Are you sure we should move to a cold climate?
Pop Culture Ephemera
- Christopher Golden / Brian Keene (Editors) – The End of the World As We Know It: New Tales from Stephen King’s The Stand (2025) (Published by Gallery Books): “There’s no one quite so determined as a twelve-year-old boy with a head full of dreams and not even a speck of fear of death.” There are contributions from some very notable authors in these 34 stories based upon The Stand (1990). I’m at a loss as to how to summarize my feelings in a short paragraph. I liked or loved all but about five of them. It’s important to note that the original was my second King novel after The Shining (1977). It’s always in my top two or three of King’s novels. These stories use the uncut version that moves the story to 1990 as their jumping off point.
There isn’t a singular theme to the stories. They take place at the beginning of Captain Trips, the middle, and far into the future. They follow the good guys and the bad guys. They even follow animals in a couple of cases. I was relieved that they were by a majority, positive views of humanity and the future. It’s hard not to read COVID commentary into stories that take place during the height of the outbreak, but even these didn’t get bogged down into anti-Trump territory or vaccine judgement. If you have only even read the book once, this anthology belongs on your King shelves. Within all of the creativity here, I have to give some credit to Nat Cassidy’s “The Unfortunate Convalescence of Super Lawyer.” It isn’t the best story in the anthology, but it’s the only one that figures out a way to add continuity to link both versions of the book. Constant readers, we are living in a Golden Year for King related projects.
- IT: Welcome to Derry – “The Pilot” (2025) (S.1 E.1) (HBO): “Anywhere but Derry” – Matty Clements. One thing about being a constant reader is that there are rules for continuity in the King books. One thing about films is they say continuity be damned. I say that in a way that friends of The Shining know that the important differences between film and book had to be cleaned up in Doctor Sleep. With IT, the book took place in 1957-1958 and 1984-1985 (something recreated in the original miniseries). In the more recent films, the setting was moved to 1988-1989 and 2016. That’s where you can get caught into the issue with this new show taking place in 1962 this season.
A prequel series based upon a hugely popular book, miniseries, and couple of movies doesn’t have to do much in the terms of setting the tone. They can assume that anyone watching the show is familiar with Pennywise and how the whole thing works. The initial episode starts and ends well. I’m less comfortable with the middle parts. There’s the thought that they are forming a new version of the Loser’s Club. That fear is solved quickly, and it’s probably best for the series not to recreate the book setting based upon a film universe that already moved it forward. The actors and the dialog doesn’t capture 1962 in the least for me. It’s generic American “past days.” Derry is a town where the facade looks like Any Town, USA but it’s all just a facade. That’s my fear here. It looked good and there were some good creepy moments, but maybe there isn’t going to be much behind those jump scares.
- Quarterflash – “Take Me to Heart” (1983) (from Take Another Picture): “You won’t forget my eyes / Oh deep inside you realize / You’re gonna see me wherever you go.” It’s difficult when your second biggest hit sounds remarkably like your biggest hit. This was a rather heavy play in the summer of 1983 as I drove around Kalamazoo and Portage, Michigan. The first few seconds sound just like their biggest hit, “Harden My Heart.” The sax solo is so 1983 and really makes this song Yacht Rock adjacent. They are a footnote to ’80s music, mostly because they didn’t have much variety to their sound. There should have been a world where they could have settled in on the wave somewhere between Pat Benatar, the Pretenders, and the Motels.
- No Country for Old Men (2007) (Directed by Ethan Coen and Joel Coen): “What’s the most you ever lost on a coin toss?” – Anton Chigurh. When I read that this was ranked #6 in the New York Times Best Films of the 21st Century, my first thought was, “There were five better films?” It’s difficult to even remember that this is a Best Picture Oscar winner since that award so rarely is attached to the best films of that year. I thought that Fargo (1996) was the pinnacle for the Coen Bros. Their string of lost and found money capers had reached a zenith there with the perfect combination of plot and characters. This film proved that you could do it twice in a career.
The difference between the two is clear from the very first narration. Fargo was driven by the story that brought comedy and thrills to the crime investigation. No Country is driven by characters. The Tommy Lee Jones story that starts the film isn’t too different than the Texas-set Blood Simple (1984) except that this one isn’t just for setting but it tells you that this film is about the existence of evil. There’s a trio of character stories that happen to revolve around a found $2 million. Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) is the man who finds and tries to keep the money. Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem) is the man sent to recover the money. Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones) is the sheriff who is trying to stop both of them. I have wanted to read the Cormac McCarthy book this is based upon and maybe this viewing will be enough to get me started. My understanding is that the Coen Bros captured the voice of the book without directly copying the dialog. It’s a damn near perfect film, and yet it doesn’t have a plot that keeps you on the edge of your seat. It’s the characters that you want to follow and when one isn’t on the screen, you want to get right back to them. You should watch this again.
- Honey Don’t (2025) (Directed by Ethan Coen): “… and you haven’t even seen the riddle tattooed on my ass.” – Honey O’Donahue. I could fill a few paragraphs with what is wrong with this film and you would get the wrong idea that it wasn’t enjoyable to watch. It’s not a true sequel to Drive-Away Dolls (2024), but it’s not difficult to imagine that these both could take place in the same world. Maybe the meandering point of this neo-noir is just to drop in and drop out of the life of Honey O’Donahue. None of the murders or odd happenings in Bakersfield, CA seem out of place to Honey from the original accident through the conclusion. Margaret Qualley is even more entertaining here than in The Substance (2024). Chris Evans and Charlie Day both give great performances. The standout is for the choices that Aubrey Plaza gives to her character. All of that is enough to pull me through this film even although the danger doesn’t feel as amped up as it should have been. Understand that my enjoyment goes against the Certified Freshness of certain vegetable websites.
Best of the Rest
- “Speak of this day, my love.” The highest compliment I can give the new Pringles commercial is that it reminds me of the Skittles “Taste the Rainbow” ads. I hope this is just the beginning for this line of Pringles commercials.
- The just can’t leave well enough alone in Hollywood. The revival trend is likely to continue for years to come. Taking a moderately successful TV show from the ’80s that was turned into a well-received but only slightly successful movie adaptations in 2006, Hollywood thinks that we are aching for another Miami Vice. The last time out it was Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx under Michael Mann’s direction. This time the rumors are Austin Butler and Michael B. Jordan. While both are great actors who happen to be attractive, the black/white cop routine that we need revived is the Lethal Weapon series. If there was bravery in Tinseltown, we’d finally get the Tenspeed and Brownshoe (1980) reboot.
- Constant Readers would much rather that Mike Flannagan spend his valuable time on the Dark Tower adaptation, which should be a massive project that dwarves both Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings adaptations. Instead, Mr. Flannagan just wrapped his Carrie miniseries. This is a decent to middling entry in the King bibliography that has had far too many adaptations for its importance. I trust Flannagan’s judgement but I’m always leery of “faithful to the source material” to mean, “we really rewrote the whole deal.” This is the first attempt to do the material as a multi-episode television series, but of all of his work, I don’t know that this deserves it as much as say Salem’s Lot or Christine would benefit from the same attention. That said, look for my thoughts on it in 2026.
Sunday Morning Tuneage Flashback
- Sunday Morning Tuneage from 12/27/2009, it was that fun time of year in the middle of two weeks of only three days of work each. We had a surprise Christmas Eve snow that made for one of the only White Christmas days that we’ve had in my 23 years here in Texas. I had gotten my first Blu-ray player (that only died last week) and my Nook (that’s sitting in a box somewhere holding about 20 ebooks hostage). Bunch of repeats on television in those days so I was planning on watching the Three Stooges marathon on AMC. The Top Ten of the Week reflected what I was listening to in those days. Be warned, the list didn’t seem to have much in the terms of rules or structure.
My #82 Top TV Show of All-Time was Quantum Leap (NBC) (1989-1993): I’m wondering what I was thinking with this pick. This wasn’t a show that I watched consistently during its initial run. I was a casual fan, and I probably watched more of it in repeats. The series suffered from much the same impacts as WKRP in Cinncinnati and The Wonder Years of having great year-specific music that was replaced in repeats and DVD releases. I love the concept, and I think that Scott Bakula was a great choice or the main character. I always envisioned it as a kin thematically to Doctor Who. I don’t hold it in enough esteem to be a Top 100 show these days, and I don’t consider the reboot part of the original series because of the lack of continuity. This show is a reason I need to rerank. - BEST OF THE RAT PACK (2009)
- 10. Sammy Davis Jr. and Dean Martin – “Sam’s Song” (1962)
- 9. Dean Martin – “Ain’t That a Kick in the Head” (1960)
- 8. Frank Sinatra – “It Was a Very Good Year” (1965)
- 7. Sammy Davis Jr – “Candy Man” (1972)
- 6. Frank Sinatra – “In the Wee Small Hours” (1955)
- 5. Ocean’s Eleven (1960)
- 4. The Silencers (1966)
- 3. Dean Martin – “Memories Are Made of This” (1955)
- 2. Frank Sinatra – “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” (1956)
- 1. Rio Bravo (1959)
- BEST OF THE RAT PACK (2025)
- 10. Dean Martin – “Ain’t That a Kick in the Head” (1960): “I kissed her and she kissed me” I associate it with his performance of it in Ocean’s Eleven (1960), which was also one of my first exposures to any of these Rat Pack members.
- 9. Frank Sinatra – “Come Fly with Me” (1958): A song about drinking and travelling to exotic locales. There isn’t a better symbol for the Rat Pack.
- 8. Sammy Davis Jr. – “That Old Black Magic” (1955): There are a number of good versions of this song, but over the years, this has become my favorite Sammy song. He really owns it in live performances.
- 7. Sergeants 3 (1962): It would be the last time that all five members of the Rat Pack would appear together on screen. It’s a relatively tame remake of Gunga Din (1939) with some decent laughs. Mostly, it’s rare to see a film where the cast has such obvious chemistry.
- 6. Ocean’s Eleven (1960): It’s almost a perfect heist film. If there’s a weakness, it’s that they try to feature all of the Rat Pack members. Sinatra is a movie star and Dean isn’t far behind. I would have let them do their thing more.
- 5. The Manchurian Candidate (1962): The story of the availability of the film through the ’60s and the ’70s is worth a movie all unto itself. Sinatra shows off some depth in what is probably the most iconic Cold War movie ever. It feels as timely as ever (this version, not the remake)
- 4. Frank Sinatra – “Summer Wind” (1966): “My fickle friend, the Summer Wind.” If I needed a song to represent “Easy Listening” to people of the future, I’d use this one. Not in an ironic way, this is why the genre is still thriving.
- 3. Dean Martin – “You’re Nobody ’til Somebody Loves You” (1964): There’s just something about this song that puts me in the mood of sitting in a cocktail bar with an Old Fashioned. There are some other decent versions of the song, but Dean’s is the only one that sounds like I can’t see the band through the cigarette smoke.
- 2. Frank Sinatra – “It Was a Very Good Year” (1965): “But now the days are short / I’m in the autumn of the year” I probably identify with this nostalgic song more now than ever in my life. Arguably, I find it one of the best two or three songs for Frank’s vocal performance too.
- 1. Rio Bravo (1959): Maybe it’s only Dean, but it’s got Ricky Nelson who has the attitude of an honorary Rat Pack member. It’s not just a great film that happens to have Dean Martin, but he’s an integral member of the trio that make this a top notch film.
1975 in Review
- November – Thor #241 (Marvel): Cover by Jack Kirby/John Romita. Written by Bill Mantlo. Art by John Buscema. It almost doesn’t matter what happens inside the book when you have a classic cover like this one. There’s a big battle amongst the Gods and Seth loses a hand. That will affect some storylines for years.
- November 3 – Good Morning America (ABC) replaces the failing AM America (ABC). New hosts David Hartman and Nancy Dussault would start a long run to finally overcome the ratings juggernaut, The Today Show (NBC). They would finally take the lead in the early ’90s with Charlie Gibson and Joan Lunden. On the same day, The Price Is Right (CBS) moves from 30 minutes to an unheard of hour-long format. Media experts predict failure.
- November 8 – TV Guide. The Mary Tyler Moore (CBS) spinoff, Rhoda (CBS) was a huge hit in the middle of Season Two. It was normally ranked sixth or seventh and would typically beat Monday Night Football (ABC) in the ratings. The writers would try to give the show some edge in Season Three and have Rhoda and Joe get a divorce. The ratings for Season Three and Four would go into freefall before being cancelled midway through Season Five.
What the Hell Did I Put in My Mouth?
Wicked Cereal
You’ll be forgiven if you took a double take that it was a Wicked movie tie-in cereal on the shelves and not another Stranger Things grocery store item. There is an Elphaba that is caramel apple, and I decided to pass on that for now. The Glinda Good Berry sounded more up my alley. The smell out of the box didn’t portend a good experience. It was a sweet perfume-ish scent. The taste was a berry that is probably whatever AI thinks is berry. They are corn balls that have the taste and appearance of Berry Kix, without the actual berry flavor. It was too subtle to make these a second box purchase.
Lay’s Hot Sauce Chips
I like Frank’s Red Hot Sauce on my scrambled eggs and hash browns. These do taste like Frank’s Hot Sauce, but it’s not like a fresh Frank’s. It’s like you left it in the pantry for that past six months and then poured it on these chips without shaking the bottle. There’s just too much vinegar taste, before and afterwards. They are edible but not snackable in mass. I ended up mixing them with some BBQ chips to finish the bag. It’s something that I’d rank all three new Kroger flavors ahead of the three Lay’s flavors this fall.
Kellogg’s Stranger Things: Demogorgon Crunch
Like I said, the Stranger Things tie-ins just keep coming. Opening this box, you might think you accidentally spilled your maple syrup in the box overnight. Then when you pour on the milk and take a spoonful, you’ll realize that these are either the leftover Eggo cereals that tried their darndest to replicate Post’s Waffle Crisp. That addition of Upside Down Marshmallows was a nice touch. They have a Lucky Charms flavor and they didn’t skimp on them. It’s a cereal with a good flavor if you don’t mind syrup. After disappointing boxes for Wicked and Wednesday, this box is pleasant to scan while you eat.
“I’m always on your mind
I’m the chill that never left your spine
In the building where you live and breathe
I’m the sound that never lets you sleep
Down the hall through the walls
You hear a voice that’s calling
“Do you want me? Do you want me?” – Quarterflash
