The Frontline documentary “America After 9/11” paints a justifiably grim picture of the failures over the past 20 years of American policies and actions in Afghanistan and Iraq. The series is produced in Boston, which played an outsized role in the 9/11 attacks, due to lax airport security. The documentary doesn’t mention that, nor does it mention the Boston Marathon bombings in 2013 by the Tsarnaev brothers.
Off the Rails Comedy
Ever hear of Big Train? If not, here’s a Big Train sketch, coincidentally about a big train, featuring Simon Pegg.
If you liked that one, this playlist has 25 more examples of the same sort of uniquely British nonsense.
Try and Try Again
It’s been a long time since I last entered a New Yorker caption contest. I won’t be surprised if the winner is a reference to coins in couch cushions.
One After 9/09
Note to my twinster Jean.
The Man Ain’t Got No Culture
I’m going to come out about something, so I can’t back out of seeing it through to completion. Not that I would want to anyway.
Thanks to WhatsApp, I’m working with Prue on her memoir. Some of the cultural references she makes are challenging. She mentioned the name Diaghilev. When I pleaded ignorance, she added the name Nijinsky, and thanks to that I found this documentary.
https://youtu.be/lmsR8eR2-MI
The video is narrated by Tilda Swinton, who played Dr. Strange’s teacher the Ancient One. Hah! So my Marvel Comics background isn’t completely irrelevant.
One of Prue’s earliest memories is of a German V1 rocket overhead in London. They were called Buzz Bombs or, as she remembers them being called, Doodlebugs.
Petula Hangover
There’s an Ed Sullivan channel on YouTube, and if Ed were alive to see it he wouldn’t recognize it as a TV channel by his understanding. Most of the material has been added over the past year, presumably after a deal for advertising money was made. There’s now a massive collection available for viewing, restored to the best possible quality.
Petula Clark is very well represented, although there is at least one Sullivan appearance I know of that’s missing. I stayed up much too late a couple of nights ago, indulging my Petula crush. My father bought our 23″ RCA color console in August, 1967, making this appearance the first time I saw Petula on TV in color.
That performance is typical of Petula’s American TV appearances. A couple of months earlier she was taped, apparently in Quebec, being much more herself, delightfully bouncy and flirtatious. This was typical of her style when performing in France, where they called her Sexy Pet before she joined the British Invasion of America.
P.S. I found the one I thought was missing. It was posted back in March. That dress must have been uncomfortable and/or hot, because the moment the song is done she starts taking it off. Maybe it’s a costume change to another number, but if so I don’t know it.