Hurray! It's Pare!

So, Yahoo! News reported that J. Lo has a new series called "South Beach." Reuters basically ripped it to shreds. Summary: Beyond predictable. I perused the review (I'll admit that I am morbidly curious about a show that J. Lo is executively producing). Guess who plays some guy named Charlie Evans? Michael Pare AKA Eddie from Eddie and the Cruisers!



I was absolutely enamored with this man the summer "Eddie and the Cruisers" was on HBO every freaking day. I want to say 1984 was the year. After that, he starred in "The Philadelphia Experiment" and "Streets of Fire" with Diane Lane, Rick Moranis and Willem Dafoe (Remember the "I Can Dream About You" video? The moonwalk was at its height of popularity.). But, not many of you will remember that Pare made his debut as Tony Villicana, badboy student, in "The Greatest American Hero." Since "Eddie and the Cruisers", he's been pretty busy. In addition to starring in the sequel ("Eddie Lives!"), he's been in many television shows and even had a part in Sofia Coppola's, "The Virgin Suicides." He's worked pretty steadily since coming onto the scene. I'd like to give it up for Michael Pare - he'll always be Eddie to me. (By the way, I never did see the Cruisers sequel. I wonder if the world finally recognizes his genius in "A Season in Hell," the experimental release that the record company hated. A young Tom Berenger plays Frank Ridgeway AKA "Word Man" in the original. Good stuff.)

So, I've been laid up in my studio apartment with a horrible bronchial infection of sorts. I can't raise my voice above a whisper without exploding into a coughing fit of monumental proportion. I'm now able to work, but I have to make up for my lack of vocal output with miming and off-the-cuff sign language. It's embarrassing, to say the least. I hope this goes away soon. I've been tossing and turning and I'm sure I've become a painful disturbance of the peace in my building. I've been coughing into the pillow as much as possible, but it isn't always easy.

As I was relegated to my futon bed/couch the past couple of days, I did watch all of the first season of The Young Ones. I bought all the episodes this weekend. I've forgotten just how insanely funny Alexei Sayle is. He is (not to sound too British, but) brilliant. The show is dated, but still very, very funny. I wonder what Nigel Planer is up to these days.

So, yeah, I guess there's been some Red Sox news. We've picked up Julian Tavarez. Hope this post-Cardinals WS team player works out better for us than the other one did. Seriously, though, this is really good. Nothing at all wrong with solidifying the pitching. Also, Graffy was given a year-long contract. This makes me insanely happy. I just love that guy. And not only because he's got a Gonzo face. No. I genuinely like him and though I'm really surprised that he accepted arbitration, I'm thrilled that he did.

Alright, that's all the time I've got on the clock for lunch. Back to work.