Ask Dr. Hal show

FIFTH SMASH WEEK! ASK DR. HAL! Is Back-- A S. F. HOLIDAY TRADITION! WEDNESDAY, Dec. 3rd! It's Time to Come and Visit a Popular Favorite Again =====SEE OUR ALL-NEW STAGE======== AT The Famous Chez Poulet Gallery-Cabaret 3359 Cesar Chavez St. (Army) Street between Mission and South Van Ness. Just on the edge of Bernal Heights. The old Odeon Neighborhood. THIS WEEK: UP FROM THE DEPTHS-- KrOB BRINGS YOU 'WHEN GIANT PREHISTORIC FISH ATTACK!' Immense Carnivorous Subaqueous Monstrosity Devours Helpless Men --Just in time for the H oliday S eason! Last week KrOB took us down to the Moon's surface-- and beneath it-- to reveal a bizarre biota of Moon Creatures, from hundred-foot-long mandible-snapping caterpillaroids to intellectual insectoids. Who knew, eh? This week we take a break from (exclusively) invertebrate shenanigans to showcase exotic species once found on a certain lost prehistoric island. First, swimming scorpiopedes, strange and venomous aquatic centipede descendants, put in an appearance. But this is only the 'appetizer' to krafty KrOB's 'main course--' the horrible ambush predator Piranhadon titanus, a freshwater fish as large as some whales. You'll watch in terrified fascination as its gigantic jaws drag luckless sailors down to a watery doom. Those who may be overly sensitive to such material are advised to turn away or shade their eyes. It's 'showbiz' --pure entertainment -- and it's all happening right here-- at the famed Chez Poulet Gallery-Cabaret where SHOWTIME 'ALWAYS' BEGINS AT =9:00 PM= WE MEAN IT THESE DAYS-- WE REALLY DO... THE SLAPDOWN Admission to the Ask Dr. Hal! show in its newest form? That's $10 -ISH C H E A P ! A donation to support the arts and our on-going exposition, now in its 12th year of esoteric, recondite entertainment. A regrettably unavoidable necessity in turbulent times of economic convulsions and a harsh, unforgiving fiscal climate. A vote of confidence, if you will. Keep Chicken afloat. Support the Performing Arts Community. Give what you can. And may the spirit of charity dwell eternally in your heart. Now fork over, cheapskate! WE START... WITH A CLASSIC CARTOON! Just before each performance begins, we screen a great animated cartoon-- each one seven minutes of the best theatrical shorts ever committed to film. Last week we showed the Bob Clampett 1944 WWII masterpiece, Russian Rhapsody, the only cartoon we know of to star German dictator Adolf Hitler. Hit-larious! But now we're going to change our pace a bit for a pastoral interlude from the Walt Disney studios back in 1937. On deck is one of the most intricate and beautiful cartoons ever lensed, a film which itself represented tremendous forward progress in the evolution of the animation medium-- The Old Mill, directed by Wilfred Jackson and released by RKO Radio Pictures (at the time it was made Disney did not yet have his own distribution company). It depicts a natural community of small animals near, and populating an old, abandoned windmill, and what happens when a violent thunderstorm strikes, almost destroying their habitat. Oh, if there were only enough room in this space to write about these cartoons here as they deserve! How we could go on about Disney's invention, the marvelous Multiplane Camera, first showed off to best advantage in this very film. Multiplane shots allow the camera to track into the film frame dimensionally, a neat trick when you're actually photographing flat drawings. And, this still-amazing film also incorporates realistic depictions of animal behavior, complex lighting and color effects, representations of rain, wind, lightning, ripples, splashes and reflections, not to mention 3-D rotation of detailed objects and the use of timing to produce specific dramatic and emotional effects. Remember, this is an entirely hand-made work of art, drawn by skilled animators a frame at a time and then laboriously hand-colored over hundreds of hours by the women in the Ink & Paint Department at the studio. As the seven minutes of animation rush by on the screen, the titanic effort it took to produce it is completely concealed. Most remarkably of all, these were the same people who, a mere 9 years earlier had been drawing the herky-jerky Steamboat Willie (1928) in which a sadistic Mickey Mouse twists the tails of various pigs, a cat and a goat, and the neck of a luckless duck, to make music from their various shrieks. Learning as they went along, these people invented animation. They were the studio to beat in their day. Even Steamboat is a superior work to what was being produced at the time by others. But The Old Mill is still a masterpiece by any standards. In fact, it's safe to say that it could not be produced today, since ironically the skills needed to make it were lost as its creators gradually died away. The lessons learned from making The Old Mill would later be incorporated into Disney's feature-length animated films, especially 1937's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. It's all in gorgeous three-strip Technicolor, as rich and beautiful as the day it was released. The Old Mill won the 1937 Academy Award for Best Short Subjects: Cartoons. And, in 1994 it was voted #14 of the 50 Greatest Cartoons of All Time by members of the animation field. It is ranked at the IMDb top short list as the 17th greatest short film ever, as of June 2008. So join us this Wednesday night in time to catch up with another treasure of your Nation's vanished popular culture. Remember, our show will start at the very moment the cartoon ends. 'The detail work is inspired... (m)ost unreservedly recommended.' Robert Reynolds, IMDB User Comments GUESS WHO? FRANK CHU! Yes, Frank is back! And we've got him! Before every show, by special arrangement, the perennial protester/holy man, protest sign grasped firmly in hand, the living institution after whose oracular rantings the late, great 12 Galaxies night club was named, will ascend the stage once again-- and deliver a rapid-fire, impassioned, incomprehensible bromide. You can take that to the bank. Go, Frank! We've even got him answering questions! DEFIANCE-- RELIANCE ON SCIENCE! ADH Science solon Pete Goldie has been providing breathless audiences with images from NASA's Cassini Probe, and the excitement was palpable at last week's show. Pete will be on hand this week too, to present more of the newest discoveries made in the Saturnian vicinity. It's an exciting time. Now astronomers looking at the spectacular supersonic plumes of gas and dust shooting from Saturn's shepherd moon Enceladus say there are strong hints of liquid water, a key building block of life. These plumes, which travel at an estimated speed of more than 1,360 mph, just might be ice particles, not liquid. But such velocities strongly indicate the presence of liquid in the eruption of the mysterious moon, one of 60 circling the giant gas planet. In all likelihood, both ice particles and water vapor shoot from the South Pole of Enceladus. Of course, Europa, a moon of Jupiter, may have a liquid ocean beneath its frozen surface. But Enceladus is considered more accessible. And Pete's eager to tell you al-l-l-l about it. So travel with Pete, our own Boffo Boffin, through the endless reaches of the universe in his continuing segment, 'Waste of Space.' COMPUTER FREEBOOTER David 'Yo-Yo Pro' Capurro provides a running visual commentary as the show progresses. He finds pictures on the Internet which resonate with... whatever's being discussed. This Wednesday, David again will be on hand, serving up accompanying images (usually) scraped up from the benthic bottom of the Internet. You might not think so, but the guy actually practices some restraint on behalf of our show-- as bad as what he usually puts up on our screen is, he's pullin' his punches, folks-- let's just say, if he wanted to, it could be worse-- a lot worse. And tonight might be the night he gives in to temptation. But see for yourself. As 'Cappy's' fingers fly over the keyboard you will be unable to avoid the horrendous, stomach-churning, hyper-pornographic results, on our MULTIPLE MONITOR SCREENS It's a by-Our-Lady Multi-Media Experience, is what it is. CHICKEN JOHN SEZ: 'Hey, everybody-- come see the Ask Dr. Hal! show in a brand new location: my living room. It's 4 guys doing improv on 4 different levels. It can be amazing.' NOT A BAR So there won't be any booze for sale this time, OK? BRING YOUR OWN. We encourage you to. Of course, good questions will still be rewarded in the traditional manner-- with Fernet Branca, TM --the 'Miracle Liquor.' THE ASK DR. HAL! SHOW - FEATURING FRANK CHU - CHICKEN JOHN - DR. HAL - KrOB - PETE GOLDIE - DAVID CAPURRO - WITH SPECIAL GUESTS THE 'PO'BUCKERS'-- DONATION TEN DOLLARS OR SO - COME ALL, COME ONE, NEW SHOW, NEW RUN... WEB SITE Visit www.askdrhal.com for more information than you need. ABOUT KrOB AND GIANT TYRANNO-FISH Sailors crossing a prehistoric swamp on improvised rafts are horrified when out of the water suddenly come yard-long aquatic insects, Scorpiopedes of the new family the Skull Island neopedes and the species Nepapede harpagabdominus. These horrors climb right up on the rafts, brandishing their shears-like mouth-parts and curling their venomous distal abdominal segments. Intensely territorial, these unique arthropods actually only ate algae but moved decisively against any intrusion into their watery world. But... suddenly, they all jump off and swim away. Why? They know what's coming-- something many times worse. A monster fish, the implacable Piranhadon titanus, is hungrily heading for the intrepid band of explorers. Objective: dinner. Again, lack of space forbids a thorough discourse on this horrific carnivore, its unusual double-hinged jaws, its sexual dimorphism, its huge, gaping head on its elongated, flexible neck, its weak (but effective) vision, its two enlarged, vibration-sensitive barbels, even its habit of beaching itself to allow various small birds and lizards to remove its parasites in perfect safety. We can only say you wouldn't want to be in the water with one of these babies, no Sir or Madam. Man is the prey. A KrOB edit on our giant screen. SEE Thompson machine guns fail to stop the rampage of the living swamp demon. SEE it all in widescreen color and stereophonic sound-- HEAR the crunch of giant jaws and the piercing screams of the doomed. Narrated by Dr. Hal. Scientific, educational. You know the drill. Get set for the thrill... SOCIAL NOTES Once again, we decided to hold the curtain just a little for stragglers. But even so, many came in too late to catch the cartoon. We know what's going on-- some of you are trying to train us to start later. Well, the only reason we allowed it this time was that it wasn't a school night-- 'twas the Day Before Thanksgiving. We've got a lotta show to do these daze & we're starting earlier-- 'round 9:00 PM or so. So, don't be too late, gate. Natch, not everyone was behind the curve-- fairly early came in Duncan D'nuts squiring inspiring dearie Alex O'Leary. Ready Rick wuz on hand-- OK, he lives there. But puissant Puzzling Evidence, who came all the way over from Oaktown, sure beat the crowd... Mr. & Mrs. Jim Khennedy paid us a visit, as did ever-ready Ronn Rosen, who brought us a box o' chocolates-- actually choklit-covered cherries ('twas Dr. Hal's birthday, or actually 2 daze before same)... No show could be complete without Gentleman Farmer Paul Pot, whose generous donatives of Agricultural Samples always give our post-show proceedings some moxie... Mr. Tom, Mike, David Fine & matchless Madeline Boyne know what the show's alla bout... Ravishing Rusty Blazenhoff brought her Mom, & she brought delish-us homemade cookies. Chocolates, cookies...! Y'know, sometimes this Type II Diabetes thing is a real drag... Delectable Dawn Stott sent up a musical birthday card, much appreciated even though cruel Chicken ripped it up, trying to extract the singing chip... And the parade of beauties wuz just getting started. There was no mistaking Loop! Station's resplendent Robin Coomer (a.k.a. Patsy McDonald) or gorgeous Ena Dallas of the Xtra Action Marching Band Flag Team, on the arm of 'Romeo' Roky Roulette... Appealing Architecture student seduisante Solar, a.k.a. Solar lab, graced us 4 a coupla minuteskis, but then had to leave, 4 which we grieve... As for us, we plan to be there for awhile. That's right! Now that we're booking the show ourselves, in its own performance space, no harried rock club owner can "suddenly" recall that one of our show dates is preempted by a thoughtlessly booked Poofy Whiner Junkies concert, benefit for a Sexual Predator's Bicycle Mishap or other seemingly more profitable enterprise... It goes on the boards every gol-durn Wednesday at 9:00 PM, and that's all she wrote. Here at Chicken John Productions we're keeping in mind that some of you have a need... to catch the la-a-a-st B.A.R.T. train at 12:17 AM from the 24th St. Mission Station back to the wilds of the East Bay. Translation: these days we start earlier. We really do. Ask anyone... And try to get there before 9:00 PM, wontcha, or you might miss the cartoon, invalidating all our work... WILL WE BE BROADCAST ON PIRATE CAT RADIO? If you see PCR's own Dr. Monkey lurking around with a computer, a microphone, and 50 yards of cable, he must be finally getting around to capturing the show for broadcast on his station, Pirate Cat. But don't hold your breath. We guess it'll happen some time. The plan is that these shows will then be available to invalids and shut-ins. Thoughtful, eh? Meanwhile, the PCR schedule on line is, to be blunt, not truthful about continuing to offer the radio version of Ask Dr. Hal! For more than a month the station's been disappointing listeners-- do we ever get the emails --by claiming we're still on at 10 PM Wednesday nights. We've made every effort to get them to stop this, but they're apparently just blowing us off. As a result, Chicken's a hair's breadth away from permanently denying them the franchise. But, who knows? Maybe they'll make this unnecessary. If so, and we do let them broadcast ADH, we'll then provide advice, right here in this space, on what time to tune your radio dial to 87.9 FM. We're as anxious as you are to receive this information. And, when we get it, we'll pass it right along to you. 'Nuff said. AMUSING PUZZLING EVIDENCE YOU TUBE CLIPS View some of the hi-lites from last week's show on You Tube, courtesy of Puzzling Evidence. SEE Chicken unfairly berate KrOB. HEAR Dr. Hal as he wanders farther afield even than usual in his meandering 'answers' to several questions. Just go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ey-D-k_vIe0&feature=email See clips from November 19th's show. Warning to Parents: Chicken really ladles out those cuss-words. Go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixlk8linoEs The endless-seeming Election Period is now, at last, behind us. For those who would like to indulge themselves in one final wallow, check out this ultra-entertaining (Adult-themed) Puzzling Evidence video clip from the ADH Pirate Cat radio show featuring Dr. Hal, KrOB, Pete 'Savant' Goldie and the additional appearance of special guests Presidential Candidate John McTaint and vivacious wife Sindi McTaint. Go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrfFcbcmo9I&feature=email See you Wednesday night!


Cost:10ish

Categories:

• Events

Venue:   Map    Weather   Chez Poulet3359 Cesar Chavez streetsan Francisco, CA 94110


Browse Events at this Venue
Additional Info Website: Click to Visit