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Post by afriendlychicken on Dec 2, 2012 22:02:53 GMT -5
I'm glad you enjoyed your vacation. I was wondering why you were logged on at 11PM my time. I've also been on a sort of vacation the last week. Those two days after Thanksgiving wore me out so I asked for a break. And what do you know, I got one! I think I go back on Wednesday. Wal-Mart sounds a lot like Macy's. I worked at Macy's for five years. We had meetings, we had cheers, we had a so-called Human Resource Manager/Department, which I think is slang for "Big Brother's Watching." Thank goodness I was working in receiving and was able to skip most of those opening and closing meetings.
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Post by nondescript spice on Dec 6, 2012 15:56:51 GMT -5
a good friend of mine works for macy's and she hates it. it sounds like they aren't any better to their employees than walmart. among other things, today i am thinking of my uncle bill, who passed away a year ago today. i doubt anyone will find this very interesting, but i felt bill deserved a sort of tribute. that's him at 79 WAKY in kentucky, taken in 1967, i think - the year i was born. radio is kinda a family business - here is one of my dad back in the late 50's/early 60's from his early days in radio - aside from my dad, uncle bill and myself, my grandfather, an aunt and another uncle all worked in radio at one time or another. but my dad was the one who really fell in love with radio and stuck with it his whole life. both he and bill were radio operators in the navy. bill gave me tips that helped when i started in production years ago. bill was the rebel in the family; the black sheep. my mom, who remembers bill from high school, said he was the heartbreaker - all the girls were after him. whereas my dad was the funny one - and the one she ended up marrying. bill was a trumpet player - a good one, too. he played in different little combos over the years. it wasn't until...oh, around 2000 that bill and i bonded over our love of jazz. he seemed genuinely delighted that i loved it so, and we spent many hours together discussing it. it's funny - i love old jazz - the older the better, and bill liked the more modern and contemporary stuff that i refer to as supermarket jazz. every time i'd pick up a new jazz cd, i'd make a copy and send it to bill. when i was going through my lionel hampton phase (that i never completely fell out of) i sent him a copy and asked him what he thought of hampton. he sent a note back with this pic: a picture of him with lionel hampton (lionel is to the left of bill)! he said in his note he saw him in '84 in concert and got to talk to him for a few minutes. he said now you can tell people you know someone who knew lionel hampton, if anyone gives a sh*t. that's what i loved about bill. his gruffness. he was a crabby guy; cantankerous with a capitol...well - CANTANKEROUS. spoke his mind no matter how offensive it might be. he was a die hard democrat, but rarely voted. absolutely adored george carlin and lewis black. he wasn't always likable, but he could be really, really funny. every christmas we would get each other some kind of jazz cd. sometimes he'd call me late at night and we'd talk politics or music. bill always treated me like a grown up, even when i wasn't one. i remember hearing my mom tell someone once that i was his favorite niece. i always felt invisible around my sister and two cousins, so that made me feel special. he gave me a real camera for christmas when i was nine - not a fisher price's My First Camera! or anything like that - a real camera. i can still remember how thrilled i was. bill with his mother, my grandmother, in 1964i will always love bill for his outspokenness. once, as a dj, before playing a toyota spot, he said on the air, and now from the people who brought you pearl harbor - and the phone lines lit up and he was fired 15 minutes later. he also started the dead chicken report up in delaware, where he lived. there are a ton of chicken farms up there. so a lot of chickens make a jump for freedom off the trucks and end up on the side of the road. when someone would see a dead chicken on the road, they could call the station and tell bill. he would literally stop a song and go on the air with his deep, official radio voice, saying, ...we've just gotten word a dead chicken was spotted on route 13... people loved it. he was even in a movie. a really, really terrible movie, probably too bad even for mst3k. made in 1968, moonshiner's woman was just an awful movie i learned never to ask him about. bill didn't have a very large part; he was grant mason, man about town, a gangsta. he is in ^ clip. but he also did to the narration of the film, so that is him you hear. this clip is even worse. i've seen the whole movie - spackle was kind enough to download it and send it to me. but woof - it's just awful. got bill on imdb, though. bill was difficult to care for in his last years - he gave up when his health began to decline and it wasn't always easy for my parents to watch out for him. after his death, my dad arranged a memorial luncheon (bill wanted no funeral services). i met a guy bill was friends with that blew my cracker mind. first of all, he was a preacher, and bill didn't have a spiritual bone in his body. secondly, this guy was at the same seminary school as martin luther king jr.! he played pool with the guy! so not only have i known someone who knew lionel hampton, but i knew someone who knew someone who played pool with martin luther king jr.! and it is all because of bill. when bill was in the hospital one of the last few times before his death, my dad said the topic of music came up between bill and his nurse. according to my dad, bill said irritably, "i can't talk to anyone about music except my niece." he left me all his music in his will. i was hoping for old scratchy jazz albums, but he must have gotten rid of those somewhere in his travels. but aside from the many copies of jazz cd's i made for him that he kept over the years, i also got a good number of great jazz cds he collected and loved, that i will always treasure. so thanks, bill.
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Post by Crowfan on Dec 6, 2012 17:15:28 GMT -5
Sorry about your Uncle Bill. He sounded like a really interesting guy.
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Post by CBG on Dec 6, 2012 22:52:58 GMT -5
Thanks for a wonderful tribute, spicy.
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Post by Mighty Jack on Dec 7, 2012 1:11:54 GMT -5
Agreed, that was very nice.
Oh and the movie cracked me up
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Post by nondescript spice on Dec 8, 2012 18:42:39 GMT -5
i know. you should see the whole thing, yikes. i was dying to ask bill about it, but my dad always warned me not to. not much going on today - but i did take this picture on my walk earlier - i know it isn't that great a shot, but it was as close as i could get without trespassing. it's a fake santa standing on a porch, quite possibly the creepiest looking santa i've seen in person yet. wouldn't that just creep you out? i wonder if they plan on leaving him there, or if he's just hanging out in that spot until they find a place for him, because i saw no other decorations about. *shudder*
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Post by nondescript spice on Dec 8, 2012 20:18:18 GMT -5
i realized earlier that today is that depressing anniversary of the death of john lennon. it's so hard to believe it was 32 years ago today. i'm sure those of us who were old enough to remember his tragic death remember the whens & wheres of it. i was 13 and sitting at the kitchen table, eating a bowl of cereal before heading off to school. we had a little black and white tv in the kitchen, and it came over the news about his death. i just felt numb. my mom stood stock still in the middle of the kitchen and we just stared dumbly at the tv. my sister and her friends, who were in high school, took it the hardest, along with my aunt, who was a huge beatle fan. i don't think it mattered if you were a beatle fan, a lennon fan or a fan of anything for that news to affect you. it was just such a brutal and horrible way for a man to die that had spoken so passionately and sanely about peace. but december 8th is also the day we were given someone i have always highly regarded - filmmaker george mèliès, born 151 years ago today. i absolutely fell in love with mèliès shortly after i discovered chaplin. his use of special effects are still marveled over today and i adored his imagination and creativity. i know he is known for a trip to the moon, but my favorite short film from him will always be the black imp, from 1905. it's about a poor sap who rents a room for the night, only to have a very pitch-like devil come in and wreck it. i really wish i had known of him back when i was still getting stoned. would have been a HOOT. he made dozens of beautiful little films. aside from his talent in special camera tricks, he had some of the most dazzling and beautiful sets and themes, many in color. i can waste SO much time watching his work on youtube. i know this has nothing to do with either mèliès or john lennon, but this seems as good a place as any to put it - whenever i watch mèliès, i always pull up this gem from thomas edison - dream of a rarebit fiend from 1906. it is one of the most trippiest silent films i have ever seen. it's just about a guy who is shown to be an absolute disgusting glutton in the first few minutes of the movie, and it's near lsd-like effect on him as he tries to sleep it off. worth the watch.
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Post by nondescript spice on Dec 9, 2012 12:51:08 GMT -5
i didn't realize until just a few minutes ago that december 8th is also the birthday of one of my all time favorite musicians, jimmy smith, born in 1925, though some say it was '28. he died in 2005. having a bad day? listen to this. he is known as a jazz organist, but he was very bluesy and a master on the hammond organ. love his music. it puts me in mind of the smoky jazz clubs of the '50's. like this - lol - psyche! that was just gratuitous for the nerds - love r2 on the skins. more like this, with ella.
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Post by Mighty Jack on Dec 11, 2012 1:59:55 GMT -5
Miss you John - I'll never forget that terrible day, felt like someone punched me in the gut and stole the breath from my lungs.
And I adore George Mèliès - the Black Imp is brilliant. Amazing how he could hold interest even with just a single set and a stationary camera.
I've never seen the other video. Thanks for sharing.
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Post by nondescript spice on Dec 20, 2012 13:30:49 GMT -5
spice's favorite christmas movies/specials extravaganza, part Ieven as i write this, i am listening to the hated chipmunk christmas song - the one everyone professes to hate, but we hear it 100 times every season anyway. this song makes me want to do violent things....merry christmas! do you remember when you were a kid, if you are as old as me, when you only got one shot to watch rudolph or t he charlie brown christmas? it's cool they show them a few times every holiday season now, and of course if you own them on dvd you can watch them whenever you flippin' want to. i used to look forward to rudolph the red-nosed reindeer almost as much as i did christmas morning. i grew up watching it - i still try to catch it every year and watched it just last week, i think. of course i catch myself riffing it more than really enjoying it now. kinda makes me wish mike, kevin and bill would take a shot at it. why was santa such a dick in this special? i noticed that right from the beginning how crabby he was and it always bugged me. he didn't get jolly until rudolph graciously agreed to save his ass that fateful christmas eve. from the moment he walked in and saw rudolph's nose for the first time, he came off like a real d-bag. who wants santa telling you to hide who you really are? rudolph, the persecuted maybe santa just was covering up guilt - he had been dumping toxic chemicals in the water for years and rudolph was the first mutant evidence of it. nice going, claus, if that is your real name - wait a minute.... kringle??then of course, there was hermey. the uh... fancy elf who wanted to be a dentist. not that there's anything wrong with that. he was at least a stand up guy. quit on his jerk boss right before christmas and never tried to hide who he was for anyone. now that's real elf pride. and the narrator, who kind of looked like what i imagine colonel sanders would look like as a snowman. burl ives really cleaned up on the holly jolly christmas song, though. i hear it a billion times every christmas. when i was in my 20's, my best friend and i got drunk while watching rudolph and we got totally caught up on the charlie in the box from misfit island. to this day i can imitate his voice almost perfectly. he was my favorite. but it made me wonder - why didn't santa know about these toys before? if that lion could fly, why the hell didn't he drop in on santa and fill him in? and tell me this - what, exactly, was wrong with the doll? she didn't have any imperfections that came up in the song or anything. what was her deal? btw, since i was five i have wanted that spotted elephant. or the squirt gun that shoots jam - that would be awesome for breakfast. then there was this guy. he must have had super hero vision to be able to spot the tiny glow of rudoph's tiny nose all over the north pole. i liked how docile he became after hermey relieved him of his teeth. couldn't he still squash any of them in a fit of rage? a dark thought for a little kid, but i still thought about it. i always tuned in for frosty, though it isn't one of my favorites. it's a better story suited for the song, not a whole show. first of all, there was that creepy magician - who was just... creepy. the rabbit didn't make it better for me. and i loved how little karen was cold - well, of course she was - who sends their kid out in winter weather in a little mini dress? and why couldn't frosty dump karen in the greenhouse and wait outside? still, all's well that ends well. santa shows up with a quick explanation frosty forgot to mention about how he's made of christmas snow, so he'll be back to make a second show where he gets married (never watched that one). favorite frosty epiphany - when you notice those two little boys look a lot like rod and todd flanders. whoooaaa...the acid just kicked in...
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Post by Crowfan on Dec 20, 2012 19:31:41 GMT -5
All these Christmas specials have me remembering what I watched as a kid.
There was Charlie Brown Christmas, of course, which is still watched every year. But there was one show, I forget the title, maybe someone can help. It was a live action thing where all I can remember is Rudolf and two elves left the North Pole and Rudolf got sick because it was too hot. And that's all I remember. Hope I'm not making that up.
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Post by nondescript spice on Dec 20, 2012 20:36:04 GMT -5
spice's favorite christmas movies/specials extravaganza, part 2i do believe that was this one - it wasn't rudolph, but vixen. i could be wrong, because i haven't paid close attention to the story of this one in a while. when i was a kid, this one always felt like the generic version of rudolph. i rather liked the heat & snow miser brothers. the main reason i tune into YWASC now is because of this: i noticed that a few years ago and now i love to catch that part, stupid as it is. i'm so psyched i found that picture. we were talking about the peanuts gang recently in rypc, and i mentioned what they would all be like as adults - charlie brown with his crippling depression, linus's oral fixation issues, lucy's anger management problems, etc. and just a day or two later, i found this - it is definitely NSFW and it helps if you are a fan of louis ck. but it's funny even if you aren't. anyway - i guess the only reason they still show these old christmas specials is to entertain the parents - i wonder if kids think they are lame. i love charlie brown christmas because it was another one of my favorites. i love the music, too. i have a couple of vince guaraldi cd's. it was a pioneer in introducing seasonal depression into the mainstream. charlie brown is always depressed, but more so at christmas. it always makes me wonder why charlie brown hangs out with all those little jerks. they make fun of him, yet then they give him the job as director for their christmas play. they mess with his mind, man! no wonder the kid had issues. even his dog is an a-hole to him. snoopy's commercialism wasn't the first commentary on how christmas is losing its real meaning, but it was the first one to be dog related, so i guess that deserves acknowledgement. then they expect charlie brown to shell out big bucks for a fancy modern tree, like he's made of money, then hand him him his ass over the tree he chooses. what dickweeds! leave it to linus to save the day. he often seems to be the real voice of reason in the gang, though he never really goes out of his way to defend charlie brown. does it feel weird to hear linus quote from the bible in this pc world we live in today? i think that is why i like CBC the most. at least it works and knocks everyone in line, even snoopy. but i'm sure it didn't last through new year's before they were all treating charlie brown like crap again.
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Post by Crowfan on Dec 21, 2012 6:22:56 GMT -5
To quote Charlie Brown when Lucy says "Do you think you have pantaphobia?" Charlie Brown: "What's pantaphobia?" Lucy: "The fear of everything." Charlie Brown: THAT'S IT!!!! Thank you Spice. The Year Without A Santa Claus.
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Post by CBG on Dec 21, 2012 8:02:36 GMT -5
Spectacular write ups, spicey. I didn't realize it 'til I saw you write it, but I, too, looked forward to these specials almost as much as Christmas morning. Thanks. Oh, and I was stationed at Edwards AFB, shooting darts at Sgt Rich Weigens' house the night John was shot. We we're shattered. The reports of the shooter's name we're unclear at first, and were eerily similar to an airman from our squadron who had been recently discharged due to mental "incappacities".
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Post by nondescript spice on Dec 21, 2012 15:35:17 GMT -5
^wow, that had to be weird. it was definitely one of the "where were you" moments of our generation. i still feel a bit of a lump in my throat whenever i hear imagine. it's hard not to. spice's favorite christmas movies/specials extravaganza, part 3these are not in any kind of order, by the way. i'm not doing a countdown. some i like more than others. i just don't care enough to organize them into an official list. because honestly, who would give a rat's ass? still haven't seen the grinch this year. but it is one of the best christmas specials out there, i think. i have never seen the movie. honestly - wtf?? i'm a 45 year old woman and ^ that image scares the hell out of me. i can't imagine what it would be like for a little kid. also, i am NOT a jim carrey fan by any stretch of the imagination, so i have never had any desire to watch it. ^that will always be MY grinch. even as i write this, the radio station is playing you're a mean one, mr. grinch. love it. i loved dr. seuss as a kid - i don't see how any kid couldn't love him. and man, did i want to live in whoville! it looked like such a peaceful place where everyone was goofy looking, but totally happy. no who ever had body images, ever. hell, they didn't even wear pants! maybe it was a commune, but it was one i longed to be a part of. and the toys! the jing tinglers! the flu floopers! the tar tinkers, the gar ginkers and and who hoovers! they all looked awesome to me and much more fun than the stuff i usually got. of course, i know at least one who would prefer this instead. so the grinch is an old crab that is sick of listening to his neighbors, even though they live a good distance away. i can kinda dig that - my neighbors drive me crazy and they live much closer. like any normal person, i loved max and still do. and i'm definitely not a fan of yappy dogs. but didn't you feel bad for him, before the grinch's heart grew three sizes that christmas morn? i always wondered why max didn't didn't go all cujo on the grinch's ass. maybe he was high you have to hand it to the grinch - once he decides how to steal christmas, he doesn't waste any time. makes the suit, loads the sleigh with hundreds of sacks he just happens to have on hand (doesn't that bother you??) ties the piece of wood to poor max's noggin and they set off. i love the part where you see the grinch actually stealing it all - even the last can of who hash. makes me wonder what the street value of who hash is. maybe that's why max looked so out of it up there ^^. and little cindy lou who, who was no more than two. no human could ever be duplicated in in film to be as insanely cute as she was. or no contest. btw - ^this is what little cindy lou who looks like now. but then the grinch gets the message - gets an enlarged heart, saves his dog, gets bulked up like jack lalanne and saves christmas. i love how the who's open up like a gate when the grinch makes it to whoville, to let him in. i always think of the who's at the very end of that long ass table, waiting on their roast beast. poor hungry who's. all my life i have referred to roast beef as roast beast, even when i was a waitress. and do you ever wonder - did the grinch stay nice after christmas? that used to trouble me when i was a kid. everyone always associates pissy people with the grinch - but if he became nice, shouldn't we lay off him? just lay off!? which answers the original question, yes, i can over think ANYTHING.
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