Spring Has Sprung - video vault

I just put down a very cool book - Michael Pollen’s The Botany of Desire, and it just makes me want to race home and get digging in the garden… because spring has sprung! Each year, after i take down the Christmas tree… i go to my hopelessly messy garage, and break out the grow lights. I look forward to it … because in a matter of hours, seed planting will begin in earnest. And this year was no different - as i think i started about 1200 or 1300 little babies to plant in the garden or give them away. (you do this for a few years… and there’s no space left to plant). Anyway… i still have a few hundred to put in… and i hear them calling.

But before i head out - let me suggest some terrific “Spring is Here” content from the video vault. First off - you’ll love this Harman - Isling cartoon called To Spring. With incredible animation and colors just exploding off the celluloid, a bunch of elves secretly work behind the scenes to start a massive machine that makes it spring. The machine is really cool - and any nerdy web monkey will love it just for that. And for all you hippies out there - well, the colors are outstanding! Next up - check out 2 episodes of the Beverly Hillbillies that are “spring classics”. In Granny’s Spring Tonic - she cooks up her annual batch of hooch - and this year’s moonshine is especially lovely. A fine fruity bouquet, with a hint of plum, full-bodied yet not wisp of tannons… blah blah blah… ya but did you like the wine? Well… let me tell you - everybody is very pleased with Granny’s home grown “shine”. Next up - try out Granny’s Garden - where she learns all about the California Agricultural Business. It is really funny - and weird too, because it sure looks like the farmer’s of the Golden State paid the producers of the show - to tell them all about the business of growing food. Great stuff! And our final recommendation - is an old Raggedy Ann cartoon - called Suddenly It’s Spring. Not a great cartoon by any stretch - but it is weird enough to give it a view.

Gotta run - time to get all those little babies buried in the ground. Now that didn’t sound right…. ooops.

More updates - Download Rotations

First of all, thanks to everyone who wrote me emails - wishing my Mom a Happy 70th Birthday! I am always amazed at what great people our subscribers are and your thoughtful comments really made my day. Thanks. I would forward them to my mom… but as i told you in the last post, she doesn’t use the internet and has no email address. And yes… she has no idea what her son does for a job - HA! And speaking of mothers… whay not do a search for Mother and see what the relational database comes up with? Wow… Betsy Wetsy is one of the first returns… obviously - very relevent. hahahha.

We also did some rotations in the download library - removing Hercules Unchained and Jungle Book from the MPEG download library to make room for some of the recent additions - and others that will be added over the next few weeks.

Today’s calendar of videos related to April 22nd is also of interest - Jack Nicholson celebrates his birthday (born April 22, 1937 in Neptune, NJ). Send somebody a Jack Nicholson goes to the dentist video postcard if you like… it’s free. (More synchronicity… my daughter just got her braces off - hooray)! And in another odd twist - Germany is the first to use chemical weapons on April 22, 1915. (what an honor, huh? lest we forget… we Americans were the first to use atomic weapons). Check out the cartoon Microbe Army - a very bizarre cartoon that is somehow related, or a previous blog entry on WMD.

We’ve added a ton of movies since i last updated the movie menu page - and i need to get cracking on updating the random suggestions element (just refresh, you’ll get something different suggestions with the feeling lucky link). Don’t worry - it’s on the to-do list. For the latest additions - just read the blog.

Updates - new movies and content

Sometimes - it might seem like we are sitting on our well padded posteriors - when in truth we are busting our midwest fannys off…. and today is no exception. A TON of updates - so best to take a break and tell you about them huh?

First a new movie that is a sci-fi classic - from 1959 - LikeTelevision presents - First Spaceship to Venus! We have already written a bit about this one - check the blog entry, and also the page that features this ridiculous film… what a sci-fi treat. LOVED IT!

We also updated Johnny Carson’s page - with very funny bits - classic Jimmy Stewart guest appearance where he reads a poem, and Ronald Reagan on Family Feud? Jack Webb does Dragnet satire with Johnny - in the Case of the Clandestine Clappers from Cleveland. Lots more too! Here’s Johnny!

Also behind the scenes - Frank updated the images from Ugetsu… sweet! Check out the image library downloads from this terrific Japanese film classic.

And in another case of funky irony - where everything old is new again - Doug noticed that Sonny Chiba is the master swordsman in Quentin Tarantino’s classic drama - Kill Bill with David Carridine & Uma Thurman (yummy!) Which coincides nicely with the release of Kill Bill Two, and the release of Kill Bill on DVD. We just purchased a license for a terrific David Carradine film called Maybe I’ll Be Home Next Spring. Yeehaw - major 1960’s teenage angst film with a delightfully young Sally Field, who even wears one of those floppy hats. Carradine plays a differnt character than the grasshopper dude in Kung Fu we all know and love. He’s a TOTAL jerk! Throw in a theme song by Linda Ronstadt and hey.. we couldn’t resist. Very rare… yet must see LikeTelevision classic… coming soon. In case you missed the Sonny Chiba connection - we just offered a classic Sonny Chiba film called The Street Fighter just a few days ago. Known for pushing the envelope of blood and guts - Street Fighter is available as an MPEG movie download for all our subscribers.

We also made a few fixes - from that nasty problem of being human… thanks to the gracious help of our customers, who on balance are very patient and kind when we make a flub. ANd guess what - woo woo… we actually do our best to fix it as fast as we can. Are we just a bunch of midwest bumpkins or what? Go figure.

I could list a bunch more tweaks and fixes… but I will be heading out to my homeland - Milwaukee Wisconsin - to celebrate the 70th birthday of my dear sweet mother. Shhhhh. It’s a surpirse - but she never ventures out on the web, and has no email address. How cool is that?

Finally - I regret to inform you that the Harvey Keitel / Johnny Rotten film, called Corrupt (or Cop Killer) will not be arriving anytime soon. The print we were offered was less than stellar - well in a word, Corrupt. Oh well.. quality still matters here, go figure.

More updates when i get back from my trip from Milwaukee… All for now.

LikeTelevision’s Taxing Video Vault

Ding Ding Ding… April 15th…. taxes are due, or maybe your like Granny who would say….”Jed let me get my gun, it’s the revenue man!” LikeTelevision has a bunch of fun content related to our favorite folks - tax men. Yes… even back in ancient times, people always loved the tax collectors. Why one of them even went on to become saint and write a Gospel (St. Matthew)… so let’s cut the IRS some slack… while you’re cutting them a check.

Anyway, we dug deep into our video vault to find some terrific entertainment related to the Tax Man. First on the list has got to be - Jed pays His Taxes starring Granny in a comedy classic. And speaking of comedy - by all means check out 2 killer episodes of the Burns and Allen Show - The Tax Man and Property Tax Assessor. And lest we forget - it was the Tax Man who ultimately took down notorious gangster Al Capone, a.k.a. Scarface - on October 19, 1931. All right, if you’re like me… you like to grumble when you pay your taxes - so make sure you check out this FREE PREVIEW from My Man Godfrey, where Eugene Pallette, of the the greatest grumblers of all time - tells his family that they are spending 50% of his money while the revenue department is taking out just 60% of his income. Yes… it is hard to believe - but indeed that was the tax hit many years ago… in fact it was even much higher at its peak, especially when you added federal, local and property taxes to the pie. I guess that makes me feel a little bit better. Time to sign off… singing one of my my favorite Beatles tunes by the late great George Harrison - Tax Man…. love that guitar lick too!

Titantic -Night of April 14

One of the best episodes of One Step Beyond features a bizarre tale about the sinking of the USS Titanic - which struck an iceberg on April 14, 1912. Night of April 14th features one of my favorite tv actors from “back in the day” - Patrick Macnee, who played Steed on a great show called The Avengers, which also starred Diana Rigg as Emma Peel. As a special treat - we offer this episode (and 2 other OSB episodes) as a DVD iso dowload, which allows users with a DVD burner, to create their own DVD. You might want to check out this older blog entry on How to Burn a DVD if you are new to the game… but since this file is already an ISO… making a DVD is a snap… as long as you got a blank disc and a DVD burner. We also offer MPEG files of the episode for those folks who lack the DVD-R hardware.

Happy Easter From LikeTelevision

LikeTelevision would like to wish everyone a joyous Easter. We hope you have an especially wonderful celebration with friends and family and find yourself filled with a loving heart, grace and peace. And speaking of peace - we hope you find time to pray for peace and yearn for the day when we can all live together as brothers and sisters in loving harmony and mutual respect.

Happy Easter!

Wild Martial Arts - Street Fighter

For all you kung fu junkies - we just added a cult classic - The Street Fighter, starring Sonny Chiba. For those who enjoy these types of martial arts films, Sonny Chiba is known as the one guy who could hold a candle to Bruce Lee, not only in the karate department, but also for his skill as an actor. Another reason this film is interesting, is that it created a new threshold for insane levels of violence. The original uncut version actually received an x rating it was so over the top. The film featured at LikeTelevision, is a slightly toned down version, where 4 minutes were cut from the original release. After suffering through the encoding process - I am glad i didn’t see the other version. This movie is pretty disgusting and will leave a nasty pit in your stomach, as you wonder - why did i just watch this? Parts of so gross… you almost have to laugh… as blood oozes from everywhere. Thank goodness it all looks a bit fake at times. This film is not for kids - watch it at your own risk.

The good news is - the next movie offering is First Spaceship to Venus from 1959, is good clean fun and a real sci-fi treat. It is also quite campy and funny - i know you’ll love all those wild Neru jackets and McDonald’s hats the scientists like to wear. But i have to admit - the spaceship they created for the film is top notch - especially for 1959. We expect to have that film ready sometime early next week.

We’re Talking Baseball - Video Vault

Hooray! It’s that time of year again… time for Baseball season. Perhaps the only thing more American than baseball is jazz - and to be honest, we love them both. So if you are also a fan of our great pastime - check out LikeTelevision’s video vault of baseball related clips. We offer some classics - like The Jackie Robinson Story, Max Patkin, the clown prince of baseball, The Lou Gehrig story, and one of my personal favorites - The Clampetts Meet the Dodgers, with special guest star Leo Durocher - who is blown away by Jethro Bodine’s pitching skills (and Elly Mae’s too). Also of interest is a funny cartoon called Sports Chumpions - which makes fun of sports in general including a poke at baseball. Although not listed in the search - you can also check out the Marilyn Monroe Story, which features a segement on one of Marilyn’s husbands - that’s right, Joe Dimaggio, also known as Mr. Coffee.

So if you are still young enough - Play Ball. Or if you are like me… and nowhere near a major league park - Play video!

Happy BDAY - Bea, Buddy, Jack & Tony

Weeeeellllll Doggies… there’s a whole lotta birthday’s this weekend. Today (April 2nd)… is Jack Webb’s BDAY (April 2, 1920) and Buddy Ebsen’s too. (April 2, 1908). If you have time - make sure your check out Buddy Ebsen on You asked for it - years before the Hillbillies which shows off Buddy’s vaudeville dancing prowess - or this crazy psycho rockabilly dance from a Hillbillies classic episode. Gotta love that double necked guitar huh? Whoa Baby… whoa baby.

And on Sunday - April 4th - it’s Bea Benaderet ’s birthday (she was Pearl on the Hillbillies, a good friend of Gracie on the Burns & Allen Show (check out this preview clip featuring Bea.) .. PLUS - Bea was the voice of Wilma Flintstone… in addition to countless other great performances. Also on Sunday - it’s Anthony Perkin’s birthday (April 4, 1932). Check out this great actor (with Orson Welles too) in the screen adaptation of Kafka’s classic tale - The Trial. Here’s a free preview.

Seven Doors of Death - New Movie Download

Just in… another cult classic horror movie, The Seven Doors of Death - is now available for streaming… and in a few hours (about 1.3 gig)… the mpeg download for this movie will also be ready too, plus a bunch of cool pictures have been added to the image library. The Seven Doors of Death was really a breakout film for how much blood and guts could be captured on celluloid. This movie is really over the top for blood and guts - and also does a good job of hitting the raw nerves that makes our skin crawl. The scene with the big nail through the eyeball is a classic as well as the tarantula spider eating the face off a guy strapped to a table. Many parts of the movie will make you turn away. For its day - this movie is remarkable for the excellent special effects that make it all believeable. How nasty is it? I think it was grosser than the William Friedken’s Exorcist starring Linda Blair and some pea soup - by a long shot. It was banned not only in Norway, but in West Germany too…. for being so graphic and violent… and very bloody. The film has no sexual content or any foul language - the censors were just too grossed out by “the horror” as Mr. Kurtz used to say in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. Basically - evil forces are having a field day.

So if you enjoy these kind of films - you will love Seven Doors of Death and quickly understand why this film stands out in the genre of horror films. Indeed - it is a bloody cult classic - and helped pave the way for all those Wes Craven horror films that arrived about a decade later.