The KFJC Psychotronix Film Festival returns to the hallowed halls of Foothill College (Room 5015) yet again to celebrate its 24th anniversary!
It's an all-new extravaganza of semi-cinematic merriment, personally endorsed by The Management!
Since the "Joan Crawford With The Family At Christmastime" radio show is our idea of Yuletide festiveness, we're back with another holiday themed show!
That means a veritable winter wonderland of questionable entertainment and pop culture mayhem!
For almost all of the 24 year run, the festival has transpired on either the first or second Saturday in December, so the program will include some very cool Christmas cartoons. Here's a fantastic one shown at a previous Foothill College extravaganza.
We promise to show only the most unintentionally hilarious 1950's "educational" films.
And coming attractions trailers from the worst movies. . .
We'll raise that with the oddest short subjects.
And, of course, clips from TV programs that should never have aired.
The
Psychotronix Film Festival is still chugging inexorably down the tracks like the lil' locomotive that could in the "Frank Tash" Looney Tune cartoon Porky's Railroad!
Your "host with the most" for the evening's festivities: movie and television music expert Robert Emmett of KFJC-FM's Norman Bates Memorial Soundtrack Show.
This blogmeister shall shamelessly plug Saturday's show on the radio with Robert, along with collaborators, collectors, archivists and fellow intrepid DIY curators Sci Fi Bob Ekman and Scott Moon, tomorrow evening on Thoughtline from 6PM-7PM Pacific Standard Time.
This program will also be available for download on the KFJC Broadcast Archives for two weeks.
Admission: $5 donation benefits KFJC. Parking: $3 - in Lot #5 right before the Brown Trailers - follow the signs For more info: Foothill College Transportation & Parking
Public Transit: Cal Train and VTA Arrive early, as the shows often sell out. Doors open at 6:00 p.m.
The turkeys at Way Too Damn Lazy To Write A Blog - way more peaceful than the aggressive gobbler in the following clip - wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving!
We are officially back for the holidays with more aromatic 20th century pop culture stew, simmered "low and slow."
Here's a Looney Tunes cartoon, courtesy of, among many others, director Chuck Jones, animators Ken Harris, Ben Washam, Phil Monroe and Lloyd Vaughn, storymen Mike Maltese and Tedd Pierce, the incomparable Mel Blanc, etc. to precede that sumptuous slice of pumpkin pie.
There are some pretty cool Thanksgiving-themed animated cartoons. Some have been posted on this blog. . .
Good news for classic movie fans: the latest installment of the Accidentally Preserved series is out on DVD. Accidentally Preserved 4 is a killer collection of rare silents, originally struck in the 9.5mm film format by the Pathéscope company (UK) - and sourced from the USC Hugh M. Hefner Moving Image Archive. The spanking new HD digital transfers are accompanied by new musical scores composed by Ben Model.
The only reason these films survive in 2016 is because silent movies were struck on the 9.5mm format and sold to home movie enthusiasts in the 1920's, 1930's and 1940's! The home movie purveyors - using standard and super 8mm, 9.5 and 16mm and other gauges - ended up being unwitting film preservationists, as many silent movies did not (unlike, to some degree, the films of Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton) enjoy a second life on television.
Unfortunately, due to issues that sent this blog on hiatus, have not had the chance to see the DVD. Other knowledgeable writers and historians have. Check out the following excellent and thorough reviews.
We unabashed silent film fans at Way Too Damn Lazy To Write A Blog thank all those who made this DVD a reality, especially Ben Model and Dino Everett at the USC Hugh M. Hefner Moving Image Archive.
We're pleased as pomegranates at Way Too Damn Lazy To Write A Blog to emerge from a two month hiatus to post print ads and TV commercials for 1950's cars, A.K.A. boats.
Since American Motors was a key sponsor for the Disneyland TV show, even the Mick, Pluto and Jiminy Cricket got into the car commercial act.
This blogmeister, well known for the curious ability to watch hours on end of 1950's and 1960's car ads - and then beg for more - is thrilled to find the following advertising film plugging the Nash Ambassador.
For more info, there is an in-depth article about the Nash Ambassador on Wikipedia.
Consider the above curious print advertisement for a spectacularly unsuccessful consumer product that never actually existed - the less than scrumdiddlyumptious Potato Fudge - the tentative return of Way Too Damn Lazy To Write A Blog.
While still reeling more than a bit from a death in the family and its aftermath, this blogger shall stick his toe in the hopefully still waters of semi-regular writing for this blog, plus a little guitar playing. Will be back to weekly posts later this month - really.
Although the perpetrator of Way Too Damn Lazy To Write A Blog pleads guilty - no contest, actually - to preparing all kinds of grossly unhealthy diabetic-unfriendly food (including brewing 7.85% alcohol dark ales with the consistency of Grandma's Molasses and the color of Kiwi Shoe Polish), he absolutely will NOT be tackling the following C&H Sugar recipe for, you guessed it, Potato Fudge.
The closest this diabetic will get to making Potato Fudge is to watch a standup comedy video starring the very funny Ron "Tater Salad" White, the Blue Collar Comedy tour's answer to W.C. Fields.
While Potato Fudge did not exactly to America by storm, some elements of the product found their way into the following campaign for canned spaghetti.
In addition, this blogmeister's showman persona A.K.A. Psychotronic Paul, shall return in December.
Along with intrepid colleagues and film archivists Robert Emmett, Sci Fi Bob Ekman, Scott Moon, that Psychotronic Paul fellow will also return, bearing boxes full of odd 16mm film reels, to Foothill College's hallowed Room 5015 for the 24th anniversary KFJC Psychotronix Film Festival on December 3, 2016 at Foothill College in the Los Altos Hills, CA.
There will also be a show Yours Truly will be curating at Angelica's in January - silent movies accompanied by the always swingin' Jeff Sanford's Cartoon Jazz Septet.
On this Sunday, November 13, not just one but two excellent classic movie matinees will hopefully make the weekend following a horrifying, disgusting, sickening, appalling, nauseating, fact-free, post-literate AND lacking in basic civility and good manners 2016 presidential election go just a bit better.
The first matinee program is at 2:00 p.m. at Don Quixote's International Music Hall deep in the wilds of Santa Cruz County at 6275 Hwy 9, Felton, CA 95018 (15 minutes from Santa Cruz). Montuno Productions presents Jeff Sanford’s Cartoon Jazz Septet, along with a magic performance and film program curated by that fella who writes this very blog, film historian Paul F. Etcheverry.
Movies, cartoons, magic and cool music shall reign supreme! Here's a clip from a past show with Jeff Sanford’s Cartoon Jazz Septet:
A few rave reviews of previous programs:
"Jeff Sanford's septet has won fans around the Bay Area with its high-spirited renditions of classics by Raymond Scott, Jelly Roll Morton, John Kirby and others set to silent films, cartoons, and live performances."
-- Randy McMullen / San Jose Mercury News
"The entire evening's program -- featuring the music of Raymond Scott and original compositions by Lenny Carlson -- was superb, and the audience was totally engaged, listening to music that was both familiar and unknown performed brilliantly. An exhilarating concert!"
-- Dr. Charles Junkerman, Dean and Associate Provost of Continuing Education Stanford University
"Jeff Sanford's Cartoon Jazz Band is electi-Scott-a-fyin'!! Great re-workings of Raymond Scott tunes, classic jazz turned inside out, stellar musicianship (those charts make my brain hurt) and 'wow' at nearly every turn -- smart, smart, swingin' stuff."
-- Alisa Clancy, "Morning Cup of Jazz" host on KCSM Jazz 91 FM
"The Cartoon Jazz Concert was terrific! Everyone in the audience was treated to a stellar performance!"
-- Stephanie Mischak Lyons, Coordinator for City College of San Francisco Concert and Lecture Series
Meanwhile, if you can't make the trek down Highway 9 to Felton this Sunday, there is another splendid program of movie fun commencing at 4:00 p.m. on Sunday at the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum. The great comedy team of Stan Laurel & Oliver Hardy reign supreme!
The Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum presents one of its monthly Sunday matinees, featuring Laurel & Hardy and other Hal Roach Studio films, in its Edison Theater.
Curator Paul Mular hosts and does an amazing job putting together these comedy programs on the second Sunday of every month.
