Insert Animal, Insert Verb, I Swoon.

Hi-larious photographic viewdinggles of cats from the 1900s

Have you ever seen films and photos from the turn of the 20th century and scoffed at how simple-minded people must have been? Some stereoscopes of cats dressed in people clothes... hours of fun right? Pfft! What would you do, just look at a still photo and laugh to yourself or with friends, and just move onto the next image? What's that about? I bet after the ego stroking remarks you make, you almost feel like their innocence should be revered and respected, because feeling such hubris about your own young mind can only lead to some kind of big gotcha-moment in the near future where our brains melt from all the stimulation, and the ghosts of the past smirk at us beyond the grave, and then we feel so embarrassed...

Well, at the turn of the 21st century, with the progression of the world wide web, decades of Oscar-winning films, and the mores of comedy changing and advancing all the time, some of the most popular and enjoyable videos available are no more intricate or thought provoking than those of the previous century.

10 Pugs Who Look Like Things

Lately I've found myself on Buzzfeed.com at least five times a day. It's really too captivating.  The site is full of very quick, silly, insightful, bits of news and observations, owing much of their material to photos and videos of cute animals. While they have a section of their site dedicated to the squeezy-fuzzyuzums, those images sneak their way into most categories of news and information (much to my delight).

Time to time, as I watch a 5 minute long video of a duck chewing on grass, giggling like a 1 year old with keys dangling in front of them, I will remember my favorite movies: Magnolia, Rushmore, Blue Velvet. I do have a refined palate!  Don't I?

Why am I so enthralled with animals doing such banal things? Take for example the video below, Hamlet the Mini Pig - Goes Down the Stairs. On the very surface, this is a pig walking down the stairs. The dramatic theme is Hamlet's hunger (for that oatmeal) which drives him to defy all odds and go down the stairs. The nuts and bolts of this film, really, is a pig walking down the stairs.
It is one of the best things I have ever seen and it has over 1 million hits on YouTube.



If you liked that, then Baby Turtle eating a raspberry is for you. (Or the more risque, but equally endearing, Tortoise Having Sex With a Shoe, Squeaking).


What it comes down to is, amid all the fast-paced music videos and plot-twisting feature films, it is a timeless fact that humans want to relate to animals. We enjoy seeing animals do things that remind us of ourselves. We can't know what animals are thinking, so when they do something silly, we appreciate the moment as a fluke. That's why I can watch a pig attempt to walk down the stairs for a solid minute. Watching a tiny animal struggle to adapt to a household object humans have mastered is cute. It's cute because the animal has it's situational short-comings, which reminds us of our differences, but their determination is something we both share.
 It warms a place in everyone's heart to see animals living life and trying new things, not just hanging around like a lump. I could sit on my ass and watch that for hours.

Role Models

I found this awesome selection of vintage ladies mug shots.

I know what I'm being for Halloween 2012!
There's a lot of liquid eyebrow left over from last year's costume.

Good to know it wont go to waste.

Stoked: The Rise and Fall of Gator

What is the worst thing that could happen to someone who has tons of money, never been told no, and has enough hubris leaking out of their butt to start a Greek tragedy fire?

As a follow up to my reflection of the 1990s in my last post, and continuing with this long trail of documentaries featuring tragic and bizarre events/people, I present to you, Stoked: The Rise and Fall of Gator. 

Directed by Helen Stickler in 2002, this documentary delves into mid 1980s professional skate culture, explaining the conditions that could cause a horrific crime such as the rape and murder of Jessica Bergsten in 1991 by pro-skateboarder, Mark "Gator" Rogowski.

Stickler paints a picture of a young man thrown into fame in a niche culture, where his persona as an arrogant teen was praised and rewarded. After climbing to fame in the late 1980s as a vert skateboarder, Rogowski's behavior moved from typical teen antics to erratic manic behavior in addition to alcoholism. Street style skateboarding over took vert skating, and Rogowski had trouble catching up. After Rogowski and his girlfriend Brandi broke up, he lashed out on an old friend of hers, Jessica Bergsten; a woman he considered responsible for Brandi leaving him.  

Rogowski phones in his interview from prison as he serves a life sentence.  Since California law prohibits live interviews with inmates serving a life sentence, Rogowski's current appearance is left a mystery, save a couple candid shots near the end of the film, taken in prison at undisclosed dates. Stickler inundates the audience with images of Rogowski in his twenties: cocky, attractive, talented, funny, charismatic. Then every once in a while we are ripped back to reality, hearing Rogowski's voice crackling through the phone, haggard by regret. A major theme in this film is that nothing lasts forever, and it is particularly poignant to see the vestiges of Rogowski's fame, youth, and vitality remain only in old footage, while he currently has virtually no identity.  

This film is an excellent time capsule of the late 80s. It presents the neon punk attitude of the time, and injects it with a serious reality check.



Keep watching at the end of the credits, it shows the transcripts of police interviews with Gator, and a taped interview at a skating event.

Stand in the New Style

Remember when you could see something like this and not think anything of it? It was the 90s and it was all we knew. It may have even been considered cool. Looking to the future is what we always hope to do, but honestly, when you live in the present you think about it as the pinnacle of your time. This can be said of any decade and generation, but as someone born in the late 1980s, the 90s was the beginning of my reality.

It's no doubt Kids in the Hall were very aware of the ridiculous nature of the - then current - 90s style, and they made a cunning parody of it. However, when we lived the 1990s (or during anytime - even presently) you have to admit, it was difficult to imagine how life would ever be different in the future. We were at the top of our game as far as we were concerned. If the future would lead to differences in our culture it could only logically move from plaid shirts and scrunchies right to silver clothes and flying cars.   

circa 1997

Well... I guess we got some of that prediction right.

Of course we are 12 years deep into the 21st century, and it's pretty much just now-ish that I'm stepping back and looking at the 1990s, thinking, "Really? I can't believe I wore that." or "I can't believe we thought that was cool." In the early 2010s the 1990s have come back into fashion, in clothing at least. I have a feeling we're not going to see the 90s style in design and media come back en vogue for a little while longer.

It's really easy to ridicule the past. Hind sight is 20/20 right? Making fun of current cultural norms takes objectivity and an ability to step back and not take yourself too seriously. For instance, check out this music video Chris Rock made in 1997. He unabashedly pokes fun at rap and R&B from that era. He nails the excess, the money, the Lil' Kim inspired wigs, the trash bag outfit Missy Elliott wore in her video for The Rain (amazing song, and the video is also a perfect time capsule for the late 90s).




It was funny to me then, but it's even funnier now for two reasons. Rock has a valid point that the style from that era was over the top, and with hindsight being 20/20 it's not hard to laugh at it. Rock was also able to see it for what it was right then and there. I laugh at videos from the 90s but I laugh with Chris Rock's Champagne.

The best example of this in comedy today is Portlandia.  The sketch comedy show created by Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein is my new favorite thing to watch. They get the characters so spot-on. Armisen is a genius with mannerisms, he doesn't miss a beat. I would just put all their video clips in this post because most of them prove my point, but I don't want to give you all carpal tunnel from scrolling, so here is one clip from the most recent episode.



We live in a culture of instant nostalgia, which means we are extremely aware of what is in, what is out, what is totally last week, and what becomes more and more attractive as it's pulled farther away from us. I can't speak for any decade's views before the 1990s, as far as awareness of collective cultural quirks, but it is clear this is a recent development in our culture. Generally we are savvy in knowing what we are like.

Dark Shadows: A Vampire TV Show Resurrected

I was listening to MF Doom's song, Hyssop on the way home from work, and it dawned on me that I used to LOVE the 1960's supernatural soap opera Dark Shadows. In the song MF Doom samples from the show's theme. I've always known this, but it was just one of those daily epiphanies that kicks you right in the head, and brought me back to 1996. Exactly 30 years after it first aired, I watched Dark Shadows in syndication on The Sci-Fi channel on summer afternoons. Other 70s sci-fi TV shows like Night Gallery got in the line up as well, but DS was my favorite. The show had hauntings, possessions, witches, mansions, creepy theme music, and it's main character was a 200 year-old vampire named Branabas Collins.




Dark Shadows was an introduction to my interest in the macabre. As a 9 year-old, it was the first time I watched something that was scary but enjoyed feeling unsettled. I became addicted to that feeling. Dark Shadows explains everything from my love of David Lynch to the lady boner I have for True Blood. Dark Shadows can be considered a rough pre-cursor to True Blood, in that the main character(s) are vampire, there are warewolves, witches, and ghosts. There's drama, supernatural perils, and love stories (though True Blood is hard-core porn compared to DS). I still prefer scary movies that are more psychological than gorey.



I was very excited to hear that Tim Burton is making a movie adaptation of Dark Shadows. Do I even have to tell you that Johnny Depp is in it? What's interesting is that the film is set in the 1970s, just like the original version of the show (DS was also remade for NBC in 1991). Burton could have just set it in present day, which obviously was the original intention of DS, but it's clear he wants to be true to the TV series. I'm hopeful for the quality of the movie, but I hope the obscurity of Dark Shadows as a cult TV show doesn't keep the project underground. How many puns can you get out of that sentence? 

Here's one last Dark Shadows video to send you off on. Though the show was not exactly meant for kids, DS clearly made an impact on that demographic. Even 30 years later a kid like me got into it. How very 60s to capitalize off a soap opera by making a children's board game out of it!

High Drama: The Best Bully Scenes from The Adventures of Pete & Pete

The Adventures of Pete & Pete is the best kids show from the mid 1990s. Well, at least it's my favorite. It's even better watching as an adult. Now, I understand how creative the show was; how they used classic film references in their dialog, lighting, and mise-en-scène. There are moments that get pretty intense. You can tell film noir was a huge inspiration to the directors. It makes it fun for the kids because it adds a level of seriousness to the simple conflicts in the show. At once it gives credence to what kids care about and what they deem to be important issues at their age, and it is as unavoidably silly as a parody in a Bugs Bunny cartoon.

In retrospect, my favorite characters were the bullies. Ask 8 year-old Laura, and you might have gotten a different answer. (Bullies are mean, I like Artie). But the bullies had the most depth, and let's face it, were the most bad-ass. The bullies amassed like cold-hearted gangsters, with monikers and all.

Three of my favorite episodes that occurred in the third season (which there is an indefinite hold on the dvd release - write to your congressmen) involve the best skirmishes with bullies.

 In 35 Hours Older Pete turns to his nemesis Endless Mike Hellstrom as a last ditch effort to remove the lovely family Little Pete sold their parent's house to while they were on vacation. After being swayed with the promise of Neopolitain ice cream, we see Endless Mike break down the front door wielding an axe. He shouts, "Welcome!... to my nightmare!" like a freakin' serial killer. How did this get on kids TV? Ah the 90s, the good old days. Also Patty Hurst is in this one, so that's awesome.

In Pinned Endless Mike transfers schools just to compete against Big Pete in wrestling... and I guess murder him. His famous line as he walks into the ring dressed like a skeleton a la pro-wrestling, "I am the Doctor of Death, and I have come to cure you of your life." AH! So bad-ass! This episode has the BEST uses of mob movie/film noir plot devices, moods, music, dialog, and tension.

[Handing Pete a kidney]"Say hello to my kidney, three pounds four ounces" In the weigh-in scene, Endless Mike goes as far as to remove one of his molars to be in Big Pete's weight class. Again, how was this on kid's TV?

In this Little Pete centered story, Dance Fever, bully Pit Stain, antagonizes Pete when he finds out that Pete is afraid to dance at the school dance. One of my favorite lines that makes me laugh out loud in it's absurdity is said by Pit Stain near the end of the episode.
"Dancing is so easy... you just get out there and ruin your life."

This line paired with the music and the tension of Pit Stain walking closer and closer to Little Pete makes the scene ludicrously dramatic, but that's the beauty of it. As a kid you feel like it's that big of a deal.

Also Luscious Jackson play the band providing the tunes for this middle school dance. Let's not forget Iggy Pop as Nona's enthusiastic dad, and that brief appearance by Laurisa Oleynik as a nurse. I vividly remember the commercial bump for that mind-blowing Nickelodeon cross-series cameo made by Alex Mac. This episode is a perfect time capsule for the mid 90s. 

It's the kind of show that I watch now, and feel blessed that I grew up with its influence. Makes me feel a little better about being glued to the TV as a kid. I hope you enjoy these videos and it inspires you to watch the whole series.

The Rock-afire Explosion

1981 was a magical time. Everyone in this documentary seems to agree. Brett Whitcomb's 2008 The Rock-afire Explosion documents the rise and fall of the most famous animatronic bands from the Southern United States. You might be familiar with the Youtube videos of this band of rubber-faced anthropomorphized animals performing hilariously non sequitur songs like Bubba Sparkxxx's Miss New Booty.  Turns out, these are not dubbed-over videos, and it is not meant to be ironically funny.

  You will not hear She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain behind the rap music. A roller-rink dj named Chris Thrash bought an out of commission Rock-afire Explosion animatronic band, erected it on his property, and makes videos where he reprograms the band to play modern songs.  Rock-afire Explosion was the main attraction at Showbiz Pizza, a child-oriented pizza restaurant and arcade from the 1980s that would later be bought out by Chuck-E-Cheese.

As it turns out, there is a serious following of Rock-afire Explosion fans. They all remember the band being one other best things they ever saw when they were 7, and have not completely let go... at all. Everyone has their favorite band member, each with their own personality and back story. The kids who REALLY liked this stuff appear to have been immune to the "band's" terrifying appearance. It takes a special kind of child to truly love this show, and grow up to collect their memorabilia, listen to their music, and aspire to own a copy of the actual band. 
You also get a glimpse into the creator of Rock-afire and founder of Creative Engineering, Inc., Aaron Fetcher. It's tragically touching to see how emotionally invested the fans are, or how the Fetcher's business went from 300 employees to just himself as The Rock-afire Explosion ended.  There is a longing for this place in time when the show was a magical thing to see, (or a lucrative business for that matter), and no one was jaded by it.

Watching The Rock-afire Explosion being assembled in Fetcher's factory was a creepy thing to see, but an even creepier moment in the documentary is watching them be disassembled. A corporate video for Showbiz Pizza explains how employees of the resturant should remove parts in a certain order, warning, "destroy these items as they will never be used again." All that is left are the metalic skeletons waiting for Chuck-E-Cheese's skin.