And another pal, Jerry Beck, has posted the info that Warner Home Video is bringing out a DVD set of the first sixty Popeye cartoons produced by the Max Fleischer Studio. They have been, we hear, lovingly restored so this is going to be quite a treasure. The DVD will also include commentary tracks and interviews with knowledgeable animation experts...or at least, that's what I'm telling people since I'm one of them. The whole thing comes out on July 31 and you'll want it, you'll want it. I'll post an Amazon link as soon as that's doable, since this is wonderful material. Congrats and thanks to Jerry and all those who made this possible.
Rick Rogers referred me to this video of the smartest dog in the world. I know people who graduated college who couldn't have figured out how to do what this pooch does...
The original, Jay Ward-produced George of the Jungle cartoons on DVD? My pal Earl Kress has the scoop.
And I'll quickly add this: There were 17 half-hours produced of the show in 1967, each featuring one cartoon of George, one of Super Chicken and one of Tom Slick. This new DVD release is purportedly coming from Classic Media, which not long ago put out a complete DVD set of The Mr. Magoo Show containing 26 half hours. So I'd guess they're thinking of just putting the 17 half-hours of G.O.T.J. out as one complete set. That's what I'd guess.
It's been over a year since we played this game so some of you may be new to it while others may have forgotten how it works. How it works is that I describe six websites and post links to them. Five of them are real websites. One, I made up. Your mission — should you decide to accept it, Mr. Phelps — is to figure out which website is the phony one. When you click on its link, you'll be taken not to the described site but to a page that will tell you you're right, the one you picked is bogus.
Pretty simple concept? Yep. Just keep in mind that when I've done this in the past, all the sites seem to get a ton of extra hits and one or two have been known to crash so you can't get to them. A non-connect doesn't mean it's the phony website. If you click on the phony website, you'll know for sure. Got it? Here we go...
The Burger Museum - What can you do with a McDonald's hamburger if you don't want to eat it? Well, you can just put it on display for many years. Apparently, they don't change that much.
My Cat Hates You - A collection of photos of pussycats who don't seem to like you (or anyone) very much.
Jell-o Star Shots - Hey, doesn't that dish of America's favorite gelatin dessert look a lot like Tony Soprano? Or is that Tom Arnold?
Gum Wrapper - Gary Duschl has created the world's longest gum wrapper chain, currently at 50,905 feet...and still growing!
Rate My Cow - So, uh, what do you think of this one? Surely you have an opinion of this fine cow, don't you?
If you come across a website on the Internet that is real but sounds like I made it up, drop me a note with the link. If enough of you do, maybe we'll play this game more often than annually.
I mentioned the prices of Vegas shows a minute ago here. I think it's interesting to see what they're charging these days to go see various headliners. Generally speaking, shows in Las Vegas are priced intelligently from the hotel's viewpoint. They get as much money as they can but that's the secondary consideration. The main one is to get bodies into the seats so they'll gamble on the way out. Ergo, none of these shows are probably overpriced to the extent that they can't sell all or most tickets for each performance.
These are headliners who are currently scheduled to perform in that town some time during the remainder of this year. Some are there more or less full time...like Louie Anderson is a near-permanent fixture at the Excalibur. Some are there for a few nights here and there. Of these performers, Mr. Seinfeld is the only one I'd guess whose ticket prices have something to do with how often he performs. He's only doing two nights. The rest of these folks are there often enough that it's not that special to be able to go see them. There are probably people scheduling Vegas trips just to see Seinfeld.
I've divided the list into two categories. Although a few of the ones in the first category may sing and even have a small band there, these acts are basically one person standing on a stage with a microphone and talking...
Jerry Seinfeld
$75.00 - $150.00
George Lopez
$45.00 - $125.00
Jay Leno
All seats $90.00
Ray Romano
All seats $90.00
Wayne Brady
$69.00 - $89.00
Rita Rudner
$49.00 - $85.00
Bill Maher
$42.50 - $72.50
David Spade
All seats $70.00
Howie Mandel
All seats $65.00
Jon Lovitz
$39.95 - $59.95
Don Rickles
All seats $55.00
George Wallace
$45.00 - $55.00
Paul Rodriguez
$29.95 - $54.95
Craig Ferguson
$29.95 - $54.95
Carrot Top
All seats $52.50
Roseanne Barr
All seats $49.95
Louie Anderson
All seats $45.00
Steven Wright
$24.95 - $44.95
Dennis Miller
All seats $39.95
The one pricing anomaly that leaps out at me is this: When I saw Dennis Miller there about ten years ago, I think tickets were more than they are now...and back then, he had Rita Rudner opening for him. Now she gets more than he does.
This other category is musical acts. These are a little harder to compare to each other because some of them are one singer with a small band and some of them are production shows which have huge orchestras and also involve dancers and special effects. Still, it might be of interest...
Elton John
$100.00 - $250.00
Barry Manilow
$95.00 - $225.00
Celine Dion
$87.50 - $225.00
Toni Braxton
$65.00 - $100.00
Paul Anka
$71.01 - $98.51
Liza Minnelli
$50.00 - $95.00
Tony Bennett
$70.00 - $90.00
LeAnn Rimes
$59.00 - $88.00
Johnny Mathis
$60.00 - $75.00
Tom Jones
All seats $75.00
Tony Orlando
$22.00 - $44.00
In fairness, I should add that some of the pricing variations may have something to do with where the performers are working. Elton John is at Caesars Palace, whereas Tony Orlando is at the Suncoast, which is a beautiful hotel but it's way off the Strip. On the other hand, if Tony could sell $250 tickets, he'd still be at Caesars.
What was Walt Disney's secret? Why was Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs such a wonderful movie? Well, the secret would seem to be divulged in this eight-and-a-half minute infomercial for the film. It's that he hired pretty girls to paint the cels.
April 3, 2007
