Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Questi Sono Tempi Duri



You may not realize that Flint Expatriates has a sizable Italian readership, including my friends Max and Carlo. To show them I care, here's a slice of Roger & Me with Italian subtitles.

8 comments:

  1. Alright, someone please tell me when Matthew McConaughey will be playing Pat Boone in an after school special...

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  2. He's so tan. Unnaturally tan. Freakishly tan.

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  3. I think Pat Boone's father in law, Red Foley, used to work at Fisher One. Probably back in the late forties early fifties. I don't remember when he reached stardom. Maybe this is a myth....I do remember Pat's "Love Letters In The Sand" when I was in basic training in 1955. When I returned home, Amway was ensconced in the local Christian community. Dusty Rhodes "Bob Kucharsky" was a Diamond Direct with Amway, and that was big money. He was from Flint and was an ordained minister in Florida and was also a well known country singer and writer. And a real nice guy.

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  4. You should put up that bit of "Roger and Me" that has Flint born Bob Eubanks. That is one of the most memorable bits in that movie besides Rabbit lady.

    from Wiki:

    He appeared in Michael Moore's 1989 documentary Roger & Me. The film documented Moore's attempts to track General Motors CEO Roger Smith to confront him about the harm he did to Flint, Michigan with his massive downsizing. Eubanks, a native of Flint, was interviewed about his views on the downsizing, and was filmed reciting an off-color joke about AIDS. He said "You know why Jewish girls don't get AIDS? They only marry assholes, they don't screw 'em!"

    That comment made me so glad I had moved away from Flint and cavemen like that.

    RoadsideDinerLover

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  5. Grazie Gorduccio! Sei molto gentile!
    Now that I know the Italian expression for "lint roller" I'll be sure to impress all of the Italian super models I meet with this newfound vocabulary.

    Avanti Flint Expatriati!!!

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  6. Glad you found it a learning experience, Carlo. Flint Expatriates, building Italian vocabulary one lint roller reference at a time.

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  7. So, "Roger and Me" is a cult film in Italy? Wonders never cease.

    I think that the Taco Bell in question was on Miller Road (er, is it still there?) but I'm not sure.

    Steve Vivian

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  8. The Taco Bell on Miller Road is now, surprisingly, Italia Gardens. You wouldn't know it inside, but the classic design is unmistakable from the outside.

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Thanks for commenting. I moderate comments, so it may take a while for your comment to appear. You might enjoy my book about Flint called "Teardown: Memoir of a Vanishing City," a Michigan Notable Book for 2014 and a finalist for the 33rd Annual Northern California Book Award for Creative NonFiction. Filmmaker Michael Moore described Teardown as "a brilliant chronicle of the Mad Maxization of a once-great American city." More information about Teardown is available at www.teardownbook.com.