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Nolan's Pop Culture Review 2008!
   Assistant Editor:  Terence Nuzum.                                                                HOME          ARCHIVES
Established A.D. 2000, March 19. Now in our ninth calendar year!
Number 426  (Vol. 9, No. 21). This edition is for the week of May 19--25, 2008.


"Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull"
Monkeemania: Confessions of a Second-Generation Monkees Fan!
NFL Owners Want More Of The Pie ... To Be Or Not To Be ... King James Falls to the Celtics ... L.A. Rams Part Deux?
R.I.P. Hazel "Horror Queen" Court, 1926-2008
Snail Mail - - Priority Style .... New Fm Site .... House Of Dark Shadows! .... John Mccain Surprises!!! n
The Week That Was .... .... .... Classy Guy .... Bobby Kennedy Was Shot In June .... Passing On .... .... .... And The Oscar For 1977 Should Have Gone To... h
Dark Week

SENATOR TED KENNEDY
We at PCR were saddened to hear of the illness that befell Ted Kennedy, the 76-year-old Senator from Massachusetts: after suffering a seizure earlier in the week, medical examinations revealed a malignant brain tumor, one that may be inoperable and one that is nearly always fatal.

He is scheduled to undergo radiation and chemotherapy treatments that are standard procedure for these kinds of things, but his prognosis is not good. At the time of this writing, Ted Kenney had left the hospital and is resting at home.

The history of the Kennedy political dynasty is part of American folklore. My thoughts are with him and his family in this dark time.

HILLARY vs OBAMA
Tuesday night's Presidential Primary results made us closer to a final Democratic outcome...or did they? In Kentucky, Hillary Clinton won 65% of the vote and gained 37 delegates. Barack Obama won 30% of the vote and gained 14 delegates. In Oregon, Hillary took 42% of the vote and gained 19 delegates. Obama won 58% of the vote and took 29 delegates.

Obama is exceedingly close to getting his delegate count for the nomination, but I'm thinking Hillary is going to pull something out of her hat regarding the disenfranchised voters in Florida and Michigan. It ain't over quite yet, folks.

MIKE'S RANT
Last weekend's technical snafu that caused Mike's Rant to be later than it's ever been was a web server issue and not the fault of the man himself who tried several times to upload his column only to be told by the program (that I wrote myself) that he wasn't being recognized.

This was similar to the case several months ago when the Message Board and Readers' Comments started glitching badly. They share a common scripting language (PHP) that is vulnerable to server issues (like being super-spammed, for example). The simple solution is to re-boot the server to re-set everything to default....which is fine if anyone's around to do it. Like most other businesses, however, there is next to no tech support at the web host on weekends anymore, which is almost invariably when these things happen.

Everything's working normally now and Mike intends to share his honeymoon story with us....finally....in this week's Rant!



Readers' Comments

The Readers' Comments section for this issue of PCR is now closed. To continue to interact, please use the Message Board or write a Letter to the Editor! The comments below are listed starting with the most recent. Thank you.

Crazed FanComments -- We Welcome Reader Feedback on any article(s) on this page.
Paul Guzzo [26-05-2008 21:07] 
I like every action movie ever made ... and I didn't like this film.
Terence. [26-05-2008 20:39] 
gosh mike there were looney tunes gophers, monkeys and a character swinging like tarzan through a jungle. cmon man thats not Indiana Jones. Temple of Doom for as much as everyone hates it can easily be compared to Gunga Din and King Solomons Mines. in other words the very things that Indiana Jones is supposed to be like. i was waiting for the gophers to talk. i swear at one point i didnt even know what i was watching. but hey to each their own.
Michael [26-05-2008 20:26] 
ED, I thought I had your email address but I don't. Can you send it along OsFanMike@aol.com so I can send you the Monkees photos.
Thanks!

I'm really surprised the majority of you didn't enjoy"Indy 4" as much as I did. And I think "Temple of Doom" is the worse entry in the series. I was hoping this one would have a flashback showing Short Round and Willie being killed by wild beavers. I think back to an episode of Family Guy that parodied "Temple of Doom" and the Short Round Character (played by Stewie) told Willie she was only there because she was humping the director! Where have you gone Amy Irving?
Nolan [26-05-2008 09:00] 
The first reactions from the Tampa PCR crew on Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull are on the Message Board and begin here.
Lonnie Dohlen [25-05-2008 17:37]  
Nolan,I was going over the MONKEES Appearance on LAUGH-IN in 1969 when someone posted that Dick Martin passed away this weekend.He was 86.I only have one LAUGH-IN show on VHS Tape. from Sept 22,1969.Ross & Caine were the guests.
Lisa C [25-05-2008 11:53] 
Thanks everyone for the positive feedback on the Hazel Court piece. I enjoyed learning about Court and her movies.

Paul -- Thanks for posting the link to the Trib article on Eric. I would have missed it otherwise.
Nolan [25-05-2008 07:52] 
Mike's Rant is now complete. Newly-added are the previously-missing sections, including Mike & Juanita's WTC adventure from Thursday, and the final word about the 1977 Oscars.

Whew! Next week, The Rant should settle down to normal---or as close to normal as anything around here approximates!
Michael [25-05-2008 05:30] 
ED, I had no idea about the engineers. The things you learn after so many year. I'll get a couple photos to you this week.
ED [25-05-2008 05:04] 
Mike - I have a couple of the beard covers of Headquarters. The interesting thing about that is there are two versions of the story of why the back photo was swapped. One version has the beards picture being first and replaced because the Monkees looked so out of character. The other version has the picture of the two engineers being first and replaced because they were misidentified. I have never figured out for sure which one is right. All I know is I have run across 20 copies of the engineer photo for every one of the beards. The spelling error on the first album seems to be about 50/50 with the correct version possibly having the edge. I would love to see the photos of your collection. That will be a great tie in to my "on record" series. Thanks.
Michael [24-05-2008 21:01] 
J: Yes, we did visit the WTC. Unfortunately because of problems uploading my Rant I had to cut and paste everything to Nolan via email and I forgot to send THURSDAY. Hopefully that will be corrected by Sunday. I'll definitely keep everyone informed on the NY State Atty Gen's response.

ED: It's the rear cover of "Headquarters" that features the beards. I'll go through my albums and see what I have as far as "rarities." I do know I have several versions of Meet the Monkees which feature either PAPA JEANS BLUES or PAPA GENES BLUES. I think the one of the rarest LPs I have is one that is recorded in QUAD of More of the Monkees and was given away when you bought a new Quadrophonic stereo. I'll try to get you some images of the rarer stuff.
J.MILLER [24-05-2008 17:27] 
Mike - Congrats on your wedding and cool pics of the Big Apple...

Did you guys visit the WTC?..

Also...I have had similar experiences in NY having to pay for someone to watch my stuff...Normally its just hotels looking to squeeze a few more bucks out of tourist...Its surprising a place like Yankee Stadium doesnt just offer lockers somewhere for a fee...Please keep us updated on the progress of your complaint...
ED [24-05-2008 07:49] 
John - Head is a pretty enjoayble flick, especially 40 years after the fact. The Monkees went a little heavy handed back in the day in their attempts to break the manufactured image but the film is still littered with lots of in jokes and some good tunes.

Mike - OK, you impress me with your beards cover of Headquarters! Now, I am honor bound to ask about the rest of your collection. Do you have the origianl Colgems Greatest Hits album? How about the Golden Hits that was a Post cereal promotion? Do you have the Laurie House double hits package? Do you have a Mono copy of Birds and Bees or the inferior stereo remix? That's the cool thing about record collecting, there is always something else to buy!
Nolan [24-05-2008 07:37] 
John, I think you'll love "Head", it's funny, really weird, but it's not for everybody. I think it's great, but I'm weird, too, so...
J.MILLER [24-05-2008 07:24] 
Ed - I purchased The Monkee's "Head" this morning for 50 cents at a yardsale...Havnt watched it yet but I've heard great things...
Nolan [24-05-2008 06:32] 
Mike's Rant---with the honeymoon story----is now up!
matthew [24-05-2008 04:00] 
yeah, i had that Headquarters album too. in fact, i also had all of the monkee albums..first printings!!! but sadly a family member, whom i one time trusted, decided to trade them for drugs along with my other 1000 plus albums, while i was out of state.

the only answer i got when i asked where they were was 'I don't know'. and nothing more. how awesome that was, i just can't convey in human words.
Michael [24-05-2008 02:07] 
If I'm contagious EVERYONE please stay away! More problems this week so I've sent the RANT to Nolan via email and hopefully it will be up soon.

ED, I too remember watching "The Monkees" on WTOG. Sadly, like Nolan, I'm old enough to remember watching the original broadcasts. Outstanding piece on the pre-fab four. I'm proud to say I own every original Monkee album released in various versions (my favortie is the original release of "Headquarters" that shows the boys on the back of the LP wearing beards. This version was scrapped after the first printing with the idea that the boys in beards would alienate their young audience. Can't wait to see next week's piece. In fact, great issue everyone! Hopefully I can add something to it as soon as the boss gets home!
Paul Guzzo [23-05-2008 08:47] 
http://centraltampa2.tbo.com/content/2008/ap r/16/st-that-masked-man-hes-a-crusader-for-earth/? news - local filmmaker written about in Trib. We all know him as "E" at the TFR. Good article ... a great showcase on his new book/screenplay.
matthew [23-05-2008 05:39] 
Just updated my Rail with some polical mentions. Had to, after reading the news today. Wasn't that a song?

'I read the news today, oh boy'
matthew [23-05-2008 05:13] 
Chris, love your sports column.

Would like to mention that the bigger issue regarding the NFL backing out of the labor deal is that the owners could lock out the players in 2011, not that the players would strike.

I don't know that they would need a reason to strike, as there would be no agreement, which means no restrictions, thus no salary cap. It is the salary cap that helps keep payroll down, even with the wild salaries some of these guys make. With billionaire owners greedy for wins, salaries would really explode with unrestricted free agents being offered contracts with no restrictions. Sure, it would hurt the sport overall, but again we're dealing with a few ego driven dudes with too much green on their hands.
ED [23-05-2008 04:59] 
Wow Lonnie that is a shame that they wanted so much for the TV guides. I don't colelct them so I don't know a lot about there value but that seems high. It has been my experience that flea market vendors often seem to price their merchandise with one of those board game arrows you spin to see how many spaces to move. There is no reasoning behind it.
Lonnie Dohlen [22-05-2008 15:38]  
To Ed ,Yes I remember the Monkees ON WTOG 44 ,Between the Summers of June 1978 thru June 1982 halfway thru before WTOG pulled the plug on the whole show.I remember only having to get the "Greatest Hits" LP on Arista (MONKEES REFOCUS BELL 6081).WTOG often chaged their programming alot in the Early,Mid to Late 70's.It's a Practice they don't do anymore.Yesterday,I went o this Flea Market where they were selling Old TV GUIDES from the 1970's.For $15.00 a piece.I didn't buy one.I was hoping they would have Old Advertising for WTOG.Turns out they did. DPB
Odds [22-05-2008 12:50] 
Fangrrl,
Yes, great piece on Mrs. Court, may she R.I.P. I'm proud to say I've seen all of her horror films (many several times). Though she was buxom, I always regarded her as more matronly than "sexy". A true class act and one of the great horror actresses of all time.
Paul Guzzo [22-05-2008 11:45] 
I agree with Ed ... that was a tremendous showcase on the life of Hazel Court.
ED [22-05-2008 08:22] 
Lisa - awesome piece on Hazel Court, well done. Now I finally understand why I enjoy Roger Corman's The Raven so much!
Nolan [22-05-2008 07:20] 
ED, yes, I think so, but it's been a long time. I'll defer to your memory on that.
Nolan [22-05-2008 07:17] 
Regarding the technical glitch Lisa experienced in uploading FANGRRL. OK, this time it was my fault, LOL. A coding error linked her to an outdated template. That's what happens when ye olde editor is in a rush to beat the clock. No excuse for that, though, and I apologize to Lisa for the inconvenience. You've probably seen that the template is restored and now you can read a terrific article on the late Hazel Court in this week's FANGRRL!
ED [22-05-2008 07:16] 
LOL, Nolan that's why I am a second generation Monkees fan! So do the syndicated time and dates on 44 seem correct?
Nolan [22-05-2008 07:13] 
ED, sure I remember. But you're also talking to someone who saw them in their original timeslots in the '60s!! I want to say Tuesday nights at, like, 7:30pm. Great article, BTW. Thanks.
ED [22-05-2008 06:40] 
To all the long time Tampa residents - does anyone else remember watching the Monkees on WTOG 44? I believe it was on at 4:30 weekday afternoons and followed The Flinstones. They ran it every summer for at least 4-5 years. They would usually change the schedule around the first f June and then again the first of September. I couldn't verify any of this so I didn't want to mention it in the article but I am curious if anyone else remembers.
Terence [21-05-2008 22:32] 
thanks paul for the support of Dragoon. stay tuned its about to get bloodier and more interesting.
terence [21-05-2008 22:30] 
Hazel Court is gone? wow she was in some of the classics. well mainly just three Curse of Frankenstien, Premature Burial, and Masque of Red Death. but those are classic enough to add up for a thousand other roles.
Wilfred Thesinger [21-05-2008 22:01]  
They got Kenney! Those bastards!
Chris M [21-05-2008 14:37] 
Thank you Lisa im glad it was well recieved.
Lisa C [21-05-2008 13:43] 
Chris said:

"the owners - or in my mind, those fat banking guys who who are naked in the Washington Mutual banking commercial "

OMG, I almost spewed diet orange sunkist all over my computer screen laughing at that. Brilliant!
Lisa C [21-05-2008 13:36] 
I think Mike sneezed on me and gave me what he had, because now I can't get MY column template to load properly!

Nolan -- I emailed you with the details.

After six months of either being late or not writing a column at all, this is my second week in a row of actually having my column done on time. So to maintain my two-week track record, I'm submitting the title of my column here as a placeholder:

R.I.P. Hazel "Horror Queen" Court, 1926-2008
Paul Guzzo [21-05-2008 12:28] 
Comic looks good again guys ... excited to read it when the story unfolds. But the setting and the art work is cool. It is very professional. A true showcase of your talents.
[31-12-1969 16:00] 
End of Comments    


"Mike's Rant" is ©2008 by Michael A. Smith    "Matt's Rail" is ©2008 by Matthew Drinnenberg     "This Week's Movie Review" is ©2008 by Michael A. Smith    "FANGRRL" is ©2008 by Lisa Ciurro    "Retrorama" is ©2008 by ED Tucker    "Filmlook" is ©2008 by Paul Guzzo    "Sports Talk" is ©2008 by Chris Munger      All contents of Nolan's Pop Culture Review are ©2008 by Nolan B. Canova    
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