Jim Norton and Rich Vos Induct Abbott and Costello Into NJ HOF

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KZZTeXQzX0?rel=0]

Today is National Tell a Joke Day. What’s weirder, the fact that our nation has actually dedicated a specific day to telling a joke or the fact that I actually know what day it falls on? Either way I thought the best way to celebrate this momentous occasion is to spotlight a couple of NJ’s best comedians. I can’t fully endorse the NJ Hall of Fame until they induct The Sexy Armpit for being the greatest New Jersey Pop Culture website of all time. Even if that never happens I can still enjoy this induction of the legendary comedy duo from Jersey, Abbott and Costello. Check out two of Jersey’s funniest comedians, Jim Norton and Rich Vos honoring their predecessors.

Batman Broadcast on WWOR Channel 9

Batman WWOR 9 TV Guide Ad

Constantly claiming that things were always better 15-20 years ago is a habit that I never wanted to get into. While it’s not true in some cases, everything always does seem better in hindsight. The music sounded better, movies were more entertaining, and in this case, there was more to watch on TV – even though I only had 6 channels. Nowadays, with a copious amount of programming options, like 800 channels worth, it’s no cliche to say that I still can’t find anything to watch.

When I was a kid I remember the period of time when we did not have cable TV. Although cable was gaining popularity, we held out. At that time, we secretly lusted for channels like HBO, MTV, and Nickelodeon. We eventually convinced my Dad to let us get cable, but I remember being fine with the typical broadcast channels. WPIX 11 was one of my favorites because they always showed cool reruns and great afternoon movies, but I was also loyal to WWOR 9. Channel 9 relocated to Secaucus NJ in the early ’80s and my family and I would pass the building all the time on our way to visit with my Aunt, Uncle, and cousins.

If you aren’t from Jersey then it’s difficult to fully understand how slighted we are media wise. We are a state so jammed with people and yet if you live in the northern and central regions of the eastern part of the state,we have to watch New York stations and those to the south and west watch Philadelphia stations. What the hell is that about? The minute you drive down to southwest Jersey everyone is in love with the Philadelphia Eagles and watches Philly TV news broadcasts. Never made sense to me.

Channel 9 had the same annoying problem that the old Giants Stadium and New Meadowlands Stadium have. People always refer to them as being in New York. Why do we even have MAPS!?! Talk about being a state that gets crapped on. Can’t we just have our own things? New Jersey is the Peter Brady of the United States.

The above ad is just an example of how great channel 9 was. Not only did they offer quality programming but also created amusing ads for the TV Guide! It goes to show how cool the ad was since I kept in for over 20 years now. I used to get so excited when The 1966 Batman movie was on TV. Several years later channel 9 became even more awesome to me when The Howard Stern Show premiered. And people who weren’t aware or didn’t care still thought Secaucus was in New York City.

Classic WWF/WWE Event Cards From New Jersey #8

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Damn, the WWE just doesn’t put on shows like they used to. Take note that Summerslam 1989 featured NINE matches on the card which included basically all their big stars. Of course, this wasn’t as much of a spectacle as Wrestlemania was back then, but still a lot of bang for your buck. Tomorrow, Summerlam 2011 will feature a mere 5 matches. And I don’t want to hear about how much better the wrestling quality is now, because at the end of the show, all that matters is how much was I entertained. I could care less if Daniel Bryan pulled off a near perfect surfboard maneuver. Hell yeah I want to see action, but moreover, I want to see controversy. I want Summerslam 2011 to be so damn good that it will make me want to call up my friends and actually converse with them over the phone – something I try my damnedest never to do. I’m hoping CM Punk pushes the boundaries even further this time.

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As a kid I remember being so surprised that Wrestlemania 4 was going to be live from Atlantic City New Jersey. The following year, Wrestlemania returned to A.C! You could imagine how much more shocked and pumped up I was to hear the announcement that Summerslam ’89 would be emanating live from The Meadowlands Arena in East Rutherford, NJ. That was back in the days when it was actually called The Meadowlands. Selling the name of an arena to make millions of extra dollars in revenue is obviously a smart way to monetize an establishment but The Meadowlands Arena is what it still is to many of us in Jersey, not Izod Center. Shit, I’d prefer Brendan Byrne Arena, after all, that’s the guy who had his name plastered on the arena for the majority of my childhood.

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I worshipped Coliseum Video as a kid. 
Their P.O Box was in Fairfield NJ!

Regardless of what the former home of the New Jersey Devils is now called, back then, having Summerslam take place live merely 20 miles away from me was a real kick. Seeing Hogan and Beefcake tag up was awesome, but actually, Summerslam 89 was just OK. Even back then when I was a kid who loved every bit of it, I didn’t think 89’s Summerslam surpassed the original previous year’s edition fittingly held at MSG. Although, lots of these young punk “smarks” as they are referred to, think Summerslam ’88 sucked. Well, this old school wrestling fan says they don’t know shit. And yes, I’m drawing the heat. See you at Summerslam?

Jay and Silent Bob Get Old at NYCC!

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East coasters, especially those from Jersey, will be excited to know that Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes will be presenting their live podcast Jay and Silent Bob Get Old at New York Comic Con this year. The Sexy Armpit will definitely be at Comic Con, but I’m not sure if I want to battle the crowds for that one. It’s cool to see our favorite stoners from Jersey appearing to beef up the star power. I’m sure there will be plenty more announcements of celebs and fanboy icons signing on in the coming weeks. Keep up on the latest news at the official NYCC website: http://www.newyorkcomiccon.com/

Futurama’s Got Jokes!

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Before cable TV shows made it fashionable to live in New Jersey, The Garden State was categorized right beside fart jokes on the humor scale. A New Jersey joke still never fails. 
Why can’t we laugh at ourselves? There’s all this nonsense going around about “defending New Jersey,” and it’s totally lame. Since when are we New Jerseyans the type of people not to find humor in stereotypes? I know I’ve never been one to take it seriously when there’s a joke about us in a movie or a comedian starts ripping on Jersey because it’s all in the name of humor. Plus, a lot of the jokes are based on absolute truth. Have you ever heard someone making fun of how bad it reeks on the New Jersey Turnpike? Well, they aren’t exaggerating because it f*cking stinks to high heaven every time I’m driving on it! Stinks is putting it mildly because it usually gets to the point where I have to pull my t-shirt up over my nose and mouth. In the picture below you can see why.

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Futurama’s depiction of New Jersey
So, yeah – that brings us to Season 1, Episode 8 of Futurama entitled “A Big Piece of Garbage” which originally aired on May 11, 1999. Parts of the episode parody the film Armageddon and as you can probably surmise, instead of an asteroid, earth is in danger of being hit by a humongous piece of garbage. During his demonstration of his new invention The Smelloscope, which allows its user to smell planets, Professor Farnsworth shows a historical video he found on the Internet called The Great Garbage Crisis of 2000 which explained what a dump New York City used to be and how it became that way. Here is the voice over from that video:
“…New York City. The year: 2000. The most wasteful society in the history of the galaxy,
and it was running out of places to bury its neverending output of garbage.
The landfills were full…New Jersey was full…”

The Smithereens – “Blood and Roses”

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqML7WbOun8?rel=0]
If you can make it through the 30 second ad, you’ll see the official “Blood and Roses” video!

25 years ago this week, The Smithereens, a rock band proud to be from Jersey, claimed their first spot on the Billboard Maintstream Rock Chart at number 14 with “Blood and Roses,” off their first full length album, Especially For You. This is an important album for Jersey music and pop culture because it’s regarded by critics as one of The Smithereen’s best efforts and also cited by Kurt Cobain to be one of his favorite albums according to his journal. In addition to its video getting MTV airplay, the track “Blood and Roses” appeared in the films Dangerously Close, Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion (I better watch it, that’s 2 Romy and Michele references on this site in one week), and TV’s Miami Vice.

Check out the official website of The Smithereens:

NJ T-Shirt Tuesday 80: It’s T-Shirt Time!

Shore Store T-Shirts
Some of the Jersey Shore T-Shirts available at The Shore Store

It’s seriously t-shirt time here at The Sexy Armpit! I figured since the new season of Jersey Shore premiered last week, why not delve into the vast collection of tees offered at The Shore Store in Seaside Heights. This is the store where the cast of MTV’s Jersey Shore works when they aren’t getting drunk, smushing, throwing each others belongings onto the deck, fist pumping, or signaling oncoming grenades.

Shore Store T-shirts

If you scan through their online store, you’ll see that they offer a wide array of t-shirts, some highly offensive and some totally stupid, but the main attractions are the amusing New Jersey tees for sale. As you can see, there’s a good chance that the 4th grade class at your local elementary school came up with the one liners on these t-shirts, not William Shakespeare as you may have thought. In case you hadn’t guessed, Come Smell For Yourself is my favorite.

Dania Ramirez is August’s Garden State Playmate!

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Did you know there was a made for TV prequel to Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion? Well, Dania Ramirez did because she was in it, proving that actors have to take the crap roles to get to the better ones. Now, this Dominican dame can look back and laugh at some of the movies she starred in like Romy and Michele: In the Beginning and Fat Albert.

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I first saw Ramirez as A.J’s Dominican girlfriend Bianca in The Sopranos and was surprised to find out that she went to college in New Jersey. Ramirez graduated Montclair State University in 1999 where she was a standout volleyball player. During that time she continued pursuing her dream of becoming an actress and model. Before gaining mainstream notoriety, Ramirez appeared in several music videos including ones from Jay-Z and LL Cool J.

Early in her career Ramirez appeared in the film 25th Hour starring Ed Norton which lead to several larger roles. Eventually, she became well known with fanboys/girls when she played Caridad in the last season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Callisto in X-Men: The Last Stand, and Maya on NBC’s Heroes. Also, if you’re a fan of HBO’s Entourage you will recognize her as Alex, Turtle’s girlfriend.

It looks like Hollywood’s next craze will be late ’90s and early 2000’s nostalgia flicks. What makes me think that? Well, next for Ramirez is a part in the next NOT straight to DVD installment of American Pie: American Reunion.

Lucille Ball On Stage In Princeton, 1937

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Today Lucille Ball would’ve been 100 years old! While most people remember her fondly from her zany exploits in I Love Lucy, she also starred in numerous plays, movies, and TV shows. In tribute to the famed actress I dug up this article which was printed on the front page of The Daily Princetonian on January 14, 1937. Among other Hollywood stars of the time, Ball was one of the several that starred in Broadway’s “Hey Diddle Diddle!” In preparation for the New York City run of the show, the show premiered for one night only on Princeton’s McCarter Theater stage. That would be a pretty damn cool thing today if a Broadway play premiered in a New Jersey playhouse. Note that the Princetonian was only 5 cents back in 1937, while The Sexy Armpit is completely FREE, unless you subscribe on Kindle like my friend Sara, and even then it’s a bargain at $0.99 cents! Also, you may want to head over to Google to check out it’s tribute to Lucille Ball when you’re finished here!

Marilyn Monroe in Atlantic City, 1952

Marilyn Monroe is the most iconic sex symbol of all time (sorry you have a long way to go Megan Fox!) Let me take you back to a time when Marilyn was at the peak of her career. The blonde bombshell from California was starring in strings of movies, having nude pictures leaked (No, Vanessa Hudgens didn’t pioneer that one), dating Joltin’ Joe DiMaggio, and also serving as the Grand Marshall of the Miss America Parade in Atlantic City. In fact, I came across some rare color footage of Marilyn Monroe of that event from 1952. Thanks to YouTube user evexx08 for the incredible piece of NJ Pop Culture!

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPGdDINgu2g?rel=0]

Also, if you’d like to delve a little deeper, YouTube User MonroeNumber1Fan has uploaded a slideshow that compiles rare photos of Marilyn Monroe from the ’52 Miss America Pageant in A.C.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBdjlytAbWs?rel=0]
IN MEMORY OF MARILYN MONROE
June 1st 1926 – August 5th 1962