I want to write more. At least I think I do. Problem is that I don't always have much to say. And I don't want to write something just to write something. But like everybody else, I do have thoughts. So as I sit here on a Saturday morning with a cup of joe and The Open Championship on the TV, I thought I'd express a few of them (some lighter than others):
I. SNL Changes
A few things have taken place with SNL since I read/wrote about the book. Legendary SNL writer, Tom Davis died. And there has been a mass exodus of talent (read more about it here). Kristin Wiig and Jason Sudekis are presumably going to do more movies. Andy Samburg is going across the pond to star in a BBC Comedy. And Seth Meyers might be taking the place of Regis Philbin on Live! with Kelly. (This move seems like a bit of a downgrade to me, but what the hell do I know?).
While this may seem like the beginning of the end of SNL to some, I feel like this could also be a good thing. Many of the characters have gotten a little stale (I'm looking at pretty much all of Wiig's characters) IMO, and this could be an opportunity for that little used writer to get promoted and inject some much needed fresh material into the show. I'll likley watch the first few weeks this fall to see how hitting the reset button has panned out.
II. If I Could Write Like One Person...
I recently finished "Eating the Dinosaur", which is a collection of essays by Chuck Klosterman. For those of you who have never read him, you should give him a try. Klosterman writes about all kinds of issues, with much of it revolving around music, pop culture, sports, and society in general. He asks a lot of questions and explores several answers, all while displaying a midwesteren wit (Klosterman is from North Dakota). Topics in the book ranged from an overall exploration of the game of football to a comparison of Kurt Cobain and David Koresh. Klosterman has written several other books and also writes for Grantland.com. Give him a shot.
III. She's Not Going Anywhere
Michelle Bachmann is calculated, and dare I say it, is pretty much Sarah Palin on roids. Her recent comments on Muslims is nothing more than a reason for her to get back in the public eye, which she has proven she is addicted to. Why does she make such comments? I'm sure she actually belives some, if not all, of what she is saying, but reality is that she has no idea how else to draw attention to herself.
Talking about good policy is a boring, hence why she doesn't ever talk about her own ideas (if she actually has any). I was an employee at the state capitol when she was a state senator. Her big issues: Gay marriage and repealing No Child Left Behind (which is a controversial program, but not to the point where the media and public would take an interest in her words, especially when you compare it to gay marriage.) We live in a era where the public and media react immediately and emotionally and she has figured out how to play on both. Expect this to continue, especially since she's very likely not to lose her congressional seat anytime soon.
IV. I want to...
a) Be good at golf. I played for the first time this summer on Tuesday. I mostly sucked, but I had some shots that were respectable. What I always thought was a game for the elite, I know think is a game that anybody can play all while challenging you both physically and mentally.
b) Live in England. Not for my entire life, but for just a little while. I've been three times and have seen quite a bit of it. It's an amazing hodgepodge of city, urban sprawl, and beautiful countrysides. Politically wise they seem to understand that things are a mess and that isn't going to change no matter who is in charge. The people are friendly and unintentionally hilarious, nobody seems to take themselves too seriously, and they drink beer at lunch. Lots to love about that country.
c) Live in a world where people can go to a movie without having to worry about their lives. This is obviously horrible, and you know that many people, especially those in Aurora, Colorado, won't be able to step into a theater again without thinking about this. And that really, really, sucks.
d) Figure out what else I want to write about. And how to write about it. And find a voice where this would come out a little more easily. And have people (some anyway) pay attention to it. And mostly, I want to figure out if I really do want to write more. Call it a crossroads.
Saturday, July 21, 2012
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Memories of Scott Mitchell Erased
Scott Mitchell.
Yes, the quarterback. This is the name that I remember when I think of times when one of our beloved sports franchises tried to woo somebody to come and play in Minnesota. And why wouldn't the Vikings have wanted him as their QB to start the 1994 season? Taking over for an injured Dan Marino in 1993, he took over and threw 12 TD passes and almost 1,800 yards before he himself got injured. But he was a free agent at years end and (as always) the Vikes needed a QB.
I remember both radio and television talking about the pursuit, bringing him into town to talk about how he could lead the franchise to the promise land, how with him at the helm, Robert Smith carrying the ball and an emerging WR named Cris Carter being the perfect target, our team would surely move foward after losing to the Giants in the playoffs. Jim McMahon's efforts were appreciated, but Denny Green needed somebody who could chuck the ball more than 40 yards. Plus, we were offering him a ton of cash. It was the perfect fit.
So it was obvious that Mitchell was going to have an easy decision to make....which he did. He was going to play for....the Detroit Lions(?). Granted in retrospect his decision was probably a good thing for us. He went on to the Lions, the Vikes traded for future Hall of Famer Warren Moon, and we finished 10-6 and went on to lose to Chicago in the playoffs.
From there it seemed like nobody wanted to come here on their own, be it for our teams not paying out enough (Twins) to not wanting to play and live in Minnesota during the winter for a bad team (Timberwolves).
So needless to say it's a breath of fresh air to have the two top NHL free agents in Zach Parise and Ryan Suter deciding to come and play for the Minnesota Wild. Are things turning around for our teams? Possibly. But let's not get too ahead ourselves. We still have three other professional teams in need to a player or two. In the meantime, I look forward to our hockey team from St. Paul becoming relevant.
Scott Mitchell...you are hereby forgiven.
Yes, the quarterback. This is the name that I remember when I think of times when one of our beloved sports franchises tried to woo somebody to come and play in Minnesota. And why wouldn't the Vikings have wanted him as their QB to start the 1994 season? Taking over for an injured Dan Marino in 1993, he took over and threw 12 TD passes and almost 1,800 yards before he himself got injured. But he was a free agent at years end and (as always) the Vikes needed a QB.
I remember both radio and television talking about the pursuit, bringing him into town to talk about how he could lead the franchise to the promise land, how with him at the helm, Robert Smith carrying the ball and an emerging WR named Cris Carter being the perfect target, our team would surely move foward after losing to the Giants in the playoffs. Jim McMahon's efforts were appreciated, but Denny Green needed somebody who could chuck the ball more than 40 yards. Plus, we were offering him a ton of cash. It was the perfect fit.
So it was obvious that Mitchell was going to have an easy decision to make....which he did. He was going to play for....the Detroit Lions(?). Granted in retrospect his decision was probably a good thing for us. He went on to the Lions, the Vikes traded for future Hall of Famer Warren Moon, and we finished 10-6 and went on to lose to Chicago in the playoffs.
From there it seemed like nobody wanted to come here on their own, be it for our teams not paying out enough (Twins) to not wanting to play and live in Minnesota during the winter for a bad team (Timberwolves).
So needless to say it's a breath of fresh air to have the two top NHL free agents in Zach Parise and Ryan Suter deciding to come and play for the Minnesota Wild. Are things turning around for our teams? Possibly. But let's not get too ahead ourselves. We still have three other professional teams in need to a player or two. In the meantime, I look forward to our hockey team from St. Paul becoming relevant.
Scott Mitchell...you are hereby forgiven.
I Read a Book about SNL and Laughed
When you bring up Saturday Night Live to anybody these days many of them will tell you the show is no longer funny. I have to admit that I've been one to utter a sentence revolving around that over the years. Like lots of people who are now in their 30's, I watched regularly during the Wayne's World era and continued through the Adam Sandler and Chris Farley era. It's those fond memories that may have drawn me to read Live From New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live, as Told by its Stars, Writers, and Guests.
Published in 2003 and authored by Tom Shales and James Andrew Miller (who more recently wrote a book with a similar theme about ESPN), the book does what the title says it's going to do, which is let everybody else tell the story. Shales and Miller interviewed what feels like at least 100 people about what took place behind the scenes since the shows inception in 1975 through the end of the 2001 season.
There are several reviews of this book out there who can certainly articulate their words better than me so I won't go into the great detail about the actual book itself. But I will throw out a few observations that stuck out while reading what was a pretty lengthy history.
1) Chevy Chase comes across as, well, a bit of a jerk
I don't want to hate the man who brought us Clark Griswold., but the book paints him as quite egotistical, somebody who felt as if he was the star of the show (the "I'm Chevy Chase and you're not" line he used to open Weekend Update didn't help matters). Chase shot to stardom within weeks after the show started, appearing on magazine covers and writing himself into many of the skits where the other actors felt they could have done as good of a job, if not better. Chase left the show after only one season and there was a glass half-empty/half-full thing going on where the actors (and Lorne Michaels) were bitter towards him for bailing so early, yet getting more screen time now that he was out. Will Ferrell called him the worst host he ever dealt with, saying he came across as "a little snobbish".
"He'd yell at someone down the hallway--scream and yell--and you would look at him, and he's see you were looking at him and he would smile like "I'm just joking." We'd be like, "No, I don't think you are."
2) Next to Eddie Murphy, Phil Hartman is the best SNL castmember all time
Not a bad word was spoke about Phil Hartman throughout the book, which I was happy to read. A workhorse who would get laughs just showing up in a sketch, he was loved by all who worked with him. Jan Hooks called him her rock. Mike Myers said he was the glue to the show. His Bill Clinton and Frank Sinatra impressions were about as good as they got. But for me my favorite of his characters was "Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer", where, as the intro to each skit told us, scientists in 1988 discovered a man who fell into a crevasse. He then went to law school and became...Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer. This guy could work a jury.
3) Lorne Michaels is the Godfather
I'll be honest. There is a chapter at the end of the book where just about everybody the authors interview give their thoughts on Lorne Michaels and I couldn't get through it. It's not that I don't like the guy, it's just that everybody said almost the same thing: That he was looked upon as a father figure of the show. This probably isn't news to most people. Maybe it's an actor thing, but most everybody said he was a nice guy, but you would never really know where you stood with him.
4) Ben Stiller looks like an a$$hole (if what was said about him was indeed true)
In what was one of the more interesting sections of the book, cast and writers spoke about the shows in the immediate weeks after 9/11. Paul Simon playing "The Boxer" to start the first show, Rudy Giuliani coming speaking while being surrounded by NYC's finest, and Reese Witherspoon being a total pro a host that week. However, the second show after 9/11 Ben Stiller was scheduled to host. but he dropped out. Why? Who really knows. He still managed to make several media appearances promoting his upcoming movie that week. But the scathing comment came from producer Marci Klien, who said Ben Stiller thought his appearance should have been moved up a week because "the world needed comedy".
There many more I can list but I won't spoil things. What's amazing that, good or bad, SNL has managed to remain relevant to pop culture for several generations. It's been close to being cancelled on a few different occasions, yet somehow finds it's way back from the dead and into discussions during Monday morning coffee. These days I'm the guy who hears about a funny or controversial clip then looks it up online. I suspect many do the same. I this era that's probably a good enough reason for it to continue.
Published in 2003 and authored by Tom Shales and James Andrew Miller (who more recently wrote a book with a similar theme about ESPN), the book does what the title says it's going to do, which is let everybody else tell the story. Shales and Miller interviewed what feels like at least 100 people about what took place behind the scenes since the shows inception in 1975 through the end of the 2001 season.
There are several reviews of this book out there who can certainly articulate their words better than me so I won't go into the great detail about the actual book itself. But I will throw out a few observations that stuck out while reading what was a pretty lengthy history.
1) Chevy Chase comes across as, well, a bit of a jerk
I don't want to hate the man who brought us Clark Griswold., but the book paints him as quite egotistical, somebody who felt as if he was the star of the show (the "I'm Chevy Chase and you're not" line he used to open Weekend Update didn't help matters). Chase shot to stardom within weeks after the show started, appearing on magazine covers and writing himself into many of the skits where the other actors felt they could have done as good of a job, if not better. Chase left the show after only one season and there was a glass half-empty/half-full thing going on where the actors (and Lorne Michaels) were bitter towards him for bailing so early, yet getting more screen time now that he was out. Will Ferrell called him the worst host he ever dealt with, saying he came across as "a little snobbish".
"He'd yell at someone down the hallway--scream and yell--and you would look at him, and he's see you were looking at him and he would smile like "I'm just joking." We'd be like, "No, I don't think you are."
2) Next to Eddie Murphy, Phil Hartman is the best SNL castmember all time
Not a bad word was spoke about Phil Hartman throughout the book, which I was happy to read. A workhorse who would get laughs just showing up in a sketch, he was loved by all who worked with him. Jan Hooks called him her rock. Mike Myers said he was the glue to the show. His Bill Clinton and Frank Sinatra impressions were about as good as they got. But for me my favorite of his characters was "Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer", where, as the intro to each skit told us, scientists in 1988 discovered a man who fell into a crevasse. He then went to law school and became...Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer. This guy could work a jury.
3) Lorne Michaels is the Godfather
I'll be honest. There is a chapter at the end of the book where just about everybody the authors interview give their thoughts on Lorne Michaels and I couldn't get through it. It's not that I don't like the guy, it's just that everybody said almost the same thing: That he was looked upon as a father figure of the show. This probably isn't news to most people. Maybe it's an actor thing, but most everybody said he was a nice guy, but you would never really know where you stood with him.
4) Ben Stiller looks like an a$$hole (if what was said about him was indeed true)
In what was one of the more interesting sections of the book, cast and writers spoke about the shows in the immediate weeks after 9/11. Paul Simon playing "The Boxer" to start the first show, Rudy Giuliani coming speaking while being surrounded by NYC's finest, and Reese Witherspoon being a total pro a host that week. However, the second show after 9/11 Ben Stiller was scheduled to host. but he dropped out. Why? Who really knows. He still managed to make several media appearances promoting his upcoming movie that week. But the scathing comment came from producer Marci Klien, who said Ben Stiller thought his appearance should have been moved up a week because "the world needed comedy".
There many more I can list but I won't spoil things. What's amazing that, good or bad, SNL has managed to remain relevant to pop culture for several generations. It's been close to being cancelled on a few different occasions, yet somehow finds it's way back from the dead and into discussions during Monday morning coffee. These days I'm the guy who hears about a funny or controversial clip then looks it up online. I suspect many do the same. I this era that's probably a good enough reason for it to continue.
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