Jill operated via two-track cassette tape. One track contained the audio, the other contained information for the doll's movements (just like teddy ruxpin, and similar to the earliest animatronics at disneyland which used audio signals on multitrack tape to control both sound and robotics). It needed four 'C' batteries and a 9-volt. This hideous, cassette walkman atrocity cost $100 retail, and additional tapes were for sale. I'm not so sure about the "I'm smart" claim. Considering the technology, I'm guessing it's bullshit.
March 31, 2008
March 30, 2008
F'd Puppet of the Week 3/30/08
Fredrick had an imaginary friend called Mr. Buttons. Mr. Buttons spoke into Fredricks ear through a link of psychic energy tendrils. He told Fredrick wonderful things like stories of magical creatures in far off lands, and all about the secret drawer in Daddy's dresser where the gun was. At the trial Fredrick told everyone about Mr. Buttons, but they did not believe him. Just before the execution, Fredrick painted this picture, and then he cheated justice by choking himself to death in his cell with his own sock. The End.
March 27, 2008
Jerry Lewis Live In Las Vegas, 1984
I was given a beat up copy of "Jerry Lewis LIVE!" on VHS years and years ago, and I have to say that it was really damn entertaining. Here's a clip from that performance. Jerry delivers what has become my second favorite quickie joke of all-time at the 4:05 mark. Watching his act, you get the impression that Jerry is willing to do absolutely anything--ANYTHING!--to entertain these people. Is he willing to sing? Yes. Tell jokes? Absolutely. Dance? Of course. Physical tomfoolery? Just say the word. Cut his wrists? Sure. Crush a puppy with a kettle drum? Hey, whatever it takes.
March 26, 2008
Exidy, Inc.: Purveyors Of The Exceptionally Strange
Man, oh, man! Did Exidy, Inc. create some weird-ass games during the golden years of the video arcade or what? Their first and most most popular optical light gun game was Crossbow (1983). Your mission is to protect a D&D-like party of slobs from the murderous ghosts, chimps, pterodactyls, archers, flaming chunks, buzzards, etc, etc, etc, as they march slowly toward the lair of the sinister, smiling bastard who shoots lightning bolts from his eyes. Yes, the visuals alone elevate Crossbow to an esteemed position in the pantheon of electronic weirdness, but like all the Exidy games of that time, it is the SOUNDS which put it over the top. Just listen to the carnage in the video below. They've managed to make the deaths of those whom you have been entrusted to protect INCREDIBLY entertaining and shocking at the same time. Crossbow was the first arcade game to use fully digitized sound and speech. From my experience, the fastest route to the smiling bastard is to choose the paths in the following order: red, red, red, green, red, red. Three years later, having disbanded with the altruistic notion of protecting on-screen characters, Exidy released Chiller, a sadistic gore-fest which holds the distinct honor of being the very first video game banned in the UK. Check out the video below and see if you can figure out why. Those were the two big ones, but the other games they released all had the same demented, politically incorrect flavor to them. Who Dunit has jive-talking pimps & murderous children, Cheyenne has whores & cranky Indians, Combat has a booby trap which cruelly launches soldiers to their deaths, Top Secret is like a horrific Spy Hunter...I love 'em. Below I've included links to the M.A.M.E. ROMs for most of the Exidy games. To play them, get the latest release of M.A.M.E. (version 0.124 as of this writing) and drop the .zip files directly into the "roms" folder--no need to unzip. For the light gun games, you'll need to adjust each game's preferences to allow you to use your mouse. The Macintosh version of M.A.M.E. can be found here. And should you require it, here's a handy video tutorial which walks you through the process of setting up M.A.M.E. 32 (the version I use) on your machine.
"Lost Highway" On Region 1 DVD: About F***in' Time!
I'm just really damn happy that, after more than a decade, Universal finally got around to releasing the last remaining Lynch film, Lost Highway, on DVD Tuesday. It's a total "McDVD" (no extras whatsoever) but I don't really care. Having that stuff would probably spoil the magic anyway. It just looks really, really beautiful--way more beautiful than the low resolution clips below might lead you to believe. The marriage of sound and image is simply fantastic. My only gripe with the film (and it's a minor one) is that, when the Mystery Man shows up at the desert cabin toward the end, he's a little too talkative and weird in a forced way. Much of the discussion at the time of the film's release was about Marilyn Manson's involvement (he was a lightning rod for controversy at the time), but his cameo is incidental, and his cover of "I Put A Spell On you" fits the mood of the scene in which it appears.
March 24, 2008
PIZZA TEEN! Readers Poll Results
QUESTION: Which comedic entertainer is most in need of a swift, firm kick in the balls?
- Will Ferrell. 50%
- Someone other than Will Ferrell. 50%
The White Elephant Record Exchange Project
David Bratton over at safetybear.com passed along a link to a bit of audio playfulness in which he recently participated.
"The White Elephant Record Exchange Project was undertaken by 20 individuals in the late part of January 2008. The project involved sampling, composition, and ultimately all kinds of editing and manipulation of various original source material. Participants were first to find the "worst" and "most unusable" 12" vinyl record possible and hand it off to the curator. Those records were then distributed to the participants insuring everyone received a different record than the one they submitted. After receiving this record, the first goal was to complete one song..."
Click HERE or the image above to read the full description and listen to the submissions. Fun stuff.
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