C. Brian Smith of MEL Magazine has put together An Oral History of Rodney Dangerfield's Back To School, the 1986 cult comedy smash that most people probably don't realize outperformed both ALIENS and Ferris Bueller's Day Off at the box office that year. Smith was inspired to pull together all these anecdotes from the cast and crew (minus Robert Downey Jr, unfortunately) after attending a celebrity-studded live table read in the movie's honor, held at Los Angeles City College a couple weeks ago, with all proceeds going towards charity.
Personally, I've always had a soft spot for Back to School, a movie with tons of heart, in which even the "bad guys" aren't all that bad. And that's okay. Because for a goofy comedy chock-a-block with one-liners, Back to School is also about father and son relationships, the value of life experience over a textbook education (promoting the former without denigrating the latter), and even manages to sneak in a subversive exploration of plagiarism and other issues related to academic ethics.
Plus, it's got this scene:
All this, and the finale features the only time a Triple Lindy has ever been caught on film! What more could a movie fan ask for? Fair warning, however... only click through to the article in question if you're prepared to gaze upon an ornate vial half-filled with sweat collected from Rodney Dangerfield by his widow after his shows. Just try not to think about taking a swig and you should be fine.
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So have you heard about Korea's own alt.right movement, called Ilbe?
Ilbe users are the kind of people who refer to Korean women as “kimchi bitches.” They call Chinese people “cockroaches” and homosexual men “gay bastards.” They’re the trolls who binge-ate pizza to taunt a father on a hunger strike after he lost his child in a ferry accident that killed 325 high school students and teachers — or the ones who defaced memorial posters for the victims.
They’re known for a “deep-seated misogyny” and a hatred of immigrants and sexual minorities, and they’re waging an online war on the political left — a group they call, simply, “commies.”
But this isn’t the white supremacist “alt-right” of the U.S. — it’s a loose group of mostly digitally savvy, ultra-right-wing South Korean men. They congregate in an anonymous, 4chan-esque web forum where they can rant without social repercussions. And like in the U.S., their influence has grown rapidly in just a few short years.
Welcome to the site Ilbe Storehouse, better known as just Ilbe, the hub for South Korea’s new far-right movement. It has risen to prominence in the backdrop of South Korea’s turbulent recent history — deep political divides, a youth unemployment crisis and backlash against liberal social values.
Sound familiar?It seems as though the New Fascist International has become even more "international" than even yer old pal Jerky had assumed. Keep your eyes on this one, folks, especially if you're from that part of the world.
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You know that Black guy who shows up at Donald Trump rallies wearing t-shirts with block printing of obscure messages and website urls, holding up signs that say "BLACKS FOR TRUMP!", and who occasionally merits a shout-out from Boss Tweet himself, who once pointed the guy out and shouted "Look at my African American over there!" Well, that guy is Michael Symonette, and it turns out his personal life story is... bizarre, to say the least. In recent years, he's apparently even gotten too weird for the cult he used to belong to, and those guys promote murdering White people and think Oprah Winfrey is the Devil! But don't take my word (or the word of various news media) for it... check out Symonette's own, incredibly awesome website, where he identifies the real racists in the world today: the Cherokees!
But hey, it's not like Symonette is the first unconventional figure to be pulled towards the center of American power by the Trump administration. Check out this informative dossier assembled by the good people at Right Wing Watch, which lists some of the most dangerously unhinged Far Right lunatics who are either currently basking in the radioactive afterglow of their close association with Trump. Some of the names here will be familiar to you (Alex Jones), and some should be (Michael "Savage" Wiener), but a few will likely be new to you, as they were to me.
Now, as you peruse this list, imagine what the reaction would be if Hillary Clinton had openly associated with individuals even half so vile, dangerous, or profoundly anti-American as the people on this list. Then come back and try to look me in the eye and tell me with a straight face that the mainstream media was "against Trump", much less "pro-Hillary".
And finally, speaking of evil, creepy fuckers, I will leave you with this thought: For seven months, Trump's Nazi-whisperer strategist/adviser Steve Bannon had Top Secret clearance, and access to America's most sensitive intelligence information. After being quit-fired, it appears that he's looking to go to work for billionaire Trump supporter Robert Mercer, who also happens to own a data mining firm with a dedicated focus on swinging elections, ostensibly to the highest bidder, but seeing as this is the New Fascist International we're talking about (in particular the Silicon Valley tentacle of that particular monstrosity), that isn't necessarily the case.
And finally, speaking of evil, creepy fuckers, I will leave you with this thought: For seven months, Trump's Nazi-whisperer strategist/adviser Steve Bannon had Top Secret clearance, and access to America's most sensitive intelligence information. After being quit-fired, it appears that he's looking to go to work for billionaire Trump supporter Robert Mercer, who also happens to own a data mining firm with a dedicated focus on swinging elections, ostensibly to the highest bidder, but seeing as this is the New Fascist International we're talking about (in particular the Silicon Valley tentacle of that particular monstrosity), that isn't necessarily the case.
Anyway... sleep well.
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