Posted 5:45 PM by John A. Seafisk

It's raining outside, and I'm coughing inside.

I'm suffering a cold, and the wet world surrounding me at the moment isn't helping matters. What a double-whammy of a waste of a weekend.

Luckily, I had the box set of the first season of "What's Happening!!" to keep my spirits up.

(Grammatical note: Remember, when referencing this show, always remember there are officially 2 exclamation points after 'Happening', not just one.)

Posted 4:26 PM by John A. Seafisk

An Ice Time At The Theater

I have said before I'm not much of a movie person. However, last Sunday, I did see 'Miracle', the Walt Disney film based on the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey team who beat the feared Soviet Union team and eventually won the gold medal. And I liked it.

Fearful that this was a Disney movie, I was concerned about how sugar-coated and non-believeable this film might be. But I was pleasantly surprised at the lack of saccharine - no stupid love-story subplots, no cartoonishly-evil Russians, no pet dog or cat or canary swooping in to save the day...just a simple story about a team who overcame great odds and came together to lift the nation's spirits in troubled times.

Kurt Russell did an above-excellent job portraying coach Herb Brooks. I might even say it was the best acting performance of his career. All the while I was watching, I never thought that this was Kurt Russell on screen. The acting roles that impress me the most are the ones where you no longer recognize the actor or actress, but truly believe that who you're seeing is a completely different person.

That's what impressed me with Eddie Murphy's roles in 'The Nutty Professor' films. I didn't see Sherman or the other characters as Eddie in a fat suit, but as a real family. It was a great accomplishment in suspension of disbelief...namely becaue I believed it.

I never thought I'd be praising a current-day Disney film, but there you go. If a bunch of 18 to 21-year-old kids can beat a hockey juggernaut, I can give kudos to an evil company.

Posted 1:46 PM by John A. Seafisk

Chew On This

I saw a TV ad last night for Extra sugar-free gum. It was about a skydiver who jumps out of a plane. He's soon followed by an anthropomorphic stick of Extra gum, who jumps out of his pack of gum & falls downwards with the skydiver.

What confused me about the stick of gum wasn't the fact that it had eyes & hands & could talk, but the fact that it spoke with a Scottish accent. "Aye! You ain't leavin' without me, laddie!" and so forth. And it wasn't a giddy, comical kind of accent - this stick of gum was quite serious. He ends up landing in a tree, to which the gum tells a live squirrel, "What are yoo lookin' at, ya mangy beast!"

I sat there wondering how one would equate sugar-free gum with a Scotsman. I'd understand if the product was whisky or haggis or even some kind of money-saving item (albeit that last one would be a wee bit of a hurtful ethnic stereotype). But when I'd like to chew something to freshen my breath and/or give my mouth something to do, the first thought into my mind isn't some bloke from Glasgow in a kilt playing bagpipes...or even any of the fun kids from 'Trainspotting'.

It would appear the Wrigley people or the ad agency may have gotten the inspiration from Mike Myers -- whether it be his Fat Bastard character from 'Austin Powers', or his dad character from 'So I Married An Axe Murderer', or his 'If it isn't Scottish, it's Crap!" shop-owner character from 'Saturday Night Live'.

I have nothing against the ad. It just confuses me, that's all. Next time I'm in possession of a stick of Extra, I won't know what to do.