Category Archives: Other people's stuff

2010/11/08 · 1:06 pm

Muppet Monday: The Muppets Break Their Personal Record For Two-Page Photo Speads in Entertainment Weekly in One Calendar Year

We assume.  Because for the second time in three issues Entertainment Weekly features a Muppet a full color Muppet photo across two pages.  The first appeared in the recent “Reunions” issue, a Muppet Show cast photo, and the new issue of the magazine offers the first glimpse of the gang (along with Jason Segel) in their upcoming return to the big screen, The Greatest Muppet Movie Ever Made.

(click to enlarge)

The image also presents our first look at Walter, a new tech-savvy, young Muppet who reportedly plays Segel’s roommate in the film.  He could also possibly be Guy Smiley’s illegitimate son.

One concerning omission in the photo: Pepe the Prawn is nowhere to be found.  He doesn’t appear in the first photo, but that was appropriate because he joined the Muppets many years after the Muppet Show (for the Muppet Show redux Muppets Tonight), but he’s arguably been the most popular Muppet of the past 10 years or so, and the only new Muppet since the Muppet Show to truly become a core member of the Muppet troupe.  It’s probably just an innocent mistake, but until we see another two-page spread in the Christmas issue, we’ll be holding our breath.

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Filed under Internet Killed the Print Media Star, Muppet Mondays, Muppets, Other people's stuff, The Big Screen

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2010/10/29 · 4:27 pm

Remember Like a Year Ago When All We Did was Write About Conan O’Brien and Jay Leno?

Well, now there’s a book (not written by us).  Bill Carter, who chronicled the first Tonight Show War in The Late Shift, is set to release The War for Late Night, an in-depth look at last winter’s late night talkie drama, what many of us referred to as the Jaypocalypse.  With Conan, beard and all, set to premiere his new show on TBS in just a matter of days, the book should be a fascinating recount of how the late night landscape was perhaps forever changed, and how, in the end, the skirmish might have been the best thing that ever happened to Conan O’Brien.

Read an except from The War for Late Night on Vanity Fair

And since there will inevitably be a movie based on the book, let’s remember the last one:

(Fun Fact: did you know that the actor who played Jay Leno in The Late Shift, Daniel Roebuck, went on to play Dr. Leslie Artz on Lost?  It’s true!  I know, right?!  Oh, and Letterman was played by John Michael Higgins, who is just generally awesome.  Crazy!)

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Filed under Flashback!, Literarally, LOST, Other people's stuff, Talkies

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2010/10/29 · 2:47 pm

Kelly Kapoor Fashion Show at Lunch

A few weeks back we looked at the physical evolution of many of the employees at Dunder Mifflin.  Over at Vulture, the Fug Girls reviewed some of her best and, mostly, worst looks.

The Fug Girls Rate the Many Looks of The Office’s Kelly Kapoor

 

 

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Filed under Dunder Mifflin, this is Pam, Fashion Show at Lunch, Flashback!, Other people's stuff

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2010/10/25 · 6:31 pm

Muppet Monday: Don’t Call it a Reunion, They’ve Been Here For Years

In last week’s Entertainment Weekly (on stands now) the Muppets, as the cast of the Muppet Show, reunited to talk about their old show, as well as, most importantly, their upcoming return to the big screen with Jason Segel.  To be fair, it’s not like the Muppets needed to be reunited, as they’ve been pretty much working non-stop for 40 years (we’re also not sure there was any compelling reason to bring the casts of The West Wing, Will & Grace and Alias back together after like 4 months apart, but that’s a different complaint for a different blog), but any national magazine publicity is good national magazine publicity.

(click to enlarge, so you can see how they managed to sneak Mickey Mouse in the background)

And read the brief interview with Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie, and Gonzo here.

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Filed under Internet Killed the Print Media Star, Mickey Mouse Club, Muppet Mondays, Muppets, Other people's stuff

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2010/10/15 · 4:23 pm

Danza Speaks!

Our friends at Urlesque snagged an exclusive interview with the teacher-boss, who explains why he still refuses to revive his Twitter account, despite the blog’s massive campaign.  Relent, Tony, relent!

Vodpod videos no longer available.

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Filed under Interweb, Other people's stuff, Who's the Boss?

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2010/10/08 · 2:00 pm

Justine Bateman Knows Way More About The Internet Than I Do

The legendary, lovely, luminous Justine Bateman appeared on this week’s Urly Show, the podcast hosted by our dear friend Eliot Glazer and his team over at Urlesque, and she basically blew our minds.  We thought we spend a lot of our time looking at Internet junk, but Justine has got us beat.  Sure, you could argue with all the money she’s making off of Family Ties residuals she has nothing but time to look at animals in casts Tumblrs and Cigar Guy memes and fake Christine O’Donnell broomstick Twitter feeds.  But she actually makes us feel like we’re not doing a good enough job of looking at Internet junk.  Like, she wants it more.  To us, her relative wealth would have led us to believe that she’d think of herself above the web fray, and instead of checking out the latest Sad Keanu photoshop job or post about spaghetti tacos she’d be using the New Yorker app on her iPad while sitting by the pool, possibly being fanned by a young Filipino boy.  Turns out that she’s not above the fray, but instead thoroughly in the midst of it, and we have a new-found admiration for her because of it.

Vodpod videos no longer available.

The best part is that Eliot played a few clips from How Can I Tell If I’m Really In Love, a full length PSA from 1986 that features Bateman (as well as Ted Danson) educating teenage girls about the evils tricks adolescent boys use get into their pants.  Eliot unearthed this time capsule when we were in high school, and we spent several nights watching the VHS in his parents’ basement, completely fascinated and confused (questions like: why did they insist everyone sit in such uncomfortable positions?  And: Is this a joke?), so it’s unbelievable to see Bateman watching and commenting on it now (although, she has little to no recollection of shooting it.  But we can’t really blame her for that).   See for yourself!

Speaking of Family Ties and things that blew our minds, let’s take this opportunity to remind you of this and this.

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Filed under Flashback!, Freak Out Control, Intersection of the venn diagram of things that I love, Interweb, Nostalgia Corner, Other people's stuff, Sha la la la

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2010/09/27 · 3:41 pm

What Every ‘SNL’ Fan Should Have In Their Library

It’s the sketch-fan’s bible.

Thank you, The Strand.  Now I don’t need to borrow it from the library for the third time.

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Filed under Count Bleh, Literarally, Local Flavor, Other people's stuff, Saturday Night Live

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2010/09/17 · 6:15 pm

Gut Yontiff, Jews

In honor of the high holidays, and the impending arrival of the holiest of holies, we present the opening to Bridget Loves Bernie, a short-lived, high-rated CBS sitcom from 1972 that was canceled by CBS execs in response to complaints from viewers about the interfaith relationship between a gentile and a gentleman that serves as the show’s core.  We must thank the A.V. Club’s Primer of 70s sitcoms, which brought this forgotten program to our attention just yesterday.

What is especially interesting about this is that after the show was canceled, stars Meredith Baxter and David Birney (not a Jew) wed.  And what’s especially interesting about that is that 35 years and one husband later Meredith Baxter came out as a lesbian.  Now imagine what that show would have been like!  Too soon, America?  Too real?

Alright, the sun will soon set so get in that last slice of pizza.  Let’s have an easy fast, guys.  A lot of hustle, a lot of focus.  And we’ll meet to break the fast tomorrow night.  I’ll bring the bagels, you bring the napkins.

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Filed under Lady Holiday, Makes You Think, Nostalgia Corner, Other people's stuff, Woody Allen, Bar Mitzvahs & Bagels

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2010/09/17 · 5:50 pm

Muppet Friday: If You Didn’t Love Jim Henson Already Then You Will Now

And, come to think of it, if you didn’t love Jim Henson already then you probably hate this blog (and we hate you).

Everyone’s favorite PBS affiliate, Iowa Public Television, has unearthed a charming video from 1969 featuring Jim Henson teaching local Ioawans how to craft their own homemade Muppets.  Watching this little gem, it’s no wonder that the Muppets just years later make Henson a household name.  I’d like to attempt one of these little guys, but I think there’s just something special about Henson that brings the creatures to life.  Just as soon as he slips his hand in they seem to become living, breathing entities.  Also, eyes really help.

This reminds me, if you’re still looking for a birthday gift for me (only 2 months left!), I’m still hoping for one of these.

Vulture via BoingBoing

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2010/09/03 · 5:20 pm

Muppet Friday: Something Old, Something New, Something Drew

Just going to do a little bit of Muppet housekeeping and get out a couple overdue Kermit & Co related items as we head into the long weekend.

First, as widely reported last week (thanks, Yahoo! News), the original Kermit the Frog and some of Jim Henson’s other early creations have been donated to the Smithsonian, where they will sit alongside another more modern Kermit that has been on display for several years.  Many of the Muppets, including Kermit, are from Henson’s local DC television show Sam and Friends, which you may remember from “The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years” (because I certainly wasn’t around to see it when it originally aired in 1955). Scroll to about three minutes to see the Sam and Friends clips:

When there’s a crossover between two or more of our favorite things, like here, we like to think of it in terms of the intersection on a Venn diagram, where something awesome meets something equally awesome.  However, College Humor went ahead and took that idea a bit further, creating a Venn diagram by parsing out just one thing we love, that thing, of course being the Muppets.  Below, the Muppet Names Etymology:

I feel silly for never seeing this before.  And I have a human name.  So I guess I’d fall into the top left intersection.  Very illuminating.

Coming up next week: More Muppet news and/or links and/or old videos!

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Filed under Intersection of the venn diagram of things that I love, Muppets, Nostalgia Corner, Other people's stuff

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