Pepsodent -Now with I.M.P.

Yes - It’s New and Improved! You’ll wonder where the yellow went when you brush your teeth with Pepsodent. Now with IMP - no, not Instant Messaging Protocol, it’s has the “dots”, I.M.P. - now with Irium. Irium was a big deal in the day - Pepsodent was a very popular toothpaste because of the glowing whiteness you got when you brushed with Pepsodent. The ad was originally made for radio for Amos and Andy which was sponsored by Pepsodent.

This is just a teaser of more nifty tv commercials from way back when. There’s a lot of stuff to encode and i need to get back to work. Or if there’s time to spare, by all means - see Dr. Barre and check out the dental collection here at LikeTelevision.

Live Television Whoops!

Yee Haw - a new batch of hilarious comedy from the king of Late Night Television - Johnny Carson. Check them out - Free for all our guests.

Clip One features a young tike named Drew Barrymore - who takes out her teeth and plops them on Johnny’s desk. PLUS - Tiny Tim sings a little tiptoe through the tulips and marries Miss Vicky on the show. Bob Hope closes out clip one with a classic.

WOW - clip TWO is funny, funny stuff - including a personal favorite, Ed Ames throwing the Axe! If you’ve never seen what transpired on LIVE TV in 1965 - you must check it out. Johhny calls it a “Frontier Briss” (for those who do not know what a briss is - well, it a Jewish celebration of a young (usually young anyway) man’s circumcision. The tradition goes back all the way to Moses. Anyway - while doing some research at google, I found this party page for a briss, offering a bright and shiny theme. Sorry… bad joke). Clip Two It starts off with Rosanne’s debut on National TV, followed by the classic ED Ames Axe whoops, then Raquel Welch gets a few zingers from Johnny, and it closes with Madeline Kahn who has an odd phobia. The clip also offers an interesting historical insight into how comedy about sexual innuendo can be funny without being disgusting or course. Of course, at the time this aired…. it was shocking, just shocking.

And clip 3 is also terrific. Bette Davis kills me. Followed by Albert Brooks using some prehistoric techo props in a comedy bit. Dolly Parton tells Johnny whether or not “they” are real.

Early next week - i will be out of town for a little rest and relaxation in Milwaukee. If possible, i hope to take in a baseball game between the Brewers and the Cubbies in Miller Park. Hang in there if you need some technical help - i will be back Wednesday morning. Have a great weekend. Got some great stuff coming next week… a few monster tv commercials and a re-tweaked government film - about the differences between a free society and a society run by a dictator. Frank Random did a little retooling to the original, very funny AND odd! - see ya next week for the Premiere.

Barney’s Birthday Bash - Fife is 80 today

On July 21, 1924 - Don Knotts, best known as Barney Fife from the Andy Griffith Show was born in Morgantown, West Virginia. So - we thought we’d provide a short list of our favorite episodes featuring the delightful Barney at his Best. 1) Barney’s First Car - featuring special guests Ellen Corby (Grandma Walton) as a scam artist and Allan Melvin (Sam the Butcher, Alice’s boyfriend on The Brady Bunch) as a thug. 2) Mountain Wedding - which features Denver Pyle, The Darlings, Ernest T. Bass and Barney dresses in DRAG! 3) Big House - features special guest George Kennedy as a Fed. Barney compares Mayberry’s jail to The Rock. Awesome episode! 4) Dogs Dogs, Dogs - a personal favorite which has the classic lecture Barney offers Opie. 5) Loaded Goat - with Otis Campbell, the local sweet drunk, some dynamite and loads of laughs. 6) Aunt Bee’s Medicine Man - with John Dehner as the man offering the miracle cure hooch. The opening scene features Barney combing his hair in an effort to look like Rock Hudson. Yikes!

Also of note for Andy Griffith Fans - tonight on TV Land is an Andy Griffith Show Special - featuring folks from the show offering their views of their favorite episodes. Sounds cool…. Here’s the list from TV Land’s show, airing tonight at 10 PM EST.

“Manhunt“: Andy cons an escapee into taking a leaky boat.

“Goodbye Sheriff Taylor“: Barney takes over for the absent Andy.

“The Darlings Are Coming“: First appearance of the bluegrass hill folk.

“Barney’s First Car“: Barney buys a lemon.

“Andy on Trial“: Barney’s bragging gets Andy in trouble.

“Convicts at Large“: Barney and Floyd are hostages to escapees from the women’s prison.

“Barney and the Choir“: Barney’s solo is trouble.

“The Pickle Story“: Aunt Bee’s kerosene cucumber pickles.

“Mr. McBeevee“: Opie’s friend who walks in the trees.

“Opie the Birdman“: Opie must raise birds after he kills the baby bird’s mother.

July 20, 1969

July 20, 1969 - Neil Armstrong becomes the first man to walk on the moon - hard to believe it was 35 years ago. Which means - in just 10 years, less than half the people on this planet were alive when it happened. In Amercia - virtually everyone was watching it on tv. Around the world - about a quarter of the planet was watching. It was such an incredible and cool moment. I was just 9 years old & thought it was pretty nifty, but had not fathomed its importance. However the adults were just totally absorbed. They had seen what came before and saw the feat of man walking on the moon as a new age. Thirty five years later - not much has changed, lots more channels on tv, cell phones, microwaves - lots more noise. Oh well - turn off your devices.

For more video on the moon - check Radar Men from The Moon, Felix the Cat Finds Out how the moon shines, the toy Major Matt Mason, Astronaut. And let’s not forget Cosmonauts (no relation to Kramer on Seinfeld) and learn about the first Lady of Space, Valentina Tereshkova.

Also of note - July 20 is the birthday of Gracie Allen - born (Grace Ethel Cecile Rosalie Allen) on 07/20/1906 in San Francisco- She died 08/27/64. Check out some Gracie - She Rocks! Let’s not forget - Diana Rigg, the actress who played Emma Peel on the Avengers with Patrick Macnee, as Steed. Lady Diana Rigg was born July 20, 1938 in Doncaster, Yorkshire, England, UK. And finally - Natalie Wood (Natasha Nikolaevna Gurdin) born July 20, 1938 in San Francisco, CA USA. Dies: Nov. 29, 1981 in Santa Catalina Island, CA (from Drowning).

Funky Shorts - got a pair!

More new stuff for the weekend - in a category i like to call - LikeTelevision’s Funky Shorts. And this pair of new additions sure meet the criteria. First up, is at your service - a bizarre send up for the drive-in restaurant. Where young girls start swinging and end up dancing on the hood of your shiny new sedan. And old codgers peer up thru the windshield - because these gals are always at your service.

And part of the same series - check out Playmates. No not Playboy Playmates - but joyful a little rustic teenage lad in pleated pants dancing with a bunch of Elly Mae Clampett type gals around the May Pole. All beautifully choregraphed to the tune, Playmate, Come on and Play With Me - And we’ll be jolly friendssssss … for ever more. etc etc. Phew… this one is a humdinger.

After this page gets posted - it’s off to the keepers of the database. Later…this afternoon, hey it’s Friday… we hope to drink a few beers and add the key phrase - Funky Shorts to some titles in the library that meet the criteria - less than 1/2 hour in length, not part of a tv show series… and above all, weird and in some cases i regret - disturbing. This won’t be ready till later today - i hope, but just search for Funky Shorts - and see what comes up. We’ll be adding more as time goes by… so give it a shot, and search for Funky Shorts.

The Future is Now

Recently, LikeTelevision heard from a major league media guy named Doug from Chicago - who was working for one of his clients, Intel. His job was to produce a video press release - to announce a cool new chip set that Intel developed to make convergence a reality. The solution uses cool software recently deployed by Microsft as the operating system. Convergence? what’s that you ask? Well - it is a little hard to explain - but basically it means the convergence of computers, television and the high speed internet to create a new medium for broadcasting, entertainment, and fun. Over 5 years ago - we created this short interstitial commercial for LikeTelevision that proclaimed - That Someday… is Now. Yes…. we made more too - like this one, we call kindness in the hard drive. Or this one - LikeTelevision - Only Better. And oddly enough - we found ourselves laughing at this old philco ad - that was plug and play(like the Intel/Microsoft motto), and encouraged folks to throw out their rabbit ears (antennaes). Anyway…. Intel got a very cool video press release - and woo woo… LikeTelevision was featured in the press release as a cool application that was here today on the internet. Yes… faster than you can say - five years is a long time - convergence is here. And the future is now. LikeTelevision would like to thank the Anderson’s - a very cool family that subscribes to LikeTelevision for their help in creating the video press release for Intel. The video press release was sent to all the major broadcasters of news around the world - we’d be interested to hear from folks who saw it on TV News. So in case you were wondering why we picked LikeTelevision for the name - it’s because we always felt that Someday - the computer would be LikeTelevision. Of course lots of people saw this age coming for a long time - in fact, Bill Gates said that phrase - Someday the computer will be LikeTelevision at a dog and pony show sometime last century. And now - the hardware needed to make it plug and play is here. COOL! And in case you were wondering - do i need all this new stuff to watch LTi content on my computer? No… of course not. We’ve been doing this for over 5 years now. You can watch it on your computer anytime you want, anywhere you want. But - our vision has always been to see our subscribers kicking back on a couch… and accessing our massive media library - just LikeTelevision. Well guess what - the future is now!

Happy Birthday Rembrandt Van Rijn

Happy Birthday to Rembrandt Van Rijn, born July 15, 1606 in Leiden, Netherlands. (dies Oct 4, 1669 in Amsterdam). In the history of art - a few names stand out, Picasso, da Vinci, Michealangelo, and yes - Rembrandt, though few folks know his last name, Van Rijn… fewer still his full name - Rembrandt Harmenszoon Van Rijn. Phew - that’s a mouthful. So what makes Rembrandt so great? A few things stand out - perhaps first and foremost was his gift of understanding light, and the devotion to exploring how light dances in the real world. Scholars call this chiaroscuro - which is Italian for light dark. When an artist masters chiaroscuro, objects have a delightful 3 dimensional quality, as the reflected light and shade give the flat paint on a canvas depth. Leonardo da Vinca and another Italian painter named Caravaggio were the early developers of chiaroscuro - of the 3, i am most impressed by the work of Caravaggio, but not many remember him today. Another reason why Rembrandt remains well known - is that he created a remarkable series of self portraits throughout his life that show a man aging gracefully and honestly depict the wrinkles and character that develop with age. In addition, his etchings of religious scenes were nothing short of stunning.

By 1634, Rembrandt was a very wealthy man - who was paid well to paint portraits of “beautiful people” - that is, folks with the big bucks who could afford to have a Rembrandt. He married Saskia van Uylenburgh, one of his favorite models in 1634. In the days before Supermodels and anorexia, woman such as Saskia who had a curvy and voluptuous shape were seen as very attractive. Today, many folks might advise her to go to the gym or do some brisk walking. Oh well - examine a classic Rembrandt rendering of his wife - Saskia at Her Toilet, from the Dresden Museum and decide for yourself. I think she is beautiful.

On a lighter note - some folks might remember the old Dutch Masters cigar tv commercials - which featured the men in Rembrandt’s painting - The Syndics of the Clothmaker’s Guild, coming to life and lighting up a stogie. Also - by all means, check out the Masterpiece Game Tv Commercial. Created by Parker Brothers - it was dubbed, the greatest game since Monopoly - and of course, the game featured paintings by today’s birthday boy - Rembrandt Van Rijn.

Storm The Bastille!

Just 215 years ago - the French were storming the Bastille, a notorious prison that probably treated prisoners with the same gentleness as Sadaam Hussein did. (please, no Abu Ghraib ironies - since the folks involved in the torment there are being punished and the US Army was the one who relayed the news of the atrocities in the first place, on their web site for journalists - over 4 months before traditional media decided they could use the story to feed the I hate Bush disease (humor might cure it)….though you’d never know that if you read the N.Y. Times or watched mainstream network news). And what makes July 14th so special? Well that’s the day France celebrates their Independence Day, with fireworks and parades no less. Also - lots of folks think the French Revolution happened before our the American Revolution - not so, July 4, 1776 happened thirteen years before - and America became the first true democracy on planet Earth. Ok… we really are not a democracy - huh? Nope, we are a Republic, which means that the winner is chosen by the electoral college, not the one who gets the most votes. (darn those lame schools - there’s a ton of people who still think Bush stole the election - but in many cases in US history, the guy getting the most votes did not win the election for President. America is a Republic, not a democracy for a good reason. It was done to protect those who lived in less populous states - because we all know that those city slickers would someday want to tax us stupid bumkins in rural areas, and take all the money for the big cities. But i digress… today we celebrate the French Revolution - that began with the storming of the Bastille. While most folks think the good people did this to release the prisoners - the actual reason was to get the guns in the Bastille- and fight the monarchy that was ruling the people like a bunch of thugs. Since many French soldiers fought for America in the 1776 revolution - Independence, Freedom and Liberty became one of our first major exports. Yes - i realize that many people in Europe, the Middle East and even in the USA think the US Army invaded Iraq to loot and pillage - i suggest you take a chill pill and examine the history of our country. Deep in our hearts - most of us in America really believe in freedom, equality, treating people fairly, and in the God given right to allow people to govern themselves.

As I think back to the morning of September 11, 2001 - everyone here at LikeTelevision was busy filming a video for an incredibly talented fellow from France named Bruno Frascone. Bruno has devoted most of his adult life to perfecting his skills as a marionette operator and creator. Years ago he lived in Charlotte, NC and i met him and his charming wife Darlene through a mutual friend, Dr. Barre. (he’s not really a hockey team dentist, but he played one at LikeTelevision). Anyway - Bruno went back to France to ply his craft, where he is viewed as a French National treasure. Over a decades passed … and he was returning to the USA for a tour in San Francisco that included a private party for Robin Williams. (cool!) Dr. Barre asked us if we could help Bruno put together a promtional video for him and we were happy to comply. What a great time we had and the experience was wonderful - full of love, hope and laughing children. A perfect foil to the atrocities that were taking place that morning on 9/11. Unlike most of America - i never watched the planes crash into the towers. I knew it would be a bad thing to inject in my mind. Yes… i know it played over and over and over on the news - but i never watched it, always turning away before the planes hit. Several weeks later - the news networks figured this out for themselves - that replaying this horror over and over like a news byte was terrible thing to do, and in fact playing right into the hands of men seeking to wipe us off the face of the planet. Years from now - i suspect that most people will look back on how the mainstream press covered this war and turn away in disgust. Imagine if they covered D-Day the same way? Or Pearl Harbor? Sometimes i wonder if all the noise involved in living in large US cities or across the world for that matter - whether Paris or Berlin or London… sometimes i wonder if the daily grind of the city somehow erodes common sense. It seems like a fair question.

By the way - if you were wondering about the painting - it is perhaps the best known work of a brilliant Frenchman named Eugene Delacroix, and is titled - Liberty Leading the People. The painting was created in 1830 and can be viewed in the Louvre. Or at google.

Updates - Drew Carey & Mail Order Grannies?

Lots of stuff going on behind the scenes - including some new fun content, download roatations and some cool new features we will be adding shortly. First - check out the Johnny Carson page - we just added some classic clips from the best talk show of all time, and yes - these videos are free for all our visitors. The first clip has a terrific clip with Charles Grodin - who is trying to peddle his new book, which is actually his previously released book, now in paperback. The video offers an ironic twist to all the recent press surrounding Bill Clinton hitting the circuit to sell his book. Clip 2 features Drew Carey - in what i think is his debut comedy routine for a national audience. And clip 3 is killer funny - Johnny squares off against an aggressive primate, then morphs into an aggressive primate with guest Loni Anderson, followed by George Carlin doing his famous - hippy-dippy weatherman routine. In the post 9/11 world - the routine is still funny, but carries with it a creepiness once reserved for the days of the cold war. Like we often say - everything old is new again. This page gets clips rotated in and out - so watch it hile you can.

Speaking of deja vu weirdeness - you’ll love this bizarre 1940s comedy sketch, Male Order which features a guy named Ted who places his order to have some girls delivered via parcel post. They arrive in cardboard boxes - and Ted tries each one out before selecting the keeper. It seems he is looking for a dancing partner. Fast forward to today - and a recent spam advert for mail order Russian brides… and i wondered if they would arrive in cardboard boxes too…. hmmmm. Not my cup of russian tea.

And on to download rotations - to make room for new additions - we recently pulled Inagaki’s Samurai, part 2 and Ugetsu. And added a bunch more new downloads - including the Male Order. More on the new adds later this week.

As for the new features - we are still building and testing - but we are really excited as the new software bits and pieces add a lot of functionality - with an emphasis on FUN. Got to get back to work… more info on this coming soon.

If you are like us - and getting a little sick of all the political mumbo jumbo in the election year - make sure you check out this wacky creation - which features a twisted version of Woody Guthrie’s This Land is Your Land - with Kerry and Bush going head to head in a very funny satire. Your politics shouldn’t matter - it picks on both guys with a large blunt instrument. Check it out. Or better still - you can always vote for Popeye.

When? Now! Ringo’s 64!

In case you missed it - yesterday on July 7, 2004, it happened…. When is NOW - as Richard Starky, better known as Ringo Starr really did turn 64! (which oddly enough, LikeTelevision shares the same birthday, only we just turned 5 years old). We took a tour promo picture of Ringo, added a few fingers from the traditional peace sign pose, and of course… receded his hair line (when i get older, losing my hair)… and found this hilarious piece of satire - knowing our users would laugh as hard as we did. So check this out - Poor Ringo.

And on July 8, 1918 - Craig Stevens, best known for his role as Peter Gunn was born in Liberty Missouri. In 1959, he was nominated for an Emmy for Best actor in a leading role, but was edged out by the greatest defense attorney of all time TV history, Perry Mason, i mean Raymond Burr. In case you never saw the show - Peter Gunn was perhaps the coolest of the suave Private Eye shows ever made. The theme song from Henry Mancini remains a classic - check it out. The episode featured is free for everyone to watch, and in case you are short on time, by all means check out the super mondo trailer by our own Frank Random. Peter Gunn was created and directed by Hollywood heavyweight - Blake Edwards, who married the flying nanny, Mary Poppins, better known as Julie Andrews. I just saw her in a cool tv movie called The Princess Diaries - and she was just as wonderful as ever. What a classy woman.

Finally - on July 8, 52 BC - the fair city of Paris was founded. Home of high fashion, the Eiffel Tower, City of Love, rich creamy food and the folks who gave us the Statue of Liberty - Viva La France, i mean Paris! … which reminded me of this google spoof from a few years back. Oh those wacky French.