New exhibit at the Smithsonian . . and soon to be traveling all over the USA.

Yeah, so, it's been a while. I guess my Twitter account is seeing more action than this place. I need to work on that.

Here is something that has been on my mind lately (among lots of other things). They've just added a new channel to DirecTV called Planet Green. Which is pretty cool and they have some good shows which appeal to my moderately handy, mostly granola self. But it mostly just pisses me off.

Seeing these architect/developer/real estate agent/independently wealthy couples either building green or fixing up old houses green kinda makes me a little mad. I've always felt that being environmental (and I do mean mental) is only possible if you have the money to do it. We do what we can here in east Nashville. We recycle pretty much everything, we compost (even though we don't have a garden)(this compost heap looks like Marjory, the trash heap from Fraggle Rock but not as matronly), compact fluorescent bulbs throughout the house, buying produce from our friends' farm in Springfield (if anyone wants info on buying from Natural Fields Farm let me know!), etcetera, etcetera, yadda, yadda, yadda. I agree that every little bit helps but I also believe that it's the big stuff that will make big differences.

Big differences like solar panels, wind turbines, a brand new house...the list goes on of what we can't afford as normal human beings. It just seems like these people on Planet Green are doing it because it's cool and they get to be on TV. I think it's cool but I also think it's very important. Why aren't these planet saving things more affordable? If they were more people would probably be able to obtain them which means more people doing the green thing. Wouldn't that make the planet green?

Alright, I've ranted long enough. At the moment I'm helping do my part by not driving to work...which I have to do...right now...sigh.

(Nej, jag kom inte på det här själv, jag snodde det på last.fm.)
(Återigen, nej, jag har ingen koll på vad alla scener innebär... speciellt inte som det handlar om mitt liv.)

1. Opening song: Bruce Springsteen - Because The Night (Dessutom en outtake, från Lost Masters-serien... kan bli knepigt med rättigheterna.)
2. Waking up: Johnny Cash - Orange Blossom Special (Och vad vill filmskaparen säga med detta val?)
3. First date: Fragglarna - En Vimsig Sång (Nostalgikickar! Dock hade jag hellre sett att det engelska orginalet, Wemblin' Song, spelats.)
4. First kiss: Stefan Sundström - Hambo För Skapelsens Krona (Kanske inte riktigt det man känner när man mottar sin första kyss.)
5. Falling in love: Fuck Off - Het På Gröten (Kaosbandets tolkning av Donna Summers Hot Stuff... inte heller en låt som passar särskilt bra i sammanhanget)
6. Being in love: Bell Book & Candle - Heyo (Den hade passat mycket bättre "Breaking up"... kan inte ha varit en lycklig kärlek.)
7. Breaking up: Staffan Hellstrand - Bilder Av Dig (Äntligen ett val jag till viss del förstår.)
8. Making up: Woody Guthrie - This Land Is Your Land (Jag kommer aldrig mer att anlita snubben/jäntan som väljer ut vilka låtar som ska vara med...)
9. Seeing an old love: Rolling Stones - Street Fighting Man (Jaja, lite Stones kan man väl gå med på, för sakens skull.)
10. Heartbreak: John Lenin (Johan Johansson) - Vi Kommer Aldrig Fram (Tja, lyssnar man enbart på titeln, så... visst, det funkar. Men nu är det ju så att en låt är mer än en titel...)

(För enkelhetens skull delar jag upp det här, blir lättare för er att läsa då.)

11. Revenge for the heartbreak: Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds - Mercy (Hämnd är primitivt, det var nog hon som hämnades på mig, såvida filmskaparna inte har något emot mig, och vill sätta mig i dunkelt stråkastarljus. För övrigt en passande låt.)
12. Driving fast: Journey - After The Fall ("Köra fort"!?! Vadå "köra fort"!?!?!)
13. Fighting back: Kjell Höglund - Håll Ut (Kommentarer överflödiga.)
14. Getting ready to go out: Nils Lofgren - Tears On Ice (Kanske inte den ultimate peppen inför en utekväll, även om den inte är helt fel, textmässigt... typ...)
15. Dancing in the club: Mikael Wiehe - Jag Vill Inte Va Fattig (Tja, nog kan man säkert dansa till den.)
16. Flirting: Lars Winnerbäck - Prinsessor (Tja, inte helt fel, faktiskt rätt så rätt. Kan dock bli strul med rättigheterna, än en gång... blir en dyr rulle det här, undrar vad filmskaparna drar in på för att få råd med soundtracket? Kanske skådespeleriet... iofs är det sällan svenskt skådespel är högklassigt.)
17. Feeling sexy: Leonard Cohen - Closing Time (En av de bästa låtar som någonsin skrivits, men har den verkligen något att göra med att känna sig sexig...? Sanningen att säga, så ja!!)
18. Angry drunken stupor: Denis Leary - More Drugs (Stand-up comedy som soundtrack, det var nåt nytt.)
19. Walking alone in the rain/snow: Edguy - Land Of Miracle (Faktiskt rätt så passande, rent musikaliskt, och lite textmässigt också.)
20. Missing someone: Iggy Pop - Lust For Life (Uhu...?)

(Och här...)
21. Saying goodbye: Springsteen - Prove It All Night (Ett fint avsked, med andra ord!)
22. Learning a lesson: Allan Edwall - Familjeporträtt (Tja, Edwall var en förnuftig man.)
23. Playing in the ocean: Di Leva - Kom Till Mig (...)
24. Drug binge: DLK - Rysk Bompa (Jag och knark, don't think so...)
25. Summer vacation: Sober - Snowbored (Kan knappast ha vart nån tillfredsställande semester.)
26. Fighting the undead: Sparks - Propaganda (O-kej...)
27. Acting goofy with friends: Dean Martin - Johnny Get Your Girl (Tja, alla mina vänner, undantaget Tyranna, tycker att det är märkligt att jag lyssnar på såna här gamla goda klassiker.)
28. Thinking back: Håkan Hellström - Kär I En Ängel (Jag levde visst ett rätt så gott liv ändå.)
29. Suicide scene: Weird Al Yankovic - The Night Santa Went Crazy (Tja, mycket möjligt att tomten flippade lite mer efter att han flippat.)
30. Feeling depressed: Chuck Berry - Johnny B Goode (Upbeat när man är downbeat - det gillar vi!)

(Och en gång till...)
31. Driving off into the sunset, in defeat: Clarence Clemons - You're A Friend Of Mine (What if mountains fall/nothin' left at all/I'll be fine/'cause you're a friend of mine)
32. Driving off into the sunset with the one you love at your side: Heather Nova - I Wanna Be Your Light (Varför två såna här scener efter varandra - varför?!)
33. Death Scene: Stefan Sundström - Fånmåne (Den vackraste svenska låten någonsin - i en dödsscen?)
34. Falling asleep: The Beatles - Revolution (Falling asleep i som att somna in för all evighet, eller som i att somna in för natten?)
35. Closing song: David Bowie - Heroes

Gah, det här tog ju hur lång tid som helst! Något som kanske beror på att jag lyssnade på mer eller mindre hela låtarna... aja, jag fördrev åtminstone tiden på nåt vänster.

Every morning, every day
Every evening, calling me away
Every morning, every day
Every evening, calling me away
(Uncle Traveling Matt, Gobo)

Zoobilee Zoo! -My introduction to the wonderful Ben Vereen and showing that dressing crazy can be fun.  I also found these outtakes..I wonder if all my cherished childhood show characters acted like this off camera?

Mr.Dressup!- Ernie Coombs aka Mr.Dressup was amazing, great artist and friend of puppets.  I used to imagine I could hang out in the tree house. 

Under The Umbrella Tree!- Who knows why Holly had a huge tree in her living room with talking animals in it.  Maybe we'll never know, but it sure was a fun time.

Fred Penner's Place- Looking back at this makes me think Fred is a little strange, playing music to puppets in the woods.

Eureka's Castle- This show came kinda later.. reinforced my love for peanut butter.

David The Gnome- I have no idea whats up with this show or why I watched it.  Crazy.

Fraggle Rock-This along with the Muppet Show were the foundation for a lot of my sense of humor and I am forever grateful.

He Man- Wow, He Man is nuts!  The most powerful man in the world!

Whoa.  Flashback overload.  I could add some more, but I think this is enough.  I definitely liked watching TV as a kid, and watching these clips was a fun time warp...maybe if I have kids I'll force them to watch these shows on DVD.  In conclusion, Canadians knew their children's programming, and anything with puppets or muppets is usually good.

-p.

So here's the theme - enjoy!

Fraggle Rock Intro

Cuando sonaban los primeros acordes nuestro mundo se paraba. En una mano, el bocadillo de la merienda, en la otra, el mando a distancia (quien tuviese uno claro). En ese momento todo nos molestaba, mandábamos callar a nuestros padres, hermanos y a quien osase a susurrar una mínima palabra. Justo entonces hinchábamos nuestros pulmones y cantábamos la canción de nuestra serie favorita más alto que nadie. Nos las sabíamos todas, cada letra, cada coma,"¡Ay si te supieras tan bien la lección!" clamaban nuestras madres. Sin duda, es la B.S.O. de nuestra infancia y en definitiva de nuestra vida.

Si te esfuerzas un poco seguro que recuerdas como mínimo el estribillo de todas las series que hasta ahora hemos recordado juntos. Oliver y Benji (mp3) van con el balón en los pies y ninguno les podrá detener. Todos sabemos que los Gnomos (mp3) son siete veces más fuertes que tú y veloces y que siempre están de buen humor o que eran uno, dos y tres, los famosos mosqueperros (mp3) y que el pequeño D´Artacan siempre va con ellos. Además, son ochenta día son (mp3), ochenta nada más para dar la vuelta al mundo y si vamos a jugar, tus problemas déjalos, para disfrutar ven a Fraggle Rock (mp3). También sabemos que en un pueblo italiano vive nuestro amigo Marco (mp3) en una humilde morada...y así podríamos seguir...

Gracias a ellas aprendimos catalán (o cualquiera otra lengua autónoma) sin apenas darnos cuenta y chapurreamos nuestra primeras palabras en inglés (mp3) sin nisiquiera saber qué significaban. Sacamos nuestra vena artística cuando hacíamos nuestras propias versiones, ¿quién no recuerda la "verdadera" canción de Isidoro? si duda era una manera original de conseguir veinte duros :D

Ahora te propongo dos juegos, en uno tienes que continuar la letra de la canción y en el otro tienes que adivinar qué serie se trata escuchando sólo un poco de su sintonía. Aviso que no es tan fácil como más de uno se cree. Y para los verdaderos nostálgicos, recupero el enlace (para el Emule) que ya en su día nos dejó David Bernad. Siéntate y relájate, da igual que tus familiares o vecinos piensen que te has vuelto loco, tú sólo vuelve a hinchar los pulmones y canta como cuando eras un niño.

In late 2007 I was lucky enough to spend some time chatting with veteran television writer and producer Victor Pemberton about his time working on cult 80s series, Fraggle Rock.

While today the phrase “dance your cares away, worries for another day” could be a mantra used on Strictly Come Dancing, twenty five years ago these words introduced viewers to a world of Fraggles, Doozers and conflict resolution in the programme conceived by Jim Henson.

Henson, the creator of Sesame Street in 1969 and later the phenomenally successful Muppet Show in 1976, had a vision of an allegorical world of creatures that would reflect real world issues such as prejudice, social conflict and the environment. Heavy stuff for early afternoon on ITV...

Jonathan Melville: How did you get involved with Fraggle Rock?

Victor Pemberton: It was through a very dear friend of mine, Duncan Kenworthy, producer of Four Weddings and a Funeral and Notting Hill, who I'd met while working in Kuwait for American television. He’d joined forces with Jim Henson and said to me one day “we’re going to do new show, based on material shot in Canada and each country will do their own segments – can you come up with an idea for what we can do with the UK segments?".

I said I’d have a go and I suggested various things, including setting it in a lighthouse. He sad he’d put the idea to Jim and let me know. In the meantime I had to go to Nigeria to do some TV work. I’d been busy teaching students and was knackered when one night I got a call out of the blue from Duncan who said "We’re going ahead with it and I need a 20 page synopsis". I asked for when and he said “tomorrow morning”!

That was 1983 and there was no internet. I said "how am I going to get this to you?" and I sat up all night writing this and his secretary phoned up and I transcribed it. Two months later I got home and they said it’s going into production.

What was in the brief?

VP: It was like a jigsaw puzzle. In the synopsis the main things were the location and character. In France it was a chef, in Canada an inventor, in German it was a scientist, so we had to do something different and the lighthouse was very different. I’d seen the Canadian segments and we fitted in to it.

You were brought in to write first?

VP: For the first series I wrote all the segments and Duncan produced. If you look at the credits you’ll see there’s the American and the British. I shared credits with the US producer.

One of the main writers on the Canadian version was long term Jim Henson collaborator Jim Juhl, who died recently.

VP: Jim was a great guy, very talented and heavily involved with the Muppets. I can’t claim to have known him that well but we always met at meetings and he came over from the States when I wrote the thing.

Duncan became head of international film production with Henson and he was involved in lots of new Muppet projects for them. So he came to me to ask if I wanted to change hats and produce it and I was on it for 7 years on and off.

What was turnaround like?

VP: We did one show a day. Most of the editing came at the end of the 13 episode blocks we did at a time, but I was on it for 7 years. We did 96 episodes. There was a lot of hard work.

It was a co-production with Southern Television. The head of children's TV at the time was Anna Home and it was between Duncan, Anna and myself. We took over an old cinema in Gillingham in Kent, and it was wonderful. There was a huge banner over the top of the original Muppet theatre. The auditorium was cleared of seats, the stage was raised and extended.

Were you on set for every episode?

VP: Every episode. I never left, I had to be there all the time as it was quite a technical production and I had to learn this side of it. I watched Jim Henson and Frank Oz perform the Muppets at Elstree Studios and got the flow of the thing.

Were you involved in choosing directors?

VP: Duncan suggested and I had a say. Jeremy (I think it was Swan) was suggested as the main director. We liked to think of Fraggle Rock as not only a family for the viewers but for us as well. We always felt like a family and tried not to let our artistic tantrums run away from us – sometimes we argued or people behaved badly – but most of the time they were a lovely bunch and I’d never run any of the them down. We worked together, went out for meals and had a great time.

We had meetings everyday, it was like a mathematical plan. We’d start the day with a script readthrough every morning and everyone would throw in their problems and I had to oversee this. We ran the Fraggle sequences on VTR so we could relate to that and link the shots up. The director had to watch where everything joined up.

The hole down into Fraggle Rock was the beginning and end point for the production. Sprocket would put his head through the hole and we’d cut to the overseas material. You can see what a nightmare it was, lining everything up mathematically.

We loved making it, it didn’t seem like a days work, we loved getting into the studio and getting down to it. Every morning I’d walk into the auditorium, past wires and puppets, and suddenly I’d hear something - and of course Sprocket never talked - would look round and there was Sprocket speaking to me.

The puppeteers would know when I was coming in and would be ready. I’d ask him if he had a good night, and the paw and tail would go up. This went on every morning. Then from another door Gobo would appear from behind a door and say “good morning Victor!”. All these Fraggles saying hello. It became normal after a while!

That’s the impression you get, that a Jim Henson set is a happy set.

VP: I don’t use the word lightly, but Jim Henson was a genius. His imagination was extraordinary. I’d been to Europe several times, to Prague, to talk to puppeteers and they all revered him as a sort of god of the puppet world. That isn’t to say he wasn’t a very shrewd man, but artistically he was one of the great men of his generation.

How did you come to cast Fulton Mackay?

VP: I didn’t cast Fulton, it was down to Anna and Duncan. I went along to meet him and I’d always admired him, thought he was a terrific actor with a great personality. My initial response wasn’t enthusiastic.

I have to say I found him a little bombastic at that meeting. He’d brought along a tape recorder where he’d recorded his comments on how he saw his role, and it put our backs up a little. On the whole it went smoothly, but there were times when he was very difficult indeed. And he was quite jealous of the dog, Sprocket. This isn’t to run Fulton down – he got the show started for us and was a great lighthouse keeper and was basically very good - but when he had tantrums they were very tiresome.

He did well with some odd moments, barking like a dog – was he a trooper?

VP: When you work with Muppets it’s different from working with live actors, but you’ve got to treat them like real characters, not cloth things. At times he found that difficult, but basically he was splendid and was very popular with the viewers

Sadly he died near the start of the series - was he unwell during filming?

VP: We did a lot of location shooting down near St Mores in Cornwall and had to do a recce by helicopter to find a location. He stayed on location, as did his wife, and we had good fun. By mutual agreement we only took him on for two series

He was a Scottish lighhousekeeper – was Fraggle Rock set in Scotland?

VP: Well, like everything Muppet, locations are quite neutral and we would have gone for Scottish, Welsh or Chinese, as long as the character was right and he could interact properly. He was Scottish and we were very happy he was Scottish because we cast Scottish again with John Gordon Sinclair.

I suggested we have someone younger next time as that might appeal to the kids, but little did we know many of the viewers were adults. I suggested him, and he was terrific, a good actor is Gordon. He was great fun to work with we had a lot of laughs. The only thing he wasn’t so keen on was the publicity as he didn’t want to advertise too much he was on a childrens’ show. He was great in the location stuff and with the interaction with Sprocket, as he was quite a handful.

Moving away from the episodes, there were a lot of messages in Henson series: prejudice, the environment, having your own identity. Were you given a ‘moral of the week’ to work with?

VP: No, I had to think of something. They had it in the US version. Never forget it was filmed in Toronto at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Some things weren’t quite as right for our viewers as they were for US viewers. Sesame Street is a wonderful educational series without appearing to be educational, and kids still love it around the world. I worked at the Children's Television Workshop and it’s a great industry, where the Muppets started.

The Fraggles were a kind of a way of educating children without making them feel like they were being educated. One thing we never did, and neither I nor Jim would have allowed it, was to lecture. We never did that. We’ve moved on since those years and the issues are somewhat different, children are older in their thinking, we all know what’s going on with teenagers.

Sex was never mentioned unless in very, very oblique ways. I remember I did try to introduce it into one of the shows but we couldn’t accommodate it as it just didn't seem right, we were pushing ahead of our time I think. Today you could do that.

Did you have a typical viewer in mind?

VP: I wrote it for myself as I enjoyed it, but it was a children’s teatime slot. Since then it’s gathered momentum and appeals to adults. I was speaking to someone the other day here in Spain, she used to be a prison governor and I happened to mention I’d be doing this interview, and she asked what my involvement was and she nearly fainted because it was her favourite programme. She adored it and used to watch it in the prison! I didn’t invent it but I suppose I was one of its dads!

And how were the Uncle Travelling Matt segments filmed?

VP: Well you know that the name Travelling Matt is a joke don’t you? It’s a technical term used in filmmaking and photography. I wrote a couple of them, but we had a couple in Australia or France. We’d take some of their inserts and they’d take ours. Fraggle Rock was a jigsaw and it could be a real headache. We had to line everything up between the content filmed in Canada and the UK.

Would you have liked to have written more for the Fraggles themselves?

VP: I’d have liked to have done, but I was quite happy with what I was doing. I absolutely adored Sprocket and I loved the Doozers and the Gorgs. As I talk to you at the moment I have clockwork Doozers looking down at me from the shelf, making sure I tell the truth! I loved the Fraggle characters.

After John Gordon Sinclair things changed again.

VP: Yes, the time came for Gordon to inevitably move on. Duncan suggested Simon O’Brien. I didn’t know much about him, apart from the fact he’d played Damian on Brookside. I have to say that immediately the chemistry was there. Why did I like Simon so much? Well he was such a happy-go-lucky guy and he was a true Liverpudlian, very funny, and he teased me mercilessly. We didn’t interview him, but he was perfect.

His rapport with Sprocket was fascinating, the chemistry absolutely right. You could believe he was his dog. Remember that so many families have dogs, part of the family, and he was important to whoever was in the lighthouse.

When we came to the end of the series we hired Dover Castle for the farewell party. We held the party in the dungeons. Jim was there and Duncan, and the cast and crew had got together to put on a half hour show to say thank you to me. There was a little stage and the curtains pulled back to reveal all of them impersonating me, every one of them, including Sprocket. They had every mannerism down to a tea. It was joyous but also terribly sad.

What is the series legacy?

VP: Enjoy life and don’t take it too seriously. No matter how hard times are, there’s always light somewhere. The overall feeling is of joy. It was a joyous thing to do and to watch, helped enormously by those wonderful songs – they were so hummable. I don’t know how they did it.

Everyone used to wait for the opening song – don’t ask me to sing it – they used to start swaying to the music as you saw the Fraggles.

It’s a very moral show. Kids learnt how to do things and also things they shouldn’t do and they learnt respect.

Was that Jim’s view?

VP: Oh yes. Jim was a very moral man. He was a Christian Scientist, which I think is something that led to his death. I was with him in New York a week before he died. We went to a restaurant and he ordered the entire dinner on Third Avenue in his Kermit voice.

He wasn’t well, caught a cold, wouldn’t see a doctor, caught the flu, wouldn’t see a doctor, developed pneumonia and died. He was a very loving man. Brian is in charge of the empire now.

Jim’s legacy was to bring happiness to the world: when you watched Fraggle Rock you couldn’t fail to have a smile on your face.

What are your views of the proposed movie version?

VP: I think it’s a very good idea. With CGI they can do amazing things things. As long as they get a good strong story it’ll work beautifully. I’d have done the same, take them out into Outer Space. It’s very difficult in a half hour slot to maintain the same situation and set. Sustaining 90 minutes means you need a strong plot. I’d want to take them into the real world, have a few guest stars and well known names.

You can have a lot of fun with the characters, but get the story right. Grab them straight away or you’ll lose them. I hope the music will be there, with some great songs.

Writing will need to change from my day because attitudes have changed. The world has changed so dramatically since then, attitudes to religion, towards sex, have changed. You have to be aware of that otherwise the kids will just say “that’s not cool”.

They’ve got to do their own thing. There’ll be plenty of adults who remember it from when they were kids who’ll be eagerly awaiting it I’d think

I’ll be one of them

VP: Me too! I wish them the best of luck.

Victor Pemberton, thank you very much for your time!

The full audio version of this interview can be heard over at Steve Swanson's fantastic MuppetCast website.

All photos are copyright Victor Pemberton and are from his website - go check it out.

Now, because that theme tune is probably in your head, here it is...enjoy!

After talking about Ted Kennedy and cancer and such, this seems appropriate.

Found this today.  If Fraggle Rock doesn't make you smile, wait a minute... there is no way to end that sentence, Fraggle Rock makes everyone smile.

When I was in middle school, my best friend's dad owned a funeral home. At the time, our small town was just starting to get cable television. The funeral home just happened to be located in the part of town that was among the first to get cable, so my friend and I would hang out there all weekend and watch TV, usually Fraggle Rock (we LOVED that show) and MTV.

In between watching TV, we would put on our roller skates and skate around the caskets. At the time, we didn't think a thing of it. Looking back, I guess it seems a little (ok, maybe a lot) weird.

Anyway, what's even weirder to think about is that a few years later her dad committed suicide. I can't help but wonder what must have been going through his mind during those years at the funeral home. Was he really unhappy all those years? Or did something inside him just snap? And I wonder if being surrounded by death all the time made him numb to it?

As I told my friend over IM today, I've always been drawn to sad things. Sad stories, sad songs... but I am a pretty upbeat person, which I think might make me a little more capable of handling sadness than some, I dunno... at any rate, to me, it's just really interesting, and weird, to think about my friend's dad. I wonder, would things have turned out differently had he chosen a different profession? I'd be interested to see if the suicide rates are higher for folks who work with death on a daily basis.

My friend pointed me to this article which is very bizarre and interesting but also a little sad. Imagine growing up beside a "suicide bridge." As he, it would definitely open up opportunities for parents to talk to their children about death, but to me this might be just a bit too close for comfort.

Knowing a few people who have committed suicide, I always wonder what must be going through their heads as they are just about to pull the trigger, take the pills, jump off the bridge or whatever they do to meet their demise. I can only assume it's probably the most extreme degree of desperation that anyone can imagine. And people do some really crazy things out of desperation. But is it crazy, really? I've always thought so... but in chatting with my friend today, he said something really interesting; "i mean it doesn't seem crazy to me, when your old and your body is failing you to try and recover. its just downhill to put it simply." I guess he's right. And if you look at it that way, shouldn't you have the choice to just end it if you feel like all that remains is a downhill ride? (Although after typing that I realize I can only go along with that idea for about a minute, because what really sucks is that by ending it they leave their loved ones behind to deal with it.) But I couldn't agree with him more when he said "you should get everything done while your young and healthy." So true.

A little bit of good and a little bit of bad. But, it’s all news in today’s Ten Post Round-Up:

1: The government wants to control every aspect of the internet, including your computer….

Air Force Aims for ‘Full Control’ of ‘Any and All’ Computers–BlackListedNews

2: A little good news from the lost and found department…

Long-Lost Class Ring Returned–Good News Blog

3: Another “Muppet” movie heading for the big screen!…

“Fraggle Rock” Getting Revived As Movie Musical–The Huffington Post

4: A lifesaver that really sucks…

LifeStraw–The J-Walk Blog

5: What if you had a pot to pi@@ in, but you couldn’t flush?…

Family Sold a Home Without a Sewer System–ksdk.com

6: Looks like Coloradoans will get to decide whether or not life begins at conception…

Zygote measure to be on the ballot–Libertarian Party of Colorado Blog

7: Apparently, Bush gave up golf in honor of the troops….

Penance–Nitpicker

8: This is almost as interesting as E=MC-squared…

And Einstein was an atheist–Pandagon

9: Will he make fried squirrel the national food?…

Talk of Hucka-veep resurfaces–Pam’s House Blend

10: And something from the “Twilight Zone” files…

UK: Student who visited popular suicide spots as a research was found hanging from a tree–Signs of the Times

251 días al final de un error…

6 days and a wake-up to R&R!

(Don’t forget to refill your morning cuppa…)

by Dizzy Dezzi

1. This may be the coolest thing every put to tape. Dreamgirls, Bea Arthur, Nell Carter, Mrs Garrett and Punky Brewster. I can die.
 

2. Japanese "The Legend of Zelda" Commercial - Link looks a little... fem, no?

3. I think that the world would be a better place if we did, indeed, dance our cares away.

 4. The National Anthem by Sandi Patty. Her voice is amazing. Wait till you hear the end of the song!

Es la intro de una serie muy famosa en los 80 y principio de los 90, una melodía pegadiza y unos personajes graciosos que captaron a una generación con sus historias bajo tierra.

La noticia es que van a hacer una película de la serie en plan musical, aunque a mí me sirvió más como recuerdo de infancia y me pegaba a la tele para ver a estos personajillos...

¡Ven a Fraggle Rock! :-P

1. Fraggle Rock- The Movie Coming from news on the net. The Weinstein Company has announced plans to bring the Jim Hensen series Fraggle Rock out of retirement and onto the big screen in the form of a live action musical, almost exactly 25 years after the first season debuted on HBO.  Writer/director Cory Edwards has been tapped to direct and pen the screenplay which will feature puppets and human actors, just like in the show. He directed Hoodwinked. Yah, I didn't see it either.

So far the plot line is that the Fraggles Gogo, Wembley, Mokey, Boober and Red venture outside their cavernous home in Fraggle Rock, where they discover pesky humans whom they believe to be aliens. The Dozers arent mentioned...but they just have to be in the movie. They gotta be!

2. Arrested Development- The Movie OK. This news is a little older, and I don't know how this is going to pan out on the big screen, but I'd like to see them try. Everyone is rumored to be a part of it, and its still 'in production,' so it might not ever come out at all, but kudos to them for bringing some semblance of hope to my life. reunion. I guess in February Jeffrey Tambor was interviewed and said “there’s a push to get the movie made” and plans to start pre-production after the writer’s strike ends. So. The strike ended. Its still listed on imbd. Does this mean its moved past the pre-pre-production? God I hope so.

Cory Edwards, who directed the animated "Hoodwinked!" for TWC, will helm the picture and write the screenplay. The Jim Henson Co. will produce and TWC will distribute.

Just like the series, the film will be populated by a mix of human characters and Fraggle Rock puppets. TWC co-chair Harvey Weinstein, who has been steering his company more aggressively into the family film arena, made the marriage with Lisa Henson, who runs JHC with her co-CEO brother, Brian Henson.

Ahmet Zappa will be exec producer with Brian Inerfeld.

Pic will take the core characters Gobo, Wembley, Mokey, Boober and Red outside of their home in Fraggle Rock, where they interact with humans, which they think are aliens. The show premiered on HBO in 1983, ran five seasons and was broadcast in more than 80 countries. It posted strong sales recently when the first three seasons were released on DVD.

The deal furthers the relationship between TWC and the "Hoodwinked!" creative team. Edwards is reteaming with "Hoodwinked!" co-writer Tony Leech on the animated alien adventure "Escape From Planet Earth," on which Leech is making his directing debut.

Edwards is separately developing a live-action feature adaptation of Cedar Fair's Halloween Haunt franchise, designed to be shot in 3-D by Kerner Optical and produced by Davis Entertainment, Dave Phillips and Tracey Edmonds. That pic is looking for a backer.

"One of our main priorities when we first launched the Weinstein Company was to feature a broad range of family-friendly franchises like 'Fraggle Rock,' " Weinstein said.

source variety.com

Cory Edwards, who directed the animated "Hoodwinked!" for TWC, will helm the picture and write the screenplay. The Jim Henson Co. will produce and TWC will distribute.

Just like the series, the film will be populated by a mix of human characters and Fraggle Rock puppets. TWC co-chair Harvey Weinstein, who has been steering his company more aggressively into the family film arena, made the marriage with Lisa Henson, who runs JHC with her co-CEO brother, Brian Henson.

Ahmet Zappa will be exec producer with Brian Inerfeld.

Pic will take the core characters Gobo, Wembley, Mokey, Boober and Red outside of their home in Fraggle Rock, where they interact with humans, which they think are aliens. The show premiered on HBO in 1983, ran five seasons and was broadcast in more than 80 countries. It posted strong sales recently when the first three seasons were released on DVD.

The deal furthers the relationship between TWC and the "Hoodwinked!" creative team. Edwards is reteaming with "Hoodwinked!" co-writer Tony Leech on the animated alien adventure "Escape From Planet Earth," on which Leech is making his directing debut.

Edwards is separately developing a live-action feature adaptation of Cedar Fair's Halloween Haunt franchise, designed to be shot in 3-D by Kerner Optical and produced by Davis Entertainment, Dave Phillips and Tracey Edmonds. That pic is looking for a backer.

"One of our main priorities when we first launched the Weinstein Company was to feature a broad range of family-friendly franchises like 'Fraggle Rock,' " Weinstein said.

source variety.com

My little brother went and rode the new Simpsons ride this past weekend. I am jealous. I don't know when I'll get down there to ride it myself... so I cheated... and who knows how long this will stay up but I found shaky hidden camera POV footage of the ride... SPOILER ALERT... so don't watch this if you want to be completely surprised by the ride... if you are impatient like me here it is... (AND pandas have a role!!):

Someone... please... stop this from happening. Damn it Hollywood! Stop raping my childhood!:

Fraggle Rock movie gets green light

At least that's a semi-original idea. Hollywood has been cranking out shitty threequels for quite sometime:

The good, the bad, and the ugly of the Hollywood 3's

Your child may never see a live racoon, or armadillo... but they will almost definitely see one of them flattened on the side of the road during a car trip. Preparedness is key:

Plush roadkill toys

This guy Thomas Disch has a book coming out called, "The Word of God." How does he know what the word of God is? He's recently revealed himself as God. You can even go to his forum and ask him a question:

Ask God... or Tom Disch

I have to go back to that bar here in NYC that has the bacon bourbon... the best drink I've ever had in my life:

Strange bacon related products

Oddly enough this wasn't included in that list... mmm... meatwater:

Dinner in a bottle

I would never ask that anyone sit through a TV movie about Anna Nicole Smith... but I will say that when condensed to 7 minutes and separated into thematic elements it becomes surprisingly palatable and hilarious:

I really don't want Jay Leno to retire, not that I've watched his show more than twice in the past 5 years, but if he stays, Conan doesn't leave New York, and Jimmy Fallon doesn't get a talk show. The only thing I really like about Leno is headlines (though Conan's "real" newspaper ads trump it):

20 Best Tonight Show Headlines

It's not quite as popular as wikipedia ... yet... give it time, there's good information there:

Dickipedia

In case you are a newcomer to my blog or you haven't been paying attention... I'm a little in love with Giada De Laurentiis, not only does she make this list, but someone made a video showcasing her... God Bless that person:

6 Most gratuitously cleavaged women on TV

I've been to a Pentacostal mass... once... it wasn't half as exciting as this:

What do church and farm animal panties have to do with each other?

In a bizarre mash-up of the topics in the above article:

A tribute to animal balls

Point Break 2: et oui une suite est prévue ! le film devrait être réalisé par James de Bont ( Speed, Twister...) , et l'histoire devrait se situer 20 ans après le 1er opus. On ne sait pas encore si Keanu Reeves rempilera pour cette suite.

Fraggle Rock is coming to the big screen!!! Everybody sing with me!!!

Hollywood prepara la pel·lícula dels Fraguel. Gobo, Musi, Rosi, Dudo, Bombo, els Curris i la resta de personatges de la popular sèrie infantil dels vuitanta donaran el salt a la gran pantalla en una pel·lícula d'acció real seguint el rastres d'altres sèries com 'Alvin y las ardillas', 'Scooby-Doo' o, fa ja uns anys, els també inoblidables 'Picapedra'.

'Fraggle Rock' la pel·lícula serà un musical d'acció real que barrejarà titelles i actors de carn i os igual que passava en la sèrie original creada pel ja desaparegut Jim Henson. Segons revela una informació publicada per Variety, el film estarà escrit i dirigit per Cory Edwards, un dels directors de 'La increíble pero cierta historia de Caperucita Roja'.

En la pel·lícula, els Fraguel sortiran de les seves coves de 'Fraggle Rock' cap al que ells anomenen l''Espai exterior', del que fins a ara només tenien notícies pels viatges de l'Oncle Matt, per a interactuar amb els humans. La sèrie de 'Los Fraguel' es va estrenar en la HBO d'Estats Units al gener de 1983 i durant les cinc temporades que va estar en antena va tenir un total de 96 episodis. Les aventures d'aquestes titelles cantants van ser tot un èxit i la sèrie va ser exportada a més de 80 països els nens dels quals van entonar, en els seus respectius idiomes, allò de "Vamos a jugar, tus problemas déjalos, para disfrutar, ven a Fraggle Rock".

*Salon calls out Soulja Boy as the beginning of the end of hip-hop. [ypulse]

*Last.fm Playground: Check out Last.fm's in-the-works projects. From the Last.fm blog via Waxy.

*Video: Madonna covers Pantera's "A New Level." Pantera fans don't love it. Pantera fans.

*Outdoor slow dance parties: Go to Buenos Aires.

*Jack Black has recorded his own version of the song "Kung Fu Fighting" (with Cee-Lo). [cinematical]

*A Fraggle Rock live-action feature film will soon be coming out. [parent dish]

*Nate Dogg is not dead, despite what Google trends may try to tell you. He had a stroke earlier this year.

*Wear it: A Wacko Jacko Michael Jackson Mask. [bb]

*Local (Minneapolis): The Basilica Block Party lineup. Editorial: There are a lot of negative people in the world. Also, the Star Tribune sucks ass. [mnspeak]

*Yes, music blogs are the new record labels. But this needs more talking about.

*Girl Talk + Taco Bell = Diarrhea. (Trick equation. ANYTHING + Taco Bell = Diarrhea.)

*I should note that I would post all these items much earlier, but I have a 60-hour-per-week day job to worry about also. I feel like kind of a dick. Apologies. Ugh.

Fraggle Rock consumed my childhood; my mom used to say, ""FR" is on, don't turn on the television." I always knew what she was talking about. A huge FR poster hangs in my classroom and I cannot wait to watch it on the big screen.

Guess what? It's time to "Dance your cares away/ Worry's for another day/ Let the music play/ Down at Fraggle Rock!" The Fraggles are back! According to Variety, the Weinsteins are teaming up with Lisa Henson of the Jim Henson Company to bring a live-action, half-human half-puppet Fraggle Rock extravaganza to the big screen.