Happy Birthday, Dizzy Gillespie!

After a friend told me that today was Dizzy Gillespie's birthday, I decided to upload a clip of his guest appearance on Sesame Street. (Appropriately enough, one of the letters for that episode was D! :-) ) Unfortunately, I can't identify the piece Dizzy is playing; are there any jazz fans out there who care to help?

Delta Faucets features Sesame Street Song In Their Commercial

They use the song "Hands" by Count von Count. Usually these commercials use regular pop songs. This song really fits well with the commercial. I am glad they chose it.

History Repeats Itself

This morning, Sesame Workshop's official YouTube channel featured several clips with George Washington as a main character (in honor of Presidents' Day, I assume). This cartoon, based roughly on a famous painting of Washington, has him explain the difference between "all", "some", and "none" to his soldiers on a boat.

Back in the early 70s, though, Grover taught a similar lesson to a group of anonymous monsters; they kept tipping and sinking Grover's rowboat by sitting at the same end at the same time. Déjà vu all over again? I'd suspect that the cartoonist had the Muppet sketch in the back of his brain as he worked, at least.

Disenchanted with Abby Cadabby

If you thought parents complaining about Cookie Monster's eating habits was bad...new characters have inspired complaints that are even more bizarre. Some concerned parents in Australia have written to ABC (not the same ABC network that airs in the States!), claiming that Abby Cadabby's use of magic depicts "witchcraft" in an inappropriate light for young children.

Now, I'm not a parent or an occult expert, but there's a big difference between real-world witchcraft and the kind of magic depicted in fairy tales. Abby Cadabby's magic use is a playful, modernized version of fairy-tale magic; it's as different from occult practices as Mumford is from Aleister Crowley. So please, Aussie parents, watch some of the "imagination" skits from the old days of Sesame Street; maybe you'll learn about the differences between reality and childhood fantasy.

Get Well Soon Loretta

I just found out in a comment of my YouTube video that Loretta Long (Susan) was hit by a car in New Jersey. She is in stable condition with a head injury. Hope she gets well soon. This is very sad news. We all hope she can return to Sesame Street. Bob

Bert and Ernie: the Rumor Officially Debunked!

If you've never heard the ugly rumor about Bert and Ernie's private life off-camera, you're one of the few lucky old-school viewers. Another web site has debunked the rumor in detail, but here's a scan of CTW's official statement so you can confirm the source yourselves...