Spider-Man vs. Johnny Carson

Last week, we reported on Stephen Colbert's upcoming appearance in a Spider-Man comic. As promised, here are the appearances by "Johnny Carson" in the same comic back in the 60's and early 70's.

Carson (and Ed McMahon) first appeared in Spider-Man #50 (with artwork by "Jazzy" Johnny Romita) when J. Jonah Jameson appeared on the Tonight Show to boast that he had recently acquired possession of Spider-Man's recently discarded costume.

Carson strikes back in Spider-Man #99 (above; art by Gil Kane) when he actually convinces the web-slinger to appear on the show, and do a little schtick during the monologue. It all ends with the cops chasing Spidey out of the studio. (The only other time this happened to a guest was with Monte Rock III in the mid-seventies).

Excelsior!

The World of Tomorrow

I've always been fascinated by the 1939 World's Fair in New York. It's interesting to see what the post-depression (and pre-war) crowd thought 1960 was going to be like.

Somebody assembled various home movies and bits from a Westinghouse propaganda film about the fair- and set them to music. It's all quite nice, and it's here for the clicking.

Ben Folds and Regina Spektor

Here's Ben Folds and Golem favorite Regina Spektor on last night's Conan.

Keep an eye on the trombone player - he just might be a regular from Saturday Night Live in disguise.

Note: I have a feeling NBC might pull this video, so you might want to watch it in a hurry.

Helio Castroneves

Dancing with the Stars champion Helio Castroneves faces 35 years in prison for conspiracy and tax evasion charges.

Let's see if he can tap dance his way out of this one!

The Guy Who Sounds Like David Brent

Here's a guy who acts a little bit like Ricky Gervais's character from The Office (UK edition).

Palin Bingo

Some people are so excited to see future-President Palin debate whats-his-name tonight, that they're making a game of it.

Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players

Here are the Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players on Conan in early 2003.

I was really impressed with this performance when I originally saw it, but the "Players" have been sadly relegated to cult status since. Luckily, you can catch a lot of their videos on YouTube.