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Liberal Democrat
Friday, October 31, 2014
Salon Magazine: Gabriel Arana: Bill Maher's Islam Silence: Why Canceling Bill Maher's Berkley Speech is a Mistake
Monday, October 27, 2014
Sam Harris: Interview With Cenk Uygur
Sunday, October 26, 2014
The Carol Burnett Show: Dinner & A Movie
Alan Alda playing Captain Cliche on The Carol Burnett Show. The man who probably watches too much TV and too many movies and unable to think for himself. Doesn't sound that unfamiliar to the faddists who follow every trend just to be cool or awesome. We especially see that with technology today where so many Americans feel the need and must have the latest technology, computer, smart phones etc. Because they won't want to be the only one that doesn't have the latest phone or whatever. And be the only one with Iphone 5 instead of 6 or whatever.
I called Alan Alda Captain Cliche in this scene, but Cookie Cutter would've worked to. Someone not able to think for them self especially when they are talking to people they like and want to like them. So what they do to compensate is use material that they've heard from other sources. There's cookie cutter humor that I'm not a fan of that we see today with so many sitcoms and movies using other people's material and lines because it worked and sound cool there, so they use that with their project as well.
But if you know the real Alan Alda as opposed to this dope he played in this sketch, which he did very well, not that it takes a lot of effort to play a dope, but you know that Alda is anything, but cookie cutter or cliche when it came to his own humor. And that he is very spontaneous and off the cuff, flip and real quick with his wit. As we saw with MASH where he had a big role in the material that was used and as we've seen throughout his carer and with his personal appearances.
Saturday, October 25, 2014
Inside the Actors Studio: Kevin Spacey's Impressions
Source:The Daily Journal
People have asked me what's my style of humor, my sense of humor and how I come up with lines and so-forth. I'm not saying I'm a professional comedian or anything (at least I haven't gotten paid for being funny, yet) . But I have been able to make people laugh hysterically, intentionally and unintentionally in the past. And I've told them simply my sense of humor is off the cuff, I say what's on my mind when I'm thinking it. Rather than "that sounds funny and use it two weeks later". To me humor has to be fast and relevant. Example of a bad joke. Cracking jokes about Priests at a football game, is probably not a smart play.
First of all you're likely to offend a lot of people there and not seem funny, but insulting. Which to me are two different things, but you're going to get strange looks (or end up wearing someone else's lunch) like making a Catholic joke at a football game when some half-naked moron runs on to the field during the game and people will look at you like "what does a drunk Priest in Church have to do with the guy who ran on the field". You're humor needs to be relevant and needs to make sense. And what I do is, I see myself as an analyst of life, we all are and I make judgements and comment on things that I see whatever is that interests me. If you watch the sitcom MASH or Seinfeld, that's exactly what they do. Here's the situation, what you think about it and they would look for the funny side of it.
Alan Alda who played Hawkeye Pierce, my favorite sitcom character of all time. If not in TV in general would be performing surgery and cracking jokes as he's doing it while saving the patients life. One to relax the people he was working with in that stressful environment, but also to relax himself. "This is the situation and this is what's funny about it was their approach to comedy". To give you a personal example, I use to work in customer service, have about twelve years experience of that. And we were surrounded by people, customers mostly for whatever reason, they were nervous or whatever. But would go brain dead when they would approach you and ask the dumbest questions possible.
No joke when I worked at a movie theater, we had to wear these loud maroon colored red polo shirts. With the name of the movie theater on them, with these corny name tags on them. I'm Joe or Sally or whatever, with your name on them obviously, (what was the first clue). We just got a lot of customers that were either, drunk, high or both or perhaps just had brain surgery, but their doctor actually removed their brain by accident.
Smart answers to dumb questions
Customers would constantly walk up to me and ask, do I work here. And seriously this is no joke, I would always reply with a smart ass answer and I never got in trouble for it. And I would say no, I stole this shirt or I'm a member of the theater fan club.
"Do you sell popcorn?" No we are the only movie theater in America that doesn't sell popcorn. We sell Chinese food instead, but sorry no chopsticks you have to eat with your hands.
Again true story, one day I'm in a ticket booth, selling tickets, naturally. (If you would guessed I was selling sporting equipment, you would be wrong). And someone asked, me where do you buy tickets, I told them three blocks down the street at the gas station, but if you want your oil changed or need gas, you have to buy it here.
Another person asked what size is the small popcorn. I said small we aren't trying to fool you with false advertising even though that would be very tempting because of the quality of our customers. "Well what does it look like"? It looks small. Again no joke someone asked how much are free refills, I told them five bucks, but we only take travelers checks. Again this is the situation in front of me and that's what I was thinking right at that moment.
That's the style of humor that you get from Kevin Spacey the actor/director/writer, but I would throw in comedian as well. The guy could've been a full-time professional comedian if he wanted to. Watch the movies Swimming with The Sharks and Hurley Burley, The Big Kahuna and you'll see what I mean. I would add Chris Walken and Tom Hanks to that list because their humor is so spontaneous, off the top of their heads, they don't need scripts or writers. They do that for themselves which is what all great comedians do and is a style of humor I've patterned mine behind.
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
Lain Lucey: Same Time Next Year (1978) Starring Alan Alda & Ellen Burstyn
Source:Lain Lucey- |
Same Time Next Year might be the best romantic comedy of all-time. And if it isn’t, it might be the smartest romantic comedy of all-time and definitely in the top one percent of both categories. Because I don’t believe it was trying to be funny, but the movie was just so natural. With the two main characters George and Dorris played by Alan Alda and Ellen Burstyn, who were just so real with both having noticeable flaws that came out often especially George. And the two both looking for something different in their relationships.
The only part of the movie I do not get is the opening scene. Why would two happily married people be out in the country by themselves having dinner by themselves? What were they doing there all alone when they are both happily married with kids. But that is how the movie and this love affair that is only one weekend a year, but for the next twenty-six years starts. And this would actually be a movie that should’ve had a second chapter. To see how this couple made out because both of their spouses die in the movie.
What I also love about this movie is when George and Helen weren’t making love in the movie, the rest of the movie was conversational between this couple. And you get to learn so much about them. About how vulnerable and lacking in self-confidence George was. And how unsure he was and easy to blame himself about things and how bad of a liar he was. To Helen wanting a stronger man in his life stronger than the man here husband was. These are two very good caring people, but two real people looking for something different in their lives.
Source:Lain Lucey
Sunday, October 19, 2014
Chris Early: Dallas: The Best of J.R. Ewing
Golden Girls: The Best of Sarcastic Dorothy
Thursday, October 16, 2014
Salon Magazine: Michael Burstein: 'We Need a New Constitution'
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
TruthDig: Sonali Kolhatkar: 'The Rise of the New Libera
Monday, October 13, 2014
Jas Bains: Catherine Bach-The Real and Only Daisy Duke From the Dukes of Hazzard
When I was growing up my favorite TV show was probably The Dukes of Hazzard. A CBS action comedy where everyone on the show met about every single stereotype both good and bad of what life and the people were like living in the country. It took place in a small county called Hazzard. Naturally with a police department that had two sometimes three cops including the sheriff who was named Roscoe. It had people with names like Daisy, Roscoe, Cletus, Enos, Cooter.
Guest stars with people with names like Billy Bob, Billy Joe, Marly Lu. It had every two name, name you can think of. It had dirt roads, country music, car races and car chases. Great country food, with the fried chicken, mashed potatoes, biscuits and gravy. Fast cars being chased by big police cars. A town where everyone knew each other and where the whole town knew when someone from out-of-town was in Hazzard.
It had Pickup Trucks, farms, crooked politicians and cops, ignorant people who didn’t seem to know what they were doing. It had moonshine whisky, a county next door called Chickasaw that only had one cop, the Sheriff on the Police Force. And it had a lot of beautiful sexy women on it. Including Catherine Bach who played Daisy Duke. Forget about Jessica Simpson who played Daisy Duke in the movie Dukes of Hazard. She’s more qualified to play Sally Smith head cheerleader at Valley High, then to play a country girl.
The hot, sexy baby-faced country girl was the perfect role for Catherine Bach on Dukes of Hazard. Because she was and actually still is gorgeous, baby-face adorable with a great body. Two of the best legs this country has ever seen, just like Tina Turner or Raquel Welch. She was very funny and even though she was (actually still is) baby-face adorable, could probably kick ass as well as he her cousins Bo and Luke Duke. Played by John Schneider. (Great last name by the way) And Tom Wopat the brains of the operation. And as adorable and sexy as Daisy was, you didn’t want to mess with here, because she could kick your ass and look hot doing it. In her famous tight denim jeans and shorts.
And her tight denim jeans and cowgirl boots, Catherine Bach now has her own Denim Line. She was no Sally from the Valley, but a tough but adorable sexy country girl. Who could be sweet as candy until you messed with her. Catherine Bach will always be Daisy Duke and since she played that role perfectly. Unfortunately will always be typed cast, because it’s so hard to think of anything else other than Daisy Duke when it comes to Catherine Bach. But she has done other things and has actually has been very active and successful pre and after. Dukes of Hazzard and is someone who’s career should be looked at. To give her the type of respect she actually deserves.
The original Dukes of Hazzard tv show, was and still is the Dukes of Hazzard, at least as far as I’m concern and as far as a lot other Dukes fans are concern as well. The recent movies and everything else are for a younger generation where everything that was around before they were even born or old enough to remember is considered, “like so yesterday and so over and needs to be changed for the new century. But there are reasons why sequels to great shows and movies tend not to be as good as the original. Because the original was done so well, that any new version of it looks like pretend or a copy.
Source:Jas Bains
Sunday, October 12, 2014
All in the Family: Archie Bunker On Democrats & the 1970s
Source:The New Democrat
Oh the 1970s, a decade about sacrifice and millions of Americans learning about their government and their politicians and that they didn’t like a lot of them. But of course as George Carlin always said, “no one put a gun to your head and forced you to vote for. A or B or reelect A or B”. That we get the politicians and the government that we vote for. So who do voters who vote for the wrong people have to blame.
The 1970s starts off radically enough with the Vietnam War and millions of Americans wanting to get the hell out of there. And can you blame them with all the people we lost. To Vietnam War demonstrations with a crime family running the White House. Because they didn’t trust their own country and their own people and a lot of them voted for Richard Nixon. To Watergate and the Nixon team breaking into Democratic headquarters. That didn’t have a January heat wave in Alaska’s chance of defeating President Nixon for president. To a president essentially being forced to resign as president or be fired by Congress.
We go from Tricky Dick Nixon as president. To stumbling bumbling Gerry Ford as president, our own president who was never elected president or vice president. It gave Americans a taste of what communist rule looks like and they spit that out by voting for a peanut brain, I mean peanut farmer in Jimmy Carter for president. Whose idea of leadership was to blame America for the country’s problems.
It is a good thing I was only alive for four years of the 1970s. Because if I had to go through that whole decade and old enough to remember all of it, I might have ended up being institutionalized for depression. Because the 1970s was a depressing decade. Sure the women’s designer denim jeans revolution of the late 1970s helped and was great for men to see, but most of the rest of the decade was depressing.
Tuesday, October 7, 2014
Thom Hartmann: Thom Hartmann & Michael Medved- Debating the Role of Government in America
Source:Thom Hartmann- left-wing talk radio host Thom Hartmann, debating right-wing radio host Michael Medved in 2009, |
Source:FreeState MD
“The Great Debate was a political debate between progressive radio talk show host Thom Hartmann against conservative radio talk show host Michael Medved on a verity of topics.”
From Thom Hartmann
This debate reminds me of the debate that Socialist Party presidential candidate Norman Thomas, had against Conservative Republican Senate Barry Goldwater in 1961 or 62.
Norman Thomas was perhaps the leader of the democratic socialist or social democratic movement in America. And Barry Goldwater was Mr. Conservative, perhaps at least the leader of the Conservative Republicans not just in Congress, but perhaps in the entire Republican Party back in the 1960s and the conservative-libertarian movement in America at the time, even though real Conservatives back then weren’t called Conservative-Libertarians.
What you have in this debate is Thom Hartman representing the Bernie Sanders Democratic Socialists (even if Thom doesn’t call himself a Democratic Socialist) versus Michael Medved representing the lets say economic Libertarians and perhaps Conservative Libertarians as a whole.
So this debate is really about bigger government and perhaps even unlimited government, at least as it relates to economic policy, from Thom Hartmann, versus limited government, as least as it relates to economic policy, in Michael Medved.
Saturday, October 4, 2014
Oliver Stone: 'The Doors (1991) The Miami Incident: Val Kilmer as Jim Morrison
Source:Zobba Zoo- actor Val Kilmer as The Lizard King Jim Morrison, in Oliver Stone's The Doors.
Source:The New Democrat
"Best scene in the movie, a perfect recreation of the night of Jim Morrison's indecent exposure arrest, features "Touch Me," "Five To One," "Dead Cats, Dead Rats," and, of course, "Break On Through"
From Zobba Zoo
As I mentioned yesterday, The Doors is a very entertaining movie and in at least one sense is accurate as portraying Jim Morrison as a very wild and perhaps immature young man. Who fit in very perfectly in the 1960s generation and the time he grew up in and came of age. But the Miami concert scene is one of the few accurate scenes in the movie. The Lizard King did show up to the 1969 Miami concert, not high, but drunk and was a few hours late.
Morrison was noticeably off and did an awful job and even had a hard time standing up because he was so drunk from the plane ride and from the bar before the flight. Morrison did stop singing all together, got frustrated and started cussing at the audience. And they did boo him and security had a hell of a hard time trying to secure the arena because it was so hot, wild and overcrowded. Sort of like an American prison actually. But the Miami scene and the New Haven scene might be the only two accurate scenes in the movie.
If you are simply just looking for a good fictional movie about a rock and roll band, The Doors is probably a good movie for you. But if you are really interested in the life of Jim Morrison and perhaps the run that The Doors had, I suggest you go the documentary route that is just as entertaining about The Lizard King and The Doors band. But you'll actually learn some things about them as well.
Thursday, October 2, 2014
Oliver Stone: The Doors (1991)
Source:The Daily Journal