Some stuff

-Anyone see Farrah Fawcett on Letter man Wednesday night? It was a rerun from spring I hadn't seen. This woman has ravaged her own face with plastic surgery. She looks hideous. One of the top "sex symbols" of the 80's is literally a shell of her former self. Sad.

-Tara was interested in a "conservative" opinion on the Sheehania on her blog. Well, here's an opinion from the left. Not being standoffish here or trying to start anything. Just balancing things a tad.

-On a related note, she's (Sheehan, not Tara) off her rocker. Being backed by Code Pink and the other nutso "anti-war" groups says enough. How is that these organizations don't seem to care about the military unless it's a dead servicemember? Because, then they have use for pissing on that servicemembers memory. Obviously, not all of those left-of-center are like this but when the organizations that claim to represent the left are like it, it might be a problem.

-Will be in the MD area next Thursday-Sunday visiting the little sis...who never mentioned to me that she was going to dinner at the Polish Consulate this week. That butthead.

-The poor folks who lost the Kelo vs New London case are being crapped all over even more. New London has decided that they will be paying 2000 "fair market value" instead of 2005 "fair market value." On top of that, they will charge the folks 5 years back rent, back to 2000. Stuff like this makes me want to support the folks sitting in their houses with a shotgun to protect it. How petty is this by the city? And is anyone trying to get these worthless city council members out of office?

-More on SNL sometime next week. Been busy

SNL: 5 star rebuttal

OK, we’ve covered the 5 star cast members. Some thought I may have omitted some deserving women. Names suggested were Cheri Oteri, Jan Hooks, Amy Poehler, Rachel Dratch and Maya Rudolph. Now this is my personal preference. Obviously, anyone can have their own list of 5 stars.

I think Cheri is a fair suggestion but she is a 4 star for me. That’s not an insult by any means but she just didn’t quite reach that 5 star level for me. If you found out she was starring in a comedy movie, would you be really motivated to see it? For me personally, the answer is no.

Rachel Dratch is an excellent suggestion and she could well end up there in another year or two. She’s extremely versatile, doesn’t recycle the same character over and over and I find her very funny. But for now, she’s still a 4 star for me.

I really like Jan Hooks but other than “Stalk Talk” and maybe another couple sketches, I didn’t find her that memorable. Does anyone remember a recurring character of hers? I remember laughing a lot at her because she brings everything to her character, no matter how stupid that character may be. But I’d have her between a 3 and 4. Probably a 3 because I don’t think she was as good as Cheri or Rachel.

Tina Fey. Fey is a tough one. As a cast member, I think she’s close to a 4 just for the news. But that is really all she does, aside from playing extra #2 in some sketches. Now, I will grant she seems to be a great writer and has been head writer for a few years now. If I was grading people who’ve had an impact on the show, I’d grade her a 5 star. But as a cast member, she falls short.

Amy Poeler has a ton of potential and is probably just short of the 4 star category. I’ve liked her for a while (great at the Tourette’s girl in Deuce Bigalow) but I can’t recall a character she played that always made me laugh. She’s also very versatile.

Maya Rudolph is ok. There are some times I like her and some others that she grates on me. In my book, she’s a 3 star.

But this current crop of women is probably the best I can remember them having.

Another thing we need to consider is that we’re probably going to be more biased towards the cast members we are currently watching.

I’ll try to put more out about tomorrow or early next week on my other 4 stars, besides Cheri, Tina and Rachel.

Here’s a good recap of Bill Simmons’ top 5 SNL sketches.

I have seen the Joe Montana, Richard Pryor, Chris Walken and Baldwin sketches and have them all on tape. Of that list, the Pryor one was my fav. I have never seen the Stevie Wonder/Eddie Murphy sketch.

SNL

I figured I’d move on to something a bit lighter, for the time being:
Saturday Night Live.

I became a big fan of the show when I was about 13 years old living in Las Vegas. My sis followed shortly after. The cast at this time was headed by Dana Carvey and Mike Myers and included Victoria Jackson, Jan Hooks and Kevin Nealon. Carvey was my fav at the time, as he was with most people.

But this got me to thinking. Shouldn’t there be a ranking of the cast members by impact they had on the show? This can include recurring characters, versatility and how good the show was the first season after they left.

I figure a 5 star rating system should suffice for this.

Now, I’m not really in a position to comment too much on many cast members before my time but I will automatically throw in Bill Murray, Jim Belushi, Eddie Murphy, Steve Martin and Chevy Chase into the 5 star category. Debate if you want but they are in (in my book).
What is the 5 star category? This means that whenever a cast-member is in a sketch, you’re guaranteed to laugh.

Phil Hartman was what Darrell Hammond wishes like heck he could be. Hartman’s only really popular recurring character was President Clinton. But Hartman could play anything. No matter the role, he played it great. Whether the boss in “Ed Glosser, Trivial Psychic” or the father in the "Matt Foley, Motivational Speaker" sketches, he not only played the role, he was funny in it…a role that probably didn’t have much room to garner laughs.

Chris Farley was the man. The best at physical comedy on the show as long as I’ve been watching. Whether it was crushing tables, destroying walls, getting repeatedly murdered in a community theater play or falling through ice and screaming profanities, he could do it. He also played the shy, unassuming guy when hosting his own “Chris Farley Show.” Farley will always be my favorite and he was definitely one of those cast members that, when I saw him in a sketch, knew I’d be laughing.

Will Ferrell probably isn’t comfortable being on the list with two guys who died early and unexpectedly. Too bad. I remember when Lorne Michaels purged the show of every cast member except Tim Meadows in the mid-90’s. Will Ferrell came on with a very talented group (Cheri Oteri, Molly Shannon, Ana Gasteyer, Chris Kattan) and I remember the sketch where my sis and I became huge Ferrell fans. It was The Terry Gantner Family Workout. Ferrell is using karate to workout and tried to break a piece of wood with a strike. He proceeds to break his hand on it and spends the last 60 seconds of the episode screaming in pain and lashing out at his family members. Heather and I knew at that point that he was our guy. Ferrell had many recurring characters: Goulet, Janet Reno, one of the Butabi Brothers, Neil Diamond and, of course, President Bush. Beyond that, he always played utility, like Phil Hartman, filling whatever role was needed.

Who are your five-star cast members and why?

Surreal

I'm at ma and pa's. I walk downstairs and pops is asleep on the couch, remote in hand. And on the TV, is BET's Top 25 countdown.

Guess that would explain him lowering his truck and buying Sprewells.

Jihadists in England

Interesting article from Mark Steyn http://www.suntimes.com/output/steyn/cst-edt-steyn31.html

Someone had asked me about limiting free speech of jihadists. Well, when the "free speech" is advocating the overthrow of the government and murder of the Prime Minister, that's not protected speech. That's my own personal opinion and I, admittedly, have no idea of the free speech laws in England.

I also find it ironic that the murderers were living off the government while planning and executing the bombings.

I'm taking this columnist at his word but if what he wrote is true, wow.

Not that England is the only country with issues regarding this fight. We certainly have our own when we won't even close our borders.