It's hip in Hollywood to call a telephone "an Ameche," because Don Ameche played Alexander Graham Bell in a film back in the Golden Age.
There is a bar in Frisco called "The Philosophers' Club" and that caused us to wonder if it would be worth while to open a gin mill (there are a massive amounts of synonyms for the word "tavern"), fill it with photos of famous columnists, and call the bar "The Columnists' Hall of Fame."
Smoke filled bars and newsrooms are a thing of the past. Aren't actors permitted to smoke at work if the scene calls for indoor use of cigarettes (such as shooting a film noir set in the Thirties)? If that is so, what about declaring a watering hole a location shoot for a movie and paying the customers a $1 stipend for working as extras. Maybe students at a local film school could provide a crew that would work for peanuts? (Would they actually do filming for a student documentary project?) Thus they could have one more nostalgia laden nights in a place where extras and the actor playing Sam Spade could light up a Fatima (or other brand) cigarette (wasn't it hip slang back in the day to call them fags?)?
Speaking of the good old days, the Berkeley Public Library has a copy of John McMillian's "Beatles vs. Stones" book and we are enjoying it immensely. A concise review will be included in future column.
We saw "Sin City: A Dame to Kill For" this week. It scored high on the 3G meter. Girls, Guns, and fabulous fast cars that require high octane Gasoline are Hollywood's sure fire formula to please the male audience.
If a columnist, who doesn't smoke and doesn't drink, misses smoke filled bars; was it the right move to legislate them out of existence?
We hope that the NRA will step in and get the Uzzi kid (or her parents?) a book deal and some lucrative speaking fees and perhaps a guest appearance on Letterman's TV show.
CORRECTION: Last week we reported that movie director John Waters had done a book promotion at the Beat Museum in San Francisco. Just as famed San Francisco columnist Herb Caen used to cover goofs, we must quote Ricky Blane's (Humphrey Bogart's) line in Casablanca: "Apparently, we were misinformed." It turns out that Waters and his friends were just visiting the famed tourist destination and where not there to promote Water's new book "Carsick."
[Note from the Photo Editor: Has any columnist ever inspired a brand name for a beer?]
Janis Joplin has been quoted as saying: "Beatniks believe things aren't going to get better and say, 'The hell with it,' stay stoned, and have a good time."
Now the disk jockey will play Jack (Dragnet) Webb singing "Try a little tenderness," Leonard Nimoy singing "I walk the line," and William Shatner singing "Rocket Man." (They are all available on Youtube.) Now we have to fact check the claim that San Francisco's ten most famous citizens were all fictional characters. Have a "Do I feel lucky?" type week.
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