Everything is Connected 13 June 2013
As regular readers know, for the past few weeks I’ve been trying to make connections suggested by the first three comments on the May 23 edition of EiC and managed to get two out of three but congratulations go out to reader Tyler Cummings for completely stumping me. As far as I can tell, there is no way to connect children’s entertainer Fred Penner with the Butthole Surfers main man, Gibby Haynes.
Well… actually that’s not true, it can be done but it’s very, very flimsy. For Tyler Cummings, here’s your chain of connections.
You see, Gibby is the main guy behind The Butthole Surfers, a band that while never having a huge amount of commercial success, got by in part to their live show. The Butthole’s live show was usually unpredictable and kind of modern psychedelic. This reputation allowed them to appear in a short film called Bar-B-Que Movie.
If you’ve never heard of Bar-B-Que Movie, don’t feel bad, not many people have. The film (made in 1988) runs about 11 minutes long and is kind of a spoof on The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The Surfers (including Gibby) appear as the villains of the piece as well as themselves at the end of the film, performing a re-creation of their live show as of 1988. The film itself was directed by a guy named Alex Winter.
Alex Winter isn’t exactly a household name, he’s directed a lot of things you probably have seen. Alex directed the videos for the Red Hot Chilli Peppers Knock Me Down and Taste The Pain. If you have kids, there’s a good chance you’ve seen his work as director on two live action Ben 10 films he’s directed for The Cartoon Network, the second of which grabbed 16 million viewers. But alas, for all his work as a director, Alex Winter is probably best known for one of the best time travel comedies of all time.
Yes, Alex Winter is better known as Bill S. Preston Esq in Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure. His co-star of course was Keanu Reeves’ Ted “Theodore” Logan. Keanu hasn’t done much directing (his directorial debut “Man of Tai Chi” is making it’s rounds on the festival circuit) but he has done a crap ton of acting. In an effort to diversify his skills (and a great excuse not to do Speed 2), Keanu traveled to Winnipeg, Manitoba to perform in the Manitoba Theater Center’s 1995 version of Hamlet, where he played the title role.
Winnipeg is the hometown to many famous Canadians. Anna Paquin, Louis Riel, Randy Bachman and Canadian children’s entertainer, Fred Penner.
So for those of you keep track, this week’s chain of connections goes:
Gibby Haynes – Alex Winter – Keanu Reeves – Winnipeg – Fred Penner
… yeah using a city as a connection is a little bit of a stretch but at least it’s a solid attempt.
Thank all of you for your connection suggestions and PLEASE keep posting them. I may not answer them all but I’m going to give an honest attempt at a few of them when I see them posted. Feel free to post more in the comment section below!
