Topic: THE 'COON'S AGE (Read 28177 times)

bk · « **on:** June 17, 2004, 12:03:23 AM »

Well, you've read the notes, you are in the know, notes-wise, and now it is time to post until the cows come home or, even better, until the 'coons come home.

Tomovoz · « **Reply #1 on:** June 17, 2004, 12:18:27 AM »

I was nuts about collecting (and writing down from radio) top 40 charts when I was a kid. I didn't let go of the habit until I was 45! My friends thought I was nuts. I started to collect a copy of every track that charted here in my home down between 1955 and 1970 when I was in my forties.
Last laugh! I have now made quite few $$$$$ from my childhood hobby, have had a part time job in a record store, written for pop magazines, had a book published and now compile Cd compilations of hard to get tracks for a major radio station here that specialises in "oldies". I've also made some good friends through my hobby.

Panni · « **Reply #2 on:** June 17, 2004, 12:31:23 AM »

Everything I did as a kid was thought to be nutty. (And probably was.)

Michael · « **Reply #3 on:** June 17, 2004, 04:13:02 AM »

I used to put stickers all over the 20th Century train that ran from Chicago to NYC. They said "Repent"

S. Woody White · « **Reply #4 on:** June 17, 2004, 04:29:23 AM »

I just did a quick check: Film Historian Rudy Behlmer can be heard on the commentary tracks for The Adventures of Robin Hood, Casablanca, and Singin' in the Rain. He's probably done many many others, and many others (that brings us up to three), but these are the films in the collection I share with der Brucer that I could spot in a minute.

S. Woody White · « **Reply #5 on:** June 17, 2004, 04:30:26 AM »

When I was a kid, I could sing the entire chorus of "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" without taking a breath!

S. Woody White · « **Reply #6 on:** June 17, 2004, 04:35:03 AM »

There's something about the box-office numbers mania that reminds me of the game played by baseball fans, where they make up teams of existing players and determine how well the different teams would play against each other by how well the players do in real games. Of course, the sports game is just for fun. The compulsion with numbers that our esteemed BK is talking about is...a compulsion. It's as if these people need something to be in control of in their lives, and they've latched onto something that has nothing to do with their real lives.

I'd suggest this as the basis for a Monk episode, to be called "Monk Goes to the Movies," but I don't think he could handle the theater floors.

S. Woody White · « **Reply #7 on:** June 17, 2004, 04:41:45 AM »

Der Brucer has left me... for the day.

He's off to the Eastern Shore to ladsit the grandlads. Their day-care worker has just had a child (her seventh), and will be taking a break for a few days. Grampa has been called into action.

I get to walk to work today. For the most part, I don't mind, but I really dislike having to cross the highway on foot. There are no crosswalks; pedestrians have to run like crazy to get across safely, if that can be called safe. Fortunately, der B will be back in time to pick me up after work.

I think I deserve a nap, if I'm going to have enough energy to cross that highway later today.

Stuart · « **Reply #8 on:** June 17, 2004, 06:23:12 AM »

Quote from: Michael Shayne on June 17, 2004, 04:13:02 AM

I used to put stickers all over the 20th Century train that ran from Chicago to NYC. They said "Repent"

That made me LOL (laugh out loud, in internet lingo). Very funny.

William E. Lurie · « **Reply #9 on:** June 17, 2004, 06:24:04 AM »

I stopped reading Variety when it stopped being primarily about show business and became obsessed with show business. A few simple box office figures are one thing, but I don't care how much a film/play makes, I care about how it is made.

Jennifer · « **Reply #10 on:** June 17, 2004, 06:53:01 AM »

Well I wouldn't say that I am obsessed with movie figures. But I do always check them out with interest. I have no idea how they are able to accurately predict these numbers (especially since the numbers for the weekend seem to come out very early on Sunday). But it is interesting to see which movies people go to.

As for what I collected that people thought I was crazy for doing ... well this wasn't as a child per se. But when I was in my early 20s, I was pretty crazy into collecting postcards.

Jennifer · « **Reply #11 on:** June 17, 2004, 06:54:19 AM »

And now I've just realized that I'm starving. Off to eat!

Ben · « **Reply #12 on:** June 17, 2004, 07:10:41 AM »

Here is a link to BBC Radio 2. I didn't listen to the interview until today and now realize it's only up until Sunday afternoon but if you're interested, give it a listen. Russell Davies speaks to Ted Chapin about his book Everything's Possible about the creation of Follies. It's a good interview and you get to hear lots of the OBC recording. Ignore the "This week Russell speaks to Lorna Luft", that won't happen until Sunday, June 20th at 3pm. Right now it's Ted Chapin and Follies.

For those of you who care to listen and haven't done this before, click on the link, it will take you to the Russell Davies page, then click on "Listen again to this show". You have to have Real (AKA Real One or Real Player) on your computer to hear it. When you click on Listen Again, a box will open up and a connection will be made with the show. It should start playing after a pause for loading and that's it. Sit back and enjoy.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/shows/davies/

MBarnum · « **Reply #13 on:** June 17, 2004, 07:30:50 AM »

I never paid any attention to box office and didn't realize it had become an obsession in some corners. The movie business has always been a "business" since the early days, I would think. That isn't to say that there weren't people trying to make it an art, but there was always money involved and for many that was the number one priority, making money and I doubt that is ever going to change.

Panni, your daughter Rachael is absolutely gorgeous! And you can tell her I said so!

When I was a kid I became obsessed with movie credits. Whenever a favorite movie would come on I would make whoever was around the house help me quickly write down the cast names as the credits were rolling! And boy you should have seen the face of my sister-in-law when we were trying to write down the names of the cast from something like GODZILLA VS THE THING! No wonder she thinks I am weird! Of course this was all pre-video recorder and pre-IMDB. But back then I just wanted to know who played in all the movies that I loved!

Matt H. · « **Reply #14 on:** June 17, 2004, 07:54:52 AM »

I have always been interested in the business of show business. I've subscribed to weekly VARIETY since the mid-60s, and bought individual copies before that. They have always reported box-office figures in the major cities and nationally, given TV ratings on a weekly basis, and reported weekly Broadway grosses and at the end of the year, which shows had paid off, which hadn't, and which shows currently running were still in the red or the black. I have always found all of this fascinating. Also looked forward each year to see which stars were ranked in the Top Ten at the box-office and kept these lists though the late 1980s.

On the other hand, none of it clouded my interest in the movies as art and entertainment. I wrote film reviews for 25 years and never once referred to something as a money maker or money loser, I judged the films stricitly on their merit, not their potential commerce. I don't see why people can't be interested in both sides, and I definitely am.

Matt H. · « **Reply #15 on:** June 17, 2004, 07:57:16 AM »

On the other TOD, I can clearly remember teenage friends fascinated with the Beatles, the Supremes, the Rolling Stones, and I was listening to and learning not those songs but the songs in MAME, SWEET CHARITY, and HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS plus all the old classics from earlier eras. Musically, I never did fit in with my peers.

JoseSPiano · « **Reply #16 on:** June 17, 2004, 08:06:43 AM »

Good Morning!

-Why does 10:00 have to seem soooo early to me right now?!?!? It shouldn't, but it does. However, I'm also a bit sniffly and sneezy, and it better not be a summer cold! I'm hoping(?) it's just all the dust I stirred up yesterday while cleaning and reorganizing clearing out of my system.

DR DearReaderLaura - Thank you for my Star!! It brought a great big smile to my face this morning! *Can you send me the original pic?

As for the Topics of the Day:

Box Office figures: I've always wondered how the figures could be posted so early too. All the 6:00 newscasts on Sunday night are already talking about the "weekend box champion" when the weekend isn't even over yet! And sometimes you hear about the big winner first thing Sunday morning?!?!? I sometimes look at the figures in the Washington Post, but since I don't get the Post regularly here in Richmond, it's been a while. I don't get it at all. So...

Things I did as a kid - Hmm... I would sometimes run around my high school halls after classes were done just running around for no reason. Very erratic, almost kind of "moody". It was kind of fun. Guess it was some sort of release after a day of being in classes and being in a routine - oh, and a uniform too. Not too many people were around, but those who saw me did raise an eyebrow or two, but since I was a "drama geek" (well, "geek" was the more kind term), no one really paid that much attention to me. However, there were times when I even started to question my behavior - and sanity, I guess.

Well, I need to continue waking up... Or is it nap time already? Hmmm...

MBarnum · « **Reply #17 on:** June 17, 2004, 08:07:01 AM »

the loud chewing and lip smacking is going on big time in the next cube. I better have some more coffee. I am now listening to the soundtrack to the Bollywood film Murder. Is there a connection? You decide! LOL

(don't worry, I won't really commit a crime...I like my co-worker too much.)

Dan (the Man) · « **Reply #18 on:** June 17, 2004, 08:16:26 AM »

I'm not crazy about all the hoopla over box office rankings, either, but they are hard to ignore because of the way they are shoved down our throats. Along with the weekly Monday reports on eXtra, Access Hollywood and Entertainment Tonight, The Philadelphia Inquirer publishes the Top Ten Movies each week in an eye-catching, grayed-out sidebar (along with the Nielsen Top Twenty TV Shows.) The local channel news that I watch reports weekend box-office receipts on its Sunday night 11:30 PM broadcast. And even our "All news, all the time" radio station does the same type of reporting on Mondays. Anymore, I doubt that even marginally media-aware people don't have at least an inkling as to what movie was number one on any given week.

As for myself, I tend to use it as a sort of guide. For instance, I know that it's not absolutely necessary to rush out and see Shrek 2 yet, since it's evident that it will be around for a while, whereas I had better hurry up and get my butt in gear if I want to catch Garfield before it disappears.

I was a weird little kid in so many ways. I was totally obsessed with the Peanuts comic strip and collected anything and everything I could lay my hands on that had the characters' images on it, including discarded cellophane wrappers from Zingers cakes. I was also very much into monster movies. I was an avid reader of Forest J. Ackerman's Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine and I loved the Aurora monster models. But I guess the thing that really made my parents worry about me was the way I played with my G.I.Joes. I thought that the army or navy life was too mundane for them, so I soon made them into half naked superheroes who had to deal with elaborate and deadly traps that I set up in our basement. There was many a time that my mom would find one of my G.I. Joes in the washing machine, tightly bound with our dog's chain leash and with fishing weights tied to the ankles, awaiting to be drowned in a murderous trap set by Dr. Evil/Doom/Cel-Ray or whoever was the villain that day. At least I wasn't as bad as my cousins, who often set fire to their G.I. Joes, Barbies and Kens.

Matt H. · « **Reply #19 on:** June 17, 2004, 08:35:05 AM »

DR Dan, you're one post away from entering Valhalla!

Dan (the Man) · « **Reply #20 on:** June 17, 2004, 08:43:44 AM »

Here's to a new world of gods and monsters!

Jennifer · « **Reply #21 on:** June 17, 2004, 08:52:25 AM »

Congrats to Dan the Man!

MBarnum · « **Reply #22 on:** June 17, 2004, 08:55:02 AM »

Congratulations Dan! You will find a section up here just for us Aurora model fans!!

bk · « **Reply #23 on:** June 17, 2004, 09:01:28 AM »

Quote from: MBarnum on June 17, 2004, 07:30:50 AM

I never paid any attention to box office and didn't realize it had become an obsession in some corners. The movie business has always been a "business" since the early days, I would think. That isn't to say that there weren't people trying to make it an art, but there was always money involved and for many that was the number one priority, making money and I doubt that is ever going to change.

I want to be perfectly clear: Of course it's always been a business, and of course studios, producers, actors, etc. have always been concerned with the business aspect of films and theater - it's their livelihood. I'm not talking about them - I'm talking about teenagers who only care about numbers - how did this film open, can the star open a picture, blah, blah, blah - it's ALL they care about and it's all they talk about. I'm telling you, go on to any Usenet newsgroup concerning new films and you'll see I'm right. They not only post the numbers, they dissect them, they postulate, they do everything but talk about the movies as movies. And my point was/is, they're starting to do it now for Broadway. I'm not talking about a handful of people who might take an interest in such things, I'm talking about a phenomenon, really. It began with Entertainment Tonight, and, as someone points out in a post, now every entertainment show and the news reports these figures as if it was "big" news, right up there with beheadings and the rest.

bk · « **Reply #24 on:** June 17, 2004, 09:03:30 AM »

Quote from: Matt H. on June 17, 2004, 07:54:52 AM

I have always been interested in the business of show business. I've subscribed to weekly VARIETY since the mid-60s, and bought individual copies before that. They have always reported box-office figures in the major cities and nationally, given TV ratings on a weekly basis, and reported weekly Broadway grosses and at the end of the year, which shows had paid off, which hadn't, and which shows currently running were still in the red or the black. I have always found all of this fascinating. Also looked forward each year to see which stars were ranked in the Top Ten at the box-office and kept these lists though the late 1980s.

On the other hand, none of it clouded my interest in the movies as art and entertainment. I wrote film reviews for 25 years and never once referred to something as a money maker or money loser, I judged the films stricitly on their merit, not their potential commerce. I don't see why people can't be interested in both sides, and I definitely am.

I understand, but you must know you were in the minority then, whereas now you are part of the majority. The first time I ever looked at a box office figures chart was when Nudie Musical came out. I took a small interest in it after that, but not like now.

bk · « **Reply #25 on:** June 17, 2004, 09:04:29 AM »

Now, where in tarnation IS everyone on this Thursday morning?

Panni · « **Reply #26 on:** June 17, 2004, 09:18:39 AM »

Thank you for the lovely compliment, MBarnum! I'll pass it on to Rachel.

(I modified the way I spelled your name. Funny, but rude.)

Panni · « **Reply #27 on:** June 17, 2004, 09:21:33 AM »

Dan the Man - is now Dan the GOD.

CONGRATULATIONS! WELCOME!

Jennifer · « **Reply #28 on:** June 17, 2004, 09:21:53 AM »

I wanna know how you spelled his name!

TCB · « **Reply #29 on:** June 17, 2004, 09:22:01 AM »

Welcome to Paradise,
DR Dan the Man!

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Author Topic: THE 'COON'S AGE (Read 28177 times)

Ben

MBarnum

MBarnum

MBarnum