Flaming Lips Playing MN State Fair

August 24th @ the State Fair Grandstand - is the buzz. Speaking of which, whatever happened to Robyn Robinson's insane 'The Buzz' segment?

UPDATE: The official state fair site just listed them.

I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For

One of the few things that make me happy every time I see it.

Seona Dancing

Ok - so see that guy on the left? Look familiar? You might remember him from a flash in the pan band called Seona Dancing if you were in the UK circa 1984?

Oh right, you probably know him as the boss on The Office. That's right, it's Ricky Gervais. Video, audio, and lyrics all available on the site.

Sesame Street Video Clips

Previous Sesame Street Posts:

One Sesame, Two Sesame, Three Sesame, Four Sesame

Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah... (lightning flash)

UPDATE: Carol Spinney, 72, just won a Lifetime Achievement Daytime Oscar Friday night for playing Big Bird, and Oscar the Grouch. He plans to play the characters for the rest of his life. I was quite moved to see him win this award for living out characters that are deep in the subconscious of every child in America for the last 40 years. This guy rules.

Secret Fun Spot

Check it out.

When Black Holes Collide

It looks like this.

321 Contact

The Electric Company

I used to watch this every day while I smelled dinner being cooked. Yes, that is Morgan Freeman that you just saw...

Electric Co

I used to play gin rummy to this song almost every night one summer..

Student Video Documentary Contest Winners

I'm proud to say that the grand prize winner of the C-SPAN student video documentary is from Minnesota (of course).

Check out all the winners - this is one of the coolest things I've seen for kids of this generation - I know they have a lot to say, there's a lot of smart kids out there, and they don't get much of a venue to express themselves - I think this is really cool - there needs to be more stuff like this - idiots like Bush have spent enough time ruining everyone's 20's and 30's - it's time for the kids that are trying to have an existence have a venue for something to say that's not MTV.

PBS Bumper 1971

I always felt slightly weird when this came on when I was a kid for some reason - cuz who was that character on the far left?

Christopher Walken Flies Through Space

President Eisenhower

"Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and not clothed."
-----
"This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence-economic, political, even spiritual-is felt in every city, every State house, every office of the Federal government....In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist."

- President Eisenhower in his farewell speech to the country, January 17, 1961

Previous Post: The Last True Republican

Norman Bush Jr. III

Another fair and balanced viewpoint of America's sellout Senator.

Previous Posts: Norm 1 Norm 2

Free Public Domain Movies

Ed Wood's Plan 9 from Outer Space, Nosferatu, Night of the Living Dead, Reefer Madness, Teenagers from Outer Space...

Watch the movie full screen online - or download to your iPod or PSP for later viewing..

Freakies Cereal

"For instance, Hamhose liked ham sandwiches and lived in a garden hose so he could take long walks all by himself. Grumble had bad feet and so he is always complaining. Snorkeldorf had a long nose, so snorkel is part of his name. Goody-Goody well, we all know about Goody-Goody. The Freakies went in search of the legendary Freakies Tree which grew delicious Freakies cereal. They found the Tree, realize the legend was true, and promptly took up residence in the Tree which then became the backdrop for all the TV spots and package back stories."

I have the Hamhose magnet and the Cowmumble magnet may still be somewhere at my parent's house. I still remember how the magnet smelled when it came out of the box. Trying to find a commercial online - no luck so far. (Click on the image if you want to read the back of the cereal box.)

(Click Breakfast Characters below to see more 'Freakies' posts, including an original Freakies commercial.)

He-Man

Remember this?

Um.... what?

Huh?

This American Life Gitmo

This real audio link from the great radio show, This American Life, goes into our Guantanamo Bay gulag in Cuba - and asks basic questions that aren't about political spin.

Click the title bar to listen.

Create Your Own F-ed Up Garfield Cartoon

Make a terrible comic strip worse by writing inappropriate lines.

Jesse "Don" Knotts

One of the funniest comedians who ever lived, his ability to create brilliant comedy out of absolutely nothing but his imaginative demeanor is something few if any comedians have even approached. As such he was misunderstood and often miscast as a fool (as in Disney's Apple Dumpling Gang) but some great TV never would have lasted past the first season without him though credit was given to others - The Andy Griffith Show and Three's Company especially. This skit from The Muppet Show showed his brilliant ability to make the audience think the absolutely absurd could be believable and have a logic of its own if you displaced your belief onto Knotts' character. You'll be missed Jess.

Shatner's Rocketman

Courtesy of Sheila

WARNING: The volume on this video is really loud at first; turn your speaker volume way down.

I somehow missed seeing this spoken chroma-key version of Rocketman as interepreted by Shatner even after it was copied by Stewie in an episode of Family Guy..

Shatner Sings Again

Horrible Food Packaging

I've been meaning to write about this since I first mentioned it 7 months ago in an indirectly related story - the complete obnoxiousness of food products with photographs of people's faces on it - beginning with Taster's Choice and most recently Good Friends cereal - a cereal made of twigs and bark with scary pictures like this. All I want to know is what customer are they envisioning that is going to look at this box and want to buy their cereal? The best I can imagine is the rare customer that ignores packaging and immediately looks at the label for fiber content. Absolutely ridiculous. Here they are at last for your viewing pleasure. If you have horrible examples of food packaging send them along - the winner receives a box of Good Friends cereal and a post announcing the winners in Horrible Food Packaging II.

Live Action Simpsons Title Sequence

Courtesy of Beep

It's My Year

Year of the Dog

1922, 1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006

People born in the Year of the Dog possess the best traits of human nature. They have a deep sense of loyalty, are honest, and inspire other people's confidence because they know how to keep secrets. But Dog People are somewhat selfish, terribly stubborn, and eccentric. They care little for wealth, yet somehow always seem to have money. They can be cold emotionally and sometimes distant at parties. They can find fault with many things and are noted for their sharp tongues. Dog people make good leaders. They are compatible with those born in the Years of the Horse, Tiger, and Rabbit.