Politics, Culture, and Other Wastes of Time

Ironically, as I am getting ready to hear another former president speak tonight, I am posting this entry about a PBS documentary on George H.W. Bush that will air nationally on Monday and Tuesday night as part of the "American Experience" series.

But, here in North Carolina (presumably because of the state primaries on Tues.) the program will air on Wednesday night at 8 p.m., and I'm not sure if WUNC-TV will run one or both episodes of the documentary then.

I hope there will be an inclusion of the great imperssion that Dana Carvey did of Bush on "Saturday Night Live" during those years in the documentary. I think it is one of the best political impressions in "SNL" history though there are so many others, like Chevy Chase's Gerald Ford.

Here are some things you may not have not about the better President Bush or Carvey:

George H.W. Bush was the youngest naval aviator in American history, and he became a millionaire by the age of 40 through o-i-l. Bush One was also chairman of the Republican National Committee during Watergate in 1973.

Carvey was born in Montana. He starred in a short-lived tv version of the helicopter movie "Blue Thunder." Chris Farley called him "The Lady" on set in reference to his church lady skits. And, Carvey, who was not in Todd Haynes' film "I'm Not There" (out on dvd this week), did nonetheless perform a great impression of Bob Dylan.

For the record, I voted for Michael Dukakis and later Bill Cinton, but the elder Bush does seem like a fairly good president mainly because of his son's dubious performance in the White House (at least, Bush One stayed out of Iraq). And, I respect the fact that Turkey and the United States had excellent relations when Bush One was in office.

And, I did watch "SNL" regularly when Carvey was on it, but at some juncture during the Adam Sandler years, I opted for reruns of "Hogan's Heroes" (that is a joke! But, yes, I quit watching the show at some point in the mid-90s. Though I watch it a few times a year now.)

Actually, I have not seen Carvey in a film or tv show in a while, but I'm sure my media-savvy friend Moviezzz knows exactly what he is up to!

Useful Links:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/

http://www.famoustexans.com/georgebush.htm

http://www.bushlibrary.tamu.edu

http://www.danacarvey.net

http://www.talkingmoviezzz.blogspot.com

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