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The Oddball 80s Magic Of "Battle Of The Video Games"
Back in the early 80s, the boom in arcades and entertainment made icons of the likes of Pac-Man, Donkey Kong and Q*Bert. The popularity and novelty of video games was great enough to produce a fair amount of peculiar cultural runoff. If you grew up then, you may or may not remember watching cartoon series based on the likes of Kangaroo and Space Ace, or raunchy arcade-set comedies like Hollywood Zap and Joysticks ("More Fun Than Games!"). Some dubious efforts to translate the excitement of playing video games into different mediums also happened, as seen with the ill-conceived board game above.
There was even a game show based on the concept of watching people play video games: the TBS-produced “Starcade.” The whole concept behind the show was, basically, "hey, kids, how'd you like to have the feeling of hanging around an arcade without actually getting to play?" Yet somehow for video game-obsessed kids like me it was worth ditching cartoons for at least a half-hour on Saturday mornings to watch. But as a relic of that time, nothing may be as odd and mesmerizing as "Battle Of The Video Games," a one-time special featuring Heather Locklear, Scott Baio and a bunch of other 80s stars. If for nothing else, it deserves recognition for leaving us with footage of Lynn Redgrave playing BurgerTime. READ MORE
Talking To Lena Dunham About Being A "Girl"
It may feel like "Girls" has been on the air for months already, but the series actually doesn’t premiere on HBO until April 15th. Its creator, writer and star is Lena Dunham, about whom, if you’re reading this, you probably already have an opinion—although it's difficult to come up with an opinion or observation about Dunham that she has not already anticipated, heard or joked about herself. Her 2010 feature, Tiny Furniture, released when she was 23, was just added to the Criterion Collection. Now there's "Girls," a comedy about four 20-something women puzzling out adulthood in the city, executive produced by Judd Apatow. Dunham and I met recently in New York to discuss the show, although we ended up talking about a lot of other things as well, from Hoda and Kathie Lee, to entitlement and jealousy and hate-reading, to which is more awkward to do on screen: have sex or be weighed?
Kase Wickman: So just to get my token Britney Spears reference out of the way: are you a girl, not yet a woman? Are you a girl, a woman or a lady?
Lena Dunham: I think I’m a girl, not yet a woman. I think I’m somewhere in the in-between. Yeah, I’m not a girl, not yet a woman. That’s my favorite song. Was that from her Crossroads phase?
I think that was immediately prior. Like in her wearing-all-white, arm-wave-y phase.
Totally. That’s exactly what it was. But yeah, I love that. I think about that video way more than I should. It’s pretty important. READ MORE
Patricia Marx on Hazing, The New Yorker, and TV Eyebrows
Patricia Marx was the first woman elected to The Harvard Lampoon, her first paid job was writing for Saturday Night Live, and she currently writes “On and Off the Avenue” and occasional “Shouts & Murmurs” columns for The New Yorker. She also writes books: the satirical How to Regain Your Virginity, the children’s book Dot in Larryland (with illustrations by New Yorker cartoonist Roz Chast), and, as of today, the novel Starting From Happy. So we asked her some hard-hitting questions, like who she’s dating, why she doesn’t like shopping, and how to make friends.
So you worked on SNL, the Lampoon, and now the New Yorker. Which do you think is closest to your sense of humor?
Well, it all rubbed off on me. I'd like to think that I have my own style. I think the most important thing for a writer is to be distinctive and write something that only she could write. My style is somewhat different but, I don't think, wholly different when I write for different places, you know? When I write for children's books, it's kind of different from writing for The New Yorker, but not entirely so. I always have the same reader in mind.
And who is that reader?
The reader is kind of myself, I think. At one point, I wrote for my mother because she was my biggest critic; my grammar was very good when I wrote for her. I write for someone who's bored easily. I try to be as engaging all the time as I can.
A friend of mine gave a copy of a book he was working on to his son. And his son’s advice was, “Put all the cool bits closer together.” And that’s what I try to do. READ MORE
Scandals of Classic Hollywood: The Destruction of Fatty Arbuckle
Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle wasn’t Hollywood-hot. He didn’t have any high-profile romances, and the gossip mags never complimented him on his dashing evening wear. But he was one of the best physical comedians of all time, and from 1914 to 1920, he effectively ruled the movie business. He was Will Ferrell meets Chris Farley with a twist of Fire-Marshall-Bill-era Jim Carrey, and he was, and remains, a marvel to behold. Here was a man who, despite his mass, seemed to float across the screen, and whose comedy had deftness and grace — qualities Ferrell’s tighty-whitey romps, for all of their glory, distinctly lack.
But “Fatty” was just Arbuckle’s picture personality, the name given to his various characters in their endlessly hilarious approaches to "hayseed visits big city; hjinks ensue." Off-screen, he refused to answer to the name, making explicit the distinction between textual and extra-textual persona that studio publicity worked so hard to obviate. Yet it was this off-screen persona that would eventually lead to his demise, when an alcohol-soaked weekend led to the most dramatic fall from grace in Hollywood history. I am not being overdramatic. This guy was ruined. On the surface, Arbuckle’s actions were the scandal. But as the details surrounding the event and its handling have come to light, it’s become clear that the true scandal was the willingness with which the studio heads threw their most prominent star under the figurative bus. READ MORE
Talking To The Nerdist's Chris Hardwick
Chris Hardwick has made a career out of being a nerd. Well, actually, he has made several careers out of being a nerd, as the host of "Web Soup" a writer for Wired, an author and the host of The Nerdist podcast. Paste Magazine and Rolling Stone both named The Nerdist one of the ten best podcasts of the year, which means that it's now a TV show, with a special airing tomorrow on BBC America. The podcast has also spawned a community of tech, science and nerd culture enthusiasts on Nerdist.com.
Years before he created Nerdist Industries, Chris was already sowing the seeds of his enterprise. He spent his adolescence seeking out nerd artifacts such as comics, video games and comedy tapes as if they were the missing shard of the Dark Crystal. Here, he talks about working with David Cross at his first job, what nerds did before the Internet, and how building Nerdist Industries has been like a game of SimCity.
Grace Bello: You wrote in Wired that nerds were "once a tortured subrace of humans condemned to hiding in dark corners from the brutal hand of social torment [and are] now captains of industry!" How do the fans of your show and your podcast feel about that? Do they agree? Or do you get emails that say, like, "Oh, actually, I'm still a closeted nerd"?
Chris Hardwick: Well, more and more people are "coming out" about it as nerds. If you were a nerd when I was growing up, in the '80s, you were socially ostracized. We were just into things that most other kids were not into. There was a consumer electronics thing happening, but it's not like every store sold computers; there wasn't an Apple store. You'd have to build your own computer. And most kids who were concerned with being popular wouldn't take the time to do it. It took work. And the only reason you would do that extra work and sacrifice any kind of social life is if you were really passionate about what you were pursuing. And we were. READ THE REST OF THIS STORY ON THE AWL.
My Three-Month Facebook Dialogue With a Scammer From Malaysia Pretending To Be A Beautiful Woman
During Hurricane Irene weekend, while holed up in a friend’s apartment and looking for some stimulation, I got friend-requested and emailed by an obvious scammer on Facebook. The con artist, under the name “Claire Anrie,” used a few professional photos of an attractive young woman (whom I later reverse-image-searched and discovered was a personal trainer in New York) and a typo- and contradiction-filled profile.
"Claire" quickly asked me to send her money by Western Union so she could come back to the U.S. and be with me, her "husband." Over the next three months, I kept up an ongoing dialogue via Facebook messages and chat in which I continually found ways to irk her by screwing up the Western Union payment, demanding she send me more photos and de-friend the other men on Facebook she'd added in hopes of scamming them, claiming I'd lost all my money during Irene, and repeatedly confiding in her that I had chronic diarrhea and hoped she would still love me.
Her profile and our exchange (minus a few superfluous messages) are presented verbatim below, with original grammar and spelling errors intact. READ THE REST OF THIS STORY AT THE AWL.
Larry David's Rough Night Out With The Aging Literary Lion
A column that resurrects the highbrow gossip of yore.
In the "Seinfeld" episode "The Jacket," which aired in 1991, Elaine recruits Jerry and George to join her for a drink and dinner with her father, Alton Benes. He’s a cranky old writer, distinguished but well past his prime, and he’s impossible enough that Elaine says she needs a "buffer" to spend an evening with him. (This comment might mark the moment when we all started using the word "buffer" in this particular way. "Re-gifting," "double-dipping," "low-talker"—in the lingo of the educated urbanite, all roads lead to “Seinfeld.”) Elaine ends up being late, and Jerry and George face some unpleasant minutes with the embittered and intimidating old author.
Alton Benes: Which one’s supposed to be the funny guy?
George Costanza: [cheerfully pointing to Jerry] Ah! He’s the comedian!
Alton Benes: We had a funny guy with us in Korea. Tail gunner. They blew his brains out all over the Pacific.
The character of Elaine Benes was loosely based on Monica Yates, who dated Larry David some years before he created “Seinfeld.” Monica Yates’s father is the novelist Richard Yates, the author of Revolutionary Road, a classic of the last American century. This scene was inspired by a real evening out with Richard Yates in the 1980s. Fun fact—but here things start to get less amusing. READ THE REST OF THIS STORY AT THE AWL.
Merrill Markoe, Patron Saint of Women in TV Comedy Writing
The very funny Merrill Markoe has written for TV, movies, print, and talk radio. She wrote for Laugh-In, Newhart, Moonlighting, and Sex and the City, and she's probably best known for her Emmy award-winning work on Late Night With David Letterman, where she invented the segments Stupid Pet Tricks — and its Stupid Human Tricks spinoff — and Viewer Mail. In her new memoir Cool, Calm & Contentious, she dissects her life in show business and beyond, recalling that virginity was "something to be gotten rid of quickly, then never discussed again, like body odor." I spoke with Merrill about her career in comedy, and her Lynda Barry envy.
Who do you think are the funniest people on TV right now?
I like a lot of people on SNL right now. Kristin Wiig, Bill Hader, and Fred Armisen are all consistently amazing. I love Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. I thought Carrie Brownstein was really funny on Portlandia. But I gotta admit I haven't really been watching a lot of the new shows. Also: Chris Elliot is very funny on his new show Eagleheart.
And it almost goes without saying that Colbert and Jon Stewart are very funny. They're so immortalized and entrenched in the comedy culture at this point that I forgot about them.
What kind of humor do you think is definitely not funny, or is perhaps overdone these days?
Well…my personal preference is always toward cerebral silliness. I just don't have the gene required to laugh at most poo and fart stuff. I can't help it. I try but my facial muscles won't move. Same with double entendres. They can stare me right in the face, and I stare back but I can't smile. What I love is tiny details, detailed observation. That's what kills me about Kristin Wiig and Bill Hader: The tiny details and gestures and reactions that they add to the people they play are so careful and well-observed. I am also a sucker for arcane references. Plus I need to add that I like pure stupidity. I almost always laugh at the combination of incompetence and confidence. Fred Willard doing his chatty blank person always makes me laugh. READ THE REST OF THIS STORY AT THE HAIRPIN.
The Loon Goes Silent: Remembering Tom Keith
On Sunday, October 30, 2011, for reasons yet unclear, Tom Keith collapsed in his home. Keith's passing robs us of one of the most enjoyable personalities ever to occupy a Minnesota Public Radio studio. Most Americans who knew him probably did as Garrison Keillor's sound effects guy, the one who lent Prairie Home Companion sketches that all-important extra dimension. Others—Minnesotans—knew him as Jim Ed Poole and Doctor Larry Kyle, characters he created for his hosting gig on The Morning Show, which he inherited from Keillor, and which he left in 2008.
I had an opportunity to speak with Keith when he agreed to a "high concept" interview of mine. Sad to say, I dragged my feet and we never completed the project and now we never will. READ THE REST OF THIS POST AT THE AWL.
Tom Scharpling Makes Good Music Videos
Here is the latest video directed by WFMU radio host Tom Scharpling, who is becoming a sort of indie-rock video auteur. His work is full of people in goofy costumes in pedestrian places and marked by a dorky, let's-put-on-a-show enthusiasm—albeit one tempered by a New Jersey native's acceptance that nothing's ever going to really work out anyway. Scharpling used to be a writer for the TV show "Monk," which was funny and great just like his videos. Watch more of them. READ THE REST OF THIS POST AT THE AWL.
Jon Stewart, Stop Hurting America!
Such a lather people are in, because Rick Perry was cheered at the Republican debate last week for executing 234 death row prisoners in Texas. Actually, Perry didn't even have a chance to repond to the question, posed by Brian Williams, before the audience started applauding. The transcript goes like this:
Williams: Governor Perry, a question about Texas. Your state has executed 234 death row inmates, more than any other governor in modern times. Have you…
(APPLAUSE)
[also one person whistling]Have you struggled to sleep at night with the idea that any one of those might have been innocent?
Well, of course not, Brian. What a question. Rick Perry doesn't "do" internal conflict! That's the whole point. Which, it had better be faced, some people see as a weakness and others, as a comforting strength. READ THE REST OF THIS STORY AT THE AWL.
Meet Our New Publisher
The Awl is pleased to announce the hiring of John Shankman as publisher of The Awl, The Hairpin and Splitsider.
Shankman will begin next week. He is departing his position as account director at the Huffington Post. Prior, from 2007 to early 2010, he was a regional sales manager at Federated Media.
He can be reached at John@theawl.com. READ MORE.
A Goodbye to Ambien in Dubai
I look in the mirror one more time to see if I can get away without wearing a bra, and decide it's fine. Then I'm in the back of some sweaty cab that smells like chicken noodle soup, suggesting alternate routes and half-yelling at a cabbie. I need to get to JFK in under an hour. Fuck, why do I always do this?
I don't plan well. I think it's because secretly I hope I miss my flight. Actually, I'm mad I ever have to go anywhere. I got this offer to perform one night in Dubai at the Palladium theater about a month ago. Images of different rap videos flashed through my head: Puffy on a tank in the desert. Kanye in a Range Rover with dunes behind him. Biggie in Bed-Stuy, standing in a sandbox. Plus, my layover is in Istanbul. Scenes from Midnight Express appear in my mind and then I remember how delicious Turkish delight sounded in The Lion, The Witch, & The Wardrobe. Food wins."Yes" I say.
This is a new thing I’m doing. My first instinct is always to say no (which certainly isn't reflected in the number of people I've had sex with). But I was ready for this. I was in the mood to see some shit, to hand someone my passport in a foreign land and feel alive. About three days before I leave, more paperwork comes in. I sign a contract saying that while on stage I won't talk about their political leader. Um, no problem. I don't know who their leader is. Don't talk about religion. Done and done.
Still, it’s a foreign concept to censor my material, and it takes traveling halfway around the world to understand just how oppressive that country can be. It literally and figuratively keeps me up at night, too; in the coming two weeks, I’ll struggle with an Ambien addiction while claiming my independence in a country that treats women as possessions. READ MORE.
Weekend At Kermie's: The Muppets' Strange Life After Death
Muppet trailers are making the rounds of the Internet these days. There are a few spoofs: rom-com, superhero and heist parodies, and then the official trailer for the new movie, which promises “muppet domination” this Thanksgiving. Presumably, this domination will mean a return to the box-office and critical success of days of old. And I have to admit: it’s exciting. Anyone who remembers the Muppets remembers them fondly. If there's an anti-Muppet faction out there, they've kept quiet.
Jason Segel, the creator of the new movie, clearly shares this sense of nostalgia:
I’ve just grown a little disappointed with…all these weird concept movies. I just want to go take it back to the early 80′s, when it was about the Muppets trying to put on a show. That’s what I’m trying to bring back…
But despite great intentions, Segel’s movie will not be—can not be—like the old films. The post-Henson (that is, post-1990) films struggled to find the right tone. Even the best of them, The Muppet Christmas Carol, is too sweet and not salty enough. Muppets from Space swings erratically from callous to cloying. Segel is a writer-performer-producer with a kind, hilarious vision, not unlike Henson himself. His writerly debut, the 2008 movie Forgetting Sarah Marshall, features a break-up with full frontal nudity and a scene of sobbing over an ex’s Tupperware; it’s pitch-perfect. But even with all the right ingredients, the new Muppet movie has too much working against it. The first hurdle is a fuzzy, green hand puppet. READ MORE.
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