Awkward Moments in Entertainment History: A Steady Ringtone

Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig had already established themselves as international film stars by 2009.  Each achieved superstardom thanks to involvement with powerhouse movie franchise: Jackman was “Wolverine” from the X-Men series, while Craig landed the  coveted role of James Bond in that venerable cinematic institution.

Yet, neither lost his appetite for the stage.  In fact, they joined forces to play the characters in a two-man Broadway production of “A Steady Rain.”  The play follows the complicated lives of two Chicago police officers.  It received strong reviews upon its debut, broke the record for highest weekly gross by a non-musical, and drew interest from Steven Spielberg for a movie adaptation.

However, the play’s original run will likely be best remembered for an unfortunate (but funny) incident involving a cell phone.

Continue reading

Posted in Commentary, General Culture and News | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Any Minute Now

After years of outcry from frustrated fans and media members, the BCS appears to be headed toward extinction.  In its place, college football’s highest division will—at last—adopt a playoff system.  The details are uncertain at the moment, but the general idea will be to crown a titlist on the field without excluding any potential claimants to the throne.

But the good news may not end there.  An article I read last weekend suggested that the playoff system may be in place even earlier than we initially anticipated!

Specifically: 1986.


Four-team playoff?  Check!  Revenue sharing among all top-level schools?  Check!  Bowl chairmen opposed to the system on the grounds that “everyone wins” with bowls?  Check!  Networks willing to bid 10-to-14 million for the title game rights?  Che—wait.  Million?

I guess a few things do change.

I will now commence holding my breath . . .

Posted in Pictures, Sports | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

SitCombat: 5/10/12

The future of the Office and 30 Rock is still in doubt, although both may be moving toward official renewals. Both also may wind up knowing going in that next season will be their last. 30 Rock moves along a major plot point tonight with the return of Avery Jessup. Meanwhile, the corporate structure at Dunder Mifflin may be in for a shakeup thanks to a resurgent David Wallace.

All of that remains to be seen. On the SitCombat front, the Office put together a strong episode that toppled 30 Rock from the perch upon which it sat for an unprecedented nine consecutive weeks. Will the Office be able to start a streak of its own by continuing with a strong final run of episodes? Or will 30 Rock return to form and reclaim the crown from its fellow NBC series?

This was SitCombat for May 10, 2012:

Continue reading

Posted in Commentary, Reviews, Television | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Triumph of Self-Determination

The legislature of the state of Washington recently passed a measure to begin allowing same-sex marriages once the governor signs the bill into law this summer.  This action mirrored what occurred a few months earlier in the state of New York.  After several false starts, a lengthy debate, and a narrow vote, New York also passed legislation to redefine marriage to include same-sex relationships.

This is how democracy is supposed to work.

Voters in North Carolina elevated the state’s ban on same-sex marriage to its constitution this week.  The amendment also added a constitutional ban on civil unions or similar arrangements.  The measure passed by a comfortable margin.

The outcry over Amendment One’s passage, particularly from the young and from the famous, has been forceful and predictable.  This follows in the wake of Proposition 8′s passage (and subsequent legal issues) in California just a couple of years earlier.

I see both sets of events not as diametrically-opposed political outcomes, but as the same: Exercises in self-determination.

Continue reading

Posted in Commentary, Politics | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

More Fun With Old Articles

I saw this gem over the weekend.  The 1972 article recounts the then-novel prospect of female managers for a boys’ sport (in this case, the baseball team).  There’s a lot to like about this piece, including:

1. The coach, local icon P. K. Perrin, discussing the fact that he recruited girl managers as a way to attract more boys to come out for baseball.

2. One of the two girls being referred to as “pretty Vickie” by the author.

3. The other manager, Sharon, saying that she had some misgivings about the job because “I knew I’d feel awkward and like a dummy, and sometimes I do.”

4. Sharon later added, “[The players] treat us ok, but they do tease us a lot.  And everything has to be exactly right for them.  They say we don’t know anything . . . and they’re usually right.”

5. The coach talking about opposing schools offering “all kinds of [trade] deals” for the managers.

But perhaps the best of all is the not-so-subtle symbolism of the picture, in which the managers “help” one of the Manchester players “pick out a bat.”  Of course, maybe any implied vulgarity is solely the result of the forty-year-old photo being filtered through the lurid lens of my twenty-first-century mind.  On the other hand—just look at the title of the article!  My interpretation isn’t that much of a stretch.

We never had managers when I was playing high school football, much less female ones.  They were seen as a distraction.  We did have them in middle school, however.  And, quite frankly, they were.

In any event, it was a simpler time.  I sincerely hope that Sharon was able to overcome her inevitable eating disorder and lead a productive life after high school.

Posted in Commentary, General Culture and News, Sports | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

SitCombat: 5/3/12

There’s no elaborate introduction necessary this week.  The fact of the matter is that 30 Rock has claimed victory a record nine straight weeks.  Given the struggles of the Office of late, Alec Baldwin and company have a terrific opportunity to make it an incredible ten in-a-row.

An uncertain future serves as the backdrop for this ongoing battle.  Neither show (nor any of the regulars in NBC’s Thursday night comedy lineup) have been renewed for next season.  Will 30 Rock be back next year?  Will the Office?  Will both be canceled?  If they come back, will we see retooling, especially on the Office?

We just don’t know yet.  But how these final few weeks play out may go a long way in determining the answer.  This was SitCombat for May 3, 2012:

Continue reading

Posted in Commentary, Reviews, Television | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Axis of Ego Podcast: Billy Beyrer and Stephanie Sottile

Tom discussed a few months ago about having the distinct pleasure of seeing the UCBW in action up in New York.  On today’s podcast, Tom chats with NYC-based comedy performers / actors / erstwhile UCBW talent Billy Beyrer and Stephanie Sottile about what projects they’re working on now, their experiences with UCBW, and a few other topics.  Take a listen below!

Download: The Axis Of Ego Podcast 05-03-12

Posted in Podcasts | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Unfortunate Placement

I mentioned recently that I had been working on a couple of research projects at the library.  The details are unimportant (and boring), but the research involves perusing a lot of old newspapers on microfilm (or microfiche—I don’t know the difference).  One of the best parts about this activity is coming across amusing cultural artifacts.  For example, this unfortunate positioning of the advertisements for two movies.

Note the tagline of the film on the left, and the title of the film on the right:

Posted in Movies, Pictures | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Company Man

Yesterday, April 29th, was World Wish Day.  It’s a day that celebrates the legacy of the Make-a-Wish Foundation “with wishes being granted worldwide.  It’s a day to think about how wishing makes our world better.”

Those are the words of John Cena, WWE Superstar, and the man who has granted more wishes (over 250 now) than anyone in the history of the charity.  He is the man who eschews the more self-aggrandizing or nonsensical slogans of his counterparts in favor of positive mantras like “Hustle, Loyalty, Respect,” “Never Give Up,” or “Rise Above Hate.”  And he out-sells all of his colleagues with those messages.

But he is also the same man who has spent the better part of five years being booed by half of the audience members who pay to see him perform.

Yesterday was also the date of WWE’s “Extreme Rules” pay-per-view.  The climactic match saw an already banged-up Cena battered and beaten at the hands of a seemingly-reckless Brock Lesnar.  Cena ultimately “won” the match—his first meaningful win in some time—but he was legitimately injured in the process.  Whether those injuries were limited to lacerations and bruises remains to be seen.  This was all in service of making sure that the returning Lesnar looked like a dominant force of nature.

Once again, it was up to Cena to make that possible.  Once again, the WWE left another Superstar’s career fortunes in the hands of the company’s most trusted performer.  Once again, that performer delivered.

In other words, it was just another day at the office for John Cena.

Continue reading

Posted in Commentary, Sports, Television | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

Vin Scully

As I type this, we’re just minutes away from the much-anticipated debut of (mildly controversial) Nationals phenom Bryce Harper.  The Nationals take on the Dodgers tonight in Los Angeles.  Because of that, Vin Scully will have the distinction of calling Bryce Harper’s first Major League Baseball game.

You know who else had his debut called by Vin Scully?

Mickey Mantle.

Mickey Mantle, who retired—retired—forty-four years ago.

Mickey Mantle, who died seventeen years ago.

Scully called his first World Series in 1952.  When he was 25.  No one else that young has ever called a national World Series broadcast.

If Bryce Harper is three-fourths the player the Nationals believe him to be, he’ll be in the majors for at least a decade.  That would put his retirement somewhere in the vicinity of 2025, or seventy-five years after Scully did his first Dodgers game for radio and television.

This year, like last year, and, to a lesser extent, like the year before that, is supposed to be Scully’s last.  I think we can take Scully at his word that his retirement will come to pass this time.  Particularly in a world with graceless homers and forgettable Fox Sports Net carbon copies manning local broadcasts, baseball without Scully will be a slightly less-appealing game.

I miss him already.

Posted in Commentary, Sports | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment