laffite

Maybe it's time for the BBC (and related matter) to have a thread of its own. So far, these discussions have been hosted by other threads and are scattered about here and there. So BBC television dramas, filmed plays or filmed stage productions, or anything related is fair game here... laffite

Come and Get It nw lagging

EDITED: Jackie, I'm transferring a post I had HERE for you to a new thread, please see BBC thread here on FAVORITES Message was edited by: laffite

*bonjour mon swasheroo aka johnny on the spot!!! heehee!* bonjour mon scotcherooski aka the Un-connected. (Glad that you are once again among the Connected. How did it feel to be "invisible"?) *well just to impress you and frankie...yucky! heehee! no it was an interesting game.....* No, you were right the first time...yuckeeeeee! *have you had a chance to watch a Charlie Brown Christmas yet?* No, not yet. I was hoping you might let me wait until next year. It's not that I don't appreciate but I hate to be un-seasonal, haha! (of course, that's not as bad as being unconnected), But yes, I shall see it, quite soon. If that Miss Van Pelt doesn't behave herself I may have to turn it off, though. You know how I feel about fussbudgets of the Van Pelt variety. *you must tell me about Rigoletto when you see it too. its coming in austin too on stage and i wanted to get tickets, but i wasnt able to get them in time. silly me!* Ho, ho, and if it was a Gary Cooper film festival or a Greer Garson marathon, do you think you would have been able to get tickets? What a question! Still, you tried. Is this the full opera that's coming to Austin, or something other? These operas are on tour and I wouldn't be surprised if it was the same production. BTW, don't let "Frankie" give you a bad time about GG although I admit he has a point here and there. And of course we know that watching GG can't compare with watching a production of Rigoletto. Still, we must remember she's not all that bad either...for a girl.

*But if I win, you must pay me. I want more posts from you, monsieur! And not just about football! * Hi Jackie, thanks! And since you are a co-winner I will oblige with a post something other than football (and most willingly, too), although I may hear you groaning when you see the matter since I am still on the BBC kick, to wit: Anthony is really great in Ibsen's A Doll House, although he makes his character maybe more sympathetic than he is supposed to. After all, the character is stodgy, arrogrant, and a bit shallow when it comes to certain matters and yet I feel almost more sorry for him that his wife at the end of the play. Claire Bloom understates her final scene and to great effect. She is wonderful here. I found my eyes on her whether she was talking or not. I say this not with reference to her beauty, but to her acting. I had seen an earlier bbc production of another Ibsen play, "Little Eyolf," that is so bad IMO that not even AnthonyH nor Diana Rigg could save it. Charles Dance is in this one and has a dreary part that goes no where. It's hard to image Charles boring but it's not his fault. He is very young in this one. Speaking of Diana and Charles, I wonder if you've seen the Rebecca that was done about 10 years ago on PBS. I really liked it. Yes, this is a tired old story, we all know it by heart, still it can be a very interesting watch if for no other reason than to check out the acting. Charles Dance as Maxim has that towering presence that he seems to have developed especially as he aged and as we saw so readily in Bleak House (2005). When Diana Rigg made her entrance as Mrs Danvers, my first thought was, oh no, she's going to over do it. But no, she has two terrific scenes where we see the true Mrs Danvers, she is so polished, she goes for broke with these scenes and pulls it off. I can't think of the girl who plays the new bride but I had reservations about her as well, such a mousy thing but with a strong character not usually associated with this role. She won me over. Oh, and the guy who plays, uh, Jack Favell, is quite good as well. I certainly recommend this one. Well, maybe one day soon, I'll get back to some of our TCM classics, it's about time. I have Dragonwyck coming from NetF. I have not seen it. It was not available on DVD for a long time but it is now here and NetF has it. Have you seen that one? Laffite, who's had enough football for awhile...

*Oh well I'm sure you will recover real soon. * I'm working on it.

*Here's hoping the Cardinals get another shot at the title very soon. B-)* Who likes the Cardinals? I hate the Steelers. It's hate we're talkin' about here. Oh, btw, take this, Steelers: *The Nyaaahing Gecko strikes again.* (It's nice to have something like this when the team you hate keeps winning) (ps thanks to you *Minya* for the characterization, used above, that you gave our scaley, snarky friend in one of its prior incarnations in one of your posts below. Clever! But now that the football season is over I think the scaley one might just slither away in retirement at least until next year when the misery begins all over again.) //

44 "For the last time, slide that coffee cup back over here."

*Blah and blech. What a rough weekend. Now I'm wishing to be as you were at the first Super Bowl, Super Charger.* They almost did it. Almost, almost, and almost. O horrible word!. The last time I looked in the mirror I still looked like this: But O well, what me worry. Why, in no time at all, Laffite will once again regain his customary zest for living and meet life with an indomitable will and optimism and the all the while throwing off these petty disappointments and going forward to resume his fascinating existence: ?well, sorta. (sigh) Almost ===

=== Congratulations to *_Jackie_* and *_Minya_* for correctly guessing how much I paid for a ticket for Super Bowl I in the *First Annual Laffite Super Bowl Quiz Sweepstakes* in which first prize was absolutely nothing. And be sure to take part in *The Second Annual Laffite Super Bowl Quiz Sweepstakes* next year when the grand prize will be even less. It's not that I'm cheap, mind you, it's just I don't want to spoil you. But I know that a sincere congratulations from Laffite is compensation enough . Yes, that first ticket was $20. It was not bought singly, rather it was a group of us (my local watering hole) that went up on the bus. As I related in my original, now defunct, post on this subject (some details of which have been ignominiously revived by the mischevious *_FrankGrimes_* ), I would have been better off watching this game on television, for if that had been so, I would have fell off a mere bar stool and not on the lap of the guy in front of me at the Los Angeles Colosseum (actually I didn't really fall on the guy's lap, I fell on the guy's wife's lap) a result from the exercise of some creative elbow bending that renders some of the details of this game somewhat fuzzy. But I do remember that the Chiefs were supposed to get killed (which they subsequently were) but that they only trailed by 14-10 at halftime, a fact so startling at the time that it made me look and see what I was drinking. But Starr and Magee took over the second half and the Lombardi Dictum, namely, that "winning is everything", now ensconced in our collective consciousness, is the Axiom of the Sports Age. But to the subject at hand, the Cards v. the Steelers. Now that everybody knows I am ancient, let me just say that, when I was a kid, the two worst teams in the NFL were the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Chicago Cardinals. Horrible teams both. Since then the Steelers have excelled and are now one of the most successful Super Bowl teams ever. The Cardinals, however, who have since moved to Arizona after a sojourn in St Louis are, like the Chargers by the way, still trying to win one. I say NOW IS THE TIME!. As you can see, I have invoked Divinity above for a little help. So let's all relax and enjoy the game. I can't wait for the agony to begin.

*I hadn't been born, myself* sez *_Film Fatale_* *Me either. I was minus 1.* sez *_Minya_* Okay, girls (uh, kids!) enough already. (you too, *_Molo_* ) You should know that I was still quite young myself. I was a precocious child. Btw, *_Minya_* you haven't taken a guess at how much that first SB ticket cost me, $12, $20, $35, or $75. Care to try? I realize that being -1 at the time puts you at a disadvantage but even youngsters get lucky There are several votes already in and folks are waiting breathlessly until Super Sunday when the answer will be posted. Be the the first person on your block to post a correct answer and win absolutely nothing. And *_Frank_,* to you: *I believe it was the first and only time a mannequin quarterbacked a Super Bowl winner. I'll have to check the fact book. Dan Marino must be rolling over in his grave. But, you are right, Dilfer was told, "just don't screw it up." And he didn't.* That's a great accomplishment for a QB in the NFL, i.e., not screwing it up. He deserves his ring. Oh, and BTW, I hope Dan Marino doesn't read what you wrote. If he does he may have to schedule a checkup---and fast! *Rock bottom is my natural milieu.* *So that's why we get along so well!* It's never lonely at the bottom. *You can also blame Jerry Jones for that.* Really? I thought he was _your_ worry. (Some late reports are suggesting that the Chargers may move to LA in '10. They are a little premature, it seems, but LA has approved a stadium, something that is not likely to happen in Sandy. My hopes that the C might claim a SB before I go to the next world might depend on what happens next year, since they will play here in any case.) *I'd welcome your smugness on Monday. It would make my day.* I will with all my best strive to oblige...though, of course, I'll need some help. *I think if they had played better competition, they would have needed a quarterback. It was just one of those years. That's how I feel about this year.* You're probably right. I don't mind it though. It tickles me that the best teams are on the sidelines scratching their heads. It says something about the complexity of the game that we can have "one of those years." //

The White Shadows in the South Seas. nw: knows

42 "Boy, when you said he was dead, you weren't just whistling Dixie."

*You've reached rock bottom, my friend.* I have not. I am already there. Rock bottom is my natural milieu. *Is it snowing in Sandy? It is here.* As you know, it does not snow in Sandy. We even have Super Bowls here! (Though probably not again, unless Sandy gets a new stadium. Tagliabue trashed Qualquam as outdated and asserted that never again will there be a Superbowl played at Qualquam.) This to you Mr Tagliabue: Gee, if we're not getting another Super Bowl, it might as well snow. *I was one of the very few who wanted to see the Pats win? Why? Because I hate the Giants and the Giants beat the Cowboys (at home) in the playoffs last year. Ugh. So, as you can see, I have very bad luck when it comes to my hating being fruitful.* I hope it all changes this year. *I constantly tell myself, "it's just a damn game, it means nothing in this world." Then I* *have to deal with the fans of the teams I was hatin' on and realize it's more than a damn game. It sucks being a sports fan... unless you win it all.* Winning is everything. It seems obvious now but I think it was Lombardi way back when (ouch!) who was so brazen as to say it out loud and get the attribution. *The thought that the Cards can actually beat the Steelers let's me know they have no* *shot. I'd love for you to tell me, many times over, "I told you so," on Monday. But it* *ain't gonna happen.* I never say "I told you so." I have too much class for that. I may adopt an insufferable smugness and wallow in my own superiority but I always resist saying anything so base and classless as "I told you so." Still, there may be an exception here and there. (providing that, uh, the opportunity presents itself.) *Trent Dilfer? Yuck. The Ravens' defense was exceptional but... Trent Dilfer? Dreadful.* Hey, with a defense like that, who needs a quarterback? *Yes, a way of putting it. Well, since you caught that post before I was able to feverishly* *take it down, you may remember a question I posed, namely, how much did I pay for that* *ticket for Super Bowl I? Care to guess. FrankGrimes? Anyone else?* *A. $12* *B. $20* *C. $35* *D. $75* *(Remember, we're talkin' 'bout '67. Ouch!)* *Since $12 is not a rounded number, I'll go with that. But you don't have to provide the answer* *if you wish others to take a stab at it.* I will reveal the answer on Super Sunday before the game. I hope others will take the proverbial stab. There is no prize but the right answers will experience the joy of being right. The only thing better than that is to win the lottery or the Super Bowl.

Condolences on the situation with your dad. That's quite a sequence of events you have going on there. Hang in there!

41 "Look, the costume party begins in 15 minutes. I was here before you...so I think you should be the one to change into something else."

*Nice to see you around, Laffite!* Thank you for saying that, FrankGrimes. Kind of made my day... *Are you saying you want the Cardinals to win?* *Yep. It would save this horrendous season for me.* This sounds like me last year. No words describe how happy I was when the Patriots fell to the Agony of Defeat. I was so happy with the Thrill of Victory that I was positively giddy for three days. And it was nice being able to give up my fantasy of Belichick be hung upside down and mercifully caned by my band of berserkers dressed up in Charger uniforms. (I go to great lengths ot indulge my hatreds) Any yet how awful is it to feel such joy over a stupid football game! Does that tell you something about my life? *But I know it's not going to happen.* I don't want to spoil your depression and pessimism (I know, it can be fun ) but I think the desert rats have a reasonably good chance of winning. I am hopeful. Kurt Warner is an old pro. Besides, more than ever, it is just too difficult to believe any more that the best team will necessarily win. The Cardinals have more of a chance than the Giants were given last year. *The Steelers are a good team, but I don't consider them to be great. It's* *just one of those years and times. It reminds me of 2000-01.* I loved that game. I enjoy good defense and the Ravens were amazing that year. The vaunted Steeler defense does not match the Ravens of 2000. If it did then I would be saying, "it's not going to happen" too. *Ouch!* *Are you still feeling the aftereffects?* No, that "ouch" referred to something else, touching on the passing of time and how old we can get when we keep on living . * I loved your retelling of a story that you don't* *remember. That was great.* Yes, a way of putting it. Well, since you caught that post before I was able to feverishly take it down, you may remember a question I posed, namely, how much did I pay for that ticket for Super Bowl I? Care to guess. FrankGrimes? Anyone else? A. $12 B. $20 C. $35 D. $75 (Remember, we're talkin' 'bout '67. Ouch!)

*The entire football season has been nothing but that for* *me. If only it would end good... but it won't. It just won't.* Hi ya Frank! What would have to happen for it to end good...at this point, I mean. Are you saying you want the Cardinals to win? *They're { the Steelers } taking the Lombardi.* Probably. They are the better team. I rooting for the Cards. I'm not a fan of the Steelers. Not because they beat the Chargers though, I just don't like them. As a sports fan, I reserve the right to hate, hate, hate without having to explain myself . Go Cards. *The league is very down right now. The NFC sucks and the AFC* *is getting to be that way. Mediocrity has taken hold.* Or is it parity. Maybe it's a good thing that the better team can't count their chickens. *But Norv and a few other coaches (Phillips) will have to take their teams to the* *Super Bowl or at least the title game next year or Bill Cowher and Mike Shanahan will be at* *the helm.* I didn't know Shanahan had been fired until I read what you wrote. I'm shocked. If anyone had a job for life it was Shanny. I think it's a mistake. Who are they going to get any better. It wasn't his fault. But it was a humiliating season, not only the three ahead with three to go, but the fact that the Broncs were in first place for 16 weeks only to lose everything in week 17. And here he was, quite the maverick after going for two to beat the C in week two. But they felt they had to do something...but why do the wrong thing? *And I read that comment. It was very good. You're lucky to have "experienced" the* *first Super Bowl in person and out of person. * Ouch!

EDITED: I had a comment here about Super Bowls...but I think I'll withdraw it for the time being, heh heh. laffite Message was edited by: laffite

*So when's the superbowl? B-)* Who cares? Whaaaaaaah! Seriously though... If I were betting I would pick those wretched Steelers by virtue of their regular season record as the others are IMO somewhat of the upstart category. This whole season has been characterized by no-name teams taking the forefront. I have become jaded about trying to handicap football games any more. If there is anything in sports that is wholly unpredictable, it is a National Football League game. You might as well flip a coin. Oh, when?...Feb 4, 2009 (after which the longest seven months in the history of calendar takes place, i.e., the end of one football season and the beginning of another).

That?s how I felt when the Charger?s set some kind of dubious record of running only one play in the entire third quarter. The worst quarter I've ever seen in my life. Sheer agony! In the hours that followed this game I comforted myself with a little schadenfreude thinking of all the disappointment there was for all the losers, not only the C, who were, let?s face it, supposed to lose, but for Titans, Giants, and Panthers, three teams who had stellar seasons earning a first-round bye and home-field throughout only to lose to teams that they were supposed to beat. (BTW, if the C had beat Pitt, this would have been the first time in history that all four first-round byers would have lost their openers in the Division round.) The C who were mediocre at best at mid season were able to transform themselves into a somewhat formidable force though, as it turned out, not enough of one. The Steelers were brilliant in making repeated third and longs to score that decisive TD in the 3rd Q (28-10) and I don?t necessarily fault the C defense for that, at least not overly so. The Steelers had a balanced offense and when a team can do that it will stymie even the best of defenses. Norv is here to stay. He has a 3-2 playoff record in two seasons and despite all the criticism levied at him and all the doubts as to his abilities as a coach, he has a better playoff record than his predecessor (Schotsie) who nevertheless is probably the better coach and probably never should have been fired. Anyway, though you lost, good show, Chargers, you gave your fans something to shout about. As for the Steelers, take this:

You are not the only one. There have been other sightings. TATI LIVES!

38 Curley: Kick it this way! Larry: No, kick it this way! Moe: Shaddup, the both o' yahs, it ain't the football I'm kickin'

*Hope no one minds if I make a big deal of this* *Of course not! Let it fly!* Hey, Frank, RE the game, it's nice to see the C when a close one for a change. Let's face it, it's almost a crapshoot when you have games that end that way. Still, it would have particularly galling to have lost that one, not only because the C has lost so many end games like this, but because the Colts didn't really seem to have that much. They have Manning, which is a lot, but what else? Even with Tomlinson injured, the C had more tools, even down to their punter who had a fantastic game. Imagine my woe when the Colts pulled off that sandlot sleeper play catching the defense napping and scored that go-ahead touchdown, yow! And then a couple of minutes later, Sproles fumbles on the two. I was working real hard at that moment to accept things philosophically, it seems the fates had made up their mind. But when the Colts can't make a third and two that would have won the game in regulation, well, maybe they changed their mind, haha. Oh, was I relieved when the C won the toss to start overtime! What an opportunity! And I don't think that final drive was tainted by those penalties. If anyone deserved a few of those, it's the C (after that horrific Hockely call in game two against Denver). A deserving win. What a great final play! And now to Pittsburgh---and the cold! Brrrr! Go Chargers!

*The Super Charger should be in a good mood when he reappears on the* *board, too. What a game!* Love those Chargers Hope no one minds if I make a big deal of this Laffite