by John Walters
Tweet Me Right
Starting Five
Trumpeachment
The House of Representatives vote to impeach president Donald Trump by the tally of 230-197, which I believe was also the score of the most recent Rockets-Mavericks game.
Let’s be honest here: Yesterday’s day-long debate would’ve been improved with Tony Reali serving as moderator, awarding points for arguments well-made and muting Jim Jordan. And if a representative from Colorado spoke while behind him a witty aphorism (“On the other hand, I have five fingers”) was scrawled on a chalkboard behind him, what’s wrong with that?
About Face
These snippets speak for themselves…
…and…
Verge Of Greatness
The espn.com headline of a college hoops game you did not stay up for (St. Mary’s 96, Arizona State 56) reads “Ford scores 34 in Saint Mary’s 96-56 win over Arizona State,” which would not really entice me to read about the blowout.
What the headline fails to mention and the story does not get to until the 7th paragraph is that Sun Devil junior Alonzo Verge, Jr., came off the bench to score 43 of ASU’s 56 points. Forty-three points, off the bench, in a 40-point loss. Can’t remember seeing anything like that.
We’d say Verge set a new (Dr. Evil pinky to edge of lip)…bench mark?
Tesla Is A Car, But Its Stock Is A Rocket
Yesterday morning before the bell CNBC had a debate between a Tesla bull and a Tesla bear analyst. Shares of the stock have already more than doubled since June ($176 on June 3, $383 before yesterday’s bell).
So it was the bull, not the bear but the bull, who had a price target of Tesla of $385. And where is Tesla this morning, less than 26 hours since that man appeared on CNBC? It’s at $400.
Where does it stop? I dunno. Just informing y’all.
Five Films: 1978
- Animal House: Perhaps we are all a product of our youths (we are, of course), but to me the funniest films are those from the Seventies: Blazing Saddles, Airport! (technically, 1980) and this one. From the twisted and tragic mind of Douglas Kenney, who in 33 short years on the planet co-founded The National Lampoon and wrote both this film and Caddyshack. If there’s a male between the ages of 50 and 60 who is unable to quote at least two lines from this film, I wouldn’t trust him. 2. The Deer Hunter: Breaking my own rule here. I’ve never actually seen more than a clip or two of this movie, but it’s got a nearly-dead John Cazale, Robert De Niro, Meryl Streep and Christopher Walken (and yes, I know how it ends) and it won Best Picture. High on the must-see list. 3. Grease: Nearly a zeitgeist film and it also had tunes all over radio in the summer and fall of ’78. I think I hit puberty about 14 minutes into the film, or whenever ONJ made her first appearance. True confession: I like the “before” Sandy better than the after. 4. Heaven Can Wait: This was actually sweet and funny and poignant. What a turn for Warren Beatty after doing Shampoo. Kids, he was as big a male movie star as there was in the Seventies. Maybe only Robert Redford was bigger. 5. Midnight Express: “Tommy, have you ever been in a Turkish prison?” This is the film that inspired that line.
I was one of the few people under the age of 30 who HATED Animal House, especially in 1978-1980. For one reason – my campus job was at UM’s Main Dining Hall & WHO do you think had to CLEAN UP THAT SHIT when the never-Einsteins decided to replicate a famous scene from that damn movie? If it happened during your shift, you had to stay & clean until it was finished, no matter how long, even past midnight, 1AM, 2AM, whatever or you were FIRED. Clean the shit off the tables/chairs/windows/conveyor belt/walls/carpet/20 ft tall curtains. Even now, I get angry. Har, har, har, sooooooo funny. That job paid for more than half of my yearly school cost, upfront, so I couldn’t just walk off. Do you detect a lingering bitterness? Ab-sol-friggin-lutely. I would ALMOST agree with you that Animal House be listed as #1 because of its impact, however…
“GREASE is the wooorrrrrd”.
“Tell me more, tell me more
But you don’t gotta brag”
Well, if you insist…
“Why this car is AUTOMATIC
It’s systematic!
It’s Hydromatic
Why, it’s GREASED LIGHTNING!”
“I got chills, they’re multiplying
And I’m losing control
Cause the power you’re supplying
Its electrifying!”
My goodness, 41 years later & kids/teens/adults still love this movie & can sing along to many of the songs – in addition to the above – Hopelessly Devoted to You, Summer Nights, Hand Jive, Beauty School Dropout, etc. Has there been another actor that has had TWO such HUGE BLOCKBUSTERS back-back like Travolta in 1977-78? Before SNF, he was just some guy playing an oh-so-dumb teen on a TV comedy & then KABOOM!
Other fave/great movies of 1978 – Foul Play ( I actually liked Chevy Chase in this & normally I thought he was an arrogant jerk), Same Time, Next Year (which I always enjoy re-watching), Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Ice Castles, Capricorn One (even though this damn movie ‘convinced’ even more people that the Moon Landing was faked, arghhhhhhh!), & The Buddy Holly Story, largely because of Gary Busey’s tremendous performance. (And boy, his career has not turned out as I & millions of others predicted).
There was also the 1st Superman film, this with Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, Gene Hackman & Marlon Brando phoning in his performance, because he just didn’t give a damn anymore & it showed. I wasn’t a huge fan of the movie but I liked it, probably because I grew up watching the reruns of the old Superman TV series when I was a kid. Unlike the Star Wars movies, this movie has NOT held up.
Today’s sing-out :
“We go together like ramma lamma lamma ka dinga da dinga dong
Remembered forever as shoo-bop sha whada whadda yippidy boom da boom
Chang chang changity chang shoo bop
That’s the way it should be
Wahooooo, YEAH!”
🙂
Now, c’mon, Susie B. You’re telling us you were under 30 in 1979? 🙂