Odds And Ends

I have a few random observations today.

I was driving to Branson this morning and listening to the Jim Rome show. Rome, who usually interviews athletes, was talking to Adam Sandler. I missed a lot of what they were saying because I had a couple of stops to make but I did hear Rome asking Sandler if he knew the inside scoop on a bizarre story involving comedians Jon Lovitz, Andy Dick and, indirectly, the late Phil Hartman. Sandler said he had not heard anything about it.

When I got home, I did some searching and could not find much about the incident, that happened last week, other than a New York Post, Page Six piece that the following was taken from.

Laugh Factory owner Jamie Masada, who witnessed the assault, said, “Jon picked Andy up by the head and smashed him into the bar four or five times, and blood started pouring out of his nose.” Lovitz told Page Six, “All the comedians are glad I did it because this guy is a [bleep]hole.”

Lovitz and Dick have been at loggerheads since a 1997 Christmas party at Hartman’s house, five months before his troubled wife Brynn flipped out, fatally shooting Hartman, then killing herself. “Andy was doing cocaine, and he gave Brynn some after she had been sober for 10 years. Phil was furious about it - and then five months later he’s dead,” said Lovitz, adding that when he filled in on Hartman’s “Newsradio” sitcom, “I told Andy, ‘I wouldn’t be here now if you hadn’t given Brynn that cocaine.’ ”

Last year, Lovitz related, a drunken Dick strolled up to his table at Ago in West Hollywood, rudely downed his guests’ peach liqueur drinks, and “looked at me and said, ‘I put the “Phil Hartman hex” on you - you’re the next one to die.’ I said, ‘What did you say?’ and he repeated it. I wanted to punch his face in, but I don’t hit women.”

It’s a strange story and the Phil Hartman angle is a little uncomfortable. That may explain the lack of coverage. Still, I find it hard to picture Jon Lovitz throwing an ass whipping on somebody, even Andy Dick.

I stopped to eat at the Cracker Barrel while I was in town. A couple of things came to mind while I was there.

First, I am always amazed at the amount of people shopping in the “Country Store” section of the Cracker Barrel. Using pricey retail space to sell boxes of Goo Goo Clusters and bird feeders just defies my logic, but there is no doubt that it works.

Second, where do they get all of the crap they put on the walls at all of these quasi-rustic chain restaurants. I can never get a close look at these items. Are these actual washboards, saddles, harnesses, and blacksmith’s tongs found laying around some old barn somewhere, or is there someone manufacturing these items specifically to decorate the walls of these faux homespun establishments?

I am currently reading a book entitled “Scott’s Last Expedition” that consists of journals written by Robert Falcon Scott during his ill-fated 1910-1912 Antarctic exploration. I am still in the beginning stages of this book and I am entranced. The idea of seeking the South Pole was the height of adventure in 1910 and Scott had a real flair for telling the story. It seems to me that people of this era strove for artistry in their journal and letter writing. In this passage, written the day before the party reached landfall, Scott eerily foreshadows the events to come.

The attitude of the men is equally worthy of admiration. In the forecastle as in the wardroom there is a rush to be first when work is to be done, and the same desire to sacrifice selfish consideration to the success of the expedition. It is very good to be able to write in such high praise of one’s companions, and I feel the possession of such support ought to ensure success. Fortune would be in a hard mood indeed if it allowed such a combination of knowledge, experience, ability and enthusiasm to achieve nothing.

I love the phrase, “Fortune would be in a hard mood indeed”; very lyrical.

I just got off the phone with my friend Mitch Mclewaine. Mitch is an old friend that I haven’t seen in years. He is a top-notch drummer. We always spoke the same language when it came to grooves. He has a resume that’s longer than Snoop Dog’s police record. Check out Mitch’s new band, Radio Fire, here.

I will be out of town for a few days and away from the computer, then a hectic weekend. So, the posts may be sporadic for a short while.