My brother Ken calls me a fountain of useless trivia. Books, music, movies, brand names, I don’t know what I’d do without popular culture.
You want to know who sang “Kung Fu Fighting?” Why, Carl Douglas of course. And who the villains were in the Rocky movies… well, naturally they were Apollo Creed, Thunderlips, Clubber Lang, Ivan Drago, Tommy Gunn and Mason “The Line” Dixon, played respectively by Carl Weathers, Hulk Hogan, Mr. T, Dolph Lundgren, Tommy Morrison and Antonio Tarver. And I did all that from memory. Pretty ridiculous, huh?
I suppose all of this is for naught, as somehow I bombed out on my Jeopardy tryout. (and if I had scored big on Jeopardy, would it really matter?) Probably not, because I dig it all anyways.
In 1992, shortly after I had been fired by The Walt Disney Company, I was crashing in the spare room at Ken’s house in Newport Beach, and waiting tables at the The Daily Grill in the town’s upscale Fashion Island. (and I was damned glad to have the job). It was a slow, weekday lunch shift, and I was waiting on two very attractive –and obviously well-to-do—thirty-something ladies. We got to talking and somehow the conversation led to books, movies and music. We exchanged some favorites and were having a good time with the back and forth. Back in the kitchen, I made a list of some of favorites in each category and when presenting their check, gave the list to them. They were very appreciative. How do I know this? By their smiles, their “thank you’s” and by the $500 tip they left me.
A few of my favorite BOOKS…
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry; The Exorcist byWilliam Peter Blatty; Valley of The Dolls by Jacqueline Susann; Great Expectations by Charles Dickens; Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris; Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell…
My “complete” list is here (it will never be complete; it’s ever-expanding)
And some of my Fav FLICKS…
Near Dark, Shawshank Redempion, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, The Warriors, Goodfellas, Schindler’s List, Point Break, Gone With The Wind, No Country For Old Men, Hairspray (the remake), Platoon, Rear Window, Memento, Snatch… Midnight Run
And the TUNES that have rocked my world…
Drift Away by Dobie Gray; Pictures of You by The Cure; Man in The Mirror by Michael Jackson; All Along The Watchtower by Jimi Hendrix; Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd, Fade Into You by Mazzy Star…
WHAT ELSE?…
Seeing this expansive world of ours through the eyes of our children. No matter their experience, there is a wonderment, a belief that all is possible…
I’m crazy for SUPER HEROES and all things make-believe…
And real life superheroes, who live life as it’s meant to be lived – ON THEIR OWN TERMS– and who each in their own way, inspires
A good bottle of wine, a great bottle beer and an even better bottle of booze. A dark, atmospheric bar (like Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shoppe in New Orleans).
And theres’ SO MUCH more. Stay tuned for additions as time allows and mood dictates…