Darren McGavin RIP

I was dismayed to read yesterday that Darrin McGavin passed away. The character actor, best known as the dad in "A Christmas Story" or as Carl Kolshak in the original (dare I say only?) "Night Stalker", was one of my favorites. He was funny, he was wise-he was fun to watch. So I was going to make a display when I got to work today in his honor. Which got me thinking about a dinner I had with an author last year where he attempted to take us booksellers to task for the "death displays" we make when (he felt) we don't pay enough attention in life. He might be right but it's true that people will ask for them-death can be good for a career. There's a name for it-that's what we call MORBID SOCIAL INTEREST. Making a display in that case is just good customer service (give the people what they want!) but I also think it's more. It's a tribute that says we're sad you're gone and we're acknowledging your work which is, I thought, one of the reasons why some folks (including said author) do what they do. They want their work to survive them, to live on with their fans. I can't go to Darren McGavin's funeral, I can't shake his kids' hands and say, "Your dad was great"-I can only build a display and try and win him new fans.

Updates

-We have our first entry in the Thyroid Music sweepstakes! My friend Marla burned her collection, "It's Not a Goiter" last night. It's a mellow mix of young artists (heavy on the Josh Ritter) and you know what? I feel better already. Keep 'em coming!

-David Manchel, whose song "Tonight We Go to the Show" was featured on my 2005 Favorites CD had another song, "One Swell Foop" featured in the movie, "Big Momma's House 2". I didn't see the movie but apparently it's featured in a beach scene. Way to go David!

-I was excited to hear Hoyden favorite George Pelecanos was nominated for an Edgar Award for Best Novel for Drama City. I don't know enough about the Edgars to handicap but he certainly is well thought of by his peers. I'll have my fingers crossed for him. (I've never seen an Edgar Award-I think it'd be cool if it was just a Poe head.)

Thyroid Music

I love to challenge my musically inclined friends to theme mix CDs. (Though the technology changed a while ago I find I still want to say "mix tape" which sounds better than "mix CD". Kind of how I say still "record" even though I don't own any vinyl.) There was the rain one which spawned multiple volumes and the divorce one which, unfortunately, we all knew inside and out.

So here's the new theme, friends-my thyroid.

My thyroid is as big as a baseball and about as heavy. (It's not a goiter, do not say the g word to a person with a thyoid condition) My radioactive iodine test showed my uptake at 59% when normal is 7 to 30%. Gee, it's no wonder I'm overanxious and crying at the drop of a hat. Yes, that's me constantly pulling the shirt away from my neck.

So get it taken care of you're saying. Well, because of my insurance I need to see an endocrinologist at the University of Michigan Hospital which is apparently as hard to get into as well, the University of Michigan. That leaves me cooling my heels until April 3. So, have pity on my poor overacheiving thyroid and send me a CD to help. It could be super fast speed metal to mirror my frenetic gland (did I mention the tremors and racing heart?) or slow mellow folk designed to sloooow things down.

I'll be waiting with eager ears.

21st Century Sexism?

As previously stated, I am a huge Olympic fan and have been shocked at one of the big stories from these games about why there is no women's ski jumping. Apparently, according to one of the officials I heard, it is considered too dangerous for "medical reasons". I'm not sure what having a uterus has to do with racing down a long hill and flying through the air-I figure the men are as likely to break their neck as anybody. I only heard the one quote so I'm not sure if the next thing coming were accusations about hysteria and directions to the fainting couch but this guys sounds like he's only a arm's throw away from Dabney Coleman in "9 to 5". Wake up gentleman, it's the 21st century. That's not chivalry anymore, that's chauvinism and it needs to change.

V-Day

Happy Valentine's Day to all!

I am spending mine alone-my boyfriend is confined for 3 days at the local Pfizer lab being a human guinea pig testing-of all things-a rhumatoid arthritis drug. It's not completely altruistic-he hopes to pay off a big chunk of his car with the proceeds-but I think it's kind of neat. Because of him, and lots like him, people with RA like me might have a great new drug. I think it's actually kind of romantic and, since he's not here to tell me different-I'm gonna keep on thinking it.

A Sweet Surprise

I saw the commercial for the new Strawberry flavored Frosted Mini Wheats the other day and just had to try them. They taste exactly like the Crunchberries in Cap'n Crunch. Crunchberry taste in a wheat cereal? Can you say the best of both worlds? I think you can.

Fun Phrases for Everyday Vernacular

Patter a little stale? Try these on for size!


"Rocks up on the mike and rocks the mike right."

It's old school yeah, so old it's new again. Just right for describing that fun new CD you can't hear enough of.

"Gear down Big Shifter."

Use it where you'd say "cool your jets". Especially good with the head pat gesture.

"Piece of cake or slice of life."

A David Mamet line from the movie "Homicide". Good for those "isn't life something?" moments.

"Get drunk, go to jail."

One from my Joe- the ideal response for the question, "Whatcha gonna do tonight?"

"Sparky."

Can be used sarcastically with dim bulb people asking dumb questions. Example:

"Did that tattoo hurt?"
"Of course it did Sparky, there was a needle involved."

Please comment and share some of your favorites!

It's Olympic Time Again

I love the Olympics and it's not just the sports part of it. I didn't make it too far in my sports career, I ran track in high school and played intermural volleyball in college, so the "lessons" sports are supposed to teach stayed with me more than someone who took it a lot further. Those lessons are things like-it's not important whether you win or lose it's how you play the game and it's more important to be a good loser than a good winner. Nowhere in the televised sports world are these more evident than in the Olympics. The one person teams from countries you'd be pressed to find on map that you will never get to see compete no matter how good your cable is-that's the kind of thing I love. They are there to play and represent anyway.

Last night when the lone Kenyan walked in the announcers explained that in the last Winter Games he had finished 4 hours behind the winner in his event but when he did finally make it the winner was there to greet him. And, he named his son after that guy.

That's the kind of stuff I love.

Nominations

Well, the Oscar nominations are out-outside of the Triple Crown or the Breeders Cup they are my favorite event to handicap. Hours of careful consideration every year have made me somewhat of a player in the Oscar party pool. Here are my thoughts so far:

-Too much "Munich"! I know we're all supposed to bow down to Mr Spielberg since he started making serious films but this one missed the mark in my book. Like lots of other movies lately ("King Kong" for example) it was overlong. When you start rooting for your killer protaganists to get killed themselves you know something is amiss. It also had a really bad sex scene dismount (no pun intended there).

-I think "Wallace & Gromit" (and probably Rachel Weisz) are the closest thing to a lock. I cannot wait to hear Wallace's acceptance speech!

-I'm disappointed that Jeff Daniels did not get nominated for playing that bastard Barnard in "The Squid & the Whale" but having he and David Straitharn in the same category might have disrupted the character actor universe.

-Boy, there were not a lot of great roles for women this year. I mean Judi Dench? Really?

-How can "Mrs Henderson Presents" be nominated for Best Costume when most of the people in it are naked?

-How exactly is this Best Original Song going to work? Will Terrence Howard do "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp" himself? And will that be before or after Dolly Parton does "Travelin Thru" from "Transamerica"? (Doesn't it crack you up that Dolly is doing the theme song for a movie about a transexual? She must be some sort of overcompensating hero to them.)

-It's a bummer that "Grizzly Man" was not nominated for best documentary. I thought Werner Herzog did a great job getting inside Timothy Treadwell's head. Maybe it takes a let's-push-the-boat-over-the-mountain crazy to capture a let's go-live-with-grizzlies-crazy.

-I don't think "Match Point" was good enough for a writing nod. To me it was like "Crimes and Misdemeanors" without the misdemeanors. Return to form my foot.

My predictions to come.