SNL Spoofs Michele Bachmann

We knew it was coming didn't we?!  SNL must love Michele Bachmann.  This skit practically wrote itself.

The Mad Men Cast & Crew Let Out Their Inner Kim MacAfee

As a tribute for creator/exec-producer Matthew Wiener, during the wrap party for the 3rd season of the Emmy-winning series Mad Men, the cast and crew put together a video in which they sing along with or lip-synch to Ann-Margret's version of the title song to the 1963 movie Bye Bye Birdie. Be sure to stick around for the last two minutes of the video for bloopers, false starts, and assorted silliness.




Unfortunately, Christina Hendricks (Joan Harris) does not take part in the video. For fans of the luscious redhead, here's a two-fer:


What other songs from the "Mad Men" era would you like to see the cast & crew perform for future wrap parties?

Director of "Banned Sprite Ad" Sets the Record Straight

Film maker Max Isaacson is making a name for himself with a fake Sprite ad that he wrote, directed and produced. The fake spot connects the pleasures of oral sex with the thirst quenching taste of Sprite. A lot of people thought the banned "commercial" was real, which is understandable if you've seen some of the spots that do air in Europe. Isaacson has issued a press statement explaining that the Coca-Cola company (the makers of Sprite) is in no way connected to his fake commercial.

I think the "spot" is genius for a couple of reasons. It does a brilliant job of satirizing the sexualization of commercials and it also exposes people to the work of Isaacson. I fully expect that the fake ad will lead to more work for Max. Also, I think it's cool that Sprite hasn't threatened Max with any litigation over the fake ad.

The video player below contains the fake Sprite ad and interview with Max Isaacson on the internet series The Young Turks in which he explains why he made the "ad". If you are offended by overt sexuality, be forewarned. Of course you probably won't be able to resist clicking "play" now will you?

Conan's Humorous "Exposé" of The Fox News Channel

During his Wednesday night monologue on The Tonight Show, Conan O'Brien took a jab at the Fox News Channel's well-deserved reputation as a right-wing station. He showed a clip of President Barack Obama's ceremonial first pitch at Tuesday's MLB All-Star Game as it actually happened and then showed footage of how it was "portrayed" by The Fox News Channel. I hope that even those who take as gospel everything they hear and see on the "fair and balanced" network can laugh at this clip too.

CTFD: Protesters Call For David Letterman's Head

For various reasons, I originally wasn't going to post anything about the Letterman vs. Palin dustup. That is until I saw a clip of the "massive" protest rally outside the building where "The Late Show with David Letterman" is taped. I'll borrow two adjectives from Breakfast Clubber John Bender to describe the protesters calling for the ousting of Dave... demented and sad. I'll add two more. In addition to being entertaining, some of these protesters are quite informative. Had I not watched this, I never would have known that Alex Rodriguez was a professional basketball player or that Jewish was a language.

There's Nothing Lame About His Ducking Skills

Displaying reflexes that could earn him an honorary membership in the TMNT should he choose to take that path after his term ends, President George W. Bush narrowly missed tasting some shoe leather as an Iraqi TV reporter hurled his kicks at him during a news conference on Sunday. I wonder if President Bush is asking himself why can't he be more like Tom Jones. Whereas the "What's New Pussycat" singer gets panties tossed at him, the Prez has to worry about avoiding Florsheims upside the head. I know some of you may be saying that those panties belong to women with AARP cards. But hey... they're still panties!

Below you can watch the shoe throwing incident in real time and in slo-mo. This is one of those clips that will never get old to me. It ranks right up there with former Indianapolis Colts coach Jim Mora's "playoffs" rant back in 2001 as one that will make me laugh every time I see it.

Malcolm and Pancakes: A Love Story

As I mentioned in one of my recent DWTS posts, I missed Lance Bass' fall during his dance routine because I was preoccupied with my preparation of some pancakes. Ever since my mother used to make them for us as a kid, I've had a love affair with flapjacks that continued into adulthood. A few years, I had an amicable parting of the ways with pancakes. During that time, there were a couple of quickies if I happened to be ordering breakfast at a restaurant. However, these brief encounters were the extent of our "relationship".

Earlier this fall I was reading one of my favorite blogs, Thoughtful Reflections (written by Jessica). In one of her posts, she linked to a previous one she had written about flapjacks. That was all it took for me to fully embrace my fixation once again. When I went grocery shopping shortly thereafter, I made sure I bought a box of pancake mix and a bottle of syrup. Once I got back to my apartment, I couldn't wait to fire up that skillet! When it comes to pancakes, I am a fairly basic guy. I don't need strawberries or whipped cream (however, those two items have me thinking about something else entirely). Anyway, back to the pancakes... as long as they are oozing with butter and syrup, I'm fine. Because I don't allow the time of day to dictate what I eat, I was having pancakes for dinner on some nights. It was getting to the point where I strongly considered hanging an IHOP sign above the entrance to my apartment.

As a kid, the only syrup I remember my mother buying was Alaga (the name is a combination of Alabama and Georgia, the home states of the company founder and his wife). Unfortunately, the grocery store in my area doesn't carry it. In early November, after doing my radio show one Friday night, I stopped by one of the Kroger locations in Flint hoping that they carried Alaga syrup. Kroger management didn't let me down. The original sugar cane flavor of Alaga is just the way I remembered it: sweet and so thick that when it dries around the mouth of the bottle, you can get a decent workout trying to unscrew the top.

I took me awhile, but I realized that I had to abandon my love once again. At the rate I was going, it wouldn't have been long before I'd be saying, "Hey, hey, hey" as I headed to the local junkyard to join my band and play bubblegum soul songs with a message. Even though I've bid farewell to flapjacks for now, I know that we will hook up again at some point in time. What's cool about our relationship is that there are no hard feelings. When I was in the pantry of my kitchen tonight, the bottle of Alaga temporarily morphed into Mrs. Butterworth and said to me, "It's OK Malcolm, I understand. You have to do what's best for you right now. Just know that whenever you want me, I'll be right down here waiting."

Are you a pancake lover? If so, what are your favorite toppings? To help put you in that pancake state of mind, check out a clip from the 1965 Chilly Willy cartoon titled Half-Baked Alaska. This scene features Chilly at a diner getting set to eat a stack of flapjacks.

Tina Fey: The Story Behind the Scar Revealed

For some time now, there has been a fascination with Tina Fey's scar on the left side of her chin and cheek. There is even a blog devoted to the subject. When I first noticed Tina's scar, I was intrigued. I became even more so after reading an interview that Tina did with Entertainment Weekly in 2003 (the author of the article wrote that Tina's facial scar was from a childhood injury she preferred not to discuss). Although I was curious to hear the story behind the scar, I was also cool never learning what happened.

But now, after all these years, the biggest mystery since "How many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop?" has finally been answered. In an interview that Tina and her husband Jeff Richmond gave for the January 2009 issue of Vanity Fair, Richmond says a stranger slashed Fey's face when she was 5 years old. He goes on to say that the incident occurred in the front yard of her house. To read the complete Vanity Fair interview, click here.

Oh well, now that we know the story behind Tina Fey's scar, it's on to the next mystery. Speaking of scars, I'm dying to know what's in Al Capone's vault. I think a certain mustachioed Fox News Channel personality is just the person who can get to the bottom of this.

Web Find: Dickipedia

This past Saturday, my sister sent me an email that turned me on to a website called Dickipedia. The email contained a link to Greta Van Susteren's page in which it stated that the Fox News Channel personality is a dick.

Launched by the political humor website 23/6, Dickipedia aims its poison arrows at people and institutions both past and present. With a layout designed to mirror the mega popular online resource Wikipedia, each entry on Dickipedia starts out with an opening that includes the name of the person/institution, their year of birth/introduction, their main claim(s) to fame, and their dubious title of dick. Example: "Kanye Omari West (born June 8, 1977 in Atlanta, GA) is a Grammy-winning producer, a platinum-selling rapper, and a dick." The entry then provides a biographical sketch of the person/institution, including reasons for why they are considered a dick. One thing I enjoy about Dickipedia is that it has an irreverent laugh out loud edge you won't find on Wikipedia. In the entry for Sean Penn it says:

"Often described as an acting “powerhouse,” Sean Penn is known for his intensity and humorlessness. He has been a druggie, a delinquent, mentally-unhinged, and a retard. He has also played those characters in films."

On its main page, Dickipedia has its dickroll broken down by categories (latest, political, media, sports, entertainment, international, and miscellaneous). In addtion to the people I previously mentioned, some of the others getting the dick tag hung on them include Barack Obama, Joe Biden, John McCain, Sarah Palin, Naomi Campbell, Simon Cowell, Kobe Bryant, Ann Coulter, and Sean Hannity. Dickipedia even takes aim at Santa Claus, oil, The Olympics, and Halloween.

For each Dickipedia entry, visitors can login/register and add their comments. However, unlike its well-established counterpart, Dickipedia is unavailable for community editing at this time.

Having said that, after viewing its dickroll (which you can reach by clicking the word "Dickipedia" in the opening sentence of this post), is there anyone/anything you'd like to see added to Dickipedia?