Oh snap

To my fan:

I'm soooo sorry.

I got super caught up in pretty much everything--from work to finishing up grad school (which I think is done, but I'm sure NYU wants to bleed me some more) to just having a life--that I just didn't have time to talk about the interesting things that I've experienced.

I was, you know, experiencing them. But lets get back into the swing of things with some of my favorites from the past almost-year.

First off: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. It's a book. With the BEST TITLE EVER. Written by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows, it's quite possibly my favorite book of the past year. Besides the outstanding, easily accessible writing, it's a quite touching story about the Isle of Guernsey during World War II. At once charming, funny, and a little sad, I blew through it in no time, and pretty much fell in love.

And yes, maybe I love it so much I will marry it.

What makes it rather unique is that it is an epistolary novel, as it is a collection of letters and telegrams that combine to make a single story.

I actually was talking about it at a friends house, and his mother overheard the conversation and was curious about it. When I sent her the book, she loved it, too (but since polygamy is illegal, we couldn't both marry it), and decided to buy it for all her friends for Christmas.

It was a Festivus miracle!

Moving on, I'm still really into what I'm seeing as the "Motown Revival." What Amy Winehouse ostensibly started was this return to an old-school sound, and other artists I may or may not have mentioned in previous posts--Jamie Lidell, Duffy (the remix of "Mercy" with The Game is fantastic), and, not surprisingly, Al Green--have all found their ways into my iPod because they just make great, head nodding music.

One of my favorites, though, has been Raphael Saadiq's latest offering, The Way I See It. This is fun, upbeat R&B, and songs like "100 Yard Dash" and "Staying In Love" are great because they could be played in the 1960's just as easily as they could today. And, in case you're wondering, Mr. Saadiq used to be the lead singer in Tony! Toni! Toné!

Finally, I figured I'd end with a shout out to the best cartoon for adults on television: "The Venture Bros." If you haven't seen this gem, let me urge you to figure out when it's on The Cartoon Network, and set your DVR to stun (and, come on people--if you don't have a DVR, isn't it about time to start re-examining that thing you call your "life?"). It's a strange pseudo-Johnny Quest spoof that follows Dr. Venture, his two teenage sons Hank and Dean, and their bodyguard Brock Sampson (played by the most excellent Patrick Warburton, aka, David Putty.) as they avoid being killed by super-villains (such as The Monarch, who dresses up like a butterfly, Dr. Girlfriend, who looks like Jackie O but has a man's voice, and Phantom Limb, who is a walking torso) and go on crazy adventures.

Now I love cartoons, and I still think the peak of "The Simpsons" stacks up against the very best of television, period. "South Park" is still excellent, "Family Guy" has it's moments, and although there really aren't any new episodes, "Futurama" continues to be one of my all-time favorites (despite the atrocity they called "The Beast With a Billion Backs," which was pretty much perfectly reviewed here), but right now, the cartoon putting out the most consistently funny, truly ingenious work is "The Venture Bros."

Go Team Venture!

(Glad to be back)

I Sing the Body Eclectic

It's been a while, my friends. I apologize for nothing.

Let's get started, shall we?

As the haul from Christmas gets sorted into piles, I am once again inundated with media. Hooray! It's hard to get away from it, considering my friends and family know how much I enjoy books, music, and movies (and conversely, how much I distrust my friends and family to purchase clothes that I might actually wear. The comedian Jim Gaffigan put it best when he noted if he gets clothes he doesn't like, he won't return it; he'll throw it out: “Oooh, you got me an errand for Christmas.”). It's equally hard to get away from it considering that I ask my family for books and movies.

But I like books, movies, and music. And I will share that “like” with you.

First up: Stephen Colbert's I Am America (And So Can You!). Any fan of the show will enjoy this continuation of Colbert's perfectly executed satire of any conservative talking-head on cable news. The book uses irreverence, stupidity, and parodied bigotry to provide a “hand-book” for the 21^st Century American.

An Anti-Communist Manifesto, if you will.

It's incredibly amusing. One feature I particularly enjoy is his use of annotations and foot-notes to provide comedic commentary. Too often under-utilized in any entertaining and/or commercial text, it also gives the book the air of a pseudo-scholarly piece, thus perpetuating the “ludicrousness” of his words even more. It helps, too (at least for me), that these asides are usually puns.

What surprised me was that there was still material to delve, here. You would figure that, even with all the wonderful nonsense Conservatives serve up on a daily basis, eventually we'd reach the point where we have to go: We get it! Mission accomplished, Mr. Colbert! But this book has enough originality to remain fresh and laugh-out-loud funny.

However, there is one thing that bothers me: the preponderance of gay-jokes. I'm not offended by the jokes, because I know it's simply an extension Colbert's alter-ego. What I'm offended by is the lack of creativity. Here's the thing: My friends and I go to the gay-joke well (and the mom-joke well – essentially the same aquifer) all the time, for the most part ironically, but even more so because we tend to be uncreative (somewhat taking away from the irony). The big thing is though, that my friends and I are not professional comedians. Hell, I'd be willing to admit that many of my friends are the opposite of professional comedians (which might make them torturers or onions – you know, making other people cry). Therefore, I would expect a professional like Stephen Colbert to not dip his bucket in such a dried up well (when I pay for a joke, I want it juicy).

Some of the gay-jokes are funny, though. Makes me wonder if they'll be so funny when I'm burning in hell (which, after all the “flamer” jokes would be the ultimate irony, eh?)

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I believe I've mentioned a little television program called “Futurama”? Not only was it one of the best cartoons ever, I would go out on a limb and say it was some of the best television, period. What it did in its four short seasons was combine the wackiness and intelligence of “The Simpsons” with the creativity and heart that was unique for a show of its kind. Whereas the “The Simpsons” had some sweet episodes (generally Lisa-driven) and “South Park” showed a social-conscience, “Futurama” decided to give its characters a humanity that was oddly opposed to the fact that many of the characters actually weren't human. One would think, given the futuristic, science-fiction setting of the show, that there would be a consistent zaniness that would override any sort of emotion. And yet, the writers and producers are aware enough to play on the fact that the main character, Fry, although enjoying his time in the year 3000, is still someone a thousand years past his own time (and thus past his family and memories). If you want to watch a show that will make you laugh and cry, watch the “Jurassic Bark” episode. If it doesn't move you, then you are a cold-hearted bastard.

The reason I'm writing about “Futurama” (a show that was canceled 4 years ago), is because the DVDs are all out. If you have the time, watch them on their own, and then go back and watch them with the commentaries. The three voice actors who consistently show up – Billy West, John DiMaggio, and Maurice LaMarche – are genuinely funny people, and even though they may not be commenting on the show you're watching (which is why you should definitely watch the episode first), they pretty much double the comedy on the DVDs. And David X. Cohen, the executive producer, is really funny too – while providing interesting insights about the making of the episodes.

More importantly: “Futurama” is back! Kind of. What I mean is that a new “episode” (which is really movie-length), has been released on DVD, and it was everything I had been waiting for. Titled “Bender's Big Score,” it's not the funniest “Futurama” I've ever seen. In fact, the beginning is almost pathetically sophomoric, going after juvenile jokes, almost as if the writers had a hard time getting into the rhythm after the long hiatus. But as the movie progresses, the show gets its legs back underneath it, and before you know it, we're back where the show left off: smart and funny science-fiction. The commentary, too, is fantastic.

I hope, of course, that this will be the beginning of getting this show back on the air with new episodes. For now, I know there will be three more straight-to-DVD movies, and I will be waiting breathlessly.

Okay, I'll probably breathe.

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Richard Ford is one of those authors I had heard of only recently, and was surprised to find out that he's kind of a big deal. Pulitzers tend to do that for authors. So I decided I'd give him a shot and, as I usually do in situations with unfamiliar authors, I went straight for the jugular. I figure, if its an author I'm supposed to read, I might as well read that persons seminal piece, in Ford's case, Independence Day.

I was slightly disappointed that no aliens battled Will Smith for the resources of Earth.

What I wasn't disappointed by was how Ford was able to turn 450 pages of a rather boring story, and keep my interest the entire way through. And, it is boring, perhaps purposefully so. Independence Day is the story of Frank Bascombe, a man who epitomizes “mid-life crisis.” While not going crazy with a ridiculous car or younger woman (although he does flashback to a time when he spent a year in France with a med school student), he has clearly come through the traumatic experiences of his son dying and getting divorced with a radically changed philosophy.

In an odd way, he reminds me of Ron Livingston's character from Office Space – nothing really fazes him anymore. He is content to be content, moving through the part of his life Ford constantly points to as the “Existence Period.” It is almost depressing, seeing this lonely man live out a weekend of phony connections, and yet I have no sympathy for him, nor do I think he's asking for any. Bascombe is not, in any way, a loser (making the Willy Loman comparisons from some of the cover-copy disingenuous). Rather, he's man who is relatively successful economically, has a beautiful lady-friend, enjoys his job (despite people constantly denigrating it), and is excited for the time he will spend with his troubled son and the holiday in general. All in all, things are generally looking pretty good for a guy who, in 1988, is looking at a troubled economy and unsure political future.

What really impressed me was that, despite it's firm setting in an era that we are long past, I had no problem connecting with the story. For one thing, Ford is not shy about going all expository on us, interspersing dialogue with dense essays about Frank's beliefs and exploring the meanings behind the places and events going on around the characters. For another, Bascombe is funny in a way that makes us laugh with him, and not at him. Maybe it's the wrong impression, but I connect with him and enjoy him. His is an American life, but he isn't dragged down by it as so often movies and literature want us to believe is our natural condition. He is a father who isn't set up as being entirely at fault – his ex-wife, Ann, shares a great deal of the burden for the family's problems. Bascombe is, then, atypical of the American Man as such a being is often portrayed.

Frank Bascombe is a guy who moves past his flaws and, ultimately, learns from them. And if that isn't great writing, then maybe you should stop reading this blog.*

*Please don't stop reading this blog.

The Industry is Not Static

And yet sometimes you wish it were.

As we get to the point of no-return for most television studios, the haves and have-nots are being sorted at a prodigious rate. Granted, I simply don’t have time to watch every new show that comes out, but there are also usually pretty strong indicators as to how a show is going to do or not.

For example, any show with a caveman that isn’t a “Captain,” a “Honeymooners” rip-off, or a solitary, once-and-done joke probably isn’t going to last that long. Couple that with the fact that this is essentially free advertising for Geico (a company, by the way, that is owned by Berkshire-Hathaway – Warren Buffett’s company), and what you get is the merger of corporations and the arts that is at once bourgeois and craptacular. If I was the proletariat, I’d just let this show run its course and let the Revolution handle itself.

But it’s not just about blatantly bad ideas being shown for what they are: One might think that the combination of Kelsey Grammer, Patricia Heaton, and Fred Willard would have enough star-power and genuinely funny people to make “Back to You” work. And yet . . . not. Instead of being funny, it’s either mean or stupid. There’s nothing necessarily funny about awful people being awful to each other – you need a connection of some sort to make you sympathize on some level with the characters. Hence, while “Everybody Loves Raymond” made me cringe (because Raymond was a coward and yet Debra put up with it – both his cowardice and his truly reprehensible mother), at least there were moments when you understood that, deep down, these people truly do love each other. “Back to You” fails in this regard.

So, while these shows are still on the air, it’s only a matter of time before the ratings point out that businessmen don’t understand comedy.

Someone, however, does understand good television over at NBC. Two new shows, “Chuck” and “Life,” are quite good (with “Life” struggling to find its way into Excellent). They both have interesting premises, charming lead actors, decent supporting casts, and good writing.

(Note – good writing may be in very short supply soon)

For “Chuck,” Zachary Levi is a perfect balance between shyly-charming, intelligent, and nerd-core to the extreme. It’s one of those things where you have to believe that the hot girl wouldn’t be out of her mind for going out with him – and you don’t. While I’m not sure exactly how long they can maintain the double-life story (or how many terrorists or international criminals can realistically frequent the Los Angeles area) and I wish there was actually more “geek,” the show is highly amusing.

“Life,” while also incredibly amusing, is more of a straight drama. About a cop who was falsely accused of murder, and, upon his release, reaches a settlement in which he is given an undisclosed (but clearly huge) sum of money and a job back on the force. The interplay between the re-acclimation to the world, between Charlie (the lead, played fantastically by Damian Lewis, who you might remember from “Band of Brothers”) and his partner Dani, and the tension of being a cop surrounded by people you think have betrayed you, is gripping. Everyone has demons on this show, and yet Charlie’s quirky nature – his annoying philosophical ideas and his idiosyncratic tendencies – are a joy to watch. The one flaw I have noticed early is that the cut-scenes – in which an unseen documentary film-maker/journalist is interviewing people in regards to Charlie’s murder case – have already become repetitious. Sure, I understand the desire to drill certain facts home, and during a particular episode it can be an effective and powerful device, but to repeat things from show to show is a bit of a cop-out as far as writing goes.

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Couple of other notes:

I read a review of “Shot of Love with Tila Tequila” that read: “Pour this shot down the drain and get yourself a real drink – you’re gonna need it.”

Okay, I wrote that.

The show sucks. Whereas at least other dating/reality shows have some sort of theme, this show is all over the place – her tokens should be shot glasses, but they’re keys. Winners go to “heaven” and losers to “hell.” It just is poorly executed. Couple that with the fact that she’s a celebrity because she hyped herself up on MySpace and is (maybe) a bi-sexual makes me question if this is the sort of person who we need to encounter on a weekly basis.

On the good side, the new season of “South Park” has started, and, as usual, they are hilarious. They just wrapped up a three-part episode in which terrorists attack our imagination (they suicide bomb Imagination Land), Cartman is trying to enforce a court-ruling saying Kyle has to suck his balls, and Butters turns out to be the Neo of the Imagination Land-Matrix, and it was so incredibly money.

A fun game would be to try to name all the imaginary characters – it’s like a who’s who of pop-culture from the past 25 years.

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Some quick hits:

“My Name is Earl” is still very good.

I have no desire to watch “Lost” when it finally decides to come back – I can’t watch a show that doesn’t do anything.

I don’t understand the appeal of “Grey’s Anatomy.” I think I might need a vagina for that.

I’ve heard “Pushing Daisies” is very good, I just have too much on my plate at the moment.

Please let the rumors about new “Futurama” episodes be true. “South Park” aside, “Futurama” was the most consistently excellent adult cartoon after “The Simpsons” (and shouldn’t they have bowed out after the movie? Wasn’t that the point?) started sucking – at least 9 years ago.

I think that’s about it for now. I actually don’t get to watch a lot of TV anymore, but I am a firm believer of bowing at the altar of TiVo (although I now just have a cable-box DVR) – so I tend to catch up slowly but surely.

Remember: Television is not a passive activity. If you don’t like something, turn it off!