Actor Zach Galifiankis has been using his comedy of awkwardness to interview various guests on his fake cable access show, “Between Two Ferns,” on the Funny or Die comedy website. The “show,” which runs only a few minutes, has featured such superstars as Justin Bieber, Jennifer Aniston, and Sean Penn. This week, he scored what might be his most powerful guest, President Barack Obama (“Community Organizer”).
The show approached the president about appearing as a way to promote the Affordable Care Act. And the president went along with the idea, partaking in Galifiankis’s offbeat humor while encouraging folks to sign up at healthcare.gov. And the president gives back too. When Galifiankis asks, “What is it like to be the last black president?,” Pres. Obama responds, “What is it like for this to be the last time you ever talk to a president?” Check it out.
This month marks the fiftieth anniversary of the February 1964 debut of the Hasbro action figure G.I. Joe. The toy was the first to be called an “action figure” (never call it a “doll”). The creators at Hasbro included several military veterans, so their own experiences inspired the military-themed toy.
I can still remember when my G.I. Joes shifted from plastic molded hair to “real” hair and beards, or at least what seemed like real hair. I was lucky that my toy-playing days coincided with the full-sized 12-inch Joes. In the late 1970s, as criticism of the Vietnam War grew, Hasbro played down the military aspect of the toy, rebranding the Joes as an “Adventure Team.” The worst change came later, when in 1980, the new Joe was shrunk to the size of a Star Wars action figure, 3-3/4 inches. G.I. Joes later would get a boost in popularity with cartoons and movies.
Check out this short video about the history below and also see the story in Slate.
For fans of the cartoon, Robot Chicken did a funny parody of the G.I. Joe approach to fighting the enemy in this video, “G.I. No,” as the Joes take on the Taliban instead of their usual enemy Cobra. Check it out.
What are your memories of G.I. Joe? Leave your two cents in the comments.
In honor of Presidents’ Day, CBS Sunday Morningmade a visit to the home of Millard Fillmore, the Thirteenth President of the United States, in East Aurora, New York (near Buffalo). In this segment, Mo Rocca asks whether President Fillmore is underrated as a president. Note that even Fillmore’s biographer does not like the former president. Check it out.
Who is the most underrated president? Leave your two cents in the comments.
On February 15 in 1903, the first Teddy bears appeared in a toy store window. The name for the bears was inspired by the man who was the president of the United States.
Morris Michtom, who owned a toy store, had written a letter to President Theodore Roosevelt asking permission to use the name “Teddy” for his bears. The president gave his approval. Other toy makers soon followed Michtom’s lead in naming stuffed bears, leading to the popular Teddy bear.
The Inspiration for the First Teddy Bear
The stories of the details about the event that inspired Michtom’s letter vary somewhat. But it is clear that Michtom got the idea from President Roosevelt’s encounter with a bear. While hunting in Mississippi in 1902, President Roosevelt, who would later found the Bull Moose Party, showed mercy to a bear.
Some stories today claim the bear was a cub tied to a tree, but it more likely was an old bear. Either way, the incident illustrated another side of Roosevelt. Political cartoonists portrayed the event by illustrating a cub, showing the tough Roosevelt as a softy at heart.
“(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear”
The most famous song about Teddy bears was released more than five decades later in 1957. That year, a rock icon showed his softer Teddy bear side.
Elvis Presley sang “(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear” in the movie Loving You (1957), his second film and his first in color. The song went to number one on the charts that year.
“Boll Weevil” And Its Connection to “(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear”
Kal Mann and Bernie Lowe wrote “(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear,” but part of the inspiration for the song came indirectly from an insect. Wikipedia and other sources report that the song’s roots go back to a traditional blues song, “Boll Weevil.”
In “Boll Weevil,” a boll weevil talks to a farmer, threatening the cotton crop while looking for a home. The song has been around since at least the 1920s, and it may have its origins in Roosevelt’s time.
One of the most famous early recordings of “The Boll Weevil” was by Lead Belly in the 1930s.
Can you hear “Teddy Bear” in Lead Belly’s song? If not, listen to singer-songwriter Brook Benton‘s version of “The Boll Weevil Song,” which became a hit in 1961.
Now you hear it, don’t you? And now you know, how a bull moose, a bear, and a beetle helped give Elvis Presley a hit song.
Cartoon by by Clifford Berryman via public domain.What are your favorite songs about bears and bugs? Leave your two cents in the comments.
As we celebrate Abraham Lincoln’s birthday on February 12, check out this video of “Every Known Photograph of Abraham Lincoln.” While there has been a few discoveries of additional photos since this video was made — including a possible young Lincoln photo from a few years ago and another photo in 2013, it still is a cool collection of almost all of the known photographs. Check it out.
