scream-of-consciousness;
"If you're trying to change minds and influence people it's probably not a good idea to say that virtually all elected Democrats are liars, but what the hell."
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Sunday, April 29, 2012
The Trip
What a Trip
We
were the first kids on the block to own a VHS player. There were
services where you could rent, and have delivered to your door a movie,
and a player (BetaMax or VCR), but that seemed too expensive. In
1982
I plunked down $1500 (12 million in 2012 money) for a Canon video
camera, portable recorder and player. MoSup was scandalized by the
cost. but I reassured her that just having video memories of the
kids
growing up would more than pay for it. In retrospect, I was right.
The nearest source for videos was the public library, believe it
or not. It had a modest selection of tapes, one of which was My Dinner with Andre.
Since it was a free rental, it was shown numerous times to neighbors
wanting to see this fabulous VCR device. My Dinner
With Andre. I watched
it at least 5 times. What made me think of that last night was The Trip.
While not nearly as droll as Andre,
The Trip is 10
times more entertaining. And funny. For the BBC aficionado I need only
say " ..... starring Steve
Coogan and Rob Brydon.
Steve agrees to review six restaurants in the north of England and
takes Rob with him" The entire series is available as a
single movie
on NetFlix. I love love loved it. As an aside,one
of our concerns with the VCR player was bringing into the house movies
that were inappropriate for the kids. To that end me and the
MoSup
screened every movie, using earphones, before the kids could
watch. Anyway, one of the new library movies I brought home one
day was Personal
Best, a 1982 movie centered on a
group of women trying to qualify for the American track-and-field team bound for the 1980 Olympic
Games.
Our kids were all involved in sports, and it did come from the library,
so I put it on for them, unscreened, while we made dinner. Our
kitchen
reverie was interrupted however by the unmistakable sound of
pillow
talk and heavy breathing. SEX!.
I went into the den to find my kids watching slack-jawed as
Mariel
Hemingway and real-life track star Patrice Donnelly engaged in, even by
todays standards, graphic lesbian sex. I watched it later
at
least 5 times. Then complained to the library that it ought contain a
warning.
This is one of the reasons I appreciate the wealthy in this electronic age: new toys like CDs and VHSs were beyond my purse when they first came out. The wealthy made up the market for them and eventually these wonders became affordable.
Freddie Sykes
My favorite quote from Personal Best: Carpenter's dream: flat as a board and easy to nail.
Back when we bought our first VHS tape deck ($750) around 1980, the local TV store sold the decks but the only place in Columbus OH you could get movies or blank tapes (2-hour tapes were $25!) was an adult theater clear on the other side of town. The entrance was right out on a busy main street too.
When store bought videos got cheap enough, I purchased 'It's a Wonderful Life' for my wife for Christmas. It was 1984 as I recall. When the movie finished we didnt shut it off right away and it had been taped over a porn flick. It was very graphic and quite a surprise. I still have it. Tim
This is one of the reasons I appreciate the wealthy in this electronic age: new toys like CDs and VHSs were beyond my purse when they first came out. The wealthy made up the market for them and eventually these wonders became affordable.
ReplyDeleteFreddie Sykes
My favorite quote from Personal Best: Carpenter's dream: flat as a board and easy to nail.
Back when we bought our first VHS tape deck ($750) around 1980, the local TV store sold the decks but the only place in Columbus OH you could get movies or blank tapes (2-hour tapes were $25!) was an adult theater clear on the other side of town. The entrance was right out on a busy main street too.
ReplyDeleteWhen store bought videos got cheap enough, I purchased 'It's a Wonderful Life' for my wife for Christmas. It was 1984 as I recall. When the movie finished we didnt shut it off right away and it had been taped over a porn flick. It was very graphic and quite a surprise. I still have it.
ReplyDeleteTim