by John Walters
Tweet Me Right
Starting Five
Another Day Of Trump
Calls Jews “stupid” if they vote Democrat and cancels trip to Denmark after its Prime Minister called his interest in purchasing Greenland “absurd.” And that was Tuesday.
Just so we’re clear here: titular head of the Republican Party, who defends neo-Nazis as “very fine people,” calls out Jews who would dare to not support him.
The King AnDi-vorce*
*The judges will also accept “Once Upon A Time In Hollywood”
Radio megastar and Weekend At Bernie‘s aspirational figure Larry King, 85, has filed for divorce from his wife of 22 years, Shawn King. Who is not that mixed race dude who always gets in on-line battles with Clay Travis. And is definitely not the former Tulane quarterback.
Shawn is 59. This was Larry’s seventh marriage and the depressing part is knowing he’ll get married again before we will wed.
There’s TWO Of Them?
Dear 23AndMe: I’ve got a project for you.
Wow. Yesterday on the campaign trail in Minnesota Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren met her doppelgänger (that’s the U.S. Senator on the right…for once). This gives us hope that there may just be a Charlize Theron lookalike hiding out somewhere.
Edina resident Stephanie Oyen has been told so often by family members that she resembles Warren that she decided to don her blue blazer and glasses (her standard Halloween costume the past two years) and attend an event in St. Paul where Warren was speaking. When she entered the back of the hall, people began to turn around and point out, “It’s her!”
Oyen is 50. Warren is 70. Here’s to great genes.
The Great Buster
TCM aired a documentary on silent film star Buster Keaton Monday night and because I barely knew more about him than the name, I decided to give it a chance. In the intro they explain that Keaton’s short films, or shorts, were essentially the inspiration for most Bugs Bunny cartoons. And, Bugs being an all-time favorite of mine, they had me hooked.
Two things to know about Keaton: 1) he was born, in 1895, to a pair of parents who had their own vaudeville act and then became a part of it before he could even walk 2) in that act and when he became a movie star in the early 20s, he did his own stunts.
Watch this, and notice what he does at :46. Also, at 1:26. Those are two of his most famous stunts. Don’t try that at home (or with your home):
There, Al McCoy
The Phoenix Suns announced that Al McCoy, who has been calling games for the NBA franchise since 1972 (and has missed only ONE game due to personal illness in all that time), will return for a 48th season this autumn. McCoy, 86, is nearly as much of an institution in the Valley of the Sun as Camelback Mountain. A few years back I profiled him in Newsweek.
Music 101
No Time
Last night at the Cookoutateria an upper-middle-aged rock band, The Rockbrokers, covered this Guess Who classic with aplomb. The song was released in September of 1969, which means that it turns 50 next month, and in the aftermath of the Manson Family murders and Woodstock, it feels as if it’s a breakup song with the Sixties in a way. With the gorgeous four-part harmonies and unique guitar riff, it makes us think that this is one song the Beatles wish they had written. The Canadian rockers, who also wrote “American Woman” and “These Eyes,” are somehow NOT in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. WUT?
Remote Patrol
Sullivan’s Travels
TCM 8 p.m.
This 1941 Preston Sturges comedy is considered a classic. John Sullivan (Joel McRea) is a popular young Hollywood director of frivolous comedies (sounds like a few people we could name) who longs to make a meaningful picture. So he dresses as a hobo in Depression-era America to find out what the real people are really like. Somehow Veronica Lake factors into the plot.
Wait, there is MUSIC at the Cookoutateria?! And here I thought it was all food, liquor & sunsets over water. And fab-u-lous service of course. 🙂
Can’t you tell us ANYthing about your other gig? How does it differ from Cookoutateria? Fancier? Less fancy? What kind of food? How do the employees differ, if at all?
Hard to believe The Guess Who are not in the HOF. When I think of 70s music, I think of the Guess Who, Three Dog Night, Seals & Crofts (don’t make fun of me!), the Stones & the Bee Gees (come on, disco was EVERYWHERE in the mid-late 70s!). And Norman Greenbaum. 1st couple of chords of Spirit in the Sky & I’m back in the summer of 1970. And pretty much every summer for at least the next 12 years as that song was in heavy rotation on summer pop radio. 🙂
I’ve only watched Sullivan’s Travels twice & I remember NOTHING about the movie except I was disappointed & shocked that it was considered a “comedy classic”. I don’t even remember why I disliked it. Could have been something happening in my personal life at the time colored the way I viewed it & I’d like it now. It’s happened before. Or I could watch it again & STILL not see why it’s a “classic”. There are some films considered “classic” or “great” that I just hate. For example – The Third Man. Oh my gawd, that damn ZITHER! HOW does anyone watch & most of all listen to that movie?! Fingernails on the bleepin chalk board for me.
Is there a “classic” movie you hate? Besides GWTW? Which I guess you didn’t hate but didn’t think all that much of. But I don’t think that counts as you waited, ahem, over 50 YEARS before seeing that movie & how could anything live up to its reputation after such a delay?
Quid pro quo, Clarice.
Susie B, no one knows precisely where you work or live or if you’re actually a 15 year-old boy named Lucas. And you constantly paw at me for more personal information. The nerve!
The Cookoutateria has only recently begun featuring a group of rockers who are nearly in need of rockers but can still rock out to the oldies. Only on Tuesday nights. They’re quite good and I love their playlist, which includes “No Time”, “Can’t Find My Way Home (Blind Faith)” and “Let’s Go” (The Cars). As for the other place (I did actually work at a restaurant called The Other Place in my teens), it has no music but the staff is hyper-efficient and professional. Five or six of us are refugees from the cookoutateria, mainly because the beloved cookoutateria manager moved there to be the GM there. He’s the best boss you could ever want.
–JW
Come on, jdubs, you know TONS about me! In fact, I worry occasionally that I reveal too much here such as : I grew up on a farm, lived in MD all my life, graduated from MD, went to grad school, been workin’ for decades in “Peerless Rockville” (this is a name on a real estate advert from the turn of the century to entice folks in the “inner city” of DC to venture out into what was then “countryside” & it’s made me laugh since the day I read it), have loved books, “old movies”, the Olympics, various sports off & on, AND TV all my life. I’ve even mentioned where I live now & have offered it up as the perfect setting for the inevitable “Nuremburg-like trials” for all the enablers & collaborators of the Sociopath. And my favorite athletes of all time include Wilt Chamberlin, David Thompson, Bill Walton (college years), Michael Phelps, Katie Ledecky, Billie Jean King, Chris Everett, Mary Lou Retton, Simone Biles, Tim Tebow, Charles Barkley & of course, Sweet Pea (even if I’m “taking a break” at the moment 🙂 ) . Heck, you know more about me than one of my former fiancés! 🙂
The reason I guess I keep asking about your other workplace is that you’ve written quite a bit about Steakateria & Cookoutateria but this “Other Place” has gone incognito, at least till now. I was beginning to think maybe it was a GOP hangout or, god forbid, located in TT (!) & you didn’t want to deal with a certain blog reader’s rantings & ravings every day. 🙂
As for the movie Q, Susie B., I may wind up agreeing with you on Sullivan’s Travels since the other two Preston Sturges movies I saw, well, I wasn’t as big a fan as people I know who DO love his stuff.
Your question is a good one and, like you, I’m not a huge fan of The Third Man and agree that the zither makes it nearly unwatchable.
Looking at the AFI list of Top 100, I thought Taxi Driver dragged on a little long. But the one movie I cannot stand that everyone else loves, even if it’s not an AFI classic, is “Ghostbusters.” I hate the theme song, I hate how contrived the plot is, I hate how Murray and Aykroyd smirk through the entire film, etc. And I love Bill Murray.
That said, I’d put “Groundhog Day” on any Top 100 movies list. Also, “Broadcast News,” “Mrs. Miniver” and “No Country For Old Men.” I’d sub out “The Third Man” and insert “Touch Of Evil,” a far better OrsonWellesian film.
But that’s just me…
So I guess for the future “surprise” 10th Anniversary party for MH, we can forget about blasting “Ghooostbusters!? 🙂 True, I guess Murray & Aykroyd did smirk their way thru & that song can be nauseating on the umpteenth radio repeat, but I liked both at the time. Your feelings remind me of one of the old radio DJs in this area, who had been on the air for decades on various stations & hated, absolutely HATED “Sugar, Sugar” by the Archies. He apparently had to play it quite a bit back in the day & he developed a life-long hatred & he would SPEW about that song for years. Made me laugh as I’d LOVED that song when I was a kid (still get a kick out of it actually) & this guy’s foaming-at-the-mouth hatred for this little kiddie-pop tune, always made me fall on the floor laughing. People would call in & request that song just because they KNEW it would get him going. 🙂
I hereby will try to avoid all Ghostbuster references & in fact..
“If there’s something strange
In my neighborhood
Who am I gonna call?”
JDUBS!
🙂 🙂 🙂
The song that sets me off is “Seasons in the Sun”. OMG, OhhhMyyyyGawd, the writer & performers should ALL be arrested!
Shazam! Al McCoy must be sticking around for the resurgence of The Suns. Which means we may be lucky enough to score a few more years with him!