our 59th weekly open mike
Let’s see what happens when your host (me) has nothing to say. Step right up, speak your mind, tell a story, sing a song, whatever.
12/20/2025
Anything Goes — 12/20
36 responses to “Anything Goes — 12/20”
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The Honest Courtesan features “frank commentary from a semi-retired call girl” and if you were a British (I think) semi-retired call girl I would say this could be you:
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Oh yeah, I like Maggie. She used to be in my regular surf cycle. Absolutely similar interests, bad cops and cutting through the bullshit, plus enough attitude to keep it entertaining. I don’t remember why she’s not in my list any more… but she is now, thanks.
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I was working in the Tiny House daycare center in New York–Amerika Hoffman was one of the famous kids as well as Dean Martin’s grandson, David Mason’s kid True, and Jane (one of Warhol’s women) Forth’s wild kid Emerson. Anita recruited me to babysit after hours while she went out to research her next book–I believe Abbie was on the run then.
Amerika had a little fireman’s hat which he wore sitting on the floor under the bathroom sink. I was prompting him.
“Say ‘right on Abbie!’ I requested.
After he went to bed I snooped around for a joint, found the stash and lit one up!
Later Anita was so appreciative of my babysitting that she invited me over later for chicken dinner. I was very innocent and a feminist so I didn’t really think that she was into ME. Now I would think that if a woman invites you home for chicken dinner it could very well mean SEX!
Now Abbie and Anita have died and last I hear Amerika has changed his name and is working as a craftsman in Sacramento.-
I enjoyed this, but it seemed familiar. With my keen internet search skills, I found that you’d shared the same story a year ago. It’s still a fine story, though, worth another read, and if anyone can complain about reruns it sure ain’t me. Ha!
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oops, i hate doing that!
here’s my latest:
Late yesterday afternoon on the eve of the beginning of winter I had to get out of the house and went up to the organic store a mile away to buy some supplies for xmas turkey and mainly for the social contact within. First I talked to Robert on the walkway leaving the store for a couple minutes and the 49ers were mentioned, next to the avocados Tanya and I talked for about five about various personal topics, talked to stocker Brenda about the string beans selection for a minute, Martha came up the aisle and alluded to me being possibly overdressed with hat and sports jacket and we talked about her enchiladas I ate a couple years ago, a woman in line about her very large kale purchase, my abundant kale garden and slugs, a woman from Shelter Cove behind me in line about her bad luck with the pests who ate her broccoli plants and my inability to grow them, and then I headed out the door with my cart of veggies and gave a whoop! which someone coming into the store wearing a mask heard and I said, I’m whooping about the six people I just talked to, we talked a minute about coming to the store for that social appeal, and as I rolled to my car I shouted back, “Seven!”
Happy Solstice and more…
(now I’m going to read your latest, in the restaurant series)-
This made me smile & chuckle.
Every conversation with a stranger that doesn’t go disastrously, I pat myself on the back. Conversations with people I know are usually easier and less a danger, unless what I know about ’em is that they’re sucky people. But 6½ or seven conversations in one errand? Fuckall, I’d need a shower to recover, and then a day alone in my room.
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You’ve likely seen this but if not I’d like to share
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Never seen it or even heard of it, but four laughs in the first five minutes — this show knows about living with flatmates. Such a perfect theme for a sit-com, how come this is the only one I’ve seen?
Thanks for this! Here’s the whole series, btw, without YouTube’s ads and bother.
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Thanks for the additional link, I appreciate it. The main actor, Sean Lock, was one of my all time favorites. Here’s a classic clip from a silly panel show he participated.
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That clip is dang amusing, thanks. I had never heard of 15 Storeys High nor had I ever heard of Mr Lock. IMDB tells me I’ve seen him on QI, but I don’t remember him. Did the sitcom make you a fan of Lock, or was it something else?
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Glad you liked the carrot epsidode. Here’s the sequel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bp04HZDCELwFound Sean Lock on a panel show. Watched 15 stories and was sold. His charector on it was great. He didn’t hate everyone, but was put out by most. His annoyence by the little things his roommate did “Benedict Wong is also great” really rang true.
I’ve been trying for a bit to refind a clip in the serious where a pesionier is pissed as he relizes he’s in the final act and he hasn’t had as much sex as he would of like to. If you happen to come across it plz let me know.
I watched a bit of panels shows after that and Sean was often one of the highlights where he was irreverant and coming out of left field.Finally , Youtube ads.
I actually subscribe to Youtube premium (no ads) as I watch a lot of the videos on my television (via Roku) and I hate ads. Before that I was pretty good with the Brave browser blocking most of the ads. Has it gotten worse?
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This new to me Jimmy Carr on Sean Lock
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Thanks, now I’m starting to like Jimmy Carr. Funny guy. Maybe I should’ve been British. I’ll take their crumpets and health care, fer sure. And Doctor Who, but not the current version.
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When I’m with someone who wants to show me something from YouTube, it’s amazing what they have to put up with to see a short clip or hear a song. For me, YouTube at home comes only through ad-blockers and downloaders. I think an ad slipped through to me some months back, but mostly it’s like PBS without the pledge breaks.
My binge watch of Survivors might’ve been a mistake — it started great, but got worse and worse — so I’m watching 15 Storeys High more slowly so’s to not overdo it. If I spot the old guy who hasn’t had enough sex, well, that will definitely resonate with me, and I’ll say so, promise. (:
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Quite an accomplishment what them Brits can do with a carrot in a box. Still funny!
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My Dr Who’s
1. John Pertwee. This is my entree point and I still think he’s amazing. Super low budget time but he was fun to watch
2. Tom Baker. I mean Jellie Babies. So much charector .
3. Chriistophe Ecceleston. He really brought my love for the Francise back. “Rose, before I go I want to tell you you were fantastic, absolutely fantastic, and you know what? So was I.”
4.5 and 5 David Tennet at 4.5 Peter Capaldi . Tennet is so brilliant in pretty much anything he does and he really shone as the Doctor. Calpaldi I feel didnt’ get a full shake but I love his angry old man energy. He did Malcom Tucker proud.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjKHPv7b3fQ
Merry Christmas Doug. Thank you for so many years sharing your life through excellent prose. I do appreciate it.
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Oh, at last — someone here who digs the Doctor!
I grew up aware of the show, but the cheesiness of the original kept me away, so I know little of Pertwee and Baker. I have gone back and watched a light smattering of the original Who, and it’s sometimes pretty good. Have you seen the debut episode, “An Unearthly Child“? It gives me goose bumps every time.
For the modern era, yes, it’s Ecceleston for me, too. He was exactly the right combination of serious and playful, and what a heartbreaking scene when he left. But everyone who came after has been good or great — David Tennant and Matt Smith, especially. Capaldi and Whittaker were held back by sub-par writing, and I haven’t recovered from the disappointing start of the Gatwa era, only seen one episode.
Also loved The Thick of It, and watching that collection of clips, the question is, why did nobody ever punch him? I guess because that wouldn’t be funny.
Thank you seriously for the kind words, helpful in the endless darkness of winter.
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I feel like I’m abusing the anything goes, but .. here goes.
Pertwee: I feel that my judgement is scewed by nostaglia. He’s still a great actor but the story/sets would be a hard view.
Baker: I absolutely believe he’s worth a watch. I think the understated genious of Bakers intrepratation is that he is for the most part very very human in his performance, but at other times has cold alien attributes. It’s a role he was born to play and boy did he ever.
Tennent: Nothing more needs to be said other than did you happen to see the series before Who he did where he played Casanova? He made me a lifelong fan with that.
Smith: I didn’t like his run, but that was likely more of a me thing. Since seeing him on the Game of Thrones spinoff, I’m a big fan.
Whittaker: I wanted to like her but the writing was atrocious.
Gatwa: same.
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Surprise topics is the whole point of the page, and I’m always happy to chat about Doctor Who. Didn’t watch the show until about a dozen years ago, but it made me a ginormous fan, at least of the first seven or eight seasons of the reboot era.
Pertwee was your first, and you were just a kid. Nothing could ever overcome that kind of hard-baked love. (: Maybe I should watch a few of the second Doctor’s stories. What’s your fave?
The jelly belly Tom Baker era was what I saw on PBS when I was a boy. He was also the Doctor for most of the old-time episodes I’ve seen as a grown-up. Judged only on those dozen eps, I concur on your judgment that his performance was “very human” with bursts of coldness. It’s just hard to see past stone walls that shake when the actors walk by.
Smith & Gillan, season 5, knocks me out on every re-watch. So many strong episodes, not a stinker in the bunch. Smith was too young to play the part, but I forgot about that by about half-way through his first episode. Plus I have a weakness for redheads.
Never saw Casanova, and me being a doofus and the opposite of a ladies’ man, the whole concept and character seem unlikely to do anything except frustrate me.
Whitaker had the potential for greatness, perfect attitude, on tune with Tennant but slightly screwier, but the writing was so so-so, and only got worse and worse. I’ve never even seen her last season, I gave up, but the problem was never her.
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It’s been years since I’d seen it so i looked up the particulars on Casanova.
I forgot that Russel T Davies wrote it and it also stars Pete O’Toole, Rose Byrne, Laura Fraser and Nina Sosanya.
The only video link I found was an AI remaster which I really don’t know how to feel about.
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Wow, that’s new to me, had to look it up — “AI remastering is revolutionizing media restoration by using cutting-edge artificial intelligence technologies to enhance and preserve various forms of media content like films, videos, music, and video games.”
This is a show made just twenty years ago. I’d be surprised if it needs a restoration, and can’t imagine it needs *this* kind of a tech attack.
Yeah, RTD made it, which is how he knew Tennant and lured him over to Doctor Who and made the world a better place.
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I checked out the channel and it looks like it’s primarlily upscaling for modern screens done as hobby for someone who works in the field. He’s got The Mictchell and Webb Look, Nathan Barley (loved that series), Utopia, and what I’m really looking forward to seeing is The Day Today with Chris Morris.
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I don’t really understand it. but I’m fairly low-tech. Give me an image that’s in focus, and I’m probably content.
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PS, just in case you haven’t seen it:
An Adventure in Space and Time-
Gobsmacked!
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That was a lot of fun. Thank you!
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I ended up re-watching it myself. Makes me cry, every time.
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Loved Ecclestone since I saw his cameo in 24 Hour Party People, which is now so old that its nostalgia is nostalgic:
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He’s the beggar, but I’d only know him by the voice.
This show, 24 Hour Party People, is unknown to me, but that’s about the worst camerawork I’ve ever seen. Jeez, just the ordinary trend of shaky camerawork bugs me, but this is shaky camerawork by a drunk wearing high heels in the midst of some serious DTs.
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It’s not fair to judge by that scene, it’s a feature film that sometimes tries to blend in with actual documentary footage, sometimes tries to fake that it is a documentary (down to having the real people being portrayed by actors drop in commentary) and sometimes just gives you grimy street shots to take from the reconstructed sets to emphasize how brutal Manchester, England was outside of these little fantasy spaces. But it is almost entirely handheld and there aren’t too many stationary camera scenes.
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I’ll plead guilty to unfair. Some handheld work I don’t even notice, but I do hate over-reliance on it. It’s why I gave up on Woody Allen.
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Thanks for the clip. For such a short role he sure makes an impact.
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That was a lot of fun. Thank you!
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Everything I’ve seen Jimmy Carr do in Britain I’ve liked. He’s a natural. Unfortuntely he seems, and I could be completely wrong, to be drifting to the Rogansphere in his American spots.
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Hosting duties is all I’ve seen him do.
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Tom Baker Retrospective
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3ZqZLLXjgI
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