Top Twelve Weird Al Parodies-Number 9

The Original(s)
So in this case, I'm going to cheat a little bit. Weird Al usually diversifies his parodies, but in some cases he will come back to the same artist because the music works for what he wants to do. One such artist is Michael Jackson. Weird Al parodied two of his songs, Beat It and Bad and had also requested to do a parody of Black and White, but Jackson didn't want the message of his song distorted by the parody.

It's fitting that these are the two songs that were used because they really do seem to be connected. In Beat It, Jackson plays the tough guy telling the listener that they'd better get away while they have a chance to do so. Whatever is going to go down is not something you can handle. I always like to think that it's the same character in Bad stepping up again to show the world just how tough they are. I may be wrong on that, and Jackson may not have ever had that intention, but that's how I view it.


The Parody
Eat It and Fat are the parodies based on the Jackson hits, and they also have a common theme-food. If you listen to Weird Al parodies long enough, you begin to notice his love of food or at least a love of singing about food. The thing that is great about these songs isn't the actual songs. They're good, but the music videos are better. Let's talk about each song.

The song for Eat It sounds like a parent telling their kid to eat something. It even includes the standard parental excuses like there are kids starving in China. The video is shot for shot like the Jackson video for Beat It with the exception of the dancing skills. Weird Al goes out of his way to show he can't move like Michael Jackson. The biggest thing to note about this song is that it reached #1 on the charts while Beat It only reached #3.

Fat is one of the most bizarre videos ever made. Visually it is as close to the Bad video as a frizzy-headed accordion player can manage. What makes this video so great is the moment that the title of the song makes sense. You get all the build up of the Jackson video. Michael hiding out in the subway station and confronted, but in the Weird Al version they are fat guys questioning his fatness. Then you get the amazing scene where Weird Al goes from his skinny self to a fat man. Then you get the dance scene with the song.

Both songs and videos are worth a look especially if you watch the original and the parody one right after the other. Leave any comments below. Number 8 is on the way soon.

"Stuart Little" by E. B. White (a book review)

Before you start to wonder, this is a book review, and no I haven't seen any of the movies based on the book. There is no way that the book I just finished could be transferred to any screen. With that being said, let's talk about E. B. White in general and Stuart Little in specific.

So what do I think about Stuart Little? I think it is a magnificent book. It certainly was not what I was expecting at all. More importantly, not a single one of the things that I expected happened. I should correct that just a little. I didn't get any of the endings I was expecting. Don't worry, I'm not about to give away the ending, but I want you to know that you won't get a simple ending even though this is a "simple" book. With Charlotte's Web, you get a nice neat ending. Everything comes together in the end, not so with Stuart Little.

The way the story starts lets you know right away that this won't be a typical story. After all, how many women give birth to a mouse? For those of you that are familiar with the Tom Thumb style story you have some idea of what to expect. The tiny child (Stuart eventually reaches 2-1/4 inches) grows into a tiny man and goes off into the world to seek his fortune. This is the same style of story.

Every hero needs a reason to leave the safety of home. We get lots of chances to see Stuart in action. He takes up sailing and wandering the city even though he is just a very small creature. His only fear is dogs. He isn't even afraid of the family cat, Snowbell. What really drives Stuart to wandering though is his concern for his best friend, a beautiful bird named Margalo. When she disappears, Stuart decides to go look for her. He doesn't have much to lead him in the right direction. He just has Margalo's explanation of who she is, "I come from fields once tall with wheat, from pastures deep in fern and thistle: I come from vales of meadowsweet, and I love to whistle."

This quote shows just how great a writer E. B. White was. He had an amazing way with words that make this book a pleasure to read. I won't give away the ending, but I will tell you that Stuart has adventures as a sailor, and a teacher. He also learns to drive and encounters a woman his own size. I can't say more without giving away the ending, and I really want you to read this book. 

Go find a copy right now. That's my opinion, of course and your free to have your own. If you want, you can leave any comments below.

Signs of the Apocalypse-Willow Smith will be touring with Justin Bieber

Well, I just saw a scary news story, Willow Smith, the 10-year-old singing sensation, is teaming up with Justin Bieber, another singing sensation that is often mistaken for a lesbian. I might be over reacting, but this does not sound like a good combination. It might just be part of one of those scrolls in Revelation. OK, I am over reacting. There's only one thing that keeps it from being that bad. I don't have to go to any of their concerts.

I have lots of issues with this anyway. First, who decided that "I whip my hair back and forth" was something that should be performed live? There's no way that Willow can actually sing and whip her hair. It works out fine in the video, but the poor girl's going to get whiplash and have to wear one of those goofy collars. Then she'll wish she could whip her hair back and forth.

More importantly, what are Will and Jada thinking letting their 10-year-old daughter go on tour? Will Smith has been there and should know what it will be like. How many stops will this tour be taking? How long before this poor girl either drops out from fatigue or ends up like the younger version of Drew Barrymore? (Thank God Drew got herself cleaned up.) It's not a good environment for such a young girl.

In other Willow Smith news, the article also says that Willow will be filling the starring role in the new remake of Annie. Wait a minute. Isn't Little Orphan Annie supposed to be a red head? How are they going to make that work? I'm not against diversity, I'm all in favor of it, but let's be fair to the source material. This sounds like it could be as bad as that one Disney TV version of Cinderella where the prince was Asian, but his Dad was George Costanza and his mother was black. (How does that make sense at all?)

OK, I've rambled on long enough. I'm interested to hear your thoughts on the matter. Comment below.

Top Twelve Characters from MASH (part III)

Here we are in the next part of the Top Twelve list, but before we get started, let me review the people from the earlier list.

Number 12-Dr. Sydney Freeman

Number 11- Maxwell Klinger

Number 10- Father Mulcahy

Number 9-Radar O'Reilly

So now that we have that out of the way let's get on with the list.



 Number 8

Larry Linville played Major Frank Burns the perpetual target for Hawkeye, Trapper, and BJ.

 So, we start with Major Frank Burns. Poor Frank was a character that was designed to be hated. While he is a competent surgeon, he is not cut out for the pressure of a MASH unit. While he dreams of being a leader of men, he can't even get his bunk mates from pranking him every chance they get. Frank's main interest is trying to get people to do things his way, and "Hot Lips" Houlihan. Frank is married, but that doesn't stop him from making the most of any time the two can manage to eke out.

It's harder to come up with important moments for Mr. Burns. Because of what they were doing with the character, it's hard to come up with significant moments that don't involve him becoming an involuntary blood donor or having his latrine fall apart while he's using it. I do have a couple that will work pretty well. In the first season, Colonel Blake makes the decision to make Hawkeye the Chief Surgeon. Frank spends the whole episode throwing a fit, but at the end of the episode, Frank asks Hawkeye for help with a patient. It isn't much, but it shows he knows Hawkeye is a better doctor. The other moment comes when Frank learns about "Hot Lips" marriage while she was away on leave. He completely falls apart. It is a mixture of comedy and tragedy that really shows who his character is.

 Number 7

Veteran actor, Harry Morgan, played Colonel Sherman Potter, the commander of the 4077 after Lt Colonel Blake went home.

 How can you go wrong with a commanding officer like Colonel Potter? He has experience from WWII and unlike Henry Blake, Colonel Potter has experience running a MASH unit. Potter understands the people around him, and even though they won't jump to attention and salute like regular army, he knows that they all have the same concerns-saving lives and getting home safely. Colonel Potter is a painter and a Calvary man at heart and Radar even manages to find him a horse in the middle of the war. Also, in an unexpected move that works out very well for both of them, Colonel Potter puts Klinger in charge of the office after Radar goes home.

One great moment for Colonel Potter comes in an episode where he was shooting from the free throw line on the camp's make shift basketball court. Someone walked by and noticed he was doing pretty well, soon the whole camp was around the court waiting to see if he could break the camp's record for consecutive baskets. On the very last shot, Colonel Potter misses and the audience disperses. Potter picks up the ball and starts again.
The best moment is of course at the end of the show as everyone is leaving Korea. Colonel Potter is trying to figure out what to do with he faithful horse, Sophie. There's no way he can bring her back to America so the Colonel follows Father Mulcahy's advice and leaves her with the local orphanage to help them work the fields.

 Number 6

David Ogden Stiers played Major Charles Emerson Winchester III.

 Just when you think that all the rich and powerful families are keeping their sons and daughters out of the war, you get to meet Major Charles Emerson Winchester III. At first he's got a nice cushy position in Seoul, taking care of important military personnel. That is until he wins one to many games of cards. That's when he finds himself transferred to the 4077 and left there. Winchester isn't a terrible person. He's just used to a different way of life, and he has no means of adjusting to his new world. Winchester is also the replacement for Frank Burns and he is a far superior surgeon and has no qualms about telling the world that he's the best.

I think in this case, I'll stick with one moment from the end of the show. Near the end of the war, a group of prisoners is being held at the 4077. They are five Chinese musicians who were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Winchester decides to take this group and teach them to play a variation of Mozart's Quintet for Violins and Strings. He continues to help them improve their performance until they are transferred to another camp. They play the song for him as they are being driven away. A few hours later more patients arrive. Unfortunately one of the patients is one of the Chinese soldiers. They were all killed. Winchester tries to find solace in his record of the piece, but after a few measures, he takes the record and smashes it.

 Number 5

Loretta Swit played Major Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan.

The last character on this part of our list is Major Margaret "Hot Lips"Houilhan. At the beginning of the show, Hot Lips is mainly used for comic relief as she chances around with Frank. Later in the show, she grows as a character. Her failed marriage to Donald Penobscot helps her to grow out of her military rigidness, and become a better member of the 4077. Margaret's responsibility is to take care of the nurses under her command. This includes protecting them from the antics of the doctors as well.

It is hard to pick out a specific moment for Margaret because her best moments are really the small times that she shows her concern for the people she comes in contact with- her nurses, her patients and her friends. There is a great episode where Hawkeye and Houlihan are trapped in a building while they are on a trip. The two end up sleeping together to ignore the shells dropping around them. However, the most notable moment happened in the movie of MASH. I won't say more since if you haven't seen the movie, it will ruin the moment for you.

That's all there is for now. I'll have the last part with the final four characters soon. I'm sure you can figure out who the four are, but you'll still have to look to find out who gets top place. Leave any comments below.

So you want to start watching the Fourth Doctor episodes of Doctor Who

Tom Baker thanks you for wanting to see his Doctor in action.

So you want start watching Doctor Who adventures featuring the fourth Doctor, Tom Baker? You are making a very good choice. You probably already know that Tom is my personal favorite Doctor. You have a lot of work to see all of his episodes. He was the Doctor for seven years.Why not try out a few of the more interesting stories? After all, some of the stories are better than others. (Remember that during the old series, they didn't have the budget or effects that are available today.) I could go on talking about how great Tom Baker is for a long time, but let's get on to the recommendations instead.


What better place to begin than at the very beginning. In "The Robot," we get our first real glimpse of Tom Baker as the Doctor. The Doctor is lying on the floor in his laboratory at UNIT headquarters and hasn't recovered from his regeneration.

The Doctor seems very odd after his regeneration, but it turns out that this is who he is now. There are several great parts to this story. First, you get the Doctor's first words, " " You also get the fashion show where the Doctor figures out what he's going to wear. You also get a scene straight out of the Power Rangers when the robot of the title grows from around 7 feet to building-crushing height.

If you're watching the new series, you've already met his companion, Sarah Jane Smith, and you'll love getting to know her during her younger adventures.




"The Talons of Weng-Chiang" is a very strange story. The Doctor is dressed up like Sherlock Holmes and his companion is a futuristic cave woman. Yeah, Leela is from a future human planet that has regressed to barbarism after a space ship crash lands on a planet. Leela is like an Eliza Doolittle character- she has great potential and the Doctor is trying to help her reach it. 


In this story, the Doctor has brought Leela to Earth's past to help her understand who her ancestors were. The plot revolves around a disappearing woman, Chinese tongs, an Oriental stage magician, and a killer ventriloquist's dummy. Oh and did I mention giant-killer sewer rats?






Lalla Ward is the second actress to play the Time Lord Romana (actually Romanadvoratrelundar, but who wants to say that more than once?) The character of Romana is great in either incarnation because she is a Time Lord, and in some ways is smarter than the Doctor. The first Romana is forced on the Doctor during the Key of Time stories, but she decides to stay with the Doctor after that adventure is over.

This is often considered one of the best Doctor Who stories of all time. The Doctor and Romana take a well deserved vacation in Paris and soon discover involving six original copies of the Mona Lisas. There's lots of adventure in this story and the Doctor makes a trip back in time to have a chat with Leonardo Da Vinci.



Of course there are plenty of stories featuring Tom Baker (42 stories with 172 episodes) so once you check these stories out, you'll have plenty of opportunities to enjoy this incarnation of the Doctor. Let me know if you have any feedback or thoughts on these episodes below.

What's happening with MTV's "Skins" experiment?

When I heard that American television was going to produce an American version of the popular BBC show "Skins," I had fairly low expectations. I was never interested in the British version. It's just not the kind of show that I'm interested in. I've had my teen drama, and I'm not interested in reliving those days.  Even so, I knew enough about the show from the advertisements to know what to expect. I love British television, and American television has a long history of "borrowing" ideas from across the pond. "Life on Mars," Who's Line?," and "All in the Family" are just a few examples of shows that started overseas. Some of the ideas do very well and others just flop. I think part of it comes down to familiarity. I would hate to see an American version of "Doctor Who", and I think this is part of the problem we are seeing with "Skins."

So let's talk a minute about why it's an issue for "Skins" to be a really popular television show already. Ever since BBC America has hit the air, American audiences have massive exposure to at least the BBC variety of shows so they already know what to expect. Take a truly American example like the SciFi (it was SciFi at the time) reboot of Battlestar Galactica. The writers for the show made a choice to reimagine Starbuck. They chose to take the male character originally played by Dirk Benedict and make the character a female played by Katee Sackhoff. This was a choice that they made that I think worked out well. It provided a new dynamic to the show that let it explore a variety of issues that a male Starbuck wouldn't have been able to address. "Skins" has a similar issue.

First let's consider how Battlestar Galactica avoided problems with the gender change. Rather than ignore it, they actually advertised the change. I remember an add where both Starbucks are playing cards and Benedict makes a comment about how in his day Starbuck was a guy. They didn't try to pull the wool over the eyes of the audience, even though the original show had been off the air for decades. "Skins" on the other hand changed the gender of one of the major characters to avoid complaints. From what I've heard from friends of mine who were huge fans of the British version, the character that was changed was a lesbian. I think the producers didn't want to deal with the questions that might come up from the character so they simply changed her into a guy so it wouldn't be a problem, but there's the problem. People loved the original character and aren't happy with the change.

There are tons of other problems with this show being brought to American television that I won't get into now since I don't follow either show, but I think I've made my point. The American version of "Skins" will probably be off the air in a few weeks and this won't even be an issue anymore.

Take my opinion for what it's worth. Feel free to comment below if you have something you want to add to the discussion.

Should we just give up on equality?

 So I just finished reading an article that titled "Why Rich Parents Don't Matter." (see the article here:
http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/111917/why-rich-parents-dont-matter?mod=family-kids_parents)
I thought I was going to read about how smart kids will always out perform no matter the background, or perhaps an article that says that all the extra help money can buy doesn't make that much difference. Instead I read an article that basically says that it doesn't matter if we remove the class-side of the equation because some kids are genetically predisposed to being smart.

What is the point of saying this? Why do we need someone to tell us that education won't ever be completely fair? That's not a new revelation. So rather than trying to make things better, we should be content to leave things the way they are? That doesn't make any sense at all. Our education system should be giving every student a chance to reach their full potential. I doubt we can do much about the financial concerns, but that doesn't mean we should dismiss them as being something not worth our time and effort.

In case you haven't figured it out I disagree with the title of this article and its final conclusion, but look it over and decide for yourself. Then feel free to leave a comment below.

Top Twelve Weird Al Parodies-Number 10

The Original
I Love Rock and Roll has been covered by many artists and bands since it was originally put together by the band Arrow. (Don't worry, I'd never heard of them before I looked up the details on the song.) Because of poor promotion and distribution this song's best-known version wasn't done by Arrow, but by Joan Hett & the Blackhearts. This song was even performed by Britney Spears in her movie Crossroads.

The song itself is pretty straight forward and should be considered a Rock standard. The verses are about the singer spotting a guy she likes and imagining what will happen. More important that whatever the lyrics might be is the chorus. This is the part to follow along with. It reinforces the statement 'I love Rock 'n' Roll over and over again and you can't help but sing along even if it is Britney doing the singing.

The Parody
I Love Rocky Road is the second Weird Al song to be turned into a music video. This video takes place in an ice cream parlor rather than a bar. This song also follows a common theme of Mr. Yankovic, centering his song on food. We will see more of this in the future installments. One interesting factoid about this particular video is that even though the song is called "I Love Rocky Road," there is no ice cream in the video. This is because the ice cream wouldn't stop melting under the hot lights of the studio. Instead it is scoops of mashed potatoes. How would you like some of that on a scoop? 

This song isn't terrible, but it's still early on in Weird Al's career. Better songs will be coming up soon. Remember to leave a comment if you have anything to say or add. Look for Number 9 coming soon.

Top Twelve Weird Al Parodies Number 11

The Original-Another One Bites the Dust (by Queen)
This song by Queen is a classic that most people have heard at some point in their lives. It was Queen's best-selling single and rank #34 on Billboard's All Time Top 100. It is also an ironic song because this song is at the same tempo as you would use for chest compressions when performing CPR. (For those of you who aren't trained, the rate is 100 compressions per minutes. I would recommend using the BeeGees hit Stayin' Alive instead, especially if you sing the song aloud.)

This is a fairly standard song with the lyrics focusing on something. I'll be honest here. No matter how many times I've listened to the song, the only thing I really remember is the awesome bass line and Freddy singing "Another one bites the dust." So I looked it up. Even after looking at the lyrics, I was still confused. In the first verse some guy named Steve either gets gunned down or does the gunning, in the second, some guy complains about his heart getting broken, and in the last we learn about some ways a guy can be hurt. I'm not sure what it's all about, but I know that I can't resist the main line.

The Parody-Another One Rides the Bus
This is one of Weird Al's earliest parodies. It was first presented to the world on the Dr. Demento show. (If you don't know Dr. Demento, look him up.) It was also the occasion where he met his future drummer, Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz. While Yankovic was waiting to perform, he talked to Schwartz. Schwartz offered to provide percussion by playing on the accordion case while Yankovic played. The song became so popular it got Yankovic his first television appearance on the Tomorrow Show.

What's this song about you ask? Well, it's basically about a guy stuck on an overloaded bus. Every time he thinks there will be a stop to let people off, more people just get on. The song also highlights all of the problems you might run into on an overcrowded bus. It doesn't sound like much but when you add in the accordion music and the delivery, it is worth the listen.

That's Number 11. Tune in next time for a song spoofing a song by a band you don't know the name of, but you definitely know the song. Leave any comments below.

Bring back that mammoth!

Wait, what was that? Bring back the mammoth? Do you mean that horrible Syfy movie with the monster with all the tentacles that look like tails? No? Well that's something to be thankful for then. Bring back the woolly mammoth? What would the woolly mammoth do in our day and age?

Well, in case you haven't seen it, a group of Japanese scientists have declared that within the next 5 years they will bring the woolly mammoth back from extinction. (see the article here: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110117/wl_asia_afp/japansciencemammoth_20110117104445)  So what is their evil plan? They want to take an egg cell from an elephant and suck the genetic material out of it and replace it with some DNA from a sample from a woolly mammoth. I can understand how the science works, but I can't understand following through on the process.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not an anti-woolly-mammoth type of person. I just don't think the scientists have thought beyond creating the mammoth. Will we just make them to study and put in zoos or will we try to create a setting for them to live in? Where will we put them? Our ecosystems are fragile enough without adding the woolly mammoth to the mix.

Let's consider the options. Can we let the mammoths live with elephants in the jungles? They aren't designed for that kind of climate. I guess we could place them in Siberia or Alaska, but what would that do to those locations? We certainly can't dump them on the polar ice caps. They are shrinking way too fast to provide them with a stable home. I guess the best option is to keep them in captivity, but it hardly seems worthwhile to bring a species out of "retirement" just to lock them away.

I understand the curiosity of the scientists, but I guess I want a plan before humanity embarks on such a project. What do you think about this idea? Comment below.

Top Twelve Weird Al parodies-Number 12

The Original-Jeopardy by the Greg Kihn Band
This song is all about that time in a relationship where everything seems to be going wrong. In the music video, Kihn is at the church for his wedding and really wants to run. Everywhere he looks there's another reason to get out. Their love is in jeopardy because of it. What's a man to do in a situation like this? Well, in this video Kihn has to deal with zombies and monsters and everything else the director could throw at him. In the end, it turns out to be a dream and Kihn runs for it before the wedding can start. He jumps in his convertible only a girl who has just run out of her own wedding sitting beside him, and the two ride off into the sunset.

The Parody-I lost on Jeopardy (obviously by Weird Al)
This song has absolutely nothing to do with the original. It's all about poor Weird Al going on Jeopardy. This song has an interesting twist because it was prophetic. Weird Al did go on an episode of celebrity Jeopardy and lost really badly. At the end of the episode they played this song rather than the standard Jeopardy music.

So let's take a moment to talk about some interesting parts of the video. First it was made during the original run of the show, so it was not hosted by Alex Trebek, but by Art Flemming. You also get the awesome voice work of Don Pardo. If you don't know who Don Pardo is by name, you know his voice. Pardo, among other things, is the announcer for Saturday Night Live, a position he has led for the entire time the show has been on the air. A couple other quick notes: one of the categories is famous accordion players which could include Mr. Yankovic, and the video has a cameo by Dr. Demento, the radio host that got Weird Al his start.

I guess I should also mention that the end of the two videos do have a similarity. Like the end of the original, we see a convertible with Greg Kihn and a bride. Weird Al collapses in the back seat and it drives off. You should notice that the plate reads "LOSER."

So that's #12. I'll be back with number 11 soon.  Leave a comment if you have one.

Join in on the This or That! Top Song Bracket!

You may have seen me talking about This or That! a fairly new website that allows users to generate voting platforms for a variety of topics, but today you need to hear about something pretty exciting that is happening on the site. Starting today and going until the end of the month, This or That! is holding a 64-song bracket to determine the top song of 2010. It is set up just like March Madness with 64 songs battling through 6 rounds of competition. You get to vote on each song match up all the way to the top.

I haven't had a chance to vote yet because I'm writing this at school and I can't connect to Facebook. (Did I mention you can join This or That! with your Facebook account?) I am however, pretty excited about some of the match ups. I'm also surprised about some of the songs I'm going to vote for. (Yes, I will pick Tik Tok by Ke$ha over Imma Bee by the Black Eyed Peas, just don't tell anyone, ok.)

Did I mention there are tons of chances to win prizes? I guess I just did. If you vote in all the voting blocks, you will be eligible to win one of 25 This or That! t-shirts, and one lucky voter will win a pair of Beats by Dre Studio Over-Ear headphones.

So check out this great site, and this great competition.

I totally forgot to post the link. http://thisorthat.com/ Also, I guess I was supposed to write which song should win to be eligible for the blogging portion of the contest, so now that I've seen the brackets, I'm totally picking Fireflies by Owl City. Go check it out and play along.

Top Twelve Weird Al parodies (part I)

Weird Al Yankovic has taken the practice of parody and turned it into something of an art form. There has always been impersonation an parody in the world. We might have learned it from that bird  that borrows other bird songs to sing. You do it too, even if you don't realize it. Stop and think the next time you're in your car and the radio is on. If it's a song you know, you probably sing along. If it's a song you don't like, you probably make a mockery of it, sort of your own personal parody.

With this in mind, it's obvious that lots of artists have taken part in parody, so what makes Weird Al so special? Weird Al and his band go out of their way to make the parody as close to the song as possible. If you listen to the two songs back to back, you can hear how well they cover the song. The main difference is that Weird Al is singing completely different lyrics. Not only that, but Weird Al manages to sound like the singer. (if he wants to) In some cases there is a significant difference because of the message of the song. (Listen to "Smells like Nirvana" and try to tell me that doesn't sound like Nirvana, well, until the cow starts mooing.)

I've been thinking about the way I want to do this list, and I've decided to break it up into 12 separate blog posts. In each post I'll talk about the original song and then the parody. It will still be a top twelve list, but it will follow that format. Before we get started with that, I will make a couple of honorable mentions to get us started.

Honorable Mentions

Confessions Part III-(Parody of Confessions and Confessions Part II by Usher.)
This song makes fun of the idea of the Confessions songs. In Confessions (parts I and II) Usher takes on the persona of a cheating man who wants to tell the woman he loves about all of his transgressions. (In part II he fills in some of the details he forgot in the previous song.) In the parody, Weird Al makes sure to include all of the unpleasant things that were left of in parts I and II. These include lying about knowing Pauly Shore, killing her goldfish, and not changing his underwear for 27 days.

Ricky- (Parody of Mickey by Toni Basil)
What better way to parody Mickey to change the name to Ricky and turn it into a double parody. Double Parody? That's right, this song parodies the song Mickey, but it also parodies the show I Love Lucy. The song is pretty good on it's own, but you need to look up the music video, which was probably the first comedic video on MTV. What's so great about it? Just imagine Weird Al dressed up like Ricky Ricardo with a girl dressed like Lucy and all the trappings of the show. It's great, but the best moment is around 30 seconds when a door opens on the band and Weird Al does one of those rock jumps that is usually done with a guitar, but he does it with his accordion.

So that's the introduction to our top twelve Weird Al parodies. Be on the lookout for Number 12 coming soon. Leave a comment or a question if you have one.

So you want to start watching the Third Doctor episodes of Doctor Who

So you've decided to check out the third Doctor, have you? That is an excellent choice. Jon Pertwee is great in the role of the Doctor and his portrayal is very unique from the other actors. This Doctor does not run away as is the typical first move of the modern Doctors. (and I don't disapprove of the running) Instead this Doctor will either try to talk his way out of a situation or else grapple with his enemies hand-to-hand. He uses Venusian Kung Fu and drives a roadster that is souped up with Time Lord technology.  Here's some great places to start if you want to experience this Doctor.

The Spearhead from Space

As they sing in "The Sound of Music," let's start at the very beginning. The Spearhead from Space is the first time we see Jon Pertwee as the Doctor. He has just landed on Earth with his new face that has been forced on him by the Time Lords and he's a little confused about everything. (This is the first time that a new Doctor experiences difficulty after a regeneration.)

While the Doctor is incapacitated, UNIT is investigating a strange group of meteorites that have landed on the same point. We meet Liz, the new companion who happens to be an expert on such matter. This is not only the first episode with Jon Pertwee, it is also the first appearance of the Autons. Who are the Autons? Well, think back to the shop dummies in the first episode of the new series that come alive and kill people. Those are the Autons that are brought to life by the Nestene Consciousness.


The Time Warrior
If you've watched the new series, then you already know Sarah Jane Smith. This is her first episode on the show. You get to see Pertwee's Doctor show off his playful side as the two meet. You may not remember Tennant's Doctor going by the name John Smith, but it is a common occurrence for the Doctor. He is using the name John Smith and Sarah Jane is pretending to be her aunt, who is a scientist, so she can get the scoop on UNIT. The two end up traveling to the past to stop a Sontaran from interfering with the Medieval society of England's history.







The Time Monster
Since you can't see the first appearance of the Master at this time, your second-best option is to see this great story with him in it. The Master has cannibalized his own TARDIS to create the TOMTIT device under the guise of a government scientist. His goal is to use the device to go back in time and gain control of a crystal that will let him control a creature that exists in the realm between times and spaces.
*note* The Master first appears during the time of the third Doctor and is one of the main protagonists during Pertwee's time as the Doctor. In fact, the main reason that Pertwee left the show was the death of Roger DelGado. (the original actor to play the Master.)

What is Hollywood thinking? (actually Peter Jackson and Elijah Wood)

So I just saw a report on Yahoo! that says that Sir Ian McKellen is set to reprise his role as Gandalf in the two-part Hobbit movie, and I can't be happier about that fact. I liked what he did with the role in the Lord of the Rings movies and I'm sure he will be able to separate himself from that set of movies to do what needs to be done with the younger Gandalf of the Hobbit. What really got my attention was the rest of the article.

I already knew about the plans to include Galadriel and Legolas in the Hobbit even though those characters are not mentioned until the Lord of the Rings books. I can see how this might work, but Jackson had better make sure the two characters don't cross paths because Tolkien is very clear that the meeting in the woods is the first time Legolas sees Galadriel. My real concern is the announcement that Elijah Woods has signed on to play Frodo Baggins. How does this even make sense? My only guess is that they will do a scene where Bilbo is telling Frodo about his adventures, but what's the point? Does that mean they have two actors playing Bilbo, one old and one young? (It would not be fair to Sir Ian Holm to age the actor playing the young Bilbo.)

Well, we'll see how Jackson manages this ridiculous state of affairs. It is his problem, and he's more than welcome to it now that he's made it. That's jut my opinion though, and you can feel free to comment below.

More political mudslinging (and it isn't even election season yet)

The very recent shooting this weekend in Arizona was a very jarring experience for the country. I just participated in a Presidentially requested moment of silence at the school I'm subbing at. There are still lots of questions about what exactly happened, how many people were injured and/or killed and the biggest question is if Representative Gabrielle Giffords will recover and when. These are important concerns and I don't have a problem with these issues. I'm hoping for a swift recovery for all those who were injured and peace and strength to get through this difficult time.

My issue is that we already have people blaming the attack on different political parties. This should not be a time to promote your political agenda. Instead, it should be a time for our country to come together. There may be a connection between Tea Party ads that targeted specific Democratic candidates, but that doesn't mean that the shooter made that connection. Let's at least wait until we know all of the details before we start the 2012 Campaign season. I'm still recovering from 2010.

Sometimes I hate technology

So this post is more about me venting over the sudden and unfortunate loss of my latest (and not-quite-ready-to-go-anymore) post on the top twelve characters from MASH. I had this strange glitch where a section of my text was blocked in white for some strange reason and I was trying to get it cleared up when all of my post disappeared for a second and before I could hit the undo button, the post auto-saved. That's right, I lost my entire post during minor editing.

That isn't the least of my worries, because this isn't the first time I've had a problem with this site giving part of my post a text background for no good reason. I still can't figure out how it happened or why all my fixes weren't working. Anyway, that's enough of a rant for now. Feel free to share problems you've had with our modern technology in the comment section below.

Top Twelve Characters from MASH (part II)

So we are past the Honorable mentions and the set up so we can move on to the actual list. I'll be doing this list in groups of four rather than three like I did for the Doctor Who list. (I think that's part of the reason I like a top twelve list, there are so many ways to break it down.) Hopefully things will go better this time around. I'd almost finished this list with the exception of a minor editing problem with the final page and accidentally erased the whole post just a second before an auto save that wiped out everything. Anyway, here the first batch of 4077 personnel.

Number 12

Allan Arbus played Doctor Sidney Freeman, Major, a psychiatrist who appeared in 12 episodes.

In a setting like a Mobile Army Surgical Hospital, (where did you think MASH came from?) there is bound to be some psychological issues. The doctors are under a lot of pressure to save as many lives as possible with limited supplies and under very dangerous conditions. There have to be occasions where patients and doctors just can't handle it any more. That's where Sidney comes in handy. He would be the guy to drop in and help with those problems from time to time. He would also stop by the swamp for a drink and a game of cards.

I'd also like to include each character's shining moment(s) on this list. For Sidney it comes at the end of the series. Hawkeye has had some seriously disturbing experience that has gotten him pulled from the 4077 and placed under Sidney's immediate care. I won't get into the details of what is wrong with Hawkeye. If you've already seen the final episode of the show, you know what happened. If you haven't, I don't want to ruin this moment for you.

Number 11

Maxwell Q. Klinger was played by Jamie Farr.

Let's say you're a young man during the Korean War. Let's also say that you have a pretty great life in Toledo, Ohio. You're married to a beautiful woman. Your family is all close at hand. You've got it all, until you get a letter from the draft board telling you that you've won an all expenses trip to the middle of the war. Everyone has a reason to hate being in Korea, but Klinger is the only one who is willing to do something about it. For most of the show you can find Klinger dressed in women's clothing and doing anything he can think of to get out of the Army. (This includes his attempt to eat a jeep.) When Radar leaves, Klinger takes over the job of meeting the needs of the camp and his perspective changes. He still hates the war, but he doesn't try too often to get out of it.

So do you want the defining moment for Klinger? Either way you're getting it now. In the final episode, the war is over and everyone is getting ready to go home. What about Klinger? He's getting married to a Korean woman he has met in the last season and staying in Korea until they can find her family. (PS Klinger's wife divorced him about the time that Radar left the show.)

Number 10

Walter Eugene "Radar" O'Reilly was brought to television and the movies by Gary Burghoff.

Radar gets his name from his uncanny ability to know what's coming. He often confounded his commanding officers by showing up just as they are about to shout his name or hand them just what they want before they can ask for it. He also knows when wounded are about to arrive at the camp. Even though he's always wanted to serve in the military, Radar is a farm boy at heart. He has his own mini farm at the camp and is the innocent character of the show. (Only grape nehis for this farm boy.) Radar even slept with a teddy bear. Radar was referred to as the glue that held the 4077 together on more than one occasion.

Radar's defining moment is when he left the show. I already mentioned his desire to be a soldier, but should add how happy he was to be a part of the 4077. In his final episode, he gets a message from home that his uncle, who has been helping his mother run the family farm, has passed away. Radar does the only thing he can, and leaves the army to help her out.

Number 9

Father John Patrick Francis Mulcahy was played on television by William Christopher.

Father Mulcahy is the moral center of the 4077. Even though he has massive duties seeing after the spiritual needs of the doctors and nurses of the camp and every wounded soldier that passes through the OR. Father Mulcahy even serves last rites for every soldier that dies on the table or in transit. Father Mulcahy knows that he can't do much about the situation he is in, but he still works hard to make a difference. He helps provide food and other supplies to an orphanage near the camp. He even chooses to stay in Korea when the war is over because he does not feel he can leave those needy children behind.

Now that is a pretty big moment, but it's not my choice for top moment and not just because I don't want every character's top moment to be their last on the show. In one episode, the 4077 has a sports competition with another MASH unit. the whole thing comes down to a foot race between Father Mulcahy and another much better runner. Father Mulcahy manages to keep up with the other runner and the two men talk as they run. In the end Father Mulcahy wins. How did that happen? Well, the Father makes a point to talk about the needy orphans near the 4077 and how he is hoping to spend his winnings to help them. His pleas touch his opponent's heart and the other runner throws the race. Not satisfied with his own money, Father Mulcahy convinces the other members of the 4077 to donate their winnings as well.

That's the first part there are still 8 more characters to talk about. Feel free to leave a comment below.

If it's not your money then just back off.

380 million dollars split between two winners. We know who the first winner is. He had to sit through a press conference and have his face splashed all over national television. Now everyone knows who they are and exactly how much money they have. I would not want that to be me. (Not that it even could be. I don't play along with the lottery. I'd rather have the money I have than hope for money I don't have much chance of winning.)

So why hasn't the second winner shown up yet? I doubt they're going to walk away from all that money, but it is hard to think about all the attention that will be coming their way. After you get past the big press conference, everyone in the world will know. Your family, your friends, and all the people that think you owe them something from the days you knew them. There will probably be lots of people you don't even know that will come out of the woodworks too. It's no wonder that whoever has the other winning ticket hasn't said anything yet, but there are still people making public appeals to this anonymous stranger to step forward.

Now for an interesting question: why not just take the money and avoid all the press? Wouldn't that be much easier? Well, most people don't realize it, but your lottery ticket has a nice little message on the back that informs you that if you win you are legally obligated to let the lottery use you to show how easy it is to win. So you have to play along.

I'm still waiting for the episode on CSI or NCIS where the lotto winner is attacked/abucted for the money. Maybe it was already on and I just missed it. Anyway, it you're the person with the ticket and your reading this, then do whatever you want. I don't feel the need to tell you what to do. You've got plenty of your own problems to worry about.

So you want to start watching the Second Doctor episodes of Doctor Who

Now we turn our attention to the second Doctor, Patrick Troughton. What shows will give you the best idea of his time as the Doctor? Well, unfortunately much of his work was lost, but there are still some really great options to get to know this Doctor better.

  The Lost in Time collection presents the remnants of the many lost episodes of the first and second Doctors. Where possible the available video is used, in other cases the surviving audio along with still images from the production. Unfortunately you won't be able to see everything of all the episodes, but you will appreciate what was done in the productions.










It's a pretty typical storyline in science fiction these days. What would happen if you found yourself in a word where fiction became reality, where the stories are all real? That's what happens in this story, but at the time it came out, it was a unique idea. The Doctor and company land in a strange land and meet Gulliver, Rapunzel, and even a fictitious version of William Shakespeare. This world is run by a man known as the Master (who is not to be confused with the Time Lord of the same name.)








This is the penultimate story of the second Doctor. It is his final story. In it, we learn lots of interesting new details about the Doctor's people, and how they operate.

The Doctor and his companions Jamie and Zoe arrive in the middle of a WWI battlefield. They manage to get to safety only to get accused of spying and desertion. They manage to escape and suddenly find themselves on a different battlefield being attacked by Roman soldiers, when they run from there they suddenly end up in the Civil War. Confused yet?

It turns out there is an alien race plotting to use humans to conquer the human race. They have the help of the War Chief, another Time Lord. At the end, the Doctor is put on trial by his own people. (This is the first time that the Time Lords are named and seen.)

These discs are all worth checking out as a way of getting to know the second Doctor. Be on the lookout for suggestions for the third Doctor.

What is wrong with editting Huck Finn?

I'm sure you've heard about the latest edition of a certain Mark Twain classic. You know, the one that has had certain offensive words removed from it. It's been all over the news and internet, and a lot of people are upset about it. In case you couldn't tell already, I'm one of those upset people.

I can understand why someone would choose to make this edit happen. By eliminating the 'n' word he hopes to keep the book from being banned in various schools across the country. This Twain scholar is hoping to get Twain read by more people. I just have several problems with his approach to the problem.

First, I want you to think about why Twain wrote. He wanted to open the minds of the people who read his work. He wanted to speak about specific issues of his time and world. Twain also wanted to record the words and stories of the people he encountered. He did not use the 'n' word out of spite or prejudice. He was reflecting the language of his time.

Next, let's consider history. A very famous quote by George Santayana. "Those who cannot remember the past, are condemned to repeat it." Why are we trying to deny this was a part of our history. I know it's bad, but if you want to complain about it, go watch Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind again. Ignoring the problem doesn't make it go away.

One more point point before I wrap this up: Mark Twain would have ridiculed anyone who tried to mess with his work. Not only ridiculed but publicly humiliated over and over again. Twain was a man who knew how to use words to his advantage. I couldn't find a Twain quote that would work well with my rant, but I can hear one of the many Mark Twain impersonators (check out Hal Holbrook is one of the best and has done an annual show for 56 years) saying something like, "In my day, a man could write a book, and if another man didn't like it, he didn't have to read it."

Anyway, that's my opinion. It won't change the fact that the book is getting published right now. Maybe it will convince people to read the book that wouldn't have otherwise.

My plan for Doctor Who's 50th anniversary (please share this if you think it's a good idea)

Since 1963 these eleven men have played the Doctor. What will BBC do for the 50th anniversary in 2013?

If you follow my blog at all, you already know that I'm a big fan of this Science Fiction classic. I've been following the adventures of the Doctor and his companions for a long time, and I have plenty of opinions about the series. Today, I want to share an idea I have for the Doctor to celebrate his 50th anniversary.

In the past, major anniversaries of the show were a chance to bring the actors who played the Doctor together in a common adventure. For the 10th anniversary, "The Three Doctors" brought together the original three actors to face the Time Lord Omega in a black hole. (This was the last performance by William Hartnell who passed away a few years after the show aired.) For the 20th anniversary, "The Five Doctors" brought the first five Doctors together. (William Hartnell was replaced by Richard Hurdnell, and Tom Baker participated through clips of an unaired story named "Shada.") In this story, the Doctors (as well as some past companions) faced off against Rassilon and the "Death Zone" on Gallifrey. The show was having issues or off the air for the other major anniversaries.

So what about the 50th anniversary? There's no chance of getting all eleven (or possibly twelve depending on what Matt Smith decides to do in the future) Doctors together since Hartnell, Troughton, and Pertwee have all passed away. I also don't like the idea of trying to find replacements for all of those Doctors. What about a different approach?

The new series has worked hard to have individual stories with a storyline that ties the whole season together. So what if the writers of Doctor Who take a page from the past to help them out. In 1978-1979, the fourth Doctor (played by Tom Baker) went on a quest with his new companion Romana to find the Key of Time. This story took over the entire season over 6 story arcs. What if the Doctor has to go on a quest that requires him to reconnect with previous companions? Let's consider some story ideas.

In 1964, the first Doctor left his granddaughter, Susan, behind  in 22nd century London after the events in "The Dalek Invasion of Earth." The Doctor promised to check up on her some day. That still hasn't happened. Why not fix that problem?


Whatever happened to Scottish Highlander Jamie McCrimmon? The Time Lords returned him to 1746 after sentencing the second Doctor for interfering with the universe, but what happened after that?

The list could go on and on, but I think you get the idea. Not only would this make for an interesting storyline, but it would also be great for the BBC. They have been working hard to promote DVD sales of the older shows, and what better way to do that than to make a real connection with modern viewers and the older characters?

That's my idea. If you liked it, share it around. I'm hoping someone at BBC that is involved with Doctor Who sees it and at least considers the possibility. It's my opinion, feel free to comment below, and to check out more of my opinions on this site.

Top Twelve Characters from MASH (part I)

While M.A.S.H. wasn't the top show for it's entire broadcast run, it had the distinction of having the most-watched episode on television with its series finale. It wasn't until the 2010 Superbowl that a show surpassed that record. It also has the distinction of being a very popular show in syndication almost 30 years after the final episode. (and more than just on TV land.)

What was it about this show that makes it so popular even today? It's the characters. The interaction of these doctors and nurses in the middle of a war zone still connect with viewers. The characters drove the stories and that's what people wanted to see. So let's look at the top twelve characters from M.A.S.H. We'll start with the honorable mentions.

Jeff Maxwell played Private Igor Straminsky in 66 of the 251 episodes. Igor was most often seen in the mess hall serving up the meals. No one had a kind word for this poor private who had the sad task of serving up meals that he didn't cook, and no one wanted to eat. Just about everyone had a complaint to make to the Private in charge of serving the meals, even Father Mulcahy.

We all know the type of character. The guy who's supposed to be doing a specific job but isn't above trying to get something out of it on the side. At the 4077, that man was Staff Sergeant Luther Rizzo. Sure he made sure a jeep was ready when it needed to be, but that didn't stop him from letting Klinger try to eat one when the price was right. I almost forgot to mention that Rizzo was played by  G. W. Bailey who you might recognize from the Police Academy movies.

Whenever Radar or Klinger needed to get something and get it fast their first call went out to Sparky. He was only seen in one episode, but he was definitely an important part of life at the 4077. He was played by Dennis Fimple.

If you don't recognize the name "Painless Pole" Waldowski or the face of John Schuck in the picture, it's probably because you haven't seen Alan Altman's film M.A.S.H. that led to the television show. (If this is the case, shame on you. Go watch it now. I'll wait for you.) Now that you're back you already know the part of the movie where Waldowski is having performing so he thinks he might be a latent homosexual. His best option is to commit suicide. The doctors hatch a plan that comes straight out of Romeo and Juliet (without the actual death) where they pretend to help him commit suicide. The real reason he gets the honorable mention is his funeral song is "Suicide is Painless," the theme song for the movie and television show.

There's the honorable mentions. Next time we'll look at the first group of the top twelve.  Feel free to leave a comment below.

Will Arnold ever be President of the United States of America?

For as long as I can remember, people have been talking about Arnold Schwarzenegger becoming President some day. The scary part of that discussion is that many of those people were serious about that possibility. Keep in mind that this was during the days when Arnold was playing the Terminator rather than having his face imprinted with CGI. He had moved past his days playing Hercules running around NYC and his self promoting video biography of his days from the body building circuit, but he was still just a big man with a funny accent.

These days Arnold has built some significant clout that could put him in position to run for office some day. He's married to a Kennedy, he's been the governor of California, and even though things didn't always go the way he planned in California, he did manage to keep the state in one piece in some pretty rough times.

So what's to keep the strong man from running say in 2012? There is the little detail of him not being an American citizen. At some point in the process of developing our system of government, the founding fathers decided that while foreigners were more than welcome to move to America, they certainly could not run for President. That makes sense to a certain extent, and what that means is that poor Arnold isn't eligible to be a part of that electoral race.

Is there a loophole? This is America, land of the loopholes. All Arnold needs is a Constitutional Amendment. That can either come through the Legislature or each state would have to have a vote on the matter, and if every state said yes, then it could happen.  If you think about the process, you can quickly determine that this would be a lengthy process. If there were a major push, and the majority of the country was behind it, the Amendment might get passed in 10 years. (Remember, you have to have state-wide petitions, each state would have to consider the proposition and have a vote on it before anything else would even be possible.)

So what about Arnold? As far as we know, he has no Presidential aspirations, but even if he did, he wouldn't be in any condition to run the country by the time he actually could. At 67, Schwarzenegger would be in his late 70s by the time he might be eligible to run for office. McCain had a hard enough time with the age issue during the last election, so I don't think that Arnold would make out any better on that front.

My money is on this answer being no, Arnold Schwarzenegger will never be the President of the United States of America. That's just my opinion. Feel free to comment on this topic below.

So you want to start watching the First Doctor episodes of Doctor Who

As part of an ongoing attempt to get more people checking out Doctor Who, and to answer a question asked on one of my previous posts (a five-part series ranking the top 12 actors to play the Doctor) I will be doing a series of posts with suggestions on stories to check out for each of the Doctors. This will be geared towards starting with the particular Doctor rather than a listing of best episodes. We will start this process with the first Doctor, William Hartnell.  I will also include links to DVDs you can buy on Amazon.

This one is a bit of a cheat. The DVD is a set that includes several stories. The set is called Doctor Who: The Beginning. It has "The Unearthly Child" which is the original episode of Doctor Who. You get to meet the Doctor, his granddaughter Susan, and her teachers, Ian and Barbara. The teachers start snooping around to find out about this strange new student, Susan, and end up getting kidnapped by her grandfather. The quartet meet cavemen in this story. Next up is "The Daleks." This is the second story, and the first to feature the Daleks. Also you can watch "The Edge of Destruction" where the TARDIS has stalled someplace between time and space. This is a great episode to understand the interactions between the four main characters.


The DVD also has a recreation of "Marco Polo" that includes audio clips and still images from the production. (This story was lost in the BBC video purge.)


There are plenty of other episodes to check out, but this is just an introduction to the first Doctor. Later, I'll be doing lists on best episodes, but that is for another time.

How rockin' was ABC's Rockin' New Year's party?

If you're like me, you don't spend much time watching the television on New Year's Eve. I just wait until just before midnight so I can officially know when midnight hits. I don't care about the rest of the nonsense that happens on the show. It's a matter of habit from growing up to pick ABC because my Mom always wanted to watch Dick Clark. (I think she may have had a thing for him.)

I'm not here to talk bad about Dick Clark. He had a stroke and that slowed the poor guy down. He hasn't recovered from it, and as a result he has a hard time being up until midnight, and looks a little weird when he gets to that point, but if you'd had a stroke, you wouldn't be doing nearly as well.

I do want to say that if Dick Clark is going to be a part of the show there needs to be something for the younger viewers to understand why he's involved with the show. All there needs to be is a short retrospective explaining that Dick Clark was the man who was unofficially in charge of what was good in rock music.

Anyway, back to what I really want to say: I'm no longer the audience for Dick Clark's Rockin' New Eve. (yeah, it's supposed to have the Ryan Seacrest tag on there, but I don't really know who Ryan Seacrest is, so I'm not adding it.) I'm not interested in seeing that Korean band that sings about G6s that don't actually exist, or unpopular songs from bands that I don't like. I don't want to see the aging lead singer for Train even if he isn't singing to his soul sister, and that "Cooler than Me" guy isn't any better when he isn't talking about how uncool he is.

I guess I'm glad the TV will tell me when the new year is officially here, but I think I need to find a show where they just have the count down and then go to bed.