"I just as soon leave him home by himself."

Image by Furldman via Flickr

With kudos and credit to blogger/artist Fooksie for creating a graphic (left) that was the perfect visual to go along with this Halloween post, I share with you my all-time favorite Bill Cosby routine from childhood (it's the most liked by my kids, too). From his 1966 Wonderfulness album, it includes the immortal lines:

This is before babysitters, when parents did not believe in babysitters, at all. The philosophy was, 'What! Let some stranger look after my kid?!? I just as soon leave him home by himself.'

Enjoy.

Chicken Heart

"Yeah, it's about four hundred grand."

Though I had noted it awhile back, I hadn't viewed the very underrated 1972 neo noir film, Hickey & Boggs, in a few years. Even though I have both the VHS and the horrid DVD versions of this Bill Cosby and Robert Culp movie (in nowhere near their I Spy modes), I hadn't played either in awhile. But luckily, Corey at The Drowning Machine spotted (paraphrasing) 'the paean Duane Swierczynski penned to the film at Secret Dead Blog'--I highly recommend their insights on this film. And that led to the free Fancast link for the film from a post commenter (which Corey cited, as well). So yesterday, I finally had a couple of hours to myself to watch this on my laptop via the site stream. The film, with Culp directing a Walter Hill screenplay (both excellent), gets better with each viewing. No kidding. I also pick up new items of note each time I watch it. If I can piggyback onto Duane's and Corey's stream of consciousness, I'd like to mention some of these here (spoiler warning for those of you who haven't seen this gem):

• when the two P.I.'s get to take in a hot dog meal together, it's at the world famous (at least for us Angelenos) Pink's - and I'm pretty sure the last time I was there with the kids I did note Bill Cosby's picture up on their wall of fame (and look what I found on their web site)
  
• the pint of liquor Boggs takes a periodic swig from is Dewar's White Label Scotch blend (not that I was ever a drinker of any note, but I use to be a stock person at a liquor store a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away)
  
• the parking section for the setup and shoot-out at Dodger Stadium was number 32--which is an athlete number of note, especially for L.A. sports fans: Koufax, Magic, Bill Walton (UCLA), Marcus Allen (as a L.A. Raider), and the pre-notorious O.J. But, that was long ago and that parking lot has changed some--that section # no longer exists
  
• the early 60's cars for each of our antihero P.I.'s are a perfect symbol for their down-on-their-luck and out-of-fashion status within the story and this genre in the 70's: Hickey's white Chevy II and Boggs' blue T-Bird (both in beat-to-hell vintage condition)
  
• when Boggs seeks a replacement vehicle (and it's the exact same car), the used sales lot he buys it at is not a actual one: the filmmakers used the same Inglewood Oil Field that's been used in many a movie shoot (i.e., the Victory Motel for L.A. Confidential); even author Robert Crais used the location for the climatic shoot-out in his book, Sunset Express
  
• lastly, the closing title sequence is a perfect one for this film (in the contrastingly somber tradition of film noir): after Boggs (smartly) picks up the fence's untraceable money and trudges after his partner, the camera beautifully tracks right as it follows the survivors into the background of the setting sun--while in the foreground the lens gathers in the juxtaposed deadly wreckage of the story's other principle characters, who are now strewn about the beach
  

I really hope one day the legal tangle that's keeping this great film from a proper DVD release gets straightened out. Film and noir fans should see it on a disc with a remastered picture and the extras it deserves. The free stream of this movie, though it has commercial breaks, is the full theatrical release and is a pretty pristine print. Playing it on full screen mode softened it only a mild bit. What's interesting is Amazon is now offering H & B on their Video on Demand service for rent or purchase. So maybe this film is starting to get the attention it warrants. Either way, I'd like to send a big thank you to Corey for sending me Duane's post and to Terrill Lee Lankford for listing the Fancast link in his keen comment.

Note: a great looking print of Hickey & Boggs is now on

(click to go to it)

BTW, the title of this post is a portion of dialogue - Boggs' earlier answer to his partner Hickey's lament:

It's not about anything.

Oh, yes it is, Hickey. Yes it is.

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That's 7 in Dog Years

Is it something with the weather that makes us so restless with our blog's appearance, or is it that first anniversary that makes us want to refresh our pages? ~ Corey Wilde

Funny how these things creep up on you. As as we hit gloomy June, I began to think about the blog and its imminent first anniversary. It was a year ago, on Father's Day (in golf lore that's the day of Tiger's U.S. Open fourth round at Torrey Pines, June 15, 2008), when I started this thing. And giving credit where it's due, I have Jen to thank for that (I only considered writing one because of my fellow Craisie). If I had a Stetson (like author Craig Johnson), I'd tip it your way, Jen. Plus, writing one of these weblog thingamajigs has its benefits.

Image by wavey davie via Flickr

Not only have I gotten the chance to write something (however meager and all without the benefit of a teacher correcting me with a virtual red pen), but my perspective and outlook has definitely expanded due to it. I've taken in the extraordinary content of some talented bloggers within the past year, and all credit to them. In no particular order, these include: Jen, Corey, Nordette, Gay, Livius, Steven, Dennis, Elyse, Joshua, Tom, David, Daniel, a handful of John's (in various spellings), and others. And if I've gotten to exchange some ideas or comments with any of them, it's all been good (maybe not for them--but those are the breaks for interacting with the likes of me ;-).

Although, truth be told, what I really get out of doing this blog (hopefully) is a chance to put some of me out there in the ether for the benefit of my children. I won't always be here (though I'm waiting on Corey to discover that cure he mentioned), but maybe, there is something I can leave/say to my kids when I'm not. You see, the hardest job I've ever loved, without question, is being a father. Hey, if I changed poopy diapers (on my own), then it means I really love them. No k-i-d-d-i-n-g. I came to this parent-thing from the inverse role model school (those breaks, again). I'm always asking myself, "what would my dad do here?" Then, I know to do the opposite. Plus, to do this job even half-way decently, one must remain in the father character constantly to have any chance of perfecting it.

You just keep running that play until you get it right. ~ Bill Cosby quoting his old football coach

Needless to say, following this parent-path (which began in the mid-90's) doesn't allow much insight for the kids regarding their paterfamilias. Yes, my kids are well aware of their old man's persona (as crusty as that is). But, my role in the family makes it difficult for them to gather much beyond that. Certainly, having my children learn to make the right decisions (for later in their lives) means I have to be a father now, not their friend. Later (if Google stays around, and they do a halfway sufficient job of archiving this ongoing scribe), they might find out what made their pop tick (or is it tick pop... whatever). Naturally, after they discover that their old man really didn't have anything deep to say about life and the popular arts, they can move on to puzzle out why mom married this guy. Remember kids: if you've grown up, got educated, have a successful enough career to afford the psychoanalysis, you can always blame all of your craziness on your father... ;-)

Image via CrunchBase

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For those interested in curmudgeon-tech, you'll notice today's change in the blog's appearance. Credit for this template change goes to e-friend Corey (without his template episode this month I wouldn't have gone on to explore template changes and fixes), Amanda Fazani @ Blogger Buster for writing her help narrative and A Cheats' Guide to Customizing Blogger Templates, and the authors at Digital Nature for their freely available Fusion template. Quick tutorial: clicking on the <> in the upper right hand corner will change the layout from a fixed column (always the same size) to a flexible one (aka stretched). Clicking the AA will enlarge or shrink the font size of the blog. You think I could come up on my own with a CSS template with 2 columns (right sidebar), and fixed or fluid width?

Dream on, kids.