Zelda’s first visit to Rigby’s home
Pop Culture Ephemera
- Nouvelle Vague (2025) (Directed by Richard Linklater): “We control our thoughts, which mean nothing. Not our emotions, which mean everything.” – Jean-Luc Godard. I was reminded of the early Marvel movies where the comic nerds in the audience would go crazy when they saw a character in the background of a scene that they knew was part of the universe. I was a little fanboy-ish like that during this film, seeing actors playing real-life people who operated in this New Wave Universe. I love seeing Jean Cocteau, Eric Rohmer, Roberto Rossellini, and Claude Chabrol.
My love of French New Wave didn’t develop until the mid-’90s. I’ve watched plenty but the tentacles are all over cinema for at least two decades. I have my favorites and Godard’s films are not typically among them. I love seeing his process detailed here, but it’s not too different than the hilarious Day for Night (1973) by Truffaut. The difference is that Truffaut was making a film about making a film, and Linklater is sending us a love letter about a process of making a film that changes the cinema. I wish I could say that there will be worldwide renewed interest in the French New Wave. There won’t be. If it has any influence, it might be that I wanted a cigarette afterwards; this is the smokiest movie in decades. It is simply one of the best films of last year for people who love films. If you happen to need a Rohmer or Truffaut recommendation, you know where to reach me.
- Pluribus – “We Is Us” (S.1 E.1) (Apple+) (2025): “Your situation is a rare one. There are appear to be 11 other individuals like yourself.” – Davis Taffler. When I think of modern television directors who can draw you into a series or episode immediately, it’s Vince Gilligan with The X-Files, The Lone Gunmen, and the top-tier first episodes of Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul. I knew before starting that this would be a show I was going to love. Rhea Seahorn doesn’t disappoint as a deeply cynical and angry-at-the-world author. The episode of full of dread from the start. It’s got an Invasion of the Body Snatchers vibe to it, along with what might become a Hitchcockian “bad things happen to normal people” storyline. I laughed a bit at the science-fiction explanation of the “virus” as “we don’t really understand how it works.” So let’s move beyond the science and into the fiction of hive behavior or possibly Borg 2.0. I really loved this episode. I’m hooked, but I’m also wary that this could get bogged down over the course of a nine-episode season.
- Aimee Mann – “Wise Up” (from Jerry Maguire soundtrack) (1996): “You got what you want / Now you can hardly stand it, though” What a weird journey for this song. Originally commissioned by Cameron Crowe for Jerry Maguire (1996), he couldn’t figure out where to use it, and it ended up on the soundtrack but not in the film. Paul Thomas Anderson found it to be useful to feature prominently in Magnolia (1999). Originally, I would consider this song as a self-reflective pep talk. But it’s hard not to view it through the eyes of how it was used in Magnolia as a song to make changes in your own life to overcome your challenges.
- Murder at the Gallop (1963) (Directed by George Pollock): “I’m planning to have a heart attack at the dance tonight.” – Miss Marple. The second outing of Margaret Rutherford as Miss Marple is a fun, light mystery. Based upon the Poirot novel Death at a Funeral by Christie, subbing in Miss Marple takes away what was probably a darker tone. Miss Marple has her own style, and I never thought about the switch until the reveal at the end, where the deductions are much more Poirot’s style. It’s a pretty traditional story of the death of a wealthy parent under mysterious circumstances that only Miss Marple thinks is murder and then the suspicious activities of the four heirs who each have a motive for murder. It’s a fast-paced story that resembles the pacing of any number of television mysteries of the ’70s and ’80s.
- The Secret Agent (2025) (Directed by Kleber Mendonca Filho): “I’m not a violent person. But this guy… I would kill him with a hammer. I’d smash his whole head with a hammer.” – Marcelo Alves. Or known by the subtitle “The Mystery of the Hairy Leg.” That subplot is illustrative of why I enjoyed the film even though I couldn’t figure it out. It’s got a sense of humor without being funny. It’s an espionage spy film without the trappings of that tension. In Brazil in 1977, murder and corruption are a way of life. Marcelo hasn’t heard the saying, “You can’t go home again.” He’s back in Recife and being hunted by a couple of assassins. The story meanders around (literally as we take long walks through Carnivals and even longer car rides through the city) and unfolds in a way that I felt we were supposed to know the characters more than the plot. Wagner Moura is wonderful and deserves all the nominations for his role of Marcelo. The moments when the film becomes a Kafka leftover bring me out of what could have been a taut thriller and 40 minutes shorter.
Best of the Rest
- I don’t spend nearly the amount of time I used to years ago, reading about upcoming movies or even pursuing trailers for films that aren’t advertised in front of films in theaters (criticism of those another day). I’ve gotten back into reading reviews from film festivals and keeping track of some of my favorite creators. (Reviews on this very website are helpful also!) Undertone is a horror film debuting on March 13, that gives me vibes of lo-fi horror films like Pontypool (2008) (an obvious comparison because they are both Canadian). Like that film, this movie is celebrated for its sound design which makes seeing it in theaters very important.
- I wasn’t planning on a trip to Indonesia, but the discovery of the world’s longest snake isn’t moving it up my list of countries to visit. A reticulate python they have named Ibu Baron is 23 ft. 8 in. long and weighs about 213 lbs. How did someone not discover this long of a snake until now? Any country that has a snake that could swallow a cow is probably best left to the snakes.
- A film about the making of Breakfast at Tiffanys (1961) is in development from Brian Grazer and Imagine Entertainment. The make-or-break casting choice in a film on that subject is going to be who plays Audrey Hepburn. The choice of Lily Collins of Emily in Paris is curious to me, but I don’t watch that show to make much of a judgement call. The subject matter has been ripe for a film for decades. The Blake Edwards film was, in many ways, the perfect transition from the ’50s to the sexual liberation of the ’60s. I’ve got my eyes on this one.
Sunday Morning Tuneage Flashback
- Sunday Morning Tuneage from 3/21/2010, the week had been in the 70s and then on the day before, we were dumped on with snow that would cancel my work for a few days, just as baseball season for Caleb was a week away from starting. I was excited for seasons of shows I wasn’t yet watching in Nurse Jackie and United States of Tara on Showtime. I still have only watched Tara. I was also down for a good season of Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains (CBS). The list of the week was a challenge to rank music from a year where the Monkees outsold the Beatles in America. I still have some opinions about it.
My #71 Top TV Show of All-Time was Moonlighting (ABC) (1985-1989): I have considered this show and its contemporary, Remington Steele (NBC), to be important genre entries that paved the way for some of the best shows of our current generation. This show was genre busting as a comedy, drama, mystery, detective-show hybrid. It broke the Fourth Wall and threw in fantasy segments. I wasn’t a loyal viewer except for a brief time during the second season. The show was on the decline in the ratings already when Bruce Willis became a mega-star in Die Hard (1988). The producers were just not going to get Willis and Shepherd to commit to future seasons with all of the requirements of making network television. It’s an important show, but once again, I don’t think I’d give it such an important rating. - BEST RECORD ALBUMS OF 1967 (2010)
- 10. The Velvet Underground & Nico – The Velvet Underground & Nico
- 9. Jefferson Airplane – Surrealistic Pillow
- 8. Moody Blues – Days of Future Passed
- 7. Van Morrison – Blowin’ Your Mind!
- 6. The Who – The Who Sell Out
- 5. Cream – Disraeli Gears
- 4. The Monkees – Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn, & Jones
- 3. The Doors – The Doors
- 2. The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Are You Experienced?
- 1. The Beatles – Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
- BEST RECORD ALBUMS OF 1967 (2026)
- 10. Cream – Disraeli Gears: I am going to take it in the shorts for most of this list. First, 1967 is loaded with excellent albums. You’d be hard to go wrong with any of about 35 albums on this list. The order I put them in today is based upon what albums I would put on right now and listen to all the way through. This album from Cream is more than just Clapton and others. The experimentation can be tiring on some albums of this era, but it all works because they never lose that blues foundation. Start with “Tales of Brave Ulysses.”
- 9. The Doors – The Doors: This sounds like what it really is, a band that has honed its sound on stage instead of in a studio. If Morrison wasn’t such an overwhelming personality, you would be forgiven for listening and thinking this is Manzarek’s band. I don’t listen to this debut as much any longer, but it was a great way to start the year (released in January). They released Strange Days later in 1967 and in any other year, that also would make this list. Start with “Soul Kitchen.”
- 8. Bob Dylan – John Wesley Harding: Recorded in Nashville, it’s like he soaked up all of the psychic goodness from that town. It is a window into the next evolution of country music from the man who defined folk for a generation. Start with “Be Your Baby Tonight.”
- 7. Jefferson Airplane – Surrealistic Pillow: Grace Slick’s enticing vocals, Marty Balin’s wonderful songwriting, and a wonderful album name given to them by Jerry Garcia. Start with “White Rabbit.”
- 6. The Moody Blues – Days of Future Passed: It wasn’t unique to use orchestras on rock albums, but no one else featured it in such a way that made it feel like a movie that was never filmed. Start with “Nights In White Satin.”
- 5. The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Are You Experienced?: The electric-guitar revolution was primed and ready to explode. Jimi was the one that lit the fuse. This album was a blueprint for decades of bands to come. Just like the Doors, there was a second album out this year, Axis Bold As Love that would have been a Top Five in a different year. Start with “The Wind Cries Mary.”
- 4. The Velvet Underground & Nico – The Velvet Underground & Nico: In 1967, the seeds of punk are planted that won’t be harvested for another ten years. It’s funny that an album that would come to symbolize early punk was dismissed mostly as being too artistic at the time of release. Start with “Sunday Morning.”
- 3. The Who – The Who Sells Out: It’s hard to appreciate this album in a vacuum. It’s only as I’ve spent time with their albums of the next eight years that I’ve appreciated this masterpiece. The basic structure of Tommy is being practiced on this album. I dismissed this album years ago, but now I might call it in my top five of their releases. Start with “I Can See For Miles.”
- 2. Van Morrison – Blowin’ Your Mind!: I can see now that mostly all I did was shuffle that list from 2010. Sandwiched between his stint with Them and next year’s Astral Weeks, this album gives off some greatness vibes even if it only reaches them in short bursts. Start with “Brown Eyed Girl.”
- 1. The Beatles – Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band: There was never a question on what the best album of the year was going to be. There’s not a bad or even mediocre song on the album, but it does barely clock in at 40 minutes. In some ways, their album from earlier in the year, Magical Mystery Tour, carries more weight in terms of hits, but this album changed the way the world listened to an album by a band that knew they would never have to perform it live. Best song: “A Day in the Life.”
1976 in Review
- March – Superman #297 (DC Comics): Cover by Bob Oksner. Written by Cary Bates. Art by Curt Swan. I must have haunted the newsstand in this era, because I swear every Marvel and DC Comics cover looks familiar to me. The scene on the cover wasn’t exactly in the book. Clark cannot be Superman based upon an orange flame that was shot at Earth. If he uses his powers, the planet will blow up. There just happens to be an actor impersonating him in Metropolis at the same time. The story left a bit to be desired but the Curt Swan art inside is tremendous.
- March 8 – Three construction workers died at Olympic Stadium in Montreal. A concrete slab broke from a crane and they fell 100 feet. Another worker had died in 1975.
- March 22 – At just 13 years old, it’s hard to imagine the pressure on Tracy Austin to be featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated. The article is about her family too. Her older sister and three brothers were also professional tennis players. Tracy would defeat Billie Jean King in the 1979 Wimbledon quarterfinals. At just 16, should would become the youngest person to win the U.S. Open. By 1980, she would be ranked #1 in the world and would win three Grand Slam titles in her career. Rarely does a young prodigy live up to the hype like that.
What the Hell Did I Put in My Mouth?
H.E.B Dill Pickle Ranch Potato Chips
When I move from Texas, I’m going to miss the seasonal releases from H.E.B. This was the more traditional of their winter releases. These are obviously dill pickle from the smell that hits you when you open the bag. The first taste is a salty-pickle flavor. It’s the ranch that gives it a tangy aftertaste. I don’t love these as a thin chip, but that’s a small complaint when you have them with a meaty sandwich.
Pringles: Smoky
Mesquite BBQ
The other Smoky flavors from last fall were heavy on the smoky. I didn’t get that same smoky flavor from these Pringles. In fact, with a heavy ketchup taste, I almost thought of them as an attempt at a Pringles All Dressed flavored (of which they are really missing the boat). I don’t love that these rely heavily on a coating of garlic powder and BBQ flavor that makes my hands sticky.
Lindt: Dubai Style Chocolate
I was conspicuously absent from the Dubai Chocolate trend of the end of last year. The Swiss chocolate and pistachio paste should be right up my alley. I’m a Lindt fan, especially at the holidays. This bar was just not worth the price. The chocolate was high quality as always, but the rest of the bar was just barely okay. I don’t know if it’s supposed to be gooey or a paste, but it was somewhere in-between. I would suggest you wait until the next trend.
“You’re sure there’s a cure
And you have finally found it
You think one drink
Will shrink you ’til you’re underground
And living down
But it’s not going to stop” – Aimee Mann
