Parody Is The Highest Form of Flattery: ‘Eat It’ by Weird Al

I’ve probably watched more Michael Jackson videos over the last weekend compared to the last two decades combined.

With the deluge of tributes and obituaries to the Gloved One, watching the iconic ‘Beat It’ video reminded me of Weird Al Yankovic’s extremely funny parody song and video ‘Eat It!’. Back in the mid 80′s it was the first time i’ve heard of the curly haired comedian, and as i recalled won a Grammy in 1984 for this song.

Eat It! by Weird Al (sang to the tune of Beat It by Michael Jackson)

How come you’re always such a fussy young man,
Don’t want no Captain Crunch, don’t want no Raisin Bran,
Well don’t you know that other kids are starving in Japan,
So eat it, just eat it.

Just eat it, eat it
Get yourself an egg and beat it.
Have some more chicken, have some more pie
It doesn’t matter if it’s broiled or fried
Just eat it, eat it,
Don’t you make me repeat it.

Atonement by Ian McEwan

Let’s see… good book made into crappy movies - lots of them. Dune, Stardust, The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy, are only some of the recent ones that come to mind.

Good book made into good movies – well, Lord of the Rings, and umm… ah… anyway I can add another one to the list – Atonement. The book was written by Ian McEwan, and the 2007 film stars James McAvoy and Keira Knightley.

I read the book 3 months ago while i was on holiday, and watched the movie soon after returning. Initially I was a little disappointed with the movie, mainly due to three reasons. Firstly i thought that James McAvoy was too clean cut and kiddy to play the part of Robbie Turner. I had envisioned someone like Matt Damon (but British).

(Keira Knightley as Cecilia Tallis, and James McAvoy as Robbie Turner)

Secondly, I felt the movie failed to capture the sexual tension of the fountain scene at the beginning of the movie, which is pivotal to the entire book. And thirdly, i felt that the interview scene at the end of the movie, while necessary to keep the movie from going on too long, was a poor substitute for the party scene in the book.

(the pivotal fountain scene between Cecilia and Robbie)

(the overactive imagination of Briony Tallis ultimately ruins the lives of Cecelia and Robbie)

But now looking back, I’m beginning to see the strengths of the movie on its own, and appreciating the constraints of the screenwriters and directors. For one, casting Keira Knigtley was a masterstroke, even if she appears in less than half of the movie. So too was Saoirse Ronan, as the 11 year old Briony Tallis, the central figure in the story. The Dunkirk scene, a single-shot scene of the wartorn beach is especially breathtaking.

(Wounded and thirsty on the beach of Dunkirk, Robbie desperately waits for the boat)

So for those of you who love reading, pick up McEwan’s book. It was pretty popular back then, you’ll have no problems finding one to borrow, I suppose. Then watch the movie. If you’re not big on reading, get the movie anyway.

Technorati Tags: ian mcewan, atonement, keira knightley

Brylcreem, Code 10 and Vitalis

My father-in-law uses Brylcreem every morning after his bath. The same Brylcreem i used when i was in Primary 1, getting ready for school everyday. It still comes in the small blue cylindrical plastic can, with the lion logo. It still has that blue consistent texture that leaves a sickly sweet smell on your hands long after you washed it.

I couldn’t find a pic of the classic Brylcreem online, but the pic of the current packaging is very different. Once in awhile we used the slightly cheaper Code 10, which I think doesn’t have such a strong odour.

When we were older we moved on to Vitalis, which isn’t a styling gel, its a liquid that smell like cologne. The holding strength isn’t as strong, for that you had to use gel. My brother used this colourless brand that came in a blue transparent tub, can’t remember the name.

I think the ones we had came in a darker shade than this pic.

Technorati Tags: brylcreem, code 10, vitalis

To God Be The Glory By Andrae Crouch

Was at a the leader’s meeting some time back, Melissa was leading worship on the keyboards, very low key due to the small gathering. On the last song, she started on a refrain that sounded familiar, but i didn’t seem to know the words them.

When we reached the chorus, i realized what song it was – the hymn To God Be The Glory. The reason why the starting didn’t seem familiar was because when i was small my home church only sang the chours, without the verses.

A few days later i was looking for the video of the song and lyrics, it was tricky coz there is actually another popular hymn with the same title (a more upbeat one). Finally found this one by Andrae Crouch (probably no relation to Peter).

If you can’t wait to hear the chorus, skip ahead to 1:40. This was obviously from some time in the 70′s judging from the fashion and hair. But inspiring song nonetheless. To God Be the Glory.