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Mad Men Reading List

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The New York Public Library (NYPL) has created a Mad Men Reading List, a collection of 25 titles read by the main characters during the course of the series. These titles are a great way to gain insight into the social and cultural eras in which the series takes place.

DON DRAPER’S PICKS

ROGER STERLING’S PICK

JOAN HARRIS’S PICK

BERT COOPER’S PICK

  • Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
    (Episode 108 “The Hobo Code”)

BETTY DRAPER’S PICKS

PETE CAMPBELL’S PICKS

SALLY DRAPER’S PICKS

LANE PRYCE’S PICK

HENRY FRANCIS’S PICK

Billy Parrott has also written a more comprehensive blogpost that lists books seen on shelves and lying around on tables during the show.

Unedited Footage Of A Bear (Sponsored by Claridryl)

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On the heels of “Too Many Cooks”, comes Adult Swim’s horrifying, disturbing and genius “Unedited Footage Of a Bear”. It begins with candid footage of a bear, as promised in the title. The bear footage is interrupted by a fake infomercial for a side-effect-prone nasal spray called Claridryl. It then rapidly devolves into chaotic violence. It aired for the first time on Adult Swim this week in their 4am infomercial slot. It’s dark, uncomfortable and brilliant.

The video’s “Skip Ad” button will take you to the promotional website for Claridryl. Let the website play all the way through or click the house about 10 times. The video was directed by Alan Resnik of Alan Tutorial fame and Memime fame.

Some side effects effects may may occur. If side effects occur occur please form a second opinion. Your inside affects your outside side effects; Claridryl affects your insides effects on your outside. Please choose sides before consulting Claridryl. Claridryl is not responsible for switched sides, insides or out. What were you thinking? Claridryl is not related to that.

Rare Color Film Of The Three Stooges

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My father is a big fan of The Three Stooges so I’ve spent many a Sunday morning watching the Stooges clown around in black and white on the television. That’s why it was such a treat to stumble upon this rare color film of the trio. Filmed in 1938 at the Steel Pier, Atlantic City, New Jersey by George Mann of the comedy dance team, Barto and Mann. The film was shot without sound and held no other purpose beyond having fun.

video courtesy of Brad Smith

Shark Cam

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It’s that getting close to that time of year when the Discovery Channel brings us Shark Week. As a promotional tie in to the weeks worth shark television, a live stream of the Ocean Voyager exhibit at the Georgia Aquarium, the world’s largest aquarium, was created. I like it best full screen.

The 9.5 Olympic pool-sized (that’s 6.3 million gallons) tank was originally built to contain Whale Sharks and is currently hosting the Ocean Voyager exhibit. Aside from the aquarium’s seven shark species (including the whale variety), it also houses the only four captive manta rays in the United States.

The Revolution Will Be Televised

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Banksy storyboarded and directed a new opening sequence for the Simpsons on Sunday night. In classic Bansky fashion, he paints a dark, and creepy vision of the world with a behind the scenes look at the process of animation, marketing, and promotion by the behemoth 20th Century Fox.

Wooster Collective notes that this is probably “one of the most closely guarded secrets in TV history”. And the New York Times has an interview with Al Jean, an executive producer of the Simpsons, discussing how they tracked down Banksy and how Fox executive’s reacted to the opening.

Banksy has done other “Simpsons” street art including this one in New Orleans.

Banksy - Simpsons Must Not CopyPhoto by BerDerp

And taking it even one step further: London art collective, JBOY have created this hilarious “Simpsons” based parody of Banksy’s “Haring Dog”.

JBOY Banksy ParodyPhoto by JBOY

Jack Horkheimer Knew How (Not) To Party

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This fascinating article from the now defunct Miami Herold Tropic provides great insight to the actual man behind the persona of “Jack” Horkheimer.

He mixes luxury and austerity. Horkheimer dabbles in bonds, has an American Express Gold Card and belongs to the Playboy Club. He wears a $10 electric watch and a ring set with a second-century BC bronze coin from the reign of Ptolemy VI of Egypt. He has a heavy metal plaque embossed with the word “HUSTLER” on his key ring. He drinks only champagne, which he buys 10 cases at a time, in vintages varying from cheap, oversweet Andre to dry, costly Moët & Chandon. He makes champagne cocktails by pouring the bubbly over a lump of sugar laced with Angostura bitters, and laps them up delicately, cat-like, one after another. He enjoys food and dines out at least four nights a week. He owns a large, old, hand-built stereo system whose amplifier is all vacuum tubes, not a single transistor. He admires Shostakovich symphonies and Peggy Lee.

The article also discusses a raging “doomsday party” that Jack Horkheimer threw on the Crandon Park beach in Miami, Florida back in 1982. An estimated 3,000 people showed up for the bash. Unfortunately the party dissolved into a mass of chaos with four young men stabbed, dozens beaten up and robbed, and around 30 arrested. You can read more at the Archived Miami Herold article about the incident here.

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