Welcome to the Machine
Currently listening: Shangri-Las, Ladytron, Queens of the Stone Age, Everly Brothers
AOL and Warner Bros. are now offering reruns of old televisions shows online - for FREE! Sheer bliss for those of us who adore programs like “Growing Pains,” but scoff at actually buying the DVD. A fine business move on the part of AOL and WB, indeed; I imagine this will be huge. Let’s hope “Beverly Hills 90210″ will be available soon because, holy cow, did I love that show.
Cameron Crowe to release only soundtracks. Ha. And I intended to blog this a few months ago: A “recut” of The Shining trailer, purposefully edited to make the film look like a Cameron Crowe-style coming-of-age dramedy. HILARIOUS. Be patient; it takes a few seconds to load. Is there a Peter Gabriel song? Of course there is.
Over the weekend I had the pleasure of dining at the historic Keens Steakhouse, home of the famous mutton chops. The restaurant opened in 1885, and is the only survivor of the Herald Square Theatre District. The steak and potatoes are delicious, the wine list is extensive, and the collection of churchwarden pipes alone is worth a visit.
Afterwards, we checked out the Aristocontest at Peoples Improv Theater, where a half dozen comedians told their own versions of “The Greatest Dirty Joke Ever Told.” Years of watching violent films, and bad television like “Saved by the Bell,” has more or less desensitized me to vulgarity, but some of the comedians’ retellings of the joke almost — almost — made me blush. I haven’t seen the Aristocrats documentary that was released this year, but I certainly plan to now. The PIT is a really fantastic venue, and I highly recommend checking out one of their many shows, with an especial emphasis on the monthly Aristocontest.
I also took in — suffered, rather — a screening of Saw II, which despite its career-reviving performance by former New Kid on the Block Donnie Wahlberg, dimmed in comparison to its surprisingly-scary predecessor, the aptly-titled Saw.
Word on the street is that a Depeche Mode-themed bar is opening in NYC. Has anyone heard anything official?
November 15th, 2005 at 10:54 am
Speak for yourself about Growing Pains. I would seriously consider buying that DVD if it had my favorite episode - the one where Mike blows off the annual Seaver family bowling tournament to hang out with his new art-snob girlfriend in the city. It’s got one of my favorite bad TV sitcom lines ever:
Mike: That’s just something from my neo-symbolist period.
Friend of Art-Snob GF: Oh, really? And what were you before you were a neo-symbolist?
Mike: I was a…a…a Neo-Synephrine!
November 15th, 2005 at 11:56 am
Mmm steak. Mmm wine. Churchwarden pipes… what the?
November 15th, 2005 at 2:36 pm
That’s hilarious. Maybe I would buy the FIRST, and only the first season. The episodes that stand out to me are (and my memories of Growing Pains aren’t terribly sharp so these might be inaccurate synopses) 1) The dad catches Kirk Cameron smoking so he forces him to smoke like 10 packs of cigarettes in an unventilated room just to teach him a lesson — child abuse! 2) The episode where Tracey Gold’s character is doing aerobics and falls through a hole in the floor and is forced to endure a barrage of fat jokes — the eating disorder thing was, and remains, incredibly disturbing 3) I think there is an episode in which the parents are out of town (naturally), the kids have a party (naturally), and some expensive or irreplaceable artifact is put in harm’s way and in a slow-motion sequences the artifact is rescued from dropping to the floor and shattering.
Or maybe that last one is from a Tom Cruise movie? Or ANY 80s party movie, really. Either way, both Tom Cruise and Kirk Cameron are both religious freaks now. I HAVE PROOF.
November 15th, 2005 at 2:42 pm
I was first introduced to churchwarden pipes in Williamsburg, VA, several years ago. I never thought I’d see a reapprearance — especially in NYC — but Keens has a collection of, I believe, 90,000 on display in the restaurant’s dining room. Apparently, it was a tradition in the 19th century and early 20th century for patrons to check their pipes at the door, because they were too delicate to be kept in pockets, bags, etc. The pipe-log at Keens includes the signatures of Albert Einstein, John Barrymore, Babe Ruth, and Teddy Roosevelt! More information about Keens HERE (including Lillie Langtry suing the restaurant for denying her admittance in 1905, the history of checking pipes in the 17th century, etc). Fascinating!
November 15th, 2005 at 4:15 pm
A pipe log! Super sweet! I had no idea. I am so glad I have Fireballs & Tsunami in my life : )