Hucklebug, Episode 85: Back to cussing, shout-outs, movies (Bet: Deadhead Miles, Bridge to Terabithia; Stennie: Monty Python & the Holy Grail, Shaun of the Dead, Les Bas-Fonds, Silverado), highlights & lowlights, fuck-offs and you-rules, Hucklebug Oscars 1970-1979.
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Okay Betster, here’s the question. If Nate and Jen are the third most odious couple, who get the top two spots? I stopped watching The Amazing Race a while ago, but I think that was after the series with what must have been the world’s MOST odious couple—Johnathan and Victoria. And if J&V aren’t in the top three, I’m GLAD I’ve stopped watching. I just looked over at TWOP at the previous season discussion lists, and most teams have about 20-40 pages of discussion. Johnathan and Victoria? 231 pages. The only team I see with more is Charla and Myrna at 286. Now, they were annoying, but nowhere near J&V. And my ox is broken.
And what would happen if the Oscars go like the Golden Globes? Us East Coasters might get some sleep for a change, and we wouldn’t have to watch the interpretive dance montage. Horror.
Now, The Monkey is going to be eating plenty of dirt—I agree that we over-clean everything around children—but I did find a product I like better than Purell (I agree that it’s kind of slimy). CVS sells these things that look like pens that spray an ‘antibacterial spray’ (read, alcohol with a slightly better smell). They fit better in my purse, don’t leak as badly, and you don’t have that slime feeling. My kid is going to be nice and hearty, and will have to suck it up and not be antibacteriaed to death. I don’t have space for a dog, so he’ll have to get his pets somewhere.
I wonder if the Monkey is going to recognize your voices from sitting here listening to the podcasts each week?
It’s also nice to hear about movies where Al Pacino could act, and not chew the scenery like he does now. And I will second Bet’s recommendation to get Dog Day Afternoon. Remember to pay attention to why Al Pacino is doing what he’s doing. Brilliant. And I’m with you on Star Wars for 1977. Even though it’s been ‘enhanced’, it still works today. Big blockbusters should win some once in a while, unless they’re Titanic. For 1978, my vote is for Heaven Can Wait, not because it’s Oscar-worthy, but it’s the only one that year that wasn’t earnestly grim. We’re starting to enter the era of movies where you have to be dying of something (preferably in a foreign accent) in the name of some social cause in order to win something.
Bet: The Flip is a cool little camera, but I think for the money you might be able to do better for video. My wife got a Kodak EasyShare camera for about $130 a few months back that takes great stills and shoots decent video. I liked it so much I ended up getting one for Christmas. You can also expand the storage quite a bit with SD cards which are super-cheap on Meritline.com. The Flip is stuck at whatever capacity you buy—30 mins or 60, I believe. The zoom is really minimal (crappy), too.
Don’t get me wrong—it’s a cool little cam and I’ve been tempted to grab it, also, but ultimately, for $50 more (or so) you can get a great still camera that also shoots reasonable video—especially if you’re just talking YouTube stuff (Just be sure to get permission to post on YouTube from Mike—I hear he owns that site. ^_^)
Stennie: I don’t know ALL there is to know about cameras or electronics, but portability is my speciality. Small gadgets I tend to know more about. The Flip is interesting because it is almost identical to the single-use video camera you can buy from CVS or Rite-Aid for $30. In fact, a bunch of gear-heads online learned how to hack the $30 cameras to use them over and over by soldering a USB port to the camera
I did it, too-it was easy. I’m guessing all the Flip people did was look at the same website I did and just got a little “clever” with the “flip” part.
And before I turn of gearhead mode, Sten, are you familiar with Linux at all? I have had my XO laptop for three weeks and I’m banging my head against the wall with a couple of things. (ouch!)
And hey, if I could afford to, I’d get everybody a birthday present, not just Bet
Oh and I got sick over New Years. I know like five people who have been sick lately.
Bet: I love how you said Afghanistan is the Mecca and then Iraq is the Mecca and now Iran is the Mecca. Which is ironic since Bush hasn’t mentioned going into Saudi Arabia at all and that’s where Mecca actually is!!!
AHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Which, also ironically, was the home country for a bunch of 911 hijackers. But do we invade Saudi Arabia? No, they’re a friendly extremist Muslim dictatorship. Women can’t drive there, they’re stoned if they’re found guilty of sleeping with married men (even if they, themselves, aren’t married), and they perform public beheadings in the streets.
Dude, I want to invade Saudi Arabia and I’m a pacifist!
Sten: very good point about him trying to broker peace in Palestisrael when he can’t get peace in a country he, himself, invaded. We’re still waiting for the last mission to be accomplished, thank you very much!
Bet: It drives me crazy, too.
Sten: You think football commentators should fuck-off, have you ever tried watching cricket live? Good lord, commentary is *all* that game is!! I tried to watch a game live on the ‘net once out of respect for a buddy of mine in the UK and I was falling asleep at my desk. They were seriously talking about the catering at their hotel.
Agreed on Titanic. I’ve hated that since I got 40 minutes into it the only time I saw it.
“You broke my heartburn, Frito” had me laughing so hard I nearly dropped a dish in the sink!
You guys should go back to adding “in my pants” to movie titles for the oscars. It’s an old gag, but thinking about it made me laugh when you said:
“The Man Who Would be King”
And again when Bet said:
“All the President’s Men”
That last one sounds like the Marylin Monroe Story.
Network is brilliant.
Deer Hunter is amazing.
I’d like to see: “Apocalypse Now! The Musical”
Being There is a great movie—Forrest Gump wishes it was as good as Being There.
A Little Romance is a very sweet movie.
I enjoyed the Oscars this time.
Are you guys going to do an Oscar special?
Hey! I’m caught up!
Bet, didn’t you recently get a new point and shoot camera? Virtually all of them have a movie mode. They usually shoot at 30 FPS which is perfectly adequate for Youboob. If it’s in a weirdo format you can’t post it’s easy to transcode to another. That would be cheaper than getting a new camera.
I’m onboard with all signals flashing for Bridge to Terabithia. I think it’s one of the best fims made that year. I didn’t read the book either but enjoyed it for nearly flawless film making. Any way you want judge it, the movie is great so you don’t need to be a fan.
I’ve seen deadhead Miles so you aren’t the only one in the world. But I watch a lot of weird shit.
This epi is filled with Grade A cussing! How I missed it. The only time I worried that my money was in jeopardy last week was when I heard Bet talking about Dr. Phil. Seriously, I don’t know how you managed.
Speaking of infectious laughs, you two are both blessed with them. It’s what keeps me coming back for more. That and the free booze.
Re: the ousting of Nate/Jen. My wife and I literally leaped off the couch in unison to dance and praise Allah. But Lily’s right, nothing beats Jonathan & Victoria for robbing me of the will to live every time they appeared.
Broadcasting equation:
NFL Yellow Line > 1990s NHL Glowing Puck. Fox tried to change the game for the PlayStation generation, and failed miserably.
I third Dog Day Afternoon. Please pass the Fritos.
Your take on the 70s as a “long dead space” is interesting, considering many filmmakers consider it a golden era of modern cinema (perhaps check out “A Decade Under the Influence”). Just wait though, you’re coming up on the 1980s. SHUDDER.
Yeah, I forgot to mention what Patrick brought up—the 1970s actually rocked for great film making.
Jaws, Close Encounters, Star Wars, Wild Bunch, 1979’s Superman—wasn’t Willy Wonka in the 70s? Midnight Cowboy (which many people like), One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, the first 2 Godfathers, the best Mel Brooks movies were from the 1970s, A Clockwork Orange, and hey—wasn’t the In-Laws made in the 1970s??
The problem with the Oscars in the late sixties through most of the seventies (actually, even through now) is that they were nominating the wrong movies/performances. There were plenty of great films of the time, deserving of recognition. Some would argue—and I’d tend to agree—that the rise of the blockbuster film killed their momentum. Ever wonder what would have happened if Jaws, Close Encounters, and Star Wars hadn’t become successful? We likely would’ve had more Godfathers (meaning more films as ambitious and great, not, like, parts III-VI).
I don’t agree with Stennie regarding her views on films of the 70s, but I think I can understand it. Between the breakdown of the studio system, the popularity of “the method,” and the influence of Italian neo-realism, American movies became art once again but seemingly lost a certain flair. Gritty realism was a goal, with explosive performances and powerful scenes. It’s like everybody took the lead of Stanley Kowalski and ran with it. And in the process if you just wanted to be entertained for a couple of hours you had to settle for junk like The Towering Inferno. And that’s where the aforementioned blockbusters came in. (Not that things like The Godfather weren’t entertaining, but still to this day some people look at even the best films of the time like they’re some rarified-air elitist pap. Losers.)
Note: the above theory is all mine, and not well thought out, so any resemblance to actual circumstances is purely coincidental.
Btw, I loved American Graffiti, and probably would have given it the BP Oscar. The importance of its soundtrack album on my early formative years is impossible to measure.
So Mikey, are you writing a textbook?
Loved, agreed with, and have quoted this weeks Bush Fuckoff. For my job, I’m out there reading the major US papers every weekday. Amazingly enough, I have read nothing about any foreign government issuing any kind of disagreement to Bush’s obvious desire to invade Iran. I hope I’m missing something, because if he isn’t opposed, he’s going to try to do it. And if we don’t have enough people in the military to fight the battles we’re currently in, who does he think is going to do the dirty work in Iran?
Stennie – the first drama I remember that really affected me as a child was Kramer vs. Kramer. I also always associate The Champ with this movie. I think they both troubled me as a kid!
Bet – definitely Autoharp for the 100th!
Stennie – Guitar Hero – I love that you have that – I have tried to play a couple of times only to be constantly told by a 5-year-old – “you just have to push the buttons at the right time” repeatedly as I sucked big time!
Bet – gosh – I’m crossing by fingers that San’s husband stays healthy!!
I totally love the yellow line in football – it makes it much more fun to watch – as I usually am also doing something else at the time – so I can always just “jump right in” and pay attention on my own terms. I appreciate that!
That was some damn witty Frito Bandito banter.
Ok, I’m back. My chicken-shit earthlink has been down for 3 weeks. Anyway, just wanted to say hi and pass along this trivia question:
The Canadian Rock band STAMPEDERS had a city record in 1971 that just happens to be one of my favorites. What was the name of that song?
Stennie, I’m trying to see if Dennis can meet up for lunch on Sunday the 27th. Wanna join us?