September 30, 2016

James Hong has the most TV/Film credits in history.

Even the most die-hard aficionados would be startled that a Chinese-American character actor has the most TV and movie appearances of all time. Good actor, mind you.

-- Mal

September 21, 2016

Donald the Snake

I was chatting with a friend in another venue, and it occurred to me that Al Wilson's song "The Snake" perfectly described what his candidacy meant:

But I find that Mr Trump has already adopted that song for his own purposes (boy, am I behind the curve!), only in his view it's about refugee immigrants.

This really blows my mind, but what is one to expect from someone whose them song is "You Can't Always Get What You Want?"

-- Mal

September 19, 2016

"And Your Bird Can Sing"

In the original version of this song, Paul and George combined for the guitar solo. In the 1964 Tribute's version, Tom Work is having none of this, and nails a middlin' tough solo all by himself.

-- Mal

September 4, 2016

This sounds like a great idea: a college for building trades.

http://www.citylab.com/work/2015/02/the-college-of-lost-arts/385644/

Talk about a "relevant" degree!

-- Mal

September 3, 2016

Personally, I don't like tacos.

But I will defend to the death your right to have them.

-- Mal

September 1, 2016

Alex Haley interviews George Lincoln Rockwell

While this is certainly not "recent," it is a good read, indeed, and as I was re-reading it last night it occurred to me that it has relevance to the 2016 elections. Not to mention that I reckon many who were born after 1966 have never been exposed to this great piece of journalism. If you can get through it (and I don't blame you if you can't: it is vile), it is hard to escape the conclusion that Rockwell was actually more intelligent and coherent than Donald Trump. Which is a frightening conclusion, indeed, given that Rockwell was considered a fringe nut and not a viable candidate for the office of President of the United States.

I cannot praise Mr Haley enough for having the capacity to sit through this session. Throughout, he steadfastly challenges Mr Rockwell on factual data and the logic of his arguments; moreover, his magazine (Playboy, not exactly considered a news magazine by any stretch of the imagination) fact-checks many of the interview subject's statements. This is what journalism used to look like, children. (Especial kudos to Mr Haley for not vomiting when Rockwell tells him "I like you;" I can only imagine how many baths Mr Haley took after this interview)

I'll reiterate the warning that many readers will find Mr Rockwell's sentiments, and the way he expresses them, deeply offensive.

http://alex-haley.com/alex_haley_george_lincoln_rockwell_interview.htm

-- Mal

September 1, 2016

Is Ronnie Bennett the sexiest female vocalist of all time?

Ran across this footage browsing YT, and it occurred to me that many of the rising generation probably never saw Ronnie Bennett perform. This really needs to be corrected.

To paraphrase another old song, I don't know what she's got, but she's sure got a lot. The Theda Bara of vocalists.

-- Mal