2009-12-24
2009-12-22
Waving Goodbye To 2009
Here is a video created by Whirled Interactive giving 2009 a Google Wave sendoff.
2009-12-21
2009 Top 10 TV Ads per Time Magazine
These are the Top Ten Tv ads for 2009 according to Time Magazine.
2009-12-16
Roy Edward Disney, (January 10, 1930 December 16, 2009)
Roy Disney was a longtime senior executive for The Walt Disney Company, which his father, Roy Oliver Disney and his uncle Walt Disney founded. At the time of his death he was a shareholder with over 16 million shares or about 1% and served as a consultant for the company and Director Emeritus for the Board of Directors. He is perhaps best known for organizing the ousting of two top Disney executives: first, Ron Miller in 1984, and then Michael Eisner in 2005
2009-12-15
It's A Weird Al Yankovic Holiday Double Feature
"The Night Santa Went Crazy" W*A*R*N*I*N*G* NOT for viewing by the kiddies!
"It's Christmas at Ground Zero"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGdrMOttV_s
New Songs for the Holidays.
Mormon Senator Orrin Hatch in a video of the making of his song: "Eight Days of Hanukkah."
In response to the song Sen. Orrin Hatch wrote, "Eight Days of Hannukah," Max Weinberg of the Tonight show wrote "A Song for the Mormons."
2009-12-14
Tunes on the Tesla Coil.
The Masters of Lightning--Steve Ward, Jeff Larson & Terry Blake--play "Hot Buttered Popcorn" on the twin Musical Tesla Coils at Penguicon in Troy, MI 4/19/08
The Masters of Lightning-Steve Ward, Jeff Larson & Dr. Zeus (Terry Blake)-play the Dr. Who theme song with the Zeusaphones at Duckon 18 in Naperville, IL 06/2009
ArcAttack plays the Dr. Who Theme on the Flux Capacitor at Afterlife in Dallas. 3/21/09
2009-12-04
Holiday Shopping for the Tech Inclined
Join Amber MacArthur, photographer & blogger Rannie Turingan and Intel Canada to discuss how to get creative with your holiday snapshots & videos. Originally aired this Friday (Dec 4/09) NOTE: Audio gets flaky at times.
2009-12-03
"Christmas Is Pain" by Roy Zimmerman
It's the holiday season,so we have Roy Zimmerman performing a parody of Bob Dylan.
2009-11-25
Happy Thanksgiving, from Charlie Brown and the gang!
Happy Thanksgiving, from Charlie Brown and the gang!
2009-10-16
Happy Halloween! Beany and Cecil - "Beany and the Boo Birds"
Here's a treat from Bob Clampett's cartoon, Beany and Cecil, "Beany and the Boo Birds"
2009-10-09
Slowing Things Down
In this hectic, frantic, chaotic world we sometime need to stop and smell the roses. If you can't stop, at least slow down enough to watch these slo-motion videos.
2009-10-02
Group photo on VoiceLympics Cruise
This photo was taken on September 21st, 2009. I'm on the landing, in the gray suit, surrounded by the ladies.Group photo on VoiceLympics Cruise.
Once Upon A Time - The Super Heroes
This is a documentary made in 2002 about the creation and evolution of comic book superheroes,featureing many of the creators, writers & artists behind the characters.
2009-09-13
Big Daddy Does "Star Wars"
The Do-Wop group, Big Daddy, reinterprets the theme from "Star Wars" through a Ventures filter.
2009-09-06
You Think Your Life's Bad . . .
Songwriter/comic Ray Stevens sings "I Need Your Help Barry Manilow"
Eddie Bear chats with Ray Stevens about his past, present, and future.
2009-09-05
The Latest On "Batman: Arkham Asylum"
Adam Sessler of G4's X-Play reviews the new "Batman: Arkham Asylum" video game. I 've only played it for a couple of hours, but I'm enjoying it so far. After Adam's review I've include a few other clips and reviews.
Here's a play-through of the first 10 minutes of the game at "Normal" difficulty on the XBox 360.
Here's what the game will look like when it's released for the PC on September 18th, that is, if you have the right graphics card.
The gang of Revision3.Com review and discuss "B:AA."
And finally, for those of you who speak French, an extensive 45 minute review.
2009-09-03
"Do You Wanna Date My Avatar?" starring Felicia Day
You may remember Felicia Day from "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along-Blog" or the Sears commercial (the one in which the woman's clothes match the color of the washer/dryer) or you may know her from "The Guild," an on-line web series about a bunch of gamers. Here she gets her sexy on in the World of Warcraft-inspired video, "Do You Wanna Date My Avatar?"
Directed by: Jed Whedon
Music by: Jed Whedon
Lyrics by: Felicia Day
Rap: Jeff Lewis and Sandeep Parikh
Backup Vocals: Maurissa Tancharoen and Jed Whedon
Director of Photography: Omer Ganai
Choreography: Chantal Robeson
Edited by: Jeff Yorkes
Produced by: Christian Agypt, Felicia Day
Costumes: Sarah Trost
Weapons: Greg Aranowitz
Production Design: Tyler Robinson
Starring:
Vincent Caso
Felicia Day
Jeff Lewis
Amy Okuda
Sandeep Parikh
Robin Thorsen
Dancers:
Bijoya Das
Jul Kohler
Maurissa Tancharoen
English Subtitles: Daniela Figueiredo
Here is an interview of Felicia Day and Sandeep Parikh by Veronica Belmont of Mahalo.Com about the web series "The Guild."
Here is The Guild - Episode 1: Wake-Up Call:
2009-08-30
It's A Weird Al Yankovic Kinda Day
The following is a promo for alsbrain.com, which promotes "Al's Brain" (a 3-D journey through the human brain with "Weird Al" Yankovic). Al's Brain makes its premiere at the Orange County Super Fair (July 10 - August 9, 2009) and will moves on to the Puyallup Fair in September (other dates and locations to be announced).
Disclaimers: Al did not write or perform the song in this promo, and the "Al's Brain in 3-D" movie (which is mostly live action) bears no resemblance at all to this video.
2009-08-25
When That's All You Can Stand . . .
This is from comedian/songwriter Rob Paravonian, the "Pachelbel's Rant" guy. It's a song for the over-sharers, the people who can't use social networking sites in moderation, and one of the reasons I don't use instant messaging. "I Just Want To Hear Less From You" is available on his new CD "Songs From The Second Floor."
400th Anniversary of Galileo's Telescope
How many other objects can claim to have affected humanity to the extent of Galileo's telescope? How many other objects still have an impact on our lives after 400 years of daily use in one form or another? While Galileo didn't invent the telescope, he was the first to point it at the sky and ask, "What is there beyond the Earth?"
2009-08-13
Alfred Hitchcock, August 13, 1899
It may be 110 years since his birth, but if you stop the typical man-in-the-street and ask what his favorite Hitchcock film is he has nearly ninety from which to choose, but he'll likely have a favorite.
Here is Part 1 of a BBC Television interview with Alfred Hitchcock first shown on "Monitor" (1964). Part 2 follows and after that is Hitch's appearance as a mystery guest on "What's My Line?"
Recreating History with the Sands of Time
Master sand-carver John Gowdy re-creates the beheading of Anne Boleyn. This is an ad for Showtimes, "The Tudors", but it doesn't intrude on the quality or craftsmanship of Gowdy's work with a difficult medium.
2009-08-04
Mickey Katz parodies Davy Crockett with "Duvid Crockett, King of Delancy Street"
The wonderful thing about the internet is the serendipity of discovery. I was reading Mark Evanier's blog, News From Me, and he had posted a segment of the Hollywood Palace from March 27, 1965. It was Tony Randall introducing Allan Sherman performing his parody of Petula Clark's "Downtown" entitled "Crazy Downtown." I watched and enjoyed that piece, one thing led to another and I came across "Duvid Crockett, King of Delancy Street" by Mickey Katz.
Now I'd never heard of Mickey Katz, but I gather he was a great jewish yiddish entertainer who received his first moments of fame in the 1940s as a member of Spike Jones and His City Slickers. There he was known for his "glugging" vocal sound effects on tunes like "Cocktails for Two" and "Hawaiian War Chant". Katz later went on to perform his own musical review and record highly popular "ethnic" comedy albums on the Capitol label where he would perform English-Yiddish parody songs.
Katz son is Broadway legend, Joel Grey, and his granddaughter is actress Jennifer Grey. The video that follows is Katz parody of the 50's Disney tv theme song to "Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier." Have fun!
2009-08-01
E! Videos from Comic-Con 2009
Here is a link to some videos created at the 2009 Comic-Con in San Diego including the following: Adam Baldwin and Zackary Levi from "Chuck" along with Joss Whedon and Eliza Dushku from "Dollhouse."
E! Videos from Comic-Con 2009
And here we have Comic-Con attendees so filled with joy it just has to come out of their feet. Here is a video compiled by The Duct Tape Jedi:
2009-07-31
Alex Ross in his studio
Toonami Interviews Nelson Alexander Ross aka Alex Ross.
Ross is a comic book artist, illustrator, painter, and plotter. Best known for his photorealism, Ross has worked with both DC and Marvel comics.
Ross talks about superheros, art, comic books and his favorite hero, Superman.
http://www.AlexRossArt.com
2009-07-19
Cronkite, Williams, Disney
What follows is a brief excerpt from the film "Back To Neverland." It ran in the Disney-MGM Studios Animation exhibit from 1989 to 2003. The animation is by Frans Vischer with voice by Robin Williams. The live action actors are Walter Cronkite and animator, Bruce Smith.
Walter Cronkite: November 4, 1916 – July 17, 2009
United Breaks Guitars
In the spring of 2008, the band, Sons of Maxwell, were traveling to Nebraska for a one-week tour. The band was flying United Airlines and while waiting for the plane to take off guitarist, Dave Carroll, overheard another passenger exclaim, "My god, they're throwing guitars out there!" United Airlines baggage handlers in Chicago were witnessed tossing Carroll's Taylor guitar. Upon arrival, Carroll discovered his $3500 guitar was severely damaged.
Carroll began the process of filing a damage claim. Carroll said, "United didn't deny the experience occurred but for nine months the various people I communicated with put the responsibility for dealing with the damage on everyone other than themselves and finally said they would do nothing to compensate me for my loss. So I promised the last person to finally say no to compensation (Ms. Irlweg) that I would write and produce three songs about my experience with United Airlines and make videos for each to be viewed online by anyone in the world." The video that follows, "United Breaks Guitars" is song number one. The second song has been written and video production is underway. Follow the adventures of Dave Carroll at http://twitter.com/DaveCarroll .
Video Produced by Curve Productions of Halifax, http://www.curveproductionsinc.com.
Full Story: http://www.davecarrollmusic.com/story
2009-07-07
Fatal Monorail Crash at Walt Disney World
There was a monorail crash in Walt Disney World this 4th of July weekend that took the life of the 21-year-old driver.
Go here for raw footage of crash
Go here for the rest of the story
2009-06-27
More Than A Walk In The Park
If you're thinking, "What should I use to make my next Halloween costume POP?" consider Kim Graham's refinement of drywaller's stilts, Digilegs II. At $1,000.00 a pair you'll probably be the only one on your block with them!
It appears that the original design came from a system developed by Dave and Lou Elsey and used in a Soccer Playing Demon TV commercial for Nike. They were later adapted by Greg Orca as pivoting mechanical leg extensions for the "Farscape" character "Namtar", Series 1 episode 9 "DNA mad scientist" from 1999.
In the following video they are being tested by Adrian Getly on the grounds of Fox Movie Studios, Moore Park in Sydney Australia.
2009-06-21
2009-06-13
Leonard Maltin's Secret's Out-Dreams With Sharp Teeth
Leonard Maltin discusses the Harlan Ellison documentary, "Dreams With Sharp Teeth," for his series on the ReelZchannel, "Leonard Maltin's Secret's Out."
2009-06-08
2009 Tony Awards - Coming and Going
Here are the opening and closing numbers from the 2009 Tony Awards. The creamy center will come later.
2009-06-07
2009-06-05
I Can Stick For Miles And Miles . . .
Would you be willing to use over 87 miles (140km) of sticky tape to make a series of sculptures? An artist in Japan has done just that.
2009-05-18
Really!?! No honorary degree for President Barack Obama?
This past week President Obama spoke at Arizona State University and the University of Notre Dame. Saturday Night Live had something to say about that. Really!?!
2009-05-10
Remembering Phil Hartman - "Colon Blow"
May 28, 1998 marks the anniversary of the tragic death of Phil Hartman. I was watching CBS Sunday Morning today and caught a glimpse of a skit Phil performed on Saturday Night Live, a fake ad for a cereal named Colon Blow. Thanks to the folks at Hulu, here is that skit.
2009-05-08
Bruce Johnson, Fantasy Worlds, and Those Disney Girls.
Summer is almost upon us and "Disney Girls" reminds me of my youth and simpler times. The first version is performed by its creator, Bruce Johnson. The second is by Art Garfunkel and the third is by "Mama" Cass Elliot
Star Trek 11 Arrives!
The latest movie entry in the Star Trek franchise has arrived and with it comes the resultant hoopla. Not wanting to be left out of the hoopla, here are a few Trek related items I found interesting:
A Klingon Opera
Movie Review by Bob Mondello 'Star Trek': That Final Frontier, Boldly Reapproached
Star Trek Trailers
Special Features: Trek Yourself
2009-04-29
Disney Silences the Song of the Adventurers Club
It is New Years Eve, 1937 and you have been invited to attend a very special party at the Adventurer’s Club, a unique place filled with unique people. You descend the stairs from the Zebra Mezzanine, noting the attendees are world adventurers (or people who claim they are), and the walls of the Main Salon are covered with artifacts and bric-a-brac gathered from locations as diverse as Antarctica to Zanzibar.
Zeus Goes Fishing
You note the bronze statue of Zeus, with his rod and creel. You look up at the stone edifice of Babylonia, goddess of all things fertile and tip your fedora to the Club Gleemeister, Colonel Critchlow Suchbench, who pays you no mind. You jimmy the lock and slip into the Library, moving over to the haunted organ, fish a Liberty half dollar out of the watch pocket of your vest, and drop it into Fingers Zambezi’s over-sized brandy snifter. You hear the sharp crack of knuckles and watch as the keys of the organ seem to move without provocation and the tune, “My Funny Valentine,” fills the Library. You slip out a side door as the main door opens.
Straightening your tie, you walk into the Mask Room and watch for a few minutes as the masks of Arnie and Claude banter back and forth. You feel something brush up against you. You turn and see a maid with auburn tresses who gives you a wink and pops her gum in synchronicity. Graves the butler, standing behind her, clears his throat and she moves off, swishing her feather duster as she goes. Graves addresses you as, “Sir,” and presents a silver tray containing a glass tumbler three quarters filled with a 50-year-old adult beverage. You accept the proffered drink and move on to the Treasure Room as Beezle the genie makes an appearance for the clubs new inductees. He sees you and bows as you incline your head in his direction. Just then, you hear a fanfare coming from the Main Salon and you head back that way. Colonel Suchbench is finishing a song and beginning the official Club Song. You join in.
KUNGALOOSH!
The Library doors open, initiates, and full members alike enter for the night’s festivities. You take out your pocket watch and note the 10:00 hour. It is just two hours until 1938. You close the watch, replace it in your vest, and follow the crowd into the Library for the evening main entertainment.
The preceding is the type of experience and entertainment you could enjoy at the Adventurers Club on Pleasure Island in Downtown Disney while staying at Walt Disney World. Correction, not “could enjoy” but could have enjoyed, because Disney has shuttered the Adventures Club, perhaps forever.
On May 1st, 1989, The Adventures Club opened on Disney’s Pleasure Island along with a number of other clubs, restaurants, and stores at the Walt Disney World Resort. The Disney Imagineers, led by Head Writer, Show Producer, and Show Director, Roger Cox and designer, Joe Rohde (designer of Disney’s Animal Kingdom) styled the interior after a 1937 era private club for explorers and world travelers. The walls of the club were festooned with photographs and artifacts from countless expeditions and explorations. The Adventurers Club featured audio-animatronics, puppets, and a cast of characters and adventurers who performed in scripted shows and improvisational comedy. The shows and cast conversations were often laced with innuendo, while they mingling with the club's patrons who were often referred to as initiates, fellow adventurers, or simply “drunks.”
The cast of live characters were large: Aviator and ladies’ man, Hathaway Browne. Club Treasurer and ichthyologist, Otis T. Wren. Befuddled Club Curator, Fletcher Hodges. Club President and socialite, Pamela Perkins. Explorer and cabaret singer, Samantha Sterling. Junior Adventurer and contender for the Balderdash Cup, Emil Bleehall. The mysterious rarely seen and gypsy, Madame Zarkov, Club Butler and trumpeter of announcements, Graves, along with too many maids to name.
Babylonia
The group of faux cast members included: Club Gleemeister and cable-controlled puppet, Colonel Critchlow Suchbench. The stone-faced goddess of women and all things fertile, Babylonia who would sometimes speak to the mounted animal head of the Yakoose. These three could be found in the Main Salon. In the Mask Room were Arnie and Claude, who were (as you might have guessed) talking masks. The Treasure Room contained the disembodied head of Beezle, a genie. The Library is the domain of the disembodied "Fingers" Zambezi and his haunted organ. Each of these characters is a combination of mechanical magic and human actor.
Lastly, there was the cast of characters who were either only referred to, but never seen, or those who appeared in the early or closing days of the clubs existence: Sutter Bestwick, Emil Bleehall, Sr, Sheila Griffin, Chilton Thompson, and Marcel, a man in an ape suit who appeared in the early days of the club and in the final Hoopla on September 27, 2008, the clubs closing night. Marcel would invite the clubs permanent members to join him on a yearlong safari.
On June 17th, 2008, Disney announced they would be “. . . taking the Downtown Disney experience to the next level. We are doing this through enhancements to existing Downtown Disney locations. Extraordinary new shopping, dining and other experiences including a completely re-imagined Pleasure Island, and enhanced theming and story telling brought to life by Disney Imagineers.” Disney also released the statement that “. . . it’s consistent with our commitment to regularly evaluating and refreshing our product to ensure it is relevant to our Guests and providing them with new and exciting experiences they can only have at Walt Disney World Resort. In addition, our Guests are telling us that they want additional shopping and dining experiences at Downtown Disney and we want to position Downtown Disney for long-term success.”
My interpretation of those statements is the operating costs of the Pleasure Island clubs - 8 Trax, The Adventurer's Club, BET Sound-Stage Club, Mannequins Dance Palace, Motion, and The Comedy Warehouse (my personal favorite) – were too high or the revenues generated were too low and Disney wanted a bigger profit. I believe that they have removed several reasons for going to Downtown Disney and Pleasure Island and they may well see a loss of revenue for some time to come. Over 8,200 people signed the on-line petition to save the Adventurers Club and I share their hope that Disney will reconsider and perhaps resurrect the AC in a fitting venue, perhaps the new Animal Kingdom Lodge. It would indeed be a shame to lose this unique and eclectic entertainment venue forever.
In closing, I give you the Adventurer's Club Creed:
We climb the highest mountains,
just to get a better view.
We plumb the deepest oceans,
because we're daring through and through.
We cross the scorching desert,
martinis in our hand.
We ski the polar ice caps,
in tuxedos looking grand.
We are reckless, brave, and loyal,
and valiant to the end.
If you come in here a stranger,
you will exit as a friend.
KUNGALOOSH!
The Petition
Peter David's Comments
A brief history of the Club
Early rumblings of trouble
Disney forum on the changes
Pleasure Island FAQ
Wikipedia
"This American Life." Go to position 48 minutes.
2009-04-26
Cats Plays Whack-A-Mouse
I originally saw this on The Bonnie Hunt Show and got a real kick out of it. Enjoy.
2009-04-22
2009-04-17
2009-04-03
Banned Substances From My Childhood.
When I was a kid, fireworks were an infrequent diversion. Black Cats (firecrackers), Cherry Bombs (red, spherical, firecrackers with 5-10 times the amount of explosive of a firecracker) and M-80's (1/4 stick of dynamite or 2 1/2-3 grams of pyrotechnic flash power)and Bottle Rockets were brought in from Mexico and set off on New Years Eve and the 4th of July.
A more frequent diversion were Black Snakes or 'Pharaoh's Serpents. These took the form of a black pill-like tablet you would place on the ground and light with a match. What happened next was amazing. A dark, foaming substance would exude from the tablet while the tablet seemed to remain unchanged. When it was finished, the foam turned out to be ash.
In light of the number of injury's caused by mishandling these explosives, M-80s and cherry bombs were banned by the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and the Child Protection Act of 1966, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF)made them illegal in the 1970s. Mercury Thiocyanate is considered extremely dangerous because it produces poisonous mercury vapors.
Below are three examples of Mercury Thiocyanate in action. Please, don't try this at home!
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