Bama Llama

Bring on cousin It. In 1970 my then teenage girlfriend (and now bride of five decades), petite and slender beauty with long straight blonde hair, could transform herself into cousin It in mere seconds by bowing her head, casting those long, lovely tresses forward, then putting on a pair of octagonal granny glasses. Then came the trademark gibbering It nonsense “language” and the transformation was complete.

I may still be under some sort of post-hypnotic suggestion but anytime Floyd speaks, especially when he’s at work on someone’s hair and goes into a soliloquy, I shut down and become a blind zombie. I don’t know if it’s the cadence, the timbre, or what but Floyd’s voice and mannerisms render me helpless. Eugene Levy on SCTV as Floyd is a close second. Vive la Floyd!

Boffo socko! Standing O. I kept waiting for the sudden violent something that ended Jimmy Saul’s life. No. Love conquers all. And those diamonds are still scattered in the gunk at the bottom of that dumpster. Jeffie? Are you still there?

Yes, my bad for leaving out the dog. Add a count to Ruggs charges for dogslaughter. Such a crying shame.

23 carries, 170 yards, 1 touchdown. That was Steve Worster’s stat line vs Rice, October 24, 1970. I was a sophomore at Rice attending that game in Houston with my drop dead gorgeous bride to be and my Rice roommates, one of whom now profs at Texas. Woo ran roughshod over, under and through Owls all night until DKR took him out for good in the third quarter. Coach strolled the sidelines trailed by a manager to keep his headphone wires untangled. Rice ran the opening kickoff back for a touchdown and the 5,000 or so Rice fans had a little excitement before the inevitable slaughter. Final - Texas 48 Rice 21. LBJ and Lady Bird were there. His hair was over his collar, long and white, as was his western cut suit, as was his big white stetson when he doffed it to the crowd. My first time to witness The Eyes in person, 68,000 Horns fans (including LBJ) with raised Hookems on a crisp clear night, a daunting and impressive sight. LBJ wore white I guess because it was a road game. My sweet, beautiful Tuscaloosa girl, Coach Royal in total control and Worster crashing through the Rice D like a bull yearling. I remember it like it was last night. Rest in peace, big man.

A sad string of consecutive horrible decisions here: cocaine + fentanyl + getting behind the wheel of anything = your own personal death thread on Surly. The only good thing about it is that others weren’t seriously injured or killed. See, e.g., Henry Ruggs: NFL starter apparently set for life one day, soon-to-be bankrupt long term prison dweller womanslaughter convict the next. And the life of an innocent person gruesomely lost in the process. Too many bad, bad fucking decisions stacked on top of each other.

Phoebe Cates in this film and also in Shag - the essence of ripening nubility!

Cherchez la femme, I say.

Well, this sucks. Wonder what he did? I guess we'll find out. Dude was a dynamic athlete but couldn't keep out of Nick's doghouse. Maybe Sark can rehabilitate his dumb ass. Former Alabama WR Agiye Hall arrested at Texas Updated: Aug. 12, 2022, 6:06 a.m.| Published: Aug. 11, 2022, 11:26 p.m. By Michael Casagrande | mcasagrande@al.com A former Alabama receiver’s first year at a new school is off to a rough start. Agiye Hall, now at Texas, was arrested Thursday in Austin on charges of criminal mischief valued between $100 and $750, according to public booking information. It is a misdemeanor charge. Hall left Alabama after one season that started strong in the A-Day game but didn’t translate to much playing time in the fall. He caught passes for 72 yards with his most significant playing time coming in the national title game. The injuries to Jameson Williams and John Metchie helped thrust Hall into the loss to Georgia in Indianapolis. Hall had a pair of catches for 52 yards against the Bulldogs after recording one catch each against Miami and New Mexico State. Hall publicly questioned his playing time on Twitter, a move that didn’t help the situation. “Well, it is what it is. You know, look, it still comes down to players creating value for themselves by what they do,” Saban said Oct. 18 when asked about that public frustration. “I’ve said this before, that there’s players that have talent but they have to learn how to use it, and they have to use it in an effective way in the way they practice. It’s up to the player to impress the coaches that they can be trusted to go in the game and do what they’re supposed to do. “So when players get frustrated, they sometimes don’t respond the way they should in terms of their preparation and focusing on what they need to do to become a good player, because they’re so concerned about how much they’re playing.” Then in the spring, Saban announced Hall was suspended indefinitely. He entered the transfer portal April 7 and announced he was headed to Texas on April 19.

Point taken and I stand corrected. Someone with more intelligence and time than I have needs to graph / rank how long teams remained in the hunt for a MNC over the years. For most of the 60s, 70s, and years 2008-2021, Bama was the hunt deep into the season. That has been the most amazing element in the Saban years, IMHO.

I live and breathe Alabama football but I don’t claim 64 as a NC. In those days UPI named the champion after the regular season. Is the trophy in the case? Yes. Does it mean anything? Other than recognizing a good season, nah. 66 is the one that chaps me the most. Bama goes undefeated and Snake Stabler & Co. shredded Nebraska 34-7 in the Sugar Bowl. Ending the regular season, Sparty and ND played to a 10-10 tie with ND running out the clock at midfield, no less. ND, which didn’t play in bowls in those days, gets the natty. Nossir, I don’t like it. One year in the 70s, can’t remember which, #5 ND magically jumped #2 Bama although both won their bowl games. Don’t like that either.

Kim is so charismatic but she’s the one who decided to leave and humpty Jimmy for the first time couldn’t talk the pieces back together. It’s understandable but fucking tragic given their unique chemistry. Since then it’s all been downhill and sadly led to where we are, with her being yepped by a nonperson and Jimmy’s boneheaded moves at cancer guy’s house. The Howard pranks were a wrong bridge too far. Most pitiful words in the English language: What might have been. Come on Gilligan, give em one more chance!

“Time wounds all heels.”

Uncharted - 5.5 out of 10 National Treasure type gig with Marky Mark, Tom Holland, and a few dozen ridiculous CGI-heavy scenes. Unless you’re watching with an eleven year old kid or grandkid, probably not worth your time. Magellan is rolling in his grave, which it turns out is not where I thought it was.

A dear friend of mine suffers from various heart ailments and has lost immediate family to cancer. My friend literally has to mute these ads to endure network TV. Bumpuses! Sonsabitches! And don’t get me started on fuckin Prevagen. Another friend, this one 80-plus and shut-in, with TV her only source of entertainment, felt that her memory was slipping. Saw Prevagen ads, thought, “Maybe it will help me.” Got an Rx and began taking Prevagen. Started having major hallucinations; saw scary creatures coming in her windows, appearing in and emerging from mirrors, climbing over furniture, all relentlessly coming after her. She fell trying to get away, ended up concussed with broken ribs, ER, long rehab, ultimately to reside in a piss poor assisted living barn. Bastages!

My favorite line, Ramius on PA to crew, delivered as only Sean Connery could, promised a wing-doozie rest of film after a fine opening act; ”Tonight . . . we shale intah hishtoddeh!”

Fuck all pharmaceutical product ads. If cigarette ads are taboo, these certainly should be. They are video pollution of the worst sort and impair the health of the viewer. If I need meds I’ll get an Rx. I’m sick of hearing all the disclaimer language. Shit, where’s my Xanax?

Mr. Ambassador? You’ve lost another submarine?!

Big casting miss: Keanu Reeves as protagonist Victorian Brit lawyer Jonathan Harker in Bram Stoker’s Dracula, opposite acting genius Gary Oldman. Dialect coach Hell, that one.

In a small role, Hoffman eclipsed everyone else in Cold Mountain, a pretty good film. I even liked the way he flagged the late arriving “enemy” storm chasers in Twister like a deranged 3rd base coach windmilling his arm, signaling a baserunner to take home: “LOser! LOser! LOser”

Dud yiu hear Feancesca say, “And there’s whatever you took with you.” Exactly how much? Enough to get out and get away, far away? Ffwd two weeks to the finale, the last scene: Open with a zoom. We see Jimmy from directly overhead through the blades of a slow ceiling fan. He is lying on his back in bed in a dimly lit room with a serene look on his face, the sounds of surf crashing from the open lanai. He turns to his left side and clicks on a bedside lamp. From Jimmy’s right but off camera, a taut but nicely tanned slender arm frosted with tiny blonde hairs reaches across his chest and clicks the light off. Jimmy: “I told you it would all work out.” Fade to black. Sound of a kiss. Roll credits. True love conquers all. Ah, but how do we get to there from here? Fuck if I know.

Yep and I also forgot Door to Door, another goodie. Macy as a courageous, disabled dtd salesman.

A couple of real actors: Steve Buscemi and William H. Macy. BUSCEMI Best: Fargo Worst: __________? Meh: __________? Cool turns: Sopranos; Boardwalk Empire; Con Air; Reservour Dogs Gems: Ghost World; the Ghost of Stalin MACY Fargo; Name? Mystery Men; The Cooler; State and Main; several I’m leaving out.

Ditto on Out of Sight. Add Elmore Leonard characters and storyline to any pitch and pure alchemy is the product.

If you haven't seen it, Rambling Rose is vintage Duvall at his finest. And some nice Laura Dern vignettes to boot. Also, use of the term "Epizootics" to describe any debilitating illness. See also @ 3:09 below: "Girl strikes like a cobra!"