Tag: John Oliver

Seven Things I Love (11-23-2020)

1. This Millennial Explaining Why People Use the Word “Verklempt” So Much(I need to mention this article is two years old. Not that it matters.) Things like this makes one feel old. This young whippersnapper clearly never saw “Coffee Talk with Linda Richman” until she started researching this etymology.

You know, as a Gen-Xer, I know I was/am fairly absorbed in the decades of my salad days. Most people do this. But I think our generation grew up experiencing the pop culture of previous generations more than current gens. I mean, any of you watch the Cisco Kid or Three Stooges or Laurel & Hardy movies on Sunday mornings because the only other alternative was wrestling or religious programming (apparently Saturday & Sunday morning programming was the least expensive.) Where I grew up in Iowa, that is what aired. The major network programming was preempted by devotional television shows.

Of course there was some new shows like the ABC Afterschool Special (usually the topics were rather heavy and sometimes even traumatic or miserable.) This show did not age well and there’s probably a reason why we preferred shows from previous decades…

And there were the shows of Sid and Marty Krofft, Zoom (the amazing thing about watching these intros is you will remember all these kids as if they were friends from grade school), and Clutch Cargo, but overall, kind of slim pickings compared to the today. In fact, when try to find a list of popular kids television shows of the 1970s it will almost always include shows from the 50s and 60s.

(Side note: here’s a wonderful video about a guy who had an original talking candle prop from the Side & Marty Krofft show ‘H.R. Pufnstuf’ that he was trying to sell at auction.)

Myself, I was a big fan of Gilligan’s Island, really, who wasn’t. That show originally aired from 1964-1967. I was only TWO when it ended. The same with Leave it to Beaver, Bonanza, I Love Lucy (by the way, if you haven’t seen the Grace Adler version of Vitameatavegamin, you must), The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, I Dream of Jeannie, The Munsters, even The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle – these were all shows of the 1960s, some even of the 1950s. They were shows we were able to watch in rerun because there wasn’t four bazillion new shows on so we shared in stuff our parents had enjoyed.

Not that every skit that SNL does is worth seeing but there is certainly a huge number of things over the past two decades that have had significant impact on pop culture and it’s kinda sad that millennials will never know the references.

So why did verklempt become such a popular descriptor? Is it because we’re living in the age of rampant millennial hyperbole? Or does verklempt just ring true in many situations? Is its meaning versatile enough to cover everything from Star Wars references to ailing dogs getting free hamburgers?

The origins of verklempt trace back to the Yiddish farklempt, which refers not to any old overwhelming emotion but to a particular one: depression and grief. Farklempt is the past tense of farklemen, which means “to grip, press” and has roots in the German word verklemmen, “to press, squeeze,” which is related to the German verklemmt (“uptight”). And, following verklempt even further back in time, it leads to the Old English word clam or clom, meaning to “bond” or “fetter.”

But it wasn’t until the ‘90s when we started seeing verklempt being used in pop culture. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly when it started, but Mike Myers professed his verklempt-ness as Linda Richman in the 1992 Saturday Night Live sketch, Coffee Talk, about — you guessed it — Barbara Streisand.

I mean, how sad is it that generations of people will never see this??? Oy Vey, what a tragedy! What else has this generation missed?

2. This Animated History of the Lego Company – truly fascinating and the animation is fabulous.

I love the creativity of the fans of LEGO. For example, this creation done by LEGO artist Ochre Jelly

3. This Music Video from Naughty Boys and Beyonce – before I even saw the video I loved this song but then I watched it and I was blown away. It stars two free divers named Alice Modolo and Guillaume Néry underwater for the entire video. It’s amazing, you have to see it to believe it.

4. This Animal: Leaf Sheep – the only animal that can photosynthesize. I mean, how freaking cute is this???

5. This Illustrator’s List About Why She Misses Going to the Public Library – First, thanks Meta! Second, you will want to be sure to click on post so it takes you to Instagram because there are NINE items on her list and to see them all you have to be able to scroll.

6. This Reboot of Animaniacs (on Hulu) – I’m not a child of the 90s but I still loved this show (probably because I’ve always been a child at heart.) And this reboot is NOT a disappointment.

7. This Photo of Flowers as Bees & Butterflies would see them...

Because I’m always a little skeptical nowadays (as one should be, especially about things found on the internet) I wanted to make sure that the above photo had some scientific verification or at least find a reliable source that verified that insects see UV light. And I found something on PBS, which I deem a reliable source.

[Bonus] This Season Finale by John Oliver – I mean, the ending is amazing and Adam Driver is AWESOME!!! Fuck you 2020!

[And one more BONUS for Fans of The Crown]
This Series of Impressions of All the Characters from Season 4….


Word of the Day


Have a MARVELOUS week

Seven Things I Love (11-2-2020)

Well, tomorrow is it. It’s V-Day. If you haven’t already voted I hope you are planning on doing so. And if you aren’t planning on voting blue across the board, I strongly recommend you watch the John Oliver videos below first before going to the polls.

And because this week is such an historic and unusual and momentous and important week I’m going to have more than seven things – some things will fire people up but hopefully some will help relieve some stress and maybe even elicit a laugh or two.

1. This Photo of AUTUMN in all its Splendiferousness – my friend Kathy took this shot and it takes my breath away every time I look at it. Full disclosure, fall is my favorite time of year, so pretty much everything makes me happy about this seasonal change. This was taken in Sussex, Wisconsin. It’s actually at the cemetery. I wouldn’t mind spending eternity there. BUT my dad already bought my plot in Dubuque, IA. and there is nothing but a few pine trees around. I should really look into that.

2. This new John Mulaney Musical on SNL – this is the fourth musical by Mulaney. It follows Diner Lobster, Bodega Bathroom, and Airport Sushi. All four sketches (or is the last one a skit?) star Chris Redd and Pete Davidson as buddies who go to common everyday places like diners, the airport, or a souvenir shop but in each one Pete Davidson always makes a completely unwise choice such as wanting to order the lobster off a diner menu, wanting to the use the bathroom at a bodega, or wanting to buy the sushi at the airport. This leads the cashier (always played by John Mulaney) to break into song and it goes into full-Broadway after that. Completely brilliant and if they did one of these every week it would never get old. But I suppose having to wait several months just makes them all the more special – you know, like waiting for Christmas.

3. This Political Appointment in New Zealand – Jacinda Ardern has done it again, not only making history but doing what is right and fair for the people of her country! Congratulations to Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta!

4. This Bookshop in China, Dujiangyan Zhongshuge – click on the photo or the links to see more photos. I didn’t want to post them all here. You need to see them all. It’s like a cathedral mixed with Space Odyssey.

5. This Film Short called Selfish by Po Chien Chen – from October 15th to the 29th Milwaukee Film held its Festival and this year it was virtual! That meant I was able to see way more movies than usual because it’s a heck of a lot easier to watch movies from home than it is to go to the theater. It also meant it was completely worth it to buy a pass this time, which I did. I managed to watch 13 films but technically it was probably closer to 50 because four of the “films” I watched were collections of short films. This is one of them and it was one of my favorites. It was in the Kids Shorts: Size Large collection (meaning for older kids) and it’s about how plastic is destroying the planet.

6. This Tweet from Lynda Carter, our original Wonder Woman – a friend of mine told me that standing like Wonder Woman can boost your confidence (try it, it works for me though there are naysayers.) Today and tomorrow I think we should all channel our inner Diana Prince and do a little spinning and a lot of power posing.

7. This Female Comedian’s video on Triangulation – I discovered Anna Akana by watching Julie Nolke (one of my all-time favorite female comedians – she’s hilarious.) Anna is a bit difficult to label. I wouldn’t call her a comedian per se. It’s almost like she’s a self-help comedian? A therapist comedian? Not every video, mind you, she does music videos like Swim (she’s seriously good!) But the majority of her videos have some sort of lesson on how to live a better life, told in a completely hilarious and zany way. I LOVE HER!

8. This Video of Obama – no words necessary.

9. This Example of American Ingenuity – My friend Molly took her twins trick-or-treating this weekend in Chicago and posted a bunch of photos of their day of fun. They were all so much fun to look at, it was like I went trick-or-treating with them! This photo caught my eye in particular – one of the silver linings of this pandemic (and I actually have started a blog post about pandemic silver linings, after this election there may be a flurry of posts depending upon how things shake out) is how creative and ingenious people have become to accommodate and THIS is SUPER genius level (in my head I keep hearing this in Wile E. Coyote’s voice but I do sincerely mean this is clever!)

10. These John Oliver Videos – yesterday Oliver did two main stories because this week is SO important. And he got to vote for the first time as a U.S. citizen – how cool is that?? By the way, if you didn’t watch Last Week Tonight last night, you are going to want to watch these two videos because they will show you how VITALLY important this election is. When people have been saying to you, this is the most important election of my lifetime, and they are in their 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s or 90s – they are NOT exaggerating.


Word of the Day

This seemed like an appropriate choice for today…


Have a GREAT Week!

Seven Things I Love (9-28-2020)

Sorry guys, lots of videos this week but I had no choice, they are all just TOO good.

1. This Kindergarten Teacher, Mackenzie Adams (and a NY Times article that includes Adams and some other extraordinary educators is here.) The video shows that to teach virtually a teacher has to put in about 300% more energy to get students engaged. No doubt it must be exhausting but these dedicated individuals are up to the task and they’re doing it with smiles on their faces because you know what? Teachers aren’t in it for the money.

2. This (the) Cottage Fairy – I just discovered artist Paola Merrill and now I’m obsessed. She lives a “simple living” lifestyle in rural Washington state and as an artist loves to make things more visually beautiful. She releases new videos on Wednesdays so now I’ll have to wait because I binge-watched everything she had posted. It looks like her Facebook page has been around for a while and you can see some of her delightful art there. She also has an Etsy shop but since she got on YouTube her popularity is really taking off, so it’s empty at the moment. Who doesn’t need a little mindfulness and beauty right now?

3. This Dad, Craig Conrad – he created a series of videos for young women/girls who, when they find themselves in an uncomfortable situation. They can pull one of the videos up on their smartphone and it will appear as though they have called their dad. Then they can have a conversation with the video and whoever is around will believe that they have someone who knows where they are and that they are expected home shortly. Very cool.

https://twitter.com/nowthisnews/status/1291500044634513410?s=20

4. This Japanese photographer… definitely worth following on Instagram.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CFbIh5gg3Nc/

5. This (fake) trailer for the (fake) film ‘Harding’ from ‘Last Week Tonight with John Oliver’ – it was aired a while ago but I was reminded of it because there is a little bit of a kerfuffle with the Harding ancestors over and, well, you can read about that here but it just fits so well with trailer. Perhaps someone does need to make a movie called ‘Harding.’

6. RANDY RAINBOW – He’s a national treasure.

7. This Comedian Magician, Lucy Darling – my brother introduced me to Ms. Darling and I’m so glad he did. She’s, well, darling. Her shows are very cocktail-centric, which is something I appreciate. I was able to catch a virtual show last Friday and it was fabulous. I’m sure it has to be difficult to put together a show that will work online.

Bonus – This Mask PSA by “Certified Young Person” Paul Rudd – OMG, who doesn’t LOVE Paul Rudd?????

This ad for Hugh Jackman’s coffee company, Laughing Man, narrated by his “archenemy” and best bud, Ryan Reynolds. Reynolds could read the phone book and make it funny.

This ad for UberEats starring Sir Patrick and Mark Hamill. PINCH ME!!!


Have a great week!