How Friday Video Link: Gilligan's Island the Band

 

We're about a week out from Halloween where you get to put together a costume and dress like somebody else.

On the subject of dressing up as someone else...

Your Friday Video Link this week are some short clips of a very unusual cover band, Gilligan's Island the Band.  

This band performs dressed up like Gilligan, the Skipper, Mary Ann, Ginger and all the rest of those wacky castaways.

The sound quality may be a bit sketchy but they really look a lot of fun. 

We're back tomorrow with Movie Time as we continue our Halloween countdown of really bad movies.

Thanks for popping by and remember to be good to one another.

Your Friday Video Link: This (Non) Sporting Life Edition

Boy, there's a LOT of sports going on! 

NFL and college football is underway! 

College basketball and the NBA are starting up! 

Major league baseball is in it's post season, winding towards the the World's Series.

And the league that melds baseball with musical theater recently brought it's season to a close with the Banana Bowl! 

Members from every team in the Banana Ball League joined together for an original song called "Look What We Made".  

Do we counting dancing as a sport?

It's my blog, my rules and I say we do. And we dance! 

From Dancing With the Stars, it's Guillermo Rodriguez and pro Witney Carson performing a Salsa to “Tití Me Preguntó” by Bad Bunny.

Sadly, Guillermo and Whitney did not make the cut and were eliminated this week.

Guillermo was robbed! 

Whitney was robbed!!

AMERICA WAS ROBBED!!!

***********************************

Next up is a song suggested by son Dean and friend Jan so...

"Don't fuck it up! Don't fuck it up!"

Here's "Sports Anthem" by Mutant Ninja Sex Turtle!

Goddammit! "I FUCKED IT UP!"

That's Ninja Sex Party!

Finishing off our sports themed edition of Your Friday Video Link, here's Garfunkel and Oates with "Sports! Go Sports!"

Yay for sportsball! 

And that's quite enough of that.  

Tomorrow it's Movie Time and after that Star Trekking on Sunday! 

No sports!! 

Remember to be good to one another.

And may you sportsball team be victorious in sports! 

Your Friday Video Link Gets Sidetracked

When I'm travelling, I will see a road veering off the main highway and I will wonder where that road goes to, what sights may be seen by going off on a thin strip of road curling through the trees or around a hill or over a river.

On Your Friday Video Link today, we're going to meet a man for whom such quests and questions are a way off life. 

This is Sidetrack Adventures hosted by Steve! 

Based out of San Diego, Steve ventures forth to explore all sorts of roads: 

• back roads
• side roads
• abandoned roads 
• the roads less travelled

Along the way, Steve discovers historic and hidden landmarks. 

Let's start with a trek Steve made on a 100 mile stretch of read described as "The Most Desolate Highway In California". 

Desolate? But Steve will still make this journey interesting. 

Steve tracks Route 66 through the Mojave Desert and explores some ghost towns along this iconic route.  

Sidetrack Adventures is more than just Steve fixing a camera on his dashboard and randomly babbling about what he sees. This guy puts some serious work into these videos. 

He incorporates drone footage to provide context for the roads he explores. He researches the history of the places he journeys to and includes archival maps and photos.  

This next video is a bit long but I found it particularly fascinating.  Steve explores the entirety of Las Vegas Boulevard miles and miles before it becomes the iconic stretch of highway known as The Strip.

Every road begins somewhere and this journey starts with a stretch of highway that is barely more than rubble and sometimes not even paved.  

Here is an interview with Steve about who he is and why he does what he does.

I'm enjoying these Sidetrack Adventures and Steve's exploration of the question, "Hey! Where does that road go to?"

That's is that for this week's edition of Your Friday Video Link.

We're back this weekend with Movie Time and Star Trekking.

Until next time, remember to be good to one another.

And safe travels exploring the road less traveled.  

Your Friday Video Link Goes To the Dogs!

Like it says in the title:

Your Friday Video Link goes to the dogs! 

First up is Pop-Tart who finds a safe and loving forever home but it takes awhile for her to believe she's gonna be OK.

Your next video is a shelter dog going through a gamut of emotions realizing he's being adopted.  

Finally, a little kitten meets a Labrador puppy and it's TOO CUTE!   

That is that for this week's Your Friday Video Link.

Over the weekend, we've got Movie Time and Star Trekking.

Until next time, remember to be good to one another.

Especially be good to dogs.  

Your Friday Video Link: Are You Ed Sheeran?

Since Ed Sheeran's been in the news lately,  this week, Your Friday Video Link asks the question: Are you Ed Sheeran?

Doctor Who would like to know.  

Also in the news lately is the promise... and threat... of A.I.

From Saturday Night Live - U.K., King Charles is forced to confront this dichotomy of A.I. in a very familiar form.

Also Ed Sheeran turns up. 

And that's all the Ed Sheeran we can take for today.

We're back this weekend with Movie Time and Star Trekking.

Until next time, remember to be good to one another. 

Even Ed Sheeran.   

Your Friday Video Link: Kathleen Madigan

 

One my of favorite female stand up comics is Kathleen Madigan. Today's edition of Your Friday Video Link has some short clips of Kathleen at work.  

First up is a clip of Katheleen pondering "Mom's Mystery Pills".    

Kathleen contemplates the difference between Drunk Friend and Pothead Friends.  

Here's a crucial question for rural Missouri:  "Should people who can't read be allowed to hunt?"

Kathleen has an answer for that. 

That is that for this week's Your Friday Video Link.

Tomorrow's Movie Time is about a legal drama for the ages, an epic battle of the little guy going up against corporate greed and corruption. 

And we have more Star Trekking the day after that.

Until next time, remember to be good to one another. 

And be careful of the pills you take, even if they come from your mother.  

Your Friday Video Link Set At Random

Welcome to this week's edition of Your Friday Video Link.

Usually for these YFVL posts, I come up with some kind of unifying theme.

Not this week.

I've set the YFVL controls for random and what do we get?

Unicorns! 

Unicorns, Charlie!  

Unicorns that will take us to Candy Mountain, Charlie! 

OK, the YFVL controls go all random and shit and gives us this:

Ryan George explains Q Tips!

What do you do with Q Tips?

You put them in your ear! 

NO! They don't go in your ear holes! 

Stop putting them in your ears!  

You have Q Tips in your ear holes, dontcha? 

Random! Random! Random! 

The YFVL gives us a penguin whodunit! 

OK, I think I need a break from Your Friday Video Link.

So no YFVL post next week.

Next Friday is the 25th anniversary of the September 11 the attacks and I'm going to need to be serious about that.

Tomorrow: it's another Whodunit and Howdunit and Whydunit! 

Sherlock Holmes solves a perplexing case of murder for this week's Movie Time.

Your Friday Video Link: Banana Ball Is Frozen! (And Wicked! And Dirty!)

I have posted before about the phenomenon of Banana Ball, a wild and wacky variation of minor league baseball which combines the game with episodes of theatricality.

Like what happened at Coors Field stadium in Denver on August 16, 2026.  

Kristen Bell surprised fans at the Savannah Bananas game in Denver with a live performance of “For the First Time in Forever” from Frozen. 

Broadway star Derek Klena joined her on the field for a medley of songs from Wicked and Dirty Dancing.

Your Friday Video Link provides a record of that performance.

That show was awesome and the Dirty Dancing lift was epic.

Here is Banana Ball Commissioner Jesse Cole discussing the work and planning that went into that performance.

And that is a wrap on this week's edition of Your Friday Video Link.

We're back tomorrow with Movie Time! 

Until next time, remember to be good to one another. 

Your Friday Video Link: Feeling Groovy

Hello young folk!

What you're shakin'?

I gotta try that scene you're makin'!

This is Dave-El and I am here to show you that I am down with the young people.

I get where you're comin' from, dudes and dudettes!

Your Friday Video Link#1 is... whatever this is.

FUN FACT: Did you know Liberace was gay?

My mom did not know that. 

A lot of mothers and grandmothers were oblivious to this fact.

A lot of them entertained the notion of their daughters marrying a good honest red blooded American man like LIberace. 

Up next for Your Friday Video Link#2,it's... this thing.

FUN FACT:  "The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins", released in 1967, appeared on Leonard Nimoy's SECOND album. Yep, Mr. Nimoy put out more than one album.

The same guy who (checks notes) "sung" that song about The Hobbit recorded FIVE albums. 

• Leonard Nimoy Presents Mr. Spock's Music from Outer Space (1967)
• Two Sides of Leonard Nimoy (1968)
• The Way I Feel (1968)
• The Touch of Leonard Nimoy (1969)
• The New World of Leonard Nimoy (1970)

I'm kind of curious about that 4th one. What does it mean to experience "the touch of Leonard Nimoy"? 

Your mind to my mind.

Your thoughts to my thoughts.

Anybody else feeling... tingly? 

OK, this is getting kinda weird, guys!  

Your Friday Video Link#3 is.... some other 3rd thing.  

FUN FACT:  In addition to Petula Clark's 1966 hit "Sign Of the Times", Harry Styles, Prince, The Belle Stars, Slade, Bryan Ferrry and Queensrÿche have all released different songs with that title.  

ANOTHER FUN FACT: Petula Clark, born November 1932, is as of today still alive and still active at 94 years old.   

I hope you've enjoyed today's post. 

I think we've had a laugh or two, experienced a little joy in our hearts and maybe even learned a little something today.

The 1960's were fucking weird, man! 

Your Friday Video Link: Glen Hansard

I was saddened to hear of the passing of Glen James Angus Hansard last week. 

Hansaes was an Irish singer and actor who starred in the musical drama Once (2007), which earned awards including the Academy Award for Best Original Song for "Falling Slowly", with Markéta Irglová. 

Below is a video of Glen and Markéta performing "Falling Slowly" which is one of my all time favorite songs.  

Glen and Markéta's performance in Once was iconic enough to warrant parody on The Simpsons.

A few years ago, David Lettermen went to Ireland to film a documentary called “Bono & The Edge: A Sort of Homecoming".

While in Ireland, Dave spent some time with Glen.  He posted a video from that time and wrote this in tribute.

"I spent time with Glen on a train to Dublin. He was smart and kind and I was immediately fond of him. A new father, full of excitement about his son. We talked about U2, Irish music, and fatherhood, and it was all magical.  He was new to me, but not a stranger. I often think of Glen and our train ride to Dublin."

Glen Hansard died in a motorcycle crash on July 29th.    

Tributes poured in from around the world from U2's Bono, Bruce Springsteen, Lin-Manuel Miranda amd President Barack Obama and hundreds more. 

It is a testatment to the man's talent and goodness that so many people have been compelled to give voice to their grief and their admiration for his life and his gifts.   

A public wake was held on August 3rd in the Baroque Chapel at the Irish Museum of Modern Art in Kilmainham, Dublin, and was attended by more than 11,000 people.

Hansard's funeral was held the following day at St Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin.

Glen Hansard with a gentle, kind soul beloved by so many people and it is truly a tragedy that he is no longer with us.

"Take this sinking boat and point it home."

We no longer have time but we have memories of a good man and a wonderful talent.

Your Friday Video Link: Hindley Street Country Club

 

About a week ago, I was bopping around on You Tube and stumbled across what might now be my favorite cover band, the Hindley Street Country Club.

Your Friday Video Link#1 is  HSCC covering "Something About You" by Level 42.

Who are these people? Hindley Street Country Club (HSCC) is an Australian music project that has become one of the most widely viewed cover music acts the world over with over one billion cumulative views across various platforms.   

HSCC was established in 2017. So how come I'm only NOW hearing about this group?  

Next up is Your Friday Video Link#2  fearturing HSCC version of "Easy Lover" by Phillipo Bailey and Phil Collins.

The Hindley Street Country Club derives its name from Hindley Street in Adelaide, South Australia which had a thriving live music scene in the latter part of the 20th century.

The band has been made up of a rotating lineup of local musicians, depending on what is required to reproduce the original song.

Would HSCC dare to cover a classic by Boston? Your Friday Video Link#3 is these guys doing just that with "More Than A Feeling"  

These are just three selections by the HSCC. The group is quite prolific and now that I've "discovered" them, You Tube is constantly feeding me another fantastic cover by the band. 

That is that for this week's post of Your Friday Video Link. Remember to be good to one another and to always keep the music alive. 

Your Friday Video Link: Homer Simpson's The Odyssey

The Odyssey from director Christopher Nolan is currently in theaters amassing major box office and glowing reviews.

It's 3 hours long.

Or you can cover the epic tale in a few minutes. Your Friday Video Link is a summary of Homer Simpson as Odysseus.

Keeping this post short and sweet, guys! Got a lot on my plate.

Until next time, remember to be good to one another.

Your Friday Video Link: Tiny Trains

By Germany's North Frisian Wadden Sea is a very unusual length of railroad track: the Lüttmoorsiel–Nordstrandischmoor island railway. 

Residents operate their own small diesel-powered rail vehicles, known as "Loren", to travel between Nordstrandischmoor and the mainland. 

Your Friday Video Link#1 shows Tom Scott exploring this remarkable  railway.  

Your Friday Video Link#2  is from a camera mounted the front of a Loren making the trek from Lüttmoorsiel to Nordstrandischmoor.  When you get to the 6 minute mark, the journey gets a little freaky as the rail bed gets very narrow and at time is swamped by waves washing in from the North Frisian Wadden Sea. 

Your Friday Video Link#3 is a different kind of tiny train, a garden railway with a scale model of an Amtrak passenger train.

And that is that for this week's post of Your Friday Video Link.

Remember to keep your train on track and to be good to one another.   

Your Friday Video Link: It's Sid the Cussing Bunny, You #$@&%*!

From The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson, it's Sid the Cussing Bunny! 

• It's a bunny.
• Named Sid.
• Who cusses.

Are we clear on the #$@&%*! concept?  

Sid's job is to hurl abuse at Craig Ferguson's #$@&%*! audience.

Your Friday Video Link#1, Sid has a few choice   #$@&%*! words with Gina from #$@&%*! Seattle.   

Your Friday Video Link#2, Jessica from #$@&%*! Atlanta is subject to Sid's crude #$@&%*! verbosity.

Your Friday Video Link#3, Sid has some #$@&%*! things to say to Rachel and do not believe her #$@&%*! shirt! She is not from #$@&%*! Scotland but from New #$@&%*! Hampshire.

                                 

  And that was Sid the Cussing Bunny! 

I hope you #$@&%*! enjoyed that, you #$@&%*! #$@&%*!

Yoir Friday Video Link: Happy Birthday, America!

Tomorrow is the 4th of July, marking the 250th birthday of the United States of America! 

I know you may not be in a celebratory mood but let's try to give it a go, eh?

Your Friday Video Link#1 is Stephen Colbert teaming with a bunch of people all across this great land of ours to sing the National Anthem.  

This musical moment kicked off the very first episode of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert. 

Your Friday Video Link#2 offers up a lesson in American history and geography as Wakko Warner from Animaniacs offers up a musical overview of our states and capitals.  

Your Friday Video Link#3 presents a somber and respectful tribute to the greatest nation on Earth as only the Muppets can! 

Happy 250th anniversary to the United States of America! 

Well, it was a good run while it lasted.

Your Friday Video Link: OMG! Look At the CATS!

In addition to watching the canal in Duluth MN or the train station in LaPlata MO, Andrea and I have found another live stream to soak up what's left of our aging brain cells, Furball Farms in Faribault MN.  

Your Friday Video Link for this week starts with a 24 hour live stream of a whole bunch of cats.  

Furball Farm Cat Sanctuary is a sanctuary for feral cats. They do not accept owner surrenders but focus on cats who have no humans to provide care.  

The live stream shows cats playing, exploring, eating and sleeping in a safe environment. Feral cats are inherently distrustful of humans and may not make good pets until they learn to trust humans.   

After Andrea and I have checked to see if there are any ships in the canal entering or leaving Lake Superior or if the Southwest Chief has stopped in LaPlata, we'll go check on our cats.

On the subject of trains and cats, the next video link is of a model train that traverses a garden in Germany.  Follow the Gartenbahn as it navigates the garden past small houses and a very large cat.

Next up is a production of Romeo And Juliet... and a cat! 

The last cat my mom had before she went into assisted living was a dark grey and white cat named Oreo.

I thought a better name for the cat was Bonkers.

Because, well, he was.  Very... bonkers. 

So I annoited him with the full name of Oreo J.Bonkers.

Speaking cats being bonkers, our last video link for today is a compilation of cats being weird, funny, crazy, strange... you know, bonkers.   

I hope you enjoyed all the cats.

I'm back tomorrow with I presume a Movie Time post.  

I better get to writing that.  

Until next time, remember to be good to one another.  

"Guys! We gotta get started on
tomorrow's blog post!" 

Your Friday Video Link: Cover Story with the Cranberries and the Dum Dum Girls

This week's edition of Your Friday Video Link features a couple of songs that are in heavy rotation on my song list.

How have I gone 27 years without knowing this kick ass performance existed?

From a show in Paris in 1999, the Cranberries cover Fleetwood Mac's "You Can Go Your Own Way".

It's sadder than sad that Dolores O'Riordan is no longer with us.

Next up is the Dum Dum Girls who have my attentiion when I'm not listening to Metric.

"There Is a Light That Never Goes Out" was originally performed by Smiths, written by their guitarist Johnny Marr and lead vocalist Morrissey.

But the version I discovered first and still like the best is by the Dum Dum Girls.

They did not shoot a video for this song so here's a lyric video.

There are some really weird lyrics in this song about how nice it would be to be killed by a truck or a bus, as long as you're with the one you love.

And that is that for this week's Your Friday Video Link.

Tomorrow, we're back with Movie Time. With Tom Hanks back in theaters as Woody in Toy Story 5, it seems like a good time to look back at a forgotten Tom Hanks classic where he plays a 1930's gangster.

And we're back on Sunday with more Star Trek stuff.

Until next time, remember to be good to one another.

Your Friday Video Link: Anthony Stewart Head

Alas we are still grieving the loss of Anthony Stewart Head who passed away last week at age 72.

Today's edition of Your Friday Video Link provides some examples of Mr. Head's incredible talents.  

We'll start with Anthony Stewart Head as Rupert Giles from Buffy the Vampire Slayer barely tolerating the teenagers in his midst.

(My favorite bit starts at 3:07.)   

Giles was mostly a nebbish book worm nerd but in the role as Buffy's Watcher, serving as her mentor, guardian and trainer, he could demonstrate surprising traits and skills.

Like turning into a bad ass motherfucker who will kill you if you cross him.

Or singing! 

Next up: Giles sings Free Bird!

And for the Doctor Who fans, the Doctor confronts Mr. Finch! 

More of Mr. Head playing the bad guy from Ted Lasso.

Anthony Head as the romantic lead....in a coffee commercial?

There was a whole series of these where Anthony's character has a meet cute with this beautiful woman and over various dates (that involved coffee, of course), their relationship evolves and grows into true love... for each other.... and for coffee. 

Anthony Stewart Head was quite the predigious and versitile talent and he will be missed.   

Your Friday Video Link: Jeopardy and Does Ken Jennings Know S**t?

Today Your Friday Video Link turns to Jeopardy to ask the question:

Does Ken Jennings know shit? 

During a Q&A with the Jeopardy audience, the question of contestants NOT knowing shit comes up....and Ken has a surprising answer about one contestant who did not.

And that is that for this week's Your Friday Video Link.

We're back tomorrow with Movie Time.

As always, remember to be good to one another.

Not everybody knows their shit.  

Your Friday Video Link: We Got Our Boy Back!

Yesterday afternoon, I logged into You Tube to find some music or a podcast to listen to while I was working and immediately saw this video.

Wait! John Reardon, Charlie Hudson his own bad self, is back on Hudson & Rex?

Really?!?!

I wanted to believe it but I didn't want to be suckered in by some AI shit.

Excitedly, I showed the video to my wife.

"Andrea! Look at this! Tell me if you think this is real?" 

She thought it looked real but like me, she's wary of being taken in by AI.

A quick Google confirmed what we were looking at was real. 

Various reputable sources (Hollywood Reporter, TV Insider, etc) were all reporting the news: John Reardon would be returning to Hudson & Rex for season 9 this fall.  

Our son Dean heard the news and texted us, "You got your boy back!"  

We lost our boy at the start of season 7 when John Reardon had to take time off to receive treatment for throat cancer.

Charlie Hudson was written out of the rest of season, off on a mission to save his brother in South America.   

While John Reardon finished his treatment and made a full recovery, the show's producers decided not to bring him back.

Season 7 ends with news that Charlie was shot and he fell in a river.  His body was not recovered and was presumed dead.

Sarah was devastated.

She and Charlie were living together in domestic bliss and making all the Hudson & Rex fans feel mushy inside.  We shipped them as "Charah".  

Here's a clip of Charlie and Sarah being all warm and cozy at home while Charlie teaches Rex how to gamble.

How did Hudson & Rex go on with out Hudson?  Most of season 7 saw Sarah, Jesse and Joe doing field work, filling in for the absent Charlie Hudson.

Season 8 brought on Luke Robetrs as (I am NOT making this up) Detective Mark Hudson.

Not related to Charlie. Just a coinkiidink that his last name is also Hudson.

After running on Canadian TV last fall, season 8 will be available to American audiences on UP TV starting June 11th.

Andrea and I have no intention of watching this. 

Apparently this was a sentiment shared by a lot of Canadians who made their dissatisfaction known.  

We don't want "Marah".

WE WANT "CHARAH!"

And it looks like, as Dean said, "we got our boy back!"  

In fhe mean time, here's a bonus Your Friday Video Link which looks at the Art of Dog Acting.

Dogs don't know they're in a movie?

That is that for this week's Your Friday Video Link.

We're back tomorrow for Movie Time as we go from dogs to sea creatures.

Until next time, remember to be good to one another.