There has been curiosity since 1966 of a tragic Paul McCartney car accident and the replacement of him by a double, affectionately known as Faul. Numerous detailed clues leading to such have been left since their Sgt. Pepper’s album. This “evidence” has been researched time and time again by Beatles fans and other seekers alike. The change of Paul McCartney’s character from 1966 to 1967 is odd at best. Interested researchers should do a google search as you may know and then try to grasp this particular take on it which we find interesting. And now, ladies and gentlemen, Sir Faul McCartney, summing up the feelings of many and the curiosity of all:

The legendary fake Paul McCartney, who replaced the real Paul when he died in 1966. We extend our love to him even though he’s been pulling this stunt for 45 years now. Please man, we have the internet now. We know. It’s ok, and we love you.

We feel a loss.

We have always admired DEVO. A fine pop group writing tunes based on their “Theory of Devolution” (which has never really been explained — yet we will). Devolution is the band’s music-making concept. Each album follows a particular theme, the live shows accompanying this theme with outfits, motion graphics and a particular artstyle which excites us to this day. DeVo evolving over the years from isolated art students into elder statesmen of a movement (one which never quite took) has a touch of melancholy. Gigging their new 2010 album, we find they still really f*****’ rock as they did here:

For further research, see their official website or a video on DEVO’S GEAR inside UFO, or some recent photos via last.fm event pages:

Now, why not try contemplating this youtube video with Mark Mothersbaugh. If you’re game, check out the entire? conspiracy starring DeVo, TiVo and BOB.

Check out the Smodcast homepage at http://smodcast.com/ – Children, please do NOT click that link! I said no! Hey, stop that! Noooooooooooooo! Honestly, we don’t need to be sued nor tarnish an otherwise pristine upbringing. We tried for a month to keep this blog family friendly and it just wasn’t working. We’re not fans of the politically correct but we are fans of Warnings.

Subscribe to Smodcast via iTunes – Again, same warning as above because  our legal department [sic] tells us we must. Enjoy!

Look Around You was created by Robert Popper and Peter Serafinowicz in 2002 and aired on BBC2. A hilariously funny, masterfully twisted spoof on a typical television learning series — one you may have watched or perhaps were forced to watch in school long ago. The sarcastic wit and love for non-sequiturs in this programme is what keeps us coming back again and again. The music by Gelg (Serafinowicz) is also a treat. Popper and Serafinowicz have moved on to other great comedy projects such as the religion of Tarvu, The IT Crowd and Peep Show.

You will learn about sulpher, germs, music, ghosts, water and your vision amongst other interesting subjects. We are proud to present to you (possibly momentarily) the Look Around You programme on Maths:

Look Around You (series one and two) is available on DVD if you can find it, or rerunning on BBC2, BBC America and Adult Swim.

Walt Disney’s and Jean Cocteau’s adaptations of Beauty and the Beast are both based on the very well-known eponymous fairy tale which was written by the French Madame Le Prince de Beaumont (1756). A fairy tale re-written for children, taming it down from the far more sensational original.

The first Beauty and the Beast (La Belle et la Bête) was written by Madame de Villeneuve in 1740. In her tale, the prince changed into a beast not only superficially but also in manners and mind. Every night, at dinner, the Beast asks the ritual question: “Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir, la Belle ?” which translates these days, not to a polite “Do you want to go to bed with me, beautiful?” but actually a lot more like “Do you wanna F*** me!?” And of course the princess is shocked and disgusted.

Now if you remember a very famous song, Lady Marmalade (written by Bob Crewe & Kenny Nolan, produced by Allen Toussaint) performed by some curiously-named Patti LaBelle. Patti even uses the capital “B” in the second part of her last name (pseudonym), as in the quite non-subtle original French version. Uncanny similarities? We speculate that this is indeed the true origin.

Now you know what Patti is really singing, that demanding Diva!
Enjoy this original song more than ever before with all of its expletives:

Gitchi gitchi ya ya da da
Gitchi gitchi ya ya here
Mocha Chocalata ya ya 
Creole lady Marmalade 
Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir ?!

As fantastical as it may sound, nature really did create neural networks, exposed in ancient beliefs, Hayao Miyazaki movies (Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle) and more recently Cameron’s Avatar. In actual reality this network is made up of mycelium (fungi, mushrooms) and can nourish the hungry, heal the sick, make bad people good and save the universe. Now this is serious, folks, pay attention. If you don’t have much time, jump to 8 minutes into this video and listen to the six ways mushrooms may save the earth:

Experience this excellent talk on saving mankind by mycologist Paul Stamets
via TED (below) or on YouTube (mobile-compatible).

FUN GUY DR. STAMETS ON TED #258

Fungi will break down toxins, turning them into simple sugars and carbohydrates. It will cure disease like H1N1 (known as Swine Flu in the USA) and the common cold. It can also do things like save all of humanity. Mycilenial wizard Paul Stamets explains how mycelium (fungi, mushrooms) was integral in our evolution and can be utilized to save the earth. His talk on TED is a concise 15 minutes of pure amazement, spanning from the beginning of earth until the crisis of contemporary man and of course some pretty far out things as you can imagine with any talk about mushrooms.

Much of the fungi thrives only in the Old Growth Forests of the Pacific Northwest, USA. We need to act fast and preserve these forests. More information was found on Save Our Old Growth dot org. This is some fairly random silliness:

Today, the 14th of February, 2010 is but a Hallmark Holiday in the United States and abroad some like to call Saint Valentine’s Day. In ancient (3500 yrs+) Chinese astrology, this is the first day of 寅 (The Year Of The Tiger, 14 Feb 2010 – 2 Feb 2011) which tends to come around every 12 years and more specifically every 48 years to get the same animal/elemental match — this year is the Metal Tiger. The Tiger symbolizes courage and fearless protection. We are going to need a lot of courage this year and luckily we’ll have it. Props to the ancient Chinese!

Les Paul and Mary Ford performing
HOLD THAT TIGER
from the 1953 “The Colgate Comedy Hour” tapings: