popslant

Madmen Swings in the Sixties

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 12:42:08 -0600

One of the best shows currently on TV this season has to be AMC's Madmen. Set in the swingin' early sixties, the show is about a group of hard-drinking, chain-smoking advertising executives working in a Madison Avenue agency. Sixties nostalgia had traditionally been focused on the hairy, smelly, hippy years of the later sixties Woodstock generation, with the skinny-tie, martini-swilling, hifi jazz years relegated to squareness. No more, the suave cool has become cool once again, thanks to this excellent TV program. Sharp scripts and clever plot-lines keep the show moving at a brisk pace, but one of the best features of the program is that it features the most beautiful woman currently on television - the lovely and curvaceous Christina Hendricks. In this age of skeletal, super-model waifs, it is refreshing to see a buxom, hippy and drop-dead gorgeous woman bouncing about on the screen. Her Marilyn Monroe style curves captivate popslant every moment she is on the screen. Oh, and she can act, too.

The incredibly gorgeous Christina Hendricks as Joan Holloway.

John McCain Cancels Appearance On Irrelevant Late Night Talk Show

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 23:26:37 -0600

David Letterman is in a snit because John McCain cancelled on him the other day. Boo freakin' hoo. Letterman used to matter, but now he is the least of the talk show hosts. Remember in the seventies, when the progressive rock group Boston put out the same record twice? Letterman has put out the same show, night after night, thousands of times. He just doesn't matter anymore. Get over yourself and retire already.

SNL Dies Another Death...

Sun, 14 Sep 2008 13:35:34 -0600

You would think that having the whole summer off would give you some time to come up with some spectacular ideas to kick off a new season of a popular TV show... Not so for the cast and writers of Saturday Night Live. Once one of the funniest shows on television, SNL is wallowing in the dregs of banality. Last night's season premiere was one of the worst SNL shows ever. I feel bad for Michael Phelps, who came off some spectacular Olympic achievements and landed in the heap of dung that was last night's show. Of course, the season kicked off with some digs at Republicans, as Tina Fey made a cameo as Sarah Palin in the show's opening segment. It's ironic that the treatment of Sarah Palin by Fey, in which Fey portrayed her as a bubble-headed wing nut, showed Fey to be a bubble-headed wing nut herself. Such simplistic criticisms of our future Vice President reveal more about Fey than Palin. Surprisingly, the show went downhill from there. Stupid character driven gag followed stupid character driven gag, with the few moments of brightness soon smothered by a miasma of uninspired drivel. I'm sure Michael Phelps did the best he could not to be embarrased by this show. As an athlete he cannot be expected to pull the show up to a higher level; that's the cast's job. And in this, they failed miserably. You may wonder whether they were trying to tone down their abilities as comedians to allow Phelps to stand out among them, but that's obviously not the case. popslant feels bad for Guy Fieri, the Food Network host, who was in the front row of the audience. You score some front row tickets for SNL, then they perform this miserably? Should've stuck with Plan B, dude. You could have been having some wings at TGI Fridays with some friends and had a more entertaining time. As for the musical guest, Lil Wayne equals Little Talent. Are you kidding me? popslant found listening to Lil Wayne's gratuitous, off key bellowing to be more excruciating than having one's fingernails pulled out. How does this crap warrant an appearance on SNL, let alone on any network TV program? From the moment he uttered the oh so original exultation to "let me see your hands," I knew that he was just another in a continuing line of no-talent rappers who think being able to string together couplets constitutes some higher art form. Give me a break. So another dismal season of SNL gets underway, and once again, there's another reason to go out on Saturday and leave the TV off.

The Best Host On Late Night TV

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 16:09:06 -0600

Late night TV is usually thought of as being dominated by Jay Leno, Davis Letterman or Conan O'Brien. Of course, to those in the know, the best late night host in the business is none other than TV's Craig Ferguson. While the others engage in the same safe and droll patter night after night, Ferguson is an impassioned newly naturalized U.S. citizen who is not shy about standing up for what he believes in. And he is consistently funnier than all the others combined. Take for example his interview a few years ago with Bill Maher. When Maher said on his show it was less devastating for a child to be molested by Michael Jackson than to be beaten up by a peer, Ferguson ended the interview and sent him packing. Of course we couldn't applaud that action more, as Maher is a big-mouthed, foul little man with a TV talk show in his hand. Ferguuson's passion was at the forefront last night, when he excoriated those who complain about their situation in this country but don't follow politics or bother to vote. As a new citizen to this country, his love for democracy far outweighs many of those who were born here and take it for granted. Craig, we salute you!

There's A New Sheriff In Town

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 09:24:55 -0600

Oprah Winfrey is apparently is "balking" at the idea of having Sarah Palin on her show. Despite a large volume of e-mails asking for Palin to be a guest, it seems Oprah is resisting the idea, even against the advice of her aides. The assumption that many are making is that she is against the idea because of her admiration and support of Barack Obama. After campaigning for Obama, why in the world would she help to promote his opponent? This is the danger of being involved in the supposedly non-partisan, watered-down, self-help infommercial known as the Oprah empire, and declaring support for a political candidate. popslant doesn't believe it is just political partisanship, though. We suspect the manin reason that Oprah doesn't want to feature Sarah Palin is that Sarah Palin would overshadow her. Even Oprah on her pulpit feels threatened by the newest popular woman on the scene, especially when that woman is strong, confident, and invalidates the "woman-as-a-victim" tripe she has been peddling for so long. The Emperor wears no clothes.

Soon To Be Unemployed Talk Show Host Sucks Up to Democrats

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 23:26:36 -0600

popslant has never had much of a problem with Jay Leno. We know that talk show hosts and comedians make their nut on jokes about everybody, but the recent partisan turn of Jay on the occasion of political conventions have given us pause. On Wednesday, his cracks about the ethnic make-up about he RNC audience have led us to believe that since he will soon be losing his job, he is making a partisan attack on the heartland conservatives. Sorry Jay. We won't employ you either. Good luck making wise-cracks to the homeless. Of course, we know you're such a penny-pincher that you'll never be homeless, but at least you can save enormous chin-dominated face with your liberal friends.

Crying Gets Results

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 10:18:04 -0600

Brett Favre has been reinstated to the Green Bay Packers after a shameful episode of tantrum throwing, cry-baby antics. When told the Packers weren't interested in having him return, he acted like a baby until he got his way. It's not surprising, after his womanly retirement speech where he blubbered like a baby. popslant was embarrassed just watching it, and all Wisconsonians should be embarrassed as well. He may be a great quarterback, but he's not much of a man. What kind of lesson does this teach those children who look up to sports figures? That if you cry and scream and whine, authority figures will just cave in and you'll get your way. Welcome to 21st century America.

Pinball Lives Thanks To Family Guy

Sun, 20 Jul 2008 13:48:41 -0600

The game of pinball is alive and well, thanks to the Family Guy pinball machine! popslant spent a few hours playing this machine, and could not have been more enthusiastic at the great features included! Pinball machine used to be one ball, one level affairs that might seem staid in today's world of first person digitial video games, but The Family Guy pinball machine steps up to challange this video invasion with a multi-ball analog funfest that was hard to stop plugging quarters into. Our favorite feature was the inclusion of "Stewie Pinball," a separate baby-sized mini pinball game that takes over from the main game when you score up to it. Mini flippers on a mini board, with its own set of targets and ramps, take the game of pinball to new levels. The main board features great multi-ball play, and if you really get the game going, you find yourself playing multi-ball pinball on the main level while playing the mini Stewie Pinball at the same time! Hilarious quotes from the TV series, including some lines never actually uttered on the TV show, add to the fun. Victory is mine!


The playing field of the Family Guy pinball machine	Stewie Pinball! A mini game within the big board.	3D character models from the TV series accentuate the play!

Just Give Us The Sandwich!

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 13:17:27 -0600

Fast food outlets have marketed the ubiquitous "Extra Value Meal" for some time, but popslant recognizes it for the ploy that it is! Namely, a way for them to up-sell you to more merchandise! We know that the most expensive items for these places to provide are the sandwiches, which could be termed "loss leaders." They make their money on the sides, especially the drinks, which cost them pennies to provide. So, if they can get you to buy these items in addition to the sandwiches, they make more money. popslant has no problem with that - if you want fries and/or a drink, it is great that you can save a little money by ordering them at a special package price. Of course, the fries and the drink are usually the most unhealthy part of the meal, nothing but empty calories and too much sugar and salt, so we choose not order them. In any case, what we object to is the heavy-handed approach in pushing these "value meals" onto the public. We are tired of ordering a sandwich and automatically being charged a full meal price. Just last week, we were once again in a fast food outlet and ordered a sandwich. The total price was far beyond the price of the sandwich, and when we inquired why, we were told that's how much the meal costs. Of course, we didn't order the meal, we explicitly asked for a sandwich. We caught the mistake, and the order was corrrected and the proper price paid. The problem is that this happens way to often for our liking. English is english - if we wanted a "value meal" we would have asked for it. The question we have is: how many people order a sandwich and don't catch the mistake, then return home with their order, only to find they bought and paid for items they did not want? By then, who is going to return extra items and obtain the refund? Few people, we assume. Thus, these "value meals" become akin to a scam, where people are automatically upcharged without their knowledge. popslant is sick of this. It happens almost every time. So, to these outlets we say: stop making assumptions and trying to upsell us! When we order a sandwich, just give us the sandwich!

It's Miller Time

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 09:42:23 -0600

popslant was weaned on Budweiser, a great American beer, Now that it has been taken over by European company InBev, we are being forced to re-evaluate our priorities. We like a good European beer like many people do, but if we're going to have an European beer, we prefer one that is actually European, such as Heinekin, St. Pauli Girl or InBev's flagship beer, Beck's. If we want to drink an American beer, we'd prefer that the company that owns it is actually American. Of course, they claim that the headquarters is going to remain in St. Louis, but where do all the profits go? And the biggest question of all: what happens to the Clydesdales?

The Least Of The Late Night Bandleaders

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 11:25:08 -0600

Without a doubt, Kevin Eubanks is the lamest of the late night bandleaders. The first rule in rock guitar playing is to stand up and play, yet he sits on his stool night after night like a boy instead of a man. Last night he played "Purple Haze," as the show went into commercial break. Wow, Kevin, way to reach for the low-hanging fruit—playing a song that is more appropriate for a high-school level garage band than a national late night TV show. The Tonight Show theme song is a mess. The horns are decent, the percussion is good, but the guitar is abyssmal. Weedly wee goes Kevin, playing a lugubrious warble over the top of it all that has neither melody nor hooks. It's as if he's just trying to play guitar without the music. Hey! Look at me! I'm playing the hell out of this thing! popslant prefers Max Weinberg and his band of 7 over Kevin Eubanks any day. Or even Paul Schaffer, who has grown ever more bizarre over the years, but still does a pretty decent job. Looking beyond the guitar playing is his smarmy personality. We know you think you're cool Kevin, as you make wise-cracks to Jay and treat him like a square, but you're not. Your self-indulgent quips just show how vain and egotistical you are. Oh sure, you may indulge Jay by being the butt of a joke in one of his skits, but through it all you are dripping with an annoying narcissism. No we're not making this up, all you have to do is look at one of your album covers. Get over yourself, or get a room and stop trying to remind us of how great you think you are. I hope you're saving your money Kevin. Jay's run of the Tonight Show is over next year, so in 2009, you'll be out of a job. See ya...

Fattening Terrorists

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 12:00:51 -0600

Sacha Baron Cohen is back, and he's fooling people again. His latest victim is a former Mossad agent who was duped by Cohen's character Bruno, a fictional German rock star. In an interview with former Israeli Defense Forces officer Yossi Alpher, Cohen made light of the the Israeli/Palestinian conflict and feigned confusion over the differences between Hamas, the Palestinian terrorist organization, and humous, the tasty chickpea spread. Another particularly amusing exchange was when Cohen stated that the Israeli/Palestinian conflict was not so bas as the conflict between Angelina Jolie and Jennifer Aniston. It slowly dawned on Alpher that perhaps something less than serious was going on. popslant is happy to see Cohen return to his roots and back in fine interviewing form. Borat had its funny moments, but was mostly insipid. Let's hope this new film production is better.

Pringles' Strange New Flavor

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 18:11:45 -0600

You've no doubt heard by now that the creator of the Pringles' Potato Chip can was buried in one! Fredric J. Bauer was so proud of his accomplishment he made the request before he passed on. Created in 1966, the can has become a bona fide pop culture icon. One reason may be is that they are like the duct tape of potato chip containers. popslant has seen the empty cans used for pencil holders, strapped to drum sets to hold extra sticks, and even made into makeshift devices for smoking "tobacco and tobacco like substances." We have to give the guy props for being the ultimate recylcer! But I don't think a Pringles Potato Chip will ever taste quite the same again...

Pixeloo Untooned Photoshops

Fri, 30 May 2008 11:22:13 -0600

We love Photoshopped images, and one of the best places to see some good Photoshops is at Pixeloo.Blogpsot.com. Pixeloo has some great "Untooned" cartoon characters featuring some great work. The creepiest is the realistic version of Homer Simpson, but we were drawn to the Jessica Rabbit image for some reason... Visit Pixeloo to see more!

Your One Way Ticket To Midnight

Fri, 23 May 2008 16:42:18 -0600

Heavy Metal magazine, a favorite in the late seventies and early eighties, is still publishing and still features some of the best comic art out there! I hadn't read Heavy Metal since the eighties, when I thought they began to decline somewhat, so out of curiosity, I picked up the latest issue. The stories were fresh and enjoyable, and the artwork top-notch. One thing that is not missed is the preponderance of serialized stories, one of the things that made early Heavy Metal mags a bit of a drag. Almost every story was part of a serial. Not quite so anymore, and a welcome change. Missed are some of the classic Heavy Metal artists such as Moebius, Phillippe Druillet, and Philippe Caza. Boris Vallejo has artwork in it though, and Richard Corben was seen in some recent issues. Oh well, the Moebius' of tomorrow have to come from somewhere, don't they? Another element missing would be cover art that does not feature a pin-up girl on every single issue. I like to look at the ladies as much as anyone else, but early issues had covers featuring all sorts of subjects, in addition to the occasional voluptuous sexpot. Viewing the covers for the recent issues made me think I was looking through nudie mags rather than comic books. The last issue not to feature a pin-up girl was 10 years ago.


August 1978	March 1979	November 1998
Artwork by a classic early HM artist Philippe "Caza" Cazamayou. Globular!	Here's one for the gearheads! "SMASH" by Angus McKie features a crazy tank battle!	This cover by Zook is the last HM cover to feature something other than a pin-up girl.

A great Heavy Metal site, if you wish to learn more or view every cover throughout its existence, is the Heavy Metal Magazine Fan Page. Or you could do as I did, and pick up the latest issue. My favorite story from this issue, for both story and the art, is "My Adventures In Hells Kitchen" by Philip J. Cohen. A short tale that takes an interesting twist on some familiar subjects from child-hood.