Captain’s Log Supplemental: I’m an idiot. I have said that often enough that it’s clearly not worth a supplementary log issue, but it explains why I need to make one. Yesterday I praised all the changes at Citi Field, and I neglected to mention the most important one. During the Seventh Inning Stretch Take Me Out to the Ballgame was played live on an organ. I did not catch the name of the organist and he’s not Jane Jarvis, but I still love it. They should do what Jane used to do and play throughout the game instead of some of the canned music. If I were on the Mets, I would ask him to play my walk-up music. They should name the instrument “The Jane Jarvis Organ.” It’s just another way of showing how much Steve Cohen is than Fred Wilpon. Steve sounds like someone I’d like to have an egg cream with. I’m not big on beer.
Last night I watched the Academy Award for Best Picture winner, Everything Everywhere All at Once. I knew almost nothing about it so had no expectations. At first, I thought it was going to be a family comedy, which on some level it was. There is a paradox around my personal relationship with the film, which is only appropriate. It’s the kind of film that is geared towards me, playing with levels of reality and lots of silly humor. Like Happy Accidents or The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, it’s a film that I expect to like far more than the general moving viewing public, but I don’t. I can’t believe it won best picture. It’s not that it’s not very good, but it doesn’t seem to have enough greatness to overcome its unconventionality. It’s a perfect cult film. Other people must be loving it more than me. I feel guilty about that. I should own this film, and I don’t, and I don’t know why.
The actor that played Gong Gong was very familiar. I knew he played the host in the Chinese Restaurant episode of Seinfeld, but I knew I knew him from other things too so I looked him up on IMBD, his name is James Hong. He was in dozens of shows and movies that I’ve seen, not surprising as he’s had 456 roles. Here are the most notable ones for me.
- Star Wars Rebels – Azmorgian (voice)
- Agents of Shield – Agent May’s father
- Law and Order SVU
- Malcolm in the Middle
- Forever Knight
- Seinfeld
- The Equalizer
- Tales from the Darkside
- Marco Polo
- Soap
- Airplane
- Taxi
- The In-Laws
- Go Tell the Spartans
- Maude
- The World’s Greatest Lover
- Wonder Woman (1977 TV Show)
- The Bionic Woman
- Bound for Glory
- The Rockwood Files
- Baretta
- The Streets of San Francisco
- Harry O
- Cannon
- All in the Family
- Kung Fu
- MacMillan and Wife
- The Missiles of October
- Hawaii 5-0 (1969-1974)
- Chinatown
- Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice
- Ironside
- Earth II
- Mission Impossible (1971)
- The Bill Cosby Show (1970)
- Colossus the Forbin Project
- Gomer Pyle
- The Sand Pebbles
- The F.B.I.
- The Donna Reed Show
- I Dream of Jeannie
- The Man from Uncle
- The Fugitive
- The Satan Bug
- The Outer Limits
- Have Gun Will Travel
- Bat Masterson
- Zorro
- Rin Tin Tin
- Dragnet
- The Gale Storm Show: Oh! Susanna
He was in half the shows I saw in the 60s and 70s and those I saw in reruns from the 50s. He was probably listed in the casting catalogue as “If you need a Chinese man.” Click on the link, you’ll find so many more. These are all things I can pretty much guarantee that I saw the episode with him in it.
I recognized Stephanie Hsu from Mrs. Maisel but didn’t recognize Jamie Lee Curtis at all. My brain works in mysterious ways. I didn’t recognize the star, Michelle Yeoh even though I knew her name as she didn’t have memorable roles in anything that I have seen.
That’s enough for a supplemental log. I never thought I’d write this much about James Hong.
Wise Madness 