Context: This essay was written for, and performed in, the November 19, 2011 edition of The Paper Machete, a weekly showcase for Chicago journalists, comedians, and other writers, hosted by Christopher Piatt. I’m just getting around to posting it now because, well, my own universe is fairly chaotic and other deadlines prevailed. You are encouraged […]
Entries Tagged as 'TV'
The Unbearable Lightness of the Kilogram, Universes Next Door, and the Occupy Movement
November 29th, 2011 · 1 Comment · Books, Chicago, Culture, Essays, Fringe, Journalism, News, Performance, Politics, Science, The Economy, Stupid, TV, Writing
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Remedial Comedy-Writing for T-Shirt Companies
June 27th, 2008 · 11 Comments · Advertising, Comedy, Culture, Facebook, Science Fiction, TV
Methinks some people in the t-shirt business misunderstand the basic idea of funniness. For example, I just got a little ad on Facebook, which claims this is “the funniest Star Trek t-shirt ever … !” Well, um … no. That’s not especially funny. Sure, “Make it so” was Captain Picard’s catchphrase. But there’s nothing funny […]
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Roundup: Maracas and Purple Pants Edition
June 24th, 2008 · 5 Comments · Chicago, Comedy, Culture, Doctor Who, Fantasy, Grammar, LGBT, News, Politics, Science Fiction, Terrorism, TV
Just a few things that are on my radar at the moment … • First up, I just found this interview with Gore Vidal from May, in which he gives his current takes on Obama and McCain. Vidal says he’s a fan of Obama now, but it took him a while to get there (hey, […]
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New Music from Dan: I Was a Cub Scout, Alphabeat, and The Helio Sequence
June 24th, 2008 · Comments Off on New Music from Dan: I Was a Cub Scout, Alphabeat, and The Helio Sequence · Culture, Music, New Wave, TV, Video
My old college pal Dan (well, actually we got to be friends after college, but that’s a long story), who was the master of the new-music mix tape back in the middle-eighties, turned up on Facebook recently and has been freshening up my iTunes with all sorts of fun new stuff. So here are a […]
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Uncertain Smile: McCain Shredded by His Own Side
June 5th, 2008 · 1 Comment · Media, News, Politics, TV, Video
Watch the Republican pundits on Faux News shred McCain’s speech from Tuesday night. I daresay we won’t see him get within a mile of a green backdrop again. And suddenly, I can’t wait for the debates this fall with Obama and McCain on stage together. In the meantime, I’m dedicating my favorite The The […]
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Colbert on the O’Reilly Meltdown
May 14th, 2008 · Comments Off on Colbert on the O’Reilly Meltdown · Comedy, Culture, Journalism, Media, News, TV, Video
Sublime. Any comment would be superfluous. And in case you haven’t seen it, the dance remix. Warning: Loud, crude, uncensored language, accompanied by a nifty techno beat. Lots of bad words that cultural conservatives might find objectionable, uttered by a conservative! Definitely not safe for work, kind of like the Falafel King himself.
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Wild Puppet: Kate Pierson Plays “Speed Quiz” on Pancake Mountain
May 8th, 2008 · Comments Off on Wild Puppet: Kate Pierson Plays “Speed Quiz” on Pancake Mountain · Comedy, Culture, Music, New Wave, TV, Video
Via the Planet X mailing list, here’s Ocelopotamus’s moment of video bliss for this week. I’m not familiar with Pancake Mountain, but all you really need to know is it’s Kate from The B-52’s and a goat puppet named Rufus Leaking. And here’s the 411 on Pancake Mountain from Wikipedia. Sounds like a very […]
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Capes and Crumpets with Roz Kaveney
May 4th, 2008 · 2 Comments · Blogroll, Blogs, Books, Chicago, Culture, Doctor Who, Journal, LGBT, Lit, Science Fiction, TV
Speaking of people on my blogroll: Pop culture critic, blogger, and transgendered activist extroardinaire Roz Kaveney of Silence Exile and Crumpets was just in town, promoting her new book Superheroes!: Capes and Crusaders in Comics and Films — which I’m hoping to crack the covers of eventually. Roz is brilliant at analyzing the various mechanics […]
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Roundup: Pansies vs. Chair Sniffers Edition
May 1st, 2008 · 1 Comment · Comedy, Culture, Doctor Who, Factory Farming, Food, Gender, LGBT, Nature, News, Organic Food, Politics, Racism, Religion, Roundup, Science, TV, Video
A little sampler platter for you, my pretties … First up, a brilliant post by Hunter on Daily Kos: Things I have learned during this campaign season: In a race that includes a former First Lady of the United States and a multimillionaire Republican senator rumored to share up to eight residences with his wife, […]
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Larry King on the Other Larry King: Day of Silence PSA
April 25th, 2008 · Comments Off on Larry King on the Other Larry King: Day of Silence PSA · Culture, Education, Hate Crimes, Human Rights, LGBT, Media, News, Politics, TV, Video
Very cool — CNN’s Larry King records a PSA in honor of his murdered namesake, in support of the 12th annual Day of Silence organized by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network. Previously on Ocelopotamus: • Death by Flirting
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B-52’s Funplex Roundup
April 9th, 2008 · 2 Comments · Chicago, Culture, Film, LGBT, Music, New Wave, News, TV, Video
So the new B-52’s album Funplex has been out for a couple of weeks now and is getting hot-pink rave reviews everywhere. Of course all during the recent period when I was busy not blogging I was wanting to post all sorts of breathless updates and links about it. But the truth is Astralwerks seems […]
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Death by Flirting
March 29th, 2008 · 6 Comments · Comedy, Culture, Education, Hate Crimes, Human Rights, Journalism, LGBT, Media, News, TV
From Friday’s AP story on Lawrence King: OXNARD, Calif. (AP) — Larry King was a gay eighth-grader who used to come to school in makeup, high heels and earrings. And when the other boys made fun of him, he would boldly tease them right back by flirting with them. That may have been what got […]
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The ABC’s of Early 80’s Mo-Romance
February 15th, 2008 · 3 Comments · Culture, Fiction, Film, LGBT, Lit, Music, New Wave, TV, Video
And now for something a little on the lighter side — and a nice follow-up to Valentine’s Day. ABC’s “All of My Heart” + Brideshead Revisited = high school drama club heaven, circa 1982. Possibly the best combination since peanut butter and chocolate … the British horror of peanut butter notwithstanding. (Note: This may not […]
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