Chaplin on the Intarnebs

There's a pretty sad collection on youtube, so I went here to find some Chaplin shorts. Check out His New Job, as one example.

The Internet Archive is an amazing collection. It's got your audio, your video, your books ... etc. etc. Take a look see.

(By the way, the cute kid in the still -- from the film The Kid -- is Jackie Coogan, better known to most people as Uncle Fester in the Addams Family tv show, which is much much better than any of the A.F. films, by the way.)

And also Spike Milligan's?

Both on the same day? Man o nam. More to follow.

Dollars, Taxes!

A terrific scene from Duck Soup, which comes to mind as Tax Day approacheth.

Don't let the screen door hit you on the way out, March

Chevy Chase:
Last week we made the comment that March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. Now here to reply is our chief meteorologist, John Belushi, with a seasonal report.

John Belushi:
Thank you Chevy. Well, another winter is almost over and March true to form has come in like a lion, and hopefully will go out like a lamb. At least that's how March works here in the United States.

But did you know that March behaves differently in other countries? In Norway, for example, March comes in like a polar bear and goes out like a walrus. Or, take the case of Honduras where March comes in like a lamb and goes out like a salt marsh harvest mouse.

Let's compare this to the Maldive Islands where March comes in like a wildebeest and goes out like an ant. A tiny, little ant about this big.

[holds thumb and index fingers a small distance apart]

Unlike the Malay Peninsula where March comes in like a worm-eating fernbird and goes out like a worm-eating fernbird. In fact, their whole year is like a worm-eating fernbird.

Or consider the Republic of South Africa where March comes in like a lion and goes out like a different lion. Like one has a mane, and one doesn't have a mane. Or in certain parts of South America where March swims in like a sea otter, and then it slithers out like a giant anaconda.

There you can buy land real cheap, you know. And there's a country where March hops in like a kangaroo, and stays a kangaroo for a while, and then it becomes a slightly smaller kangaroo. Then, then, then for a couple of days it's sort of a cross between a, a frilled lizard and a common house cat.

[Chevy Chase tries to interrupt him]

Wait wait wait wait. Then it changes back into a smaller kangaroo, and then it goes out like a, like a wild dingo. Now, now, and it's not Australia! Now, now, you'd think it would be Australia, but it's not!

[Chevy Chase tries to interrupt him]

Now look, pal! I know a country where March comes in like an emu and goes out like a tapir. And they don't even know what it means! All right? Now listen, there are nine different countries, where March comes in like a frog, and goes out like a golden retriever. But that- that's not the weird part! No, no, the weird part is, is the frog. The frog- The weird part is-

[has seizure and falls off chair]

Link (Thanks to Chuck Welch)

As usual, Colbert nails it

My favorite bit starts around 2:20.

Hilarious!

Dr. Philip Zimbardo, author of The Lucifer Effect, on The Colbert Report: "Obviously, you learned well in Sunday school."

Dr. Stephen T. Colbert: "I teach Sunday school, m*****f****!"

See it here.

Say goodnight, Gracie

On Feb. 15, 1932, George Burns and Gracie Allen debuted as regulars on radio. In 1950, they moved to TV. If you haven't seen their shtick, here's a bit of it.

George Burns broke that televisual 4th wall in surreal ways, often, on the show. He talked to the tv audience, and he'd occasionally watch the program in progress on his tv set in his "office" to see what was going on in the show while he was away from the main action, and -- by the time he got downstairs again -- the plot would have changed, so he'd be all at sixes and sevenses when he came in the door. Any chance he'd have to force the plot in his direction would be foiled by Gracie's unique art of meta-misunderstanding.

Great work. Some of the best tv comedy ever.

Picture of the Day

'Nuff said!

Happy birthday, Terry Jones!

For all you Make-sters out there.

The Scarecrow starring Buster Keaton (part 1). It's all good, but super-Make-friendly starts around 3:30.

The Laugh-Out-Loud Cats!

By the brilliant Ape Lad