Peter's favorite nickname? Little Miss Junior
* * * * *
Peter has actually said to us: I don't like to talk about my personal life on the vlog.
* * * * *
Peter's comedic goal? The Henry Moment.
But what is the Henry Moment?
Do you remember Peter's New York vlogs? One afternoon, between shooting locations, tpjvfb took the subway with Peter from lower Manhattan to Prospect Park. On the train, Peter met a precocious boy named Henry.
Henry was fresh from karate class with his friend and a nanny in tow. When he boarded the train, he walked up to Peter, said "Excuse me," and plopped down in the seat next to him.
Peter said a few polite words to Henry, and soon the two were carrying on like old friends. The two had what Hollywood types refer to as "chemistry."
The nanny sensed this, for she had no reservations about this strange bearded man chatting away to her two charges -- she probably welcomed the break. And although Henry's friend talked some, too, Henry kept interrupting, for he was the star -- much like we imagine Peter was at Henry's age (about seven or eight).
As our train rocketed beneath the city, Peter questioned Henry about his likes and dislikes, his reading habits, his friends and his classes at school. The whole subway car listened, rapt.
At one point, Henry claimed he had read a 20,000-page book. Peter called Henry out on his fib, and the boy went silent. Henry was amazed: Peter, it seemed, could read his mind. Everybody, even a couple of roughnecks who sat across from us -- stone-faced behind dark glasses -- started laughing.
Since then, Peter has been on a continual search for the elusive comedy he was a part of that day, his Henry Moment.
* * * * *
Peter is a Green Bay Packers fan, even though he was born in Minneapolis. However, his father (whom he calls "papa") is a Minnesota Vikings fan, even though he was born in Wisconsin.
* * * * *
Peter's biological father (yes, Peter is adopted) was an American League umpire, the most hated position in American sports.
* * * * *
These are just some of the reasons why Peter is a Peter is a Peter is a Peter.
Also:
Monday, June 16, 2008
Thursday, June 12, 2008
The last of the TB lake posts--maybe
This is the part of the blog where we give ourselves a big ol' pat on the back.
Regarding what's now being called "The Tommy Bartlett Reverse Tsunami Disaster," tpjvfb beat The Chicago Tribune -- the Midwest's major paper -- to the story by a good 48 hours.
Sam Zell will be buying us -- risk-free and funded by our employees' own pensions -- any day now.
(The above Tribune photo (taken before photojournalists had names) shows Tommy Bartlett/Santa Clause on his first time out on hydra skates.)
Monday, June 9, 2008
Update on the Tommy Bartlett lake
BREAKING NEWS
Well, we were wrong. Lake Denton, home to the world famous Tommy Bartlett Water Show, has indeed, uh, washed away.
From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Lake Delton near the Dells is essentially empty after the rain-swollen lake cut its own channel around a dam and emptied into the Wisconsin River, taking four homes with it.
The 254-acre lake is the home of the famed Tommy Bartlett Water Show. Tom Diehl, who operates the show and is a trustee for the Village of Lake Delton, said there was nothing but mud where the show is staged every day.
"We haven't had a show since Friday," Diehl said in a telephone interview. "We canceled Saturday and Sunday because of high water," he said. "Today, we're canceling because of no water."
Diehl described the Lake Delton situation as a once in 250-year event. "It dropped inch after inch after inch into the watershed," Diehl said. "Last night the lake went up 20 inches. We started sandbagging trying to protect the dam. But when the water got too high, four homes were lost. It took on a life of its own."
First Brett Favre. Now this. Please send your condolences to Peter. He needs our support.
We don't understand the caption for this Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel photo that's supposed to inform the public about flooding in Wisconsin:
Tommy Baerlett's (sic) ski show is put on hold until the lake is filled back up.
For starters, in Wisconsin you just don't misspell "Tommy Bartlett," let alone in the state's largest newspaper. And how does flooding cause the lake to empty? Unless the emptying of Tommy's private lake for cleaning is the real reason the state is flooded.
Meanwhile, as Peter's favorite water show closes and his homeland is buried in a watery grave, he pokes fun at dioramas and can't recognize Stephen Fuller Austin. (Admittedly, the wallaby crack was a real ripper.)
Way to go, Pete.
Friday, June 6, 2008
Why we like Peter
For the second time this week, we're going to quote Sunday's The New York Time Book Review.
In a review of Nicholas Dawidoff's book The Crowd Sounds Happy, critic Sam Stephenson notes how Dawidoff -- who's father went conversing-with-squirrels mad when the author was an infant -- turned to the game of baseball to add security to his life. "With the game's system of making a tangible record of every substantive event," writes Dawidoff, "there was a stability and order to baseball ... It could be known."
A lovely piece. But what made us post is the last paragraph:
Dawidoff writes, “When you are young there is the terrible inability to understand that it’s your deficits that will make others not only like you but feel close to you.” He learned this bit of wisdom, but I’m not sure many other adults have. If they did, then crowds might be happy.
We think this is why we like Peter.
In a review of Nicholas Dawidoff's book The Crowd Sounds Happy, critic Sam Stephenson notes how Dawidoff -- who's father went conversing-with-squirrels mad when the author was an infant -- turned to the game of baseball to add security to his life. "With the game's system of making a tangible record of every substantive event," writes Dawidoff, "there was a stability and order to baseball ... It could be known."
A lovely piece. But what made us post is the last paragraph:
Dawidoff writes, “When you are young there is the terrible inability to understand that it’s your deficits that will make others not only like you but feel close to you.” He learned this bit of wisdom, but I’m not sure many other adults have. If they did, then crowds might be happy.
We think this is why we like Peter.
A brief disclosure
We here at the peter johansen vlog fan blog wish to let fans know a bit about the standards employed at this fledging yet necessary blog.
1.) You may notice that occasionally a blog post seems to slightly change. That's probably because the post has slightly changed.
We here at pjvfb occasionally make changes to posts to correct spelling and awkward phrasing or to add information (such as photos and quotes). Example: We recently updated the last post to read: Because the opening title shot, with the aquamarine words AMERICA THE VERY, VERY BEAUTIFUL... A SAMPLE on black background, was so -- how do we put this -- ominous. And ghostly.
It previously read: Because the credits were so -- how do we put this -- ominous. And ghostly.
Why the change? We incorrectly called the opening title "credits."
We consider this a minor correction. More significant changes will be made public.
2.) Much of the blog is fabricated. Vague summaries or paraphrased conversations with Peter pass through our magic factory and become quotations. Sometimes we use actual exact quotes. Opinions expressed may not even be our own. Hopefully, we can all enjoy guessing what is fact and what is fiction.
We will, however, diligently cite sources outside the realm of Peter Johansen.
We may also invent people. Josey5000 of Waco, Texas, for example, probably doesn't exist. But we can't say for sure that a woman in Waco wasn't scouring craigslist for a tea set late one night, stumbled upon Peter's audition ad and esp-mailed us a heads-up. Of course, Peter did tell us ahead of time he was going to post the ad, then immediately contacted tpjvfb when it was up.
What we're saying is this: the only reason we lie is because we don't have real tips or real fans -- besides uncle gerry (God bless him!). So, like democracy, it's up to you the fans/voters to keep us honest. Also, we hit you because we love you.
3.) Mixed metaphors and clunky phrasing are often on purpose. (Send your complaints to Sergeant Vlog. He'll know what to do with them.) But you knew that. Because you are smarter than us.
4.) You the fans are us the fans. Our faults are yours, but not vice versa. Also, our triumphs remain ours.
5.) Most pictures are simply ripped off the Internet without permission. We're so sorry, world. We hope we're not the straw that breaks the global camel's back. (We're hoping catastrophic climate change or teenagers dancing dirty beat us to the punch.) Again, send us legitimate, original photos and we'll post them. Or illegitimate, pirated photos, since we already said we'd post them, too.
6.) We can't always tell when we're kidding. And (as stated earlier) we lie, because according to our ex-girlfriend, we're cowards. (That's actually true.)
1.) You may notice that occasionally a blog post seems to slightly change. That's probably because the post has slightly changed.
We here at pjvfb occasionally make changes to posts to correct spelling and awkward phrasing or to add information (such as photos and quotes). Example: We recently updated the last post to read: Because the opening title shot, with the aquamarine words AMERICA THE VERY, VERY BEAUTIFUL... A SAMPLE on black background, was so -- how do we put this -- ominous. And ghostly.
It previously read: Because the credits were so -- how do we put this -- ominous. And ghostly.
Why the change? We incorrectly called the opening title "credits."
We consider this a minor correction. More significant changes will be made public.
2.) Much of the blog is fabricated. Vague summaries or paraphrased conversations with Peter pass through our magic factory and become quotations. Sometimes we use actual exact quotes. Opinions expressed may not even be our own. Hopefully, we can all enjoy guessing what is fact and what is fiction.
We will, however, diligently cite sources outside the realm of Peter Johansen.
We may also invent people. Josey5000 of Waco, Texas, for example, probably doesn't exist. But we can't say for sure that a woman in Waco wasn't scouring craigslist for a tea set late one night, stumbled upon Peter's audition ad and esp-mailed us a heads-up. Of course, Peter did tell us ahead of time he was going to post the ad, then immediately contacted tpjvfb when it was up.
What we're saying is this: the only reason we lie is because we don't have real tips or real fans -- besides uncle gerry (God bless him!). So, like democracy, it's up to you the fans/voters to keep us honest. Also, we hit you because we love you.
3.) Mixed metaphors and clunky phrasing are often on purpose. (Send your complaints to Sergeant Vlog. He'll know what to do with them.) But you knew that. Because you are smarter than us.
4.) You the fans are us the fans. Our faults are yours, but not vice versa. Also, our triumphs remain ours.
5.) Most pictures are simply ripped off the Internet without permission. We're so sorry, world. We hope we're not the straw that breaks the global camel's back. (We're hoping catastrophic climate change or teenagers dancing dirty beat us to the punch.) Again, send us legitimate, original photos and we'll post them. Or illegitimate, pirated photos, since we already said we'd post them, too.
6.) We can't always tell when we're kidding. And (as stated earlier) we lie, because according to our ex-girlfriend, we're cowards. (That's actually true.)
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