Funny Friday: Spies Like Us "Press Conference"

The Psychedelic Furs: Pretty in Pink (Live)

I am not sure if it is lamenting how awesome pop rock used to be, or how extreme the mullets in this video are, but this video makes for some worthy viewing.

Original vs. Cover: I Have Not Been To Oxford Town

The werewolf has been on serious a serious David Bowie kick the past few months. Still, this competition between the Zoe Poledouris (daughter of Basil Poledouris, who composed the life-changing and epic scores from Conan: The Barbarian and The Hunt For Red October) vs. David Bowie is closer than it should be. In fact, the jury is hung on this end. Bowie classifies as Baron of the Bad-ass in the current rock n' roll pantheon. However, Zoe's voice is soothing, sultry and sexy. They are very close in rhythm and style, which confuses things a tad and hurts Zoe's cause. Also, it should be noted that Zoe's version was featured in the heinous cinematic translation of Starship Troopers, the classic Robert Heinlein novel.

David Bowie (Live)



Zoe Poledouris (Studio)

Funny Friday: Wedding Crashers "Motorboat"

In honor of the wedding the werewolf will be attending, this seemed appropriate.

White Wedding Looming

The Ahab of all bridezillas will be married this weekend in central Virginia. The werewolf accepted the invitation and will be driving down to view what is sure to be a spectacle of failed expectations, tortured over-planning and a strung-out groom and bridesmaids. The werewolf has been accosted by the bride-to-be on Facebook and via text messages reminding him of the event he has already RSVP'd to. Crazy is a gentle term for this gal. Anyhow, he is looking forward to catching up with several business school chums who will also be attending this tribute to madness. While it has been a rather heinous and in-glamorous year for the werewolf, he hopes his friends and colleagues will have sweeter tales of happiness and success to share.

The werewolf has been known to be an agent provocateur at times. The off-kilter nature of this friendly bridezilla has inspired him to come-up with the some sort of sincere back-handed compliment that will simultaneously flatter and confuse her about the wedding she tortured herself over. Sinister and slightly sadistic, perhaps. However, the anticipated flummoxed look on her face and her inability to make sense of it may make the whole exercise worthwhile. I hope I am not as evil as that sounds. Should you have any experience in this realm, please advise, as I am open to suggestions for the perfect delivery.

Chess: Nobody's Side (Elaine Paige)

Chess is the werewolf's favorite rock opera. He wrote how influential it was during his formative years last winter. Elaine Paige has an incredible voice, yet her hair in the video could be the subject of a serious essay. Some things are inexcusable. The archaic graphics are signature 80s in a pleasant way.

Some powerful and honest lyrics. They will not fail you.

Everybody's playing the game
But nobody's rules are the same
Nobody's on nobody's side
Better learn to go it alone
Recognize you're out on your own
Nobody's on nobody's side

Indiana Jones: Sword vs. Gun

Profound in its brevity.

Embrace the Dark Spirits! ASAP.

Although he loves a stiff drink, or five, the werewolf doesn't like vodka. He never has. The only only time he'll be caught drinking vodka is a Bloody Mary at brunch or when he mixes his own Stoli Doli's, but then again, that is just to confirm that the taste is correct. Beyond that he has run contrary to trends, and with the exception of gin in the spring and summer, the werewolf steers clear of clear liquors for the most part. Of course he keeps some on hand for his guests, as the number one rule of a good host is to offer your guests a good drink. However, the werewolf has no problem finding the bottom of good bottle of dark rum, whiskey, or bourbon. Gosling or Meyers dark rum, Jack Daniels and Blanton's are all necessities for the werewolf's sustenance. The Al Dente culinary blog, over at Amazon, has an excellent post about the taming of the irrational skepticism of dark spirits. It couldn't have come soon enough. For the werewolf has embraced dark spirits and the perfect cocktails they make long ago.

From the blog, below find recipe (along with some random facts)  for the ASAP. It looks perfect for a spring/summer day which are beginning to become the norm here in DC.


ASAP “This drink is first-rate and ready as soon as you want it to be”
Ingredients:1 1/2 ounces dark rum
1/2 ounce Falernum
1/2 ounce Tuaca
1/2 ounce fresh pineapple juice
Chilled ginger ale
Lime slice for garnish
Directions:1. Fill a highball or comparable glass three-quarters full with ice cubes. Add the rum, Falernum, Tuaca, and pineapple juice. Stir, but only twice.
2. Top the glass off with ginger ale. Stir once more. Garnish with the lime slice.
A Note: Falernum is a flavored syrup (think lime, with a bit of ginger and other accents) that sometimes has an alcohol content and sometimes doesn’t. Either version works here--check online if you’re having issues tracking it down in your local liquor or specialty food store.
A Second Note: Tuaca is an Italian liqueur that has hints of citrus and vanilla. The legend goes that it was created by Florentine Renaissance mover-and-shaker Lorenzo de' Medici. Tuaca became popular in the United States in the 1950s, after World War II servicement who had been stationed in Italy started asking for it as American bars.

Dear me. Alas. By Jove! A bloody Ghurka.

The Man Who Would Be King is perhaps one Kipling's most timeless tales. Adventure, greed, honor, hubris, aspiration, delusions of grandeur, exotic lands, frontiers, loyalty, empire, and courage are themes central to this remarkable tale. Translated beautifully onto the big screen by John Huston in 1975, it is one of the werewolf's favorite films. Plus, the chemistry between Connery and Caine only add to the power behind this magical and captivating film.



Watching it on VHS as a little boy, The Man Who Would Be King was a young werewolf's introduction to the legendary Gurkha of British Imperial fame. The concept of being a loyal soldier and obedient steward to a people not of your own nationality was alien to the werewolf, but the Ghurkas, along with the Swiss Guards at the Vatican are perhaps the greatest examples of non-mercenary soldiers becoming legandary attachments to the military lore of a land that is not their own. Billy Fish is the greatest cinematic example of the Ghurka captured by Hollywood. The werewolf has often wondered why these legendary Nepalese fighting men have been given short shrift given the lore and legacy that surrounds their contributions to the British Empire. Billy Fish, seen above, along with his beautifully constructed Gurkha English and his unwaveringly optimistic disposition have captured the imagination of the werewolf for over two-decades.

Billy Fish is also one of the werewolf's fictional men of honor. If you watch the clip below, (you'll have to get to about 3:46 for the scene), Billy Fish is given the chance to escape with some gold, and instead volunteers to go down fighting, despite the cause being lost. The sequence around his death is worthy of Tennyson. Even facing certain death, he optimistically wishes his commanders "many good lucks."

Kick-Ass: Unsuspectingly kicks some serious ass

Kick-Ass is simply one of the most gratifying cinematic experiences the werewolf has recently encountered. When he bought the ticket, he expected some C-grade shlock that would be remotely amusing and entertaining at times and help kill a portion of his weekend. From beginning to end the film is surprisingly captivating, thoughtful, shocking and human. At times it beautifully captures the awkward sexual tension and pubescent hormones of high school that have previously made teen comedy's like Superbad and American Pie  part of current pop culture and uncomfortably amusing in the most candid of ways. While being incredibly lewd, crude and rude at time, it has the ability to magically transition into a dark crime thriller with morally ambiguous overtones, while playing on twisted views of pain, justice, vengeance and doing right while being humanely insecure and barely competent. A reviewer wasn't too far-off when  he referred to it as Tarantino-esque at times. The werewolf would throw in a dose of John Woo for good measure. Never has the werewolf seen a film that went from being enjoyably un-serious to shockingly brutal and heavy in the blink of an eye, and managed to make the transitions smooth as silk. The film has too many layers to adequately cover in this review, yet the werewolf wants to give a paw-pump to the best part of the was watching the 11 year-old Chloe Moretz break some sort of cinematic barrier as she is the real show stealer. There is something new and jaw-dropping about watching some girl barely out of the 6th grade referring to a bunch of heroine pushers as "cunts" before ruthlessly and brutally dispatching each of them, while using curse words with a poetic edge the worthy of Richard Pryor. Cute, charming, shocking, jarring and unforgettable. Regardless of what kind of film you prefer, Kick-Ass is a real genre bender that will quickly develop a much deserved cult following, if not actually breaking into the ranks of the mainstream on some levels.

This film is not for the faint-of-heart or weak of stomach as it features several sequences of graphic violence, drug use, foul language, sex, masturbation, torture and even our little 11 year-old heroine getting brutalized.

Original vs. Cover: Come on Eileen. Dexy's Midnight Runners vs. Save Ferris

"Come on Eileen" is one of those pleasant lighthearted songs that frequently gets a bunch of drunks at the bar  singing along even though nobody knows any the words other than "Come on Eileen." Naturally, this makes a great karaoke song. The werewolf has a fond memory of being on the stage at Lonnie's doing a duet with his dear friend, Patrick Bateman, and being stunned by Bateman's -whose over 6ft tall- ability to incorporate a limbo move of extraordinary difficulty while both intoxicated and singing. Random, I know.

The werewolf doesn't know anything about Dexy's Midnight Runners beyond this song. However, the cover, by the ska band Save Ferris - named after the legendary campaign in Ferris Bueller's Day Off - is one of the most vibrant and satisfyingly energetic songs out there. The werewolf sometimes struggles with where his ultimate musical allegiance rests. He grew up in the 80s, loves the cheese-dick synthesized sound of that era, and has all of his first memories to the music of 80s one hit wonders on the radio. In many ways, being an 80s geek is a hobby for the werewolf. However, the werewolf was becoming more self-aware and coming of age during the ascension of ska. His inner rebel always loved the shameless juvenile prankster and carefree punk that embedded in the DNA of ska. Tough call. That being said, and despite fancying himself a purist, there is no contest between original vs. cover in this instance. Save Ferris and the ska punksters manage to take a great song and make it better. No question. See for yourself.

Here's the original version by Dexy's Midnight Runners.





Here is the Save Ferris Version.

Funny Friday: Model crashes and burns on runway

David Cameron: We can’t just snap our fingers and fix Britain

What takes 18 months of non-stop media broadsides and bombardment in the United States, usually takes about 18 days in the United Kingdom. Although being a political junkie himself, even the constant campaign mentality and disingenuous partisan overdose forced into our veins wears thin on the werewolf at the end of each presidential election cycle. In a perfect world (no such thing), the werewolf would like to think that the long-in-the-tooth American approach, and the short-and-stumpy British approach to elections could meet somewhere in the middle. A cycle where debates are thorough and genuine, convincing and persuasion of the electorate meaningful, and the urgency of the pending deadline is felt driving appropriately calculating decision. Wishful thinking indeed.

Anyhow, David Cameron, the conservative leader, is set to be the likely replacement for the frumpy, stodgy, and uninspired socialist blob that is Gordon Brown, has penned a decent  "why elect me" piece in the Times of London. While the werewolf prefers David Cameron, he finds Cameron's wishy-washyness on issues like global warming, his bizarre social posturing, and lust for media attention at rate that should even make a politician blush, all legitimate points of concern. However, the U.K. is ripe for a course correction.  All politicians are full of shit to some degree. After this country foolishly swooned over a rotten crock of "hope and change," Cameron's article for all of it's pro forma political bull, has a few decent and worthy sections to it that even impressed the werewolf, oh so slightly.

"So the manifesto we are publishing today is a comprehensive and cohesive plan to change Britain for the better. It will change Westminster and Whitehall for ever. It is a blueprint for reform that is rich in policy but rooted in a core idea of replacing state control with social responsibility.

But it is not a traditional manifesto. We are not saying that we will solve all your problems and, with a snap of the fingers, create a better Britain out of thin air. Because I don’t believe it is in the power of politicians to do this. And in truth, all those phoney pledges and simplistic promises have contributed to voters’ cynicism when it comes to politics."

The people of the United Kingdom have a stark choice ahead. Let's hope they don't screw the pooch as badly as we did in the fall of 2008.

Those damn taxes

The werewolf just filed his 2009 Tax return electronically. Here's a paw-pump for the idiot proof easiness of TurboTax on-line. Here's to lifting his leg and voiding his bladder all over the byzantine and regressive U.S. Tax code. What a brutal and skewed monstrosity. We deserve better, but tragically we'll never get anything commonsensical or equitable from the government when it comes to the income tax code. In fact, the werewolf suspects that this country will have to lube-up and grab it's ankles if an VAT is as real as some suggest.

I am sure you all are going through the some bullshit tax preparation. Good luck and godspeed.  Few things are as soothing as a cold beer or  glass of wine on the flip-side.

The werewolf unmasked.

The werewolf has been semi-inspired by his blog friend and goddess of snark, Legally Fabulous, to give his readers a better idea of who he is, so they don't confuse him with Sean Connery. (He's not nearly that cool or badastic anyways, and he knows he never will be) Plus, in the near-to-mid future, he hopes to start getting more into writing about men's style and how he presents himself to the world so the mask was bound to come off at some point.



Casino Night during his second year at business school. This is the werewolf at his best.

On the at stage at Lonnie's West End.

The werewolf has karaoked in a tux...

Halloween is his favorite. Hail to the King.

At the top of Lion's Head, Cape Town.

The werewolf was drinking Pina Coladas at Trader Vic's, and his hair was...

Original vs. Cover: Save it for Later. The English Beat - Harvey Danger - Pete Townshend

It is a such a beautiful Sunday afternoon here in DC, and the werewolf's acute and chronic self-diagnosed ADD has kicked it. Yet again, he finds himself surfing the endless nothingness that is Youtube for inspiration and meaningless edification.

Being the obscure music junkie that he is, he has often enjoyed comparing and contrasting originals versus covers of some of his favorite songs.  

The English Beat's retro-classic "Save for it Later" is truly an iconic song of the early 80s, at least in the werewolf's skewed opinion. A new video embedding feature has allowed the werewolf to post multiple videos in a single post competently.

Although a purist in most cases, with a built-in bias towards the original, there are a few exceptions where the werewolf can find more or equal virtue in the cover/tribute/re-imaged version of a song. Although in this instance, he still prefers the original version by The English Beat. It should be noted that Harvey Danger  and Pete Townshend put forth worthy and credible covers that both merit a paw pump. The werewolf would love to hear your thoughts.

Here's the original music video from The English Beat. It's a fun video to boot.



Here's the Harvey Danger cover set to scenes from 200 Cigarettes were it was first featured. Fun, solid, yet a tad sophomoric.




Here's the legendary Pete Townshend chiming in with his tribute. It's awesome, especially in the context of a rock titan like Townshend, offering a take on song that is younger than he he is by a few decades, and is also relatively obscure compared to the fame and fortune his career generated.

Bond: Man Talk

Timeless scene from Goldfinger. Gone are the days.

Ahoy, Bruce Campbell

The werewolf somehow missed this nifty ad campaign back in the in day. It certainly ranks close to the Dos Equis "Most Interesting Man in the World" campaign in a mockingly cool kinda way. It's cheeky and cheesy awesomeness are self-evident. Woof!

Postcard from Zimbawe: Meet the new boss, much worse than the old boss

The werewolf has been amused by the New York Times’s rather stark descent from grace, massive loss of credibility, and reliable display of liberal hypocrisy. Occasionally, he find himself glimpsing through the digital pages to see what’s up, but abandoned the New York Times long-ago for the more thorough and journalistically rigid pages found at the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, and The Times of London. The print version of The New York Times could conceivably be useful should toilet paper run out.

That being said, the werewolf has a love-hate relationship with Nick Kristof, one of the liberal bloviators who regularly scribbles for the NY Times. The werewolf and Kristoff share a deep love and passion for Zimbabwe. That’s the only overlap on the Venn diagram of similar interests and beliefs on the world. Kristof has penned a honest and penetrating assessment of modern day Zimbabwe tilted “Postcard from Zimbabwe.” Here are some potent highlights that speak for themselves

"In a week of surreptitious reporting here (committing journalism can be a criminal offense in Zimbabwe), ordinary people said time and again that life had been better under the old, racist, white regime of what was then called Rhodesia.

“When the country changed from Rhodesia to Zimbabwe, we were very excited,” one man, Kizita, told me in a village of mud-walled huts near this town in western Zimbabwe. “But we didn’t realize the ones we chased away were better and the ones we put in power would oppress us.


“It would have been better if whites had continued to rule because the money would have continued to come,” added a neighbor, a 58-year-old farmer named Isaac. “It was better under Rhodesia. Then we could get jobs. Things were cheaper in stores. Now we have no money, no food.”


Over and over, I cringed as I heard Africans wax nostalgic about a nasty, oppressive regime run by a tiny white elite. Black Zimbabweans responded that at least that regime was more competent than today’s nasty, oppressive regime run by the tiny black elite that surrounds Mr. Mugabe."

Western liberals have focused substantial energy on decrying and challenging the moral legitimacy of white minority rule. There was nothing wrong with per say. Challenging racism is noble, except that these liberals usually turned a blind-eye to the far greater cruelty and abuse that became the norm for so many post-colonial and majority-run African nations. Institutional race-based supremacy and legal segregation are ugly and unjust things that offend the werewolf to his very core. The werewolf is not endorsing the restoration of white minority regimes (although as noted by Kristof, those suffering would welcome their restoration). However, they pale in comparison to the genocide, ethnic cleansing, violent tribalism, and economic crimes committed throughout large swaths of post-colonial Africa. Kristof, is taking an important first step in acknowledging that dichotomy and one of the awful legacies of liberal racism and double-standards when it came to advocating for Africa. Good for him.

The Darkness: Knockers

The Darkness, you may recall, briefly topped the charts about a decade ago, with their catchy one-hit-wonder featuring the lead singer's unreal falsetto, "I Believe in a Thing Called Love." In honor of yesterday's high-beam incident, the werewolf's predictable eternally juvenile side thought this song, about a well-endowed woman, was somehow fitting.