Pop Culture Blog: Music, Movie and Humor

Leveraging low-hanging synergies outside the vertical fruit box since 1999.

Archives for November 2005

Arrested Development Guilty On All Counts.


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That’s right. It’s guilty of being original. It’s guilty of being hilarious. It’s guilty of being a fucking milestone – and today – it’s also guilty of being cancelled.

Bateman will now be able to join the support group for “brilliant shows which were axed by stiff suits before their time”. Colin Quinn and Chris Elliott are bringing the donuts and coffee this week, while Peter Griffin moderates via satellite from the Drunken Clam.

Other tragedies include: The Tick, Freaks and Geeks, Sports Night, Firefly, NewsRadio and, of course, Mr. Show. Where is Susan Powter when you need her? Cancelled, I’d assume.

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In Flander’s Fields The Poppies Blow.


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Please read the poem you see below, and then this accompanying article on the poem’s history and author Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae.

IN FLANDERS FIELDS the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

In Canada, you used to learn this poem in the 2nd grade or so. You would memorize it and recite it every November 11th with your classmates – I remember saying it out loud in a gym once with every other kid at my school at an entire assembly devoted to Remembrance Day. We’d all be given poppies, in keeping with the poem, which we would wear on our little lapels for the entire day – and usually for a few before and after. Veterans would come and speak to us, and most kids were well versed on the major wars before they were old enough to fully appreciate G.I. Joe. Although I cut and paste it into this page, I could have still typed it out from memory. And it gets me every time.

I say ‘used to’ because the current Canadian climate is not really conducive to mentioning war, or the soldiers who fight them, in any sort of favorable light. It’s probably been stricken from most curriculums in favor of repeated viewings of Ellen. Regardless, I wanted to share Flanders Fields with my American friends who have likely never heard of it – and say a sincere personal thank you to all those who have fought and died so far from home over the last hundred years. See another tribute over at GoonBlog.

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Almost Frat Pack Photoshop Famous.


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You may remember my half-hearted post from a few weeks back – when bored and starved for material I spent 15 minutes Photoshopping a “Frat Pack” image. This combined an original photograph of the Rat Pack performing at the Sands in the early 60’s with the heads of our beloved modern day dummies. I also mentioned a site which was thoroughly devoted to the Wilsons, Ferrell, Vaughn, Black and Stiller – and gave him a little kudos for his efforts.

Well apparently – it’s turned into a circle jerk. My silly little collage is now featured front and center on his very popular site. I first noticed this when I saw the abundance of traffic coming through from that domain. He even mentions Pye In The Face in his latest Podcast which, if you’re a fan of the boys, I highly reccomend. Thanks for the hat tip, Kevin – and keep up the good work.

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Wednesday Wadio: Luna’s "City Kitty".


in Wednesday Wadio

City Kitty reels with befuddled disgust, shot through with a clammy sci-fi movie organ and the rattle of screwdrivers on fretboards — until the strings start soaring above a bridge which is one part Ennio Morricone, one part Glen Campbell. “Slinky and winky, stinky and drinky.” – TeenBeat

Hi everybody! This is Nate, guest-blogging because my esteemed roommate is off making a hamhock sandwich. He LOOOOVES his pork. But at the end of the day, who doesn’t want to tuck in to some salty hog? Here’s the deal: there are 3 kinds of people I hate:

  1. People with oversized umbrellas that are the width of the sidewalk because they are so fat they need them to stay dry (it’s called a tarp – get one).
  2. People who don’t look forward in an elevator because they are checking out my enormous cock.
  3. People who don’t like Luna.

More specifically, their best song – City Kitty. A song of mystery and mystique. A song of black-eyed susans and chilled potatoes. A song of triumph and adversity. It’s a song I have been screaming for them to sing for the 13+ years I’ve been going to see them, to which they consistenly reply: “fuck off, Nate.” Real funny, jerk-offs. It’s a song I have only heard once in concert, and that’s because they were drunk one night and tried to appease me. But they gave up. Unlike this song, they were weak. They did not try to persevere.

The song is about positivity. About achieving one’s goals. About heading into the realm of the unknown. Okay, fine. It’s a song about drugs. And I’m drunker than a poet on payday. Enjoy, and stop checking out my package, perverts.

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A Wee Bit Sick. But You Knew That.


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Once a winter I get sick. As far as I am concerned, the sooner the better – last Christmas I drove from Boston to Kingston and then Toronto whilst delerious. So I wasn’t totally disappointed this morning when I woke up feeling like a Tombstone lunger. So I’ll sit here in front of the TV, with a laptop in my… lap, just like the good old days when I worked from home everyday as an editor. Consciousness – coffee – Columbo. Day after day after day. Rise and shine, imbibe caffeine and then religiously watch a 30-year-old police show everyday before starting my first keystroke of work.

Do I miss that? Kinda. But I also had to eat dog food back then. So I’m just fine with the whole rat race thing.

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Why Didn’t Anyone Tell Me How Funny Arrested Development Is?


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Tobias Fünke: O-kay, who’d like a banger in the mouth? [laughs] Right, I forgot, here in the States, you call it a *sausage* in the mouth.
Michael: We just call it a sausage.

Good lord. If you haven’t seen this show yet, tune in Monday nights at 8pm on Fox. I’d heard things, sure, but this is quality stuff. David Cross, Martin Short and even frigging Dave Thomas is in it too. I am hooked after about 20 minutes, and this exercise started as little more than a way to kill time before the Patriots game. I don’t know that much about the show, other than it’s really creative, unique – and seems to feature a lot of guest stars.

One thing I do remember, is that a’ la Family Guy – the show was cancelled and then brought back to life after grass roots, obsessive and downright creepy support from legions of fans Fox didn’t know existed until after the fact. It’s a shame the same couldn’t be said for Get A Life.

Tennessee. Tennessee. Tennessee. Just joshin’.

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Friday’s Quizzlet: Slicin’ Up Eyeballs.


in Monday's Quotelet

Appetizer: What was the last game you purchased?
I did you one better, you Quizzlet bastard – I purchased a membership to GameFly. It’s like NetFlix for the geeks who are worse than movie geeks. I’m not ashamed, however. There’s nothing unhealthy about coming home on a chilly fall evening and battling a Rhino from the comfort of your own couch in front of the fireplace. Then I tell her she’s pretty and take her out for something to eat when I’m sure none of my neighbors are looking.

Soup: Name something in which you don’t believe.
I don’t believe in institutions, parties, groups or denominations that spend more time and energy debasing others than bettering themselves. So, basically, I don’t believe in much. Debasing should almost always be left to The Pixies.

Salad: If you could choose a television boss, who would you pick?
I would love to put a stapler in jelly, throw a shoe over a pub, go to Chasers, softly softly catchy monkey, headbutt a secretary and discuss dwarves – all under the guru-like tutiledge of Mr. David “Bluto” Brent.

Main Course: What was a lesson you had to learn the hard way?
We had this question over a year ago, you bastard quizzlet. And I will defer to my previous, and still funny, answer. I may just have to find another source for the weekly questions if this sort of redundancy keeps up. Or get a girlfriend.

Dessert: Describe your idea of the perfect relaxation room.
One in which I’m unconcious.

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A Hunka Hunka Big Haunt Photos.


in Heartwarming

Much needed and much better additions have been made to the Big Haunt 2 gallery. About 40 of them to be exact. You can actually see what some of the costumes looked like in the early evening before they were abandoned and beer-soaked. So be sure to click through and have a gander. Janet’s also added a gallery of pictures in her own section from a Halloween party she attended Monday night. Because she needed to go to another Halloween party. All I have to say is – “…and she wonders why her cat is fat“.

While I’m in the process of self-promotion, we’ve been doing a lot of work over at GoonBlog (hockey goon, enforcer and fight site) and DogGoneKnit (free dog sweater knitting patterns and a related community). If you haven’t visited in a while, please stop by and re-aquaint yourselves. And if you’re not into hockey pugilism or dog sweaters, I sincerely applaud your possession of priorities.

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Absolutely Riveted To The English Auction Shows.


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See if you can follow me. I am watching a show in which professional antiquers cruise through a family’s home and look for items of value. The families in question always have a need or a goal for the money raised. This week, a husband and wife wish to buy a rather expensive goat. After the walkthrough, the pros compile a list of everything they feel is of value to antique hunters. Then they take those items to an auction, while the original owners stand on the sidelines and knaw at their knuckles to see if the estimates will be reached, exceeded or shitcanned.

I don’t believe this – After selling furniture, 2 paintings, a set of 3 barometers, a 200 year old grandfather clock, mugs and some dishes – these folks still need 190 pounds to get their goat. Now… How much would I need to pawn to get a goddamn life? I’m watching an antique reality show, afterall.

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Wednesday Wadio: A Roller Skating Jam Named Saturdays


in Wednesday Wadio

Janet told me yesterday that I should remake “Trunk of Funk” in its entirety, and post the whole thing here on Radio Pye. TOF was a cassette tape mix that I made a year or so after high school. It consisted of probably 20 early 90’s rap songs (the golden age as far as I am concerned) and was copied and handed around many times. I’m not gonna do the whole thing, but I’ll do one. I’ll do one.

An oddly named single from De La Soul’s second album, De La Soul Is Dead (“…One of the most progressive, complex and boldly experimental albums hip hop has ever seen.”), A Roller Skating Jam Named Saturdays “seamlessly incorporates Chicago, Chic and Franki Valli samples into a taut, scratch-heavy disco jam“. The video features Pos, Trugoy and Maceo and guest rapper Q-Tip from A Tribe Called Quest surrounded by roller skaters on a sunny day in Central Park.

This song would easily make my top 10 list of favorite rap songs of all time. It is so happy, infectious and funky it’s almost hard to resist strapping on skates and looking aimlessly for some long since torn down rink. Whenever I hear this song, I am instantly brought back in time – driving around in my ’79 Chevy Malibu, listening to TOF on the yellow Sony Sport boom box that’s plugged into my rusty cigarette lighter. And I desperately want to get back to 2005. Not really. Pass the peas like they used to say…

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The Big Haunt 2: Paranormal With The Pictures.


in Heartwarming

Janet and I got out to Concord Friday night with stereos, decorations, costumes and about $200 worth of change I wanted to get rid of in tow. They don’t have many of those supermarket sorters in the big city, and I had 6 years worth shrapnel I wanted to move/pay for a keg or two with. I almost exchanged my Chewbacca costume for that of “Hernia-Patient.” The old red house was partially decorated when we got there, and Jim, Stacey, Amy, James and Ryan were hard at work pimping out the remainder. Chris was hard at work sitting on a barstool and making gay jokes. Several folks dropped by to pitch in over the course of the evening, and “B.H. Eve” was a good time all by its lonesome.

Saturday we all got up at the ungodly hour of 10am to start prepping for the second annual Big Haunt. The delegation began weeks ago. Jim was on food. Dave was on music. Phil and Jason were on decorations. James and Ryan would fill in the cracks where needed. Jim’s sushi went to shit. Ryan forgot to get pumpkins. Jim and I sped off to deal with the 3 kegs we’d ordered, and the rest of the crew split up accordingly.

After visiting Alexa’s awesome new store in Concord Center, we then headed to her dad’s to do a little business. While the half barrels were being wheeled out to the truck, I spoke with Mr. B. about his website and some of the ways I thought he could improve it. He reciprocated by hooking us up to an extent which still boggles my mind. And it wasn’t with hugs. Thanks Mr. B! I will return the favor.

After getting the beverages back to the house, we headed up to New Hampshire to pick up the heaters and chafing dishes we’d ordered. As we were driving back after an additional and most productive trip to Costco, a piece of one of the heaters ripped off its bolts and flew into heavy traffic on 95. After hitting a couple of vehicles, the piece of metal disappeared and Jim, James and I pulled over sheepishly to see if anyone had any choice words for us. To my extreme amazement, nobody stopped and we continued on our way. Then the snow started.

While the weather definitely hurt attendence, we dealt with it. After getting back to Concord, Eric dropped by and removed all the snow and leaves off the back lawn with a high powered blower – and I’m not talking about his girlfriend (rim shot). We decorated and wired the attic. Jim got to cooking. I set up the stereos and organized the playlists. Amy arranged the bar and Ryan tapped the kegs. The old Concord contingent works extremely well together, and I reckon it’s because we’ve been on so many of the same landscaping crews over the years. We were ready.

I could go into a lot more detail, but if you were there you know how it played out. And if you weren’t, you were probably invited but blew it off due to a couple of fruity flakes – so just make sure you show up next year and frig off for the time being. There were a lot of cameras there that night, and frankly my pictures aren’t all that exceptional. So email me your best and I’ll add them here. Don’t anyone take this the wrong way, but I think I had more fun planning and setting up for that party than I did in the 6 hours or so that the house was packed. But whatever works – dysfunctional fun none the less.

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Twice The Funk Of James Brown’s Socks.


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Wow – quiet week on the blog so far. How about that Bruschi? I’m in a bit of a funk as of late. But I rarely leave you hanging, so I’ll press on and keep ‘er going. It may not be pretty. It may involve latex.

I have little patience for moody people. But more and more I realize I’m a card-carrying member of the club. The best I can do is to keep from using it as an excuse to be a jacktard, or take any sort of snivelly whininess out on other people. What it is doing, however, is frigging me up at work occasionally – and I can’t have that.

So tonight I’m going to go home, dust off my Depeche Mode records, have a little pity-party for myself and pull my head out of my puckered nostril. And I’m going to do it all without the help of Ridalin. Shame I never discovered ManRay before it closed.

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