R.I.P. Robin Williams

By now, you'd have to be living under a rock to not have heard the news that the great Robin Williams passed away yesterday.  It's one of those deaths that you're always going to remember where you were when you heard the news and for me it'll forever be tied to this P-Town trip.  Robin Williams is dead.  So sad!

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Rather than talk about the death itself, I'd like to make note that he was, without a doubt, one of our greatest Hollywood treasures.  From his early days in stand-up, that very first appearance on Happy Days as the lovable Mork from Ork, and to his countless movie roles, he proved himself to be both a comedic genius and a talented all around actor.  The shock and sadness that comes with his death makes us realize just how much he's been a part of our lives over the last 30-plus years and he will certainly be missed.  rest in Peace Robin!

Here is a not so great video (somebody filmed it off their television) of one of my favorite scenes from one of my favorite Robin Williams, the hysterically funny Mrs. Doubtfire:

Song of the Day - Time to Change - The Brady Bunch

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Today's Song of the Day is in tribute to Ann B. Davis, who sadly passed away yesterday after a tragic fall in the bathtub put her into a coma from which she couldn't recover.  She was 88 years old.  For any of us who lived during the Brady Bunch years of the early 70's and beyond, Ann's character Alice, the Brady's self-deprecating housekeeper, was one of those faces we all knew, making daily visits to our living rooms for so many years taking care of the kids, dating Sam the Butcher and providing plenty of comic relief for our pleasure.

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Towards the latter portion of the Bradys five-year run, the six kids, Greg, Marcia, Peter, Jan, Bobby and Cindy put on musical performances of songs that oldest brother Greg had written.  From what I remember, there were three songs that they did (the other two were Sunshine Day, Keep On Movin') and I loved them all, including Time to Change.  In the episode where this appeared, Peter's voice was changing (ah, adolescence!), and they used the cracks in his falsetto as a part of the tune. I thought it was fun then and it still is now.  Do you remember this????

 

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Song of the Day - Those Were the Days - All in the Family - R.I.P. Jean Stapleton

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Today's Song of the Day post is in tribute to Jean Stapleton, who passed away yesterday of natural causes at the age of 90.  Of course, Stapleton will forever be an indelible part of American pop culture for her portrayal as Archie Bunker's wife on the hit TV series All in the Family.  Edith Bunker is one of the most lovable television characters of all time, with an authentic goodness of someone we all wish was in our lives.

Boy the way Glen Miller played...

This opening words to this song, and in fact all of the words to this song can be sung verbatim by virtually anyone who was around in the heyday of the show. These opening credits exemplify the best of how Stapleton and Carroll O'Connor worked together as the polar opposite duo of Archie and Edith Bunker.  Click play and relive the memory...

 

All in the Family was one of my favorite shows of all time, and Edith playing dingbat to Archie's bigoted, working class, rough and tumble Archie provided the setting for some side-splitting laughter.  Here's a classic Archie-Edith scene in which the couple is in a waiting room at the hospital and Archie unwittingly gives Edith a magazine to read.  Check it out...

And then, of course, there those many hysterically funny times when Edith would go into one of her long-winded stories, much to Archie's chagrin.  Watch as Edith's stories drive Archie to some pretty-damned funny pantomime suicides:

  

Well I could go on and on with some classically funny Edith scenes, but I think you get the point.  I know I'll be watching some old All in the Family episodes in the coming weeks because it's been too long.  So rest in peace, Jean, and thanks for the laughs!

  

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Reality T.V.

For almost as long as it's been in existence, television has been referred to as the 'boob tube,' and always for good reason.  Never before in the history of the genre has that nickname held truer than it is today.  I don't really watch T.V. that much anymore.  I was more of a television junkie when I was in a relationship and T.V. time meant together time, but these days now that I live alone, I've got better things to do with my time.  Besides, with more channels than ever before, it seems there is less and less to watch, especially in these days of reality T.V.

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Virtually every single time I'm in the company of friends, family, or even just acquaintances  the subject of the conversation invariably turns to television at one point or another, and it never fails to astonish me just how many reality shows exist that people actually watch.  Aside from the more commonly known ones like all of the Real Housewives, The Bachelor and Bachelorette and Joe Millionaire, Cops, Punk'd, The Amazing Race and Survivor,  Big Brother, dozens of Real World incarnations, American Idol, The Voice and so on, there are countless others that bring us from reality sublime to reality ridiculous.

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The reality of reality T.V. is, there are way too many reality shows to count, and some of them are surprisingly and shamelessly popular, too!  Take, for instance, that car-wreck, white trashy show about a chubby (albeit cute) little beauty princess and her slovenly, pretty disgusting family, Here Comes Honey Boo Boo.  This very popular one first came on my radar a few months back, when my pal Sean had me watch an episode with him.  I sat there for an hour, mouth agape in horrified astonishment, as these trashy slobs of people burped, farted, picked their noses, and generally hammed it up for the cameras.  All I could think of was what people in other countries would think of Americans when they saw this.

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I remember back in the early days of reality T.V. (okay, I know there was 'reality' television before that, but to me this was the first big wave), when MTV first began to lose the "M" as it began production of The Real World in 1992.  The premise was simple: put seven young, (and good looking of course!) up and comers from all different walks of life and have them share a living space as we play voyeur to all that goes on within the confines of the beautiful space in exotic cities.

The show was a hit from the beginning and I watched religiously as casts from New York,, Los Angeles, London, Miami, New Orleans, and Las Vegas lived out their lives in this fish bowl known as The Real World.  Their best season, the highly dramatic and very real third season in San Francisco, was the most fascinating of them all, as HIV/AIDS stricken Pedro Zamora put himself out there for all to see at a time when very little was known about the disease.  

The Real World San Francisco cast

Pedro went about his life, using his appearance on the show as an opportunity to educate, and along the way he met the love of his life, Sean, worked his way into the hearts of his cast mates, and bore some heavy-duty bashing in his clashes with the notorious Puck.  The entire season was gripping television, and unfortunately Pedro's light didn't shine too brightly long after it ended, having lost his battle with the disease in November 1994.

Eventually The Real World became less and less about real issues and more and more about partying hard, debauchery, and bunches and bunches of spoiled kids showing skin for our 'entertainment.  I was turned off, but many weren't and this train wreck of so-called "reality T.V." steamrolled it's way onto the boob tube.

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Today, there are reality shows on just about any topic you can think of...Amish Mafia, I Was Impaled, Extreme Couponing, Saw Dogs, Hoarders, My Giant Face Tumor (really!), and so many others.  It makes you wonder where we're all headed, doesn't it?  Anyway, you can check two very extensive lists of reality shows old and new on Wikipedia and Reality TV World.  In the meantime, if you're a reality T.V. junkie, take it easy.  Summer's coming...put down the remote, step away from American Pickers or Intervention, and go out and enjoy yourself.       

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American Horror Story: Asylum "The Name Game"

I FINALLY got to watch the second season of American Horror Story: The Asylum last week and though it wasn't nearly as good as the first one, I did like it.  Me and my pal Laura Kim had decided a long time ago to watch it as a marathon all in one day, as that is practically how I watched the first one, and we weren't able to get together to do it until last week.

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Unlike the first season, this one didn't feature ghosts and haunted houses, but was set in an insane asylum up in Massachusetts run by the Catholic church in the 1960's.  I won't give away the story, but the fabulous Jessica Lange, who won an Emmy for her performance in the first series, plays a less than pure nun who runs the asylum at first, but then succumbs to the evil forces surrounding the place, becoming one of the patients.

After dealing with a round of electric shock therapy, 'Sister Jude' has simply lost it and walks over to the jukebox in the common room and tries to shut off the music.  Lana, our heroine, walks over to her and asks if she remembers her name.  That's when a totally serious scene becomes highly entertaining!  Watch and smile as this insane asylum goes truly insane, dancing that is, to a suddenly transformed Sister Jude.

LOVE IT!

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Song of the Day - Movin On Up - The Jefferson's Theme

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Hehe, today's song is kind of a joke.  You see, tonight is the first night of the second half of the bowling season and I've got a brand new team!  No longer am I a "Meetball," and this time I'm not bowling with strangers.  No, starting tonight I'll be bowling with my two pals Blanche and Dita (and someone else???), and we're gonna call ourselves "Weezie's Boys" (totally my idea!), and so I figured what better song to feature today than this one.  Now c'mon everybody:

Fish don't fry in the kitchen

Beans don't burn on the grill

Took a whole lotta tryin

Uh, just to get up that hill...

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I Love the 90's - Roseanne

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I consider myself a good judge of people and that's why I don't like none of them.

 - Roseanne  Connor

On Saturday, Comedy Central hosted it's Comedy Roast in Hollywood and the honoree of the night was Roseanne Barr.  Roseanne was a household name back in the late 80's and early 90's and is surely worthy of a mention in the I Love the 90's series.  

Roseanne debuted in October of 1988 and ran for nine seasons on ABC, and for a long time during that run, it was one of the most popular shows on television.  The program centered on the lives of Dan (John Goodman) and Roseanne Connor and their three children, Becky (Lecy Goranson/Sarah Chalke), Darlene (Sara Gilbert) and D.J. (Michael Fishman).  The Connors were a blue-collar family that lived in Lanford, Illinois, and their lives were pretty ordinary, just like the lives of many of us, and the fun they poked out of everyday stuff was often sidesplittingly hilarious.

Along with a cast of characters that included Roseanne's sister Jackie (Laurie Metcalf), Darlene and Becky's men David and Mark (Johnny Galecki and Glenn Quinn), pal Crystal (Natalie West), Roseanne's mom Bev (Estelle Parsons), and a whole host of others, this show tackled all sorts of issues, from poverty to alcoholism and drug abuse, teenage pregnancy and abortion, race, infidelity, homosexuality, obesity, you name it, and always in an in-your-face and make you laugh kind of way.

Take a look at this memorable scene where Dan, Roseanne, and Jackie decide to smoke their first joint in years, using some pot they confiscated from David for bringing in the house.  Hysterical!

I tell ya, watching that scene makes me want to go out and watch the whole series again from start to finish.  It's been too long!

One of my favorite things about Roseanne was their annual Halloween episode.  Every year the Connors really got into the spirit of the spooky holiday and always made it fun.  Here is THE best Halloween episode.  I love it when D.J. lip synchs, "Welcome to the Tunnel of Terror.  Please join us."... Oh, that was an oft-used one-liner back in the day!

This clip also includes another thing that made this show so special.  Roseanne was one of the very first shows that was able to keep viewers tuned in during the credits by actually giving them a lil something something at the very end that was worth watching.  Check it out...

So there you have it, another great part of living in the 1990's.  Just watching these two clips brought me back and gave me some smiles and some laughs and I hope it does the same for you.  If you'd like to check out that Comedy Central Roast, it's being televised on Sunday, August 12th at 10 p.m., so set your DVR's.  And if you'd like to read more about that one, check out E! Online.

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I Love the 90's Song of the Day - Promise of a New Day - Paula Abdul

Towards the beginning of the 1990's, Paula Abdul was on fire. Having hit it big with singles from her debut album, Forever Your Girl, in the late 80's, the former choreographer to the stars came out with her sophomore set, Spellbound in 1991 and kept right on rolling at first.  Though the second CD did not fare as well as the first one, it did produce a #2 hit (Rush, Rush) and this one, which peaked at #31 on the charts, (though it was much better than that!).

The Spellbound record was a good one, with the fast and funky Vibeology, the sweet Kisses on the Wind, and the equally kitschy Will You Marry Me? Unfortunately Ms. Abdul's musicall star would not last much longer after this album.  She tried a couple more times to put out new music, but never again achieved success in that realm, but of course for a few years she was the sweetheart judge of the popular American Idol and then...

Note- Take a look below the video for a special bonus!

 

Paula Abdul - Promise of a New Day by Zerenodo

As promised, here's a special bonus for a mundane Monday.  The hit 90's TV show In Living Color was famous for parodying then-popular music videos in often sidesplitting ways.  Here's the show's Kelly Coffield as Paula Abdul, poking fun at her oft-mentioned weight problems, her brief fling with talk show host Arsenio Hall, among other things.  Enjoy and Happy Monday!

  

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L is for I Love Lucy Music

Ever since I learned that it was Lucille Ball's 100th birthday today, I've spent the morning posting some of my favorite clips from the show on Facebook and reliving such classics as Viteameatavegimin, Lucy's job at the candy factory, and the grape stomping scene. Then I got to thinking that I just happen to be on the letter "L" in the Z-A Blogger's Challenge and I then I started looking at some of the great songs from the show and figured I'd post em' here. So without further adieu, here are some classic musical moments from the great "I Love Lucy"

We're Having a Baby

Ah, I loved this one! Lucy finds a great way to break it to Ricky that she's "expecting" and he breaks into this sweet, sweet tune!



Cuban Pete

Ricky Ricardo sang some cool Cuban flavored stuff, including this one...."Boom chickee boom, boom chickee boom, boom chickee boom..."



Friendship

Who can forget this hysterical scene between Lucy and Ethel? Uh oh, they bought the same dress for the benefit and neither one is too happy about it, lol.



Babalu

Finally, we come to one of Ricky's most famous songs, this time sung as a duet with the very adorable Little Ricky.



Of course there's much more fun music from the "I Love Lucy" show, and you can check most of them out on YouTube. I hope you've enjoyed this little retrospective as much as I have!

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August 6th, 2011 - Happy Birthday Lucy; Friends and Food; A Saucy Night at Splash; Party in the Grove

Today is Saturday, August 6th, 2011 and it is Lucille Ball’s 100th birthday. Google is honoring the occasion with a really cool logo, so if you’re reading this today, you should definitely check it out. Though Lucy was even before my time, I still grew up watching those hysterical reruns and still get a chuckle whenever I see them. Classic!

Throw Me a Topic

Ah, what to write, what to write? I’ve really wanted to talk more about the situation with my house, but I’ve been distracted from it the past couple of days (in a good way!) and I don’t really want to talk about it until I’m back in that mode, which I know will come soon. I made several phone calls this week and things are being looked at by the bank, so I have no idea where this is going to go, but I know I’ve got to prepare myself mentally. Stay tuned…

Friends and Food

As I mentioned the other day, my friend Eddie (AKA Rose) is here from Florida and I’ve been spending some time with him and Rich and Bobby (Dita and Blanche!). He, Rich and I hit the Good Steer the other night, which is one of those Long Island places that everybody around here knows. They have these delectable fried onion strings that they serve with their delicious burgers and though I don’t get there too often, it’s always reliably fantastic! In fact, I posted the words “Good Steer” on my Facebook page when I got there and several former Long Islanders made yearning comments about the place. For more on the place, check out this article on Y!CN:

Where to Find Great Burgers on Long Island

A Saucy Night at Splash with Oz

After leaving the Good Steer it was off to Splash. This was the third straight time that I’ve gone there with people. First it was Laura Kim and Michael, then it was Paul, and this week I went with Ozzie. Campus Thursdays is one of the club’s most popular nights and this Thursday it was as crowded as I’d ever seen it. Not only was the place packed in, but many of the patrons were a little wild, to say the least.

I’m starting to learn that Mr. Oz is one popular dude! We ran into a lot of people he knew, all from Long Island, of course, including Julian, the guy who won the Mr. Gay LI at Circus the other night. That dude I met at Ozzie’s house last week, Jeremy, also showed up and boy was he a grouch! All in all it was a great time, despite the naughty groping by the wild crowd. The deejay was rocking and before you knew it, Ozzie and I were heading out the door at 4:30 AM. I walked in the door to my house at 6… Am I getting too old for this…..nah!

Grove Party Tonight!

I don’t know what’s been happening lately, and I actually think I’m starting to miss going out alone, but we four friends are going to Cherry Grove together this evening. It’s been like forever since Rose has been there and I know several people who are also going, so I am very excited!!!! Stay tuned…

In honor of Lucille Ball’s 100th Birthday, here’s my all time favorite scene from the I Love Lucy Show. It’s an early episode when Lucy thinks Ricky is missing his native Cuba and she tries to make him feel more at home by dressing the place up like Cuba and putting on a side-splitting imitation of Carmen Miranda, of course with the help of Ethel, her partner in crime. So funny!



So thanks for reading and enjoy your weekend!

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Song of the Day - Above the Clouds - Amber

Amber was a hot commodity back in the late 90's/early 2000's. With plenty of great club hits including 'This is Your Night,' 'Sexual (Li Da Di),'One More Night,' and this one, the Netherlands born, German raised singer was all over the club scene and the dance charts during that time. One of the singer's shining moments came in 1998 when she was made a part of the group Stars on 54 to do a disco remake of Gordon Lightfoot's classic 'If You Could Read My Mind' for the movie '54.' The group featured two other similarly styled and popular singers Jocelyn Enriquez and Ultra Nate and that song is one of my all time favorites.



'Above the Clouds' is a pleasantly happy song, giving the listener images of soft, puffy white clouds floating within a big blue sky. The song's got a great beat that blends perfectly with the lyrics and is pure sunshine! The song always makes me think of the great 'Sex and the City,' as it was featured in the closing sequence to an episode in which the girls have a summer rooftop party with some drag queen prostitutes that Samantha had been having a hard time with. The scene epitomized what made that show so great and having this song in the background just gave it that extra special feel.



There was no video made for 'Above the Clouds,' unfortunately. All that was available were a couple of concert scenes of the singer performing it live, which took away from the song itself. I always like to feature the original versions of songs when I do a song of the day and so I chose to include an audio track of the original recording, and I threw in a snippet of that 'Sex and the City' scene I spoke of. I hope you'll enjoy both!







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Ab Fab Returns

They’re coming back! Earlier this week it was reported that the British TV sitcom ‘Absolutely Fabulous’ will be filming an all new season this summer. For those of you who are not familiar with the show, AbFab is a hysterical show about the misadventures of two friends, Edina and Patsy, who are not your ordinary middle aged women. Still stuck in their drug-taking days in the 60’s, Eddy and Patsy get into the kind of outrageous situations that could only be shown on British television.

With a supporting cast of characters, including Eddy’s level-headed daughter (who's more like her mother!) Saffy, her dim-witted mom, and her absolutely idiotic secretary Bubble, AbFab is one of the most popular comedies in BBC history. I first caught them about ten years ago in repeats on BBC America and have been in love with the show ever since. The humor is British, so it doesn’t all translate to American audiences, but for many of us, it’s well worth watching!



"You can never have enough hats, gloves and shoes." - Patsy Stone



Take a look at some outtakes from the show (and don’t mind the subtitles, lol):





For more on this week's announcement see this post in the Advocate online.

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