Pop Culture Popourri :
Autumn 2002 Edition

20 Random Questions for Tommy from normal everyday people just like you.
by Tommy Housworth
 

1) Who is on your “List of 5”?

For the uninitiated, this is a little pop culture game they came up with on “Friends” a few years ago.  The gimmick is, who are the five famous people that your spouse would give you a ‘free pass’ to have a night of naughtiness with, if you met them and they somehow fell head over heels for you.  Given that extreme premise, here are my five that Wendy has sanctioned as alright with her:

1) Jodie Foster
2) Sheryl Crow
3) Carrie Fisher
4) Sandra Bullock
5) Janeane Garafalo

Wendy’s list includes Sean Connery, Patrick Stewart, Clint Eastwood, and Lyle Lovett.

We both feel pretty safe that there will be no infidelities, though Lyle Lovett does keep calling at odd hours and hanging up when I answer.  Hmmm…

2) Going to see Springsteen?

Oh yeah.  I’ve got a semi-crummy ticket, but I haven’t missed a tour since 1984.  “The Rising” is the best CD he’s released since, I dunno, maybe the early 80’s, so this tour is a must.  If you don’t have a copy of “The Rising”, go get it.  Really.  It’s the most heartbreaking and hopeful music I’ve heard all year.

3) Did you watch “American Idol” this summer?

Only long enough to hear the faint galloping sound of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse approaching amid Kelly Clarkston’s winning tune…

4) What is your son going to be for Halloween this year?

Wendy and I think Elvis would be fun, though we can’t agree on which era Elvis.  She likes the young Elvis, but I think the Vegas Elvis is more campy and fun.  Of course, he might not get as much candy as Vegas Elvis…I see a lot of protein bars and apples in his future if we put him in a padded jump suit.

5) Entertainment Weekly reports that the Spice Girls are considering a reunion tour.  What do you think?

I think the aforementioned Horsemen can’t get here soon enough…

6) “Les Miserables” is finally closing on Broadway.  Thoughts?

I loved “Les Miz”, but am often amazed that we embraced a story about the suffering of French people as an epic tragedy, when we all know if it were a story about the perils of down and out Americans, the French would herald it as a delightful comedy.
 

7) What’s the best new show on TV this Fall?

I haven’t had much time to tune in, though it sounds like “CSI: Miami” is a winner.  It better not become too big a hit, though, or David Caruso will quit the show.   Right now, Wendy and I are both enjoying Tony Chaloub’s “Monk”, about an obsessive-compulsive detective.

8) Anna Nicole Smith’s show seems to be a big hit.  Your thoughts?

…and here come the Four Horsemen down the stretch…and at the finish line, it’s Pestilence, beating out Famine by a nose.

9)  Is Martha Stewart on her way to the pokey?

If she is, based on the few women’s prison movies I’ve seen (only 20 or so), she’s gonna have to make an awful lot of tasty cigarettes out of on-hand ingredients to keep from having her oven cleaned, so to speak.

10)  Are you watching a lot of kids shows w/ your little ones?

More than I care to admit.  “Arthur” was a nice surprise recently.  It’s about a little mouse, or mole, or something exterminatable, and his friends.  He had Yo Yo Ma and jazz sax man Joshua Redman as animated guests, in an episode about the value of music.  It was very cool, although their upcoming season premiere apparently features cartoon versions of the Backstreet Boys, so I guess they’re giving equal time to an argument against music.

11) Rolling Stone recently let readers pick the 100 Best Albums of All Time.  Your thoughts?

From what I saw it was a fairly admirable list.  Lots of Beatles, U2, Marvin Gaye, Stones, Dylan – hard to argue with those.  I guess I woulda liked to have seen some selections from artists that rarely get lots of press – Tom Waits, John Hiatt, Elvis Costello, Bonnie Raitt.  Oh well, at least Shakira was blissfully absent.

12) Are you glad Major League Baseball averted a work stoppage?

Very, but I think they did a lot of collateral damage.  It would be a gesture of good will if each team had some sort of ‘Thank You’ to their fans on opening day next year.  Discount tickets, free beer, or in the case of the New York Mets, a chance to perhaps manage the team or score some good weed with their bullpen.

13) Is Dr. Phil for real, or just more psycho-babble?

I hope he’s for real, he’s scheduled to do my vasectomy in December.
 

14) Read any good books lately?

It’s hard to dive into any lengthy works of fiction these days with a colicky baby at home.  It’s all been non-fiction and light fare.  “Jump the Shark” is a fun read – highlighting the place in the history of performers’ careers and in t.v. shows where they should have stopped, rather than becoming a pale imitation of their former selves, or in some cases, a parody of their former selves.  It’s sure to provoke much pop culture chat if you read it and discuss with friends.  If you want to save some $, just visit the website:  www.jumptheshark.com”

I am also re-reading “Stumbling Toward Enlightenment” by Geri Larkin (I read it every year) and revisiting T.C. Boyle’s “After the Plague”, which is a terrific set of dark short stories.

If the fates allow, I’ll get some time to read a quicky paperback called “Karate-Do: My Way of Life” by Gichin Funakoshi, the father of modern karate.

15) When did you jump the shark?

Which time?  In 1992, I did the Georgia Renaissance Festival.  Before that, I was an on-air radio personality.  I’ve jumped that damn shark so many times, he greets me by name.

16) What do you think about Warren Zevon’s recent revelation that he is dying of lung cancer?

It breaks my heart.  Talk about an unsung genius.  I hope this tragedy at least brings him a new audience, and makes a few more people give up cigarettes for good.  Please read my tribute to him on my ‘Recent Writings’ portion of the website – it’s an article titled “His Ride is Here”.

17) What new CDs are you looking forward to?

Most everything is another greatest hits compilation this fall (U2, Stones, Sting, Bowie, Zevon, Fleetwood Mac, Leonard Cohen, Dwight Yoakam) – but there are some actual new releases in the works too.  I guess the new Johnny Cash will be a must-have, with him dueting with Don Henley and covering Depeche Mode’s “Personal Jesus”.  Johnny’s a killer, man.

Also, Tony Bennett and k.d. lang have a CD of Louis Armstrong songs coming out.  That should be some great music.

18) What do you want for Christmas?

Six hours of uninterrupted sleep.

19) What do you think of the “Trading Spaces” phenomenon?

I watch it when I can, and Paige Davis is, like, #6 for my “List of Five”.  Lots of the designers are from Atlanta, including the only Asian man named Vern on our planet.
The only one who works my nerves is Hildy, who seems to think every room should be painted chocolate…

20) If you could have dinner with three famous people, living or dead, who would they be?

Oooh.  This is an answer that would change daily, to be sure.  I think I’d like to invite the Dalai Lama, Mark Twain, and Hunter S. Thompson.  That’s one living, one dead, and one who lingers in between…
 

Until next time, remember, it ain’t culture if it doesn’t ‘pop’!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

“Smirking Into the Abyss” by Tommy Housworth is available online at sites for Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Borders, Chapter 11, and Xlibris.  $16.  Paperback.