Alex Jones vs. Pee Wee Herman

I Know You Are But What Am I? Romney Attempts "Obama's War on Women"

Capt. Disingenuous. Image from TPM.

Republicans from bloggers to TV pundits to Mitt Romney himself, are trying to pull a Karl Rove trick. Take their weakness, and pretend it is the weakness of the other side. Led by Rick (don't Google me) Santorum, and a host of state governments' invasive anti-women laws, Republicans have developed a women problem. Rather than addressing that, they're trying to flip it, and say it's Obama's problem. But they're coming off like Pee Wee Herman (I know you are, but what am I?) or Martin Short's nervous lawyer, Nathan Thurm (I don't have a problem. Maybe it's you that has a problem! Ever think of that?). It isn't very convincing, nor is it honest or mature. Republican voters must be used to being treated with such contempt by now, I guess.

[Excerpt]


Debunking Romney’s Claim That It’s Obama’s War On Women

Mitt Romney’s having a terrible time turning the tables on Democrats. But his camp’s claim that President Obama is the one waging the “real war on women” is best debunked visually. . .

Read more at: Talking Points Memo

Saturday Night Live w/Gwyneth Paltrow

After a string of so-so episodes (and some downright unfunny ones), SNL may be getting its groove back. Last week's Jim Carrey episode was better than average, and this weekend's was actually pretty darn funny. They started with a strong cold opening, making fun of FOX "News" trying to be civil. The monologue was okay, with Gwyneth Paltrow--who is currently starring in a movie as a country singer--acting like she knows nothing about country music, and Weekend Update was funny too. Those three elements make or break any SNL episode. Some of the other skits were hit-or-miss, but over all, a decent show.



The SNL Digital Short with Pee Wee Herman was weird, but was the highlight of the show.

Pee Wee Herman Returns!

Image from source, MSNBC

I was never a fan of Pee Wee's Playhouse, but it wasn't because of Paul Reubens or his character. It was just a period when I wasn't watching any "kids" TV. This was a problem I rectified in time for Animaniacs and Pinky and the Brain. But I always liked Rueben's manic energy, and his appearances on talk shows and the like. His appearance on Saturday Night Live was great, and Reuben's vampire character in the movie version of Buffy the Vampire Slayer may have been the best part of the flick.

[Excerpt]

Pee-wee Herman to return after 20 years

After 20 years in retirement – Pee-wee Herman is back.

Actor Paul Reubens is bringing back his beloved character in a stage show this coming November at the Music Box at The Fonda in Hollywood. . .

Read more at: MSNBC

Thanks to Stupid Monkey Planet for the tip.

Blast from the Past: Joan Rivers, Elton John and Cher

Image from source, Wonderland-site

I recently threw out all of my old VHS tapes, when we swapped the rooms that house my office and guest bedroom. I'd been saving them since the very first one I recorded, which dates to approximately 1985. It was a huge loss psychically, but not practically. In truth, I hadn't hauled one out in years, and when I did, the VCR ate it. Now, the VCRs in our house have been retired, though there is still a dusty one tucked away in the armoire in the master bedroom. For emergencies.

There were many pop culture moments stored away on those tapes, now crushed in a landfill somewhere here in the Las Vegas valley. One of them contained the below clip, so I was sort of excited when I found it.

Picture it: it's 1986. While cable TV exists, it consists of your local channels, some "independent" channels that run The Andy Griffith Show in an endless loop, MTV, CNN, C-SPAN and pay services like HBO. In all, most people had 20-30 channels, but they mostly watched the big three networks, ABC, CBS and NBC. There was no internet. Renting video tapes had only recently come into vogue. So the introduction of a new nationwide over-the-air television network was a very big deal.

But it didn't start out that way. When the FOX television network started, it consisted of exactly one show, at 11:30 pm. In fact, it wasn't even called "FOX" yet, it was called "FBC." And that show was a variety program, hosted by the recently departed "permanent guest host" of The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson. Her name was in the title of the new show, The Late Show starring Joan Rivers. You might not remember this, but at one time (briefly as it turns out) in the mid-1980s, Joan's career was hot. Not just with adults either, but with high school kids too.

It probably had to do with how bawdy she was. Most female entertainers didn't talk that way back then. Now, you've got your Sarah Silvermans and your Janeane Garofalos, but in the 1980s there was just Joan. The show didn't catch on, and was replaced (eventually by Arsenio Hall) fairly quickly, but to be fair, it wasn't given much of a chance. This was a brand new television network, mostly cobbled together from local UHF stations. And Joan Rivers isn't everybody's cup of tea, especially when you consider that she pissed off the very popular Johnny Carson, an American institution.

But check out who Joan managed to book for her debut show: Cher, Elton John, Pee-Wee Herman and David Lee Roth (don't laugh, Pee-Wee and Diamond Dave were big in the 80s too). In this clip, a very big-haired, and completely tone deaf Joan sings along to Elton John's The Bitch is Back, which was a brilliant idea. And eventually, Cher comes out and sings along. This was a treat for viewers, as Cher had been in her "serious actress" stage, and hadn't been a singer for years. Anyway, the clip brought back memories for me, so enjoy.

McCain-Palin's Larry the Cable Guy Politics

Image from PierreTristam

One of the funniest comedy specials I ever watched was The Blue Collar Comedy Tour. I'm hardly their target audience, but I found myself laughing (lots) at Bill Engvall, Jeff Foxworthy, Ron White, and yes even Larry the Cable Guy. Foxworthy had long gone stale with his "you might be a redneck" shtick, but the gathering of blue collar type comedians revitalized his comedy. Engvall was funny too, and White is in a class of his own--simply hilarious. Larry is very funny too. But how many people know that Larry is really Dan Whitney, and isn't even southern?

Nothing wrong with that, as mentioned in the link above, Elvira and Pee Wee Herman are really Cassandra Petersen and Paul Rubens, even though they usually appeared in character. Most of their audience knew that they were just characters. But I'll bet a significant portion of Larry's audience have no idea. And he uses his persona to make fun of real rednecks, some of whom don't know that he's not one of them.

The article below compares the John McCain-Sarah Palin campaign to Larry's career; that is, getting in cozy with a target audience, while misrepresenting who they really are. It's a brilliant comparison, in my opinion. Read on.

[Excerpt]

The End of 'Larry the Cable Guy Politics'

. . .Fortunately for America, Larry or Dan or whoever isn't running for president. At least, not this time.

Be it Larry the Cable Guy or his Ohio cousin, Joe the Plumber, or their political and spiritual leader, Bushie the Commander Guy, or their newly discovered co-star Sarah the Hockey Mom, it should be obvious to anyone watching that the Republicans have been engaging in a seemingly endless game of dress up, and pretending to be something they're clearly not. . .

Read more at: Huffington Post