Beaky and spiny

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Yes, it's been a while. But today... today I have found something so inspirational that I can't help but share it with the world: long-beaked echidnas, beautifully described in The New York Times as "plump, terrier-size creatures abristle with so many competing notes of crane, mole, pig, turtle, tribble, Babar and boot scrubber that if they didn’t exist, nobody would think to Photoshop them." AND! Did you know the males have a four-headed penis? Oo la la.

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Though it's been a while since her death, I must still mark the passing of Bea Arthur, who created the unforgettable character of Maude, a rather underappreciated sitcom, lost in the 70s shuffle of "All in the Family," "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," "M*A*S*H" et al. One reason the show was so good was the writing, tackling fraught social topics and taboos just as AITF had before it. Here's a tour de force one-woman episode where Maude sees her analyst.

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One of the funniest YouTube videos I've seen in a while: "Total Eclipse of the Heart" -- literal version. It's especially great because the original song and video were so wicked cheesy that they had top-notch material to work with. What is UP with that hair?!

Turns out there are many other "literal videos," including "Losing My Religion" (another embarrassingly arty-fartsy '80s video; Michael Stipe looks like he's in end-stage M.S.), "Take On Me," "White Wedding" and even "Penny Lane." But "Eclipse" is the best, I think.

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Another enjoyable find: Wacky Packages on the web. Order your coffee-table book today!

Comments

niobe said…
I've always had a thing for echidna (in a purely platonic way, of course), so I *loved* that article.
8:40 AM
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