Neti Pot Addendum

So I mentioned neti pots in my last post ... and I realized that many people might have no idea what this strange little item is. I know I had no idea until the fateful Office episode where Dwight uses Pam's teapot as his own personal nasal irrigator.

Well, so I figured I would link to this image, since it's so iconic and also hilarious. What's more, surely the Internet would make light work of finding this screencap ... right?

Well, as it turns out, there's nothing! After too much time spend trying to Google this image with no results, I decided the only proper thing to do would be to do the Internet a favor and post it myself.

So here, for all of posterity, is the image in question.

You're welcome the Internet.

Tags: Dwight Shrute, The Office, Christmas Party, Neti pot, teapot, nasal irrigator, screencap, screengrab

Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me

So I finally got a chance to go to a taping of the NPR news quiz show, Wait, Wait ... Don't Tell Me. If you haven't listened to it before, it's a pretty amusing hour of current events commentary, with a Daily Show-esque flair for getting to the absurd heart of any story fused with an unmistakable public radio feel.

The panelist for the show were Mo Rocca(!), Paula Poundstone, and a third guy whose name I don't really recall ... but who managed to mess up a Dr. Strangelove reference and was given loads of flak by the audience.

The show itself was quite hilarious. There was a lot of talk about the Hillary/Obama divide, and tons of laughs over Obama fangirls, and if I'm not mistaken, at one point all of the candidates were compared to kittens.

You can listen to it here: http://odeo.com/audio/18328273/play

Finally, and because this was the reason why I was so excited to go, Mo Rocca was simply amazing! He managed to slip in a lot of random references, like a mention of neti pots at one point ... for which I can't recall the context. And his real life "erms" and "umms" were insanely endearing. I've been reading his blog for a while, and I loved him on the Daily Show, so when I got to meet him after the taping I was positively ecstatic.

I asked him what his favorite president's tombs were, since he too has an interest in obscure historical locations, and he agreed that Lincoln has one of the best. It's true. So great.

Finally, since this has pretty much turned into a Mo Rocca blog-a-thon, I'll end this post with my favorite video of him on the Daily Show:

Tags: Wait Wait ... Don't Tell Me, Mo Rocca, NPR

Spring Break 2007 & The Colbert Report

Four days in NYC and a ticket to see the Colbert Report (on Stephen Colbert Day no less). What could be better than this for finals detox?

Yeah, no, seriously - I can't think of anything better.

Though, I suppose I should rewind just a tad bit ...

Basically I got insanely lucky and managed to get tickets for the middle of Spring Break (my tickets for Winter Break fell through). With the savings I had held on to from the summer I snagged a great plane deal and designed a trip around the show date. On the day of, March 20, we got to the studio around 2 in the afternoon. Just walking towards the studio and seeing the "Colbert Report" awning slowly growing larger was a fantastic experience. We had been walking around New York all that morning and event though I was tired and it was rather chilly out, my energy shot through the roof. Willie Nelson (!) who was the guest for that evening, had his massive tour bus parked outside, and staffers were buzzing around the entrance -- this was just too cool!

Left: Willie's bus and a security guard. Right: photographed by a staffer.

The line was tucked away along the side of the building, and though we were fourth in line, there was still much waiting to be had before the doors opened. Two memorable moments occurred when 1) Willie Nelson finally walked into the studio (though I don't have a photo) and 2) when Mark Malkoff, the amazing audience director, came out to prep everyone. I got to talk to him for a bit and let him know how much I loved his work. He really was as positive (and amazingly helpful) as I had read.

The time in line inched by, but finally we were ushered inside. We were assigned seating numbers and left to wait a little while longer in a large-ish room just outside of the main studio. Apparently Stephen was still taping his toss with Jon, so while we waited I got a good look around.

The most striking thing in the room was the Colbert Nation flag, sent in by the Colboarders - a nice tribute to the fandom (plus I'm probably up there).

Finally, after a bit debriefing by the stage manager, another Mark, in which we were told to cheer as loudly as possible and reminded that Stephen fed off of our energy, we were let into the studio. While you couldn't take photos inside, my memory of that moment remains crystal clear. The lights for the set were dimmed and there were only a few people there, but the overwhelming character of the set, coupled with my immense familiarity with it, created an intense sensation. Suddenly this set that I had known so well gained another dimension and I veered as close as I could to the stage itself in order to peer more closely at the bookshelf and the doo-dads place just out of frame. Fourth in line, meant I had a seat almost right in front of the desk and as I sat down I couldn't help but realize my legs were wobbling.

Image via colbertpics.com (RIP wonkyear.com)

Thankfully, all of this excess energy was channeled by the stand up comic who ran out and got us excited for the show. He picked on different people in the audience and generally had us practice screams and bellowing laughs at the slightest notice. He was out for something like 30 minutes, but finally it was time for Stephen to emerge!

He bound into the studio as we were at the height of our cheers, his energy seemingly endless as he ran back and forth between the two tiers audience seats with a gigantic grin plastered onto his face. While I had mused that he might be somewhat less animated in person, if anything, he was more alive and charismatic than I had ever imagined. His intensity, which easily dominated a television screen, engulfed the entire room and the audience was more than willing to throw the energy right back at him.

There was a quick Q&A session once the cheers had died down and I actually got to ask the man a question. I rambled out something on the topic of this video and asked him if he ever got his revenge on Jon Stewart for making fun of the Alphabet All-Starts. Stephen grinned and said that Jon had done a lot of embarrassing work in the past (he sang with Elmo), but then went completely deadpan and mentioned that he had also put a pipe bomb in his car after the toss. Fun times.

The actual show began soon thereafter. Seeing Stephen slip into character so effortlessly was really quite impressive. During the commercial breaks he could put on his producer hat & do some last minute edits, play with his glow pen while jamming to the music playing overhead, or with the prompting of the audience suddenly initiate the Threatdown. Soon enough watching him felt just like watching the regular show ... if of course, one watched the show while on some sort of wonderful drug.

You can check out a full recap of the show at the link below, as well as a video of the interview with "Weedy" Nelson ...

Episode 3038 (3/20/2007) summary c/o No Fact Zone

Despite Willie & Richard Hollbrooke's best efforts to get Stephen to taste the Country Peach Cobbler, it would seem that Stephen would not budge ... right?

Well - I have a shocking revelation.

The interview was pretty drastically edited down for time and unfortunately one of the things that was cut was a really comical exchange between Willie/Hollbrooke and Stephen in the midst of their diplomatic deliberation. Even though the interview above ends with Stephen as victorious, he actually did give in and nibble on the Cobbler Ice Cream Willie was pushing. Hollbrooke was really trying to get Stephen to give in and I don't think Stephen's improv experience could let him say no. Plus it actually would've made for great TV, since Willie crossed himself rather comically right afterwards and Stephen remained ever-defiant (though defeated). What's more Holbrooke looked really happy -- happy enough even to hand me the prop carton of ice cream Stephen had just eaten from. Not too bad.

A delicious end to the night?

Well, I should be wrapping this post up, but from the image at the top I think it's pretty clear that I wound up waiting to meet Stephen. It was pretty cold by that point, so a Dunkin Doughnuts around the corner proved immensely useful.

When Stephen finally came out I almost missed him, and he was actually the one who came up to me and asked if we were waiting for him. I nodded and tried to properly thank him for the amazing show, his amazing body of work, and the fact that he even stopped to say hi. He smiled and took all of this very graciously, before realizing that I was also the been the same person to ask him a question earlier. Awesome! I didn't want to take up too much of his time, so I quickly asked if I could take a quick photo with him and he agreed. Needless to say, I was pretty astounded that all of this had just taken place, and probably sound like a total nerd as I wrap up this post. But it really was amazing! Thanks Stephen.

Tags: Colbert Report, Taping, March 20 2007, Stephen Colbert Day, Meeting Stephen Colbert after the show, Mark Malkoff, Willie Nelson

History? I LOVE HISTORY!

Ok, so I realize I haven't posted for quite some time - and that a three month hiatus is probably not the best way to assure the blog's reader(s) of The Ostrich Egg's sheer vitality and true exciti-tude. But if I know one thing better than anything else, it's that an 'exclusive' and fascinating post will surely rejuvenate the spirits of this once ... flourishing ... persisting ... not nonliving blog. So what better way to brighten up the doldrums of winter than with a blog post on HISTORY!

Why history? Well, why not - posting clips of Mr. T and Ikea lamps really didn't seem to do anything for my blog-cred, so what do I have to lose? Admittedly, I accept the fact that history and wintertime fun have in the past appeared to be mutually exclusive. For a thorough documentation see the second season episode of The Simpsons, Bart Gets an F (check it out via peekvid.com). But even though the episode features one agonizing scene where Bart forces himself to study the American Revolution in a dark, dank basement while outside the town of Springfield is celebrating 'Snow Day - The Funnest Day in the History of Springfield' ... this post is really all about breaking those negative and all too true stereotypes. History really can be fun!


Alright, fine, so what can I do to convince you? It seems pretty clear that countless pages written by historians, sociologists, and philosophers throughout time have all harped on the importance of studying history. One of the most accessible arguments is neatly broken down by Peter N. Stearns of the American Historical Association (AHA) in an exposition titled Why Study History? In it he claims that history "should be studied because it is essential to individuals and to society, and because it harbors beauty." Furthermore he goes on to detail many of the functional aspects that this study provides both for the individual and society alike, aiding in the formation of fundamental skills that define who we are ... but I can sense that this approach isn't really helping my cause either. After all one can simply claim that this man is grossly biased in favor of history, why should anyone wanting an objective opinion listen to a man in AHA's pocket? (Not to be confused with Aha, New Wave originators of the 80s classic Take on Me)

So that leads me to Old Navy, and the reason for this blog post in the first place. As a company whose motto has been "Get Your Fash-On!" ever since it's ubiquitous commercial campaign in the summer and fall of 2006, one would doubt that Old Navy would be the harbinger of a new appreciation for history. And yet, even three years after their last round of catchy advertisements, one phrase remains etched deep in my psyche, and that of my peers (I would assume): "History? I LOVE History!" In what was one of the most generation defining commercials of my time, the Old Navy 'History' commercial remains, in my opinion, the most successful pro-history campaign ever unleashed on the youth of America. While other groups have tried to combine the appeal of pop culture, design, and youth-centric adverts, none have been nearly as effective as Old Navy with this regard. See for yourself, and just try to deny the effectiveness of this advertisement ...



In all reality, this commercial really is the perfect vehicle for history education. The shrill, exuberant cries of the young college student reverberate as easily through the silent lecture hall as through our minds, while the effectiveness of this technique ensures that the words will become permanently lodged there (next to other unforgiving slogans). Furthermore, the fact that the student's rant appears to be evoked just as easily by Old Navy's back to school sale as by the prospect of studying history, the commercial itself makes the idea of being passionate about something like history accessible to all (though for some it may also require the consumption of ungoldy amounts of caffeine in preparation for a midterm). The very fact that multitudes of students have gone on to study history after viewing the commercial, and continue to do so even years later, makes my point all the more valid!

If you still aren't convinced by my random correlations, just listen to this: Old Navy isn't the only on to have picked up the model of catchy advertising in order to indoctrinating the youth with messages of history's virtues. While none can hold a candle up to the brilliance of the original, the popularity of this approach has clearly spurred others to try and follow suit.

Catchy slogans, reverse psychology, and the sex appeal of Napoleon Bonaparte - who could refuse?

Artist Eduardo Recife (www.eduardorecife.com), whose style and creative influence I greatly admire has lent his expertise to the development of a promo for the upcoming HBO series, Assume the Position. The premise of the show is formed around the supposition that most of our notions about historical fact are in reality based on popular culture, and it is our job as inquisitive students of history to vocally question and debunk hearsay. Robert Whul, the man charged with reformatting the common student's approach to history, is the most vocal figure present in the college classroom setting picked for the show. A couple of seconds into the promo, as his booming voice fills the lecture hall, the excitement of discovery present in the subtleties of his tone - I can't help but bring myself back to those simple beginnings when $20 capris were all that it took to get one so worked up over history.

The promo which you can check out in a 40 second and 60 second format, is really a clear sign that the youth, nurtured by Old Navy commercials of yore, have grown up to be actual college students, deserving of more mature historically infused advertisements and pop-culturally savvy programming.

I for one will keep the tradition started all those years ago by Old Navy strong, and my love for history will forever ring out, in the immortal words of that annoying girl: "...Something happens... Then something else happens! It's so sequential! Thanks... first guy! For writing history down! ...LET'S STUDY!" And I'm pretty positive others see it that way too.

Illinois delegation at National History Day 2006
See more of NHD on my Flickr photoset

Tags: advertising, AHA, American Historical Association, Assume The Position, Commercial, Eduardo Recife, HBO, History, I LOVE History, National History Day, Old Navy, Peter Stearns, Simpsons, Take On Me

The Ultimate Pac-Man Tribute

I have to admit that of all of the classic arcade characters, I've always had a soft spot in my heart for Pac-Man. Perhaps it's his simplicity (he is just a circle with a wedge cut out of it after all) or his affinity for little yellow orbs (delicious, delicious orbs), yet there's just something I've always found reassuring about this video game icon.


To a certain degree I think all of America can in fact claim to share the basic values which Pac-Man espouses. For both Americans and Pac-Man a traditional family seems to be central (he did after all spawn a Mrs. Pac-Man and Pac-Man Jr. spin off) and both share a tremendous innate dislike of ghosts. Yet, most important of all, it seems that Americans can completely identify with a creature of a voracious and unsatiated appetite, in essence, a complete glutton. The central goal which defines Pac-Man, is the acquisition of orbs - which he stuffs himself with - incessantly. Mirrored by a similar capitalistic desire for wealth and the general girth of the American populous, it's no surprise that Pac-Man has affected culture in such a sweeping manner. He is in essence living out the American dream - just in video game form, and with the addition of those tasty cherries as bonus points.

Having been inspired once again by this video game giant after stumbling upon a miniature version of the classic Pac-Man game (both a perfect way to pass the time and aditionally ruin your eyesight) I was moved to explore more deeply this cult of the Pac. Not only has this 8-bit character become a generation defining figure, but his fame has grown to such an extent as to even spawn it's own religious sect. And the following examples can only illustrate a continued interest this video game icon.

To begin with, a video tribute to Pac-Man seems like the only fitting introduction to the many feats of this cultural behemoth. With some slick editing, the video cuts to the many cameos which The Pac has made in television and entertainment -- and even takes a minute to address the evolution of the simple game as video game technology advanced. The Simpsons clip always cracks me up and the video even features footage of the glitch which occurs on the 256th level of the game - freaky.

But in all honesty, one of the best things about the video above is the amazing sound track running under the sweet editing, none other than Aphex Twin's Powerpill from the Pac-Man EP. Relased in May of 1992, the remix showed that Pac-Man fever was going strong ... although it wans't an actual fever, thankfully, I couldn't even begin to imagine the horrific symptoms ...

As a neat side project for the breakbeat and hardcore electronic group Aphex Twin, this soundtrack contains some amazing remixes of the original song in all of it's video game glory. Links to the tracks below open the mp3 file in a new window.

01 Pac-Man (Original Edit)
02 Pac-Man (Ghost Mix)
03 Pac-Man (Choci's Hi-Score Mix)
04 Pac-Man (Mickey Finn's Yum Yum Mix)

YouTube is brimming with Pac-Man related videos, whether completely random or deeply rooted in cultural phenomena. Things like a 1982 commercial for 7-up, featuring a red Pac-Man hopped up on the sugary corn syrup concoction give a better understanding of the historical place of the figure - yet it isn't all that entertaining ... the following, however, are awesome.

College pranks at their finest, with a Pac-Man inspired twist. Based out of the University of Michigan through the UM Patriots. I just wonder how cumbersome those costumes were.

Stop motion re-enactments of Classic Arcade games: in this instance Pac-Man is a delicious pizza creature that appears alongside other legends - the asteroids one is pretty neat.

A classic Futurama episode, Raiders of the Lost Arcade, which realizes the hypothetical: what would happen if life were more like a video game? Keep an eye out for General Colin Pac-Man and Zoidberg's foray into the realm of Pac-land.

A cute commercial dubbed Pacman el victorioso, featuring yours truly in a south of the border puppet show. The language of Pac-Man truly is international.

Further projects based on the classic yellow creature have involved everything from a customized kart racers to a Pac-Man guitar, yet the artistic medium has remained the best for exploring the deep bond we share with our video game brethren. One such final outlet, the i am 8-bit art exibit out of Los Angeles, showcases various artistic interpretations of the many icons to have graced the 8-bit screen. The place of Pac-Man among such legends is firmly represented in the gallery of works.

Pac Man in Hospice by Greg "Craola" Simkins


Pac-Man by Peter Gronquist

If all of this hasn't gotten your Pac going then there is a whole lot more info on Pac-Man compiled all over the web by people way more wholly engrossed by this little yellow dude than myself. You can find tons of emulations of the game itself - the flash version being nicely updated. For those of you interested in the history of Pac Man, check out his Wikipedia entry. If you're in it for the memorabilia - there's an entire virtual museum devoted to collectibles. Or, if you'd simply like to find more random things that people do in the name of Pac-Man, there's a blog for that. Ooh, and don't forget the Pac-Man shirts!

But honestly, what could be sweeter than light-up LED animated Pac-Man bicycle wheels?

Technorati Tags: Pac-Man, Classic Video Game, Arcade Game, Video Tribute, Music Video, Aphex Twin, Power-pill, mp3, UM Prank, Stop Motion, Futurama, Animation, Puppet Show, I Am 8-Bit, Art, Gallery, LED, Bicycle

Edu-tastic Video Compilation

Even now, after having graduated from high school, I have to admit - it really is difficult for me to separate myself from the educational fun-ride that was k-12. Everywhere I look, it seems, I find benchmarks of my educational upbringing, from French dictionaries gathering dust on my bookshelf to one random elementary school spelling book that I should've definitely returned about nine years ago. It's been fun to rummage through old grade reports, laughing at awkward class photos, and sympathizing with elementary school teachers who racked their brains to try and impart some form of factual information to us.



Seriously though, an 'A' for all those spelling mistakes and random capitalizations? I would've deported myself outright for pledging 'alligance' to a 'republik' run by a lesser 'god' than He who directs the thoughts and actions of his progeny George W. Bush




Yet the internet has been the ultimate harbinger of memories connected to those nostalgic years - with the ability to simply Google old PBS educational shows I've been able to find countless reminders of the clever ways in which adults choose to inundate children with massive amounts of facts. And while giant purple dinosaurs perhaps are better suited for giving children an irrational phobia, one reoccurring technique has definitely stuck out for it's practicality - songs.

Since the dawn of time, it seems, as long as there have been core factual concepts (mathematics, science, history, language) people have always attempted to commit their base principles to memory through simple and repetitive forms. Things like mnemonic devices (SOH CAH TOA, Roy G. Biv, My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas*), rhymes, sayings, and songs have attempted to make the chore of pure repetition more mentally expedient. Sure, simply memorizing things through rote repetition is a staple hallmark of childhood (from reciting prayers or the pledge) -- yet songs have always added that extra bit of excitement that could trick entice a hyperactive child into doing some inadvertent learning.

But returning to the point, I don't think any sort of nostalgic post about the magic of song in education could be complete without a rundown of the very songs which permeate my subconscious mind, making me a slave to catchy jingles and quickly recited bits of information. Below is a compilation of the videos which I consider to have the most creative and powerful use of song to achieve that perfect jingle to fact ratio.

Ah, the Animaniacs - with their take on the nations of the world who could go wrong? Although, they did misspell Israel as 'Isreal' -- but I'll give Yakko a break, for a singing whatever-the-hell-it-is that's still pretty good.

School House Rock made my One Saturday Mornings notable (next to Doug, Recess, and Pepper Ann) -- and as far as this integration of the bill-making process to song I'd say it definitely has raised my political efficacy ... what person doesn't still secretly wish that the next bill passed could befriend them and after breaking out into song do a Kool-Aid man sort of "oh-yeah!" cheer?

Sesame Street always had tons of innovative clips presenting letters, colors, and numbers - so what better way to convey the concept of '6' than with a psychedelic pinball machine countdown?

Ok, this isn't necessarily an aide for conventional knowledge - but it sure did work for brainwashing me into being aware of the dangers that evil villains pose to the environment. But man, captain planet was a tad creepy himself, at least the cute South American boy with the pet monkey made up for it. We're the planeteers, you can be one too - cause saving our planet is the thing to do!

While I couldn't find an embed-able version of this next one, the Periodic Table of the Elements song by Tom Lehrer has been a standard for Chemistry teachers across the nation since 1955. If you've never encountered this song in class then you've missed a chemistry hot-topic that's almost as fascinating as the idea of the mole (Avogadro's number, equal to 6.022 x 10²³ atoms or molecules). You can however find a flash version of an animation done to the song at privatehand.com/flash/elements.html

And a treat, perfect for Pi Day! An amazing parody of all of the above, with the perfect dose of humor tossed in -- no Steve, not Pie, Pi (and in case you were hungry for that pi goodness, or just insane, you can find pi calculated to a million digits at piday.org)

* Note: seeing as Pluto has been demoted to the status of a dwarf plant (or trans-Neptunian object) alongside Ceres and 2003 UB313 as of August 24, 2006 ... I guess elementary school kids can go with something like My Very Educated Mother Just Said Uh-oh No Pluto (here's a visual).

Technorati Tags: Video, Music Video, Educational Television, YouTube, PBS, memorization, Animaniacs, Nations, School House Rock, Bill, Sesame Street, Captain Planet, Tom Lehrer, Periodic Table of the Elements, Pi Day