The Lair of the White Worm [1988]
1. Pickled earthworms in aspic.
2. She submerges his head beneath the suds with the sole of her boot.
3. Citizen Kane reference.
The Lair of the White Worm [1988]
1. Pickled earthworms in aspic.
2. She submerges his head beneath the suds with the sole of her boot.
3. Citizen Kane reference.
All Things Must Pass: The Rise and Fall of Tower Records [2015]
1. The first record Russ ever bought was “San Antonio Rose,” by Bob Wills. 35 cents.
2. A display: Sinatra–Basie: An Historic Musical First next to A Taste of Honey by Martin Denny.
3. Elton John would show up with a shopping list and buy three copies of each album, one for each of his houses.
I definitely spent my share of time at Tower Records on Wabash during college. I have distinct memories of several CDs I bought there. All the Way, by Jimmy Scott; The Voice of Love, by Julee Cruise; Mambo Fever: Ultra Lounge, Vol. 2; Wrecking Ball, by Emmylou Harris. For a few years in the early years of our relationship, Andy and I had a tradition. On Super Bowl Sunday we went to the Tower Records at Clark/Webster and spent several hours shopping. During the game the place was empty and we could browse freely. We always walked out with a lot of stuff.
When the store on Wabash had its Going Out Of Business sale I made several trips. Kept coming back. It was hard to say goodbye.
Nocturama [2016]
1. It opens like The Taking of Pelham One Two Three.
2. Mannequins of themselves.
3. The police never say a word and are not interested in making arrests.
Roughshod [1949]
1. An Irish miner.
2. Thanks to the echo in the valley, he dies before his dying words die out.
3. Closing line: “Is there any place in town a man could buy some gingham?”
Tasked with creating a refreshing beverage for my brother’s wedding reception recently, I did the sensible thing and made some punch. I adapted the well known and dependably delicious original recipe (which possibly originated at Trader Vic’s, c. 1946). Pretty easy to assemble!
EL DIABLO PUNCH
40 ounces silver tequila
10 ounces Crème de cassis
15 ounces fresh squeezed lime juice
6 (12 ounce) cans Cock’n Bull Ginger Beer
Add the first three ingredients to a punchbowl and stir. Then gently add a large block of ice. Slowly pour the ginger beer into the punchbowl and stir to combine. Serve in small glasses with additional ice and garnish with lime slices.
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie [1972]
1. “Did you see that? That was precisely not the way to drink a dry martini.”
“You’re being hard on Maurice,” she protests. “He’s a commoner. He’s uneducated.”
Then Don Rafael injects, “No system can give the masses the proper social graces. But you know me, I’m not a reactionary.”
2. After the bishop shoots the dying man, he vanishes from the movie.
3. The street is a set, painted flats for storefronts. We hear traffic noises and an endlessly pealing bell.
Alien: Covenant [2017]
1. How many times do we need to see the floating head?
2. Rooms of hanging papers crackling in a breeze.
3. Crane crush.
Pfft.
I’m still digesting what I saw last night; I will probably be digesting what I saw last night for a long, time time. I’m deeply shaken in a way that feels both frightening and wondrous. In a day and age where we’re hypersaturated with “content” every waking moment, it’s become increasingly rare for a work of imagination to completely take hold of me and really change the way I experience life. Twin Peaks: The Return has certainly done it though.
This much has still not changed after 25 years: I’ll journey down whichever lost highway David Lynch chooses to take. Yet, I kind of hope there isn’t any more Twin Peaks forthcoming. Either Lynch will create something new, or this was his magnum opus and he’ll retire. You know what the last half of Part 18 reminds me of? The last few moments of Buñuel’s That Obscure Object of Desire. Mathieu and Conchita watch through a store window as a woman sews, mending a dirty and torn garment. He says something to her and she reacts, angrily, but we can’t hear them. They walk away and then a terrorist bomb goes off. Apparently killing them? The End. Buñuel could have made another film, he lived several more years, but he didn’t. I think he knew it would be his last. Perhaps wanted itto be. Maybe Lynch feels the same way. Or, just maybe, he has more stories to tell. In any case, Twin Peaks: The Return … what a beautiful, extraordinary enigma.
Whitney: Can I Be Me [2017]
1. The difference between success and fame.
2. Sitting in front of Barry White at the Soul Train Music Awards.
3. Cat in the Hat Comes Back nightshirt.
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three [1974]
1. “What’s the matter with everybody? How many hijacked trains we got?”
2. Tony Roberts: “We’re tryin’ to run a city, not a goddamn democracy!”
3. Looking at his mig shot: “Giuseppe Benvenuto, alias, heheh, Joe Welcome.”