Heading up to the Big Apple on Friday...
I'm up there for a conference, so I'm gonna be stuck near the hotel (Hilton NY on the Avenue of the Americas. If any of our NYC brethren are up for a pint, let me know.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Beauregard Takes Manhattan
Friday, December 26, 2008
12 Days of Christmas Movies, Day 12
"A Nightmare Before Christmas" (1993)
"That's right! I am the Pumpkin King!"
This throwback to those Rankin-Bass Christmas specials packs in a lot of holiday cheer, which is no mean feat considering there's two holidays involved. With some notable exceptions - "The Wizard of Oz" and "The Blues Brothers" being among them - I usually shun films packed with musical interludes, but you can't help enjoying some of the musical excursions in the film, notably the infectuous, up-with-yuletide "What's This?" and the "Oogie-Boogie Song."
This is also the film that threw a sizable monkey wrench into the working relationship between Danny Elfman and Tim Burton. The outline of the story was undoubtedly Burton's - allegedly, he came up with the idea watching a Halloween store display being changed over to a Christmas display. However, because much of the songwriting fell upon Elfman's shoulders, he claimed partial credit for creating the story for "Nightmare," which apparently demands more money or there wouldn't have been as big an issue. As a result, a rift formed between Burton and Elfman, where Burton would use Howard Shore to score "Ed Wood." Elfman and Burton would patch things up by the time 1996's "Mars Attacks" would roll around.
12 Days of Christmas Movies, Day 11
"Batman Returns" (1992)
"Mistletoe can be deadly if you eat it."
Yep, this film follows the tradition established in the first film of introducing a nonsense bit of dialogue. Remember, "Have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?" Doesn't hold a candle to, "Mistletoe can be deadly if you eat it. But a kiss can be deadlier if you mean it." Who fucking talks like this in real life?!
In Norse mythology, mistletoe played a very important role in the life of the god Baldur, god of light and son of Frigga and Odin. One morning, Baldur told his mother of a nightmare he had in which he died; so terrifying was this nightmare that Frigga went to Earth on a mission to plead for her son's immunity from death by all things on the earth or under it. The trickster god Loki, enemy of Baldur, knew of one thing that was overlooked by Frigga in her quest: mistletoe, a plant that grows neither on the earth nor under it; mistletoe is a parasitic plant that requires a host tree to grow on, from which it leeches nutrients and threatens its host with potential overgrowth. Loki makes an arrow tip from this plant and, at a festival gathering, gives the arrow to the blind god Hoder and challenges him to shoot the arrow at Baldur. Baldur is struck by the arrow and dies; his death is the first herald of the oncoming twilight of the gods, Ragnarok.
(Evans, B. (1991). Dictionary of mythology. New York: Bantam Dell.)
After this film, there were a few years in which a Catwoman film was rumored to be made. Of course, the beauty and age of women in Hollywood has a narrow window of opportunity, and Michelle Pfeiffer went from being pretty hot to being first callback for the role of Skeletor in "Masters of the Universe." Twelve years after the fact, "Catwoman" showed up on screens, starring Halle Berry. And we all know where that went.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
12 Days of Christmas Movies, Day 10
"National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation" (1989)
"We're gonna press on, and we're gonna have the hap, hap, happiest Christmas since Bing Crosby tap-danced with Danny fucking Kaye. And when Santa squeezes his fat white ass down that chimney tonight, he's gonna find the jolliest bunch of assholes this side of the nuthouse."
This film represents the last gasp of the "National Lampoon's Vacation" series, and maybe even for any film that has a title including the National Lampoon brand. I mean, seriously, "Van Wilder?"
I talked about lovable jackasses in the "Scrooged" entry, but nobody out-jackasses Carl Griswold. Every scene he's in, Chevy Chase bumbles, irritates, and pratfalls his way from one shitty situation to another. The major contribution this film has to society, of course, is entering the phrase "nipply" into the lexicon, as a way to describe cold weather.
Many recognizable actors litter the landscape on this one, as well; look for Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Doris Roberts, character actors William Hickey and Brian Doyle-Murray, the original "Betty Boop" Mae Questel, and of course Randy Quaid as Eddie. Having viewed this recently after a few years, I totally had forgotten that Juliette Lewis was in this too, and that's a face that's hard to forget for anyone ... and not in a good way.
12 Days of Christmas Movies, Day 9
"Scrooged" (1988)
“Back off, big man. That may work with the chicks, but not with me.”
During the final scene of "Scrooged," Bill Murray jumped off the script to deliver an improv speech about the meaning of Christmas. It's a pleasant signifier on the transformation of his character, Xavier Cross, from heartless corporate douchebag to community patron saint. After the cameras stopped, according to his biography, Michael O'Donogue, the screenwriter, shouted, "What the fuck was that?!"
A more perfect anecdote about this film, I couldn't develop. This retelling of the Dickens classic does everything right, mostly by doing everything wrong. Cross, our Scrooge allegory, is not merely led on an introspective quest to find out where all the goodwill of his younger years vanished, the important points are hammered into him physically.
Many scenes are memorable for their sheer over-the-top quality, but there are little nuggets to be found as well, like Cross' demand that miniature antlers be stapled onto the heads of mice to turn them into reindeer. One of my favorites, a scene that comes from left field, is the moment when Cross is mistaken for Richard Burton by a trio of homeless folks. Murray's sarcasm is great here, but there's an underlying care that he portrays in the character; Cross could have gotten up and left his homeless fans, but instead he fakes his way through a soliloquy as would have made Dick Burton fall out. Murray would fine-tune his lovable jackass persona just in time for "Groundhog Day."
12 Days of Christmas Movies, Day 8
"Die Hard" (1988)
“Come out to the coast, we’ll get together, have a few laughs.”
Whenever anyone asks me about my favorite Christmas film, this usually ends up being my answer. It has everything you'd want in a film for the holidays:
- Christmas is providing to the needy (Hans wants all the monies; The Nakatomi Corporation has all the monies).
- Christmas is helping your fellow man (Harry sells John McClane out to Hans and company).
- Christmas is fellowship (The hostages are allowed to stay in the lobby, together).
- Christmas is about family (John and Holly are united by their shared circumstances, despite their lengthy separation up to this point).
- Christmas is about reflection of things past (Argyle the limo driver unfortunately misses a bangin' Christmas party where he could have hooked up, because of the robbery).
- Christmas is about that special little baby (Holly helps a pregnant hostage).
- Christmas is about the jolly ol' fat man (John brings the cops by getting the attention of "Family Matters'" own Carl Winslow).
So, I ask you, is there a better Christmas film than "Die Hard" to fill your heart with holiday cheer?
12 Days of Christmas Movies, Day 7
"Silent Night, Deadly Night" (1984)
“You see Santa Claus tonight you better run boy, you better run for your life!”
Of the three major Christmas slasher films - "Black Christmas," "Christmas Evil," and this - "Silent Night, Deadly Night" is the least of the bunch. This isn't the one with "the killer in the house" ("Black Christmas"), nor is it the one with the kid who views his dad, dressed as Santa Claus, engaging in sexual congress with his mother (that's "Christmas Evil"). This is the one with the kid who views his family being murdered by an axe-wielding maniac dressed as Santa, then he grows up to fear Christmas but is forced into wearing a Santa suit and all hell breaks loose.
This film is nasty, unforgiving, pandering, and it was $4.99 at Best Buy about three months ago, so I picked up a copy. I mean, shit, five bucks, y'know? But it was interesting to watch recently, especially with the recent news of a sex offender's attempt to participate in a volunteer Santa program offered by the US Postal Service. You'd like to think there's some kind of formal screening process for this kind of thing, at least to keep the sex offenders and the axe murderers out of the running.
The film stars the incomparable Linnea Quigley, 80s scream queen extraordinaire; other than her, everyone else on the cast list can list this film as the height of their resume (some can even call it the only film on their resume), unless they were fortunate enough to show up in, say, "Silent Night Deadly Night 2," or part 3, or part 4. Huh; a quick jump through IMDB shows that there were five of these wretched films, and a remake on the way. Well, that makes my Christmas complete.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Absolute Bollocks
This list is wrong on so any levels.
http://www.joesportsfan.com/column.php?postid=4894
Number one is utter gash. No mention of DX, Demolition, the Bushwhackers, the Honky Tonk Man, or any of the good ECW themes.
12 Days of Christmas Movies, Day 6
"Gremlins" (1984)
"You do with mogwai what your society has done with all of nature's gifts."
(What, poured water on them, fed them after midnight, then subjected them to bright light to make them explode? Ain't never seen no nature's gift do that before.)
Like the many morality parables and fables that have followed us through our centuries past, "Gremlins" offers a fair warning of not taking a special gift for granted. When Billy's dad gives him Gizmo as a pet, neither has a great understanding of how important it is, in the overall schematic of nature's balance that they heed warnings that are imperative in caring for the mogwai. The Peltzers see Gizmo on the same level that they see their family dog, but only when they disrupt Gizmo's biological demands do they discover that he's much more. And that's our social folly, whether we're talking about baby seals, global warming, rainforests, or green scaly beasts that disrupt our small town living: We only realize what we do wrong once everything goes completely tits-up, despite all the signs screaming at us to the contrary.
A few other observations of note:
- The town in which this film is set is populated with some dark, dark people. The snow plow driver, the crotchety lady at the bank ... even Phobe Cates' character (more on her later) have some seriously wicked skeletons stacked in their closets.
- Almost everytime I watch this film, I totally forget that Corey Feldman was in it, until he comes on screen. Seriously, how many films was that fucker in back in the 80s?
- Hard not to hear Phoebe Cates' soliloquy about her character's dad dying after breaking his neck climbing down the chimney for Christmas, and not think about her nice titties from "Fast Times at Ridgemont High." At least, it's hard for me to not think about it, which is probably a characteristic among many that could help me realize why my relationships in the past have ended the way they have.
12 Days of Christmas Movies, Day 5
"A Christmas Story" (1983)
"Only one thing in the world could've dragged me away from the soft glow of electric sex gleaming in the window."
Director Bob Clark followed up his films “Children Shouldn’t Play With Dead Things,” “Deranged,” “Deathdream,” “Black Christmas,” and “Porky’s” with this seminal holiday film, which can be enjoyed in twenty-four hour rotation on Christmas Day, courtesy of TBS, and I bet everyone reading this will watch it all the way through at least once. All the makings of a classic film are here: The endearing story, the characters that are easy to relate to, and the many one-liners that you can quote in mixed company and everyone will know what you’re talking about:
"You’ll shoot your eye out."
"’Be sure to drink your Ovaltine?’ ‘Ovaltine?’ A crummy commercial? Son of a bitch."
"’Fra-gee-lay.’ Must be Italian."
"Deck the harrs with berrs of horry, fa-ra-ra-ra-ra, ra-ra, ra, ra."
… and so on.
As innocent and as well-developed as holiday films can get, I take a marathon of this film over "It’s a Wonderful Life" any day.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Chances are you may not see this video ...
Inspired by the Little Thickburger commercials, esp. the "Make Your Own" commercial app on the Hardee's website, I present my submission:
(Video may be gone by the time you read this, because satire is dead to this country.)
Album of the Year
For your downloading pleasure.
"Seldom Seen Kid" - Elbow.
The most recognizable track is track 4 ("Grounds for Divorce"), which is the theme to the commercial for Left 4 Dead, the zombie shooter for XBox360 and the PC. The album is solid from top to bottom and shows a wide-range of styles. Very tight instrumentation and solid vocals throughout. Other outstanding tracks include "Bones of You" and "Weather to Fly." Solid 3 count.
Friday, December 19, 2008
12 Days of Christmas Movies, Day 4
Emmet Otter’s Jug-band Christmas (1977)
"Golly, you got mashed potatoes?"
Oh, Jim Henson, is there anything you couldn't do? This little heartwarming tale emphasizes the hidden benefits of being a have-not in a sea of haves. If you didn't know better, you'd swear this was a riff on an O. Henry story, with its parable of unity conquering all. Lil' Emmet Otter wants to make this Christmas the best for his mom, but he first has to acquire the means to enter the local talent contest and win the prize money.
And that's all well and good, but holy shit, what makes this film grand is the River Nightmare Band, a heavy metal band that's also in the contest. The band is made of two weasels, a lizard, a catfish, and a rattlesnake. To me, the catfish makes the most interesting character. For one, he provides backing vocals, and on stage his presence is strong, as he flips out of his bucket of water repeatedly, only to sail back into the bucket. Also, the most intriguing thing is that, although he's carried around by the other band members in this bucket, the water never freezes, despite the temperatures being clearly at freezing levels, at least.
Now, what I want to see is a "battle of the bands," between the Riverbottom Nightmare Band and Cold Slither.
12 Days of Christmas Movies, Day 3
Black Christmas (1974)
"Why don't you go find a wall socket and stick your tongue in it, will that give you a charge?"
The take-home message of "Black Christmas" is to educate the viewer on how not to handle a prank caller. Margot Kidder, pre-Lois Lane & looking like your typical anorexic skank, heads up this cast of characters holed up in a sorority house on Christmas Eve. While everyone else is getting packed up and ready to go back to their family homes for the holidays, these girls are pretty much trapped and stranded by the town around them; given that one popular philosophy is that “you can’t rape a townie,” you can understand why no one's too eager to help house these girls. Cue up prank caller who makes lewd requests and bizarre commentary with a "mother" persona, and you got all the makings of a chilly little film. One of my particular favorite scenes has Kidder responding to a rather silly psychotic rant by lambasting the caller’s sexual prowess, which results in the caller making a most crystal clear, bone-chilling declaration, "I’m going to kill you."
Spoiler alert: The caller is inside the house!!!
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Unintentional Comedy
Gotta love NPR.
Go to http://www.thislife.org/ , download episode 241 (currently down as last week's episode), and listen to it from 15:45 - 19:00. Two kids in juvy were given a microphone and recorder and try to find out if someone "peed in the pudding."
"Writing You're Way Out of It"
Ah, the life of an academic.
I left my job at Office Ghetto in 2002 for numerous reasons, not the least of which was the volatile world of retail. Tales of long-time managers at other companies, such as K-Mart and Toys R Us, suddenly receiving poor evaluations and giving way to young kids fresh out of college were legion. I didn't want to work my way up to a near-six figure salary only to lose it so the company could save costs by replacing me with someone making 40-45K.
Turns out, Office Ghetto is closing 112 stores this year and heavily cutting back. Their stock price has journeyed from 3 a share to 2. My old colleagues are all sweating and some believe the company won't make it through summer without hitting Chapter 11. Looks like I made the right call.
But this whole professor thing isn't easy either. Sure, I don't have to spend my days filing the copy bond bulk stack, stocking the file folders, or helping accountants buy new office furniture, but there are different challenges. The job market is a killer and this year, in the midst of the economic crisis, it is even worse. While I have one job interview this season and an "in" on another, it still looks grim.
With that being said, the surest way to find a job is to have a long list of publications. With that in mind, I am going to "write my way" into a job. This is a long vaunted tradition in the academy. If you don't like your job or your current rate of pay, you write you're way out of it.
The current goal is to spend at least one hour each day writing something. Whether it is for a blog post, an academic article, or just putting notes on paper to perfect the craft, the only way to survive in this market it to write a lot.
12 Days of Christmas Movies, Day 2
"How the Grinch Stole Christmas" (1966)
"Your brain is full of spiders, you have garlic in your soul / Mr. Grinch"
Boris Karloff is a motherfucker’s motherfucker. Bypass that Jim Carrey foray into this tale, because that’s more a showcase for Mr. Rubberface himself (and I say that not as a compliment) as opposed to a true tale of holiday redemption. Nope, for the true Seuss hookup on Christmas, look no further than the animated special of 1966, the one with the fantastic eponymous tune, "Mr. Grinch," an interesting holiday song in that it bears not one mention of Christmas; it’s a tune that would be perhaps better suited for a Halloween compilation. Nevertheless, The Grinch’s quest to steal Christmas from the Who’s Christmas cheer and the subsequent enrichment of his half-sized heart, as narrated by Boris "Frankenstein’s Monster" Karloff, stands as another Christmas classic. But one question remains unanswered: Are these Who’s the same Who’s* that Horton the elephant swears his service in protection to?
* Cue up a reference to Jim Neidhart in 5, 4 ...
As an anecdote to JBL's "man-rape" tendencies...
In 2005 I went to see Al Franken's Air America show, which was broadcast live from The New School here in NYC. It was a free taping, so I thought it would be neat.
His guests included Maureen Dowd (cunt), an actress from JAG (hot), a country singer who's name escapes me, and JBL. JBL? Whoa! The auditorium was basically empty to my surprise, so I sat from the 3rd row and watched the show, and JBL told a similar story of being on a USO Tour in Iraq, and trying to "bro-rape" the said country singer (who's name still escapes me) as a rib. He also told every U.S. Soldier that would listen, that said country singer was gay, but to keep quiet about it because it might hurt dude's career.
I got my picture made with Bradshaw that day, and he kept kayfabe when I mentioned I'd seen him wrassle as Justin "Hawk" Bradshaw in '97 in Knoxville.
After the show he was confronted by this couple of elderly bleeding-heart liberals, who took issue at JBL finding "man-rape" to be humorous, as well as using the term "pants-dropper" to describe gay people on the show. As I exited the building after getting the picture below made w/ Mr. Franken, I wanted to eavesdrop on Mr. Bradshaw's debate with the old couple, and as I passed by them out the door I heard JBL utter the classic quoteable:
Now ma'am, I will remind you that some people are offended by the term "redneck"...
Nate's Shower Thoughts, Dec 16 2008
I figured out a brand new concept in baby care:
Velcro clothes.
Stitch some patches of industrial strength Velcro (the fuzzy side) to the back of some onesies. Then, get a staple gun, nails, etc., and attach the hook side of the Velcro to any wall in the house where you want to keep your baby out of harm's way, e.g. the kitchen while you're cooking. Want to make sure the baby doesn't get in the way while you're, say, draining boiling water off pasta? Press the child firmly against the wall; "it's that easy!"
I even came up with a name for this bold product: Stick-Up KidsTM.
Monday, December 15, 2008
I flipped by Raw...
and I see Rey Rey being attacked by some big Uncle Elmer lookin' fuck. I do some channel surfing for a while and come across Raw again, where I see Shawn Michaels and Triple H are still doing the D-X thing. I do some more channel surfing and then on Raw I see "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan. I'm wondering if I keep flipping around and back will I eventually see Lou Thesz?
Chuck E. Cheese site for numerous brawls
Here's an article about the alarming increase in belligerent & inappopriate behavior at the Chuck E. Cheese franchise.
The article in itself is quite the hearty read, but then you get to something like this:
"To appeal to adults, about 70% of the chain's locations serve wine and beer. Some city officials have pinpointed that as the main cause of the fighting. Milwaukee Alderman Tony Zielinski called for the removal of Chuck E. Cheese's beer-and-wine license in 2006 after he received police notification and complaints from constituents about fighting there. The company stationed armed security guards inside the restaurant in an effort to make it safer."
12 Days of Christmas Movies: Day 1
"A Charlie Brown Christmas" (1965)
(Already a day off from this little project ... having sporadic internet access until 2009 sucks!)
"Look, Charlie, let's face it. We all know that Christmas is a big commercial racket. It's run by a big eastern syndicate, you know."
There is a mere handful of truly meaningful Christmas films and specials that even the most cynical would have to laud as poignant and touching, and "A Charlie Brown Christmas" has to take its place among those. Everything about this film is iconic: The sickly tree, the discussion of the holiday’s commercialization, the speech by Linus about the meaning of Christmas at the crux of the film (despite the irony that this is the same kid that waits ever vigilantly for the Great Pumpkin every Hallow’s Eve). While other holiday specials were content to explore or expand the other mythologies of Santa, Rudolph or Frosty the Snowman, this is pretty heady stuff, where we see Charlie Brown questioning his faith in Christmas, and by extension the basic tenets of family and religion. Not a bad lesson to pick up from a hydrocephalic that can’t learn from experience, i.e. the whole football kicking thing.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Joey Styles: Great Announcer or Greatest Announcer?
As I mentioned in the reply to Nate's DVD post, I had to Wiki the 1991 BattleBowl because I couldn't recall what it was. As always happens with Wikipedia, you start clicking on links and suddenly you find yourself reading about Gold-Bond Medicated Powder which is completely inexplicable because the original article you searched for was the Atari 5200. Somehow I made my way from Battlebowl 1991 to the World Bodybuilding Federation to WWE New York to XFL to Joey Styles, where I found a link to this interesting article.One of the most newsworthy events that transpired on World Wrestling Entertainment's tour of Iraq last week took place nowhere near any of the cameras that were filming the tour. I was stunned at hearing the following story over the weekend and initially chalked it up to being just an urban legend, but as it turns out, it was completely accurate.
...
As the story was initially explained to me (and all versions I've heard since have matched the original report I was conveyed), JBL made [Joey] Styles something of a target because it was Styles' first tour of Iraq for the company and was hazing the former ECW announcer.
...
Several days into the tour, JBL (who by all accounts, had been drinking) did something that caused Styles to physically retaliate in defense. A number of wrestlers stepped between them and held the two apart. When JBL broke free, he went towards Styles, who "nailed him perfectly with a pretty good shot" according to one witness, laying JBL out, busting him open and blackening his eye.
Little Joey Styles knocked JBL the fuck out. That is the finest wrestling-related story I've heard in quite some time. It couldn't have happened to a more-deserving jerkass or been done by anyone more appropriate unless Steve Austin whipped Hulk Hogan's ass.
[Wrestling] Upcoming WWF DVD releases
2009 is going to see two of perhaps the darn finest releases that the WWF has put out in a long time, and I honestly doubt you'd fine a better 1-2 punch of wrestling history anywhere in the world ...
Release date: Jan 13, 2009
Disc 1
Starrcade December 29, 1996 - The Match of the Decade
"Rowdy" Roddy Piper vs. Hollywood Hulk Hogan
Starrcade December 13, 1989 - Iron Man Singles Tournament
Sting vs. The Great Muta
Starrcade December 28, 1992 - Unified World Tag Team Championship
Barry Windham / Brian Pillman vs. Ricky Steamboat / Shane Douglas
Starrcade December 27, 1998 - WCW World Heavyweight Championship
Goldberg vs. Kevin Nash
Starrcade December 29, 1991
BattleBowl
Starrcade December 27, 1993 - 2 out of 3 Falls for the WCW United States Championship
Dustin Rhodes vs. Stunning Steve Austin
Disc 2
Starrcade November 26, 1987 - NWA World Tag Team Championship
Road Warriors vs. Arn Anderson / Tully Blanchard
Alternate Commentary: Todd Grisham / Road Warrior Animal
Starrcade December 29, 1996
Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Jushin Thunder Liger
Starrcade November 26, 1987 - Scaffold Match
Rock `n Roll Express vs. The Midnight Express
Starrcade December 26, 1988 - NWA World Heavyweight Championship
Ric Flair vs. Lex Luger
Starrcade December 27, 1995
Eddie Guerrero vs. Shinjiro Ootani
Starrcade December 26, 1988 - NWA World Tag Team Championship
Dusty Rhodes / Sting vs. Road Warriors
Starrcade December 28, 1992 - King of Cable Tournament Final
Sting vs. Big Van Vader
Starrcade November 24, 1983 - NWA World Tag Team Championship
Brisco Brothers vs. Jay Youngblood / Ricky Steamboat
Starrcade November 28, 1985 - NWA World Heavyweight Championship
Dusty Rhodes vs. Ric Flair
Starrcade December 28, 1997 - WCW Cruiserweight Championship
Eddie Guerrero vs. Dean Malenko
Disc 3
Starrcade December 13, 1989 - Iron Man Tag Team Tournament
Road Warriors vs. The Steiner Brothers
Starrcade December 17, 2000 - Ladder Match for a Contract for the World Cruiserweight Championship
3 Count vs. Jamie Knoble & Evan Karagias vs. Jung Dragons
Starrcade December 13, 1989 - Iron Man Singles Tournament
Sting vs. Ric Flair
Starrcade November 24, 1983 - Dog Collar Match
Greg Valentine vs. Roddy Piper
Starrcade November 27, 1986 - Scaffold Match
Road Warriors vs. The Midnight Express
Alternate Commentary: Todd Grisham / Road Warrior Animal
Starrcade December 28, 1997 - WCW World Heavyweight Championship
Sting vs. Hollywood Hulk Hogan
Starrcade November 24, 1983 - Steel Cage Match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship
Ric Flair vs. Harley Race
Starrcade November 28, 1985 - Steel Cage "I Quit Match" for the NWA United States Championship
Magnum T.A. vs. Tully Blanchard
Starrcade December 27, 1993 - WCW World Heavyweight Championship - Ric Flair's Career Is On the Line
Ric Flair vs. Vader
The Best of Satuday Night's Main Event
Release date: Feb 10, 2009
Disc 1
WWE Championship Match
Hulk Hogan vs. `Cowboy' Bob Orton
Saturday Night's Main Event May 11, 1985
Uncle Elmer's Wedding
Saturday Night's Main Event October 5, 1985
`Rowdy' Roddy Piper vs. `Mr. Wonderful' Paul Orndorff
Saturday Night's Main Event October 5, 1985
A Trip to the Zoo
Saturday Night's Main Event October 5, 1985
Gene Okerlund - Field Reporting
Halloween Contest
Saturday Night's Main Event November 2, 1985
WWE Championship Match
Hulk Hogan vs. Terry Funk
Saturday Night's Main Event January 4, 1986
Randy Orton Reflects on his Dad
Boxing Match
Mr. T. vs. `Cowboy' Bob Orton
Saturday Night's Main Event March 1, 1986
Gene Okerlund - Settling the Score
Snake Pit Match
Jake `the Snake' Roberts vs. Ricky `the Dragon' Steamboat
Saturday Night's Main Event October 4, 1986
Jake `the Snake' Reflects on Saturday Night's Main Event
WWE Intercontinental Championship Match
`Macho Man' Randy Savage vs. Jake `the Snake' Roberts
Saturday Night's Main Event November 29, 1986
Gene Okerlund - The Steel Cage Match
Steel Cage Match
Hulk Hogan vs. `Mr. Wonderful' Paul Orndorff
Saturday Night's Main Event January 3, 1987
Gene Okerlund - The 8th Wonder of the World
Battle Royal
Saturday Night's Main Event March 14, 1987
Natalya Neidhart Reflects on her Dad
Best 2 out of 3 Falls
Hart Foundation vs. British Bulldogs
Saturday Night's Main Event May 2, 1987
Gene Okerlund - Insurance Policy
WWE Intercontinental Championship Match
Honky Tonk Man vs. `Macho Man' Randy Savage
Saturday Night's Main Event October 3, 1987
Mega Power Formation
Saturday Night's Main Event October 3, 1987
The Union of the Mega Powers
"Piledriver" Music Video
Saturday Night's Main Event October 3, 1987
`Macho Man' Randy Savage vs. Bret Hart
Saturday Night's Main Event November 28, 1987
Extras
* First Ever Match on SNME
Ricky Steamboat & The US Express vs. The Iron Sheik, Nikolai Volkoff & George "The Animal" Steele
Saturday Night's Main Event - May 11, 1985
* "Real American" Music Video
Saturday Night's Main Event - March 1, 1986
Disc 2
Gene Okerlund - Turning Back the Clock
WWE Championship Match
Hulk Hogan vs. King Kong Bundy
Saturday Night's Main Event January 2, 1988
Gene Okerlund - The Rematch
WWE Championship Match
Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant
Main Event February 5, 1988
Ted Dibiase Reflects on his Dad
`Macho Man' Randy Savage vs. `Million Dollar Man' Ted Dibiase
Saturday Night's Main Event March 12, 1988
Andre Passes Out
Saturday Night's Main Event March 12, 1988
Hulk Hogan vs. `The King' Harley Race
Saturday Night's Main Event March 12, 1988
Gene Okerlund - Macho Madness
`Macho Man' Randy Savage vs. Andre the Giant
Saturday Night's Main Event November 26, 1988
`Hacksaw' Jim Duggan Reflects on His Flag Match
Saturday Night's Main Event November 26, 1988
WWE Intercontinental Championship Match
Ultimate Warrior vs. Honky Tonk Man
Saturday Night's Main Event January 7, 1989
Beefcake Shaves Ron Bass' head
Saturday Night's Main Event January 7, 1989
Gene Okerlund - A Supreme Alliance
Twin Towers vs. Mega Powers
Main Event February 3, 1989
Gene Okerlund - A Grueling Encounter
Steel Cage Match for the WWE Championship
Hulk Hogan vs. Big Bossman
Saturday Night's Main Event May 27, 1989
Best 2 out of 3 Falls
Rockers vs. Brain Busters
Saturday Night's Main Event November 25, 1989
Extras
* Brother Love Interviews Hulk Hogan
Saturday Night's Main Event - November 26, 1988
* Dusty Rhodes vs. Big Bossman - Sapphire's Debut
Saturday Night's Main Event - November 25, 1989
Disc 3
Gene Okerlund - Hogan vs. The Genius
Mr. Perfect & The Genius Smash the WWE Title
Saturday Night's Main Event November 25, 1989
Hulk Hogan & Ultimate Warrior vs. Mr. Perfect & The Genius
Saturday Night's Main Event January 27, 1990
Vince McMahon and Jesse Ventura on Horseback
Saturday Night's Main Event April 28, 1990
Hulk Hogan vs. Mr. Perfect
Saturday Night's Main Event April 28, 1990
Arrogance
Rockers vs. Hart Foundation
Saturday Night's Main Event April 28, 1990
Gene Okerlund - Intercontinental Competition
WWE Intercontinental Championship Match
Mr. Perfect vs. Tito Santana
Saturday Night's Main Event July 28, 1990
Oktoberfest
Saturday Night's Main Event October 13, 1990
20 Man Battle Royal
Saturday Night's Main Event April 27, 1991
Bret Hart vs. `Million Dollar Man' Ted DiBiase
Saturday Night's Main Event April 27, 1991
Gene Okerlund - FOX Takes Over
Undertaker & Ric Flair vs. Hulk Hogan & Sid
Saturday Night's Main Event February 8, 1992
Roddy Piper Shocks The Mountie
Saturday Night's Main Event February 8, 1992
WWE Intercontinental Championship Match
British Bulldog vs. Shawn Michaels
Saturday Night's Main Event November 14, 1992
Gene Okerlund - The Return
Street Fight
Shawn Michaels vs. Shane McMahon
Saturday Night's Main Event March 18, 2006
RKO on Hulk Hogan
Saturday Night's Main Event July 15, 2006
5 on 2 Elimination Match
D-Generation X vs. Spirit Squad
Saturday Night's Main Event July 15, 2006
Gene Okerlund - One of the Greatest Rivalries in Sports
WWE Championship Match
Edge vs. John Cena
Saturday Night's Main Event July 15, 2006
Gene Okerlund - Television History
Extras
* Alfred Hayes & Gene Okerlund Go On Safari
Saturday Night's Main Event - July 28, 1990
* Shawn Michaels Talks About Winning His First Intercontinental Title
* Matt Hardy Talks About Boxing Evander Holyfield
There's so much unbelievably great stuff on these two sets alone. The SNME disc brings back tons of memories, because I used to spend Saturday nights with my dad's parents as a younger chap, and I'd watch the Main Event shows, with my grandmother telling me how I shouldn't watch all that violent wrestling stuff, and my grandfather watching it with me, and how he'd call Jake Roberts "Snake Man" long before Ultimate Warrior thought it was cool to do.
And as I pay attention to the internet wrestling community, I know the cool kids immediately shoot for street cred by boo-hooing that such and such match or extra isn't included. I hate that bullshit; now, that being said, if I could have one thing included on the Main Event disc, it would be the interview that the Twin Towers gave on Arsenio Hall's show the night prior to their match with the Mega Powers. When Arsenio asks Akeem about his African heritage pales only in comparison to the moment when Arsenio asks Bossman how it felt when Hulk Hogan "was whipping yo' ass." TV gold.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
I shoulda been working on my paperwork ...
... instead of playing around on that Hero Machine site linked in the Travel Guide.
Inspired by Doomsday.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Paging Mr. Palumbo
From the latest issue of the Journal of Popular Culture:
"Based on what we found, we argue that the success of white rappers depends, at least in some part, on their ability to make their audience believe that they have lived through the experiences about which they rap and really believe in the messages put forth in their music. The industry and the audiences accept those talented rappers who are able to do this. Those who are unable to do this, or who lie about their past, are not accepted and quickly disappear."
-- PAUL J. OLSON AND BENNIE SHOBE, Jr., "White Rappers and Black Epistemology," Journal of Popular Culture Vol. 41, No. 6 (December 2008), pp. 994-1011
Monday, December 08, 2008
Buck Breaks Down the BCS!
[Another college football campaign has come and gone. Players got hurt, coaches got fired, Texas cried a lot...]
[But when everything was said and done, college football reaffirmed why it is the greatest sport of all. We had a constant shuffling of the top of the polls, nonstop debate and finally what most knew all along: The Big XII and SEC meeting for the National Title in Miami. Some of my earlier posts leave little doubt that I can't prognosticate worth shit. I picked Ohio State and Clemson to play in the NC game after all. But here are my previews and picks for the BCS games.
Rose Bowl, Penn State vs. USC- Rev. Josh predicted USC was in for a very interesting downswing this year. Not unless you consider Pac 10 champs and 7th consecutive BCS bowl a downswing. I think USC has the best defense out there. Penn State's D isn't bad either but I think they're gonna have a tough time stopping USC's speed at wide receiver. I'm gonna go USC 24 Penn State 17
Sugar Bowl, Alabama vs. Utah- This game is going to hinge on Alabama's state of mind going in. If they are still feeling sorry about themselves over the Florida game, they will get stomped out because the Utes are going to play like a team of little Rudys out there. I say Bama is too strong though. Utah will hang around until late in the third when Bama's depth shines. They will pound Utah on the ground and win this one 35-21
Orange Bowl, Cincinnati vs. Virginia Tech- Big up to the state of Ohio for sending two programs into the BCS this year. I think Cincinnati is going to feel like winners just for getting here. I guess somebody eventually had to win the ACC and it might as well have been the Hokies. What the hell ever happened to the Miami Hurricanes and Florida State Seminoles by the way? I'm gonna say VT 28 Cincinnati 24
Fiesta Bowl, Ohio State vs. Texas- Texas is going to come into this game good and pissed about getting jobbed out of a title shot. Texas is looking to prove a point. They are going to take out their frustrations on a very non-national championship caliber Ohio State team. The Bucks will be 10 point underdogs in this one. But this is my blog and my opinion. Ohio State vs. a Speeding Asteroid? I'm taking the Buckeyes! Ohio State vs. the Cloverfield Monster? Bucks by a nose! Ohio State vs Texas? Bucks win on a pick six by Malcolm Jenkins off Colt McCoy late in the fourth. Ohio State 31 Texas 24.
BCS Title Game, Oklahoma vs. Florida- Nothing would please me more than to see the SEC not win three national championships in a row. Oklahoma is scoring like 60 points a game but I don't think they've faced a defense like Florida has. Will the Sooners light it up or will Florida force a three and out fest here? Hmmm. I think Florida's defensive speed will crack OU's studly offensive line just enough times for Tebow to do enough to win. I would like to say OU55 UF20 but I'm gonna say Gators win this one 35-30.
HEISMAN: I picked Chris Wells early on but based on who's probably gonna be a finalist, I think Sam Bradford gets the nod and it's a Heisman vs. Heisman title game.]
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
Christmas List Recommendations
In no particular order:
Books
Schulz and Peanuts: A Biography - David Michaelis
I'm reading through this now. It is absolutely amazing and could be the best biography I have read in the last five years. Put's Neal Gabler's Walt Disney to shame. Goes in-depth into Schulz's life but isn't too overwhelming. Also connects Schulz and Charlie Brown to the events of the day very effectively.
Traitor to His Class - H.W. Brands
Biography of FDR. Haven't had a chance to pick it up yet, but H.W. Brands was, in the words of one of my professors, "a good guy until he got famous."
Bat-Manga! The Secret History of Batman in Japan - Chip Kidd
A bit pricey for a graphic novel, but it looks way cool.
Video Games
Fallout 3 - Bethesda
We may all already own this, but if not you should go out and buy it now.
Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe - Midway
Haven't had a chance to play it yet, but the gameplay on the commercial looks tight. Hopefully they haven't just bitmapped DC characters on top of existing MK people. Surely the Joker's fatality is not up, down, up, down high punch.
Dead Space - EA
Looks like a movie version of Event Horizon, but an interesting premise nonetheless.
Movies
The Dark Knight
Movie of the year for me. Just like in 1989, when EVERYONE was buying the Michael Keaton Batman on VHS, this one is the most have.
John Adams
Emmy nominated historical flick. I met David McCullough.
Generation Kill
I read the book, but haven't seen the movie. Heard great things about it.
Useless Gadgets
Amazon's Kindle
I'm torn on this one. I like getting my books from the library because, well, they are free. However, this gadget looks really, really cool. I can't really justify the cost and, as such, am not asking for it, but it looks really, really cool.
Here's a bit of an update on me
To keep you guys in the know ...
As some of you may know and/or remember, I got a new computer a while back. I hit a minor snag in getting this thing hooked up to the internet, namely work & other major life stuff.
As such, most of my online meanderings have been confined to the worksite, the sucky-ducky part being that some of my favorite news & info sites are kept off-limits to me (411 Wrestling, DMH? Really??).
I've been storing up a few things to do on this fine forum, but I'm thinking, with the holidays coming up, and my birthday celebration (for which I'm taking an entire week off, because I flat out deserve it by God), that 2009 will see an explosion of stuff. Not only will this explosion occur for the blog, but also I expect that my personal life will change dramatically (for reasons known and unknown, true believers), as will my professional life, because I've finally convinced myself to shoot for the moon and get licensed and/or go for my clinical psych Ph.D, thanks to some pretty strong arguments made by a fellow scientist.
I have a "12 Days of Christmas Movies" thing ready to go, starting Dec 14, and then it's straight on to the brand new year. I'll of course be reading fervently each and every word that passes on this roundtable, and I'm sure to comment on some things that will occur from time to time. I count you guys among my tightest friends, even though some of you I haven't even met (that will hopefully change in the new year).
Science Gone Mad has been a nice little online corner to call home, much more so than other forums in the past, so I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving, and in advance I offer sincere Christmas, Hannukah, and Kwanzaa greetings and wishes to you all.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
