Anyone Wanna Go Automobubbling With Me? [Just Follow The Bouncing Ball]

So I was doing a little YouTube research today to supplement a post I was planning to write on sing alongs* when I found this fantastic Oldsmobile follow-the-bouncing-ball sing along advertisement from 1931.

In honor of my Oldsmobile, Heyzeus, who is in the shop today because his "Check Engine Soon" light has mysteriously come on (get better soon baby!--and please do it cheaply!) I've decided to dedicate the entire post to the wonders of this nearly 7-minute commercial "In My Merry Oldsmobile."

And for those of you who think advertising has only become sexual and depraved in the most recent decades, I'd like to mention that this commercial features Peeping Toms, stripping, anthropomorphic sexual harassment, female butt enhancement, breaking and entering, sexual assault with a pair of dentures... oh, and the mysteriously naughty term: "Automobubbling"**

Just check out the lyrics to the song [wtf emphasis all mine]:

Young Johnnie Steele has an Oldsmobile
He loves a dear little girl
She is the queen of his gas machine
She has his heart in a whirl
Now when they go for a spin, you know
She tries to learn the auto, so
He lets her steer while he gets her ear,
And whispers soft and low:
Come away with me Lucile,
In my merry Oldsmobile,
Down the road of life we’ll fly,
Automobubbling, you and I.
To the church we’ll swiftly steal,
Then our wedding bells will peal,
You can go as far as you like
With me in my merry Oldsmobile. [That's how you reach 5th base my friends.]



Who knew "I have an Oldsmobile" was the ultimate pick-up line? I'll have to try it out and report back on the "outcome" of my "research." *WINK*

*Teaser alert! You'll have to tune in tomorrow to see what sing along has got me so excited!!!

**One of my favorite driving memories ever was when a group of friends and I caught a couple "Automobubbling" down 84. We chased them down so we could give them the thumbs up as we passed them. Yeah, we're a supportive bunch.

Emo 'Oh, No!' In Mexico: Can't We All Just Get Along? [And Weep About Our Mutual Loneliness?]

It is a sad sad day in the world of emo. Which, really, is like every other day in the world of emo, except now they're getting more press.

First, Fall Out Boy is forced to cancel their dream of setting a Guinness World Record for being the first band to play on all 7 continents in 9 months, due to stupid Antarctic weather. Damn you, global warming! (As an aspiring World Record holder myself, I feel for you guys.)

And now, I've been informed (by no less than two friends: thanks Liz & Jer), that emo kids are getting their asses kicked in Mexico!

Not cool! Especially since the underlying hatred equation is emo kids = fags, homosexuality = scarybad, therefore we must kick their asses.

So to pay tribute to the tragic past few days in the world of emo, I give you this video created by Mexican Emo kid, emoshopunk, scored to John Lennon's "Imagine" and titled "EMO MEXICO Anti-Anti-Emo."

Prepare to be touched.

The New Indie Flick Marketing Model: *GASP!* It Involves MySpace [My Heart Is A Lonely, Deceitful, Idiot-Weapon]

I'm a sucker for a good title and the "My/The Heart is..." combo always proves compelling: The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things, My Heart is the Worst Kind of Weapon (<--most emo video on YouTube, hands down)... And now we have a new documentary (so new it's not even finished yet!) joining the heart-y ranks: My Heart is an Idiot.

According to the movie's MySpace, this is what the movie's about (or will be about, when it's finished):

My Heart Is An Idiot is a documentary about love from filmmakers David Meiklejohn and Davy Rothbart. Currently the film is in post-production, which means that David spends more time in front of a computer than out in sunlight with normal people.

Spanning two years and over a hundred cities, My Heart Is An Idiot captures Davy Rothbart's manic road-tripping lifestyle as he tours North America in a van promoting his magazine FOUND, an annual collection of discarded and recovered notes, letters, photographs, and ephemera. Along the way, Davy seeks advice on his tortured love life from a motley crew of characters (including Zooey Deschanel, Ira Glass, Newt Gingrich, Damali Ayo, and a giant white dog named Amadeus), and attempts to follow that advice, with alternately comical and tragic results.

Like Sherman's March doused in Maker's Mark, My Heart Is An Idiot is a cautionary kiss on the lips of Generation Irony. When everyone has a strategy, love is unbelievable.

While I'm not sure I completely buy the premise that your MySpace comments will inform the artistic direction of the piece (at least, Dear God! I hope not), I do think it's a clever way to virally market this little indie movie with an ever-updating showcase of gorgeous shots and likable, quirky banter from the hipster-haired director.

Check out Trailer Chunk #1 to see what I mean:



Cute, right? I could see this popping up on many a Netflix queue in the future. Though I'm not sure I'd call my heart an idiot. More like a five year old on a sugar binge who gets all wound up and then doesn't know when to stop. Now throw that on the cover of a book add some "In with bullet, out with hearts" graphics to the front, and I've got myself a best seller!

Fact: It's A Lot Easier To Start A Pillow Fight Than To End A Pillow Fight [World Pillow Fight Day Recap: Boston]

As you know if you read my previous post, yesterday was World Pillow Fight Day and my urban playground group Banditos Misteriosos hosted it. With a little help from the Facebook social juggernaut and some great press from the front page of the Boston Globe's Living & Arts section (which you should totally read since I'm quoted in it and am officially famous now)...

...around 400 people attended the event. Which is awesomer than awesome. There are so many amazing pictures and videos of the event, it's hard to synthesize them all. Though I must say, I'm partial to the pictures I'm in... not for my sake but for my giant fish Winston's. (Man, does he love the spotlight!)

For example, here I am with Winston rushing into battle!

But really, when it comes to capturing the greatness of a massive flash mob pillow fight, nothing is quite as great as video. And, thanks to the glories of YouTube, there is a plethora of great videos to be watched.

Here are a few of my favorites:

Best video of the start of the fight and best use of the Mortal Kombat theme (EVER!):



Best Bill 'n' Ted-style commentary during the action (with most Banditos-per-square-inch cameos from Nick, Ondi, Ramy, and Jeremy moseying into battle)



Best footage of me hitting Caroline with a giant stuffed fish scored to the 90s rock of Everclear:



Best video of the fight from a small child's perspective:



Best Banditos-created video of the fight (courtesy of film guru Nick Carlisle)




Best Channel 7 News Coverage:



Best post-pillow-fight post-clean up hokey pokey:



Best time ever.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Get to Fluffing (Your Pillows, You Pervs)! [World Pillowfight Day]

Tomorrow, Saturday March 22 is World Pillow Fight Day and Boston's own Banditos Misteriosos are leading our fair city into soft, fluffy battle at 2 p.m. in Copley Square.

Bostonites should arrive at least 5 minutes early and be prepared to go at the sound of the airhorn. Be as inconspicuous as possible to add a little "flash" to the flash mob phenomenon.

Also: as with pretty much all Banditos events, pjs and other ridiculous attire/costumes are HIGHLY encouraged. Rumor has it some of the folks from the big anime convention in Boston this weekend will be making an appearance en-mass. Could be ahhhhmazing.....!

And for those of you who know and love my stuffed aquatic soul-mate Winston, you'll be thrilled to hear he'll be making an appearance.

Getting Engaged: So Hot Right Now [Hotter Than A Hot Pocket]

If you were to make a list of things that creep me out, Country Music Television, Tom Arnold, and reality wedding tv shows would all be on there. And yet, when combined, they make for some of the best television I've ever seen. It must be the Florida in me, but I love My Big Redneck Wedding. These couples not only buck tradition, but they shoot them and serve them to their wedding guests! And there is always camo and mud involved. And where there is camo and mud, there is my heart.

So to honor my new television obsession, AND because my roommate Tim popped the question to my roommate Jenny a mere hour ago in our foyer (congrats you guys!), I give you one of my all-time favorite clips from My Big Redneck Wedding:

So that's why I know all these fancy words!

You can watch full episodes over at the CMT website.

The Number One Most Played Song On My iPod [And It's Not Fall Out Boy, Shocker!]

Since getting The Blow's Paper Television a couple months ago, I've listened to the track "True Affection" over 50 times. Which really, in the grand scheme of things isn't all that many times given my compulsive nature and the fact that the track is only a little over 3 minutes long. The entire album is totally solid, especially if you like pretty melodies minimalistically enhanced by computery bleeps and bloops. (And who doesn't love some bleepin' and some bloopin'?)

And since I firmly believe life is always better with a soundtrack, this song is perfect for when you want to pretend to be the star an indie movie who has just faced a romantic heartbreak (because duh, indie movies are allergic to happy endings), but is walking away with his/her head held high--in that gloriously complicated beauty-from-despair way indie movies love so much.

Or something. It's just nice to see a song that acknowledges breakups aren't always Carrie Underwood baseball bat to the front headlights type of affairs (though, don't get me wrong, the Scorpio in me does enjoy a good revenge fantasy).

The video for the song is classic low-budget kookiness. Doesn't exactly go with the song, but it's charming nonetheless.



So now that I've shown you mine, what's number one on your iPod right now?

Button, Button, Who's Got The Button? [This Kid!]

I've told you before about the proven awesomeness of Google Reader and other RSS feed readers, but now I have the sausage to go with that sizzle. Just check out those hot pink waves of glory emanating from little FiHo's head. ----->

Thanks to the gracious genius of Mr. Kevin Michael Keating, I now have a hot little button of my own! So, subscribe to me! I promise we'll soon be returning to our regularly scheduled daily blogging program when I stop being in rehearsals and performances every night of the week.

But until then... I'm proud to announce my Improv Boston graduate sketch show, "Help You, Help Me" is sold out tonight!!! And last Wednesday's show kicked major ass, if I do say so myself! (Which I just did because ah, I am myself. Is it physically possible to 'say so' for someone else? Maybe if you're Whoopi Goldberg in Ghost....er... Get well, Patrick Swayze!)

If you're in Boston and free on Wednesday, March 19th at 7:30 p.m. you should go buy tickets to my sketch show now. As of this posting, there were only 13 seats left!

Improv Boston Sketch Writing Grad Show Dates and Ticketing Information! [From The Department of Blatant Self-Promotion]

Attention All Bostonites!

My sketch writing class with Improv Boston is hosting 3 performances of "Help Me, Help You": a collection of 10 sketches written by the 6 of us in the class and it will feature two of my sketches: Love: Office Style and Attack of the Hipster Dinosaur Douches!!!

Not only are you going to get to see some my work, but I'm even in one of these sketches! There will be cake! (And on the 19th when I'm subbing in for a part, cleavage!) You can't go wrong!

DATES!

This Wednesday, March 12 at 7:30
Friday, March 14th at 7:30
Wednesday, March 19th at 7:30

TICKET INFO:

Tickets for the Wednesday shows can be bought on the Improv Boston site (and are $7)

The Friday, March 14 show is labeled under "Sketchaus" as our show is appearing in the Sketchaus slot; make sure you select March 14.

It's not a very big space, so if you'd like to come you should get tickets sooner than later before they sell out!

Terminal Diseases: Not Just For The Living Anymore [Oh, My! Little (Dying!) Pony]

As I told you last week, My Little Pony and I have become very close. Lady and I ride over hilly countryside of my bed whinnying with glee, brush our hair to a super luxurious shine, and take new social network profile pictures of ourselves all the time! You might recognize this gem if you're our Facebook friend:

There is nothing I wouldn't do for my My Little Pony!

So of course, like a good pony BFF, I've done some research on how best to love and care for Lady. And boy did I find a doozy of a site to answer all my pony-related questions: The My Little Pony F.A.Q.

Run by Silverdawn and Odin Deathcrush aka Mischief Pony (!!), the My Little Pony F.A.Q. offers up myriad pony information. And let me tell you, I thought I knew, but I had NO IDEA!

For example, do you know how to tell the difference between a FF pony and a CF pony?

Or that a MIB G1, SS MLP from the DV is VHTF? IMHO.

Silverdawn and Deathcrush aka Mischief Pony also offer helpful tips on Re-Pinking/Dying Pony Hair, Styling and Curly Pony Hair, and Rerooting (!) Pony Hair. (Haha, My Little Pony hairplugs...)

But of all the helpful styling tips and pony-slang I learned from this site, there was one link that scared the crap out of me: Pony Cancer. OMG, guys. Just listen to this:

Pony cancer or, as it is officially known in the toy collecting community, vinyl discoloration syndrome, is a permanent discoloration and deterioration of the vinyl used to make my little pony and all other lines of toys and actions figures of the 70's and 80's. It comes from any number of conditions: having water trapped in the inside of their bodies, being stored in high humidity and high heat areas, poor plastic setting at the factory, and it can spread from other ponies who already have it.

Not only can Lady catch 4 different types of Pony Cancer: Center Mold, Water Mold, Regrind and Pin Dot, but it's contagious. My Little Pony could give me My Little Case of Contagious Cancer!

Just look at her, there's got to be some cancer--or worse!--going on in there:


OMG, I'M SRSLY GOING TO DIE.