Thursday, December 31, 2009

Today's Bonus Video Link

Did you watch the Kennedy Centers Honors telecast the other night? This year, they honored Dave Brubeck, Robert DeNiro, Grace Bumbry, Mel Brooks and Bruce Springsteen. The Springsteen segment was probably the biggie (great speech by Jon Stewart, great musical performances by John Mellencamp, Jennifer Nettles, Melissa Ethridge and Sting) but the whole show was good.

The Mel Brooks tribute was hosted by Carl Reiner and then there were musical numbers from various Brooks efforts by Frank Langella, Harry Connick Jr., Richard Kind, Martin Short, Gary Beach and others. If you saw the show on CBS, you saw its editors do a fancy bit of scissoring, presumably due to length, on what was taped December 5th. Cut from the broadcast was a number from the Broadway version of Young Frankenstein performed by Roger Bart, Shuler Hensley and Cory English (who, ironically enough, are currently doing that show at the Kennedy Center). Also excised was Jane Krakowski singing "If You've Got It, Flaunt It" from the musical of The Producers, and they removed the entire finale, which had everyone on stage together. The ending was therefore rather disjointed as they cut to shots of some performers taking the bows that everyone was cheering and applauding...but couldn't use the full master shot because it contained Bart, Krakowski and the others who'd been trimmed.

There were probably other cuts in every part of the show. It's a shame they can't put the thing uncut somewhere...on PBS or maybe just a DVD. Here's a small part of what they did air...

• Posted at 11:33 AM · LINK

Recommended Reading

Harry Shearer posts one of the better responses to Dick Cheney's inane, self-justifying remarks about the so-called War on Terrorism. One topic that's worth discussing is how much of what we've done wrong since 9/11 has just been a matter of people (many Democrats, included) chucking aside common sense strategies in favor of just trying to be as macho and tough-looking as possible.

In related news, though the terrorist with the explosives in his underwear is reportedly spilling his guts and answering all questions, there are still calls out there to waterboard and otherwise torture the guy. Yeah, and while we're at it why don't we send Michael Lohan over to kick his mother in the crotch?

• Posted at 11:29 AM · LINK

Deal of the Decade

Hey! Remember that offer I linked you to? The one where Barnes & Noble would sell you MAD's Greatest Artists: The Completely MAD Don Martin (which listed originally for $142 and was worth it) for a measly $25? Yeah, that offer. Well, so many of you ordered that B&N ran out of the sucker.

So today comes news — thank you, Nat Gertler — that they've restocked! The offer is back on and if you order this minute, you can pick up a copy of this great two-volume-in-a-slipcase collection for $22.48. Here's the link. Don't delay.

Oh, but delay long enough to consider this. Barnes & Noble has free shipping to most areas on orders over $25. It will probably be cost-efficient to stick one more small item in your shopping cart before you check out. (Do I have to think of everything?)

• Posted at 10:42 AM · LINK

Today's Video Link

This runs close to 24 minutes so you may not want to watch it, now or ever. It's a silent comedy starring one of my favorite comedians of the era, Charley Chase. Chase (real name: Charles Parrott) was either a director who performed or a performer who directed...and once in a while, he even directed himself. His films were generally quite funny. He tended to emphasize character over slapstick and to be very, very good at the comedy of embarrassment. His silent two-reelers (done for the Hal Roach Studio, beginning in 1923) were popular and then when sound came in, he was one of the few comics to seamlessly make the transition to talkies.

What did him in was when Roach abandoned two-reelers and shifted over to features. Chase shifted over to Columbia in 1937 where he continued making short films and also directed some of the Three Stooges' better shorts. He died in 1940 at the age of 46, whereupon his films were largely and unjustly forgotten. Among old comedy film buffs though, he is much loved and collected. This film may show you why.

It's Crazy Like a Fox, made in 1926. It was written by Chase (with title cards by H.M. "Beanie" Walker) and directed by Leo McCarey, who would later become a pretty important director. If you look fast, you may spot Oliver Hardy in a small part done shortly before he teamed up with that Laurel guy. This was the first Charley Chase film I ever saw...many moons ago at the Silent Movie Theater on Fairfax here in Los Angeles. It made me an instant fan of his. Maybe it'll have the same effect on you.

• Posted at 2:49 AM · LINK

Font Fest

Just a reminder. If you've been thinking of stocking up on those wonderful comic book fonts that Comicraft sells, they're having their annual New Year's Sale. Every year on 1/1, they sell all their fonts for the same number of cents as the new year...so this time around, they'll run you $20.10 each. This includes a few fonts that ordinarily sell for $19.00 but it also includes sets that regularly go for over $200. Some of them are bargains at their full price so they're steals at the sale price. End of plug.

• Posted at 2:44 AM · LINK