Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo - no wonder Clint spoke Italian at the Oscars!

Clint Eastwood parla Italiano, apparentemente (title of an AP Photo).

Clint Eastwood apparently speaks Italian!

Ye olde composer Ennio Morricone got a Lifetime Academy award for his music, and proceeded to accept in Italian. And guess who helped us all out smoothly by telling us what Morricone said. Clint Eastwood. Who the heck figured he spoke Italian?

Theories aplenty - he had a language prompter, he had cue cards, he had rehearsed a translation....

Come on, of course Clint Eastwood knows I-talian! Think back to The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, even as he said precious little in that movie - but it was an Italian one. ;)

However, he kinda mumbled (in English?) before the presentation. Saved the clarity for his foreign language skills. Impressed, Il Buono!

Mad Magazine, anyone?

MAD Magazine, a classic publication - every issue was/is a gem. I own a bunch of old copies, neatly bound for reading and re-reading. We have MAD TV nowadays, but the real thing is priceless. Probably the greatest concentration of creative talent ever, with no ads even (until recently).

Besides the hilarious Don Martin ('One Fine Day in a S.American Dictatorship' etc) strips , Sergio Aragonés marginals , Antonio Prohías' 'Spy vs. Spy', Dave Berg's 'The Lighter Side Of' among several other talented artist/writers - there were the amazing MAD movie satires.

My favorites, as I recall the lines from MAD:

'The Ecchorcist' - (The Exorcist)

Mom:'Come on, hurry! Exorcize the ghost!'
Priest: 'Hup, one two three four! Hup, one two three four!'
Mom:'What are you doing?!'
Priest: 'Oh, Exorcize... thought you meant exercise!'

' An Officer Ain't No Gentleman' - (An Officer and a Gentleman)

Fiancee: 'There isn't any baby, it was a gag!'
Officer: 'A gag? Where'd you get it from - the Menachem Begin joke book?!'

'Cry More vs. Cry More' - (Kramer vs. Kramer)

Billy: 'Where's mommy?'
Dad/Ted Kramer (thinks): He's just a kid and so sensitive - he'll be shattered. How do I tell him mommy's left us for her career? I've got it. -> 'Mommy's dead!'

Non-movie:
A look at John McEnroe's calendar:

1) Wake up - break bathroom mirror
2) Yell at maid!
3) Smash cutlery
4) Scream at chauffeur!
5)Check why no mail from John McEnroe fan clubs
6)Check why no John McEnroe fan clubs!

What wouldn't I have done to work at MAD Magazine? These are the kind of lines I'd plain love to write. =)

'Do not commit nuisance hear' (sic)

Oh, I love these signs and often take pictures when I travel.

- 'Child Bear available' - (Chilled Beer)
- 'No reflusion' - (Saw this at Chinese customs/Shenzhen) Means what?
- 'Anyone think it is their birthright to cause problem, is ejected' - (Notice to prospective tenants at an apartment)
- 'Stand away from the wall for civilization' - Rest room in China

Do check out Engrish.com, and find out what it's all about. Play these over in your mind for a random chuckle.