Tuesday, December 25, 2007

The "Blog" Advent Calendar for Dec. 25

Welcome to the last day of the "blog" advent calendar. I believe that traditional advent calendars stop on the 24th. But this is not a traditional advent calendar; it is a "blog" advent calendar. So you have one more goody in store. If I understand actual advent calendars correctly, part of the fun is seeing it all laid out before you at the end. I'm not sure how to do that here. What I suppose I should do is remind you of everything you have seen so far and make some allowances for "clicking" to enjoy it all over again. 1. Superboy facing an unusual dilemma 2. A clip from Emir Kusturica's Jerry Lewis film ARIZONA DREAM: Lili Taylor plays accordion while Johnny Depp rolls around clucking like a chicken 3. This was supposed to be the cover of an old paperback called NAKED ON ROLLER SKATES but the "link" wouldn't work, so instead it's a vintage postcard of war/cow-milking humor 4. Some dudes jumping off mountains 5. Meet Elizabeth Kucinich 6. An anthropomorphic lion holding an anthropomorphic soccer ball that looks like a decapitated human head 7. An LP of organ music with drum accompaniment 8. A talented young woman who can play the Britney Spears hit "Toxic" on her ukulele (she calls it a ukulele, and she should know, but for whatever it's worth it also resembles a small balalaika - or something - to me) 9. Web site of an art gallery where they sell those weird paintings of kids with great big eyes 10. Two polite British lads cover a Laurel & Hardy hit 11. An inflatable skeleton performs Gilbert & Sullivan 12. An old ad for a CB radio receiver 13. Bob Hope introduces Betty Hutton, who sings "Murder, He Says" 14. A young woman performs Gilbert & Sullivan in the privacy of her own room, arrayed in homemade finery 15. A panel from Ernie Bushmiller's comic strip NANCY 16. A snippet of Elvis 17. Woman standing in an otherwise empty diner 18. A high school with a sports mascot called "the Maniac" 19. Mezzo-soprano Rinat Shaham 20. A "podcast" by Kim Shattuck, lead singer and guitarist of the Muffs 21. An excerpt from 18th-century poet Christopher Smart (seems to have a lot of pop-up ads for a poem from the 18th century) 22. A jingle I recall vividly from childhood 23. Information about the great Milton Brown & His Musical Brownies 24. Dean and Jerry goofing around. Before we get to your final treat, I should thank a couple of internet entities for making the "blog" advent calendar possible. I could have done the whole thing with naught but lileks.com, as you will see when you visit that admirable site. As it is, I confined myself to just two images from there. I was not so circumspect when it came to YouTube. Ah, YouTube. What can I say of YouTube, which has also been responsible for earlier "blog" series, such as McNeil's Gold Medal International Emergency Exit Theatre? "Blogging" would not be the same without you, YouTube! In fact, the two runners-up for the final advent calendar surprise were both culled from YouTube. I did not choose them, but list them here for your consideration: a portion of Samuel Beckett's film entitled FILM; the Who performing "A Quick One While He's Away." I salute you, YouTube! And now, with no further folderol, I give you your final surprise.