Willi Boskovsky Conducts Josef Strauss's "Feuerfest" Polka

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Henry Miller Day

Here's a remarkable look back posted by RC at his amazing Cosmodemonic Telegraph Company.

A Very Nellie Christmas

Thanks to Matt Mendelsohn for the lead.



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Yes, Virginia, There is a Christmas

At this special time of year, I take great pleasure in maintaining a cherished tradition at Blog About Town.

The Magic of Preston Sturges

The Film Forum ends the year with a mini-fest of movies directed or written by the witty and inventive Preston Sturges, with BAT favorites in the opening and (especially) closing double bills. Among the many good reasons to go is the opportunity to see Barbara Stanwyck at her best.

The opening double bill (December 24-25) pairs the giddy Christmas in July (1940) with the Barbara Stanwyck-Fred MacMurray charmer Remember the Night (1940). If you see Christmas in July, you might understand why I submitted a certain cartoon caption more than eight years ago!

And for the grand finale (which ends 2008 and kicks of 2009) you can share in the joy of The Lady Eve (1941) and The Palm Beach Story (1941), which I'd say is the most sublime Sturges film, even more suitable for re-viewing on video than the others.

Another strong bill, on December 26-27, couples the political satire The Great McGinty (1940) and the O Brother, Where Art Thou? inspiration Sullivan's Travels (1941), featuring a "secretly" pregnant Veronica Lake.

And yes, 1940-41 was quite a productive time for Sturges.

Not included in this "Essential Sturges" festival is The Good Fairy (1935), a charming play adaptation that you can find on video.

Here's a kind of YouTube essay on connections between Sullivan's Travels and O Brother, Where Art Thou?



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Cartoon Caption/Anti-Caption Contest Coverage Continues

It's apparently time for a pause at the Caption and Anti-Caption Contests, but I do note that the winner of Anti-Caption Contest 173 (Tom Cheney's businessmen with cartloads of cash) is

"I never thought that line about my red wagon, laundry cart, and suitcase business being too big to fail would ever work, but boy howdy, did it ever!"
bunsen

Kudos to Deborah for her Honorable Mention with

"See, this is why I became a taxidermist. To make piles and piles and piles of money."

My clever losers:

"That new partner sure delivers!"

"I never thought being bailed out would be so much fun!" (Apologies to Carolita Johnson!)

Caption Contest 174 is here. Anti-Caption Contest 174 is here.


THE STANDINGS

Here is the current New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest breakdown by state. You can find it all mapped out here.

30 California

27 New York (23 from the Big Apple)

13 New Jersey

9 Virginia (four from NOVA, two from Richmond, one from Charlottesville, one from Newport News, one from Roanoke)

8 Illinois (six from Chicago, two captions by Lawrence Wood, two drawings by Leo Cullum)

7 Massachusetts

6 Connecticut (two from New Haven, four not)
6 Pennsylvania

5 Maryland (none named Mary)
5 North Carolina (two from Charlotte)
5 Texas (three from Houston)

4 Arizona (two from Tucson)
4 Georgia (includes two-time winner Carl Gables)
4 Ohio

3 Minnesota (Minneapolis 2, St. Paul 1)

2 Alaska
2 District of Columbia
2 Florida
2 Michigan
2 Mississippi
2 Missouri
2 New Hampshire
2 Oregon (both named Eric, both from Portland)
2 Rhode Island
2 Utah
2 Vermont
2 Washington

1 Alabama
1 Arkansas
1 Delaware
1 Iowa
1 Kentucky
1 Louisiana (New Orleans)
1 Nevada
1 New Mexico
1 Oklahoma
1 Wisconsin

Map Introduction

Thanks to Andriy Bidochko for Map Builder.

Satirical "Eustace K. Tilley" illustration realized by Deborah Grumet from concept by David Marc Fischer

Kay Thompson in TV's Eloise

Liza's at the Palace pays tribute to Liza Minnelli's godmother Kay Thompson—entertainer, author of the Eloise books, and close friend of Liza's mom Judy Garland.

Here's a rare clip of Thompson performing in a 1956 Playhouse 90 TV broadcast of a musical based on Eloise. Apparently Andy Williams is in the chorus—sounds like he has a solo.



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Liza With a Z

I've only been hearing good things about Liza's at the Palace, so I figured I'd take the opportunity to salute her by going back 36 years to her epochal TV special Liza With a Z, which is available on DVD.

Here's how it starts....



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The BAT Challenge: Predict the Vote! Results!

Who won the 2008 Election? Why, Dave, of course!

The current standings:

13 Deborah (includes WWI? credit and Attendance Award and bonus point)
12 Ellen (includes one WWI? credit)
10 Debbie (Gold Medal and Attendance Award plus unredeemed Silver Medal and Silver Medal and Bronze Medal and WWI? credits, plus February 2008 and November 2008 WWI? credits)
10 Scott (Two Gold Medals plus two unredeemed WWI? credits)
9 Gary (Gold Medal and Silver Medal plus three unredeemed WWI? and one unredeemed Silver Medal and one unredeemed Gold Medal credits)
9 Myra (includes Attendance Award and unredeemed Bronze Medal credit)
7 David (Bronze Medal plus Attendance Award)
2 Luke N. Atmaguchi
2 Daniela
2 Dolph (Bronze Medal)
1 bellj
1 Myron
1 Trapezia

Debbie and Deborah and Ellen and Gary and Myra and Scott can send in their own photos—or propose their own BAT challenges!

On the Incident of the Shoes in Iraq

When I think about the recent incident in which an Iraqi journalist threw shoes and invectives at George Bush, my thoughts tend to return to a speech Bush delivered at the March 2004 Radio & Television Correspondents Association dinner, during which he joked about not being able to find the Weapons of Mass Destruction that he had used as a pretext for invading Iraq. Below is the whole speech, complete with the laughter of the attendees. And here is David Corn's reaction: "MIA WMDs--For Bush, It's a Joke."



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Shocker: Obama Named Person of the Year!

Now all he has to do is save the world!

Robin Williams on U.S. Politics

This is pretty good stuff—even if the name Louis Walsh doesn't ring a bell!



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Cartoon Caption/Anti-Caption Contest Coverage Continues

The winner of Cartoon Contest 170 (P.C. Vey's businessman carrying fowl carcass) is

"I miss the cash bonuses."
Robert Becker (Northford, CT)

Congrats to Becker and Connecticut, which won out over contest leaders California and New York!


The nominees in Contest 172 (Lee Lorenz's grinning head on Easter Island) are

"We really need to revisit our immigration policy."
Robert Marinai (Oakland, CA)

"Ah, the innocence of youth."
Steve Rappaport (Brooklyn, NY)

"Guess who's getting voted off the island."
Michael Vorenberg (Barrington, RI)

My loser:

Obama Island

There are no results for Anti-Caption Contest 173 (Tom Cheney's money-carriers) at the time of this posting.


Caption Contest 174 is here. Anti-Caption Contest 174 is here.


THE STANDINGS

Here is the current New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest breakdown by state. You can find it all mapped out here.

30 California

27 New York (23 from the Big Apple)

13 New Jersey

9 Virginia (four from NOVA, two from Richmond, one from Charlottesville, one from Newport News, one from Roanoke)

8 Illinois (six from Chicago, two captions by Lawrence Wood, two drawings by Leo Cullum)

7 Massachusetts

6 Connecticut (two from New Haven, four not)
6 Pennsylvania

5 Maryland (none named Mary)
5 North Carolina (two from Charlotte)
5 Texas (three from Houston)

4 Arizona (two from Tucson)
4 Georgia (includes two-time winner Carl Gables)
4 Ohio

3 Minnesota (Minneapolis 2, St. Paul 1)

2 Alaska
2 District of Columbia
2 Florida
2 Michigan
2 Mississippi
2 Missouri
2 New Hampshire
2 Oregon (both named Eric, both from Portland)
2 Rhode Island
2 Utah
2 Vermont
2 Washington

1 Alabama
1 Arkansas
1 Delaware
1 Iowa
1 Kentucky
1 Louisiana (New Orleans)
1 Nevada
1 New Mexico
1 Oklahoma
1 Wisconsin

Map Introduction

Thanks to Andriy Bidochko for Map Builder.

Satirical "Eustace K. Tilley" illustration realized by Deborah Grumet from concept by David Marc Fischer

Ken Russell's Mahler

Now that White Dog is readily available on DVD in the United States, how about doing the same for some movies by Ken Russell? One of my favorites is Mahler (1974). Here's a kooky yet coherent sequence revolving around Mahler's career-advancing conversion to Christianity and relationship with Cosima Wagner (Antonia Ellis). Robert Powell plays Mahler. (For another look at Antonia Ellis, click here.)



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Guitarchiks: Adele

The other night I heard a song on the radio and thought it was being performed by Guitarchik Feist. Turns out it was "Chasing Pavements" by Adele.

I might create a new musical category called Feist-alikes, for singers who sound like Feist. Of course, there just may be a chance that Feist sounds like someone else herself....

Anyway, here's the non-embeddable video for "Chasing Pavements". Below is an embeddable version.



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Movies for Cheapskates: Valkyrie

The New York Observer and MGM and United Artists are offering passes to an NYC screening of Valkyrie.

Valkyrie stars Tom Cruise as a Nazi involved in a plot to knock off Hitler. You don't really need to know more than that, do you?

Date Thursday, December 18
Time 7pm
Place Midtown

To apply for the passes, click here.



Source (1:56)

Book Cover Evolution: Thomas Pynchon's forthcoming novel Inherent Vice

Thomas Pynchon's novel Inherent Vice is months away from publication, yet Tim Ware's Hyperarts website already documents the evolution of the cover design, apparently an adaptation of art by Hawaiian artist Darshan Zenith under the aegis of Penguin art director Darren Haggar. Check it out!

And here are galleries of Pynchon-related cover art.

Movies for Cheapskates: Last Chance Harvey

The New York Observer and Overture Films are offering passes to an NYC screening of Last Chance Harvey.

Starring Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson and Kathy Baker and James Brolin and Eileen Atkins, Last Chance Harvey is the story of indie movie mogul Harvey Weinstein's attempt to find the golden ticket that will enable him to fulfill his dream of visiting Willy Wonka's famed chocolate factory.

Date Tuesday, December 16
Time 7pm
Place Uptown

To apply for the passes, click here.

I kinda like the trailer—a sign of age?



Source (2:30)

Now We Are "Q"

Congrats to Deborah Grumet on making it to Q in her ABC of Breakfast Cereals—and on going with Quisp and Quake! Love those Quisp and Quake poses!



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Cartoon Caption/Anti-Caption Contest Coverage Continues

Um. Uh-huh. Clears throat. Thank you. Thank you. This is such a surprise! I'm not sure what to say, but....Takes out pre-written speech. I can't tell you how exciting it is to finally win one of these things after so many years of trying. Pause. I just want to say that this shows that, if you try hard and you don't give up, you can get recognition! And I feel like I'm in such good company in Anti-Caption Contest 172 (Lee Lorenz's happy head amidst Easter Island statues). I mean, over there is

Standup comedian, off-panel: "You see, black people carve statues like this, and white people carve statues like THIS!"
Francis

and over there is

"Kill him."
Deborah

and there was even

Why the long faces?
xjvpastor

and

"This is Obamahead land. No McCain heads allowed."
J.D.

And to think that all of them lost to my anti-caption:

"What the fuck are you smiling about? It's World AIDS Day, asshole!"
David F

And finally, I'd like to thank the one person who inspired me more than anyone else: Larry Kramer. Thanks, Larry. I'l continue to do what I can to get your Lost Horizon on DVD soon!


In Caption Contest 169 (Leo Cullum's bandito businessman), the winner is

"What makes you think I wouldn't be up for sushi?"
Neal Svalstad (El Cajon, CA)

So thanks to the man from El Cajon, California hits 30 and beats New York as well as Illinois.


California and New York face off again (with Michigan) in Caption Contest 171 (Gahan Wilson's butcher with meat shaped like kick line), the nominees are

"I'd suggest you keep them away from the gingerbread men."
Vincent Coca (Staten Island, NY)

"It's not disturbing until someone wants to buy them by the ounce."
Steve Arrowood (Oceanside, CA)

"I did the choreography myself."
Donovan Reeve (Ypsilanti, MI)

My loser:

"I used to sell strip steaks, but they cleaned up their act."

Thoughts?


Caption Contest 173 is here. Anti-Caption Contest 173 is here.


THE STANDINGS

Here is the current New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest breakdown by state. You can find it all mapped out here.

30 California

27 New York (23 from the Big Apple)

13 New Jersey

9 Virginia (four from NOVA, two from Richmond, one from Charlottesville, one from Newport News, one from Roanoke)

8 Illinois (six from Chicago, two captions by Lawrence Wood, two drawings by Leo Cullum)

7 Massachusetts

6 Pennsylvania

5 Connecticut (two from New Haven, three not)
5 Maryland (none named Mary)
5 North Carolina (two from Charlotte)
5 Texas (three from Houston)

4 Arizona (two from Tucson)
4 Georgia (includes two-time winner Carl Gables)
4 Ohio

3 Minnesota (Minneapolis 2, St. Paul 1)

2 Alaska
2 District of Columbia
2 Florida
2 Michigan
2 Mississippi
2 Missouri
2 New Hampshire
2 Oregon (both named Eric, both from Portland)
2 Rhode Island
2 Utah
2 Vermont
2 Washington

1 Alabama
1 Arkansas
1 Delaware
1 Iowa
1 Kentucky
1 Louisiana (New Orleans)
1 Nevada
1 New Mexico
1 Oklahoma
1 Wisconsin

Map Introduction

Thanks to Andriy Bidochko for Map Builder.

Satirical "Eustace K. Tilley" illustration realized by Deborah Grumet from concept by David Marc Fischer

Spread the Word: 'Tis the Season!

Yes, it's word season again at Blog About Town as the selection of Word of the Year draws nearer and nearer!

This year we usher in the season with a very special The Sarah Silverman Show, brought to you by Language Log.

Enjoy!

Odetta (1930-2008)

She said "With folk music, I can do my teaching and preaching, my propagandizing." And with music and her strong voice and presence she taught and preached and propagandized about hope and justice and respect for diversity. She'll surely be missed at the upcoming inauguration.

And she was a Guitarchik.

Here's her New York Times obit.



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Theater for Cheapskates: What's That Smell: The Music of Jacob Sterling

Branching out into the realm of live performance, The New York Observer is offering vouchers to see the musical theater comedy What's That Smell: The Music of Jacob Sterling this month at Worldwide Plaza's New World Stages.

And here's a post about the show before it moved uptown from Chris Caggiano's blog Everything I Know I Learned from Musicals.

Click here for more info about the voucher offer.

Here's a glimpse of the show.



Source (3:17)

Prop 8 - The Musical

Or, "Better Late Than Never"

Thanks to Clare for the lead!

See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die

David's DVD Corner: White Dog Unleashed!

If you know me and/or this blog, you know that I've long advocated the release of Samuel Fuller's suppressed movie White Dog on DVD.

I'm happy to report that, as of December 2, sanity has prevailed—thanks in part to Criterion!

So, if you haven't yet seen this movie, which stars Kristy McNichol and revolves around a dog trained to attack dark-skinned people, please consider it. It's not for everyone and it can come across as cheesy, like run-of-the-mill '70s TV and exploitation movies, but if you look beyond the kitsch element you might agree that the movie ultimately comes together in an ingenious, "cinematic" way.

Below is Criterion's trailer for the movie (with music by Ennio Morricone), followed by a key moment in the movie that is something of a spoiler.

Thanks to birthday boy Ben for the lead—and special congrats to Christa Fuller on this accomplishment!



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Movies for Cheapskates: The Reader

There might be a mistake here, but apparently The New York Observer is offering passes to the NYC premiere of The Reader...on Wednesday, December 3?

Directed by Stephen Daldry and written by David Hare from the novel by Bernhard Schlink, The Reader stars Kate Winslet, Bruno Ganz, and Ralph Fiennes in a tale revolving around eroticism and...Nazi war crimes?

The thing is, The Observer doesn't seem to be giving people much advance notice....

Date Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Time 7:30PM
Place Uptown

Register here for a chance at the passes.



Source (2:29)

Movies for Cheapskates: Frost/Nixon

What a coincidence: I had just returned from an American Theatre Wing screening of Frost/Nixon (thanks, Myra!) when I noticed that The New York Observer and Universal Pictures are offering NYC screening passes to the flick.

I recommend the movie Frost/Nixon. Sure, some of the production is cliched (it's a Ron Howard-Brian Grazer production), but in many respects it improved on the Broadway version. One helpful addition is a kind of preamble that outlines the scandal and contextualizes the drama. With makeup and cinematography that seems inspired by period photographs, Frank Langella comes across more as Nixon than he did on stage. And it's nice to see former Broadway and Hollywood child star Patty McCormack playing another Pat—Tricky Dick's wife.

It's not hard to find connections between Nixon's attitudes and those of his political descendants in the Bush administration—but you can also make connections between Nixon and Bill Clinton (who eulogized Nixon as a great American). Perhaps the story of Frost/Nixon could apply to any President or world leader or power broker.

Date Thursday, December 4, 2008
Time 7:00PM
Place Uptown

Register here for a chance at the passes.



Source (2:30)

Cartoon Caption/Anti-Caption Contest Coverage Continues

It took a while for Dan Radosh to post the results of Anti-Caption Contest 170 (P.C. Vey's businessman with turkey) but, when he did, Deborah was quick to let me know that I'd garnered an Honorable Mention with

"I'm on my way to get a breast implant. Wish me luck, dawg!"

The winner was

"Yeah, that's the thing with Rate My Professor, you never really know who's trashin' ya. TurkeylovingRacist1956 could be anybody."
David John

I had no such luck in Anti-Caption Contest 171 (Gahan Wilson's butcher selling meat shaped like a kick line), where the winner was

"I don't know, lady. I just fucking work here. Do you want one or not"
JohnnyB

and one of the Honorable Mentions was the great Broadway pun

"So you want one...singular...shank section?"
therblig

and my losers were

"Pleased to meat you!"

and

"If you don't think the world is fucked up, just take a look at the numbers of each of these anti-caption contests.

"This one is 171, the one before it is 247, the one before that is 170, and the one before that is 168!

"It reminds me of when the contest went from 141 to 143 to 143, but it's worse this time around.

"Anyway, what'll it be?"

"It depends. What's today's special?"

"Tenderloins."

"Of course. Then I'll have those."

"I'm sure you already do, my lovely. I'm sure you already do."

"Oh dear!"

In Caption Contest 168 (Tom Cheney's weirdly long arm of waiter), the winner is

"Please try not to stare at his disproportionately short right arm."
Chas Kikel (Cleveland Heights, OH)

Seems like an anti-caption, doesn't it?


In Caption Contest 170 (P.C. Vey's businessman with turkey) the nominees are

"I am useless until I have my morning turkey."
Corey Lowney (Wappingers Falls, NY)

"I was actually hoping for a boy."
Antonia Boyette (Los Angeles, CA)

"I miss the cash bonuses."
Robert Becker (Northford, CT)

Compare that third one with my loser:

"It's part of my severance package."

Caption Contest 172 is here. Anti-Caption Contest 172 is here.


THE STANDINGS

Here is the current New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest breakdown by state. You can find it all mapped out here.

29 California

27 New York (23 from the Big Apple)

13 New Jersey

9 Virginia (four from NOVA, two from Richmond, one from Charlottesville, one from Newport News, one from Roanoke)

8 Illinois (six from Chicago, two captions by Lawrence Wood, two drawings by Leo Cullum)

7 Massachusetts

6 Pennsylvania

5 Connecticut (two from New Haven, three not)
5 Maryland (none named Mary)
5 North Carolina (two from Charlotte)
5 Texas (three from Houston)

4 Arizona (two from Tucson)
4 Georgia (includes two-time winner Carl Gables)
4 Ohio

3 Minnesota (Minneapolis 2, St. Paul 1)

2 Alaska
2 District of Columbia
2 Florida
2 Michigan
2 Mississippi
2 Missouri
2 New Hampshire
2 Oregon (both named Eric, both from Portland)
2 Rhode Island
2 Utah
2 Vermont
2 Washington

1 Alabama
1 Arkansas
1 Delaware
1 Iowa
1 Kentucky
1 Louisiana (New Orleans)
1 Nevada
1 New Mexico
1 Oklahoma
1 Wisconsin

Map Introduction

Thanks to Andriy Bidochko for Map Builder.

Satirical "Eustace K. Tilley" illustration realized by Deborah Grumet from concept by David Marc Fischer