"Hey, kid. The books are down there."

At the risk of losing my anonymity, here's a pic of little C.C. and myself at the most recent Great Jacksonville Book Sale:

You go, Ricky!

Man. The one pop star that Dubya and the GOP was able to get chummy with... Oh, well.

I'd take Molina over Cage any day of the week. Does that mean I'm evil?

OK, It's Saturday. Time for a couple of trailers for movies that look like a lot of fun. Whether they'll actually deliver or not, well, time will tell.

"Oh My"

Oooooh! Alonzo put a picture on the left hand side instead of center! Edgy!

This ad has been popping up lately, and I have to wonder about the thinking behind it. I understand the basic concept of adding yellow to the standard three color setup of most TV's to expand the color range. I understand the use of semi-washed up yet beloved celebrities to sell said product. What I am confused on is if the people at SHARP deliberately hired an Asian guy to sit under the tag line "Just add yellow".

Either they did it accidentally or they did it on purpose hoping that the hammy George Takei performance will be tongue-in-cheek enough to cancel out any perceived offence. I mean, I'm not terribly sensitive to these things, but I am curious.

How many would have chosen the carpenter's cup?

Now here's an interesting observation about art, religion and culture (via Neatorama):

The food portions depicted in paintings of the Last Supper have grown larger - in line with our own super-sizing of meals, say obesity experts.

The Cornell University team studied 52 of the most famous paintings of the Biblical scene over the millennium and scrutinised the size of the feast.

They found the main courses, bread and plates put before Jesus and his disciples have progressively grown by up to two-thirds.

This, they say, is art imitating life.

Professor Brian Wansink, who, with his brother Craig, led the research, published in the International Journal of Obesity, said: "The last thousand years have witnessed dramatic increases in the production, availability, safety, abundance and affordability of food."

I keep thinking of the character of Big Jim in "Under the Dome" when he repeatedly refereed to people who recently died as now eating "Roast beef, mashed with gravy, apple crisp for dessert" at table of the Lord.

Shows what he knows. The big guy's probably getting down with just some bread and olive oil.

Burt and Kirk (and the rest)

I watched the 1957 Western Gunfight at the O.K. Corral last night, starring the always awesome pairing of Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas. But beside these Hollywood luminaries was the largest roster of MSTied actors I had ever seen in one film. Here's just who I recognized off the bat:

John Ireland, who starred in Gunslinger (Episode 511) just one year before O.K.
George Matthews, whose first role was the short X Marks the Spot (Episode 210)
John Hudson, who starred in The Screaming Skull (Episode 912) just one year after O.K.
Lee van Cleef, who starred in The Master TV series in the 1980's (Episodes 322 & 324)
Jack Elam, who appeared in The Girl in Lovers Lane (Episode 509) just two years after O.K.

And I didn't even include Whit Bissell, who according to the IMDb plays a newspaper editor. I must have blinked and missed him, but I have little doubt he's there. Any look at his MST3K credits (Both Episodes 208 and 809) or his IMDb credits (Over 100 Movies and nearly 200 TV appearances) shows that man worked for a living.

Rectifying the dearth of "Awww cute" around here.

I haven't posted pics of C.C. in quite a while (mainly from laziness). Fortunately, Mrs. Mosley took some stunning photos of her among some fallen Camellia blossoms recently. Have a look:

"Fandango"

I tend to belittle myself quite a bit when it comes to my own LEGO building capabilities. Daily visits to The Brothers Brick certainly doesn't help matters. That site gives me endless creativity from builders all over the world. Take this, for example:


This nifty little ship (built by Flickr user Uspez Morbo) has so many wonderful little innovations and accents that it makes my head hurt: The cockpit that is two side window panels placed bottom-to-bottom. The medieval pole arms adjacent to the front blasters. The rear extension that is made up of teeth and skis, for crying out loud! And, of course, those impeccable engines.

One result of all this Flickr drooling is that I decided to start sorting my LEGO primarily by color instead of brick type. If I want to build slick vehicles like this, I need to focus on what monochromatic parts I have that would work as opposed to turning to other color parts that would ruin the overall effect.

Well, that's the plan, anyway. Little C.C. might have other ideas about my free time.

Somewhere, Al Gore is smiling.

All right, fine. I admit it. I'm excited about it. Are you happy now?

I want my. I want my. I want my PBS.

While enjoying the usual network fare with my folks growing up (with particularly fond memories of The Bob Newhart Show, WKRP, Barney Miller and MASH), I was also exposed to a lot of PBS (Masterpiece Theater, Mystery and Evening at Pops with Arthur Fielder).

And while I'm sure there are others out there my age who have similar memories, I'll bet there are very few who also remember this show (start video at 1:15):



My Dad would watch this show faithfully on Friday nights and I would watch with him. I remember that I liked the nice old man who hosted the show and I liked listening to him (even though I had no idea what he was talking about). It's a very warm memory of mine.

And at the risk of sounding like the cranky old parent that I am, how in the world did we go from the intelligence and class of Louis Rukeyser to the bombast and crass of Jim Cramer?

The Onion: More accurate than you think

Alright. After this, I'll swear off the political posts for awhile:

Re-Run

So. DeNiro is working on making a sequel to Midnight Run. Given that my namesake originates in this movie, you'd think I'd be excited. However, it doesn't necessarily follow that Yaphet Kotto and his fabulous character would return as well (and given the indignity of his character popping up in a friggin Larry the Cable Guy movie two years ago, maybe that's for the best).

Other characters? Well, Grodin is still alive. So is Joey "Pants" and Dennis Farina. Just last week, I saw John Ashton (aka Marvin the Bounty Hunter) in Gone Baby Gone, so he's still kicking. Of course, bringing back characters simply because you can is not necessarily a good movie making strategy. Just look at Men in Black II (On second thought, don't).

Finally, I have to admit, I'd be interested in seeing what they do with this given that the last one ended (SPOILERS!) with DeNiro's character being given millions of dollars in cash and walking out into the night. There are some interesting prospects there. And I'll be interested in seeing it even if doesn't contain one solitary reference to really nice sunglasses.

Clavin!

I'd been meaning to do a post on this subject for awhile now, but Salon has already beaten me to it. They currently have a slideshow up exhibiting the roster of B-list Hollywood celebrities who are vocal advocates of the right wing. Apparently, Victoria Jackson will be a (cough) headline guest speaker at the Tea Party Express kickoff event in Nevada.

I keep imagining her sharing a late night phone call with friend and former cast member Denis Miller and him convincing her that shilling for the GOP was a way back into the spotlight. And after reading her over-the-top comments about Obama sharing traits with the Anti-Christ, I have to imagine that either she is a total believer or she was really, really desperate for work and attention.

It's one thing the Salon piece does not touch upon: Citizens from the Midwest and the South will spit upon and besmirch any progressive thing a Hollywood entertainer has to say and immediately dismiss their opinion by virtue of their occupation and their place of residence. Yet throw them a conservative has-been who was once in a couple of good movies but has now hit the skids and suddenly right-wingers are drooling all over them with praise and respect.

The biggest surprise on the list is John Ratzenberger. Unlike many of the others in the Salon piece, he currently has a steady Hollywood paycheck as Pixar's lucky charm. How awkward must that be for him working with all those happy, contented liberals? I'm guessing he knows that Pixar will never let him go given their long term relationship, so he might as well speak his mind. That would place him squarely in the true believer category, which is all the more disappointing.

As for the rest, I'll be cynical and say that the exposure is the main lure. I'm not saying they don't have conservative convictions. I'm sure they do (and they're entitled to them). But I think cash drives them more than any particular cause. After all, they are Republicans.

Post-war Vienna at a reasonable price.

You never know what you're going to find at the Great Jacksonville Book Sale. In addition to buying books for a coworker, my wife and my baby daughter, I picked up a few things for myself: A paperback copy of the original Stainless Steel Rat novel and a copy of the website-inspired 100 Days of Monsters (of which they had over a dozen brand new copies).

Ah, but the piece de resistance was to be found not among the books, but among the DVD's. I didn't actually hit the DVD's first as I normally due because (a) I couldn't immediately locate it, (b) that area is always slammed first and (c) the pickings are usually slim anyway. But when I finally stumbled upon it, lo and behold between an old copy of Analyze That and a miscellaneous volume of Robotech was this:


My friends: Any day you can pick up a Criterion disc in good condition for two dollars is a great day.

The patience... the patience required...

...Damn. Just... damn:

Samuel L. Jackson Quote of the Month: March 2010

Ah, yes: Kiss of Death. When it was released, it was noted for David Caruso's first venture on the big screen after quitting NYPD Blue. That movie career didn't go as planned, but you can't blame the film. On it's own, it's a solid entry in the crime thriller genre.

Caruso gets plenty of help from his two costars. One is Nicholas Cage, who made this right before winning his Oscar and the film seems to foreshadow his eccentric, over-the-top roles to come. The other, of course, is Sam, who plays a cop named Calvin Heart. His character has a lot of pent up rage, and you can see it in his eyes as he describes the effects of being shot near the face.

Calvin Hart: "You see this eye, it runs all the time and does not stop. My left ear can only hear a third of the time, and whenever I go to the beach to see my kids, the sun gives me a migraine so bad that I cry like a baby."