I’ve just made an addition over on my Hollywood page. In the intro of the video is this scene…
[flv:http://www.dograt.com/Video/2009/DEC/HelenMack.flv 512 384]
… and I recognized the girl immediately. She made a big impression on me when I first saw her as a wee lad, in the weak sequel to a gigantic old movie. In fact, I’ve been intending to feature this actress, along with another 30’s “B” movie favorite, Jean Rogers, who was in the first two Flash Gordon serials.
Another slick amateur video with CG effects has hit YouTube and caused a sensation. This one is from Uruguay, and although there are questions about how much it actually cost, the claim that it’s landed the director a movie contract is for real.
Hard to believe it’s been 45 years since the secular, stop-motion Christmas favorite “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” first appeared on TV. As a kid’s show, Rudolph is both unusual and inspired. For example, King Moonracer, ruler of the Island of Misfit Toys, seemed to have been based upon Aslan, who symbolizes Christ in “The Chronicles of Narnia.” So perhaps there’s a religious element to the show, after all.
The most significant aspect of Rudolph was the groundbreaking introduction of a gay elf with an oral fixation. This clever subtext was lost on most people for many years, just as John Lennon’s reference to a–holes filling the Albert Hall wasn’t obvious.
Curiously, the controversy most often mentioned about the elf character in Rudolph isn’t the question of him being gay, but whether his name is Hermey or Herbie. The answer is here, in an article by Rick Goldschmidt:
http://www.tvparty.com/xmasrudolph.html
One thing I should make clear is that the elf who wants to be a dentist is named Hermey. Why everyone is calling him “Herbie” I will never fully understand.
OK, so it’s supposed to be Hermey. But what I don’t understand is why Goldschmidt doesn’t understand, because the answer is obvious the first time the character’s name is spoken by Boss Elf. The ReadSpeak captioning on the DVD of Rudolph has it right, but listen to the pronunciation.
Quite clearly, it’s “Herbie.” Boss Elf says “Hermey” the second time, but then two of the elves seem to say “Herbie.” So why is there any confusion about the confusion?
Had a nice chat today with a helpful customer service rep at Verizon. Seems that being such an early adopter of FiOS, I was missing out, not only on some HD channels, but some bandwidth, and I was paying $14/month more than I should be. Here’s how it looks now.
Looks good, except that “about 50 miles” is almost twice the distance from here to Boston.
Keith Olbermann’s message sometimes gets overwhelmed by his hyperbolic presentation, but not when he gives one of his special commentaries. I agree that if compromising doesn’t get votes, then why bother compromising? I say yank out all of the compromises, or kill the bill.
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
What is wrong with Joe Lieberman?? Is he one of those drivers who ticks everybody off by constantly changing lanes?
Lieberman’s loyalties are so divided, he seems to have a case of pathological indecision. Here’s Stephen Colbert’s take on Lieberman’s vacillations…
| The Colbert Report | Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c | |||
| For He’s a Jowly Good Fellow | ||||
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