Here are a few hard-to-classify Seinfeld-related things for you to ruminate on.
On January 13, 2002, NBC aired a special "Seinfeld Sidekicks" edition of "The Weakest Link." The participants were:
In the fall of 2000, Ben & Jerry's introduced a limited-edition flavor called "Festivus," in honor of the alternative end-of-year holiday conceived by George's father Frank. ("The Strike") According to a press release, it consists of brown sugar cinnamon ice cream loaded with gingerbread cookies and a ginger caramel swirl. I haven't gotten around to trying it yet, so I can't give an honest opinion about it. But it sounds like it has the potential for satisfaction.
Here are links to some related websites:
Ben & Jerry's September 21, 2000 Press Release For Festivus™...An Ice Cream For the Rest of Us
E! Online News (10/28/2000) - Ben and Jerry Celebrate Festivus
Dairy Foods Online - New Products Review - Ice Cream
I wouldn't be surprised to learn that Bob Cobb uses Maestro®, a debit card in MasterCard's family of brands. I wonder if it's accepted in Tuscany.
I haven't read about it in several months - that is, Late 2001/Early 2002 - but at that time it was still a possibility that there would be a "Seinfeld" spin-off series featuring lawyer Jackie Chiles. I'm hoping that it somehow does manage to get on the air. And if it doesn't, it'll be Jackie's most public humiliation yet.
Here are some pages which include stories from July 1999 to confirm that I'm not just imagining this:
CNN.com showbuzz - July 16, 1999
The Daily Brief from Intelligent Network Concepts - July 19, 1999
Variety.com - July 16, 1999
salon.com - July 20, 1999
caller.com - July 26, 1999
Studio Briefing - July 16, 1999
Akron Beacon Journal - July 16, 1999
Here's an example of life imitating art ... or at least life imitating "Seinfeld." During spring training of 2002, a photographer took a picture of Yankee pitcher Andy Pettitte and his two sons on the dugout bench. (You know: The New York Yankees. Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Mantle, Costanza.) However, one of his sons was wearing the cap of his Little League team, which happened to be named the Mets. The cap even had the same logo and colors of the major-league Mets. Anyway, this got back to someone in the team's management - the Big Stein, perhaps? - and it supposedly didn't well with that person. Pettitte reportedly was chided for this faux pas. Fortunately for him, he wasn't ejected from the park as Elaine was in "The Letter" for refusing to remove her Orioles cap while she was seated in the owner's box at Yankee Stadium.
March 2002: I'm 99% sure that in a TV ad for once-daily Allegra which is currently running is the actress who played George's piano-playing girlfriend, Noel, in "The Pez Dispenser" - Elizabeth Morehead. In the spot she's a drowsy allergy-suffering mom who's watching her son playing soccer. (The kid might not have "hand," but in that sport he'd better have "foot.") Admittedly, there is some dissimilarity in their appearances, but that's to be expected because they were taped or filmed some ten years apart. ("The Pez Dispenser" originally aired on January 15, 1992.) I wonder how I can confirm this.
December 2002 - Follow-up: I decided to pursue the issue further, and did a search on Yahoo (+"Elizabeth Morehead" +agent). It returned a number of pages, most of which were fruitless. However, at least one of them indicated that her talent agency is Bresler/Kelly. More web-searching provided an e-mail address of that organization, mail@breslerkelly.com. Encouraged, I took it upon myself to contact them, explaining my thoughts and questioning whether they could provide an answer. Within a day I received a curt but polite response: "I am sorry, we do not represent Ms. Morehead." Unless the lumal.com webpage was erroneous, they apparently represented her - or an identically-named actress - at one time. So you'd think that they would at least have confirmed that fact, and possibly would have pointed me to her current talent agency. But nooooooooo! So it appears we're still at square one with this one.
February 10, 2003 - Case closed: Yesterday I received an e-mail from a fellow - he'd prefer to remain anonymous - which indicated that he is Ms. Morehead's brother, and that I had correctly identified her as the soccer mom in the Allegra commercial. (BTW: I haven't seen that spot in quite a while. Pharmaceutical company Aventis, which produces Allegra, apparently has a new ad campaign lately. It features an animated "ragweed" and "pollen" unsuccessful in their attempts to irritate former allergy-sufferers/current Allegra-users.)
I have seen the "Seinfeld" pilot episode titled both "The Seinfeld Chronicles" (the original working title of the series) and "Good News, Bad News." I'm at a luss.
In a similar vein, why is it that in both "The Sponge" and "The Puerto Rican Day," the street tough portrayed by John Paragon is named Cedric, but in "The Soup Nazi," the same character is called Ray? (There's no such confusion with the other street tough - portrayed by Yul Vasquez. In all three episodes, his character is named Bob.)
By the way, Bill Saluga, who was familiar for a while for the Raymond J. Johnson, Jr. routine which I referenced in this item's title, played an usher in "The Opera." Here, for the record, supposedly is the whole spiel, courtesy of Bomp List Archives : Oh, you doesn't has to call me Johnson. You can call me Ray, or you can call me Jay, or you can call me Johnny, or you can call me Sonny, or you can call me RayJay, or you can call me RJ, or you can call me RJJ or you can call me RJJ Jr., but you doesn't have to call me Johnson!
It was mentioned in "The Pilot" that the Latin phrase "Sic semper tyrannus" - what Crazy Joe Davola shouted when he leaped onto the stage during the filming of the pilot of "Jerry" - means "Death to tyrants." According to my Net searching, its actual translation is "Thus always to tyrants," but I guess the spirit of the expression was captured, nonetheless. Not explained - in "The Cafe" - was the meaning of the Latin "cassus belli." Again, through the vast resources of the Internet I tracked down that its English translation is "a cause for war" or "an act or event that provokes or is used to justify war." Next time I watch that episode I'll have to see what significance it has to the scene. You can bet that they said it for a good reason.
On a related note, "la caridad" ("The Serenity Now") is Spanish for "the charity."
Talk about Seinfeldian irony: On May 14, 1998, the day which Jerry & Company probably had hoped would belong exclusively to themselves, what should happen to steal the thunder from the "Seinfeld" series finale but the death of legendary entertainer Frank Sinatra? It bounced 'em right off the front page of every newspaper the next day. Larry David couldn't have scripted it better himself.
Very interesting tidbit which I discovered: Patrick Warburton - better known as David Puddy - studied marine biology at Orange Coast College before dropping out to pursue modeling and acting at age 19. So pretending to be a marine biologist would have been right up his alley.
July 25, 2002: I saw a new TV ad for Washington Mutual in which a customer at a typical bank has a bar code attached to his forehead. What's the connection to "Seinfeld?" The customer was played by Tim DeKay - better known as Kevin, the "Bizarro Jerry" from the episode of the same name, as well as from "The Soul Mate." About a year or so ago, he appeared in a commercial for McDonald's as a winning contestant in their "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" promotion.
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I wonder if Georgie-Boy, whose parents live in Queens, has ever eaten at the T-Bone Diner at 107-48 Queens Boulevard in Forest Hills. (By the way, this page indicates that there is an establishment called Koko's Kitchen at 521 Lakehurst Road in Browns Mills, New Jersey; this page says that there's a Japanese restaurant with the same name in Salt Lake City; and according to this page there's a place called Gammy's Restaurant in Keota, Oklahoma!)
It is mentioned in "The Fatigues" that George's father, Frank, is a member of the Knights of Columbus. On a whim, to follow up on this, I attempted to track down all the Knights of Columbus local councils in Queens, New York, where Frank Costanza lives. (Queens is my home borough, too, for all it's worth.) Neither the Knights of Columbus website, http://www.kofc.org/ nor the Yahoo! Yellow Pages has a complete list of them. (In addition, once I compile such a list, it will certainly help if I were to know the location of the block of houses in the occasional exterior shots of the Costanzas' neighborhood in order to pinpoint the best candidate. At first glance, it appears to be in either Ridgewood or Glendale, but I'm not sure.) Nevertheless, here's what I've got so far:
September 2, 2002: Several news reports today indicated that New York City men's clothing retailer Moe Ginsburg is closing up shop after a run of more than 30 years. This is the same establishment George indicates to a female con artist where he purchased his suit - as she absconds with that garment. ("The Subway")
October 2, 2002: I've seen a second new ad for American Express starring Jerry Seinfeld - the first ones I've seen in several years. In this one he's on a whale-watching boat. Interestingly, he makes a comment about the breeching whale being a big fish. Of course, he should know that whales are mammals, not fish. ("The Marine Biologist") I wonder if this was intentionally written with that episode in mind.
October 28, 2002: In my area, Metropolitan New York, "Seinfeld" has been airing in repeats twice each weekday at 7:30 and 11:00 PM - up from only one time - for the last year or so. (It is also shown once on Saturdays at 7:30 PM.) I almost always catch the 7:30 broadcast but rarely watch the 11:00 one. However, I make it my business to check the TV listings for both showings in the Daily News anyway, just out of curiosity. The blurb today for the 11:00 episode got my attention: "Getting stuck in traffic together." It sounded suspiciously like "The Puerto Rican Day." Could it be? After the infamous incident following the broadcast of the penultimate non-clip episode, I thought that Jerry made a promise that it would never be shown again, and - to my knowledge - it hadn't been. Further investigation of an online TV listing confirmed my suspicion, and at 11:00 I watched "The Puerto Rican Day" - admittedly not one of the series' best episodes - for the first time since May 7, 1998, although I do have the original, non-edited version on tape.
Was this indeed the first time that "The Puerto Rican Day" has been shown since its only network airing? What caused the reversal? Will there be another flap? In any case, this would seem to imply that when "Seinfeld" is finally released on DVD - and it's just a matter of time before it is - it will contain that episode along with all the rest, which is certainly good news for the bulk of "Seinfeld" aficionados - like me.
To request an e-mail notification when a "Seinfeld" DVD is available for ordering - and to place a vote for its release, go to this page . Amazon supposedly will let the studio know how many customers are clamoring for its availability.
"K" words for the K-Man:
Jerry is audited by the IRS for a contribution to a charity - a volcano relief fund for Krakatoa - that turned out to be fraudulent. He was on his first date with Elaine, and he apparently thought that this would impress her. When Elaine learns of this she indicates, "You see, that's karma," and Jerry replies, "No, that's Krama."
It turns out that the radar detector for which Newman exchanged a motorcycle helmet with Kramer is defective - which he learns the hard way, when he gets ticketed for speeding. So Newman insists that Kramer return the helmet, but Kramer refuses, indicating that they had a deal, and that there are no guarantees in life. Newman replies, "No, but there's karma, Kramer."
According to Kramer, it is your spirit, your being, the part of you that says, "Yes, I can!" Supposedly, when he first studied karate he had no support. The first time he sparred with an opponent, he was terrified. But then he looked inside and found his katra. He listened to his katra and wound up dominating his dojo (of children). He inspires an unsure Elaine that if she follows her katra she can do anything - in this case, to run the J. Peterman Company (to which she was entrusted by Peterman himself).
According to the older priest, it is a Latvian word which means "the lure of the animal." In this case, women are drawn to Kramer. They would give anything to be possessed by him. The solution, indicates the priest, is to wear a ring of garlic bulbs around his neck and to bathe in vinegar.
On May 2, 2000, the United States Postal Service issued the tenth and last of its "Celebrate the Century" 15-stamp panes - honoring the most significant accomplishments of the decade of the 1990s according to a poll. Included in that set of stamps was one noting the TV series "Seinfeld." (Scott #3191c) (Yes, as a stamp collector I do have a copy of this issue, as well as all the other "Celebrate the Century" stamp panes.) Featuring the familiar oval "Seinfeld" logo - the newer version, with celestial bodies - in its lower left corner, it displayed an artist's rendering of a view from inside Jerry's apartment, looking towards its (open) door, with glimpses of his bathroom and his refrigerator. For a press release on the "Celebrate The Century" 1990s issue, see this page . The "Seinfeld" stamp is the one most toward the upper right of the 15-sheet pane. Here's another page which is devoted to just the "Seinfeld" stamp.
As far as I know, this is the only postage stamp yet which makes any reference to "Seinfeld." Hopefully, it will not be the last one. Oh, one more thing: Rules are rules, and the rule is that a living person may not be depicted on a U.S. stamp. That's why there are no images of any of the "Seinfeld" gang - not even Postal Employee Newman - on the stamp. (For the record, my Internet research indicates that memorial stamps for U.S. presidents can be issued on their first birthday after they die, but everyone else has to wait at least ten years.) Many other countries do not have such qualms about depicting living individuals, so I'll keep my ear to the ground on this one, so to speak.
I recall reading in the spring of 1998 about an episode of "Dharma and Greg" in which the title characters would take advantage of the popularity of "Seinfeld," and would have sex in various public places while everyone was watching the "Seinfeld" finale. I didn't go out of my way to catch that episode, primarily because I had never watched that series before. However, my Internet research indicates that the episode, entitled "Much Ado During Nothing" (very clever), aired on May 13, 1998 - the night before "The Finale" was broadcast. Read what TV Tome has to say about it here.
Today (December 13, 2002) I noticed that there is a 5¢ deposit on a plastic bottle of Ocean Spray Cran-Raspberry drink - but only in the states of California and Maine. There certainly seems to be a possibility of a lucrative bottle-deposit scam here. What do you think?
I recalled that there is a website which allows one to request the number of degrees of separation between any actor in its vast database and Kevin Bacon, and I decided to try it out on the main players of "Seinfeld," both the four principal cast members and those who have portrayed either recurring or memorable characters. Here - according to "The Oracle of Bacon at [the University of] Virginia" are the results:
| Actor/Actress |
Degrees of Separation |
Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Jerry Seinfeld | 2 |
Jerry Seinfeld was in Jerry Seinfeld: Stand-Up Confidential (1987) with Bo Sharon
Bo Sharon was in Pyrates (1991) with Kevin Bacon |
| Jason Alexander | 2 |
Jason Alexander was in Jacob's Ladder (1990) with Pruitt Taylor Vince
Pruitt Taylor Vince was in Trapped (2002) with Kevin Bacon |
| Julia Louis-Dreyfus | 2 |
Julia Louis-Dreyfus was in Deconstructing Harry (1997) with Elisabeth Shue
Elisabeth Shue was in Hollow Man (2000) with Kevin Bacon |
| Michael Richards | 2 |
Michael Richards was in Trial and Error (1997) with Charlize Theron
Charlize Theron was in Trapped (2002) with Kevin Bacon |
|
Larry David (Voice of George Steinbrenner, etc.) |
2 |
Larry David was in Sour Grapes (1998) with Harper Roisman
Harper Roisman was in We Married Margo (2000) with Kevin Bacon |
|
Barney Martin (Morty Seinfeld) |
2 |
Barney Martin was in Hero (1992) with Tom Milanovich
Tom Milanovich was in Novocaine (2001) with Kevin Bacon |
|
Liz Sheridan (Helen Seinfeld) |
2 |
Liz Sheridan was in Forget Paris (1995) with Clint Howard
Clint Howard was in My Dog Skip (2000) with Kevin Bacon (By the way, Clint Howard was Tobias Lehigh Nagy in "The Trip.") |
|
Jerry Stiller (Frank Costanza) |
2 |
Jerry Stiller was in Hot Pursuit (1987) with Keith David
Keith David was in Novocaine (2001) with Kevin Bacon |
|
Estelle Harris (Estelle Costanza) |
2 |
Estelle Harris was in Ski Hard (1995) with Andrew Airlie
Andrew Airlie was in Trapped (2002) with Kevin Bacon |
|
Wayne Knight (Newman) |
1 | Wayne Knight was in JFK (1991) with Kevin Bacon |
|
John O'Hurley (Mr. Peterman) |
2 |
John O'Hurley was in Love Stinks (1999) with Colleen Camp
Colleen Camp was in Trapped (2002) with Kevin Bacon |
|
Reni Santoni (Poppie) |
2 |
Reni Santoni was in Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982) with Steve Martin
Steve Martin was in Novocaine (2001) with Kevin Bacon |
|
Peter Crombie (Crazy Joe Davola) |
1 | Peter Crombie was in My Dog Skip (2000) with Kevin Bacon |
|
Richard Herd (Mr. Wilhelm) |
1 | Richard Herd was in Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987) with Kevin Bacon |
|
Phil Morris (Jackie Chiles) |
2 |
Phil Morris was in Wag the Dog (1997) with J. Patrick McCormack
J. Patrick McCormack was in Hollow Man (2000) with Kevin Bacon (By the way, J. Patrick McCormack was Leland in "The Bizarro Jerry.") |
|
Sandy Baron (Jack Klompus) |
2 |
Sandy Baron was in Sid and Nancy (1986) with Courtney Love
Courtney Love was in Trapped (2002) with Kevin Bacon |
|
Len Lesser (Uncle Leo) |
2 |
Len Lesser was in Crime & Punishment, USA (1959) with Marian Seldes
Marian Seldes was in Digging to China (1998) with Kevin Bacon |
|
Lloyd Bridges (Izzy Mandelbaum) |
2 |
Lloyd Bridges was in Tucker: The Man and His Dream (1988) with Elias Koteas
Elias Koteas was in Novocaine (2001) with Kevin Bacon |
|
Heidi Swedberg (Susan) |
2 |
Heidi Swedberg was in Dragonfly (2002) with Rich Komenich
Rich Komenich was in Novocaine (2001) with Kevin Bacon |
|
Danny Woodburn (Mickey Abbott) |
2 |
Danny Woodburn was in Lost & Found (1999) with Harper Roisman
Harper Roisman was in We Married Margo (2000) with Kevin Bacon |
|
Daniel von Bargen (Mr. Kruger) |
2 |
Daniel von Bargen was in S1m0ne (2002) with Pruitt Taylor Vince
Pruitt Taylor Vince was in Trapped (2002) with Kevin Bacon |
|
Bryan Cranston (Tim Whatley) |
2 |
Bryan Cranston was in That Thing You Do! (1996) with Charlize Theron
Charlize Theron was in Trapped (2002) with Kevin Bacon |
|
Bob Balaban (Russell Dalrimple) |
1 | Bob Balaban was in End of the Line (1988) with Kevin Bacon |
|
Bruce Mahler (Rabbi Glickman) |
2 |
Bruce Mahler was in Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment (1985) with Colleen Camp
Colleen Camp was in Trapped (2002) with Kevin Bacon |
|
Grace Zabriskie (Mrs. Ross) |
2 |
Grace Zabriskie was in Wild at Heart (1990) with Pruitt Taylor Vince
Pruitt Taylor Vince was in Trapped (2002) with Kevin Bacon |
|
Patrick Warburton (David Puddy) |
2 |
Patrick Warburton was in Camouflage (1999) with Gary Chalk
Gary Chalk was in Trapped (2002) with Kevin Bacon |
|
Richard Fancy (Mr. Lippman) |
2 |
Richard Fancy was in True Believer (1989) with Margot Rose
Margot Rose was in Hollow Man (2000) with Kevin Bacon |
|
Brenda Strong (Sue Ellen Mishkie) |
2 |
Brenda Strong was in The Craft (1996) with Neve Campbell
Neve Campbell was in Wild Things (1998) with Kevin Bacon |
|
Ian Abercrombie (Mr. Pitt) |
2 |
Ian Abercrombie was in The Public Eye (1992) with Gerry Becker
Gerry Becker was in Trapped (2002) with Kevin Bacon |
|
Steve Hytner (Kenny Bania) |
2 |
Steve Hytner was in Love Stinks (1999) with Colleen Camp
Colleen Camp was in Trapped (2002) with Kevin Bacon |
|
Brian George (Babu Bhatt) |
2 |
Brian George was in Roxanne (1987) with Steve Martin
Steve Martin was in Novocaine (2001) with Kevin Bacon |
|
Billye Ree Wallace (Nana) |
2 |
Billye Ree Wallace was in Pie in the Sky (1996) with Larry Holden
Larry Holden was in He Said, She Said (1991) with Kevin Bacon |
|
Bruce Davison (Wyck Thayer, chairman of the Susan Ross Foundation) |
2 |
Bruce Davison was in The Baby-Sitters Club (1995) with Colleen Camp
Colleen Camp was in Trapped (2002) with Kevin Bacon |
|
Gordon Jump (Mr. Thomassoulo) |
2 |
Gordon Jump was in Bad Lie (1998) with Clint Howard
Clint Howard was in My Dog Skip (2000) with Kevin Bacon |
|
John Paragon (Street tough Cedric) |
2 |
John Paragon was in Things Are Tough All Over (1982) with Mike Bacarella
Mike Bacarella was in Stir of Echoes (1999) with Kevin Bacon |
|
Yul Vazquez (Street tough Bob) |
2 |
Yul Vazquez was in Drowning Mona (2000) with Neve Campbell
Neve Campbell was in Wild Things (1998) with Kevin Bacon |
|
Larry Thomas (Yev Kassem, The Soup Nazi) |
2 |
Larry Thomas was in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997) with Tom Arnold
Tom Arnold was in We Married Margo (2000) with Kevin Bacon |
|
Philip Baker Hall (Mr. Bookman) |
2 |
Philip Baker Hall was in Eye for an Eye (1996) with Keith David
Keith David was in Novocaine (2001) with Kevin Bacon |
|
Sheree North (Babs Kramer) |
2 |
Sheree North was in In Love and War (1958) with Robert Wagner
Robert Wagner was in Wild Things (1998) with Kevin Bacon (By the way, Robert Wagner was Dr. Abbott in "The Yada Yada.") |
|
Teri Hatcher (Sidra) |
1 | Teri Hatcher was in The Big Picture (1989) with Kevin Bacon |
|
Tim DeKay (Kevin, the Bizarro Jerry) |
2 |
Tim DeKay was in Almost Heroes (1998) with Kevin Dunn
Kevin Dunn was in Stir of Echoes (1999) with Kevin Bacon (By the way, Kevin Dunn was Jerry's "friend" Joel in "Male Unbonding.") |
|
Jane Leeves (Marla) |
2 |
Jane Leeves was in Miracle on 34th Street (1994) with Mike Bacarella
Mike Bacarella was in Stir of Echoes (1999) with Kevin Bacon |
|
Mark Metcalf (Bob Cobb, The Maestro) |
1 | Mark Metcalf was in Animal House (1978) with Kevin Bacon |
|
Susan Walters (Mulva/Dolores) |
2 |
Susan Walters was in 'Til There Was You (1997) with Jennifer Aniston
Jennifer Aniston was in Picture Perfect (1997) with Kevin Bacon |
|
Peter Riegert (James Kimbrough) |
1 | Peter Riegert was in Animal House (1978) with Kevin Bacon |
|
O'Neal Compton (Earl Haffler) |
2 |
O'Neal Compton was in Primary Colors (1998) with Chelcie Ross
Chelcie Ross was in Novocaine (2001) with Kevin Bacon |
|
Tom Wright (Mr. Morgan) |
2 |
Tom Wright was in Barbershop (2002) with Keith David
Keith David was in Novocaine (2001) with Kevin Bacon |
|
Lee Arenberg (Mike Moffit) |
2 |
Lee Arenberg was in Warriors of Virtue (1997) with Gary Chalk
Gary Chalk was in Trapped (2002) with Kevin Bacon |
I had no luck trying to find links for Warren Frost (Mr. Ross), Peter Blood (Jay Crespi), or Kevin Page (Stu Chermak).
Regarding Janeane Garofalo, who appeared as Jeannie Steinman in "The Invitations" and "The Foundation": I can't help mispronouncing her name as "jane-ane" instead of "jan-eane" when I read it.
In recent years, slot-machine manufacturers have designed games around the themes of several "classic" TV shows, including "I Dream of Jeannie," "Bewitched," "The Honeymooners," "I Love Lucy," and "The Addams Family," just to cite several which come to my mind. I wonder how long casino-goers - such as myself - will have to wait before they get to play a "Seinfeld"-themed slot machine.
This item is a bit of a tough call. It's a list of episodes which - in my opinion - contain "inside" references by the show's writers. Because of its decidedly shaky nature, I've decided not to place it on the "Lists" page, even though it is a list.
Was it just a coincidence, was it Larry Charles' independent discovery of the same rhyming combination of name and profession made popular earlier by the team of Meredith Willson and Franklin Lacey, or was it completely intentional - the appearance in "The Library" of a character named Marion, a librarian? It's hard to believe - but certainly entirely possible, nonetheless - that writer Charles had not been aware of Marian the librarian, one of the principal characters in the musical "The Music Man." (O.K., the spelling is slightly different, but the names sound alike.)
It hit me today when I heard the name Canberra, the capital of Australia, that it reminded me of Mr. Heyman's (Jerry and George's high school gym teacher) intentional mispronunciation of George's last name - "Can't-stand-ya" instead of "Costanza." ("The Library") Canberra ... Can't-bear-ya. (No disrespect is intended by this item, I promise you. It's just a little bit of "Seinfeld" word association that struck me unexpectedly and that I felt compelled to share.)
February 2003: Chase - that is, JPMorgan Chase Bank - is running a TV ad which it had been airing several months ago. At that time - and again now - I'm pretty sure that the actor in the commercial is Sherman Howard, who played Elaine's former boyfriend Roy in "The Junior Mint." As with my suspicions about Elizabeth Morehead in those Allegra TV ads, I'm at a loss about how to verify this one way or the other. And for the record, if it is who I think it is, he still looks slim.
February 7, 2003: I caught the final few minutes of today's "Oprah Winfrey Show," which was devoted - as yesterday's broadcast was - to a discussion about a possible upcoming war with Iraq. A CNN reporter spoke with several Italian citizens in Rome about their opinions on such a conflict. He introduced the first person to whom he was about to speak as an employee at an eatery, and indicated that he was in the process of preparing - I swear that I'm not making this up - a decaf cappuccino. I admit that I was taken by surprise when I heard that term, even though it's a very popular drink. ("The Watch")
February 2003: It appears that yet another retailer whose name was dropped in "Seinfeld" might be going under - electronics outlet The Wiz. ("The Junk Mail") Several years ago, when the outfit was in bankruptcy, Cablevision purchased the chain of stores. Unfortunately, competition from Best Buy and other local electronics retailers seems to be spelling doom for The Wiz. Is it possible that Leapin' Larry ("The Secret Code") rebuilt his establishment, got very successful, and forced The Wiz to concede defeat?
On my website I have several non-Seinfeld-related pages, including one called "Seeing Double," which describes pairs of individuals who bear each a resemblance to the other one. In that vein, please take a gander at the photograph below of Alexander Lukashenko, President of Belarus, and see if he doesn't remind you of a "Seinfeld" regular.
February 16, 2003: I saw a newspaper advertisement today which announced the upcoming sale of tickets, on March 7th, for the appearance of Mr. Nothingness himself on May 24, 2003, at Resorts Atlantic City - not at the non-existent Golden Nugget. (Showtimes are at 8 PM and 11 PM.)
February 18, 2003: Thanks to Jeopardy, I learned the origin of the name Ovaltine. ("The Fatigues") The drink is based on powdered eggs - as well as barley (What? No kasha?!!!) and malted milk. For more information of the development of Ovaltine - originally called Ovo-Maltine - see this page .
In a similar vein, I decided to research the underrated beverage Postum. ("The Pez Dispenser") According to this page , the coffee substitute was developed by C.W. Post from wheat, bran, and molasses. Maybe those ingredients answer George's question "Why isn't Postum more popular?"
February 19, 2003: The last several days, I've been seeing a TV ad for LendingTree.com in which there's a brief glimpse of someone who bears a more-than-slight resemblance to actor Ned Bellamy, better known to Sein-philes as mailroom employee-cum-copywriter Eddie Sherman in "The Fatigues." I won't go too far out on a limb on this one, but any confirmation about it - either positive or negative - is appreciated.
February 21, 2003: Today I read a story by Brock Brower in the July 2001 issue of Smithsonian magazine - O.K., so I'm way behind in my reading - on legendary designer Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel. The article describes the event at which she received her monicker:
"She got her nickname at Moulins' café La Rotonde, perhaps responding to a dare from the rakish cavalrymen of the Tenth Light Horse regiment who came to applaud or jeer the young women trying out their voices during the café show's intermission.Also in that article, the author describes "a famous photograph of Coco Chanel at 50 ... around her neck a soft white collar sets off her sculpted features, severe but gamine ..." "Gamine! Gamine!""Gabrielle Chanel stood up and sang a heartstrings dirge about a girl who lost her dog, Coco, at the Tracadéro. 'Oh Coco, / Who has seen Coco?' Her voice was weak, but as always she put herself into it totally. According to another version of the story, it was when she tried to sing out a rooster's cry - cocorico! And the Light Horse yelled back, 'Coco! Coco!'"
March 7, 2003: In my travels today I might have stumbled upon the Queens location which provided the exterior shots of George's parents' house. I had thought that the buildings shown in the series looked like they were of the style seen in either Ridgewood or Glendale, as I mentioned in "The Knights of Costanza" above. However, the structures - a row of five attached two-story residences - I saw today in Elmhurst, on Kneeland Avenue, around Haspel Street, were convincingly similar to those which I've seen umpteen times on "Seinfeld." Eventually, when I get a digital camera, I'll post a shot of them here.
One more thing: My enthusiasm for this quest is not without limits. I can't search the entire city, or even just the borough of Queens, to locate the "Costanza" buildings. I can't. I won't.
March 10, 2003: Today's "Dear Abby" column included an inquiry from a reader if it's proper for a theater patron to talk during the movie previews. Abby indicated that it was bad behavior to carry on a conversation even at that time. So the woman who was blabbering on about her son behind Elaine during the coming attractions in "The Movie" committed a big, hefty, stinking faux pas.
Here, for the record, is the reader's letter:
Dear Abby: Please settle an ongoing debate between a friend and me: When is the appropriate time to end conversations at the movie theater? Should they end when the lights go down and the screen lights up, or is it OK to talk through the previews? - Movie-Manners Seekerand Abby's response:
Dear Movie-Manners Seeker: Conversation should cease when the lights go down and the previews begin. (Sometimes they are better than the full-length movies.) Silence is considered a sign of respect for those seated around you and will be appreciated.P.S. Cell phones and pagers also should be turned off.
So as Tobias Lehigh Nagy exclaims in "The Trip," (the late) "Ann Landers sucks!" But "Dear Abby" rules!
I'm reaching a bit on this one, but since the original broadcast of "The Stranded," I always thought that one line in that episode reminded me of a line in a certain episode of "Taxi." In "The Stranded," a party-goer talking to Elaine - he's not credited - continues his conversation on George Washington Carver by rambling on about the pecan: "Now is that considered a nut, because I know the cashew is a legume?" In the "I Wanna Be Around" episode of "Taxi," which first aired on January 7, 1982, Louie, fearing nuclear war, builds a bomb shelter in the garage, and stocks it with various foods, including legumes. I recall a line from Jeff, played by J. Alan Thomas - who reminds me an awful lot of the uncredited guy in "The Stranded" - to the effect "He can have my legumes." Is it possible that the uncredited guy in "The Stranded" is J. Alan Thomas, and if so can it be verified? And if he is, was his "legume" comment written into "The Stranded" as a nod to his line in "Taxi?"
March 25, 2003: Today I learned on Jeopardy that the original surname of German novelist Erich Maria Remarque ("All Quiet on the Western Front") was Kramer. According to various websites, he was born Erich Paul Kramer in 1898. In 1929 he changed his middle name to his mother's middle name, Maria, and his surname to Remarque - a pseudonym for Remark, Kramer spelled backwards.
Spurred by this knowledge, I decided to try a web search of "omsoc." It turned up as an acronym of an organization, the OpenMath Society.
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April 25, 2003: Several times over the last few days - always near the beginning of the 7:30 PM "Seinfeld" rerun - I have seen humorous commercials for Commerce Bank featuring none other than Julia Louis-Dreyfus. In one, she is turned off by her bank's customer service - they won't take her change, similar to George's predicament in "Male Unbonding" - and the teller refuses to straighten out the problem with her ATM card. She is directed to Customer Service. Noticing the advertisement for Commerce Bank in a newspaper, she has an epiphany, and announces it to the other customers of her bank.
The second spot is about Commerce Bank's convenient change-redeeming machines. To the tune of "Pennies From Heaven," she is seen checking pay-phone coin returns, public fountains, etc. She even eyes the coins in a Christmastime donation kettle. (Shame, shame!)
Since it's been a while since I've seen her in ads for Clairol hair-coloring products, I assume that they must have dropped her as pitchwoman and went for a new angle. Whatever.
But it's good to see her in these Commerce Bank ads, in which she displays her typical Elaine-like sass. Unfortunately, unless this bank goes national - currently, it's only in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New York - her exposure will be limited.
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April 30, 2003: I recently learned some history about the country of Iraq. In 1958, a popular uprising that toppled the British-installed monarchy in Iraq was led by a General Abdel Karim Kassem. (He was overthrown by a coup in 1963.) Are we then to believe that the Soup Nazi, whose real name was revealed in "The Finale" to be Yev Kassem, is of Iraqi descent? An Iraqi exile, perhaps? Presumably, unlike Babu Bhatt, he had a visa.
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In "The Strongbox," Jerry indicates that he will be attending a Friars Club roast at which Jerry Lewis will be present, and as a conversation starter with Lewis he intends to wear a pair of Jerry Lewis cufflinks. Twice George mentions to Jerry that he doesn't need to wear those cufflinks, that the fact that they share the same first name is a sufficient ice breaker. For the record, Lewis supposedly contends that his birth name is Joseph Levitch, although official birth records show his first name to be - What else? - Jerome. See: IMDb Biography for Jerry Lewis
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For the benefit of those who would like to participate, AIDS Walk New York will be held this year on Sunday, May 18th, 2003. Sign-in for the Walk opens at 8:30 AM at the 59th Street and 5th Avenue entrance of Central Park. The Opening Ceremony begins at 9:15 AM in the Sheep Meadow, located at 67th Street and Central Park West (across the street from Tavern on the Green). For more information, see: AIDS Walk New York
You can also sponsor a walker at that website, but please don't swipe their telephone number.
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The Kidsday section of the June 6, 2003 issue of Newsday contained a review of a new children's book, "McGrowl," which was written by Bob Balaban - presumably the fellow who played Russell Dalrimple, the president of NBC throughout Season 4 of "Seinfeld." Do you know what other actor wrote children's books? Fred Gwynne, probably best known as Herman Munster, was the talented author/illustrator of several popular children's books, including "A Chocolate Moose for Dinner," "The King Who Rained," and "A Little Pigeon Toad." It should be noted that Gwynne also played Judge Chamberlain Haller in "My Cousin Vinny." ("Oh, oh, the judge! I hate this guy!" - George in "The Cadillac")
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The first-ever interleague meeting of those bastards, the New York Yankees, and those sons-of-bitches, the Houston Astros, is to take place at Yankee Stadium on June 10, 2003. It never occurred back in the 1996 season, in spite of the meeting between George and some reps from the Astros in October of 1995. ("The Hot Tub")
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I have no idea about its significance, but in several episodes - "The Comeback," for one - a sign is seen posted on one wall in Kramer's apartment which reads "Elevator Forsigtig." A little bit of Internet detective work proved that the message is written in Danish. According to travlang's Danish-English On-line Dictionary "forsigtig" means "careful" or "cautious;" and it's no surprise that "elevator" translates to "elevator." Presumably, it is meant to warn elevator passengers to be alert. Again, what its significance is in Kramer's apartment is not clear to me. Just an odd prop, I suppose.
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For the record, the [W.R.] Grace Building, which is mentioned by Mr. Kruger in "The Maid," and which has two addresses, 41 West 42nd Street and 1114 Sixth Avenue, has a "twin," the Solow Building, which is located at 9 West 57th Street. According to Wired New York both buildings were built in 1974, and the architect for each was the firm of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP, with Gordon Bunshaft being each one's chief designer. However, the Grace Building is 192 meters in height; the Solow Building stands slightly taller, at 221 meters. So if there is ever a stain on the Solow Building, it might be even bigger than one on the Grace Building would be.
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According to Yahoo! Yellow Pages, the following establishments can be found in the New York City area, the first three on Manhattan's Upper West Side, Jerry's TV neighborhood:
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And Yahoo! Yellow Pages also indicates the existence of these businesses, none of them anywhere near Yankee Stadium:
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Just wondering: In real life, which one - Jerry or his wife, Jessica - is Shmoopie?
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For the record, a little bit of Internet sleuthing revealed that the first name of the real J. Peterman is John, not Jacopo, the name the fictional Peterman uses to announce himself to his dying mother in "The Secret Code."
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Today - September 15, 2003 - I saw a TV ad for Dupont's Teflon cookware which was based around either a cooking show or an infomercial in which a chef is unsuccessful in scraping some cooked crabs out of his non-Teflon pan. The "Seinfeld" connection? The "host" of the show was played by none other than Pat Finn, better known to us Sein-philes as Joe Mayo ("The Reverse Peephole"). Frankly, the name Pat Finn sounds made-up.
And several days ago I noticed a promotional photograph in a newspaper review of the new HBO series "Carnivàle." Pictured was none other than Tim DeKay - Kevin in "The Bizarro Jerry." According to the Internet Movie Database he plays a character named Clayton Jones.
As a follow-up, I noticed an article by Genetta M. Adams in the FanFare section of the October 5, 2003 Newsday, entitled "A 'Side Show' to 'Carnivale'." In it she indicates "Sharp-eyed fans of the comedy about nothing will notice that 'Carnivale's' casting directors have plucked several plum actors from the guest-starring list of 'Seinfeld.'" She elaborates on this, first citing the aforementioned Tim DeKay as Jonesy. Continuing, she lists Toby Huss (Elaine's boyfriend Jack, the Wiz pitchman in "The Junk Mail") as Stumpy Dreifuss and Matt McCoy (Lloyd Braun in "The Gum" and "The Serenity Now") as Councilman Ned Munson. For the record, the Internet Movie Database indicates the casting credits for "Carnivàle" as Wendy O'Brien and John Papsidera. From what I can determine, neither individual was involved with "Seinfeld." However, both of them had casting credits for the 2001 movie "Bubble Boy" - hmmm! - whose cast included Brian George (Babu Bhatt in "The Cafe," "The Visa," and "The Finale") and Ping Wu (Delivery Boy/Ping in "The Tape," "The Virgin," "The Visa," and "The Pilot"). Maybe they put in good words to O'Brien and Papsidera for DeKay, Huss, and McCoy.
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I am saddened to learn of the passing on September 22, 2003 of actor Gordon Jump, who is probably best known for his portrayals of radio station manager Arthur Carlson on "WKRP in Cincinnati" and "Ol' Lonely," the Maytag repairman, in several years of television and print ads for the appliance manufacturer. But to Sein-philes he'll be recognized as Mr. Thomassoulo, George's boss at Play Now in two episodes, "The Butter Shave" and "The Voice."
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Quite a number of "Seinfeld" cast members - both regulars and guests - and crew have also been involved with two late-night live sketch-comedy shows, "Saturday Night Live" and "Fridays." "Saturday Night Live," of course, has been broadcast by NBC since 1975; not as well known, "Fridays" aired on ABC between April 1980 and October 1982. Here's what my research through the Internet Movie Database and tv tome has turned up:
| Who | "Seinfeld" | "Saturday Night Live" | "Fridays" |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maryedith Burrell | Maryedith in "The Parking Space" and "The Non-Fat Yogurt" | cast | |
| Larry Charles | writer, story, supervising producer | writer | |
| Melanie Chartoff | Robin in "The Fire" and "The Finale" | cast | |
| Larry David | voice of George Steinbrenner, etc.; writer, story, executive producer, creator | writer (1975) | cast, writer |
| Brian Doyle-Murray | The Bubble Boy's father, Mel Sanger, in "The Bubble Boy," "The Pilot," and "The Finale" |
cast (1979-1982), writer (1977-1982) |
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| Siobhan Fallon | Elaine's roommate, Tina, in "The Deal," "The Truth," and "The Opposite" | cast (1991-1992) | |
| Spike Feresten | writer, story, executive story editor, supervising producer | writer (Seinfeld episode) | |
| Tom Gammill and Max Pross | writers, story, supervising producers, consulting producers | writers (1979-1980) | |
| Janeane Garofalo | Jerry's fiancée, Jeannie Steinman, in "The Invitations" and "The Foundation" | cast (1994-1995) | |
| Ana Gasteyer | A customer in "The Soup Nazi" (Although she insists that she didn't do anything, the Soup Nazi ejects her from his establishment - right before Elaine makes her confrontational reappearance in his eatery.) | cast (1996-2002) | |
| Bruce Kirschbaum | writer, creative consultant | writer | |
| Steve Koren | writer, story, producer, co-producer | writer | |
| Carol Leifer | The receptionist of physical therapist Wendy in "The Kiss Hello," and a bank employee (uncredited) in "The Invitations"; writer, producer (uncredited), executive story editor | writer (1985-1986) | |
| Julia Louis-Dreyfus | Elaine | cast (1982-1985) | |
| Jon Lovitz | Gary Fogel in "The Scofflaw" | cast (1985-1990) | |
| Bruce Mahler | Rabbi Glickman in "The Postponement," "The Serenity Now," and "The Finale" | cast, writer | |
| David Mandel | writer, story, producer, supervising producer | writer (1992-1995) | |
| Elaine Pope | writer, co-producer | writer | |
| Michael Richards | Kramer | cast | |
| Andy Robin | writer, story, executive story editor, co-executive producer | writer (1990-1991) | |
| Rob Schneider | Elaine's hard-of-hearing co-worker, Bob, in "The Friars Club" | cast (1990-1994) | |
| Molly Shannon | Elaine's non-arm-swinging co-worker, Sam, in "The Summer of George" | cast (1995-2001) | |
| Terry Sweeney | Nosy Doubleday employee, Keith, in "The Switch" | cast (1985-1986) |
One could also make an argument for this list to include Michael Chiklis, who played party host Steve in "The Stranded," because of his portrayal of SNL cast member John Belushi in the biopic "Wired."
Note that five of the ten cast members of "Fridays" - Maryedith Burrell, Melanie Chartoff, Larry David, Bruce Mahler, and Michael Richards - were involved with "Seinfeld." The "missing": Mark Blankfield, Jack Burns, Darrow Igus, Brandis Kemp, and John Roarke
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I see on the Internet Movie Database that as of November 2003 there is a movie in post-production, "The Ugly Americans," whose crew includes three "Seinfeld" alums. Credited as directors and writers are Alec Berg (He has a great John Houseman name.), David Mandel, and Jeff Schaffer. Berg and Mandel are also credited as producers. On "Seinfeld," Alec Berg and Jeff Schaffer were credited as writers, producers, and program consultants; David Mandel was a writer and a producer on the show. It's nice to see that they're moving on to bigger things.
Ooh, ooh! I see that the trio is also credited with the screenplay of the 2003 film adaptation of Dr. Seuss's "The Cat in the Hat."
Follow-up: It turns out that "The Ugly Americans" was the working title of "Eurotrip," which is opening this Friday, February 20, 2004. According to imdb.com , now just Schaffer is the film's director. As before, Berg and Mandel are credited as producers, and all three get the writing credits.
One more thing: Going through the movie's cast list on imdb.com , I couldn't help noticing the presence of a Mister Steve Hytner, better known to Sein-philes as Kenny Bania. He plays a character, Green Fairy.
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I kid you not: On November 12, 2003, the Seattle-based Jones Soda Co. announced that it will introduce a new seasonal flavor in its popular Jones Soda line - a turkey-and-gravy-flavored beverage. Yum! Can an alcoholic chicken drink ("The Muffin Tops") be very far-fetched?
For a news report on the turkey-and-gravy-flavored soda, see this page , or go straight to the source, the Jones Soda Co. website .
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According to this page, from 1931 to 1935 future President John F. Kennedy attended a Connecticut boarding school named Choate - as in Mabel Choate, the "old bag" from whom Jerry wrested a marble rye in "The Rye." I wonder if her name was chosen coincidentally, or if it was yet another of the show's many Kennedy references.
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Recently, I had been seeing TV ads for the film "The Missing," which opened on November 26, 2003. In those spots, Tommy Lee Jones's character utters a line to Cate Blanchett's, "The man who did this is pure evil." (Or something pretty close to that.) I couldn't help thinking that he was referring to our rotund friend, Newman. Remember this bit of dialogue from "The Big Salad?":
| Elaine: | Perhaps there's more to him than meets the eye. | |
| Jerry: | No, there's less. | |
| Elaine: | It's possible. | |
| Jerry: | No, it isn't. I've looked into his eyes. He's pure evil. |
By the way, I scanned through the list of cast and crew for "The Missing" on the Internet Movie Database . Directed by Ron Howard, the character of Sheriff Purdy is played by his brother Clint Howard - known to Sein-philes for his appearance in "The Trip" as Tobias Lehigh Nagy - and Rance Howard, Ron and Clint's father, also the blind man in "The Glasses" and the farmer in "The Bottle Deposit," portrays Telegraph Operator. (See "Any Relation To Moe, Curly, And Shemp Howard Of The Three Stooges?" above. below.)
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In "The Calzone," when George, who is expecting Newman to be at work, realizes that the rotund one is at home because he doesn't work in the rain, he lashes out at him, "You don't work in the rain? You're a mailman. 'Neither rain nor sleet nor snow ...' It's the first one." For the record, the actual quotation, which is inscribed on the General Post Office building in New York City, reads "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds." It is the unofficial motto of the U.S. Postal Service - it actually has no motto. And, according to this article by Sylvia R. Longoria from the Corpus Christi Caller-Times of Tuesday, September 7, 1999, the inscription was translated from the works of Herodotus. It referenced the expedition of the Greeks against the Persians around 500 B.C., remarking specifically on the dedication with which the Persians continued their system of mounted postal couriers during that time.
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Frank Costanza's condition - his abnormally large (for a man) breasts - is known as "gynecomastia." According to Gynecomastia.org , the term comes from the Greek words gyne meaning "woman" and mastos meaning "breast."
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I couldn't help noticing in a review of "Teacher's Pet," Disney's animated movie which opens today, that it features the voices of several "Seinfeld" alums:
Debra Jo Rupp (Jerry's agent Katie in "The Diplomat's Club" and "The Abstinence") as Mrs. Helperman
Jerry Stiller (Frank Costanza) as Pretty Boy
Megan Mullally (George's girlfriend-of-the-week Betsy in "The Implant")
Estelle Harris (Estelle Costanza)
Unfortunately, the Costanza family reunion didn't include Jason Alexander, who has lent his voice to numerous Disney-produced animation efforts:
"Aladdin" (TV series) as Abis Mal
"The Return of Jafar" (video) as Abis Mal, the Chief of the Thieves
"The Hunchback of Notre Dame" as Hugo
"Hercules" (TV series) as Poseidon
"House of Mouse" (TV series) as Hugo
"The Hunchback of Notre Dame II" (video) as Hugo
"101 Dalmatians II: Patch's London Adventure" (video) as Lightning
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Rance Howard, who appeared on the show twice - he was the blind man in "The Glasses" and the farmer in "The Bottle Deposit" - is the father of not only Ron Howard but also Clint Howard, who appeared in "The Trip" as Tobias Lehigh Nagy.
As far as I can tell, neither of them are related to Sherman Howard, who played Elaine's ex-boyfriend Roy in "The Junior Mint."
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As of January 23, 2004, the Internet Movie Database indicates the following:
Jerry Seinfeld appeared as himself in the 2002 mini-series "The Hamptons," and as himself in the episode "The Real Deal" (not "The Deal") of "NewsRadio." ("The Hamptons" first aired on May 12, 1994; "The Deal" first aired on May 2, 1991.)
Jason Alexander appeared as Dave in the 1981 horror film "The Burning." ("The Burning" first aired on March 19, 1998.)
Julia Louis-Dreyfus appeared as herself in the episodes "The Doll" and "The Massage" (not "The Masseuse") of "Curb Your Enthusiasm." ("The Doll" first aired on February 22, 1996; "The Masseuse" first aired on November 18, 1993.)
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I guess that turnabout is fair play, albeit some six years after the fact. The "Ziggy" comic of March 8, 2004, is pictured above. Recall that in "The Cartoon," which first aired on January 29, 1998, Elaine draws a cartoon for the New Yorker magazine, in which a pig at a complaint department says, "I wish I was taller." Nobody thinks her cartoon is funny except for Mr. Peterman, who instantly realizes that the idea of the cartoon was stolen from a "Ziggy" and passed off as original. ("The Yada Yada" first aired on April 24, 1997.)
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Always keeping my eyes open to Seinfeld-related things, I noticed in the March 17, 2004, issue of Newsday that the "Best Bet" of Steve Matthews in the day's races at Aqueduct Racetrack was in the second race - a horse named Nosupeforyou . (I have never bet on a horse race. It's just that the horse's name, in large capital letters at the top of the page, caught my eye as I flipped through the sports section.) Matthews commented, "Nosupeforyou had his late kick nullified when racing nearer to the pace than usual while three wide against the grain of an inside-biased surface last time; second start for streaking Contessa barn. ... Whitewaterspritzer was less than two lengths behind Bold Days [both also in this race] while besting Nosupeforyou in Feb. 12 dash; add points for wet track."
Follow-up: Nosupeforyou (at position 7, in a field of seven) came in second; Whitewaterspritzer was the winner. Checking through the races scheduled for March 18, 2004, I saw that Pam's Ruckus (Was its pony-tail held in a velvet scrunchie?) was set for the second race, and that Precious Coco (What? No Gammy?) was in the fourth one. No sign yet of Papanick.
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Several times on the national news I've seen L. Paul Bremer, the U.S. Civilian Administrator for Iraq, wearing combat boots along with a suit, as in the photographs above. I have nothing against the guy - he has an extremely difficult and thankless task - but I can't help envisioning a similar image of George wearing Timberlands to the wedding of Sue Ellen Mishkie in India. ("The Betrayal")
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April 2004: A TV ad for Walt Disney World®'s Magical Gatherings™ vacations includes the appearance of - it certainly looks like him to me - Fred Applegate, who played George's boss Levitan (He looks like a blowfish.) in "The Revenge." Following is the dialogue from this spot, in which he plays the part of the jovial Uncle Joe, as best as I can determine it:
| Twin daughter 2: | Daddy, where's Uncle Joe? | |
| Father: | Late, as always. | |
| Twin daughter 2: | Is Uncle Joe your brother? | |
| Father: | Biologically ... yeah. I think I see something. [A shot of Uncle Joe, dressed like Aladdin, approaching] No. | |
| Uncle Joe: | [To twin daughters, each dressed like Jasmine] Excuse me, has anyone seen my magic carpet? | |
| Daughters: | Uncle Joe! | |
| Uncle Joe: | Well, if it isn't Jasmine ... and Jasmine! | |
| Father: | Are those my pants? | |
| Uncle Joe: | Yeah. | |
| Father: | They look nice. |
The commercial ends with a shot of the extended family - father, mother, daughters, and Uncle Joe - on a ride.
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April 2004: Listening more intently to the long-running series of TV ads for Lexus automobiles, it suddenly hit me that the voice-overs sounded very familiar - like that of Elaine's psychiatrist/boyfriend Dr. Reston ("The Pitch," "The Ticket," "The Wallet," and "The Watch"), that is, actor Stephen McHattie. Internet searches to confirm this proved fruitless. Can anyone out there assist with verification or refutal?
Follow-up: My searches of the Internet to prove my suspicion about the Stephen McHattie/Lexus connection have continued to come up empty. On the contrary, they turned up some information which seems to disprove it. According to TV Tome (see note for "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" episode 32, "The Alternate" - which sounds like it should be an episode of "Seinfeld"), "James Sloyan ... is probably best known as the voice behind the Lexus commercials." Doing some further checking, I found this page on IMDb.com, which indicates that James Sloyan "did voice-over work in Lexus commercials." That's not to say that he still has that gig. I don't know who James Sloyan is or what his voice sounds like, but it sure sounds to me like Stephen McHattie in those Lexus commercials.
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Following is a short article, entitled "Kids Get A Pizza The Action" from the March 31, 2004, New York Daily News.
(Presumably, it's the same Daily News which is mentioned in this portion of dialogue from "The Keys":
Kramer: Do you have any conceivable reason for even getting up in the morning?
George: I like to get the Daily News.)
Kids get to choose their own toppings (everything from cheese and mushrooms to bubble gum and licorice!) at Io's "Make Your Own Pizza" parties, at noon on the first Sunday of each month, beginning this week. Chef/owner John Mancuso (above) will demonstrate the finer points of pizza making. At the end of each class, kids enjoy their own creations with a drink. The cost is $15 per child. Participants must be at least 4 years old. Io is at 119 Kent Ave., at N. Seventh St. in Williamsburg. (Take the L train to the Bedford Ave. stop.) To reserve a spot or ask about private pizza-making parties, call Io at (718) 388-3320.
It sounds suspiciously similar to Kramer's idea for a make-your-own-pizza restaurant, which he first revealed in "Male Unbonding," and which almost came to fruition, thanks to Poppie, in "The Couch" - and which is briefly referenced in a conversation with Leslie (the low-talker) in "The Puffy Shirt." The Daily News article says nothing about participants smashing the dough, pounding it, and flinging it in the air, much less sliding their pizzas into the oven. Understand that you can't have people - especially children as young as four years old - shoving their arms into a six-hundred-degree oven, even if it's all supervised.
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As of this writing, May 13, 2004, the President and CEO of ConocoPhillips, an integrated, global energy company, is J. J. Mulva. (I learned this by watching tonight's WABC-TV 6PM newscast, which included a story about an unusually large number of cancer deaths of individuals who worked at a ConocoPhillips refinery in New Jersey. The story culminated with the reporter attending a company shareholder meeting, at which he questioned Mr. Mulva.)
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According to the National Center for Infectious Diseases , when infection with Epstein-Barr virus occurs during adolescence or young adulthood, it causes infectious mononucleosis 35% to 50% of the time. So what's the "Seinfeld"-related significance? In "The Baby Shower," Elaine tells Jerry that her roommate has Lyme disease in addition to Epstein-Barr Syndrome. ("It's like Epstein-Barr with a twist of Lyme disease.") In "The Abstinence," George's girlfriend Louise reveals to him that she has mononucleosis, forcing them to abstain from sex for six weeks. (She later learned that some stupid intern - one would presume Elaine's current boyfriend, Ben - screwed up her test, and she never had mononucleosis.)
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Watching "The Bizarro Jerry" for the umpteenth time, I paid more attention to the episode's dialogue, in particular to this exchange between Jerry and Elaine:
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Superman, although he was born on the planet Krypton, appears to us Earth-folk as if he were racially white. His complexion has a pinkish hue, if not a rosy glow. On the other hand, to answer Elaine's last query, Bizarro Superman is not black - racially or otherwise. He's white. Really white. Like ghostly pallid white. (See image above.) And I should add that his face is all craggly. It's crinkly. (It's admittedly hard to discern this from the picture.) I'm not sure whether his teeth are all brown, as well.
And one more thing: Jerry indicates to Elaine that Bizarro Superman - like Superman - does not live underwater. (I suppose that Superman could live underwater if he wanted to.) That got me wondering whether Bizarro Aquaman lives underwater. (You know Aquaman. Remember this bit of dialogue from "The Deal"? George: "What's the deal with Aquaman? Could he go on land, or was he just restricted to water?" Jerry: "No, I think I saw him on land a couple times. So how's the job situation goin'?") I'm not sure if there's even a character known as Bizarro Aquaman, but this page indicates that Bizarro Batman and Bizarro Flash do exist in the DC Comics universe.
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I'm no scholar of the Bible by any means. So it caught me by surprise when I heard on "Jeopardy!" the other night that Esau traded away his birthright for some soup. Investigating further, I found this page on which I learned that Esau was the first-born of Isaac and Rebekah. Supposedly, second-born Jacob was a schemer, and one day he got the hungry Esau to trade away his birthright for a bowl of soup and few pieces of bread. (The birthright went to Esau because he was born first. Upon Isaac's death, that birthright would make him the head of the household, and he would get twice as much of Isaac's wealth as Jacob would.)
Anyway, all this got me wondering. Specifically, what kind of soup did he get? If it was consommé, then he probably got the short end of the deal. On the other hand, if he had gotten chicken gumbo or matzoh ball or even mushroom barley, then it might have been a fair trade, because those are very hearty soups. But I'm pleased to know that Jacob also gave his brother a few pieces of bread, that Esau didn't have to dicker with him for that. ("You want bread?! Your birthright and two shekels extra! Make that three shekels!")
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The "Ziggy" comic of May 29, 2004, which is pictured above, reminded me somewhat of a situation which Jerry has in "The Stock Tip." In that case, Jerry tries to get a dry cleaner to admit that he had shrunk his shirt, and finally gets the fellow to surreptitiously concede his guilt. Here is the dialogue:
| Dry cleaner: | May I help you? | |
| Jerry: | Yeah. I picked up this shirt here yesterday. It's completely shrunk. There's absolutely no way I can wear it. | |
| Dry cleaner: | When did you bring it in? | |
| Jerry: | What's the difference? Look at it! Do you see the size of this shirt?! | |
| Dry cleaner: | You got a receipt? | |
| Jerry: | I can't find the receipt. | |
| Dry cleaner: | You should get the receipt. | |
| Jerry: | Look, forget about the receipt, alright? Even if I had the receipt - look at it! It's a hand puppet! What am I gonna do with this?! | |
| Dry cleaner: | Yes, but how do I know we did the shirt? | |
| Jerry: | What do you think this is, a little scam I have? I take this tiny shirt all over the city conning dry cleaners out of money? In fact, forget the money. I don't even want the money. Just once, I would like to hear a dry cleaner admit that something was their fault. That's what I want. I want an admission of guilt. | |
| Dry cleaner: | Maybe you asked for it to be washed. | |
| Jerry: | No! Dry-cleaned. | |
| Dry cleaner: | Let me explain to you something, okay? With certain types of fabrics, different chemicals can react, causing ... | |
| Jerry: | You shrunk it! You know you shrunk it! Just tell me that you shrunk it! | |
| Dry cleaner: |
[quietly and privately to Jerry] I shrunk it.
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Something about the dialogue in the last panel of the "Get Fuzzy" comic of May 31, 2004, which is pictured above, sounded vaguely familiar. Check out this brief exchange between Frank Costanza and Mr. Kruger in "The Strike" as they examine the Festivus pole, and see if you don't agree:
| Frank Costanza: | It's made from aluminum. Very high strength-to-weight ratio. | |
| Mr. Kruger: | I find your belief system fascinating. |
Granted, Bucky's scratching post is no Festivus pole, but if I were that guy I'd watch out for possible airings of grievances.
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I've been sitting on this one for a while, and I'm finally getting around to posting it here:
On March 5, 2004, a 35-year-old Georgia woman, Alice Regina Pike, tried to pass a $1 million bill at a Wal-Mart in Covington, Georgia. Supposedly, she attempted to use the phony currency to purchase $1671.55 in merchandise, expecting to receive $998,328.45 in change. Needless to say, she was not successful, and was incarcerated for her effort.
It brought to mind the situation in "The Dinner Party" in which George tries to buy a $12 bottle of wine - $13.05 with tax - with a hundred-dollar bill. After the liquor store clerk indicates that he can't make change for that high-denomination note, George and Kramer leave the establishment and make sundry purchases at a newsstand in order to break the bill - a pack of gum, a newspaper, a Clark bar, and a copy of Penthouse Forum. They eventually are successful, and return to purchase the wine.
I also wonder whether Ms. Pike carried the $1 million bill in a purse, or if it was part of a wad of money, possibly being on the outside of the assortment. (Kramer to Jerry in "The Reverse Peephole": "Nobody carries wallets anymore. I mean, they went out with powdered wigs. Yeah, see, here's what you need. Just a couple of cards and your bankroll. See, keep the big bills on the outside.")
Lastly, in the unlikely event that Ms. Pike had gotten change for the $1 million bill, imagine if she were to be given it in coins. (Pizzeria proprietor to the coin-laden Kramer in "The Calzone": "No! You have to have bills. Paper money. You can't pay with this.")
For a more complete description of the Wal-Mart incident, see The Smoking Gun .
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June 4, 2004: In today's "Sense & Sensitivity" column by Harriette Cole appears this letter:
Dear Harriette: There is this girl that works in a restaurant where I buy breakfast every day. She and I have a good friendship. We joke around and she's so nice to me, but lately I've been getting hints that she likes me. I mean I can tell when a girl likes someone. I think I like her, too, but how do I know if she's just being friendly with me? And how do I approach her about my feelings without making it feel awkward? Should I just go up to her and tell her how I feel? - Danny, The BronxHere's Ms. Cole's response:
Danny: Go for it, but be discreet. The next time that you go to the restaurant and the two of you start to talk, invite her out with you. Since the weather is nice you can plan a lovely afternoon, strolling around the city, having lunch in the park, something that will be relaxing and fun without being too heavy.
There's no need to tell her how much you like her now. Take it easy. Make the invitation light. If she agrees to go with you, continue to get to know each other. If she declines, take that easy, too. In this way, you will be able to feel comfortable going back to the restaurant and enjoying each other's company as friends there.
My comments:
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In "The Betrayal," Newman reveals to his wished-for girlfriend, who is fascinated by his postal knowledge, "I'll tell you a little secret about ZIP Codes: They're meaningless!" Of course that's fiction. For the record, Zoning Improvement Plan, or ZIP Codes were instituted on July 1, 1963. According to Allen Kane, Director of the National Postal Museum, in the July 2004 issue of American Philatelist:
"ZIP Codes were a critical factor in the postal service's move into the more modernized sorting methods demanded by ever-increasing mail volumes tied to American businesses and regional governments. A new coding system would help the postal service switch to more productive mechanized sorting systems. After examining a variety of coding systems, the postal service decided to use a series of five-digit numbers to represent each U.S. address. The first digit represents a geographical area, the next two help direct mail to sectional centers. The final two digits designate either a small town post office or a specific post office within a large city. Larger mail volumes, increasing delivery addresses and the adoption of automated machinery ushered in the introduction in 1983 of ZIP+4, allowing mail to be pinpointed to even more precise final destinations."
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Sharks - at least those in the cartoon world - apparently watch TV, as noted in the last panel of the "Sherman's Lagoon" comic of July 15, 2004. I guess then that those fish that attach themselves to sharks do, too.
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In "The Stranded," at the party, Elaine gets stuck with some guy who starts chewing her ear about George Washington Carver and his life's work with peanuts. At one point in his discussion, he says to her (about the pecan), "Now is that considered a nut? Because I know the cashew is a legume." I was pretty sure that that statement was false, so I did some verification on the Internet. According to this page : "A legume is the pod of a plant such as peas, beans or vetches, which all belong to the same family of plants (Leguminosae, or Fabaceae)." Also listed there are some common legumes, including peanuts, soybeans, alfalfa, kidney beans, green beans, pinto beans, and lima beans - but not the cashew. Sure enough, this page indicates that the "[c]ashew is a tree (Anacardium occidentale L.) in the flowering plant family, Anacardiaceae." So the cashew comes from a completely different type of plant than legumes do, and as such, it belongs to a different taxonomic family.
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When Jerry mentions to George in "The Maestro" how Bob Cobb, aka the Maestro, indicated to him that there are no houses anywhere in Tuscany to rent, George reasons that there must be places available to rent there because Tuscany is huge, remarking, "It's probably like North Dakota." Doing a little Internet fact-finding, this page says that this region in north central Italy is some 8,876 square miles (22,989 square km) in area. North Dakota, by comparison, (see this page ) is 70,665 square miles (183,022 square km) in size, or just about eight times as large as Tuscany. So maybe the Maestro was telling Jerry the truth after all.
For the record, the U.S. state whose area is closest to that of Tuscany is New Hampshire. It is 9,304 square miles (24,097 square km) in size, according to this page - a difference of only 428 square miles. Massachusetts also was close, being 8,257 square miles in size - a difference of 619 square miles. Size-wise, Tuscany ranks toward the low end of the fifty states. Only six states are smaller than it: Rhode Island, Delaware, Connecticut, Hawaii, New Jersey, and the aforementioned Massachusetts (in that order). One more little tidbit: North Dakota ranks #17 in size of the fifty states - but it is slightly below the average of about 72,300 square miles. (Fittingly, its neighbor South Dakota is #16 at 77,047 square miles, although Oklahoma - #18, with 69,919 square miles - is closer to it in size.)
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It is revealed in "The Dog," which first aired on October 9, 1991, that Elaine has been "here" - presumably in New York - for about six years, so from sometime in 1985. (See "Maybe She Meant Six Dog-Years" on my "Mistakes" page for a slightly more detailed description of this fact.) Now, according to the extremely comprehensive "History of Area Code Splits" , as well as the thorough and glitzier "AreaCode-Info.Com" , the five boroughs of New York City (Manhattan, the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island) shared the 212 area code until September 2, 1984, at which time Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island became 718. Several years later, on July 1, 1992, the Bronx did the same, leaving Manhattan as the only borough with "212" phone numbers. So, since Elaine had a "718" number when she first moved to New York - she mentions this to Jerry and Kramer in "The Maid" - and she came there in 1985, she must have lived in Brooklyn, Queens, or Staten Island at that time. Somewhat surprisingly, this is never mentioned during the run of the series.
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During one of George's lovemaking sessions in "The Blood" is this exchange between him and his girlfriend-of-the-week:
| George: | What are you doing? | |
| Tara: | [She lights a candle.] Incense, for the mood. | |
| George: | Oh yes, by all means, the mood. Let me know if there's anything I can do to lend support to the mood. [He smells the candle.] Um, cream soda? | |
| Tara: | [Exasperated, she replies.] Vanilla. |
Tara might have found fault with his seemingly incorrect guess, but he can hardly be blamed for his faux pas. According to Wikipedia , "[c]ream soda is a vanilla-flavored carbonated beverage." Pretty good sense of smell, Georgie Boy.
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For the record, the Postmaster General at the time "The Junk Mail" first aired, October 30, 1997, was Marvin Runyon, not Henry Atkins. (See this page.) Runyon served in that post from July 6, 1992 to May 15, 1998.
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In "The Heart Attack," Jerry comments, presumably jokingly, about Tor Eckman's remedy for George, "Couch grass and cramp bark? You know, I think that's what killed Curly." In fact, according to the Internet Movie Database Jerome Lester Horwitz, better known as "Curly" Howard of the Three Stooges, died on January 18, 1952, at the age of 48 after a series of strokes. That's not to say that couch grass and cramp bark weren't the cause of his strokes, but I suspect not.
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The menu of the Dream Cafe in "The Cafe" offers a regionally varied menu - proprietor Babu Bhatt mentions to Jerry tacos (Mexican), moussaka (Greek/Turkish/Middle Eastern), and franks-and-beans (American), and recommends to him the turkey [sandwich] (American), and Elaine orders rigatoni (Italian). The decor of the establishment is equally diverse, including on the walls the flags of several nations - the People's Republic of China, Mexico, Greece, and either Ireland or Italy. I'm not sure about the last one. Each of those two flags is a similar tricolor - Ireland's is one of green, white, and orange, and Italy's is one of green, white, and red. It's hard for me to conclusively discern whether the flag's third color is orange or red.
| People's Republic of China | Mexico | Greece | Ireland | Italy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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For the record, I checked the
Flags of All Countries website
and learned that the flag of Cote D'Ivoire (the Ivory Coast) is exactly like that of Ireland,
but reversed horizontally - it's orange, white, and green.
And the flag of Pakistan, Babu's homeland, which is conspicuously absent, is:
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In "The Gymnast," Kramer admits to Jerry he has a fear of clowns. According to the Phobia List , the formal term for that condition is "coulrophobia."
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I can't help noticing the presence of several "Seinfeld" femmes in promos for ABC's new hit show "Desperate Housewives." According to the Internet Movie DataBase , the regular cast includes Teri Hatcher (Sidra Holland in "The Implant," "The Pilot," and "The Finale"), who portrays Susan Mayer, Marcia Cross (Dr. Sarah Sitarides in "The Slicer"), playing Bree Van De Kamp, and Brenda Strong (Sue-Ellen Mishkie in "The Caddy," "The Bottle Deposit," "The Abstinence," and "The Betrayal") as Mary Alice Young.
Checking further on the IMDb for guest appearances on this show, I found two other familiar names:
| Episode | Actor/Actress |
|---|---|
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21 November 2004 |
Lee Garlington (Claire, the Waitress in "Good News, Bad News") as Alberta Holstein |
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13 February 2005 |
Jon Polito (Silvio in "The Reverse Peephole") as Charles Skouras |
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In my travels around town, I have seen several advertisements posted for the DVDs of the first three seasons of "Seinfeld." Needless to say, I captured images of them for posterity.
The first one, taken on December 4, 2004, appeared on the south side of a building at 42-45 12th Street in Long Island City, Queens. It was visible to commuters on the Queensboro Bridge - possibly the bridge over which Jerry claimed to have followed a hit-and-run driver in "The Good Samaritan." (Or it might have been the Triboro Bridge which he supposedly crossed. It's somewhat farther north than the Queensboro Bridge, but it also connects Manhattan and Queens - as well as the Bronx, hence its name.)
The next one, captured on January 11, 2005, was displayed on a tall billboard on the south side of the Queens Midtown Expressway, just east of 46th Street in Maspeth, Queens. It was visible to eastbound commuters on the Long Island Expressway - which is not a good way to get to JFK Airport, according to George in "The Airport." He would prefer to take the Grand Central [Parkway], then the Van Wyck [Expressway]. But bear in mind that the Long Island Expressway doesn't go directly to JFK Airport. Taking the LIE to the Van Wyck to JFK would work, however.
The last one, shot on January 29, 2005, was posted on the south side of a building at 219 First Avenue in Manhattan, at East 13th Street - just twelve blocks north of First [Avenue] and First [Street], the "Nexus of the Universe," according to Kramer in "The Maid."
Here's a new one, shot on May 12, 2005, for the Season 4 DVD set. This billboard appeared atop a building at 51-03 Van Dam Street in Long Island City, Queens, making it visible to westbound commuters on the Long Island Expressway.
Another one for the Season 4 DVD set, shot on June 4, 2005, was on the outside of a public telephone "booth" at the northeast corner of Second Avenue & East 4th Street.
A third poster for that set, shot on July 2, 2005, was on the outside of a bus shelter near 138-10 Northern Boulevard in Flushing, Queens.
Number four for the Season 4 DVDs, shot on July 18, 2005, was on a billboard atop a building at 336 Meeker Avenue in Brooklyn.
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The Arts & Entertainment section of the February 28, 2005, issue of Newsday contained an article by Gordon Cox, entitled "Busy Bob Balaban: If the actor seems to be ubiquitous, it's because he is." The article indicates that around the time of its appearance the then-59-year-old actor-director-producer-writer is involved with these projects:
But what grabbed my attention was a little nugget about his personal life. Near the end of the article, it is said that he "lives in Manhattan with his wife of 32 years, writer Lynn Grossman. As if his life weren't hectic enough, they're building a house in Bridgehampton." For those who aren't familiar with the New York Metropolitan area, Bridgehampton is located east of New York City, on Long Island, and is one of the villages known collectively as the Hamptons. I wonder if he's building a real house, and if it will have two solariums (solaria?).
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I couldn't help noticing, but one of the categories in [single] Jeopardy round of the May 3, 2005, "Jeopardy!" was "THE JIMMY." (Punctuation mine) All the clues were related to people whose name was - you guessed it - Jimmy. There occasionally are Seinfeld-related clues on this show, so I'm pretty sure that at least one of the show's writers is a Sein-phile.
Some other categories I can envision: "The Robbery," "The Ex-Girlfriend," "The Statue," "The Library," "The Subway," "The Pez Dispenser," "The Boyfriend," "The Opera," "The Contest," "The Airport," "The Movie," "The Conversion," "The Marine Biologist," "The Pie," "The Wife," "The Opposite," "The Gymnast," "The Soup," "The Secretary," "The Race," "The Switch," "The Beard," "The Maestro," "The Sponge," "The Gum," "The Foundation," "The Andrea Doria," "The Susie," "The Betrayal," "The Apology," "The Strike," "The Wizard," "The Burning," and "The Finale"
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The following AP story, entitled "The master of his domain?" appeared in the Sports section of the May 15, 2005, Newsday:
George Castanza [sic] was a lovable loser on the television show "Seinfeld." A horse owner hopes the name will carry a little more luck on the race track.Scot Waterman will call his new colt "Summer of George," after a "Seinfeld" episode of the same name.
"My wife, Amy, and I have watched 'Seinfeld' for the last two or three years with possible horse names in mind," Waterman said.
In "The Summer of George" episode, George leaves the Yankees front office, but receives a hefty severance package. He decides to take the next three months off and deems them the Summer of George.
Waterman's pick is just one of several commemorating the pop culture phenomenon. Other horses referencing the TV show include Vandalay, Hello Newman and Serenity Now. Nosupeforyou, a gelding named after an episode's ornery chef, has won $223,414.
As any Sein-phile worth his contraceptive sponge can tell you, the gelding Nosupeforyou, which was mentioned in "Was His Father A Mudder? Was His Mother A Mudder?" above, is not named after an episode's ornery chef (the Soup Nazi, of course) but after his trademark catch phrase.
While researching this story I discovered another one, on The Jockey Club website, entitled "Named for Nothing," which, besides explaining the Watermans' naming of "Summer of George" in more depth, lists a whole slew of other "Seinfeld"-inspired racehorse names.
The Jockey Club's Online Names Book, the registry of Thoroughbred horses, can be checked for the existence or the availability of other "Seinfeld"-inspired names.
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The other day I read in Newsday that there's a free exhibit located at The Shops at Columbus Circle in the Time Warner Center (in New York City). Called "Time Warner TV: At Home in New York," it is running from May 20 through May 31, from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., and supposedly features original sets, costumes, and memorabilia from some of Time Warner's most popular New York-based TV shows, including "Seinfeld," "Everybody Loves Raymond," "The Sopranos," "Sex and the City," and "Third Watch." In addition, from noon to 8 p.m. visitors may go into the Central Perk set from "Friends" and have their photo taken for $12.95.
Being a New Yorker, my curiosity was piqued, so I took a ride there two days ago. Maybe I missed something, but all I saw were a small portion of "Seinfeld's" Monk's Cafe set and the aforementioned "Friends" Central Perk set - neither one much to speak of. Regardless, I got a few shots of the Monk's "set," and I'll post them when I get the chance.
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George to Jerry in "The Limo": "You see? You see? I see things as they are and I say, 'No!' Uh, wait. You see things as they are not and you s- ... Wait, uh, you see things ... Do you see things as they are? What do you say when you see things?"
According to this page , the actual quote - by the serpent to Eve in Act I of "Back to Methuselah," by George Bernard Shaw - is "You see things; and you say 'Why?' But I dream things that never were; and I say 'Why not?'"
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Recall this exchange between Elaine and her boss Mr. Lippman in "The Letter":
| Elaine: | Hi, Mr. Lippman. | |
| Mr. Lippman: | How's your father? | |
| Elaine: | My, my father? | |
| Mr. Lippman: | Yeah. You, you went to see him, right? | |
| Elaine: | Yeah. | |
| Mr. Lippman: | Uh-huh. | |
| Elaine: | I went to visit him. | |
| Mr. Lippman: | Uh-huh. So, what was wrong with him? | |
| Elaine: | Well, you name it, uh, neuritis, uh, neuralgia ... | |
| Mr. Lippman: | But, but he's feeling better now? | |
| Elaine: | Um, yup. Yes, yes, it's just ... such a miracle, um. My visit must have buoyed [she pronounces it "boyed"] his spirits. | |
| Mr. Lippman: | [correcting her] Boo-eed. | |
| Elaine: | What, what did I say? | |
| Mr. Lippman: | You said "boyed." | |
| Elaine: | I did? | |
| Mr. Lippman: | Yeah. |
According to Merriam-Webster Online , the word buoy can be pronounced either "BOO-ee" or "boy."
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One of my other "hobbies" is taking photographs of personalized, or vanity plates, and I have many pages of them on my website. (See the main page here.) Here are two such plates which, in my mind, are Seinfeld-related:
Please e-mail me at pizzabagel@prodigy.net