Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon.
***
That didn't stop them making it.
And this week in 1980 was when we were first allowed to see it.
It made its debut, on CBS, with a two-hour pilot designed to fill the slot vacated by Hawaii Five-O. Book him, Danno? They certainly did, for a whopping 162 episodes of moustache-wielding crime-thwartery.
Critics didn't like it but it still made a household name of Tom Selleck and whoever that other bloke was who might have been English but, also, might have been an American putting it on.
Back in the UK, on the Hit Parade, John Lennon grabbed the top spot with the final single he'd released before his death (Just Like) Starting Over.
He may have dislodged them from the peak of the singles listings but, on the album chart, ABBA were proving a much tougher beast and retained the stranglehold established by Super Trouper.
Super-villain turned entertainer Mesmero's out to inflict vengeance upon those reviewers who've wounded him with the slings and arrows of outrageous critique. But can Spider-Man stop him before he bumps off any more of them?
What's more, can Daredevil prevent Blizzard from interfering with the US Mail?
That's right. In news hot off the presses, the man without fear makes his sensational return to the comic. And, right away, he's up against the artist formerly known as Jack Frost.
And that tells me Agatha Harkness' son's still possessing Franklin Richards, and the FF, Agatha and the exorcist Gabriel have all set off to her old stomping ground to do something about it.
Elsewhere, something's leapt out of the Eye of Agamotto and knocked out Dr Strange and Clea.
Hearing the kerfuffle, Spider-Man's gone rushing into Strange's house - only to be confronted by Ms Marvel in her spiffy new costume.
Even more excitingly, still stuck on the planet Earth, the Micronauts find themselves having to confront their deadliest menace yet.
The power and majesty of Plantman!
And Warlock has to fight a talking rat!
Devil Dinosaur finds himself up against a giant triceratops man.
Merlin's still having his suspicions about the mystery visitor to King Arthur's castle.
Conan's leading a raid on a tribe of vampires. One that doesn't go well.
In this week's tale of Asgard, the youthful Thor's, basically, responsible for the creation of the human race. I don't remember that fact ever being mentioned again.
Machine Man would appear to be helping the Fantastic Four battle a very cartoony-looking phantom.
Apparently, it's called Ion.
But what's this? The cover boasts that the comic's chamber of horror begins this issue.
I don't have a clue what its chamber of horror is but I do take the view a man can never have enough horror in his life.
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'Spider-man & Hulk Weekly' # 406
The theme, this week? Deja vu! You've experienced something before - or so it feels. The front cover looks like the Cobra (didn't Spidey defeat him recently?), but no, it's Mesmero drawn like the Cobra. In Daredevil, DD teams up with Spidey - that happens almost every week, in British Marvel, doesn't it? What's more, Spidey enters the Bugle, only to discover gangsters/ hoodlums have taken over the building. Didn't that happen a few weeks ago, when Silvermane took over the Bugle, in the Rapier storyline? Electro & the Blizzard are angry because Jameson used a Bugle headline to sneak out a coded cry for help - something Daredevil found out whilst the Blizzard was hijacking a bundle of copies of the Bugle. There's even more deja vu, when once again Spidey's spider-sense fails to activate, when he & DD bump into each other, just before they team-up to fight the baddies. Collisions with the Falcon & Nighthawk caused Spidey's spider-sense to fail too. But seeing as DD's got his radar sense too, how could both their senses fail, simultaneously?
There's deja vu in She-Hulk, too. She-Hulk's in La Hacienda (not the Manchester club), encased within the Fountain of Youth's waters. Haven't we had that story, already, weeks ago? Is this like a Joseph Conrad novel, where the time frame jumps back & forth? Anyway, She-Hulk's in a bio-stasis pod/tank - yeah, one of those again! Anyway, the Fountain of Youth's waters transform She-Hulk back to Jen Walters - supposedly permanently - yeah, right.
Richard Rory's still searching for the mysterious F.A. Schist, and is interviewing a wheelchair bound Professor Slaughter about Schist, back in Citrusville. Slaughter claims the Man-thing paralyzed himself, and killed Schist (who had become a monster.) Rory doesn't believe it, but gives Slaughter the 'reward for info' money, out of sympathy.
At the end of the page count, Jen's motivating the Fountain of Youth's natives to build a defense against alligators - isn't that where the last She-Hulk Fountain of Youth story started? I'm confused; I think I need a drink - for medicinal purposes, you understand!
Spidey's encounter with Mesmero starts with a critic, who panned Mesmero's act, taking a dive off the Brooklyn Bridge, whereupon Spidey swings across & catches him. If that works now, why didn't it work when Gwen Stacey was falling from the George Washington Bridge? The grateful critic rewards Spidey with two tickets to a show, so he rings Debra Whitman. Mesmero, however, captures Spidey with some electrified money, leaving Debra stood up for yet another date - poor girl! Mesmero forces Spidey to juggle bombs over a gasoline covered stage floor, whilst hypnotized critics watch the show. The scheme fails of course - not one of Denny's finest pieces of writing.
Sean won't like the Hulk story, as Rick Jones is in it. A changeling named Centaurion's been shot by Thunderbolt Ross, and the changelings all attack the Hulk. Rick, Betty & some guy called "Fred" tell the Hulk not to hurt the changelings. Woodgod tries to break it up, and the Hulk goes off in a huff! The healing potion for Centaurion seemingly kills him, and a bad changeling, named Leoninus - along with 3 other very mean-looking changelings - decides to challenge Woodgod for leadership of the group!
Phillip
'Forces in Combat' # 32
This week, there's a new story, 'Chamber of Horrors' - it's a bit like 'Second Chance'. A YF-12A (the proposed interceptor Blackbird) gets hit by lightning & the pilot ejects over Moscow - because that's where he'd be, right? Turns out he's dead, but doesn't realize it. If I had a pound for every time...
Whilst ROM's searching Serpentyne's subterranean caverns, Steve & Brandy are getting arrested for helping ROM. They declare ROM's innocent, and when Steve's state trooper friend recovers, he'll corroborate their story. At this point, a (disguised Dire Wraith) surgeon appears, saying unfortunately the state trooper won't recover, as he's dead. Steve & Brandy are led off, by the cops.
Kull & the mystery lady, in search of Ridondo, find a map at the hunchback's cottage. The map leads them to a strange city, en route to which, they find Ridondo's lute, all smashed up. At the city, Kull finds a weird magician, who denies all knowledge of Ridondo, even whilst the minstrel is languishing in the city dungeons!
In Machine Man, Gears Garvin replaces Machine Man's lower legs with a wheel, for some reason. Then, Ion the gaseous female goes to the Baxter building, and attacks the Thing & the Human Torch. Machine Man follows her, and starts fighting the Human Torch, too. Why is it that when Machine Man fights a team, it's never at full strength?
Fury & his men are training in England, fighting each other with giant cotton buds, whilst mother-in-law jokes are made. Sawyer summons them, telling Fury their mission is to capture the most brilliant Nazi strategist who ever lived, from his lair in Bavaria. They all get parachuted in, and the usual silliness ensues.
Another Kodak camera is being offered. Not a Brownie this time, but a Kodak 'Ektra 250'. Wow!
Phillip
'Team-up' # 14
In FF, Salem's Seven are imprisoned in the invisible city of New Salem. Nicholas Scratch, Salem Seven's "master", frees the evil team from their invisible prison, whilst the FF, Agatha Harkness & Gabriel (a devil hunter who looks like Nick Fury) are jetting over there. Let battle commence!
In Spidey & Doctor Strange, Strange was sent some tarot cards to warn him of the attack on Clea. Strange transports Ms.Marvel (in her new costume), Spidey & himself, all to New Orleans, from where the tarot cards came. He then disguises the three of them, so they look inconspicuous, and takes them to the 'Witch Queen of New Orleans', Marie Laveau. Next week - hear Marie's strange story!
Ms. Marvel only has 3 pages, once again ruining a great title. It's just before that bar fight, in which Ms.Marvel's persona takes over Carol, even before she's transformed, and starts kicking seven bells out of some goons who harass her - thinking she's just a weak & feeble woman.
In 'What if?', Daredevil, who's now sighted, defeats the Owl, even without his radar sense. Unfortunately, the Owl dies, because of DD's reduced awareness, so Daredevil unmasks himself in public, and declares he's not going to be DD anymore, but D.A. - District Attorney.
In the Torpedo, Brock Jones breaks free & throws "Mr.Big" Spivak into a computer, which decides to self-destruct. Torpedo flies out of the mansion, which explodes, killing Spivak & the Rocketeers. That's it. Next week Torpedo's replaced by the Ant-man - just as well, really.
Morbius is on a strange world, where he bites somebody, and discovers they're an android. The world is called Arcturus, and was a victim of the Caretakers. Morbius is met by a weird being, named 'Lord I', who has an eye for a head - a bit like the Orb, in Ghost Rider. I know this will upset some readers of the blog, who found the fact that Odin had to sacrifice an eye to access the Well of Knowledge (collective unconscious), frustrating. Anyway, the artist tries to use up his page count, by doing massive panels where it isn't necessary. And before you ask, no it wasn't Colan!
Phillip
Thanks for that electric elucidation, Phillip. I am particularly taken with, "Ion the gaseous female." :)
Good to see normal service is resumed, and young Phillip has more than one of this weeks comics.
By Ms Marvel's spiffy new costume I take it you mean her racy black Huntress-meets-original-Killraven number, Steve.
Was there a story behind that outfit? I just ask because it never made much sense to me that the sort of successful career woman able to make it as an officer in the air force, editor of a nationally-circulated magazine and a superhero would decide to run around in public looking like a stripper.
Not to sound narrow minded, but that fetish look with the thigh boots and long gloves probably doesn't help with being taken seriously at Avengers meetings.
I've never seen a full episode of Magnum either.
-sean
I've, thirdly, never seen an episode of Magnum either. As a young teen in that post punk/new wave era, no one with a moustache was taken seriously. I do, however, recall a favourable reaction to Ms Marvel's new costume.
DW
DW - I am not going to inquire about the nature of your favorable reaction to Ms. Marvel, this being a family-safe zone.
I've seen Magnum. 1984 - 1985, barely missed a week. Me and me buddies at Army helicopter school would watch it like religion.
It had everything that appealed to us: Magnum drove a Ferrari 308, his buddy TC flew a Hughes helicopter, Higgins was a British war veteran (we always thought the Brits were tough soldiers... Tobruk and all that), and of course the women were fine.
And, Magnum had a stash which, oddly enough, was a trait among a lot of the older helicopter pilots though not so in the rest of the military.
And the chicks were good looking and TC flew a chopper and actually the stories were good.
In fact, if it was on now, I'd watch it.
Phil, that story where Blizzard and Electro invaded the Bugle appeared in Marvel Team-Up #56 over here, and I thought it was it a pretty funny issue. J. Jonah Jameson did not make a good hostage! Being threatened with death by two fairly dangerous super-villains would make most people shut up, but not J.J.J. He bitched the whole time.
I've also got that comic where Morbius meets that alien with an eyeball for a head. I'm not sure where the writer was going with all that. I suspect there was a lotta funny smelling smoke coming out of the Bullpen in those days.
Speaking of the Orb, Marvel did some interesting things with that character too. The original Orb, IIRC, was a stunt bike rider with a helmet that looked like a giant eyeball.
Marvel's new Orb, from some years ago now, was a guy whose head actually was a giant eyeball, and he seemed to be whimsically insane. Not particularly surprising, I suppose. He shows up in a 2014 miniseries called "Original Sin". I'll spare everyone the weird details.
Charlie, I think I remember that cadence, about bubbles, vaguely. A lotta creativity went into those.
M.P.
Charlie
Moustaches were obviously popular from the mid 60s to the mid 70s. It was therefore our duty to ridicule the previous generation's fashion choices. I love the Beatles but wouldn't be caught dead with long hair and a tache, at the time, even if I had been capable of growing one. Being fair Tom Selleck was probably a bigger hit with the ladies that 1980's DW. Probably still is ;-)
DW
I think John Lennon's hurriedly re-released "Happy Xmas (War Is Over") reached #2 around this time but probably not until the following week when it was stuck behind St. Winifred's legendary chart-topper.
MP -
"Tiny bubbles, in my wine, make me happy, make me feel fine... Tiny bubbles, in my beer, make me happy, full of cheer..."
Not as entertaining as:
"A yellow bird, with a yellow bill, landed on, my window sill...
Well, so much for my recall of Jodies at a family appropriate site, lol.
DW - I know Selleck has been on a long running show called Blue Bloods. He's a cop. My 85 year old dad and mom watch it like religion. I've seen it a few times (at their insistence, lol).
But actually, I don't have any recall of folks in their teens / early 20s thinking one way or the other about staches, lol. I mean, I think they were still frowned upon in corporate america so perhaps we also enjoyed the counter culture aspect as well of Magnum? I mean other oddities were: TC the chopper pilot was black, Higgins was much older and bitchy, Rick was probably closest to the average joe... a bit on the sly...
-Charlie
Yeah that was it. Ha! It's coming back now.
Remember the one about Captain Jack?
Something about a meeting on a railroad track.
...Or Hey, baba reba?
M.P.
Charlie, I own a novel called 'The Yellow Birds' published in 2012 which is about a U.S. marine in Iraq and his subsequent return to America. The novel's author Kevin Powers is a former marine himself who served in Iraq. He was interviewed on BBC radio when the book was published and he said that after leaving the U.S. army he'd gone to university to study poetry - he didn't seem like the average marine!
Nobody has mentioned that moustaches were popular among gay men in the '70s apparently.
HI Colin, I don't think we had any gay men in the USA until at least the 1980s or 1990s.
We did have the excellent singing group Village People with hits like Macho Man and YMCA but they were not gay, though they had big moustaches.
So... it would have been tough to make the correlation.
MP - I'll call cadence! (You repeat at the three ...)
Hey, Hey Captain Jack ...
Meet me down by the railroad tracks ...
With my knife in my hand ...
I'm gonna be a cuttin man ...
Re-up re-up you're crazy ...
Re-up re-up you're out of your mind ...
Hey Hey Captain Jack...
Insert guns, bottles, can opener P38s, combs, tooth brushes, whatever you want for "knife" and "cuttin" and repeat!
I did indeed mean that Ms Marvel costume, Sean.
Apparently, that Spidey/Dr Strange/Ms Marvel story includes an explanation of how and why she got the new outfit but I've never read it, so can offer no illumination.
MP - Regarding Hey, Hey Ba Ba Re Ba
Hey Hey Ba Ba Re Ba ...
I wish all the ladies ...
Were cars on a highway ...
And I was the driver ...
I'd drive them all my way ...
Hey Hey Ba Ba Re Ba ...
Hey Hey Pass the Reefa ... (Ooops.)
Of course, replace "cars on the highway" for "trains on the tracks" or "ships on the sea" or "working on the farm." Warning: this can be very sexist.
Last night, on 'Public Eye', Sheffield got referenced several times! (Stereotypes about northerners.)
I seem to remember Ms.Marvel changed her costume partly as a result of her upcoming battle with Grotesk, in which he grabbed her by her scarf/short cape (?) & swung her around all over the place, giving Ms. Marvel a very hard time. The new costume gave her more room to manoeuvre, she declared. That's the ostensible reason! In reality, as Ms.Marvel went on, its target audience perhaps changed, with the book ending on a very dark and disturbing note, with Mystique beating Carol's psychiatrist boyfriend to death. I'd never seen anything that bad before, in Marvel, with the possible exception of Carrion! That storyline wasn't suitable for young Marvelites - nor was it consistent with the book's previous tone. In fact, I don't know what Chris Claremont was thinking.
M.P. - Yes, Daredevil & Spidey vs Blizzard & Electro definitely had comedic value. At one point, when Jameson is arguing with the Globe's editor, Electro asks Jameson, "What do you think this is, Saturday Night Live?" It's strange Marvel UK titled this as a Daredevil story when, in reality, it was MTU.
Charlie - 8 years of Magnum ended with Magnum becoming absolutely convinced Higgins was really Robin Masters. This culminated in that hilarious episode ('Paper War') in which Magnum directly accused Higgins of being Robin - something he would neither confirm nor deny! Even almost 35 years later, I still remember laughing at that Magnum episode!
Charlie - did you hear Paul McCartney's got a new album out?
Phillip
Phillip - I did NOT hear about Paul's new album. Have you listened? Thanks for the heads up!
Phillip, I take it you are from the UK (where?). So, based on that, you guys could watch Magnum since you seem to have seen the run? Was it real time of delayed as it is with us getting to see your UK "Masterpiece Theatres" a year later?
I seem to recall the last episode but in re-run, I was living in Germany when it wrapped up in 1988. It is still in syndication here. THere is also a new Magnum PI that started a couple years ago. Have only seen a few minutes of it.
Hey - did you know that the voice of Robin Masters was Orson Welles?
And given all 4 of the show's men were combat vets (Vietnam and Malaysia (?) for Higgins) me and my house mates really enjoyed the show whilst in army pilot school.
Charlie - I woke up very early, & clips from Paul's album were on either BBC World Service or radio 4. Some good riffs, but his voice sounded older - which it is.
I'm in West Yorkshire - Magnum was on Yorkshire Television (ITV) - pretty much the same time as in the US - I think.
Higgins was also in Africa - in 1950s? - Mau Mau episode.
Phillip
Claremont did a lot of weird stuff with Ms Marvel, Phillip... and yet he was still outdone by Shooter and the boys in Avengers #200!
I thought maybe the black costume would be part of some manifestation of inner psychic turmoil "Dark Ms Marvel"-type storyline but apparently (I looked it up) she just fancied a change so the wondrous Wasp designed and made it for her.
DW, I liked the costume too - hey, I was a 12, 13 year old boy! - but all the same it does seem rather implausible.
I guess theres not much point in trying to make sense of 70s and 80s superhero women. In Classic X-Men - the 80s reprint book which new material by Claremont and John Bolton - there was a story where the White Queen explained how wearing boots, kinky underwear and not much else was empowering in a sexist society. What a load of bollocks that was.
-sean
Phillip, Paul McCartney was on Radio 4 - I heard him too.
Mariah Carey is at #1 for a second week which means that "All I Want For Christmas Is You" is the first Christmas #1 to actually be about Christmas since Cliff Richard's "Saviour's Day" in 1990. But the next UK chart comes out on the evening of Christmas Day so this year there could be two Christmas Number Ones during December 25th.
Careful Colin, or you'll set Charlie off - we don't want him going on about "Simply Having A Wonderful Christmastime" any sooner than absolutely necessary.
-sean
Charlie will be sad to hear that Andy Williams's festive classic has dropped one place to #29. And still no re-entries in the Top 100 for the Christmas songs by Cliff Richard, Greg Lake, Johnny Mathis and Gary Glitter (can't think why GG isn't there).
Sean! LOL! (I can't ROTF LMAO b/c that would be inappropriate at xmas time)!
What can I say? Me and me daughter really dig Paul's Simply Having a Wonderful Xmas Time! Just love it!
Phillip! WHen you say you are from "West Yorkshire is that like me saying I'm from Illinois?
I usually just say Chicago since I'm 20 miles outside and it is well known.
But after googling West Yorkshire, why would you not say, "I'm about 10 klicks west of Leeds" or something like that? It would be more precise for a Brit and equally unfamiliar geographically to me as Yorkshire / West Yorkshire / Leeds.
But! I have heard of Leeds (Who Live at Leeds, Soccer Team).
And my only exposure to Yorkshire is the unrelenting theft of dogs and cats by Yorkshire men, per Lassie. Oh yes, I've heard of Yorkshire, via Sheffield, b/c of Steve living there and Sean educating me that they tried to set up a Free Republic in the 60s and a nuclear free zone in the 80s!
I love the gap between Thursday and Sunday blogs b/c we really get to the heart of it all!
Colin - Thanks for the heads up on Andy Williams' chart positions! He is one of the masters. Now, I would b curious of the positioning of the Frank Sinatra - Cyndi Lauper "duet" of "Santa Claus is coming to Town!"
While only 50% being an old-time mainstay (Frank 1947 and Cyndi and Frank 1992) it is getting a load of airplay!
Colin - You being expert on "beverages" is Pimms popular at Xmas or is it a warm weather thing by y'all?
Charlie, that Frank Sinatra/Cyndi Lauper duet isn't in the UK Top 100 at all but Sinatra is there with his version of "Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow" and "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" is also in this week's UK Top 100 but it's sung by the Jackson 5.
Am I an expert on beverages? I'm clueless about the popularity of Pimms at Christmas or any other time.
I had not been previously informed that there was a Frank Sinatra/Cyndi Lauper duet.
I could have lived the rest of my life and been perfectly happy without knowing that.
Thanks a lot!!
M.P.
On the plus side though MP, Miles Davis recorded a great version of Time After Time.
Not very Christmassy I suppose, but theres never a bad time to listen to Miles.
-sean
Ah yes... it is night time at the MP saunters about the plains of South Dakota, looking for the elusive White Buffalo of which Ted Nugent sang. He shimmies up a mighty Elm seeking his game whilst humming "Cool Cat" by Queen softly to himself.
Or is he cruising the endless highway 90, tapping his toe to the beat like the King of Swing?
Well, anyhow, Lauper did an electronic duet over Frankie's "Santa Claus is Coming to Town." It's quite nice actually. I don't know if she did that technique first or Natalie Cole over Nat. (The years just blend together.)
I hate Ted Nugent as a human being, but I have to admit that is a pretty good song.
Charlie, you're closer to the truth than you might guess. Sioux Falls has a wonderful city park system, and I try to get in four miles of walking a day, for my health.
So I guess I am in fact loping around South Dakota, catlike.
Maybe not so much catlike. At this point it's really more like lurching, like Karloff's Frankenstein monster.
Frankenstein's monster with his head phones on, rocking to the oldie's station.
M.P.
Ted Nugent?!? F*** me, I'd actually rather listen to McCartney. Or even the Travelling Wilburys.
-sean
Well, waitaminnit, Sean, I was talking about one song.
I have no love for that draft-dodging loud-mouthed cement-head racist baboon.
If anybody in God's Green Goodness ever needed a serious ass-whipping, it's Nugent.
M.P.
Sean - Nugent is a Great American!
He "defeated" in his pants like a week straight before showing up at the draft board. They decided he was unfit for military service / Vietnam. (Those were his own words b.t.w.)
MP - I applaud you getting out and walking!
Thanks, Charlie.
I guess I'll keep on walking around until the locals come after me with torches and pitchforks.
M.P.
Colin, there's also a total absence of The Darkness and the Waitresses from the Top 100, even though there are around 50 Christmas songs on the chart. What is this madness?
The Top 100 doesn't even have Santa Dog by the Residents in it Steve.
And yet it has McCartney's Wonderful Christmastime. What a crazy country!
Not to defend Ted Nugent particularly, but whats wrong with draft dodging?
-sean
Steve, The Darkness were in last week's Top 100 so they must have dropped out but at least they made the chart, unlike poor old Cliff who must be wondering why nobody loves 'Mistletoe And Wine' anymore.
Mariah Carey is also #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the second year in a row and Andy Williams is at #6 in the USA which should please Charlie.
Last weekend I was watching a documentary about how they celebrated the Twelve Days of Christmas in ye olde Tudor times, specifically the reign of Henry VIII (1509-47) and they were singing The Boar's Head Carol which has become my new favourite Christmas song - there's a nice version on YouTube by Steeleye Span (among many others). It's a reminder that Christmas existed long before tinsel and Mariah Carey's warbling.
I must confess that I don't know who Ted Nugent is so I had to google him.
Guys - I was listening to Talk Sport UK and they are going on about Glouster being "up there" and men wearing "flat hats" and having "whippets" (I assume the dog).
Sean and Steve mentioned this too, last week, about hats and whippets and political leanings.
By chance can you send Ole Charlie a link to a picture /article that clues him in to all this?
I assume that "up north" the men don't steal dogs like Yorkshire men?
Here's the mother of all xmas song question, lol.
How is Bing Crosby's White Christmas doing? Bing had like 75 albums over his lifetime.
Also, is the Chipmunk XMas song "The CHipmunk SOng" or o/w caled "XMas Don't be Late" charting? I remember my uncle going nuts when my young cousins played that song for the 47th time in a row, LOL. My uncle had a lot of Jackie Gleason mannerisms so when he went nuts, the rest of us would break out into hysterics!
Charlie, Bing's White Christmas is in this week's UK Top 100 (in the lower reaches of the chart though) but not in America's Billboard Hot 100 at all. So Bing Crosby's yuletide classic is more popular in Britain than America!
Charlie, it's a longstanding myth that people in the North wear flat caps and have whippets. I can confirm that this isn't true. Paul Hawksbee knows full well it isn't which is why he keeps saying it.
Steve! Thanks for the cultural update! That said, I suspect that if one knows the UK culture(I don't) that Paul Hawksbees references to "whippets and flat hats" are actually perceived as a joke and not taken seriously (except by us num-nutz in Chicago)?
But that's the thing about you subtle humor. If you are "in the know" it's funny and if not, you're unsure.
Oh my... if Der Bingle's hits (Bing Crosby) isn't charting anymore, then I just don't know what this world is coming to.
Something tells me Bing's "Mele Kalikimaka" is not even on the internet! And if you search Lyle Moraine and "Christmas Island" the screen freezes...
You don't all have flat caps and whippets up north Steve?
Next you'll be telling us it isn't true that you lot are mostly illiterate because back in the 70s and 80s schools in Yorkshire were too busy teaching kids anti-racism and anti-sexism instead of how to read and write.
According to government minister Liz Truss, who went to school in Leeds, its all Michael Foucault's fault.
The French eh? - if they're not stealing your fish they're brainwashing your kids with cultural Marxism.
-sean
Charlie, watch James Herriot, with Christopher Timothy & Robert Hardy. This may help you understand the 'flat caps & whippets' stereotype about Yorkshire men (it relates to the dim & distant past) - and probably wasn't true then, either!
Phillip
Sean - you've given me an idea to enrich Charlie's understanding of Yorkshire stereotypes - Charlie should watch 'Kes' - with Brian Glover - an absolute classic of the genre!
Phillip
Ken Loach's Price Of Coal - both parts of which are on Youtube in their entirety - is pretty good on Yorkies Phillip. But Charlie might have problems following it without a translation.
-sean
You guys have aroused my curiosity. Mind you, I did visit York once, briefly. I thought it was a lovely place, but every precinct has it's own idiosyncracies.
What, pray tell, would be an example of a "Yorskshire stereotype"?
I expect the answers will be amusing.
M.P.
MP - I can give you two (or 3?) stereotypes:
1) They have large maggots in York.
2) The Yorkshire men steal dogs and cats and sell them.
3) The men love whippets and wearing those flat caps.
MP -
I think it's cool you come out at night.
I think it's cool you walk 3-4 miles through the windswept barren plains of South Dakota every night like that elusive Florida panther.
But buddy... I'm worried about you getting a case of "Cat Scratch Fever!" I don't want you to shimmy up a down spout like Michael Fagan and sneak in on the governor whilst she's in repose!
Gents, thanks for sharing Ken Loach's Price Of Coal I shall indeed watch it over the next few days!
I can't watch now... one eye on my down spout and other on "The Queen's Gambit!" (Chess boards are flying off the shelves here, this holiday season!)
Well, Charlie, I was looking for something rather more interesting than whippets and flat caps.
I have no idea what either one of those things are.
...okay, I think I maybe know what a flat cap is. That's a hard look to pull off successfully.
And it's really more like 4-5 miles. And yes it does get nasty. We're heading into the dark asshole of winter up here, and while December has been mild, it ain't gonna last. The key is, dress in layers. Sometimes you gotta put on as much gear as an astronaut if you're gonna be outside for any length of time.
Heck, you're from Chicago, right? You get it.
Winters can still get very nasty here in the upper midwest, but I don't think they're nearly as bad as when I was a kid. That was like living in Siberia. It's more like a winter in Germany now. The climate has definitely changed in the last fifty years.
...a disturbingly short amount of time for the climate to change.
M.P.
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