Some day I want my magic to have a message like this. I know some times he can be corny but the more I see David Copperfield’s effects on YouTube, the more I’m beginning to see the kind of magic that I want to perform.

Here is something that mixes my two favorite things, magic and music.

I was going to keep this magic related but I’m in the mood to share some links with you guys tonight.

Now I hope you click on every link because I promise you will find something that amuses you, even if it’s only a little.

I have to admit that I’m a huge Andy Kaufman fan. Not a lot of people in my generation have even heard of him. I was lucky and my parents kept a lot of the old SNL seasons recorded. We were told by my dad to watch him and we have been hooked every since, so here he is doing one of his most famous bits. I admit you have to have a different kind of humor to understand him, but if you did have it, then you got to laugh with a great comic.

Female Mike Tyson, enough said!

This only bothers me for a couple of reasons, first because I know people like this. Secondly I’m not sure if this fake or not. But I can assure you that I know people, who might even be family who act just like this, that’s all I’m saying.

I love Jason Mraz, not in a weird warm fuzzy feeling kind of way, but in a cool guy way. I’m just going to be quite, enjoy the link.

This is something for the girls that are reading this right now.

Well that’s all for now, but Ill be back with some very soon trust me.

Before we get started with what I hope to make a weekly feature, I'd like to take time to present some great search terms that have led some obviously interesting people to the Lagoon. From this week alone:

• "sadistic asian girls"
• "nunsploitation porno"
• "villain, head encased in glass"
• "real life scary christmas stories"
• "nude laura gesmer"

ALLAN ARKUSH ANTICS
Allan Arkush has spent the bulk of his career directing kazillions of episodes of popular TV series, from Heros to St. Elsewhere. But it's his checkered movie resume that interests us. Here are some of his more noteworthy (though, not necessarily good) credits.

ELVIS MEETS NIXON (1997)
A sweet little gem of a historical footnote. Whether it's accurate or not, this fictionalized account of Elvis' 24-hour jaunt from Memphis to Washington to L.A. then back to Washington -- all so he can talk then-prez, Nixon (familiar character actor, Bob Gunton , giving an over-the-top Nixon performance second only to Dan Hedaya's in Dick) into appointing him "Federal Agent-at-Large" in the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs. Nixon agrees to the meeting as a desperate attempt to connect with America's youth who'd already tuned Elvis out years prior. There are some dynamite exchanges here, particularly between E (Rick Peters giving my favorite Elvis portrayal to date) and some L.A. hippies who direct the King to his new album -- in the "Oldies" bin. Dressed in a purple suit and cape, armed with multiple firearms and without an entourage for the first time since he was 21, the naive King of Rock 'n' Roll hops commercial flights and draws guns in donut shops. That much is true. It all leads to a sweetly hilarious meeting between Nixon and Presley, two icons who were standing at the brink of nearly simultaneous falls to disgrace.
***

HEARTBEEPS ( 1981 )
Andy Kaufman and Bernadette Peters play extremely creepy looking robots on the lam with a stogie chomping "comedy" robot, pursued by the company that created them and a villainous tank of a supercomputer that looks like an armed Commodore 64 on wheels. The love-lorn bots build a baby bot and make lots of family-friendly robot puns. To say that Heartbeeps is dated is an understatement, but worse, it's just silly and not remotely funny. In what probably seemed like inspired casting at the time, Kaufman is in TAXI-voice mode doing nothing interesting beyond walking stiffly and attempting to emote from beneath Stan Winston's upsetting makeup. There's a reason this big-budget gamble slipped quietly into cinematic obscurity. Cult favorites Christopher Guest, Dick Miller, Paul Bartel and Mary Woronov all make appearances.
*1/2

ROCK 'N' ROLL HIGH SCHOOL (1979)
P.J. Soles (L-U-V her!) and the Ramones (!) rock the halls of Vince Lombardi High in this deservedly labeled "cult classic." Produced by Corman and directed by Allan Arkush, this musical is jammed full of classic Ramones tunes and enough goofy puns and laugh-out-loud moments (many featuring Clint Howard!) to make this a repeat-viewing wonder and a must in your cult collection. Favorite scenes include teenybopper, Soles' Riff Randal, smoking a joint and imagining the Ramones appearing in her shower, performing just for her -- and the girls' gym class musical production number of the titular anthem (Sung by Soles with lots of bra-free aerobic dancing). Mary Woronov and Paul Bartel's performances as Principal Togar and a sympathetic science teacher, respectively, are highlights. Hey, Ho, LET'S GO!
***1/2

CADDYSHACK II ( 1988 )
Probably one of the most head-scratchingly unnecessary and universally reviled sequels EVAH. (Grease 2 takes the gold though.) No one asked for it. No one wanted it...especially not eight years late! Basically Jackie Mason is Rodney Dangerfield, Robert Stack is Ted Knight, Dan Akroyd is Bill Murray and --for better or worse (usually worse)-- Chevy Chase is Chevy Chase. Grating and unfunny -- C2 is nothing but a boil on the butt of the over-appreciated 1980 "classic."
*

Four days from the Scarlot Harlot's Birthday on January 23, 2003 in Austin,  Tx, Dave Attel visited the Bad Girls, Good Women for his Comedy Central show Insomniac. The night before filming, some folks came to scout the situation. At this time I was one of the few people who actually knew who this guy was and my biggest fear is that he would be a big asshole or prima donna. David Cross had been a huge asshole to me one night at EMO'S. I wasn't really sure who Cross was in the dark club but noticed everyone was buzzing around him. He snubbed me celebrity style when I tried to make small talk. I also saw Kyle Gass from Tenacious D play that same night.

I could NOT stand for Dave Attel to be on his high horse. He didn't show up with the scouting crew so feared he might be somewhere getting a pedicure and and having his chihuahua fitted in a silk kimono rather than chain smoking, hanging out all night taking shots, telling sex jokes to weirdos and night owls. 

Just saw a rerun of the Insomiac Austin Episode.  Long story short. Attell showed up hooted and hollered and had a grand ole time. Being a roller derby fighting nut, I attacked him from behind. HEe hee. He started it! @#$%!!!  I punched him a few times and then it all turned around and he was choking me. It was a very Andy Kaufman moment for me. (This clips shows me Kaufman taught the Scarlot Harlot a thing or two about shit talking.)  Almost seems like Dave and  Scarlot Harlot  went to the roller derby fighting prom. He definitely didn't have a Cross moment, not even when we broke his microphones. Uh...I mean 2 microphones.

Scarlot Harlot always wants to be on the cover of a badass rock magazine but being on the main menu of Comedy Central's web page for a whole day was AWESOME!!! The party we had when the Insomniac   Premiered that shook the foundation of Ego's. Too bad you can't see the girls gone wild photos from than night. You should have been there. :> 

The only thing my mother said when she saw the clip, "Oh no, you have a hole in your panty hose." I guess me attacking a comedian just seemed inevitable. HA!

 Thanks for reading!!!! XXXOOO, Scarlot Harlot

See also: Scarlot Harlot Attacks Ruyter Suys

Be sure to check out Rinktime

If any of you have seen the movie Amadeus, the picture above should look a little bit familiar to you. Amadeus was filmed mostly in the Czech Republic, which is the home of the director of the film, Milos Foreman. Yes, Milos Foreman IS Czech. Oh, and if you're unsure of who exactly Milos Foreman is... he's the guy who directed movies like One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest with Jack Nicholson and that movie about Andy Kaufman with Jim Carrey, Man on the Moon. Anyway, I'm digressing. Although Amadeus and Milos Foreman and all that are very interesting topics, the topic on the agenda for today has to do with the Wallenstein Gardens in Prague.

The Wallenstein Gardens make up the grounds of the Wallenstein Palace which was built for the Wallenstein family back in 1630. The Czechs call this place Valdstejnska zahrada. Today it serves as the seat of the Czech senate. Both the palace and the garden were modeled after the Baroque style. It was built by Albrecht von Wallenstein, a Czech nobleman of the time whose intention was to outshine even Prague Castle by creating the most glorious building in the entire country. The palace has a great location right on the Vltava River near the top of Mala Strana (the "lesser town"). Although Wallenstein's palace was built in Prague, it's architecture is extremely Italian as it was designed by an Italian architect.

The Wallenstein Gardens was one of the first places I got to see in Prague. It was one of the many places my boss took us on our weekend rompings. I think I'd been in Prague for about two weeks when I first saw it. I remember standing in the gardens just marveling at the fact that this was somebody's house once. Someone actually lived in this fabulous buildings and got to walk in these beautiful gardens every day. I didn't recognize the setting as being from Amadeus until much later. I knew that much of the film had been shot in Prague, but it wasn't until about six months after my first venture into the gardens that I happened to watch Amadeus and recognize the location. It's always fun to me to say to people, "Have you seen the movie Amadeus? Do you remember the scene of the concert being played in a garden? I've been there."

I took my parents there when they came to visit and I'd definitely recommend stopping by even if you're only in Prague for a short time. The entrance to the gardens is right outside of the Hradcany metro stop on the red line and if you're on your way up to the castle (which requires hopping onto a tram to take you up the hill because I would definitely NOT recommend doing it on foot) it's a worth-while stop. There are lots of interesting statues to look at (ya, like that one up there) and if you're there in the spring or summer the plants and flowers are gorgeous. An added bonus is that there are actually peacocks waddling around. My friends and I had a good time chasing those around the grounds.

Charles Rocket: Death was ruled suicide (his throat was cut), age 56.  read more

PHIL HARTMAN was shot to death by his wife, Brynn, age 49. read more
CHRIS FARLEY drug overdose of cocaine and other pharmaceuticals, age 33. read more
MICHAEL O'DONOGHUE died of a massive stroke, age 54. read more
DANITRA VANCE died from breast cancer, age 40. read more 
GILDA RADNER died from ovarian cancer, age 42. I read her book, It's Always Something. It was an excellent book about her life and battle with ovarian cancer. It was very sad, though. She talked a lot about Gene Wilder, her husband. I am a big fan of both of them. read more
ANDY KAUFMAN died of a rare form of lung cancer, age 35. read more  
JOHN BELUSHI  drug overdose, age 33. watch nightline video report from the morning of his death.

__________Speaking of Saturday Night Live_____________

On July 17, 2007 Jon Lovitz punched Andy Dick (both former cast members of SNL) at an L.A. Comedy Club. Apparently, Andy Dick teased Jon Lovitz about Phil Hartman's death, telling him that he'd be the next to die. It is rumored that Andy Dick got Phil Hartman's wife started on cocaine again after she had been clean for ten years. This happened at a party at Harman's house just five months before she killed Phil and herself.  read more. . . 

Anyway, points for having several bits from The State. Negative points for having only one Mr. Show sketch. Negative points for having several videos embedded in the article that won't play. Points for ignoring Mad TV, and mad points for choosing the Andy Kaufman sketch from Fridays (although no Mighty Mouse). Unfortunately, -1000 points for not including anything from The Muppet Show, which maybe was disqualified because of anti-felt prejudice. Regardless, this leaves me only one way to end this post:

Without further ado...the Final Four picks.

Final Four Picks:

UNC vs. Kansas:

If you watched the UNC game against Louisville last weekend, then you understand why Tyler Hansbrough is the Player of the Year in college basketball. He completely put the team on his back in the second half and willed the team to the victory. Carolina has as many weapons as anyone left, and the best bench. However, I think this is a pretty good matchup for Kansas. Kansas likes to play in transition, and plays great defense to boot. I also think they have more NBA players than anyone left, and as we've seen the last few years (Florida '06-'07, UNC '05, UConn '04, Syracuse '03, need I continue?), that tends to mean you've got a good shot at winning the title. UNC has played better than anyone the entire tournament, but I think people are reading too much into Kansas' struggling against Davidson.

Kansas 76, UNC 72, and I am extremely upset.

Memphis vs. UCLA:

If you would have a player miss this game, you could do much worse than Andre Allen. His loss is not going to hurt the team that badly from a talent standpoint. However, it does hurt them from a toughness and intangible standpoint. Allen was one of the leaders on the team, and a key defensive reserve that tired the opposing point guard out with his physical play and relentlessness. UCLA is by far the most balanced team that Memphis has seen this season, and has the best player that they've seen in Kevin Love. The Tigers have destroyed their last two opponents, and the two keys to the game, at least for me, are whether or not Kevin Love draws fouls on the Memphis bigs and whether or not, if adversity presents itself and this game goes down to the wire, the Tigers will handle it correctly. As for me, I think they do.

Memphis 66, UCLA 64

Join me in prayer that Kansas and UCLA don't win the games and we see a UNC-Memphis national title. The style of play and the talent on the floor would make it like an NBA game. Before I leave you, I give you Andy Kaufman, a long time ago. It's Memphis vs. UCLA, wrasslin' style.

De data aceasta nu voi avea prea multe cuvinte de laudă, chiar dacă Man on the moon este regizat de Milos Forman şi distribuţia are nume grele precum Jim Carrey (Andy Kaufman) şi Courtney Love sau Danny de Vito. Mă refer la ultimul film văzut.

Ideea de bază ce merită reţinută este faptul că atunci când vrei să fii plin de umor, original şi vedetă numai pentru tine nu vei fi la fel şi pentru ceilalţi.

Este ciudat să te distreze numai propriile glume şi tot ele să te izoleze pentru că nu sunt gustate de majoritate. Era de fapt ceea ce avea mai bun de oferit publicului dar nu era îndeajuns.

Cu toţii avem astfel de laturi pe care preferăm să nu le scoatem în lumină tocmai pentru că ştim că nu vor fi pe placul celor din jur.

În rolul din film Jim Carrey este un comediant prin sinceritatea, stângăcia şi inxcapacitatea de a fi amuzant ca toată lumea. Exact acesta este paradoxul. În final, alege să elimine rolul principal (propria satisfacţie) dîndu-şi seama că nu este suficient să-i placă doar lui ceea ce face.

Unul din momentele care mi-a plăcut mult este cel în care o cere în căsătorie pe prietena lui, îi pune un şal pe cap, îi zice să meargă cu el în Manhattan, şi-n final o sărută. Totul pare o glumă dar de fapt era unul din momentele în care el era serios.

Un alt moment în care prietenii nu ştiau dacă protagonistul vorbeşte sau nu serios este cel în care le spune la 4 dimineaţa că este bolnav de cancer la plămâni (deşi nu era fumător). Aceasta se va dovedi marea cacialma a întregului film.

Un atu în favoarea filmului îl reprezintă coloana sonoră în care privitorul va putea recunoaşte diferite bucăţi din repertoriul trupei R.E.M.

Filmul transmite un mesaj subtil tocmai din cauza ambivalenţei dintre realitate şi ironie: viaţa este prea scurtă pentru a o trăi mereu serioşi, iar visele se pot împlini când credem în ele cu adevărat.

Най-големия срещу Дебелия

Ако продължавам да те кефя, продължавай да гласуваш за мен - в горния ляв ъгъл на страницата, до снимката ми (долу вдясно) кликни върху зелената буквичка В, а може и да ме аднеш в Technorati от бутона под снимката.

ed wood racconta la vita di edward d. wood jr., da molti definito il peggior regista della storia. non ripeteva mai un ciak, se ne fregava se durante le riprese di una scena cadeva parte della scenografia. ed wood è passato alla storia poco dopo la sua morte, quando hanno ritrovato i suoi quattro film e li hanno definiti come i peggiori film della storia.
lui era un personaggio del tutto fuori dal comune. la madre voleva una bambina quindi vestiva ed da bambina quando lui era piccolo, ma poi lui per abitudine ha continuato a vestirsi da donna. il suo primo film fu proprio la storia di due uomini con problemi sessuali (dal titolo fantastico Glen or Glenda?). nonostante lui continuava a dire che le donne gli piaceva molto, continuava a vestirsi da donna, anche durante le riprese dei suoi film, per rilassarsi e staccarsi dal mondo per pensare. ovviamente ai suoi tempi (parliamo degli anni 40-50) era visto abbastanza negativamente.
neanche a farlo di proposito oggi i suoi film sono cult, con i loro attori del tutto incapaci, i dialoghi banali e la trama con dei risvolti irrealistici. grazie al film di burton, infatti, ed wood è stato scoperto da molti giovani che, curiosi, sono andati a recuperare i suoi film. io li ho trovati, i suoi film. non sono coperti da copyright, però sono con l'audio originale e senza sottotitoli. io ne ho visto alcune parti giusto per vedere cosa combinava (e anche per vedere come sono venute fuori le scene che ho 'visto girare' nel film di burton. comunque, se vi interessano, i suoi film potete trovarli qui, qui e qui.

andy kaufman si definiva uno showman, ma è entrato nella storia come uno dei comici più controcorrente della storia. in realtà il suo concetto di comicità era del tutto diverso da quello che voleva lo spettatore. tendeva a divertirsi lui, e non far divertire gli altri. stupenda la scena del film quando chiede alla sua guida spirituale 'qual'è il segreto per far ridere?' e la guida risponde 'il silenzio' allora lui sale sul palco e sta zitto, poi fa partire una canzone e si mette a cantare una frase che si ripete solo due volte. e gli spettatori ridono (qui la scena). o quando andò in un'università a fare degli sketch, però gli studenti volevano che interpretasse il personaggio che lui interpretava in una sit-com. personaggio che lui odiava. allora lui per dispetto gli lesse tutto, TUTTO, il libro Il grande Gatsby di Francis Scott Fitzgerald. a un certo punto domanda al pubblico 'volete che legga il libro o che vi faccia ascoltare un disco?' tutti chiedono il disco e così lui mette su un disco con sopra inciso lui che legge il libro. fantastico.
poiché spesso metteva a dura prova la pazienza delle persone e diceva spesso che avrebbe simulato la sua morte per poi resuscitare un po' di anni dopo con un grande spettacolo, quando disse che aveva il cancro nessuno lo credette. morì, ma tutt'oggi ci sono teorie sulla sua possibile finta morte. alcuni dicono che abbia subito addirittura diverse operazioni di plastica e che sia lo stesso jim carrey, suo interprete nel suo film-biografia man on the moon.

insomma ho sempre fame in questo periodo. meno male, però, che di piatti ce ne sono in quantità.

Ethan and Joel Coen have made a series of interesting films that widely exploit regional eccentricities. This is in keeping with their filmwork to date.

The film stars Josh Brolin, Tommy Lee Jones, and Javier Bardem. Woody Harrelson is also featured. I thought that Josh Brolin stood out in this film. I've never seen Javier Bardem before. His look and personality seem to most closely resonate with Abe Vigoda's in The Godfather mixed with Andy Kaufman.

Storyline: Vietnamese War veteran, now married and living in a trailer in Southwest Texas, while hunting, comes upon a handful of pick-up trucks in a dry wash area and sees no one alive but plenty dead. Warily, he advances. He discovers an attache case filled with loot. He grabs it and a few odds and ends, includiing a handgun, and is about to depart, when he sees a truck that seems to have a living man inside. He checks it out. Sure enough, a badly wounded Latino is slumped at the driverside window (or what's left of it). The man indicates he wanted water. Brolin's character, "Llewelyn," can't help him and goes off with the case. Later, feeling guilty, he goes back at night to the scene of the carnage to give the Latino a jug of water. Another truck arrives, parking next to Llewelyn's. Trouble. He is seen and pursued  because--because--someone wants their money back. It's a lot. A camera cut has brought the Javier Bardem character into the picture. He is, shall we say, a little creepy. Lethal too. He is a "psychotic" but clever and relentless, hired killer. Soon, a chase flick begins and it is made interesting by the cat-and-mouse relationship between Bardem and Brolin. Llewelyn's clever, tough, resourceful and determined to keep the loot. The chase spills into Mexico and back. Woody Harrelson, as a Colonel, trained in special operations,  enters the chase. So does Tommy Lee Jones whose character is a sheriff, or other similar lawman. "The best laid plans of mice and men oft go aglay," twas said. For Llewelyn his mother-in-law proved the fatal messenger to his plans. As for Bardem, he may take a "break" in the action. 

The Coens' strength in imbuing their regional flicks with authentic elements keeps interest alive. There are the usual Coen brothers satiric thrusts. Good soundtrack. Spiced with a bit of cynicism, the struggle for "blood money" takes on a sort of tamale-gothic, picardesque quality.

By means of the Tommy Lee Jones character, the moviegoer gets a sense of alienation that has taken a grip upon the older generation, trying to maintain the old ways without much faith. They struggle with symptoms, not being capable of healing anything for lack of understanding. They use moral and ethical slogans, as if they were staffs. "What's it all about?" they ask one another, brows furrowing and eyes squinting. "What's happened?"

Indeed!

Once again, I leave a Coen brothers film feeling that these two men are rather misanthropic, disguised though it be by filmwork noted for regional colorations and satiric humor.

I don't think I like this film.

All rights reserved. Gobigfoot, 2007.

Here are my top 50 favorite favorites from that 500 that have endured the test of time (and copyright infringement laws). The order/logic is basically me going backwards from my first favorite I ever added and sifting out the best of the best, I'll try to avoid videos that are/were already readily available on bakedziti.

Much like the theme of bakedziti in general these will mostly fall into the categories of either comedy or music.

I'm going to condense the titles out of laziness and to induce wonderment in the reader and viewer much like Mr. Show's classic video clip title "Baby Loves Headrub".

50. Host Laughs at High Pitched Moron

49. Jordan Teabags Goons

48. Big Daddy Kane Sons Arsenio Crowd

47. The "Amen Break" Broken Down

46. A.G. Rhymes A Capella

45. Rick-A-Dick

44. Dunderheads at the DMV

43. Hit Squad Produce Hit

42. Vibert Interview'd

41. Black Belt Jones Slo Mo's

40. Knock Knock Jokers

39. Wedding Song a la Tim & Eric

38. Best of Ari

37. Bob!

36. Nutcase Gets His Dasein on

35. Bob and David Say "Have a Good Masturbate"

34. And So

33. Chicken Pot Chicken Pot Chicken Pot Pie

32. Kreskin Amazes!

31. Heidecker Stands Up

30. Eats Tapes Eat Tapes

29. G.G. Allin Shits and Farts

28. Louie Black Retaliates

27. Give Up the Goods

26. Cross v. Belushi

25. Melvins in 1984

24. Best Larry Sanders Moment of All Time

23. SPAM!

22. Melvins vs. Hard Boiled

21. Bonnie Prince Covers Billy Withers

20. Tyson Got Jokes

19. Mr. Mef Hates W. Williams

18. Viva Hilarity

17. Goofball Tries Mattresses

16. Joy Division Live 1979

15. Hollywood Havoc Disses K. West

14. Doom (not MF) 1989 - "Police Bastard"

13. A.D. Miles Stands Up

12. Infest Back in the Day

11. Charles Barkley vs. B.J. Ork

10. "I Get Money" Sans Fiddy: Audio Two - "Top Billin'"

09. Soup Outtakes w/ Joel McHale

08. Gay?

07. Andy Kaufman & Dostoevsky

06. Suck Showalter's Dick

05. John Mulaney Stands Up

04. Nirvana 1988

03. Anchor Sons Reporter

02. Mr. Overrated Gets Philosophical

01. Just Click

His goal, I think, was never to make the crowd laugh. He insisted he wasn't a comic and didn't tell jokes -- unless it was to show how flawed conventional humor was.

"I'm not trying to be funny. I just want to play with their heads," he told The New York Times.

Every Kaufman bit forced the audience through the gears and far past the confines of conventional humor. He made them squirm. He pushed discomfort to an art. He was a study in negative space and his audience's reaction to it.

In that way, he was a masterful deconstructionist. He wanted to turn the entire idea on its head. He wanted to try reverse-reverse-reverse-reverse psychology. He wanted to piss people off, and he never made a secret of it -- especially in his staged inter-gender wrestling stunts and legendary appearance on Fridays later in his career.

But angering people wasn't the end goal -- it was just a necessary transitional state. He always aimed to show people how to peel through the fake veneer of life and find the elusive truth underneath.

"What's real? What's not? That's what I do in my act, test how other people deal with reality," he said.

It was a concept that few people understood, especially the network executives he asked to back him. But he bludgeoned his way through show business anyway, pummeling the American public with a do-you-believe-everything-you-see solipsism that was infectious to an entire generation. He flippant attitudes toward what could be done or said on television changed the perspective of the multitudes, even if they didn't realize it at the time.

It was like Kaufman was trying to be unpopular, just to prove how silly the entire notion of culture is.

"There's a little voice that says, 'Oh, no, you can't do that, that's breaking all the rules,'" he said. "That's the voice of show business. Then this other little voice says, 'Try it.'"

Watch how he breaks the crowd in this 1977 HBO Young Comedians special. The audience members don't know whether to take him seriously. They don't know up front whether Andy's stuttering, hesitant, self-effacing front is real. Andy keeps pushing and pushing the limits of their credulity, then slaps them a little in face to let them know it's all an act.

Once he had disabused the confused masses of their expectations, he would show them his own home-brewed physical comedy.

It was so tangential to their expectations that they would be just excited and confused enough to fall prey to his abusive alter-egos. Here, Tony Clifton launches a raunchy assault born in the night clubs of both Reno and Tahoe.

Note that Mel Sherer is a plant -- he helped Kaufman put together his "Andy's Playhouse" special that (I think) never aired on ABC. Bob Zmuda was his obvious sidekick, though it's unlikely the audience had any idea, and Larry Feinberg and Luther Adler were both Jewish comedic actors.

Many mass media outlets that clamored to interview and review the hot new "comedian" didn't know that he and Clifton were one and the same. Sometimes, in fact, they weren't -- he would give his brother, Michael, and good friend Bob Zmuda turns depicting Clifton -- again, just to mess with peoples' minds.

After he added makeup, shades, and a little bit of weight to the Clifton costume, the gag was so convincing that it continues to baffle fans. Continued Clifton appearances post-Kaufman's death of cancer in 1984 have even added fuel to the popular theories that Andy may have faked his own death.

Before his death, he was working on a script about a man who fakes his own death. He told others he wanted to actually do it as a type of performance art. Zmuda even said Andy was obsessed with the idea. But Kaufman did not rise from the dead to revel in the success of his hoax in 2004, as he bragged he would.

But that's not the point. Kaufman still succeeded by doing what any good absurdist or mentalist does -- he convinced us that it was possible that he wasn't dead, and he kept us talking about it for 23 years. That's a bigger trick than most men can ever hope to spring, and it's what made Kaufman's anti-comedic outlook on life so revolutionary.

Right, let's play Twister, let's play Risk. I've got Richard Pryor and Bill Hicks on me brain, so inevitably the four-letter words will be all over the place, my apologies. 

(Richard Pryor, Live in Concert 1979, most magically funny of them all, part 1 to 4 is lost, but 5 to 8 is on youtube)

And Andy Kaufman. 

But Andy would hardly eva swear, would he? At least not too often as Andy Kaufman. Bless his too white, clean cotton Elvis socks. You see, I have been needing a serious dose of humour lately. Locked in the punch. It's what Italy and A. is still doing to me system. 

A.

Her awful illness and medicines made the love of my life gain 3 stone in 3 months. Her pretty face so puffed up, her hips doubled in size, her lovely long legs, gorgeous thighs have ... oh well ... I still love them. Always will. And I want to comfort her. Especially because she is taking it really bad. At 19, who wouldn't?

But she won't let me.

Though Hicks outbursts at his audience à la "Hitler had the right ideas, he was just an underachiever ... in the beginning there was the Word - 'Free Bird.'" After being heckled with 'free bird' for the umpteenth time don't really help to alleviate the mood. 

You reckon Andy Kaufman would have laughed with Hicks? Like I did? Don't think, do you? Laughed at it, maybe? You reckon he is still among us? I'd like to believe so. Keeps me happy, somehow. The idea of Andy still being alive, having his death all faked, you know, making sure his family and friends would toe the line. 

To emerge again on one glorious frosty winter Wednesday in Kansas. In 2024.

Milena. 

I know she is dead for sure. But ideas keep you alive. Me and her. My idea at first. Then hers also. What a brilliant idea that was. And so still is.

So was our baby. Her idea at first. Then mine also. To be just but a brilliant idea. Became a bit more, then drowned in a filthy, dirty ditch, a car crash near Berlin. Conceived after Milena had been working for 10 hours a day, 6 days a week, for 4 years since she was 14. Before we met. When she was 18. Pleasing men. Pleasing me. Pleasing Agnes and Piotr of whom she had become their mum, their mum/her sister being locked up in a mental home, 'cause of Tanya's drug addiction and psychiatric problems. Only 14 when she took her sister's children on full board. And men. Before we met. When she was 18. Only 29 I was, when we talked babies. When I anarchistically agreed. When I said I couldn't possibly think of a better mother for our/my child. Looking at Piotr and Agnes. How she was raising them. When she shagged my brains out. 

Now A. At least, it's not life-threatening.

I wanted a daughter. Milena, a-tough-as-nails son. "With a tight-leather jacket" (how she was East-European). To protect her. And Agnes and Piotr. 

And me.

I'm angry all right.

Are we losing touch?

Are you having fun?

Mr Kaufman's gone wrestling. In a proper wrestling match. Arranged and agreed on our pleasure's behalf in advance. To be defeated. Like all our wrestling matches. Final result fixed from the moment we enter the ring.

On God's pleasure's behalf.

In general, I think the show is okay. Not fantastic, but okay. I’m watching it because Criss Angel is on it, and frankly, I’d probably tune in to watch Criss floss his teeth were the event aired on cable television. So far, I’ve only been semi-impressed with a few of the performers, and pretty much unimpressed with the rest. I enjoyed watching Eran Raven (the nail-gun guy from the first episode) and I thought the guy who did the Imaginary Murder Mystery (Tom Hanks in Hawaii with a dresser) was fun, but as for everyone else, I can’t help thinking that Criss Angel has done some version of all of it, and done it better (and looked like a Greek god while doing it--but hey, that’s just me--oh, and, and millions of other women across the globe).

All of that said, how about that blow out last Wednesday night? Actually, I have a weird theory about that incident. Did the whole thing seem at all contrived to anyone else? The obviously (at least in my view--and I believe in psychics, for crying out loud!) hokey spirit-channel-er performing for the debunked spoon-bender Uri Geller and the notorious skeptic-psychic-hater Criss Angel live on Halloween night? Criss’ obviously planned challenge lobbed at both Jim Callahan and Uri Geller (who took little to no offense to being pigeonholed in with a hack like Callahan)? Criss Angel, who’s usually so professional, leaping from his seat as though he was going to beat the fake spirit of Raymond Hill right out of the guy? The host’s “this-is-totally-unplanned-live-TV” speech, the sloooow cut-away to commercial break (and anyone who watched Sally Field’s bleeped and stock-footage blocked anti-war rant on the Emmys knows they can move much faster than that when something “important” like upsetting W’s evening is at stake)? And then the coup de gras, Criss Angel’s little wink into the camera--the very same wink everyone who watches Mindfreak has seen before, associated with false séances and demonic possessions.

I mean clearly it could have been nothing more than a “hey, all my adoring fans, everything’s groovy” wink. But I wondered--especially in light of Criss Angel’s 3rd season tribute to Andy Kaufman and his legendary character/alter ego Tony Clifton through the creation of Criss’ own abrasive alter-ego Nicky Glass--have we all been Kaufmanized? Was the bru-ha-ha either entirely or partially staged in a style last seen on David Letterman, when Jerry Lawler slapped Kaufman, following all kinds of crazy, and the only ones not officially in on the joke were Letterman and the viewing public? I dunno. But, if it was a big Kaufman-esque joke--nicely done Criss! If not--maybe it should have been. Maybe the only nut here is me. Again, I dunno. I’ll certainly be watching next week, so we’ll see what happens if the channel-er makes it through to the next round. But then, I’d be watching anyway…

I found this on flickr and thought it was a great quick explanation what it means to be a engaged and responsible community member online and otherwise. The overall ethic seems to embrace the Golden rule, especially in relation to listening, linking, and collaborating. Thoughts? Would you add or subtract anything?

thanks to Andy Kauffman for the creative commons photo.