Art

Outrageous Firsts in TV History

YesButNoButYes lists controversial first in TV broadcast history.

1947: First Couple to Share a Bed – Mary Kay and Johnny, on…Mary Kay and Johnny
1957: First Toilet on Television. – Leave it to Beaver
1957: First Exposed Rack on Television – Jayne Mansfield, 1957 Academy Awards
1967: First Time the Word Hell was Used on Television – Star Trek
1971: First time the phrase God Damn It was used on Television – All in the Family (also one of the first gay characters: A closeted football-playng friend of Mike’s came out on the show)
1972: First Abortion on Television – Maude
1974: First Rape Scene on Television – TV movie Born Innocent (I remember hearing about this in school.)
1977: First Recurring Gay Character on Television – Soap (although “The Corner Bar” had one in 1972)

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mental notes

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I need to remember to set the DVR in January for:
Fox’s “Skating With Celebrities” – Wednesday, January 18th
Showtime’s “The L Word” – Sunday, Jan. 8th
“My Name is Earl” – Thursday, Jan 5th
NBC’s “The Office” – Thursday, Jan 5th
CBS’s “Love Monkey” – Tuesday, Jan 17th
CBS’s “The New Adventures of Old Christine” – March?
Sci Fi’s “Battlestar Galactica” – Friday, Jan 6th
FX “The Shield” – Tuesday, January 10th, 10 pm

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Gourmet Amigurumi

I’ve mentioned before Gourmet Amigurumi, the business run by Beth Doherty that makes great crochet animal dolls. I had Beth make this figure skating monkey for Christmas for Stephanie… along with a monkey for me, too.

If you look at Beth’s Flickr photos of her work, she’s got some really amazing dolls. She just recently created a really cute Chihuahua and an adorable penguin. Some of my favorites, though, are Angus the Monster, the Punk Bunny Rabbit, and the Hep Cat.

What’s really cool is how quickly she gets them done. She whipped up the monkey really quickly, and she hadn’t ever done ice skates before, so she had to figure them out. Even so, it was just a few weeks between the time I ordered and she got them to me. She seems to be getting a lot of business lately, so it might take a bit longer.

You can contact her through Flickr, or you can buy things from her shop.
Along the same lines, Jessica Hutch makes knitted dolls, including Robots.

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How Santa Knows IF you’ve Been Good

Santa Bag

(Supposedly written for and sung at a U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Legal Counsel, Christmas party during the Carter Administration.) –Eugene Volokh, UCLA Law

Sung to the tune of…

"Santa Claus is Coming to Town"

You better watch out,
You better not cry,
You better not pout,
I’m telling you why,
Santa Claus is tapping,
Your phone.

He’s buggin your room,
He’s reading your mail,
He’s keeping a file
And runnin a tail
Santa Claus is tapping
Your phone

He hears you in the bedroom
Surveills you out of doors
And if that doesn’t get the goods
Then he’ll use provocateurs.

So you mustn’t assume
That you are secure
On Christmas Eve
He’ll kick in your door
Santa Claus is tapping
Your phone

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Cool Cologne Poster by eBoy

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eBoy is an artist who makes lots of interesting “pixel art” drawings and posters. He recently produced this one of the city of Cologne, Germany that really rocks.

I visited this city in 1997 when I went to Europe to see my friend Cate. If you look at the row of colored buildings on the left of the poster, we stayed the night in one of them. My friends Dan and Doug also visited Cologne on their trip to Germany this year.

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Movies I Need to See (or see again)

Movies that I’ve never seen, or need to see again because it’s been a long time.

  • 2001: A Space Odyssey
  • “The 400 Blows” (1959) Francois Truffaut
  • “8 1/2” (1963) Federico Fellini
  • A Bout de Souffle
  • A Room With a View
  • A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
  • Aguirre: The Wrath of God
  • Around the World in 80 Days
  • Batman Begins
  • “The Battleship Potemkin” (1925) Sergei Eisenstein
  • Better Off Dead
  • The Blues Brothers
  • Bread and Chocolate
  • Brief Encounter
  • Chinatown (1974)
  • D.E.B.S.
  • Dr. Strangelove
  • Fanny and Alexander
  • Finding Nemo
  • Flight Plan
  • Foreign Correspondent
  • The French Connection
  • From Here to Eternity (1953)
  • Full Metal Jacket
  • The Godfather (all 3 parts)
  • Good Night, and Good Luck
  • Ice Storm
  • Inherit the Wind
  • Inside Man
  • It Happened One Night (1934)
  • Junebug
  • Koyaanisqatsi
  • Lagaan: Once Upon A Time in India
  • Lawrence of Arabia
  • Lion King
  • Lost Horizon
  • Me and You and Everyone We Know
  • Meet Me In St. Louis
  • Monsters, Inc.
  • Mulan
  • On the Waterfront (1954)
  • Pirates of the Caribbean
  • Pretty in Pink
  • Pride & Prejudice
  • Raging Bull
  • Reservoir Dogs
  • Schindler’s List (1993)
  • State Fair (1945)
  • The Deer Hunter
  • The French Connection
  • The Graduate (1967)
  • The Seventh Seal
  • Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines
  • Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride
  • Walk the Line
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