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June 24, 2010

I’ve always been a fan of unusual scoring in sports, and one simply remarkable men’s match at Wimbledon that ended earlier today is impossible to ignore:

The marathon match lasted for 11 hours, 5 minutes over the course of three days! According to ESPN (emphasis is mine):

The fifth set alone took 8 hours, 11 minutes, surpassing the previous longest match, which took 6 hours, 33 minutes at the 2004 French Open.

Simply amazing! I hope both players are remembered as tireless warriors.

[ # 578 | Link ]

June 22, 2010

I’ve already posted the following story and photo on Facebook earlier this month, but this picture is such a gem that I simply must document it here on the blog, too.

Our group at work has adopted a tradition of gathering for lunch at the local firehouse to celebrate our coworkers’ birthdays each month, and the festivities usually include a cake from the local Genuardi’s supermarket. According to my friend Rob, his most recent phone call with the bakery department included an exchange that went something like this:

Employee: “What message would you like on the cake?”

Rob: “Happy birthday.”

Employee: “Anything else?”

Rob: “Just happy birthday.”

Somehow, the employee took the conversation just a bit too literally, and Rob wound up picking up the following cake:

We could never have requested something like that on purpose, and it’s easily the funniest cake I’ve ever seen. (My sister Meghan also pointed out that even the balloons are terrible — the lower pink balloon has strings all over it, while the upper yellow one has none and appears to be levitating.)

A few days later, my mom forwarded an e-mail from her coworker about a disturbingly similar order that was placed with the Genuardi’s store in Phoenixville; the resulting cake read, “Thank You Real Big.” (My mom’s theory is that they’re moving the same kid from store to store.)

[ # 577 | Link ]

June 7, 2010

In the wake of a huge shake-up among late-night TV hosts, I joined my sisters and Joan to see a sold-out live show by Conan O’Brien at the Tower Theater.

After a bizarre comedy/hip-hop opening act by Reggie Watts, Conan triumphantly took the stage wearing a Flyers jersey (a kind salute to their appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals). The lively performance included a video montage of Conan’s pre-tour workout regimen, a giant inflatable bat (said to come from Meat Loaf’s Bat Out of Hell tour), a video featuring the always hilarious Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, a musical performance from Trey Anastasio of Phish, and a completely unexpected cameo by Upper Darby native Tina Fey during a series of absurd Walker, Texas Ranger video clips.

Conan closed out the show on lead guitar with a full backing band on slightly altered versions of “On the Road Again” and “I Will Survive.” And survive he most certainly will — Conan’s new show premieres on TBS on Nov. 8.

For more details, check out the Team Coco blog entry about the Philly show!

[ # 576 | Link ]

What’s not so new?

Want to read more? Check out the archives!

Video clip of the moment

Most infomercials tend to irk me, but having already enjoyed the ad campaign for the ShamWow, I have to admit that I’m mesmerized by the frenzied, Brooklyn-accented showmanship of pitchman Vince Offer — yes, that’s his stage name — and his latest wonder product, the Slap Chop (running time: 3:10).

Previously featured clips:

1. Sesame Street’s Pinball Number Count, brought to you by the number 8 (1:07).

2. Family Guy patriarch Peter Griffin wears a mustache and tries to speak Italian (0:43).

3. The music video for Röyksopp’s “Remind Me,” a song from recent GEICO ads (4:15).

4. The superheroes from Super Friends perform key scenes from Office Space (2:54).

5. John McCain and Barack Obama star in JibJab’s “Time for Some Campaignin’” (2:30).

6. Derrick Williams scores a Penn State touchdown on a 78-yard punt return (1:58).

7. Homer Simpson demonstrates the theory of evolution through the ages (1:29).

8. A gorgeous VW Cabrio ad, featuring Nick Drake’s ballad, “Pink Moon” (1:00).

9. A clever, intricate Honda commercial that required 606 takes to complete (2:01).

10. Charlie Brown and the Peanuts gang dance to OutKast’s “Hey Ya!” (4:07).

11. Old-school Sesame Street revisited: a lost boy finds his way home (1:38).

12. More classic Sesame Street: a pair of Muppets imagine shapes (3:22).