the chess match has begun...

Many have been watching (or at least paying attention) to the Democratic Convention this week- and it was historic. Now the chess game that is the Presidential race has gotten even more interesting. McCain has chosen Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate. My picks from the very beginning have been completely out of it for some time now, so this was beginning to be a somewhat bleak campaign to endure. Now- I think the stakes are higher and I think that a choice I want to make, as opposed to a choice I should make, has appeared. Well played, Sen. McCain, sir- well played. Although I was banking on Gov. Romney (and hoping for Gov. Romney) I think this is a brilliant move and a great pick.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Gov. Palin- here are some excellent articles with some information about her: Foxnews, ABCnews, Real Clear Politics and Reuters. Here is the official website for the Alaskan Governor, although it's getting slammed right now and isn't coming up - it will later. She is a lifetime member of the NRA, pro-life, pro-drilling and smart on energy. She is a strong fiscal conservative, with a record for reform and fighting corruption. And unlike many other people running, she has served as mayor and has executive experience as a governor. She holds a degree in journalism and has worked as a sports reporter and alongside her husband as a commercial fisherman. She is an avid sportswoman herself and has a son in the military. She and her husband have 5 kids (one recently born and not in this earlier family picture).

I knew of her for sometime now, but really started paying attention this year after the state sued the government over the bogus listing of the "polar bear as a threatened species, arguing the designation will slow development in the state" (Reuters). And her position on energy and her challenge to Harry Reid and the democrats on drilling.
Here is her appearance on The Glenn Beck Show on Headline News: good stuff.



Well played, Senator McCain, well played.



I want you to let the ballyhoo boys loose, plan a celebration, and declare a holiday.

you'll thank me later

Appointment television is a rare thing these days and it seems that Must See TV has went the way of Seinfeld. It used to be that there were certain nights that it seemed you and all of your friends were watching. The whole family used to watch together even further back when. Today it's rare when something can bring the whole family together, and in some cases, you just can't allow little ears and eyes to witness some shows. And the great shows are more scattershot and all over the dial. Thanks to TiVO, DVR and On Demand TV, many people just record their shows and watch them when the time is right. Netflix makes it as easy for those folks who don't have TiVO or cable or satellite.

Occasionally we've been known to recommend current television shows here on the Shelf, but more often than not there isn't much good television to recommend. I have my favorites: NCIS, The Unit, Law and Order: Criminal Intent, Numbers, The Amazing Race. Now, we don't watch television all the time in the Loophole household. Sometimes it's more about a certain night when certain shows are on. Many times when the Little Loopholes have been tucked in and the Mrs. and I are tuckered out we end up saying- "there isn't anything on- let's pop in a DVD."
We don't get the USA network, but we've seen episodes of the USA series Monk and Psych when they ran on NBC during the Writer's Strike, and I wish they would have continued that particular example of corporate synergy. Fortunately, the shows have been released on DVD and the current season shows are available online on Hulu and USAnetwork.com. Recently, Universal released Season 6 of Monk and Season 2 of Psych

Monk: Season 5
16 episodes on 4 Discs
Slip Sleeve
Studio: Universal
Wide Screen Format
Stereo Surround
Release Date: 7-08-08
Rated: NR
Stars: Tony Shalhoub, Traylor Howard
Ted Levine, Jason Gray-Stanford and Hector Eliazondo


According to the series creator and executive producer, Andy Breakman, (stated on Season 2 extras) the show Monk is character driven and based on the character model of Sherlock Holmes (Monk), Watson (Sharona/Natalie) and Lt. Lestrade (Capt. Stottlemeyer). As he says, it's a great model to work with, and it allows for multiple variations. Clearly the inspiration leads further into not only the relationships and interactions between the characters, but also into the inner workings of mind of the main character. Adrian Monk is a brilliant and quirky detective, who lost his wife in a car bombing years ago. Always suffering from certain aspects of obsessive compulsive disorder and phobias, he had them under some reasonable control until his wife was killed, after which they went full blown. Monk was suspended from the force (he is often mentioned as "inactive") and refused to leave his house for years. With the help of his therapist and his private nurse Sharona, Monk began to come back out into the world- driven to solve his wife's murder and get back on the force. While his OCD and phobias are very much a part of his everyday life, his brain and unorthodox way of noticing and seeing little things make him an invaluable consultant to the police on their most difficult cases. Later the character of Sharona left the show and Monk hired a new assistant, Natalie who is still with him today. Also the actor playing Monk's therapist, Dr. Kroger (Stanley Kamel) passed away last year, which they worked into the storyline this season in a very touching way. The always great Hector Elizondo plays Monk's current therapist, Dr. Bell.

Always entertaining and funny, the mysteries on Monk are really secondary to the characters. The mysteries are clever, but the show is really driven by Monk and the other characters. Season 6 is no exception- the 16 episodes have taken Monk even further into his condition, but also explores the lives of the other characters. Guest stars show up from time to time, but make no mistake- Tony Shalhoub is the star attraction. His performance as Monk brings not just the OCD and fears and foibles, but the warmth and authenticity of the character to life. He has traces of Holmes, Columbo, Clouseau with traces of Jack Benny's radio personality (some of Monk's stinginess is directly reminiscent of Jack). Season 6 continues the great run of the show, and it's very family friendly- no bloody corpses, bad words or other nastiness here. Great mysteries, great acting and more importantly great character driven stories- just what the Doctor disordered.

Psych: Season 2
16 episodes on 4 Discs
Digi-pak case
Studio: Universal
Wide Screen Format
Stereo Surround
Release Date: 7-08-08
Rated: NR
Stars: James Roday, Dule Hill, Corben Bernsen,
Timothy Omundson, Maggie Lawson and Kirsten Nelson.


Psych debuted in 2006 following the Monk time slot. It is almost a "sister show" in the sense that it shares the comedy-drama-mystery format and is also very character driven. Shawn Spencer's (James Roday) dad Henry (Corben Bernsen) was a great cop for the Santa Barbara, CA PD, who always thought his son would follow in his footsteps. His son possesses the same observation gifts and deductive reasoning skills that his father had, but ultimately Shawn was more interested in... whatever else interested him at the moment. Henry is now retired and has given up on this dream, but Shawn has been drawn into the line of work in a very different way. After seeing a report on a crime on television, he gives a tip to the police, which lead to the solving of the cases. The police got suspicious of Shawn and named him as a suspect. In a corner, Shawn claimed to be a psychic- and at the risk of getting in trouble for "faking it"- Shawn keeps up the psychic act and with his best friend Burton "Gus" Guster (Dule Hill) he gets called in to work his "psychic" skills on difficult cases. While his psychic act is a cover, and a way to often mock and have fun at the expense of certain characters, his observational and deducting skills often lead him to find and notice clues others cannot.

Season 2 carries on the antics of Shawn and Gus, and continues to bring in more of Shawn's dad and the other supporting characters. Shawn and Gus are hilarious and pop culture junkies and especially kids of the 70s and 80s will pick up on the many jokes and references. Shawn has grown a bit from being an aimless guy who gets bored when things are too easy (perhaps, because he's too smart for his own good) to being driven to get the "big cases". The relationship between the best friends Shawn and Gus is central to the show, as well as Shawn's complicated relationship with his dad, Henry, who reluctantly helps Shawn solve some cases. He mostly bemoans Shawn's "psychic" act and keeps mentioning how Shawn will yet again give up on another "project". But slowly, over the course of season 2 and into season 3, you see some softening and begrudging mutual respect. The Season two set is rife with extras, which are sometimes as funny as the show and fans of the show will get a lot of the inside jokes and references. Side note: series creator Steve Franks also wrote the great theme song as well. Great stuff.

Also here is a fun bit of trivia: Tim Daly (Tony Shalhoub's cohort in Wings) made a fun guest appearance as himself at the end of Season One of Monk. Not to be out done, fellow Wings co-star, Steven Webber, recently guest starred on Psych as Shawn's Uncle.

You probably have been watching, but in case you aren't may I recommend that you check these two shows which have shot up on the Loophole Top TV list! And for goodness sakes- go back to the first seasons and work your way up. Season 6 of Monk and Season 2 of Psych receive a big thumbs up as Shelf Classic television- maybe even appointment (on your schedule) television.

Both DVD sets receive 5 stars (Groucho glasses)






Stay tuned- more reviews and stuff on the way!



It's a gift...and a curse.

investigate a new contest

Well our Caroline in the City/Dave contest was great, and congrats to all the winners, but that doesn't stop us from announcing our new contest that starts today!

Thanks to the kind folks at Paramount/CBS, several lucky people will win a copy of NCIS Season Five. This is one of my favorite shows on television, and I'm looking forward to the new season coming soon. You've got a chance to catch up on last season with this DVD set!And all you have to do send an email to randomshelf@hotmail.com (note the rules below) with a subject of NCIS Season 5 Giveaway in the subject line by August 30th at 11:59 pm est.

The rules are simple:

Email us your entry at randomshelf@hotmail.com
1.You MUST include: Your name and full address in the body of the email, and "NCIS Season 5 Giveaway" must be in the subject line.
2. The contest is only open to US residents
3. Only one entry per email address (and household, please!)
4. Contest ends on Saturday August 30th at 11:59pm. We will draw the winner sometime after August 31th.

Please note that your information will be held confidential and will not be published and only used solely for identifying the winner and shipping the prize. Also, we will mail the prize to you, but cannot guarantee that the post office will treat it with the same respect as we will when we send it out. We will only guarantee that we will mail it to the address you provide to us.
So get those emails in and good luck!

Let the contest begin!



I thought we were gonna get television. The truth is... television is gonna get us.

ultimates

This news may be old news to some of you, but just in case, I wanted all Shelfers to be aware of some great collectable Ultimate Collector Edition DVD sets coming your way in time for Christmas. The one thing about the past few UCE of films like The Searchers and Rio Bravo, is that more bonus features were added, quality was upped on audio and video, and the actually packaging and included extras were great. I really enjoyed the press books and comic adaptations and replicated lobby cards. I know to some that stuff really doesn't matter, but to a classic film nut like myself, it's great. So take a look at the sets of these great flicks and what's included:


Casablanca (Ultimate Collector's Edition). Release date: December 2, 2008.
Many of you (myself included) already own the very fine two disc special edition put out some years ago. It was a great print and included many bonus features. But I am seriously considering upgrading to this set. Included are the film and all the bonus features from the previous set. The new goodies are: a third disc with a feature length documentary: Jack Warner: The Last Mogul and bonus collectables: 48-Page Photo Book, 10 One-Sheet Reproduction Cards, Archival Correspondence, and Exclusive Passport Holder and Luggage Tag. According to Warners: "The premium giftset is elegantly boxed in an intricate laser-cut Moroccan design and will include such collectibles as replicas of actual props (Victor Laszlo's 'Letter of Transit') as well as a number of Warner studio documents (an executive's letter commanding a new PR image for Bogart from gangster to romantic lead; a note from producer Hal Wallis re-titling the film to Casablanca; and a memo from Wallis to Jack Warner strongly urging casting Bogart over George Raft)." The set is already available for pre-order from Amazon.


A Christmas Story (Ultimate Collector's Edition). Release date: November 4, 2008.
Many Shelfers know that this is a particular favorite of mine- the question is: is it worth the upgrade? Let's see: it includes the bonus features of the previous special edition set. It doesn't appear to be any new bonus features or an upgrade on the video or audio. However, the set will include more premiums only available in this set: a collectible retro Christmas cookie tin (the container for the set), 48-page cookbook with recipes inspired by the movie, photos and quotes from the movie, a red chef's apron with an A Christmas Story logo on it, and 5 collectible cookie cutters "in iconic Christmas Story shapes" - the House, Leg Lamp, a Star, the Leg Lamp, the Peking Duck from the ending and a shape of Ralphie in his bunny suit. The set doesn't offer more than the way of extras, but for a fan of the film, or someone who doesn't own the previous version, it makes a great gift. The price is right as well. It's available for pre-order from Amazon.

There are several other Ultimate Collector's Sets coming your way in time for Christmas: JFK, I Am Legend, 300, and several complete series sets,- which you can read more about at Digital Bits, but these two should stand out for the classic film fan.

Stay tuned for more Shelf shenanigans!



You know, Rick, I have many a friend in Casablanca, but somehow, just because you despise me, you are the only one I trust.

a mighty wind.............bag

Warning!!! Before you read this, be aware that it may either make total sense or completely offend you. Understand that the time you spend reading this and your good feelings CANNOT be refunded if you read and are offended. Read at your own risk. Thank you.
Mgmt.

Note: There is no "Mgmt." Thank you- Mgmt

Before I get too deep into this, I just have to say a couple of things. First of all, I realize that I have become more of a rumor around here than a reality. I apologize for that and offer no excuse other than it was beyond my control. Secondly: I never intentionally try to hurt anyone's feelings in a post. I just speak my mind. When my opinion is shocking or offensive to an individual, I do not desire to express it in order to hurt or push anyone away. I am just exercising my God-given right to express it. What I am about to type is one of those opinions and if there are any of you who cannot get through it without heartbreak of some type then I suggest going over to Zoot Radio and let your heart and mind relax with an episode of Command Performance or Sherlock Holmes ( only Holmes episodes starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce of course ). Finally, I would like to say that if anyone reading this is offended when someone talks negatively about them or "their guy" in politics and gets immediately offended, maybe you should try to open your mind just a little and see if something positive happens to fall in there. On to the offensive diatribe!

Listen folks, we don't typically endorse specific candidates here when it comes to political contests. We encourage all to think for themselves. Today will be no exception. I am not going to endorse a particular candidate. I am going to slightly ridicule a particular candidate. I am also going to chastise and heavily ridicule those who support that candidate. Sorry folks. I'm opinionated as hell and this sort of thing is commonplace with me. I love my fellow citizens, but sometimes we need a little wind to blow us down in order to realize that a storm is coming. Here comes the wind........ Anyone who is planning to vote for or in any way support the senator from Illinois for president is either complicit in the eventual terrible events which may befall us as a result of his presidency or a complete and total moron. No apologies on this one folks. Pure and utter morons. Self-aggrandising, spineless, mindless morons. I fail to see any other way to express this view than by being up front. Senator Obama has nothing more than a good speech writer and a little extra melanin. I'm not attacking his racial make-up. I'm merely saying what a lot of folks are thinking. If Obama were a white guy with his same qualifications, he would be watching the campaign coverage with Ron Paul at a bar somewhere.

Where have we gone wrong as a country? There are lots of responses to that question, but where did we go wrong in the upbringing of the recent generation to cause them to be so easily duped by such an individual? I fail to comprehend how an intelligent being can look at Mr. Obama's qualifications , work history and associates and support him with a clear conscience. The only answer I can come up with is ignorance and selfishness. Most folks blindly supporting the man amongst the citizenry are just purely ignorant of politics, history and the ramifications of a vote. I remember watching the Three Stooges as a child and seeing a film short where they were put into power of a country by conniving politicians in order to take control of the country for their own gain as they sat behind the scenes reaping the benefits and allowed the Stooges to run the country into the ground. Obama is obviously a "stooge" in this ordeal with the current batch of politicians backing him playing themselves. I remember quite well the slogan that Moe shouted in his speech to the public in that old two reeler. The country was called 'Moronika' and Moe would say, "Moronika for Morons!" How apropos.

There are four categories of people voting for Obama. The first is the voter who shares a racial category with the senator and would feel as if he betrayed his race by not voting for a black man or a democrat for that matter. Second is the group of folks so insecure in themselves and their own culture that they would allow a serious case of 'white guilt' push them into voting for an individual in order for them to be able to hold their chin up in public. "I'm not racist! I voted for Obama!" How far will that statement get anyone? The third category is the feel-good faction which sometimes overlaps with the 'white guilt' crew. These folks are made up mostly of college students and former hippies and they cast their vote based on what is fashionable or whatever will best fit into their ridiculous personal standards that they most likely borrowed from a professor who is a former hippy as well. The last category is made up of folks in power who are political insiders. These supporters of Obama only do so because they realize that if they can get this individual into the White House, they can get whatever they want from him. The political and financial gain of an Obama presidency holds endless possibilities for them.

I was discussing this recently with J.C. and agree with him that this is a classic case of the "cult of personality". There is nothing behind what he speaks. No worries. His followers hear nothing anyway. The sound of their almost orgasmic cheers for a man they have built in their own minds deafens them to to the screams of truth and common sense. It enrages me that there are so many out there who are so completely inept that they will flock in droves to the voting booths to cast a vote that could possibly harm this country. What amazes me is that they will take pride in it. Mr. Obama started out thinking that this campaign was a good idea. He is now in way over his head and it turns my stomach to know that he would rather go forward believing his own fairy tale instead of owning up to it and trying to create some type of substance to his platform. It is a sickening and dark time in this country. We are not the laughing stock of the world because of President Bush and the decisions he made. We are the laughing stock because this country has become chock full of complete morons. We are becoming a modern day Moronika.

Now that that is out of my system, I expect plenty of backlash. However, I stand by my words and I assert that there is not one individual on God's green earth who can make a plausible case for Obama as president of the United States based on his merits and his record. Not one. That is not a challenge. It is an irrefutable fact. Shelfers, vote your conscience but for heaven's sake don't drink the kool-ade!







Feel free to comment if the need strikes you.



Moronika for Morons!

contest in the city, world

We would like to thank everyone who entered our Star Trek Season 2 contest, making it one of the most entered contests yet! Unfortunetly not everyone can win, but we will be notifying winners this week! If you weren't among them- why not try entering today's new contest! It's a TV two-fer

Thanks to the great folks at Paramount Television, several lucky winners will receive a copy of either the new DVD Season one sets of Caroline in the City or Dave's World. These 90s sitcoms starred (respectively) Lea Thompson and Harry Anderson. And all you have to do send an email to randomshelf@hotmail.com (note the rules below) with a subject of Caroline or Dave Giveaway in the subject line by August 22nd at 11:59 pm est.

The rules are simple:

Email us your entry at randomshelf@hotmail.com
1.You MUST include: Your name and full address in the body of the email, and "Caroline or Dave Giveaway" must be in the subject line.
2. The contest is only open to US residents
3. Only one entry per email address (and household, please!)
4. Contest ends on Friday August 22nd at 11:59pm. We will draw the winner sometime after August 23rd.

Please note that your information will be held confidential and will not be published and only used solely for identifying the winner and shipping the prize. Also, we will mail the prize to you, but cannot guarantee that the post office will treat it with the same respect as we will when we send it out. We will only guarantee that we will mail it to the address you provide to us.
So get those emails in and good luck!

Let the contest begin!



I thought we were gonna get television. The truth is... television is gonna get us.

very cheesy

We post about holiday candy around here, so why not other food stuff? Truth is, while I like cooking (and eating) I don't necessarily find much to write about when it comes to food, aside from nostalgia, holidays or cultural angles. I know there are loads of sites out there that specialize in it- I enjoy reading them.
Recently, a good friend (hi Matt!) moved to CA, and one of the things that he misses about the South is the food. In fact, one particular item came up in recent conversation: Pimento Cheese. Those of you who live outside of the South or not raised here may not have ever heard of it. And quite frankly I never really gave it much thought as a cultural food item until recently. Pimento cheese is a summertime Southern staple; and most people eat year round. It used to be the stuff you would find in between small triangular slices of bread at church socials or on picnics. In fact, one of the most memorable picnic I was on consisted of deviled eggs, cold fried chicken, pickles and pimento cheese sandwiches. Quite excellent.

I have several books on "regional foodways"- which is historian speak for food traditions particular to a certain part of the country. Most of them about Southern foodways are chock full of fascinating accounts of everything from spoonbread to grits, but very few of them discuss pimento cheese. What is pimento cheese? Quite simply, it is a mixture of shredded cheese, pimentos and mayo- with some seasoning which usually differs from place to place. It's not quite as famous outside the South, as say BBQ- but it is a part of everyday life in the South like BBQ. You can usually find some in the grocery store (a favorite brand of mine is Ruth's) near the deli meats, but a lot of people have family recipes handed down through the generations. It's most famous incarnation is perhaps at the Master's tournament in Augusta, GA, where it has been on the club menu forever.

It's origins are difficult to pin down, but many food historians agree it was a locally developed food that took on regional popularity in the very early 1900s. Mostly a family farm concoction, pimento cheese spread became even more popular in the rural and developing south because it was inexpensive, made from widely available pantry items, and it kept well. In the hot summer months, that became a particular necessity. Family cooks could make a batch of it, seal it in a crock and keep cool- well however they could keep it cool. (I've actually seen a "stream" fridge- several flat pieces of slate rock conformed into a box on the side of a moving stream, which kept the contents of the "box" cool for a long period of time. These were quite common in the 1800s and early 1900s.)

Pimento cheese spreads started to appear in corner markets and available in Southern diners sometime after 1915-1920. Events, such as the boll weevil devastation of cotton crops during this time, and the migration of many farm families to textile mills in the south, may have lead to it's appearance in mill grocery stores and available as inexpensive lunches for mill workers. The Great Depression a decade later certainly didn't hamper the appeal of a cheap lunch. Many places could offer a very inexpensive pimento cheese sandwich and an RC Cola without breaking the bank. With the growth of supermarkets in the South, it also became readily available in processed, premade spreads in glass, then plastic tubs.

Through the years, the spread endured and found it's way into more places than the cheap sandwich. It's now a fairly common item to see in Southern homes. You will see pimento cheese resting comfortably on dainty sandwiches at upper crust tea parties as well as on celery on kid's lunch plates. It's now made with all kinds of variations from jalapeno to a "lite" version. It's as rarified as it is rural. Many families swear by their own recipes. Homemade pimento cheese is the stuff of legend in the South, and you will find that there are as many ways to "season" it as well as things to eat it with. It's a great snack on Ritz Crackers and celery.

Many people love to slather some on a Hamburger (especially while it is still on the grill), and one of my favorites is to add it to a hot dog. In fact, there are very many regional restaurants and burger joints that feature it prominently on the menu in such a way; for example The Varsity in Georgia and The Beacon Drive in South Carolina. Some more adventurous things I've tried is a pimento cheese corn fritter- sort of like a hush puppy with melted pimento cheese in the middle, and a glob of pimento cheese on a BBQ sandwich in place of cole slaw- pretty good!

For me, the best way is the simplest- a grilled pimento cheese sandwich. Nothing fancy, just make it like you would a grilled cheese, add a pickle to the side and cold Coke and there you have melty, cheesy heaven on a plate. Back in the day, according to my granddad, a dime could get you that very same lunch at the lunch counter at the local Woolworth's.

You can make your own fairly easy:
Basic Pimento Cheese
Software (sorry Alton, picked up a habit from you):
16-oz block of sharp cheddar cheese
4-oz jar of diced or sliced pimentos
mayonnaise (preferably Duke's or Hellman's-Blue Ribbon in the West)
black pepper, salt
Optional: hot sauce, celery seasoning

Hardware:
Food processor
Spatula

Grate the cheese in the processor and take out about half. Add the pimentos with out draining and a couple of large spoonfuls of mayo. Hit the pulse button a couple of times until mixed well. Then add the other half of the cheese, a couple of grinds of fresh black pepper and salt. I add a little hot sauce and celery salt to taste. Then pulse again, until mixture is well combined and creamy. You don't want gritty, but you also don't want soupy- just somewhat like a creamy spread mixture. (you may need to add more mayo- just eyeball it).

Now here is a step most people skip- put into a bowl and let it sit on the counter for a little while. 20 minutes should do. This will allow the cheese to soften further, but more importantly it will allow the flavors to meld. You can put it an airtight container in the fridge for at least several weeks, if it lasts that long. I like it simple, but you can search the net and find many, many variations on the basic recipe. For the grilled pimento cheese sandwich- add some bacon for a delicious addition!

Try it out, you will be presently surprised if you've never had it before. You can also read some other posts or articles about it here, here, here, and here. For variety, try out Bobby Dean's (son of Paula) recipe from Food network.

Stay tuned for more Shelf- we've got more coming, including DVD reviews, another contest and more!



The poets have been mysteriously silent on the subject of cheese.

wonderful world

As a kid, Sunday evenings were great for one reason: The Wonderful World of Disney show. Every Sunday evening we would gather round the ol' tube and watch Disney cartoons, nature films, or Uncle Walt himself explaining various aspects of animation, color, etc. Sometimes you would get an episode of clips from Disney films, shortened to an hour. Or, my particular favorite, Donald Duck cartoons. One of my all time favorite characters were Humphrey Bear and Ludwig Von Drake- they showed up on WWofD quite often in the 70s (at least I like to remember it as such) and I am glad to have the Humphrey Bear cartoons on DVD today with the Disney Treasures series. But where is Ludwig Von Drake?
Just because I'm in a reminiscing mood here is a Disney episode feature Ludwig Von Drake for your Sunday evening Wonderful World of Disney viewing! Behold: The Truth about Mother Goose!

Part 1:


And Part 2:



Enjoy!



My book is filled with helpful suggestions for all you parents. But in case you get nothing from the inside, you'll find the outside useful on their little backside.

friday meditation

Last night, one of my favorite groups of all time concluded their reunion tour in New York. Fans who have long followed The Police never thought, but always hoped they would get back together. Now that the reunion tour is over, interviews with Stewart, Andy and Sting all seem to signal this is it for a while, but none of them completely rule out getting together again. Hey fellas, what about another studio album? One of my dreams was to be able to see The Police or Sting in concert- and I am not much of a concert person. That's OK, it will probably never happen anyway.

Best Buy has announced they will be releasing a special Live Concert DVD/CD combo on November 11, 2008 (Hat tip to Digital Bits for release info). There will be several Blu-ray, Special Edition, etc versions, but they will all include live concert footage from the tour, a CD and bonus behind the tour documentary from Stewart Copeland's son Jordan titled Better Than Therapy. The DVD/CD release is called The Police: Certifiable and can be pre-ordered here.

In the meantime here is your Friday Moment of Meditation, featuring one of my favorite songs from Sting: The Shape of My Heart:



Stay tuned for more of the Shelf!



He deals the cards as a meditation

dvd review: popeye the sailor vol. 2

Say I yam what I yam to your spouse when they point out something that perhaps needs attending to in the house, and see how far you get. I dares ya. Better just fix it, whatever it is and then plop down and read our review of Popeye the Sailor, Vol. 2 to see how he handled it. Not much better sometimes, as it turns out. But that's ok, there is one upside to all of this; we've done the legwork to answer the question: is this DVD worth your hard-earned sawbucks? Read our review and find out, I tells ya.

The Hard Facts
Popeye The Sailor, Vol. 2: 1938-1940
2 Discs in a slipcase
Studio: Warner Brothers
Black and White/Color
Full Screen
Some Features in Widescreen
Original Studio: Paramount
Release Date: 6/17/2008
Rated: NR
Animators: Out of the Inkwell
(Fleischer) Studios
Directors: Fleischer Brothers


Background:
If you haven't, you really should read John McElwee's essay on Walt Disney's show about animation history over at Greenbriar Picture Show. The show was entitled Story of the Animated Drawing, an episode of the Disneyland show and presented by Uncle Walt himself (and is found on Walt Disney Treasures: Behind the Scenes at Walt Disney Studio). The article is well worth a read, and the Disneyland show very much worth the viewing. In that show, Walt briefly discusses (and pays tribute to in a small way) to one of his fiercest competitors, Max Fleischer. It was interesting that I had been reviewing today's DVD for our review and happened to read John's great piece. It, the Disneyland show and some of the bonus features on this DVD made for an in-depth look at the man who helped to bring some of the greatest characters to the animated screen, such as Superman and Popeye, and even created an iconic character of his own, Betty Boop. The success and talent of the Fleischer brothers caused me to ruminate on a topic for another post in the future, but is fascinating history and a true American story of achievement and a lasting legacy in American culture.

For you post-DVD and VHS boom kids out there, you really don't know how lucky you are: when I was a kid... oh, let's not go down that road, shall we. Suffice it to say, having a library of your favorite flicks and cartoons to watch at a moment's whim was a fantasy indeed. Now it's a reality. Do we know how good we have it? Perhaps not. I consider it important; to further understand our shared history, to have a better awareness of our popular culture: that which a great majority of Americans enjoyed and understood. That alone would make DVD volumes like Popeye priceless. But if it wasn't so darn entertaining and great- well, the series wouldn't have lasted anyway and we may not be discussing it now. And the cartoons are great.

The Shorts:
This Volume contains shorts released from 1938-1940 listed as follows:
Disc 1:
I Yam Love Sick
Plumbing Is A Pipe
The Jeep
Bulldozing The Bull
Mutiny Ain't Nice
Goonland
A Date To Skate
Cops Is Always Right
Customers Wanted
Aladdin and his Wonderful Lamp
(Technicolor Two Reeler!)
Leave Well Enough Alone
Wotta Nitemare
Ghosks Is The Bunk
Hello, How Am I
It"s The Natural Thing To Do

Disc 2:
Never Sock A Baby
Shalespearian Spinach
Females Is Fickle
Stealin' Ain't Honest
Me Feelin's Is Hurt
Onion Pacific
Wimmin Is A Myskery
Nurse-Mates
Fightin' Pals
Doin' Impossikible Stunts
Wimmin Hadn't Oughta Drive
Puttin On The Act
Popeye Meets William Tell
My Pop, My Pop
With Poopdeck Pappy
Popeye Presents Eugene The Jeep

These are some great cartoons that shouldn't be missed. The Fleischer animation style and technique is different than say Disney or Warners, as should be- these are different animators who are innovative and evoking a style of their own. The Popeye shorts maintain the earthiness and lovable rough and tumble world of Popeye and his friends. As a fan of the comic strip and the cartoons, I was even more pleased to see the great care taken with them, as demonstrated by things like original title cards restored and the terrible "a.a.p." cards taken out. Also- Warner's is including the Technicolor two reelers as the appear in the chronology, in this Volume's case, Aladdin and his Wonderful Lamp.

Bonus Features:
After the restored shorts, this is where the set really shines. There are many commentaries on various shorts from an array of animation experts like Jerry Beck, Eric Goldberg, Michael Barrier and more. There are several extra non-Popeye Fleischer shorts on disc 2 and several storyboard reels and galleries as well. There are also several "Popumentaries" focusing on various aspects of Popeye's career and friends. The crown jewel of the set is a wonderful, almost hour length documentary on the Fleischers and their work entitled: Out of the Inkwell: The Fleischer Story. Narrated by Carl Reiner, and featuring great pictures and rare footage of the Fleischer family, this a thoughtful and well researched portrait of the Fleischers and the animation and innovations they brought to American culture. The documentary is extremely well produced and features interviews with many animators, animation historians, and some contemporaries and family members of the Fleischers. Max's son tells a little known story of his role in bringing two competitors together: Disney and Fleischer, who would form a friendship in Max's later years. The documentary is worth the price of the set alone.

Audio/Video:
Most of the cartoons are in black and white, with the exception of the technicolor Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp, and the restoration work done on this series is well done. There are only occasional scratches that this reviewer could see, but it did not take away from the experience. The audio is fantastic, and having seen some of the cartoons on Boomerang recently and on local channels, I can tell some of the audio which had been cut for television years ago has been restored. The under the breath mutterings of Jack Mercer thankfully have also been restored. All in all- a treat for the viewer, and a definite treat for the eyes (especially the Aladdin two-reeler).



The Bottom Line:
Hands down, this series is a must have, and the latest entry, Volume 2, lives up to the promise and expectations of many fans. If not for the history, if not for the slice of Americana- buy it for the pure joy of the cartoons. They don't make 'em like this anymore. Don't believe me? Just take the kids to some CGI flick (Pixar excepted for the most part) and then let the kids watch Popeye at home. See which gets the most laughs and the most demands to watch again. This is animation joy and technique at some of it's most stylistic and fun. A pure joy to watch.

Review Rating:
If we were reviewing the set of shorts and the set of bonus features separately, they would earn the following grades:
The Shorts: A+
Out the Inkwell feature documentary: A+
Other Bonus features: A+



Overall Rating: We give
Popeye the Sailor, Vol.2 5 stars (Groucho glasses). It's most defintely a Shelf Classic!







Stay tuned- more reviews and stuff on the way!



I never made love in Technicolor before.

to boldly contest where no contest has gone before

Our previous contest is over and congrats to the two winners! We will be sending out their prizes shortly. I am really excited about this contest and giveaway. It features one of the best prizes we've had in a while, and one that should make classic TV fans jumping to get their entries in!

Thanks to the great folks at CBS/Paramount Television, several lucky winners will receive a copy of the newly released set Star Trek- The Original Series: Season 2 . Newly remastered, with more bonus features (and nicely packaged) this is the legendary season of Star Trek with some of my favorite all time episodes. And all you have to do send an email to randomshelf@hotmail.com (note the rules below) with a subject of Star Trek Season 2 Giveaway in the subject line by August 12th at 11:59 pm est.

The rules are simple:

Email us your entry at randomshelf@hotmail.com
1.You MUST include: Your name and full address in the body of the email, and "Star Trek Season 2 Giveaway" must be in the subject line.
2. The contest is only open to US residents
3. Only one entry per email address (and household, please!)
4. Contest ends on Tuesday August 12th at 11:59pm. We will draw the winner sometime after August 13th.

Please note that your information will be held confidential and will not be published and only used solely for identifying the winner and shipping the prize. Also, we will mail the prize to you, but cannot guarantee that the post office will treat it with the same respect as we will when we send it out. We will only guarantee that we will mail it to the address you provide to us.
So get those emails in and good luck!

Let the contest begin!



I thought we were gonna get television. The truth is... television is gonna get us.