Recently in Arts and other junk Category

Hey Swami:

I was one of those guys who ran down the bluff three years ago to get pirate video of the Batmobile driving down the Amstutz when they were filming "Batman Begins." Now they got "The Dark Knight" coming out Friday, and I seem to remember there was some filming for that around here last summer. Can we expect to see Waukegan on the big screen again?

Movie Mike in Mundelein

Dear 3M:

The Swami was not invited to any of the preview screenings of the new Christian Bale/Heath Ledger film, but this is of no importance ... for The Swami sees all, even without a ticket.

Unfortunately, your answer would be, no, Little Fort does not appear on the Big Screen this time around. That "filming" you refer to was actually some stunt rehearsal on Waukegan Municipal Beach last August (which the filmmakers pointlessly refused to refer to as being associated with "The Dark Knight," but the truth came out).

By not returning to the Amstutz for more Batmobile action, a continuity error has been set up, since sharp-eyed viewers of "Batman Begins" noticed that the entrance to the Batcave was somewhere beyond Greenwood Avenue, where Batman left his pursuers in the dust and disappeared into the woods west of the Midwest Generation plant. Where is the Batcave this time around? Outsourced to Pleasant Prairie?

For the record, the Internet Movie Database lists 28 different filming sites for "Dark Knight," including "Chicago" in general and such specific locales as Navy Pier, the Daley Center and the Twin Anchors Restaurant & Tavern on Sedgwick Street.

Swami:

Remember Mr. Six? That little old man with the big glasses who used to dance on commercials for Great America? Someone told me that Six Flags dumped him because their owner thought he was creepy. So now they got this kid with a giant head yelling "MORE FLAGS! MORE FUN!" Can you get him fired?

Creeped Out

Dear Creep:

Indeed, the rumor in 2005 was that Six Flags Chairman Daniel Snyder (the same suit who also owns, unsuccessfully, the Washington Redskins) killed Mr. Six. Or, at least, he deep-sixed the Mr. Six ad campaign. But who are we to argue with a man who made a fortune in direct-marketing, and who no doubt wipes his nose with $100 bills?

Back to your question: The Swami agrees that the new Six Flags mascot is at least as annoying, if not more so. And The Swami will have to ask his Asian-American friends if they are offended by the young man's accent and general comportment, which call to mind Mickey Rooney as Mr. Yunioshi in "Breakfast at Tiffany's" or Gedde Watanabe as The Donger in "Sixteen Candles."

We'll leave that debate for another day and forum. For our purposes today, the call is simple: Bring Mr. Six back to the people who love to hate him.

Dear Swami, they’re putting out the Oscar nominations on Tuesday morning. Who’s in; who’s out; what’s the best picture you’ve seen this year? Signed: Lt. Sugar Plum. (that’s Leftenant, buster)

Dear Swami,
Because we all know you are a great defender of integrity and thoughtfulness, I guess you are disgusted as I am they have let that awful Don Imus back on the air, aren’t you? He is exactly what we don’t need. Just another man with foul ideas and racism in his heart. Signed: Upset in Libertyville.

This will come as a surprise, but Swami loves insults, taunts and jabs. But he hates the dull tedious fumbling that passes for word play these days. Where has the art gone? As Abraham Lincoln once noted of a political foe: "He can compress the most words into the smallest idea of any man I know." And more …

After considering the Gamma rays emanating from his crystal ball, The Swami has some other thoughts about how the Genesee Theatre is being run. And by the way, couldn’t they just call it Theater and leave off the artsy pretensions? For these and other answers, read on dear readers …

Dear Old Swami, now that David Rovine has left his job running the Genesee Theatre in Waukegan, what does that mean for the place? Is it a big loss or will things go ahead? Or is the city going to start over with the management company that runs the place? Signed, Curiously Inquistiive.

Dear Swami, It’s Monday. Can you start the week with some bad jokes to help me out? Signed, Humor-Starved

Dear SwamI,
Don't you have any other interests besides sports and politics? Signed, Concerned.