YouTube chose to celebrate its fifth birthday today by announcing it has passed two billion video views a day; that’s nearly double the three broadcast networks combined during their “primetime” evening slot. YouTube said it reached the one billion mark in October. The celebration was marked by the launch of the YouTube Five Year channel. There you can upload your story of how YouTube has changed...

It means Islam. It means Muslims. It means that an Arab-American woman from Dearborn, Michigan, who wins the Miss USA beauty pageant contest gets called “Miss Hezbollah” for the sole reason that her family comes from Lebanon:

Coming in October with a screenplay by Aaron Sorkin, creator of The West Wing, the film is a black comedy called The Social Network. Those who have read the script say it will be brutal: Based on Ben Mezrich’s 2009 book The Accidental Billionaires, it portrays Zuckerberg as a borderline autistic, entirely ruthless conniver. Nothing sways public opinion like a movie—and this scorcher could counteract...

We are all human and as such we all have our failings and peccadilloes. I for example, sometimes sneak downstairs in the middle of the night and steal a scoop or two of Ben & Jerry’s Chocolate Fudge Brownie ice cream—an ice cream specially bought and specially reserved for our grandson when he visits us. Some of us have some more serious character flaws such as disliking Republicans. But then again,...

NBC cancels “Law & Order” — reportedly nixing a 21st season and making producer Dick Wolf, who felt he had a deal, very angry.

It’s election year…aka the silly season…and since politicians of both parties are now busy giving voters a song and dance, how about some real ones…vaudeville style? First, a song by legendary jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald and vaudeville/radio/tv star Jimmy Durante: Bill Bailey…with the boffo vaudeville style ending (from the 1960s ABC variety show The Hollywood Palace): And now...

In talking with a younger person about comedy today he mentioned that he had seen one of the classic “The Honeymooners” DVDs with episodes from the 50s and loved it. I explained to him how (literally and figuratively) big Gleason was, right up until his death in the early 80s. And how he was the inspiration for Fred Flintstone. Now a catch phrase of his has had a second life on a popular episode...

“Six o’clock already I was just in the middle of a dream. I was kissing Valentino by a crystal blue Italian stream….”

Bad Romance, by Lady Gaga. It just passed 200 million views on You Tube. I guess I’m not the only one. FYI, this is the real video, not a parody put together by our troops in Afghanistan.

A four-year-old offers this Mother’s Day rap.

Betty White did it: at age 88 — and literally by popular (Facebook) demand — she hosted Saturday Night Live. Here’s video of the opening sketch: Here’s another sketch that many critics today are writing about: A spoof on the old Lawrence Welk Show which still runs on PBS: NBC’s website offers this interview with White about her thoughts on hosting Saturday Night Live: Here’s...

The art of pantomime is nearly lost in most films and TV (Great Britain’s late Benny Hill was the last great TV practioner). And here is a rarity: Harpo Marx, who never spoke in his role in the classic Marx Brothers vaudelle and movies comedy team…appearing in a 1959 episode of the Kraft Music Hall. It’s videotape so it looks more “live.” If you’re a younger TMV you can see...

New information may be breaking on Elvis Presley’s cause of death. To boil it all down, Elvis may have died because he was full of crap: It has been widely reported that Elvis Presley died in 1977 from cardiac arrhythmia, an irregular heartbeat, possibly brought on by drug dependency, obesity and a weak heart. But the music legend’s longtime friend and physician, Dr. George “Nick” Nichopoulos,...

Exactly one week ago, I was born in a small town in Ecuador. From what I remember of the first day of my life, it was joyful, carefree, full of love, full of fun. I especially remember my Grandfather, the kindest person I ever knew. I was very close to him. His name was Justo Rodríguez. I called him “Papá Justito.” I still see his kind, smiling face. That first day went by much too quickly and when...

Politics and sports are frequently connected by overarching issues in society, especially when dealing with race and money. On the issue of money, I agree with J.A. Adande (ESPN’s “Around the Horn”) that sports and politics are connected in fiscal matters surrounding the public financing of sports stadiums. On the question of the Arizona Immigration Law, my question is: Should a sports...

I’d like to believe that we’ve learned something as a society from the political crimes and mistakes of the past, but listening to Phil Ochs sing “Here’s to the State of Richard Nixon,” it’s depressingly amazing how accurately those lyrics still describe what’s going on today:

Forget about adding the late Corey Haim’s name to the list of former child actors or older actors who died of a drug overdose. He and those who believed in him have now been vindicated: it turns out he died of natural causes, including heart damage and pneumonia. A NOTE ON THAT: More than 10 years ago, while I was performing my school assembly at schools in the Marysville, Sacramento area, I felt like...

It’s now the stuff of Baby Boomer legend. Once upon a time — specifically, 1967 — Tom and Dick Smothers, a rising brother comedy team folks singing parody nightclub act, a big hit on Jack Paar’s Tonight show, and The Jack Benny Show, were given their own TV show on Sunday nights almost as sacrificial lambs to try and take on the NBC powerhouse competition killer “Bonanza.”...

Just another date night in 21st century America as Times Square is evacuated by a crude car bomb while the President delivers one-liners to black-tied media in Washington. “We are very lucky,” New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg tells a 2 a.m. press conference after the disarming of an amateurish device of gasoline, barbecue-grill propane and fireworks. “We avoided what could have been a very deadly event.” He...

Hey, Roman Polanski! You’re perfectly willing to use the media to present your “case.” So, decrying the possibility your being served up on a media platter if you are successfully extradited to the US doesn’t move me. You broke the law and then skipped the country. It’s time to pay the piper, man! [This was crossposted at my personal blog.]

The new and old media conventional wisdom is shaping up: President Barack Obama wowed ‘em in his comedy set at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner while headliner Jay Leno seemed off his game. Here’s the full video of the two stand-up bits so you can judge for yourself: Here are some of my observations (my earlier ones are on my Twitter account) on these two comedy sets that...

Apple: You Can Ridicule Obama, but Don’t Bash Tiger Woods By Daryl Cagle Should newspaper editorial cartoonists be banned from drawing cartoons about some selected, famous people? Many believe we should not be allowed to draw the Prophet Muhammad — but how about banning us from drawing Tiger Woods? If Apple has its way, iPhone users won’t see cartoonists commenting about Tiger, and other topics that...

Here it is…over 1,350,000 hits on You Tube so far:

While perusing the blogosphere today, I noticed about two-thirds of all posting titles include the word Arizona.  It seems Arizona is the new healthcare or Paris Hilton.  By the way, since I just used the words Paris Hilton, my blog will be linked to about fifty more sites.  With this in mind, I’d also like to say Alec Baldwin, Steve Jobs, Lebron James, Glenn Beck, and Acacia Berry.  Oh, and why don’t...

Dora the Explorer (Nick Jr.) In the aftermath of Arizona’s immigration law, I want to know if Dora the Explorer can stay on the airwaves in the state. After all, we know she is Hispanic and probably not a U.S. citizen. I think the law is stupid not to mention unconstitutional. If it gets enacted before a federal judge hears it, probably the Supreme Court, I will be very surprised. Every Mexican...