John Oliver on Trump (Drumph)

Everyone should take the time to watch this excerpt from John Oliver's HBO show, "Last Week Tonight."  I can honestly say it is a masterful take-down of Donald Trump.  Oh, and by the way it is absolutely hilarious.

YFT - The Honeymooners stand the test of time

When I was a boy of 12 one of my favorite TV shows was "The Honeymooners."  It came at a time when I was first developing my "adult" sense of humor.  I got to thinking about the show a couple of days ago and wondered if some of the episodes were available on YouTube.  Much to my surprise and joy,  pretty much all of the episodes are available.  I have a specific recollection of some of those episodes, which stick in my mind and make me chuckle as I remember them from time to time.  One of those was the hilarious "The $99,000 Answer," which aired in 1956.  I just watched it for the first time in who knows how long, and it filled me with unqualified nostalgia and mirth. Needless to say I was laughing out loud most of the time.  I won't ruin it for you by revealing any of the plot, but the episode gives us Gleason and Carney at their absolute best, with Audrey Meadows contributing her usual offering of rational thought and reality.  The payoff at the end is classic Gleason.  I urge you to take 25 minutes of your time and watch this little masterpiece right here.

Ring any bells?

“Why of course the people don't want war. Why should some poor slob on a farm want to risk his life in a war when the best he can get out of it is to come back to his farm in one piece? Naturally the common people don't want war: neither in Russia, nor in England, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But after all it is the leaders of a country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy or fascist dictatorship, or a parliament or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the peace makers for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.”

~ Hermann Göring

YFT - Kodachrome is still cool

My latest ear worm is one that came totally unbidden, and like all such ear worms it's inexplicable. How and why did it come from wherever it lurks?  Anyway, the culprit is "Kodachrome" by Paul Simon.  It's still a great song and here is a YouTube version that actually has a cool visual montage.  Enjoy.

LP covers...

One of the best things about listening to music in the sixties, seventies, and eighties was the album cover art that bedecked the cardboard sleeves that held our precious vinyl.  Once CD's took over in the early eighties the album cover gradualy became a thing of the past.  The tiny CD cover was puny and weak compared with great album covers.  It's true that you could, and still can, go to specialty stores that carry old vinyl and experience the joy of fondling those old albums, but for the most part the LP cover is a thing of the past.  Now days I don't even by CD's anymore, choosing instead to listen to streaming music from Rhapsody, YouTube, Pandora and many other Internet sources.  (Take a listen to Radio Paradise for example.)

This leads me to the point of this post.  I came across a pictorial showing 35 great album covers in all their glory.  Talk about a contact high!  Check it out.

So long Scalia

I am definitely not in mourning.

YFT - Pretenders

Another "YouTube From Tom"

I was driving around today listening to music when up popped The Pretenders performing "Middle of the Road."  It's a great song and they are a terrific band.  I have always admired their musicianship and Chrissie Hynde's singing and song-writing.  Their discography is pretty epic so it's hard to pick a favorite, but for me "Show Me" is near the top if not the top.  Remembering this I hopped on to YouTube for some "Show Me" investigation.  In presenting my final results I thought it best to give you a studio recording and a live performance.  The audio mix on the live performance is a bit muffled.  Anyway, for me the high point of "Show Me" is the insanely great little bridge, which really grooves with unexpected power.  In the studio recording it's at 2:05 and again at 3:30.  In the live performance it's at 2:10 and again at 3:04 in a little variation of the original riff. Oh, and Robbie McIntosh plays a very nifty guitar solo near the end of the live performance.

Star Wars ...

Finally got around to seeing Star Wars weekend before last.  It was very watchable and I had a good time.  However, I have a couple of observations:

1.  Am I the only one who is getting tired of John Williams?  About half way through the movie the score began to irritate me.  It was ever-present, bombastic,  and self-derivative.  I realize that the film- makers had to incorporate the beloved theme music to some extent, but come on!

2.  There was far less dialog and character development than I expected there would be, especially with J.J. Abrams in the director's chair.  Compare his reboot of the Star Trek franchise with the new Star Wars and if you are honest with yourself you will realize that J.J.'s Star Trek is a better film.  This is the case because of the wonderful dialog and character development in the Star Trek reboot.  I've seen the Star Trek film three times and loved it all three.  The score by Michael Giacchino is a refreshing departure from the heavy hand of John Williams.  Check it out and you will see what I mean.

p.s. By the way, I agree with the general consensus, including J.J.  himself, that his following up, "Star Trek -- Into Darkness" was a disappointment.