Build Date: Sat Apr 19 07:40:45 2025 UTC
Your life is at the crossroads of pleasant ennui and sheer terror.
-- Mr. Bad
Cocaine: One Man's Seduction
2000-12-03 19:26:48
My local video store buys a lot of offbeat, quirky films. I love watching offbeat, quirky films, so I rent a lot of movies there. My wife recently found a real gem though, a 1983 made-for-TV movie that was recently re-released on videotape called Cocaine: One Man's Seduction.
The reason I liked this movie so much is that it stars Dennis Weaver, who starred in TV's McCloud, Gunsmoke, and Lonesome Dove, and classic movies such as Duel and Touch of Evil. You may be more familiar with Dennis Weaver, dressed in western clothes and riding a horse, as the TV spokesperson for Great Western Bank.
I also liked the fact that although it trys to teach us a moral lesson (drugs are bad), it just can't help but be unintentionally funny in all sorts of ways.
Dennis Weaver has always played upright, uptight, and morally straight characters. Seeing him play this role as an over-the-hill real estate salesman trying to regain his edge by using larger and larger quantities of cocaine was, in a word, surreal.
Not only did Dennis Weaver's character develop a coke habit, but what's really amazing for a made-for-TV movie, is that he did so in a completely believable way. Dennis' portrayal was so realistic that I was utterly convinced that he'd done quite a bit of "research" when preparing to play the part.
From the bursts of manic energy, to the sudden urge to rearrange all of the glasses in the kitchen cabinet "in a more efficient way," to the way he desperately scraped out the last remnants of coke from the baggie he'd just finished, Dennis played the part of a coke fiend like he was born for that role.
If you can find this film at your local video store, rent it.
T O P S T O R I E S
California Glory Hole attracts huge crowds
A glory hole at Napa's Lake Berryessa is drawing huge crowds. According to Chris Lee, the general manager for the Solano County Water Agency, the glory hole hasn't been active since 2019, and only restarted operations on Feb 4. (More...)
Republican State Senator busted after soliciting a teenage girl
Republican State Senator Justin Eichorn of Minnesota was arrested for soliciting a teen girl on Monday just hours after he introduced a bill proposing "Trump derangement syndrome" (TDS) as a form of mental illness. (More...)
Parents claim measles is not that bad after having only one child die
The parents of a Texas girl who died from the measles are defending their decision not to vaccinate their daughter. "She says they would still say 'Don't do the shots,'" an unidentified translator for the parents said. "They think it’s not as bad as the media is making it out to be." (More...)
Delusional rich man tries to fire town staff
"I'm mayor now" said write-in mayoral candidate and founder of Pirate’s Booty Snacks Robert Ehrlich after losing the election for Mayor of Sea Cliff, NY. Then he tried to take over the Village Hall and fire everyone. (More...)
Musk claims Xitter security is staffed by idiots
Earlier this month Xitter experienced a massive outage. In an interview, Musk told Fox Business that he believes the attack came from "IP addresses originating in the Ukraine area." (More...)
The Future Ain't What It Used To Be
Ideas have taken horrifying shape and rooted into our modern reality. (More...)
C L A S S I C P I G D O G
40 Acres, a Mule, and a Crummy 90-Second Spot on Weekend Update
Consider the plight of the Black Man. The Black Man on "Saturday Night Live," I mean. Has there ever been a more pathetic thing than a token unredeemed for 28 years? Where is the NAACP when you really need them? (More...)
It’s election night. My wife and I are holed-up in this hotel that my political party has rented out for the evening. Outside, people are being violently beaten for whom they voted for. Is this South Africa? Perhaps we’re in Haiti or some Southern state during the 60’s. Of all the places where this sort of thing happens, it’s mind-boggling that we are in Portland, Maine. (More...)
Spock Went, Spock Wrote, Spock Kicked Ass
Every Labor Day weekend a large portion of the PDJ staff joins 30,000 other freaks at one of the biggest and strangest art festivals in the world - Burning Man - somewhere on the edge of the Black Rock Desert. Our base of operations is always the ultra swank Spock Mountain Research Labs - the World Leaders in Beverage Science and Leisure Technology. This year, we hauled up our computers, printers and a massive digital duplicator, determined to become Black Rock City's third daily newspaper. Even Spock was surprised by our success - news will never be viewed the same on the playa. Read all seven issues of the 2002 Spock Science Monitor for yourself and see why. (More...)
Brother Wayne Lays Down the Truth
Flesh interviews Wayne Kramer of MC5. (More...)
A Blast from the Past! Pao Tzu goes over and under the crucial variables in the production and consumption of Salvia Divinorum. A must read for psychonauts of all stripes. (More...)
Our man Daemon Agent checks out the heavy heavy sounds of crazy space surf rockers Man or Astroman?. (More...)
