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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.

I like Japan, I like the work of Nicolas Cage, and, this commercial spot is pretty funny in an existentialist sort of way, but about the specific product that Cage is leaping to bop the metallic head over or with, I am guessing it must be the industry of pachinko -- and not the other industry-Sankyo-related areas of pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, fine tool mechanisms and artificial intelligence, flutes, dry diamond tools, wet grinding and polishing products or in Aikido as to how to contend with a knife-wielding attacker.

Even more confusing is the translated webpage for the Sankyo (pachinko industry site) (I don't read Japanese so I relied on Google's mysteriously confusing translation feature to arrive at the following equally mysteriously confusing translation into English):

The pleasure which lives, the happiness [bi] which lives.
SANKYO so far offered the pleasure and the happiness [bi] to the people via the pachinko.
Individual enjoys life. Is not the first step where that builds rich society, probably will be?
In person, in town, smiling face.

Ah, so, that explains the shiny, ball-headed, dancing, machine-cut animaniacs on that desert highway to 'Merica. But my first impression after viewing the video -- before the Google events (linked above) -- was the spot was about "pharmaceuticals."

Signed by James Gandolfini, Tony Soprano's Suburban is being sold at auction, beginning August 03. I haven't read/heard that there's a test or otherwise some ceremony involved, so it looks like everyone can breath easy as long as they have the f***in money.

Story and photos from AUTO BLOG ("Be like Tony Soprano. Drive His Truck").

Related and interesting, from forbes.com, TEN MEMORABLE CAR SCENES FROM 'THE SOPRANOS'.

Click on photos to view larger image sizes.

After a month-plus deep breather, David Chase speaks (or spoke, since this event is from last week) about THE SOPRANOS Finale (Episode 86, MADE IN AMERICA).

I'm immensely pleased that what Chase says about the infamous ending is similar to what I wrote about it here after the Finale was first broadcast (that the events, the program, the Series, the story, just stopped).

Interesting article from New Jersey's Star Ledger, A CHASE SCENE AT CRITICS' CONFAB -- it's also funny to read that David Chase had the very.same.reaction I did after first viewing the ending to the original (1968 release) PLANET OF THE APES:

Saturday night the press tour went on pause for the Television Critics Association Awards, a swingin' event where the critics try to put right what the Emmys got wrong....

In the early days of the TCA Awards, back in the early'80s, the event was so small-time that none of the winners bothered to show up. Nowadays, it's such a (relatively) big event that David Chase flew back from France to accept a couple of awards for "The Sopranos."

The Awards can be an odd, semi-working event, where half the critics are holding highball glasses and the other half tape recorders. The first year "Sopranos" won at the TCAs, James Gandolfini showed up and was horrified to be surrounded by a four-deep scrum; he's never come back.

Given the amount of fascination that continues to surround the final "Sopranos" scene -- not to mention Chase's disinterest in explaining it -- everyone wondered whether Chase would be brave -- or foolish -- enough to show up for the pre-awards cocktail hour, or if he'd just be airlifted in and out for the ceremony itself.

Not surprisingly, he chose the latter, entering the ballroom mere seconds before the ceremony began. (Rumor had it that his "people" had done a walkthrough of the hotel the day before to map out the best vertical insertion and exit strategy.)

For the show's first award, for Outstanding Drama Series, Chase came up on stage with his writing staff, producers, and Edie Falco and Lorraine Bracco. As every critic in the room leaned on the edge of their chairs, he stepped to the podium and said, "Here's another clue for you all -- the Walrus was Paulie." (Read the lyrics to The Beatles' "Glass Onion" if you didn't get that one.)

He turned the rest of that speech over to writer Terence Winter.

A half-hour later, it was time for the presentation of The Heritage Award, our equivalent of a lifetime achievement award for a series. I had been asked to present that one, and after I invited Chase and company back on stage, I stepped to the side, thinking my work was done.

I was wrong.

Instead of addressing the crowd, Chase turned to me and asked, "You're from New Jersey, right?"

"Yessss?" I said, not sure where he was going with this.

"Would you tell everybody," he asked, "that it is possible -- in fact, very likely -- to be sitting in a restaurant in New Jersey and everything just stops?"

At that point, Chase got semi-serious, thanking his amazing cast and crew, then got one last big laugh at the expense of the cryptic final scene:

"Somebody said it would be a good idea if we said something about the ending. I really wasn't going to go into it. But I'll just say this: When I was going to Stanford University graduate film school, 23 years old, I went and saw 'Planet of the Apes' with my wife. When the movie was over I said, 'Wow, so they had a Statue of Liberty, too.' So that's what you're up against."

After that, Chase exited the room like it was Saigon on the day of the fall...

From James Gandolfini -- who has departed the character of Tony Soprano for new characters and projects, including producing (and directing) films under his Attaboy Films production company -- comes ALIVE DAY MEMORIES, HOME FROM IRAQ to be broadcast this September 9th on HBO.

It looks to be a heartwarming and emotionally moving HBO documentary. Among my favorite quotes from the press I've read are these from Gandolfini in this article from the Chicago Tribune, JAMES GANDOLFINI TALKS ABOUT HIS NEXT PROJECT:

...An electrical charge coursed through the HBO party on Thursday when "Sopranos" star Gandolfini finally arrived, more than two hours after reporters had begun gnawing skewers full of grilled things and pestering the "Entourage" cast for sound bites.

Gandolfini famously doesn't like talking to the press. He simply seems uncomfortable with anyone making a fuss about him. During the "Alive Day Memories" press panel, he deflected questions aimed at him and gently but firmly returned the spotlight to the veterans with whom he shared the stage.

Nobody asked about "The Sopranos". It would have seemed churlish, given the weight of the topic at hand. (Actually, TV writer Ed Bark, proprietor of UncleBarky.com, did ask Gandolfini about "Sopranos" as the actor left the ballroom, but was politely told to "put that to rest." I recommend reading Bark's entire post -- he puts Gandolfini's press-shy nature in much better context than I ever could.)

It's telling that, given all the things he could be doing with his post-"Sopranos" career, he gave his time to veterans who have served in Iraq (a place that he has also visited on goodwill tours). And despite not having a huge fondness for the press, he came to the HBO party and was gracious and willing to speak about the film, which has him in discussion with 10 different Iraq veterans, including 26 year old Rolling Meadows native and Army veteran Bryan Anderson.

When asked why viewers should tune into this film, Gandolfini paused for several moments before answering.

"There's a lot of negative stuff about kids these days, about how America's children are growing up. If you tune into this show, you'll see some of the best that America has to offer," Gandolfini said.

Did he think the public has paid enough attention to what the veterans have been through?

"I have faith in the American public," he said, then he paused again to search for the right words. "I just think maybe we're a little behind in getting stuff out there."

I said that thanks to his name being on the show, there was a good chance that many more people would watch this documentary than otherwise might have done so. "I hope so," he said. "They're smart, smart kids."

ALIVE DAY MEMORIES, to be broadcast September 9, 2007 on HBO.

I'll surely be watching.