Portlandia… Slacker TV? Season Two – now streaming on Hulu!
Posted on January 5, 2012 | By Christian | 1 Comment
There is a new preview episode of Portlandia Season Two that is now streaming on Hulu - check it out!
Portlandia is a television series that debuted on the Independent Film Channel (IFC) on January 21, 2011. The show, produced by Andrew Singer and Jonathan Krisel, is set and filmed both in and near Portland, Oregon and features Saturday Night Live cast member Fred Armisen as well as Carrie Brownstein, a member of the now-defunct band Sleater-Kinney and current lead guitarist/singer for Wild Flag.
The name Portlandia refers to the sculpture of the same name above the entrance of the Portland Building on Fifth Avenue in downtown Portland. The statue also appears in the opening montage title sequence.
The Textification of American Language
Posted on May 17, 2011 | By Patty Pino | No Comments
A Meandering Rant by Steve Angiolino
TSF Episode 21 – Expressive Textplexing began with a rant from writer, chef, production professional and father-extraordinaire, Steve Angiolino. Listen to the podcast here and read his insights, below.
I am so sick of the textification of the American Language. Of course by now everyone is used to the LOL’s and OMG’s and they are accepted additions to the vernacular. It’s the forty-five year old men who ask about my “avails” for an upcoming meeting. Or the woman who is definitely not in line for tickets to Justin Bieber, telling me she is going to send along the “deets” for a project we’re working on. I’m also sick of the “whatevs,” “probs,” and the “ushe.” Finish the damn word! It’s as if everyone is so overworked and exhausted they not only can’t finish sentences, but they haven’t enough stamina to finish words longer then six letters.
I get it when you are handcuffed by the 160-character limit and you don’t want to buck up the extra five for unlimited texting. That’s cool, I can get behind that, but when you send me an email where the sky is the limit and you can be as verbose as the annoying person on the 5:46 with the cell phone embedded in their ear, then I get annoyed. You’ve got the space, unless your fingers are cramping so hard from carpal tunnel, that you look like that weird lobster boy at the freak show in the county fair, then please take those extra few seconds and finish the words!
Trust me; I’ll be _available_ to get the _details_ _whatever _time works best for you. I won’t quit mid- sentence. I have the wherewithal to read the word right down to the last letter. I’m no Edwin Newman. I’m not on a crusade to reinstate proper American English. I just ask us forty-something’s to give up talking like 15 year olds, madly pecking away on their Blackberries about how hot Tommy looks in his basketball uniform.
Enough already, and that’s enough with a GH and not two FFs.
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Steve Angiolino has finally come to the realization that sarcasm is not a great business model. He currently lives in the Jersey suburbs with his wife and two kids and spends long periods of time staring out the back window of his house wondering, “What’s going on in Hoboken right now?” Steve is easily annoyed and often gets into odd conversations with the elderly at the local ShopRite grocery store.
Holding Up The Mirror And Laughing
Posted on March 30, 2011 | By Patty Pino | No Comments
It’s a thin line between comedy and tragedy. A thin, beautiful line that, when watching Portlandia, makes me wince while laughing hysterically.
Yes, I was hit on by the body fully-pierced-with-safety-pins guy at the Jim Rose Circus Side Show. No, I didn’t go there. Yes, I considered Clown College after high school. No, I didn’t go there. Yes, I’m strangely attracted to things with birds on them. Yes, I found the crazy Harajuku fashion in Japan all glittery and fascinating. Yes, I have declared things “Over” and, most sadly, have probably been a catalyst for things being over, too.
We love Fred Armisen, Carrie Brownstein and Jonathan Krisel for their absurd and brilliant creation, and we secretly loath them for reminding us of our sometimes lame ways.
~pp
Try not to look…
Posted on March 2, 2011 | By Christian | 1 Comment
Train wreck alert!
I’m embarrassed to admit this. I really am. But… I’m on the drug too. The Charlie Sheen drug.
The Charlie Sheen slow-motion train wreck has captured my attention and I’m not exactly sure why. I don’t watch his TV show, feel no connection at all, and really don’t think he is an especially talented actor. Certainly not the caliber of his father. Perhaps its the anticipation of what he may say next. Or maybe its waiting to see who comes out next to support him. Thank God for friends like Mel Gibson. A real stand up guy who obviously has Charlie’s best interest in mind. It just adds to the freak show. Maybe Lindsey will step up for Charlie too?
No, for me I think it’s more the astonishment. The astonishment that Charlie Sheen, is a famous actor, and ultimately just a person like you and me (but with a lot more money), yet no one can help him. Scenarios like this happen every day to non-famous people and often end in tragedy. The Charlie Sheen tragedy is being played out on every tabloid and news media with what seems to be hourly updates and no one can seem to help.
I really don’t want to sound like a “bleeding heart” but this all says to me that there is something wrong with the system if this can happen every day and more often than not ends in tragedy. Read more
Don’t Be Al Bundy
Posted on January 23, 2011 | By Patty Pino | No Comments
Way back in the 80’s, television metamorphosized from 12 free broadcast stations plus that weird UHF band into pay television, lovingly known as Cable. Along with more TV options came the bid for another major network, and the badboy of television, the FOX network, was born. FOX was like an unbridled teenager, free to experiment with their programming without being burdened by the trappings, traditions, and history of previous major three networks. In the sitcome space, they lauched “Married…with Children,” one of the most culturally defining television programs of that era.
That was then...
At that time, Al Bundy and his misfit, unmotivated family ruled the airwaves and, I suppose , there was something empowering about this klan. They were sarcastic, selfish, and non-trendy – a huge counterpoint to the buttoned-up, Izod clad yuppies that were so prevalent in those post-Disco, Regan “Just Say No” days. Al, Peg, Kelly, and Bud, in their slovenly simplicity, were harbingers and ambassadors for the soon-to-come Seattle grunge and slacker movement of the early 90’s. They were the original couch potatoes.
But, as ground-breaking as they were in the late 80’s, I’m here to tell you don’t be like Al Bundy. Read more
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