television

The Legacy Of Prince And Saturday Night Live

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I didn’t have the privilege of seeing Prince perform live before his untimely death yesterday. But I have seen him perform a handful of times on television. You’re going to hear a lot about his blistering performance during the half-time show during Super Bowl XLI (2007). And rightfully so, this standout performance took place in a rainstorm and included “We Will Rock You”, “Let’s Go Crazy”, “Baby I’m a Star”, “Proud Mary”, “All Along the Watchtower”, “Best of You”, and “Purple Rain”.

However, my favorite televised performances were from his appearances on Saturday Night Live. On November 1, 2014, Prince bucked Saturday Night Live tradition by playing a single, eight minute, four-song medley (instead of the standard of multiple songs sprinkled throughout the show). The unbroken set consisted of pieces of “Clouds,” “Plectrum Electrum,” “Marz,” and “Another Love”. One of my favorite parts is when Prince attempted up turn up his guitar’s volume only to smile as he realized it was unplugged.


My very favorite Prince performance was his commanding execution of “Fury” for the February 4, 2006 Saturday Night Live. It had been over 24 years since Prince had last played on SNL and “Fury” had not been heard live or as studio recording up until this point. Prince’s guitar work for this performance was amazing. He effortlessly shredded the song up and down. My favorite part is the end, when he throws his mic stand on the floor while exiting the stage. He does this with a sly grin, letting his audience know he is fully aware that he was on fire.


The Tallest Structure In The United States Is A TV Antenna

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The KVLY Television Tower, located in Blanchard, North Dakota is the tallest structure in the United States. It is also the tallest structure in the Western Hemisphere and the fourth tallest in the World (beaten by the Burj Khalifa, Tokyo Skytree and Shanghai Tower). It tops in at 2,063 feet (628.8 m) tall. Just a few miles away is the fifth tallest structure in the world, the 2,060 ft (628 m) KRDK Television Tower.

If you’re interested in what it might be like to climb to the top of one of these towers, check out this video.

KVLY-TV Mast Tower Wide.jpgImage via Wikimedia

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.

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