Sesame Street Puppets

When I was a kid I had the Ernie hand puppet and my brother had Bert. These aren't our original puppets, but there still pretty cool.

I bought these finger puppets on eBay not too long ago. I know we had Oscar and maybe a few more back in the day. The Sherlock Hemlock and Salesman finger puppets are harder to find in good condition. The ones I see are usually missing the hats.

Downloading Problems

There seems to have been a problem with my Rapidshare files for the last couple of days. I just checked them and it looks like it's been fixed. If you were trying to download something, try it again. Hopefully the links works.

If you'd like to show your appreciation for the stuff that I post on the Wonderful Wonderblog, how about donating a few dollars to my Step Out: Walk to Fight Diabetes campaign. The link is at the top of the sidebar.

Thanks everyone!

Sesame Shirts

I have four Sesame Street shirts among my many t-shirts (I know, I'm a big dork). :)

Somebody Come and Play...

I noticed that it's Sesame Street Week over at PlaidStallions. So, I thought that I'd try to post some classic stuff from The Street this week.

I love Sesame Street. It's the greatest kids show of all time! Jim Henson was a genius. I'm gonna start off with some clips from YouTube --

Be sure to visit these fine folks YouTube Channels for more classic videos.

From asaweryold.

Does anyone remember when Oscar the Grouch was orange? This is "I Love Trash" from the first season (1969).

S For Superman (1970)

From BipBippadotta.

Roosevelt Franklin Elementary Poison

Countdown

Fat Cat Sat Hat

From sawing14s.

Grover The Elevator Operator

M For Magic

Yip Yip Aliens Discover a Radio

Visit the official Sesame Street Channel at YouTube. They have a bunch of classic and newer clips. Unfortunately, embedding has been disabled for these.

Jerry Reed, R.I.P

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Jerry Reed, a singer who became a good ol' boy actor in car chase movies like "Smokey and the Bandit," has died of complications from emphysema at 71.

His longtime booking agent, Carrie Moore-Reed, no relation to the star, said Reed died early Monday.

"He's one of the greatest entertainers in the world. That's the way I feel about him," Moore-Reed said.

Sony BMG Nashville Chairman Joe Galante called Reed a larger-than-life personality.

"Everything about Jerry was distinctive: his guitar playing, writing, voice and especially his sense of humor," Galante said. "I was honored to have worked with him."

Reed's catalog of country chart hits, from 1967 through 1983, were released under the label group's RCA imprint.

As a singer in the 1970s and early 1980s, Reed had a string of hits that included "Amos Moses," "When You're Hot, You're Hot," "East Bound and Down," "She Got the Goldmine (I Got the Shaft)" and "The Bird."

In the mid-1970s, he began acting in movies such as "Smokey and the Bandit" with Burt Reynolds, usually as a good ol' boy. But he was an ornery heavy in "Gator," directed by Reynolds, and a hateful coach in 1998's "The Waterboy," starring Adam Sandler.

Reynolds gave him a shiny black 1980 Trans Am like the one they used in "Smokey and the Bandit."

Reed and Kris Kristofferson paved the way for Nashville music personalities to make inroads into films. Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson and Kenny Rogers (TV movies) followed their lead.

"I went around the corner to motion pictures," he said in a 1992 AP interview.

Reed had quadruple bypass surgery in June 1999.

Born in Atlanta, Reed learned to play guitar at age 8 when his mother bought him a $2 guitar and showed him how to play a G-chord.

He dropped out of high school to tour with Ernest Tubb and Faron Young.

At 17, he signed his first recording contract, with Capitol Records.

He moved to Nashville in the mid-1960s where he caught the eye of Chet Atkins.

He first established himself as a songwriter. Elvis Presley recorded two of his songs, "U.S. Male" and "Guitar Man" (both in 1968). He also wrote the hit "A Thing Called Love," which was recorded in 1972 by Johnny Cash. He also wrote songs for Brenda Lee, Tom Jones, Dean Martin, Nat King Cole and the Oak Ridge Boys.

Reed was voted instrumentalist of the year in 1970 by the Country Music Association.

He won a Grammy Award for "When You're Hot, You're Hot" in 1971. A year earlier, he shared a Grammy with Chet Atkins for their collaboration, "Me and Jerry." In 1992, Atkins and Reed won a Grammy for "Sneakin' Around."

Reed continued performing on the road into the late 1990s, doing about 80 shows a year.

"I'm proud of the songs, I'm proud of things that I did with Chet (Atkins), I'm proud that I played guitar and was accepted by musicians and guitar players," he told the AP in 1992.

In a 1998 interview with The Tennessean, he admitted that his acting ability was questionable.

"I used to watch people like Richard Burton and Mel Gibson and think, `I could never do that.'

"When people ask me what my motivation is, I have a simple answer: Money."

Read more about Jerry Reed on IMDb and Wikipedia.

I was going to post the soundtrack to Smokey and the Bandit, but I see that it's been posted over at Dartman's World of Wonder. Go there and get it. Instead, I'll post the soundtrack to Smokey and the Bandit II. It's not as good as the first one, but it still provides a few chuckles.



Track Listing

1. Texas Bound and Flyin' - Jerry Reed
2. Charlotte's Web - The Statler Brothers
3. To Be Your Man - Don Williams
4. Ride Concrete Cowboy, Ride - Roy Rogers
5. Deliverance of the Wildwood Flower - The Bandit Band
6. Pecos Promenade - Tanya Tucker
7. Here's Lookin' At You - Mel Tillis
8. Do You Know You Are My Sunshine - The Statler Brothers
9. Again and Again - Brenda Lee
10. Let's Do Something Cheap and Superficial - Burt Reynolds
11. Tulsa Time - Don Williams
12. Pickin' Lone Star Style - The Bandit Band

Click the link below to download --

--> Smokey and the Bandit II OST <--

Don LaFontaine, R.I.P.

From Entertainment Tonight --

Voiceover Master Don LaFontaine has died. He was 68.

LaFontaine, known as the "King of Voiceovers," died Monday afternoon at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. LaFontaine's agent, Vanessa Gilbert, tells ET that he passed away following complications from Pneumothorax, the presence of air or gas in the pleural cavity, the result of a collapsed lung. The official cause of death has not yet been released.

Over the past 25 years, LaFontaine cemented his position as the "King of Voiceovers." Aside from being the preeminent voice in the movie trailer industry, Don also worked as the voice of Entertainment Tonight and The Insider, as well as for CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox and UPN, in addition to TNT, TBS and the Cartoon Network. By conservative estimates, he voiced hundreds of thousands of television and radio spots, including commercials for Chevrolet, Pontiac, Ford, Budweiser, McDonalds, Coke, and many other corporate sponsors.

He recently parodied himself on a series of national television commercials for Geico. At last count, he has worked on nearly 5000 films, including appearances as the in-show announcer for the Screen Actors Guild and Academy Awards. Based on contracts signed, he has the distinction of being perhaps the single busiest actor in the history of SAG. Don is survived by his wife -- singer/actress Nita Whitaker, and three children: Christine, Skye and Elyse.

Don LaFontaine Official Website

GEICO Commercial

The Pledge of Allegiance

Masters of the Universe Trailer

Sinbad of the Seven Seas Trailer

Superman IV Trailer

The Fly Trailer

Zombie Joke of the Day . . .

Q) What were the vegan's first words after being turned into a zombie?

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A) "Grains! GRAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNS!!!"

Step Out: Walk to Fight Diabetes

Dear Wonderful Wonderblog readers,

On October 5th I'm taking a very important step in the fight against diabetes. I'm going to join 200,000 participants and the American Diabetes Association (ADA) to Step Out to Fight Diabetes.

I've participated in this event almost every year for over 10 years.

Step Out: Walk to Fight Diabetes is a fund-raising walk, benefiting the ADA's mission: to prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes. Please support me by donating to my campaign.

Need more reasons to give? More than 20 million Americans suffer from diabetes, and another 54 million are at risk for developing diabetes.

Need another? It is fast and easy to support this great cause! You can make your donation online by clicking the link near the bottom of this message.

I appreciate your support and I'll keep you posted on my progress. Thank you very much!

The photos in this post are from the 2006 Walk and feature me, my son Kenny and my dog Lady.

Click here to visit my personal page and to make a donation.

Click here to find out all about diabetes.

Click here to take the diabetes risk test.

Least Favorite Downloads

I wanted to post this on the 2nd anniversary of the Wonderful Wonderblog (which was July 18) but I'm a slacker.

I currently have 42 active downloads posted on my blog. Nobody seems to have a problem finding the more popular ones, so I thought I'd list the top 10 LEAST downloaded files. Here they are --

Don Ho, Hawaiian Crooner, Dies

If Anybody Calls, Tell Them Barnaby Said 'Hello'...

20 Greatest Movies Based On Comic Books - The Music

Rubber Room by Porter Wagoner

Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde by The Who

Shell Kepler Tribute

Independence Day Mix

Return of the Jedi OST

America The Beautiful by Tennessee Ernie Ford

America For Me by Vincent Price

Wonderful Widget

Hey kids! I created a widget for my blog. Add it to your blog or website and let the world know of the wonders of the Wonderful Wonderblog. Get it here.

I couldn't get it to display here. If anyone snags it, let me know if it works.