If you’ve got the free time (I only had time to watch a few, though I could NOT watch the “Lost” reel because I hate that show) and need some laughs, these gag reels from normally dramatic shows can provide a healthy dose of humor, especially as a counterpoint to their usual serious scenes. Or you can go for the mega gag reel of bloopers from the king of comedy, Seinfeld.
“Holy DVD, Batman!”
The Batman TV series, which aired for 3 seasons in 1966 – 1968 and starred Adam West as Bruce Wayne/Batman and Burt Ward as Dick Grayson/Robin, is finally going to be released as a DVD set later this year, according to Warner Brothers Home Entertainment.
I was 10 ½ years old and a huge comic book fan when the TV series debuted in January of 1966 and I immediately loved the show. By the time the series ended 3 years later I was beginning to grow tired of the campiness, though the addition of Batgirl in the last season was a welcome addition to a young teenage boy.
Almost 25 years ago, when the Tim Burton film version of Batman starring Michael Keaton was about to be released, one of the cable networks, I believe it might have been USA, began rerunning the old Batman TV series as part of a marketing plan to take advantage of the tremendous amount of hype surrounding the upcoming movie. I told my then 10 year old son that we HAD to watch the reruns together so he could see what I loved when I was his age. He agreed and for weeks I kept telling him how much fun the show was and how great it would be to watch it together.
The night the first rerun show was aired we sat down on the couch to watch it…and it was hugely disappointing. I sat there through the first ½ hour show wondering WHAT I had seen in the show and WHY I had thought this would be such a great idea. I imagine he was thinking something similar, since a 10 year old in 1989 had much more sophisticated TV fare and characters to occupy their entertainment needs. We turned off the TV and never watched another episode. Obviously, my 10 year old inner child wasn’t manifesting himself.
Even so, I would still love to have these shows on DVD, if for no other reason than to occasionally look back and maybe laugh and shake my head at what I found so entrancing. Plus, since most of the main stars are still alive, I would hope that the DVD’s would include lots of extras and cast commentary, and maybe some comparisons on how the comics and the TV show influenced each other.
And, I have to admit I still have a soft spot in my memory for all the hours of entertainment the show gave me as a child. Maybe I can find it again.
When I walked into the kitchen yesterday morning, the first thing my mother-in-law said to me was not the usual, “Good morning” or “How are you this morning, dear?” No, instead she greeted me with, “Jeff, I’d forgotten that you used to have darker hair.”
That’s because she was looking through an album of photographs, all meticulously labeled with years and names and appropriate proverbs and quotes and decorated with handmade designs (so maybe it is more a scrapbook than strictly a photo album), of various family Christmas gatherings from 1996 to 2003, including a 50th anniversary party for Cindy’s mom and dad. All lovingly created as a gift to Cindy’s mom back in 2003 by Cindy’s cousin Darla.
In this day of digital photographs we seldom create actual albums of photos that you can hold in your hands and leaf through, being careful not to dislodge the photos from the white, scalloped, adhesive corner holders (remember those?) or from the clear plastic page covers that would attempt to hold the precious photos in place. But there is something special about opening up a book, created with love and care and a sense of the importance of those moments captured in pictures, with all the dates noted and all the participants’ names written next to the photos, that transports you back as you turn the pages.
Some of those in the photos I have only seen once or twice in the past 17 years, so having their names, especially for someone as forgetful about names as I am, was a nice reminder. Some in the photos are no longer with us, absent either through death or divorce or the always moving streams of time that change relationships. But they are still with us in memory and the photos are a bittersweet reminder of the time we were able to spend with them.
So thank you, cousin Darla, for the time and effort and talent and love that produced this album. Thank you for creating and giving something that can be pulled from the shelf and gazed upon, bringing back fond memories and filling our hearts with the joy of those times and people in our lives.
And thank you, especially, for reminding ALL of us that my hair used to be darker. 🙂
Wishing a very Happy 4th Birthday to my youngest granddaughter, Jade.
…where the term “Blow smoke up one’s ass” comes from?
Here in The Sunshine State, as in many other states, vehicle owners can request custom or vanity license plates. In the past 14 years, the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles has reviewed over 2,300 of these custom license plate requests. Obviously, not all requests are granted. Some are deemed too vulgar, suggestive or outright profane, while others may be a name that is protected, copyrighted or a duplicate.
Here’s a list of some of the rejected Florida license plate requests. Most of them I can understand, but there are a few that have me scratching my head as to WHY they may have been turned down. For instance, I’m not sure why the plate pictured, “I H8 FL” is included, other than perhaps it includes the abbreviation for “Hate”, and I guess I’m really missing something by not understanding why “ANY HOO” causes a problem. After all, it’s not “Hoo Hoo” but maybe someone thought it could be construed in that manner. And if someone wants to identify themselves as “2 FOOLS” I’m not sure why anyone would object, but obviously someone did.
The website LegalZoom has an informative page about why some plate requests are denied in some states and approved in others. But in short, there’s no real science or hard and fast rules behind why some plates are approved and some are rejected.
But, honestly, how could anyone resist adding that “og” every time they saw his sign??
Look what arrived in the mail today! You may recall my post about winning this Advance Reader (or Review) Copy of The Time Traveler’s Almanac a few days ago. Now it is here and I’m looking forward to diving into it as soon as I finish my current book.
