Shipwreck

We wouldn’t mind being marooned with one of these cocktails in hand.

1 oz. bourbon
1 oz. aged rum
3/4 oz. fresh lime juice

1/2 oz. simple syrup (1:1)
5 fresh mint leaves
Tools: shaker, strainer, fine strainer
Glass: mini highball, fizz or julep
Garnish: fresh mint sprig and 3–4 dashes Angostura bitters

Combine ingredients in a shaker with ice cubes and shake until chilled, then double-strain into a highball glass over crushed ice and garnish.

Jamal Hassan, Ox, Portland, Oregon

Sea of Cortez

This crème de cassis stunner offers an updated take on the classic El Diablo cocktail.

1 1/2 oz. blanco tequila
1 oz. lime juice
3/4 oz. crème de cassis
1/4 oz. Cointreau
Tools: shaker, strainer
Glass: coupe
Garnish: lime wheel

Combine all ingredients and shake with ice cubes. Strain into a chilled coupe and garnish.

Jeff "Beachbum" Berry

Prey of Thieves

Peaty Scotch, chicory coffee tincture and tawny port make for one sultry sipper. 

1 1/2 oz. Scotch whisky
3/4 oz. tawny Port
1/4 oz. Bénédictine
3 dashes chicory coffee tincture
Tools: mixing glass, barspoon
Glass: cordial or coupe
Garnish: orange twist

Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass and stir with ice cubes. Strain into a chilled glass and garnish. 

For the Chicory Coffee Tincture: In a 1-liter jar combine 1 cup of coarsely ground coffee beans, 1 cup of dry roasted chicory and 2 cups of high-proof bourbon or rye whiskey. Let sit for one week, shaking daily. Fine-strain through coffee filters into a clean glass jar and keep in a cool, dark cupboard for up to 1 year. 

Tim Zohn, AQ, San Francisco

There's a great book called Mondo Macabro - a beautiful coffee table book with lots of great pictures - that is dedicated to strange cinema around the world. It's put out by the people who run a distributor of the same name (whose releases are killer) and puts out a lot of these gems, including Pakistani Dracula (aka The Living Corpse).

They have a bunch of Bollywood horror films, Indonesian fantasy (lots of floating heads and lasers), Turkish cheese, Italian weirdness, etc.

If you think Bollywood is crazy, check out the heyday of Turkish fantastic cinema. The Man Who Saved the World (aka Turkish Star Wars) is pretty great and totally incoherent but a real hoot. Tarkan Vs. The Vikings is cheese-tacular in the best ways. Kilink in Istanbul is trashy and pretty glorious. Lots of great stuff from Turkey in the 50s-70s. 

Only Indonesian films come close to that kind of weirdness. The Devil's Sword, Queen of Black Magic, and Virgins from Hell are all pretty clutch. Lots of floating heads, lasers, voodoo and other suck malarky. 

No doubt about it, television has given us some really trippy things, often w/o their knowledge! I get a kick out of it, and occasionally they do the right thing and put out something good, like PeeWee's Playhouse or the Simpsons.

And no, I missed Belushi in that role, dimmit.

John Battles said:

Well , I was determined to watch the whole thing. Never gave it much thought , until the revamped Famous Monsters magazine (They did a whole issue , given the illusion that it was still 1970 , a couple of years ago , which actually worked.) did a feature article and even gave it the cover. Then , recently , by chance , I met Arnold Stang's Granddaughter's Husband. I got some snacks , "Grew a pair" , and braced myself to watch"Hercules in New York". I found it funnier than Hell ,if for all teh wrong reasons.  It has a very unitentionally druggy vibe , like a less catatonic "Star Wars Xmas Special" , except , if Belushi had sat through THAT , he could have survived any kind of speedball. Does anybody remember John Belushi , dressed as Godzilla , hosting "Godzilla Vs. Megalon" on prime time? I'm not making this up.
 
dave said:

Whew, "Mister, you're a better man than I"! I just watched a minute or two on Youtube and it vas excruciating! Maybe when my kitsch module gets an upgrade!

John Battles said:

OK , I DID THE UNTHINKABLE. 

I WATCHED "HERCULES IN NEW YORK" , AND EVEN PAID (NOT FULL PRICE) FOR THE PRIVELEDGE. IT'S HILARIOUS ! NOT BECAUSE THE COMEDY WRITING OR SIGHT GAGS ARE ALWAYS , OR EVEN USUALLY , ON THE MARK , BUT , JUST BECAUSE THE PREMISE IS SO WEIRD , AND THE DIRECTION IS NOT SO MUCH FLUID , AS RUNNY. SOMEONE LEFT THE CAKE OUT IN THE RAIN , BABY. IT'S MORE FUNNY IN A "WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?" SORT OF WAY.  HERCULES , SURROUNDED BY GODDESSES ON MT. OLYMPUS (AND PRIMED TO BE A SCOUNDREL LIKE HIS OLD MAN , ZEUS.), DECIDES HE'D LIKE TO COME DOWN TO EARTH AND BE AMONG THE COMMON FOLK (AS HE DID IN THE OLD GRECO - ROMAN MYTHS.). HIS WANDERLUST INFURIATES DAD , WHO STRIKES HIM WITH A THUNDERBOLT , SENDING HIM HURTLING INTO THE ATLANTIC OCEAN.....HE HOPS A BOAT , KICKS MOST OF THE UNRULY CREW'S ASSES , AND TURNS UP IN MODERN NEW YORK . HERE , HE ENCOUNTERS THE REAL MAN - GOD , ARNOLD STANG , WHO BECOMES HIS BEST FRIEND (IT'S A LONG WAY FROM BEING BEST FRIENDS WITH SINATRA , BUT , HEY....) , FROM THERE , HE KICKS SOME MORE MORTAL ASS , PLUS A MAN IN A VERY BAD BEAR SUIT , AND RIDES A CHARIOT THRU BROADWAY ( I THINK THEY SPENT THE ENTIRE  BUDGET ON THE PERMITS TO DO THAT SHOT. ) , AND , HE BECOMES A FAMOUS WRESTLER , BUT , GETS MIXED UP WITH SOME GANGSTERS (IN 1970s NEW YORK ?! NEVER !), AND , WELL , I FORGET.......

THE COOLEST PART ABOUT THE DVD RELEASE IS , YOU CAN PLAY IT WITH SCHWARZENEGGER'S ACTUAL DIALOGUE (IN WHICH HE BUTCHERS THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE , PHONETICALLY. SUBTILES ARE PROVIDED.), OR THE VOICE - OVER  USED IN THE CHEAP EXPLOITATION DEVICE , WHEN THE MOVIE WAS RE- RELEASED AS "Hercules: the movie" in 1983 , after the success of "CONAN THE BARBARIAN". SCHWARZENEGGER NEVER REALLY AMOUNTED TO MUCH AS AN ACTOR , ANYWAY , BUT HE COULD DO COMEDY ("True Lies", "Look Who's Talking , Unintelligibly".) , SO , IF YOU WANT A GOOD LAUGH , YOU MIGHT FIND IT WITH THE GUBERNATOR'S DEBUT.  Hasta La Vini Vidi Vici , Baby.

I HAVE'NT WATCHED A LOT OF BOLLYWOOD FILMS , BECAUSE THEY'RE USUALLY THREE HOURS LONG , OR LONGER , AND CHOCK FULL
OF MUSICAL/ ROMANCE ROUTINES.....THE "ACTION" MOVIES MAY BE AN EXCEPTION, I DON'T KNOW.  I did find a copy of the South Indian  Superman film (There's another, also unauthorized , better known , Indian "Superman" , but I've only seen bits of it on You Tube.). SAVE FOR BEING 3 1/2 HOURS IN LENGTH AND CONTAINING TOO MANY MUSICAL/ROMANTIC SEQUENCES , PARTS OF IT ARE SO BAD , THEY'RE HILARIOUS.

"SUPERMAN" LOOKS LIKE TONY CLIFTON ,  OVERWEIGHT , ROUGHLY MIDDLE - AGED , WITH A HUGE BLACK POMPADOUR AND A SKINNY MOUSTACHUE. SUSPENSION OF DISBELIEF CAN ONLY GO SO FAR , EVEN IN A FANTASY FILM.

What's interesting is , like Bruce Wayne , the future "Superman" vows to fight crime after his parents are murdered by bandits in a home invasion. HOW he acquires his super - powers is'nt readily explained (Unless you speak teh language , I guess.). One minute , he's a child , the next , he looks like he's subbing for Eugene in The Rezillos (Actually , Eugene looks much better , today , than this guy did , then.).......

But , if coherency is more your bag , may I suggest : "The Pakistani Dracula" , which is actually quite good , and does two thing no Dracula movie (To my knowledge) has ever done. First , it tells the ORIGIN of Dracula. A brilliant scientist tries to find a serum that will make eternal life a reality....But , he's not so brilliant , as a chemical flub turns him into a vampire , instead. Well , he got eternal life. I'd read , previously , that Dracula was once a mortal man who made a deal with The Devil , and got screwed , for eternal life. But , I think Uncle Forry said that......

The other think I've NEVER heard of happening in a Dracula picture , was the notorious scene in the novel where Dracula's brides try to get a bit(e) from Jonathan Harker , and the Count gives them a baby to share , as a compromise , so that Dracula can carry out his evil scheme with Harker. Heinous as this sounds , the baby is represented by a dummy wrapped in bandages with no discernible human characteristics , except in shape. Still , it was heavy shit. In the 50's , yet.....
dave said:

Yeh, definitely sounds like a great time w/ friends and a case of beer!

We have a theater here that does 'Bollywood at the Hollywood' and shows what sounds like really fun Indian action flicks. Need to make that show sometime...

Greg Hanson said:

I have had that on the list for a while but I haven't had a chance to check it out.

Just watched The Stabilizer, a super cheesy Indonesian actioner by Arizal (who needs more than one name?) who is also responsible for schlock like American Hunter. It's pretty stock action cheese setup of a bad guy looking for a secret formula from a doctor and one man (who looks a lot like Brian May from Queen) has to stop him. 

Lots of good, unnecessary explosions and some really funny one-liners. Not 100% necessary viewing but definitely a good one to hoot and holler at on a drunken Thursday night.

dave said:

The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T  (1953) is a musical fantasy film, the only feature film ever written by Theodor Seuss Geisel (Dr. Seuss), who was responsible for the story, screenplay and lyrics.

Whole Movie Here!

Got a little wang to it  ;D

Newbaum (After "Spiking the punch" with his friends outside the school dance.):"MAAAAH DICK IS IN THE PUNCH !!!! MAH - HAH -HAAAAHHH DICK IS IN THE PUNCH !!!"

Teacher: "IZ ZERE SUMVUN HERE NAMED DICK  ?!"

 
B.B. Fultz said:

I think it was "R" actually, cuz of all the sexual innuendo (such as the one-armed violinist and "He'z holdzing it viz hiz dick!"). Not 100% sure, it's been awhile.
 
John Battles said:

I like "Porky's" , too , but 'Hollywood Knights " is way funnier.
 Maybe there was'nt enough nudity to carrry it over , but , still a little more than we were used to seeing in a PG rated movie at the time. It was PG , was'nt it?
B.B. Fultz said:

I remember The Hollywood Knights. I also thought it was majorly funny. Newbomb Turk's rendition of Volare alone was worth the price of admission. I don't know why Porky's became a "classic" but Hollywood Knights, which was at least as good (maybe better), remained obscure. Not enough nudity I guess.

Well , I was determined to watch the whole thing. Never gave it much thought , until the revamped Famous Monsters magazine (They did a whole issue , given the illusion that it was still 1970 , a couple of years ago , which actually worked.) did a feature article and even gave it the cover. Then , recently , by chance , I met Arnold Stang's Granddaughter's Husband. I got some snacks , "Grew a pair" , and braced myself to watch"Hercules in New York". I found it funnier than Hell ,if for all teh wrong reasons.  It has a very unitentionally druggy vibe , like a less catatonic "Star Wars Xmas Special" , except , if Belushi had sat through THAT , he could have survived any kind of speedball. Does anybody remember John Belushi , dressed as Godzilla , hosting "Godzilla Vs. Megalon" on prime time? I'm not making this up.
 
dave said:

Whew, "Mister, you're a better man than I"! I just watched a minute or two on Youtube and it vas excruciating! Maybe when my kitsch module gets an upgrade!

John Battles said:

OK , I DID THE UNTHINKABLE. 

I WATCHED "HERCULES IN NEW YORK" , AND EVEN PAID (NOT FULL PRICE) FOR THE PRIVELEDGE. IT'S HILARIOUS ! NOT BECAUSE THE COMEDY WRITING OR SIGHT GAGS ARE ALWAYS , OR EVEN USUALLY , ON THE MARK , BUT , JUST BECAUSE THE PREMISE IS SO WEIRD , AND THE DIRECTION IS NOT SO MUCH FLUID , AS RUNNY. SOMEONE LEFT THE CAKE OUT IN THE RAIN , BABY. IT'S MORE FUNNY IN A "WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?" SORT OF WAY.  HERCULES , SURROUNDED BY GODDESSES ON MT. OLYMPUS (AND PRIMED TO BE A SCOUNDREL LIKE HIS OLD MAN , ZEUS.), DECIDES HE'D LIKE TO COME DOWN TO EARTH AND BE AMONG THE COMMON FOLK (AS HE DID IN THE OLD GRECO - ROMAN MYTHS.). HIS WANDERLUST INFURIATES DAD , WHO STRIKES HIM WITH A THUNDERBOLT , SENDING HIM HURTLING INTO THE ATLANTIC OCEAN.....HE HOPS A BOAT , KICKS MOST OF THE UNRULY CREW'S ASSES , AND TURNS UP IN MODERN NEW YORK . HERE , HE ENCOUNTERS THE REAL MAN - GOD , ARNOLD STANG , WHO BECOMES HIS BEST FRIEND (IT'S A LONG WAY FROM BEING BEST FRIENDS WITH SINATRA , BUT , HEY....) , FROM THERE , HE KICKS SOME MORE MORTAL ASS , PLUS A MAN IN A VERY BAD BEAR SUIT , AND RIDES A CHARIOT THRU BROADWAY ( I THINK THEY SPENT THE ENTIRE  BUDGET ON THE PERMITS TO DO THAT SHOT. ) , AND , HE BECOMES A FAMOUS WRESTLER , BUT , GETS MIXED UP WITH SOME GANGSTERS (IN 1970s NEW YORK ?! NEVER !), AND , WELL , I FORGET.......

THE COOLEST PART ABOUT THE DVD RELEASE IS , YOU CAN PLAY IT WITH SCHWARZENEGGER'S ACTUAL DIALOGUE (IN WHICH HE BUTCHERS THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE , PHONETICALLY. SUBTILES ARE PROVIDED.), OR THE VOICE - OVER  USED IN THE CHEAP EXPLOITATION DEVICE , WHEN THE MOVIE WAS RE- RELEASED AS "Hercules: the movie" in 1983 , after the success of "CONAN THE BARBARIAN". SCHWARZENEGGER NEVER REALLY AMOUNTED TO MUCH AS AN ACTOR , ANYWAY , BUT HE COULD DO COMEDY ("True Lies", "Look Who's Talking , Unintelligibly".) , SO , IF YOU WANT A GOOD LAUGH , YOU MIGHT FIND IT WITH THE GUBERNATOR'S DEBUT.  Hasta La Vini Vidi Vici , Baby.

Yeh, definitely sounds like a great time w/ friends and a case of beer!

We have a theater here that does 'Bollywood at the Hollywood' and shows what sounds like really fun Indian action flicks. Need to make that show sometime...

Greg Hanson said:

I have had that on the list for a while but I haven't had a chance to check it out.

Just watched The Stabilizer, a super cheesy Indonesian actioner by Arizal (who needs more than one name?) who is also responsible for schlock like American Hunter. It's pretty stock action cheese setup of a bad guy looking for a secret formula from a doctor and one man (who looks a lot like Brian May from Queen) has to stop him. 

Lots of good, unnecessary explosions and some really funny one-liners. Not 100% necessary viewing but definitely a good one to hoot and holler at on a drunken Thursday night.

dave said:

The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T  (1953) is a musical fantasy film, the only feature film ever written by Theodor Seuss Geisel (Dr. Seuss), who was responsible for the story, screenplay and lyrics.

Whole Movie Here!

I have had that on the list for a while but I haven't had a chance to check it out.

Just watched The Stabilizer, a super cheesy Indonesian actioner by Arizal (who needs more than one name?) who is also responsible for schlock like American Hunter. It's pretty stock action cheese setup of a bad guy looking for a secret formula from a doctor and one man (who looks a lot like Brian May from Queen) has to stop him. 

Lots of good, unnecessary explosions and some really funny one-liners. Not 100% necessary viewing but definitely a good one to hoot and holler at on a drunken Thursday night.

dave said:

The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T  (1953) is a musical fantasy film, the only feature film ever written by Theodor Seuss Geisel (Dr. Seuss), who was responsible for the story, screenplay and lyrics.

Whole Movie Here!

The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T  (1953) is a musical fantasy film, the only feature film ever written by Theodor Seuss Geisel (Dr. Seuss), who was responsible for the story, screenplay and lyrics.

Whole Movie Here!

Whew, "Mister, you're a better man than I"! I just watched a minute or two on Youtube and it vas excruciating! Maybe when my kitsch module gets an upgrade!

John Battles said:

OK , I DID THE UNTHINKABLE. 

I WATCHED "HERCULES IN NEW YORK" , AND EVEN PAID (NOT FULL PRICE) FOR THE PRIVELEDGE. IT'S HILARIOUS ! NOT BECAUSE THE COMEDY WRITING OR SIGHT GAGS ARE ALWAYS , OR EVEN USUALLY , ON THE MARK , BUT , JUST BECAUSE THE PREMISE IS SO WEIRD , AND THE DIRECTION IS NOT SO MUCH FLUID , AS RUNNY. SOMEONE LEFT THE CAKE OUT IN THE RAIN , BABY. IT'S MORE FUNNY IN A "WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?" SORT OF WAY.  HERCULES , SURROUNDED BY GODDESSES ON MT. OLYMPUS (AND PRIMED TO BE A SCOUNDREL LIKE HIS OLD MAN , ZEUS.), DECIDES HE'D LIKE TO COME DOWN TO EARTH AND BE AMONG THE COMMON FOLK (AS HE DID IN THE OLD GRECO - ROMAN MYTHS.). HIS WANDERLUST INFURIATES DAD , WHO STRIKES HIM WITH A THUNDERBOLT , SENDING HIM HURTLING INTO THE ATLANTIC OCEAN.....HE HOPS A BOAT , KICKS MOST OF THE UNRULY CREW'S ASSES , AND TURNS UP IN MODERN NEW YORK . HERE , HE ENCOUNTERS THE REAL MAN - GOD , ARNOLD STANG , WHO BECOMES HIS BEST FRIEND (IT'S A LONG WAY FROM BEING BEST FRIENDS WITH SINATRA , BUT , HEY....) , FROM THERE , HE KICKS SOME MORE MORTAL ASS , PLUS A MAN IN A VERY BAD BEAR SUIT , AND RIDES A CHARIOT THRU BROADWAY ( I THINK THEY SPENT THE ENTIRE  BUDGET ON THE PERMITS TO DO THAT SHOT. ) , AND , HE BECOMES A FAMOUS WRESTLER , BUT , GETS MIXED UP WITH SOME GANGSTERS (IN 1970s NEW YORK ?! NEVER !), AND , WELL , I FORGET.......

THE COOLEST PART ABOUT THE DVD RELEASE IS , YOU CAN PLAY IT WITH SCHWARZENEGGER'S ACTUAL DIALOGUE (IN WHICH HE BUTCHERS THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE , PHONETICALLY. SUBTILES ARE PROVIDED.), OR THE VOICE - OVER  USED IN THE CHEAP EXPLOITATION DEVICE , WHEN THE MOVIE WAS RE- RELEASED AS "Hercules: the movie" in 1983 , after the success of "CONAN THE BARBARIAN". SCHWARZENEGGER NEVER REALLY AMOUNTED TO MUCH AS AN ACTOR , ANYWAY , BUT HE COULD DO COMEDY ("True Lies", "Look Who's Talking , Unintelligibly".) , SO , IF YOU WANT A GOOD LAUGH , YOU MIGHT FIND IT WITH THE GUBERNATOR'S DEBUT.  Hasta La Vini Vidi Vici , Baby.

OK , I DID THE UNTHINKABLE. 

I WATCHED "HERCULES IN NEW YORK" , AND EVEN PAID (NOT FULL PRICE) FOR THE PRIVELEDGE. IT'S HILARIOUS ! NOT BECAUSE THE COMEDY WRITING OR SIGHT GAGS ARE ALWAYS , OR EVEN USUALLY , ON THE MARK , BUT , JUST BECAUSE THE PREMISE IS SO WEIRD , AND THE DIRECTION IS NOT SO MUCH FLUID , AS RUNNY. SOMEONE LEFT THE CAKE OUT IN THE RAIN , BABY. IT'S MORE FUNNY IN A "WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?" SORT OF WAY.  HERCULES , SURROUNDED BY GODDESSES ON MT. OLYMPUS (AND PRIMED TO BE A SCOUNDREL LIKE HIS OLD MAN , ZEUS.), DECIDES HE'D LIKE TO COME DOWN TO EARTH AND BE AMONG THE COMMON FOLK (AS HE DID IN THE OLD GRECO - ROMAN MYTHS.). HIS WANDERLUST INFURIATES DAD , WHO STRIKES HIM WITH A THUNDERBOLT , SENDING HIM HURTLING INTO THE ATLANTIC OCEAN.....HE HOPS A BOAT , KICKS MOST OF THE UNRULY CREW'S ASSES , AND TURNS UP IN MODERN NEW YORK . HERE , HE ENCOUNTERS THE REAL MAN - GOD , ARNOLD STANG , WHO BECOMES HIS BEST FRIEND (IT'S A LONG WAY FROM BEING BEST FRIENDS WITH SINATRA , BUT , HEY....) , FROM THERE , HE KICKS SOME MORE MORTAL ASS , PLUS A MAN IN A VERY BAD BEAR SUIT , AND RIDES A CHARIOT THRU BROADWAY ( I THINK THEY SPENT THE ENTIRE  BUDGET ON THE PERMITS TO DO THAT SHOT. ) , AND , HE BECOMES A FAMOUS WRESTLER , BUT , GETS MIXED UP WITH SOME GANGSTERS (IN 1970s NEW YORK ?! NEVER !), AND , WELL , I FORGET.......

THE COOLEST PART ABOUT THE DVD RELEASE IS , YOU CAN PLAY IT WITH SCHWARZENEGGER'S ACTUAL DIALOGUE (IN WHICH HE BUTCHERS THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE , PHONETICALLY. SUBTILES ARE PROVIDED.), OR THE VOICE - OVER  USED IN THE CHEAP EXPLOITATION DEVICE , WHEN THE MOVIE WAS RE- RELEASED AS "Hercules: the movie" in 1983 , after the success of "CONAN THE BARBARIAN". SCHWARZENEGGER NEVER REALLY AMOUNTED TO MUCH AS AN ACTOR , ANYWAY , BUT HE COULD DO COMEDY ("True Lies", "Look Who's Talking , Unintelligibly".) , SO , IF YOU WANT A GOOD LAUGH , YOU MIGHT FIND IT WITH THE GUBERNATOR'S DEBUT.  Hasta La Vini Vidi Vici , Baby.

LOL!!! If you're still interested, there's a topic here that shows you how to make cheap wine. Dive in!
glenn brady said:

in the mid 80's..lived with a bunch of punks and to combat our beer addiction prices..we made our own...called 'bad brain beer'.....and it was shit....awful awful shit..feel sick now thinking about it..

had so much sugar in it that you couldnt pore it into a glass..would all just be foam..so we had to drink it from a jug...which we covered in toilet paper to strain the filth and sludge through..

we we're making 120 big bottles a week...at a cost of about 40 cents a bottle...

young...stupid..poor...!!..had a ball!

in the mid 80's..lived with a bunch of punks and to combat our beer addiction prices..we made our own...called 'bad brain beer'.....and it was shit....awful awful shit..feel sick now thinking about it..

had so much sugar in it that you couldnt pore it into a glass..would all just be foam..so we had to drink it from a jug...which we covered in toilet paper to strain the filth and sludge through..

we we're making 120 big bottles a week...at a cost of about 40 cents a bottle...

young...stupid..poor...!!..had a ball!

One more thing to kick myself for, Scorcese's After Hours. Great black comedy. Really wish more people would do this type of stuff. Plus, he did that documentary on Fran Lebowitz, which is great, she always is.

Those are 2 of my favorite (prolly the faves) Waters movies!! They were 'family-friendly' but only up to a point. He says that was the most power he's ever had over his Hollywood movies. Cry Baby had a small army of stars and a decent budget, but the studio was wise enough not to fuck with his ideas while he was making it.

I guess they were popular enough that he could do both a re-make and a musical of Hairspray. That's good to know, right?
John Battles said:

I almost forgot about Cecil B. Demented. I liked that , too....I can't even remember if I saw "Serial Mom" all the way through .  But , Waters , for about 20 years  , has been making inroads to the mainstream , with varying degrees of success. Even "Hairspray" and "Cry Baby" only nominally reference the sleaze master of yore. I did'nt care , they're both funny as Hell. And , I don't even know that either did that much action at the box office , when they came out.
 
dave said:

Will do! I've loved everything I've seen by him so far, tho' I wasn't too crazy about Serial Mom. Cecil B. Demented made me laugh by poking fun at the indy film movement.

Yeah, remember the $1 movies, second-run? The Wal-Mart effect is very real, the big boys control the pond and the fishes...

I can't find anything online to support this, but a few years ago I heard that there's actually a limit on how many foreign movies can come into America in a given year. Can anyone give any information on that?
John Battles said:

It IS The Wal - Mart effect......Almost nothing gets into American theatres (Again , barring Blink - and - you'll miss 'em "Limited Engagements".) anymore if it's not predesigned to be a fucking blockbuster . Then , when it's gone (Mercifully) , it's gone. The days of second run theatres , and a movie making back it's intial investment before it's grossed enough to feed , clothe and house the entire population of West Malaysia for an entire year , are over. There may be a second - run house here and there , where you can see a movie that came out last month for less than $10 , but they're going the way of the Drive- in , and that's a damn shame. 

True. These guys should go the R. Rodriguez route and make a video movie on shoe-string budget, then put it in at Sundance. Small loans from friends, family, bank, even that Internet brain-storm thing (brainfart, name escapes me)...

Lutz Vipinderwoman said:

I don't consider "Hollywood film" in the least bit a nebulous reference. Just because a film studio or director may be based in Los Angeles, for example, doesn't make the director or film a Hollywood production. It's a matter of contracts and production that make the definition clear. Example of a Hollywood production: MGM, Touchstone, Paramount, Warner Brothers, Walt Disney Studios, etc. I don't happen to think Lion's Gate or any of its subsidiaries (Trimark, Mandate, Artisan) an independent film company, though that's what they like to label themselves for whatever reason. It's the Wal-Mart effect. Everything that was once original gets bought out by the big Lion. Some of the production companies named above actually started in Canada. It really bothers me to see that in this country, which is exactly why the very clearly diminishing ACTUAL independent film maker (or actual independent production company) in the United States is growing ever rare. It's like every other product in this country. Anything that has been around for 100 years in this country will tend to have its tentacles everywhere.

I saw this Mk1 Escort going past my house and it got me asking: "who ever sees a cool car going past their house and wishes they had it?" Me? If it was slammed on American Racing Torque Thrusts and a Hurst paint scheme, or Astro Supremes and a full Bellflower custom job, I'd have it. More so if it was a pillarless fastback, using a Mk1 Capri roof.

Doenjang Jjigae (Korean soybean paste stew)

First, let’s start with rice.
Why rice? You will find out soon.
Besides you gotta cook rice to eat with this stew anyway.

BTW I mixed white rice with brown rice, in case if you are wondering.

Rinse the rice once, just once okay?

Add a little bit of water and start tossing the rice rapidly, with swirling motions, for 30 seconds.
You will see the water turning into milk-ish.
Add about 2 cups of water to the rice and swirl around.

Drain to save this milk-ish water into a bowl, about 2 cups.
This is what we call, “ssal-tte-mool (쌀뜨물)”, the rice starch water.
This will enrich the stew.
Now go ahead rinse the rice a couple more times and cook by your usual way.

Here are our ingredients of the day.
Doenjang paste, Korean chili flakes, onion, zucchini, garlic, dried anchovies, sea kelp, mushroom, chilies, and Asian leek or green onion.
But I am missing one important thing…

This one, the tofu! I used soft tofu but you can use firm if you like. Cut into cubes.

Dice your onion,

and the same goes to zucchini…

Cut off the bottom from the enoki mushrooms. You can use any mushroom of your choice.

If you want to stick to the authentic style, use a stone pot. This small pot is about 1 quart size.
Bring to your heat source.

Toast your anchovies for 1 minute.
The reason is that most dried anchovies are stored in the fridge or freezer and they get damp, which means, fishy!
Toasting will remove the fishy smell.

Pour the rice starch water and add the dried sea kelp. Let them boil and simmer for 5 minutes.

Remove our sea friends and discard them.

Add the Doenjang (soy bean) paste.
You need to mash them down to incorporate with stock. Whatever left in the mash, throw them back into the stock.
You can use coarse mash strainer for this job or use the back of a spoon and smash it to the pot.

Add onion and zucchini slices,

and chili flakes. Let it boil.

Add tofu and garlic.

Add chilies and boil for 2 minutes.
Lastly add mushroom and the Asian leek. Done!

Pine Nut Mustard Dressing

Can also be used as a dipping sauce.

1 cup pine nuts

3 Tbsp soy sauce

3/4 cup rice vinegar

4 Tbsp Dijon or hot mustard

1/2 cup honey

Chop nuts finely. Mix other ingredients together, add nuts.

Soy Scallion Dipping Sauce

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 Tbsp rice vinegar

1 Tbsp honey

2 Tbsp water

2 Tbsp dark sesame oil

2 teaspoons Korean red pepper flakes

2 Tbsp crushed roasted sesame seeds

1/4 cup green onions

Mix.

Pine Nut Porridge

Ingredients:
Pine nuts, rice, salt, and water.

Directions (for 1 serving):

Soak 1/3 cup of short-grain rice in cold water for 1-2 hours.

Rinse and drain and put it into a blender.

Add 2 tbs pine nuts (with the tips removed) and 2 cups of water to the blender.
Blend the mixture finely for about 3 minutes, until it turns into a milky white liquid.

Pour the liquid into a heavy bottomed pot.
Cook it over medium high heat. Keep stirring with a wooden spoon.
It’ll get thicker in about 3 minutes. Add ½ ts of kosher salt, lower the heat to medium low, and stir for 5 more minutes. The porridge will get thinner and a little soupy.

Transfer the finished porridge to a serving bowl and garnish with a few pine nuts on top.