Singing in the Rain

Good Afternoon Ladies & Gentlemen,

My sister-in-law (occasional reader) is texting me right now claiming that she's going to quit school AGAIN because my mom & stepdad (and crazy cousin of my stepdad) are unreliable and senile at times. Well, when it comes to babysitters, you get what you pay for...and seeing as they're complimentary with induction into the family, there you have it. That doesn't mean that you should quit school. There are plenty of people that can help you out. That just sounds like another excuse to be a quitter again. She still owes me a Benjamin from last time she quit...and I don't forget that stuff (Isaihia). Like I've said before, I donate money to worthwhile causes...and sometimes to friends & family, which are not. Also, I'd like to congratulate all of you students out there that have started school again over the past few weeks. Keep up the good fight!!! Soon you will have that piece of paper to stick up on your wall & add an extra line on your resume. Been there, done that, got the T-shirt.

So the Second Season of "Robot Chicken" came out on Tuesday...and I've basically been watching it ever since during my free time. If you've never seen the show...then you probably don't have really cool friends that have told you about the show...but that's why I'm here. In addition to being a movie nerd, I'm also a television cartoon nerd. For example, I went to Best Buy to purchase "Robot Chicken" the day it came out...one day after purchasing the 10th season of both the Simpsons & South Park. Furthermore, on September 18th, Volume 5 of "Family Guy" comes out...and I shall be there. The following Tuesday, the second season of "Drawn Together" (FINALLY) comes out on DVD. The 3rd season of Venture Brothers is now in production...and I already have the complete series of "The Critic" and "Duckman." I know. A little scary, right? It could be worse. I could like anime or something.


Why isn't she dead yet? - As many of you know, I don't like Courtney Love. Please take into account that I've never met her pesonally (thank you Jesus) but I have a feeling that we just wouldn't get along...and I'd end up calling her a coked-out whore & a horrible mother and that I wish she was still with Kurt too. However, in a recent interview with The Sun (the magazine, not the celestial body), she was quoted as saying that "Amy [Winehouse] does more drugs than anyone I've ever known." For those who don't know, Ms. Winehouse recently cancelled her worldwide tour because of...well, we'll just say problems. However, for Courtney Love to say that you have a problem...Ms. Winehouse, you have a problem...and I hope that you're on the way to getting it solved. Personally, I've never heard your music (because it was made in the last decade or so) but I've been told that it's incredible. Perhaps I'll google ya when I get home.


So my question is (possibly directed towards God), why are some of our greatest artists taken away from us before they can live full lives (by the way, happy birthday to Freddie Mercury) yet people like Courtney Love are allowed to live? And by live, I mean live off great artists who were taken away from us before they could live full lives. Was Billy Joel right? Do only the good die young? I wonder if Jim Morrison had a mid-life crisis at 14. This is kind of a rhetorical question...but feel free to chime in. I really like your comments...like...more than a friend.

Rain - Today is a bit of a gloomy & rainy day here in the City of Salt...but I kind of like it. I'm the kind of cat who has no problem whatsoever singing & dancing around fully clothed in the rain. I'm not exactly Gene Kelly doing backflips off a brick wall...but I've been known to break out a nice tap number with occasional kicksplashes or swing on a streetlight singing into the night. If I have an umbrella in my hand, you bet your sweet bippy it's going to be involved in the routine. Unfortunately, a lot of people out there see rain as a dreary, dismal situation often portrayed in movies & television as a moment of depression...but I like to see it as more of a cleansing...and I'm not the kind of cat to be crying in the shower eating cookies like Captain Hero (That's a Drawn Together reference). I have fond memories of running around in the rain and just having a merry old time. I even think that "November Rain" by Guns 'n' Roses is among the greatest Rock songs of all time (too bad Axl Rose is a douche). No kissing in the rain yet though...or makin' love in the rain...I may have just heard that in a song once when I was drinking a pina colada. Anyway, good times. Bring on the gloomy weather, I say!!! Speaking of singing in the rain...here's today's movie list.

Magical Musicals

Medal Winners

Gold - Rodgers & Hammerstein's Sound of Music (1965) - Please don't try to convince me that this isn't the greatest musical ever made, it just won't work. Granted that I haven't seen a lot of musicals, but I had to learn all the songs for a 3rd grade play almost twenty years ago...and I've been to Salzburg, Austria (one of the most beautiful places on Earth) so this has a special spot in my heart. Besides that, it has Julie Andrews & Christopher Plummer doing what they do best...acting AND singing. Do I care that the movie is long enough to need an intermission? Not at all, it flies right by (like Dr. Zhivago). Do you sing along to the movie when you watch it? I do. I think it's involuntary...but I can't afford the therapy to reverse it. That's if I wanted to. Which I don't. Hell, I may go watch it tonight now that I'm thinking about it. No need to wait until Easter or Christmas or something. Why do they only show it on TV during the Holidays? Did Fritz propose on Christmas? No, there wasn't any snow on the ground.

Silver - Singin' in the Rain (1952) - Okay, I never had any intention of seeing this movie...then I signed up for a Survey of Cinema class my senior year in high school (the class means "Watching Movies") and this movie was assigned. Thank you crazy teacher lady whose name I've completely forgotten!!! Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, & Donald O'Connor dance dance dance & sing sing sing...and then they act...and then repeat. It's a good time...and I enjoy singing in the rain...so that's why it's on the list. Classic...as far as musicals go.


Bronze - Hedwig & the Angry Inch (2001) - The soundtrack was first introduced to me by a girlfriend...and I liked how odd & unusual it was. Then she mentioned that there was a whole movie about it...but we never got to watching it. About a year later, I started the Netflix thing...and it was recommended to me by JL Clyde, so I watched it. It was visually stunning & audibly awesome. It was a very unusual movie to watch...especially for me...but it was pretty darn good. My hat's off to Mr. John Cameron Mitchell for writing, directing, & starring in this cult classic.


Suggestion - Cannibal! The Musical (1996) - Anything Trey Parker touches is f**king hilarious...and has great catchy songs. Before South Park, before the movie musical of South Park, before "Orgazmo", before "Team America: World Police", there was "Cannibal! The Musical." It's a hysterical historical depiction of Alfred Packer and his ill-fated journey into the Rockies in the Old West. Because it's a low-budget student film, it may be a little hard to find...but keep trying. It's worth the effort if you're looking for a good time. If you want a great drinking game associated with it, take a shot everytime somebody says "Schpedoinkal!!!" You'll be wasted in no time...possibly blind. Drink responsibly.

Flush It - West Side Story (1961) - Okay, I realize that a lot of you like this movie...but I don't...and I'm gonna tell you why. It's a greaser gang remake of Romeo & Juliet, right? Why? If I wanted to see the Jets go against the Sharks, I would have watched the NHL when I was a kid to see Winnipeg vs. San Jose. Sure, it's a love story and all of that...but I've always wondered if bike riding badasses from the fifties were really that threatening. I realize that in real life, they probably didn't snap their fingers as they approached, do dance offs, then sing jingles about how cool their gang was...but you know, just the whole greased up hair, white T-shirt, various colored jackets, logo on the back, it's just not that intimidating to me. Maybe it was back in the fifties. I'll have to ask my grandma.

Future Watch - Maybe seeing more than five musicals in my lifetime? - Yeah, I never want to see "Hairspray" or "Rent" or anything nowadays that doesn't have Trey Parker in the credits. Actually, I just remembered "Dreamgirls" (2006) with Jamie Foxx, Eddie Murphy, Beyonce, and Academy Award winner Jennifer Hudson. That movie kicked ass. It's like a musical biography about Motown records. Damn it, I forgot "Moulin Rouge" too, but we'll say that it doesn't count because...well, it's more of a compilation disc than a soundtrack...yeah. We'll go with that...but the movie's still awesome. I enjoyed it thoroughly. As far as what I'm looking forward to...how about another Trey Parker movie??? Yeah, I'll go with that.

Schpedoinkal!!! (Takes a shot as he walks away...)