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The “C” in Muscles Stands for Comedy
In the modern cinematic battle between DC Comics and Marvel, I will tip my cap to the latter for the following:
DC’s movie quality and slate of beloved characters are far superior, but Marvel is definitely having a lot more fun off the silver screen.
Back on August 29, 2016, Jimmy’s Daily Planet wrote about and featured the first installment of Thor adjusting to the grind of a 9-5 job during his absence in the first Avengers movie. And to answer your next question, yes, that video with Thor and his Earth friend and roommate, Darryl Jacobson, is quite entertaining.
What could be more entertaining than that?
I’m glad you asked. How about the brand new second video of Thor & Darryl that just dropped today…
Even if the exchange rate is slightly below average right now, I’d still take a few gazillion dollars with a few bucks knocked off.
The Weight of History
If Usain Bolt (9.58 seconds) or Andre De Grasse (9.91 seconds) ran the 100m at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, Germany, how would they’ve fared against the legendary Jesse Owens (10.3 seconds)? Too bad we’ll never know.
Well, as Marty McFly would say, “This is heavy, Doc.”
The time traveling dash took place shortly prior to this year’s Olympics.
The natural inclination for sports commentators and analysts is to hype current athletes and achievements with superlatives. At times, the compliments fly at a slightly exaggerated rate. How quickly we forget the results of the past…or even just the last year. Still, there are athletic performances (individual and team) that warrant lightning-in-a-bottle fanfare. But it’s important to introduce perspective whenever possible. The fact is that Usain Bolt is a sprinter we may never see again in our lifetime. If you were to design the perfect sprinter, that final concept would look a hell of a lot like the 6’5″ Jamaican.
Witnessing Usain Bolt sprint today is the closest feat of running dominance and wow factor fans can experience that compares to the “Buckeye Bullet” people saw take flight 80 years ago.
Mr. Bolt’s achievements are undeniably laudable. However, as the phrase, “The greatest of all-time” is being cemented with his legacy, the video above shouldn’t necessarily deny that illustrious label. Instead, the struggle and significantly slower time produced by the 2016 Olympic 100m bronze medalist Andre De Grasse (9.91 seconds) should provide historical perspective and weight to the conditions, resources and technological advances made between 1936 Germany and 2016 Rio.
Usain Bolt is a once-in-a-lifetime sprinting legend and one of the fastest runners ever.
That’s an accurate statement at any point in track & field history.
When Art and Life Collide
Last night’s episode of The Big Bang Theory was the show’s first in 2014. It had its funny moments (not counting Sheldon’s definition wordplay) and its not so funny moments (Leonard and Penny). The writers and producers made certain not to debut 2014 lightly, but instead with a substantive episode interwoven with real life discussions and heartbreaks.
Will Penny make it as an actress after a decade of pursuing her dream?
Does Leonard honestly think Penny will make it as a successful actress?
One important distinction made last night was the primary difference between a drama and a comedy. Specifically, consider when someone says there is a “one in a million” chance something will happen. In a comedy, like Dumb and Dumber, that’s a punchline filled with hilarious delusion. In a dramatic situation (even within a situation comedy), the “one in a million” response is a metaphorical, and partly literal, punch to the gut to the recipient.
The only delusion of the latter is the harsh reality of contemplating just how large the number one million is and how small the number one is in comparison. And then understanding who represents the number one.
Devastating.
The event that led to the “one in a million” talk between Leonard and Penny was when her small diner part in NCIS with star Mark Harmon was edited out from the show. It didn’t make the final cut. Leonard and Penny discussed the realistic prospects of her future as an actress and the results were nowhere nearly as pretty as Penny herself.
The show ended with Leonard and Penny’s argument (and future) unresolved. But here is where the show got really interesting.
While reading Chuck Lorre’s weekly Vanity Card at the end of the episode, which can range from funny to thought-provoking to inappropriate, there was an instant realization that his message was as substantive as the episode itself. It was simultaneously real and surreal.
That’s truly rare and it deserves to be expanded upon.
Without a word-for-word recap, the message detailed how Penny’s part in a major CBS show (NCIS) was cut in the final edit and, therefore, did not air. Her excited friends and family, sadly, did not see her “big break” that she had worked ten years for in Los Angeles. Ironically (and unbelievably) the exact same thing happened in last night’s Big Bang Theory episode! An actress who had a small part with Raj and Stewart in the mall was cut in the final edit. It was going to be her big break, very likely with her family and friends gathered together to watch her act in one of the biggest shows on television.
Unfortunately, her part (like Penny’s) was cut in the final edit. However, Big Bang co-creator and executive producer Chuck Lorre made sure to let America (and the world) know in his Vanity Card that he wanted to apologize to the actress and that it was only because of time that her part was not included in the show’s final version. He made certain to note to her and her family and friends that she absolutely nailed the part. He then added that he will work hard to get her back on the show sometime in the future.
Wow!
It’s a case of life imitating art or art imitating life or art and life getting an apartment together in downtown Pasadena to enjoy a glass (or bottle) or white wine before their next audition.
Either way, it was real, surreal, heart-breaking, inspiring and unbelievably amazing all at the same time.
In the episode, Sheldon, in his quest for comedic dominance, stated that “comedy is tragedy plus time” after Penny left the room following her realization that her part was taken out of the show.
It seems Chuck Lorre waited the exact right amount of time to say something that turned a tragedy into something not necessarily funny, but still something that likely brought joy and a smile to a dedicated and disappointed actress’s face.
Funny how life turns out from time to time.
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