Back to School

I hope everyone had a great Labor Day weekend and a fantastic summer!

September is a pretty hectic month for everyone. Kids and college students are starting a new school year and getting acquainted with their classes, people are working harder at their jobs than they've been the last three months, and well, it's just a busy month. Time for everyone to blow the cobwebs out of their brains and refocus for the rest of the year and get "back to school," at least in theory. Let's take that time--now!

First, let's stock up on school supplies at Staples and get the school year started off right. At least for exasperated parents, it's "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!"



Let's recap our alphabet with the help of Professors Howard, Fine, and Howard--The Three Stooges!



Looks like Big Bird could use some help with his ABCs as well!



For a more dignified look at the alphabet, here is a wonderful clip also from Sesame Street called "Madrigal Alphabet."



Let's expand from letters to words with the help of Schoolhouse Rock, and one of their most popular segments, "Conjunction Junction!"

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Let's not forget numbers, especially our multiplication tables, and remember, "Three is a Magic Number."

 

Science is an important subject. Let's take a tour of our solar system with "Interplanet Janet." And here at Me and You, Pluto is STILL a planet!



OK, time for recess. I'll see you all again this weekend for the Saturday Matinee!

Labor Day 2008

Yes, I'm afraid that this weekend is the last hurrah for Summer 2008. Although Mother Nature says there are still three more weeks of summer, society says to knock off the fun stuff and get back to work or school. Some schools (certainly colleges) have already started for the fall. To send off each summer in grand fashion, we say goodbye during the Labor Day weekend, a time originally meant to honor the American worker. I'd like to get back to the original spirit of the day right now. And what better way to do that than with---country music! Well, mostly.

First up: Alabama's salute to John Q. Public, "40-hour Week."



Next: Garth Brooks teams up with Huey Lewis on Huey's classic song "Workin' For A Livin'."



Of course, there's always the classic country music song that states the attitude of many an American worker: "Take This Job and Shove It!"



While not a country song, it is indeed true that everybody's "Workin' For the Weekend." Loverboy certainly is.



Although blue collar workers have quite a great deal of stuff to deal with at their jobs, let's not forget our white collar, cubicle-dwelling workers (myself included). Nowhere has their plight been as well-depicted as in the hilarious movie Office Space. Here are highlights.







Finally, one tradition of Labor Day is the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon, an event I watch and support every year. Please tune in this year and give what you can; they're a great organization. Here is a sample of what they do:



Jerry closes every telethon with his singing of "You'll Never Walk Alone."



If you would like to give to MDA, you can donate online at their Web site and find out where you can view the telethon in your area.

http://www.mda.org/

Thanks, and have a great weekend!

Saturday Matinee: Batman, 1949 serial, part 7

I'm posting this week's installment of the Saturday Matinee a couple of days early, as I have a nice Labor Day post planned for Friday. Sit back and enjoy the next exciting chapter of Batman and Robin!

But first, how about a trailer for one of the Superman serials?

Chapter 7 The Fatal Blast
Uploaded by Herferd

I hope you'll stop by Friday before you begin your Labor Day festivities, as I'll post some material to get you ready. Until then, stop by the concession stand at this theater!

Pilobolus!

Pilobolus is a dance troupe originating from Connecticut that specilizes in creating spectacles using the human form. One such form is the use of sillouette, sort of taking shadow hand puppets to a whole new level. Take a look at this recent appearance on Late Night with Conan O'Brien. Amazing!

Saturday Matinee: Batman, 1949 serial, part 6

Time once again for this week's matinee installment. But first, grab some refreshments!



And now...Batman!

Chapter 6 Target - Robin !
Uploaded by Herferd

Thrilled? Come back next week for the next exciting chapter!

For now, a word from this theater regarding a threat to your home--a monster, if you will.



Yep, we gotta do something about this "pay TV" everybody's talkin' about. With luck, it won't catch on.

Monsters belong in the zoo?

The Mighty Heroes

Long-time readers of this blog will remember my post back in April regarding the defunct UHF TV channel 48, WKBS in Philadelphia, and how it featured the coolest cartoons in the city. One of those cartoons was the Mighty Heroes!

The Mighty Heroes first aired on CBS Saturday mornings in the fall of 1966 as part of the Mighty Mouse program. Both Mighty Mouse and the Heroes were created by the Terrytoons animation company. The concept for the Heroes was pitched by fledgling animator Ralph Bakshi, who went on to later fame, or infamy, as the creator of adult-themed cartoons such as Fritz the Cat and Cool World.

The Mighty Heroes, however, were as innocent as can be, although they were quite inept at handling their weekly villian. The team consisted of super-powered baby and team leader Diaper Man, a strong man named Strong Man (fancy that), Tornado Man, Rope Man, and Cuckoo Man. These bungling heroes would start attacking their villian without regard for their fellow teammates. Only when they worked cohesively as a group did they eventually foil the bad guy.

Here is one of my favorite installments, and according to some online sources, the first installment of the series, "The Plastic Blaster."



What a fun cartoon, and what great theme music!

This next clip is something I never saw until very recently: the actual wraparound theme and bumpers used in the original CBS network airings. These never appeared in the syndicated packages I saw on channel 48 in the late 70s. An awesome find!



Thanks as always!

Saturday Matinee: Batman, 1949 serial, part 5

It's time once again to present this weekend's Saturday Matinee! But first, a word about theater policy:

Chapter 5 Robin Rescues Batman
Uploaded by Herferd

Come back next week! But grab some refreshments on the way out:



OK, that one was pretty weird :)