The Calamari Mandate & The Faculty @ The PIT

Nov. 29, 2006
For those who appreciated — and contributed to – Brett Wean’s ”Improv David Caruso” thread over on the forum, that first photo is for you.

Fifth July, 1955

Washington Improv Theater (photo via Grundlepuck).
The Bastion pointed out yesterday that Chicago’s gift to the world is improv (via Metroblogging Chicago), which began on July 5, 1955. Very few things have brought me so much joy.

What’s up

Dog.

Lost

Last summer I helped my friends Samrat and Meetu shoot a music video. This is the finished product.

The Michael Jackson Guy

In Madrid’s Parque del Buen Retiro, there’s a busker who dances like Michael Jackson. He’s an easy target because he’s not good (as far as dancing Jacko impersonators go). But by my count, the “Michael Jackson Guy” of Madrid has been at it for more than 15 years. The first time I saw him was in June 1991 when my family and I toured Europe for a month; then, in 1993, I spent nine months in the Spanish capital as a study abroad student– I took great delight in showing Michael Jackson Guy to my skeptical classmates. In 1996, I spent four months as a Madrid-based intern at (then named) AP-Dow Jones, and, yes, Michael Jackson Guy was still dancing, having added a few moves and an affinity for the song “Black & White” (the music emanating from a crappy-cassette boombox just like today). In 1998, I returned to Madrid yet again, this time for a two-year stint as a fulltime reporter for Dow Jones Newswires — Michael Jackson Guy was still moonwalking and tourists and Madrileños alike were still laughing at his clunky, albeit earnest, dance moves. Today, based on these clips, Michael Jackson Guy is still … well, not good. But you know something — he’s still doing it. He’s still dancing like no one’s watching. Just try to imagine, for a moment, the amount of heckling he endures in any given day, let alone in 15 years — it’s impossible. But then, I’m sure every once in a while there is a round of genuine applause. Godspeed, Michael Jackson Guy (obligatory YouTube roundup after the jump).

The Harold

Babel

“Acting more like the overly mannered Vincent D’Onofrio on Law and Order: Criminal Intent, Caruso’s super-serious one-liners and tilted head are hard to not laugh at.”
–The Advertiser (Oct. 19, 2005)
“As lead crime-scene investigator Horatio Caine, actor David Caruso harks back to his gruff NYPD Blue days, balancing some truly awful tough-guy one-liners with a more sensitive compassion for the victims of crime.”
–The Advertiser (Nov. 20, 2004)
“NY isn’t quite as annoying as CSI: Miami - for one, it isn’t handicapped by the glib one-liners spouted regularly by David Caruso.”
–The Age (Oct. 13, 2005)

Jon Lovitz

The Faculty @ The PIT

Nov. 15, 2006

Aries Spears is spot on …

Via AndreaHarner.com via Kottke.org.