You can't go home again

PICTURE THIS: You’re casually reading the newspaper, when you suddenly see an advertisement with the name of a favorite music group in it. (For the sake of this example, let’s say it’s the Carpenters.) The ad reads something like this:

GARAGE SALE: The house that used to belong to the Carpenters is having a garage sale. We will be selling items that used to belong to the Carpenters. Come one, come all.

Wow! What an opportunity! Would you try to be there? Well, guess what. It really happened. Carpenter fan Rod Reynolds actually went to such an estate sale recently. His post was republished on the A&M Records forum, and it demonstrates how important it is to not get too sentimental sometimes. Here are some excerpts from a very well-documented estate sale experience:

A few days ago, we got notice that the owners of the home that Karen and Richard Carpenter lived in in Downey were having a yard sale, advertising several Carpenters items. I picked Jeff up in Long Beach early this morning, and having no idea what to expect, we arrived at 9828 Newville Ave at around 9am. There were seven people there. As I said, having no idea what to expect, we were still shocked that there were only seven people there. We quickly sorted them into Carpenters fans (three) and yard sale people (four). One of the Carpenters fans was Joe from San Diego, who I have "known" for many years online in various Carpenters fan forums, but never met.

Since we were there so early, and there basically was no line up, we wandered into the back yard, which was gated but unlocked. It was truly sad. Jeff and Joe had been to the house a few times over the years, and they were appalled at the condition of the yard. I took several pictures, which I will show you in a minute. Complete disarray, what was once a meticulously maintained Japanese garden is now barren. The bridges are decayed, the foliage is all dead.

We were let into the house at 10am by a young latina woman, early twenties, with orange curly hair balanced precariously atop her head, and clearly overwhelmed by even the very small group of us. She initially wanted to let only five people in at once, but we protested quite loudly, and, while clearly exasperated, let us all in.

The seller led us through the house (only the recreation side, though, not the living side) and pointed out the few, over priced Carpenters related items. There was the Japanese bridge, disassembled from the back yard, in a pile on the floor in the garage, for $500. A nice piece perhaps, but rotted and unwieldy. There was an array of records, laid out on a table, which she said belonged to Karen and Richard, for which she was asking an outrageous 10 a piece. (I noticed when we were leaving, much later, that the sign had been changed to $5 each. Still, no one had bought a single one.)

There were a few lamps, four stained glass, one lamp from Karen's bedroom (missing the shade), and metallic pot lamps from the music room. She was asking $200 for the lamps, which I though was about 400% more than they are worth, even if they are from a pop star's home.

She was selling the Carpenters' pool table, which was in a room of it's own, and has a small gold face plate with an inscription, something like "built for the Carpenters." Not worth the $5000 asking price (or was it $3000, but still too much).

They also had a huge wall-sized storage of wine, and were asking $100-500 per bottle. One of the yard sale people was a wine collector and had come specifically for the wine. However, a quick inspection revealed that most if not all the wine had spoiled due to incorrect storage, and he deemed it worthless. Although, curiously, he did buy several bottles at $1 each. The fans then took his cue and picked up a couple bottles each at the same price, purely for sentimental value.

You can read more about this interesting (and sad) day in the A&M records forums under the “Estate sale at 9828 Newville Ave.” thread. And check out Rod’s great collection of photos from the sale in the bottom link.

http://www.amcorner.com/

http://www.amcorner.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=7

http://rocketmanla.com/newville1.html

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On June 26, two of the sites in my links section went “silent.” Both Muppet Central and Old-Fashioned Christian Radio were “off the wire” for one day in protest of proposed legislation that would dramatically increase the price these stations pay to play their music. Here's how Muppet Central's Phillip Chapman described the issue:

On June 26, from 3 a.m. Pacific to midnight, all 10,000 Live365 stations launched from the website, and Internet radio broadcasts nationwide, will go silent. Free listeners who tune into Live365.com stations will be redirected to a Day of Silence stream that offers an explanation, broadcaster testimonials and a call to action. VIP listeners will receive a Day of Silence PSA before being connected to the station's regular programming.

We understand the possible disruptions this can cause, but feel drastic measures are necessary. Joining together with all other Internet radio stations we will show what listeners can look forward to if things don't change quickly. . . Silence.

Internet radio needs your help. Take time today to contact your congressman through the link below.

http://www.live365.com/choice/

This issue affects all web surfers to some small degree. It also demonstrates how desperate the music industry is. Not content with current fees that they are being paid, they're going to raise them again, for seemingly no good reason other than that they can. Even if you don't listen to Internet radio, you use the Internet. Don't try to deny it. I KNOW you use the Internet. And if we lose free Internet radio, we lose one of the great benefits of the Internet. Let's hope we don't.
For more about the perils of music royalties, check out the bottom section of this post about the “Happy Days: Season 2” DVD set:

http://heroshaven.blogspot.com/2007/05/damsels-optional-or-not.html
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I don’t know. . . This is a tough one. Who is my favorite female lead from the Muppet movies? I definitely like both Joan Cusack from “Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie” and Diana Rigg from “Great Muppet Caper.” Actually, I like Diana Rigg from her days in that tight leather suit from “The Avengers”. . . No not the comic book series, this is the British detective series where Diana and that guy were secret agents. Yeh. Great suit.

But I would probably have to go with Joan. She is certainly. . . wait a minute. What about Carla? Carla was one of the girls who tried to steal the Baseball Diamond in “Great Muppet Caper.” Dang, she was fine! Yeah! Carla! Hey, hang on . . . Brooke Shields had a cameo in “Muppets Take Manhattan.” BROOKE SHIELDS! How can we forget Brooke Shields! Rowr! Wow, how can we ever choose?

For more about this pressing issue, visit the post at the ToughPigs website:

http://toughpigs.com/2007/06/id-give-huggies-to.html

Who you callin' Yoda?

OF ALL THE MEAN names that kids called me during High School, my favorite is “Yoda.” I don’t think they knew what they were saying. Calling someone “Yoda” isn’t an insult. Yoda is cool. Yoda is so cool, in fact, that Star Wars fans voted to make him the star of his own individual stamp sheet. That means he beat out Han & Chewbacca, Luke, Darth Vader and even Boba Fett! In the G4 special where fans voted for their favorite Star Wars character, Yoda came out as number one again. Yes, Yoda is awesome, and I don’t mind being compared to him.

But why is he cool? Well, it’s partly because of his wisdom. He’s a smart dude. He’s also very cunning. He can fight with the best of them, and he can hide when he has to. Frank Oz once noted that he’s been told often by fans, “Yoda changed my life.” Some of Yoda’s statements have become legendary. “Try not - do, or do not. There is no try.” While I don’t always agree with Yoda, I always listen. When my brother wore the Yoda mask for Halloween, he was the hit of the holiday.

When you first see Yoda, you don’t realize his power. He looks like a little elf-like creature who lives in the forest. Luke, of course, was fooled as well. He didn’t think the little guy was anything other than a nuisance. But of course, we later learned that this little fellow was - in a way - the most powerful being in the galaxy. It’s an incredible thing, when you think about it. “Size matters not. Look at me! Judge me by my size, do you? Hmm? Hmm. And well you should not! For my ally is the Force. And a powerful ally it is! Life creates it - makes it grow. It’s energy surrounds us, and binds us. Luminous beings are we - not this crude (flesh) matter! You must feel the force around you. Here- between you and me, the tree, the rock, everywhere.”

Movie-wise, Yoda is one of the greatest special-effects triumphs of all time. He proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that a PUPPET - albeit a very complicated puppet - could pull off a performance that was every bit as moving as that of a flesh and blood actor. I recall reading somewhere that some of the people who first saw “Empire” believed that Yoda was actually a midget in a costume.

Although Yoda wasn’t a “muppet” in the strictest sense of the word, you could say that Yoda was the greatest triumph of the muppets. Yoda demonstrated what the muppets had been demonstrating for years - that puppetry isn’t just child’s play. Puppetry is an art that can be used to move and inspire people. It’s interesting to note that many of Jim Henson’s “post-Yoda” projects like “Dark Crystal” and “Labyrinth” featured much more “realistic” puppet creatures - creatures similar to Yoda in the sense that they were attempting to convey realism.

Looking back, I also think that the success of E.T. had a little bit to do with Yoda. The original E.T. was, after all, just a complicated puppet in many scenes. E.T. further demonstrated how puppetry can be used to touch people - and he even did a little “tribute” to Yoda at one point in the movie!

Since the advent of computer technology, the Yoda we see in “Attack of the Clones” and “Revenge of the Sith” is actually a computer-generated image. And that’s fine, since movies are illusions to begin with. But I fear that most modern filmmakers have turned their backs on puppetry again. As a puppet fan myself, that’s kind of a shame. I’d like to think that future filmmakers will at least peek into the possibility of using a puppet-like creature as a character in their films. Plus, in some ways, it’s probably a lot cheaper. Regardless, the power of Yoda will live on. As some jerk wrote in my yearbook, “Yoda will always be with me.”

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SESAME BLOG: Hey, wouldn't it be cool if some old-school Sesame Street fan could begin a blog about the “good-old” days (which for me is just about anything before “Elmo's World”)? Well, our dreams have come true. The new classic Sesame Street blog is up and running. It includes video clips as well as links where you can (gasp!) download several classic episodes! Those of you with a whole lot of memories – and a whole lot of computer memory! - should take advantage of the chance to watch these classic episodes again. Enjoy the blog here:

http://classicsesamestreetfans.blogspot.com/

And if you scroll down, you'll find the list of episodes to download:
http://classicsesamestreetfans.blogspot.com/search/label/episodes%20for%20trade

And keep your eye out for the next “Sesame Street old school” DVD set. And keep your eye out for “The Muppet Show” season 2 set. Dang, it isn't even Christmas yet.

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RIDE A WILD HORSE: Did you ever want to do something unusual? Something that you don't usually find yourself doing? Well, according to the Associated Press, Woody Allen is going to direct an opera.

LOS ANGELES - Woody Allen, directing an opera?
It will happen in September 2008, according to Placido Domingo, general director of the Los Angeles Opera.
The New York-based filmmaker will make his operatic directorial debut by opening up the LA Opera’s 2008-09 season.
“I have no idea what I am doing,” Allen said in a statement Thursday. “But incompetence has never prevented me from plunging in with enthusiasm.”
Allen is scheduled to direct “Gianni Schicchi,” one part of Puccini’s “Il Trittico,” a trio of one-act operas.
The two other operas, “Il Tabarro” and “Suor Angelica,” will be directed by movie director William Friedkin (“The Exorcist,” “The French Connection”).
Domingo stated that he had often pursued movie directors to try their hand at opera.
He added that his longest pursuit was Allen, who took four years to say yes.

Perhaps most interesting, I'm assuming that Woody will be directing the opera in one of his least favorite places on earth – Southern California! (Hey, you remember the classic line from “Annie Hall” as he was driving through L.A. : “They don't throw out their garbage, here. They use it to make movies.”) But you've got to love that quote. “Incompetence has never prevented me from plunging in with enthusiasm.” Let's talk about that a minute.

I've found that sometimes, making mistakes is not necessarily bad. Sometimes you need to make mistakes in order to find out what you can and can not do. Making mistakes teaches you how to do something right. So I'm all in favor of trying new things and possibly failing – then finding peace in the knowledge that you did your best, and might be able to do better later on. I don't think we need to feel too ashamed of most of the “stupid” things we did as kids. Many of those so-called “stupid” things led us to become the people we are today. There's a very cool song called “Ride a wild horse” that sums up these feelings for me. The lyrics go, in part:

You can try, you can try
Before your life goes by
Just once, before you die
Ride a wild horse, ride a wild horse
Across your sky

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MRS. C ON YOUR PC: Aaaaay, Richie! The latest update at “Justmyshow.com” has a cool interview with Marion Ross of “Happy Days” fame, along with Dan Lauria of “The Wonder Years.” You can listen to it at the link below, dig?

http://www.justmyshow.com/showfourteen.html

Fixing a hole: The Beatles and I

I once mentioned to someone that I didn’t get to hear the Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper” album until I was 16 years old. He was amazed! For him, Sgt. Pepper was like a children’s record - something you listen to in grade school. But I came upon the Beatles in a more roundabout way.

For many years, all I knew about the Beatles was that they once existed. I was born the year they split up. I had no albums. When I finally listened to a beat-up copy of Sgt. Pepper that I had found at Value Village, I finally began to understand what all the fuss was about. This was a very well-done album. A lot of thought went into it. It was similar in some ways to the old Sesame Street albums! It was a presentation of something. And although it could be argued that it’s not their best, or that “it doesn’t hold together” as John Lennon once commented, the fact is that it is something. It has form even if the form is not always clearly defined. Plus, in many ways, it was better than most of the modern music I was listening to at the time.

Although I missed “Beatlemania” and all that, I still learned to appreciate the Fab Four through their musical talent. I knew their songs through other sources. The Seekers' version of “Yesterday” is still my favorite. One of my favorite school memories involves singing “Here comes the sun” with my class. And I knew the opening riff of “Day Tripper” long before I ever heard Day Tripper. Their impact was evident long before I ever heard “Sgt. Pepper.” But Sgt. Pepper and Abbey Road kind of proved once and for all that these guys were brilliant, and I became a fan. I don't even have all of their albums. But it's quality over quantity. I have what I really like.

Sgt. Pepper partially inspired me to return to the world of making cassette tapes. Only instead of just putting one song I liked after another, I began to think about the tape as an “album” - a collection of songs that worked together somehow. I began to imagine what kinds of songs would sound well together, and also what kinds of songs meant the most to me. It would be as if I were doing the singing myself. It would be my own personal album.

The ultimate result of this was a cassette from circa 1990 that contained the following:
“The Snowman” intro. (“Walking in the air”)
“He” - Al Hibbler
“Cryin’ in the rain” - Everly Brothers
“Yesterday” - The Seekers
“Dreamin’” - Johnny Burnette
“It’s a Sin” - Pet Shop Boys
“Goodbye is Forever” (single remix) - Arcadia
“For Emily, wherever I may find her” (live) - Simon & Garfunkel
“The Boxer” - Simon & Garfunkel
“Sing” - The Carpenters
“Blowin’ in the Wind” - Peter, Paul & Mary
“When I’m 64” - The Beatles
“Walking in the Air” - From “The Snowman” soundtrack
“Bright Eyes” - Art Garfunkel
“A Day in the Life” - The Beatles

Now how’s that for eclectic? It’s almost like a diary for me. When I listen to the songs, I remember that particular time & how I felt. I learn more about myself. I’m a pretty weird guy, obviously. I praise the goodness of God while at the same time lamenting my own sins. I find myself fighting the world yet trying to find beauty in it. I’m wondering about death. I’m turning to the world of dreams in order to turn away from the loss of love.

Anyway, I continued making tapes for many years, although being a perfectionist, I often would get angry at tape dropout issues and such. The world of CD recording has helped eliminate much of that issue, yet I find that as I transfer those tapes to CD, I keep in many of the imperfections. Hey, they’ve been in there so long, it’s like they’re part of the album.

Obviously, I’m not the only guy who does this. I think making your own compilation album is one of the great joys of youth - or any age, for that matter. It’s a chance to gather together the things you like and enjoy them. It’s like “scrapbooking” for your ears. And as mentioned, you learn about yourself.

If you’ve never done this, I encourage you to try this exercise. You have an hour-long tape that needs to be filled. It’s your one chance to make a real album. But if you can’t sing or play an instrument, you’ll just have to put someone else’s music on there. Which songs will you choose? What kind of an album would you like? The answers will teach you about who you are.

FAVORITE BEATLE ALBUMS: Sgt. Pepper, Abbey Road, 1963-1966, 1967-1970, Please Please Me

FAVORITE BEATLE SONGS: Please Please Me, Yesterday, She Loves You, A Day in the Life, When I'm 64, Lovely Rita, Here Comes the Sun, Octopus' Garden, Something, While my guitar gently weeps, Twist and Shout, A Taste of Honey, Do you want to know a secret, Help!, A Hard Day's Night, We can work it out, You've got to hide your love away, With a little help from my friends, Yellow Submarine, I am the Walrus, Hello Goodbye, Norwegian Wood, and I'd better stop now or we'll be here all day.

FAVORITE BEATLE WIFE: Linda McCartney. (Sigh)

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Hello, Mom? Uh, listen, Mom, would you mind not reading this next paragraph here? It’s got something kind of secret in it. Is that okay, Mom? It’s nothing bad, I promise. Just don’t read it. Okay? Thank you.

If you enjoyed Kim Thompson’s “All the great operas in ten minutes,” you can buy a copy of your own from Kim! Just contact her at her website:
http://http://www.giantsquirrel.com/. And if you haven’t seen the film yet, it’s in my favorites folder on my YouTube page:
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=sesameguy2000
It makes a great gift for your mom’s upcoming birthday!

Okay, Mom, you can come back now. Mom? Mom it’s okay to come back now!

Spidey to sing, but beware the cat!

Here's the short review of “Spider-Man 3”: It's great, see it.

But if you prefer theater, there's some interesting news: They're planning a musical about Spider-Man! I guess we shouldn't be surprised. There is a “Superman” musical which can still be seen on campuses once in a while. (and it was once made into a TV special!) Spidey is another fine choice for the musical theater, although I fear it may be hard to hear someone singing underneath that mask!

And to give the music a little “edge,” the music for the Spidey musical could be written by the Edge and Bono from rock band U2! You can read about that at the links below, as well as get an idea of what the finished product might be. Here's a preview from the first post- click on it for more lyrics:

I have climbed tallest buildings

I have swung through the streets

Only to fight with you … only to fight with you …



I have run, I have crawled

I have scaled these city walls … these city walls …

Only to fight with you …


But I still haven't found

Uncle Ben's killer

But I still haven't found

Uncle Ben's killer

http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2007/04/look_out_here_comes_the_edge_a.html


http://www.playbill.com/news/article/87231.html


And speaking of Bono, it's time to repeat my favorite Bono joke. (It's clean, don't worry.) It's dedicated to my pals over at Amy and Greg's house:

It seems that this man died and went to Heaven. He was being led around Heaven by an angel, who was introducing him to many of the famous singing stars of yesteryear who have since passed on – Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, etc. Then, as they go along, the man thinks he sees Bono walking by. The man is surprised. He asks the angel, “Has Bono died, too?” The angel replies, “No, that's God. He likes to dress up like Bono once in a while.”

I need to tell this joke now, because after Bono passes away, it won't be funny anymore. :) Here's to you, oh frontman of U2.

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KITTEN ON THE KEYS: I like cats. Cats are cool animals. Very cute, relatively low-maintenance, reasonably quiet. But cats can cause problems, sometimes. One of my favorite memories of our cat “Moony” was the day she walked right across the side of our house - just after we put the wet cement in! We kept a few of the footprints in there as a reminder of that classic moment. “We’re going to have roast cat tonight!” my uncle said. (Note: We didn’t.)


Some of you are familiar with the book titled, “The Cat Ate My Gymsuit.” But this has got to be the king of all “the cat screwed everything up” stories. It seems that a cute little kitten named Otto climbed up on the piano one day - and destroyed the score to a future Andrew Lloyd Webber musical! Read about it here:



Andrew Lloyd Webber is working on the sequel to The Phantom Of The Opera, but theatre-lovers will have to wait a bit longer to see it, as Lloyd Webber’s kitten has proved the score’s most dramatic critic.

According to reports in The Daily Mail, Lloyd Webber, 59, was working on the score at his computerised grand piano when his six-month-old kitten Otto climbed inside it and deleted everything he had written so far.

The digital Clavinova piano has an inbuilt computer and the ability to play back thousands of songs from its memory. Somehow Otto pressed all the wrong buttons and Lloyd Webber was unable to recover his work from after the kitten had been removed.

Otto is a rare-breed Turkish Van, a breed also known as the swimming cats, which cost up to £400. Lloyd Webber had wanted to own one for some time, so was delighted when Otto joined the family in January.

Says the composer, “I was trying to write some new music; Otto got into the grand piano, jumped onto the computer and destroyed the entire score for the new Phantom in one fell swoop.”

“I’ve got to write another show soon or I’ll go mad. The most important thing is the plot, so I’ve been writing it with Freddie,” he said, referring to Fredrick Forsyth, author of the novel Day Of The Jackal, on which the new musical is partly based.

http://www.pethealthcare.co.uk/Kitten_Disrupts_Lloyd_Webber_Musical_511/AllComments/


Now it isn’t too hard to figure out the motives of this kitten. Some may say he’s just another harsh music critic. Au contraire! Some may say he’s a “Phantom Phan” upset at the idea of a new musical about the Phantom. Not at all! He is, in fact, jealous that Lloyd Webber chose to do a sequel to “Phantom” before he did a sequel to “Cats!”

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AND SPEAKING OF ‘SPOILING’ THE PHANTOM, a few weeks ago I gave in to the “thrift store shopping bug” again, and lo and behold what did I find but the audiotape version of Fredrick Forsyth’s “Phantom of Manhattan.” This is the novel that Lloyd Webber’s musical will be based upon. I can’t tell you much about it because I haven’t listened to it yet! This is an incredible test of will-power! But I’m going to hold off on it until later just because I can, and also because there are plenty of other things to do around here.

BUT - I did read the synopsis on the back cover. You may enjoy reading this yourself as a possible preview of what the musical will be like. So SPOILER ALERT! Do not read this if you want to be 100% surprised at the new play. But if you’re content with just being 90% surprised, here you go:

It is 1906. Erik, the creature with the hideous face but poetic heart, has escaped to America, to a life that begins in misery, but in time makes him incredibly wealthy and brutally powerful. But he never forgot the obsessional love of his life, Christine, the understudy who became a mega-star due to his coaching. Then a mysterious, life-changing letter arrives from Paris and he determines he must see her again. . .a decision that leads to a vortex of passion, love, sin, death, and redemption.

Passion, love, sin, death and redemption. Sounds like a hit to me! :) We’ll find out for sure later (much later, now that Andrew has to start from scratch! I’m hoping his “memory” is strong!). There are plenty of rumors about “Phantom 2” going around right now, involving the possible return of Sarah Brightman as Christine! Keep up with the latest on the Phantom at the link below. And keep the cat away from your computer.

http://www.phantomoftheopera.com/modules/news/

And for more about Sarah Brightman, here’s some info about her PBS special:

http://heroshaven.blogspot.com/2006/12/sarah-brightman-justine-blogging-from.html

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SOUNDS OF SUMMER: Do your baseball memories go back to those golden days of watching “The Baseball Bunch?” Well, mine don’t really, either, but I do remember the show. Featuring big-league players along with the famous chicken, the show has been gone & mostly forgotten for many years. But earlier this week, I got an e-mail from Eric at justmyshow.com. Thanks to the world of podcasting, you can listen to an interview with some of the kids on the show, as well as the chicken himself, “in the feathers!”

http://www.justmyshow.com/baseballbunch.html

If you enjoy this one, be sure to check out the other fine shows Eric has to offer, including a “Great Space Coaster” reunion show! And for more about the chicken, enjoy my posting in the January 2007 archives:

http://heroshaven.blogspot.com/2007/01/chicken-in-praise-of-poultry.html

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OPENING COMMENTS: You mean you didn’t go to the opening of the Creation Museum last month? Shame! Neither did I. But if you want to listen to the opening ceremony, you can do so at the site below. At the very end, there‘s a nice song by Buddy Davis called “He makes dreams out of nothing” :

http://blogs.answersingenesis.org/aroundtheworld/2007/05/26/creation-museum-officially-opens/

Museums, Maria and messy frogs

MUSEUM MUSINGS: It’s quite a feeling to be casually surfing the web and suddenly see the picture of someone you know! That happened to me last week when I came across a photo of Ken Ham on the “Yahoo” home page. Ken is the head of “Answers in Genesis” ministries and one of the driving forces behind the new Creation Museum that opened this week in Kentucky. Ken holds to a “young-earth” theory, saying that the Earth is not millions of years old - and he says that science can confirm his views.

This is a controversial issue, even among Christians. But whatever you believe, the museum itself is quite an accomplishment. From the glimpses inside that I’ve seen from photographs, the museum is very professionally done - at least as well done as some of the best natural history museums. The subject is quite interesting as well. You can learn more about the museum by following the links at the site below:

http://www.answersingenesis.org/

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MARIA TO MEET MEREDITH: Wow, two girls I like on one show! Actress Sonia Manzano (Sesame Street’s “Maria”) is scheduled to appear on the “Today” show on June 7. I’m not sure if Meredith Vieira will get to interview her or not, but we can always hope. Obviously, things can change between now and then, but hopefully “Maria” won’t be rescheduled due to some big news event.

Sonia’s web page mentions that she is also working on a memoir, so that should be something us Sesame fans can look forward to. A word of warning. Do not attempt to visit Sonia Manzano’s web site with your computer speakers turned on. The home page of the site includes a short song by Sonia. It’s a cute little ditty, but THE DAMN THING PLAYS OVER AND OVER! Please don’t test our patience, Sonia. It’s hard enough putting up with Elmo's World. :)

http://www.soniamanzano.com

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FUN FILMS: I’ve recently contacted filmmaker Kim Thompson. Kim is the creator of the classic “All the great operas in ten minutes.” I found out that she’s got her own web page which includes information about her other films and a brief biography. You can also contact her at the site. Check it out!

http://www.giantsquirrel.com/

If you haven’t already, check out Kim’s film in the “favorites” section of my YouTube page. You can get there by following the link in my “links” section.

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ON YOUTUBE: KERMIT’S LECTURE ON FROGS. Another classic from the day. This sketch has become notorious because of something that happened during its taping. According to a quote from Bob McGrath in “Sesame Street Unpaved,” the real frog apparently had a bit of an accident - on top of Jim Henson’s head! But you’d never guess it from the skit itself. It seems to run pretty much without a hitch. It’s a fun example of comparing Kermit to a real frog. Enjoy it for yourself in the “favorites” section of my YouTube page - again, it’s in the links section.

Quick tour of blog world

TOO BIG TO BE A SPACE STATION: If I ever go thrift store shopping again, I want to go with Todd Franklin. Todd writes the great “Neato Coolville” blog, and he seems to have this incredible knack for finding neato things. But recently he has been writing about what must be one of the greatest finds of all. This is the type of discovery you only dream about as a child! It honestly is hard to believe, but he has photos and a testimony from Star Wars collector Gus Lopez. Todd and some friends actually found the Death Star model used in the first Star Wars movie! He writes:

It’s hard to believe that a major part of film and pop culture history wound up in the Missouri Ozarks!

My connection with the Death Star started in 1988, the summer after my high school graduation. I was working for a local TV station as a cameraman on an ongoing TV series about the Lake of the Ozarks, a popular Missouri tourist area and the place that I’ve called home most of my life.

We were working on a feature about antique stores in the area and we ended up visiting the Mexican Hillbilly. Outside of the store were scads of statuary, old pottery, some giant oranges (used in commercials) and a big gray ball that oddly enough looked like the Death Star. I had a hard time concentrating on my work that day and as a Star Wars fan, I was giddy with excitement.

The story they told me was that they owned a warehouse in California and the film makers stored the Death Star there. When they decided to close the warehouse and move to Missouri, they repeatedly contacted the film makers asking them to pick it up or it would be discarded. When the time came for the move, they told the movers to trash the Death Star. Luckily, the movers didn’t listen and the Death Star was moved along with everything else to the Missouri Ozarks. Also, they told me they’d never seen Star Wars.

It’s an incredible tale that takes three posts to read, and you can find them here:

http://neatocoolville.blogspot.com/2007/05/death-star-prop-episode-i-raiders-of.html

http://neatocoolville.blogspot.com/2007/05/death-star-prop-episode-ii-death-star.html

http://neatocoolville.blogspot.com/2007/05/death-star-prop-episode-iii-death-stars.html

Neato! Enjoy current blog postings from Todd at:

http://neatocoolville.blogspot.com

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If you ever doubted how personal the medium of TV is, you may want to look at what happened to Meredith Vieira not long after the shooting tragedy at Virginia Tech. Here’s what she wrote in her blog:

Matt and I had arrived in Blacksburg, Virginia Monday evening. I was so consumed with trying to get the facts straight and prepare for Tuesday morning’s show that I don’t think I realized I was in a state of shock like everyone else.

But as Tuesday wore on, the magnitude of this tragedy began to take over. That evening, I walked over to the vigil. The students had erected ‘writing boards’ on the field, and people were asked to leave a message—whatever was in their heart. I noticed one student standing there, with the marker frozen in her hand. She told me she was at a loss for words, and didn’t want to write the ‘wrong’ thing. I told her I didn’t believe there was a wrong thing to say, that any words would probably be appreciated. Finally, she knelt down and wrote “We will miss you.” Before long the board was covered with messages: “Hokies Forever,” “We will survive,” “I’ll never forget you.”

I was staring at the boards for so long I didn’t realize how many people had gathered for the vigil, but when I looked up, there were literally thousands of faces and candles. And as I was standing among them, one of the co-eds handed me a candle, and then she asked if I would give her a hug. As I put my arms around her, she broke down. That scene was repeated several times with other students—each time they would come up to me, needing to be held.

I finally figured out why they may have sought me out: these were kids who were away from home, most of their parents weren’t there, they knew me from television and they needed an adult, someone safe to tell them it would be okay. That’s when I broke down, because I realized they are my kids, they’re everybody’s kids. And they are deeply saddened. And they are scared.

Check out Meredith’s latest blog postings at

http://meredithtoday.ivillage.com/entertainment/

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ON YOUTUBE: YOU ARE LOVED. Just the song I need right now. Probably just the song you need right now. Josh Groban sings a beautiful song. Even if you’ve heard it on the radio a thousand times, you may enjoy actually seeing the video. You can find it in the favorites section on my YouTube page in the links.

Damsels: Optional or not?

In order to get the full effect of this, you need to scroll down and read my April 19 “Underdog” posting, or click on the link below:

http://heroshaven.blogspot.com/2007/04/underdogs-then-and-now.html

Got it? Okay, now back to the present. . .With Spider-Man 3’s release last week came also an interesting article from the Associated Press. It’s a great article about how important damsels in distress are to the average superhero. Though they may be a bother, they keep us watching. Here are some quotes from the article, along with a link to it below:

They may be eye candy for the audience, but these women in peril certainly make for a harder day at the office for superheroes. Their jobs would be easier without such emotional ties, Howard said. “It’s true, it’s true,” Howard said. “It’s heartbreaking for that reason. He’s always having to go and save the girl, then everybody’s always kidnapping the girl. When my husband saw the movie with me a few days ago, he turned to me and said, ‘Mary Jane’s been through a lot’.”

While Harry and new villains the Sandman (Thomas Haden Church) and Venom (Topher Grace) exploit Spider-Man’s feelings for Mary Jane, Maguire said the hero still is better off with her in his life. “I just think they know they can get him that way. The villains would find him one way or the other. We’d have to create something for the villains to get to him. It’s kind of the most obvious way in, I guess,” Maguire said. “And it’s nice, it adds dimension to his character. I mean, I guess, if he disconnected [from] his emotions or his feelings or his sense of duty, then he would be better off, because he’d just go, ‘Oh well, people will survive this, it’s not my responsibility’.”

If Superman, Batman, Spider-Man and their superhero brethren were just invincible loners, without friends or other connections to the real world as they went about the business of rounding up bad guys, who would care about them?

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/F/FILM_SUPERHEROES_DAMSELS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Do you remember what I said in my Underdog post about Underdog not being romantically involved with Sweet Polly? I was talking about how Underdog wasn’t quite as popular as other heroes. If this “damsel” thing is true, then it shows that the romance factor is vitally important to the popularity of a superhero today. It also helps demonstrate why Underdog remains an underdog among heroes.

When I was a kid, we did not think much about the personal lives of superheroes. It really was incidental that these guys weren’t married. Hey, so what? We weren’t married, either! And there were no rumors about some hero or other being a homosexual. First of all, what is a homosexual? Second of all, even if they were, so what? What would that matter? I’m not interested in Batman’s/Superman’s/Spider-Man’s sex life. I want to see how he’s going to escape from Doc Oc!

Do you remember the old Superman TV show from the 1950s? Superman may have liked Lois, but he certainly would never (ugh) kiss her! And what’s all this crap about Batman being gay? No way! He & Robin are way too busy to worry about stuff like that! And look at the Hulk! Hulk no want sex! Hulk want to smash! So a character like Underdog fit in well with the superhero crowd of the day. He wasn’t interested in romance either.

Sadly, since "Superman II", those times have dramatically changed. It seems that it’s not enough to rescue the girl. You have to get romantic with her. And it may create some exciting drama, but it seems to put some of us at a disadvantage. What about the heroes like Underdog, who aren’t really interested in romance?

It‘s actually a little bit insulting. Are you saying that even if I could change the course of mighty rivers and bend steel in my bare hands, it wouldn’t be enough? I would have to have a wife or girlfriend in order to get people to care about me? That stinks.

But I have to admit there is something to it. As a single guy, I often find myself doing great things that nobody else cares about. Like this blog. . . Okay, back to the subject. :) Look, a few weeks ago I wrote about how important it is for us to find strength within ourselves, whether or not we have someone there to love us. (Check out the March 2007 archives for that one). But if no one likes a superhero without a romantic partner, then what does that say for us mild-mannered folks without a romantic partner? Are we less popular for that reason?

Surely no kid would say so! I can’t imagine a seven-year-old throwing away a comic book because there’s no romance in it! I think we can take a lesson from these kids. Romance is important and good, but so is saving the world. So is doing the things that we need to do every day. So is being faithful to our cause.

Sadly, I think we live in a society that does not see chastity as heroic. We see it as strange or unnatural, or the choice of extremely devoted people. And that is sad. Because at least at the beginning of their careers, Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Spidey and friends were chaste. They weren’t without sexual desire, they just never had sex. And no one ever had a problem with that. Until we grew up, and began to expect everyone to want sex. Kids are right, grown-ups are stupid.

Hey, how about all this Da Vinci code crap? It’s gotten everybody talking about how Jesus might have been married to Mary. Are people having trouble believing that Jesus was chaste? Why would they want to believe that Jesus was secretly married? Could it be because so many single people in the world -- and tragically, in the church as well -- are seen as outcasts? Could it be because we don’t want to look at the idea that Jesus was an outcast, too?

Anyone who would reject Jesus because he was single is someone who obviously doesn’t really love Jesus. Anyone who would reject Superman because he is (or at least was) chaste is someone who doesn’t really like Superman. And anyone who would reject me or you because we are not romantically involved with anybody. . . You get the point.

But sadly, I think society at large is missing the point. It is not a tragedy to be alone, and there is no good reason to withhold affection from someone who is alone. But that’s what we’re doing. And I deeply regret to say that the Christian church is as guilty of this as the world. We have focused so much on love of family that we have forgotten to reach out to those who have no families.

When we see a homeless man, we cruelly cry, “get a job!” When we see a man without a wife, we cruelly think, “What‘s wrong with him?” We can’t look beyond these things and realize that they don’t make up what is most important for an individual person.

There’s so much to say here, and not enough time to say it. Let’s just say that kids are smart enough to understand that you can be a hero without having a significant other. We need to be as smart as they are.

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I LOST MY THRILL? Do you remember how in the show “Happy Days,” Richie always used to sing “I found my thrill on Blueberry Hill?” Well, you may want to hold that memory very dearly. Let me explain why.

The second season of “Happy Days” has been released on DVD. It contains many classic episodes & I look forward to seeing many of them again. But it is missing something rather important: Some of the music. Most of the classic 1950s songs have been edited out of the show, replaced with other music.

Why? Well, this is the curse of DVDs. Apparently the music rights create an issue for many movies and shows that are being released on DVDs. Many of the songs were never officially cleared for DVD release, so getting permission can be quite an expensive undertaking which many distributors don’t seem interested in paying. Thus, the music gets changed or in some sad cases, the scene with the music in it is cut out completely. It’s already happened on both the “Muppet Show” and “Sesame Street” DVD releases, and now the curse has hit “Happy Days.”

The Happy Days online site has a review of the new DVD set, and someone has actually listed most of the songs that have been cut out of each episode. You’ll enjoy the review, but I warn you to brace yourself if you love 1950’s rock & roll. You may want to cry when you see how many great songs have been cut!

Be sure to read Todd Fuller’s full review at the link. It’s got much more detail:

http://www.sitcomsonline.com/happydaysseason2dvdreview.html

Here are some highlights from Todd’s review:

I love Happy Days. It is my all-time favorite show. I was very excited when I heard back in December that the second season was going to be released at last. After reviewing it in detail, I'm very disappointed with the final product for a number of reasons. It just seems that CBS DVD/Paramount tried to cut the corners at every turn here. Season 1 had such a promising release. I was expecting more of the same. What are the benefits to the consumer when this set has approximately 90% of the original music (including the opening theme) replaced, the episodes look to have much poorer video quality than season 1, the packaging is cheaper, there is no disc art and no special features included? If they were going to make all these music substitutions, why wait 2 1/2 years to do them? Where are all the great artists like Elvis Presley, Bobby Darin, Connie Francis, The Platters, Bill Haley & His Comets, Doris Day and many more? These episodes are not the Happy Days I grew up watching and loving. The music was an integral part of giving the show a 1950's feel. I'm a purist. I want to hear every last note of original music as they aired on ABC over 30 years ago.

2) Do not edit any of the episodes. Music substition is bad enough. Cutting out entire scenes is much worse in my opinion. Clearing the songs that Potsie and the band performed are a must. There were a number of them that they covered in season three. Are they going to edit out a scene every time Richie sings "I found my thrill... on Blueberry Hill..."? I sure hope not.

Folks, if they dare to cut out every time Richie sings “Blueberry Hill,” it will be the worst event in the history of edited TV shows on DVD. Would you cut out every time the Fonz said “Aaaayy?” Or how about every time Arnold Horshack went “Ooo! Ooo Ooo!” Or every time Freddy Washington went “Hi, there!” Or every time that one guy went “Dy-no-miiite!” Or every time someone in Star Wars says “I have a bad feeling about this.” Or every time Mork said “Na-no, Na-no?” Or every time George Peppard said “I love it when a plan comes together?”

Catch-phrases. They’re what cheesy TV is made for. I’m all in favor of putting Happy Days on DVD, but please, let’s do it right. Don’t chop out something that everyone will notice is missing. May Richie forever find his thrill on Blueberry Hill!

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This month marks the 30th anniversary of the original “Star Wars” movie, and Todd Franklin over at the Neato Coolville blog has been paying tribute to the movie all month with some great postings. Here’s one that I wanted to share with you all. Aunt Beru lives!
http://neatocoolville.blogspot.com/2007/05/topps-star-wars-card-countdown-27.html

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Take me out of this ball game

Did you know there was such a thing as a “14th inning stretch” in a baseball game? Neither did I. My friend and I found out the hard way last Sunday.

It was a true SoCal game, with the San Diego Padres taking on the Los Angeles Dodgers at Petco Park in San Diego. My friend and I sat on a high level overlooking left field. It was a nearly packed house, with about 44,000 people enjoying the game. And it went quickly through until finally, at the bottom of the ninth, the score was tied four to four. Yay! We're going into overtime! Then came the tenth inning. No score. Then the eleventh. No score. . .

The stadium began to empty out. As my friend said, “They have to leave!” The next day was Monday, a work day, and particularly if you had to make the 2-hour drive back up to L.A after the game, you really couldn't afford to stay for much overtime. The family next to us left behind their free kids' glove, so I got a souvenir.

On and on it went, until we hit – the fourteenth inning stretch. It's the same as the seventh inning stretch, basically. Everybody gets up to sing “Take me out to the ball game.” The only difference is that the line, “I don't care if I never get back” begins to lose its meaning. :) Yes, friends, this game was turning into a challenge – for the fans, that is. I began to root for ANYBODY to get a point.

My friend and I began to play a trivia game. Name all the movies that were named after famous songs that actually have the song included in them. (“Valley Girl” wouldn't count.) “Can't buy me love” is one. So is “Who'll stop the rain.” Yes, we were hurting.

They showed clips from several popular movies during the innings in an effort to keep everybody rallied up. We enjoyed clips from “Animal House,” “Wayne's World,” and most significantly, “Star Wars!” They showed clips from the end of the movie, when the rebels are attempting to blow up the Death Star. The twist was that they put the Dodgers logo over the Death Star. Cute. The Padre crowd roared its approval after the Death Star was destroyed!

The highlight of this endurance test came when a pigeon stepped out onto the edge of a long row of seats to my left. He looked down at the playing field far below, and I could tell that he was as despondent about the situation as I was. “Don't do it!” I yelled. “You have so much to live for!”

“Think of the new nachos!” my friend added.

“That's right!” I said. “And you don't even have to pay for them!”

But our pleas were to no avail. The pigeon stepped off the edge and began to head downward until it remembered that it could fly.

The game finally ended after 17 full innings and about five hours. In real life the “rebellion” didn't destroy the “Death Star.” The Dodgers won 5- 4. This event now holds the record for the longest game I've ever had the . . . okay, the pleasure of going to. As my friend said, we certainly got our money's worth. It was almost two games for the price of one.

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Baseball history in San Diego would be incomplete if we didn't talk about the chicken, right? Enjoy my post about the historic mascot here:

http://heroshaven.blogspot.com/2007/01/chicken-in-praise-of-poultry.html

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HISTORIC HOST: It was a little over a year ago, on May 2, 2006, that “George Washington” died. No, not the father of our country, but the father of “Wall Street Week” on PBS. Louis Rukeyser hosted the popular show for many years, and for us kids who didn't understand much of anything about Wall Street, Rukeyser was simply known as “George Washington.” Hey, the hairdo resemblance was striking! You can check out a picture of him at these sites, and also learn more about his legacy:

http://www.rukeyser.com/home/about_rukeyser.asp

http://www.nndb.com/people/440/000022374/

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ON OUR KNEES: Today (Thursday) is the national day of prayer. Most of us are guilty of only praying when we absolutely need to. But there are plenty of good opportunities each day for prayer. Here are some you probably haven't thought of:

TOP TEN NEW TIMES TO PRAY:

When “Elmo's World” comes on.

When the ball game you're watching goes longer than fourteen innings.

When you're driving home after the game.

When you invite all your friends to lunch and nobody shows up. :)

When you get bit by a dog in Downey, California. (Long story, folks)

When gas prices go up at the same time your drive to work gets longer.

As you're waiting for your YouTube videos to load with a dial-up connection.

When you realize that you haven't actually cleaned the bathroom in over a month.

When your parents ask for your help with some sort of computer issue.

And the number one. . .

When you have no idea what to blog about!

Seriously, I've got a lot to be thankful for, and an awful lot that I need to pray for. I'm glad there's someone wonderful who is listening. Thanks, Lord, for all you do.

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ON YOUTUBE: SPIDEY VS. THE WALL. I mentioned this one in an earlier post, so now you can watch it for yourself in all its glory. Your friendly, neighborhood Spider-Man enjoys a baseball game, but not for long. It's a terrific example of the humorous “Spidey” shorts that made “The Electric Company” such a fun show. Watch for Morgan Freeman as the umpire. Check it out in my favorites folder on my YouTube page in the links section. WARNING: YouTube has been very slow in updating my favorites. If you can't find Spidey in there, please try again later, or do a search in YouTube for "Spidey" and "wall." That is all.

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NEXT TIME: Aaaay, Richie, if you want a preview of a future blog posting, check out the review of "Happy Days, season 2" in the "Happy Days Online" web site. You can find it in the links, dig?

What needs to be on DVD

Slightly early post this week due to work constraints. Lucky you. Also slightly shorter than ususal. Again, lucky you. :)

The TV shows on DVD web page (see links) lists several shows that are coming out on DVD in the future, and allows you to "vote" for the shows you'd like to see on DVD. I'd like to share with you my list of what shows I'd love to see in a home video release.

For the sake of brevity, series that already have at least one season (or several episodes) on DVD will not be listed. For example, even though season five of “The Muppet Show” isn’t on DVD yet, there is at least one season of the show that is on DVD. Because there is something available for “Muppet Show” fans, we won’t worry about season five. We will assume (for the sake of this list) that it will be on DVD one day.

TV SERIES THAT NEED TO BE RELEASED ON DVD:

SPIDER-MAN (1970s live action series): Friends, there is no good reason not to release this series on to DVD. Spidey is a popular character, especially with all the movies coming out. The series is also very short. It could easily fit into a “complete series” DVD set. The complaints that it’s “too cheesy” don’t matter. Just because something is cheesy doesn’t mean people won’t buy it! Die-hard Spidey fans demand that this series be released! It’s fun and historic, and it has a devoted fan following. Get this one out there, please.

MISFITS OF SCIENCE: Another good example of a relatively short series with a devoted fan following. Plus Courteney Cox! Need I say more? This was a fun show and could easily be released as a “complete series” set. Please release this one.

BATMAN (1960s live action): As much as I’d like to see a Spidey release, fans of this show are even more numerous. I think you’d have people waiting in line outside the store the day this series is put on DVD. It’s also a fun, historic show. It really should be released. Again, complaints about “cheesiness” won’t work, as the release of the series is practically guaranteed to make a profit. Please work out the copyright issues! There’s got to be a way that both Warner and Fox can make money off of this. Please guys, take some advice from Sesame Street and cooperate. “Co-operation, makes it happen. . .”

GEORGE OF THE JUNGLE: There’s a chance that this one is going to be released soon, and that’s a good sign. I’m hoping that they put out the whole series in one DVD set. It’s hard to believe, but there were less than 20 episodes of this series! With so few, it should be easy to do a complete set. And George deserves it. He’s had two live-action movies made about him, but his series isn’t out on DVD yet! Let’s fix that soon.

CHANDLER & CO.: Who? Chandler and Co. are a detective team from a short series that aired on PBS as part of the “Mystery” show. There were only two seasons. And there’s this girl in it, see, named Catherine Russell, and . . . Well, you know where I’m going with this.

MICKEY MOUSE CLUB: 1970s VERSION: In between the classic 1950s version with Annette Funicello and the 1990s version with Britney Spears was this 1970s version with Lisa Whelchel. It hasn’t been seen in years, and us kids from the 1970s need to do something about it! It had some fun moments, as well as some fun music. “Climb on board to a dream. . .” Anybody remember “Allison wonderland?” Or how about the “Sleuth” story? It includes classic Disney cartoons & a color version of the famous theme animation.

MTV: CLASSIC AIRCHECKS: Do you remember the days when MTV was cool? Hey, I’m not kidding. It’s just not cool any more to watch MTV. There’s nothing on it but material that is obviously aimed at very stupid kids. Kind of reminds me of Elmo. . .Okay, hang on, back to the subject. . .

While collecting all the classic MTV videos together would probably be a copyright person’s nightmare, it may be possible to collect some of the VJ material and put it all together into something. True, it probably wouldn’t be something that great. . .but hey, wouldn’t you like to see Martha Quinn again? I know I’d enjoy seeing Carolyne Heldman again. Sigh. A collection of classic VJ moments could be a lot of fun. This is something I think the folks at MTV should think about. By the way, I hope to do a post about Carolyne one of these days.

REAL PEOPLE: Of all the shows we’ve talked about so far, this is the series that is perhaps the least likely to be put on DVD. If you think “Batman” is corny, you probably won’t be able to stomach “Real People.” And that’s too bad, because it had some good moments. It was, in many ways, a precursor to the reality TV programming that is so popular today. It was like “That’s Incredible,” only with a humorous angle instead of a “thrill” angle. As the title says, it basically was a collection of interviews and footage of “real people” living their everyday lives - except that these real people were exceptional in some way. Like the guy who could play music on his false teeth. Or the San Diego Chicken. Or the human drum. Or Spaceship Ruthie. Or Wrong-way Willie. Or Booger Ray. Or the garbology expert who stole Nixon’s trash and got arrested for it. Or the rich man who built a “city of the future” out in the desert. Or the Laurel and Hardy fan club.

Have I piqued your interest? People are often interesting, and this show highlights some interesting folks. It’s worth seeing again, I think.

So that’s my list. I’ve left out a few local SoCal shows from the past that I’d love to see again (“That’s Cat,” etc. ) But that’s the gist of what I’d like to see. And it’s not too far-fetched to say that I could live to see them released on DVD. If you had told me ten years ago that someone would release classic Sesame Street episodes, I would have found it hard to believe. And if you had told me that one day I’d be watching clips from “The Froozles” and “Big Blue Marble” on the Internet, I’d have been amazed. I suggest you write your own list of what you want to see on DVD and then keep an eye out. You might be surprised. As Paul Simon said, “these are the days of miracle and wonder.”

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For those of us still waiting to see those iTunes "Electric Company" episodes, Apple has created something that will hopefully make it easier to watch them on TV. It's a bit expensive, but if iTunes can keep up its popularity, then it may be worth looking into:

http://www.apple.com/appletv/

Underdogs, then and now

In my early years, I wanted to be a movie star. And not just any movie star, but a star who was loved for who they were. In other words, if I made a movie about my life, it would be a box office hit! In fact, that’s what my movie debut was going to be. A movie about my life. And it would, of course, be a blockbuster. My second film was going to be a sequel to “Oliver!” the classic musical. I had recently seen it at school, and enjoyed it a lot. Plus, everyone said I looked like Mark Lester, the kid who played Oliver. Hey, why not? I practiced for hours saying, “please sir, I want some more. . .” (No, not really. But it just sounds funny) :)

My third film was going to be about Underdog. You know him. He’s the dog in the red underwear who flies around saying, “There’s no need to fear! Underdog is here!” Voiced by Wally Cox of “Mr. Peepers” fame, the character stood for truth, justice and the American way. Sound familiar?

Why did I choose Underdog? That’s a good question! His show had been off the air in my area for at least a few years (and has been off the air there for decades now, except for a brief “revival” in the early 1990s). But another popular movie at the time was “Superman”, the Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder version. I suppose that in an effort to maintain my superstardom, it made sense that I would want to do a film about a superhero. But who could I be? I’m only in fourth grade. Which superhero could I play? How about Underdog? He’s kind of short. That’s it! I’ll put on red underwear and a dog suit! I could play Underdog!

When I think about how I imagined the Underdog movie, the similarities to “Superman” are very evident. There’s even a scene where they get mugged! Yes, the Underdog movie would have been essentially a “Superman” rip-off. But Underdog himself was borrowing from other famous heroes, wasn’t he? His episodes ended in cliffhangers, just like Batman. He flew around like Superman. He had an energy pill just like Popeye had spinach. Underdog took a little from many other heroes to become a hero in his own right.

But there is one scene from my imaginary “Underdog” movie that I would like to share with you. It involves an incident between Shoeshine Boy (Underdog’s alter ego) and Sweet Polly, Underdog’s love interest. This is before Shoeshine becomes Underdog. During an argument, the angry Polly calls Shoeshine an “underdog.” Having never heard the word before, Shoeshine goes home and looks up the word in the dictionary. He reads the definition: “An unimportant, or weak person or thing. The one less likely to win in a battle.” And Shoeshine begins to cry.

That is what the word means, after all. And yet I didn’t think of Underdog this way, but as a hero. Well, at least he’s a bit more successful than Super-Grover! At least he does indeed rescue the girl and triumph over the bad guys. If that doesn’t make him a hero, then what else could? “Underdog” is no underdog! And yet that seems to be the way we treat him. We don’t name Underdog when we name our favorite superheroes. It’s like his appearance in the Super Bowl ad. It’s like, “oh yeah, and there’s Underdog, too.”

I think it’s because Underdog is in many ways, an “average” superhero. If we were grading him, we’d probably give him a “C.” He does his job reasonably well, and that’s it. What’s missing with Underdog is any kind of depth of character, or any kind of deep relationship with others. Although he loves Polly, we never see them “dating” the way Superman and Lois do in “Superman.” He doesn’t suffer the kind of angst that makes Spider-Man famous. He doesn’t have ego problems, like so many characters do. When I remember that imaginary scene where Underdog learns the true meaning of his name, I realize how significant it would be for the character. He calls himself “Underdog” because he wants to show that even an underdog can be something spectacular. Even an underdog can win. And that’s something very important. I didn’t become a movie star. I became a relatively normal, boring guy. And that’s okay. Because even an underdog can do great things.

This summer, there’s going to be a movie about a famous super-hero. No, not Spider-Man, UNDERDOG! My dream is coming true. There really is an Underdog movie on the way. It’s live-action, and will feature a real dog in the role that could have been mine. It should be fun, but I wonder if it’s going to have a scene where Underdog realizes the irony of his name. I wonder if there’s going to be a moment of drama like that. I fear there may not be. The Underdog movie may not make Underdog any less of an underdog. But that’s okay. Remember, there wasn’t much like that on the show, either. All we may get from this is a good time, and that’s fine too, because that’s just as much as the Underdog show can offer us.

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Here’s the slow-loading web page about the movie. At this point, there's not much there but promotional art of our hero. Later on, I would assume we will get to see more. Please do not load this page if you’re in a library, as the theme music will annoy everybody. Including yourself.

http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/underdog/

You prefer the animated version? Well, there are some more Underdog DVD releases in the works:

http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/newsitem.cfm?NewsID=7172

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If you’re a fan of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade, then you remember Underdog as one of the classic balloons from the late 70s early 80s that graced the skies above New York City. You can see a drawing of the balloon on the cover of a new book about underdog. You can read about it (& more about the Underdog show) at this site:

http://www.toontracker.com/totaltv/underdog.htm

And if you want to see the balloon itself again, check out the Woody Allen movie “Broadway Danny Rose.” The balloon makes a cameo, as does Big Bird!

By the way, my fourth film was going to be “Superman vs. Underdog.” Now don’t ask me why they were fighting, but obviously there must have been a good reason. And really, there was. It was to glean even more love from my imaginary audience.

Thanks for reading, imaginary audience. :)

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MEREDITH IN DISTRESS: Imagine this. You are awoken by a telephone call at 4:30 a.m. You answer the phone. On the other end is Meredith Vieira, who says in a muffled voice, “Thelp me, pthleaze, thelp me.”

March definitely went out like a lion for Meredith. In the last week of March she bumped her head while ice skating, her daughter became ill, she cracked her front teeth and part of her wallpaper caught on fire.

(All this reminds me of a cool quote. Meredith is obviously someone with a real “damn-the-torpedoes” spirit. But as someone once said, with a “damn-the-torpedoes” attitude, you occasionally get hit by one of the torpedoes! But that comes with the territory. We all get hit by the torpedoes sometimes. Thankfully, Meredith is strong enough to keep sailing.)

Excerpts from Meredith’s blog after cracking her teeth:

So at 4:30am, I called my assistant Amanda and said, through my lisp-like-lips. “Thelp me, pthleaze, thelp me.” Amanda called my dentist, Marc Lowenberg who wasn’t there, but his partner Dr. Brian Kantor, was on call. I’d never met Dr. Kantor but I sure was happy to hear that he would meet me at the crack of dawn, with my cracked teeth.

My makeup artist Eve met me at Dr. Kantor’s office so she could start putting on my fake eyelashes while he was putting my mouth back together. My teeth may have been flawed, but my eyesight was 20/20—that doctor Kantor is a real cutie (sorry, ladies, he’s married. And I guess so am I…) He’s also a terrific dentist and had me out of there with perfect pearly whites within 40 minutes.

Eve and I raced over to the studio where she and my hair stylist Deirdre played tag team getting me ready for air. And I made it.

One more day to go before vacation. If I can just keep my mouth shut and my feet firmly planted on the ground, I might live to enjoy it.

What terrible fate awaits her next? Is she to be kidnapped by a crazed fan who writes a blog and thinks he can play Underdog? Tune in next time, or better yet, read her blog at the site below:

http://meredithtoday.ivillage.com/entertainment/

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ON YOUTUBE: ALL THE GREAT OPERAS IN TEN MINUTES. By request from my Mom. Here’s a very funny film by Kim Thompson that many of us got to see in school or on the Bravo network. If you like opera (and you have a sense of humor), you’ll like this clip. If you DON’T like opera (and you have a sense of humor), you’ll like this clip. WARNING: By YouTube standards, it’s a long one. If you have a slow web connection, like yours truly, I suggest that you download three minutes one day, then three minutes the next day, et cetra. You’ll find it in my favorites folder on the front page of my YouTube page:

http://www.youtube.com/sesameguy2000

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Popeye

Two legends in one photograph. The man on the right is Tom Hatten. We’ll talk more about him later, but first let’s discuss that guy on the left. You may think you know him, but do you know it all? If you only know him through his cartoons on TV, then you probably have just scratched the surface. Popeye has quite a history.

The wonderful book “Popeye: the first 50 years” by Bud Sagendorf gave me a renewed appreciation of the character and the comic strip. In the history of the American newspaper comic strip, Popeye is legendary. The original strip by E.C. Segar is considered one of the greatest of them all. Why? Well, I’m sure part of the secret lies in the character himself. Popeye is unique. He’s not just a guy in a sailor suit. He’s a guy with limited intelligence but seemingly endless power. He’s a guy with morals. He’s a guy who isn’t afraid to beat the crap out of people if he has to.

The strip began as “Thimble Theater”, and featured the adventures of the Oyl family. (That’s right, before there was Popeye, there was Olive Oyl!) It was a fun strip, but in many ways not too unusual for its time. Then came Popeye, who quickly took over the strip. Kind of reminds me of Elmo. :) The point is that Popeye’s character alone was enough to bring out the best in the comic strip. Although many other great characters found life there, Popeye became the “stabilizing force” that kept everything flowing.

A few years ago, Fantagraphics books republished all the Segar Popeye strips, giving us a great view into Segar‘s genius. There is an extremely funny sequence in which Popeye finds an error in the dictionary. When trying to explain to someone that “I yam what I yam,” he opens up the dictionary to get a proper definition of the word “yam.” The dictionary explains that a yam is a kind of a sweet potato. Popeye realizes that this must be an error. “You wouldn’t expect me to say, ‘I sweet potato what I sweet potato, and that’s all that I sweet potato‘, would you?”

Then came the legendary animated cartoons, starting with the Fleisher black and whites, continuing on with the Famous Studios & Paramount colors, then the King Features TV series, then the Saturday morning series. When you add it all up, guess who has made more cartoons, Bugs Bunny or Popeye? POPEYE!

If you came to visit me in the afternoon when I was six years old, and I wasn’t watching PBS, I was probably watching a Popeye or Bugs Bunny cartoon. That was the fun stuff for kids in those days. Incidentally, I’ve always believed that a Popeye/Bugs Bunny team up would be one of the best cartoons of all time. Both characters are similar and could play well off of each other- after they get over their ego problems. “Now see here, rabbit! This is me ship, so you’d better do as I say.” “Oh, brudder.”

Popeye, like Batman, is the subject of one of the most popular folk songs of all time. You know the one. “I live in a garbage can. . .” are among the lyrics. I call it a folk song because it has been passed on through the oral tradition from one third-grader to another for the last several decades!

But perhaps Popeye’s most important contribution to comics was his role in the inspiration for Superman. Listen to this quote from Fred Grandinetti’s “Popeye: An illustrated history” :

Jerry Siegel, one of Superman’s creators (along with Joe Shuster), readily admits that the animated Popeye cartoons were a primary influence. He envisioned similar fast-paced action turning on the hero’s superhuman strength, but played straight instead of for laughs. With the addition of a few other influential types - notably Tarzan, very popular at the time - Superman was the inevitable result.

Like so many other legends (including Bugs), the character of Popeye was not created solely for children. He was created to entertain. But he has been thrust into the category of “children’s entertainment.” That’s why you don’t see him cursing today like he did in the comics (with the little squiggle balloons, of course). And his pipe? “I keeps it to toot,” he tells his nephews in one of the TV cartoons. One time I even saw a metal poster of Popeye (sans pipe) saying “No smoking!”

Popeye isn’t even in the Navy! Check out this site from the official Popeye fan club:
http://www.popeyethesailor.com/club/opf9.htm

Well, we shouldn’t be surprised at this. Perhaps the time has come for the world to know the truth. There is something about Popeye that I first joked about in one of my silly audio tape stories (they were the precursor to my silly home movies). It is, of course, just a joke, but it’s so much fun to think about that I thought I’d share it with you all. Ladies and gentlemen, Popeye is faking it.

He doesn’t like spinach.

Think about it. Have you ever heard him say that he likes spinach? No, of course not. Why is he always eating it? Because he’s always in trouble! If spinach gave you colossal super-strength, wouldn’t you eat it if you had to? If you had to rescue your favorite sweetie from the clutches of an evil villain, wouldn’t you be willing to eat virtually ANYTHING to do it?

Watch the cartoons. When does he eat the spinach? Not when he first gets hurt or insulted. It’s when he absolutely has to! When he has no other choice! What does he say before he eats it? “THAT’S ALL I CAN STANDS, I CAN’T STANDS NO MORE!” Does that sound like someone who likes to eat spinach? In the comic strip, he virtually never ate spinach! And again, when he did, it was only when he had no other choice.

In the movie, Popeye makes it clear that he does not like spinach. The only time he eats it is when Brutus forces him to. Could it be that this is how Popeye first learned of the power of Spinach? Remember folks, the song doesn’t go “I’m strong to the finich because I like spinach!”
This silly theory somehow makes Popeye an even more engaging character. The fact that he would pretend to be something that he really isn’t makes him somehow even more powerful. And more human.

I’m sure that the National Enquirer is going to use this information to the detriment of Popeye someday. Until then, please keep this a secret. If Popeye finds out about this, he’s going to blarst me into the next dimension. The next thing you know, we’ll all find out that he really has two eyes. . .

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Now you know about Popeye, but what about Tom Hatten? Well, Tom Hatten and Popeye are old friends, and if you grew up in the Los Angeles/San Diego area, you probably think they are the same person! Tom hosted the Popeye cartoon show on KTLA in Los Angeles for many years. I remember watching the show in the late 1970s early 1980s, when it included both the black & white and color Popeye cartoons, along with Super chicken, Tom Slick and George of the Jungle! What more could a kid want?

Tom has a great history as well. You can read all about it on this great tribute page:

http://latvlegends.com/TomHatten/TOMHAT.htm

Mickey Mouse and Popeye are approximately the same age. Both arrived on the scene in 1929. When Mickey Mouse turned 50, he got a prime-time special featuring several stars. Popeye turned 50, KTLA had a show featuring Tom interviewing Shelly Duvall (from the Popeye movie) and a bunch of kids singing “happy birthday!” Sorry, Mr. Eye, that’s the best you can get. But don’t feel too bad. We heard virtually NOTHING when Mickey or Popeye turned 75! Hey, age discrimination is bad enough when it’s among people! We shouldn’t be ashamed to let our fictional characters grow old.

If you have any video tapes of Tom Hatten’s Popeye show, please contact me for a possible trade! I’d love to see it again. You can reach me through my e-mail, or by messaging “Sesameguy” at Muppet Central forum, or the Square One TV forums.

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What brought about this Popeye post? Simply the news that the Fleisher cartoons are coming to DVD! There are already some fine Popeye collections out there, but this one sounds like it will be more geared toward the Fleisher fans. Here’s the link from tvshowsondvd.com:
http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/newsitem.cfm?NewsID=7112

And speaking of George of the Jungle, it looks like George may be swinging into DVD himself, soon. (I’d qualify this only as a possible future release, since we don’t have anything definite other than one person who said it is on the way. A good journalist relies on more than one source! ) Here’s the post:
http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/newsitem.cfm?NewsID=7131

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If you REALLY want to get into Popeye, there’s one book that will just about cover it all. Fred Grandinetti’s “Popeye: An illustrated history” has a terrific overview of the character and a guide to all his cartoons. Whew! It is a few years old now, but if you’re a die-hard Popeye fan, it’s worth finding a copy.

Popeye has a fan club! It’s full of people who love the character and love collecting memorabilia about him. They meet in Chester, Illinois every year to share their appreciation of the sailor. (Chester is the hometown of E.C. Segar.) Here’s their web page:
http://www.popeyethesailor.com/club/

Modern Times

“Modern Times” airs on Turner Classic Movies this month. I first saw it when it was on the Disney channel in 1982. It was one of the first silent films I had ever seen, and has become one of my favorite films of all time. I’ll try to explain why.

Modern Times is incredibly unique. It’s a movie that in many ways defies description. The film opens - well, dang, I can’t even tell you how the film opens without giving a joke away! The movie touches on many subjects, but its central theme is society and the workplace. And I don’t just mean the 1930s workplace. The problems expressed in this film are alive and well today. It’s a silent film version of “Dilbert!” It points out problems in society by making fun of them.

It begins with Charlie Chaplin working in a factory. His job is “bolt-tightener.” He tightens the bolts as they race past on the assembly line. The job doesn’t allow much time to rest - and therein lies the problem. Charlie is a human, but he’s trying to survive in a system that won’t let him be human. This is emphasized when his bosses pick him out of the crowd to test out a new invention that will feed him as he works, so that he won’t have to take a lunch break! The machine doesn’t go over too well, and it creates a great comedic scene. And it sadly points out the real reason why we don’t have such machines today. “It isn’t practical.”

Also in the cast is -sigh- the Gamin, a young woman living in poverty played by Paulette Goddard. She’s certainly part of the reason I love this movie. Like Chaplin, she’s struggling to survive in a world that sometimes seems to be against humanity. Oh, how I wish I could enter this movie and ask her out! She’s beautiful, and we’re treated to several scenes with her.

One day, as the Gamin is running away after stealing a loaf of bread, she bumps into Chaplin. Chaplin, desiring to go to prison, decides to take the blame for the crime. Now why would he want to go to prison? Well, maybe he’s decided that it can’t be any worse than his life would normally be. . .But is he doomed to spend the rest of his days alone?

The movie is “episodic” in that it is broken up into different short skits or funny scenes. You may find yourself having to endure a few lesser-funny scenes. But when you put it all together, you get something grand. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

It’s a romantic story, and yet it isn’t. It’s romantic in the sense of two people joining forces to find a better life for themselves. The emphasis is less on their romance and more on their efforts to find a “normal” life. We see them dreaming “the American dream” of a home where everything is peaceful and efficient. It’s the kind of home life that nobody ever really has or ever had. Yet they struggle to gain it, just as we all do. Later on, they do get a home. But things don’t go quite as expected. . .

Like all great films, repeated viewings of Modern Times reveal nuggets of gold. Here are some of them:

*A Mickey Mouse cameo! Watch very carefully when Charlie & the Gamin enter the toy department. (Chaplin was apparently a core inspiration for Walt Disney, and the character of Mickey Mouse is said to be at least partially based on Chaplin.)

*Read their lips. Although most of the silent dialogue is displayed with text on the screen, much of it is not! Read their lips and watch their actions, and you will come out with a renewed appreciation for the art of silent films. Watch for the scene where Charlie asks the Gamin where she got the food.

*Going to jail/the nuthouse. I’ve lost track of how many times Chaplin gets arrested in this film!

*“I’ll do it! I’ll find a home even if I have to work for it!”

*Is it just me, or is Paulette more attractive as the Gamin than she is as the dancing girl?

*Drug abuse! Chaplin gets high on drugs! No, I’m not kidding!

*Watch as the Gamin tries on the mink coat. For a moment, she sees her old rags that she is really dressed in, then covers them up with the coat again. You have to see this to appreciate the subtle acting.

*”Smile” - The lovely song written by Chaplin has been covered by a few artists, including the Lettermen. Here it is in its original form.

*Chaplin sings! His nonsense song makes more sense the more times I hear and watch it. Maybe I really am losing it.

“Modern Times” is my personal favorite of Chaplin’s films. If you never saw any other Chaplin film, you would still get a good idea of his creative genius from this one. But again, this film isn’t just about one person. Ultimately, it is about you and I and the struggles we face.

Modern Times may not be the “ultimate classic” when compared to other movies, but what it does, it does very well. Modern Times is about the struggle to survive. In many ways, the struggle is easier today. In some ways, it has not changed since the dawn of time. If we are lucky, we will find someone else who will walk with us through the struggle, and together we can be stronger than we were before. It’s also about realizing that everything, ultimately, is going to be all right. We’re going to get by, even if we don’t know exactly what will happen next. At least we are together. And we can smile.

“Modern Times” airs on Turner Classic Movies on April 15, very early in the morning. If you can, try to watch it. You just may enjoy it - hopefully as much as I do.

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Some of the Modern Times images used above are courtesy of Charles Flatt and are from his fun “Flattland” blog. He’s been writing some fine articles & his posting about Modern Times features a great quote from Paulette Goddard. You can read it here:
http://flattland.com/index.php?entry=entry060630-222215

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FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD COUCH POTATO: One of the great things about going insane is the interesting people you get to hang out with. Cartoonist Fred Hembeck recently shared some memories of an afternoon watching a ball game on TV with Spider-Man. It’s great fun, especially if you remember the “Gwen Stacy” or “Black Cat” days. Grab a cold one (better make it a soft drink, you‘re driving) and enjoy Fred and Spidey’s day off:

http://www.quickstopentertainment.com/2007/03/29/the-fred-hembeck-show-episode-97-vault-hembeck/

Incidentally, Spidey himself is a baseball fan. Do you remember the Electric Company skit where he battles “the Wall?” It begins with him watching a Mets game! Interestingly, he watches the game in his Spider-Man costume (with a Mets cap and a hot dog). When police officers go off duty, they usually don’t wear their uniforms. This just goes to show you how dedicated Spidey is! Always on duty! You can find this classic skit on the “Best of Electric Company volume one” DVD set.

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PHANTOM OF THE ELEPHANTS: You need to be careful when you surf the web. Sometimes not everything is what it appears to be. If you had checked out the Phantom of the Opera message board in the past few days, you may have been surprised to see it turn into a message board for elephant fans. All elephants, all the time. Even a pink background. What happened? Did the site go down? No, it was just a late April Fool’s Day joke.

At least, I THINK it’s a joke. It’s kind of hard to tell. It is now a few days after April Fool’s Day, and the elephant site is still up. Dismayed phantom fans are leaving messages on the board like, “Can we have the old board back now please?” and “Reasons why this joke is not fun.”

What if I had been in a hurry, and not bothered to read the site a little more carefully? I might have deleted it from my favorites, muttering “another one bites the dust!” When jokes have the potential to confuse, we need to be careful. The joke could wind up hurting us. With this joke, the message board runs the risk of losing a few readers. People could come back years later and say, “but I thought that site went down. I checked it out one day, and it was all about elephants.”

Bottom line for webmasters: As Hawthorne said, be true, be true, be true.