#jerry smith appreciation post

[sweetdreamsjeff]

Jeff Buckley in the U.K.

Jim Irvin, 'From Hallelujah to the Last Goodbye' (Post Hill), May 2018

Excerpted from Jeff Buckley: From Hallelujah to the Last Goodbye by Jeff's former manager Dave Lory and former MOJO man Jim Irvin (Post Hill Press).

JEFF BUCKLEY loved British music; the nervous energy in British punk, the wired consciousness of the Clash, the way Siouxsie and the Banshees went from gun-metal moodiness to skies full of fireworks.

He adored the Cocteau Twins, of course, especially Liz Fraser's "impossible voice". He loved how the Smiths called to outsiders and nerds. He loved the textures of Johnny Marr's supple guitar and the mordant presence of Steve Jones's guitar in the Sex Pistols.

Jeff, whose own nervous energy was considerable, became even more wired whenever we went to the UK; he was stimulated by its variety. He also appreciated its compactness – the lack of eight-hour drives between cities was refreshing.

Sony had passed on Live at Sin-é in Europe. We were understandably disappointed, but there was a solution close at hand: Steve Abbott, known to everyone as Abbo, who ran the eccentric indie record label Big Cat and had picked up on many of the promising un-signed bands playing in New York: Pavement, Mercury Rev, Luscious Jackson. He had approached Jeff after Gods & Monsters and Sin-é shows and asked him if he'd like to record with Big Cat, but then Sony stepped in. Jeff felt that he owed Abbo a record, so when Columbia UK passed on Live at Sin-é and Michele Anthony instigated a funding deal with Big Cat, it seemed the perfect opportunity for them to become involved. Abbo jumped at the chance.

Big Cat's small team – Abbo, co-owner Linda Obadiah, Frank Neidlich in marketing, and Jacqui Rice in press – did such a good job that the week it was released in Europe, Live at Sin-é sold over four thousand copies, which was amazing for a complete unknown.

After a Sony conference, where it was clear that a lot of the affiliates were bemused by him, Jeff had a warm-up show at Whelan's in Dublin. By the time he came on, the crowd, several drinks into its evening, had become a little boisterous. Jeff said hello softly, as usual, but no one was really paying attention. Jeff just stood there, waiting. People started to quieten down and watch to see what he would do. There was a pint of his favourite beer, Guinness, sitting on the stool next to him. Jeff lifted the glass to his lips and downed it in one hit. Everyone on the room cheered, and he began the Irish show with the crowd completely on his side.

The audience was more blasé the next night at his London debut at The Borderline, a Western-themed venue under a dubious Mexican diner in Soho, right in the heart of London, a group of local reps for hip American indie labels like Sub Pop and Merge yacking away rather disrespectfully at the bar. In the age of grunge, a lone guy with a guitar softly singing Edith Piaf covers was baffling for some.

"It was an epiphany for me," says Sara Silver, Sony's European head of marketing. "There are some shows where it just feels like you're a voyeur, looking into someone's soul. This was one of those. He was charismatic, but also haunting, and I think because of my particular situation at the time, still suffering from the [loss of my husband], he resonated hugely. This haunting sound was a powerful force, and it was my job to work out how we took it to the world."

A gig the next night in Glasgow meant an early-morning flight back to Heathrow the following morning to catch a session with GLR, London's local BBC station, a slot designed to alert people to the next couple of gigs at the Garage in Islington and at Bunjies, a cute little basement folk club in Central London that dated back to the early 1960s and made Sin-é seem generously proportioned.

Abbo was accompanying Jeff on this run.

"We'd meet regularly at a bar called Tom & Jerry's in New York, hang out and drink Guinness together," Abbo says, "I suppose I became a friend of his, and he didn't seem to have many real friends. I'd only discovered I liked the blues since living in New York, so it was great hanging with him, because he was a huge blues and jazz fan and if there was a guitar around he had to pick it up and show off. He knew every Robert Johnson song, every Muddy Waters tune, Bessie Smith; he introduced me to the physicality of the blues, watching it at close quarters. Everybody talks about his voice, but he was a brilliant guitarist. The guitar was an extension of his body.

"Tim Buckley hadn't really entered my line of vision growing up listening to black music. Singer-songwriters with fluffy hairstyles were not currency on my council estate in Luton! We were in Tom & Jerry's and someone said to Jeff, 'I've been listening to your dad,' and I said, 'Who's your dad?' and he said, 'Tim Buckley.' I knew the name from record shopping; I'd seen the sleeves in the racks, but that's it. But when he came over to Britain there were loads of Tim Buckley fans. And it was a real problem early on, because he really didn't like talking about him."

The traffic from the airport to the GLR studios just off Baker Street was awful. A road accident had slowed everything to a standstill. Jeff's slot on the mid-morning show was fast approaching. "Of course, this was before mobile phones, so I had no way of communicating with the radio station that we were stuck in traffic," says Abbo. "For the last few days on this tour, everyone who'd interviewed Jeff had been asking about his dad. How did Tim write 'Song To The Siren'? Was there stuff in his lyrics that he might have related to? Things Jeff couldn't answer.

"We were listening to GLR while we waited in traffic and the presenter kept saying, 'We're supposed to have this artist, Tim Buckley's son, turning up, but he's late....Will he or won't he turn up?' This went on and on. She must have said 'Tim Buckley's son' about four times and didn't mention Jeff once. Suddenly, he just kicked my car radio in with his big DMs [Doc Martens], just smashed the fascia and then sat back sulking all the way there. I could get another radio, of course, but I was mostly worried he wasn't going to do the performance. 

"We finally arrived about forty minutes late and they were all so rude to us, and yet they knew what the problem was, as they were broadcasting traffic updates and warnings of delays themselves. If I were him, I'd have walked out. The female presenter was a typical local radio DJ, a bit gushy and knew nothing about him and his music. I had a word with the station manager to ask her to stop mentioning Tim Buckley, and he handed her a note to that effect. Jeff just sat there silently and she said, 'What are you going to play?' and Jeff said, 'A song.' I'm thinking, 'Oh god, here we go.' And he started to play "Grace." He did this long guitar introduction, went on for about a minute, like he needed to calm himself down before he got to the actual start of the song, and then he launched into the most electrifying performance. The best I ever heard him do it.

"There were about six phones in the control room, and they all started lighting up. 'Who is this? Who is this? It's amazing!' And all the time, Jeff's getting more and more into it. The presenter went from being this standoffish woman to...I swear she would have thrown herself on him given half a chance, the second he finished singing. You could see she was totally enthralled."

Presenter: "You looked quite exhausted at the end of the song."

Jeff: "I was getting a lot of anger out. Something happened on the way here..."

"The phones didn't stop throughout the next song. The station manager said that in all his twelve years at the station, he'd never seen a reaction like it."

Abbo thinks this performance sparked Jeff's breakthrough. There were certainly plenty of people in line outside the Garage in North London that night. Inside, the first stars were taking note. Chrissie Hynde and Jon McEnroe were in the audience. Chrissie had been a big fan and a friend of Tim's, had actually interviewed him while she was briefly a music journalist with the NME, and she was obviously curious to see how his offspring compared. They struck up a conversation after the show and she clearly said the right thing, because he went off with her to jam with the Pretenders in a nearby rehearsal room. I wasn't carrying anything heavy because of a recent lung collapse, and I didn't want Jeff to pull any important muscles, so I asked McEnroe if he wouldn't mind. He happily hauled Jeff's amp downstairs to the car. The Pretenders' jam with special guests Buckley and Mac went on all night.

Bunjies, as I've said, was tiny, a basement folk club and coffee bar on West Street in Soho, along from the Ivy, with gingham tablecloths and melted candles in wine bottles on the tables and a performance area tucked into a couple of arches in what must have been a wine cellar at one point. It looked unchanged since it had begun in the early 1960s, and had seen a couple of folk booms come and go. It was more of a cafe with an open-mic policy by this point, which felt like a good place for Jeff. There wasn't really any need for amplification, so when we arrived for a sound check there was very little to do but see where Jeff was going to stand in the cramped space and gauge how his voice reflected off the nicotine-stained ceilings. While Jeff did that, I went outside for some fresh air and was stunned to see a line of people already waiting to get into the show.

I took a look at the guest list and realised we'd be lucky to fit twenty of this assembling crowd in the tiny space. Every time I looked up, the line was getting further down West Street. I went back into the venue and found Jeff talking to Emma Banks, the agent. He was saying how great the venue was and that he'd like to do something like hand out flowers to everyone before he went on.

"Jesus, you won't believe what's happening out there," I said to them. "The line goes about four blocks. There's no way these people are going to get in. Is there any way we can do two sets?" Jeff was happy to. Emma spoke to the club owner and was told they had some regular club night happening later on. She came back and said, "They can't do it but I've had an idea!" She disappeared up the steps onto the street, and I spoke to Jeff.

"What flowers would you like?"

"White roses," he said.

"I'll get them," I said, and went back up to the street, where the line had grown even longer.

I walked around looking for a florist and bumped into Emma. "I've booked Andy's Forge," she said. "It's a little place just around the corner in Denmark Street. He can go on at 10:30."

I bought as many white roses as I could find. Jeff handed them to people waiting outside and those lucky enough to get into the club, as he squeezed himself into the corner that passed for a stage. He sang upward, listening to his voice reflect off the curved ceiling into this hot, crowded, and attentive space. There must have been a hundred people stuffed in there.

When the show was over, Jeff walked up the steps to the huddle of patient people that Emma had gathered, plus anyone from the first show who wanted to tag along, and led this crowd like the Pied Piper toward Andy's Forge. Abbo was alongside me. "Have you ever seen anything like this before?" I said.

"Never!" he said. And we laughed liked idiots at the wonderful absurdity of hanging out with Jeff.

© Jim Irvin, 2018

[controversial-ships-anyone]

My favorite Jerry facial expressions/poses

Part 1/???

<Next>

[dirty-bear-rick-sanchez]

A couple of jokes/moments I appreciate from the new episode I haven’t seen mentioned by anyone else yet:

Rick’s Cookie Monster joke (it honestly felt like he was trying so hard to appeal to Jerry because it felt really off from his usual humour which I thought was really cute)

The visual gag of Rick using photoshop tools to disguise himself and Jerry with the wall

The joke about Smith being an extremely common name (“but only one of them is Mrs… goddammit, Smith?”)

I don’t know why but the idea of the old man being Catholic and wanting to fuck the alien (only after marrying it) is funny to me

The way Rick says “How dare YOU?” when the MLM woman asks what his name is

Rick’s head retreating into his clothes like a turtle (honestly I’m loving the new cartoon logic type visual gags we’re getting lately)

The two guys who just start kissing when Rick is shooting the blank fortunes. Good for them

Not a joke but I really love whenever Rick calls Jerry ‘Jer’

The fact that the best wording Rick could think of for the fortune cookie was ‘Jerry no sex mom’

The way Rick says “goddamn it” every time he saves Jerry. I love the ‘I hate that I have morals now’ character trope

Rick being so excited to do the Sailor Moon sequence again, he’s such a dork

This isn’t directly related to the episode but the whole ‘friend’ sequence makes me laugh because all I can think of is the ‘friend! Car friend! Fucking football friend!’ thing from that one episode of the Inbetweeners

This one I’m not sure on because I kind of feel bad for Jerry but the fact that there were no tears and he stopped crying as soon as Rick apologised makes me feel like he was deliberately doing that to make Rick feel which is kind of funny if true. Like he’s seen Rick’s latest character development and the way he reacts when he disappoints the family and how attached to them he is and decides to emotionally manipulate him? I don’t think Jerry has siblings but if he did he would definitely be the one who cries in front of his parents to get the other(s) in trouble and then immediately stops crying

Honourable mention to the post-credits scene because the wacky improvisional tone felt very S1/S2/Interdimensional Cable which was nice

[scoliosisgoblin]

Just a Jerry appreciation post :)

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Taxes are for the little people

If you wanna do crimes, make them incredibly complicated and technical. Like the hustlers that came into the bookstore I worked at and spun these long-ass stories about why they needed money for a Greyhound ticket home.

Those guys shoulda studied the private equity sector.

Private equity's playbook is to borrow giant sums by putting up other peoples' companies as collateral (yes, really). Then they use that money to buy the company they mortgaged, and pay themselves a huge dividend.

Then they sell off the company's assets and pay themselves even more money. That leaves the company in a state of precarity - assets they once owned, like their buildings, they now rent. If the rent goes up, they have to find the money to cover it.

All of this forms a pretense for mass layoffs, defaulting on pension obligations, lowering product quality, stiffing suppliers and borrowing more money. If the company doesn't go bust, the PE looters can flip it to *another* PE company, that does it again.

Whenever you see something really terrible happening to a business that once offered useful products and services and paid decent wages, it's a safe bet that PE is behind it. Toys R Us, Sears, your local hospital - and that memestock favorite, AMC.

https://pluralistic.net/2020/04/12/mammon-worshippers/#silver-lake-partners

Private equity goons make their money in two ways: the first is by pocketing 20% of  these special dividends and other extractive policies that hollow out business.

This is money at PE managers get paid for spending their investors' money. It's a wage, in other words.

But thanks to the "carried interest" loophole (a hangover from 16th-century sea captains that has nothing to do with "interest" on loans), they get to treat these wages as "capital gains" and pay far less tax on them.

The fact that we give preferential tax treatment to capital gains (money derived from gambling), while taxing wages (money derived from doing useful work) at higher rates really tells you everything you need to know about our economic priorities.

https://pluralistic.net/2021/04/29/writers-must-be-paid/#carried-interest

The carried interest loophole lets PE crooks treat their salaries as capital gains, are taxed at a much lower rate than the wages of the workers whose lives they're destroying.

On top of the 20% profit-share that PE bosses get every year, they also pocket a 2% "management fee" for all the "value" they add to the companies they've taken over.

This is *definitely* a wage. The 20% profit-share at least has an element of risk, but that 2% is guaranteed.

But PE bosses have spent more than a decade booking that 2% wage as a capital gain, using a tax-fraud tactic called "fee waivers." The details of how a fee waiver don't matter because it's all bullshit, like the tale of the needful Greyhound ticket.

All that matters is that a legal fiction allows people earning *eight- or nine-figure salaries* to treat *all* of those wages as capital gains and pay lower rates of tax on them than the janitors who clean their toilets or the workers whose jobs they will annihilate.

Now, the IRS knows all about this. Whistleblowers came forward in 2011 to warn them about it. The Treasury even struck a committee to come up with new rules to fix it.

But Obama failed to make those rules stick, and then Trump put a former tax-cheat enabler in charge of redrafting them. The cheater-friendly rules became law on Jan 5, and handed PE bosses hundreds of millions in savings every year.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/12/business/private-equity-taxes.html

The New York Times report on "fee waivers" goes through the rulemaking history, the technical details of the scam, and the gutting of the IRS, which can no longer afford to audit rich people and now makes its quotas by preferentially auditing low earners who can't afford lawyers.

But former securities lawyer Jerri-Lynn Scofield's breakdown of the Times piece on Naked Capitalism really connects the dots:

https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2021/06/private-inequity-nyt-examines-how-the-private-equity-industry-avoids-taxes.html

As Scofield and Yves Smith point out, if Biden wanted to do one thing for tax justice, he could abolish preferential treatment for capital gains. If we want a society of makers and doers instead of owners and gamblers, we shouldn't penalize wages and reward rents.

There's an especial urgency to this right now. As the PE bosses themselves admit, they went on a buying spree during the pandemic (they call it "saving American businesses"). Larger and larger swathes of the productive economy are going into the PE meat-grinder.

Worse still, the PE industry has revived its most destructive tactic, the "club deal," whereby PE firms collaborate to take out whole economic sectors in one go:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/05/14/billionaire-class-solidarity/#club-deals

We're at an historic crossroads for tax justice. On the one hand, you have the blockbuster Propublica report on leaked IRS files that revealed that the net tax rate paid by America's billionaires is close to zero.

https://pluralistic.net/2021/06/08/leona-helmsley-was-a-pioneer/#eat-the-rich

This has left the Bootlicker-Industrial Complex in the bizarre position of arguing that anyone who suggests someone who amasses billions of dollars should pay more than $0 in tax is a radical socialist (so far, the go-to tactic is to make performative noises about privacy).

At the same time, the G7 has agreed to an historical tax deal that will see businesses taxed at least 15% on the revenue they make in each country, irrespective of the accounting fictions they use to claim that the profits are being earned in the middle of the Irish Sea.

That deal is historical, but the fact that it's being hailed as curbing corporate power reveals just how distorted our discourse about corporate taxes has become.

As Thomas Piketty writes, self-employed people pay 20-50% tax in countries that will tax the world's wealthiest companies a mere 15%: "For SMEs as well as for the working and middle classes, it is impossible to create a subsidiary to relocate its profits to a tax haven."

Piketty, like Gabriel Zucman, says that EU nations should charge multinationals a minimum of 25%, and like Zucman, he reminds us that the G7 deal does nothing to help the poorest countries in the Global South.

https://www.lemonde.fr/blog/piketty/2021/06/15/the-g7-legalizes-the-right-to-defraud/

These countries and the EU have something in common: they aren't "monetarily sovereign" (that is, they don't issue their own currencies *and* borrow in the currencies they issue).

Sovereign currency issuers (US, UK, Japan, Canada, Australia, etc) don't need to tax in order to pay for programs - first they spend new money into the economy and then they tax it back out again.

https://pluralistic.net/2020/06/10/compton-cowboys/#the-deficit-myth

These countries can run out of stuff to buy in their currency, but they can't run out of the currency itself. Monetarily sovereign countries don't tax to fund their operations.

Rather, they tax to fight inflation (if you spend money into the economy every year but don't take some of it out again through taxation, more and more money will chase the same goods and services and prices will go up).

And just as importantly, monetary sovereigns tax to reduce the spending power - and hence the political power - of the wealthy. The fact that PE bosses had billions of tax-free dollars at their disposal let them spend millions to distort tax policy to legalize fee waivers.

Taxing the money - and hence the power - of wage earners at higher rates than gamblers creates politics that value gambling above work, because gamblers get to spend the winnings they retain on political influence, including campaigns to rig the casino in their favor.

This discredits the whole system, shatters social cohesion and makes it hard to even imagine that we can build a better world - or avert the climate-wracked dystopia on the horizon.

But for Eurozone countries (whose monetary supply is controlled by technocrats at the ECB) and countries of the Global South (whom the IMF has forced into massive debts owed in US dollars, which they can only get by selling their national products), tax is even more urgent.

The US could fund its infrastructure needs just by creating money at the central bank.

EU and post-colonial lands can only fund programs with taxes, so for them, billionaires don't just distort their priorities and corrupt their system - they also starve their societies.

But that doesn't mean that monetary sovereigns can tolerate billionaires and their policy distortions. The UK is monetarily sovereign, in the G7, and its finance minister is briefing to have the City of London's banks exempted from the new tax deal.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-06-08/u-k-pushes-for-city-of-london-exemption-from-global-tax-deal

Now, the City of London is one of the world's great financial crime-scenes, and its banks are responsible for an appreciable portion of the planet-destabilizing frauds of the past 100 years.

During the Great Financial Crisis AIG used its London subsidiary to commit crimes its US branch couldn't get away with. The City of London was the epicenter of the LIBOR fraud, the Greensill collapse - it's the Zelig of finance crime, the heart of every fraud.

UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak claims banks are already paying high global tax and can't afford to be part of the G7 tax deal. If that was true, it wouldn't change the fact that these banks are too big to jail and anything that shrinks them is a net benefit.

But it's not true.

As the tax justice campaigner  Richard Murphy points out, the risk to banks like Barclays adds up to 0.8% of global turnover: "The big deal is that the 15% global minimum tax rate is much too low. Suinak has yet again spectacularly missed the point."

https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2021/06/09/how-big-is-the-tax-hit-on-banks-from-the-g7-tax-deal-that-sunak-fears-really-going-to-be/

Image: Joshua Doubek (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:IRS_Sign.JPG

CC BY-SA: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en

[sigh-a-klown-blog]

lemme just leave these here 

[thesoftboiledegg]

It's the final chapter of Spectrum of the Curve! You're going to meet the entire Smith family in this one, although it's not necessarily good for Rick. O-789's not like the other Ricks. It's not an act, either--he's genuinely more patient and understanding and wants to look after his grandson. Unfortunately, the unfair assumptions that other people make are about to catch up with him.

Here's an excerpt:

“All right,” Jerry said. “Sure. Look—I don’t appreciate you taking him out of the house without talking to me or his mother first.”

Rick nodded with his eyes lowered. “Fair enough,” he said. He took another drag, then gripped the edges of the counter.

“What?”

“I said fair enough. It’s your house, Jerry.”

Thank you all for your support while I've posted these chapters. Please reblog, comment and let me know what you think 🙏

[differenzeartistiche]

It’s Gavin Creel’s birthday, so let’s bring back this ranking of all his performances that I’ve seen.

I’m adding A Tale of Two Cities since I last posted this two years ago.

Gavin Creel, 14 performances, ranked!

14. Nick Piazza in Fame

This show has some merits, although it’s definitely not one of my favorites. It’s Gavin’s professional debut and I can forgive him some naiveté in an otherwise competent, beautifully sung performance. His rendition of “I wanna make magic” is lovely.

13. Charles Darnay in A Tale of Two Cities

Ok, so this was a concert performance, so it’s not really fair to compare it to the others, but I’ll just throw it in here. Mainly because it’s such an unusual show for Gavin. It’s something that tries very hard to be on the level of Les Miserables, without much success, and Gavin is not a huge fan of that kind of show. That said, it’s a nicely sung performance of a classic romantic hero role. Nice, nothing more.

12. Jean-Michel in La Cage Aux Folles

Great show, poor but still competent production. The role’s literally the most boring in the whole play, but he gets to sing the cute “With Anne on my arm” and he nails it.

11. Hollis Bessemer in Bounce

Sadly a lesser show by Sondheim, I still love some aspects of it, and Gavin’s wide-eyed artistically-inclined dreamer is one of them. His big solo “Talent” is the best song of the show and touches me on a very personal level.

10. Matthews in Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure

Gavin voicing a Disney villain! A Disney villain with a secret! A Disney villain with a French accent! Talk about playing against type. There’s something of Kodaly here, and of Lumiere and of Pepé Le Pew. You can tell he had a blast recording this role, and the design is exquisite.

9. Bill in Eloise at the Plaza / Eloise at Christmastime

Effortlessly hilarious on screen as he is on stage, he goes full-on old-time Hollywood star in the Christmas-themed sequel and I love it. A mix of Dick Powell and Fred Astaire.

8. Dr. Pomatter in Waitress

Sara Bareilles’ little gem of a musical often finds its strength in the absolute realness of its characters, flawed human beings looking for a little sparkle of happiness. Drew Gehling’s Dr. Pomatter was awkward and fun and sad-eyed, but I think Gavin wins infusing the character with tenderness and truly lived-in melancholy. A few weeks in a well-worn musical could be seen as a footnote in a great career, but it’s such a lovely performance, enhanced by the incredible chemistry he has with Bareilles.

7. Bert in Mary Poppins

My introduction to Gavin and since then I’ve come to appreciate him as heir to impossibly gangly male leads like Dick Van Dyke, so this feels like such a natural fit. I find the show a little bloated, but watch him defying gravity in that one “walking on air” scene: it’s irresistible.

6. Ugly in Honk!

Having him play the ugly duckling ALSO feels like a natural fit. Gavin’s at his best when he plays lost and confused dreamers, and the fairytale touch with the surreal setting makes for a wonderful variation on that theme.

5. Steven Kodaly in She Loves Me

Easily the odd man out of the list. The evil, scheming, suave and self-centered Kodaly is a delightful departure from all the romantic leads and clueless buffoons of Gavin’s career. The showstopper “Ilona” brings out all the manipulative nature of the character, a snake that always finds a way out and always gets what he wants. A remarkable performance that makes me want to see him branch out into even more strange territories.

4. Jimmy Smith in Thoroughly Modern Millie

Again with the old-time charm and humor. Millie is a show dominated by women, and Gavin’s male romantic lead manages not to be swallowed whole by them by being so wonderfully easy-going, hilariously aloof and occasionally sassy. It does also help that in “What do I need with love” he has one of the catchiest numbers of the show.

3. Cornelius Hackl in Hello, Dolly!

PUDDING. That alone deserved the Tony. It’s an overwhelmingly funny turn that makes the best of the original, almost vaudevillian nature of the show. So full of tricks and ticks and winks to the audience, deliciously aware of its own absurdity, it’s the kind of scene-stealing performance that not every actor can pull off. And oh my god, has anyone ever sung Jerry Herman’s beautiful tunes so gorgeously? You almost wish he could have sung “Put on your Sunday clothes” in its entirety.

2. Elder Price in The Book of Mormon

Somewhere between the rubber-faced humor of Jim Carrey, the earnest straight man hilarity of Jack Lemmon and the physicality of Dick Van Dyke. A perfect combination that captures the sarcastic, yet disarmingly sweet nature of the show, with its hints of meanness and self-devouring doubt.

1. Claude Hooper Bukowski in Hair

Unquestionably the masterpiece of Gavin’s career. A towering performance that starts with the iconicity of the role and the visuals associated with it and finds the core of Claude’s humanity: a scared, earnest, sometimes self-centered, mostly clueless young man that has to face something so much bigger than himself, something that is so far from the made-up world of fake accents and films in space that he has created for himself and that will eventually consume him. Moments like “Where do I go” and “The Flesh Failures” are moving and brutally honest.

[adultswim2021]

Ephemera Week (2002)

It’s still ephemera week, and we’re still talking about John K. I said most of my piece on him in the last post, so don’t expect there to go full bore on this one, except I forgot to say he’s animation’s Jerry Lewis. His current stuff is basically Hardly Working. I will not elaborate, because I’m being mean to you0.

MARCH SPECIALS!

In March, Adult Swim advertised a run of one-off specials. A couple of them were already covered because they fell under the parameters of “Adult Swim original production”. They were Welcome to Eltingville (March 3rd) and Saddle Rash (March 24th).

Day in the Life of Ranger Smith | March 10th 2002 - 11:00 PM (Originally aired on Cartoon Network in 1999)

This was one of two specials commissioned by Cartoon Network re-imagining Yogi Bear. The artist what took this assignment was John K, who I REEEAALLY skewered in last night’s post, didn’t I?

This is about Ranger Smith harassing animals and writing them up for violating park rules, basically. It’s short! I remember liking it at the time! Okay, maybe I’m going crazy here, but I distinctly remembered a part at the end where Ranger Smith is in bed and he solemnly confides in the viewer that the noises of wilderness give him nightmares and then it just ends. Did I imagine this? It does end with him in bed, but this doesn’t happen in the version on YouTube (which is from the Adult Swim airing). Huh.

Boo Boo Runs Wild | March 10th 2002 - 11:15PM (Originally aired on Cartoon Network in 1999)

Boo Boo Runs Wild was another one of these stand-alone Yogi Bear John K specials. This one was 30 minutes long. The Ranger Smith short was a brief 7 minutes; I’m guessing they aired a couple Capt. Lingers or something to fill time.

This one is about Boo Boo reverting to his feral nature and causing BIIIIG problems! This special would later go on to be kind of a weird trolling thing Adult Swim would do where they aired it every Sunday for a few months, even promoting regularly. This was like 2006, I think? They’d also air it as part of April Fools. Is that Adult Swim admitting this special sorta sucks? Does it sorta suck? Again, I liked these at the time and REFUSED to actively rewatch these for this write-up. Sorry.

The Jetsons: Father and Son Day/The Best Son | March 10th, 2002 11:45PM (Originally aired on CartoonNetwork.com in 2001) Our John K rock block ends with a pair of Jetsons shorts, Father and Son Day and The Best Son respectively. This is kinda the same deal as his Yogi Bear shorts, but these were exclusive for Cartoon Network’s website. I remember watching them on there. They are as bad as you’d expect late-period John K internet shorts to be, though the second short is a superior version of Spielberg’s A.I. (in that it’s shorter).

Night of the Living Doo | March 17th, 2002 - 11:00PM (originally aired on Cartoon Network, 2001)

Night of the Living Doo originally aired as wraparound segments during a Halloween Scooby Doo marathon on Cartoon Network. It’s kinda like an episode of the Scooby Doo Movies, which shoehorned in a guest star each episode. Suddenly my man Dick Van Dyke be running a carnival and shit. That’s the Scooby Doo Movies. At the end of the night they played all the wraparound segments in one uninterrupted sitting, so the viewer could appreciate it as an actual full-on Scooby Doo episode. Night of the Living Doo functioned both as an extension of that series as well as a parody. The guests were Gary Coleman, David Cross, and the very cool band Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. It was all very self-deprecating and had jokes about the absurdity of Scooby Doo tropes. Well trod territory by this point, sure. But this is better than most irreverent Scooby Doo things. It didn’t hurt that I was a HUGE David Cross fan when this aired. Is this where I tell the stupid-ass story about getting mad at a message board guy for not liking David Cross? Sure. Okay, yeah. When this aired on Adult Swim a guy on Kon’s (hi Kon) message board posted something about not finding David Cross funny, shrugging that he didn’t get the hype. He cited this and his appearances in the Men in Black movies, and nothing else as proof for his lackluster comedy skills. It’s kinda like deeming Eddie Murphy as a bad comedian after watching Dr. Doolittle.

The point of this special is that David Cross is a little wooden and stilted, like in the old Scooby Doo Movies episodes. This poster revealed that he never heard David Cross’s stand-up or seen Mr. Show, explaining “I don’t watch puppet shows” A response that still baffles me to this day. Why Mr. Show isn’t a-- WHAT IS HE TALKING ABOUT? I’m not even sure if there was EVER a puppet on Mr. Show*. David wasn’t even a guest on Crank Yankers at this point! SO WHAT THE FUCK? To this day whenever mutual pals from that board get together and watch a movie or show and a puppet appears we make a joke about this guy. Good story? No? Fuck you.

Other stuff about this show: When it originally aired on Cartoon Network it was a little bit longer than the Adult Swim version. There’s a missing scene. I think it’s David trying to play an improv game with a mummy or something. At one point I had it on tape, but I’m not sure I kept it. Sorry.

*sorry to be coy here, but I do know of at least one puppet on Mr. Show, episode 204 there is brief footage of Grass Valley Greg putting on a puppet show for his staff. This CAN’T be the source of the confusion, can it? It’s literally like, 5 seconds.

MAIL BAG

This’ll teach me to skip a day cuz this really piled up. Thanks, guys. I love all the attention. It is my favorite thing.

I never really saw oblongs as something for the hot topic set. They had Invader Zim and Squee for that kind of shit. Oblongs feel like it was always directly targeting me: the shut-in comedy nerd who would appreciate will ferrell and the sklars being in a thing. Since they ended up doing the exact same show with Janeane Garofalo and David Cross a few years later it seems like that was the goal.

Yeah, I guess that also makes sense. There were a few elements that were kinda gothy but this show was mostly just Angus Oblong ahem, clowning around (puckering mouth to stifle laughter like Chris Elliott in Cabin Boy)

What are your thoughts on the other adult animation blocks of the past couple decades? Spike's notriously failed attempt. Animation Domination. Apparently Syfy has had their own going?

Spike was irredeemably bad. People think this shit is easy. Animation Domination is sorta legit, but it’s anchored by mostly crap. That ADHD thing was kinda good and underrated. Is that still going on? I wish I were more diligent about watching/recording that. Some of them bumpers were good. Also, we mustn’t forget MTV’s oddities. They were kinda the first cable network to court Adult Animation as their thing. They deserve some kind of credit for that. I’m sure they’re doing fine.

I'm having a nice big thing of spaghetti for dinner with some chicken parm? Jealous?

I’ve never had those are they good

What does Ephemera mean? Why is this happenening? Why aren't you talking about 10 Home Movies episodes in a row like a good boy.

In dude time, my friend. In dude time

What would be your Adult Swim dream come true?

Having a complete archive of Adult Swim blocks on a harddrive like Don Giller has with his Letterman archive. Even the commercials and shit. I know of a guy who was a regular taper of the entire block from night 1 but I’m not sure he kept up with it when they went nightly. I should ask him if he still has his tapes, huh?

That or they bring back the BUILD YOUR OWN DVD thing but with blu-rays and you can make your own bumps, which was a different thing they had. THEY SHOULD COMBINE THEM. And you can master it in SD if you wanna put 10 hours of stuff on a disk.

All this is archival bullshit dork shit. Real answer: Clay Croker comes back from the dead and every block is hosted by Space Ghost. That’d be it, right?

If anyone has genuine/better answers please write in with them I wanna keep this conversation going. ‘kay?

McDonalds reintroduces limited edition Adult Swim Toys. You can get them all (plus an extra to keep wrapped for collectors purposes) but you have to spend 20 dollars at McDonalds to grab them all. This is the last day of the promotion. You have to personally eat everything you buy but you can take it home. You can only buy one of each food item. What are you getting? I know the longer the mailbag message is the quicker you are inclined to give some glib remark but indulge this one for once.

Oh wow. I’m literally going to take this seriously. I’d roll in as breakfast was ending. Get myself a McChicken Biscuit and a Bacon Egg & Cheese McGriddle, hashbrowns and a Coffee. Gobble that knob on down. Wipe my mouth with a napkin. It’s lunchtime, bitch. Big Mac, Large Fries, BIG ass soda. You feel me, dude? Lemme tally up. Okay, probably need more. 20 piece nugget. Take that home cuz I’m probably gonna have to save some for dinner. That’s probably 20 bucks right there, especially if you go to the McDonalds on Burnside where all the menu items are more expensive because of the amount of security they have to hire (did you know that different McDonalds have different prices even in the same city? I didn’t until very recently). If this somehow doesn’t satisfy my price point I get a Vanilla shake and eat it anally DURING my BIG D squirt sesh, so it’ll spend as little time in my body as possible. Wait, do I get something for this? I might do this tomorrow just cuz. It sounds like a funky thing to do

Do you think you'll open an Adult Swim mueseum at some point? You seem to be the only steward of its history.

Unless I’m hired to by a large corporation, probably not. Also I don’t think I actually have much in the way of merch other than DVDs. I stopped being a DVD completist at some point around Freaknick The Musical. Oh, I never EVER bought a Robot Chicken DVD, EVER. I literally had a nightmare once that one appeared in my collection.

Hey! Please keep us abreast any time you put more of your garbage on eBay. Maybe you can put your wedding dress on there, you big girl.

Fucking sexist/trasphobic behavior.

Check out my eBay auctions I got season 18 of NCIS up there and some other things :)

The Ripping Friends blow chunks. I don't care if a rapist or the opposite of a rapist (a virgin who volunteers, lol) made it. It sucks a high hard one like when Ozzy banged the Cheiftan's Wife in that Black Sabbath TV Funhouse cartoon. Tell me more.

Tell you more?

Name one rap song you tolerate lol. You can't say anything by weird al or marky mark.

I guess I like the song the pest sings from the motion picture The Pest

Are there any good podcasts on adult swim?

The official one hosted by Matt Harrigan is good, but I’ve only bounced around on it. I don’t know if there’s any formal recap ones. I simply don’t know!

HE'S GIVING HIGH HARD ONE TO CHEIFTAN'S WIFE? UH OH!

Buddy, you are BANNED for LIFE from my MAIL BAG! You drive me CRAZY!

[jadelotusflower]

June 2021 Roundup

It's been a month of highs and lows. Every year my city holds a cabaret festival, and I've seen some truly amazing acts over the years - including Lea Salonga, Kristin Chenoweth, and Indina Menzel. This year's Artistic Director was the great Alan Cumming, and although due to covid he didn't quite get to curate the program he wanted to, the opening night Gala was still a highlight, as was Alan's DJ set at the pop-up Club Cumming afterwards, where there was much singing at the top of my lungs and dancing to pop anthems and theatre tunes. At one point Alan, dressed in a onesie and perched on the shoulders of a man wearing only sparkly short shorts, was carried around the dance floor while Circle of Life blared. Reader, I was delighted.

I was also able to see his solo show Alan Cumming Is Not Acting His Age, which was hilarious and damn, he can sing!

As for the low, I was meant to fly to Sydney for the weekend to see Hamilton, a trip I have been looking forward to for almost a year, but had to be cancelled because of a covid outbreak and border closures. The tickets have been rescheduled, but I'm still kind of bummed about it (while completely appreciating the need for covid safety, especially when our vaccine rollout has been completely botched by our incompetent, corrupt federal government)

Anyway.

Reading

The Hundred and One Dalmations (Dodie Smith) - With all the bewilderment over Disney's Cruella, I decided to revisit the original novel which I first read as a kid. It's funny, I had very vivid memories of this book, or rather thought I did, particularly the scene where Roger and Anita have dinner at Cruella's house that fixed in my young mind as utterly disturbing with all this devil imagery and the implication Cruella was literally some kind of demon, which must have been either a) my overactive imagination or b) an illustration, because it's not as clear as I thought it was. The strangeness is there (food with too much pepper, Cruella's inability to keep warm, the walls painted blood red) but not the explicit demon imagery I had remembered. There is a part later in the book recounting the history of Hell Hall and the rumors of Cruella's ancestor streaking out of the place conjuring blue lightening, but clearly child me was reading far more into the book than was on the page.

But I still wish they'd gone with this version of Cruella's backstory, because to me an aristocratic, ink-drinking, heat-obsessed, possibly-demon spawn, high camp villain is more interesting and rings far more true than plucky punk against the establishment.

Smith clearly had Facts About Dalmations to share, and she does really craft a wonderful animal-based story that the Disney animated film is largely faithful to. Key differences include: Roger's occupation (he doesn't have to pay tax because he wiped out government debt somehow?!?), Pongo's mate and the puppy's mother is called Missis, Perdita is another dalmation who acts as a kind of doggie wet nurse, Roger and Anita both have Nannies who come to live with them (Nanny Butler and Nanny Cook), Cruella is married to a furrier (who changed his last name to de Vil). Also odd, on her first description Cruella is described as having "dark skin" but later in the novel her "white face" is mentioned, so I'm chalking it up to 50's descriptors not having the same meanings they do today.

The Duke and I (Julia Quinn) - After being just whelmed by the tv series, I wasn't really planning on reading the books, but I saw this on the top picks shelf at the library and damn, the top picks shelf is irresistible. This is very much Daphne's book (and I had known each in the series dealt with the different sibling) so many of the characters and much of the plot of the show is absent, as are some of the more baffling elements of the show like the Diamond of the First Water nonsense, which I always thought was a strange character choice in that it stacks the deck for Daphne when her character arc is better served as somewhat of an underdog (in her third season, the kind of girl who is liked but not adored), and the Prince subplot which was always far too OTT even for soapy regency romance.

It's a breezy, fun read (that scene excepted), even if the misunderstandings are contrived and I'm never going to take "I'll never have kids because I hate my dad" as a credible romantic obstacle deserving of so much angst.

Faeries (Brian Froud and Alan Lee) - A lovingly detailed and illustrated compendium of Faerie and its inhabitants, drawing from a range of European (but primarily Celtic) folklore and mythology. Froud was a conceptual designer on The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth, and the link is clear in the art as well as the focus on faeries as mysterious but oftimes sinister beings, where human encounters with them rarely end well. Lee has illustrated several publications of Tolkien's novels, and was a lead concept artists for Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings and Hobbit trilogies, and there is a touch of Middle Earth here as well, or rather the common inspiration of the old world. A useful resource for my novel!

Watching

The Handmaid's Tale (season 4, episodes 4-8) SPOILERS - So when I last wrote about this show in the Roundup, I was complaining it wasn't going anywhere. Well, I'm happy to be wrong because they finally changed things up with June finally escaping to Canada. That part of the plot following the survivors and their trauma has always been far more compelling than Gilead, and so it was a welcome development even if I side-eye some of the choices (none of these characters is seeing an actual licensed therapist why?).

This show has always been difficult to watch given the subject matter, and that has not changed after the shift in power dynamics. I will give the show credit for showing a broad range of trauma responses, from Moira wanting to move on and not let it consume her, to June, a ball of rage and revenge on a downward spiral, to Emily, trying to follow Moira's path but being drawn to June's, to Luke, trying his best but utterly unequipped to deal with what is happening.

But it is very hard to watch June go down this path - raping her husband (I concede the show perhaps didn't intend for it to be rape, but that's what is on screen and framing it as just "taking away Luke's agency" doesn't change that), wishing death on Serena's unborn child, and orchestrating Fred's brutal murder by particulation, then holding her own daughter still covered in his blood and it getting smeared on Nicole's face (an unsubtle metaphor in a series full of unsubtle metaphors).

There are interesting questions being asked of the viewer, and the show (perhaps rightly) not giving any answers. I can certainly appreciate the catharsis of Fred getting what he deserves even if I personally find the manner of it horrifying, but where is the line between justice and revenge, is revenge the only option when justice is denied, when does a trauma release become cyclical violence/abuse - the show is, for now, letting the viewer decide.

Soul (dir. Pete Docter and Kemp Powers) - In a world full of remakes/reboots/sequels, Pixar is perhaps the lone segment under the Disney umbrella committed to original content. However, there does seem to be a Pixar formula at work directed to precision tugging the heart strings, and some of the film feels like well-trod ground. On the other hand, it's hard to criticise the risk of centering a kids film around the existential crisis of a middle aged man, even with the requisite cutesy elements (and of course, the uncomfortable pattern of yet another film where the black lead character spends a great deal of the runtime in non-human form - herein, an amorphous blob or a cat). But the animation is stunning, it successfully did tug my heart strings, and the design of the Great Before and the Jerrys is original and fun.

RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under - Drag Race is somewhat of a guilty pleasure for me, since I generally don't watch reality shows, and this is something I really enjoy even if I'm not invested in the fandom (which like many fandoms can be very yikes). This year it was time for the Australian/New Zealand (Aotearoa) queens to show their stuff, although it's been met with mixed reactions. Covid restrictions didn't allow for guest judges, relegating them to mere cameos via video calls, and its clear that Ru and Michelle really don't quite get all the cultural nuances - Aussie judge Rhys Nicholson was however always delightful. But it wouldn't be Australia without a racism scandal, with the great disappointment of the two queens of colour eliminated first, and one queen having done blackface in the recent past yet making it all the way to the top four.

In the end, the only viable and deserving winner was last Kiwi standing Kita Mean, and it was pure joy to see her get crowned. I do hope they fix the bugs and indeed do another season to better showcase AU/NZ talent.

Writing

A far more productive month - to try and get out of my writing funk I had a goal to try and write every day, even if it was only 100 words. While I didn't quite achieve a consecutive month, I did get a pretty good average, at least got something posted and two others nearly there.

The Lady of the Lake - 2441 words, Chapter 4 posted.

Against the Dying of the Light - 2745 words

Turn Your Face to the Sun - 1752 words.

Here I Go Again - 1144 words

Total words this month: 8082

Total words this year: 35,551

[controversial-ships-anyone]

Appreciation post for D&D Jerry

because he is honestly the most adorable thing.

Like, look at him. His little smiles, the way he holds his hand behind his back when he walks, his ears. Just. He’s precious. 🥺

[gods-rising]

February Post - Valentine’s Day

How would the cast of Gods’ Rising celebrate Valentine’s Day with their loved one? (not necessarily romantic, despite the holiday name)

Main protagonists first, then minor protagonists, then main antagonists, then minor antagonists. Background characters not included. 

Jakob Sullivan - Jakob would offer a simple picnic, perhaps not even outside in a park, and would make treats such as chocolate covered strawberries and fruit kebabs and even shape them into cute, though perhaps deformed, hearts. If outdoors, he’d then offer a game of some sport that can be done in the area. If indoors, he’d put on a film to watch and use the picnic blanket as an actual blanket. 

Zlatko Jones - Zlatko would buy a bouquet of flowers, trying to pick one out with his loved one’s favourite colours and/or flowers and even put them in a specially bought vase. He would also make a special dinner - most likely his Eban-approved spaghetti and add special ingredients to make it extra special for Valentine’s Day - followed by a dessert, usually an experimental dish to mix it up a bit. 

Charlie Parker - Charlie would take her loved one to karaoke and sing their favourite song, and then would force them to join her midway the song or the next song she sings. She would also buy matching customised shirts for them, or at least something more obvious than a bracelet unless she doesn’t have enough money - then she’ll make them a bracelet using their favourite colours of threads.

Alex Wilson - Alex would take his loved one to a place he loves, whether because it’s secluded, full of good memories or beautiful. He would tell them stories about the place, about his family, his childhood, anything that came to mind. Then he’d tell them how much they mean to him. How happy he is they’re in his life. He’ll make sure they never forget it, but he dedicates Valentine’s Day to this alone.

Kenna Collier - Kenna will meticulously plan the entire day, making sure she has enough money for anything that involves buying things, choosing the best outfit, making sure whatever she buys is at its best - she plans everything. Of course, she cannot plan spontaneity but will (albeit reluctantly) take it all in her stride - she just loves being around her loved one, even if her plans don’t go quite go to... plan.

Klara Lullay - Klara doesn’t show her sorcery to just anyone, you know, so when she uses it to make a special night even more magical for her loved one, you know that she trusts and even admires them. As for what that night actually holds, she’ll cook with them, perhaps even a bit of a food fight, and eat the concoction too with them as well while binge-watching anything they want to, shows or films.

Eban Jones - Eban would enjoy a walk with his loved one. Any time he can get away from his racist town, he’ll take, but Valentine’s Day is special because, when he was younger, his mother and brother would take him on this special hike to a beautiful view every Valentine’s Day. There’s surely not single a better place to show his loved one - a family tradition - that will show that they’re part of the Jones family.

Grace Smith - Grace will take her loved one to the cinema. She’ll sneak in their favourite snacks but still buy the cinema popcorn, as big as she can afford, as well ice cream, if they have it and she has enough. As well as saving up, she’ll beg and plead her dad to give her more money and probably ask her twin brother too. Whatever they watch, probably something easy to make fun of, she’ll enjoy it with them.

Kai Smith - Kai loves simple stuff that is cheap or even free. He’d love just to hang out... but he’d especially love to stargaze with his loved one. Usually the weather is terrible though, so he doesn’t often get to. If he can't, he’ll just sit up by a cliff and look out at the view with his loved one. If he has enough money, he’ll buy ice cream - Ben and Jerry’s, duh - and a bunch of cans of Coke to share, whatever they do.

Maddie Eyighes - Maddie would rather go on a jog with her loved one or go cycling or swimming or literally anything else that keeps her active and out of her foster family’s house; she’d be grateful for the excuse to leave! She’d take her loved one down her favourite routes, whether it’s because of special memories or beautiful sights or because it’s longer and she wants as much time as she can get with them.

Nastasia Lavisco - Nastasia isn’t into affection or gifts. She’d rather give something that matters to her loved one, something she believes they can use. This usually means survival training, something she thinks everyone should have but only Dark Worldians truly need. This may come in form of building shelter, learning how to withstand pain, stitch up injuries. She actually taught everything to Aidan.

Aidan Lavisco - Aidan would try to be as unique as possible. He wants to make a impression, after all, so he’d pay attention to the desires of his loved one. They want to go ice-skating? He’ll take them ice-skating. They want a dinner? He’ll make them what he can. They want to go stargazing? Hell, he’ll take them stargazing. He’ll try to be the best he can be for his loved one - they’re his loved one for a reason.

Valeriya Jones - Valeriya would show that she trusts her loved one by letting them be around her as she works and perhaps even help. She’s not very romantic, preferring conversations, deep talks and working on projects together over big dramatic shows of affection, but she’ll certainly take the day to show them her appreciation by using her time to make a treasured, one of a kind present for them.

Kyle Smith - Kyle doesn’t see himself as having any particular talents but, if it’s a romantic loved one, he’ll write a song or poem to perform for them; he’s also a sucker for holding a stereo above his head and playing music. Even if it’s not romantic, he’ll try show how much he knows about them - play their favourite music, watch their favourite film, eat their favourite food, etc.. One thing is guaranteed - dad dancing.

Tyler Brae - Tyler much prefers to be around his family, so his loved one will usually find themself surrounded by the chaotic group; and so, it should be a nice change of pace on Valentine’s Day when Tyler takes them out on a (mostly) completely secluded meal and a small shopping spree. Ice cream will come after, of course, and then a little chat about how the days, weeks and months before have gone.

Shadow - Shadow... well, kudos to his loved one for gaining that status. He’ll make sure to show how much you matter and just why they’re his loved one. Not one for big shows of affection, Shadow would much rather just make small memories. Maybe a drinking game with others he considers important to him or small feasts, or a trip to a local restaurant with an all-you-can-eat-buffet to enjoy the night away.

Mehmun Salton - Mehmun, in all honesty, doesn’t have a lot of experience with appreciation, whether giving or receiving it. He’d fret for weeks about what to do and probably only calm down with some guidance from said loved one, so in the end, it’ll really be their decision. If they give no help, he’ll buy a gift and a film that he hopes they’ll enjoy. Maybe even watch the film - but only if the loved one wants to.

Preston Sin - Preston seems like he’d have his shit together for Valentine’s Day but, alas, he does not. He would offers beautiful flowers and then panic, worrying if they give off sexual, or at the very least romantic, intent, especially if the loved one receiving flowers is not so romantically. He’ll take them out on a shopping spree and would definitely make an outfit for them out of whatever they bought.

Maggie Snare - Maggie seems to be able to read her loved ones’ minds. Well, not quite, but she knows that flowers, chocolate covered strawberries and a trip out (to a shopping centre or a bar or a club) tend to go a long way. Sure, she’ll give gifts that won’t see the next sunrise but Maggie knows that those blended perfectly with memories that’ll last a lifetime and longer will certainly make for a fun time.

Ezekiel Fortunato - Ezekiel may seem to be sex-and-romance-oriented; while he is and may seem to prioritise them, he is also just as fond of familial and platonic relationships. If faced with a loved one who cannot be given gifts that could be perceived as romantic, he will joke that 'him being there' is the reward before giving them something like a homemade item of jewellery or a scrapbook - something very Ezekiel.

Luke Fortunato - Luke is an avid believer that a picnic in a beautiful location is just as good as any material item. He will make small versions of favourite meals of his loved one for the picnic and bring all sorts of other goods to appreciate. Once they've used the sights as much as possible, he'll drive them along a long, scenic route to a store and buy the two of them ice cream to eat as they drive home - well, Luke will have to wait.

Kiyoshi Kornai - Kiyoshi, for the most part, isn't used to affection - giving or receiving. So when the holiday comes along, all she can offer is freedom. She knows how liberating it can be to be outside, unconstrained by societal norms, the claustrophobic buildings and people's expectations, so she'll take them as far away from the world as she can. Perhaps a drive along the beach or swim in the sea will suffice.

Amber Miller - Amber will trash talk the holiday every other day but the day itself? Will aggressively go all out as much she can, if it's affordable or possible. She'll definitely want to show her appreciation for her loved one. She'd achieve this by meeting them in town and going shopping, buying food and drinks and sightseeing. She'd document the entire day in pictures and look at them whenever she's sad. 

Johnny Miller - Johnny will be too nervous to go all out for their loved one. They'll organise a meet-up but won't go as far as their twin. A cinema trip to watch a bad film and then to a coffee shop for a good coffee and a long chat. They'll happily talk about anything, whether it's a sweet, simple topic about a cute dog or favourite cat breeds or something more serious like politics or the news, and will just be happy for the company. 

Damien Roth - Damien does not think he has a loved one. Most of the time, anyone at his side as an ally is a means to an end - a vessel, a vessel turned soldier or someone he has made a deal with to get his way. Most 'loved ones' are pawns, but he understands that bribery and behaviour training may be necessary. So he will pay attention and reward allies, especially on this holiday, and customise their reward. 

Ayla - Ayla knows she, despite best efforts, is in a vulnerable place - as a tyrant, she wears a target on her back with arrogance but also knows that if she treats her guards and servants well, they will be conflicted and unlikely to listen to her enemies, let alone join them. She will give clothes and accessories as materialistic gifts amongst wealthy food and luxuries. They may not be loved ones, but she'll let them think they are. 

Loki Lullay - Loki has not had a loved one for a while, as he gave no reason for them to stay. In his saner days, and even for a short while after, he cared a lot more. He would teach his loved one to sing or play his mother's guitar, giving tips and demonstrating what to do next, indulging his loved one in the Lullay history of music and song. But those days are long gone along with his mind and any thoughts unfocused on revenge. 

Malcolm Gull - Malcolm is not a callous man, though now there are few he truly cherishes outside his group of Magic Hunters. He’ll treat them to a morning of hunting and then an afternoon of relaxation - eating by a fire, singing songs and sharing campfire stories, whether it's real or fiction (when you've nearly abandoned civilised life to kill sorcerers, it's harder to tell). An evening will go similarly, but with lots more booze!

Nico Angel - Nico no longer trusts loved ones, but he also understands that what made him not trust them was his fault. If he was still in contact with his former loved ones, on Valentine’s Day he would treat them well. He would show them he cared by taking them on an adventure, their own personal little trip into the unknown and explore with them. But now, he is alone. He has no loved ones to explore the world with.

Davey Sullivan - Davey has a rather warped sense of love. He doesn't conform to conventions because no such conventions were established to him in his sheltered, controlled childhood and life. He expresses love through a similar control, which may cause belief that he doesn't trust his loved ones. It's true. He does not trust them to make their own decisions in life, because he was never trusted to make his own.

Aerron Yelad - Aerron grew up with two types of love - breaking love and beneficial love. But he has been welcomed into a new love - love itself. On this day, he will try to give back the love he has been given back. He will make small but meaningful presents that reflect who they are to be gifted to in a way, and they will also be given to those who have given him a bad love. It's fair, after all, to at least try.

[smallcollegebasketball]

My Tribute to Kyle Mangas

I purposely waited until Kyle Mangas’ career at Indiana Wesleyan was completed to write this blog post.  Now that it’s completed, here goes…..

Kyle Mangas is from Warsaw, IN, and he’s the son of Tim and Ann Mangas, and the younger brother of Jake Mangas.  Tim was a 1,000-point scorer in high school, and Ann led her high school team to the state championship game.  Jake was a forward on the Warsaw High School basketball team, the quarterback on the football team and was the Valedictorian of his class.  

As a senior at Warsaw in 2016-17, Kyle averaged 22.6 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game to earn Indiana All-Star honors as he led the Tigers to the regional final.  He averaged 19.4 points per game as a junior on a team that advanced to the Class 4A north semistate. He scored 1,450 career points at Warsaw, leading the Tigers to a 61-17 record in his three seasons as a starter.  Remarkably, however, he wasn’t heavily recruited…..with the notable exception of Indiana Wesleyan, who had started recruiting him as a freshman in high school.  Mangas committed to IWU before his senior season.

He chose IWU in part because of its tremendous basketball program…and in part because they recruited him for so long and he developed a strong relationship with the coaches….and, in great part, because it was the right “fit”. In this case, the right “fit” meant the IAM3rd culture that had been created at IWU by Coach Greg Tonagel.  In short, this culture meant God first, others second and yourself third.  If you want to be first, you first need to learn to be third.  It’s a bit counter-culture in today’s society.  This resonated with Kyle, and he embraced the challenges of growing within this culture.

…………

So, where to start with the collegiate career of Kyle Mangas…..

I don’t like to “compare”.  It’s natural to try to compare his collegiate career with some of the all-time greats in the NAIA, such as Dick Barnett (Tennesse A&I – now Tennessee State), Travis Grant & Elmore Smith (Kentucky State), Philip Hutcheson & John Pierce (David Lipscomb), Lucious Jackson (Texas Pan American), Bob Love (Southern), Al Tucker (Oklahoma Baptist), Bob Hopkins and Willis Reed (Grambling), Scottie Pippen (Central Arkansas), M.L. Carr & Lloyd (World B) Free (Guilford), Eric Kline (Northern State) and so many others.  It’s easy to start talking about some of the all-time greats within all of small college basketball, such as Earl “The Pearl” Monroe (Winston-Salem State), Jerry Sloan (Evansville), Walt Frazier (Southern Illinois), Jack Sikma (Illinois Wesleyan), George Tinsley (Kentucky Wesleyan), John Rinka (Kenyon), John Smith (Winona State), Phil Jackson (North Dakota), and so many more. Yet, as mentioned above, I don’t like to “compare”.  As President Theodore Roosevelt said, “Comparison is the thief of joy.”  I want to enjoy and appreciate what I just witnessed with the career of Kyle Mangas.  As his career, progressed, I think that people that followed closely began to realize that we were watching something special.  So let’s not compare.  Let’s just enjoy and appreciate.

…………

Before he ever played a game at Indiana Wesleyan, the coaches realized that Kyle was the best player on the team….and it was a really good team (REALLY good).  During his freshman year, he led the Wildcats to a 31-7 record, the Crossroads League regular season AND tournament titles AND the NAIA Division II National Championship. In the National Championship game, Kyle went for 23 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists and was named as the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.  For the season, he scored 818 points and averaged 21.5 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 2.9 apg and had 42 steals, while shooting 52.6% fg and 79.5% ft.  He was named Crossroads League Player of the Year and First Team NAIA Division II All American.

As a sophomore, IWU went 30-6 and won the Crossroads League regular season AND tournament titles, and reached the NAIA Division II National Quarterfinals.  Kyle scored 801 points and averaged 23.6 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 3.8 apg and had 48 steals, while shooting 56.5% fg and 75.5% ft.  He was named Crossroads League Player of the Year and First Team NAIA Division II All American.

As a junior, IWU went 29-4 and won the Crossroads League regular season AND tournament titles.  The team was really rolling as the headed into the NAIA Division II Tournament, as they had just won their three conference tournament games by 32, 27 and 32 points, respectively.  Shortly after they arrived in Sioux Falls, SD, to play their opening round game at the Pentagon, the tournament was cancelled due to COVID-19.  This was heart-wrenching for a team that was really talented, and was playing so well.  Kyle continued to get better and better, and he scored 860 points and averaged 26.9 ppg,  6.4 rpg, 4.2 apg and had 59 steals, while shooting 55.5% fg and 83.4% ft.  He was named Crossroads League Player of the Year, First Team NAIA Division II All American, NAIA Division II National Player of the Year and the winner of the Bevo Francis Award.  

As a senior this past season, the NAIA had combined the divisions, thus meaning that their was now going to be roughly double the number of teams competing for a single NAIA National Championship, and there would be roughly twice as many players vying for award and National recognition.  IWU had a dominating regular season, starting off 17-0 and finishing the regular season with a 28-1 record, spending most of the season ranked #1 in the NAIA.  I had the privilege of attending their final regular season game, which was a home game against Mount Vernon Nazarene.  MVNU is a good, solid, well-coached team, yet IWU was clicking, and the Wildcats were phenomenal in a 117-78 win --- yes, a 39-point win against a good team.  Kyle was fantastic, going for 40 points and 7 assists in 31 minutes.  He went 13-22 fg (including 7-12 from the 3-point line) and 7-7 ft.  Just a spectacular performance!  …..oh, and by the way, it was the 50th consecutive home win for Indiana Wesleyan.  50 straight!  Remarkable!

The Wildcats won the Crossroads League regular season once again, yet they were defeated by St. Francis (IN) in the conference tournament. In their first-round game of the NAIA Tournament – which was the final home game of Kyle’s career at Indiana Wesleyan – the Wildcats defeated IU-South Bend, 95-76.  Kyle went for 30 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 steals and 2 blocks. He only missed 6 shots total (fg’s & ft’s combined) in scoring 30 points.

#1 ranked Indiana Wesleyan moved on to the round of 16 in the NAIA Tournament at historic Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, where they faced conference foe, Bethel (IN).  They had defeated Bethel by 3 early in the season, and then by 20 later in the season.  In short, Bethel played great on the big stage and pulled off the huge win over Indiana Wesleyan, 83-77.  In Kyle’s four-year career, Indiana Wesleyan was 9-0 against Bethel prior to the game in the NAIA Tournament, which turned out to be the final game in Kyle’s storied career at Indiana Wesleyan.  He finished with 22 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists in his final game.

During his senior year, Kyle scored 974 points and averaged 29.5 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 5.1 apg and had 62 steals, while shooting 60.3% fg and 84.9% ft. He was named Crossroads League Player of the Year, NAIA First Team All American and the NAIA National Player of the Year for the second consecutive season.  (The Bevo Francis Award was not presented in 2021 due to COVID-19).

For his four-year career at Indiana Wesleyan, Kyle led the Wildcats to a 120-20 record, thus winning 100 games MORE than they lost in a four-year span. Kyle was named Crossroads League Player of the Year AND First Team NAIA All American all four seasons.  He was named NAIA National Player of the Year in back-to-back seasons, and won the Bevo Francis Award.  He finished as the second all-time leading collegiate scorer in the history of Indiana Kyle finished with 3,453 points, 818 rebounds, 544 assists, 211 steals and 65 blocks.  He shot 56.3% fg and 81.2% ft.  As such, Kyle Mangas is the most decorated NAIA Player of this generation.  

…………

Above are the numbers and awards, which are ridiculously impressive. But Kyle Mangas is so much more than statistics and awards.  When you watch him play, you’ll realize that he doesn’t play for numbers.  He’s remarkably unselfish.  There was a game this season where IWU was up by 50 points (against Goshen), and Kyle wanted to make sure that other players got a chance to play.  Coach Tonagel tried to put a sub in for Kyle, yet other players realized that Kyle was one rebound away from a triple-double.  As the players tried to let the coach know about the impending triple-double, Kyle heard about this, and quickly tried to get the sub into the game.  It was more important to him that his teammates get a chance to play than for him to get a triple-double.  He finished with 31 minutes of playing time and 20 points, 11 assists and 9 rebounds (along with 3 steals).  

IAM3rd in action:  God first. Others second.  Yourself third.

……….

Before his senior season started, Kyle Mangas was already the school’s all-time leading scorer.  In a neutral-site game played at Bowling Green High School (KY) against Faulkner, Kyle surpassed the 3,000-point milestone, and surpassed Larry Bird to move into second place on the career scoring list among the top collegiate scorers in the state of Indiana.  The next game was played at Huntington, the alma mater of Steve Platt.  Platt – who passed away recently – is the state’s all-time leading scorer with 3,700 career points.  Playing in Platt Arena in the game after Kyle moved into second place on the state’s career scoring list, Kyle went for 43 and only missed a total of 6 shots (between field goals and free throws, combined).  

How about the game when Kyle set the school’s individual game scoring record by going for 51 points against Oakland City?  He MADE 21 field goals – including 7 3’s – and added 6 rebounds and 5 assists.  How about the game against a really talented St. Francis (IN) team when he went for 35 points, 13 rebounds 6 assists and 6 blocks?  How about the game against Goshen on December 2, when he played just 28 minutes in a lopsided win, going 15-16 from the field for 30 points….and then followed that game with a 12-15 performance (and 2-2 from the free throw line) in a win against Taylor?  Therefore, in back-to-back games he went a combined 27-31 from the field and 2-2 from the free throw line in two wins.  Just remarkable.

……….

It’s easy to get lost in the numbers, the statistics.  They’re pretty astonishing and impressive.

I’ve watched Indiana Wesleyan play a lot over the last several years.  By “a lot”, I mean that I only missed 3-5 games this whole season, and have probably watched an additional 25-40 games over Kyle’s first three seasons at IWU. I’ve watch them play A LOT.

Here are a few lines that I’ve used to try to describe Kyle Mangas to people:

“If you want to learn how to play this game, watch Kyle Mangas.”

“Watching Kyle Mangas is like watching a basketball clinic.

“Since he’s from Indiana, I think it’s like watching the fictional ‘Jimmy Chitwood’ from Hoosiers.”

For me, as a former coach and basketball junkie, it’s just a pleasure and joy to watch Kyle Mangas play.  When people talk about “playing the game the right way,” you can visualize Kyle Mangas. He dives after loose balls, takes charges, and does the “little things” so consistently that, well….coaches know that these really aren’t “little things”.  They are the things that help you win basketball games.  He pass fakes and shot fakes.  With the ball, he changes directions and changes speed.  Watch him without the ball…..watch how he uses screens, curls, fades, goes back door. Watch how he draws fouls – and finishes.  Watch how he passes and watch how he gets put-backs and loose balls.

There are a couple of plays that I’m thinking about, from his junior season.  The first one happened so quickly, so I’m glad that they showed it on replay as well. Kyle was posting up on the right block, and the ball was lobbed to him. The double-team came from the top, right away. He caught the ball and immediately pass-faked around the defender’s waist, along the baseline.  The defender turned around to see the pass, while Kyle layed the ball in the basket for an uncontested layup.  It looked so simple, so easy.  Yet with a double-team coming, he had the instincts to give such a quick and effective pass fake that he ended up with an uncontested layup.

The other play that is popping to my head (among so, so many) is the time when he got a steal around half court.  He had an uncontested dunk ahead of him.  Yet 7’0” Seth Maxwell was also running with him, for a 2 on 0 fast break. Kyle pitched the ball back to Seth for the dunk.  Again, pretty simple play.  Simple yes, but Kyle was on the verge of becoming the school’s all-time leading scorer and had a wide open dunk, yet passed it up to give his teammate the dunk. While it had been obvious previously, I was just reminded that Kyle truly doesn’t care who scores.  It is genuinely NOT about statistics for Kyle.

Again, IAM3rd in action.  God first. Others second. Yourself third.

……….

Humble and kind.  These words are used over and over about Kyle Mangas.  His teammates told me that Kyle meets new students on campus, and they often walk away having no idea that he plays basketball.  He doesn’t like to talk about himself.  He’s remarkably humble.

Before I met Kyle, I was told: “You should meet his parents, and you’ll understand.”  I met Tim and Ann Mangas, and I understand.  Humble. Kind.  Intelligent.  They smile easily, and they are grateful.  They are so proud of Kyle, and they feel fortunate that they all found Indiana Wesleyan, Coach Greg Tonagel and the IAM3rd culture.  They’ve watched their son evolve as a person.  

Tim and Ann both thought that Kyle would have a good career at Indiana Wesleyan.  That said, they didn’t expect THIS….. THIS is one of the most historic careers in NAIA history.  THIS is the impact of the IAM3rd culture on their son.  THIS is watching their son, who has a 4.0 grade point average, enter the final stages of his degree in Finance. THIS is watching the evolution of their son from a quiet, shy boy into a strong man of confidence and faith.  When Ann talks about her pride in her son, she gets emotional.  What a ride it’s been…..  

………

On Senior Day, here’s what Coach Greg Tonagel had to say about Kyle Mangas:

“Coaches, fans, and teammates have been able to witness firsthand one of the great NAIA basketball players of all time during these past four years. However, what makes Kyle special goes far beyond what he has done on the court. The humility and grace that he has led with is unmatched. From being asked to be a vocal leader as a freshman to becoming the standard for what an IAM3 leader looks like within the basketball program, he has accepted every challenge head on. He is the standard for mental toughness, as is evident by his unflappable demeanor, competitive nature, and his countless game-winning heroics. To the outside world, he's an incredible basketball player. To all of us who know him – he is that and a whole lot more. He's Mango – a teammate, a friend, a competitor, and a servant leader who has remained humble, fearless, authentic, and gracious throughout his decorated career.”

……….

When we presented the Bevo Francis Award to Kyle, Coach Greg Tonagel spoke about Kyle….

He talked about how Kyle has worked on his fundamentals, and the repetition of those fundamentals until they became habits, and then those habits and skills became instinctive.  He talked about his own sons, and how they began to do “up-and-unders” and the “Mikan drill”.  When they asked about “why” they were doing these drills, Greg Tonagel (Dad) would tell them, “because Kyle Mangas does ‘up-and-unders’ and the ‘Mikan drill’”.  And then the boys would dutifully continue with the drills, because Kyle Mangas does those drills.

Here are a few quotes that stand out to me:

“Kyle has proven to us all that humility is actually a form of strength.”

“I doubt that there has ever been a player that has scored 3,000 points in his career without ever once showing up his opponent in any way.”

“His teammates would tell you that, in his senior year, he’s become the ultimate leader.  He’s invested into the lives of his teammates.  He has become a spiritual leader.  Every day, he’s pouring into young players, not only about what it means to be a great basketball player, but what it means to be a follower of Christ. To me, that’s the ultimate compliment and the ultimate form of leadership.”

………

This past Summer (of 2020), Kyle had an internship that was closer to Indiana Wesleyan than to Warsaw, so he stayed with Coach Greg Tonagel, his wife (Amy) and their six children.  The kids would wait by the door for Kyle to come home from his internship, so that they could go outside to play basketball with Kyle Mangas.  The neighborhood kids would come over, and there would be Kyle Mangas playing basketball with the neighborhood kids.  You can picture the scene, and you know that, in 5, 10 and 20 years from now, those kids will grow up telling the stories of those days when they played basketball with Kyle Mangas.  

While those kids can dream of being the next Kyle Mangas the basketball player, the dream for the parents of those kids should be for their kids grow up to be like Kyle Mangas the human being.

………

Greg Tonagel finished his thoughts about Kyle Mangas during the presentation of the Bevo Francis Award with these words:  “Somebody, someday, is going to put on the next Kyle Mangas uniform and carry on Kyle’s legacy.  I doubt that they will pass all of these accolades.  I doubt that they will pass these numbers.  But they are going to carry on that legacy of what it means to be a Christ-followers that loves the game of basketball and doesn’t play for himself, and embodies what we call the IAM3rd culture: God first.  Others second.  Yourself third.  If young people will continue to do that, they will have carried on the legacy of Kyle Mangas.”

……….

I’ve been watching this game for a long time now.  I coached for eight seasons, collegiately:  Four as an assistant coach and four as a Head Coach.  I’ve served on the NCAA Division II National Basketball Committee (while I was an NCAA Division II Athletic Director) and served as the Director of the NAIA’s Division I Men’s Basketball Championship.  I’ve been watching small college basketball closely for 25+ years.  I don’t like to use the term “best”, as this implies a comparison.  As noted towards the beginning of this post, I don’t like to “compare”, as “comparison is the thief of joy.”  I’ll say this about Kyle Mangas:  He’s the most consistently effective and efficient NAIA player that I’ve ever seen. It’s truly been a pleasure and a joy to watch him play.  

Thanks for the memories, Kyle…..and thank you for being a humble role model for us all.

...........

Enjoy the senior year highlights of Kyle Mangas, as well as photos of Kyle in action:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0lkmBnajTU&t=182s

[redsoapbox]

MY TOP TEN CHRISTMAS MOVIES

Now that December is finally here, the McGrath household can upgrade the nightly Christmas movie from Hallmark seasonal romance to accepted Christmas classic. (Although in admitting defeat on winning the girls over on Miracle on 34th Street - either version) - I have to acknowledge that the list of films that we can all agree on as festive classics is a little shorter than I would like.

Here is my list of top ten Christmas movies -

10. The Santa Clause (1994) - John Pasquin

John Pasquin’s cinematic debut, he had previously worked on numerous T.V. shows including Newhart and Thirtysomething, opens with the risky gambit of having Santa fall to his death from the roof of Scott Calvin’s home. Calvin (Tim Allen), believing his home is being burgled, confronts Santa and startles him into plummeting to his doom. Before you know it, and after much urging from his son Charlie (Eric Lloyd), Calvin has donned the big red suit and his transformation into Santa has begun.

The Santa Clause combines rather broad comedy - there is much fun to be had with Calvin’s overnight weight gain and Charlie’s class presentation on how his Dad is actually Santa - with the usual Christmas sentiment. In this particular case, the healing of Scott’s relationship with Charlie and ex-wife Laura (Wendy Crewson).

A pre-Buzz Lightyear Allen gives a virtuoso performance as the would-be St Nick, and that went a long way to making the film a hit at the box office, spawning two sequels The Santa Clause 2 (2002) and The Santa Clause 3 (2006).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpzB4ubEqIE

9. The Man Who Invented Christmas (2017) - Bharat Nallur

I reviewed this thought-provoking film on how Charles Dickens’ saved Christmas at the time of it’s release -

https://pardontheglueman.tumblr.com/post/169301253898/the-man-who-invented-christmas

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nx3ctBjG6yI

8. Get Santa (2014)  - Christopher Smith

When the always over-generous Empire film magazine only gives a movie two stars, then you know that you are going out on a very thin limb indeed. Still, a lot of what I want from a Christmas movie - a story about redemption, likeable characters with likeable lead actors, a splash of humour, a touch of Christmas magic, and, finally, a guaranteed have-to-make-a-quick-exit-to-the-kitchen-to-compose-myself ending - are all present and correct here. And Get Santa really delivers - like a hard-working postman trudging through six feet of snow on Christmas Eve just to make sure that your Auntie Maureen’s card can take its proper place on your mantelpiece.

Get Santa has a best of British cast too; Rafe Spall as ex-con Steve, Jodie Whittaker as his estranged wife and Jim Broadbent as a banged up Santa. Throw in Stephen Graham, Warwick Davis and Joanna Scanlan and you have the second best cast Christmas movie ever (nothing is ever going to beat Jimmy Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore and Henry Travers in IAWL).

This may be the film on the list that you are most likely to have not seen, so in an effort to shore up support for this selection, I call my star witness - Mark Kermode who had this to say in his three-star Guardian review ‘It’s sweet -natured fare, boosted with spirited comic performances (Broadbent is a particular treat) and served up with plenty of DIY sparkle’.

7. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) - Henry Selick

Tim Burton’s unique vision of Christmas/Halloween is brought to life by Henry Selick, a gifted animator who had worked for Walt Disney Studios and in a freelance capacity before making his name with this masterpiece. I simply didn’t get this on release (my admittedly old-fashioned notion of what constitutes a Christmas movie forming a great big mental road block to a full appreciation of the imagination, visual style, black humour, gothic charm and exquisite pathos on display here), and it was only through a recent viewing with my children as part of our Halloween movie get togethers that I finally saw the light. Jack Skellington (voiced by Chris Sarandon) is a captivating character, brought to life by Danny Elfman’s songs and Selick’s ground breaking animation, and his desperate quest for belonging is one that we can all sympathise with, especially at Christmas. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGiYxCUAhks

6. Remember The Night (1940) - Mitchell Leisen

This is a golden-age of Hollywood classic screwball comedy, starring the legendary Barbara Stanwyck, arguably the greatest comedienne in Hollywood history, Fred MacMurray, arguably the nicest guy in film history (at least until his turn as the murderous Walter Neff in Billy Wilder’s terrific noir Double Indemnity), and penned by arguably the funniest man in film history, Preston Sturges.

James Harvey in his 700-page opus Romantic Comedy in Hollywood (From Lubitsch to Sturges), which is, arguably, the best ever book about Hollywood, reveals that it was the shabby treatment (in Sturges’ not so humble opinion) of his screenplay, and the slow pacing of Leisen’s direction, that drove the screenwriter to extraordinary lengths to gain control of his own movies - basically making a deal with Paramount that he would sell them his next screenplay for a nominal sum of ten dollars as as long as he got to direct the picture. That deal changed movie history, setting the precedent of a writer / director that Orson Welles was soon to follow with Citizen Kane (1941).

The plot is a unique one, not that it truly matters in a Sturges movie, and centres around hardboiled career criminal Lee Leander (Stanwyck) having to choose between spending jail in Christmas or being released into the custody of her prosecuting attorney John Sargant (MacMurray). Hey, I didn’t say it made any sense! Of course, the season works its magic and, hey presto, one reformed criminal later Christmas love is in the air!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKcLcT9dOFk

5. The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) - Brian Henson

Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol is the greatest Christmas story ever written, and arguably the main reason that Christmas in Britain is celebrated in quite the way that it is today (see The Man Who Invented Christmas above). There have been all manner of adaptations down the years, and here it is re-imagined as a vehicle for Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzy and co in a way that works beyond anybody’s wildest expectations.

All the human drama, the pathos, the cry from the heart for social justice that Dickens conveyed in his peerless book survives this, the most unlikely of screen adaptations. Much of the credit must go to Michael Caine, who despite sharing top billing with a bunch of muppets, emerges as a genuine contender for the crown of greatest screen Scrooge. Throw in a script by Jerry Juhl, which has The Great Gonzo as Charles Dickens, narrating his ghostly tale with a straight face, and Paul Williams’ super sing-along songs  “Marley and Marley” “One More Sleep ‘Till Christmas” and “Thankful Heart” , and you have an all time Christmas classic that can be enjoyed by everyone from 1 to 92. Bravo!  

4. ELF -  (2003)  John Favreau

Elf is the Shawshank Redemption of Christmas Movies - no matter who, where  or when you poll an audience, this charmingly comic celebration of Christmas always punches above its weight, getting the better of some very famous films in the process. Elf finished 10th in the IMDB poll for Greatest Christmas Movie and came 2nd in both the Time Out and Radio Times polls. It’s A Wonderful Life always, always comes top, but as someone who is still reeling from Citizen Kane losing first place to Vertigo in Sight and Sound’s celebrated Greatest Movie poll, I can see a time when Elf goes one better too.

Elf has a career-best performance from Will Ferrell, a winningly elfin turn from Zooey Deschanel and a series of fine cameo’s from Bob Newhart, Ed Asner, Faizon Love and Peter Dinklage as “angry” elf Miles Finch to recommend it, but it’s the hard to beat combination of laugh-out-loud set pieces, father and son second chances, and an opposites attract love story to top them all that makes this a genuinely affecting festive treat.

3. A Christmas Carol (1999) - David Jones

Of the umpteen takes on Dickens’ grasping miser, of which Alastair Sim’s turn as Scrooge (1951) is by far the most celebrated, I just prefer Patrick Stewart in this excellent T.V. movie. This may seem a deliberately obscure choice, but that is far from the case. Firstly, there is an A-list cast featuring Richard E Grant, Saskia Reeves, Dominic West and, at the top the bill, Stewart himself. 

As Screen Rant describes it, ‘Stewart plays a far more blunt, bitter and straight forward version of the miser... without feeling maniacal’. In short, he underplays the part, keeping the mugging down to a minimum. The clincher, though, is Stewart’s handling of the scene when he awakes to find it is still Christmas morning and that the spirits have granted him a second chance at life after all. He tries to emit a happy, life-affirming laugh, but is so unused to the sensation that he almost chokes himself. Wonderful stuff! There will be all the usual Scrooges to choose from this Christmas - Sim, George C Scott and Albert Finney amongst them, but the Stewart version will be there somewhere in the middle of the night on ITV3. If you peruse the Radio Times long enough you’ll find it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vviOGFiGrHc

2. Miracle on 34th Street - George Seaton (1947)  &  Les Mayfield (1994)

Okay, a bit of false accounting going on here in grouping the two films together. The original is the better version, but I’ve always loved the re-make too. After all, who can’t bring themselves to believe in Dickie Attenborough as Kris Kringle! Both films are perfectly cast - the romantic leads John Payne and Maureen O’ Hara are convincing enough in the black and white original, but are probably just shaded on the chemistry front by Dylan McDermott and Elizabeth Perkins. The unhappy children are sensationally cast, with Natalie Woods and Mara Wilson coming out even. The unthinkable happens, though, when it comes to the playing of Kris Kringle, because although Dickie scores a fab 9 out of 10 on my Santometer, Edmund Gwenn, who picked up a best supporting actor Oscar for his Kringle, scores a perfect 10.

The Oscar-winning original story, by Valentine Davies, must be known to just about everyone by now - a perfectly nice old man, given to the belief that he is really Kris Kringle, becomes, more by accident than design, Macy’s famous department store Santa. No sooner is he in post, than Kris begins to challenge the corporatisation of Christmas, directing customers to other toy stores all over town, where hard up parents can buy their presents at discount prices. He is about to face the sack, when Macy’s realise that he is a great loss leader for them, prompting arch rivals Gimbles to try and nobble him. Kris is committed to an institution for the insane on cooked up charges, and a battle rages to secure his release by Christmas Eve, so that the children of the world won’t be disappointed on Christmas morning! Each film uses an interesting plot device to allow a judge, desperate not to be seen as the man who gives a court ruling that Santa doesn’t exist, a way out without losing face, and there is a happily romantic final scene to round things off in the accepted festive manner.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibDD8Y3IJrg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCNbTAtD-jU

1. It’s a Wonderful Life - Frank Capra (1946)

I reviewed this seasonal great for Wales Arts Review last Christmas -

https://www.walesartsreview.org/rewatching-its-wonderful-life/

The next best Christmas films - The Bishop’s Wife, Arthur Christmas, A Christmas Story, Christmas in Connecticut

Merry Christmas to all.

[transfagholmes]

Tagged by @yousitthereinyourheartache, thank you! I love talking about myself lol

Rules: Answer the questions and tag 20 blogs

Nickname: Seb, Sebastos occasionally 

Gender: Non-binary boy

Star sign: Scorpio

Height: 163cm or something like that

Time: 18:20

Birthday: 3rd of November

Favourite bands: The Killers, The Smiths, Panic! At the Disco and Imagine Dragons

Favourite solo artists: Lisa Hannigan, Troye Sivan

Song stuck in my head: Well, I’m listening to Black and Blue by Miike Snow, but I had There Is A Light That Never Goes Out stuck in my head earlier

Last movie I watched: Pirates of the Caribbean The Black Pearl I think

Last show I watched: Greys Anatomy

When did I create my blog: Sometime in 2016, I can’t remember when probably like April

What do I post: Things I think are funny, mental illness, autism, gay stuff and whatever I’m currently interested in

Last thing I googled: Centimetres to feet (163cm is 5.3 ft, if you’re wondering)

Do you have any other blogs: A stim blog, @queerstimming and I’m a mod on @burnt-food

Do you get asks: Yes, and I love it when I do

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Instruments: I can kind of play the piano

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Nationality: Irish

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No pressure to actually do it, you can ignore this with a clear conscience and anyone who sees this and thinks “hey, that looks cool, I wish he tagged me so I could have a go” please feel free to! You can just say I tagged you. And if you’re now thinking, “yeah but he doesn’t mean me” I most certainly do! How dare you contradict me.

[wsmith215]

College basketball wishes happy retirement to Tom Konchalski, revered inside the sport but unknown beyond

Legendary scout Tom Konchalski was standing alongside one of the many basketball courts stuffed inside the Sewall Center on the campus of Robert Morris University. He was easy to spot. It might be a challenge to locate him in a crowd of players, but among the few reporters congregating to watch the action at the Five-Star Basketball Camp, someone standing 6-6 was certain to tower above the crowd.

Konchalski stood above other scouts figuratively, as well. Few ever have had the same eye for talent, for what it is that separates a good high school basketball player from a great college basketball prospect. Hall of Fame coaches sought his opinion. All-Star players recalled how he discovered them.

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On that day in July 2000, I was visiting Pittsburgh along with my wife to spend a few days with family and friends. She was out shopping with her sister and our niece, so I had an afternoon to sneak out to the Five-Star Basketball Camp and take in the hoop scene. But I only had the afternoon. We were meeting later for dinner, and missing was not an option.

“You have to see this young man, LeBron James,” Konchalski said to me as I squeezed in next to him.

“Really? OK, when does he play? What court?”

“He doesn’t play again until tonight. You HAVE to see him,” he said.

The urgency with which he issued this declaration made it clear I was going to be missing something extraordinary, even historic. It was like being told by The New York Times theater critic that you had to get to a performance of “Hamilton,” at the Public Theater, before it got to Broadway and everyone discovered it.

Even that many years ago, however, I’d been married long enough to understand an afternoon hall pass expired when the afternoon was over. Konchalski seemed almost defeated. He knew how I’d have appreciated that moment.

Now 73, Konchalski is retiring from his life’s work of publishing the HSBI Report, the scouting service to which most every major college basketball coach subscribed, and which has carried him on a journey across more than 40 years and thousands of miles, not one of which he has driven.

A native New Yorker, Konchalski never owned a car, using public transportation for much of his travels. He also never bothered learning to use a computer and doesn’t carry a cell phone. He composed his scouting reports using a typewriter. He compiles them for coaches to peruse, and employ, not for public distribution.

“Tom is one of the best and smartest human beings on this planet,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski told Sporting News. “His instant recall of players, coaches, games and events is unmatched. He helped thousands of players get the opportunity to play college basketball at all levels. Every youngster that he talked about was important. With the Five-Star Basketball Camp, Tom and Howard Garfinkel created an experience for players and coaches that will not be duplicated. Tom is a true gift to the game of basketball.

Konchalski  fell in love with the game watching Connie Hawkins in the late 1950s and completed his last reports in a year that will produce such future stars as Cade Cunningham and B.J. Boston. In between he scouted Michael Jordan, who currently is being celebrated in “The Last Dance,” an epic-length documentary series on ESPN. Jordan got into one Five-Star Camp session on Konchalski’s recommendation and wound up as the best player there. 

“Tom Konchalski is one of the most kind and sincere souls in basketball,” Villanova coach Jay Wright told Sporting News. “He truly lived for others, always revering the great players, respecting every player. I think he is the most honest and precise evaluator of talent ever. One of a kind, never to be matched.”

Early in Konchalski’s career, he helped Tennessee find Ernie Grunfeld and Bernard King in New York City. The “Ernie and Bernie Show” remains one of the most revered periods in the history of Vols basketball, delivering an SEC championship in 1977 and five victories in six tries against SEC power Kentucky. It was not long after that success, in 1979, that Konchalski chose to leave his job as a schoolteacher and scout full time for Howard Garfinkel, the originator of the Five-Star camps who owned HSBI. Konchalski subsequently purchased the service from the man known to all of basketball as “Garf” and continued until now.

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Hofstra coach Joe Mihalich told Sporting News he followed Konchalski’s work, “Only for like 40 years! I am so sad. There may be more scouting services, but there will never be another Tom Konchalski. He is an icon, and truly loved by the entire basketball world. This is the end of an era.”

For the past decade or so, basketball writer Adam Zagoria has been Konchalski’s “chauffeur and roommate,” mostly at the annual Nike EYBL at the Peach Jam tournament in North Augusta, S.C.

Those are long days, with four to six games occurring simultaneously and often running from 9 a.m. well into prime time. Konchalski is so respected that Zagoria often would find himself frustrated by the mere act of trying to leave the community center gymnasium when the games were complete.

“It’s 11 o’clock at the end of the day and you want to go out and get some food … and it takes an added 30 minutes because everybody wants to talk to him with him and spend some time with him,” Zagoria told SN. “I’m not going to lie: That gets a little frustrating.

“Last year in the parking lot, we ran into Jamal Mashburn. He was there to watch his son. Jamal’s face lit up when he saw Tom, couldn’t have been happier to see him and shake his hand. So we spent another 10-15 minutes standing in the dark, listening to Jamal talk about how Tom first scouted him and was one of the first people to evaluate him.”

Konchalski owns an astonishing memory of the players he scouted; players who’d been in his reports would tell stories about how, even decades later, he would recognize them and immediately rattle off what school they’d attended and some of their old teammates.

He also owns an encyclopedic knowledge of the game. When returning last winter from the Hoophall Classic in Springfield, Mass., a three-day tournament for top high school teams, Konchalski and Zagoria stopped at a diner and began to discuss where this past season’s Montverde Academy team, featuring Cunningham and Florida State-bound Scottie Barnes, would rank among the best high school teams ever.

Konchalski told Zagoria the three best high school teams ever were the Power Memorial teams featuring Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Lew Alcindor) from 1963 to 1965. He also cited the Power Memorial’s 1970 team with Len Elmore, Jap Trimble and Ed Searcy, the early 1980s Baltimore Dunbar teams featuring Reggie Williams, Muggsy Bogues and David Wingate, and the 1989 Jersey City St. Anthony’s team that included Bobby Hurley, Terry Dehere and Jerry Walker.

Zagoria thought that was worth sharing with the world, so he put Konchalski’s thoughts on Twitter.

Almost immediately, Zagoria received a response from Oak Hill Academy coach Steve Smith, eager to learn where the best Oak Hill teams might fit into that discussion. When Konchalski spoke, the basketball world was listening.  

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