Joe Flaherty

You may know him as Guy Caballero, Count Floyd, or or Sammy Maudlin. That's right - it's SCTV's Joe Flaherty!! And the 3rd set of DVD's is now available from Shout! Factory. What could be better?

Kevin Guilfoile and Geoffrey O'Brien

Author Kevin Guilfoile talks about his latest book, the cloning-themed thriller "Cast of Shadows." Also Geoffrey O'Brien talks about the classic samurai film "The Sword of Doom," which was just released on DVD.

Reviews and Recommendations

MUST-SEES
Film/DVD Picks:
Days of Being Wild - Thank whatever imaginary friend you like for the creation of DVD's, since DOBW is also now one of a 5-DVD box set put out by Kino. Director Wong Kar-Wai's gorgeous and evocative exploration of love, lust, impulsiveness, and the forces in a character's past that drive him. A spectacular film whose unusual but strangely fitting soundtrack, along with some great looking stars, adds to the mood. This film was a hit at the New Directors' festival in NYC some years ago, but failed to have a feature run here until now. Don't miss it!

SCTV Network 90/Vol. 1 & SCTV Vol. 2 - Some of the funniest sketches and impersonations ever in the history of television, all within the context of a critique of network broadcasting's idiocy and shenanigans. Musical guests were woven into the stories. Vol 1 includes the dead-on Ingmar Bergman parody, the cheesy Sammy Maudlin Show with regular guests Bobby Bittman and Lola Heatherton, and the Polynesiatown debacle, for starters. Vol 2 starts off with a Perry Como sendup and even more. (DVD's released by Shout! Factory)

Curb Your Enthusiasm :The Complete Third Season (HBO DVD) - more hilarity and hijinks from my favorite pessimist. Includes classic episodes like "Krazee-Eyez Killa" and The Grand Opening."

The Battle of Algiers (Criterion DVD) - a must see for our times.

Wattstax (DVD)

Art:
Metropolitan Museum of Art (NYC): From Filippo Lippi to Piero della Francesca: Fra Carnevale and the Making of a Renaissance Master. Amazing, gorgeous. See it.

GOINGS-ON
Guest Events:
Thursday February 24, 7:30PM - KEN SMITH reads! LITTLE GRAY BOOK LECTURE NO. 30“How to Observe Presidents’ Day (Observed)” at Galapagos, 70 North Sixth Street, between Kent and Wythe in Williamsburg. (L Train to Bedford Avenue)(718) 782-5188. Other readers include JOSHUAH BEARMAN, JONATHAN COULTON, JON LANGFORD, and SARAH VOWELL. http://www.littlegraybooks.com/

Sunday February 27: Sam Lipsyte reading KGB with John Haskell 85 East 4th Street, NYC 7:00 pm

The best in jazz: go hear Jason Moran and the Bandwagon perform! His scheduled dates in NYC and elsewhere are listed on his site http://www.jasonmoran.com/shows.html

Other Events:

Richard Dawkins and Michael Hirsh

Evolutionary biologist and frequent guest Richard Dawkins talks about politics, creationism, the state of science, and his latest book, "The Ancestor's Tale: A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Evolution."

and

How America can and must engage in the world: Newsweek's Michael Hirsh on his book "At War with Ourselves:Why America Is Squandering Its Chance to Build a Better World." http://www.mhirsh.com/

Catherine O'Hara and Mike Leigh

Catherine O'Hara of SCTV and many films (BEST IN SHOW, A MIGHTY WIND, etc.). A DVD of SCTV Vol. 2 was just released.
and filmmaker Mike Leigh on his latest, VERA DRAKE.

The Home Version of Our Game

The Home Version of Our Game