Sooo, Creighton Tull Chaney fancied himself a crooner, huh? That’s a clip from the 1934 movie, “Girl O’ My Dreams” in case your interested. He even rhymes “akimbo”, “bimbo” and “limbo” here before he gets laughed back into his seat! Hmmmm. It seems the old prof thought his warbling was quite monstrous indeed and his disapproval sent the young mister off his would be singing career and down a darker path. Well, at least we got some good monster movies out of that rejection, hmmm? That, and the later know as Lon Chaney Jr. got his revenge of sorts by warbling the theme song to Spider Baby over 30 years later. Revenge can be sweet once in a while, but here it’s got the aftertaste of old booze and pancake makeup left on for too many hours.
Well, other than the alcoholism and other negatives, one could say the direction his career took was a more interesting life choice. I just couldn’t imagine From Mice & Men as a musical (and yeah, it would HAVE to have a Tom & Jerry cameo!)…
A few years back, I once had to “explain” who Lauren Bacall was to a friend thanks to (of all things) a rather hilarious episode of The Sopranos where she was unceremoniously mugged by one of the main characters after an awards show:
When I said “explain” above, I didn’t do much in the way of talking at all other than to point him in the direction of Howard Hawks’ brilliant To Have and Have Not so he could see one tiny reason why she was so important. I’d say she got a lot more respect after that. And a whistle, most likely. This is turning into a kind of rotten week for falling stars, isn’t it? Still, while I’m not a believer in the afterlife, I’d bet that right about now, Bogie is sitting on a bar stool about to have a round when the doors swing open, a certain someone walks in with a cool breeze blowing behind her and without turning around, he lifts up his left hand which has two unlit cigarettes in it and says “What kept you, doll? I was getting bored here”, to which he’ll hear a smoky, purred “You were getting lonely here, you mean…”, as the lady takes both smokes and lights them then passes one back to him as he’s turning around.
If you’ve never been exposed to the entertaining wonder that is Classic Arts Showcase, it’s time to upgrade your television viewing experience. I could bore you with a retelling of the history of this fully funded highbrow clip show that runs seemingly endlessly in eight hour blocks on cable networks across the country (and is now online for even more people to check out), but that’s what the link to the official site is for. Actually, CAS is rarely “boring” unless you COMPLETELY hate the arts and don’t want to see some of the most unique and completely RANDOM performances from stage, screen and even TV, many of which are unavailable elsewhere.
In case you’re THAT lazy, here’s what the CAS site says about their programming:
Expect the Unexpected
There is no program guide for CAS, because the beauty of CAS is that you’ll never know what to expect. One moment you might be watching a rare film of George Gershwin performing one of his own compositions on the piano, and less than five minutes later you might see Beverly Sills in a great moment from a classic opera. Each weekly eight-hour show is downlinked by hundreds of channels across the country at different times, with different schedules. The element of surprise — not knowing exactly what’s coming up next — is part of what CAS is all about. The goal is to generate excitement and build a new audience for the wide range of performances presented through the arts.
And I can VERY safely say that the randomness indeed makes CAS so much fun to watch. Yesterday I happened to flip by the channel here with about 45 minutes of free time floating about and caught a long clip from a Hitchcock film, a bit of Swan Lake, an aria or two, a clip from the film Aria, a fun bit of an old TV show that had a waltz turning into a sort of sock hop and back again, and part of a Nat King Cole TV performance before I had to head out the door. How cool is that? Sometimes you’ll see old animation, sometimes a musical performance or super-arty film segment, an brief interview with a long dead genius and more. This fragmented presentation recalls MTV in its early days when it played stuff seemingly at will, although if you watch CAS long enough, you’ll see there’s a method to the non-madness.
Anyway, if you’re bored this summer thanks to the TV dry spell, give Classic Arts Showcase a look-see and if you find yourself strangely addicted to it, well… my work here is done.
Well, aren’t these all TOO cute? Funko’s upcoming Universal Monsters Pop! Vinyl figures will be popping up at your favorite comic shops and online retailers in September and yep, I’m betting you’ll want them ALL in your collection. Of course, you don’t want to pair certain ones up because of the mayhem that will happen, so be sure to keep Frankenstein’s Monster away from the Bride of, The Wolfman, AND Dracula (the latter two would get along to a point, but barely). I’d gather The Mummy wants to be alone, but he’ll try and put the moves on any lady he’s near, so you want to also separate him from that Bride as well as The Phantom (because they’ll both go after her).
Finally, you just KNOW that Metaluna Mutant and The Creature From the Black Lagoon would be all up in each others’ faces (until they get distracted by The Bride, who won’t want anyone to touch her). Hmmmm… may I suggest they all get separate storage if you do snap up the entire set? Hey, I’m just looking out for you guys and gals – I kind of need every reader I can get these days!
Ach! I was up way too late this morning watching TCM and as I was fading away into sleep-land, I saw that today the channel was paying homage to James Garner. Oops. Well, I’d be camped out at home watching all of these films if I didn’t need to get some work done, but I think I’ll be back around 8-ish and ready to reminisce for a bit.
Here’s what’s on the menu this Monday:
Toward the Unknown Shoot-Out at Medicine Bend Grand Prix Cash McCall The Wheeler Dealers Darby’s Rangers Mister Buddwing The Thrill of It All The Americanization of Emily The Children’s Hour Victor/Victoria Marlowe
Hokay, the trip to the DMV was done this morning and it took a lot less time than I thought. There nothing like a nice walk bright and early in the morning to either wake you up or make you tired, depending on how productive that walk ends up being. Temporary ID get! Actual ID arrives in two weeks (and Phase Two complete!). Part the thirds SHOULD be easier, but my call to the post office to ask am few questions before I make an appointment was a bit odd. It’s FAR easier to walk into a place and SHOW someone something, ask questions and get answers in person over doing it all on the phone or online. Sometimes, a personal touch makes things much more… human at the end of the day. Anyway, back later this afternoon with some actual site updates. I think I need a short nap before I pop out to the library to write (hey, I woke up at 5:27am for some crazy reason!)…
I just have some more ID stuff to tackle, but it will be easier than last week’s craziness. Hopefully, this won’t take longer to process than the two weeks promised on the DMV website. After that’s done, I’ve one more to tackle, but that part is interesting because I’m gathering from my poking about a few places that I’m a special case that doesn’t easily fall under some of the crazy rules set by some agencies. Anyway, the laws about expired documents need to be changed because they’re DUMB. If you get run over by a runaway bus steps from the passport office and EMS comes to retrieve your corpse, they’re NOT going to look at that old ID in your wallet or purse and say “Oh, this isn’t him/her – their ID isn’t current!”
Nope, not at all…
(Although, I’ll bet you a dollar that at least ONE of those folks who shows up to collect your corpse will say something disrespectfully amusing such as “Well, now he/she’s expired… just like this ID!”, before whipping out a pair of sunglasses and putting them on like Horatio Caine. YEAAAAAAAAAH!)
Three Hikari Sofubi Vinyl Figures are up for grabs this week, including two really great looking Premium Transformers figures. Funko is doing these up right and as you can see below, even one of Universal Studios’ classic monsters is getting the Japanese vinyl treatment. Check out the Apocalypse Creature Hikari Sofubi Figure (the lucky winner gets #1 of only 750 made, the rest of you need to fly into your local Funko retailer and hope they’re not sold out):
And for you Transformers fans, Funko has introduced its Hikari Premium line that features over 75 paint applications applied to each figure, making for a supremely detailed collectible. Both limited to 1000 pieces, they’ll be EXCLUSIVELY available in September on the Entertainment Earth website. First up for grabs is the Battle Ready Optimus Prime Hikari Premium Sofubi Figure (#1 of 1000):
Do what you need to do and keep those fingers crossed and an eyeball on your email inbox next Thursday when the winners are announced. As always, good luck!
Hmmmm… I hope that didn’t sound too grim or anything, but man, I can’t believe Ghostbusters is 30 years old! Yaaaaaaah! Oh well. I saw it when it was originally released a few times (at least 5 or 6) and too many times on cable afterwards, but haven’t seen it an a few years because I got over my adoration of it quite some time ago. In other words, my nostalgia meter isn’t bursting and splatting slime onto the walls and ceilings at this news as it is with some people who saw this trailer and geeked out of their minds about this re-release. Then again, perhaps I’ve become more of a quietly cheerful curmudgeon over time… Continue reading →
NO, not THAT Monster, you. I’ve been a bit occupied today in getting some expired ID’s renewed, so it’s been a bit of a hassle today in terms of a few things. Anyway, the balls are rolling on some stuff, so that’s good. I’m going to go take a nap after this hot day of running about and waiting and maybe pop up later to post something that’s actually worth reading. I see my inbox is PACKED TO THE GILLS (*blub!*) with stuff. Eh, what else is new? Other than people making a damn mist for potato salad from strangers who should know better (and send that money to me because I’d put it to much better use. Art doesn’t spoil, folks… unless it’s made from stuff that spoils, of course)…
"DESTROY ALL FANBOYS!" 