Duck Soup

Last night the Brewers let me down. I hereby withdraw my support. Anyone who has thought to turn to this weblog as their primary source of baseball news will have to look elsewhere.

While thinking of things filmic, I happened to notice that Duck Soup is on TCM tonight. If you've never seen it, I strongly recommend that you correct this deficiency in your personality ASAP. It is the best of the Marx Brothers movies, which is saying a lot. I fear sometimes that the Bros and their ilk (e.g., W.C. Fields, whose Bank Dick is also on tonight) are sort of lost to the NapDyn generation. I was raised on that stuff; they always seemed to be on the TV on rainy afternoons on those stations in the corner of the dial. Remember, I grew up with seven stations. There was no such thing as narrowcasting. So if I was singing "Hail Freedonia" you know that a couple or forty million other baby boomers were doing likewise. Nowadays they probably play Duck Soup just as often, but how do you find it in a universe of a bazillion channels? On top of that, there is a (rather philistine) mindset that one should only watch new movies, as if films are comparable to milk, turning sour if they're left in the fridge for too long. Granted that many films don't hold up, but age alone is not a count against them, just as age alone isn't a count against, say, paintings. "I only like new paintings." Who says that? For that matter, who says, "I only like old paintings." What Duke Ellington said about music is true of all art forms, that there are only two kinds: good, and everything else.

Speaking of quotes, U. S. Grant was cited as saying, "I have two favorite songs. One of them is 'Battle Hymn of the Republic.' The other one isn't."

Humor was so much easier a couple of centuries ago.

I heard from Herman Melville last night. PCP's cub reporter is already in Philadelphia, apparently manning a booth in the airport so that the PCP website can photograph everyone as they pick up their luggage. "It's not very comfortable, sitting next to carousel number eight for twenty-four hours a day, and the federal security people have been giving me the eagle eye, but it will be worth it if we can get a shot of one of PCP's recently announced instructors as they scoop their laundry up off the conveyor belt. That's what the fans want to see." I guess so. Which brings me back to W.C. Fields, and quotes. On poker, when asked if it was a game of chance: "Not the way I play it." Given one last request when about to be hanged: "I've always wanted to see Philadelphia." And allegedly (you can look it up and disprove it) printed on his tombstone: "I'd rather be in Philadelphia."

Phildadelphia doesn't have much of a reputation; Babylon on the Delaware it isn't. Still, I love the State House area, the sense of history of this place, the Founders roaming around (probably making Philadlphia jokes), the funk of the South Side, the market, statues of Ben Franklin everywhere. It's a nice little city. I wish I could go. Someday, if I'm still in this activity but no longer in the Day Job...