Musing of the Moment: Bourbon in the Movies

I was watching Bull Durham before a March Madness game began today, and I noticed that in the pool room scene Crash Davis is drinking Jim Beam standard offering. That's not a good choice in my opinion, but the scene got me thinking. 

What other films feature bourbon drinking? 

I know the "Fast Eddy" Felson character (played by Paul Newman) drinks one of my favorite bargain borbons, J.T.S. Brown in The Hustler. 

And I vaguely remember John Wick drinking Blanton's. 

Other than those I couldn't think of others except maybe the Al Pacino character in Heat drinking Jack Daniel's Old No. 7. 

Uproxx has done the work for me though with this article: "The Most Iconic Bourbons Drinkers in Film History." 

Cheers to Four Roses, Wild Turkey, and Old Forester. 

Musing of the Moment: Missing Howard Cosell

I watch a lot of sports on TV, and the other day I was thinking about the legendary broadcaster Howard Cosell. 

When I was a kid, my parents let me have a small TV in my room, and one of few times they let me stay up after my bedtime was to watch Monday Night Football. 

If Peanuts comics and Marvel comic books (Daredevil, Avengers, Amazing Spider-Man, Power-Man and Iron Fist) are part of my literacy narrative, then I think I should also include Cosell also because I was fascinated by his language use, the big words and interesting turns of phrase. 

He was a legend. 

Unfortunately, most people today would not recognize what is going on in these scenes in Better Off Dead, a great 80s comedy. 

Musing of the Moment: Old Movies

I've been watching some old movies on Turner Classic Movies over break, and I've come to one solid conclusion: Grace Kelly is hotter than the hinges off the gates of Hell. 

I watched Rear Window the other day. 

I put out a query on FB about movies that came out before 1980 that any young person should watch. Here's what the mind hive of friends produced:

• Rear Window
• The Maltese Falcon
• Taxi Driver
• Blazing Saddles
• Dog Day Afternoon
• 12 Angry Men
• Monty Python and the Holy Grail
• Airplane!
• A Clockwork Orange
• Alien
• Rocky 
• Enter the Dragon
• Star Wars IV: A New Hope
• Godfather I and II
• The Blues Brothers
• Animal House
• One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
• Saturday Night Fever
• Grease
• Close Encounters of the Third Kind
• The Shining
• North by Northwest
• The Graduate
• French Connection
• The Sting
• Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
• Cool Hand Luke
• Casablanca
• The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
• To Kill a Mockingbird
• Roman Holiday
• Poltergeist

I've seen most of these except for the following: Taxi Driver, Dog Day Afternoon, Close Encounters, Cool Hand Luke, and Roman Holiday.

The one movie I would add to that list is Life of Brian. 

Stay Positive: Cannery Row (the Movie)

Last night I watched a film that I taped from Turner Classic Movies. It was the 1982 film Cannery Row starring Nick Nolte and Debra Winger. 

I remember my friends and I renting it and watching it on VHS. After watching it, we later made beer milkshakes that the novel made famous. 

It's not a great film by any stretch of the imagination, but it made me want to read the two novels it is based on, Cannery Row and Sweet Thursday. They are Steinbeck novels, which are very much of their era.

And I've always liked Steinbeck even though in some literary circles Steinbeck is seen as "too easy" for literature professors. And there's also the stink that is attached to Steinbeck because people read his works in middle school and high school, such as my son having to write a literary analysis paper this semester about Of Mice and Men. 

Despite the literary snobbishness aimed at Steinbeck, he's an excellent writer, who actually could write literature that has humor in it. 

Musing of the Moment: Considering 8 Mile

The movie 8 Mile came out over twenty years ago, but I never watched it until last night.  

I like Eminem but not as much as to watch the movie way back then or to buy any of his CDs back when people bought and listened to CDs. 

I watched the movie last night and enjoyed it. 

The film takes you on the journey of hero made famous by the work of Joseph Campbell. The white kid outsmarts the rap battles dominated by black guys after a number of setbacks. 

The minor gaffe in the movie though is making Kim Basinger, who plays B-Rabbit's mom, try to have a consistent Southern accent. And she's not good at it. 

Why? 

The movie is set in Detroit. 

Musing of the Moment: Why the British Accents?

I've watched a lot of shows and documentaries about Rome and the Greek tales of Homer. Some are good, some are mediocre, and some are quite good. 

One constant, however, is that the actors and actresses playing Greeks or Romans usually have British accents.  

Even in the Netflix series Young Wallander had actors playing Swedes, and many of them had British accents. 

What is up with that?

Random Notes from a Crank

Of all of the op-ed writers out there, Greg Sargent of The Washington Post is one of the strongest ones writing right now. Check out these two fine columns for your edification:

• "The Big, Ugly Lie at the Core of Trump's Latest Surrender" 
• "Trump Just Denied His Attacks Are Racist. He Only Confirmed the Worst"

Today I was reminded of this fine scene from Blazing Saddles. 

HARUMPH. 

Random Notes from a Crank

The past month has featured one disappointing series finale and a movie as a series finale. 

The much talked about Game of Thrones series finale shows what the last two seasons have been, a foray into HBO fan fiction. I was a bit surprised that Jon offed Danerys, but I don't get the logic of Tyrion's claim that Bran the Broken has the "best story." The best story of all is Jon Snow's. 

All in all, the last season was rushed.

And Martin still hasn't published the last two damn books. 

With much anticipation, I watched the Deadwood movie. I enjoyed it. It didn't end with a neatly wrapped ending, but we can assume that Hearst gets off on the murder of Charlie Udder because based on historical accounts, he did just fine for himself. It was nice seeing the bastard get beat up though. 

Regardless, it was a pleasure to watch those Deadwood characters again. 

Pacific Standard has a great article outlining that trickle-down economics is a scam: "The IMF Confirms That 'Trickle-Down' Economics Is, Indeed, A Joke." 

Random Notes from a Crank

I finally got around to watching Spike Lee's BlacKKKlansman. It's a heck of a movie. Having watched a number of his films, I think it ranks up there with Do the Right Thing, Mo' Better Blues, and Malcolm X. 

While I have a personal attraction to Mo' Better Blues because it's about jazz, It's a shame he never won an Oscar for one of the other three movies. 

Here's a shocker via three reputable sources:

• "Trump's Tax Law Had Small Effect on Economy, Wages: Study"
• "Study Finds Trump Tax Cuts Failed to Do Anything But Give Rich People Money"
• "A Devastating Analysis of the Tax Cut Shows It's Done Virtually No Economic Good"

It's possible that Kawhi Leonard is still underrated.

[Belated] Music Friday: "Afternoon Delight"

I'm way late with this. But I just got done watching Good Will Hunting, so I'm featuring this song for shits and giggles. 

Random Notes from a Crank

For years I've been reading reports about how optimists do better in life and live longer. Much to my surprise, the December/January issue of The Atlantic has a uplifting article for we pessimists of the world. Check out "The Power of Negative Thinking."  I'm particularly fond of "defensive pessimism": "Forget about hoping for the best. Instead, focus on preparing for the worst." 

In the same issue, Julia Ioffe's "Putin's Game," aka "What Putin Really Wants," details why and how Russia interfered in the presidential election and why they will probably interfere in future elections. It also details the current state of the country and Putin's popularity. It's a longish article but well worth the read. 

This short article from Deadspin doesn't surprise me at all: "Cops Say an Eagles Fan Punched a Police Horse after Being Ejected from the Stadium."

Which reminds me of Mongo punching out a horse in Blazing Saddles...

Random Notes from a Crank

Traveling through Pennsylvania was a scenic drive. Even though we were on an interstate (I-76), the Alleghany Mountains are a pretty sight. 

Our hotel is right beside the Delaware River, so even though I've never been to New Jersey, I can see it. There's a battleship docked on that side of the river. 

Hilton hotels tend to have good shower heads. 

I caught part of movie The Great Wall last night. It was fantastical but seemed good enough to watch all the way through. Good enough in a "turn-off-your-brain-and-enjoy-the-action" sort of way. I only caught parts of it. I'm trying to figure out what kind of accent Matt Damon was trying to have though. Perhaps Scottish or Welsh? 

In the wake of all these women coming out to accuse men of past sexual harassments, I think it's safe to say that more people, particularly those who had power to do something about Clarence Thomas, should have believed Anita Hill. 

This evening my son and I went to the Trailblazers-76ers game. It was interesting. I had never been to an NBA game before. Even though we were high up in the stands, we could still see quite well. 

Philly fans are notorious for being obnoxious and rude. They followed through on their reputation. As the Trailblazers starting lineup was announced, after each name of the player was read by the announcer, the fans shouted "SUCKS!"

And they even booed kids. There was a dance cam during the fourth quarter, and one chubby kid was dancing in an outstanding fashion to the wobble song. And then the camera people would pan to other people dancing, and the fans liked the chubby kid so much that they booed other kids dancing. Astounding. 

Random Notes from a Crank

I started watching the movie Cider House Rules today, and doing so spurred me to buy the novel. I read that book way back in high school, and I remember it as one of those books that fundamentally changed the way I look at things. I might start revisiting books I haven't read since high school. 

But wow, I had forgotten the movie had Tobey Maguire, Charlize Theron, and Paul Rudd in it. 

News came across my FB feed today, and an ad related that Deer Tick will have two new albums out this fall. Vol. 1 is all acoustic, and Vol. 2 is a rock album. Check out the ad: "Deer Tick New Albums on PledgeMusic." 

I dislike ketchup on hot dogs and sausages. I was glad to find out that the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council supports my disdain via its "Hot Dog Etiquette" guidelines.

Random Notes from a Crank

On Father's Day Mrs. Nasty, the kids, and I went to the Wonder Woman movie. I enjoyed it. I'm not a DC Comics kind of guy, but it was an entertaining movie. Of the DC comics characters, Wonder Woman is one of my favorites. 

And the actress who plays Wonder Woman is hotter than the hinges hanging off the gates of Hell. 

Unfortunately for her, "Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman Salary Was Shockingly Low." 

This past weekend I took my son to the local comic book store, and he picked up a copy of Black Panther Vol. 1 by Ta-Nehisi Coates. I read it that afternoon. I really enjoy Coates' work, but the narrative was a little too fragmented for me. 

One of my excellent discoveries was that Bendis created a new stand-alone Jessica Jones narrative. Good stuff people. 

Music Friday: "Left Hand Free"

Last night the Nasty family finally got around to watching Captain America Civil War. 

It was your typical Marvel Studios fare. I'm sure there are all kinds of differences between what actually happened in the comic books and how the movie presents the events, but I'll leave that to those who are reading Avengers comics. 

As is their bent, this Marvel-based movie had two bonus scenes/trailers after the main film was over. 

Before the second one featuring yet another permutation of Spiderman, this song was playing by a band I wasn't familiar with named Alt-J. 

Enjoy. 

Random Notes from a Crank

Maybe it's just me, but often when I sit and watch my son do taekwondo, I want to yell out, "Sweep the leg." 

The other week I got a new book: Zen Pencils. If you like comics and inspirational quotations, you should check it out. 

I think we all should try to dance like the kids in A Charlie Brown Christmas. 



Of all of the fictional characters out there, Snoopy has to be in the top twenty. 

As college newspaper editorials go, this is one I enjoyed reading even though Inhofe and a like-minded cohort of idiots make me angry and frustrated: "It's Time We Call the Science Deniers What They Are." 

Random Notes from a Crank

Last night the good fellows on MLB Tonight went over the stupidity of hitters not taking advantage of the extreme shifting that defenses are doing in baseball. Defenses are basically giving hitters probable base hits and doubles just shifting infielders to one side of the diamond. It's bizarre that more hitters are not taking advantage of the shifting. I'm sure hitters could work on hitting the other way in batting practice. It's just so silly that very few hitters aren't adjusting. It's just intellectual lollygagging, which reminds me of a classic scene from Bull Durham. I shared it a couple of years ago, but here it is again.  




Lately I've been thinking of getting a vasectomy. Mrs. Nasty and I don't plan to have any more kids, and from what I'm told, it's not a big deal as surgeries go. The doctor does it right in the office. But I wonder, after a person has the procedure, what happens down there after one orgasms? I mean, does no jizz come out at all? When an orgasm happens, is there just a pathetic whoosh of air? Sort of like the penis saying, "meh." If it is a faint whoosh of air, is that the real sound of one hand clapping? I bet it is. These are things I think about. 

Well, I did some research after writing that paragraph above, research meaning that I searched the InterWebs. The answer is yes, baby-gravy  ball juice  courting-cream  cum  Cupid's toothpaste  Cyclop's tears  ejaculant  gonad-glue  happy-juice  jism  love butter  man-juice  minkus  people-paste  sledge  soul-sauce  spence  spooge  spudwater  spunk  semen still happens, but, as one site describes it, men after vasectomies are "all juice and no seeds." 

This report by Climate Progress about the drought in California is troubling. This article from Triple Pundit about the recent IPCC Report is disturbing. 

There's debate about whether there is a black dog bias, but this article (with photos) about Fred Levy's Black Dog Project is interesting. 

I enjoyed Lodro Rinzler's The Buddha Walks into a Bar…, and he also writes for The Huffington Post. His recent article tackles how mindfulness is not a trend. 

Random Notes from a Crank

For major writing projects in my courses, I provide the criteria I use when I evaluate their work. For larger projects, I sometimes create what I call "alternate criteria" just for kicks. I thought I'd share the alt criteria for a recent project:

A Successful Teaching Portfolio (Alt Criteria)

• Provides quality writing
•  Lights a candle of pedagogical knowledge
•  Instills pistis in the reader
•  Has rhetorical kung fu
•  Puts the critical in critical thinking
•  Is enjoyable to read
•  Exemplifies phronesis—practical wisdom
• Assures the reader that you know what you’re doing
•  Makes the mind step lively
•  Seduces the reader with smart ideas, policies, assignments, and lesson plans
•  Shows that the Teaching Force is strong in you
•  Offers prose free of hokum, claptrap, “Engfish,” gobbledygook, administrative-speak, and logical boondoggles
•  Is a hooey-free zone
•  Seeks vengeance on anyone who ever doubted your ability as an instructor
• Creates the sound of one hand clapping 

That's me quoting my professional self, something I rarely do on this blog. Don't get used to it. Those hyperlinks above might take you to some places though. 

With the legalization of marijuana in Colorado and Washington, I wonder if anyone has approached Cheech and Chong about doing a movie? 

Regardless, I'm curious about how much tax revenue those states will generate from pot sales this year. 

Typical of HBO's adaptation of Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series, this season's first episode of Game of Thrones sexxed up the storyline. If I remember right from A Storm of Swords, when Tyrion and Oberyn Martell meet for the first time, they do so on the road to King's Landing. Instead, HBO has Tyrion Lannister going to a whorehouse to meet the Red Viper, and the first scene that introduces Oberyn and Ellaria Sand plays with the backstory that they're both bisexual. Classic move, HBO. 

And if you're a fan of the series, here's "Death Never in Games of Thrones Never Looked So Beautiful" from Mashable. 

Random Notes from a Crank

As Xmas approaches, I've seen all kinds of jewelry commercials. I don't know why anyone would actually name a jewelry company Jared, an innocuous male name but one that reminds of some bitter late-20s dude who lives in his parent's basement. And Kay jewelers, right... Every kiss begins with them supposedly. How annoying. The portrayal of women is both commercials is the same sexist tripe we see lots of places, but I wonder if "If you liked it, you should have put a ring on it" is not much, if at all, different? 

On one of the InterWeb fora I visit regularly, people were talking about their top five John Cusack movies. Lots of people like Say Anything, but it never blew me away like it has other people. I'm a big fan of one of Cusack's early comedies, Better Off Dead. In the midst of the discussion about Say Anything though, I was reminded of Lloyd Dobler's excellent answer about his career interests. 



I don't have a ton to say about the Phil Robertson interview and suspension, but it's not surprising he holds such dumb, intolerant views. As one of my buddies on FB pointed out, Christians don't pay attention to all kinds of passages anymore, such as the ones that condone slavery, so this seems just to be another case of applying silly passages to the real world. The whole deal reminds me of what either H.L. Mencken said about Christianity (or maybe was it Twain?). I'm paraphrasing here, but the statement was something like this: It's not that Christianity is a bad religion. It's just some of the followers are whack-jobs. 

Nevertheless, here are some quotations about religion by Mencken if you're so inclined: Mencken on religion. 

This statement seems relevant: "The way to deal with superstition is not to be polite to it, but to tackle it with all arms, and so rout it, cripple it, and make it forever infamous and ridiculous. Is it, perchance, cherished by person who should know better? Then their folly should be brought out into the light of day, and exhibited there in all its hideousness until they flee from it, hiding their heads in shame. True enough, even a superstitious man has certain inalienable rights. He has a right to harbor and indulge his imbecilities as long as he pleases, provided only he does not try to inflict them upon other men by force. He has the right to argue for them as eloquently as he can, in season and out of season. He has the right to teach them to his children. But certainly he has no right to be protected against the free criticism of those who do not hold them. He has no right to demand that they be treated as sacred. He has no right to preach them without challenge."

Random Notes from a Crank

Sunday we finished putting up our outside Xmas lights. So did the neighbors. For the most part, we're pretty traditional. We have some frosted bulbs outlining the front expanse of the house that I put up on Friday, and Mrs. Nasty placed the garland and lights around the front porch. We have a couple of smaller lighted outdoor knick nacks dotting the front yard. Nothing garish but only celebrating the season. Our neighbors across the street, on the other hand, have some of those damn inflatables: one monstrous penguin with a Santa cap that's probably at least seven-feet tall, another large inflatable of Santa and his sleigh, some large lighted presents, and SpongeBob with a Santa hat. SpongeBob, for God's sake. 

In the spring we will put our house on the market. My daughter, a well-known hater of change, informed us the other day that's she's going to "sabotage" the selling of our house. Her tentative plan is that she's going to plant all kinds of bugs throughout the house, so people won't buy it. Who knows if we'll actually sell it because a) we have to find a buyer and b) we have to find a house in the Charleston metropolitan area we like enough to move to something different. I'd like a home with either a pool, a pond, or a barn. I doubt any of those will happen, but we will not buy a new house without a basement. We saw the destruction a tornado can do when we visited Tuscaloosa last fall. I also need space for some manner of a garden, so we'll see what the market brings this spring. 

The start of December marks the time when the kids and I get into high gear quoting lines from the movie A Christmas Story. We'll recite some lines from that flick from time to time throughout the year, but when December hits, it's ON, baby. Below is the scene we act out most often. 



The Old Man: [angry muttering] Don't you touch that. You were always jealous of this lamp. 

Mom: [feigning innocence] Jealous of a plastic lamp?

The Old Man: Jealous ... jealous because I WON.


The Old Man: [angry] GET the glue.

Mom: [resolutely calm] We're OUT of glue.

The Old Man: [Indecipherable angry noise] You used up all the glue ... on PURPOSE!"


In other fine media matters, new episodes of Clubhouse Confidential have started. C[C] is one of finest sports-related programs around. 

And wow, what about the Doug Fister trade, huh? The Nationals appear to have done very well for what they gave up for Fister. Here's a detailed analysis of the trade from MLB Trade Rumors.  And here's an acerbic analysis by Fangraphs titled "Nationals Steal Doug Fister from the Tigers."