Hey! It’s Karl’s birthday! Hop on over to Secondhand Tryptophan and send him some love!

I did — in video form:

Direct YouTube Link

… which would have been posted on 8/31 if it didn’t take so long to upload and process…

List on the 3s – August 31, 2008 on Vimeo.

I apologize for not keeping up with my posts — it doesn’t mean I appreciate you all any less. I’ll make it up to you during the weekend — promise!

So — here’s my video-blog post. And yes — it’s the one where I show you my balls.

Direct YouTube Link

Look – some of you wanted to see ’em, some of you didn’t.  For those who want them, here you go!

Hey! Next week is Blog Reader Appreciation Week! Click here to tell Shiny what you want him to blog about!

“List on the 3s” needs little to no explanation.



Hey, kids! It’s Friday the 13th! It’s that time again when people are superstitious, thinking of impending doom and going to see slasher movies. It also happens to be a day that (coincidentally?) I had to wipe a nasty virus off of a co-worker’s computer. Gotta love this one day which seems to play not-so-nicely with the fabric of our lives…



My list has nothing to do with Friday the 13th. Sorry…

Shiny’s Top 9 Favorite Muppets

(Note: There is some controversy regarding what constitutes a “Muppet.” Purists will cry foul if any characters which are not “marionette puppets” are given the Muppet moniker. However, my interpretations are a bit more loose than that — which is why you’ll see some potentially questionable content on my list.)

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9. Jim Henson

Direct YouTube Link

This song is from the first season. The first bearded guy singing is and playing banjo is… well, Jim Henson.

Great guy. What a pioneer…

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8. Rowlf the Dog

Direct YouTube Link

Singer. Piano Player. Philosopher. Rowlf and Kermit are the oldest muppets in the bunch. Yet Rowlf is the one with whom I identify. Watch this clip of him singing “You and I and George.” It’s a deleted scene from the first episode of the original Muppet Show series (although it aired in the UK version).

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7. Mahna Mahna

Direct YouTube Link

Yes. His name is “Mahna Mahna.” And he appeared occassionally throughout The Muppet Show. Kind of looks like a young Regis Philbin, doesn’t he?

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6. The Swedish Chef

5. Beaker

Direct YouTube Link

Both of these characters from The Muppet Show live on by communicating without superb verbal skills. Yet they’re effective at conveying their message. (And I’ve always thought it was cool, if not creepy, that the Swedish Chef has human hands.) Here’s a clip celebrating St. Patrick’s Day.

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4. Wembley Fraggle

I love the shirt.

I love that he volunteers as the siren for the Fraggle Rock Fire Department.

I love that he’s named after Wembley Stadium.

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3. Mr. Snuffleupagus

Direct YouTube Link

Fun Fact #1: Mr. Snuffleupagus’s first name is Aloysius

Fun Fact #2: In 1992, the producers of Sesame Street tested an episode where Mr. Snuffleupagus’s parents get a divorce. It didn’t sit well with audiences, so it was shelved.

Possibly the most fascinating story revolving around Snuffy was the revelation to adults that he was, indeed, real — and not just the product of Big Bird’s imagination. This occurred in a show in 1985 when the show’s creators decided that the notion of a child reporting something important to his/her parents and just being brushed off as “oh, that’s just your imagination” might not be a good idea.

Watch the clip. It’s a play on the whole “It’s just your imagination” theme. Doesn’t Mr. Snuffleupagus sound exactly like Kevin from The Office?

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2. The Muppet Formerly Known As Prince

Direct YouTube Link

This is a poorly synced up video from Muppets Tonight when the Artist Formerly Currently Known As Prince gave us a cute rendition of Starfish and Coffee. The accompanying video has him among some Muppets — including a replica of himself. After seeing him lower himself from his pedestal to appear on Muppets Tonight, I felt that he was a bit cooler and more down-to-Earth than I thought he ever was. Kudos, Prince!

And then I saw Kevin Smith talk about his experiences with him and I went back to my original opinions about him. Great musician, though…

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1. Animal

Direct YouTube Link

How can you not love someone with that constant Rock and Roll attitude? He’s more Keith Moon than Keith Moon ever was — but cuddlier. This is possibly one of my favorite Muppet Show clips of all time — featuring Rita Moreno singing “Fever” with the furry one accompanying on drums.

Would you believe that YouTube was being craptastic this evening — and it took me countless hours to successfully upload this video? Sheesh…

Link to the YouTube page for all you snazzy RSS types…

Ooo! I’m too cool for embedded video! I want the link to the YouTube page!

A lot of folks have been blogging about Mother’s Day today — and I’ve been reading some wonderful accounts on blogs and on Twitter about the thoughts and the actions which are occurring. It’s also nice to see pictures from the present and past as people honor their moms.

If you’ve been following me on Twitter today, you may have noticed that today is a tough day for me. as I’m still getting used to life without my mom. Something very cathartic happened earlier today which found me really having strong emotions about the day and my mom’s memory. Transcribing these emotions in words felt too limiting, so I decided to push myself against my comfort zone and try vlogging instead.

I apologize for the poor lighting and sound quality — I just wasn’t willing to re-record this. The pictures I show towards the end are quite blurry; I’ll take a still shot and post it to the end of this blog a little later.

Thanks to all of you who have been so supportive of me today. You have no idea how much it means to me.

And I assure you that I’ll be more upbeat and funny-looking in my posts for the rest of the week. Pinky swear…

EDIT: Since they didn’t come out so well on video, here are the pictures on that wall…

This is my parents and Av — taken towards the end of 2004. He was two months shy of turning two.

This is a picture of my mom (left) and socKs’s mom (right) taken at our wedding reception. Both of them had a great time.  And both socKs and I have been very fortunate to have wonderful relationships with our respective mothers-in-law.

These are the Beatles.

Direct link to YouTube for all you cool RSS cats…

I now realize that I use “absolutely” as a crutch word far too much…

Today as I was walking into our generic, large-scale, technology office park, I noticed that there were quite a few kids on their way into work. Sure enough — I had completely forgotten that today was National Take Our Children to Work Day. There weren’t too many kids in my workplace — mostly because our environment isn’t quite one to which you’d want to expose kids, with all the adult language and the death threats and all.

So — in lieu of taking him to work, I’ve decided to take him to my blog. Yes — this is a vlog by my 5-year old. And, as you’ll see, he discusses all sorts of blogworthy stuff, including birthdays, Jewish holidays, video games, daily routines, and even the future of social networking sites and the web.

Enjoy!

Link for you crazy cool RSS folks…

Here’s yet another shameless promotion for…

Yup! This promises to be a fun show! As mentioned previously, I will be duet-ing with the Fabulous Mr. Fabulous on “Say Say Say,” originally performed by ex-Beatle Paul McCartney and ex-California property owner Michael Jackson. I’ll let you all venture guesses as to who will be taking which part of the song.

And here’s a little something special for you all, speaking of Paul McCartney: some of you may have seen that adorable video of that tiny kid with a guitar singing “Hey Jude” on camera. Well, predating that by about a year is our kid on his fourth birthday singing “Love Me Do.” He plays guitar, harmonica and keyboards on this — and it’s right after he partook of left-over birthday cake (hence the blue lips and chin).

Can he sing as well as John, Paul, Ringo or George? Well, no. But as you’ll see, he can still carry a tune better than Yoko…

Sadly, he will not be part of the Duets show. Listen anyway — 6pm -8pm EDT tonight!

And then listen to Turnbaby Talks at 8!

I was “tagged” by the lovely Turnbaby today. Yes. that Turnbaby. The one whose BlogTalkRadio show, Turnbaby Talks, will be on tomorrow (Sunday) night at 8pm EDT. I advise you to log in and wait at your computers for 20 hours until it comes on.

This is a meme. I know I promised myself I would mostly stay away from them, but hey — perhaps a slight amount of memery isn’t so bad, is it? she got it from Sanni-Licious who got it from… well, click and find out yourselves.

If I were a direction I’d be… “If you’ve reached the 7-Eleven, you’ve gone too far.”

If I were furniture I’d be… an Ikea entertainment system.

If I were a liquid I’d be… Green Tea Frappucino. No whipped cream.

If I were a sin I’d be… gluttony. Sweet, sweet gluttony…

If I were a gem/stone I’d be… cubic zirconium.

If I were a metal I’d be… sodium.

If I were a tree I’d be… one of those mock cell-phone tower trees.

If I were a fruit I’d be… ripe.

If I were a flower I’d be… thorny.

If I were weather I’d be… sleet.

If I were a music instrument I’d be… a harpsichord.

If I were an element I’d be… seaborgium.

If I were a colour I’d be… #5F9EA0.

If I were an animal I’d be… I am an animal. But if I were a different one? a new world monkey.

If I were a sound I’d be… a quiet, country road. First thing in the morning. With the sound of a truck barely audible at a great distance in the background.

If I were a lyric I’d be… Cold is cold / Brother when you make a stand / If you don’t like your cards / Draw another hand. (I’ll be quite impressed if anyone else gets this one…)

If I were a song I’d be: Watching the Detectives – Elvis Costello and the Attractions

If I were a music type I’d be… alternative rock. Not the mass-marketed bullshit that became corporate “rock alternative” in the mid-1990s. No. We’re talking about the stuff that makes PJ Harvey sound like Gloria Estefan.

If I were a perfume/cologne I’d be… expensive. And scarce. And highly effective.

If I were a feeling I’d be… fear of getting caught.

If I were a book I’d be… Night of the Avenging Blowfish – John Welter

If I were food I’d be… Fettucine Alfredo.

If I were a city I’d be… Chapel Hill, NC.

If I were a taste I’d be… Spicy.

If I were a scent I’d be… smelly.

If I were a word I’d be… phagocytosis.

If I were a verb I’d be… predicating.

If I were an object I’d be… Again, I am an object. And I like it that way…

If I were a piece of clothing I’d be… Natalie Portman’s undergarments. There. I said it.

If I were a body part I’d be… a pelvis.

If I were an facial expression I’d be… wide expression of surprise

If I were a cartoon character I’d be… Bender from “Futurama.”

If I were a movie I’d be… This is Spinal Tap.

If I were a geometrical figure I’d be… a Star of Lakshimi.

If I were one of the 4 seasons I’d be… Frankie Valli. No question.

If I were a sentence I’d be… Life without the possibility of parole.

And now — for no particular reason relating to this post — a video of today’s festivities. Av is the little guy in the red hoodie running around with a small Buzz Lightyear kite. I’m the shmoe with the rainbow kite and the unseasonal, goofy looking cream-colored cargo pants. Enjoy!