Andy Samberg as "Groo the Wanderer"

I am going to be the first to say it here and say it now. If Sergio Aragones does get a green light to do a live-action "Groo" feature, my choice for the role of Groo would be "Saturday Night Live's" Andy Samberg.

If this was a few years ago, I'd probably say Brendan Fraser, but Samberg looks the part and could most certainly ACT the part.

People have suggested to Sergio, Will Farrell for the role, for which Sergio has vetoed vehemently, so at least Sergio has some taste (Actually he has a lot, being one of my favorite artists of all time).

As far as I know, no live-action film is being planned and a CGI animated version is, but as far as who is playing Groo, I don't know...

172!

Here I go again. Another peak day on my blog!!! Also, January 2011 is now the highest read month ever on my blog. Thank you again!

Apparently 172A.D. was a Leap Year for those who didn't know. I didn't.

Now back to your regularly scheduled blog entries...

Pee-Wee Herman

On yesterday's post, I mentioned my dislike for Milton Berle. A couple of people mentioned Pee-Wee Herman (aka Paul Reubens). I have always been a fan of Reubens even when he isn't Pee-Wee. I would never class him in the same league as Milton Berle.

If you want to know why, just take a look at his non-Pee-Wee work for "Murphy Brown" or "Mystery Men". He's just a funny guy.

Too bad he got arrested for playing with himself in a porno theater in Florida that one time. I think it's because everyone thinks Pee-Wee is just for kids. WRONG!!! People forget that Pee-Wee appeared in Cheech and Chong's "Next Movie" (1980) and "Nice Dreams" (1981). In the latter one, he's even snorting cocaine!!! And, "The Pee-Wee Herman Show" (1980) was quite adult in nature, before it was tamed down to become "Pee-Wee's Playhouse" (1986-1990).

The only really lame Pee-Wee project has got to be "Big Top Pee-Wee" (1988), but even that movie has it's moments. It's not really Pee-Wee's fault; just a bad script. It also failed because "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure" (1985) was soooo good!

Most recently Pee-Wee appeared in a video with Andy Samberg on "Saturday Night Live" on January 15, 2011. Although he looked a bit older, it was the same old Pee-Wee as far as I'm concerned and I'm glad.

Milton Berle

Does anyone really like Milton Berle? I tend to have an aversion to comedians that pretty much say, "Look at me! I'm funny! Why aren't you laughing already?"

The funny thing is I can kind of stand Jerry Lewis, yet he has a tendency to overdo it as well.

Recent comedians that do this and I don't care much for, yet are really popular, include Will Farrell and sometimes Jim Carrey.

Anyway, here's a salute to Uncle Milty for no better reason that he is surprisingly good in "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" and "Evil Roy Slade".

Prime Rib for $15.95

And now time for a quick commercial as Alfred Hitchcock used to say. I am going to eat at Mike's Cafe in Menlo Park where tonight they are having a prime rib dinner for only $15.95. What a deal!

Anyway, see ya later...

I should write more soon.

In the meantime...drool...

Alex Ross

If you don't think Alex Ross is an excellent artist...TAKE THAT!!!

Hammer Films

I love Hammer Films. I actually got addicted to them prior to seeing most of them. I picked up issue #2 and 3 of Dick Klemensen's long-running fanzine "Little Shoppe of Horrors" back in the early 80s and fell in love with the films. Turns out I had seen numerous of them before as many Hammer Films became mainstays of "Creature Features".

Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing star in many of these, and many feature classic Universal monsters in color updatings such as Dracula, Frankenstein and many others. I was watching "The Two Faces of Dr. Jeckyl" late last night but fell asleep before the end. That's not to say that Hammer Films are necessarily bad, but a lot of them are quite campy. They are the horror equivalent of a Disney film, but they sometimes do contains ample supplies of blood and nudity, especially the films made in the 1970s.

Hammer started out making all types of films, but usually what people now deem as "film noir" in the 30s and 40s and then branched into horror and suspense from the 50s to the 70s.

165!

I know it sounds silly to toot my own horn every time my readership goes up on my blog, but I am happy because it means people are finding me and enjoying what I write. So a sincere thank you to all who read and comment on my work.

I know sometimes I write things that aren't always favorable in everyone's eyes, especially when I get a bug up my butt and have to write something political, so I'll mention my political leanings, here.

Although, I am still registered a Republican, except for in one case, I have never voted Republican for President, because usually I vote for whom I consider the best candidate.

I've always claimed to be "middle of the road", but I have to admit as I get older, my political leanings keep going further and further to the left, which is opposite the norm. Usually, people get more conservative as they get older.

I think mainly because I've felt that the Republican party has failed me time and time again and that the Democrat party has shifted to the right, the way the Republican party was when I was a kid, and the Republican party has gone right off the deep end. I'm sorry if other readers don't feel that way, but it is my opinion.

If I changed my registration, however, I'd probably change it to "non-partisan" rather than "Democrat" or "Independent" or "Green" or "Bull Moose" or "Whig" or whatever, because those parties aren't much good, either.

Anyway, off of soapbox. I'm glad people read my blog, even if they don't always agree...

More Bad Guys I Love

Ok, now let's hear it for Iron Tail, another favorite villain of mine. Not only is it voiced by one of my favorite actors, Vincent Price, he is also in one of my favorite TV specials, "Here Comes Peter Cottontail" (1971).

I especially like the part when Iron Tail takes over April Valley and proclaims that chocolate eggs are out and they will produce "chocolate-covered spiders and octopusses" instead.

The special is on DVD, and is usually aired somewhere during Easter time.

Boris and Natasha

Let's hear it for the bad guys! Whoo-whoop!! I think Boris and Natasha are two of the best villains ever conceived. Of course, I may be impartial because I love Jay Ward stuff.

Ok, there may be a lot meaner villains, etc. but this is just a great team. I don't know where I'm going with this, but I just wanted to write a quick blog and honor 50+ years of Boris and Natasha!

Dr. Don Rose

I've been getting nostalgic lately for Dr. Don Rose, whom I listened to regularly on KFRC radio from about 1976-1984. He was at the station from 1973-1986, and passed away in 2005.

He also did short announcements on KBHK-TV from 1977-1983. I actually have a photocopy of Rose's termination letter in my possession from when I worked there from 1989-1994.

I still have a few Rose broadcasts on tape from 1977 and 1978 when I taped them off the air onto a cassette. The quality varies but it is possibly the only copies in existence of some of this stuff.

For complete Rose shows, there are several Dr. Don broadcasts at http://www.bayarearadio.org/audio/kfrc/dr-don-rose.shtml
which also has much more biographical information than I'm telling here.

Planetarium Shows

I was getting nostalgic for the old planetarium shows they used to show at my old college, De Anza. Well, I am in luck as this Saturday they are going to resume the laser light shows there. Happy day!

I loved this stuff when I was a teenager with Pink Floyd, Beatles, Hendrix, Led Zeppelin and one of my favorites called "I See the Light Show" .

Anyway, it's back with either a "Sgt. Pepper" show or a "Dark Side of the Moon" show.

Hmmmmm, which to choose?

Schedule is here if you're local. Let me know if you want to go see with me...

Planetarium Show Schedule

Best Live Album Ever?

I am relistening to The Who's "Live at Leeds" CD and am convinced that this may be the best live album ever. Now, I am listening to the "Deluxe Edition" mind you that contains many more tracks including the full presentation of "Tommy".

The CD kicks ass! The commentary between the songs is fun especially where Pete Townshend takes a full three minutes to explain the backstory of "A Quick One (While He's Away)". Keith Moon chimes in with some funny comments here and there and the audience seems to eat it all up with relish.

Is this the best live album ever? Let me know what you think. A close contender would be "James Brown Live at the Apollo" for me. Now admittedly, I haven't heard EVERY live album produced but I have heard many, and many really suck. INXS' "Live Baby Live" comes to mind as one that really sucks. The recording is awful and the playing is kinda sorta bad!

Other good ones are "Judy Garland Live at the Carnegie Hall", "Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out" by The Rolling Stones, and even The Who's "Live at the Isle of White" and portions of "Monterey Pop" and "Woodstock" are really, really good.

The funny thing is that typically I hate live albums, because usually they are poorly recorded or poorly played or the group or singer performing has no connection with the audience and seems to be sleep-walking through the material.

So, what are your favorite live albums?

Simpsons Comics

Bongo has published over 175 issues of "Simpsons Comics" and I still get a treat reading everyone of them. A recent issue (#169) had yet another story that was so good that it should have been turned into an animated episode of the series.

In it a new kid named Brad comes to town and decides to impersonate Bart by donning a blonde wig. The feeble disguise literally fools everyone including Homer. Eventually, the ruse is discovered and Bart is reinstated to his rightful position in Springfield. The closing gag features Millhouse with a Bart wig with Homer throwing him out.

One of the frustrating things about reading comic books as much as I have is that after a while it all becomes a blur and you feel that there actually WAS an episode on TV of that story. Then you remember it was only in a comic book and it depresses you because you can't talk to any normal "Simpsons" fan about it because they only watch the TV show, and have never read the comic book.

What other comic book stories have you read that you wish would be made into a TV show or movie? Let me know...

Paul Mooney

Ok, I'm going to do a risky blog today, so if words like "nigger" and "fuck" offend you, just skip this.

Anyway, I LOVE Paul Mooney!!! The more I find out about him, the more I think he's a fantastic comedian. He was a primary writer and friend of Richard Pryor, but has since branched out into his own comedy which is very hardcore, especially if you are a sensitive white person.

The first time I heard or heard of Paul Mooney (no, it's not the late actor Paul Muni), was on a cassette tape of his first album "Race" that was sent to KBHK-TV 44 with a press release. My manager at the time didn't think much of it and gave me the tape saying, "Here, you like comedy".

I played the tape and was fascinated. Here was a black man telling it like it is. The CD is now quite collectible, but Mooney lets nigger freely fly and points out why. It's an uncomfortable word for most people nowadays. What's interesting is that if George Carlin did his "Seven Words You Can't Say On Television" bit, he could probably remove "piss" and "tits" from the list, but you would have to add "nigger" to it, as some people deem it a worse word to say or use than "fuck", nowadays.

Interestingly, they have recently removed "nigger" to some copies of "Huckleberry Finn" in order to make the book more palatable for high schools. They replaced the word with "slave". Will the same fate befall on Mooney's comedy? God, I hope not!

One of my favorite segments is when Mooney complains about The California Raisins and how they started making commercials with Ray Charles and with Michael Jackson. "They've gone nigger fuckin' raisin crazy!" Then he goes on and says about white people, "If they took some marshmallows and put some arms and legs on them and had them sing "Surfin' USA", you wouldn't think it was so goddamned funny!"

It's all harsh, but as Mooney says repeatedly, "It's real".

Mooney did a sequel CD called "Master Piece". While it too is funny, I don't like it as much, but not because of Mooney's comedy per se, it's just that there's a little too much about O.J. Simpson, which makes it very dated today. I think over half the album was on O.J., which admittedly was the biggest news at the time of the albums original release in 1994. He does, however do some great material about Howard Stern and Oprah Winfrey.

Mooney has since switched to DVDs. I haven't seen all of these, admittedly. The most recent item I have seen of Mooney was his "Ask a Black Man" and "Negrodomus" segments on the late, great "Dave Chappelle Show". Though not as funny as his typical material, it's still quite poignant.

Anyway, if you are not squeamish about hearing a different point of view, and can handle vulgar words, check Mooney out.

161!

Another record day on my blog. 161 viewers! Maybe I should write about The Beatles more often.

The Kinks

Another favorite of the might fab four of rock (Beatles, Rolling Stones and The Who being the others) are The Kinks. Similar to the other groups mentioned there have been members that have died and members that have quit.

It's a shame because Ray Davies was recently trying to reform the four original Kinks members, when Peter Quaife died suddenly last June. It was not going to be a true reunion as apparently Peter was going to "phone it in", but it would have been a reunion on disc had it occurred. They did reunite physically (I think in 2007) as the picture above proves, but now, no more.

Dave Davies had a stroke in recent years, but seems to be doing fine, but for some reason really despises brother Dave. I don't know the current status of Mick Avory.

So, at this point, you either have to enjoy the old music or buy Ray's occasional new albums, which are usually surprisingly good, despite the fact that no one buys them in the quantities of old Kinks music.

I suppose The Kinks are the biggest "also rans" in rock history, but they actually have quite a good body of work that stretched out about 30 years. Nothing to sneeze at.

Some Beatles Stuff I Want

Here is a list of some officially unreleased Beatles stuff I would like to see released on CD or DVD:

The Complete Decca Auditions (1962)
The Complete Shea Stadium (1965-1966)
The White Album demos from George's house in Esher (1968)
The Beatles Christmas Album (1970)
A good compilation of Beatles live (1963-1966)
More Anthology Stuff
An Anthology greatest hits
Beatles videos (1962-1970)
Let it Be (film)(1970)
The Beatles cartoons (1965-1969)
Beatles Capitol Versions Vol. 3 with Yesterday and Today (with Butcher cover), Hey Jude, Rarities, A Hard Day's Night
Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl (1977)
Rock 'n' Roll Music (1976)
Love Songs (1977)
A good compilation of Wings live (1972-1979)
James Paul McCartney (1973)
A good compilation of George's Dark Horse Tour (1974-1975)
Ringo (TV Special) (1978)
McCartney's Cold Cuts (1980)
Rock Show (1981)
Paul's Phil Ramone Album (1986)
Ringo's Chips Moman Album (1987)
George's A Portrait of a Leg End (2001)
A comprehensive box set for Paul, George and/or Ringo with outtakes and rarities
John's Live in New York City OR a good compilation of John live (1968-1975)

Cracked.com Zombie Book

I keep promoting the Cracked.com zombie book called "You Might be a Zombie and Other Bad News" since my history of "Cracked" book keeps getting delayed.

What do I think of the Cracked.com book now that it is finally out? It's actually not too bad and quite humorous, but it doesn't remind me of "Cracked" of the past. I suppose that was their intention. It reminds me kind of a cleaned-up "National Lampoon" book.

I would recommend it based on the fact that the writing is quite funny, but if you are just buying it because it says "Cracked" on it, you might be sorely disappointed.

In any case, my two-volume book set "If You're Cracked, You're Happy" is still due out in February or March, unless there are further delays.

Scooby-Doo

I'm currently writing an article on "Scooby-Doo" in the comics for "Back Issue" magazine. It promises to be a good article due to the fact that I got an excellent interview with writer Mark Evanier and plan to do the same with artist Dan Spiegle.

It's always a bit nerve-wracking to do these articles because you aren't always sure how the interview is going to come out or if you are going to get an interview at all. I can now breathe a deep sigh of relief that I will have a good article to turn in in March for a Summer release.

What's amazing is that I have always been able to cobble together something when I have a "Back Issue" article. Probably the hardest article for me was the recent "Korg: 20,000 B.C." article, as I was not a big fan of the show and everyone who worked on the comic book had died.

Fortunately, Pat Boyette's fans came through and they "spoke" for Pat, making it another good article that I have received compliments on. Thanks, everyone!

Jerry Brown

In some sort of bizarre form of time warp, Jerry Brown is to be sworn in as Governor of California again. I suppose it's not as strange as the previous guy actually BEING Governor for almost two terms.

What's interesting is that my mom passed away in 2008. At the time, I threw away a TON of her junk, but I also set aside a lot of stuff to look at again at a later date. Because of working on my "Cracked" and "Beatles" books, I haven't looked at this stuff until very recently, and am still going through it. Some I'm tossing, some I'm keeping and some I'm selling.

Anyway, one of the things I'm keeping and it's ironic that I found it yesterday was an envelope containing an autographed photo of Jerry Brown from the first time he was Governor. The date is 1982, so it was around the time of his end.

Beatles Book Update

Almost done with my Beatles book. I am just finishing the final touches on my editing and then I have to do the index and formatting. No target date specifically since this is my own pet project, but I want to get it done so I can start working on other projects, including another pet project on Disney.

Romper Stomper

So, I watched "Romper Stomper" which was one of Russell Crowe's first films, not first major film, but first film. Boy, was it relentless! If violence with Nazi skinheads beating up Asian citizens is your cup of tea, then I highly recommend this film.

It kind of doesn't make sense in places, but hey it was a big hit in Australia upon release.

Afterwards, it left a bad taste in my mouth, so I had to follow it up with Gene Kelly in "Brigadoon".

This is my last blog of the year! Thanks for reading. There will be much more in 2011!

I Know I know...

I'm supposed to write a bunch more, but my regular 9-5 job is keeping me away. Here's a goofy cartoon that I thought was funny to keep your interest in the meantime.

Money

Why don't I ever have any money? It depresses me. I can't write...

Albert Brooks

I suppose Albert Brooks is an acquired taste due to his movie persona which is kind of an asshole curmudgeon type who doesn't really listen to anyone and over reacts to situations that normally could be calmly solved. Basically, he is irrational. His on-screen character is similar to that of Larry David's on "Curb Your Enthusiasm".

I like all of Brooks-directed films, but probably like "The Muse" or "Lost in America" the best; "Modern Romance" being the worst.

Brooks is also a funny comedian who issued two fantastic comedy albums in the 1970s: "Music Minus One" and "A Star is Bought".

Brooks also made memorable appearances on Johnny Carson's "Tonight Show". Two particular favorites are on DVD. The one where Brooks has a conversation with a Speak 'n' Spell and the other where he has the celebrity imitator kit where he uses common items like pepper and hot potatoes to imitate celebrities such as Burt Lancaster and Curly from the Three Stooges.

Brooks hasn't made a film in awhile, the last being "Searching for Comedy in a Muslim World", which was a good title, but not an accurate title for what the film ended up being, and as a result was a tremendous flop. I liked it, but it's not the type of film designed to sway new fans. You have to already be a fan of the Brooks cult to like this one.

Of course, Brooks has done things that most people have probably seen, most notably onscreen appearances in "Taxi Driver" and "Broadcast News" and doing voiceovers for "The Simpsons" and "Finding Nemo".

His next film is supposed to be called "Drive", but Brooks is only acting in it. I look forward to his next writing and directing effort.

Pink Floyd

Ok, let's get a bit lighter. Occasionally, I will put a political blog entry up because something is sticking in my craw about something. In actuality, most of the time I'm pretty middle-of-the-road when it comes to my political leanings and since this blog is called "Fun Ideas", most political stuff isn't full of "Fun Ideas"...

So, on to Pink Floyd. I love Pink Floyd, but will have to admit, they are a hard group to like all of their stuff. There are some Syd Barrett purists who think Floyd did nothing of interest after they booted the mentally-ailing Barrett out of their act in 1968.

There are some who say that Floyd did nothing until "Dark Side of the Moon" (1973) and maybe "Meddle" (1971) prior to that.

There are some who say that Floyd did nothing after Roger Waters left (1983).

I tend to like all of their eras finding the 1968-1971 era a little bit hard to take with albums like "More", "Umma Gumma", "Obscured by Clouds" and "Atom Heart Mother". I'll have to admit I haven't fully explored these albums and compilations like "Echoes" did nothing to change those opinions.

I'm also not a big fan of "The Final Cut" (1983), Waters' final Floyd album.

Overall, I respect Floyd for their diversity and as such, there are many avenues for the casual fan to go with psychedelia, progressive rock and even disco!

Above is the Pink Floyd Back Catalog...get it??? Har-har, hardy har-har...

Afghanistan War

So I watch these shows like "Meet the Press", "Face the Nation" and "This Week" and realize that no one says the obvious when it comes to the Afghanistan War or any war.

On "Meet the Press", they said that the White House has stated that we are not going to start ending the war until July 2011 and then we will be finished ending the war in 2014.

So, they go around the round table and everyone says their two cents, but no one says this point: Any President wanting to seek re-election would not in his right mind end a war during his first term.

Hmmm, let's see, Bush, Jr. didn't, but Bush, Sr. did. Guess who got two terms. Johnson and Nixon didn't end a war, but Ford did. Guess who got two terms and who didn't (even if they didn't complete them).

Roosevelt didn't end a war and only his death kept him from serving out his fourth term!

Truman didn't end a war and got re-elected.

And so on and so forth. Keep checking throughout US history.

Now, I still like Obama. I'm not one of these people who think he is or should be a miracle worker, nor do I think he's a Socialist, destined to ruin our country and way of life. He's just a guy and he's just kinda there. Mainly, he's not Bush, Jr., our worst President ever, and ANYONE following him would have had a thankless job, even McCain.

If you really look at Obama, he isn't really doing anything. He tackles issues that aren't really important. If the war was all that important to end especially since ending it would instantly help our economy, he could do it today, but he wants to get re-elected.

If he didn't want to get re-elected, he would end the war, raise our taxes and do a lot of other aggressive stuff in order to get our economy back in shape. But he does, so we'll flounder for at least another three or four more years...

And we will anyway. I don't care who is in the office. If McCain was in there, he'd be doing the SAME THING. If Palin got in there, she'd be doing the SAME THING. If Hilary got in there, she'd be doing the SAME THING.

Their goal is re-election. Always. I think Ford was the last President who really didn't care if he was re-elected, so he pardoned Nixon and ended the Viet Nam War, and when he debated Carter, he was kind of like Chevy Chase, being kind of a bumbler, because he really didn't want to be there. He was appointed and needed to clean things up and fast.

Bush, Sr., just made a mistake and should have had his war last past his first term. Ooops!!!

Obama wants to clean things up and fast, but he cannot and will not do it until January 20, 2013 and later....

It's not his fault, he just wants to get re-elected. Is that so wrong? It probably is, but it is the nature of politics and Obama is one of the best politicians out there. That's not necessarily a compliment.

I Love The Who, Too

Ok, I just wrote about Steely Dan. Now, it's time to write about one of my other favorite groups, The Who.

I always kind of liked songs by them, but what really got me hooked was this kid in high school who absolutely LOVED, LOVED, LOVED them. This was in the early 80s when The Who did a couple albums with Kenney Jones as drummer after Keith Moon passed away.

This friend didn't care too much about their current stuff but was always playing "Who's Next" and "Tommy" and "Quadrophenia".

I love those albums too, but also love "Who Are You", "The Who by Numbers" and "The Who Sell Out".

Timeless and fun stuff, and I'm glad Daltrey and Townshend still tour (see photo).

Another "Cracked" Update

If You're Cracked, You're Happy UPDATE: BearManor has told me that my book is so large (800 pages), that it is going to be split into two volumes! Volume 1 will contain the Bob Sproul years (1958-1985). Volume 2 will be everything else.

It is still scheduled to be released in February or March 2011. Time will tell. In the meantime, Cracked.com's Zombie book comes out next Tuesday.

Steely Dan

Has Steely Dan ever put out a bum track? They have a better track record than The Beatles. Maybe some tracks on "Countdown to Ecstacy" are a bit weak, but overall, I enjoy every Steely Dan album from "Can't Buy a Thrill" to "Everything Must Go". Even the live album and the Donald Fagan and Walter Becker solo albums are good. Kind of surprising in the latter case as Becker isn't especially known for his singing abilities, but he has taken lead vocal on occasion.

I have the box set which has everything they released from 1972-1980, minus their first single "Dallas"/"Sail the Waterway". They claim the two tracks are "stinko" but it would have been nice to give the nod to them for the box set, anyway. I had to download the two songs illegally as stock or promotional copies of the original 45 are very difficult to find. The songs, in my opinion, aren't that bad. They just don't sound like classic Steely Dan.

In any case, I welcome anything new from this duo, together or separate, but judging from the recent release pace, we may be in for a long wait, with the last group album being in 2003; Becker's last solo in 2008 (after a 14-year gap); and Fagan's last solo in 2006. However, Fagan's next album is rumored for 2011, so we'll see.

Writer's Block 4

I was going to write about beliefs, but then I thought better of it. I'd rather not spout off my beliefs to the entire world. So, here we go again with another "Writer's Block" until I think of something else I want to write about...

Tattoos

I have had many friends and girlfriends over the years that have had tattoos and always find them cool for the most part. Some of my friends have overdone it, but others have some classy tats that are neat to look at.

Now, while I find the prospect of having a tattoo kind of fascinating and intriguing, the actual execution and results leave a lot to be desired for me to go ahead and get one on myself.

Some may claim that I am afraid of needles or pain, but the reality is and I've said this many times before, "I can't think of anything that I'd want to have so permanent on my body."

People have said, "You should get Casper!" I suppose I should, but I feel I have more fun looking at the Casper tattoo on Casper Van Diem, because it looks better on him, too. I think it would look dorky on me. (Incidentally, this is not Van Diem's tattoo pictured above. It's just a random Casper tattoo I found on the Internet.)

And ultimately, that's how I feel about tattoos. I like them on you and not on me...

Same thing for piercings...

Finally! Some New Old Disney DVD Releases

I'm really trying to get a complete set of EVERY film Disney released in his lifetime and up through 1984. There are still a few films left, but the Disney Movie Club has come through again and has finally released "The Sword and the Rose" (1953) and "Almost Angels" (1962) to DVD.

For those keeping tabs, here are the remaining U.S. theatrical Disney films not released on DVD:

1. Song of the South (1946) (Of course you can get bootlegs of this.)
2. The Littlest Outlaw (1955)
3. Westward Ho! The Wagons (1956)
4. The Light in the Forest (1958) (There is a DVD released by Disney Educational Products (see image above), but it is an edited version of the film with redone titles.)
5. The Sign of Zorro (1960) (The entire "Zorro" TV series has been released to DVD, so this release is no longer necessary.)
6. Emil and the Detectives (1964)
7. Run, Cougar, Run (1972)
8. Charley and the Angel (1973)
9. The Best of Disney's True-Life Adventures (1975) (All of the original True-Life Adventures have been released to DVD, so this release is no longer necessary.)
10. Amy (1981)
11. Trenchcoat (1983)
12. Tiger Town (1984)

I'm not counting films that actually did have a theatrical release elsewhere or shorts, but things like "The Prince and the Pauper" (1962) still haven't been released, either. What's keepin' you, Disney?

Capitol Records

Is Capitol Records the best-selling record label of all time? I'm not completely sure, but I can guess that it is based on the star roster they have and have had. Capitol has The Beatles, The Beach Boys, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Stan Freberg, Bozo the Clown, Pink Floyd, Glen Campbell, Merle Haggard, Buck Owens, and in recent years, people like Katy Perry.

Sure they've had their flop acts as every label has, but when one thinks of say RCA, can you really think of anyone other than Elvis? Ok, so they had the Eurythmics, Jefferson Airplane and Hall & Oates, but you get the idea.

Elvis is about the only MAJOR player of the last century that Capitol didn't have.

Columbia is a good runner up, too. They've had Bob Dylan, Michael Jackson, Cheap Trick, Johnny Mathis, Tony Bennett, Billy Joel, etc., but I still contend that Capitol had more popular artists and a greater variety of popular artists than any of the other major labels.

Disneyland: Secrets, Stories and Magic

I got a DVD recently that I somehow actually missed the first time around, and I'm glad I found it. It's called "Disneyland: Secrets, Stories and Magic". It was part of the "Walt Disney Treasures" series.

I had been getting every "Treasures" tin, but it got to the point where it seemed like Leonard Maltin was repeating himself or delving too deeply into the "Mickey Mouse Club", so I passed on tins like "Spin and Marty" and "The Hardy Boys" because I wasn't all that interested in those old serials that Maltin seems to be enthralled with.

I would rather have a second tin of "Walt Disney Rarities" featuring the cartoons they missed on the first volume, or a "Treasures" edition of "Song of the South" or more on stuff that happened after Disney died like "The Mouse Factory" or something.

In any case, I passed on "Secrets, Stories and Magic", because I was led to believe that there was nothing really new, except for a new documentary that would be all schmaltzy about Disney's 50th Anniversary. I happened to see the tin for $11 recently and decided to take a chance on it.

I was thrilled. Maltin uses this tin to finish off the Disneyland TV shows that focused on Disneyland that weren't released in the previous volumes (at least the ones that aired or were produced in Disney's lifetime).

There's even a "People and Places" documentary on Disneyland that I didn't know even existed. If you want to see Disneyland prior to the Matterhorn, Monorail and submarines, this is the show to see.

The tin is now out of print and actually commands a much higher price on Amazon, but if you can find one at all and are really interested in Disneyland, then it's worth it.

And, if you're lucky, like I was, your set will still have the Disneyland ticket book reproduction!

Frank Zappa at 70

Frank Zappa was born and died in the month of December. This year, the mighty Frank would have been or should have been 70 years old. My dad is 72 and he's fine, so I miss Frank.

I suppose he shouldn't have subsisted on a diet of coffee and cigarettes, but no matter, it was that creative genius and mind that was and is still amazing. Of course, he's most noted for his more scatological-type song and lyric, but he was well-versed in numerous forms including Classical, Avante Garde, Pop, Rock, Country, Jazz, etc.

And unlike some of Zappa's contemporaries that dabbled in other genres of music like Paul McCartney, Zappa really embraced these forms and made them his own and effortlessly. For me, McCartney sometimes seems awkward when he's doing Classical work, while Zappa was always completely at ease.

What's also kinda sad is that they make this big deal that it would have been John Lennon's 70th birthday, but apart from one magazine tribute I saw, little has been mentioned about Zappa's 70th. It probably has to do more with how these men died, than the unique talents they both possessed.

And they certainly worked together, back in 1971. The results appear on Lennon's "Some Time in New York City" and on Zappa's "Playground Psychotics".

At least son Dweezil keeps the torch lit high for his father and is continuing to tour around with his excellent "Zappa Plays Zappa" show. A definite must-see if you love Zappa's music...and even if you don't.

Frank Zappa: December 21, 1940 - December 4, 1993

It Was My Birthday Yesterday

and I received a gift of a nice pen wrapped in a "Casper" comic book!! How dare they. Anyway, I had a nice lunch and a nice dinner with friends.

Walt Disney

Although it is my birthday today, I always am reminded that this is also the day that Walt Disney left us. He died early in the morning on December 15, 1966, and I was born in the afternoon.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, reincarnation...If that were true, why am I not running Disney?

Anyway, it is the 44th anniversary of Walt Disney's death and my 44th birthday. What's amazing to me is that Disney had so many projects in the hopper that it wasn't until the 80s when virtually all of them were finally realized.

Walt was behind things like Space Mountain, "The Aristocats", "Bedknobs and Broomsticks", even "Beauty and the Beast".

Craig Yoe Archie Book

Although I pretty much regularly plug Craig Yoe's books here on this blog, I'm particularly excited about this upcoming volume for two reasons. Finally, someone is taking the care to tell the Archie story correctly with in-depth interviews, rare drawings and a sort of "warts and all" attitude, meaning it is not your typical superficial overview like more Archie history books have been.

The second reason is that yours truly has helped out securing some of the interviews of some of the more difficult people to get into contact with including Harry Lucey's daughter and Bill Vigoda's niece. And, I also helped with the material about Archie in the media such as the hit musical group and the various TV and film productions that Archie has appeared in over the years.

It's still Yoe's book, but I was and am glad to be a part of it. The book should be released by Summer 2011.

Another Craig Yoe Book You May Not Know About

If you are a fan of the Craig Yoe Book of the Month Club, there may be one book that eluded your purchasing. It is called "The Official Fart Book" and comes complete with a working miniature whoopie cushion.

"Fart" was typically not distributed to comic book stores as this has little to do with comic books other than the fact that whoopie cushions have been offered for sale in comic book ad pages and that comic book readers fart.

It's has the typical hallmarks and charms of a good Craig Yoe read complete with the requisite humor and weirdness. So if you are tired of reading about Felix or Krazy Kat or Barney Google or Milt Gross or Frankenstein, this may be the book for you...

New "Richie Rich" Comic to Debut in May 2011

After the middling success of last year's "Casper and the Spectrals", APE Entertainment will now take a stab at doing a new version of "Richie Rich" with the premier issue being the one released on Free Comic Book Day.

I'm somewhat excited about this. Purists will holler, but I see no problem in redesigning the classic Warren Kremer and Steve Muffatti designs to make them more contemporary. God knows they redesign Archie like every week, making him look modern one week, more like Dan DeCarlo's art another, and then manga the next.

The critical element are the stories, so I am looking forward to this and see if they can pull it off.

Keep 'em Coming

I'm sorry movie studios, I like old films. I'm talking about OLD films, not ones made in the 90s. I mean stuff from the 30s, 40s and 50s. Can't the movie studios just release EVERYTHING in their vaults? What is so hard about that? I don't need all the fancy packaging or extras. I just want access to every film ever released by a major studio in a reasonably nice looking and uncut version. It doesn't mean that I will buy it, but it would be nice TO BE ABLE to buy crazy films like "Once Upon a Horse" or "The Horn Blows at Midnight" or "Where Do We Go From Here?" without SEARCHING for it or buying a bootleg or an old tape.

And for more popular things, quit piece-mealing out the old "Looney Tunes" and release all 1000 of the furshlugginer things! Geez, I'll be 90 before they'll all be released to video.

At this point, I don't even need them on DVD. I'll take digital downloads. And make these things affordable. While I like attempts like Warner Archives, Universal Vault and others, they always seem to charge $20 for a bare bones version. They should be $10 or less as there are no middlemen of getting things distributed to a store anymore, and like I said, fancy packaging is not necessary. Just a plain white sleeve is fine.

I just discovered that Universal HAS issued a six-movie set of old Bing Crosby films for about $40 retail. This means each film is about $6 each AND it's in the stores with nice packaging, so I KNOW that they can release this stuff cheaper and in bulk. I'm so glad because I can finally get a legitimate copy of "Mississippi" starring Crosby and W.C. Fields!!

So, movie studios, wake up and release yer shit!!!

Old Formats

I am kind of annoyed. I have some good stuff taped off the air on a number of Beta tapes that I want to transfer to DVD, but I no longer have a working Beta player. I suppose I could get the player fixed, but the maddening thing is that when new formats come out, it is never easy to transfer to new formats.

Remember how it took forever (and still takes some time) to transfer vinyl albums and audio cassettes to CD, and when CDs first came out, there was no way to transfer at all without spending like $40,000 for a CD burner.

Fortunately prices have come down, but the annoying thing is that you have to have a player for the original format, so I have a turntable, an audio cassette player, a Beta machine, a VHS machine, a Super 8 and a 16mm projector, a DVD player and more.

I don't have a Umatic 3/4" tape player, but I need one and I don't have a reel-to-reel player anymore (don't really need that).

I have a video disc player which is the most useless piece of junk (I'm not referring to the good 12" laser disc player from years back. This one actually played videos with a needle like a turntable!)

I never got into 8-track, but many of my friends did, nor have I gotten into Blu-Ray....yet....

Anyway, if anyone has a working Beta player and is somewhat local to the San Francisco Bay Area, please let me know...

Movie Remakes

I had a lengthy discussion about movie remakes and wanted to say my two cents worth here about when a movie remake should be made and when it shouldn't.

First of all, the overall rule of thumb should be on movie remakes is that it should be an improvement in all ways (not just special effects) over the original. It used to be easier, when films transitioned from silent to sound and black and white to color. These breakthroughs somewhat necessitated a remake, otherwise a film like "The Wizard of Oz" (1939) may not have been made. In this case, the previous films were quite inferior and in most cases black and white and silent.

"The Wizard of Oz" is a classic and it is not one that should be remade. Sequels may be fine, but to remake the original at this point would be a risky proposition. As far as sequels go, they should remain in the vein of what was successful. For example, while "Return to Oz" (1985) had elements of what was good, but they added this creepy backstory of Dorothy going through shock therapy.

That is one of my complaints about most remakes, film makers seem to want to tell us the origins of everything. "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" (1966) was an excellent TV special based on the 1957 book by Dr. Seuss. When they made the Jim Carrey "Grinch" movie (2000), they were stretching the half-hour show into a 90-minute feature by adding a useless backstory as to how and why the Grinch became bad. I liked it before, where this information was shrouded in mystery.

Like the three recent "Star Wars" films. I don't care why or how Darth Vader came into power or why he was evil. He just was. Now, we have to contend with three movie that show Vader (to borrow from Patton Oswalt) "as a kid".

The Coen Brothers (two of my favorite filmmakers) are currently doing a remake of "True Grit" (2010). Usually, I balk at this because the John Wayne one, although dated and a bit superficial is fine. But, I trust the Coens to make a different type of film. In this case, I welcome a remake. Now if it sucks, I'll be a bit disappointed like I was with their version of "The Ladykillers". I must admit that many people never saw the original, so if you were that way, you probably liked the film better. It's just that Tom Hanks is no Alec Guinness.

Many remakes suck because all they do is take the title of something good and then make an awful movie with no connection to the source material. "The Avengers" (1998), "The Spirit" (2008) , "The Shadow" (1994) and "The Wild Wild West" (1999) come to mind.

I like it better when movies are remakes in disguise. That way, when they blow it, it doesn't seem to be so glaring. Good examples of good remakes this way are "West Side Story" (1961) ("Romeo and Juliet") and "Clueless" (1995) ("Emma").

Recently, I was watching "A Song is Born" (1948) with Danny Kaye. As I was watching I felt I had seen this before and indeed I had. It was previously made as "Ball of Fire" (1941) with Gary Cooper. This is the way they SHOULD do remakes.

Above all else, I always say this. If you don't want to see a remake of your favorite film, just don't go see it. Hollywood will continue to make them as long as there's an audience.

John Lennon 1940-1980

Joe Rogan

Joe Rogan is a mixed bag. Most people know him as the host of "Fear Factor", but he actually is a stand-up comedian. Some of his comedy is pretty good, but a lot of times he just rants with the audience and isn't as funny consistently as he could be or should be.

To date, Rogan has released three albums and I tend to like the first and third ones best.

Patton Oswalt

I love getting into new comedians that I have never heard before. A friend of mine introduced me to Patton by playing one of his CDs in his car. He did a story about the "Star Wars" prequels that was quite funny.

Recently, I got another of his CDs and almost wet my pants while driving as Patton described slowing his "Chipmunks" records down on the turntable so that The Chipmunks sounded like three monotone guys and David Seville sounded like a demon from hell.

Not only did I do the same thing as a kid, but Patton's verbal recreation of how it sounded was priceless. I was dying.

Anyway, very much worth checking out. I only have two of his (I believe) three CDs, but plan to get them all.

San Jose Super Toy Show

I was going to plug that I was going to be at the San Jose Super Toy Show yesterday, but I ran out of time. Anyway, the show went well and instead of helping Lee and plugging my books like I usually do, this time I set it up like a garage sale and sold some choice goodies out of my collection for cheap. EVERYTHING was $2.00.

By the end of the day, EVERYTHING was $1.00.

Some people quibbled that I might have priced everything too low, but I didn't want to lug it home. As it was, I STILL had to lug home about half of what I brought and cleared about $300, which I promptly used to make a payment to get my new (used) car. (Still have a few payments to go.)

Anyway, glad to see and talk to the people I did and also glad to give people a chance to get some good items for cheap.

Yay! New Black Eyed Peas!!!

Here it is! I must buy! These guys are the best band currently recording. I can't wait to get. Buy it, too! You will see...

Ok, Here's the "Tweety and Sylvester" Cover

If anyone cares...

This is the DVD that has 15 PREVIOUSLY RELEASED "Looney Tunes". Such a disappointment. I would have purchased this if they were all brand new. Hear me, Warner Bros.? Hear me?

"Foghorn Leghorn"...They Dood it Right!...Almost

After the disappointing releases of the recent "Bugs Bunny" and "Daffy Duck" DVDs, mainly due to the masking to make the DVDs wide screen, Warner Bros. makes amends on their new "Foghorn Leghorn" by giving viewers a choice of full screen or wide screen. Maybe they will reissue the two previous DVDs with this choice.

The "almost" has to do with the fact that these new DVDs are supposed to not double-dip, but this one does with one cartoon. Not too bad, but there is a fourth collection featuring "Tweety and Sylvester" and ALL 15 are double-dips. Sucks.

Anyway, hopefully Warners is listening and will keep issuing not-issued-to-DVD "Looney Tunes".