Kens Faves - June 2007

DVD

Mission: Impossible : The TV Series : Season Two :
I wanted to see how many colons I could stuff into one title. Last time I was able to watch an episode of the original series was 4:00 am on a crappy little black and white TV while working at a 24 hour parking ramp. I love this show. I love this series as much as I love James Bond. Taken from the tales of the CIA, upstanding special agents with no torrid love affairs or acts of vengeful back-stabbing. Martin Landau, Barbara Bain, Greg Morris, and that body building dude. Each week they came in, did their job straight-forward with an economy of dialogue, and ran their operation by the book. Each week they get the job done with clockwork precision, roll credits.

No TV show exists today with such no-nonsense technical focus, and absolutely no glimpse of any character's personal lives. It's all business, and Lalo Shifrin's spy music. Each gimmick they use is based on some reality based gee-wiz gadget, like sound waves to produce earth tremors. The format is also a taut guessing games, only giving away a few tantalizing clues in the opening scenes, and then watching the game unfold. How does the fake chocolate pudding come into play in overthrowing the ruthless dictator? Of course, taken one step out of TV reality, these strangers could not so easily and quickly get cozy with foreign leaders or large crime figures and gain their trust enough to fall for their ridiculous feints. But part of the pleasure of watching the show, is how they fill most of these plot holes with an ingenious trick. For instance, how does Barbara Bain get past the security camera? Voila, She makes the security camera go on the fritz for a few seconds by using an RF frequency scrambler. OK, it's a little kooky to use a bunch of bats frozen in a jar to make the occupants of a house evacuate (why not a simple smoke bomb?). And yes, of course, it's hard to believe every bad guy will respond exactly as they expect, and fall for the guy in make-up and a wig. But remember the title of the show is "Mission:Impossible".

Private Snafu / Disney: On the Front Lines
Aaah yes, I finally sold out and signed up to NetFlix. Why? Why do I shop at Target? It's the whole convenience, price, selection thing that you just can't deny. It also makes sense in this day in age. Besides, your postal carrier has less actual mail these days now that the email fad has caught on. There are forbidden films that we are never to see again, you are to erase the memory from your mind. Such as "Song of the South", which I saw completely on a large movie screen when I was young. We are forbidden to see such disturbing material now, but somehow I survived the experience. Thankfully, there IS some more controversial material to witness, and get a glimpse of a mostly unseen dimension of our past.

There are a few episodes of "Private Snafu" on the Looney Toons Collection, Volume 3. Here are the animators you grew up with, illustrating extreme fast-paced stories in a artistic visual style, with charged music and adult dialogue. But instead of Bugs Bunny or Daffy Duck, its a Elmer Fudd-ish character called Private Snafu. He is likeable but stereotypical in demonstrating the follies of not following Military procedures. One episode is called "Spies" and is very dark. Our hero doesn't realise that our enemies are listening in to private conversations and using alcohol and loose ladies to get Pvt. Snafu to blabber out military secrets. The other episode, called "Rumours", tries to calm the paranoia the U.S. was feeling after being caught off guard when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor ("they are attacking California next", "they could invade as far as St. Louis in one week"). A very telling snapshot into our country's psyche during that period.

Disney also helped in the Propaganda war, and drafted their characters into military situations. "Education for Death" is the most terrifying piece of animation ever produced by Disney. Literally meant to scare audiences, showing the Nazi officer intruding into the bedroom where a Mother is putting her son to bed. The message is clear, the Nazis want to take your child away from you. Disney performed a magnificent act by releasing these pieces of history. For one thing, it can help you recognise the propaganda being practised today.


Meat Beat Manifesto - In Dub
A brilliant music video collection using trippy video effects, in terrific synchronisation with Jack Danger's industrial jazz. The techno geek in me enjoys the NASA aspect of massive synthesiser banks, tape machines, buttons, and lights. It is a techno-cosmic experience.


Food



Famous Dave's Georgia Mustard Sauce
I have been a fan of Famous Dave's ever since the very first one opened a few blocks from my where I lived near Lake Harriet. They have since grown into an empire. I think they have the same taste buds as I do, because all their sauces, taken from famous restaurant recipes from the South, are as unique as they are tasty. The Georgia Mustard Sauce is tangy, and is great as an alternate to the traditional red barbeque sauces. But nowadays I have a bottle sitting in the fridge for a variety of uses. It's a salad dressing, great for chicken sandwiches or tenders, brats, fries, greens beans, and broccoli, to name a few. Just watch out when you pour, it's not thick and syrupy like the other sauces, and could splash out more than you may intend to.

Rocky Rococco
This was and still is my favourite pizza. Period. Rocky's started in Madison Wisconsin, and in it's heyday during the 80's, they had a multitude of stores all over the Twin Cities. The one in Dinkytown was my lunchspot during college every Thursday, when they had the Rococco Chicago slice of the day. Their deep dish crust is soft and sweet. Their sauce is dark and tangy. The cheese is pure, the sausage is awesome. Sadly, the store population in the area dwindled during the 90s. I'm not certain, but I believe the only one left around here is on Brooklyn Boulevard in Brooklyn Park, about 2 miles north of the Hwy 694 intersection. Recently I have been biking the trails in the vicinity, and will make the trip over there on the way home. I will always be a Cheesehead, no matter where I live.

Zantigo
Another Fast Food treasure from yesteryear. Why do I yearn for fast food so much? Blame my mother's disdain for cooking meals during my childhood in the 70s. Frankly, us children didn't mind, because her cooking was awful. There was the McDonalds down the road. It was a quick and easy answer for dinner. A little farther down the road was Kentucky Fried Chicken. My father was also a fan of the eating out experience. He would torment the wait staff and demand their attention. I too enjoyed the chance to try different menu items, but was routinely embarrassed by my father's behaviour, albeit well intentioned. I myself was a slob (and still am a recovering slob). Many food particles would line my place setting during the meal, and inevitably drop my fork on the floor. Nowadays, when there is a family get-together at an eating establishment, I will ceremoniously toss my fork to the floor to commemorate the occasion.

In high school, Zantigo was a staple food. The order was always: Taco Burrito - no meat, Cheese and Onion Enchilada, and a Hot Chilito. The tortillas are actually tasty, the beans are pleasantly spiced, and the green chili in the hot chilitos (my dessert item) is authentic. But the secret ingredient is the hot sauce. This especially tangy jalapeno hot sauce has a flavour that cannot be found in any supermarket brand. Believe me, I've tried. The sauce packet lists vinegar as one of the main ingredients. Alas, such as Bridgemans and Embers, this restaurant chain vanished. In this case, it was eaten up by the vastly inferior Taco Bell. All stores converted their menus to cruddy tacos, no proper chilitos, and yucky beans. Don't even get me started on the garbage they have for hot sauce. It actually makes the food taste worse. I used to travel about 15 miles out of my way from leaving work in White Bear Lake to visit the only independent Zantigo I knew of in Mahtomedi. Friends visiting from out of town would make the trip up there. Then, I discovered another Zantigo sitting quietly along Hwy 694 and University in Fridley. This location is about 20 miles closer to my house than the other one.

Now, I don't want to make it sound like I go out to these places everyday, (only every other day).

Music



The Move - Greatest Hits
Not Spinal Tap, but a band definitely pumping up the flower power ("I Can Hear The Grass Grow"). But dig this, they were actually THERE, actually at the ACTUAL TIME when the actual movement was happening. Even more so, Roy Wood wanted to make music like the Beatles' "Sgt Pepper", including using real orchestral instruments ("Flowers In The Rain"). Here in the bastion of pop perfection, Wood found his place and flourished with a few songs that are as creative as his contemporaries. The sound of the other musicians in the band had attitude also, and they all jammed heavily ("Feel Too Good"), to make it clear they were indeed a very live band. Wood joined up with another Beatles disciple, Jeff Lynne, and the formula for success was forged ("California Man"). What stands apart especially are the well produced vocals. Nicely arranged harmonies with heart tugging melodies ("No Time"). You may all recognise Jeff Lynne's later band, called the Electric Light Orchestra. That started out as an experiment with Roy Wood to take the "Sgt Pepper" idea where the the Beatles never dared, out on live stage. Wood and Lynne parted ways after the first ELO album. But Lynne, along with 3 string players, successfully took the dream on the road and became an international megaband. Lynne later took part in a Beatles reunion recording, and collaborated with a former Beatle for several albums.

Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank
With Johnny Marr riding shotgun, there is power and clarity in the pop landscape. Singer Isaac Brock exposes his XTC influence,with wailings also similar to Frank Black (circa Pixies era). So a warm welcome is the addition of the Smith's sideman doing the tasteful licks. "Florida" jumps out at you, while "We've Got Everything" marches to the XTC beat. The clarity is the one element desperately needed in the longer rambling slow pieces, and here Brock seems to have righted the ship a little more even keel. Steady as she goes....

Echo & The Bunnymen - Crystal Days (B Sides and Extras)
This band was reknown for energetic live performances. I saw them once as part of a triple bill with New Order and some other band in the late 80s. I also saw Ian McCulloch play a solo gig back then. The next time they showed up was at 1st Avenue in the late 90s. Although the band played great, Ian McCulloch was completely vacant. He had sunglasses on, an earpiece, and seemed like he was on drugs. He didn't sing at all that night, but quietly yelped. With a tiny breath he would barely speak out the lyrics. My sister and I got irritated. When the song "The Cutter" came up, we decided to sing it ourselves out loud. Others joined in, and we made the point after a couple songs, causing a sheepish reaction from the band. Despite the bad live experience, I discovered that the Band's later releases in the 90s still had a couple catchy pop tunes.

This 4 Disc Box set features B Sides and extras spanning their career. Here you have the famous original tracks where the drums were supplied by "Echo", their drum machine. There are also alternate versions of popular singles. I was impressed by the tracks "Rollercoaster", "What Are You Going To Do With Your Life?", "Over your Shoulder", and a few others, that could have easily been A-Sides. Also tossed in there are a few live tracks and a John Peel (r.i.p.) session.