Wednesday, March 7, 2007

Today's Bonus Video Link

Dave Foley, formerly of NewsRadio and Kids in the Hall, is hosting a new 15-minute variety show on the Internet. It's called Can't Sleep With Dave Foley and he hosts it in the middle of his night in his bathrobe. There are guests, there's music and some of the episodes have what you might call "adult content." Ben Varkentine told me about it and I'm linking to the first episode which guests Lewis Black and musicial group Rilo Kiley...

If you like that, you can watch Episode 2 or Episode 3. That third one's recommended for Mature Audiences...as if there's anyone mature surfing the Internet.

• Posted at 11:15 PM · LINK

Recommended Reading

Jacob Weisberg itemizes what he calls "The Four Unspeakable Truths" about the Iraq War. I think there's an important dialogue here that this country isn't having because of these taboos.

One of my best Conservative friends often rails at what he sees as a pernicious "political correctness" on the part of the Left that prevents, for example, a lot of valid points from being made about minorities because the observations are mislabelled as racism. I agree with a lot of his examples. Where we part company is that I see as much of that on the right. One cannot say or even suggest, for instance, that the death of any U.S. soldier was unnecessary or due to leadership incompetence or that it's anything but the noblest of sacrifices. I think everyone is now of the mind that something has been seriously wrong with the whole invasion of Iraq, or at least the aftermath of that invasion. It might be nice if we could discuss what exactly it was.

• Posted at 2:47 PM · LINK

Recommended Reading

Denis Collins, Juror #9 in the Scooter Libby Trial, takes us inside the jury room.

• Posted at 10:02 AM · LINK

Today's Video Link(s)

Let's talk about Mel Blanc. Better still, let's let the fine voice actor Gregg Berger talk about Mel Blanc. This is a clip someone shot from the audience of one of the Cartoon Voice Panels I hosted at last year's Comic-Con International in San Diego. The camerawork and the ethics of taping and posting this stuff are all a little shaky but it's a good story.

I'm the big guy at the podium. Another great voice actor on the panel, Michael Bell, had just told a story about working with Mel on a Hanna-Barbera show — Speed Buggy, I think. Michael enjoyed the experience except for the fact that Mel, who was playing a talking car in that series, tended to spray large quantities of saliva in the air when he simulated the engine sounds of the character he voiced. Bell explained how he went home drenched in Blanc spit and then Berger told the following anecdote...

Now, here's something weirder. This is a video about which I know nothing other than that it purports to be footage of Mel Blanc's vocal cords as he demonstrates some of his character voices. I don't know how or where this was made or even why. I don't even guarantee it's legit. But Bob Bergen, who's the current voice of Porky Pig, sent me this link and it's too bizarre not to share it with you all...

• Posted at 12:01 AM · LINK