Pop Culture Blog: Music, Movie and Humor

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

The Last Rat in the Pack, Baby


in Heartwarming

Joey Bishop, the last living member of the infamous Rat Pack, died today at age 89. Bishop was the least well known of the final incarnation of the pack that would be made famous by Frank, Dean and Sammy – but he had a long and eclectic career in show biz none the less. Here he is with Orson Welles and Dino from the Dean Martin Show in the late 70’s. The straight man to Dean’s straight man.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuXi6oHTOrs[/youtube]

“Charlie Calucci likes the way I catch rivets…” Thanks for the memories, Joey and company. You’ll all be entertaining this cat for many, many years to come. Ring-a-ding-ding, St. Peter, babe. The martinis will be flowing in Heaven tonight.

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Boston Bruins Home Opener Tonight!


in Sporty

And yes, the GoonSquad will be in attendance. I have done an outstanding job of not getting pissed during this most recent visit to Beantown, but I’m afraid my batting average is going to decline sharply this very evening. Anyone else going? Greg are you out there? Johnny Mac? Nick? Get at me, dawgs. Apparently Detroit Velvet smooth has scored us some excellent seats and I am supremely happy at my good citizenship test timing.

There are a lot of things that go into inspecting new homes such as Radon tests and mold inspection. Testing is very important with new homes and knowing different tests that their are which could effect the value of a new home.

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I’m a Yankee Doodle Dandy. No, Really I am


in

I took and passed my United States Citizenship test and interview this morning at the JFK Building in Boston’s Government Center. I waited about half an hour before my name was called at which time an official named Dan took me back into his office. I swore that I would tell the truth, then sat down and answered his administrative questions to assure my application was in order. Then the test began, which I got 100% on. The questions included:

  • Who are the current Senators from Massachusetts? “Ted Kennedy and John Kerry”.
  • Would you take up arms in defense of the United States? “Absolutely”.
  • Are you, or have you ever been a Communist? “No”.
  • What is the legislative branch of the American Government? “Congress”.
  • What was the Emancipation Proclamation? “It freed the slaves”.

Then he asked me to write “I love America” on a sheet of paper, sign a couple of passport photos I enclosed during my first application nearly a year ago. He said “Congratulations you passed, and you’ll be sworn in at Faneuil Hall on November 8th.” I sat there with a “Really? That’s it?” look on my face and then headed out into the sunshine quite relieved. Of course the real test I took was when I had my fingerprints digitally scanned and sent to the FBI back in May. Since I went to high school here and speak English the rest was a bit of a formality.

So the deed is almost done. I am happy that I will remain able to work and even live in the USA for the rest of my life if I so decide. I put in a lot of years here and did not want to risk being shut out because some pencil pusher realized I’d spent too much time in Canada. It was the best thing to do given the circumstances, and I’m proud to be an American. And, a Canadian too! Forget you read that, nosy pencil pushers.

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Veekend Video: Chopper’s Heimlich Maneuver


in Movies, Veekend Video

Eric Bana is currently just a stone’s throw from the Hollywood A-List, but the movie that gave the former bartender his start was 2000’s Chopper. The movie tells the intense story of Mark “Chopper” Read, a legendary Australian criminal who wrote his autobiography while serving a jail sentence in prison. His book, “From the Inside”, upon which the film is based, was a best-seller in that country and Mark Read who once robbed and murdered only drug dealers (the man has his morals) is now out of jail and a bona fide celebrity. You can see him making appearances at clubs, sitting in the background of rap videos and he’s written several additional books all of which shot to the top of the Aussie charts. Not bad for a guy who once chopped off his own ears with a razor blade to get moved into a prison’s psych ward and avoid being killed by rivals – hence the name.

Bana’s performance is thoroughly entertaining and original. To prepare for the role he spent a week with Mark Read on his farm in Tasmania where he’s moved for his own safety from the Melbourne underworld he once terrified. They never forget. Bana’s transformation into the character of Chopper involved a significant weight gain, temporary prison tattoos all over his body which took 5 hours a day to apply, fake teeth, a handlebar mustache and a large prosthetic penis. It’s the personality, speech patterns and vernacular, however, that truly make Bana’s take on Read unforgettable:

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeXy8BnhhxQ[/youtube]

Australian comedian Heath Franklin of the Ronnie Johns Show has made a nice living sending up Chopper. It’s become the most popular character on the show and several of the clips have gone viral online. When asked in an interview I saw on YouTube what he thought of Ronnie John’s portrayal of him, Read replied “He’s only imitating Eric Bana imitating me – and he’s clearly got ears.”:

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5cPoQxE408[/youtube]

Regardless, Franklin’s version is hilarious and there are multiple skits (art dealer, job interview, Chopperware Party, horoscopes, weatherman) from the show available to watch. My personal favorite is the Chopper Heimlich Maneuver. Even if you’ve never heard of Read or seen Bana in the movie – I promise up and down you’ll laugh at this.

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Reminiscelets: Tough Crowd and Moby


in Politics, Reminiscent, Television

Four years and a thousand entries ago, I started this blog – knowing full well I probably wouldn’t maintain it but that it would be a learning experience relevant to my line of work. Who knew? I recently added a “On this date three years ago” feature in the sidebar in the hopes of getting a few eyeballs on some of the Pye in the Face canon. But I don’t think that’s really enough – especially where search engines are concerned. So I’m going to take time out now and then to draw attention to past posts I think are pretty cool and that you very likely missed.

Three years ago the thoroughly unique and enjoyable Tough Crowd was canceled by Comedy Central – much to my chagrin. I wrote a bunch of posts on the subject that I know were passed around and read by people involved with the show – including Jim Norton, Laurie Kilmartin, Patrick from Cringe Humor and probably even Colin Quinn himself. If you want to learn why I liked the show so very much, follow some of the Tough Crowd related links you see in this paragraph. That’s the whole point. This is how we play the reminiscelets game. My good friend Brukakke and I drove to New York to see the last Tough Crowd episode taping and even made it onto the show via an audience shot that you can see below. We met a lot of the guys and it was good closure for us. We were probably the equivalent of Tough Crowd superfans.

Tough Crowd Last Episode

Another article I read over recently and got a chuckle out of was in response to a blog entry by Moby right after the 2004 election. Moby was so distraught that George Bush had been re-elected that he was asking Canadians if it was alright if he moved up there. I was only too happy to give him an answer. You won’t often see me talk about politics on PITF, or draw attention to when I’ve done it in the past, so enjoy it while you can.

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