Slade366 Ping Pong Master!

NEW KID!


This kid has decided that he wants to hang out with us at Alaska Teen Media Institute. Very cool. :D

Scratch that back!

TEACH ME HOW TO PANDA

The Bob Cummings Show (A little story)

The other day I went to Walmart with my mom. Yes, I did. We were walking down the center aisle of the store a little old lady tapped me on the shoulder. She was standing next to a rack of 50 cent DVDs and was making her case to anyone who would listen.

The DVD she had her eye on was a three-episode disc of The Bob Cummings Show, an American sitcom produced in the 50s, about a studly photographer/Air Force reserve officer.

The lady was 80 and in pretty decent shape for her age. She could run! She showed us. Anyway, she said there was something about the smiles on our faces that made her think we might actually listen.

"Give it to an old person you know!" She said. "It will make them so happy. I love this kind of stuff. And you know they aren't making any money off it. It's just that no one knows what it is."

So, I picked up a couple copies and she gave me and my mom a hug.

"It means so much to me that you stopped and talked to me," she said. "I've been a widow 20 years and you stopped and talked to me!"

BOB JUDGES A BEAUTY PAGEANT

One question...

Thanks to J.R. for this one...

FIFTY PEOPLE, ONE QUESTION | SHORT FILM

The Ave is poppin'

So, there is this guy, Ziggy. He has a video camera outside his shop, which happens to be next to the Avenue Bar in Anchorage. He catches people peeing and puking on his doorstep and then posts the videos to his YouTube channel. But the post I like best is this one. He has condensed three hours of traffic outside the bar into two minutes. It is testimony to how popular the Avenue has become. Conan, an Avenue bartender, once said, "Rosey, you remember when there would be three people in here?" Now look.

ZIGGYVISION - 06/22/08

Ray LaMontagne

I got to see him live in Portland a couple days ago. So good!

"SHELTER" and "HOLD ME IN YOUR ARMS"

Super-fast running shoes (A little story)

This morning, on the walk through my downtown Anchorage neighborhood to work, I was suddenly greeted by a small boy, about four years old. He came out of nowhere!

Through the chain-link fence he said, "Hello! What's your name?" I told him and then he propped his shoe up on his hand and told me to take a look at his "super-fast running shoes." They were the type that had odd-shaped soles with ridges through them to make them more aerodynamic or something. The kind he had reason to be proud of.

I was reminded of going to the mall with my dad when I was little to get him some new running shoes. A memory I forgot existed. It would take him forever to pick out the very best shoe, an important chore for a guy who grew up in the 50s and 60s when PF Flyers were guaranteed to make kids run their fastest and jump their highest. I pictured the boy and his dad at the shoe store weighing their options.

"But it rained this morning..." The boy told me.

"Does the rain make it more slippery?" I asked.

"No," the boy answered.

"Nice to meet you," I smiled.

"See ya!" He said.

Then I finished walking to work.

JOHNNY QUEST PF FLYERS COMMERCIAL

'How strange it is just to be alive at all'

'LIFE IS A SONG' - PATRICK PARK

Being silly at work...

Can rats laugh?

Aristotle didn't think so. He thought laughter was something that separates humans from the rest of the animal kingdom. But at Bowling Green State University in Ohio, psychobiologist Dr. Jaak Panksepp says he can make rats laugh. Human ears just can't hear it. It is crazy how in this video after he "tickles" the rat, it follows his hand like it is asking for more.

Radio Lab did a show on laughter, where I got the link to this video.

YouTube your name!

So, I thought, why not? Type it in, "Rosey Robards." Beside the typical Jason Robards the actor clips and some cheesy book trailers from romance novelist Karen Robards, this is what came back. I HOPE that I am related to these people. Most Robards are. Poor grandma in the back. I wonder how she would respond if she found out just what it means to superman that hoe. Good gracious!

ROBARDS FAMILY!

This girl...

JAYMAY "AUTUMN FALLS"

Final entry on Cory Branan (for a while)

Photo by Brian Adams

Cory Branan played some fun shows here in Anchorage last weekend. He fit in around here perfectly. We are all missing him already. Here is a final farewell to Cory with a video Marty Jones shot at the Snow Goose last Saturday night.

In the words of Evan Phillips, "Thanks (Cory) for being a breath of fresh air." :P

TALL GREEN GRASS

Les petits enfants aiment la musique!

Singing and dancing babies seem to be all the rage lately. I keep coming across these cute videos. You probably saw the "Hey Jude" one on MySpace, Tom posted it. But if you haven't it is a must see. And the Menomena one is so sweet.

HEY JUDE


MENOMENA

#62.3 - Menomena - Wet and Rusting
by lablogotheque

The Devil Whale (formally Palomino)

It has been a while since we have seen the guys of Utah's Palomino up north, maybe almost two years? Since their last appearance up here, the band has changed its name to The Devil Whale and released a ten-track album titled, "Like Paraders," a bulk of which can be previewed on the band MySpace.

I downloaded the album last night from Nimbit. I'm digging it, perhaps part nostalgia and part because The Devil Whale is a band of talented guys. Oh yah, and I like music about failure, deception and broken hearts by artists who most always see greener grass where they are not. Right now, I'm thinking "Butter for burns" and "If this house fails" are going to be my two favorites. But "Dirty mouth" and "Your love=Math" are also right up there.

And then there is this one, "Turn the car around." Here they are playing it live at their CD release party at Velour in Provo, Utah.

Who am I kidding? I like it all.

THE DEVIL WHALE