#exit 82 michael

[bemoreheritageposts]

be more chill heritage post

IM SCREAMING

[macrolit]

The 100 Best Books of the 21st Century.

As voted on by 503 novelists, nonfiction writers, poets, critics and other book lovers — with a little help from the staff of The New York Times Book Review.

NYT Article.

*************

Q: How many of the 100 have you read? Q: Which ones did you love/hate? Q: What's missing?

Here's the full list.

100. Tree of Smoke, Denis Johnson 99. How to Be Both, Ali Smith 98. Bel Canto, Ann Patchett 97. Men We Reaped, Jesmyn Ward 96. Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments, Saidiya Hartman 95. Bring Up the Bodies, Hilary Mantel 94. On Beauty, Zadie Smith 93. Station Eleven, Emily St. John Mandel 92. The Days of Abandonment, Elena Ferrante 91. The Human Stain, Philip Roth 90. The Sympathizer, Viet Thanh Nguyen 89. The Return, Hisham Matar 88. The Collected Stories of Lydia Davis 87. Detransition, Baby, Torrey Peters 86. Frederick Douglass, David W. Blight 85. Pastoralia, George Saunders 84. The Emperor of All Maladies, Siddhartha Mukherjee 83. When We Cease to Understand the World, Benjamin Labutat 82. Hurricane Season, Fernanda Melchor 81. Pulphead, John Jeremiah Sullivan 80. The Story of the Lost Child, Elena Ferrante 79. A Manual for Cleaning Women, Lucia Berlin 78. Septology, Jon Fosse 77. An American Marriage, Tayari Jones 76. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, Gabrielle Zevin 75. Exit West, Mohsin Hamid 74. Olive Kitteridge, Elizabeth Strout 73. The Passage of Power, Robert Caro 72. Secondhand Time, Svetlana Alexievich 71. The Copenhagen Trilogy, Tove Ditlevsen 70. All Aunt Hagar's Children, Edward P. Jones 69. The New Jim Crow, Michelle Alexander 68. The Friend, Sigrid Nunez 67. Far From the Tree, Andrew Solomon 66. We the Animals, Justin Torres 65. The Plot Against America, Philip Roth 64. The Great Believers, Rebecca Makkai 63. Veronica, Mary Gaitskill 62. 10:04, Ben Lerner 61. Demon Copperhead, Barbara Kingsolver 60. Heavy, Kiese Laymon 59. Middlesex, Jeffrey Eugenides 58. Stay True, Hua Hsu 57. Nickel and Dimed, Barbara Ehrenreich 56. The Flamethrowers, Rachel Kushner 55. The Looming Tower, Lawrence Wright 54. Tenth of December, George Saunders 53. Runaway, Alice Munro 52. Train Dreams, Denis Johnson 51. Life After Life, Kate Atkinson 50. Trust, Hernan Diaz 49. The Vegetarian, Han Kang 48. Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi 47. A Mercy, Toni Morrison 46. The Goldfinch, Donna Tartt 45. The Argonauts, Maggie Nelson 44. The Fifth Season, N.K. Jemisin 43. Postwar, Tony Judt 42. A Brief History of Seven Killings, Marlon James 41. Small Things Like These, Claire Keegan 40. H Is for Hawk, Helen Macdonald 39. A Visit from the Goon Squad, Jennifer Egan 38. The Savage Detectives, Roberto Balano 37. The Years, Annie Ernaux 36. Between the World and Me, Ta-Nehisi Coates 35. Fun Home, Alison Bechdel 34. Citizen, Claudia Rankine 33. Salvage the Bones, Jesmyn Ward 32. The Lines of Beauty, Alan Hollinghurst 31. White Teeth, Zadie Smith 30. Sing, Unburied, Sing, Jesmyn Ward 29. The Last Samurai, Helen DeWitt 28. Cloud Atlas, David Mitchell 27. Americanah, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie 26. Atonement, Ian McEwan 25. Random Family, Adrian Nicole LeBlanc 24. The Overstory, Richard Powers 23. Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage, Alice Munro 22. Behind the Beautiful Forevers, Katherine Boo 21. Evicted, Matthew Desmond 20. Erasure, Percival Everett 19. Say Nothing, Patrick Radden Keefe 18. Lincoln in the Bardo, George Saunders 17. The Sellout, Paul Beatty 16. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Michael Chabon 15. Pachinko, Min Jin Lee 14. Outline, Rachel Cusk 13. The Road, Cormac McCarthy 12. The Year of Magical Thinking, Joan Didion 11. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Junot Diaz 10. Gilead, Marilynne Robinson 9. Never Let Me Go, Kazuo Ishiguro 8. Austerlitz, W.G. Sebald 7. The Underground Railroad, Colson Whitehead 6. 2666, Roberto Bolano 5. The Corrections, Jonathan Franzen 4. The Known World, Edward P. Jones 3. Wolf Hall, Hilary Mantel 2. The Warmth of Other Suns, Isabel Wilkerson 1. My Brilliant Friend, Elena Ferrante

[darkmaga-returns]

Oil refinery Valero has opted to close its operations in California due to excessive regulations on energy. Located in the small city of Benicia, the town is expected to lose 400 jobs, which the mayor is calling the exit “a major hit on the city.” Everyone in California is feeling the impact of Newsom’s war on fossil fuels.

Valero said its decision ” follows years of regulatory pressure, significant fines for air quality violations, and a recent lawsuit settlement related to environmental concerns.” “California has been pursuing policies to move away from fossil fuels for really for the past 20 years. And the consequence of that is the regulatory and enforcement environment is the most stringent and difficult of anywhere else in North America,” Valero CEO Lane Riggs told reporters. His company faced $82 million in fines dating back to 2003 for emissions, marking the highest penalty issued in the Bay Area Air District.

Energy company Phillips 66 abandoned its operations in Los Angeles last year, citing long-term instability due to political policy. California’s refining capacity has declined 21% over the past three years, and as a result, gas prices are expected to rise by 75% by 2026 if major intervention is not taken.

California’s gas deficit ranges from 6.6 million to 13.1 million per day. “. Reductions in fuel supplies of this magnitude will resonate throughout multiple supply chains affecting production, costs, and prices across many industries such as air travel, food delivery, agricultural production, manufacturing, electrical power generation, distribution, groceries, and healthcare,” University of Southern California professor Michael A. Mische stated after studying California’s history of supply and refining capacity. This will plunge the state into further debt and reduce the overall GDP for the entire nation.

[rachelkaser]

Stay Golden Sunday: Brother, Can You Spare That Jacket?

The Girls find a winning lottery ticket, only to lose it in a donated jacket. Their quest to find it leads them to a homeless shelter.

Picture It . . .

Dorothy catches Sophia reading a letter addressed to Rose (from a friend Sophia thinks is a lesbian). Rose arrives with their weekly lottery scratch-off tickets. Blanche follows shortly after with shopping bags, saying she was in the mood for leather, but Sophia cuts her off so they can scratch their tickets. Dorothy says she got three palm trees -- which means her ticket is worth $10,000. The Girls immediately begin celebrating.

SOPHIA: Where's everybody going? DOROTHY: Out to dinner. Go get ready, Ma. SOPHIA: I am ready! I'm always ready! You do that at 82. That, and carry hard candy.

As Sophia leaves to go order herself some swag, Blanche excitedly shows off her new purchase: A distressed aviator jacket. She sticks the winning ticket in the jacket pocket for safekeeping, and the three Girls decide to go for dinner. Blanche leaves the jacket on the couch as they go to freshen up. Sophia returns and answers a knock at the door: It's a man from the thrift shop there to pick up donations. Sophia, spotting the rather shabby jacket, tosses it onto the pile.

Later, the Girls are panicked, looking for the jacket. Sophia finally spills that she donated the jacket, which is when they inform her that they put the lottery ticket in the pocket. They make it to the thrift shop, where the proprietor informs him he just put the jacket out. That's when a bodyguard picks up the jacket and says "Michael" has decided to buy it. Blanche tries to get the jacket back, but the bodyguard isn't having it. He tosses the jacket out the door to "Michael," who catches with a glittery-gloved hand.

The next day, the Girls mope at home -- they tried calling the lottery commission, but they can't claim the $10k without the ticket. Rose then spots an item in the paper: There's a celebrity auction to benefit the homeless, with one of the objects being a leather jacket worn by "a major rock star." They immediately book it to the event. They make it just in time as the jacket is brought out. They open their mouths, but a nearby man bids $10,000 immediately, and they can't beat it.

They're prepared to bamboozle the buyer to just get the ticket out of the jacket pocket, when he announces he's a congressman who's been accused of not caring about the homeless. And, in addition to the cash donation, he's dispatched an aide to give the jacket to a homeless shelter as a symbolic gesture. Later that night, the Girls manage to find the shelter and a priest greets them. He offers to let them stay the night, and they agree to look for the jacket once inside.

ROSE: Are you sure we're in the right place? DOROTHY: Mission Street Shelter for the Indigent and Homeless. This is where they said they sent the jacket. BLANCHE: Kinda drab, isn't it? DOROTHY: Blanche, it's a shelter, not the flagship of the Hilton chain. SOPHIA: Kinda reminds me of the Shady Pines Retirement Home, except here the lights in the exit sign work.

They enter with their pillows and find beds to hunker down until everyone is asleep. Rose gets into a conversation with her neighbor, Ben, a hotelier who's also from Minnesota. Blanche's neighbor, on the other hand, is a young man who offers to help her through her first night. Sophia and Dorothy, who are sharing a bed, spot a woman named Ida Perkins -- Sophia is shocked and wonders what her old friend is doing in a homeless shelter. Rose and Ben continue to chit-chat about their past in Minnesota.

The young man, Kenny, tells Blanche about the procedure for breakfast, and notes she seems out of place in the shelter. He says he's there undercover working on his doctorate in sociology. Blanche is ecstatic, as Kenny reminds her of her son -- until he confesses it's a lie, and he's an alcoholic. At Ida's bed, she and Sophia share memories with Dorothy. Ida left Shady Pines a year previously. Dorothy asks why she left, and Ida says she simply didn't have enough money.

KENNY: This is your first time? BLANCHE: Oh lord, it's been ages since I heard that from a man. Yes, it is my first time. KENNY: I can give you a few pointers if you like. BLANCHE: Now that I've never heard from a man.

Ben tells Rose that he was laid off and couldn't find work in Minnesota. He eventually hitchhiked to Miami, and he offers to listen to Rose's story at breakfast, bidding her goodnight. Kenny tells Blanche he cracked under pressure from his family and warns her to keep herself safe. Ida says she was evicted from Shady Pines with little assistance despite her pleas for it, and she has no living family.

Blanche, Rose, and Dorothy meet up after everyone else is asleep and agree to separate and look for the jacket among the beds. They very quietly sneak between the beds as Judy Collins' cover of "Brother, Can You Spare A Dime?" plays in the background. Sophia stays with Ida, and tells her there is genuine love and compassion out there. The other Girls meet again, with Blanche quietly holding out the ticket. The priest returns to open the shelter for the day. All four Girls exchange looks, and Sophia hands the priest the ticket, thanking him for everything.

"Persuasion, hell. This isn't for dinner at the Rainbow Room. This is for ten big ones! Give him whatever he wants!"

As far as Very Special Episodes go, this might be simultaneously one of Golden Girls most and least subtle episodes ever, in that it's not an obvious VSE until the final scene, but man does it make the most of that final scene. Most of the episode is devoted to the Girls attempting to get back their winning lottery ticket, only to be confronted with the reality of their already-existing good fortune at the homeless shelter in third act. It's not a particularly well-plotted episode, but it's hard to deny the hammer-blunt impact of hearing and seeing the people in the homeless shelter and their variety of stories.

ROSE: I have a really dumb question. SOPHIA: And I have a box of Chiclets. What's your point?

The first part of the episode shows the Girls winning the $10k jackpot on their scratch-offs -- not a life-changing amount of money, maybe, but still a very good amount for four older women to spend on luxury purchases. They all immediately begin fantasizing about what they're going to spend it on, only for Sophia to accidentally give the ticket away after Blanche puts it in her jacket pocket. I know Sophia's technically in the wrong for giving away Blanche's property, but frankly I think the other Girls bear a lot of the blame. If I had a winning lottery ticket, I would not let it out of my sight, much less leave it in the pocket of a jacket on the sofa.

The Girls proceed to go on the mother of all quests to find the jacket, going from a charity clothes store to a ritzy auction to a homeless shelter. Throughout the whole episode, they're laser-focused on their goal of getting their object of good fortune back, ignoring every sign around them pushing them in the direction of charity. From a major pop star wearing a thrifted jacket during a concert to later auction off to charity, to a congressman donating everything including the jacket to a shelter, to the priest who finds them beds to stay in at a late hour.

Then they lay down and come face-to-face with the . . . well, faces of the homeless around them, and they can no longer ignore the plight of the less fortunate as they have been the whole episode. At least, that's the point of the episode. I'm not going to pretend it's perfectly plotted -- after all, these are still the Golden Girls, and you're going to root for them to win even if they're being a little bit greedy. But as build-up to that all-important musical number, I think it's well-done. (Also, one hopes the priest would actually be able to redeem the lottery ticket, but wouldn't that constitute gambling?)

And to be honest, I'm more inclined than I've ever been to be lenient with this episode. According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, the number of people who are homeless or don't have stable housing has increased dramatically in recent years, particularly during the pandemic years. Social issues rise and fall in importance, but at this moment in time, "Brother Can You Spare That Jacket" is perhaps even more relevant now than it was when it aired.

CONGRESSMAN: Would you mind if I said a few words to the audience? SOPHIA: For ten grand, they should let him shower with the audience.

This is especially true because the people that the Girls meet in the shelter are personable (in the case of Ben), well-educated (in the case of Kevin), and elderly (in the case of Ida); I can't say for sure if these portrayals punctured stereotypes that people in the early 90s would have had about the homeless -- but it probably says something they defy stereotypes that exist now. It's a rather chilling portrayal of different social groups for whom there is no safety net, and the show delivers it in a way that's palatable for sitcom audiences.

Still, that's not to say the episode is perfect. For starters, the episode portrays all of the Girls as rather avaricious, but later episodes will show that they -- or at least Rose -- are closer to poverty than wealth. This is something that's only disingenuous in hindsight, but perhaps her having an extra $2,500 in her bank account, even if her new friend Ben doesn't, wouldn't be the end of the world. They also tackle age discrimination in the job market, the effects of which Ben represents, more comprehensively in the next season.

BLANCHE: Here, I'll tell you what our plan is. Now, there's $10,000 at stake. To find that jacket and get that ticket, we will lie, cheat, threaten, and steal if we have to. PRIEST: *enters* Oh, hello! BLANCHE: . . . anybody got a backup plan?

Also, the contrast between the wacky hijinks of the first half of the episode and the seriousness of the second half of the episodes doesn't always work. The toothy Congressman comes across as incredibly insincere, but I don't think he's supposed to? Also, I'm not sure why the episode invokes the image of Michael Jackson and his sparkly glove so blatantly when it's apparently not allowed to use his full name?

By the way, in case anyone is wondering, no, that wasn't actually Michael Jackson. But I still love how they work around referring to him. The bodyguard calls him "Michael," the auctioneer calls him "one of the world's leading musical talents," and Sophia says he's "that guy from the Pepsi commercial." Rose wasn't too far off when she made her mistake, also -- Michael J. Fox was in a few Diet Pepsi commercials in the 80s.

Episode rating: 🍰🍰🍰🍰 (four cheesecake slices out of five)

Favorite part of the episode

An important message sometimes doesn't need to be subtle.

[bemoreheritageposts]

be more chill heritage post

so apparently during the friday performance of Exit82′s be more chill @incendiarysongbird informed me that Michael lost his mountain dew red in his backpack during the play scene and i don’t think i found anything funnier 

[mightystargazer]

Another Year, Another Readinglist!

Not so many books in 2004, only 183!

1 Robert Jordan    The Fires of Heaven

2 Robert Jordan    Lord of Chaos

3 Robert Jordan    A Crown of Swords

4 Robert Jordan    The Path of Daggers

5 Robert Jordan    Winter's Heart

6 Robert Jordan    Crossroads of Twilight

7 Robert Jordan    Knife of Dreams

8 Robert Jordan    The Gathering Storm

9 Robert Jordan    Towers of Midnight

10 Robert Jordan A Memory of Light

11 Robert Jordan A Fire Within the Ways

12 Robert Jordan The World of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time

13 Dean Koontz The Bad Weather Friend

14 Drew Hayes The Case of the Damaged Detective

15 Drew Hayes The Case of the Haunted Haunted House

16 Drew Hayes The Case of the Felonious Faire

17 Jonathan Maberry Lullaby

18 Mark Tufo Devils Desk

19 Mark Tufo Devils Desk 2

20 Stephen King Revival

21 Will Dean The Last One

22 Jamie McFarlane Junkyard  Commandos

23 Jonathan Maberry Beneath the Skin

24 Jonathan Maberry Limbus Inc I

25 Jonathan Maberry Limbus Inc II

26 Jonathan Maberry Limbus Inc III

27 Jasper T. Scott Nightstalkers

28 Philip Fracassi A Child Alone with Strangers

29 Alan Dean Foster Quozl

30 Martha Wells All Systems Red

31 Martha Wells Artificial Condition

32 Martha Wells Rogue Protocol

33 Martha Wells Exit Strategy

34 Martha Wells Network Effect

35 Martha Wells Fugitive Telemetry

36 Martha Wells System Collapse

37 Alexander James The Woodkin

38 Erika Engelhaupt Gory Details

39 Scott Meyer Brute Force

40 Andy Weir The Egg and Other Stories

41 James R. Tuck That Thing at the Zoo

42 James R. Tuck Blood and Bullets

43 James R. Tuck Spiders Lullaby

44 James R. Tuck Blood and Silver

45 James R. Tuck Circus of Blood

46 James R. Tuck Blood and Magick

47 Douglas Michaels My Homemade Spaceship

48 K. Eason Nightwatch on the Hinterlands

49 Keith C. Blackmore Prequel

50 Keith C. Blackmore The Hospital

51 Keith C. Blackmore Omnibus

52 Keith C. Blackmore Well Fed

53 Keith C. Blackmore Make Me King

54 Keith C. Blackmore Mindless

55 Keith C. Blackmore Skull Road

56 Max Brooks Devolution

57 Scott Bartlett Mother Ship

58 Douglas E. Richards Unidentified

59 Grant Hendrix How to Sell a Haunted House

60 Javan Bonds Zombie Lake

61 Javan Bonds Zombie Island

62 Colson Whitehead Zone One

63 Ben Rock, Bob DeRosa Catcher

64 Jenny Kiefer This Wretched Valley

65 Rachel Aukes 100 Days in Deadland

66 Rachel Aukes Deadland's Harvest

67 Rachel Aukes Deadland Rising

68 Dustin Tigner Wrong Divinity

69 Ken Lozito Genesis

70 Ken Lozito Nemesis

71 Ken Lozito Legacy

72 Ken Lozito Sanctuary

73 Ken Lozito Discovery

74 Ken Lozito Emergence

75 Ken Lozito Vigilance

76 Ken Lozito Fracture

77 Ken Lozito Harbinger

78 Ken Lozito Insurgent

79 Ken Lozito Invasion

80 Ken Lozito Impulse

81 Ken Lozito Infinity

82 Ken Lozito Expedition

83 Douglas Preston Extinction

84 Jen Williams The Hungry Dark

85 Keith C. Blackmore Breeds

86 Keith C. Blackmore Breeds 2

87 Keith C. Blackmore Breeds 3

88 Richard Laymon Resurrection Dreams

89 Scott Sigler Alive

90 Scott Sigler Alight

91 Scott Sigler Alone

92 Anthony Melchiorri Sunken Spaceship

93 Joshua T. Calvert The Object

94 Jonathan Maberry Threshold

95 Jonathan Maberry What Rough Beast

96 Jonathan Maberry Destroyer of Worlds

97 Doucette, Gene The Apocalypse Seven

98 Earl Swift Hell Put to Shame

99 Peter Beagle I'm Afraid You've Got Dragons

100 Russell James Atoll X

101 Eric R. Asher Mason Dixon Monster Hunter

102 Steven Bird EREBUS

103 Zach James Occupant

104 Brian Evenson Immobility

105 Christopher Golden All Hallows

106 Earl Swift Hell Put to Shame

107 Luke Walker The Kindred

108 Tony Moyle The Limpet Syndrome

109 Tony Moyle Soul Catchers

110 Tony Moyle Dead Ends

111 Greig Beck Beneath the Dark Ice

112 Greig Beck Dark Rising

113 Greig Beck This Green Hell

114 Greig Beck Black Mountain

115 Greig Beck Gorgon

116 Greig Beck Hammer of God

117 Greig Beck Kraken Rising

118 Greig Beck Void

119 Greig Beck From Hell

120 Greig Beck Dark

121 Greig Beck the well of hell

122 Greig Beck The Silurian Bridge

123 Dean Koontz The Big Dark Sky

124 Jonathan Maberry Zombie CSU; The Forensic Science

125 Stephen King You Like It Darker

126 Michael Cole Creature from the Crevasse

127 Mike Alread Universally Screwed

128 Simon R. Green The Best Thing You Can Steal

129 Taylor Caldwell Wicked Angel

130 Tony Urban Hell On Earth

131 Tony Urban Road Of The Damned

132 Tony Urban The Ark

133 Tony Urban I Kill The Dead

134 Tony Urban Red Runs The River

135 Zach James Occupant

136 Codie Crowley Here Lies a Vengeful Bitch

137 Hannah J. Tidy Horror Stories

138 Jack Campbell Vanguard

139 Jack Campbell Ascendant

140 Jack Campbell Triumphant

141 Jack Campbell Dauntless

142 Jack Campbell Fearless

143 Jack Campbell Courageous

144 Jack Campbell Valiant

145 Jack Campbell Relentless

146 Jack Campbell Victorious

147 Jack Campbell Dreadnaught

148 Jack Campbell Invincible

149 Jack Campbell Guardian

150 Jack Campbell Steadfast

151 Jack Campbell Leviathan

152 Jack Campbell Boundless

153 Jack Campbell Resolute

154 Jack Campbell Implacable

155 Michael Cole Crab Attack

156 j.n. Chaney Undead Marine

157 Nick Clausen Dead Meat

158 Dean Koontz The Forest of Lost Souls

159 Mark Tufo Zero

160 Mark Tufo Zombie Fallout

161 Mark Tufo A Plague Upon Your Family

162 Mark Tufo The End

163 Mark Tufo Dr. Hugh Mann

164 Mark Tufo The End Has Come and Gone

165 Mark Tufo Alive in a Dead World

166 Mark Tufo 'Til Death Do Us Part

167 Mark Tufo For The Fallen

168 Mark Tufo An Old Beginning

169 Mark Tufo Tattered Remnants

170 Mark Tufo Those Left Behind

171 Mark Tufo Etna Station

172 Mark Tufo Dog Days of War

173 Mark Tufo The Perfect Betrayal

174 Mark Tufo The Trembling Path

175 Mark Tufo Sifting Through the Ashes

176 Mark Tufo Hiraeth

177 Mark Tufo The Lost Journals

178 Mark Tufo Altered Destinies

179 Mark Tufo Unearthed

180 Mark Tufo Shores of Despair

181 Mark Tufo Burden of Time

182 Mark Tufo Bridging the Gap

183 Mark Tufo The Broken Road

[yorkshirewerewolf]

Yorkshire Werewolf: My Comedy Heroes

Mike Yarwood RIP

Alas, another British Entertainer has exited stage left.

Comedy impressionist Mike Yarwood has died aged 82.

Mike, in my opinion, was Britain's first legit TV impressionist, working on stage and small screen in a career spanning many decades.

I myself grew up with "light entertainment" TV shows. They had the magic to unite the family, sitting together, watching the Google box and sharing the laughter.

Mike's uncanny ability to capture the mannerisms of the celebs he "took off" plus a generous use of catchphrases gave his early shows a certain gravitas, putting him in the same tier with Morecambe and Wise, Michael Crawford, and Stanley Baxter.

He would later try a more satirical take, targeting British politicians, and his impersonations of Harold Wilson, Ted Heath, and Denis Healy were legendary.

Yarwood was born in Manchester in 1941 and began his career as a stand-up comedian. He made his television debut in 1961 and quickly became a household name. The "Mike Yarwood Show" ran for 12 years, and his impersonations covered a wide range of figures, from politicians to pop stars trying to stay relevant and connect with a younger audience.

Yarwood was always spot-on, and with the help of his writers, he was able to capture the essence of his subjects with just a few well-chosen words and gestures. He was a truly gifted mimic, his ability to perfectly reproduce the facial mannerisms without using make-up was uncanny.

Sadly, Yarwood's popularity started to wane and by the early 1980s, his shows lacked the magic of his mimicry, but his use of split screen technology allowing him to appear as several characters at once was ground breaking. TV work dried up but he continued to perform on stage and in television specials. He was awarded an OBE in 1986 for his services to entertainment.

I had the privilege as a child of seeing him live in a summer show in Blackpool, England, in the early 80s.

He was sharing the bill with " Basil Brush", the TV puppet. My main recollection was my gran slept through most of the show, and at times I think I did. To be truthful, it wasn't his fault.

Comedy was evolving, becoming more edgy. Satirical comedy grew with "Not the Nine O'Clock News" and the puppet show "Spitting Image," which showcased the voice talent of young mimics. Alternative comedy slowly replaced sitcoms and double acts. Shows such as "The Comic Strip Presents," "The Young Ones," and "Black Adder" foreshadowed the end of light entertainment comedy.

Impressionist shows did eventually evolve, with "Dead Ringers," "The Alistair McGowan & Ronnie Ancona Show," and "Rory Bremner, Bird & Fortune" continuing the art.

Yarwood's death has surprised many people who thought erroneously he had already passed away. Which is a sad reflection on how we treat our yesterday heroes.

He retired from public life in the mid-2000s. He had personal demon's, maybe due to the pressure to stay relevant when TV bigwigs decide that you aren't funny or young enough anymore. He was a true original, respected by every decent mimic as "the gov'nor" and as it is traditional in the UK, the TV channels will show repeats of his shows, some classic moments, wheeling out "z list" celebs saying how much he meant to them, making various remarks about " how it was different back in the seventies" rather than repeating his back catalogue when he was around to enjoy it himself and find new fans! (Sigh! But if you haven't seen any of mike's TV output, there are a number of clips on YouTube, some do require trigger warnings due to dubious make up decisions, plus there are some DVD sets but they are very expensive and hard to come by)

My sympathy to his family and close friends. So shall we raise a glass in the memory of a true British comedy legend.

Until next time,

Seethee soon!

[thesquirrelqueer]

‪Some requests from Instagram a while back‬

[bemoreheritageposts]

be more chill heritage post

A collab I did with @badlydrawnbmc :3c

Mod PepsiClear made the sketch and Kit did lineart and coloring ❤🌟

[ohmilkshakes]

My @boyfriendssecretsanta gift for @quarktrinity, the boyfs at dinner!! (I hope you don't mind exit 82 boyfs !!)

[pnppcl]

[to-matt-oh]

Dude. I’m poor.

[bemoreheritageposts]

be more chill heritage post

CHOOSE YOUR FIGHTER

[wtfgaylittlezooid]

Michael’s “oh fuck”

[galaxygerm103]

I want my boy to be treated well so the revolution BEGINS

Piñata Michael design belongs to @badlydrawnbmc

Also that is me and Mod Mtn Dew Supernova at the top, aka my partner in crime for the revolution

"Viva la Book Michael Revolution" -Nova

[scrapdog]

“Hey Jeremy, is it true that you’re sugondese?” - Michael Mell probably

Etsy 💀 Redbubble