I totally stole this one from Roger Ebert's blog. But come on, you guys don't read it so you need me to filter things out for you. Like this little gem.
Notable journalist and writer William Nack, also known as the guy who wrote the book on Secretariat, recites the last page of The Great American Novel, aka The Great Gatsby, from memory. Of course he hits it out of the park.
If you didn't grow up watching Time Bandits then you are probably a well adjusted individual. For the rest of us with neglectful parents who let us watch it, the movie is burnt into our brains. The big bad guy in the film is literally Evil, that's his name Evil. And in this clip Evil argues why God is incompetent and doesn't understand technology, hence it's one of my favorite monologues. You can stop watching around 2:50.
I need to get "I would have started with lasers, eight o'clock day one." on a t-shirt.
Cake has announced a new albumShowroom Of Compassion, their sixth. I guess they couldn't afford their rock n' roll lifestyle (Zing!). The album will be released (or dropped, if you like) January 11.
Hey, here is a track list!
1. Federal Funding 2. Long Time 3. Got To Move 4. What’s Now Is Now 5. Mustache Man (Wasted) 6. Teenage Pregnancy 7. Sick Of You 8. Easy to Crash 9. Bound Away 10. The Winter 11. Italian Guy
I'm ready for some more Sac-town talk-singing! I really want to know what "Mustache Man (Wasted)" sounds like. Intriguing...
Here is their first single "Sick Of You" (I think it could use more trumpet).
Showroom Of Compassion is such a Cake album title.
Today one of my favorite monologues comes from the 90's teen comedy sensation Clueless. It is Cher's (Alicia Silverstone) debate class speech about Haitian immigration. Her argument is not only funny but also deftly explains my own views on immigration, which is kinda off-putting. Amber's response is a great kicker to the scene as well. Enjoy.
There was a truckload of new TV shows dumped on us this Fall and not everybody has the time or brain cells to spare watching all those hours on the boob-tube. It's hard to tell which new shows are good enough for you to give up your precious hours. Here's a short list for you:
There is the critically acclaimed standout: Boardwalk Empire. The hour long melodrama: Lone Star (Oops) The new guilty pleasure: Nikita. Those are the shows to watch people.
I feel guilty just looking at this picture
Now if you were the betting kind you might say my pick for best new sitcom is Outsourced. I do love me some NBC Thursday night comedies. But Outsourced is not my pick, for a couple of reasons. 1) I love Parks and Recreation and they moved it to a mid-season replacement this year. I'm not happy about that....and 2) I thought Outsourced was going to be racist, but it's not so much racist as it's not funny. Really not funny. It's unfunny.
The show I do believe is the best new sitcom this fall is Raising Hope(Tuesdays, 9pmon Fox). It's brought to you by the creator of My Name Is Earl. But Raising Hope has the potential to be a better show than Earl.
Raising Hope centers on the twenty-something Jimmy who, in a really dark turn for a sitcom, becomes a single dad. The show has relatable characters, a fantastic cast including Martha Plimpton as Jimmy's mom and Cloris Leachman as Maw Maw (I like to think of Cloris as next seasons Betty White). And most importantly it's funny. Like honest-to-god funny, which you don't always get with sitcoms. I just hope they don't mess this up like they did Earl.
You know what? Why don't you just watch the pilot right here. Enjoy!
Here is a simple yet engaging video from the Radiolab "Words" podcast. Listen to the original show here. What do you think? I want to know because I think everybody will get something different from watching. Enjoy!
A friend of mine posted this (Thanks RR) and I laugh every time I watch it. So I'm stealing it. It's the late, great, drunk Orson Welles (Please don't make me have to tell you who Orson Welles is) starring in "Outtakes From a Wine Commercial."
Those poor, poor actors. How they were able to keep a straight face, I'll never know. They actually look scarred to death.
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH the French!.....Champagne....
So the busiest man in Hollywood the world James Franco portrays beat poet Allen Ginsberg in the new movie Howl. Now I don't know a lot about poetry but I do know Ginsberg and I do know Howl, and if this clip is any indication, this movie is going to be beatnik-tastic. Mr. Franco hits this reading out of the park. Now THIS is poetry damnit!
And now something completely different...A bunch of dogs went surfing at Huntington Beach, CA recently and guess what the Internet did? The best thing possible of course, it matched quotes from Point Break to photos of Surfing dogs.
You remember Point Break, Right?You should, Gary Busey is in it.
Two things I love about this clip:
1) Gary Busey cracking up at Calvin and Hobbes. 2) How Gary says "Meatball Sandwich" like it's something no one has ever heard of before.
Here is the trailer for the new Coen Brothers movie (don't call it a remake) True Grit. Jeff Bridges takes on the role of Rooster Cogburn, which John Wayne originally made famous (he won an Oscar for it, come on people, you really should know this stuff). You might ask, "Should the Coens be remaking an Academy Award winning film?" The answer, according to this trailer, is yes, yes they should.
It's a simple yet engaging trailer for the western that also stars Matt Damon and Josh Brolin. Not to geek out on all of you but I am totally geeking out here. Just a reminder that the last time Jeff Bridges and the Coen Brothers worked together was The Big Lebowski. (Geeeeeeeek!)
True Grit is going to be nothing like The Big Lebowski, but still, I'm going all in on this one and saying it might be one of the best movies of the year. It's coming to a theater near you this December. Watch the trailer below.
When people talk about monologues from Jaws they talk about Quint's USS Indianapolis story. But I always think of this scene when Quint offers to catch the shark himself. This speech ranks up there with any other bad-ass introduction in any other movie, ever. They should stop making all those jokes about how awesome Chuck Norris is and start talking about what a bad mofo Quint is. Chuck couldn't last on Quint's boat. Here watch this clip and feel the raw power of Quint!
Have you ever been down that Internet rabbit hole and found something that you just absolutely fell in love with? Well That happened to me today, I found Soul. Not my soul, I traded that to Milhouse years ago. I'm talking about Barbara Lynn. I dare you to watch these performances and tell me you are not in love with this woman. You can't do it, can you?
She's still out there performing. How cool is that? Very cool.
