Trenton Makes (Pizza) and I Take

I'd put off going to De Lorenzo's Tomato Pies in Trenton, NJ, for a few years now. I'll get there, I thought. What's the rush? 

Then it turned out the rush was on, as I read in the Star-Ledger last month that De Lorenzo's, open in its current bathroom-less location since 1947, was going to close its doors on January 15, 2012. OK, no problem. Still no need to rush. 

Then came the holidays and shopping and I had other things on my mind. Then it was Christmas. Then it was 2012. And then it was January 12 and I thought, hmmm, maybe I should get on this. 

And after reading an excellent tribute in the Star-Ledger on Friday, I started to put the wheels in motion. Prior research indicated it was walkable from the train station (underrated thing to see in NJ:  the art running from the Hamilton station to the Trenton station on the Northeast Corridor line, which starts with a giant sculpture of people sitting in conversation and concludes with an impressive Amy Winehouse graffiti memorial mural), so I mulled it over, with the final stumbling block being a potentially demoralizing trip to the Nassau Coliseum for Pat Flatley Night. Mr. Flatley is my all-time favorite Islander, and his name is on the back of my first circa-1990 Islanders jersey (signed a few years ago), so though I knew it would be cool to see him inducted into the Islanders Hall of Fame, I feared that the current Islanders would muck it all up and come out flat after the ceremony. And that, and the long, sad ride home from Long Island, might make me less likely to get up early on Sunday.

But, hooray, Islanders win! (it helped that the Sabres looked flat, but a win's a win, and, on a side note, I hereby publicly apologize to any children in my section who heard my vulgarities when the Sabres were awarded a penalty shot with less than two minutes to go and a call that I'm gonna say here was questionable and that I said was something else from my seat at the Coliseum). So, I left Long Island happy and woke up early Sunday morning to print out directions and layer up (six!) for the likely two-hour wait in the cold to get into DeLorenzo's (they open at 4 and close at either 8 or 9, and only seat around 50, so it was going to require some early arriving). 

 

When I arrived, after a brief walking detour through lovely downtown Trenton, at around 2:30, there weren't too many people in line (and those that were brought their own camping chairs). But that was a bit deceptive, because there were also a few people huddling up in cars while their spots in line were held (the first group was about 20 people strong). Still, I wound up being about 25th in line when the "Pizza" light came on at 4 p.m. and the door opened for the last time to the public. 

I got some ordering tips from Danny, one of the leaders of the big group in line, who asked where I'd come from and seemed impressed that I'd made the trip down from Jersey City, I decided to keep it pretty basic, ordering a large, half-garlic and then, on Danny's recommendation, getting a "half-baked" to take home. 

There isn't a ton of space in the De Lorenzo's oven, and I was a few tables behind in line (several of whom were bringing it home with style, ordering four or more pies for a four-person table), so I soaked in the sights. The cash register is the most famous non-edible feature of De Lorenzo's, and rightfully so. And the rotary phone (whose receiver was taken off the hook, was a nice feature, too. 

The owners, Gary and Eileen Amico, looked like they were keeping it together, though someone at the table in front of me mentioned that Eileen was crying as a customer jumped up on his seat to give a speech thanking Gary and Eileen for bringing so much joy into his life and creating pizza and a pizzeria that was just about a religious experience. Eileen hugged the customer after the speech, and we all applauded. 

And, a little while later, my heavenly pizza arrived. 

Yes, I ate the whole thing myself. And I am proud of it. I even got my own round of applause from the table of folks across from me. Danny and his booth seemed proud of me as well. 

After having my picture taken by a photographer for some newspaper (I'm guessing), which, with any luck, will not make it into print anywhere, I layered back up, settled the bill (Danny bought me a birch beer, after I graciously declined his offers of beer and wine), grabbed my half-baked, and headed back to the train station, thought not before a woman who said she'd been going to De Lorenzo's since she was a girl (I believe she said she was now in her 60s) and I talked about family businesses and places that just do one thing and do it well without any fancy trappings. Those kinds of places disappear more and more every year, so it's sad to see places like De Lorenzo's go. But I'm glad I had my one visit.

And I'm also full. Thanks, Gary, Eileen, and crew for making it possible. My condolences to all of you who never made it there.

A Picture's Worth, Chapter 1

(The first in, I hope, a series, of posts about a picture that are exactly 1,000 words long [according to MS Word]. Get it? And, oh yeah, these words don't count. The rest of them do.)

September 8, 1995. That's not when this picture was taken. I'm guessing I snapped it in 2000 (at Maxwell's in Hoboken, New Jersey) with one of those old-fashioned contraptions that you loaded film into, took pictures with, and then hoped for the best when you got the roll developed. I got a winner here (full disclosure: I used newfangled technology to crop out the side of a woman's head).

But back to that Friday night in September, in Ithaca, New York.

I was only a few days into my sophomore year, after a freshman year that felt a lot like failure. I'm being a little dramatic, but I think this proves my point: having acquired so few friends that I knew no one who wanted to live with me, I squatted my spot in the triple I lived in in the least convenient building on campus. That is, I decided to stay where I was and again live with two strangers in a fairly tiny room. This is not the action of a guy setting the college world on fire.

In any case, my new roommates had just settled in when I headed downtown and saw a poster that said NRBQ was playing at the State Theater. I had started venturing downtown to see shows midway through my freshman year and had discovered the blues at a club called The Haunt when I went to see Luther "Guitar Jr." Johnson on a weekend night. I came back to the dorm so revved up that, as I was breathlessly recapping the show, I realized that I had walked into the middle of one of my roommates making out with his girlfriend. Sorry, Bob.

But, you see, I'd found live music. I'd been to a few concerts, but they were all in big theaters or under festival tents. I'd never been in a small club and seen it all right there in front of me. Something big had opened up in my world, and nothing--particularly my sense of hearing--was going to be the same.

So, anyway, the NRBQ show.

I had a little awareness of NRBQ, mainly through their connection with pro wrestling manager Captain Lou Albano and their recording of "Captain Lou.” I can't quite recall if I had bought my cassette of Lou and the Q prior to the show, but I'm guessing I might have because I knew the guy on the left in the show poster wasn't Big Al Anderson and in those early Internet days, I can't imagine how I would've known about Big Al (who left the band in 1994 and was replaced by Johnny Spampinato, brother of NRBQ bass player Joey). So, it's quite possible that I bought my ticket for the show on the basis of one album featuring a pro wrestling manager rather than just one song about a pro wrestling manager. What else would an 18-year-old do on the first Friday night of the school year?

I'm not saying I made a ton of great decisions in college (the final tally is between 4 and 7), but buying that ticket to see NRBQ was definitely one of them. The 1,600-seat theater was probably 1,500 shy of a sellout, but you wouldn't have known it if you looked on the stage. The crazy guy with the blond hair, Terry Adams, was banging away on the piano and this weird piano-looking thing that made bizarre, spacy sounds (later determined to be a clavinet). The curly-haired guy on the drums, Tommy Ardolino, was, like all good drummers, making everything seem effortless while alternately swinging and pounding throughout the set. And the brothers Spampinato were grinning ear to ear, particularly during the spell-along song that bore their last name. Everybody, from the stage on out, looked like they were having the time of their lives. It all ended too soon, and after I got three of the guys to sign one of those posters I'd seen, I went back to my squatted triple with some sense that everything was going to be OK. I was going to get through college just fine, and music was going to be there to help.

I did, and it was.

As the picture indicates, that wasn't the last NRBQ show I went to. In fact, there were about fifteen more, at a street fair in Hoboken, at the Bottom Line, on a boat, at Castaways back in Ithaca after I graduated, and at the Bowery Ballroom for what might be my favorite show of all time, their 30th anniversary concert, which featured Captain Lou himself, a moment so joyous that I wish someone had taken a picture of me. I could've given you a few thousand on that one.

And I don't think I ever left an NRBQ show without a smile on my face. It would've been hard to do so, because Terry, Joey, Johnny, and Tommy looked to be having such a good time being goofy boys in grown men's bodies (staging puppet shows in the middle of a set, waving to the audience after every song, taking turns blowing the trumpet) that you couldn't help but join in. Or, to paraphrase their own song, they felt so good, and they wanted you to feel good, too.

But I don't feel good right now. Tommy Ardolino died on Friday. It felt like a punch when I read the news. But later in the day, I thought about this picture. And I smiled, thinking about all those shows in all those places with all that fun. And I felt a little better that I'd had the chance to see Tommy behind the drums so many times and that I bought that ticket in Ithaca.

I'm going to see the new NRBQ next week, with three new and equally talented guys now backing Terry. I'll probably feel a little sad for a bit.

But not for too long.

I plan on leaving with a smile.

Thanks, Tommy.

What I Liked About December

*Amy LaVere, Joe's Pub, NYC; Concerts in the Studio, Freehold, NJ
*My Mojo Nixon bobblehead
*The premiere of Impractical Jokers
*Jenny Scheinman, Bill Frisell, and Brian Blade, Village Vanguard, NYC

*Pumpple cake, Flying Monkey Bakery, Philadelphia, PA
*Christmas with the fam
*Post-Christmas with the extended fam
*David Wax Museum/Spirit Family Reunion, Le Poisson Rouge, NYC






*Slo-Mo/Steph Hayes and the Good Problems/John Train/Ella Dars, Milkboy, Philadelphia, PA
*Dawes, Maxwell's, Hoboken, NJ
*Seeing John Striffler and family at Denino's
*The willingness of people with cars to drive me places

The 50-A-Day Project: Books 71-78 and the Final Roundup

Success! I didn't quite read enough for another 10 to end the year, but I'm OK with that. I suppose I could've read some kids' books before I gave them away as holiday gifts and padded the book total, but I'm better than that. Not much better, but better. And the fact that I read a full book (albeit a very short one) on the last day of the year when I didn't technically have (and averaged roughly 100 pages a day over the last five days of the year) makes me feel like I ended on a strong note. 

Here's the breakdown of the final eight books:

Best Fiction Book: Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk by David Sedaris (Beloved  and A Good Man Is Hard to Find are better-written books, but the Sedaris one brought me the most enjoyment.) 
Best Nonfiction Book: Belushi: A Biography by Judith Belushi Pisano (I don't think I've ever read an oral history that I haven't enjoyed, but this one was particularly good. And who knew Suze Orman was once Mrs. Belushi Pisano's roommate and knew John pretty well?) 
Toughest Read: Beloved by Toni Morrison (nothing was all that tough in this batch, so this gets it by default)
Easiest Read: Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk by David Sedaris
Number of Books on Loan: 0
Number of Books Given as Gifts: 1 (Beloved by Toni Morrison. Thanks, Frank!)
Number of Books Signed by the Author: 4 (Beloved by Toni Morrison, Palo Alto by James Franco, Belushi: A Biography by Judith Belushi Pisano and Tanner Colby, and Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk by David Sedaris)
Book That Was Sitting on the Shelf the Longest: Beloved by Toni Morrison

Best Passage (you must be 18 years of age or older to read this passage):

"...[M]y father found a number of other ways to use my car to his advantage.

One day, he asked me to pick him up at Benny Glickstein's bar, the 9M. He had some stops to make. We had only gone a block or two when we saw a fat woman waiting for a trolley, and my father recognized her. She was about forty years old.

'Stop the car,' he said.

After I pulled over to the curb, he got out of the car, walked over to the woman, and started talking to her. The next thing I knew, she was sitting in the back seat.

'Drive down to where they're building the Walt Whitman Bridge,' my father said. I looked at the woman in the rearview mirror and her face was expressionless, as though it was just another day in her life.

'Okay, park over here,' he said, when we reached a secluded area of the construction site.

'Take a walk,' he said. 'Come back in ten minutes.'

When I came back, my father was in the passenger seat. 'Now I'm gonna take a walk.' As soon as he disappeared, the woman said, 'Come here.' I got in the back seat with her, and she blew me.

When my father returned to the car, the fat woman was still in the back seat and I was behind the wheel.

'Come on,' my father said. 'Drop her off.'

We ended up dropping her off at the same trolley stop that she had been waiting at in the first place, and we drove away.

Even though some of these things were shocking to me at first, that was life with my father; the older I got, the more I learned to accept it. There was no use moralizing about it--then or now. The bottom line is, that was his way of life."

from You Only Rock Once by Jerry Blavat (as told to Steve Oskie)

And now, here are the final statistics:

Number of Books Read: 78
Total Page Count: 23,704 
Average Pages Read per Day: 64.9
Fiction Books: 32
Nonfiction Books: 46
Longest book (in every sense of the word): The Art of the Story: An International Anthology of Contemporary Short Stories edited by Daniel Halpern (667 pp.)
Shortest book: Save the Last Dance for Satan by Nick Tosches (114 pp.)
Best Fiction Book: Twenty Thousand Streets Under the Sky by Patrick Hamilton
Best Nonfiction Book: (tie) The Miracle of St. Anthony: A Season with Coach Bob Hurley and Basketball's Most Improbable Dynasty by Adrian Wojnarowski and All Hopped Up and Ready to Go: Music from the Streets of New York, 1927-77 by Tony Fletcher
Toughest Read: The Art of the Story: An International Anthology of Contemporary Short Stories edited by Daniel Halpern
Easiest Read: Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk by David Sedaris
Number of Books on Loan: 4
Number of Books Given as Gifts: 8
Number of Books Signed by the Author: 21
Book That Was Sitting on the Shelf the Longest: Either Sixties Going On Seventies by Nora Sayre or Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
Number of Pages I Will Be Reading Today: 0. I need a break. But it will be a short one, I hope.

Book Revku, Vol. 78

Tales of animals

With some morals tucked inside

This aint no Aesop

Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk by David Sedaris (168 pp.)

Book Revku, Vol. 77

"Too soon gone" is trite

But the stories from his friends

Sure make you feel sad

Belushi: A Biography by Judith Belushi Pisano and Tanner Colby (287 pp.)

Book Revku, Vol. 76

Points for ambition

And for being a Freak

But he needs some work

Palo Alto by James Franco (197 pp.)

The Year in Celebrity Pictures: Pete Seeger

Celebrity: Pete Seeger, best known for being awesome
Photos taken: (1) March 19, 2011, at the Kleinert/James Arts Center, Woodstock, NY
(2) September 11, 2011, NYU Kimmel Center, NYC

An official 2011 Sigman Holiday Greeting, and the first-ever two-photo split of the same person (historic!). The first was taken after a benefit show Mr. Seeger did with his half-sister Peggy in Woodstock. I saw an article that mentioned the show while visiting friends in Oneonta, NY (and delivering the Weird Al book as a matter of fact), and, because I knew the show was in a small space, assumed the show was sold out, or at least the $100 VIP tickets, which included seats in the first five rows and a postshow meet and greet. When I found out tickets were still available, I told my friend and he and I went all in for the VIP seats. I began hoping there wasn't going to be a surprise appearance from Princess Wow.

When we took our seats, the woman to my left seemed stunned that I was in the VIP section and, in fact, made a point of asking how I got the tickets. When she asked me, I assumed she was saying something because she was as surprised as I was that it didn't sell out immediately. But I soon realized that she was completely baffled as to how someone who looked like me would be sitting next to her in the VIP section. This was confirmed when she said, "This is the VIP section, you know." And during intermission, my slowly accepting rowmate turned to me and said, "It's so nice to see someone your age enjoying the show" before rattling off her protester cred and bemoaning the state of today's wayward youth. I thought Woodstock was supposed to be kind to people with long hair.

Anyway, the show was good, but as it got later, we began to wonder if Mr. Seeger would, in fact, be up for meeting and greeting. It took him awhile to come out, but he eventually set up shop next to the snacks and began taking pictures and signing autographs. One dude must have brought about 25 things for him to sign, which seemed to be a little bit of overkill ( I brought two, and I felt bad about even bringing that much). He was at least breaking it down into small groups of items, so we had time to sneak in and get our stuff done. I got my photo done first, but then we lost our place in line when the other guy brought more stuff over to sign. Finally, as the clock inched toward midnight, I took my friend's picture with Mr. Seeger and we were on our way. Unfortunately, we were in such a rush to get going and let the nice 91-year-old man get his rest, that we didn't realize Mr. Seeger's eyes were closed in the picture. But thanks to the magic of Photoshop (and thanks, Karin!), we saved that photo.

The second photo was taken after another benefit (that's pretty much all Mr. Seeger prefers to play anymore), this one for first responders and their children, on the 10th anniversary of the events of September 11, 2001. I generally spend the day sitting at home and watching the names being read (and crying), but after I did some of that in the morning, I headed into the city. It was an interesting event. They started by showing video of interviews with first responders that was completely heartbreaking and just emotionally crushing and then, whee, it was time for music. It was awkward. And it got more awkward when the woman with Parrots for Peace got up to speak. And then there was a guy dressed as a pirate who sang a song. And then there were two guys running around the room twirling giant flags. So after trying to fight back tears for a half hour, I was now trying not to laugh at people as they performed on stage. And dodging the stuffed globes being thrown into the audience. (You'll be pleased to know I caught one.)

I wasn't planning on getting another photo with Mr. Seeger, but once I saw him seemingly happily taking photos with people, I figured I might as well. Of course, because I am not wont to interject myself into people's conversations and crowd people, I wound up getting up to Mr. Seeger just as the woman who was with him told him to tell her when he'd had enough, and he replied, "Um, I think I'm about ready." But I quickly handed my camera off to the woman and, voila, Pete Seeger photo #2 is born. I prefer standing shots to the squatting variety, so I'm pleased with the retake, though I like the first one just fine.

Actually, it's Pete Seeger photo #3, as the first one was taken by my sister in Bryant Park about 15 years ago at a tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. at which there were I'd say about 20 people. And now, since my sister recently gave me the photo, here's another shot of Pete and me, meeting for the first time.

Ah, memories. Bonus Sigman trivia fact: I was on local Ithaca TV getting Arlo Guthrie to sign the very same album I'm holding in the photo. I would also like to note Mr. Seeger's love of the paisley blue shirt through the years. And, finally, I would like to declare that I will no longer bother Pete Seeger for an autograph or photo. He has given me enough.


So that's it for the Year in Celebrity Pictures 2011. Onward!

The Year in Celebrity Pictures: "Weird Al" Yankovic

Celebrity: "Weird Al" Yankovic, best known for, um, being "Weird Al" Yankovic
Photo taken: February 2, 2011, at Bookends, Ridgewood, NJ

An official 2011 Sigman Holiday Greeting. That's probably the earliest a Holiday Greeting photo has been taken, but once I saw how the picture came out, I was pretty confident this one was going to make it into loved ones' mailboxes in December. This is Mr. Yankovic's pose for a lot of his photos, so, seeing him take the pose with others as I waited in line, I had to be prepared with an appropriate look of my own. This is what I came up with. A winner.

I left work early to get to the book signing on time and decided to just level with my boss and tell her instead of making up some fancy excuse. She didn't seem to mind. Unfortunately, I should have left a little earlier, because the store ran out of books (or so they said) and I had to settle for getting bookplates signed, which they would then affix to the books when they came in. Then I could pick them up and all would be right with the world. Until the books didn't come in when I was told they would, and when I arrived at the store because I needed one that day because it was a birthday gift and I was about to get on a bus heading upstate, I was told it wasn't going to happen. But I noticed that there were, oh, about 10 signed copies of the book on a shelf behind the counter. Hmmm. So, what I assume happened was that people ordered signed copies online, and instead of giving the books to the people who were actually at the signing, they used those copies for the online purchasers. Interesting way to reward people who physically come into your store for an event. Shouldn't the lazy people have to make do with bookplates instead of the actual people in the store? They eventually found one unsigned copy in the store, so I got that one and had the other two mailed to me. I was glad they were able to do that, but I still have my doubts about the place.

Bookends may be a shady store (they also sell marked-up signed copies of a book after an event, something I've never seen a bookstore do), but they do get props for having a dude in charge of taking photos and for making two Sigman Holiday Greetings possible (the Maureen McCormick Holiday Greeting was also a Bookends shot, though at their old store). So, a begrudging thanks to the people of Bookends.

The Year in Celebrity Pictures: Dave "Gruber" Allen

Celebrity: Dave "Gruber" Allen, forever worshipped by me for his work as guidance counselor Jeffrey Rosso on the greatest TV show of all time, Freaks and Geeks and the Naked Trucker
Photo taken: September 24, 2011, at the Best Buy Theater, NYC, after the Cinematic Titanic show

I'm not sure I've ever met a nicer celebrity than Dave "Gruber" Allen. The first time I met him was before a Knitting Factory show in 2004, when the Naked Trucker and T-Bones were the comic relief at a benefit show during the Republican National Convention that also featured Serj Tankian from System of A Down, Tom Morello from Rage Against the Machine, Steve Earle, Michael Franti and Spearhead, and Boots Riley from The Coup. He could not have been happier to sign my Freaks and Geeks DVD yearbook (I think he might have been the first to sign it) and talk about the show, and we had a nice conversation. Unfortunately, there was no one around to take a picture at the time. I thought about asking a stranger to take a picture after the Naked Trucker and T-Bones were done with their set (which was awesome, if slightly confusing to the more earnest rabble rousers in attendance), but I chickened out.

Which brings us to the Cinematic Titanic show in Newark last November. I'd read that Mr. Allen was the opening act for the show (a live--and very funny--version of Mystery Science Theater 3000), so I got my ticket to the show (thanks, Josh!) and prepped for my Gruber photo. Alas, he didn't make the trip to Newark. Foiled again. But since Trace Beaulieu and Joel Hodgson from MST3K made appearances in Freaks and Geeks, and J. Elvis Weinstein was a writer for the show, I added them to the yearbook, making the evening at least a partial success. And Cinematic Titanic is awesome. I never watched Mystery Science Theater 3000, but I loved the live show. It's essentially just five really funny people mocking a really bad movie, but it's two hours of almost nonstop laughter. Check it out if you can. They're back in Newark in March.

Anyway, now it's September 2011 and the Cinematic Titanic gang is at the Best Buy Theater in NYC. I do some research to see if Mr. Allen's been opening shows lately, find out he has, and buy my ticket and hope for the best. When I see him setting up microphones, I get a little giddy. He does his opening act thing (funny), the Cinematic Titanic crew riffs on East Meets Watts (very funny), and soon it's time for the postshow meet and greet. I don't really have anything for the CT crew to sign, but I figure Mr. Allen will be in the meet and greet room. As I'm standing on line, I see him there, but a few minutes later I notice he's gone. D'oh. I get my ticket stub signed and resign myself to trying again next time.

Then, as I go up the escalators, I see Mr. Allen standing by the door and thanking people for coming as they head out into the night. Hooray! I then get my stuff out (8X10 screen shot from the "Eighteen" scene and my Naked Trucker and T-Bones CD) and wait my turn. As soon as I show him what I have to get signed, he gets super-excited and tells me that I've made his night. We talk about the Knitting Factory show and some other Freaks and Geeks stuff, and then I hand my camera to some dude to take the picture. There are two pictures because after the first one, Mr. Allen said, "OK, now let's take another one where we're shaking hands." So we did. Then he thanked me again and I went off into the night.

Coolest guy ever. Long live Dave "Gruber" Allen.

Book Revku, Vol. 75

Sex and rock and roll

With only a little drugs

And some name dropping

You Only Rock Once by Jerry Blavat (as told to Steve Oskie) (347 pp.)

The Year in Celebrity Pictures: Dana Barron

Celebrity: Dana Barron, best known as the original (and best) Audrey Griswold in National Lampoon's Vacation, and also as Nikki Witt on Beverly Hills 90210, where she was lucky enough to switch it up and be in one of the greatest scenes in television history
Photo taken: October 30, 2011, at the Parsippany Hilton, as part of the Chiller Theatre convention

Burt Young was cool, but this is the reason why I stayed up all night in Milwaukee so I could catch the bus that would take me to Chicago to catch my plane to LaGuardia and then my ride to Parsippany. I will go through a lot to meet a Griswold, or at least an OG Griswold (I would make no such effort to meet the other living Audreys; Dana Hill [RIP] had Zabka as an on-screen boyfriend, so I might've done the same for her). My Vacation VHS now awaits only Beverly D'Angelo's signature to reach completion, or as close to completion as I plan to get.

Ms. Barron was very nice and totally into the signed VHS. She asked about where I got everybody else and did her best not to say anything disparaging about Randy Quaid, saying, after careful deliberation, "All that stuff you read about him, yeah, that's pretty much him." She also succesfully upsold me on the copy of her Vacation script that she was selling. I think I bought one on eBay at one point, but this one was a copy of her very own script, with her notes in it and some extra material she added. How could I not buy it, right? Anyway, she apologized for there being a few missing pages of the bonus stuff because of a copying snafu but she took my e-mail address so she could send me the PDFs later (yeah, that's right, Dana Barron sent me an e-mail...not bragging, just saying). She also seemed very into the idea of me selling the signed script on eBay and suggested not personalizing it so I could do so, but I told her I was keeping it for myself.

I would once again like to pat myself on the back for not, to the best of my knowledge, saying anything completely ridiculous to her while on no sleep. I did take five pictures with her (partially because of flash-related issues), but, hey, meetings with Griswolds (and Griswold relatives) need to be properly documented (come to think of it, none of the other ones were, and that makes me a little sad). The one above was #2, and I think we make a swell couple. 

Book Revku, Vol. 74

Yes, he was a crank

But one who knew how to write

Those are the best kind

The Vintage Mencken (Gathered by Alistair Cooke) by H.L. Mencken (240 pp.)

The Year in Celebrity Pictures: Dick Contino

Celebrity: Dick Contino, best known for shaking the hell out of the bellows on the accordion, starring in the cult classic Daddy-O, and being one of the few James Ellroy muses that isn't a woman
Photo taken: July 21, 2011, at the Henry Maier Festival Grounds, as part of Festa Italiana

A dream fulfilled. I would like to thank the oppressive heat wave for giving me the kick in the pants needed to get out of town and finally see the accordion master live and in person. And to give me the opportunity to further develop my love for the city of Milwaukee (this was the first of three visits to the city in 2011). If Mr. Contino decides to continue his Festa Italiana run in 2012. I might just go back again. C'mon, let's all go! Save the dates: July 19-22, 2012.

And here's one more great Contino moment on live TV. You can't shake the square-shootin' squire of the squeezebox.

Book Revku, Vol. 73

I was into it

And then I was out of it

Then kind of back in

Beloved by Toni Morrison (324 pp.)

The Year in Celebrity Pictures: Tony Clifton

Celebrity: Tony Clifton, best known for his storied career as a first-rate lounge singer and world-class entertainer, or for being the alleged alter ego of Andy Kaufman and/or Bob Zmuda. You make the call.
Photo taken: April 29, 2011, at the Parsippany Hilton, as part of the Chiller Theatre convention

"Celebrity" is, I suppose, stretching it here, as Mr. Clifton (or Mr. Zmuda if those alarmingly persistent rumors are true) isn't exactly a household name. But, really, I blame that on the households. Shame on you.

In any event, the two Tony Clifton shows I've been to have been two of the most entertaining nights I've spent in clubs, and this will be as close as I get to Andy Kaufman, so this is easily one of my favorite pictures of the year. Mr. Clifton was a pure gentleman, reminiscing about the show he did at Santos Party House in NYC (I'll call it about three hours long, ending around 2:30 with maybe a tenth of the people making it all the way through) and filling me in on the Atlantic City show I missed.

Sure, I probably could've found a better way to spend my money than on an autograph from and picture with what is (allegedly) a comedy writer in a costume, but I have no regrets about my decision. I will sur-veeve.

The Year in Celebrity Pictures: Martin Starr

Celebrity: Martin Starr, best known for his work as geek and funk lover Bill Haverhuck in Freaks and Geeks
Photo taken: November 27, 2011, outside of The Living Room, NYC, after he performed with Common Rotation

The last entry (timewise, of course...plenty more photos to come) in The Year of Celebrity Pictures 2011, and the one with the least prep time. I was doing my laundry on a Sunday afternoon and surfing the Web as I waited for my clothes to dry. Every now and then, I check the Twitter pages of Freaks and Geeks cast members to see if they're in New York. Yes, I know that sounds weird and random, but, c'mon, does it really surprise you at this point? I started doing it when John Francis Daley (Sam Weir) was in town promoting Horrible Bosses (alas, I missed him) and did it again a few months back when I saw that Martin Starr was in a movie that was coming out. I wanted to see if he's be in town for the premiere, and it turns out he was... when it premiered three months prior at  the Tribeca Film Festival. Foiled again!

Anyway, I was looking at his Twitter feed when I saw a Tweet urging people to come see him do one or two songs with Common Rotation at The Living Room at 8 pm on November 27. Then I realized it was November 27. And it was 4 pm.

So I went to the laundromat to get my clothes, did a few more things around the apartment and then headed into the city. I got there around 7:45, and after an enjoyable set by Common Rotation (Martin rapped--yes, rapped--on two songs and joined in on the "Yeah"s in a cover of "We're Not Gonna Take It"), I added another signature to my Freaks and Geeks DVD yearbook.

I wasn't going to bother him for a photo (he was talking with friends), but as I left I decided to bug him and he was happy to pose. Unfortunately, right after I asked, a deranged, toothless guy approached, looked at us and the women who were with Martin, and said, "What's up, assholes?" Perfect. One of Martin's friends took a photo of the three of us (I deleted it) to try to get the guy to go away, but he lingered, so I went on the other side of Martin and got the photo above. An exciting moment, as it was my first photo with a main F&G cast member (I've met a bunch but never asked for a photo with any of them). And a rare time when I can honestly say I am grateful for Twitter.

The Year in Celebrity Pictures: Ernest Borgnine

Celebrity: Ernest Borgnine, best known for way too many things to list but an Academy Award winner for playing the titular character in Marty and a man not afraid to tell you the secret to his longevity (not suitable for work, but funny)
Photo taken: April 29, 2011, at the Parsippany Hilton, as part of the Chiller Theatre convention

How can you not love Ernest Borgnine? And how could I pass up an opportunity to get a signed photo from Marty and a picture with the man? I don't know, but I did at a previous Chiller. When I saw he was booked for a return engagement, I saw a chance to right a wrong. And I'm glad I did, because he was awfully kind and looked downright jubilant in every photo I saw him take with other Chiller attendees. At 94, he's the oldest of this year's crop of celebrity pictures (though, not surprisingly, not by very much), and it was a genuine thrill to sit next to him. I love Marty so much, perhaps a little too much.

The Year in Celebrity Pictures: David Koechner

Celebrity: David Koechner, best known by most of the world as sportscaster and pantsless Sea World visitor Champ Kind in Anchorman but best loved by me as Gerald "T-Bones" Tibbons in The Naked Trucker & T-Bones show
Photo taken: October 13, 2011, at Comedy Etc., Fairview Heights, IL

The successful conclusion of another multistate quest to get something signed by someone most people rarely, if ever, think about. Sure, I could've tried to score a ticket to see the eventual World Champions play an NLCS game, but who wants to do that when you can get your Champ Kind bobblehead signed and see T-Bones reborn in a hotel comedy club in Illinois, while sitting next to a guy who thinks it's fine to actively converse with the comedians during their acts? Right?

The Year in Celebrity Pictures: Mike Lookinland and Susan Olsen

Celebrity: Mike Lookinland and Susan Olsen, best known as Bobby and Cindy Brady of, duh, The Brady Bunch
Photo taken: April 29, 2011, at the Parsippany Hilton, as part of the Chiller Theatre convention

I'd already taken photos with each of them separately, but I figured a group shot with the youngest of the families (or, in my case, the younger) was worth giving still more money to the Bradys. They're both very nice, as all the Bradys (and Cousin Oliver) have been. They were raised right.