27 WEEKS PREGNANT BABY

Mr. Show: The Complete First and Second Season

The complete first and second seasons of HBO's groundbreaking late-night sketch comedy series MR. SHOW. From Emmy(R) winning comedy writers Bob Odenkirk and David Cross, and featuring guest appearances by Jack Black, David Foley, Ben Stiller, Julia Sweeney and Jeanne Tripplehorn. Ten half-hours of comedy critics called "a twisted and often brilliant stream of comic consciousness ... fast, furious and funny stuff." - Rolling Stone.

Hey, everybody, it's Bob and David on DVD! In 1995 comics Bob Odenkirk and David Cross were simply "two people you've never seen before." Since then, each has insidiously entered the mainstream with appearances on TV (Just Shoot Me, The Drew Carey Show) and movies (Scary Movie 2, Dr. Dolittle 2, Men in Black 2). But to quote Odenkirk's bio (which is included on the first disc), Mr. Show is the thing you should see if you want to check them out. Like the late, lamented The Ben Stiller Show, on which both toiled, and Monty Python before that, this midnight-hour HBO series gave a subversive twist to the traditional sketch comedy series. Classic characters include Cross's white-trash poster boy Ronnie Dobbs, the superstar arrestee on a "Cops"-like TV show. Totally out of left field is an infomercial for an instructional video series by "Van Hammersly, Champion Billiard Player," who at one point re-creates the 1974 Kentucky Derby with billiard balls (one of the equines is named "If Mandy Patinkin Was a Horse"). Punch lines? Mr. Show doesn't need no stinking punch lines, as one sketch flows into another.
Bob and David are ably supported by, among others, Second City veteran Jill Talley, Tom Kenny (the voice of Spongebob Squarepants!), Brian Posehn (the creepy guy on Just Shoot Me), Mary-Lynn Rajskub (from The Larry Sanders Show), Sarah Silverman ("Greg the Bunny"), and a pre-Saturday Night Live Jerry Minor, who enlivens one episode commentary with an impeccable Billy Dee Williams imitation. As with the Velvet Underground’s following, Mr. Show fans make up with fervor what they lack in numbers. According to Mr. Show’s own Web site, "non-fans outnumber our fans by the cajillions," but this essential set should change that. --Donald Liebenson

The situation below is not true of our dear Elsa:

When you came into the world, she held you in her arms.
You thanked her by wailing like a banshee.

When you were 1 year old, she fed you and bathed you.
You thanked her by crying all night long.

When you were 2 years old, she taught you to walk.
You thanked her by running away when she called.

When you were 3 years old, she made all your meals with love.
You thanked her by tossing your plate on the floor.

When you were 4 years old, she gave you some crayons.
You thanked her by coloring the dining room table.

When you were 5 years old, she dressed you for the holidays.
You thanked her by plopping into the nearest pile of mud

When you were 6 years old, she walked you to school.
You thanked her by screaming, "I'M NOT GOING!"

When you were 7 years old, she bought you a ball.
You thanked her by throwing it through the next-door-neighbor's window.

When you were 8 years old, she handed you an ice cream.
You thanked her by dripping it all over your lap.

When you were 9 years old, she paid for piano lessons.
You thanked her by never even bothering to practice.

When you were 10 years old, she drove you all day,
From soccer to gymnastics to one birthday party after another.
You thanked her by jumping out of the car and never looking back.

When you were 11 years old, she took you and your friends to the movies.
You thanked her by asking to sit in a different row.

When you were 12 years old, she warned you not to watch certain TV shows.
You thanked her by waiting until she left the house.

When you were 13, she suggested a haircut that was becoming.
You thanked her by telling her she had no taste.

When you were 14, she paid for a month away at summer camp.
You thanked her by forgetting to write a single letter.

When you were 15, she came home from work, looking for a hug.
You thanked her by having your bedroom door locked.

When you were 16, she taught you how to drive her car.
You thanked her by taking it every chance you could.

When you were 17, she was expecting an important call.
You thanked her by being on the phone all night.

When you were 18, she cried at your high school graduation.
You thanked her by staying out partying until dawn.

When you were 19, she paid for your college tuition, drove you to campus carried your bags.
You thanked her by saying good-bye outside the dorm so you wouldn't be embarrassed in front of your friends.

When you were 20, she asked whether you were seeing anyone.
You thanked her by saying, "It's none of your business."

When you were 21, she suggested certain careers for your future.
You thanked her by saying, "I don't want to be like you."

When you were 22, she hugged you at your college graduation.
You thanked her by asking whether she could pay for a trip to Europe.

When you were 23, she gave you furniture for your first apartment.
You thanked her by telling your friends it was ugly.

When you were 24, she met your fiance and asked about your plans for the future.
You thanked her by glaring and growling, "Muuhh-ther, please!"

When you were 25, she helped to pay for your wedding,and she cried and told you how deeply she loved you.
You thanked her by moving halfway across the country.

When you were 30, she called with some advice on the baby.
You thanked her by telling her, "Things are different now."

When you were 40, she called to remind you of a relative's birthday.
You thanked her by saying you were "really busy right now."

When you were 50, she fell ill and needed you to take care of her.
You thanked her by reading about the burden parents become to their children.

And then, one day, she quietly died. And everything you never did came crashing down like thunder. "Rock me baby, rock me all night long."

September 30th, 2009 - I've searched for these home movies for days... and I've spent the last 2 nights watching every single one of them.

I never realized how many emotions this box of videos would bring up for me. It was very difficult. I spent most of my time viewing them in tears. Papa Harley, Papa Horace, Nana Nelms, Big Bobby, Ethel, Garnet, Perry, Amanda, Mr. Ed, George... All gone.

Beloved pets of my childhood belonging to me or family members. Ruby, Liz, Claude, Bobo, Garfield, Huff, Rusty, Yellow Fellow, Oreo, Sadie, Roxie. All gone.

Depressing? VERY. Then, add on friendships, relationships and such that no longer exist and you have quite a crying fest.

I had forgotten just how many people that were such important figures in my young life were no longer around, either by death or going separate ways. Vicki and Deb were always around in the videos from my birth until I was 4 or 5. I saw Vicki at the festival, spoke to her and she barely acknowledged my existence.

Seeing my parents still very happily married was... sad, happy, depressing, comforting and disturbing all at once. I was SUCH a daddy's girl and now, there are days that I feel like I'm just a small blip on his radar.

It wasn't all tears, though... I laughed at Miranda's speech issues she had when she was younger (I'm mean). Chris being incredibly sweet with me when I was a babe, yet so obnoxious and rough otherwise. Seeing myself barely old enough to walk waddling down to feed the horse and chickens and thinking how that's never changed. Funny family Christmases. My curiosity as a little one and how innocent I was. A Circus performance at church with my then best friend, Julianna, and my dad dressed as gorilla, Harvey dressed as an elephant.

Also, I'm pretty sure my mother worshiped me as a baby... Seriously, one of those tapes is nothing but me from birth until 4 months old. I DID NOTHING. She just filmed me lying on a blanket, in my crib, in the bed, in my swing, in a dress, in a sleeper. It did get more interesting when I started to coo and grin but still... Seriously, 6 hours of me before I even learned to interact well! Yeah, think she thought I was the first baby ever or something.

It was good and bad... I'm glad I found the lost item even if I wound up feeling a little lost myself after watching them.

I know I have to look to the future, you can't go back... But life did seem so much more simple then.

In other news, I received good and bad news today. Shirley is cancer free and Anja's vocal cord is no longer paralyzed. But I also learned another family friend was just diagnosed with cancer.

Life really is complicated... but hey, I do have a lot to be thankful for and I recognize that. Sometimes, it's just a little hard.