NP: John Cage, 4'33"

Okay, so a local drinking establishment here in Chicago has an old VHS copy of the Star Wars Holiday Special. I totally remember seeing this as a kid, but I don't think I was prepared for just how cheesy it was.

Wow. Art Carney and Bea Arthur and a Tron-like musical performance from Jefferson Starship. The Wikipedia entry runs it down in excruciating detail, as Wikipedia is wont to do. If I were to cite a "favorite" scene -- using the loosest interpretation of the word imaginable -- it would be Art Carney giving Chewie's dad virtual porn for "Life Day." In a prime-time family special. Yikes.

The added bonus was that the tape still had the commercials from the original broadcast, including some choice spots from Bell (remember Bell?), GM and the International Ladies' Garment Workers Union, along with a newsbreak that teased a story about how we all thought more people would have had sex during that big blizzard last year, but it didn't happen.

Apparently, Delilah's shows this every year, much to the chagrin of the bar staff. And next year would technically be the 30th anniversary of the original broadcast, so while I could probably make it another 30 years without seeing it again, there's a good chance it'll be two years in a row around this time in 2008.