Miracle Skins Victory Over Dallas

This is why I can't stand Redskins fans. The seventh worst team beats the fourteenth worst team and it's like the second coming of Chist and Christmas in July all wrapped into one. News flash, beating a crappy team by ONE point does not a playoff contender make. Sorry.

At least back in the dark-times of Boston sports, we always knew in out soul-of-souls that the Patriots had no chance.

I'll pay extra to have my giant photo extensively retouched by way of Photoshop. Thank you. I can see where this would be a great way to start the day.

Oh, go back to your OWN BLOG, JW.

JW used to be upbeat, positive, funny. Now he has his own blog and he's a rabid, snarling beast.
I have to go to work now -- assuming I haven't been fired in the past half hour.

I'm one of those guys who stayed up and watched to the very end. As a Dedicated Washington Football fan, 'long about 12:20 AM EST, I'm rubbing my eyes and asking, "Can this really be happening just as the Orcales at the Was Post wrote it?".

A nice diversion from the normal Washington DC stress these days.

bc

Achenbach, envy is not attractive. It's funny, though.

Doh!
Para. 6: "someone came up an idea so radical"

[An excuse to use another "sic," perhaps?]

Easy for you to make comments, jw, given the Pats' and Sox' recent histories.

I, for one, am calling for jw's house arrest.

No way are you and that Mojo leaving town, dude. Enjoy your stay, blog away.

bc

On Friday I wrote:
What wasn't odd was the way Bush delivered his speech. In the beginning it was as dry as the ground Bush stood on. And given the passion, the drama, the pathos in New Orleans during the course of the last two weeks, Bush could have showed some emotion in the delivery of his address. The rote reading was as flat as the waters of Lake Pontchartrain are now. Can Bush not step away from words written for him by others and speak from his gut? Can he not rage or rant--or cry?
*****

On Sunday morning I read this column titled "'S.A. Saints' headline angers Big Easy fans who've lost enough" by Robert Rivard, editor of the San Antonio Express-News. I excerpt several key passages:

"Two weeks after Hurricane Katrina struck, all pretense was dropped that the good people of San Antonio are only providing the team a shelter with goal posts and hash marks. At a breakfast meeting that included a who's who of the city's business and political leadership,...opening arguments were made to to persuade the Saints to stay for good. ...

"Even with the NBA championship Spurs, many in San Antonio want more. Three Aalmodome sell-outs, Red McCombs, Henry Cisneros and others declared, could be the first step to cheering our very own Los Santos. ...

[[Aside from me: Can you imagine the New Orleans Saints being called Los Santos?]]

"The Saints may be worth it to a city and to its daily newspaper--my friends in the Sports department certainly believe that--but I find myself mulling the opportunity cost."
*****

Then on Sunday mid-morning on the Internet I found this stanza from the song, "When the Saints Go Marching In":

When our leaders learn to cry
When our leaders learn to cry
Oh lord I want to be in that number
When the saints go marching in
*****

Then fairly quickly I discovered this on the Internet as well and went to amazon.com and listened to Dr. John's version of "When the Saints...":

Even after The States-Item held a "name the team" contest shortly after then-National Football League Commissioner Pete Rozelle christened the franchise in 1966, Dixon's choice prevailed.

"It was a boat race all along," Dixon confided, using the old horseracing parlance for an event whose outcome was predetermined. The popularity of the song, particularly as a New Orleans cultural icon, was the clincher.

"How can you pass up the opportunity to have advertising 365 days a year?" Dixon reasoned. "It's as simple as that. Once I zeroed in on that, I said there can't be any other name."

The song, a traditional spiritual, has a history that predates current copyright law, making it fair game for any use. Saints fans know it as their own, but the song has had many faces over its lifetime. In fact, it's a popular telephone ringtone in England, where the Southampton Saints woman's football club has a strong following.

Dr. John's new album, the moving New Orleans tribute titled N'awlinz: Dis, Dat or D'udda, contains an unusual version of the song that has become the most talked-about track on the record.

The minor-key dirge has the kind of spooky, midnight-in-the-graveyard vibe that Dr. John specializes in, "Straight out of the Spiritual Church of New Orleans," as he describes it in the album's liner notes. The rhythm stutters, as if carrying a heavy burden, and the combination of the Davell Crawford-led choir and Wardell Querzerque's swelling string arrangement gives the song an otherworldly cast.

Mavis Staples, the female lead voice of the most successful crossover gospel group inhistory, the Staples Singers, was called in to share the "Saints" vocal with Dr. John, and was unprepared for the version she was presented with.

"I was shocked," she admits with a laugh. "Yes, I was. I said, 'Wait a minute, what is Dr. John doing here?' But of course he told me. Dr. John, when he sent it to me, he said (assuming a croaking voice), 'Baby, dis is da ol' way we did it in N' Awlinz.' He sang it real slow. And I know about the funerals they have in New Orleans. It sounded like one of those dragging songs on the way to the cemetery. Dr. John put that vocal down. He pulls it out (she sings in a slow, funereal cadence) 'ooooh ... when the saints ... go marchin' in ...).'

"I was really shocked because I never heard anybody sing it that way," Staples continues. "The first time I heard it I was a kid. (When) I heard it in church, it was up-tempo. That's the way I always heard it. With the Staples Singers, we always sang it real fast. 'Saints Go Marchin' In' was always a real up-tempo song. I did a tribute album to Mahalia Jackson a few years ago, and we go out with a Mahalia live tribute from time to time. 'The Saints Go Marching In' is not on the CD, but when I do the concerts, I sing 'Saints Go Marching In,' and it's always (she sings in a swinging cadence, turning to a high note at the end of each line), 'Whoa saints, go marchin in, oh the saints,' it's an up, happy tempo."

The church-trained Staples knew the song in its traditional role as a gospel hymn. "Saints" is a typical African-American spiritual with its roots in the days of slavery. These songs, written in a less rigid rhythmic and harmonic construction than standard European Protestant hymns, offer biblical models of deliverance. They reference events such as Exodus, in which Moses delivered the slaves from Egypt, or the Apocalypse, which promises an end to suffering for the righteous, who will be reunited with their ancestors. The latter scenario resonates strongly with the African religious traditions that were codified inside these hymns.

"Saints" is steeped in apocalyptic imagery in its more complete versions, with references to the sun refusing to shine and the moon turning blood red, but is most often heard in a stripped-down version that references only the most joyous aspects of the song. "Saints" would have stayed in church if it weren't for the peculiar transformational genius of Louis Armstrong. Traditional New Orleans jazz began enjoying a revival at the height of the swing era in the early 1930s. After Armstrong began his long-term association with Decca Records in the mid-1930s, the new label wanted to cash in on the "Dixieland" craze. Armstrong responded by rerecording some of his Hot 5 and Hot 7 sides and mining the New Orleans music tradition for "new" material. He went back to some of his earliest musical experiences in the brass bands and the spiritual tradition for "Saints" and several other jazz funeral songs.

Armstrong's recording of "Saints" on May 13, 1938, changed the song's orientation forever. Using his characteristic humor, he set up a mock jazz church for the occasion, with himself as the preacher. "Sisters and brothers, this is Rev. Satchmo getting ready to beat out this sermon for you," he intoned, all but passing the collection plate. "My text tonight is 'The Saints Go Marchin' In.' Here comes brother Higginbottom down the aisle with his trombone. Blow it, boys!" The nine-piece band broke into a meticulously arranged version of the song, with Armstrong scrapping everything except the exultant first verse and using his uncanny sense of phrasing to swing the lyric, hanging on the last syllable of "number" like an instrumentalist working a riff.

The song immediately became identified with Armstrong, who would go on to record more than 40 additional renditions among the thousands on record. It became the anthem of the Dixieland revival and a powerful Allied propaganda weapon in World War II Europe. In Budapest, the song became a metaphor for the Russian army driving the Nazis out of Hungary.

Eventually, like all mega-popular tunes, "Saints" even produced a backlash, creating the urban legend that musicians became so tired of requests for it that they demanded extra tip money to play the song. When Duke Ellington toured Russia in 1971, he was asked repeatedly to play the song and refused, finally relenting enough to play "Hello, Dolly!" a la Armstrong for the Dixieland-hungry Russians.

To this day, the author of this magic verse remains anonymous. "Nobody knows who wrote it," says Mavis Staples. "It might be in The Gospel Pearls. The Gospel Pearls is an old gospel songbook that has all the traditional gospel songs in it. I'm gonna have to try to find Pops' old Gospel Pearls. I never even thought about that. Nobody knows who wrote it. Well I'll be darned.

"Whoever wrote it sure wrote one."

Wait...are you suggesting that I have something to do with this win? I wasn't even WATCHING the game!

And Joel, I'm just trying to play the role of a true blogger. Everyone knows that you need to be a rabid, snarling beast if you have a blog. In fact, my next topic will be on the media's left-wing bias and how nothing the Post prints is true.

Absolute power and all that.

I'm actually surprised that there hasn't been a post saying, "HA! I knew all you journalists were big phonies that just made up stories! Now I have proof!"

I have another good idea to rebuild reader loyalty: How about making it possible to go to the Post web page and find out IN LESS THAN 20 CLICKS whether the nationals won. They might even just post the score on the web page.

...if I link to your blog on my blog, can we be friends again?

If only this kit were about a real sport like Soccer.

By the way, why do they call it football in the US when the ball is mostly carried by hand? Why not American Rugby?

(I eagerly await all soccer is not a real sport replies)

SCC: I eagerly await all "soccer is not a real sport" replies.

Or is it: I eagerly await all, soccer is not a real sport, replies.

JW: What's your bloglink?

Eurotrash:

http://mojo-blog.blogspot.com/

That's his blog link.

eurotrash - i find football (american rugby) BORINGGGGGGGGGGG - whereas, soccer - now THERE's a sport (and a manly sport at that!)... i've always wondered why football is different here and there, but then americans have a weird way of naming things... soccer is DEFINETLY a sport and IMHO better than american rugby...
and i canNOT believe the deadskins pulled it out in 5 min!!! isn't that, like, the first in history?

That's right jw, and I forbid you from watching the Burgundy and Gold any further this season.

Enjoy your new found celebrity.

bc

SCC: "new-found". I think.

Tom fan, what's your call?

bc

"Oh I want to be in that rumba!"

jw, you better learn to keep your anti-Redskins feelings to yourself around here. Joel knows there's nothing more likely to make us DC'ers feel good about ourselves than a Redskin victory--especially over Dallass.

Upon further review:

SCC: "Oracles".

Bah.

bc

Nats Fan!!!

You have come to right place, if you are looking for an advocate for improved baseball coverage at the Post. I would guess that Joel's favorite baseball team is the U. of Fla. football team.

I found early in the season, that baseball coverage would vary online. There may or may not be a box score, and if there was a box score, it may or may not match the game being covered.

I hope the coverage is getting better!

I will fix the glitch, Tom Fan. Thanks.
My guess is that JW, bc, LindaLoo, AchenDreamerTomFan and many more will soon have their own blogs and will never glance at this one again, in the same way that Bea Arthur at some point surely forgot that Maude emerged from All In the Family. But yes, JW, please stick around, since we need your mojo. I am not jealous of your success and glory. I am jealous of Andrew Sullivan, the blogging "pioneer" or whatever they are calling him today in his Guest Blogger role. I swear it was me who invented the concept of a blog. Why does no one seem to realize this. Question mark.

Joel,

What news is coming next????

Was it your idea for Redskins to convince the Cowboys and the rest of us that there was no way no how that they would throw the ball long down the middle of the field?

That was shrewd!!!! And we all know that it takes a good 3 and 1/2 quarters to set that play up (twice).

I, however, intend to continue haunting this blog, following the revered freeloading tradition established by our Blogger in Chief. Fear not, Boss, Mr. Sullivan's blog is ok, but it's just not as funny.

I stayed up until 2 watching in real time the last four minutes of the game. Thank God for Tivo. To commemorate Michael Irvin (criminal), Emmitt Smith (a player so dirty they had to create a rule against his unsportsmanlike conduct), and Troy Aikman (not PC to repeat the rumors) was akin to Harvey Martin throwing the funeral wreath in our locker room after defeating us. Anyway, the rivalry is important because we hate them and what they stand for. There fans support men who believe that dragging a black man behind a truck is not an act of hate. I hate the Cowboys I respect the Eagles even though of course I want them to lose their games. There's a difference.

actually joel - i had a blog before i came to the boodle... blogging is hard... doing it daily? impossible - for me that is... that's why i'm impressed that you come up with a new kit virtually every single day... and don't worry, once one has become achenaddicted, there's no cure save the kit. me thinks we shall be here for some time to come! even nelson admitted yesterday "Oh boy. Now I'm starting to read all the comments and post to this blog again. It's kind of addictive."
no worries mate! no worries!

Sorry, Joel, but Mitch Albom already beat you on the arranged-miracle idea. I mean, it had to've been miraculous to write about two guys going to a basketball game before they actually didn't. (Not an elegant sentence, no, but I couldn't resist using the first recorded "to've" in the boodle.)

bc:
According to Merriam Webster's, my dictionary o' choice, it's "newfound."

Achenbach:
Just as it is so much easier to be an editor than to be a writer -- and much more fun to pick someone else's copy apart than to come up with one's own -- it is much more satisfying to be a Kaboodler than a Kitter. So I will probably continue to play a parasitic role on your blog rather than set up a blog myself. I ain't [sic] going nowhere [sic], so you're stuck with me for now.

the biggest two rivalries in sports that i know of are the yankees/red sox(sux - i'm a die hard yankees fan) and cowboys/redskins... are there any other rivalries that measure up?

oh, and back to movies - question for achenfan (or maybe dreamer, i'm not sure)... assuming, of course, that you watch allll aussie movies - what's the one about a family that lived near an airport and were in danger of losing their house? it was an indie movie but it was HILARIOUS! (sorry, i know it's not much to go on)... and i LOVED Muriel's Wedding... i try to watch a lot of aussie movies cuz i love the accent... there was also an aussie soap opera that was HUGE when i lived in england... can't remember the name...

Joel,

You should have planned the press run a bit better--my dead tree pulp didn't have the Redskins win in it. Good thing that I get the paper for free on the Internet!

Next time you're organizing a conspiracy--think about the deadline a bit harder.

Soccer is the best! My favorite memory of watching soccer was during the World Cup in Japan when they would broadcast the games live at 3 in the morning. I was doing an internship at the time and I would come into the office completely bleary-eyed with the other sleep deprived interns and all we would talk about all day would be the games from the night before (and attempt to catch illicit naps). Drove our supervisor nuts (he was a baseball purist).

Joel, I'm sure your faithful 'boodlers will never truly abandon you. They'll send a card on your birthday. Or Christmas. One or the other but both may be a bit much to ask.

mo,

You may have pointed out a very important disaster assistance need in this community. As we re-look at our own distaster planning, in light of Katrina, our own locales are finding things that really need to be addressed.

I think what we need here is a water proof product targeted to some of our fellow citizens called ARR or Achenblog Ready to Read.

ARRs can be handed out by the Red Cross and other groups providing disaster recovery teams to those who are obviously having trouble living their lives without electricity and Internet access.

The packs can be shaken, then openned and then read.... a completely new Achenblog kit with at least 65 posts including one from LindaLoo that will give you a complete history of the current disaster. THere is also a little pencil with which a small post can be scrawled on the blog.

Perfect for Achenheads.

Aussie movies: Strictly Ballroom. I love it.

Ok, you can all stop laughing at me now.

I can't really get too excited about one group of "weren't here last year won't be here next year" millionaires beating on one another, but I do have two thoughts about last night's game. Yes, the Washington team won, and if they win every game against Dallas for the next ten years, the series will be even. Second, I am continually amazed that a city of majority African Americans so loves a team named for a racial slur. I lived in Oklahoma for eleven years, and I know what "redskin" means to Native American people. It is not a term of respect.

I second mo on Aussie movies, just love 'em. Two of my favorite actresses: Toni Collette and Rachel Griffiths. I actually watched it last night. And I'm not afraid to admit I'm a huge ABBA fan. Another Aussie flick I'd reccomend in addition to mo's and jw's is Cosi.

mo:
That movie about the family that lived near the airport is "The Castle." Eric Bana, who has now gone on to far greater things, was in it. I loved the way he and his wife/girlfriend obsessed over the trivial details of the flight when talking about their trip to Bali (at least I think it was Bali?)

"We're going to Bonny Doon!"

And the soap opera:
Probably "Neighbours" -- starring Kylie Minogue and occasionally Guy Pearce.

Two more fom Oz: The Year My Voice Broke and it's sort-of sequel, Flirting. Was supposed to be a trilogy, but don't think the third ever got around to the third.

Er, that would be "the writer/director, John Duigan, ever got around to making the third."

Thanks, Tom fan.

mo, I think I saw that movie, too.
Can't remember for the life of me what it's called, though.

To Joel's point about print media resorting to writing stories about their readers, I've noticed this trend in the auto enthusiast rags over the past several years. Magazines have taken to asking their readers to bring cars to a given event (usually on an annual basis), and cover it as a feature. Additional features are written about exceptional entries or people at the events. It's an interesting way of generating editorial.

Typically, the issues featuring the Reader events are the biggest sellers for a given year.

bc

Aussie Movies:
"The Road Warrior".

What else is there?

Well, "Mad Max" was OK if a bit short technically. And the horrid "American English" overdubbed versions...bleah.

bc

Aussie movies: don't forget The Sum of Us, where you get to watch Russell Crowe making out with John Polson (who has, what, his own film festival now?)

LOVED strictly ballroom - i think i've seen it over a hundred times - and omnigood, Cosi is a great suggestion!

kurosawaguy - "redskin" has a different meaning for african americans - it means a black person who is lighter skinned or mixed...

I have seen The Castle so many times! I love it. At our house, we use phrases from the movie: "Tell 'm he's Dreamin'!"

My husband and I were two of the many who turned the TV off last night as the second quarter was beginning. How nice to discover from nfl.com very early this morning, that the Skins had won! It does indeed make for great press! I am a transplant to this area--originally from near Buffalo NY, a diehard Bills fan, naturally, and was born hating the Cowboys, as far as I'm concerned, or at least born again to hate them in high school and college during the Super Bowl years! Now that I'm here, I figure I have three teams to root for (Bills, Skins, Ravens), so I at least have a shot at being happy on football days! However, when one of these three teams beats Dallas, my cup doth truly overflow--still, it would have been fun to have Joel on my lawn this morning in costume reading the miraculous news!

Just when I thought a sports Kit would keep me out of the Boodle . . .

Shine, Lantana, Breaker Morant, Picnic at Hanging Rock, Priscilla Queen of the Desert . . . somebody stop me!

THAT'S IT! The castle!!! THANKS!!!!! i loved that movie! yeah, it was neighbors - the brits just LOVED it!

dolphin michael - fantastic idea! when do we start manufacturing? i, of course, won't need it b/c i will be with my laptop, wifi and generator specifically reserved for the achenblog - that's assuming, of course, the Joel has all the backup supplies to kit...

Actually, I have to confess I haven't seen Breaker Morant. When I was 14 or 15 years old my Dad dropped me and a bunch of my friends off at the theater to see it, only the show was sold out, so we went underage drinking instead (never again!). One of my friends stayed over at our place that night and was sick all over the carpet -- "must have been something she ate," we told my Mum.

To this day, I still haven't told my Dad the real story. But for years afterwards, he kept trying to engage me in a discussion about Breaker Morant, and I was clueless, so I think he might have figured it out. Clever man -- the gnawing guilt, spread out over such a long period, was surely far worse than any other punishment would have been.

Nevertheless, I hope he's not reading this . . . And I really must see Breaker Morant for real one day . . .

And let's not forget My Brilliant Career (mmm ... Judy Davis), Rabbit-Proof Fence, Chopper ...

My post about Mad Max isn't showing up...At least on my screen. I'm going to give it a minute before trying again, though.

I'm with mo.....football is boring. Not only is it boring, but the games are sooooooo long. 10 minutes of play on the clock can be 40 minutes in actuality. Mr. Nani was an avid fan, so I tried to be a good sport,watch the games on TV with him and refrain from asking "Is it almost over?" every 15 minutes or so. There was ONE game that captured my interest briefly. It was probably Dallas Cowboys v. Whoever. Mid-game, this gigantic jackrabbit comes out of nowhere, runs the length of the field, makes a U turn, runs back down the field darting and dodging the players who in turn were stumbling to avoid stomping that pesky wabbit. He finally made a beeline to the stands and out of camera range.

They American English overdubbed Mad Max? What was the point of that? I didn't particularly enjoy Mad Max, though, so I don't know why I care.

I like football on Superbowl Sunday. That's about the only time, though. But if I happen across the Chiefs game, I'll watch. I'm more of a basketball girl. I love my Suns. I miss basketball season.

my mums a football fan (go figure? she was also a republican until bush promised to help illegal immigrants and then did nada) so her favorite phrase is "a football minute"... which is useful for her i spose cuz she's ALWAYS late... when she says she'll be to my house in 10 min i ask her if thats real 10 min or football 10 min...

Until I connected to Andrew Sullivan's blog, I didn't realize that he is presently HIV-positive. Andrew Sullivan was on my radar screen for a time because he spoke last winter at the Loomis-Chaffee School in Windsor, Conn.

I have blogged here (and it has been fun, I admit) but I have no ideas of starting my own blog. In fact, it'll be only a matter of time before I jump ship from the Achenblog (much like kbertocci). I made myself a promise about tackling a book project. I have put it off over the summer for two reasons. The air conditioning does not work well on the second floor of our home where our home office is and it's heck to be up here past noon. I have only so much energy in the day because of my rare genetic disorder, so I'll have to prioritize.

Really Joel, your blog today raises so many interesting and serious points (not related to sports) that I've been thinking hard about your blog topic today since you posted it and I made my first post:

Are newspapers dinosaurs? What makes a person read a paper? What makes a person trust the reporter(s)? [Will there ever come a point when I won't trust Walter Pincus, for example?] What should be a newspaper's role in covering both national and local news? (I become so disgusted with my own local paper on the national news front, that I turn to the New York Times and Washington Post for national and international news coverage. Our local paper tends to bury every negative story about the Bush administration somewhere between pages A13- A23.)

It would have been nice, Joel, if you had posted (that'll be be the day) how much of the Washington Post's revenue is derived from display ads? from classified ads? from subscriptions? How much does it cost to run such a large paper? (And like suecris yesterday, I miss Herbert, Dowd, Tierney, Friedman, Krugman, Brooks--and Frank Rich. I was determined NOT to pay for them, but now I straddle the fence, while still not pulling out hubby' credit card. WEMA and FEMA..what is Tierney saying today?)

I have a real bias against sports. Not only does it not appeal to me much as a woman, but when I was at the Tahoe Tribune, they brought on a new sports writer/editor from a small paper that published only twice a week. He had less education than I did. He had to produce as many column inches as I did in my job as a feature writer and page editor, and we probably had to attend about the same number of community events. Yet, the amount he was to be paid slipped out, and it exceeded mine. Plus, he probably didn't have to put up with the city editor calling his work, as he called my work the "C**P and Garbage Page," not because my work was C&G, but because I was a woman, consigned to cover women's issues, and constricted in what my pages could cover--yet I could cover many other beats when reporters were on vacation or left the paper altogether. (Rant over.) Much has changed in 25 years, I sincerely hope.

Will paper newpapers become dinosaurs? Will the future of newspapers be blogs or simply electronic editions? Will we continue to trust newspapers (that have connected with them big bureacracies and hierarchies) for our vital news of the world? Although Sullivan writes of HIV-AIDS--and the topic certainly was covered well back in the early 80s by Randy Shilts, at one time a reporter with the San Francisco Chronicle--will news and opinion become segmented into narrowcasts rahter than broadcasts: Will news and opinion fall into smaller and smaller niche markets?

So much to say about news and news gathering in today's world...

Last two, I swear: Gallipoli and Walkabout. Classics.

LindaLoo - "whoever wrote it sure wrote one" You could say the same about "The Midnight Special" ("Let the midnight special shine its ever-lovin light on me".) Some say it was written by an old black woman during slave times and others say it was composed by a prisoner doing life in the penitentiary. Of course neither would have received royalties. Such a great song, performed by so many - Creedence Clearwater, Van Morrison.

When I first saw "Max" in the movie theatres on it's first release in the US, they did indeed overdub American English.

I guess they figured that Americans could take the violence and general cheapness of the film, but those Aussie Accents HAD TO GO.

Nobody ever went broke underestimating the American Public, as they say. I think "Max" was the highest grossing Aussie film of the time, IIRC.

bc

How could I forget Nicholas Kristof?

The reference to Mitch Albom suddenly made me think of "The Five Touchdowns You'll Re-Play in Heaven": the second one to Santana Moss, the Immaculate Reception (with a name like that, it's a gimmee), the Jerry Rice "The Catch" catch...and two more? Any nominations?

Re: Aussie flicks: "Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome" is highly underrated--and Tina Turner steals it. Surpasses the two earlier Mad Max flicks by head and shoulders. Does "On the Beach" count as "Australian," or just "set in Australia"?

Non-Redskins fans just don't get it, and there's no way to explain it to them. The Skins' likely mediocrity this year is irrelevant, the future is irrelevant, the horrible first 56 minutes is irrelevant...but wait, I'm trying to explain it when I just said it was impossible. So never mind. Might as well try to explain women, or sunsets, or gin.

how sad - looking for a copy of the castle turns up that the american version has been changed from the original aussie version... DARN!

achenfan - do you have anyone over there that can send care packages of aussie movies as they were intended? not some "edited for american consumption" crap?

I love the way you snuck in the uppercut to the Bush team while pretending to blog about the Redskins. I am sure the Bush team would find the Muppets useful to explain their "energy policy" just like Ken Ham uses dinosaurs to explain creationism.
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050522/NEWS01/505220367

I just finished up copying down all the books that were recommended to me the other day that I didn't order. I will keep them in my "notebook of future books for future reading." I'd like to thank anyone who contributed to that list as each of you had a suggestion that greatly broadened my reading horizons.

I love the Achenblog.

That makes me wonder what version of "The Castle" I saw, mo, because I saw it in a theater here in the U.S. (the Outer Circle, R.I.P.). It was released here several years after it was released in Australia, and I'd heard so much about it and couldn't wait to see it.

The funny thing is, when I came out of the screening, a man who had just arrived at the theater asked me what movie I'd just seen and whether I'd recommend it. Of course I told him he should see it, but then I thought, why ask some total stranger what movie to see? This happens to me quite often. Maybe people think I look "normal," but if they were to follow my movie advice, they might be in for some shocks, because I don't exactly have conservative tastes in films. I suppose I could have a lot of fun with this . . .

Achenfan,

Don't forget the Inner Circle, sellouts of the "Walkabout" and "Zulu" double feature.

mo:
Unfortunately, DVDs in Australia use the "PAL" system and aren't compatible with U.S. DVD players. I do have some DVDs of Aussie TV comedy shows at home, which I bought before I realized there was a problem, and I recently acquired a portable Aussie DVD player that I'll be able to play them on once I get myself an adapter so I can plug the darn thing in. It's been an ongoing saga, but an adapter is on its way as we speak (er, I should say "as I type," I suppose).

There is probably some other solution to the problem that I'm completely oblivious to, given that I'm not the most technologically savvy person around (probably the real reason I don't have my own blog!).

You can buy multi-format DVD players, but they are hard to find, and I'm sure they are prohibitively expensive for the average person.

The "PAL" system? I just figured Aussie DVD players were corrupted by the Coriolis force.

Yeah.. don't Aussie DVDs just spin the other way? Or do you have to put them in upside down?

Riggins in the Super Bowl against Miami. That would be on my list.

Mo, when are they planning to put the light skinned African American on the side of the helmets?

hah! you got me there kurosawaguy! i was trying to find a non-racist spin... guess i'd better keep looking

Aussie movies:

Priscilla, Queen of the Desert

It's got Terence Stamp, Guy Pearce, and Hugo Weaving as 3 drag queens roaming across the Australian desert. I could NOT stop giggling when I saw the Matrix and the LOTR trilogies.

LOVED Strictly Ballroom and own the DVD. Muriel's wedding is also great.

achenfan - that makes me wonder now too - i saw it at an indie film festival... maybe i should get the US one and compare (yeah, like i'm gonna remember exactly how the movie went)...

I own the "Strictly Ballroom" DVD too, AJ. Don't you just love the special feature about the *real* ballroom dancing competition? Some of the people in that documentary are what we Aussies would call "dags" (I guess the closest U.S. translation would be something like "nerds" or "geeks"). Actually, I'm a bit of a dag myself.

I love "Muriel's Wedding," too.

"You're terrible, Muriel."

"It's Mariel."

"Yesterday, amid one of our brainstorming sessions, someone came up with an idea so radical, so potentially liberating from the straitjacket of journalistic responsibility, that I had no choice but to embrace it. The idea was: Let's give our readers a Redskins victory."

This is an idea I will pass on to The Kansas City Star. The KC Royals are one loss away from losing 100 games this season. And it's not the first season they've managed this feat. They have to be the sorriest team in baseball. Kansas City baseball fans could definitely use some Royals victories, even manufactured ones.

Sara, you're a Chiefs fan? You should visit Arrowhead Stadium some time to enjoy the tailgating (one word? two?). The stadium parking lots are filled hours before each game with fans enjoying their barbecue and brew.

Mo, Muriel's Wedding is one of my favorite movies, too.

achenfan - what's a chook? it was the nickname of that horrendous girl's husband in muriel's wedding... i've never known what that meant???? and is there really a porpoise spit? and are south african men really that hot?????

mo:
I'm thinking -- hoping -- that the version they'd show at an indie film festival would be the true blue version. Hopefully the version I saw at the Outer Circle was the real deal, too, and only the DVD version is different.

I'm thinking this different-versions question gives us a good excuse to watch "The Castle" many more times to try and spot any inconsistencies. Usually if I'm watching an Australia movie and an American phrase has been dubbed over an Australian one, I notice it.

SCC entry:
"watching an AustraliaN movie"

and two cool muriel's wedding trivia bits:

Toni Collette gained 40 pounds in 7 weeks with the help of a dietitian for this role.

Bill Hunter was filming The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994) and Muriel's Wedding (1994) at the same time, each requiring him to have different length hair, beard and to be in different parts of the country. Both films developed international cult followings and prominently featured the music of ABBA.

A chook is a chicken, so it wasn't a very flattering name for that guy/bloke in "Muriel's Wedding." The term is often used to imply that a woman is beyond her prime, e.g., "She's an old chook," or "She's looking a bit chook-y." Not nice at all!

When I was a teenager, there was a clothing store in Australia called Sportsgirl (still is, I think). I used to think I was terribly clever by telling my mother she should buy her clothes at Sportschook (she was probably younger than I am now at the time). I still apologize to her for that occasionally, but she just says, "Oh, don't worry, love, I didn't mind."

Of course, "chook" can also be used simply to describe a chicken itself, especially one that might be eaten, as in a "chook raffle" at a bowling club.

All this is probably more than you ever wanted to know about chooks . . .

Sorry, mo -- I forgot to answer your other two questions:

No, I don't think there's really a place called Porpoise Spit (I wish there was, though!)

As for South African men, I didn't really notice that the one in the film was cute, because he was such a big meanie!

I really am Achenbloghoggin' today . . .

My Kiwi friends tell me that a dag is the term for the tail portion of a sheepskin. This part is always encrusted with dung and frequently cut off and discarded. There used to be a popular comedian in New Zealand who called himself Fred Dag. As to Muriel's Wedding, my fave is the Rachael Griffiths character (love that sexy overbite) and the wonderful way she puts down the "popular girls" at the resort and again at the end of the film.

I always thought "dag" referred to a piece of encrusted dung stuck to a sheep's backside. Or to any animal's backside, really, but mainly sheep.

My Dad always goes on about Fred Dag -- pretty much every time the word "dag" is mentioned. (Again, I hope my Dad doesn't read this blog.)

SCC entry
I think I was trying to say that I thought the dag was the dung itself rather than the tail portion of the skin. I'm not sure that "encrusted dung" makes sense -- maybe "dry dung."
kurosawaguy's term, "sheepskin . . . encrusted with dung" probably makes more sense.

what i find amusing about priscilla queen of the desert is that all those guys are pretty darn butch! i mean, look at the limey, the matrix and rules of engagement (movies that the 3 stars made after priscilla)... them sum BUTCH movies/roles!

and thanx for the info about chook! that always bothered me!

My chiropractor looks like Guy Pearce. I always look forward to visiting the chiropractor!

Don't forget Memento. He was kind of butchy in that movie too. (Please forget that Time Machine movie-it was truly awful.)

Haven't seen Priscilla Queen of the Desert, but certainly intend to since reading AJ's post that Guy Pearce is in it. He was great in La Confidential and Memento. Memento - now there's a movie for ya!

On the subject of Australian film, check out Brian Brown in "A Town Like Alice". It's more than feature length, probably made as a mini series, deals with Aussie POWs in WWII, and later life on a station in the Outback.
When I first saw Judy Davis in My Brilliant Career years ago I was convinced that she had the chops to be a very big star. She is not beautiful in any conventional way, but you can't stop watching her!

Ooh, I *love* Memento, Nani. That's another one I own on DVD.

kurosawaguy, what is the film Judy Davis made in which she played a back up dancer (or maybe singer, I forget which) who is constantly on the road from one gig to another. By chance, she meets a young girl she calls "Fish Face" who turns out to be the daughter she gave up for adoption at birth.

Word o' the Day ...

Main Entry: dag
Pronunciation: 'dag
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English dagge
1 : a hanging end or shred
2 : matted or manure-coated wool

I know nothing about Aussie films.

Is Memento that movie about the man who has no short term memory capabilities due to an accident, so he tattoos himself every night with new pieces of clues involving his wife's death (or something like that) so that he can study them and remember again in the morning?

That's the one, Sara (although I don't think it's an Aussie movie -- it just happens to have one Aussie actor in it).

And this isn't an Aussie blog, it just has one Aussie Achenbloghogger on it -- and she doesn't even know what a dag is.

That second definition of dag is a little more than gross.

Achenfan, with great power comes great responsibility.

and a none-aussie achenbloghogger who is fascinated with aussie! sorry - didn't mean to get so off topic! hey, but now you know what a chook is! and maybe some good movies to rent... (i have a feeling blockbuster won't have the castle - their foreign movie section blows!)

scc... none = non

ok, I googled Judy Davis. The film is HIGH TIDE. Judy is back up singer for an Elvis impersonater and is faced with a moral dilemma; whether to allow her daughter to run away with her (this is what the daughter THINKS she wants and what Judy has led her to believe will happen), or to once again abandon her daughter who has a stable loving home with her adoptive parents.

mo:
Another funny Aussie movie you might like is "The Dish" -- have you seen that one? It has Sam Neill in it, as well as the guy who plays David Puddy on Seinfeld (not sure what he's doin' there).

Again: Somebody stop me!

09/20/2005

Notice to All Participants:

Please note that enrollment for the second semester of Austrialian Films and Linguistics will end effective Friday, September 23, 2005. Professor Achenbach has indicated that she wishes to have a class size of no more than 200. Please submit your enrollment applications no later than 3:00 pm on September 23.

Thank you for your kind attention and cooperation.

Maynard G. Krebs
Associate Dean
Achenblog University

There was a David Puddy on Seinfeld? I never followed the show regularly though, so most of the characters on there I wouldn't know. I know the Soup Nazi and the main characters. And Newman.

I believe Achenbach prefers to be called Commander, not Professor.

Puddy was the mechanic and, in a fairly famous show, a painted-face hockey fan.

Oh Good Grief! I meant to type Professor Achenfan! That's FAN. Cripes, I ruined the whole joke.

Look, everybody just completely ignore post 4:31:03 PM, OK?

Please carry on. Thank you.

David Puddy was Elaine's on-again-off-again boyfriend. He was a "grease monkey" (although he didn't like that term) and also a face painter ("The Devils!"). He helped Kramer install a garbage disposal unit in his shower, and Kramer thanked Puddy by preparing him a meal that he made *in* the shower. Unfortunately, Puddy was a recovering germ-o-phobe, and the idea of a shower-prepared meal sickened him.

[See? I can talk about American stuff too.]

Does that mean *I* get to be called Commander? (Maybe Commandeer would be more appropriate.)

[Actually, CowTown, I would have been honored to have Achenbach teach the class himself. Or at least be my Teacher's Assistant.]

Heh. Puddy's still not ringing any bells. I must have missed every episode he was in. It's likely.

Heh. Puddy's still not ringing any bells. It's altogether possible that I missed every episode he was ever in, though.

achenfan - the problem is finding any place that rents aussie films around here - blockbuster is scarce at best... i worked at kim's video in nyc while in college - they had the BEST foreign video collection and a large number of the video's were arranged by director... they also had a huge "cult" movie section and a large porn (domestic and foreign) section that always made me blush when i had customers check them out...

Achenfan

But that's the whole point. YOU'RE the Professor of Austrialiology. A fine one, I might add, as I'm enjoying this thread even though I have nothing to contribute. The Boss, he knows golf. And geology.

More on Puddy:

He used to say "Yeah, that's right" a lot.

If he was sitting at home on his sofa, he wouldn't be reading or watching TV or anything, he'd just be sitting there staring into space. So if the phone rang, he'd reach over and answer it on the first ring.

He has been known to wear a fur coat in winter, as well as an 8-ball jacket.

He went to Europe with Elaine, and they drove each other nuts. On the plane on the way home, they kept arguing and breaking up and getting back together again. They were sitting next to a guy who had vegetable lasagna for dinner, whom they called Vegetable Lasagna. At one point Puddy became jealous when Elaine was talking to V.L., to which Elaine responded, "Who, him? Oh, he's just an idiot."

OK, that's probably enough for now.

Woah...

Sorry y'all. I thought it didn't post the first time.

mo,

Where do you live? Have you tried either Video Vault in Alexandria or Tower Records for renting foreign films?

Achenfan should also be professor of Seinfeldology. You could make it one of those double courses, like when you take a science class and you HAVE to sign up for a lab class in addition. If you sign up for the Australianiology or whatever class, then you have to also sign up for the Seinfeldology class.

Are there any Potomac Video stores left, or did they all close down?

According to this, they are still around:

http://www.potomacvideo.com/

Sara

Excellent. We could require the Achenblog Book List as a prerequisite. This is money.

i live in falls church/arlington area - the bastion for mainstream american fare movies...
i wonder how netflix is for foreign films?

I do have one contribution. Sad movie. Smash Palace.

ah cowtown - you just alluded to another excellent movie - tho not aussie - the indie smash and sleeper hit "swingers"

Potomac Video.. several locations around the DC area. Great selection..at least they always had a great VHS selection.

I'm hoping they also have a good selection of DVDs, although I must admit that since Tivo entered my life [insert angels singing here] I don't rent many movies.

Also... The guy who played Puddy also played Johnny Johnson on NewsRadio and I believe he was The Tick, too. AND he played Dave Barry's secretary's boyfriend on that show about Dave Barry that starred Harry Anderson (remember that one?)

Great character actor.

I was going to make a comment along the lines that there would be no classes on National Porch Day, and then I got to wondering, IS there a National Porch Day?

It turns out there's a Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor's Porch Day, on August 8 (i.e., during the summer vacation, so classes won't be affected).

[I wouldn't be surprised if Sneak Some Zucchini, etc., Day had already been covered on the Achenblog, so I apologize if this information is redundant.]

I remember seeing "Smash Palace" years ago. Yeah, that was excellent but not at all easy to watch.

Netflix is pretty good for foreign films, as long as they have been released on DVD.

Puddy is my favorite Seinfeld characters.

"You're going to hell."

same $*$&^%)W*^R as usual!!!

Why, good afternoon, goombahdaddy. Your Aussie Films or Seinfeld contributions are welcome, but we're an open menu blog.

I'm surprised Falls Church doesn't have a good video store. CD Celler only sells movies, I don't think you can rent from them. Of course, Tower at Tyson's isn't that far away. There's a Potomac Video in Falls Church.

Olsson's also rents and they have a pretty good selection.

I can't never decide whether King of Comedy (Robert DiNero plays a sweet psychotic nerd who dreams of being a stand up comic and having his own late night talk show) is one of the saddest or funniest films ever.

"I can't never??" Oops, I can't ever....

You know, I should just shut up. That's it. "Smash Palace?" It's a Kiwi film. Figures. Sheesh.

oooo! good call pj THANKS!! there's an olsson's on my way home from work! (the tower and potomac video at tysons/falls church are on the other side of falls church thru traffic HELL!)

No, don't shut up, CowTown. Aussie, Kiwi, same diff! -- eh, mo? In fact, I have to admit I thought Fred Dag was an Aussie until kurosawaguy reminded me he was a Kiwi.

Also, I was impressed by the SternCow approach you used in your post of 5:34:12. Would you consider being Achenblog University's Discipline Master?

man - in today's boodle i learned the origins of "when the saints" song and it's ties to the NO saints, learned what a dag and a chook are and found a video store that rents foreign dvd's near my home!

*sniff, sniff* i love the boodle!

Puddy also had an annoying habit of saying "high five."

Yeah, that's right.

Achenfan

Discipline Master? Only if I get to wear a floor length black leather raincoat and dark glasses.

Of course, CowTown. And feel free to brandish a branding iron whenever you feel so inclined.

CowTown, the Flying Spaghetti Monster was mentioned today in Gene's chat. You are very good at the discipline thing. And my mind filled in Achenfan where you wrote Professor Achenbach, so it was a good joke anyway.

Nice to see Sara back too - good idea about the Achenblog Book List.

I don't see many movies - usually I wait till they're on commercial TV, so I'm years behind - and they don't show many Aussie films, sadly. A few years ago I watched quite a few Japanese comedies - A Taxing Woman and Shall We Dance are great. I did see the American remake of Shall We Dance with Richard Gere and Jennifer Lopez - not good at all...

Thanks for the tangent, all - when I read the Kit this morning I was expecting a sports boodle - should have known better.

C'mon mostlylurking, we stay on topic about as long as your average 5-year old.

Puddy was an amusing character, the whole Christian angle was some pretty subtle stuff.

Ahh, see what I miss when I do "real life stuff"?

bc

C'town----

Oh, yeah, mon. And we can have all the drivel we can eat. This never changes. Will try working on the aussie films before the blogs next survey of interstellar portapotties.

Ever notice how topics revert to small talk and our group stays the same?

ah, cram it, Goombahdaddyo

I'm feeling a little depressed that Linda Loomis may be leaving the blog. Perhaps she'll post more details about her book project.

I'd definitely like to hear more about Linda's book project as well.

And as much as we'll miss her, her devotion to her life's work as expressed in her book project is laudable.

When it's published, she's going to have to come out to DC for a book signing (word to her publisher!), where she'll be treated like a hip hop star.

It's not so easy so get the 'boodle out of your system, even if you're just lurking.

bc

New Kit coming up in the next hour, on Katrina relief and how we'll pay for it.
I hope LindaLoo doesn't leave us entirely but certainly a book project is something that takes tremendous concentration and I think I can speak for both the Kit and the Kabood that we would all root for LL's great success in whatever literary endeavor she undertakes.
While I'm trying to finish the Kit, maybe someone can weigh in on the central questions underlying yesterday's post. LL sums it up:
"Will paper newpapers become dinosaurs? Will the future of newspapers be blogs or simply electronic editions? Will we continue to trust newspapers (that have connected with them big bureacracies and hierarchies) for our vital news of the world?"
My own suspicion is that newspapers will survive and thrive. We have to be smarter and more useful, but it's hard for me to see how an information-based industry can fall apart in an information-based society. Perhaps the "broadcast" nature of a newspaper will inevitably change. Right now we produce a newspaper that tries to be for everyone, but people increasingly are going to want something customized. But in any case I am going to learn some other skill so I have a fall-back position. Farming, welding, commando raiding, something like that.

I recently resubscribed to the Post with the idea that it's nice to have a paper around, and even if I'm not actually reading the hardcopy, I usually read most of the paper one way or another. It's like newspaper welfare. Or something.

Thanks, mostlylurking. I've been here, but like your name, I've taken to mostly lurking. I just don't feel the need to say anything lately.

mo,

I was just looking at your pictures on your blog site. I like them a lot. Do you develop your own or take them somewhere? Or are they digital? I have a dark room in my basement where I've been playing around with different contrasts lately, and a lot of your pictures are the types that I use for that. So I was just wondering if you had the same hobby.

While I enjoy reading the WP online while at work, I think I'd go blind if I could only read the news on a computer screen. Words on paper have a tactile quality that's hard to describe, but it's an essential part of reading. If I can sit and read, I want a paper newspaper - there's no substitute.

On the other hand, My boss would get really upset if he found me sitting at my desk with the WP spread out before me, but if I peek at it occasionally between projects or calls, it's OK.

If I didn't READ the paper every morning, how would I know what to THINK and how to LIVE through the day?!

Newspapers will survive at least as long as books do. It is harder to read books now than it used to be, because there are more distractions, more multitasking--there's, you know, all these blogs. But I read the paper before the computer gets turned on in the morning.

SFS Entry: 9:48:09 AM entry is hereby amended as follows: "...but if I peek at it occasionally [ON LINE] between projects or calls, it's OK."

Thank you.

I read the WP on my computer here at the legal law library where I work, but prefer to read my local PAPER newspaper. Almost of our legal publications are now on-line, but I still prefer to do research with actual books. However, the powers that be have advised that they will no longer purchase new books since every publication is available on-line. I love this library; some books were published in the early 1900s "yellowing with antiquity" (Blanche DuBois).

Nice to see you here, Read-Think-Live.

I see you're still a member of the Self-Flagellation Society (SFS), CowTown. I hope you will consider joining the Self-Castigation Club (SCC) -- maybe we could come up with some sort of reciprocal membership arrangement?

[Proceeds to castigate self for once again talking drivel]

sara - i took them myself with a standard pentax k1000 - i was a purist when it came to photography and still am when it's "art" or b&w - i just got a kickin digicam but i don't know how to use all the bells and whistles... i use point and shoot for casual pics... some of the pics on the website i developed myself - i don't have access to a darkroom right now so i send out my pics but i'd rather develop them myself. the ones with a "sloppy border" was done at a photo lab in Los Angeles and i can't find a lab here in dc that will do it... you can do a sloppy border by filing out the edges of the frame... i'm really into grainy pics so i use very high speed film or "push" the film (use a lower speed film but tell the camera that it's a higher speed)... i was a photo minor in college but it's been a while since i've done any work - i need a new muse... i also played around with a lot of staining, bleaching and photo paints - i'll scan them in and add them (i just keep forgetting)
oh, and THANKS!!

mo, have you tried Penn Camera?

http://www.penncamera.com/

omnigood - yeah, they are the ones that i use now (the one on penn ave) but they don't do sloppy borders - i think it's more of a artsy-fartsy thing and they are pretty conservative... but they do excellent work and are fast.

I know a guy who works at the E Street place, or at least used to, who is into artsy-fartsy stuff. His name is Jerry Smith. Maybe he could do something for you on the side.

good to know! do you have contact info? you can e-mail me at mortiifera@yahoo.com...

Actually, I was thinking of dissolving the SFS and joining the SCC, provided the dues are reasonable. I'm tired of getting stuck with doing the newsletter every month anyway.

[Taking one last opportunity to flay myself with my USB cable for engaging in drivel]

Aaagh Tom Fan: I'm sorry. The 11:10:16 AM post is Me, not Tom Fan. Jeez, I need coffee. I don't know what spaces I'm filling in anymore.

I believe the dues are: you prvide the wet noodles. heheh

No problem, CowTown. It's easy enough to make that mistake. In fact, I've almost done the same thing to you a couple of times -- I go to address a comment to you, and accidentally type "CowTown" in the "Name" box instead of my own.

Plus, that entry was so well-written, I'd be proud to claim it as my own.

As for the SCC dues, they are very, very reasonable -- just like the Achenblog subscription rates. (Nevertheless, we get our fair share of complaints from members who feel we should be serving them better.)

I am not, I repeat, am not a Redskins Fan nor have I ever been. But, I have to admit that after hearing the news the next morning (I like many, went to sleep)that THEY actually won against Dallas, I had to give them their kudos. Hey Redskins, lets see you do it again.

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.