Thursday, May 23, A.D. 2013

Choose Your Pope

Lutheran Satire made an amusing “game show” after Pope Benedict XVI announced his retirement in February. It offers a fine commentary on the armies of “devout Catholics” whom the media always consult when covering matters Roman.

If only she had claimed infallible authority because, well, you know, like, she totally knows everything about the faith because she, like, you know, went to Catholic schools for thirteen years.

Posted by Joseph on Thursday, May 23, Anno Domini 2013
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Thursday, March 14, A.D. 2013

Buckeye Arcade Halftime

Though I am an Ohioan, I have never been to an O.S.U. game, and I have never been a fan. As noted in “Cincinnati Yesteryear,” denizens of the Queen City find their identity in the polis, not the State. I did have an Ohio State Buckeyes sweatshirt when I was in elementary school, but that is because I fancied the buckeye and leaf design. However, after I watched the following clip, I want to make hajj to the Horseshoe. For I have never seen a more entertaining halftime show. Here is the Buckeyes’ tribute to video game history:

Who would have thought that music dorks would celebrate gaming geeks in the holy temple of American jockdom?

Posted by Joseph on Thursday, March 14, Anno Domini 2013
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Tuesday, March 12, A.D. 2013

Buster Keaton on Candid Camera

Maslenitsa week continues with a second clip from Candid Camera—this time with the incomparable Buster Keaton from A.D. 1962:

Voyeurism seems so much less objectionable in early “reality television.”

Posted by Joseph on Tuesday, March 12, Anno Domini 2013
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Monday, March 11, A.D. 2013

Woody Allen on Candid Camera

To celebrate Maslenitsa (or “Shrovetide” for the Brits), I shall mostly indulge in levity this week. I found an old clip of a young Woody Allen on the Candid Camera show in A.D. 1961 that you might enjoy:

The secretary is not a looker by far, but she has spunk and personality—in abundance.

This clip reminds me of Ambrose Bierce’s definition: “HEBREW, n. A male Jew, as distinguished from the Shebrew, an altogether superior creation.”

My father has always been a fan of Allen’s work, though I am more ambivalent. He has undeniable talent, but he is somewhat of a pervert—even to someone with a strong and developed anti-puritanical streak like me.

Posted by Joseph on Monday, March 11, Anno Domini 2013
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Monday, February 18, A.D. 2013

O’Neal on Annoying Women

I found some humorous videos of the late Patrice O’Neal on The Occidental Traditionalist last week. Here is clean sample:

That charming bit is very mild for O’Neal; he was usually ruthless in his routine. O’Neal may have been wrong at times, but he was honest. As he learnt, an honest man does not endear himself to others, especially in an age where lies are so respected and pervasive.

Posted by Joseph on Monday, February 18, Anno Domini 2013
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Monday, January 28, A.D. 2013

Muppets’ Habanera

With apologies to Bizet, here are the Swedish Chef, Beaker, and Animal in an idiosyncratic production of Carmen:

For a more full blooded version, here is the aria by Julia Migenes-Johnson in the film version.

Posted by Joseph on Monday, January 28, Anno Domini 2013
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Tuesday, January 1, A.D. 2013

Flash Mob Proposal

Happy New Year! Many blessings to you in A.D. 2013!

To celebrate the day, I offer you a video about another sort of beginning. A fellow in London took his sweetie to Piccadilly Circus last year, where he had arranged for a group of women to help him serenade his love before he asked her to marry him. It is a crude video, but I was impressed by his gumption.

I felt bad for the woman, though. Imagine how awkward she must have felt as this intimate moment was on recorded display before an audience of strangers and a chanting coven of her future husband’s lady friends. Even so, it will make a good story to tell (and show) their children and grandchildren.

Posted by Joseph on Tuesday, January 1, Anno Domini 2013
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Friday, December 7, A.D. 2012

You Can Help a Cadet

Last year, I attended the Army-Navy football game when it is was held in D.C. (well, suburban Maryland, to be precise). I enjoyed the pageantry and tradition, and it was good to watch a football game where the players all looked like true athletes who were representative of their school rather than hired mercenaries with half the team’s being grotesque mounds of flesh. An entertaining aspect of the annual match is the showing of “spirit videos” that the cadets and midshipmen make to show during the game’s pauses. The best one last year was the following gem from Annapolis:

The side show features many non-spirit videos, as well, ranging from expressions of gratitude by civic and military support organizations to memorials to advertisements geared toward service members and their families. So, when the above video started playing its sappy music, most people thought that it was serious. The surprise element added to its comedic value, and the video received much applause—even grudging approval from West Point’s partisans. Tomorrow, I shall attend the game in Philadelphia. Navy will probably win, again, but perhaps the cadets might at least put forth a memorable spirit video.

Posted by Joseph on Friday, December 7, Anno Domini 2012
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Monday, November 26, A.D. 2012

Donna the Deer Lady

Over the weekend, my brother Adam accidentally struck a deer while returning from work at night. I know how difficult such an event can be because I killed a young buck in Shenandoah eight years ago. The poor creature jumped from a ditch by a small bridge and hit the corner of my vehicle. He staggered about fifty feet before he collapsed, apparently from brain damage. I inspected his lifeless body and found no visible trauma. It was awful. He was the only mammal that I have ever caused to die. I have also hit a low flying bird on the highway in the Sonoma Valley, and I crushed a toad with a garage door—both unintentionally. I only ever aim to kill “enemy species” among insects such as mosquitoes, house flies, scale insects, and pest cockroaches. Even then, I sometimes feel remorse—but usually I just relish sweet revenge.

Anyway, Adam’s incident reminds me to post an ever memorable Y94 radio segment with Donna from Fargo:

It is understandable to doubt Donna’s sincerity. If the call is a hoax, it is brilliant comedy. Fortunately (for us smirkers, though perhaps not for the gene pool), Donna seems to be legit based on my internet sleuthing. Moreover, I think that we can all think of several episodes involving ourselves and those whom we know where gaps in “common knowledge” are glaring. Stupidity happens to us all at times, and this was Donna’s moment.

Posted by Joseph on Monday, November 26, Anno Domini 2012
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Wednesday, November 14, A.D. 2012

Caine’s Arcade

In yesterday’s post, the selection that I copied from Mr. Brown Thumb mentioned Caine’s Arcade. If you did not follow the provided Caine’s Arcade link, you may wish to do so. Evidently, the story went “viral” this past spring.

A little boy named Caine Monroy decides to build his own video arcade at the front of his father’s automobile parts store in Los Angeles. He uses boxes and random supplies from his father’s business along with old toys to construct his own games. Unfortunately, the father does most of his business online; so he gets very little in store customer traffic. Nonetheless, the boy waits patiently for patrons while he improves his arcade. Then, a man named Nirvan Mullick who happens to be a documentary filmmaker finds the joint while buying a car part, plays in the arcade, and decides to make a short film. He uses social media to invite all the S.W.P.L. adventurers in L.A. to Caine’s arcade. Voilà—a great story, a fun afternoon for Etsy-shopping, community oriented do-gooders, and a claim to fame for a savvy philosophy grad. director. Either the director or Caine’s father (or both) have had the good business sense for Caine to profit from the episode. Caine now has an impressive educational fund that will pay for his schooling in a decade as well as program offers from prestigious schools. A foundation is matching all funds donated for Caine’s future education to establish a scholarship fund for other youth. The film has also inspired creative programs around the world to get children to construct their own arcades—Caine and Mullick are proselytizers for engineering. The New Yorker offers more about the story in “The Perfect Moment Goes Perfectly Viral.” Human beings can be pretty cool.

Posted by Joseph on Wednesday, November 14, Anno Domini 2012
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