Random cartoon insanity. And Ko-Ko the Clown!

Bed Time (1923)
Starring: Max Fleischer
Director: Dave Fleischer
Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

The Animator (Fleischer), wanting to get a good night's sleep, tries to stop Ko-Ko from escaping into the real world by stranding him on an animated cartoon top. How will Ko-Ko even the score this time?

The "Out of the Inkwell" series were cartoons that mixed live-action footage and animation, telling crazy stories of an Animator either bullying and abusing characters in a cartoon reality, which he partially created through his pen and ink; or telling stories of characters escaping their cartoon world and entering the ours where they either help or hinder human activities, or set out to get revenge for abuse heaped on them by their creator, the Animator.

"Bed Time" starts out like a typical Out of the Inkwell installment--with the Animator taking a someone inexplicable hostile attitude toward the character he brings to life--but it quickly veers into surreal and crazy territory that's beyond even what one can expect from the series. The sequence where an angry Ko-Ko is out to get his revenge on the Animator is fabulous and waaaay over the top!

I'm not going to go into detail about what happens in the roughly nine minutes of unbridled weirdness that is "Bed Time", because this is one of those things that needs to be experienced without too much foreknowledge of what's to come. I will mention, though, that it gets a little too repetitious at times, and it was bad enough that I kept it at a rating of Seven instead of the Eight Stars I was on the verge of giving it. Plus, if you're like me, you may have the feeling that the entire situation in this cartoon could have been avoided if the Animator had taken a different, far easier and straight-forward way to keeping Ko-Ko in check--and be midly irritated by it. However, if you stick with this fun little film until the end, it wraps up in a way that makes those actions seem acceptable.

Take a few minutes and brighten your day with some Ko-Ko driven craziness. The version embedded below is taken from Craig Davison's YouTube Channel, and, if I understand his notes correctly, the sound-effects were added by him. You should swing by and check out his many excellent offerings.

It's what we're about...

Musical Monday with Eartha Kitt

Singer/dancer/actress/national treasure Eartha Kitt was born on this day 95 years ago. We celebrate her with some pictures and a really fun musical performance!

Going Nuts with Bones Coffee

Today we're covering not one, not two, but three flavored blends from Bones Coffee!

The coffees reviewed in his post were all "taste-tested" under the same circumstances: They were made in a drip coffeemaker and tried without hot straight from the pot, at room temperature, and cold and over ice. Each blend was also tried with Unsweetened Almond Milk and sugar free Italian Sweet Cream creamer., hot, room temperature, and iced.

All the blends reviewed in this post are medium roasts, and they came to me via Bones' 4-oz. sample packs which each yield between 12-16 cups of coffee (depending on how carefully I measure when I pour the grounds in the basket).

BONES COFFEE COMPANY: MACAMANIAC

The very first impression I had of Macamaniac is that the package features another one of those fun cartoons of the company mascot. Here, our favorite living skeleton is in Hawaii, driving away from an erupting volcano with a carload of macadamia nuts while sipping a drink from a tiny umbrella-festooned coconut half-shell. Once again, the sense of fun in the package art made me feel contented to have given Bones my money even before I got a taste of coffee it was selling.

When I opened the package and as the coffee brewed, I thought I could smell macadamia nuts. That same aroma was strong from the pot and rose from the cup as the coffee is poured. However, as I drank the beverage, all I tasted was coffee with a slight hint of something sweet. That flavor could have been coconut or it could have been macadamia nut (the two flavors that Bones claims are in this blend), but it really was too faint to tell. I am leaning in the direction of the flavor being more like coconut than anything else, but I might just be tasting that because I was expecting something along that line. Basically, this coffee tastes like coffee that's had a bit of sugar or creamer added--but otherwise, it just tastes like a solid, high quality medium roast.

Whether I drank Macamaniac hot, cooled to room temperature, or iced, it had a solid, well-rounded coffee flavor--Bones Coffee knows how to make those Brazilian Arabica beans dance in your mouth!--with a slight saltiness appearing along side the sweet when the coffee was iced. But, the overwhelming flavor remained that of straight coffee.

Sometimes, if I add almond milk or creamer to a Bones blend, it brings out the flavors. In the case, it didn't. It just made the blend taste like coffee to which I'd added almond milk or creamer. That's generally not a bad thing, but I feel like a flavored coffee should have a bit more flavor than Macamaniac has.

If you like your coffee black with perhaps a little sweetener added, this is a blend that you will enjoy. If you're looking for something that will dazzle you with the taste of macadamia nuts mixed with coffee, you need to look elsewhere. 


BONES COFFEE COMPANY: MUSTACHIO

This blend was presented as tasting like pistachios, as its punny title might make obvious to you readers out there.  But does it? The answer is yes, but it morphs depending on how you consume it, with the pistachio flavor coming and going.

When I opened the package, I could indeed smell pistachios, which was promising; the aroma was faint, but it was there. The aroma was a bit stronger when it brewed--not to the point where I could smell it down the hall in my office as is the case with some Bones blends, but it was there when I stood next to the coffee-maker and as I poured the coffee into a cup.

Curiously, when I drank the coffee hot and without any added almond milk or creamer, the pistachio flavor was so subtle that is was almost undetectable. While some the flavor in some of the Bones blends get stronger in your mouth the more of the coffee you drink, that did not happen with Mustachio. Adding sugar-free Italian Sweet Cream didn't make the pistachio flavor any stronger--it just became mixed with the milky flavor. (That said, the pistachio flavor didn't get any weaker, so I suppose that could be read as it becoming stronger; it seemed to remain constant.)

When I drank this blend iced, the pistachio flavor was similarly present, but only as an undertone and not really recognizable as pistachio; it seemed even fainter, whether I drank the coffee straight or with almond milk or creamer added. It wasn't bad--it was like drinking a very nice medium roast coffee with a something slightly sweet added.

One thing that was absolutely fascinating about this blend is what happened when it cooled to room temperature. As I've said in previous coffee-centric posts, it takes me a while to finish a cup of coffee because my life a series of interruptions or distractions. Generally speaking, by the time I finish a cup or mug of coffee, it had gradually cooled to room temperature. In the case of the Mustachio blend, however, this revealed that as this blend cools, the pistachio flavor grows stronger. At room temperature, without anything added, the pistachio flavor was strong and very tasty. Adding a dash of Unsweetened Almond Milk blunted the coffee taste a bit, but the pistachio was still there.

I don't know how many of you out there like your coffee room temperature, but if you do, and also like pistachios, then that's how you should drink Bones' Mustachio. It might also serve as a nice foundation for a coffee liqueur. I will have to get another sample pack and do some experimenting. Stay tuned!

BONES COFFEE COMPANY: PEANUT BUTTER AND JELLY

Have you ever looked at a peanut butter and jelly sammich and wondered "what would that taste like if I dipped it in coffee?" No? Well, neither have I, but Bones Coffee is out there asking flavor questions that we never thought to ask and providing answers that sometimes defy imagination.

From the moment you open the package, the aroma of grape jelly is noticeable. It is also strong as the coffee brews, so strong that it wafted from the kitchen, down the hall into my office. The sweet smell of grape jelly also rose noticeably from the pot and cup as I poured the coffee and went to drink it.

Initially, as I drank this blend without any Unsweetened Almond Milk or sugar-free Italian Sweet Cream added, the sweet taste of grape jelly came through strongly. It was so strong and so sweet a flavor that even someone who orders their coffee strictly from the fru-fru menu can drink it straight. 

One thing I'm discovering is that Bones Coffee does fruit flavors really, really well; sometimes too well--as the overwhelming fruitiness of their Strawberry Cheesecake and Peaches and Scream blends show--and they nailed the grape jelly flavor perfectly. So perfectly, in fact, that it balanced nicely with the coffee.

One thing I am also noticing is that Bones Coffee doesn't do nut flavors all that well. Like Macamaniac, the nut flavor here is almost undetectable; this blend does not taste like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich dipped in coffee, but merely grape flavored coffee. I drank about half a mug's worth before adding some Unsweetened Almond Milk, and I think I started to detect an aftertaste of peanut butter, but the grapey sweetness remained front and center. It could also be that I was expecting a peanut butter taste, so my imagination may have made it materialize because other Bones blends have grown more flavorful as I consumed them (like, for example, their Dusk Till Donuts blend where the grape flavor grew more intense as I drained the cup).

None of my usual approaches were able to tease any solid peanut butter flavor out of this blend, nor could I detect any bread flavor (although the latter is probably for the best). Further, when I drank this blend over ice, there wasn't even the ghost of peanut butter to be found.

In the end, I consider this a tasty blend that might go well with dessert, or maybe a pancake breakfast if you're a fan of grape jelly. It's not a peanut butter-and-jelly sandwich in a cup, though. 

She Sleeps...

 ... and she dreams. But she is...

 ... and she is a monster magnet. Can she even find restful sleep? What does she dream of? Does she dream in color? Click here to visit our sister blog Terror Titans for the answer... but is it just a dream?

(This post, and the one over at Terror Titans, mark the beginning of a year-long celebration of the artistic vision of the late Richard Sala. You'll find comics and illustrations by him on an irregular basis here, but at Terror Titans, there will be a samples of his delightfully creepy ink-and-watercolor drawings every 2nd and 4th Friday of each month for all of 2022.)

There's an index of all Sala posts at both blogs here for ease of reference.

A Word from the Slaughter Valley Authority

She may be stuck like this...

We're sharing this important announcement from our sponsor, in case any of you want to come visit us at our Slaughter Valley office. Watch this before you take the trip, especially if you're going to stay overnight.

 

Wonder Woman Wednesday

On this, the first Wonder Woman Wednesday of 2022, we view our favorite Amazon through the pen and eyes of Milton Knight!

You can see more of Milton's work at his website here. You should also check out his Patreon site and consider subscribing!

'Wedding Present' is a gift for Cary Grant fans

Wedding Present (1936)
Starring: Cary Grant, Joan Bennett, William Demarest, Edward Brophy, Gene Lockhart, Conrad Nagel, and Purnell Pratt
Director: Richard Wallace
Rating: Six of Ten Stars

Charlie and Rusty (Grant and Bennett) are big-city journalists who are colleagues and lovers who spend as much time tracking down leads and working on stories as they do pulling pranks and staging elaborate practical jokes. When Charlie is promoted to editor, and he suddenly has to be serious about managing writers and assignments, his relationship with Rusty falls apart. It isn't until she's about to marry a stuffy author of self-help books (Nagel) that Charlie quits his new job, reverts to his previous self, and tries to win her back with the help of a notorious gangster (Demarest).

"Wedding Present" is a fast-moving, witty comedy. It's a little too fast-moving in some ways, as the first half of the film feels more like you're watching a series of loosely connected sketches rather than a movie. It put me in mind of some comedy television series, such as "Faulty Towers" or "'Allo, 'Allo" where most episodes unfolded with a series of almost free-standing sketches that were only united by a circumstance which framed them. 

As the film continues, the story begins to coalesce firmly around the rocky romance of Charlie and Rusty. At about the halfway-mark, the film ends up firmly in romantic comedy territory. It's almost like we're watching a sequel to the first half, as this part is comes complete with its own beginning, middle, and end. Some of the "skits" from the first half turn out to be crucial to the story here, but if we'd walked in late, we wouldn't have missed anything, because characters remind us of what went on and why they're doing what they're doing. 

This is not a great movie, but it's not a terrible one. Its odd structure is a bit distracting, but it's not a fatal flaw. In some ways, what I view as a flaw might make it more enjoyable for some viewers, especially those who are big Cary Grant fans.

"Wedding Present" is one of the first films where Grant was unquestionably the star. While Joan Bennett certainly holds an important role in the story, has lots of screen-time--most of it in scenes with Grant--it is Grant who carries the movie. His is the character the audience is primarily invested in, and the story that's ultimately told is that of Charlie's road to life-long happiness (if not maturity). It's also the film where, I feel, that he clearly has come into his own as a comedic screen actor. Thanks partially to the episodic nature of this film's first half, we get to see Grant perform in different comedic styles, playing off different actors and situations... and even being the straight man in a scene or two. 

Cary Grant is so much fun to watch in this film--especially in scenes shared with Joan Bennett (who gives as good as she gets, every single time) and William Demarest (who does a great job at walking the line between seeming funny and dangerous) that I almost gave it Seven Stars. The totality of the odd structure, though, made me decide to give it the highest possible Six Star rating. This is a highly entertaining, but flawed, film that contributes to making the "Cary Grant: Screen Legend Collection" well worth the purchase price. (I've watched three of the five films in the set so far, and each was almost worth the price by itself.)

Oh--a fun way to watch this film is to consider it a prequel to "His Girl Friday". It's very easy to imagine the lead characters from this film being those portrayed by Grant and Rosalind Russell in that one. Maybe you should get both and have a double-feature watch party with friends!

Then there's that time...

... when four Japanese high school girls saved the shopping mall by defeating a giant monster with a chemistry set, a pineapple, and pure spunk 'n' funk!

Atarashii Gakko! is a girl band out of Japan that has been working their toward international fame with their catchy songs, energetic dancing, and more-than-a-little crazy music videos. After five years, it appears they have arrived, managing to even do some U.S. concert dates  during 2021.

This music video, which features an abbreviated version of their first international hit "Pineapple Kryptonite", is a great introduction to the group and their musical antics (as well as being a fabulous spoof of Godzilla and other Kaiju movies.

This is Atarashii Gakko!'s second appearance here at Shades of Gray. Click here to see that other post, along with a look at how wide their musical range is. And if you aren't afraid of having your senses overwhelmed by lots of color and the full-length version of "Pineapple Kryptonite" (performed against the backdrop of the girls taking on a monster at Area 51 in Nevada), click here.

Sunday Coffee Klatch with Tanzanian Peaberry

A friend and former coworker who's been enjoying my coffee reviews sent me a couple of bags of unground beans that were a total mystery to me: Tanzanian Peaberry!

But I ground it, I drank it, and here's my review of it!

TANZANIAN PEABERRY

As mentioned above, this drink was even more of a mystery than the Mystery Blend from Bones Coffee that I reviewed a few weeks back. I had no idea what to expect from it.

Looking at the beans, I assume this is a blonde or light roast. Given that this was not one of the many flavored coffees I've been drinking over the past several months, the only aroma that I got from the beans or the ground coffee, whether in the grinder, in the basket of my drip coffee maker, or from the pot as the coffee brewed, was... well, coffee.

But what ended up in my cup was so surprising that this might has well have been a flavored blend. 

I put this Tanzanian Peaberry blend through my now-standard steps of my review process, starting with drinking it black. This was an amazingly smooth coffee that seemed like might have been a flavored blend but isn't. The coffee flavor is there, but it's mellow and sweet, almost as if sweetener of some sort had added. There's also a lemony note that put me in mind of lemon cake. I liked this coffee so much black that I drank half a cup before I added anything to it.

Since this coffee already had a natural sweetness to it, I first tried adding Unsweetened Almond Milk. It blended nicely with the existing flavors. The sugar-free Italian Sweet Cream creamer seemed initially to make this drink too sweet, but when I tried another cup with my usual amount dialed back to just a dash, it worked as well as the Unsweetened Almond Milk. 

At room temperature, this coffee was best with the sugar-free Italian Sweet Cream creamer (when it was just a dash). It also works extremely well when iced, whether with the almond milk or the creamer, or just black. I think I actually prefer it when iced, but I'll have to try a few more pots before I can completely make up my mind, since I thought it was tasty in all modes. (Fortunately, I was gifted with an entire 12-oz. bag of beans, so I have plenty to "work" with!) 

So... what IS Tanzanian Peaberry Coffee?

If you're an unrefined clod like me who just likes to drink the magic bean juice whether it's from a blend made by a boutique roastery, from a bag off the shelf at a grocery store, or from the vending machine down the hall at work, you probably had no idea there even was such as thing as Tanzanian Peaberry coffee was before seeing this post. 

Well, as I discovered by doing a little half-assed research via the Google Machine, coffee is among Tanzania's top ten exports (along with precious metals and cashew nuts, another two of my favorite things). What coffee snobs generally think of as "Tanzanian coffee" is mostly grown on the lower slopes of Mount Meru and Mount Kilimanjaro, and it's considered inferior to the better-known other African export, Kenyan coffee. (I will have to order another bag of Kenyan coffee before I run out of my Tanzanian Peaberry so I can compare the two...)

As for the "peaberry", a coffee plant's fruit usually contains two beans, each of which is flat on one side and rounded on the other, basically forming two halves. However, in about 5% of fruits, there is only a single, round bean, and these are called peaberries. These malformed beans are typically sorted out and used in specially designated roasts, such as the flavor of the week here at Shades of Gray HQ, Tanzanian Peaberry. Since peaberries are rarer than the regular coffee beans, roasters can (and do) charge extra for coffee made exclusively from peaberries. Depending on who you ask, peaberry-based coffee is superior in taste to the regular stuff--some swear this this to be case while others are just as adamant that any perceived differences in taste are just marketing-induced delusions.

 What is the truth about Peaberry coffee? Is it tastier or just more expensive? I have no idea. All I know is that the Tanzanian Peaberry coffee I drank was GREAT, and I'll be grinding and drinking more of it in short order... with thanks to the generous friend who sent the bag o' beans my way!