I’m somewhat disappointed that the goofy music video I posted the other day didn’t draw more of a response from my three loyal readers, but I guess that’s the way it goes sometimes. Not every entry can be a winner.
Still, I thought the “Trapped in the Web of Love” clip was interesting enough to warrant some googling, to see if I could figure out what the heck that thing was supposed to be and where it came from. It turns out that my campy little curiosity has a pretty interesting history…
And now, as a public service to all those who don’t have the time or inclination to wade through my long, self-indulgent ramblings about why I like the movies I like but who still harbor a certain voyeuristic curiosity about the subject, here are the titles only, in convenient list format:
Sorry I’ve been something of a tease with this whole movie-list thing. Inexcusable of me, I know; it’s just that it’s been one of those kinds of weeks, the only kind I ever seem to have anymore. But the task must be completed, so, without further delay, here is the rest of my personal Top Fifty:
[And if you don’t know what all this list-talk is all about, read Part 1 and Part 2 before proceeding.]
Here’s a little something for you history buffs who have plenty of disposable income: Via Boing Boing, I see that someone has what appears to be a genuine Enigma cipher machine up for auction on eBay.
The Enigma was, of course, the cryptographic device famously used by the Nazis during World War II to generate coded messages. It also happens to be a cool-looking artifact of the pre-electronic world; I’d love to have one of these things in my curio cabinet! (Hint hint, if there are any really generous and wealthy people reading my humble blog…)
I know you’re all waiting on tenterhooks for the second half of my All-Time Favorite Movies list, but this was too good not to share immediately. For years, I heard whispered tales about Fred and Barney hawking Winston cigarettes back in the days when The Flintstones was running in primetime, but I’d never seen any actual evidence of it. When the news went out that the show would be released on DVD, there was much fanboy speculation about whether the legendary commercial would be included as an extra, and much disappointment when it was not. Some people even suggested that the whole thing was apocryphal, that it never happened.
But it did. And here’s your proof:
I love weird little pop-culture artifacts like this…
[Ed. note: I found this clip courtesy of Mark Evanier; if you’re interested, he offers a brief history of this commercial, The Flintstones, and some other primetime cartoons here.]
As the title suggests, I thought I’d take a quick break from the All-Time Favorite movie list to post this reassuring tidbit of news:
I am not annoying at all. In fact most people come to me for advice. Of course they annoy the hell out of me. But what can I do? I am smarter than most people.
If you haven’t already, read Part 1 of this three-part entry. And now without further delay, here are my personal faves:
As I was thinking about what to say in my 500th entry, it occurred to me that there are several topics I’ve long wanted to write about, and in some cases have even started writing about, but, for one reason or another, they’ve never seen the light of day. Take, for example, the subject of my All-Time Favorite Movies, a fairly obvious bit of small-talk that I promised to share way back in my third entry, just over two years ago. If you’ve been sitting around waiting for this one to appear, you’ve had a long wait.
The latest blogging innovation seems to be embeddable video players, like the one you see below. (Evanier, in particular, has become very fond of this new gimmick in the last couple weeks.) I wouldn’t want to miss out on a happening new Internet trend, so I thought I’d give the technology a try and share with you all this vintage music video that a friend sent to me this morning. The clip is more effective if you’ve got sound, but even if you don’t, just sit back and bask in the surreal (and curiously sexy in a dopey kind of way) imagery. I especially like the scrawny little guy in the zebra-skin collar who is stirring his big, bubbling cauldron of luscious girl-singer stew. Freud would’ve loved that sequence…
Let me know how this player thingie works for you all and if you’d like to see more of this sort of thing here at Simple Tricks.
Another Internet quiz. Because I just love taking silly automated quizzes that ask a handful of random questions and then authoritatively declare that I’m just like a fictional character. Interestingly, my results this time indicate that I scored only a few points difference between one of the best-drawn characters of the Star Trek universe and a class of characters that are so ill-defined as to barely deserve the designation. What the heck does that say about me?
Your results:
You are Jean-Luc Picard
A lover of Shakespeare and other fine literature. You have a decisive mind and a firm hand in dealing with others.
| Jean-Luc Picard |
|
75% |
| An Expendable Character (Redshirt) |
|
70% |
| Will Riker |
|
65% |
| James T. Kirk (Captain) |
|
60% |
| Geordi LaForge |
|
60% |
| Mr. Scott |
|
55% |
| Spock |
|
52% |
| Worf |
|
50% |
| Uhura |
|
45% |
| Chekov |
|
45% |
| Deanna Troi |
|
45% |
| Leonard McCoy (Bones) |
|
45% |
| Data |
|
37% |
| Mr. Sulu |
|
15% |
| Beverly Crusher |
|
5% |