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So, Mary Poppins fans across the country are all up in arms about this report on ABC News the other night. They claim that Mary is lying when she tells Bert she can say Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious backwards. First of all, why the heck did this make it onto the news? Second of all, duh! I've known it was wrong basically my entire life, but never actually bothered to get into it because it really doesn't matter. But now they've made it an issue.

The real problem is not that she doesn't really say it backwards, but that she is inconsistent in her delivery. For most of it, she's just saying pieces of the word forward by letter but in backward order until she gets to the "repus" part when she suddenly puts the letters backward. The thing is, if she would have said the entire word backward, letter by letter, it would have sounded ridiculous. Like this kid.

Meanwhile, are we all just going to ignore the fact that Mary Poppins itself is basically one huge lie? Pretty much everything that happens in that movie is completely impossible; Mary flies around, jumps into a chalk pavement picture, tidies up rooms with a snap of her fingers, etc ... In light of all that, can't we just let this Supercal thing slide?

This does become an issue when Julie Andrews herself runs around at her one of her public appearances, and fulfills a request from one of the innocent children in the audience to say Supercal backwards. Now she's lying as a real person, in real life, to real children sitting in the audience blindly believing her. That is the real outrage.

Bond, James Bond

Well, I experienced my first James Bond film last weekend, Goldfinger. It was fabulous. And I realized what a tragedy it is that I've not seen any James Bond films until now.

Yes, it's incredibly corny, but that's the fun part. Plus he has all kinds of fun 60's gadgets, including a rather primitive GPS system. And I had already seen the Mythbusters James Bond special, so I was pleased to finally get to see their inspiration.

I'm guessing that all the Bond films are pretty similar, but in this one, James is attempting to stop a certain Mr. Goldfinger from stealing the country's gold. There are a number of car chases, lots of explosions, and a couple deaths-by=hat. And along the way, James makes out with every single blond girl he runs into. One of them gets painted gold because of him and his skanky ways. That was the best part. I started to have trouble telling the difference between the women, they basically all looked the same, but it didn't seem to cause a problem. They're really just there for James to make out with and then they die so he can meet a new one.

In the end, it was silly and over the top and completely unbelievable, but beyond entertaining. And the song during the opening titles sung by a crazy 60's lady with excessive vibrato was fantastic! I definitely need to see some more Bond films!

TCM Fun

I wish my ipod looked like this. And played these videos!

Casablanca, Starring Spongebob

Spongebob voice actors overdub scenes from Casablanca, Singin' in the Rain, and The Godfather. Hilarious!

Old Movies + The Simpsons

One of the few "current" things I really enjoy is The Simspons. I’m a little ashamed to admit it, but I can’t help it. It’s a great show. The main reason I love it is because they constantly make references to the corny, old things that I love. These are the jokes that most people under the age of 70 miss out on. So I thought I'd put together a top ten list of my favorite references to old movies/people/shows on The Simspsons.

10. The Sound of Music episode. I just saw this one for the first time yesterday and it may or may not be the inspiration for this blog post. Lisa takes on the task of tutoring the yokel children only to have Krusty turn them into a musical act for his show.

9. The Shining episode. The Simpsons look after Mr. Burns' summer cottage and Homer goes crazy. It's just a part of the Treehouse of Horror episode, but still wonderful.

8. The Music Man episode. A smooth talking fellow shows up in Springfield and convinces the town to get a monorail by singing a song not unlike "Ya Got Trouble."

7. Bart in Rear Window. Bart breaks his leg and is confined to his bedroom for the summer where he spies on the Flanders home next door. He comes to believe Ned has killed his wife, and Bart and Lisa investigate. Through his telescope, Bart also sees Jimmy Stewart spying on him through his camera. Brilliant!

6. Ma Kettle. Why any of the writers for The Simpsons know who Ma Kettle is, I can't imagine, but they do, and they throw a Ma Kettle reference in every so often. This one is my favorite from Cheif Wiggum while arresting Marge for smuggling drugs:

Wiggum: Save it, Ma Peddle!
Lou: "Ma Peddle"?
Wiggum: It's a reference to Ma Kettle, the popular movie character from the '40s.
Lou: If you have to explain it, it's not good, Chief.

5. The Mary Poppins episode. The Simpsons hire a nanny, Shary Bobbins, who wins the childrens' affections by singing such songs as, "Cut Every Corner" and "A Boozehound Named Barney."

4. Paul McCartney and Apu. Lisa becomes a vegetarian and after her family gives her crap for it, she ends up at the Kwik-e-Mart where Paul and Linda McCartney are (for some inexplicable reason) hanging out on the roof. There are too many Beatles references in this episode to mention, and Paul and Linda do their own voices.

3. Smithers as Judy Garland. Really one of my favorite Simpsons moments. Homer gets Smithers high and things get a little weird:

Smithers: This suit used to belong to Judy Garland. Uh, we could sing a song, if you don't mind being Mickey Rooney.
Homer: You mean that guy on "60 Minutes" who yells all the time?

2. Robert Goulet at Bart's Casino. Robert Goulet plays himself and is booked to sing at Mr. Burns' new casino, but Bart gets him at the airport and brings him to his treehouse casino where he sings "Jingle Bells, Batman Smells" and whacks Milhouse with a microphone. Robert Goulet isn't in much of the episode, but when he is, it's hilarious:

Robert Goulet: Are you sure this is the Casino? Mr. Burns' Casino? I think I should call my manager...
Nelson: Your manager says for you to shut up!
Robert Goulet: Vera said that?

1. My Fair Lady episode. Lisa teaches Groundskeeper Willie to be a proper gentleman while they sing songs like "Wouldn't it be Adequate," "What Flows from the Nose, Should not Go on My Clothes," and "Indoors All Night." This episode is doubly wonderful because, not only is My Fair Lady my favorite musical, but Groundskeeper Willie is my favorite Simpsons character. It's like they wrote it just for me.

The Pajama Game

Let’s be honest, this is not a great movie. First, Doris Day’s hair is atrocious. Second, John Raitt may have been successful in stage musicals, but he’s really not a looker. Third, most of the songs in this movie are extremely lame. Hey There? Possibly the cheesiest song ever made. And the one they sing at the picnic is so bad I can’t even remember the name.

But what can we expect? How good can a movie about union pajama factory workers be? And the main character’s name is Babe. I realize this movie was made about 40 years a go, but watching it today, that name only conjures up images of an annoying talking pig.

The film’s main redeeming quality happens to be one of the non-lame songs: Hernando’s Hideaway. Ok, it’s a lame song. But at least it’s lame and awesome. Also, it will still be stuck in your head for days after you watch the movie. And you won’t be able to remember all the words so you’ll make up some of your own. All the qualities of a perfect song.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate this movie. I actually kind of like it. It’s one of those movies you can watch over and over and completely make fun of every time. It keeps your mind sharp. I would recommend watching it if you’re so inclined, but be prepared for extreme cheesiness and really terrible Doris Day hair.

SAG Awards

I love awards shows, but I don't really know why, seeing as most of the people I like are dead. Nevertheless, I watch them. Typically my favorite part is the "In Memoriam" video, or the Lifetime Achievement type awards if it's given to someone good and old. This year's memoriam video was particularly sad since we lost on of my favorites, Deborah Kerr.

I was rather amused to see Mickey Rooney there presenting an award. I don't know why they had him there really, and he kind of rambled on forever about who knows what. He was a little crazy, as usual, and extremely old, but he's always entertaining. I was shocked at how easily he walked out on stage, especially after a number of people younger than him had trouble making it to he podium. It also made me want to watch some old Mickey/Judy movies. They're always fun.

I always wished he had just married Judy Garland. Maybe her life would have been a little more normal. But then again, maybe it would have been even more insane. Instead, he married about 85 other women and had 9 children. But he has been married to his current wife for 30 years, so that's something.