MYSTIC FROM THE EAST
My son, Devin, is the authority on all things comic. He has spent much of his life examining the stylings of a variety of comics, from...
CULTURAL SHIFT
There are elements of the past I find far preferable to elements of today. What crotchety old person doesn't feel that way?! But there...
THE SECOND BRITISH INVASION
I was fortunate to have been alive for the first British musical invasion in the Swinging Sixties. Shortly after the death of President...
TV TIME (Part III Sandy Becker/Jon Gnagy)
Children's TV made stars out of a number of people, some of whom I may write about in future posts. There was Captain Kangaroo, of...
TV TIME (Part II-Scandal Aftermath)
Last time, I discussed a popular kids show from the mid-50s, Terrytoon Circus, a weeknight staple. But there were wonderful weekend...
TV TIME (Part 1)
When my kids were young, we enjoyed watching all the Nickelodeon shows and the Nick, Jr. series. Of course, I introduced them to shows I...
"MRS. PEEL, WE'RE NEEDED."
There Will Always Be An England: Patrick Macnee died this past summer, but thanks to my DVD collection, he will never fail to live on...
MTV Part III BLASHFIELD BRILLIANCE
Many now prominent directors created initial buzz within the burgeoning form of the MTV video. David Fincher and Spike Jonze come to...
MTV 1980s Part II (Pool Boys)
Here's Part II of my retrospective of classic 1980s MTV videos. First up is George Thorogood and his band the Delaware Destroyers. In Year Two of MTV, "Bad to the Bone" proved to be one of the most spirited videos in this new format. Many of the directors of music videos were content to show the band in a static environment or create a montage of images and quick edits to catch the eye. Most of them today look pretty lame. Not "Bad to the Bone," the title cut from Thorogoo
CAVETT/BURTON
I have looked wistfully at my earlier days recalling the hours I spent watching prime time and late night talk shows, enthralled by many hours of hilarity or serious, reflective conversation. Nothing like it exists on commercial television today, and public television shows like Charlie Rose seem, more often than not, to be much more about Charlie Rose's views than anything interesting he might elicit from his guests. I fondly recall the free-for-alls on The Dick Cavett Show
