M N X Files

I did not expect to let a whole month pass before explaining my last post.

The gag should be self-evident — or easily realized once the character peeking in registers — to Americans born during, oh, the past 70-80 years. I thought of it when texting with my niece about this routine my grandfather used to recite:

“F U N E X?”

“S, V F X.”

“F U N E M?”

“S, V F M.”

“O K, L F M N X.”

There’s a lot of material dating to the era of his childhood and young adulthood —
very broadly speaking, the first half of the 20th Century — whose provenance is hard to determine with oral tradition in social gatherings and at vaudeville shows predating, and then informing, radio broadcasts (let alone television, and never mind broadcasts that were reliably preserved).

Oh, The Places I’ll Go in My Head to Amuse Myself

Related: 5 by 5 • M N X Files • All I Needed Was the Laugh You Gave
• Seuss’ CV • This Is Going to Hurt You More than It Hurts Me

Rhymey-Wimey

Now a little ditty to celebrate the return of Doctor Who.
(He pronounces his name “shoo-tee”.)



Ncuti Gatwa
Would you take me by the hand
Ncuti Gatwa
Would you take me by the hand
Can you hear me
Riff on Steely Dan
Play it on your juke box
Can you hear me
Ncuti Gatwa
Ncuti Gatwa

Superman Down

I’m among those who saw the early trailer for and the new extended look at James Gunn’s upcoming Superman and wondered just why so much time was spent on a bloodied, battered Man of Steel.



Of course, I thrilled at the brief glimpses of him being heroic — flying with purpose
and protecting a child. And I get wanting to showcase Krypto; I do have concerns about the film, but not that shaggy fella beyond my perennial problem buying even the most impressive CGI.

Booker Tour

One week after his 25-hour speech on the Senate floor began, Cory Booker spoke to Stephen Colbert on The Late Show with familiar eloquence.

“You and I are people of faith,” Booker told the host near the end of the conversation, “but there is a Civic Gospel in this country that we need more than ever.” He noted that the Declaration of Independence from a kingdom overseas was a declaration of interdependence among the people of this emerging nation as well. An extended version of the interview is now up on YouTube.

Cryptopia

ABC will air Paradise, which bowed in January on its sister platform Hulu, over eight Mondays starting tonight at 10 p.m. ET.



I’m not sure I recommend it even to those who love everything in the pilot because,
for me, it all falls apart too much as the season concludes.