Hey, I Remember This Show: Miami Vice

The one cop show that almost everyone in America watched back in the mid-1980s. It made stars out of Don Johnson and Edward James Olmos and was even quite popular with some of my Mexican cousins. (One of my Mexican second cousins even had a die-hard crush on Don Johnson.)

Of course, nowadays everyone likes to pretend they never watched it. But, hey, we know different, right?

Hey, I Don't Remember This Show: Dempsey and Makepeace

They're young, they're white and they fight crime. Such appears to be the premise of a rather obscure British show that was supposedly quite popular on the other side of the Atlantic back in the mid-1980s. I guess we Yanks didn't pay attention to it because no one here was watching cop shows in the mid-80s.

All kidding aside, the show's premise involving an American cop going overseas to work with his British counterparts does sound familiar.

Movie Quote of the Week

Do you know, I believe we should all behave quite differently if we lived in a warm, sunny climate all the time. We shouldn't be so withdrawn and shy and difficult.
--Celia Johnson, Brief Encounter (1945)

TV Quote of the Week

Con esto concluimos nuestra primera temporada de Earl. Estamos muy agradecidos con su acompañamiento y anticipamos verlos el próximo otoño. (This concludes our first season of Earl. We are very grateful for your support and look forward to seeing you next autumn.)
--Nadine Velazquez, My Name Is Earl, “Number One”

Buscando Trabajo de Nuevo: Parte XVII

I spent a pleasant evening with a friend on Wednesday and enjoyed a very good night's sleep on Thursday so naturally I lost my job on Friday. Technically, I was still in training but it still smarts to find myself back at square one.

Perhaps it was a blessing and I'll end up getting a better job in the long run. Perhaps.

On the bright side, my sister found a part-time job this past week and one of my female friends got a job as a state inspector. So maybe things are becoming more favorable in the job market. We'll see.

1955

Abbott and Costello Meet the Keystone Kops (1955)
Abbot and Costello Meet the Mummy (1955)
Blackboard Jungle (1955)
I Am a Camera (1955)
Illegal (1955)
Lady and the Tramp (1955)
Lady Godiva of Coventry (1955)
Rebel Without a Cause (1955)
Tarantula (1955)
The Court Jester (1955)
The Kentuckian (1955)
The Ladykillers (1955)
The Night of the Hunter (1955)
To Catch a Thief (1955)

1954

Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)
Dial M for Murder (1954)
On the Waterfront (1954)
Rear Window (1954)
Sabrina (1954)
Salt of the Earth (1954)
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)
Them! (1954)

1953

Abbott and Costello Go to Mars (1953)
Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1953)
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)
House of Wax (1953)
I Confess (1953)
Mogambo (1953)
Roman Holiday (1953)
The Captain's Paradise (1953)
The War of the Worlds (1953)

1952

Angel Face (1952)
Lost in Alaska (1952)
Singin' in the Rain (1952)
The Crimson Pirate (1952)
We're Not Married (1952)

1951

Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man (1951)
Bedtime for Bonzo (1951)
Comin' Round the Mountain (1951)
I'll Never Forget You (1951)
Pandora and the Flying Dutchman (1951)
Strangers on a Train (1951)
The African Queen (1951)
The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
The Lavender Hill Mob (1951)
The Lemon Drop Kid (1951)

1950

Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion (1950)
All About Eve (1950)
Borderline (1950)
Champagne for Caesar (1950)
Cinderella (1950)
Stage Fright (1950)

Pop Song of the Week: “Psycho Chicken”

Who says the songs of the 1980s were not witty and sophisticated?

1949

A Letter to Three Wives (1949)
Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff (1949)
Adam's Rib (1949)
Border Incident (1949)
Holiday Affair (1949)
In the Good Old Summertime (1949)
The Barkeys of Broadway (1949)
The Big Steal (1949)

1948

Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)
Mexican Hayride (1948)
Miranda (1948)
Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948)
Nosotros los Pobres (1948)
On Our Merry Way (1948)
One Touch of Venus (1948)
Portrait of Jennie (1948)
State of the Union (1948)
The Big Clock (1948)
The Luck of the Irish (1948)
The Pirate (1948)
3 Godfathers (1948)

1947

Buck Privates Come Home (1947)
Captain from Castile (1947)
Gentlemen's Agreement (1947)
Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
My Favorite Brunette (1947)
Out of the Past (1947)
Song of the Thin Man (1947)
The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947)
The Egg and I (1947)
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947)
The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap (1947)

Movie Song of the Week: “Singin' in the Rain”

It rained in Dallas today so naturally I thought of this song. Unfortunately, the most famous version of this song (the one done by Gene Kelly) was not available for embedding. However, this version was. From 1929's The Hollywood Revue of 1929, it's one of the two earliest versions of that song to appear on the big screen. And yes, that is Buster Keaton down there among the singers.

I hope you all enjoy it.

1946

Angel on My Shoulder (1946)
Gilda (1946)
Heartbeat (1946)
It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
Notorious (1946)
She-Wolf of London (1946)
The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
The Time of Their Lives (1946)
Without Reservations (1946)

1945

Anchors Aweigh (1945)
Christmas in Connecticut (1945)
Fallen Angel (1945)
Scarlet Street (1945)
She Wouldn't Say Yes (1945)
Spellbound (1945)
The Body Snatcher (1945)
The Thin Man Goes Home (1945)

1944

Double Indemnity (1944)
Hail the Conquering Hero (1944)
House of Frankenstein (1944)
I'll Be Seeing You (1944)
In Society (1944)
Laura (1944)
Murder, My Sweet (1944)
Since You Went Away (1944)
The Woman in the Window (1944)
The Uninvited (1944)
A. Part I
Three Caballeros (1944)
Together Again (1944)

Trailer of the Week: The Swimmer (1968)

Oddly enough, this film which -- according to the trailer -- was destined to be talked about back in the day is not discussed much nowadays -- except on YouTube. Anyone else think it is odd that an entire generation of Americans grew up watching movies like this -- and still succumbed to the siren call of suburbia?

100 Sci-Fi Books One Must Read

A list I got by way of Byzantium's Shores, who got it from here. Bold is for the ones I have read, italic for the ones I would like to read but have not yet. I do not own many sci-fi books nowadays that I have not already read so I will skip that part of blogging tradition. My comments on certain titles are in parentheses.

The Postman –- David Brin
The Uplift War -– David Brin
Neuromancer –- William Gibson
Foundation –- Isaac Asimov
Foundation and Empire –- Isaac Asimov
Second Foundation –- Isaac Asimov
I, Robot -– Isaac Asimov
The Long Tomorrow -– Leigh Brackett
Rogue Moon -– Algis Budrys
The Martian Chronicles -– Ray Bradbury
Fahrenheit 451 –- Ray Bradbury
Something Wicked This Way Comes –- Ray Bradbury
Childhood’s End –- Arthur C. Clarke
The City and the Stars –- Arthur C. Clarke
2001: A Space Odyssey –- Arthur C. Clarke
Armor –- John Steakley (?)
Imperial Stars -– E. E. Smith
Frankenstein -– Mary Shelley (I used to own this book but I had to sell it.)

Ender’s Game -– Orson Scott Card
Speaker for the Dead –- Orson Scott Card
Dune -– Frank Herbert (I actually owned this book once but I had to sell it before I ever got around to reading more than the first chapter.)

The Dosadi Experiment –- Frank Herbert
Journey Beyond Tomorrow -– Robert Sheckley (I have read a lot of Robert Sheckley short stories but I have never heard of this book before.)

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy –- Douglas Adams
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? -– Philip K. Dick
Valis –- Philip K. Dick
A Scanner Darkly -– Philip K. Dick
The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch –- Philip K. Dick
1984 –- George Orwell (Who has not read this book? Do not most people read it in high school or college?)

Slaughterhouse Five –- Kurt Vonnegut
Cat’s Cradle -– Kurt Vonnegut
The War of the Worlds –- H. G. Wells
The Time Machine –- H. G. Wells
The Island of Doctor Moreau -– H. G. Wells
The Invisible Man –- H. G. Wells (What sci-fi buff has not read Wells at some point in his or her life?)

A Canticle for Leibowitz –- Walter M. Miller, Jr.
Alas, Babylon -– Pat Frank
A Clockwork Orange -– Anthony Burgess
A Journey to the Center of the Earth -– Jules Verne
From the Earth to the Moon –- Jules Verne
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea -– Jules Verne
Old Man’s War -– John Scalzi
Nova Express –- William S. Burroughs
Ringworld –- Larry Niven (I started this as part of my reading for a sci-fi reading group of which I was once a part but I never finished it.)

The Mote in God’s Eye -– Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
The Unreasoning Mask -– Philip Jose Farmer
To Your Scattered Bodies Go -– Philip Jose Farmer (Wait! Only two Philip Jose Farmer novels on this list?)

Eon -– Greg Bear
Jurassic Park -– Michael Crichton
The Andromeda Strain -– Michael Crichton
Lightning –- Dean Koontz (Not really my favorite Dean Koontz novel but I can see why some might want it on the list.)

The Stainless Steel Rat -– Harry Harrison
The Fifth Head of Cerebus –- Gene Wolfe
Nightside of the Long Sun –- Gene Wolfe
A Princess of Mars –- Edgar Rice Burroughs
Cryptonomicon -– Neal Stephenson
Snow Crash –- Neal Stephenson
The Stars My Destination –- Alfred Bester
Solaris –- Stanislaw Lem
Doomsday Book –- Connie Wills (Only one Connie Willis book on this list?)

Berserker -– Fred Saberhagen
Time Traveler’s Wife -– Audrey Niffenegger
The Word for World is Forest -– Ursula K. LeGuin
The Dispossessed –- Ursula K. LeGuin
Babel-17 –- Samuel R. Delany
Dhalgren -– Samuel R. Delany
Flowers for Algernon -– Daniel Keyes
The Forever War –- Joe Haldeman
Star King –- Jack Vance
The Killing Machine –- Jack Vance
Trullion: Alastor 2262 -– Jack Vance
Hyperion –- Dan Simmons
Starship Troopers -– Robert A. Heinlein
Stranger in a Strange Land -– Robert A. Heinlein
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress -– Robert A. Heinlein
A Wrinkle in Time -– Madeleine L’Engle
More Than Human -– Theodore Sturgeon
A Time of Changes –- Robert Silverberg
Gateway –- Frederick Pohl
Man Plus -- Frederick Pohl
The Day of the Triffids -– John Wyndham
Mission of Gravity –- Hal Clement
The Execution Channel -– Ken Macleod
Last and First Men –- W. Olaf Stapledon
Slan –- A. E. van Vogt
Out of the Silent Planet -– C. S. Lewis
They Shall Have Stars –- James Blish
Marooned in Realtime –- Vernor Vinge
A Fire Upon the Deep –- Vernor Vinge
The People Maker -– Damon Knight
The Giver –- Lois Lowry
The Handmaid’s Tale -– Margaret Atwood
Contact –- Carl Sagan
Atlas Shrugged –- Ayn Rand (I know. I should be ashamed but I am not. Besides, I once saw this novel in a relative's book collection and was always curious to find out what he saw in it. Mind you, I have read books that are better. A lot better.)

The Fountainhead -– Ayn Rand
Battlefield Earth -– L. Ron Hubbard (??? What the heck is this doing on the list?)

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court -– Mark Twain (I am not sure Twain belongs on a list of sci-fi books either but at least he -- unlike Hubbard -- is worth reading.)

Little Brother -– Cory Doctorow
Invasion of the Body Snatchers -– Jack Finney
Planet of the Apes -– Pierre Boulle

1943

Captive Wild Woman (1943)
Hit the Ice (1943)
It Ain't Hay (1943)
Lady of Burlesque (1943)
Mexican Spitfire's Blessed Event (1943)
Shadow of a Doubt (1943)
So Proudly We Hail (1943)
The Leopard Man (1943)
The More the Merrier (1943)

1942

Casablanca (1942)
Frankenstein Versus the Wolf Man (1942)
George Washington Slept Here (1942)
I Married a Witch (1942)
Mexican Spitfire at Sea (1942)
Mexican Spitfire Sees a Ghost (1942)
Mexican Spitfire's Elephant (1942)
My Sister Eileen (1942)
Night Monster (1942)
Pardon My Sarong (1942)
Ride 'Em Cowboy (1942)
Roxie Hart (1942)
Saboteur (1942)
The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942)
The Major and the Minor (1942)
The Man Who Came to Dinner (1942)
The Palm Beach Story (1942)
The Talk of the Town (1942)
This Gun for Hire (1942)
To Be or Not to Be (1942)
Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)

1941

Ball of Fire (1941)
Buck Privates (1941)
Citizen Kane (1941)
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941)
Hold That Ghost (1941)
Horror Island (1941)
How Green Was My Valley (1941)
In the Navy (1941)
Invisible Ghost (1941)
Keep 'Em Flying (1941)
Man Made Monster (1941)
Meet John Doe (1941)
Mexican Spitfire's Baby (1941)
Never Give a Sucker an Even Break (1941)
Shadow of the Thin Man (1941)
Sullivan's Travels (1941)
The Black Cat (1941)
The Devil and Miss Jones (1941)
The Lady Eve (1941)
The Strawberry Blonde (1941)
The Wolf Man (1941)
Tom Dick and Harry (1941)
Topper Returns (1941)

Hey, I Remember This Show: Hawaii Five-O

Like Here Comes the Brides, this show is just old enough that I remember having multiple opportunities to watch this show in reruns and in prime time. Yet for some reason I never watched an episode. Perhaps it is because that all-so-memorable theme seemed almost impossible to top by anything that could be shown on TV during the 1970s. Or perhaps I just did not find shows about Hawaii to be all that interesting -- though I must confess that I find the women in the intro to be quite attractive.

I still remember a letter to the editor which I had once read which compared the fuss made over Miami Vice back in the mid-80s to the fuss made over this show when it debuted in the late 1960s. Both were popular cop shows set in an exotic location involving multiracial characters and, of course, both were very popular in their heyday -- and yet both eventually faded to oblivion in the eyes of the terminally fashionable. Which makes one wonder how today's shows will fare? Will anyone be bothering to watch JAG or CSI in the year 2025? Or, for that matter, Lost or Mad Men?

Hey, I Don't Remember This Show: Hawaiian Eye

Connie Stevens looks so good in a sarong that I obviously would have remembered this show had I ever seen it as a child -- and I would have remembered it more if I had seen it as a teenager. Plus it is good to see what Robert Conrad looked like before he grew more famous for The Wild, Wild West. I have no idea what happened to the other actors listed in the cast. Perhaps the most charitable comment would be to say little beyond noting that this is the first time a veteran TV watcher like myself has ever heard of them. Then again there are a great many TV shows like this which are most definitely before my time.

Some Day My Lists Will End

Just not today.

I've been in a OCD-type of mood lately and so I'm reorganizing my list of movie reviews (and of movies I have seen but not yet reviewed) in a way that will be more reader-friendly. (At least I hope it's more reader-friendly.) If I haven't yet wrote a review about a movie that is already on the lists of movies I have seen, it's not that I consider said movie unworthy to write about but rather that I have yet to come up with a way to write about it that will do my feelings about it justice. (Of course, my final post may still not do it justice, anyway, but that's a chance I'll have to take.)

Anyway, I was hoping to avoid this latest round of lists but when I started counting up the number of movies I had seen each year I was alive and how long such a list would seem to the average reader if it was organized by decades and literally included every movie I ever saw on TV, DVD, VHS and the silver screen, it seemed more humane to organize my movies by year instead of by decade.

The lists may not be complete by the end of July but they definitely should be done by the end of August. Or September. Would you believe 2010?

Movie Quote of the Week

You be careful out among them English.
--Jan Rubes, Witness (1985)

TV Quote of the Week

Look, it is every generation's responsibility to be better than the last.
--Jean Smart, Samantha Who, “The Car”

1940

Beyond Tomorrow (1940)
Black Friday (1940)
Christmas in July (1940)
Fantasia (1940)
Foreign Correspondent (1940)
Go West (1940)
His Girl Friday (1940)
Kitty Foyle (1940)
Mexican Spitfire (1940)
Mexican Spitfire Out West (1940)
My Little Chickadee (1940)
One Night in the Tropics (1940)
Remember the Night (1940)
The Bank Dick (1940)
The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
The Great McGinty (1940)
The Invisible Woman (1940)
The Philadelphia Story (1940)
The Shop Around the Corner (1940)
Too Many Husbands (1940)
Turnabout (1940)

1939

Another Thin Man (1939)
Babes in Arms (1939)
Bachelor Mother (1939)
Destry Rides Again (1939)
Fifth Avenue Girl (1939)
Gone with the Wind (1939)
Midnight (1939)
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase (1939)
Nancy Drew... Reporter (1939)
Nancy Drew... Trouble Shooter (1939)
Ninotchka (1939)
Only Angels Have Wings (1939)
Son of Frankenstein (1939)
Stagecoach (1939)
The Cat and the Canary (1939)
The Flying Deuces (1939)
The Girl from Mexico (1939)
The Great Man Votes (1939)
The Roaring Twenties (1939)
The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (1939)
The Wizard of Oz (1939)
The Women (1939)
Torchy Blane in Chinatown (1939)
Torchy Blane...Playing with Dynamite (1939)
Torchy Runs for Mayor (1939)
You Can't Cheat an Honest Man (1939)

1938

A Slight Case of Murder (1938)
Block-Heads (1938)
Blondes at Work (1938)
Bluebeard's Eighth Wife (1938)
Carefree (1938)
Gold Diggers in Paris (1938)
Holiday (1938)
Marie Antoinette (1938)
Nancy Drew: Detective (1938)
Room Service (1938)
The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
The Lady Vanishes (1938)
Vivacious Lady (1938)
You Can't Take It with You (1938)

1937

A Day at the Races (1937)
Easy Living (1937)
Fly Away Baby (1937)
Hollywood Hotel (1937)
I Met Him in Paris (1937)
Lost Horizon (1937)
Maid of Salem (1937)
Nothing Sacred (1937)
Shall We Dance (1937)
Smart Blonde (1937)
Stage Door (1937)
Step Lively, Jeeves! (1937)
The Adventurous Blonde (1937)
Topper (1937)
Tovarich (1937)
Way Out West (1937)

1936

After the Thin Man (1936)
Bullets or Ballots (1936)
Follow the Fleet (1936)
Gold Diggers of 1937 (1936)
Libeled Lady (1936)
Love Before Breakfast (1936)
Modern Times (1936)
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)
Swing Time (1936)
Thank You, Jeeves! (1936)
The Ex-Mrs. Bradford (1936)
The Petrified Forest (1936)
The Princess Comes Across (1936)
Theodora Goes Wild (1936)
Wife vs. Secretary (1936)

Pop Song of the Week: “Jimmy Tomorrow”

One of the few pop songs to be inspired by a character in The Iceman Cometh. Plus it has a good beat and you can dance to it.

1935

A Night at the Opera (1935)
A Tale of Two Cities (1935)
Bordertown (1935)
Gold Diggers of 1935 (1935)
Hands Across the Table (1935)
If You Could Only Cook (1935)
Roberta (1935)
Romance in Manhattan (1935)
The Good Fairy (1935)
The Raven (1935)
The 39 Steps (1935)
The Wedding Night (1935)
The Whole Town's Talking (1935)
Top Hat (1935)
Werewolf of London (1935)

1934

Cleopatra (1934)
Dames (1934)
Death Takes a Holiday (1934)
Four Frightened People (1934)
It Happened One Night (1934)
It's a Gift (1934)
Tarzan and His Mate (1934)
The Gay Divorcee (1934)
The Thin Man (1934)
Twentieth Century (1934)
We're Not Dressing (1934)

1933

A Shriek in the Night (1933)
Baby Face (1933)
Counsellor at Law (1933)
Dancing Lady (1933)
Dinner at Eight (1933)
Duck Soup (1933)
Flying Down to Rio (1933)
Footlight Parade (1933)
42nd Street (1933)
Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933)
A. Part I
B. Part II
C. Part III
International House (1933)
King Kong (1933)
Meet the Baron (1933)
Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933)
Rafter Romance (1933)
Sons of the Desert (1933)
The Invisible Man (1933)
Three on a Match (1933)
Three-Cornered Moon (1933)

Movie Song of the Week: “We're in the Money”

From the 1935 short Pirate Party on Catalina Isle, it's Charles "Buddy" Rogers and the Fanchonettes in a cover version of an old Busby Berkeley tune. Personally I prefer Ginger's version but at least it's something different.

I hope you all enjoy it.

1932

American Madness (1932)
Blonde Venus (1932)
Horse Feathers (1932)
Night World (1932)
No Man of Her Own (1932)
Scarface (1932)
Shanghai Express (1932)
The Greeks Had a Name for Them aka Three Broadway Girls (1932)
The Most Dangerous Game (1932)
The Mummy (1932)
The Music Box (1932)
The Old Dark House (1932)
The Sign of the Cross (1932)
The Thirteenth Guest (1932)

1931

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931)
Frankenstein (1931)
Little Caesar (1931)
Man of the World (1931)
Monkey Business (1931)
Night Nurse (1931)
Palmy Days (1931)
Platinum Blonde (1931)
Ten Cents a Dance (1931)
The Front Page (1931)
The Public Enemy (1931)

1930

Animal Crackers (1930)
The Blue Angel (1930)

Trailer of the Week: Theatre of Blood (1973)

And you think today's critics have problems...

Updates

For what it's worth:

1. A longer version of the "June Bride" song from Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.

2. An older version of the Sinbad Jr. and His Magic Belt theme.

Buscando Trabajo de Nuevo: Parte XVI

I made it through the first week of training by what seems to be the skin of my teeth. Hopefully, this next week will be better.

For some reason, the course reminds of high school, only without the attempts at discipline and the ability to catch up by reading a book. Some of the students -- despite being adults -- violate the rules against Internet usage during class so shamefully it seems a wonder that they bother showing up. Plus there is the irony of a foreign-owned company seeming to be more eager to employ American citizens than many American-owned companies.

Because I am waking up earlier than I used to, I will probably be way too tired to do much blogging save on the weekends. But I will do the best I can. Seriously.

Hey, I Remember This Show: The Mighty Hercules

Speaking of Greek mythology, this is probably the most memorable show I saw on that subject when I was a child. Which is a shame it gets so much wrong. Then again anyone familiar with the original Hercules legend can readily understand why it was edited for TV.

Hey, I Don't Remember This Show: Mighty Thor

Given the number of mythology books I read as a kid, one would think that I had a lot of fond memories of this show. But for some reason, I never watched it as a kid. Nor did I watch it as an adult.

Then again I was always more fascinated by Greek mythology than by its Norse equivalent.

All the New Movies (2000-Present) That I Have Seen: Parte II (2010-2019)

2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019

All the New Movies (2000-Present) That I Have Seen: Parte I (2000-2009)

2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009

Movie Quote of the Week

This guy's a restraining order waiting to happen.
--Julia Roberts, Conspiracy Theory (1997)

TV Quote of the Week

Men can never be free, because they're weak, corrupt, worthless... and restless. The people believe in authority. They've grown tired of waiting for miracle or mystery. Science is their religion -- no greater explanation exists for them! They must never believe any differently if the project is to go forward.
--William B. Davis, The X-Files, “Talitha Cumi”

Pop Song of the Week: “Private Idaho”

So that's where I was this past Sunday. I guess that explains my strange craving for potatoes.

Movie Song of the Week: “Tempest”

From 2000's Psycho Beach Party, it's a beach party dance-off conducted to the tune of a Los Straitjackets song. If one of those dancers playing Sharks and Jets looks familiar, it's because the dancer in question is Amy Adams. Yes, that Amy Adams. Apparently she no longer plays bad girls like she did back then.

I hope you all enjoy it.

Song Quote of the Week

You Yankees are so silly about matters of the heart.
Don't you know that women are the only works of art?
--Don Henley, Danny Kortchmar and Stan Lynch, “Drivin' with Your Eyes Closed”

Trailer of the Week: The Night Walker (1964)

All together now: They're coming to get you, Barbara.

Pensamientos Acerca de Televisión

Eli Stone: “Freedom”

It says something about how much I warmed up to this show since the first episode that I didn't quite mind the inevitable illegal alien subplot that seems to be the first thing American TV writers think of whenever they want to introduce a Hispanic character. (Illegal drug smuggling, of course, is the second.)

Granted, I would have preferred a more original approach to the subject than the one this episode used and it says something about the rest of the episode that I found myself getting attached to the show anyway.

I'm still not happy about all the focus on the white male lawyer character but I like the way actress Julie Gonzalo (an Argentine-born actress best known for playing Veronica's roommate Parker on the last season of Veronica Mars) was introduced as an idealistic associate named Maggie. Granted, it would have been nice if the writers hadn't felt compelled to Anglicize Ms. Gonzalo's character but then Parker wasn't exactly a very Latin character either. Then again the idea that all dark-skinned Hispanics are non-citizens who need the help of white non-Hispanics because they're intellectually incapable of solving legal problems on their own while all light-skinned Hispanics are just Anglos in disguise is not one that I would like this show to encourage. After all, if that is the type of stereotype we can expect from a liberal TV show, God only knows what we can expect if the conservatives ever take over.

On the plus side, I do like the way Loretta Devine's character Pattie was portrayed even though I usually find the sassy black female stereotype as tiresome as the Hispanic illegal alien stereotype. Of course, it would be interesting to imagine how the show would be like if the show was ever written from her point-of-view but I'm not going to hold my breath expecting that to happen.

Buscando Trabajo de Nuevo: Parte XV

As I noted in a recent post, I finally found an employer who would have me and I start training for my new position on Monday. So in the meantime, I'm keeping all my digits crossed.

Hey, I Remember This Show: Sinbad Jr. and His Magic Belt

I am guessing that the original Sinbad from The Arabian Nights was nothing like this. I remember watching -- and liking -- this show as a child but then again I was a child back then. Who knew the same approach would be still employed by Hollywood more than four decades later?

Update: As noted in the comments section, there is an even older version of this theme song from a yet older version of this series. Thanks a million to Ivan G. Shreve, Jr. of the Thrilling Days of Yesteryear site for pointing this out.

Hey, I Don't Remember This Show: The Middleman

I've heard about this show for years but never watched it while it was on the air. Which is such a shame because for a kid's show, it's not all that bad. Star Natalie Morales is not only easy on the eyes but has a way with fast dialogue that one rarely sees anymore outside of Pushing Daisies. And her co-stars aren't bad either.

Granted, this show has moments that make The Sarah Jane Adventures seem like Masterpiece Theatre. But for an American children's show, it's actually quite good -- which probably explains why it's no longer around.

All the Not-So-Classic Movies (1970-1999) That I Have Seen: Parte III (1990-1999)


1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999

Movie Quote of the Week

Birthdays are all right but you never get over the first one.
--Ginger Rogers, Fifth Avenue Girl (1939)

TV Quote of the Week

You said it couldn't miss. You said I'd make the front pages. You crumb. The only thing I'll get out of this is a bad case of sunburn.
--Edy Williams, Adam-12, “Venice Division”

All the Not-So-Classic Movies (1970-1999) That I Have Seen: Parte II (1980-1989)

1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989

Pensamientos Acerca de Televisión

Eli Stone: “Pilot”

Jonny Lee Miller plays an ambitious lawyer named Eli Stone who wakes up one day and starts having aural and visual hallucinations that don't go away until he does the right thing. For a lawyer show, this wasn't all that bad. But I must admit that I liked it a lot more when it was called Wonderfalls. Or Joan of Arcadia. And I especially hate the way they booted out the female protagonist and replaced her with a male character. Apparently we can't have too many shows about white male lawyers on American TV.

Oh, well. It was nice seeing Victor Garber play something other than the character he played on the TV show Alias. Then again he played the title character's father on Alias and he is playing the title character's boss (as well as the father of the title character's girlfriend) on this show. Not really much of a change, is it?

Oh, well again. Perhaps this show won't be too bad after all. Not that it isn't a bit academic for me to say that about a show that was canceled after two seasons.

All the Not-So-Classic Movies (1970-1999) That I Have Seen: Parte I (1970-1979)

1970
1971
1972
1973
1974
1975
1976
1977
1978
1979

Pop Song of the Week: “Half-Breed”

This week it's Cher singing the unofficial anthem of this blog. It would be nice to pretend she was singing about Latino half and halfs like my siblings and me but she isn't.

However, my siblings and I did listen to this song quite frequently when we were kids and my sister even remembers our mother getting mad at us whenever we would call ourselves “half-breeds.” I don't remember what inspired us to call ourselves that but I strongly suspect it was this tune.

Anyway, I hope you all enjoy the song.

¡Feliz Cumpleaños, Tonio Kruger!


It's my birthday today. I don't even want to comment on how old I feel.

All the Classic Movies (1900-1969) That I Have Seen: Parte V (1960-1969)

1960
1961
1962
1963
1964
1965
1966
1967
1968
1969

Movie Song of the Week: “Cool”

We here in Dallas have been experiencing temperatures in the 80s and 90s all weekend and last month we had temperatures going over 100 degrees. So naturally it seems like the best time to post this number from the 1961 movie West Side Story. Then again, it should be fairly obvious to even the casual watcher that the title of this number is not referring to meteorological temperature.

Where Have All the Stories Gone?

I have decided to stop posting my "cuentos de mi id" -- aka my short stories -- until the first of August. I start training for a new job next week and I am not sure how much time I will be having on Mondays to post anything.

Besides, I also wish to transcribe more stories and -- if luck is with me -- even write a few new ones without the added pressure of having to post something once a week on this site.

I will try and keep up with my other regular features. If any more changes occur, I will let you know.

Thank you for your patience.

All the Classic Movies (1900-1969) That I Have Seen: Parte IV (1950-1959)

1950
1951
1952
1953
1954
1955
1956
1957
1958
1959

¡Feliz Cuatro de Julio!


Fellow Hispanic half and half Charisma Carpenter is reminding me to stop getting wrapped up in my own affairs so that I can wish all my readers a happy 4th of July. I'm not so sure her choice of wardrobe is all that appropriate but then it is a holiday.

P.S. On a more serious note, today is also my late father's birthday. And earlier today I was having an early birthday celebration with my family since my actual birthday falls on a Tuesday this year and most of them have to work on that day.

Trailer of the Week: Nosotros los Pobres (1948)

Tomorrow is my late father's birthday. Mexican actor/singer Pedro Infante was one of his favorite movie stars. Nosotros los Pobres -- aka We the Poor -- was one of Infante's most famous movies -- and one of the few Spanish-language films I ever watched with my late father. I know it is not the most conventional choice for a July 4th weekend -- but then July 4th weekends were never all that conventional in my family.

Fantasy Quote of the Week

“Even the gods could not prevent it,” he said. “You have brought this ill upon yourselves, by your own doing. Remember that, when bright Hope turns to dust in your hands.”

“Nay,” said they, “for another traveler approaches now, and he wears a mighty purse upon him. We shall retire on this day’s takings.”

“Fools!” said the youth, and he turned on winged heels and vanished up the path, greeting Hercules as he passed him by.
--Roger Zelazny, “But Not the Herald”

Science Fiction Quote of the Week

Listen. When I was a youngster -- there were no dreamies then -- I knew a fellow who wrote television scripts. He would complain to me bitterly that when someone met him for the first time and found out who he was, they would say, “Where do you get those crazy ideas?”

They honestly didn’t know. To them it was an impossibility to even think of one of them. So what could my friend say? He used to talk to me about it and tell me: “Could I say, 'I don’t know'? When I go to bed, I can’t sleep for ideas dancing in my head. When I shave, I cut myself; when I talk, I lose track of what I’m saying; when I drive, I take my life in my hands. And always because ideas, situations, dialogues are spinning and twisting in my mind. I can’t tell you where I get my ideas. Can you tell me, maybe, your trick of not getting ideas, so I, too, can have a little peace?”
--Jesse Weill in Isaac Asimov’s “Dreaming Is a Private Thing”

All the Classic Movies (1900-1969) That I Have Seen: Parte III (1940-1949)

1940
1941
1942
1943
1944
1945
1946
1947
1948
1949

Hey, I Remember This Show: Wonder Woman

So at long last they gave Lynda Carter's character some long pants and some decent upper torso coverage. Hurrah!

But will DC give her a decent theme song like Ms. Carter had on the first season of this series?



Or even a not so decent theme song like she had at the last half of the second season?



And will she even have any decent guest stars like this?



Seriously, as much as I liked certain elements of the Lynda Carter series, I can't help wishing the new version of the classic DC character well. Even though I get the feeling that such a change is destined to be as temporary as almost every other change made in that character in the past half-century.

Hey, I Don't Remember This Show: Birds of Prey

It is the superheroine show no one ever watched. Okay, I believe my middle brother watched an episode but I never caught an episode while it was still on the air. For that matter, I was never a big fan of the DC comic book series that allegedly inspired this show -- though I am starting to wonder if the comic book series could have been all that bad.

As for the TV series itself, I am willing to give it the benefit of a doubt -- for now. Though I must admit I have a hard time seeing Mia Sara as a blonde. And I find it rather ominous that even people who seem to like everything that ever aired do not have much good to say about this show.

All the Classic Movies (1900-1969) That I Have Seen: Parte II (1930-1939)

1930
1931
1932
1933
1934
1935
1936
1937
1938
1939

All the Classic Movies (1900-1969) That I Have Seen: Parte I (1900-1929)

Big Business (1929)
Limousine Love (1928)
Nanook of the North (1922)
One Week (1920)
Seven Chances (1925)
The Broadway Melody of 1929 (1929)
The Cocoanuts (1929)
The General (1926)
The Great Train Robbery (1903)

Movie Quote of the Week

Out. What a nice word.
--Paula Kelly, Sweet Charity (1969)

TV Quote of the Week

There is no evil in nakedness.
--Fifi D’Orsay, Thriller, “The Grim Reaper”

Making a List and Checking It Twice

As you might have noticed, I have been expanding my lists of “All the So-and-So Movies That I Have Seen” to include movies which I have actually seen but of which I have not yet written a review. These movies will be marked by a lack of hyperlinks until the day I write a review about them. Some of these movies I like, some I don't like and some I might actually comment on some day in the near future. The lists are not yet complete and may not be complete for at least a week or so. But at least they should provide a quick guide to what kind of movies I'm already familiar with and what movies I need to catch up with in the future.

I may do a similar thing with my list of TV episodes I have seen but I have not yet decided how practical an idea that might be. Suffice it to say, that any TV show episode not yet linked by a hyperlink on my “Pensamientos Acerca de TV” page is obviously an episode I plan to write about. Time will tell when I actually do so.

As always, suggestions are welcome.