love to hear your thoughts. I am sure there is much I missed. After I finished the novel, for example, I went back and read the first chapter again. There were several hints in that chapter about what happened to the main characters after the novel ended. How do you think it compares to other works by David Foster Wallace?

I saw Aziz Ansari on an episode of Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, liked him, so I thought I'd give his show, "Parks and Recreation" a whirl. Well, I haven't watched any of it yet, but I'm going to watch the pilot perhaps tonight, and I didn't want to lose all this title-tag information, so I'm posting now, will edit later. BTW, I don't summarize plots - just as I didn't with my Complete! Series! Of! Night! Gallery! Commentaries! I write these both as a (hopefully entertaining) supplement for people who have either just watched the episode, are in the middle of watching it, or are simply trying to refresh their memory in the future (that's why I include pictures that I think are representative of each episode); these are definitely not "reviews," and are just as much for my own future reference as for other people's benefit (I figure, if I'm going to spend five minutes jotting down notes for myself, why not spend seven minutes making things enjoyable for others?) Halfway into the third episode, I see no reason not to continue watching Parks and Recreation (I really like it!), so let me know if you want to see anything more than what I'm already doing (there is no better "guide" than watching the episode itself, and these commentaries aren't unlike reading the morning paper after you've already watched the Monday Night Football game). *** SPOILERS *** List of Characters in Parks and Recreation which contains look-ahead descriptions of what they end up doing. Season One 1. "Pilot" - Apr 9, 2009: <--- Leslie falls into the pit. Written by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur, Directed by Greg Daniels [Notes: I'd never even heard of this show before this evening. From what I can gather from the pilot episode, this is very much of a tongue-in-cheek, self-aware farce, somewhat along the lines of "Arrested Development," but in a pseudo-documentary manner, as if the whole thing is being filmed like the live episode of "ER," "Ambush." Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) takes her mid-level bureaucrat role very seriously (and I suspect this series has more than its share of bloopers from the actors laughing when they shouldn't), Tom Haverford (Aziz Ansari) is a cocky, lackadaisical, skirt-chaser as Knope's underling for the Department of Parks and Recreation in the fictional town of Pawnee, Indiana, and Ann Perkins (Rashida Jones) is a parody of a serious, concerned citizen. I can tell after ten minutes that the fourth wall is broken perhaps more often than I'd prefer - time will tell whether or not this gets to be too much. Mark Brendanawicz (Paul Schneider) is a funny satire of a "go-getter" - a friend of Leslie's (who slept with her five years before and briefly forgot he did) - and Andy Dwyer (Chris Pratt) plays the hilarious injured musician-boyfriend of Ann's - he hurt his leg falling into the pit, and uses a robotic clamp to grab beer bottles, etc. (his opening scene is really very funny). Summer intern April Ludgate (Aubrey Plaza) is a archetypal gum-chewing, disconnected teen, and Ron Swanson (Nick Offerman) is the seemingly Libertarian boss whom Leslie needs to ask for permission to turn the pit into a park. Seven major characters were introduced during this half-hour in a very easy-to-digest fashion, and I loved this pilot episode.] 2. "Canvassing" - Apr 16, 2009: <--- The team studying canvassing brochures written by (who else?) Leslie Written by Rachel Axler, Directed by Seth Gordon [Notes: I don't know if I'm going to get tired of this, but so far it's pretty darned entertaining. I read that before the Pilot was shown, Leslie was written to be a less-likable character, and I think it was a really good idea making the audience like her more; otherwise, it would have been a chore to get through this. I'm writing this as I'm watching (going back-and-forth), and so far my least-favorite character is Mark Brendanawicz because he's just so blatantly chill, but maybe that difference - which is standing out a little too much right now - will make him grow on me going forward. The sex-offender scene was a riot, and fortunately not too overplayed (that's a good sign, although it could have been even more subtle). Subtlety will be so important in this series - the man who stood up at the town-hall meeting, complaining about the loud guitar playing, overacted his role at first, and it's little things like that which can ruin a series (although his "You suck!" comment was funny) - I'm writing this, turning a blind eye to the fact that it ran for seven seasons. Oh, this show is shaping up to be quite amusing.] 3. "The Reporter" - Apr 23, 2009: <--- Shauna Malwae-Tweep talking with Leslie. Written by Daniel J. Goor, Directed by Jeffrey Blitz [Notes: Yes, this is a *lot* like "Arrested Development" in that there are humorous scenes that are less than one-second long (I'm thinking now about the online Scrabble move FISHING -> IS). Oh, how I love the little moments like when Mark walks out with his arm around the reporter, Shauna Malwae-Tweep (Alison Becker) - the entire scene takes about one-quarter second - it's this rapid-fire, 50-funny-things-in-30-minutes, slapstick-like, machine-gun comedy that I liked about Arrested Development (although that show may have been a touch *too* subtle for mass acceptance). I wonder if "America's Funniest Home Videos" with Bob Saget was the precursor of this type of humor. In a 30-minute show, 26 minutes of it would be either commercials or Bob Saget yucking it up, and all you wanted was for Bob to Shut! Up! and play the next videos in rapid succession. You have to love the allophone (with "t" and "d") when Shauna comes trotting out of Mark's pick-up truck: "Hi! Sorry I'm late!" ... "Do ... you ... live near Mark?" "No, not at all." Yeah, Mark is growing on me, all right. And Leslie's subsequent seat-recline was laugh-out-loud funny. Does anyone think that Leslie looks like "someone we all know?" (And to a lesser degree, same with Mark? I can think of people I've met in my past who look a lot like them.) Through this episode, the director appears to be breaking the fourth wall with restraint, so it's actually a plus at this point rather than an annoyance. Andy's off-camera "Men are dawgs!" type of comments are uproarious. I had an audible "Oh no!" when Mark said, "I wouldn't say ... *romantically* involved ...." How did I not know this show existed?] 4, "Boy's Club" - Apr 30, 2009: <-- Ann and Leslie crashing the "Boy's Club" Written by Alan Yang, Directed by Michael McCullers [Notes: Dog-poop fights: If you can't lick 'em, join 'em. During the "apology video" to women politicians, I looked at the timer, and realized I was almost halfway through the episode - without commercials (on Amazon), this show *flies* by. One thing that can slip by the viewer in these episodes is the cinematography - the camera work is remarkable, and I have to think it's as much directorial skill as camera work because the timing is just so awesome. Leslie remarks on Ron's "full moustache," and in the next quarter-second, the camera moves in for a droll close-up; then it's over. And I love the allegory of dog-poop fights with Leslie's personal Watergate (because she opened a gift basket from a potential contractor). I kind of wish I wasn't writing these notes because every time I laugh out loud (like during Leslie's tearful filmed confession), I cut over here to write something. Hmmm ... The chase down the street on crutches and without pants! Writing detailed commentary about this show is like reviewing individual dishes at Minibar - it just doesn't work, but man oh man I'm loving this show so far.] 5. "The Banquet" - May 7, 2009: <--- Leslie sporting a mannish do. Written by Tucker Cawley, Directed by Beth McCarthy-Miller [Notes: They're really making the most out the murals on the wall of the Parks and Recreation building which, in case anyone doesn't already know, were ubiquitous things from Franklin Delano Roosevelt's "Works Progress Administration" - we have some here in Washington, DC. If anyone has a chance to go into the impressive Ariel Rios Federal Building on 11th and Penn (where the EPA is headquartered), make sure to walk up or down the awesome spiral staircases (where hangs a Foucault Pendulum): On each floor (on both sides of the building), there are WPA murals which look a *lot* like the ones in Parks and Recreation. If you know any EPA employee, ask them to give you a tour of this amazing building - it's worth a special effort just to see the staircases and murals. I swear, so far my favorite character in this show is Andy (the injured husband) - every single thing he says, or slight move he makes, causes me to giggle. I am so glad I'm writing this show up because if I wasn't, I could go through the entire series in about four days - I don't think I've yet seen a minute-long slice without it being funny. "The Banquet" may be my least-favorite episode of the first five, but it was still a winner - how did this show not have ten-million viewers?] 6. "Rock Show" - May 14, 2009: <--- Andy gets his cast off (and gets cast off by Ann) Written by Norm Hiscock, Directed by Michael Schur (2) [Notes: Finally! Some character development! And some plot advancement, but they had to wait until the season finale to do it. The one major storyline here is Ann throwing Andy out of the house after learning that he waited an extra two weeks before having his cast removed (because "he liked her serving him dinner"), and the two minor storylines are Leslie and Paul nuzzling (after hooking up once about five years ago), and Paul subsequently falling into the pit like Andy did, apparently hurting himself (but we don't really know since the season ended). This was refreshing, having some degree of continuity to the series other than "The Pit" (which is featured in one of Andy's awful rock songs in this episode - his band is just terrible. Rather than having this be "a show about nothing" like Seinfeld (or, should I say, "a show that deeply examines one seemingly unimportant construct, like "a meeting, or "a canvassing," etc. which is what Seinfeld did), it's refreshing to have the characters change (even a little bit) and grow, so the viewer feels they're investing something into the series, rather than simply watching random episodes and not missing a thing if they don't. Leslie's date with the older bureaucrat made me shiver - that was *really* creepy, in a very amusing sort of way - that man (Ron Perkins) played his role perfectly. One other thing: When Andy got his cast off, it was *gross*! And, Season One is a wrap and a thumbs-up. Note: All six shows had different directors and writers (eleven people total) except for Michael Schur, who worked on two episodes.

You can rest assured that I'll be watching each-and-every episode of "Mozart In The Jungle." I don't care how "unrealistic" it is - I just watched the Pilot and loved it! The pilot features Malcolm McDowell, Bernadette Peters (whom I saw with Mandy Patinkin on Broadway in "Sunday In The Park With George"), and one heck of a lot of bawdy, wicked classical-musician humor. This is right up my alley, and I'm going to make sure Matt is sheltered from watching it! "Classical Music As 'Jungle' Rings True - 'Mozart In The Jungle,' An Amazon Series" by Zachary Woolfe on nytimes.com Season One (Dec 23, 2014) -1.1 - "Pilot" Directed by Paul Weitz (Academy Award Co-Nominee for Best Adapted Screenplay for Co-Directing "About a Boy", Co-Director of "American Pie") Written by Alex ("Shiver Me'") Timbers (Multiple Nominations for Golden Globe, Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, London Evening Standard, Off-Broadway Theater ("OBIE"), Lucille Lortel, and Emmy Awards), Roman Coppola (Academy Award Co-Nominee for Best Original Screenplay for "Moonrise Kingdom"), and Jason Schwartzman (Nominee for Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture for "Shopgirl") Featuring: Oboe (Hailey Rutledge) - Lola Kirke (Daughter of Simon Kirke, Former Drummer for "Bad Company") Violinist Playing Tschaikovsky Concerto Op 35 (Joshua Bell) - Joshua Bell (Violinist in "Pearls before Breakfast") Conductor, Retiring (Thomas Pembridge) - Malcolm McDowell (Alex "Alec" DeLarge in "A Clockwork Orange") Cellist (Cynthia Taylor) - Saffron Burrows (Dr. Susan McAlester in "Deep Blue Sea") Chairman of the Board (Gloria Windsor) - Bernadette Peters (25+ Nominations for Tony (2), Drama Desk (2), Emmy (2), Golden Globe (2), and Grammy Awards) Conductor, Debuting (Rodrigo De Souza) - Gael García Bernal (Che Guevara in "The Motorcycle Diaries") Dancer-Bartender (Alex Merriweather) - Peter Vack (Jason Strider on "I Just Want My Pants Back") [Malcolm McDowell is a retiring conductor for a major New York symphony, being replaced by an obvious imitation of Gustavo Dudamel (played by Gael García Bernal) - a real-life character with whom you should familiarize yourself. Sex, drugs, and debauchery surround these talented, young musicians, and I can tell this is going to be one heck of a scare thrown into me as the potential parent of a college music major (give me back my *child*, damn it!). This will be the type of show where modern-day female sexuality is celebrated, and it will be a challenge to keep track of who's having sex with whom. Bernadette Peters plays a great role as the Chairman of the Board, but as the NY Times article cited above says, she's more like an "Executive Director," smitten with Rodrigo (the Dudamel character). This ten-episode series is going to be one heck of a ride, I can tell. It's easily rated R, so it isn't for children. There are so many important character introductions in this pilot that I didn't know who to show in the picture; instead, I showed the entire orchestra, plus Peters and Bernal, magically pulling out a rose (Gabriel Garcia-Marquez-type magical realism is supposed to abound in this series, although this is the only "moment" in the Pilot episode, and it could easily be explained by a clever slight-of-hand).] - 2.2 - "Fifth Chair" Directed by Paul Weitz (2), Written by Paul Weitz and John Strauss (Grammy Award Winner for "Amadeus") - 2.3 - "Silent Symphony" Directed by Bart Freundlich, Written by Mark Steilen - 2.4 - "You Have Insulted Tschaikovsky" Directed by Daisy von Scheler Mayer (Director of "Party Girl"), Written by David I. Stern - 2.5 - "I'm With the Maestro" Directed by Tricia Brock (Director of 3 Episodes of "The Walking Dead"), Written by Alex Timbers (2) and Nikki Schiefelbein - 2.6 - "The Rehearsal" Directed by Bart Freundlich (2), Written by - Story: Paula Yoo, Teleplay: John Strauss (2) and David I. Stern (2) - 2.7 - "You Go to My Head" Directed by Roman Coppola (2), Written by Adam Brooks (Director and Writer of "Definitely, Maybe") and Kate Gersten

100% Rotten Tomato Rating- 1st in History I have yet to read a negative review on the film Lady Bird. As a gift to your Mom, or any person you care about, treat them to a showing of Lady Bird. In true fashion, I do not want to give too much away. The story centers around a young lady attending parochial school who is coming of age, and trying to figure life out. That is all I want to divulge. Go see it, and return, and lets discuss all of the bits of this absolutely beautiful story. I hate California, I want to go to the east coast. I want to go where culture is like, New York, or Connecticut or New Hampshire - Lady Bird -kat

I just finished watching "Annihilation" by Patton Oswalt, and it was fantastic - it was as good as any high-dollar stand-up video I've ever seen. Oswalt is clearly influenced by Louis CK, but he's Louis CK on steroids. How this man was able to go from Trump, to audience-teasing, to an extended skit about his wife's death, to pitching a film, to spending Halloween with his daughter, and make the entire thing not just funny, but *hilarious*, is almost incomprehensible - the "Polish lady of doom" was the thread that helped him do it, and I honestly thought she'd make an appearance in the last sketch, but he did it without her. This is currently on Netflix, and I cannot recommend it highly enough - it is truly *great* stand-up comedy, a level which makes me ask myself, why on earth have there only been perhaps 10, perhaps 20, of "these" well-funded productions in history? When they work, they're as entertaining as any film or sporting event, and "Annihilation" works in a big way. I cannot recommend this any more enthusiastically! I also recommend watching the show first, and then enjoying these articles afterwards: "Patton Oswalt's 'Annihilation' Is Funny and Profound" by Alison Herman on theringer.com "Patton Oswalt Returns to Stand-Up: The Comedy of His Life" by Dan Snierson on ew.com "Patton Oswalt's 'Annihilation' Review: Humor Meets Heartbreak" by Evan Valentine on collider.com "In His New Standup Special, Patton Oswalt Makes a Triumphant Return from Annihilation" by Dennis Perkins on avclub.com "Patton Oswalt Gets Personal about Wife's Death in New 'Annihilation' Netflix Comedy Special" by Ashley Boucher on thewrap.com "Patton Oswalt Faces Wife's Death with Jokes, Heartbreak, and Body Fluids in New Netflix Special" by Maeve McDermott on usatoday.com "Patton Oswalt on Surviving Trump's Tweets and Surviving Annihilation" by Andrew Husband on uproxx.com "Patton Oswalt on Chaos, Kindness, and 'Annihilation'" by Isaac Kozell on splitsider.com "What's on TV Tuesday: 'Patton Oswalt: Annihilation' and 'Hit the Road'" by Sara Aridi on nytimes.com "Patton Oswalt Works through the Void on 'Annihilation'" by Audra Schroeder on dailydot.com "In 'Patton Oswalt: Annihilation' on Netflix, the Comedian Uses Dark Humor To Cope with His Wife's Passing" by Taylor Maple on bustle.com ... and there are many more.

As I've been doing lately with these 2015 Academy Award nominees, I'm writing these posts as I watch the films on Amazon (using X-Ray to obtain some interesting trivia and factoids). So, as I write this about "The Big Short," I haven't even seen the opening credits. Note that Amazon gives you 30 days to begin watching your rental (which you can also cancel), but once you begin watching it, you only have 48 hours to finish - I guess this is reasonable to prevent multiple people from watching one film on one person's account, but sometimes I like to take a little longer - ah, well, compromises need to be made somewhere. Again, I recommend X-Ray for people interested in studying the film, but not for people who are easily distracted, as it could easily be a nuisance - you have your choice of pretending it's not there at all. *** SPOILERS ALERT *** You can probably assume that the rest of this post will contain various degrees of spoilers. I'll start by saying I *love* the film's opening quote by Mark Twain: "It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so." While not entirely true, there is a ring of familiarity to it, I'm sure, affecting us all. Director Adam McKay was Head Writer for Saturday Night Live for two seasons, and has directed comedies in the past (e.g.. "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby," which I'm ashamed to say I found to be quite amusing), but this is his first dramatic directorial debut. This is also the first movie of any kind that McKay has directed without Will Ferrell in the cast, which is surprising, but I really don't know much about McKay. Ferrell also co-wrote all but one of McKay's comedies, so there's definitely a close partnership here. When Dr. Burry went into Goldman Sachs and said he wanted to short the housing market, the song playing in the background was "Money Maker" by Ludacris. You will find multiple, almost random, cameos by some seriously famous people, including one very famous chef. The quote, "Truth is like poetry. And most people fucking hate poetry," is great (and written just for this movie). Boy, if this film doesn't make you want to vote for Bernie Sanders, nothing will. Here are some stats flashed at the end: * 5 trillion dollars disappeared * 8 million jobs were lost * 6 million people lost their homes * And that's just in the United States * 1 person went to jail from Credit Suisse And look where we are today in 2016. I have very strong feelings about whether or not the economy should have "recovered" so quickly after "the worst financial disaster since The Great Depression," but that's for another time, another thread - I pretty much said all I have to say right here.

I don't often go back to watch old favorites, because usually they flop. Films I remember fondly for any reason leave me cold and a little sad a decade or two or three later. There are a few exceptions, of course, and after the recent discussion on this site of Blazing Saddles, I feel compelled to mention The Producers. The film has its flaws, but nothing has ever tickled my (often broken) funny bone as much as the epic production number "Springtime for Hitler", a brilliant send-up of Busby Berkeley choreography and probably a bunch of other old Hollywood film tropes and traditions.

Interesting piece on the 40th Anniversary of Blazing Saddles. On my personal list of one of the 10 best movies ever made (it's an idiosyncratic list).