Shopping Spree!

 

No time for blogging today! Germaine Gregarious, the LGPPP and I are busy on a shopping spree! We're buying out no-bid contracts for the retirement accounts of overseas executives whose companies pay no taxes and send American jobs overseas. We have a plan to give all of the executives an abruptly early and delightfully permanent retirement! In the meantime you can watch this swell video! It's all about Beauty pageant contestant Stacy Hedger who sparkles in the talent portion of the program as she performs a dance solo and trumpet accompanyment to the Star Wars Theme. (You are going to want to watch this video all the way to the end. It just keeps getting better and better as it goes on.)

 

The Gorilla Who Challenged the World!

 


This is one of the nicest things that anyone has ever done for me. I recently posted a picture from a comic, and MWB of MWB's World said that he had just recently read the same story that the picture came from. I mentioned that I would love to read the comic also, and right out of the blue he scanned the whole story for me!

I think that you will find that this is also one of the nicest things that anyone has ever done for you, too! Because MWB was nice enough to scan the story for me, you get to read it as well! Without further ado, here is both parts of a the two part story of the "Gorilla Who Challenged the World!" from issue 5 of From Beyond the Unknown.

 

What Was On TV Last Night

 

One of the greatest films ever made, "A Man for All Seasons" with Paul Scofield. I've lost count on how many times I have seen this film.

 

I Would Like to Thank the Academy...

 

I have been awarded the quadruple "E for Excellent Award"! I am greatly honored, and would like to thank Skippy the Bush Kangaroo, BAC from Yikes!, Liberality, and of course my esteemed colleague, Dr. Monkey Von Monkerstein from the bottom of my pongoid heart.

I have now no longer just another ordinary blog about an orangutan world leader from the future, I am officially an "E for Excellent" Award winner! I am overwhelmed and overcome with the sheer magnitude of this gesture on the part of my fellow bloggers. (The rumor that I bribed all of the judges is very probably not true - Although I would not like to comment on that matter at this time.)

I am actually terrible about responding to awards. The last time I posted an award (that I got from the wonderful Becca of No Smoking in the Skullcave), I made cute little icons of each of the recipients of the award, and wrote a little paragraph for each blog, and made a graphic, and wrote about it, etc. which was all a lot of work, but nothing compared to the dread I was filled with in having to narrow down my choice to only the prerequisite number of blogs. There are so many terrific blogs out there! It was all so emotionally draining...

Ever since then I have been terrible about not responding to awards, which I am sure that you will agree is a really lame excuse. Well, I have decided not to shirk my important blogging responsibilities any longer, and I shall now meet oncoming awards head on! So here goes... (I must admit that the hardest part of this excercise is still deciding who to give the award to. All of the blogs are so good!)

As Skippy the Bush Kangaroo says, "The rules of the excellent blog award stipulate that once a blog receives it, that blog must then pay it forward to ten other worthy blogs, thus spreading the accolades around blogtopia."

Anyway, here are the awards, in no particular order. If your name is not on this list, I still have a couple of other awards lying around that I plan on distributing in the near future...

I got my first "E for Excellent Award" from Skippy the Bush Kangaroo, who has a far more prestigous and credible blog than mine. Why he picked me I will never guess! It is quite an honor to even be mentioned by Skippy. (I didn't know he read my blog!) I give this award to:

Germaine Gregarious Jess Wundrun Blue Gal Cap'n Dyke, Pirate Queen No Smoking in the Skull Cave Freida Bee Rabbits, Toyen, and so forth Yikes! [ 2 ] Angry Ballerina FranIAm

I also got the "E for Excellent Award" from BAC's great blog at Yikes! BAC is a Hilary Clinton supporter, and I surprised that she has forgiven me for backing Barack Obama! I give this award to:

Jon the Intergalactic Gladiator L'ennui mélodieux Atomic Romance Comrade Kevin's Chrestomathy Darkblack The Dean's Office PoliTits Liberality I, Splotchy Dguzman

I also got the "E for Excellent Award" from Liberality, who always finds the greatest links, videos and cartoons - and is probably even more left wing than I am! (If that's possible.) I give this award to:

The Inconvienent Truth Get-Your-Zs Lady, That's My Skull DistributorCap NY Dr. Monkerstein Morning Martini MWB's World Pidomon's Posts Kelly the Little Black Dog Skippy the Bush Kangaroo

And I got this last "E for Excellent Award" from my esteemed colleage, Dr. Monkey Von Monkerstein, who has just gotten out of surgery. (Why not stop by and sign his stent?) I give this award to

Two Minutes In The Box Electronic Cerebrectomy Omnipotent Poobah Westcoast Walker Übermilf Maui Girl Mock, Paper, Scissors Anaïs Nohant House of the Rising Sons Devilham's Attic

 

Complaints Department

 

Helsinki Complaints Choir The Complaints Choir of Poikkilaakso Budapest Complaints Choir [ lyrics ] As It Happens Complaints Choir (Canada) Randburg Complaints Choir Hamburg Complaints Choir St. Petersburg Complaints Choir Gabriola Island Complaints Choir*

Skunk Cabbage Complaints Chorale Complaints Choir of Chicago Complaints Choir of Birmingham Complaint Choir from Sointula The Complaints Choir Of Jerusalem Penn State Complaints Choir Coro de Quejas: Choir of Complaints Singapore Complaints Choir [ 2, 3, 4 ]

The complaints Choir is the brainchild of Helsinki residents Tellervo Kalleinen and Oliver Kochta-Kalleinen. The idea has since spread to cities around the world.

"In the Finnish vocabulary there is an expression "Valituskuoro". It means "Complaints Choir" and it is used to describe situations where a lot of people are complaining simultaneously. Kalleinen and Kochta-Kalleinen thought: 'Wouldn't it be fantastic to take this expression literally and organise a real Complaints Choir!'" complaintschoir.org Via Jess Wundrun.

 

It's All About the Weenies!

 

No time for blogging today! Ms. Gregarious and I are deciding where we should next enforce good old American freedom! In the meantime, you can watch this swell video about capitalism! It's all about a group of teenagers on a high-school radio program that discuss the definition of capitalism, using the example of the butcher who supplies the weenies for their picnic. They needed weenies, and Mr. Brown the butcher had weenies. It's as simple at that!

 

Hydrocephalous and Consciousness: Is the brain really necessary?

 

A report from the July 22, 2007 edition of the medical journal The Lancet reported that a seemingly normal 44-year-old man complaining of a pain in his leg was discovered to have a severely distorted brain, due to it being displaced by a build-up of fluid. The man suffered from hydrocephalus, a condition where the cerebrospinal fluid builds up pressure in the skull, deforming the brain. In many cases of hydrocephalus the brain becomes so distorted that all that remains of the cerebral cortex is a thin layer of cells that are only %5 of the normal volume.

The man's MRI scans are shown on the left and you can clearly see that huge sections of the brain are absent. The late neurologist John Lorber studied many cases of hydrocephalus that were even more severe than this one cited in The Lancet, and yet led relatively normal lives. Lorber published his findings in an article titled, "Is the brain really necessary?".

Detractors of Lorber's study claim that Lorber is somehow trying to prove the false notion that we only use 10% of our brain, and call the findings of the study "classic urban myth". This is a strawman argument that does not address the actual evidence of what Lorber's study presents. Note that no real evidence is presented by lorber's detractors, and their statements are based mainly on their opinion of the imaging technology that Lorber had available to him as compared to modern imaging techniques. "He must have read it wrong," is the core of their argument.

In a completely unrelated study, Pediatric Neurologist D Alan Shewmon (Along with Neurologist Paul A Byrne and Neonatologist Gregory L Holmes) published an article in "Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology" called "Consciousness in Congenitally Decorticate Children: 'Developmental Vegetative State' as Self-Fulfilling Prophecy". In this study the authors find that in some cases children that are diagnosed as decorticate (or without a cortex) smile, respond to their name, are fascinated with their reflection a mirror, enjoy and respond to music, etc. One of the children is described as being able to see and respond to visual stimuli, and yet the child has no occipital cortex.

If a decorticate child can respond to stimuli, and even respond to visual stimuli without an occipital cortex, it would seem clear that Lorber's claims are not really all that far fetched. This begs the question, does consciousness reside in the brain?

 

Just a Quick Note...

 

FranIAm has a heartfelt request.

Blogger alert! Threading Water has moved! Change your blogroll and bookmarks!

Jess Wundrun has a unique image of the president.

Freida Bee has not yet learned to vote with her underpants.

Distributorcap made a video with my favorite redheaded dynamo, Ann Maragret!

Darkblack has a picture of an offer that McCain can't refuse.

Swinebread remembers that the best presidents aren't dead, they're make believe.

Angry Ballerina is enjoying the winter wonderland that is in her driveway.

Randal Graves explains trickle up economics.

MWB has an interesting video of a very young John F Kennedy.

Becca of No Smoking in the Skull Cave has some great photos of costumes.

Dguzman has lolcatified T.S. Eliot.

Sleestak has posted the story from Germaine Gregarious' favorite comic book! [ 2 ]

Vigoureux Artiste warns against the degrading effects of image manipulation or photographic fakery.

Dr. Monkerstein has some great illustrations.

Holy Batcake! K's Cakes always has some delicious eye candy. (Two slices, please!)

Sorry that I have been kind of behind in my blogging as of late, but I am having some health problems. My physician, Dr. Quackly, has informed me that the state of my health is presently somewhere between HOLY CRAP! and six feet under, so I haven't even had a chance to catch up reading everybody's blogs!

 

Holy Crap!

 

The Fury Hole! via Lady, That's My Skull.

 

The "Straight-Talk Express" has (Insert Phrase Here)

"According to the Center for Responsive Politics, McCain has taken nearly $1.2 million in campaign contributions from the telephone utility and telecom service industries, more than any other Senator. McCain sides with the telecom companies on retroactive immunity."

"McCain is also the single largest recipient of campaign contribution by Ion Media Networks — formerly Paxson Communication — receiving $36,000 from the company and employees from 1997 to mid-year 2006."

"In 2004, as chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, McCain reversed a position and took 'crucial legislative action' that saved Paxson Communications from 'financial ruin.' Drew Clark reports:"

McCain initially supported legislation that would have forced Paxson and handful of broadcasters — but not the great bulk of television stations — off the air by December 31, 2006. Bud Paxson himself personally testified about this bill with "fear and trepidation" at a hearing on September 8, 2004.

Two weeks later, McCain had reversed himself. He now supported legislation that would grant two-year reprieve for Paxson — and instead force all broadcasters to stop transmitting analog television by December 31, 2008. Paxson and his lobbyists, including Iseman, were working at this time for just such a change.

"Vicki Iseman has represented Paxson since 1998, longer than any of her other clients. The Washington Post reports that Iseman’s clients have given nearly $85,000 to McCain campaigns since 2000, according to records at the Federal Election Commission."

"UPDATE: Huffington Post reported recently:"

All told, McCain has received more than $400,000 from lobbying firms, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. And among his major fundraisers ("bundlers") 59 have been identified as lobbyists by the non-profit organization Public Citizen.

Via Think Progress

The Capture of Mr. X

 
 

Poor Job Growth Underreported by the Mainstream Media

 

Despite false White House claims and poorly researched media reports during the last seven years, job growth in the United States has consistently failed to meet population growth.

Population growth between 2000 to 2007 was:	14,400,000
job growth from 2000 to 2007 was:	8,382,000
population growth (2000-2007) minus job growth (2000-2007) was:	-6,018,000

Economists estimate that the country needs to add at least 150,000 jobs a month just to keep up with population growth. Job growth figures have consistently failed to meet population growth estimates for the last seven years.

Job growth has always been significantly larger than population growth on average for most of the last century, with the exception of the Great Depression. As you can see from this graph, the feeble job growth numbers as compared to population growth in the last four years (2004-2007) do not begin to appreciably offset the huge overall downturn of the previous three years (2001-2003). These figures are not significantly larger than population growth as has been the average for a healthy economics periods during most of the last century.

Perhaps part of the reason that the media has only reporting job growth in terms of financial news is that traditionally the benchmark used to describe the state of jobs in the nation are unemployment figures. Although unemployment figures are almost invariably used to describe labor issues, they are not the only overall indicator of employment nationwide.

People who are unable to find a job by the time that their unemployment benefits run out simply drop out of the statistics. Despite the media's constant usage of unemployment figures as an indicator of the economic health of the country, unemployment figures are only one statistic - and do not accurately reflect the number of jobs in the country.

The White House (and the press) have consistently denied the truth on this matter, spinning rhetoric that promotes any job growth as a positive factor in the economy. Right now the White House website touts job growth as a major success for the administration:

"Our economy has a solid foundation, but there are also areas of real concern. Our economy has seen the longest uninterrupted period of job growth on record – 52 months of job growth – but job creation has slowed recently. Consumer spending has been growing, but the housing market is declining. Business investment and exports are still rising, but the cost of imported oil has increased." whitehouse.gov [02/19/08]

"Longest uninterrupted period of job growth on record" - I have no idea how the White House economists are able to pull that rabbit out their collective hat, the post gives no explantion as to how they arrived at that particular conclusion. The fact of the matter is that job growth for the last five years has not even kept up with population growth.

To decode this message, we have to actually extract job growth numbers from the U.S. Department of Labor. During college I was on the school newspaper for a semester, and I wrote a story about job growth for the paper because I was interested in the many graphs that I found circulating on the internet. I soon discovered that compiling job growth data is a fairly daunting task.

If you go the bls.gov website to find data on job growth, you hit a wall of meaningless information. The bls.gov search engine is useless, and job growth figures are not mentioned in the A-Z index. After some research, I found out that job growth figures are called "nonfarm payroll employment".

Even then, the bls.gov search engine and A-Z index is useless. You can find pdf files that mention nonfarm payroll employment, but usually they only give you figure for one month, or one year, and the data provided on these different reports is all compiled differently. It is almost impossible to find consistent information from one report or another.

I finally found this link, which has links to archived news releases for employment figures, but they only go back to 1994. They are not compiled in a usable fashion, you have to go into each press release and find the individual nonfarm payroll employment figures month by month.

It's interesting the colorful language used to describe these figures when they are lower or higher than the previous month. Also, nonfarm payroll employment figures are always listed on the first paragraph, except in a few cases when the figures were especially bad - in which case they are sheepishly buried on the second page of the press release.

Here is the job growth story that I wrote for the school newpaper:

When I submitted this story to the school newspaper, I had to explain it to the editor. She could not believe that I had gone to all of the trouble to compile the figures from the Department of Labor. To her credit, she did run it on the first page (below the fold), but the graph I made was not run to save space. I don't think anybody actually read the story anyway, which is understandable. It was a college newspaper after all.

These are the figures that I compiled for the story, updated with the most recent figures. (All of the figures that I used to compile the table below are the initial, unrevised nonfarm payroll employment figures found in the U.S. Department of Labor press releases.)

Hoover days are here again!

 

I am Wearing Cheese In My Underpants!

 

To celebrate Brack Obama's win last night in Wisconsin, I am wearing cheese in my underpants!

Brrr! But it is far too cold to stay in the Badger State. Therefore I am going to join Ms. Gregarious in Hawaii to celebrate Obama's win there as well. I seem to be very popular in Hawaii! All of the natives are asking me, "E ke kamipulu, pehea la kou 'ano kauka 'ana mai?"

 

Mowing the Lawn

 

No time for blogging today! I am busy in the Zen Room with Germaine Gregarious "talking to Samson." In the meantime you can watch these swell videos! I've got the trailer for "Sinderella and the Golden Bra", and Kiddie A-Go-Go's "Stop and Go-Go" game, to the tune of Nancy Sinatra's "These Boots Are Made For Walking".

 

Presented Without Comment

 
 

John McCain is so Old...

 

He's so old he farts dust!
He still owes Moses a dollar!
his memory is in black & white!
He drove a chariot to high school!
He left his false teeth on Noah's Ark!
He took his drivers test on a dinosaur!
He waterboarded the Boston Tea Party!
I've seen stale raisins with less wrinkles!
Vultures constantly circle his senate seat!
He's so old his social security number is 1!
He gave a tax cut to Fred Flintstone's boss!
He's so old he's got Adam and Eve's autograph!
He's so old he sat behind Jesus in the third grade!
the key on Ben Franklin's kite was to his gym locker!
He's so old he was co-author of the Dead Sea scrolls!
He's so old his birth certificate is in Roman numerals!
He's so old archaeologists found cave drawings of him!
He's so old he has a picture of Moses in his yearbook!
He remembers when the Grand Canyon was just a ditch!
If he was a car, it would be time to roll back his odometer!
He's so old he knew Burger King when he was still a prince!
He needed orthopedic shoes when Jesus was still in diapers!
When he gave his first speech, they timed him with a sundial!
When he watched Jurassic Park, it was like family reunion to him!
He's so old, It looks like the Wrinkle Fairy tap-danced on his face!
He's so old that when he was in school there was no history class!
He's so old that somebody bid on him on the "Antiques Road Show"!
When congress asked to see his birth certificate, he handed them a rock!
Airport workers ask to check his bags... and he's not carrying any luggage!
He's so old the fire department is on standby when they light his birthday cake!
He's so old he was the one who flicked the switch when god said "let there be light!"

(This is in response to Randal Grave's post on the same subject.)

 

Valentine's Day Party at Germaine Gregarious' Lair

 

Go and visit Germaine Gregarious'
Valentine's Day Party...

In honor of Freida Bee's Birthday!
Go and wish Freida Bee a happy happy!

 

Fun with Frosting

 

No time for blogging today! I'm busy helping Germaine Gregarious get the cake ready for Freida Bee's Birthday Bash! (Hmm.. she wants me to put some extra frosting around the poison capsule and Geiger counter compartment...) In the meantime, you can watch this swell video of Priceline Negotiator vs. The Explosive Generation. "Linda is that other kind of girl. She wanted marriage, he couldn't wait! she drives him to strange erotic compulsions! He has insatiable demands! Look out!"

 

Advice for the Loverlorn, With Dr. Zaius

 

Learn to communicate on a spiritual level. Remember to take time out for yourself. Don't ignore, but explore your differences. Build the relationship from it's component parts. Share at least one meal a day with your mate. Set personal goals for your self.

Appreciate the unique temple that is your body. Be honest, tell your partner how you really feel. Show compassion and empathy for others. Relationships are based on mutual trust. Remember that your love is special and unique. Watch out for evil robot heads!

It is a challenge in this day and age to build a healthy and long-lasting romantic relationship, therefore I offer the above as sound and logical advice in these important matters of the heart. I submit these instructions as a series of steps one can take in a relationship that will help you and your current or future mate find romantic bliss. Just click on each link, and each step will be illustrated by the corresponding video. Trust me, I'm a doctor!

This is a Zaius Nation "Advice for the Loverlorn" reprint.

 

Freida Bee's Birthday is Tomorrow

 

No time for blogging today! Germaine Gregarious and I are busy shopping for a gift for Freida Bee's birthday, which is tomorrow! I think that we have narrowed it down to either a grenade launcher or a box of anti-personnel land mines. (It's probably a good idea to get something that the whole family can enjoy.) In the meantime you can watch these swell political videos. I've got "Lapdogs of the Corporate Press", "Colbert Report: Kiss Mitt Goodbye", Senseless Pundit Election Babble and a report on how Bush, the GOP & FOX Gear Up their Obama Attack Machine. Video links via Crooks and Liars and Think Progress.

The Nine Rules for Avoiding Constipation

 

The Nine Rules for Avoiding Constipation.

 

Presented Without Comment

 
 

What Was On TV Last Night

 

That Whimsical Feeling The Story of Nick	That's My Baby The Weather Lady
Camp Chicawatamee Spirit

Turner Classic Movies ran the film "A Thousand Clowns" last night. This is one of my all time favorite movies. This is a review of the film that I wrote.

 

Not Brand Echh: "Who Says a Comic Book Has to Be Good?"

 

Click to read, 'The Silver Burper' from "Not Brand Echh" #1.

I have three boxes of comic books from my youth, none of which are in mint condition because when I was young I would actually read my comic books instead of creating altars to their potential value. I did eventually buy those little plastic bag/cardboard backing jammies for them that are all the rage, but the condition of my comic books remain in "well read" condition. They are thus of little worth on the open market, but their value to me is imeasurable, even if it only on the rarest of occasion that I actually pull one of them out and read it.

In my youth I would buy comic books on a regular basis, and my favorite characters would change over the years and my buying habits would reflect this. Despite my mercurial tastes in comic books I will always have one favorite comic book, "Not Brand Echh" #3. By the time they published the last issue of "Not Brand Echh", I was too young to even read it, much less buy it.

I still have the first comic book that I ever bought, which was an issue of Harvey Comics' "Hot Stuff". Around this time, the son of a friend of my parents gave me a whole stack comic books one night after a dinner party, as he had "grown out of them." At the time I had only read a few "Archie Comics" titles, and of course my personal favorite, "Hot Stuff". I was not accustomed to these "grown up" comic books.

The stack was probably only about 40 comics, but he gave me Batman, Superman, Spiderman, Agent Fury and the Fantastic Four. I was ecstactic! I could not believe how lucky I was. That was one of the happiest moments of my life. I read all of those comic books over and over. There was one odd comic book in the stack, "Not Brand Echh" #3, my favorite comic book ever.

By the time I reached high school, I pretty much stopped buying comic books, but I would still read from my collection on occasion. Then in my twenties while looking through my comic books, I came across my dog-eared issue of "Not Brand Echh" #3. I had always wanted to read the rest of the issues, and I had some money squirreled at the time, and so I got the brilliant idea one day to go and buy every back issue of "Not Brand Echh", and so I did just that. It was one of the wisest purchases that I ever made. They are not really worth a lot of money because their condition is not mint, but they are my favorite comic books ever.

If you don't enjoy reading comic books, then you probably won't enjoy this story because "Not Brand Echh" is a series of stories that are parodies of existing comic book characters. They are probably not as funny if you don't know who the character's are that are being parodied.

The Title, "Not Brand Echh" [ 1, 2, 3, 4 ] is a reference to advertisements of the day that would compare the represented product to "Brand X." Marvel, the comic book's publisher, is a rival to the popular publisher DC Comics.

 

The Modern Plight of American Kitties

 

Via XKCD

 

What Was On TV Last Night

 

"Spellbound" dream sequence Ingrid falls in love with Gregory	Spellbound (1945) - dinner scene "Spellbound" Trailer
All of Alfred Hitchcock's cameo appearances

Yesterday Turner Classic Movies played my favorite Alfred Hitchcock film. "Spellbound". It's not my favorite Hitchcock film because it has creepy theramin music, or because it's a great psychological mystery thriller, or because the film stars Ingrid Bergman, or because it has a great love scene with an enigmatic door-opening sequence. "Spellbound" is my favorite Alfred Hitchcock film because it has a haunting dream sequence that was done by Salvadore Dali.

My Mom told me a story years ago about Ingrid Bergman that happened more than a decade before I was born. Some of Petter Lindström's kids (Bergman's first husband), were on the same swim team that my sister was on. My sister is quite an athlete, and used to win innumerable ribbons and trophies on that swim team.

During the making of the 1949 film "Stromboli" in Italy, Bergman fell in love with the director Roberto Rossellini and became pregnant with a son, Roberto Ingmar Rossellini (born February 7, 1950). The scandal that ensued in the United States would seem unthinkable today:

"The pregnancy caused a huge scandal in the United States. It even led to her being denounced on the floor of the U.S. Senate by Edwin C. Johnson, a Democrat senator from Colorado, who referred to her as 'a horrible example of womanhood and a powerful influence for evil.' In addition, there was a floor vote, which resulted in her being made persona non grata. The scandal forced Ingrid Bergman to exile herself to Italy, leaving her husband and daughter in the United States. Her husband, Dr. Petter Lindström, eventually sued for desertion and waged a custody battle for their daughter." wikipedia

My Mom points out this story to me and my sister as one of many examples that she tells of how women's rights were very repressive, even in the very recent past. Of course, women's rights still have a long way to go.

 

"That Girl" Strip Tease

 

No time for blogging today! Ms. Gregarious is busy raising voter expectations on many important issues, and I'm off to the store to get some mustard and ketchup! In the meantime you can watch this swell video of "That Girl" (Marlo Thomas) doing a strip tease! (Via MWB's World.) What? You don't remember the show? Well, here is a video of the musical introduction to the television series.

 

Jeepers!

 


 

Caption This

 
 

Mitt Romney Will Only Buy Stock in the USA if the Price is Favorable

 

Romney doesn't like the bottom line, vows to buy the presidential election when the price is more favorable. See Crooks and Liars, Oliver Willis, Jess Wundrun, Monkey Muck, and Darkblack.

 

The Steamy Jungle Tale of "Savage Love"!

 

Don't miss this steamy jungle tale of Savage Love!

 

The Missouri Bellwether

 

The Missouri bellwether is a political phenomenon that notes that the state of Missouri has voted for the winner in every U.S. Presidential election beginning in 1904 (except in 1956). Wikipedia

 

Why is This Doodle Evil?

 
 

Happy Underpants Give You Double Protection!

 
 

We have a new candidate - Cabbage Head!

 

We have a new candidate in the presidential race - Cabbage Head!

 

Last Minute Campaigning for Sooper Dooper Tuesday!

 

No time for blogging today! Ms. Gregarious and I are busy doing some last minute campaigning for Sooper Dooper Tuesday! We are going door to door delivering samples of Ms. Gregarious' homemade strawberry jello, made with real gelatinite! (Careful, my dear! Don't drop it!) In the meantime you can watch this swell political video from Slate.com about Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Witherspoon. (Unfortunately, there is a brief commercial message at the beginning of the video that you must wade through.)

 

Feed the World

 

Via Banksy.

 

Presented Without Comment

 

 

Dreaming of Ann Margaret

 

No time for blogging today! I am too busy watching old Ann Margaret movies. As of yet I have been unable to determine which of these two scense is more delightful, the one where she is wearing white shorts or the one where she is wearing black tights. The cruel muses have me in a muddle! I guess that I will just have to watch the videos one more time...

 

Happy Blogroll Amnesty Day!

 

Happy Blogroll Amnesty Day! I learned about this blogosphere holiday through the blog of the fabulous Blue Gal. You can read the frightening details of the event at the blog of the holiday's creator, Jon Swift, and also at the blog of the other leading event co-conspirator, Skippy the Bush Kangaroo.

Blue Gal suggests that we should post the link to a few of our favorite blogs, and post them so that others can read about them, become aware of them - and finally blogroll these newer and most recently discovered blogs. Based on Blue Gal's expressed wishes, I have thus gone through a lengthy winnowing process of my own blogroll, and I present the following blogs for your consideration as part of the Blogroll Amnesty celebrations.

The Accordion Guy Alien Loves Predator AlterDestiny Anaïs Nohant Angry Ballerina The Aristocrats All Hat No Cattle Atomic Romance Aunt Dahlia Badtux the Snarky Penguin Beautiful Day Rule Beginning to Bird BenettonTalk Betsy Devine Bella Rossa Beware of the Blog Bitch Ph.D. Blue Gal Bob Geiger bradblog.com Brainshrub The Bree Walker Show Blog CalPundit Cap'n Dyke, Pirate Queen Capitol Punishment Carnival of the Liberals Chapter 56 Chicken Head Circle Jerk/Square Dance Common Dreams Comrade Kevin Crooks and Liars Culture of Life News Cyberography The Daily Howler Darkblack Darwin's Dagger The Dean's Office Devilham's Attic Dictionopolis in Digitopolis DistributorCap NY DownWithTyranny! The Dubya's Media Dump Michele Bachmann Electronic Cerebrectomy Eli Lyons Evangelical Right Evil Mad Scientist Eyeteeth Five Public Opinions FOX Watch Fragmentia13 FranIAm

Freida Bee Germaine Gregarious Get-Your-Zs Gledwood Vol 2 The Great Endarkenment Here Comes Johnny Yen Again The Hill House of the Rising Sons The Huffington Post I Am Bossy I Am Jacks Non-Blog Ice Station Tango Illustrated Daily Scribble I Miss Fafblog, Spot! I, Splotchy I Make No Promises Impeachment/Other Dreams The Inconvienent Truth Indecision 2008 Indexed Infidel753 Jazz from Hell Jess Wundrun Jesus' General Jon the Intergalactic Gladiator Jon Swift Jonestown Jossip Cable Quotables Kelly the Little Black Dog Kimonomomo Knock Knock Kommandos Project L'ennui mélodieux Lady, That's My Skull Last Left Turn B4 Hooterville Left 'Toon Lane Les Enrages.org The Liberal Coalition Liberality Like Kryptonite To Stupid The Lippard Blog 2 Luminiferous Ether Mental Detritus Mercury Rising Midnight/Noise Mock, Paper, Scissors Mondo Marco Monkey Muck Morning Martini My Two Sense MWB's World naladahc.com Neural Gourmet

Neccoland The Needs of the Few Nine Pearls No Smoking in the Skull Cave A Noble Undoing Old American Century Omnipotent Poobah the Opinion Mill The Otherwhirled Pam's House Blend Patriotboy Phydeaux Speaks Pidomon's Posts PoliTits pollster.com Political Arithmetik Princess Sparkle Pony PR Watch Rabbits, Toyen, and so forth Republic of Sestakastan The Quaker Agitator Qwerty's Qoncepts Quit Your Day Job Scholars and Rogues Shakespeare's Sister Shelley the Republican Silly Humans Skippy the Bush Kangaroo Sleestak Some Guy's Blog Spocko's Brain [ 2 ] spiiderweb Stardragon the Canadian Stump Lane A Sunny Thought They Get Letters This Is It This Modern World Threading Water Tiamat's Friends Two Minutes In The Box Übermilf Unruly Mob/Les Enrages Vagabond Scholar Vigouruex Artiste The Yes Men Yikes! [ 2 ] What I Like/Universe Wink Studios Witches and Scientists Westcoast Walker Wondertrash Wyldth1ng

Also, after the coming Apeocolypse, I pledge to spare these humans (or at least most of them) for scientific experiments. (Probably.)

 

Teresa Graves in "Get Christie Love!"

 

Pictures: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13

Clips from the 1974 made-for-TV movie "Get Christie Love!"
Teresa Graves interviewed on "Soul Train"
Scenes from "Get Christie Love" (Set to Beastie Boys music)
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In clip (at 2:37)
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In clip (at 2:30 and 2:56)
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In clip (at 1:38)
Teresa Graves as a celebrity judge at the Miss USA Pageant (1970)
Get Christie Love - One Bad Mama

"Get Christie Love!" was a 1974 made-for-TV movie starring Teresa Graves that spawned a short lived television show by the same name. Graves played beautiful black policewoman that goes undercover to break up a drug ring in the film.

I fondly remember this film and TV show, although I was barely old enough to know why she gave me that gooshy feeling in my underpants. At the time Marcia Brady and Laurie Partridge had the same effect on me. At the time I found that I would endlessly imagine myself in impossible and heroic situations with these women where I was invariably suave, witty, strong and protective.

Graves was famous for saying the line, "You're under arrest, sugar!" on the show. She would also wear tight-fitting jeans and a cropped leather jacket. Graves had a delightfully expressive face. At times when she spoke she would pause and narrow her gaze, slightly open her mouth and shift her jaw a bit to the left in a very thoughtful emphasis of her words. She had a very beautiful face and a unique on-screen presence.

I also remember Graves from when she was on "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In," where she would perform in skits, makes jokes and dance around in brief segments wearing a bikini and with her body garishly painted with clever statements like "Sock it to me!" and "You bet your bippy!".

Graves later abandoned her acting career in to concentrate on her increased involvement with the Jehovah's Witnesses, and to take care of her mother. Apparently she also refused many roles because of her religious convictions.

Graves died tragically in a house fire in 2002, at the age of 54. According to imdb.com, "Firefighters responding to a fire in the Hyde Park section of Los Angeles found Graves unconscious in a bedroom of her home. She was taken to Daniel Freeman Memorial Hospital in nearby Inglewood, where she died. A faulty space heater was determined to be the cause of the blaze."

adherents.com has a reprint of a TV Guide article that's very interesting. Apparently none of her neighbors knew that she was television star when she died.

I had not realized that the show was based on a book by Dorothy Uhnak, "The Ledger", which was adapted for the movie and the TV show. Several of her novels became best-sellers. The author apparently committed suicide.

Wikipedia: Teresa Graves
Wikipedia: Doodletown Pipers [ 2 ]
Wikipedia: Dorothy Uhnak
imdb.com: Teresa Graves - Biography
adherents.com: TV Guide Honors Teresa Graves
The Rap Sheet: The Pioneering Policewoman (About Dorothy Uhnak)

This post is for my esteemed colleague Dr. Monkerstein's running mate, GETkristiLOVE, because she did a great post where she made me look like Hong Kong Phooey.

 

Evil Spock is Back!

 

Evil Spock is back!

 

Ann Coulter Endorses Hillary Clinton for President

 

Ann Coulter endorses Hillary Clinton for President. (No joke.) Via Comrade Kevin.

 

Betty and Veronica - 'She's Goth to Have it!'

 

Betty discovers goth culture! ...and she looks hot in black lipstick. I found this great Betty and Veronica comic over at The Accordion Guy. He has it posted as a single file [436K], I just enlarged it a bit and heighted the contrast a little to make it easier to read for those of us with thick glasses and a permanent squint. (Like me.)

So, what is the heart-felt message of this hard hitting bit of social commentary? If you want to be a good friend, you will eat the damned Rice Krispy Treats! That is what friendship is all about! Only the groovy goth girls understood the importance of the marshmallow goodness of Betty's need for attention.

It's hard for me to say which Archie comic I like better - this one, or the comic recently posted over at Living Between Wednesdays. (This is a Zaius Nation reprint. I am busy working on next week's posts!)