60 Minutes recently had a good segment on the mortgage crisis, and why it’s had such a big effect on Wall Street.
‘Great Escape’ Survivor Dies
Recently I posted this item about the real-life escape in WWII from Stalag Luft III that was the basis for the movie The Great Escape. After seeing the movie on TV (one of those two-night specials) I bought a huge poster of Steve McQueen sitting on the motorcycle he stole from a Nazi soldier and rode around the countryside.
One of the few men that escaped — and who wasn’t shot after being re-captured — has passed away. Bertram “Jimmy” James was 92. The Guardian has the story at this link. Here is a video, apparently recent, with Mr. James.
Shielding Stephen Colbert
It’s no surprise to this old comic book fan that the death of Captain America wouldn’t last very long. There’s a new hero in action, taking Cap’s place. But what of the indestructible shield that belonged to the original Captain America? Isn’t it now in the possession of none other than Stephen Colbert?
[flv:/Video/2008/JAN/ColbertMarvel.flv 440 330]
Beatles: Nothing Israel
Yes, I know Ringo has been on the TV talk show circuit, and that he walked off the Regis set. I know Paul had a heart procedure. And I know there’s an invitation for Paul and Ringo to visit Israel. No, I haven’t been blogging about these things. Sorry! I’m a bad Beatles blogger.
What caught my attention about the Israel invitation is that Israel’s banning of the Beatles back in the 60’s sounds so much like something the Taliban would do today. And let’s not forget that fundamentalist Christians burned Beatles records after Lennon’s infamous comment “The Beatles are bigger than Jesus.”
Comment on Comments
It has come to my attention that there are those among you who are not tracking comments. This means that unless I point them out, you are missing new comments on old posts.
If you are browsing with either Firefox 2 or Internet Explorer 7, click “Comments” under “Feeds.” You should see something interesting. If you see a lot of stuff that looks likes computer code, you’re using a browser that doesn’t do RSS and you should get updated!
Pet Bats 1000!
Dave Moncur has written to tell me the great news that yesterday the PETition to request Petula Clark be granted the title of Dame passed the 1000 mark! Thanks, Dave, and thanks to everybody who signed!
At the moment the signature count is 1010, and the list includes writer Alan Moore, creator of V for Vendetta, and other comic book stories that have been adapted into movies. His graphic novel from 20 years ago, Watchmen, superbly illustrated by Dave Gibbons, is currently in production. Moore can be seen in Jonathan Ross’s documentary for the BBC, In Search of Steve Ditko. You’ll find it in seven parts here on DogRat.com, starting at this link.
Something I’ve discussed previously about Petula Clark are the many styles and persona she has assumed in her career over the years. She suited herself perfectly in whatever the era was she performed. I like to think that Pet is more than merely versatile — she’s multi-faceted, even complicated. And for me that’s a big part of her appeal, because it’s always been there, enhancing her performances. It’s an understatement to say there’s always been more to Pet than meets the eye.
Here are a couple of pictures of Pet you can click to enlarge. She’s the picture-perfect wife next door, as if anybody could ever hope to have her living next door …
… and here Pet presents two other sides of herself. One more business-like, the other decidedly show business-like.
Petula was an adorable child star, then later she was an ingenue in film, but we knew nothing of that when she first appeared in America. In Paris she was sultry and sexy, and we didn’t get to see that either in America. Yet here in the States she fit in perfectly with the go-go fashions of the Swinging Sixties teen music scene, and from there she gracefully transitioned to a more adult audience, as seen in the Dean Martin shows, and her own TV specials. I would suggest that men of the adult married variety were particularly interested in her during this phase of her career. I consider Pet’s appearance in the video I posted here to be one of the sexiest, and most contagiously fun, performances I’ve ever seen.