Gene Wilder films

At last, the last REALLY GOOD Gene Wilder film is on DVD! "The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother". This is easily as funny as Mel Brooks' best work, that it even looks as if Mel snuck in to direct. As it is, it is definitely the best film that Wilder directed, because unfortunately it was all down hill from here. For me, here are Wilder's best films. And no, I did not put "Stir Crazy", while funny, I don't consider it his BEST. It's also my opinion:

The Producers (1968)
Start the Revolution Without Me (1970)
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971)
Blazing Saddles (1974)
Young Frankenstein (1974)
The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother (1975)
Silver Streak (1976)

I met Gene about a year ago and he is a very charming man. As such, I slogged through Gene's lesser efforts with Richard Pryor and Gilda Radner because I like him so much. It's too bad that Gene can't achieve that level of greatness from 1968-1976, but at least we have the movies. Gene is just too mellow nowadays to reprise the manic characters that he used to perform so well in the past, which is fine. He can retire with style and class.

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Regards,

Mark Arnold
http://funideas.home.att.net

Casper's Scare School

I am just writing an early plug for the fifth "Casper" feature film. Most people don't know that there were more than one feature film. That's because the other four have been direct-to-video. In fact, the last one, "Casper's Haunted Christmas" was completely computer-animated. The third one, "Casper Meets Wendy" is notable today for being the first film role for the currently popular Hillary Duff (as Wendy) and in my opinion, the best of the Casper films.

I am looking forward to these films as some of them have material that is better than the original one. The first one gets a bit weighed down by issues regarding "unfinished business" etc.

Here are the Casper films in order of release and my ratings (1 to 4):

Casper - 1995 ***
Casper: A Spirited Beginning - 1997 **
Casper Meets Wendy - 1998 ***1/2
Casper's Haunted Christmas - 2000 **
Casper's Scare School - 2006 (n/a)

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Regards,

Mark Arnold
http://funideas.home.att.net

Oddball Comics Website

My friend, artist/writer Scott Shaw! (Hanna-Barbera, Captain Carrot, Rhino Records, etc.) is known for his Oddball Comics seminars at many comic book conventions. He just started up a new website devoted to the subject at (naturally) www.oddballcomics.com

Funny stuff!! Check it out!

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Regards,

Mark Arnold
http://funideas.home.att.net

Monty Python's Big Red Book

I finally found this furshlugginer book in HARDBACK!! I didn't even know it existed that way. And this book is also cool in that it has the original version of "Bing Tiddle Tiddle Bong" with the REAL advertisements at the bottom of the sheet music that got Python in trouble so that they had to change for all future pressings. (For more information about that and other Python court cases, check out the long out-of-print book "Monty Python: The Case Against".)

Anyway, as D.P. Gumbey might say, "It's back is too hard!"

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Regards,

Mark Arnold
http://funideas.home.att.net

More Beatles

So I lied. The Beatles Box Set of the Capitol albums comes out today on CD, not last week. What I want to know is if there will be a volume 3? If so, I propose mono/stereo discs of "Yesterday and Today" complete with butcher cover (it would be fun to have the paste-over cover as a removable sticker), the US "Revolver", "Sgt. Pepper" and "Magical Mystery Tour". The last two in mono would be great because those two in mono are quite pricey nowadays. My thoughts on volume 4 could be "The Beatles" mono/stereo, "Yellow Submarine" mono/stereo, "Hey Jude" and "Abbey Road". Volume 5 could be "Let it Be", "Rarities", the US "A Hard Day's Night" and "The Beatles Story". Time will tell...

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Regards,

Mark Arnold
http://funideas.home.att.net

"The Journal of Ride Theory" and Disneyland

I will give an unsolicited plug for a great book I just purchased at the APE (Amateur Press Exhibition) yesterday. I met Dan Howland about 10 years ago in San Francisco where he was giving a lecture on Disneyland. Now 10 years later he has compiled the five original issues with some leftover unprinted material in a mammoth paperback called "The Journal of Ride Theory Omnibus". This is a print on demand book and you have to go through www.lulu.com/theory to obtain a copy. Great stuff if you are a fan of Disneyland or theme parks in general.

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Regards,

Mark Arnold
http://funideas.home.att.net

The Frantics

Somebody responded to my blog saying, "Wow, people in the States know who The Frantics are? You just blew my mind." Well yes, thanks to Dr. Demento, who seemed to play "Tai Kwan Leap/Boot to the Head" every week on his syndicated radio show.

Through Demento's CD compilations, I rediscovered that track, plus the tracks "You Were Speeding" and "Last Will and Temperament" (the other variation of "Boot to the Head"). Initially, I thought they were a one-joke act until a friend of mine burned me a CD of their first long out-of-print album "Frantic Times".

Virtually every track was a gem and I was hooked. Recently, I found the "Boot to the Head" CD in a record shop and loved that album too. And now "Frantic Times" is on a CD, which I have on order.

I also found out that Steve Smith was part of the also very funny "Red Green Show" which aired in the San Francisco Bay Area for a number of years on a local PBS station KTEH 54.

I just went to www.thefrantics.com before writing this blog and it says that The Frantics are active again and have a new CD called "Enemies of Reason", which I will be buying shortly when I get some money again.

There is also a "Bootleg" CD of a 2004 concert available and a 3-CD box set coming soon. The best news is The Frantics are performing again. This is great news for someone who never even saw or heard of them the first time around. Guess I'll have to trek up to Canada, unless they decide to tour the US...

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Regards,

Mark Arnold
http://funideas.home.att.net

New Harvey Comics

Could the rumors be true? New Harvey Comics? Casper, Richie Rich, Hot Stuff? Stay tuned to this blog or go to http://thft.home.att.net or subscribe to "The Harveyville Fun Times!" (current issue #63) for more information as it develops...

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Regards,

Mark Arnold
http://funideas.home.att.net

Canadian Stepdancing

You learn something new every day. I found out about Canadian Stepdancing today. There's a hottie named Tiffany Fewster who is apparently really good at it. It seems to be all the rage in Canada, and as usual for things Canadian in this country (US), apart from "SCTV", "Kids in the Hall" and "Red Green", and maybe "The Frantics", it means nothing here. So much so as I never even heard of it, but I am also not a dancer. I at least have heard of clogging, which is almost as obscure. I find it amazing how little we know of our neighbors to the north...and we don't seem to care!!

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Regards,

Mark Arnold
http://funideas.home.att.net

Jack O'Brien and Sad Sack

I was approached by a writer from the Netherlands who was inquiring about Jack O'Brien who did artwork for the longrunning "Sad Sack" title for a number of years. His stories tended to follow the format of Sad Sack getting knocked on the head with some object and then having an extended dream sequence. O'Brien also created "G.I. Juniors" for Harvey and signed his name to it.

Any information that anyone may have will be helpful!

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Regards,

Mark Arnold
http://funideas.home.att.net

The Beatles

I need to get the readership of my blog up for the last day of March, so here goes about The Beatles, my fave group of all time. Next Tuesday, April 4, Capitol will be releasing the second set of Beatles albums onto CD for the first time in the US configurations. This will represent the four LPs that were originally released during 1965: "The Early Beatles", "Help! Original Soundtrack", "Beatles VI" and "Rubber Soul".

The highlight of this set is definitely the US "Rubber Soul", which actually has a more folksy feel than the UK counterpart. Incredibly, I find it more preferable to the UK one as I find songs like "Drive My Car" kind of out of place in comparison to other material on the US version.

Don't get me wrong, I love "Drive My Car", but since I first heard it on the "Yesterday and Today" compilation in the 70s, I have always thought of it as a 1966 tune, more appropriate for "Revolver" than a 1965 tune on "Rubber Soul". Time has allowed me to get used to the UK version of "Rubber Soul" (We've only had 19 years to listen to this version in the US.), but the US version is one of the best "compilations" of mid-60s Beatles music ever to come out if you don't want to consider it The Beatles actual vision.

As far as the other discs go, they are actually very weak in comparison to other earlier and later material, and with good reason. With constant touring, The Beatles well had basically dried up for a time. So all of the material from the UK "Beatles For Sale" and US "Beatles '65" and "Beatles VI" LPs are slightly more weak. That's just being nitpicky as they always seemed to put out great stuff.

People quibble about the US version of "Help!". I may be in the minority, but I enjoy those Ken Thorne instrumentals. I hope that Capitol sees fit to release the United Artist "A Hard Day's Night" soundtrack with its instrumentals intact as well. It makes it seem like a movie soundtrack than just a collection of songs like the UK "Help!" is.

I definitely prefer the UK "Please Please Me" to the US "The Early Beatles", but what can you do? Capitol got the rights back to the early songs and duly released a belated collection that everyone had purchased a zillion times over on Vee-Jay, so I am glad it is here for that reason alone.

Another MUST BUY!

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Regards,

Mark Arnold
http://funideas.home.att.net

New Wave Music

I miss New Wave music. I also wish that certain New Wave artists were easier to find their music without doing illegal downloads (hint, hint, record companies!). The Holy Grail for me now is trying to find a copy of "Love's Taboo" by Cube. It is findable on vinyl, but I want it on CD! Another toughie that I do have is "The Magician" by Secession, but the original album that the song came from is virtually non-existent!

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Regards,

Mark Arnold
http://funideas.home.att.net

The Colossal Show

Whoops! Almost didn't do a blog today. Oh well. As you may or may not know, I am writing an article on Total Television Productions (TTV), the makers of "Underdog" and "Tennessee Tuxedo". One item that has virtually no information about it was issued in 1969 by Gold Key Comics called "The Colossal Show". Was there any animation or other production done on this besides this comic book. It is copywrited to Total Television Productions.

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Regards,

Mark Arnold
http://funideas.home.att.net

Cracked Magazine

"Cracked" magazine supposedly is going to be making a comeback in a magazine more reminiscent of the old "National Lampoon". This may actually be a good thing as "Cracked", even at its peak was never quite as good as "Mad". For those unfamiliar with "Cracked" (they haven't published since 2004) or have forgotten, here is an excellent website that features all of the covers: http://www.millkern.com/deverett/cracked/

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Regards,

Mark Arnold
http://funideas.home.att.net

Total Television Productions: Underdog, King Leonardo, Tennessee Tuxedo

I want to do a history of Total Television Productions. You know: Underdog, King Leonardo, Tennessee Tuxedo. So, if anyone reading this has any input, please let me know. I have my sources, but I am hoping I can come up with something new from someone just reading this, so anything or any leads would be helpful...

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Regards,

Mark Arnold
http://funideas.home.att.net

Protecto the Little Robot Story Arc Ends!

A quick plug to let you know that the first story of "Protecto, the Little Robot" will conclude this Sunday. After that, a new tale will begin. So for those who have seen the cartoon and have been completely confused, now you can read the epic-length adventure in its entirety at http://www.protecto.blogspot.com

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Regards,

Mark Arnold
http://funideas.home.att.net

Allan Sherman Box Set

Ok, back to more serious stuff. After two days of war comments, I want to give you an update on the Allan Sherman box set called "My Son, the Box". In a previous blog, I was happy that Warner Bros. finally saw fit to release the entire back catalog of Allan Sherman's material onto CD. Unfortunately, Rhino Handmade was the releasing label who gave it a limited release of 4000 copies and charged $120 for the 6-CD set. I saw the set at Tower Records retailing for $132!!

Well, after a bit of patience, I was able to secure a new copy of the set from Amazon for just under $100, thanks to my tax refund. Though still pricey, after I played the opening bars of "The Ballad of Harry Lewis" in its CRYSTAL CLARITY, I got goosebumps. So after all of my bitching and moaning, I have to say that the set is definitely worth the investment.

Too bad that they didn't include the "Peter and the Kommissar", but at least that's available elsewhere. Same with the songs Sherman sang when he voiced the Cat in the Hat for the animated special in the early 70s. And the rumored golf jokes album is nowhere to be seen, and methinks he never actually recorded any of the material before his untimely death in 1973.

The box does reveal that there were a few unreleased tracks that still remain that way due to publishing rights, but there's so much rare and unreleased anyway (and again that CRYSTAL CLARITY) makes up for it.

Happy, happy, happy!!! Now, if they could give the same box set treatment for Bob Newhart, Bill Cosby, Steve Martin, The Smothers Brothers, and Jonathan Winters (utilizing rare and unreleased stuff as well as completing the unreleased back catalog), then Rhino Handmade will become my label of choice!

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Regards,

Mark Arnold
http://funideas.home.att.net

More on the War

I know my blog is generally lighthearted, but I am so sick of Bush going on TV seemingly everyday and saying what we're doing in Iraq is a good thing. For those reading this that side with Bush, can you honestly say that we are in any great danger from any of these countries. We are the biggest superpower in the world despite being monetarily "owned" by every other country. What I mean is, if ANY country gets uppity, we could easily bomb them out of existence, so if any Red states feel insecure, feel secure in the fact that we could bomb the world many times over if anyone tries any 9-11 crap again. We should bring the military home and put them to work building our economy.

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Regards,

Mark Arnold
http://funideas.home.att.net

Why Are We at War?

Why are we still at War? I mean, the way we handled it in Iraq, we could just come home now and say "Victory! We Won! No More Terrorism!!" Would it really matter? If Iraq is on the verge of a Civil War (or already in one, in my opinion), wouldn't it be better to withdraw now and let them have at it and just say act stupid and say, "We didn't know that they would have a Civil War if we withdrew? Oh well, silly us!" And then we'd look good.

As it is, we're just going to get further and further involved in this "Vietnam/Korean" type conflict for no good reason. Besides, we can always go back. If Congress had any backbone, they wouldn't keep shoveling non-existent money towards this mess. If we're doing it all for 9-11, then that's really stupid at this point. We've killed far more people than died in that unfortunate occurance so vengeance has been accounted for, no matter how misdirected.

Come on 2009...AND ANYONE READING THIS, DO ME A FAVOR, DON'T VOTE FOR ANYONE RELATED TO OR SIDING WITH BUSH ANYMORE!!! Anyone who voted for Bush should be sent to Iraq NOW!!

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Regards,

Mark Arnold
http://funideas.home.att.net

Scientology and South Park

To everyone who is upset with "South Park" making fun of Scientology: Get a sense of humor or don't watch the show.

To everyone else: "South Park" isn't that good anymore anyway, so does it really matter?

To Isaac Hayes, Tom Cruise, John Travolta, Kirstie Alley, etc.: You guys should get a sense of humor, too, especially since you're following a "religion" based on the writings of a science fiction author.

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Regards,

Mark Arnold
http://funideas.home.att.net