MAD MEN MOMENT No. 5

Click the pic for a larger imageWhere to begin...I guess I can buy into the fact that the couple wanted to leave their swingin' cocktail party. But what I'm wondering about in this odd formal wear ad is why they felt the need to swing by the 7-11 for a newspaper, loaf of bread, carton of milk and an orange? And what sense does 'Why have a party when you can just have a ball' make? Is it me?Tw...

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'BOARDWALK EMPIRE' RECAP: NUCKY REPLACES ELI AS SHERIFF

"Boardwalk Empire" Episode 11 - "Paris Green" was the 11th episode in the series. With only one more to go in the stupendous first season, Nucky Thompson's world is starting to close in on him. Will things be wrapped up by next week?Some key events:• Jimmy Darmody (Michael Pitt) navigates some delicate family issues and we finally learn the identity of his father.• Prohibition Agent Nelson Van Alden (Michael Shannon) is starting to unravel and spends...

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ILLUMINATI AT THE AIRPORT (#fridayflash)

Press play for some mood music There was something going on here.I plopped in my barstool in the way-too-bright airport lounge at Denver International Airport and looked through my notes. I had them jotted them down in a small black Moleskine because I wanted to look inconspicuous. Nursing a Jack before my flight back to Manhattan, I combed through what I had uncovered and the more I thought about it, the more I felt uneasy.Now I've always loved...

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YES INDEED...

... There were also shitty drivers in 1912. Don't think it's only the tools in BMWs today.My #fridayflash is to come. Turkey Day effed me all up.Tw...

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HAPPY TURKEY DAY!

Gobble! Gobble!Tw...

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MAD MEN MOMENT No. 4

Nothing sells coffee like a tired dad beating the bejesus out of his son...(click pics to enlarge)Tw...

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HOW DO YOU GET SINATRA TO READ YOUR SCRIPT?

... Like this.Tw...

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I OWE MY SOUL TO THE COMPANY STORE (#fridayflash)

Click play for some mood music I'd say that my parents screwed me up pretty good. They weren't normal. In fact, I'd say they were pretty fucking crazy.My dad Rusty was the fourth bill in a traveling wild west show that had all the authenticity of your basic dime store six shooter.And Ma? She was his apprentice and, truth be told, none too bright either. What else would explain how she'd let a two year-old brave the old man's "legendary" knife toss?...

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MAD MEN MOMENT No. 3

It was an era when tough guys were able to sell cigarettes on TV... Enjoy."Paul Mall" was the sponsor of "M Squad," a television program which ran on NBC during the '50s. That's perhaps why Lee Marvin, the show's star, appeared on its commercials during the episodes.As for his quirky pronunciation? The cigarette's name is correctly pronounced with the rhyming couplet "pell mell," as made evident in the advertisement.The American Tobacco company would dispatch numerous publicists to instruct the cast and staff of the correct pronunciation during...

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'BOARDWALK EMPIRE' RECAP: NUCKY THOMSPON'S WORLD IS CLOSING IN

Sunday's episode of "Boardwalk Empire" was written by Steve Kornacki and directed by Brad Anderson. Between the looming election and the damage control following an attempt on his brother Eli's life, Atlantic City Treasurer Nucky Thompson (Steve Buscemi) seems to be spinning many of his plates in the air.Some key events:• A matured Jimmy Darmody (Michael Pitt) returns to Atlantic City after spending months in Chicago only to find Agent Nelson Van...

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RED CLOUD AT SUNDOWN (#fridayflash)

Please click play for some mood music 1835.When Flapjack Collins got wind that the Mexican government was shelling out up to fifty American for Apache scalps, he pondered if he was the killing kind of man.He worked grain at Buffalo Trace Distillery in Franklin County, Kentucky and being that there was no future as far as he could see, he packed up with no notice and hit the open trail.The going got rough somewhere around South Texas or ... Hell,...

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FOR OUR VETERANS...

...Both past and present. Happy Veterans Day. The 'Basement' appreciates you...Tw...

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TINA FEY: MARK TWAIN AWARD

Seriously, how can you not love the above pic of Tina Fey?Vargas girl pose -- checkVintage typewriter -- checkAdorable mojo with with just enough sex appeal -- check... And just in case, you need another excuse to realize that writer-comedienne-actress Tina Fey is the cat's pajamas, she's just been given the Mark Twain Award for American Humor.Awarded by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts annually since 1998, it's presented to an...

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COOL MEN IN TUXES...

Wonder what he'd being doing now if he was alive?Even eating a hot dog, 'Ol Blue Eyes looked cool...Tw...

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'BOARDWALK EMPIRE' RECAP: MARGARET SLAPS THE SNOT OUTTA LUCY; ELI TAKES A BULLET

EPISODE 8: "HOLD ME IN PARADISE"Sunday's episode of "Boardwalk Empire" was written by Meg Jackson and directed by Brian Kirk. Most of the episode took place in Chicago and had Nucky Thompson wheeling and dealing prior to the 1920 Republican National Convention.Some key events:• While visiting Chicago during the Republican National Convention, Nucky Thompson (Steve Buscemi) meets Warren Harding's charming campaign manager Harry Daugherty (Christopher...

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SURPRISE AT THE COUNTY FAIR (#fridayflash)

Please click play for some mood music "Bob Wills Boogie" by Bob Wills and The Playboys. It can be downloaded HERE.Who knew where we were?Me and Linky had a job in Philly, did the deed, and were on our way back to Chicago by way of Bumblefuck, America.Shoulda known better than to let Linky drive but I had a little too much hooch in me so I leaned back in the seat as some cat named Bob Wills on the radio sang me to sleep.A few hours later, I saw we...

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MAD MEN MOMENT No. 2

This is a real ad.So much to say about this one. Don't know where to begin. The ugly ties... The "show her it's a man's world" or the simple fact that she's kneeling in front of her husband serving him his breakfast...Tw...

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STERLING'S GOLD: FICTION POSING AS NON-FICTION

Dig it "Mad Men" fans... The book that ad man John Slattery's character Roger Sterling was claiming to pen during this past season on AMC's "Mad Men" is actually coming out.Yup, Grove Atlantic will release "Sterling’s Gold: Wit and Wisdom of an Ad Man."In the show's Sterling's books poignantly arrived as the defeated, washed-up ad man lost the coveted Lucky Strike account.This stroke of genius came about when Grove Atlantic publisher Morgan Entrekin,...

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'BOARDWALK EMPIRE' RECAP: MEET RICHARD HARROW - BADASS!

UPDATE: STUPENDOUS piece about Jack Huston, the character actor who took the quirky role of RICHARD HARROW and turned him into a breakout character... (w/ VIDEOS) ----> CLICK HERE ~ ~ ~Last night's episode of "Boardwalk Empire," -- "Home" -- explored the notion of personal demons both inward and outward -- especially Nucky Thompson's (Steve Buscemi). Seems as though he may have...

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