spatch

For everyone else who didn't know Shipoopi, now's the chance to get it into your heads:

Here's the musical number from the Music Man film with Buddy Hackett as Marsellus. (Thanks, beth47!) The video starts out with a bit of distortion but works out near the end. Lookit those dance moves! As energetic as the barn-raising dance in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, though not as nearly creative with nearby props. But my!

And then here's the Family Guy parody, sung by Peter Griffin FOR REASON WHATSOEVER when he scores a touchdown for the New England Patriots (long story.) This is a lot more than a throwaway Let's Go There joke; notice how much of the movie's choreography is used in the number. This is why I can't totally write Family Guy off; Seth MacFarlane is a theater/old movie geek, plain and simple, and when he gets the chance to throw in Shipoopi or do an entire episode based off a Crosby-Hope Road movie, I'm happy.

We all know that a Shipoopi (shi-POOP-i! shi-POOP-i!) is the girl who's hard to get -- or, depending on which side of the chorus you're on, the girl whom you can win yet. But just WHAT THE DICKENS DOES IT MEAN?! Is it really just a nonsense word made up so that 9th grade productions can snicker while singing it?

Me and Meredith Willson are gonna have a long, long talk some time up in the Lofty Clouds, I tell you what. (I'll also have to thank him for the Chicken Fat song, which is one of the best things Robert Preston ever did.)

Also, anyone who's just gotten the song in their head, you're welcome. It won't wash out for days.

Squeeze her once when she isn't lookin
If you get a squeeze back, that's fancy cookin!

They're filming a movie A MOVIE A MOVIE WOOP WOOP WOOP MOVIE ALERT MOVIE MOVIE MOVIE okay around the Fort Point Channel today. It's a Jennifer Garner/Matthew McConaughey vehicle called "The Ghosts of Girlfriends Past" or somesuch and already sightings of ol' Wooderson have circulated around town. The office is abuzz over who they may see hanging around our normally run-down industrial waterfront location, shades of 2005 when The Departed was shooting around here and at least one person ran back in from their lunch break breathlessly talking about how they saw Matt or Leo from far, far away. Lacey Chabert and Michael Douglas are also in the cast, but so far all the talk I've heard about is McConaughey! Garner! Garner! McConaughey! McConaughey AND Garner! Garner AND McConaughey!

Me, I saved my rapt fascination this morning for watching a couple of techs beginning to assemble a large 50-foot telescoping (louma? panaflex?) crane with what looked to be a Gyron mount. Funny, ever since the SCTV parody Polynesiantown, I've had somewhat of an affinity for crane shots. Lord have mercy now that is a loverly piece of equipment. I'd watch them move that thing all over God's creation and still want to see it go through its paces again and again and again (she will never get sore if you beg her pardon!)