Stupidity Tax

I use my grocery store as my bank. Unfortunately, that means the groceries sometimes distract me from my money. Like today, when I left my $40 at the dispenser. I realized my mistake at my car, but alas, upon my return it was gone. I was taxed.

Forty dollars. I must replace it. But with no income, it's problematic. I can skip eight movies. Six lunches. Four CDs. Three dinners. One date. Almost certainly one date. Way to keep me single stupidity.

Head for Cover

Covers, in my opinion, are a glorious thing. Whether a band is sampling, mashing up, or covering, there’s a good chance I’m going to enjoy it. Sure, Miley Cyrus singing Backstreet Boys isn’t going to do anything for me, nor is Nickelback singing anything, but doing a cover is automatically going to increase the chances for a pleasing performance, for me at least.

Some people get upset at covers. I was playing a song which sampled The Cure recently and my passenger’s response was “They’re ruining it.” Typical Cure fan. They’re not ruining it. They’re reimagining it. They’re taking something existing, and generally favorably accepted, and twisting it into something new. And while I have a slight issue with bands that do nothing but covers (I’m looking at you Me First) I think doing them as part of your act is great.

And generally, the stranger the better. Sure, David Bowie’s cover of China Girl is good, but he’s covering Iggy Pop. It’s like imitating your twin. It’s much more fun when Johnny Cash covers Nine Inch Nails or Placebo covers Kate Bush. Mix it up and show us something new.

Sometimes the results are just amusing, but sometimes the cover surpasses the original. Who doesn’t like Save Ferris’s Come on Eileen better than Dexy’s? It’s only embarrassing when you don’t realize it’s a cover. I was at a concert where they started playing 99 Luft Balloons and a kid yells “Yeah Goldfinger!” Admittedly, the Goldfinger version is great, but I still wanted to smack the kid. But it happens to the best of us; I just found out Nothing Compares to U is a Prince song. My bad. (And yes, I just referred to myself as the best of us.)

Anyway, the point of this post was to show this clip:


Glee is a dang fun show. I had a bit of a heterosexual crisis last week watching this episode. I was thinking about how much I enjoyed this show, then Kristin Chenoweth showed up and I liked it even more. And then they started singing Queen and I liked it even more. And I then realized I needed a girlfriend. Point being, take one of my favorite songs from one of my favorite bands, have a glee club (which incidentally is not my favorite musical subgenre) cover it and the result is fantastic.

Consumer Reporting

The Whatchamacallit holds a special place in my heart. It’s not the prototypic candybar. That belongs to Snickers.

Fast Snickers Facts!
-Were called Marathon Bars in the UK until 1990. When they switched from Marathon to Snickers they went from the #9 candybar to the #3.
-You can purchased caffeinated Snickers.
-A Limited Edition in Canada contained Maple.

Whatchamacallit isn’t my favorite candybar. That belongs to Twix.

Fast Twix Facts!
-Was called The Raider internationally until the 90s. I wish it still were.
-Special flavors have included Orange, Mint, White Chocolate and Coffee.
-Limited Editions have included circular and square Twix bars.

So, back to Whatchamacallit. Whereas Twix and Snickers and so many other candybars existed before I did, the Whatchamacallit is the first candybar I remember being introduced.

Turns out, that’s a lie. It was introduced in 1978. My memories lie to me. It’s sad.

But in 1987, the year that I thought they came out, they changed the formula of the Whatchamacallit, and gave it a new advertising campaign. Maybe you remember this bit of trippy goodness.


The commercial worked, and I insisted we go to 7-11 and try one. Because at the time, 7-11 was my favorite restaurant. Yes, restaurant. In some ways I was a clever little kid, but in many others it’s remarkable that I survived.

Despite what this entry might lead you to believe, I haven’t thought much about Whatchamacallit’s over the years. Until they did this :


So I rushed to 7-11 and tried one. So now, the great Whatchamacallit v Thingamajig Taste Off!



Whatchamacallit wins. Sorry if that’s anticlimactic. It just tasted better. But I’d love it if they just kept spinning off new Doodads, Doohickeys and Gizmos.

How could this happen?

Rotten Tomatoes recently released their worst 100 movies of the last decade.

I've only seen one of the movies.

How could this happen? I tried folks, I really did. When a trailer comes out and the film looks truly awful, I always turn to my neighbor and say "Opening Night." Admittedly, I rarely follow through, but 1/100? I'm ashamed.

Of course you want to know. The answer is Corky Romano. And I have to tell you, it wasn't that bad of a movie. A bad movie certainly, but not a horrible movie. Okay, it was horrible. But not horrible horrible. Not enjoyably horrible. And I guess that's why it got on the list.

The time of the week when I rank things . . . poorly

I’m feeling too lazy to rank things today, so instead I’m going to cluster them. So in no particular order:

British shows I Love
1. Monty Python’s Flying Circus – the best example of smart people acting silly.
2. The Mighty Boosh – the ridiculous plots and musical numbers are fun, but my favorite thing is just listening to Howard and Vince banter.
3. The IT Crowd – fantastic cast (many from Mighty Boosh).
4. Coupling – the dirty(er) friends. Only much funnier.
5. Green Wing – the dirty(er) Scrubs. Admittedly, not quite as funny. But still, pretty hilarious.
6. Blackadder – I thought Rowan WAS Mr. Bean until I saw this. With the fantastic meanness that spews forth from his mouth, it’s a shame to keep him quiet.
7. The Office – I like the American office, but it just can’t compete with the humor and, dare I say, art of the British version.
8. Skins – I’m not much for soap operas, but this one is the perfect balance of angst and humor.
9. Doctor Who – my current go-to show. It’s good times all around.
10. Torchwood – Season 1 wouldn’t qualify as a show I love, but Season 2 has been much better. And I hear Season 3 is absolutely fabulous. (Which is another British show, if it sounded odd.)

British shows I Like
1. Mr. Bean - It’s really amazing how much I can like a comedy that removes my favorite part of comedy, the dialogue.
2. Wallace and Gromit – not a show exactly, but there’s enough of them that I’ll count it as a series.
3. My Hero – It’s basically Superman crossed with Amelia Bedelia, but that Ardal O’Hanlon is just likable enough to make it work.
4. Whose Line is it Anyway? – Yes the American version was lackluster. But the British one never disappoints.
5. Spaced – I was hoping to love it, but only liked it. Oh well.
6. Extras – This might have made the Love It category if I’d seen more episodes.
7. Jeeves and Wooster – more amusing than funny, but pretty amusing.
8. The Thin Blue Line – Blackadder light.
9. Absolutely Fabulous – Comedy Central didn’t provide a lot of British comedy in my youth, but I enjoyed this one. Mean people are funny.
10. The Young Ones – I can remember practically nothing about this show, apart from liking it. I think it’s what I watched waiting for Space Ghost to come on.

British Shows I May Love, But Haven’t Seen Yet, So You Should Let Me Borrow Them If You Have Them
1. Fawlty Towers – I know, blasphemy against the great John Cleese. I’ll get around to it one day.
2. A Bit of Fry and Laurie – I love Stephen Fry and I love Hugh Laurie, so this should be a homerun.
3. The Thick of It – In the Loop was hilarious, and I hope this will deliver as well.
4. Life on Mars – I actually have it, and will get around to it eventually. I purposefully skipped the US version so I’d get it undiluted.
5. Black Books – I have almost no background on this one, I just heard it was good.
6. Da Ali G – Cohen has proved himself worthy.
7. The Prisoner – Supposed to be amazing. Hopefully I can withstand the 60sness.
8. The Dead Set – British zombies! Worked for 28 Days Later and Shaun of the Dead.
9. Snuff Box – Mighty Boosh alumni, so worth a viewing.
10. Father Ted – It’s got Ardal O’Hanlon, so again, worth a viewing.

Thanks BBC!