Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Have to admit that I'm surprised that in the more than three weeks since the Red Sox released Hanley Ramirez that no team has signed him. Or maybe Hanley doesn't want to be signed?... Stephen Hawking's memorial stone at Westminster Abbey... Enrico Palazzo is still my favorite opera singer... Cool - a real star bursting in space taken over the course of four years by the Hubble telescope... Greatly amused that Clancy Brown did the voice of Surtur in the movie Thor: Ragnorok. Clancy Brown also does the voice of Mr. Krabs on Spongebob Squarepants. Now I keep picturing a giant Mr. Krabs destroying Asgard with a giant flaming sword. My mind works differently than most people... Excellent weekend advice from the 2nd Battalion, 22nd Infantry...

Clancy Brown - That Guy Hall of Famer

Bill Simmons (the artist previously known as the Boston Sportsguy) came up with the idea of "that guy" - you know the actor you would see on TV or in a movie and you would know some of his roles but not his name. Well Clancy Brown is a "That Guy" Hall of Famer. 

Be honest - did you ever hear of Clancy Brown? Some of you may have said yes but I bet the vast majority said "Clancy who?" Take a look at some of his roles and I'd bet that even if you don't know his name (ergo the "that guy" appellation) you can picture him in your head. 

- Viking Lofgren - Bad Boys 
- The Kurgan - Highlander 
- Captain Byron Hadley - The Shawshank Redemption 
- the voice of Mr. Krab - SpongeBob SquarePants 

Clancy's had many, many more roles but I think you can see my point. Clancy Brown - That Guy Hall of Famer.

Sean Penn vs Clancy Brown

Sean Penn first burst on the national consciousness as the stoner prototype Jeff Spicoli in Fast Times at Ridgemont High but it was his next movie - Bad Boys - that got me thinking.

Today Sean Penn's Bad Boys is generally forgotten. If you ask most people if they've seen the movie Bad Boys they will think you are talking about the Michael Bay movie starting Will Smith and Martin Lawrence. In the 1983 Sean Penn movie - Penn plays a "crime kid" sent to reform school where one of his tormentors is played by Clancy Brown. What got me thinking this morning is that an argument can be made that Clancy Brown has had the better acting career than the better known Penn.

Has Sean Penn had an iconic role in a classic Sci-Fi film? Well Clancy Brown played The Kurgan in the classic Highlander. 

Has Sean Penn ever been a beloved cartoon character? Well Clancy Brown is Mr. Krabs from SpongeBob SquarePants. Plus in the cartoon series The Batman Clancy played villains Mr. Freeze, Lex Luther and Bane! Talk about acting range!

Sean Penn is mostly known for playing bad guys such as his Jimmy Markum from Mystic River but has any of his bad guys been as menacing as Clancy Brown's Captain Byron Hadley in The Shawshank Redemption? I don't think so!

I've got to give the acting championship to Clancy Brown in this match-up. Maybe if the overrated Sean Penn can come full circle and play Mr. Hand in a remake of Fast Times at Ridgemont High then I'd reconsider.