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Who IS this guy who'se selling the SHAMWOW thing on television? The ShamWow, 'dat 'ting made in GERManee ("you know da Germans, dey don't make ANYting bad!" the busy, croppy-haired guy says while he's waging the wonders o' the ShamWow on spills and various nefarious moisture blobs before your very eyes).

Most of the spot looks like it was filmed with a webcam but the ad just grabs the eye and ear and, wow, I want to buy, like, a DOZEN ShamWows NOW!

Excellent spot. Pun intended. Lookadat!

Adio, Luciano Pavarotti.

From a May 26, 1972 interview with the robust, remarkable man:

NOT RIGHT AND ALL RIGHT

The situation in Italian theaters, once the breeding ground for a race of fine singers, gives Mr. Pavarotti some concern. "For the most part, they are not in good hands," he mourns. "What can one think when many of the leading Italian singers are no longer interested to sing at La Scala, with one of the best choruses and orchestras for opera in the world? It is political trouble - musical politics - changes that neglect the past. I am an Italian, and I a proud of La Scala, like my colleagues, but La Scala looks now in a different way than it did at its country's leading singers. Now, one wins a singing contest on television and becomes famous overnight - without experience or solid training, despite fine gifts. Is this right? Have we all wasted our time? I think not, I think not..."

On a more cheerful note, Mr. Pavarotti spoke of the possibility of Donizetti's "La Favorita" (with its luscious tenor role) in San Francisco in 1973, and "the dream of every tenor - Manrico in 'Il Trovatore' - as long as 10 years away for me. It is a full lyric role, loudness has nothing to do with it, but it must carry and be strong."

Concerts? "Oh yes, I will do some. One with orchestra, only arias, and later in Carnegie Hall, New York, with arias and some antique songs. I hope they will go well, but for me, it is better, the right lights and the smell of the stage - I must enjoy myself when I sing, and concentrate on what is happening. In concert, I don't know. But I tell - if everything is lovingly done - everything will be all right - [crescendo toward high C] all-l-l RIGHT!"

From, PAVAROTTI'S COMPLEXITY, article written today after news of Pavarotti's death:

The news was followed by tributes from all over the world. "I always remember the God-given glory of his voice," said Placido Domingo who, with Pavarotti and Jose Carreras created the Three Tenors concerts that propelled the trio to superstardom. Bono described Pavarotti as "a great volcano of a man who sang fire, but spilled over with a love of life in all its complexity".

The pinnacle of his celebrity occured in 1990 when his rendition of Puccini's "Nessun Dorma" from Turandot was used as the BBCs theme song for the FIFA World Cup. This quickly became his trademark song after achieving popular success. -- Photograph, Telegraph.co.uk

Listen to this live performance by Pavarotti of that marvelous song from Giacomo Puccini's opera, Turandot, NESSUN DORMA -- a very fine studio recording by Pavarotti of that same work can be found on this CD; however, one of Pavarotti's earlier CD's (and my favorite by him) has that same studio performance and a whole lot more.

Adio, Luciano Pavarotti.

Alfred and Alma Hitchcock arrive in Finland, August 02, 1968

...Hitchcock asked about working conditions in Finland for film production, and put forward the plans of his working group.

"He was also very interested in when the leaves in the trees turn yellow. He had a clear idea that he wanted yellow leaves in his pictures."

From "A Hitchcock thriller that never was" - the story of the film, THE SHORT NIGHT, that wasn't made by Alfred Hitchcock and doesn't star Sean Connery.