Saturday, January 31, 2009

Video: Hamsterman a Criminal?



Check out the crazy mugshot in this otherwise sad report. Doing TV news is hard -- so many things can go wrong.

[via Videogum]

Video: Giraffe Fight



And you thought giraffes were just cute creatures with silly necks.

[via BuzzFeed]

Friday, January 30, 2009

Video: Kittens Ride a Red Roomba



The last kitten to get thrown during this Roomba ride should win a prize.

[via Videogum]

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Tunesmith to Rescue Rogers Career!

Just when I was running out of song ideas, along comes Microsoft's "Tunesmith". Now writing new songs is a snap!

Sunday, January 25, 2009

TDA Photos From the Patty Brady Archives




TDA alumna Patty Brady has been uploading tons of vintage photos from the band's early years. (You did know that we've been at this for, like, two decades now, right?)

You can currently see some of the photos -- like the group shot above, from way back when the band had more than a dozen members -- on our multimedia page. You can see the full set on the TDA Photo Archive on Flickr.

One of my personal favorites is the action shot below, which shows Suzanne and Patty, and reminds me of a bullfight. ¡Ole!

Thanks for sharing, Patty!

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Behold, the Bear of Gum


Artist Maurizio Savini got crazy with the chewing gum to create this life-size bear.

Savini's gum-based works, which also include a buffalo and "suited businessmen suspended in gymnastic poses," have been exhibited around the world, according to The Telegraph.

"The reason I like to use chewing gum is because it seemed to me an amazingly versatile material compared to those used by the traditional arts such as painting," said Savini.

How does he do it?

"I work the chewing gum when it is warm and manipulate it with a knife just like some traditional material like clay," Savini said. "The most important step is the fixing of the sculptures with formaldehyde and antibiotic."

Read the Telegraph's full report to see the buffalo and enjoy what is perhaps the most ludicrous bit of art criticism ever, courtesy of Mario Codognato (here's a snip):

"Maurizio's work reminds of the sensual act of chewing, the voluptuous warmth of rebelling saliva, the artificial and secretly aseptic fragrance which spreads from the mouth as a promise and missed kiss."

Wonder what the art critic would say about Santa Cruz's infamous wall of gum?

[via Neatorama]

Crazy Road Signs You Don't Want to See

News flash: England is full of towns and roads with names that would make a nun blush, The New York Times has discovered. "Crapstone," "Butt Hole Road" and other horrors await the unprepared in the English countryside.

The nanny state swoops to the rescue in the form of East Sussex's Lewes District Council, which has banned "street names which could give offense" and decreed that town planners should avoid "aesthetically unsuitable names" and "names capable of deliberate misinterpretation."

Read all about the menace in the Times' investigative report, "No Snickering: That Road Sign Means Something Else."

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Two Four One on the Bonnie Simmons Radio Show

Austin deLone and I had the pleasure of playing 6 tunes live on the Bonnie Simmons radio show on KPFA in Berkeley, CA. Here's the archived show in case you'd like to check it out.

I'm Visiting from Mayberry RFD

A Michigan resident, when asked recently by his bank to show identification, decided to be witty and give his novelty Barney Fife license as identification. Like the character Fife, from The Andy Griffith Show, the teller was a little slow on the draw and merely commented that he wasn't "from around these parts."

If you want to have your own fun, purchase a Barney Fife card here.
Although TDA claims no responsibility for your fraudulent misuse of identification, we sure would like to hear about your shenanigans!


(Via: MLive.com)

(Image: RobertLZ/Flickr)

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Video: Orson Welles, Tipsy Pitchman



This is supposedly an outtake from one of Orson Welles' Paul Masson TV commercials. The apparently intoxicated actor can't quite get through a few simple lines -- looks like he drank some wine well before it was time to knock off for the day.

[via Neatorama]

Sunday, January 11, 2009

In My World, It's Always Cheese O'Clock



Here's how I tell what time it is (and what type of adult beverage I should be enjoying).

[via Buzzfeed]

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Video: Cow Gives Birth to a Dude




Gotta agree with Videogum's headline: "I Do Not Want Whatever This Is Selling."

[via Videogum]

Monday, January 5, 2009

1 Piano and 2 ?????

My friend Austin de Lone and I are doing a 1 Piano, 4 hands thing, but this might be hard to beat.

Sunday, January 4, 2009