Part roast, part celebration, the Conan O'Brien: Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize for Comedy was quite the event. Tons of comics riff on O'Brien and then tell how O'Brien influenced their careers. Lots of funny stuff. One hit after another culminating in O'Brien coming out and giving a very heartfelt speech about why comedy is important especially in today' environment. It did not go unmentioned that Tr*** had recently taken over control of the board of the Kennedy Center.

A good watch. Very entertaining if you like Conan O'Brien at all.

The film version of Bono's book about Bono and some bits about U2. I will say the film is beautifully film and assembled and I did enjoy a lot of the bits. But I think I've had too much Bono at this point. I saw a lot of the press he did for this tour. And I had read the book. So it was a bit of a slog. There was a lot of music in the film and I think I prefer the original versions of the songs in most cases. I know most of the stories he tells so there wasn't a lot of new insight but some of the telling was enjoyable.

I have a lot of mixed feelings about this film.

We (Greg & I) went through our Luis Bunuel phase and it's been forever since I checked in with one of his films. This is arguably Bunuel's most famous but I couldn't remember it at all. Catherine Deneuve is a frigid housewife with a dashingly handsome and compassionate husband, but she rebuffs his advances. Meanwhile she secretly takes a job as a high class prostitute during the day.

It's daring for '67. No frontal nudity but plenty of Deneuve, who is stunning in the role. I can't quite understand her characters motivations, and it glamorizes prostitution for the most part, which feels dated in how it's portrayed. It's an exploration of French kink, which is as surreal as this gets. There's the infamous box scene where a John shows a box to the three prostitutes and 2 flinch while one gets excited. We never see what's in the box. That's so Bunuel. But on the whole, the film is mostly conventional. Those surreal touches that made me a fan of Bunuel are downplayed, which is probably why this film was so successful, that and the FIN, the final mcguffin, which is heart wrenching. 

A good watch - a classic of the kind that I expect from Criterion - but particularly D00M recommended.

Apparently this was released a few years ago, but it just landed on Amazon Prime (I think it's also available to stream on Hoopla)

I only know this one song from them, but it's so awesome...



...so I watched the doc. Here's an interview with the director (I haven't found the trailer yet):



Pretty talented kids that found each other, found a shared purpose and exploded in a very grass roots way, and then, like so many rock docs, they fizzled out.

Lots of Americana and olde-style music...recommended if you like stuff in that Oh Brother Where Art Thou vein.

--tg

I have now been present at a stadium K-pop show and I shall never be the same.

My tinnitus is ringing at 11, not from the monstrous bass drops or pyro blasts, but from the shrill screams of young fangirls - I wish that could be weaponized. This was Tara’s first experience of teen girl fan shrill and she was in awe of its might. 

More to come later. Sleep now…

Peter played Rain in Big Trouble in Little China, but beyond acting, he was a martial cousin. His master was Johnny So, a KF brother of Wing Lam. 

We crossed paths a few times over the years and he was always kind and generous. I was always astonished that he remembered me. He came to our tournament as a covert escort to So. I didn't know So was going to come until he was there. Peter served to pave the way. That was the only time I met So (my sibak = martial uncle). 

Peter was a cool dude with a sly sense of humor.

Quote:Peter Kwong Dies: ‘Big Trouble In Little China’ & ‘The Golden Child’ Actor & Longtime Hollywood Union Rep Was 73
Erik Pedersen
Wed, May 28, 2025 at 3:30 PM PDT
3 min read

Peter Kwong Dies: ‘Big Trouble In Little China’ & ‘The Golden Child’ Actor & Longtime Hollywood Union Rep Was 73

Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience.

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Peter Kwong, a martial artist and actor who played one of the Three Storms in Big Trouble in Little China and a henchman in The Golden Child during a prolific acting career and was active in actors union politics and the movie and TV academy leadership, has died. He was 73.
His reps told Deadline that Kwong died overnight Tuesday in his sleep but did not provide other details.

The Wild Robot

A robot gets accidentally delivered to an island only inhabited by animals. Roz, the robot, is desperate to find somebody or something to give her a task to accomplish. She ends up getting imprinted by a goose, which she then has to raise and teach before winter sets in on the island. It's all very manipulative and fun geared towards making you cry, just ask the Queen.

No sword fights.

Another road trip with Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman. This time they leave Ewan's home in Scotland, go through a bit of the Netherlands and Germany, up through Scandinavia, back down into Central Europe, and Westward back. They are riding vintage bikes this time, Ewan's is a 1971(?) Ducati, formerly a California CHP bike, and Charley has an old BMW, but if they said a year I didn't catch it.

It's entertaining; they are affable and much of the scenery is great, and it's occasionally amusing. Recommended if you like travel shows.

The author is a scientist and Alex was an African Grey Parrot. She worked with him (and a couple of other birds) for years on language experiments. DM might have read something about this when he was at UCSC. It turned out that the parrots had more language understanding than anyone thought possible, and had abilities that were previously thought only to exist in primates. Alex could understand labels for shapes and colors, and even learned Arabic numbers, for instance understanding that the numeral 5 represented a greater quantity that three physical objects. Amusingly, he also picked up phrases from the lab staff and used them in the correct context - such as saying "Pay attention!" when no one responded to him.

Probably not DOOM recommended unless you have an interest in animal intelligence experiments, but it was a quick and entertaining read.

Seth Rogen directs this behind the scenes look at movie production. When we start, Rogen is just elevated to head of Production for his studio. Bryan Cranston, the owner of the studio, wants him to make a movie about Kool-Aid as there new Intellectual property. I can barely tolerate Rogen and his laugh but he keeps it in check for most of the show. Kudos to Rogen for directing. He likes to use a lot of walk and talks and oners. 

I'm enjoying the show because I see a lot of things I know. The Queen could skip it because it is all so painful to watch people have to go against their dreams at almost every turn.

I will continue to watch. I saw a clip where Rogen goes up against Ron Howard, playing himself, and I want to see the full episode.