Guitar Tapping

Here's Erik Mongrain beautifully tapping on an acoustic guitar. Looking at this footage makes me realize why I never made it as a musician.

The Departed

Last year I wrote a review of "The Corpse Bride", saying that Tim Burton had finally returned to his strengths. The same could be said about "The Departed". Except Scorcese is ten times a director than Burton.

RG says this is Scorcese's best movie ever, better even than "Goodfellas". I can't agree with that yet. I've seen that film at least 30 times. I even wrote my term paper for film class on it. I can't compare a film I've seen once.

But in the opening sequence, when the camera sweeps into a run-down deli to the sound of "Gimme Shelter" we know we're home again. That and the violence. Scorcese speaks the language of film so well, English could be his second language. He always knows just when to use a zomm, dolly or a cut. There's a surprising amount of contrast in this one. Songs drop into silence and shots freeze frame at unexpected moments.

It's impossible to discuss the plot and stay spoiler free. So let's avoid the plot and just say that the story (based on the Hong Kong film "Infernal Affairs") twists and turns until it folds in on itself. It's a film that you need to see a number of times. Then argue with your friends.

The cast is perfect. I've spent years defending Jack Nicholson to people. Some say he does the same thing in every movie. And while he does play to his persona, Jack can always deliver a layered performance with a surprising emotional range. He plays his age here and for the most part plays it close to the vest. I've always dreamed of seeing him team up with Scorcese and the result does not disappoint.

DiCaprio is another actor that deserves defending. Since "Titanic" he's been unfairly maligned as an overhyped, over handsome movie star. But DiCaprio was never Tom Cruise. Even as a young actor he was capable of performances such as "The Basketball Diaries" and "What's Eating Gilbert Grape". And this is the third time he's worked with Scorcese. Only DeNiro and Pesci have done more. Matt Damon's gives his usual solid performance, proving once again that he needed to get far away from Ben Affleck.

Other critics are raving about "The Departed".

John Clarke Is a Famous Comedian

Here's an interview with John Clarke. I don't know what's stranger; the fact that he's 57 and an Australian, or that the interview was conducted on my birthday.





No, it's that he looks like my dad. It's like looking into my future. A bald, Australian future.

Sinatra and Elvis

This blog has been getting a little nerdy, so let's cool it up. Here's Frank Sinatra singing with Elvis Presley in 1960. Elvis had just come back from the army, so Frank "threw" him this special. Sure, it was self-serving and a transparent attempt to win over a younger demographic, but Frank treated Elvis better than Elvis would the Beatles.

Battlestar Galactica

Yes, it's started again this week. And again, it threw so many curve balls I have no idea what's going to happen.

But let's not talk spoilers. Let's talk about the episodes you probably missed. Sci Fi put up ten webisodes that take place between seasons two and three. I'm watching them now and I'm hoping they set up some of the craziness I'm experiencing during season three.

Paris and Nicole Make Up

Add this to the long list of things I don't give a fuck about.

The real news is buried down three paragraphs. There's talk about how much people love "The Simple Life" and how many people want to see these two talentless, selfish idiots together again. But it won't air on FOX. It'll be sent to the basic cable pit of "E". Public demand has spoken.

For Your Consideration

New Christopher Guest movie!

C3PO

Nobody wanted to hang out with C3PO. People ditched him every chance they could. Anakin quit building him. Luke gave him to Jabba the Hutt. R2D2 crash lands with him on a desert planet and goes the other way. The only ones who appreciated C3PO? The Ewoks. And that is not worth advertising.

Biff sings

You've probably seen this since it's on the front page of youtube (unlike anything I've ever done)but it's still worth mentioning. Here's Tom Wilson ("Biff" in the Back to the Future movies) singing a mariachi number about what his life is like now.

Star Trek auction

Bill mentioned this on his blog some time ago but now Christie's has listed all the costumes, props and set pieces on auction. Looks everything from "Enterprise" and "Nemesis" is up, including three captain's chairs. Even with Abrams' new movie in development, this feels like Star Trek is really over.

Studio 60: Episode 3

It's online now.

Perfect line this week:

"No comedian you admire has ever been afraid of silence."

By the way, there's also a fake website for the NBS show. The links are alive but don't link to anything. Still, it's a cute little side marketing idea.

I Got a Raging Face!

I've been reading a great humor website called the Raging Face for awhile. Long enough that they asked me to contribute something. I came up with this.

Read "I Don't Have Time For My Time Machine".

Learn English the Violent Way

Bill updates his blog every day. I always stop by there and he always stops by here. You should too.

But really go today. Seriously. He's posted a Japanese video of speaking English in New York that is paranoid and silly at the same time. I thought of stealing it and posting it here but he deserves the hits.

Take a look.

The World in October!

Here's the first week in October. I'm at the Improv every night until Tuesday so i've repeated the dates for tonight and tomorrow. As before, print out the ticket above and bring it in for half off!


Friday Sep 29 2006 Midnight

Saturday Sep 30 2006 Midnight

Sunday Oct 1 2006 10:00P

Monday Oct 2 2006 8:00P

Thursday Oct 5 2006 10:00P

Friday Oct 6 2006 midnight

Monday Oct 9 2006 8:00P

Thursday Oct 12 2006 10:00P

Friday Oct 13 2006 10:30P

Wednesday Oct 18 10:00P

Thursday Oct 19 10:00P

Who Wants Action Figures?

I'm back to working from my home office for the first time in a few months and I've noticed something: I buy too many toys. The Balrog still has no place to stand and the closet is getting full of plastic bins. Stuff has to go.

I'm selling a bunch of my G.I. Joes on ebay. I got back into G.I. Joe two years agos because Marvel announced a line in the same scale. The idea of the Hulk picking up a G.I. Joe tank was too good to skip. At the same time, Hasbro announced they were discontinuing the 3 3/4" line. I went a little nuts. The end result? Marvel's new line was disappointing and the G.I. Joes came back. You can buy a bunch of them from me here.

I'm also getting rid of some Marvel Minimates. Between the samples I get from Art Asylum, a large box Joe Franzem gave me last month and the ones I bought I have quite a few extras. They're for sale here.

Bid early. Bid often. Get these things out of my house.

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip

It's been two episodes and I'm already addicted.

I was home last night so I decided to catch the pilot of "Heroes". Not good. Overwrought "X-Men" rip-off that adds nothing new but melodramatic "Lifetime" crap. "Studio 60" follwed it and I left it on because RG had told me it was great.

It is. I never saw much of "the West Wing" but I can see what people loved. Aaron Sorkin definitely has a style. The way Joss Whedon or David Milch has a style. Just listen to the rhythm of the dialogue. It's fast, sharp and fun to listen to.

The cast is strong. Amanda Peet is not annoying. This is the highpoint of her career. Just being not annoying. Matthew Perry decided to stop making terrible movies and stretch himself as an actor. He pulls his persona over to drama effortlessly. So does DL Hugley who after finishing a long run on a sitcom no one watched leaves a talk show no one watched. Judd Hirsch was so damn good in the pilot I was pissed he wasn't a regular. And I had no idea Steven Weber was in this until he walked on screen. Smart career moves all around.

And for a drama it sure has some great insights on comedy. Monday's episode included this exchange.

"I got a huge laugh when I asked for the butter at the table read and nothing at dress. What did I do wrong?"

"You asked for the laugh."

"And at the table?"

"You asked for the butter."

That advice gave me a good set last night.

Looks like the pilot is gone but you can watch Monday's epsiode (which frankly was better) here. I hope they keep doing this because I can't count on being home every Monday.

Sponge

This is simple, hilarious and a minute and a half.

Back

LOTS of family. I didn't get enough time to talk to everyone in depth. But here's my generation all together.


That's not even all of us. And here's my dad's generation, now the oldest Clarkes.



Good conversation for three days. Man, it was nice to have a break.

Going Away

Renee and I are headed up to Maryland today for the Clarke family reunion. The laptop is coming with me but until the day we have global wireless, posting will be iffy. If I'm out of communication, I'll see you after the weekend.

And don't try to break into my house. Tim Warner is there and he just quit smoking. So you'll be dead.

Elect Chris Perone

You'd be surprised how the low rungs of big jobs pay. People are surprised that I still have a day job even with regular gigs at the Improv. And people are more surprised that my art director is a state representative.

Chris Perone is running for his second term in Connecticut. He has no jurisdiction over me but I can tell you he's hard working, honest and cuts through the b.s. instantly. He also knows a hell of a lot about comedy and guitars. He has my vote. Except I don't live in Connecticut. If you do, vote for him this November.

Billy Shulz

I liek Rick Overton. I like Charlie Brown. I like short films on the internet.

Here then is the story of Billy Shulz, the illegitimate son of Charles M. Shulz. What's not to like?

The World in September

The rest of September actually. As before, print out the ticket above and bring it in for half off!


Tuesday Sep 19 2006 10:00P TONIGHT!

Thursday Sep 21 2006 10:00P

Tuesday Sep 26 2006 8:00P

Thursday Sep 28 2006 10:00P

Friday Sep 29 2006 Midnight

Saturday Sep 30 2006 Midnight

Ricky Gervais and Microsoft

David Brent lives! Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant made these two training films for Microsoft that might as well be two more episodes of "The Office". Wonderful stuff.



Part 2:

Jersey City Snakes

Spent the weekend at a sitcom writing class taught by Reid Harrison. He was fantastic, teaching us the realities of both the process and the business of sitcoms. He also created this website. It's a fictitious minor league baseball team and it's got Dave Thomas on it. Every week the comedy community gets a little smaller.

Little Miss Sunshine

Not what I was expecting. And I had no expectations. My only hope was that a cast this strong would deliver. And they did. Greg Kinnear has had the career every struggling actor dreams of. Going from a shitty talking head cable show to an Oscar nominated actor isn't the easiest of leaps. And while he never astounds me, he gives a solid performance that always believable. Toni Collette does a great job but she's given the least to do. Out of all the characters, she has no arc. Like most women roles, she's there to play straight man to everyone else. Steve Carell gives a fascinating subtle portrayal I'd never seen from him. If he keeps this up, he'll be the actor Jim Carrey wishes he was. And I love Alan Arkin. He's given me so many good performances I laugh as soon as he opens his mouth. His part is smaller than I expected but he makes every moment worth it.

As far as the plot, I'm telling you nothing. This is not a movie about plot. This is a movie about character and tone. It has a Hal Ashby quality feel to it. Think of a 70's film like "The Last Detail". Great cast, interesting story but you don't get the theme until you're halfway home. I don't see that enough.


Here's what the other critics thought.

LY

I find the best stuff on Mark Evanier's blog.

When I was 13, Dr. Demento started broadcasting on New York radio. He didn't last more than a year, but his show opened a new world of comedy to me. I heard song parodies from guys in the midwest with 4-tracks. I listened to George Carlin even though my parents warned me not to. I loved Monty Python for a full year before I ever saw them.

I also fell in love with Tom Lehrer. He's fairly obscure but the novelty songs he wrote in the fities and sixties were smart, elegant and had punches in unexpected places. I got "An Evening With Tom Lehrer" for my thirteenth birthday and played the living hell out of it. When a complete box set was released on cd six years ago, I got that too.

It was thent I realized I'd been listening to Tom Lehrer all my life. He wrote a few songs for "The Electric Company" and they were the best of that series. The video below is the best of those and it's Renee's favorite. The song is on the box set but I hadn't seen the animation in 25 years.

iPod News

Yesterday Apple introduced a new line of iPods. The most salivating thing for me is that they've introduced an 80 GB iPod for $349. That's $50 less than I paid for my non-video 40 GB model two years ago.

But Apple downplayed this announcement. Instead they were rejoicing over the decision to make movies available through iTunes for $14.99 a pop.

What?

Not that video iPod isn't nifty and $1.99 shows through iTunes aren't helpful (it's the only way I was able to catch up on "Lost") but why pay the same price as a theater admission for a copy worse than VHS? You can own a 2 disc set of Pirates of the Carribean for $11.99 or you can fork over three more bucks for a pixelated pan and scan version with no hard backup. Tell me why I should be excited.

This is just a stepping stone to that magic business model of downloading movies straight to your tv. With theaters consolidating in the face of declining audiences and dvd sales leveling off, this has to seem like the fatted calf to the studios.

In the midst of all this video clamor, I have a simple question. When can I load my dvds into my iPod? I have a mammoth dvd collection and I'd sure like to watch an episode of "The Simpsons" or "The X-Files" on the N train now and then. If you couldn't listen to your own cds in the iPod, it never would have taken off. Now's the time to do the same for video. Make it propriety if you have to, but make it happen.

Last Night at the Improv

Aaron started writing nights at the Improv where we can all critique each others' acts and brainstorm. With "The World" running seven days a week, the only time we can do it is Mondays at midnight. That hurts. Physically.

But I wasn't going to miss it. So I went home and tried to catch as much of a nap as possible before leaving the house at 11:30. It wasn't worth the wait for the train so I drove into Manhattan alone. This is big for me.

Since the NY Underground Comedy Festival is running, we've seen an influx of heavy hitters. Last night Rick Overton was there. He's been in over a hundred movies. He's been doing stand-up for 35 years. And he sat in on on the writing night.

For the next hour, he discussed comedy, stage presence and how to manage your career. The information was invaulable but his spirit was immeasureable. We've all been working so hard lately, we were in dire need of inspiration. Rick gave us that and more. He told me exactly what I needed to hear; don't let your head get in the way of your gut. Every time I overthink a situation, I screw it up. The brain is just storage, he said. Don't listen to it on stage.

On the drive home (still big for me) I realized I'm really in comedy. A lot has happened in the last eight months and it's taking all my energy to keep up with it. On days of five hours' sleep, barking in the rain and audiences of eight people, I wonder why I'm doing this. Last night was the reminder I needed.

9/11

Fighter jets are over the house. It's a different house now but it takes me right back to 9/11. And I don't need to go back there.

Tributes are all over the place. There's a miniseries on ABC and a feature film in the multiplex. Bush is running around the city grabbing every photo op he can find. All signals that we're allowed to feel sad. And that we haven't learned a damn thing.

I was a mile away from the towers when the planes hit. I remember seeing one tower standing. I ran uptown to get Renee and walk her over the bridge home. The swarm of people silently walking over the bridge made me realize what we were that day. Refugees.

We breathed in asbestos for two weeks. The government let us know that a month later. That should have been a tip off to how we were reacting.

In the five years since the attack we've gone from the most sympathized country to the most hated. We pretended to beef up security by frightening our own citizens. And, after sending troops in to find Bin Ladin, we redirected them into Iraq. It's like beating up the smallest kid in your class because the bully picked on you.

In every way, an event that should have woken us out of our complacency made us more selfish. We've proven ourselves to the be petty, immature country the rest of the world suspected we were. September 11, 2001 was a turning point for us. I can't help but feel we turned the wrong way.

Day of Rest

For over a year, I've updated this blog every day. I think you've gotten the message now that I'm dedicated. But traffic goes down on the weekends and I'm usually dashing something off quick to make my deadlines. My freelance job has stayed full-time for two months now. And the further I get in stand-up the harder I have to work.

So I'm dropping to six updates a week. Don't cry. I'm not sure if I'll take Saturdays or Sundays off but I'll only be updating once a weekend. The rest of the week will see regular daily postings as usual.

Fortunately, this announcement means I've updated both days this weekend. So the new schedule won't go into effect for another week.

The Path to 9/11

Bill Clinton is calling for substantial changes to ABC's tv movie about September 11th, calling it "false and defamatory".

George W. Bush hasn't asked for changes because he doesn't know anything about 9/11.

Mo Mosquitoes

Long timers will remember my rant on mosquitoes last year. It goes double for this year.

By the way, killing them is not as satisfying as actually sleeping the night before.

Bastards.

Audioslave Revelations

I love Audioslave. Their first two albums combined what was great about Soundgarden and Rage Against the Machine. Their concert last year was one of the best I've ever seen. And now I've finished their third album.

This band has always struggled to reconcile their two halves. The first album sounded like Chris Cornell singing with Rage Against the Machine. That may sound obvious but they barely sounded like they were in the same room. "Out of Exile" was better with equal contributions from all four members. At the time, I proclaimed their third album would be the one where their identity really came to the fore.

Was I wrong? A little. With few exceptions (the second half goes a little 'Superunknown') this record doesn't sound like Soundgarden or Rage. But it still doesn't sound like them. Audioslave has left their own catalogs but now they dip into Led Zeppelin and Smokey Robinson's. This album has a swing to it I didn't expect. The rhythm section has been listening to more Funk Brothers than Public Enemy this time. "Original Fire" is the 21 Century's "Going to a Go Go". There. I'm the first one to say it.

The playing and the production is again fantastic. Brendan O'Brien brings grittiness to a sound that Rick Rubin had polished. Tom Morello's guitar is the ugliest it's ever been. It sounds like the tubes in his Marshall are about to go on every song. He breaks his own riff style in favor of four chord acoustic verses that were the pride of Seattle. But his solos are the most nostalgic. Hear him dig into the whammy and wah pedal simultaneously on "Original Fire" and you'll think you're in the "Battle of Los Angeles" again.

The songs have less hooks but are somehow catchier. I dare you not to sing the chorus to "Revelations" the second time it comes around. And Chris Cornell's voice has rarely been stronger. He tends to write melodies he can only hit on his best days. Sounds like there were some good days in the sound booth. And thank God he saved his Katrina tribute for what was already the best song on the album ("Wide Awake"). The muscular drive of that song keeps his lyrics from becoming preachy and sappy.

I defend Audioslave regularly. A band with this much power can't be dismissed so easily. I just wish they'd come together into a cohesive whole. I've been waiting three albums now.

Hey Barton, what do you think?

Crocodile Hunter

I want to hear the stingray's side. I think he'd say it was self defense.

Force Cologne

Here's the latest Play Cole digital video. This one's all Bill's. He wrote, shot and edited it all himself. Congrats on your first film, Bill!

Labor Day

What does today mean? Did the Labor Party blow up a courthouse on this day? Or is it just a testament to American laziness?

Wanna let me know?

I Love Japan

Because it's the only country that thinks the ipod would be better if it ran around the room.

"This is a robot version of music-on-the-move that's so popular," said Miuro designer Shinichi Hara. Is that a bad translation or is he so crazy he said it like that?

The New York Underground Comedy Festival

More shows at The Improv Comedy Cafe. Two tonight even! Print out the picture above and bring it in. You'll get half off.

Saturday Sep 2 2006 10:30P
The World New York NY

Saturday Sep 2 2006 midnight
The World New York NY

Tuesday Sep 5 2006 8:00P
The World New York NY

Thursday Sep 7 2006 10:00P
The World New York NY


Thanks to "The World" I've been entered into the New York Underground Comedy Festival. I was not expecting to be a part of this but I'm pretty psyched. The shows again will be at the Improv Comedy Cafe on 53rd St. and 8th Ave.

Friday Sep 8 2006 midnight
New York Underground Comedy Festival New York NY

Tuesday Sep 12 2006 10:00P
New York Underground Comedy Festival New York NY

Thursday Sep 14 2006 10:00P
New York Underground Comedy Festival New York NY

Friday Sep 16 2006 12:00A
New York Underground Comedy Festival New York NY

Orson Welles 5: The Union Forever

Let's kick off the Labor Day weekend by wrapping up Orson Welles week here on Not In My Book.

I'm a big fan of the White Stripes and this is a big reason why. "The Union Forever" from White Blood Cells is entirely based on Citizen Kane. Why? Cause Jack White knows it's a damn good movie.

I have no idea if this is the official video or fan made but it is really good.

Orson Welles 4: Paul Masson

My generation grew up knowing Orson Welles as the spokesman for Paul Masson wine (that and his iconic 'Muppet Movie' cameo). But I can guarantee we never saw this commercial. Orson is so sloshed I'm sure he had no critique of the copy.

Orson Welles 3: The Critic

Maurice LaMarche also did voices for the short lived "Critic" animated series. It was a pop culture heavy show, so they took another stab at the Orson Welles frozen peas tape with Maurice. This one's only 20 seconds and they wrote their own joke, which is the funniest single line in the series.

Orson Welles 2: Yes, Always

As most of you know, the voice of the Brain in "Pinky and the Brain" was heavily influenced by Orson Welles. What you may not know it's because Maurice LaMarche was obsessed with the frozen peas tape. To this day, he performs it between takes. And once, on "Animaniacs", they let him perform the entire thing as the Brain. The finished animation makes me cry.

Orson Welles and Frozen Peas

I've seen John Candy do it on SCTV. I've heard Maurice Lamarche do it a number of times. And now I've finally heard the original.

Here's Orson Welles arguing with ad execs during a frozen peas commercial. It's glorious. Partly because he flips out completely. And partly because he's right.

Sometimes...

Even I think my toy collecting is out of control.



But the NECA Balrog was limited to 2400 pieces. And nothing is more expensive than regret.

Not In My Book Turns 1!

It is now exactly one year since I got off my fat ass and started this blog. And it's exceeded all my expectations. By about 1171 people. It's also got 32,547 hits, which is way more than I would have imagined.

Thanks to everyone that stops by regularly. The traffic has increased over the last few months and I hope that you keep coming back.

Now, who wants cake?

Rock Turtleneck

I've known Steve Walsh about six years now. Under his laid-back family man demeanor rages the heart of a lifelong music and Simpsons fan. Now, after years of urging he's finally letting it out in his new blog.

Check him out.

Pre-Blog Blog

Saturday will mark the one year anniversary of this blog. But I've been blogging three years before I had a blog.

I will now stop saying blog.

Chris Diclerico's site, which gets traffic I can only cream about, has been mentioned many times here. At one point, he wanted to have more regular updates so he asked a few friends to contribute. One of them was me. It was a lot of fun but after a while it felt like sleeping on his couch. As cool as it was to be there, I needed my own place.

Chris, to my sorrow, has never put a permanent link to me on his site. He's mentioned it a few times and every time people poured in (the creaming). But he does have an archive of every post I wrote for him. Looking at them now, they read like a pilot for Not in My Book.

Take a look at old me.

MT and R

The IT guy just complimented my "X Files" t shirt (geeks need to stick together). It was a freebie from when I worked at the Museum of Television and Radio.

I started at the museum in 1999 when work slowed down at Art Asylum. I had to wear a tie. I had to lead tour groups. I had to dim the lights in the screening rooms. I had to memorize little speeches. That was about it.

It was the easiest job in the world. At least it was supposed to be. For some reason the managers took it WAY too seriously. Men had to take out their earrings. Microwave popcorn was banned from the kitchen. And I went from leading tour groups to making change at the register. Suddenly, I was right back where I didn't want to be; working retail. When I expressed my dismay at the transfer I was told to go into therapy. The moment an advertising job turned up (one year later) I jumped on it.

I met the most interesting people there. Sid Caesar. Matthew Modine. Tony Randall. Jon Stewart. Lauren Bacall. Michael J. Fox. Walter Cronkite. Joyce Randolph. I had a pleasant conversation with Trixie one night. I packed Howdy Doody into storage. I held a Michael Westmore Star Trek head. I touched Ralph Kramden's table. All for 8 bucks an hour.

Even though I was mourning the loss of my comic book career, those were creative months. Mark Goldman would come in from Opie and Anthony punchy and hilarious. Marshall would create bizarre impressions of Orson Welles and the Supercar theme song. Dave would leave every four minutes for a smoke and pitch a show called "Choc Ice". He wrote it while high. Gina would encourage us to do the open mike at Hamburger Harry's. Pilar would bounce in with an animation idea and talk so fast we couldn't get it. Bobby and Raul would come down from maintenance to talk about Black Sabbath. Andrew would try to manage us but mostly ended up our sounding board.

It kept my days productive. I started writing real sketches and a "Spongebob" spec script. I created a website. I started a screenplay that would take six years to complete. I dressed up as Gromit for a day. I did the open mike at Hamburger Harry's. I would bring dates in after hours and pull up old "Sgt. Bilko" episodes. I started an intense relationship that imploded in six weeks. And a month later, I met my wife. That's even better than the shirt.

Eliminating Unnecessary Words

I was going to write a post on tightening my setups but, ironically, it ran too long.

Here's an awesome monkey.

Madman Moment

Bush says "Leaving Iraq would be a disaster". As opposed to what we have now?

Shatner Roast

The Comedy Central roasts are never that good. Once they lost their partnership with the Friar's Club, they started putting on anybody. Including Pamela Anderson. But tonight they got Shatner. So I'm interested. And of course, so is Bill. 10:00 tonight.

Indubitably Delicious

Fouind this on Mark Evanier's blog. It's a 1987 cereal commercial. Back in high school, Pat Antoine became obsessed with this. He was popular so we all became obsessed with it. Watching it now, I have no idea why. It's horrible.

Ozzwald

Walker sent me this.

Writing Can Be Fun!

This one was, anyway. Check out the Marvel products Master Replicas has planned for next year. I wrote the copy on all the pages and it brought me one step closer to my dream job.

Bruno Kirby

Bruno Kirby has passed away from leukemia at the age of 57.

I was not expecting this. Kirby had just done an episode of "Entourage". He was still working. I also didn't know you could get leukemia so late. A kid in my high school had it and he didn't make it to senior year. To be diagnosed at 57 is unsettling, to say the least.

Bruno Kirby was a great character actor who made about 60 films. More than half of them are great. Two of them, Godfather: Part II and When Harry met Sally are perfect. They couldn't be more different but Bruno Kirby made his roles in each memorable. Thanks to his quirky energy and his squeaky yet melodic voice, you could never look away from a Kirby performance. He will be missed.

Simpsons Season 8

The last of the great Simpsons seasons comes out on dvd today. It includes my all time favorite episode, "You Only Move Twice" guest starring Albert Brooks as Hank Scorpio. It's got "Mountain of Madness" with some beautiful Mr. Burns moments. It's got Frank Grimes.

And it also has a fantastic crossover with "The X Files" showcasing the voices of David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson and Leonard Nimoy. Considering the mood I'm in lately, this will be the first one I watch. If you want to watch half the episode, here it is.

Toy Run

WARNING: NERD POST. LONG NERD POST.

I don't get a lot of time off anymore. Between working full time, doing the Improv three nights a week and shooting various projects for people, I've lost most of my free time.

But yesterday I had the day off. The whole day. So I called Joe Franzem and we went on a toy run. If you're a toy collector, a toy run is your greatest challenge. It's expensive, frustrating and involves malls. A good partner is essential. Joe's been collecting for twenty years. He's so good he can tell you what parking space to take at the mall. I'd be in good hands.

I got in the Beetle and three blocks later the plastic bottom of the car fell out (this happens to Beetles over a certain mileage). I was pissed but I only had one day off. My car wants to fall apart, fuck it. I'm still going. I got under the car, ripped the rest of the plastic out and got back on the road

Joe and I headed out to Long Island. The Toys R' Us yielded my first find: the Young Avengers box set. I was going to pass on it but Robert Yee lent me the graphic novel and damn if it wasn't great. So now I need the figures. They also had DC Direct and Star Trek: the Next Generation toys, which was weird. These are only supposed to be in comic stores. At least I can say my writing now appears in Toys R' Us. I bought a Knightfall Nightwing for seven bucks.

From there it was on to Amok Time. I love this place. It's pretty far out so you feel like you're making a pilgramage. The display cases are full of Star Wars and Mego toys from the 1970's while the pegs are stuffed with rare new figures. It was here we found Sideshow's Krycek.

As you'll see from the link, this figure is long gone, limited to 500 pieces worldwide. And ever since I bought the final dvds of "The X Files" I've wanted the complete figure collection. I've been fighting for this guy on ebay and losing. And there he was. Only one of him.

Joe and I both looked at each other and said the same thing. "You gonna buy him?" The price was slightly higher than I wanted to pay. I just lost one on ebay for less. "I think I can keep looking." Joe grabbed him instantly. I consoled myself with a Green Lantern Salakk and a couple of Marvel Minimates. I get Minimates free from Art Asylum but it's always a random sampling. Every now and then I like to get the ones I missed.

We drove to the nearest Wal Mart and found the new super poseable Batman from Mattel. They had only two of him so this time we could each have one. We headed home and Joe asked, "You want more minimates?" Sure. Why? "You can have mine." Your doubles? "Nah, all of them. I don't want them." I dropped Joe off at his house and he came up from the basement with fifty minimates and all the X Files palz. And two Star Trek ships. And Gumby. He wouldn't take no for an answer. It was too much stuff but he told me to go fuck myself and take them. Toy karma for Krycek, I suppose.

I went home with the largest amount of new toys I've ever gotten in one day. Some were rare, some were old and some were unexpected. But the ones that meant the most were the ones I got for being a friend. Good day off.

More shows at "The World"!

UPDATE: Here's the rest of August.

Tuesday Aug 15 2006 8:00P

Thursday Aug 17 2006 10:00P

Friday Aug 18 2006 10:30P

Tuesday Aug 22 2006 10:00P

Thursday Aug 24 2006 10:00P

Friday Aug 25 2006 12:00A

Tuesday Aug 29 2006 10:00P

Thursday Aug 31 2006 10:00P



And I have a special AUDITION at Comic Strip Live next Monday. I have five free passes to this one so let me know if you want to be there.

Monday Aug 21 2006 8:00P
Comic Strip Live
1568 2nd Ave Btwn 81st and 82nd St.
New York NY

Curb your Enthusiasm Season 6

It's gonna happen.

I need to pick up Season 5 on dvd before I have a clear prediction (the last season got mixed reviews) but considering there have only been two great sitcoms this decade and one (Arrested Development) has been cancelled, I'm glad to see the other surviving.

Shaken, Stirred and Whining

Daniel Craig should not read this blog. In fact, he shouldn't go online at all. He's too sensitive.

Craig was named the new James Bond when talks with Pierce Brosnan fell through. Shooting is complete on "Casino Royale" which up to now, was the only of Ian Fleming's novels never officially filmed (not counting the 50's television version and that weird parody with Peter Sellers and Woody Allen). Sounds like it should go back to basics and showcase a leaner, tougher Bond.

But the actor playing Bond is complaining. He's hurt by the fan response. He thinks people won't accept a new Bond. Dude, it's been 40 years. We've accepted FIVE new Bonds. And one of them was George Lazenby. What we won't accept is a crybaby in the role. Shut up and shoot people.

Lieberman's Loss

If Joe Lieberman is this far in denial, imagine when he gets to anger. He might get a gun. No, wait, he's for gun control.

He might support the war in Iraq. Sorry. He's already doing that.

He might play "Grand Theft Auto". Oh, I see he's trying to get that game off the market.

He might come up with another catch phrase that starts with "Joe". Like "Jo mama" or "Joe to hell" or "I can't believe my strategy for reaching the common man was reminding them my name is Joe".

Vote for Andrew!

I got this email from Andrew Torres today:

A couple of weeks ago I did a three-minute presentation for The
Speaking Channel, a broadband channel devoted to effective
communication. Each contestant had to sell a "product," without props
or graphs. The "product" I chose to sell was myself, since I was
basically auditioning for my own broadband show. I did it kind of like
stand-up, since that's what I'm used to.

Here's where you come in. Please head over to the Speaking Channel
website and vote for me.

Andrew's good at a lot of things but he is a born broadcaster. This is exactly where he wants to be and needs to be. So let's show him the power of this blog. Head over to the Speaking Channel and vote. You don't even have to watch his video (but if he asks, say you did).

Vote for him!

1990's

Is it too early for me to be nostalgic for the '90's? Sure, VH1 has a show about it but they have a show about your last lunch hour. I miss the actual 90's.

I miss Jane's Addiction. That's probably because I first got laid to Summertime Rolls. Which will fuck you up for life by the way.

I miss Kurt Cobain being a genius and not a cautionary example.

I miss being 118 pounds and eating steak-umms for lunch.

I miss plaid.

I miss the X-Men being a cartoon and not a series of increasingly gay movies.

I miss OJ. And so does Ford motors.

I miss the X Files. Especially before we learned the government is too stupid to pull off cover-ups or conspiracies.

I miss wars that last two weeks.

I miss news stories that weren't happening to me personally.

I miss a president with a personality. Even a big goofy personality.

I miss Star Trek being popular. Nerdy as all hell but popular just the same.

I miss comic books selling a million copies. Especially shitty comic books.

I miss Guns n' Roses. Well, I don’t miss the Spaghetti Incident but you get the idea.

What about you?

Beatsie Boys

I was at Jeannie and Aaron's party on Saturday when this song came on. It made me realize something. If I told you in 1987 these guys would be making great music 20 years later, you'd have kicked me in the taint.



Greatest opening for a video ever. "Do you like parties?"

New Dates

Three shows at "The World" this week.
As always, it's the Improv Comedy Cafe 53rd and 8th Ave.

Tuesday August 8 10:00 p.m.
Thursday August 10 10:00 p.m.
Friday August 11 midnight

Pinky and the Brain

In 1993, I was reconsidering my music career for one in writing (I'd do this a few times over the years)when Animaniacs premiered. I'd get home from college in time for it and since Batman: the Animated Series would follow it, I made sure I'd always be home.

I was amused by the first episode until a segment came on for Pinky and the Brain. It was the most brilliant thing I'd ever seen. The premise is incredibly simple; two lab mice that want to take over the world. The fact that one had the voice of Orson Welles put it over the top.

As soon as I saw it, I knew it was what I wanted to write. That's right. A cartoon changed my life. That should surprise none of you. By the time the characters were given their own show, I was taping it.

I haven't seen it in years but the first season just came out on dvd. Watching the four disc set, I can't understand why it's not rerun. Cartoon Network should have it on every day. It's just as sharp , original and downright emotional as it it's ever been. Oh and it has the best theme song ever. Which is right here.

Suri Sightings

Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes' baby is the new UFO. Because only scientologists claim to have seen it.

FREE show in Brooklyn tonight!

Try as you might, you can't escape the hipsters.

Thursday, August 3rd, 8pm
That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore
@ Laila Lounge
317 N7th Street Williamsburg, Brooklyn
North 7th and berry off the bedford L stop.
8pm

with
Josh Spear
Rob Cantrel
Matty Goldberg
Ed Murray
Lara Yaz
Tim Warner
Jon Clarke
and more!

Hosted by Abby Koenig

Crazy Mel

There's nothing I love more than an imploding celebrity.

When I saw the story about Mel Gibson getting arrested for drunk driving, I ignored it. All celebrities get arrested for drunk driving. It's a rite of passing. Those two girls from "Lost" got arrested for drunk driving and they're not even on the show anymore. Kelsey Grammar flipped his car over in his own driveway.

But last night Ian Federgreen gave me the whole story. Which, according to the news, went like so:

During his arrest, Gibson asked the arresting deputy whether he was a Jew and said, "F---ing Jews. The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world,"

Today he apologized, calling it "a moment of insanity". That moment began in 1997.

Here's the best part; Mel's project on the HOLOCAUST has been cancelled. Which means he was making a project on the HOLOCAUST. Which took place during one of those wars they started. Right, Mel?

I like his picture though. I don't care how good an actor you are; you can't fake that drunken smile.

Vinyl Edition

I met Barton through Ed Murray and we instantly hit it off. One look at his blog and you'll know why. He hits music with the voice of an even more sarcastic Lester Bangs. It's funny, it's cool and now it's in my right column.

Take a look.

New Dates!

Here's my shows for the next week.Come see one. Sometimes I am very good.

"The World" Improv Comedy Cafe 53rd and 8th Ave.

Monday, July 31 10.pm. TONIGHT
Tuesday, August 1 8:00 & 10:00 p.m.
Friday, August 4 midnight

SPECIAL BROOKLYN SHOW!
Laila Lounge, Williamsburg
Thursday August 3 8:00

Steve Martin and Johnny Cash

I love it when my heroes meet. I have a picture of Jack Nicholson and Bob Dylan on my guitar case since 1989. That's why I love this. It's not the funniest thing in the world but you have to admit the still picture alone is awesome.

Lack of Ettiquette

Apparantly, my entire performance was taken out of "Laughing Matters" last night. Screw it, nobody watched anyway. It's public access. I went to "The World" last night and killed. That's what matters.

Want to see what else matters? Come to 265 McKibbins in Brooklyn at 9:00 to see Ed Murray, Lara Yaz and Tim Warner in "Lack of Ettiquette". Sue Ball will be hosting. It couldn't be a better night if I was blowing you.

I'll be videotaping the proceedings on my trusty HD camera. I also took the promo shots for the show and even I think they came out pretty well.

"Laughing Matters" Tonight!

The public access show we did is airing tonight on MNN. It went really well so see it. The last one was available for download later and if that happens again, I'll give you a permanent link. But, just like Manny Manhattan's show, you can go to Mnn at 11 tonight and click on Channel 57. We'll be there. (Or, if you actually, live in Manhattan, you can watch on the same channel, same time. Imagine that!)

Play Cole Hits 10,000!

We've never been featured on youtube (which would guarantee us at least 100,000 hits) but all on our own, we've managed to crack 10,000 views! Let's see how it breaks down:

Frank and the Steins: 221

Lunching With Larry 1: 41

Lunching With Larry 2: 35

Lunching With Larry 3: 25

Andrew's stand-up:84

Jon's stand-up:1013

Lara's stand-up:400

Douggie Green: 150

Lazzeris:200

Stevens File:82

Job Interview:758

Cmon Cmon:309

Tension Envelopes:464

Planet of the Apes:531

Blind Travelogue 1: 205

Blind Travelogue 2:95

Blind Travelogue 3: 143

Moses:982

Muppet Show: 4354(PLUS another 1300 on google video!)

Obviously Muppet Show has been the runaway hit of the videos, and rightly so. We've been working hard to bring the level of our performances up to those plastic dolls. "Moses" got picked up by a few religious blogs and saw a huge spike in traffic. And for some reason over 1000 people have wanted to see my stand-up.

Thanks to everyone who's been a part of these videos. It's been a lot of hard work but judging from the response it's been worth it. Please feel free to send these videos around to anyone you know. Youtube makes it very easy to link or email videos and we'd love some of these to become viral.

(by the way Frank and the Steins is now also up on google video. Check it out if you want to see it again.)

An Open Letter to Saddam Hussein

Saddam, I've been keeping up with your trial and now I'm convinced. You're bipolar. Look at the facts. Your threats and protests are getting less focused and poorly thought out. And let's face it, you have a lot of time to polish your threats. You protest that the Americans brought you to court against your will. That's true. We also took you out of your spider hole against your will. Your will hasn't meant much since 2002.

And calling your lawyer an "enemy of the people"? Not a great defense move. Especially when your lawyers have a habit of getting murdered. You need friends, Saddam. That guy is the only one talking to you right now. That guy and me. Be nice.

Maybe that 18 day hunger strike wasn't the best strategy. I think you're lightheaded. And cranky. Your rants used to sound supervillainy. Now you just sound like you live under the 59th St. bridge.

Sorry Saddam, just because you refer to yourself in the third person does not mean you're Dr. Doom. You're just proving to the world that you're kinda fucked up. And, as I've mentioned before, that's all we want.

Itsy Bitsy

When I have kids, they will have this. Even if I have to go to ebay.

On Location

Since I wasn't in San Diego this weekend, I went upstate to shoot an independent film (digital video actually) for Ed Murray. It's the first thing I've ever shot that I didn't write so it was fun simply concentrating on cinematography. The script Ed and Emily wrote is darker, more erudite and way creepier than anything I could have come up with.

San Diego Comic Convention

I was planning to go and yet I'm not there. Why? Well, it's a long story that involves people saying, "yeah yeah, totally, we'll go " for a year and then blowing me off last week. Those people are all at the convention. But I'm not bitter.

To prove it, I'll show you some coverage online here, here and here. Next year I'm booking my own room.

Blackout Day 5

The big news is they're actually reporting it. Took them long enough.

The blackout of 2003 lasted about 18 hours. People still talk about it like the Kennedy assassination. But since this one is localized in my neighborhood, no one cares five days in. Yesterday Bloomberg said he didn't need to go to Queens. Someone must have told him how unbelievably callous that was cause he was in Astoria that afternoon, not talking to anyone.

Renee and I went down to Rockaway to visit my family. We hadn't had time to stop by since Father's Day so I guess staying away from the house is paying off.

I actually saw a light go on in my house this morning. I would have investigated further but I had to leave for work in a torrential thunderstorm. Fun week.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

There's still no power in my neighborhood so I've had time to think about this movie.

In a word: overblown.

The first picture was a real surprise to me. It was fun, fast-paced and surprisingly tight. It did everything the genre ever did well and did it better. This is not the first movie.

How do you make a good sequel? You have to take things one step further to top the first film. This movie takes too many steps. Instead of evil pirates with a flash of the supernatural, we get giant slimy cg sea monsters. As main characters.

I could buy Geoffrey Rush turning into a skeleton in the moonlight. It was handled tastefully and in small enough doses that it was a delight each time he transformed. But I can't buy Bill Nighy as a dripping fish man with venting tentacles. I don't believe him and therefore I'm not scared of him. Ditto for the crab men and squid men and starfish men. There is no way these creatures live in the same universe as the first film.

And the action also goes over the line. While the sequences are choreographed well and briskly edited, they would kill a human body in thirty seconds flat. I know action movies usually make their heroes superhuman. But there's a difference between Indiana Jones knocking a statue through a wall and Indy jumping out of a plane with a life raft. One stretches believablity, the other walks right over it. Guess which route Dead Man's Chest takes?

The characters get some good moments and we learn a little more about Jonny Depp's backstory but it's not enough. There's simply too little story in this film. Dead Man's Chest was written and shot alongside Part 3 and it shows. I get the feeling they had some more great ideas and saved them for the next installment. It didn't work for the Matrix, it didn't work for Back to the Future (though I like Part 2) and it doesn't work here.

I've always had a theory that you can't make a sequel to a comedy. When you want to top an action movie you make it bigger, louder and more expensive. To make a comedy sequel you have to make it funnier. And that's nearly impossible. The first film was a comedy, in the way Men in Black or Hellboy was a comedy. It took the threats seriously but had fun with the characters and tone. This one puts a serious tone on the characters for some odd reason. It assumes we'll have fun with the ramped up action. I didn't. I just left depressed and skeptical.

But dammit, the last minute makes me want to see Part 3.

Read what the other critics have to say.

Blackout

I've got no power.

The temperature shot up to about 100 degrees this week and Con Ed couldn't handle it. We noticed an issue Monday night when the dvd player ran with no sound. The lights looked like one bulb had burnt out. We spent the evening trying to watch dvds on the laptop. It runs fine on the battery but overheated almost instantly. I read and went to sleep.

I'm freelancing again so I got to spend the day in Manhattan under central air. It's the first time I've been happy to work in an office in a long time. It's not like I could watch the five hours of "Star Trek" on SpikeTV anyway.

That night, Renee and I decided to avoid the house and went to the movies instead. We saw Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest but I'll get to that tomorrow. On the way home the sky exploded with lightning. The rain poured down. All the street lights were out so driving was a bit hairy but we were glad the heat wave had broken. Maybe the power would return.

Nope.

Turns out the storm did more damage, overloading power lines and darkening LaGuardia airport. Since we live five minutes from LaGuardia, we had nothing. We slept in the living room and took off early this morning.

Between the the limited trains, the slower service and the overloaded buses, it took me an hour and a half to get into work today. I'm at the Improv tonight so my house has another fifteen hours to come back to life. Let's see if it does. I can deal with the loss of air conditioning, light and refrigerated food. But if I can't get my tv back on, I'll go a little squirrely.

Amazing Screw On Head

Mike Mignola will probably go down in history as the man who created Hellboy and rightly so. It's a beautiful, creepy, funny, intense book that's just as original today as when it was created in 1994.

But Mignola has done other things. He's drawn Batman and Superman and the X-Men and Spider-Man and done great work with all of them. He also created another book; The Amazing Screw-On Head. And Sci-Fi made a pilot of it.

Here's where it gets interesting. I could tell you it's a great show because it has all the atmosphere of Hellboy with dialogue that sounds like The Tick. I could tell you that it captures the look of Mignola's art when even the team creating the Hellboy animated movie said it couldn't be done. I could tell you that it stars Paul Giamatti, David Hyde Pierce and Molly Shannon. And all of this would be true.

But what makes this show notable is the way Sci Fi is marketing it. They commissioned the pilot, they bought it and they're going to air it next week. But they're still waiting to see if it will become a series. This is where you come in. You can see the entire pilot (yes, the entire pilot) now on Sci Fi.com. Then you can fill out a survey to help decide whether it will get a full order of episodes. This is all before the pilot even airs.

Sci Fi is at a critical point in its development. After years of airing straight to video movies that couldn't make it to video, they finally have a critical and commercial success with the new Battlestar Galactica. And they want to keep going in that direction, with smarter, sharper, more interesting properties. Is Amazing Screw On Head a part of that direction? Go and tell them yourself.

WWIII

Bill just posted a long article about World War III. His position (and Air America's) is that it's already begun with hostilities between the Israelis and the Hezbollah reaching an all time high. It's only a matter of time before the US gets involved with aid, then troop support, then combat.

Bill maps out the strategies of all the major powers over the next few months but he doesn't take into account what will happen here. Let's just look at our military. For the last four years, we've been at war. We've left a lot of troops in Afghanistan, looking for Bin Ladin. The way O.J.'s looking for the real killers. Nothing against their gumption, it's just that they don't have the resources to do the job completely.

Our resources are all divested in Iraq. Because Saddam looked at us cross eyed. Bush used Afghanistan to invade Iraq and never had any plan to occupy it. They actually believed invading forces would be welcomed by all the disparate factions in that country. Cause Bush didn't have a big black moustache.

We're four years in Iraq too. We've lost 2,000 soldiers. And we don't have the budget to keep the ones we got. Remember the stories about soldiers not having enough armor or ammunition? Or not being allowed to go home after their tour was up? That's still happening. The only reason my cosuin Sean got home in a year was because he signed up for an extremely dangerous detail.

Bush has also spent the last six years giving big business tax breaks and you $300. We went from the biggest surplus to the biggest deficit within his first term. Our economy ain't too great either so there's less taxable income to pull from the middle class. They haven't seen a raise in three years while expenses continue to rise. Expenses like all that precious oil.

Now comes a huge war. Several countries in the region have only one thing in common; they hate the US. Hell, everybody hates the US. Our president has an approval rating in the 30's for God's sake. When the temperature is in the 30's you cover all your exposed skin.

A lot of the forces in the Middle East have a vested interest in watching us fall. They know we're stretched too thin. And they know we're not going to pull out of any country any time soon. So if a few thousand more US troops are killed, all the better for them.

Rome fell because it was beseiged on all sides while a corrupt senate and a mad emperor held sway. Sound familiar? When Bush was reelected I predicted that the US would collapse in 2007. Silly me. I thought we'd collapse from within.

Today 3 p.m.

I love comedy. But more than that, I just fucking love comedians.

The Religious Right Vs. Ed

This is the funniest thing I've seen online in ages.

I've mentioned Ed Murray's blog before. I've always considered him a strong comic whose career is just getting rolling. I take that back. Now all I want is to be the head writer on whatever show the networks kill each other to give him.

Ed picked up a story from one of his friends about a right-wing anti abortionist extremist blog. The blogger was railing against the pro death liberal media and quoted an inflammatory article by the Onion.

Yes, that Onion.

Hilarious on its own. But what makes Ed a genius was that he took the extra step. He contacted the guy. First he was going to expose him for the myopic, obtuse Cro Magnon he is. But then Ed says no. He swings the pendulum the other way. He poses as an even more right wing religious nut and attacks the blogger for making light of his beliefs. At one point he says, and I quote:

I assume your other articles are responses to pieces from MAD magazine, or maybe one from National Lampoon ...

Now there's an email war brewing. I bet Ed keeps it going for at least two weeks. And you better be there for each round.

(And for the record, I'm actually pro life. I'm just anti-moron.)

Syd Barrett Dies

We shall never see his particular brand of crazy again.

Rest in peace, Syd.

Frank and the Steins

We're all real happy with this one. We shot in high def. We rented a studio. We bought costumes. We got Hector Luis and Lara Yaz. And it is still the dumbest thing we ever came up with.

Check out our new band; Frank and the Steins.

Back on Manny Manhattan News tonight!

Remember when I was on public access/online a few months ago? Manny Manhattan put my set at New York Comedy Club on his show and it wasn't my best. Well, it seems I'm on again. I have no idea when he taped this or what I did but if you want to know, go to MNN and click on ch. 57 at 1 a.m. tonight.

By the way, I'm still waiting to hear when "Laughing Matters" will air. That set did go well and I'd like you to see it.

And since we're on the subject, I've been appearing at the Improv. A lot. So much that it's not worth promoting each date here (we've got Johnny Cash albums to talk about!) but here are my shows for the next two weeks. They're all at the Improv Comedy Cafe on 53rd and 8th Ave. Come by and say you're going to see me. You'll get in half price for a show with real headliners, great comics and a reasonable running time. Oh, look, there's one tonight.


Wed. Jul 12 2006 8:00P

Thurs. Jul 13 2006 10:00P

Fri. Jul 14 2006 10:30P and 12:00A

Wed. Jul 19 2006 8:00P

Fri. Jul 21 2006 10:30P

Fri. Jul 28 2006 12:00P

Sun. Jul 30 2006 10:00P

Mon. Jul 31 2006 10:00P

American V: A Hundred Highways

Johnny Cash died in 2003, less than a year after releasing "American IV: The Man Comes around." That album was powerful, the sound of a man looking death square in the eye. It sounded like the final words from a booming voice. I'd heard rumors there was another album but with Johnny's health failing, there was no way it could be as good as "The Man Comes Around".

It's better. Where "The Man Comes Around" was Cash fighting with his last ounce of strength, "A Hundred Highways" is a man at peace. He faced death and come to terms with it. This is a spiritual record, much like "My Mother's Hymn Book" in the "Unearthed" box set. People forget that underneath the tough, brash, impulsive exterior of Cash was a soulful, religious man (it's something the movie forgot, too). This album showcases that side and provides something I never expected; closure.

Thank Rick Rubin. It was his idea fifteen years ago to record an acoustic album for Johnny. That idea has become five albums, a box set and a live special with Willie Nelson. But it wasn't just inspiration. It's also Rubin's choices and guidance that makes these albums resonate. Cash was a songwriter but he wasn't afraid to do covers, whether they were from U2 or the civil war. The songs always go for emotion over genre. Besides, any song Johnny Cash sings is instantly a Johnny Cash song.

Rubin always knew how to use Johnny's voice. In the liner notes, Rick says that some days the voice was the old man in black, other days it was weaker and vulnerable. Rubin always had songs that fit. Compare the proclamation of "God Will Cut You Down" to the introspective "If You Could Read My Mind".

The American series caught my attention early on and if it's truly over (if there are truly no more rarities to release) it's one of the high points in my cd collection. If anyone wants to understand Johnny Cash, this is where I'll take them.

Read what other critics are saying about "A Hundred Highways".

Star trek Vs. Batman trailer

Oh yeah. It's online, monkey boy.

Louis CK

Louis CK is a phenomenal comedian. I've only seen the pilot for "Lucky Louie" and it has all the right ingredients, if not the result.

Either way, here's an interview is the most in-depth look I've ever seen at a comedian's career. Every high and low is included. Learn how you're perceived when you get Conan O'Brien off the ground but leave before it's successful. Experience writing a show with Dana Carvey, Charlie Kaufman and Stephen Colbert that dies insitantly. Find out what happens when your first motion picture is "Pootie Tang".

Read the interview.

Emmys

The nominations are in. And the funny little number occurs halfway down the article:

The nominees for best comedy series are "Arrested Development," "Curb Your Enthusiasm," "The Office," "Scrubs" and "Two and a Half Men."

I'm sorry. Two and a Half Men?

I watched that for four months only because it was broadcast in widescreen. It's a serviceable sitcom but next to "Arrested Development" or "Curb Your Enthusiasm" it's an embarrassment.

Oh, and Charlie Sheen is up against Larry David for best comedic actor. Excuse me while I swallow some broken glass.

Superman Returns

Now I know why Bryan Singer left X-Men.

As I mentioned in my X-Men 3 review, that movie was created under a cloud. Bryan Singer was unceremoniously dumped after deciding to make Superman first. At the time, I was pretty bummed. I'm a bigger X-Man fan than a Superman fan and I wanted to see Singer close out that trilogy before starting a new franchise. It didn't happen and we got the just-okay X3. Now we get to see if Superman was worth it.

Singer made the right decision. You can tell in the amount of passion he's poured into it. He loves the Richard Donner films. He LOVES them. There are so many nods to the Christopher Reeve era it's dizzying. Glenn Ford's picture on the mantle in Smallville. Marlon Brando's old footage in the Fortress of Solitude. Lois Lane's bad spelling. It all goes right back to the 1978 original.

The performances go back there too. Brandon Routh isn't just playing Clark Kent; he's playing Christopher Reeve's Clark Kent. Kevin Spacey's casual, whimsical approach to Luthor is Gene Hackman's approach to Luthor. Kate Bosworth doesn't imitate Margot Kidder, though. Probably because she's not insane.

Of course, the special effects dwarf anything done in the Christopher Reeve era. Back then, everyone was excited that they could put Superman on a blue screen. Now Superman flies with a moving camera. You get him in flight from all angles. Not only can he fly, he can catch a flaming airplane, something I've wanted to see since John Byrne's Man of Steel (though Bruce Timm took a good crack at it). And the shots of Superman's x-ray vision are downright beautiful. The cg does however go a touch too far in the backgrounds for my taste. Metropolis looks like Peter Jackson's Manhattan and not as lifelike as the rest of the picture.

It's a really good film. Not great like Batman Begins or even X2 but really good. That's the fault of the character more than the film. Everyone likes Superman, but no one I know loves him. Not in the way they love Spider-Man, Batman or Wolverine. Those characters have flaws which make them compelling. Superman is designed to have no flaws whatsoever. He's complete escapist entertainment. And that's fun, but not deep.

Ken Lay Dead

Moment of silence for "Kenny Boy".

That's damn well enough. You're not going to find a lot of people sad about this one. At his conviction, Lay said, "We believe God is in fact in control and indeed he does work all things for good for those who love the Lord."

Hmm. Guess he was right.

UPDATE: They're burning the fat bastard up.

Lunching With Larry

Say you haven't seen a Play Cole film in a while? Well let's overcompensate. Here are three 30 second pieces Andrew made. Watch them in order.

Happy 4th of July!

4 years of war and we're still celebrating our country with explosions.

Ozzy

It is so friggin hot today I can't think. And Dave W. wanted to see Ulrike's picture of Ozzy. So here he is.

Ulrike Richter

You may have noticed a lot of professional looking pictures of me lately. That's all thanks to Ulrike Richter, who took not only my headshots but all the action shots on stage. She made me look great but she made Fozzie look like a movie star. Upstaged by my own cat.

Check out her website.

Eddie Izzard and Bono

Monica just sent me this. Two guys from the UK who seem to annoy people despite the fact that they're great. Take a look.