Year in Review: ...and the (RIP) Rest

Beverly Garland
Michael Crichton
Heath Ledger
Shell Kepler (Amy Vining on GH)
Roy Scheider
David Groh
William F. Buckley, Jr.
Ivan Dixon
Richard Widmark
Eddy Arnold
Yves Saint-Laurent
Sydney Pollack
Mel Ferrer
Cyd Charisse
Dody Goodman
Larry Harmon (Bozo)
Estelle Getty
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Isaac Hayes
Ralph Young (of Sandler & Young)
Jerry Reed
Gregory McDonald (Fletch)
Nick Reynolds (Kingston Trio)
Majel Roddenberry
Eartha Kitt
Stan Kann

"They're all gone..."
-- Jim McKay

Year In Review: The Most Popular Posts

What a strange, wonderful trip it has been.

I started this site as a way to organize my "Hey, look at this!" e-mails into one convenient location. (Hence the label "Hey Look"... get it?). Most of the site consists simply of links to other people's hard work and efforts (God Bless YouTube), but I try to throw my two cents in to keep things entertaining.

I will continue the site at least until May 26, 2009 - at which time I can at least say I did something consistently for one year.

Here are the Top 20 Most Popular posts on this site from May (first post ever) through December.

1. Bill Clinton's Nose
About eight times as many hits as anything else on the site.

2. SNL Calculator Sketch
My post about this skit comes up #4 or something on Google - go figure.

3. Can't Stop Eating
This was around the time the site stopped taking itself seriously.

4. Sykes Living in Delco
Since revealed to be some kind of Lesbian Love Nest. The site was so naive back then.

5. S From Hell (and Others)
People love scary logos.

6. Spider-Man's Greatest Bible Stories
I was heavily into posting copyrighted material by this point.

7. Superstar Pro Wrestling Game
Lots of sad geezers like me fondly remember this game.

8. Who's Nailin' Paylin?
I'm shocked this isn't #1.

9. Wildwood, NJ
Fave vacation destination of many of our readers.

10. Eagles Kids Club
Many share my fascination with this show.

11. Surf the Channel
Good place to watch otherwise unavailable TV shows.

12. Gobbledy Gooker
Wrestling at its finest.

13. Virginia O' Brien
Queen of Deadpan.

14. Beau Brummels
...on The Flintstones no less.

15. Solo Cups (Red Ones)
Even I don't remember what this post was about!

16. Obama Girl (Things I Hate)
Like Obama, hate Obama Girl.

17. Scary Logos Revisited
Because you can't get enough of those scary logos.

18. Dove - the Band of Love
...aka Devo.

19. Fantastic Four Radio Show
Featuring Bill Murray as The Human Torch.

20. Stan Kann
Gadget guru...RIP.

Have a Happy New Year!

Year in Review: Top 20 Famous Deaths of 2008 (Part Four of Four)

1. Tim Russert
This one really got to me. I watched Meet The Press most weekends, and it's always a shock when someone - even someone you only know from television - dies before their time.

2. Harvey Korman
Known primarily as Tim Conway's straight-man, he was equally talented and funny in his own right - especially in several of Mel Brooks' films such as Blazing Saddles and High Anxiety.

3. George Carlin
Hilarious and inventive stand-up in his day. I preferred the hippie version to his later "curmudgeon" schtick.

4. Will Elder
One of Mad's founding artists. I was so in awe of his technique as a child, that I copied it shamelessly in most of my drawings.

5. Dick Martin
The funny half of Rowan and Martin. I have fonder memories of watching Laugh-In than perhaps any other show from my early childhood.

Year in Review: Top 20 Famous Deaths of 2008 (Part Three of Four)

Just to clarify - this is a list of the people who passed in away in 2008 in order of whose work I most enjoyed. I will touch on those who didn't make the Top 20, but deserve honorable mention, before after revealing the Top 5 on New Year's Eve.

6. Forrest J. Ackerman (above)
Published Famous Monsters of Filmland, a horror mag I purchased about once a year (whenever comics were lean), but more importantly creator of one of the Golem's all-time favorite characters.

7. Paul Newman
I'm not the biggest Newman fan, but I definitely respected his talent. I often think about his role in The Verdict in particular.

8. Charlton Heston
Was still one the biggest stars in Hollywood when I started going to the movies (early '70s) - with films like Planet of the Apes, Omega Man, Soylent Green, Earthquake, and frequent respect on TV as Moses in The Ten Commandments. (My favorite role of his is the Mexican detective from Touch of Evil - well worth TCM-ing).

9. Allan Melvin
Appeared in too many shows I watched over the years - including (but not limited to) Sgt. Bilko, Gomer Pyle USMC, All in the Family, The Banana Splits, The Brady Bunch (as Sam the Butcher), and twice as many cartoon voice-overs.

10. Suzanne Pleshette
First and best of the "Newhart Women".

Big Train - George Martin

I ignored Big Train when it aired in the U.S., so I missed a lot of funny sketches like this one: George Martin won't let a little thing like being kidnapped by terrorists stop him from doing what he does best - waxing lyrical about his days with the Beatles.

A Show Me The Curry Christmas

This is, without doubt, my new favorite Christmas song. (And I think you'll agree the performances in this video are top notch).

Year In Review: Top 20 Famous Deaths of 2008 (Part Two of Four)

11. Sir Arthur C. Clarke
Author of the 2001: A Space Odyssey novel, and co-writer (with Stanley Kubrick) of the film. Proposed satellite technology in 1945.

12. Bill Melendez
Animation director responsible for A Charlie Brown Christmas and most of the Peanuts TV specials.

13. Don LaFontaine
Voice-over artist identified with the phrase "In a world...". Known professionally as "The Voice of God".

14. Stan Winston
Visual effects artist for Aliens, Jurassic Park, and other modern classics.

15. Bernie Mac (above)
Hilarious stand-up comic. His appearance on SNL as original fourth stooge (my favorite clip of his) is sadly absent from Hulu and YouTube.