Eh, enough already

Bye, everybody!*





*Reserving right to change my mind 10 months from now.

Smackdown!: Thunderbirds vs. Thunderbird

Thunderbirds
What: British sci-fi/adventure TV series with a cast of marionettes. In it, the International Rescue organization (made up of former astronaut Jeff Tracy and his five sons) thwart evil by using futuristic gadgets. They're helped by Lady Penelope, secret agent. Co-created by Gerry Anderson, who recently passed away.

Pros: Scripts were surprisingly ambitious and rarely talked down to its kid audience. Overall, a fun show.

Cons: Unsurprisingly, when your leads are marionettes, they can be rather stiff. It is rumored that Keanu Reeves was inspired to enter acting by the example of the show's cast. Members of the Tracy family have trouble walking convincingly, so they sit a lot. By modern standards, the pace can seem slow.

Thunderbird

What: A variety of wine favored by a subset of aficionados known as "winos." To quote the Eugene Weekly, "The acetic and warm taste of Thunderbird is astringent in its nature. A cross between paint thinner and stale urine, this austere blend of god-knows-what is a sure way to make sure that you forget about whatever it is that just happened to you. This wine has legs, an unmistakable balance that is beyond words."

Pros: It is cheap, and will get you drunk quickly. According to Eugene Weekly, it "has legs," and therefore is one up on the Tracy family.

Cons: It's true that descriptions of fine wine are often bizarre. Wine Spectator recently gave a 91 points out of 100 to an Italian wine, describing it as having "layers of spicy underbrush, game, ash and dark tobacco notes." Because everyone loooooves the taste of ash. Nevertheless, most people don't like the taste of paint thinner and urine. Paint thinner is damaging to your average marionette. Drinking Thunderbird may lead to being inspired by Keanu Reeves. It could also lead to the inability to walk convincingly, causing you to sit a lot. Drinking excessively could make time seem to move slowly. (Note: Depending on point of view, this could be a Pro.)


Winner: Can we call this a draw? I can see enjoying a glass of Thunderbird while watching Thunderbirds.

Link dump

Stuff I've posted on Facebook but not here:

If you have Netflix streaming and are into film, I'd recommend you check out "The Story of Film: An Odyssey," a 15-part program from U.K. TV. It's has a ton of clips from films I've read about but never seen, and the director/narrator has a unique point of view--it's more a personal essay on film history (with a strong emphasis on international film) than a straight recounting of what happened when. I'm now up to the fourth hour and will definitely watch all 15. There's an interview with director Mark Cousins here.

Interesting New Yorker profile of professional pickpocket Apollo Robbins.

Peggy Lee would like to wish you a Happy New Year. That melody is gorgeous. (There's a good Regina Spektor cover, but I think the original is better.)

TCM is showing my favorite movie, A Matter of Life and Death, at 1:30 this afternoon, so act fast to record it to your DVR! (Actually, it's also on YouTube if you miss it: Part 1 and Part 2. But don't believe the person who posted it--the film isn't in the public domain.)

Gerry Anderson, co-creator of Thunderbirds, passed away last week. I still love that show!

And, finally, here's a picture of Freddie opening Christmas presents:

What's the deal with having an underdeveloped sense of irony?

From the New York Times profile of Jerry Seinfeld (emphasis mine):

One Friday in early October, Seinfeld took a private plane from New York to Kansas City, Mo., told jokes onstage for 75 minutes, then flew to Milwaukee, where he was booked at the Riverside Theater the next night. On Saturday morning he wanted to see “Argo,” so he rented an entire theater at the local movie palace, the Oriental, and watched it with his opening act, Mark Schiff, and his tour producer. “I liked it,” Seinfeld said later on, over coffee at his hotel, “but the ending was a little Hollywood.”

Fisking "Winter Wonderland"

Sleigh bells ring, are you listening,
In the lane, snow is glistening
A beautiful sight,
We're happy tonight.
Walking in a winter wonderland.

OK, so far, I'm with you. Bells, snow, happiness: Check, check, and check.

Gone away is the bluebird,
Here to stay is a new bird
He sings a love song,
As we go along,
Walking in a winter wonderland.

What do you have against bluebirds? They're a traditional symbol of happiness. So the "love" bird has chased away happiness? That seems rather cynical.

In the meadow we can build a snowman,
Then pretend that he is Parson Brown
He'll say: Are you married?
We'll say: No man,
But you can do the job
When you're in town.

If you're walking through a meadow and a snowman asks if you're married, you should probably knock off the eggnog.

Later on, we'll conspire,
As we dream by the fire
To face unafraid,
The plans that we've made,
Walking in a winter wonderland.

This is so weirdly conspiratorial, I can only assume that you're planning on robbing a bank. I've already notified the authorities.

In the meadow we can build a snowman,
And pretend that he's a circus clown
We'll have lots of fun with mister snowman,
Until the other kids knock him down.

Odd--I don't remember this verse. First of all, this is the second snowman you're building in the course of a fairly short song. Face it: You're stuck in a rut. Second, no one likes clowns. Third, those children need to be punished. Otherwise, this is just a glorification of bullying.

When it snows, ain't it thrilling,
Though your nose gets a chilling
We'll frolic and play, the Eskimo way,
Walking in a winter wonderland.

Ethnic stereotyping: Check. Why don't you just build a third snowman?

Here, I just saved you $15 and three hours of eyestrain

You'll have to supply the popcorn, though.

A very Dragnet Christmas

Warning: This is surprisingly dark. I can't argue with the last line, though, that's for sure.

This gift is from Jackie/Oh golly, oh shucks/I hope that you like it/It cost 40 bucks

Outstanding Christmas episode of The Jack Benny Program, with a surprisingly dark punchline.

That's Bugs Bunny himself as the harried clerk.

Spam email I didn't finish reading

Have a nice day to you.

I received your contact information from a mold friend of mine.

Outrageous!

Lazy phrase I'm getting really tired of seeing in news stories, especially headlines. From a cursory search in Google News:

Rihanna sparks outrage after cuddly photo with Chris Brown

Kirkliston bus cuts spark outrage

Power profits spark outrage

London Fans Spark Outrage Over 'Free Palestine' Chants

Caffeinated Cracker Jacks spark outrage from health group

White women in Black face spark nation-wide outrage

Fuel price hikes spark outrage

Facebook arrests spark nationwide outrage

A coyote killing contest in New Mexico is sparking outrage

Paris Hilton sparks outrage as she opens store in Mecca, Saudi Arabia

Hidden California state parks funds spark outrage

Dutch Architects Spark Outrage with Design Resembling Twin Towers

'Jihad' ads on CTA buses spark outrage

'Sandy Supermodel' Nana Gouvea Sparks Outrage for Photo Shoot

Hundreds Of Pardons, Some For Killers, Spark Outrage In Mississippi

India's 'Hitler' stores spark outrage

US Olympic athletes' uniforms spark outrage

Military moms spark outrage by breastfeeding in uniform

Claims that Jesus had a wife spark outrage

Sen. Reid's comments on Romney, Mormonism spark outrage

TV Bosses Spark Outrage As Soap's Omnibus Is Moved To Five Minutes Past Midnight On Saturdays*

My personal favorite:

Pre-Peeled Bananas Spark Outrage

(But at least that's supposed to be funny.)

From now, I beg of you, replace "spark outrage" with "provoke peevishness"--you get the bonus of alliteration!

*No, I don't know what this means, either.

The British are coming

Jan. 12, 1905

Paul Revere was signaled from this tower.

G.W. Johnson

Click to embiggen. Hit the "postcards" label for more.