Straight No Chaser

Thanks Macho for introducing this to me.

Glee is back, but so is 6-bee

Jimmy Fallon did a great parody version of Glee the other night.

Filipino references in pop culture

A couple of days ago my brother and I were talking about the many Filipino references that seem to pop up on 30 Rock. Admittedly, I don't know whether or not to laugh or not. I usually don't find too much humor in stereotypes, even if the speaker of the joke is of the targeted group (as I am watching Robin Williams on Ferguson discussing how he offended Australia). References can be both positive and negative, and I usually just let it be and remain a "silent witness."

Oddly, the first time I can really remember hearing "Filipino" in a song was in Motley Crue's "Same Ol' Situation." I thought to myself "What exactly is Vince Neil and Nikki Sixx saying about Filipino women?" and really... just about every song objectified women... and I was just a teenager screaming along to they lyrics without much pause...

College, Life, a near run for a political seat in local politics, teaching have all made me much more aware and sensitive to all aspects of different "-isms." But do I ever really say anything? No. I've wanted to blog about every reference I have heard over the years, but then I felt overwhelmed and lazy and never did.

So, why comment now? Not sure... I'm on spring break and have some time to procrastinate. It's Good Friday, and I was always taught not to enjoy myself, but rather I should contemplate the seriousness of life...

... I woke up this morning not wanting to get out of bed and decided to catch up on the newest Entertainment Weekly, which could fuel all kinds of discussion on pop culture... The first thing I saw was this little blurb that said Glee "is looking for a fifty-something Filipina or Hispanic actress to play... Sue's (presumably long-suffering) maid." Then I began to imagine all the tirades that would emanate from Sue's mouth and how rife with offensiveness they could be. I'm curious how this will be handled.

So after having perked my interest, I see another curious entry from David Byrne and Fatboy Slim. They have a new album called Here Lies Love... the concept for this album... let's read Byrne's own introduction for the CD... “The story I am interested in is about asking what drives a powerful person—what makes them tick? How do they make and then remake themselves? I thought to myself, wouldn’t it be great if—as this piece would be principally composed of clubby dance music—one could experience it in a club setting? Could one bring a ‘story’ and a kind of theater to the disco? Was that possible? If so, wouldn’t that be amazing!”

The featured track on the website is an imagined duet between Imelda Marcos and Estrella, as sung by Cyndi Lauper and Tori Amos (two artists I tend to like). A picture of Imelda graces the cover and the entirety of the album reflects her story. The idea of a theatrical story being told in a dance club does seem interesting, although I don't know how many of the people there will be visualizing the story of Imelda Marcos.

I am curious and will listen to all the short bits on the website linked above on the album title and probably even more on iTunes when the album is released next Tuesday. I probably won't write any review, but I put this out there for some of you to consider. For those curious, EW gave the CD a "B." If you want to hear some of the songs until the CD is released, you can check out NPR. Personally, I'm finding the collection quite intriguing, especially growing up in the age of 70s disco.

Catching up on my quick jaunt to Hawaii

At the end of January, I was feeling overwhelmed by pain, work, stress, and other mental musings that have been congealing into the mucus that causes postnasal drip and leads to endless fits of coughing.

What better way to fix this problem than by making a quick trip to Hawaii... that's right... on the weekend that LOST was about to make its season 6 premiere at sunset on the beach, destiny called me to Oahu. The Wednesday before the premiere after wallowing in paperwork and listening to my heart and the randos, I looked up the airfares to Hawaii. Surprisingly, semi-affordable. Now, my brain said, "Don't do it! You'll be maxing out the credit card!" My heart thought about Waikiki beach, LOST, and maybe a chance to meet the cast of the show or even Jay and Jack. My BFF May found a cheaper flight, I booked it, and less than 48 hours later I was in Hawaii.

I enjoyed some wonderful time hanging out with May and her family. Her son is growing up so much. Aside from the premiere, the weekend was great. I got to eat at my favorite places, especially Bubbies and the Old-fashioned Pancake House.

So if you'd like to hear the rest of the story, you can... go to iTunes and listen to the Randy Rando Randonopolis Podcast or click here... you can actually hear my voice on one of the first segments of the show. Then, stop and listen to the rest of their podcasts and subscribe to their show. Leave comments on iTunes about what a great guest I am, so they can bring back the D-Rock P. Zilla to make another cameo...

one of the best parts of the entire trip... no one sat next to me on both flights to and fro... YES!



May got to get a pic with Richard Alpert (Nestor Carbonel)

More America's Best Dance Crew

SoReal Cru TV posted a video of their visit to the Bay Area and El Camino makes an appearance... and not just our school, but also our hoodie... The school shows up at about 3:02 in the video. The hoodie much sooner...



December 4, at lunch, Joesar of the Boogie Bots will be visiting our campus to sign autographs and take pictures. Apparently, El Camino has an excellent reputation for supporting and teaching dance. Now, this is no surprise to me, but the fact that this is know beyond our city amazes me, especially since people are hearing about us in Los Angeles. Thankfully, we have a few alumni involved in the dance world. One teaches at Millennium and a couple others tour and perform in music videos. Congrats to them and thanks for representing your alma mater.

New TV Season

Ok... I must now force to admit that I am horribly addicted to TV.

I find myself racing home to DVR 2 channels and record another one on the DVD recorder... this cannot be healthy...

and to top it all off... Friday Night Lights can only be found on Direct TV... that pisses me off.

I'm gonna try to write more often with brief little comments... we'll see how this works... kinda of like an expanded status section to my facebook page...

Mad Men season 2 begins Sunday

I'm glad some of you actually read my blog and consider my recommendations. Unfortunately, not enough of you read to vote for my co-worker in the comcast teacher of the year contest, which she did not win. C'est la vie!

However, I have discovered that many of you are now hooked on licorice. The mango is so good. And the strawberry one is on sale at Target as we speak, so stock up but don't go to the Colma one, for I bought them all already.

Also, I'm glad that several of you are trying out Mad Men that quaint little show getting all kinds of critical notoriety. You'll be happy to know that the season 2 premiere is Sunday evening. If you have comcast on demand, you still have time to catch up on season 1.

Here's also the review from the SF Chronicle... I hope they don't mind...

Mad Men: Drama.

10 p.m. Sundays

on AMC.

In the first episode of the second season of "Mad Men," there's a great moment - in fact, many great moments - that immediately justify the runaway critical acclaim for this series while underscoring the primary mechanism for its brilliance, which is acute subtlety.

Don Draper (Jon Hamm), the central character in AMC's "Mad Men," and perhaps the only figure in prime-time television to be absolutely mired in existentialism, is at a bar, having a drink. This should come as no surprise, even to new fans interested in jumping on the heavily hyped, multi-Emmy-nominated drama, which starts Sunday. Drinking and smoking and stylized sets and clothes are the touchstones of the series and are frequently mentioned in the buzz that surrounds the show.

Almost none of the coverage for "Mad Men" explains that this is a show about interiors.

So Draper, the advertising executive at the heart of darkness that is this contemplative character study, is not out of place having a drink at midday.

But, as he's about to find out, he's out of place in the world. (He always has been - it's one of the primary drives in the "Mad Men" narrative - but Season 2 looks to be bringing this personal isolation into sharper focus.) Sitting at the bar with Draper is another man, perhaps slightly younger, reading Frank O'Hara's "Meditations in an Emergency," a collection of poems from the young, acclaimed poet. Don remarks that reading at the bar is a convenient excuse for not doing anything, not being at work. He barely hears the reply, which is a veiled swipe at the notion that doing something (like work) is even important.

"Is it good?" Draper asks the other man. "I don't think you'd like it," comes the reply. And there's an ever-so-faint look on Draper's face - the kind of nuanced acting that Hamm is rightfully getting credit for - he can't quite figure out whether he's been insulted or if it's merely the end of a conversation going nowhere between two disparate men.

But right in that moment, series creator and main writer Matthew Weiner has reset the hook on what's so alluring about Don Draper and "Mad Men." Times are changing. Men like Draper don't really know it yet, but the world has inched in a different direction from the way they are going. It's a wonderful scene, evocative of the nuances at the heart of "Mad Men." It's note perfect. Understated, undersold.

Out of place

Later Draper will be seen reading "Meditations in an Emergency," looking as if he's trying to understand some kind of coded text, some message he doesn't quite get. (No doubt copies will be flying off the shelves soon.) In some way, the poems are a message from the future - which is already surfacing in the New York that Draper walks through every day. And the insinuation is that despite his not being a man who values poetry - he's an adman, after all - there's something in the words that made a connection. At the end of the episode, part of one of the poems is voiced as Draper walks down the street looking, as always, out of place.

The first two episodes of "Mad Men" reaffirm its place in the upper echelon of television dramas. The writing is a real thing of beauty - from the aforementioned nuance to searing workplace witticisms and pitch-perfect tone from a multitude of characters. You can't overstate how accomplished "Mad Men" is at understanding the vagaries of dialogue among disparate characters.

So too is the acting. Hopefully "Mad Men's" subtlety will appeal to the new viewers expected to turn out in response to the series' rising profile. You don't find a lot of physicality in "Mad Men" - fights or guns or running or screaming fits. The series is mannered. The first season took place in 1960 for a reason: The country was still living in a 1950s-influenced time. The roiling decade ahead was in its nascent form. For the Don Drapers of the world, change was going to be what other people did, at least initially. The racism and sexism and old-school values and habits (which often form the basis for the best jokes in "Mad Men") were in their DNA.

Others at Draper's advertising firm, Sterling Cooper, are aware of the changes, but not the series' central character. Paul Kinsey (Michael Gladis), one of the copywriters at the firm, has grown a beard and started smoking a pipe, playing at being hipper than he really is. Even Draper's disaffected wife, Betty (January Jones), is feeling the cultural plates shift below her.

Kennedy era has begun

Weiner has smartly started Season 2 in 1962. John Kennedy is in the White House. A new era has begun. Draper is the core of the "Mad Men" universe. His worldview is beginning to be at odds (especially in advertising) with what is percolating up in the zeitgeist. He's only 36 and straddling two eras. Even in two episodes, you can tell that Weiner and company will be mining the change for all it's worth. When Joan (Christina Hendricks), the office manager at Sterling Cooper, goes to a would-be bohemian party that Paul throws, she sees that he's got an African American girlfriend and calls him out the next day in the office.

"You, out there in your poor little rich-boy apartment in Newark or wherever. Walking around with your pipe and your beard. Falling in love with that girl just to show how interesting you are." When Paul looks peeved, Joan adds casually, "Go ahead. What part is wrong?"

In perfect contrast, Draper is not playing at being someone other than himself or embracing change - mostly because he doesn't truly know who he is or where he fits. No doubt all around him will grapple at a quicker pace with what 1962 really means - his wife, his co-workers, the agency. His existential state might not yet be an emergency, but it's something Don Draper will have to meditate on, and that's going to make for compelling television of the smartest (and possibly most subversive) kind.

E-mail Tim Goodman at tgoodman@sfchronicle.com.

Mad Men

I spent the 4th of July weekend (still not watching summer movies) but catching up on TV series that I've heard about. I was on the phone with Anne who'd been telling me how great this show Mad Men is. Her examples of two favorite moments were 1. a little girl is playing with a plastic bag and puts it over her head and all mom can say is that her daughter will be in a world of hurt of her dry cleaning is on the floor... and 2. a pregnant woman drinking a mint julep...

Then I found the TV series for rent at my local Blockbuster and after watching the first disc I couldn't wait until the next day to finish the series. Thankfully, I could finish the series because it was only 13 episodes. I'm all for short seasons if it allows the series to maintain a high level of quality. Immediately, I realized from the opening credits to the portrayal of 1960 America that this drama has some serious gravitas. The look and design have a strong nostalgic look with some modern sensibilities thrown in.

The first episode centered on smoking and how and ad company can market cigarettes which are for the first time being considered unhealthy by society. Little scenes of what life was like made me feel a kinship with the show. Oftentimes I wish life were a bit simpler, yet this show is far from simple... there exists a deep underlying tension that is slowly unfolding as you watch the series. A simple throwaway line in episode 1 plays into two characters interaction in episode 12... one that isn't obvious, but makes sense.

I think my favorite moment of the show was the final scene of "Shoot" which shows Betty, the dutiful housewife shooting her neighbors' pigeons. Beautifully done. Imagine her with the gun in this Blue Velvet suburban scene. Amazing.



Mad Men feels like Desperate Housewives done as a serious cable drama rather than a comedy trying to push a mystery. The mystery of Mad Men is not story/plot but character driven. The layers reveal themselves in ways true to the characters. The comic lines come across as serious in the course of the dialogue but hit with a quick jab. I like how history and 60s pop culture blend into the show. Sterling Cooper (the ad company) even becomes under the employ of Nixon's presidential campaign. It's one thing to read about it in history, but the show provides context especially for those who were Nixon supporters.

One of the more curious sentimental connections occurred for me while cleaning my office just today. I love the pitch Dom gives to Kodak for its slide projection wheel. I found two of those wheels in my office. Actually, I knew they were in there but I never bothered to look inside the box. I'm trying to make a stronger effort of throwing away anything that serves no purpose in my office and considering those wheels had been a part of my 11 years there I had never once looked inside made them good candidates for the dumpster. I hold a few slides up against the fluorescent ceiling lights and see people I know. I look at the slide's cardboard frame and it is dated 1990. The two wheels hold all pictures of my junior year in high school. I see people I haven't seen in nearly 20 years. I couldn't bring myself to throw them away knowing that I have a reunion to plan in a couple years. And I realize just how true the ad pitch was in the TV show. Now, I don't know if that's how the ad campaign really began for Kodak, but this show does an excellent job of framing things from the past in a way we can sentimentally appreciate how the items are viewed in today's society. Even the not so glorious aspects of our society, particularly the way women are treated, though sometimes shown for comedy, make an intriguing comment about where society has come from and where it still needs to go today.



Like I said, I love the opening credits. The score provides a nice complement to what the show ultimately reveals. Plus, writing this reminds me of the way my buddy Eric always examines new product labels...





Here's a clip from the first episode and you can get a taste of the social norms of the day.



This last clip is the one I mentioned about the Kodak wheel. Just watch this and imagine the power of stillness. The show moves at a pace that enhances its tensions. I love these moments that make you view your own world differently. Looking at the slides just doesn't feel quite the same as a slideshow on your laptop. There just seems to be so much more emotion in an activity we all take for granted.




I highly recommend this show. I really needed something like this after all the reality shows that surround me. In particular, all the MTV and E! channel shows my students seem to love. I am so disconnected from my students compared to when I first started teaching. Sad really, but in a good way. I'm glad to be where I am.



My next TV series to catch up on... either The Wire or Battlestar Gallactica... Lance gave me the wire for Christmas and I bought BSG when they were on sale at Costco. This could take up the remainder of my summer.

Jabbawockeez

My newest guilty pleasure has been watching America's Best Dance Crew. These guys are just cool with their team chemistry and masks. Oddly, many of my friends who first watch our teacher lip sync video think we have masks on and that we are trying to emulate these guys. Ummm... we'd never get close to being this good. I also found it interesting that many of my friends are also watching this show.

Last Thursday when I got home from a long day of dealing with elections, appointing new officers, and being kidnapped by R, who forced me to eat dinner, I had missed all my Thursday night television. Believe it or not, I fired up the DVR and the first show I couldn't wait to see was this one and not the newest episode of Lost.

So the finale of the show is this Thursday. You have until Thursday afternoon vote for the Jabbawockeez. Do it now! 1-866-ULOVE02




Here's a link to a compilation to some of their earlier performances.