For this week's podcast, we will be trying something a little different. We're going to be doing a live taping of the show via UStream. I've seen Coulton and Scott Johnson use the technology with much success, so I thought I'd give it a go.

Here is our Channel Page. Apparently, there is a chatroom there that you will allow you to chat with the other fans of Jawbone Radio, all three of them. It should be fun and believe there will be kringles available.

Our recording schedule is fluid at the moment, which is just another way of saying we don't have a real tight schedule, but we will try to record Thursday evenings around 9:30 or 10:00 PM EST. If you plan on coming by and watching us record the show, say so in the comments, just so I know I won't be setting this up for no one.

Labels: site news

I am so pissed at Disney for ruining Underdog with their lame talking dog movie, that I had to cleanse my palatte with a wonderful dose of old time Underdog goodness. Enjoy!

Labels: car

We're big fans of all things Wes Anderson, so you know we're pretty excited about his new film, The Darjeeling Limited. Check out the trailer. It's got Jason (Rushmore) Schwartzman and Owne Wilson, but no Bill Murray this tima around. Eh, I'll see it anyway. And no, this is no a paid advertisement.

You know, ever since I posted about this kid in June, I've been really surprised I haven't been asked to draw him for Monster By Mail yet. Here is his latest iteration. Enjoy!

Speaking of zombies, here's info on a San Diego Zombie Walk from an MBM fan.

Labels: funny, zombies

Dj Hojo has made available his own remix of Chocolate Rain. Feel free to play it loudly whenever you feel the urge.

Dowload it directly here.

Labels: music

Apparently, this is very close to Whiz Kid Coulter...do I smell a road trip? One with hot dogs?

"Collinsville partnered with the H.J. Heinz Co. to fill an 8-foot tall, 4-foot wide plastic pouch with 1,500 pounds of the tomato goop for a school fundraiser. The company donated 4,000 glass bottles of the condiment that 1,300 people bought for $1 apiece and poured into the packet."

Read the full story.

Labels: weird

Could this be LOLTays? I guess we'll find out.

Labels: captions

Don't worry. You will. Meet Tay Zonday and his song "Choclolate Rain". He is the newest internet meme. Just look here. Thanks to DJ Hojo for the heads up on this new phenom.

Labels: videos, weird

I just had to show this off, it's just too cool. The soundtrack to this video is by Rob G. of Schnauzer Studios. You may heard his stuff at the top of (he did the theme). Well, Rob was kind enough to supply me with this custom zombie tune called "March of The Zombies". I love it! Have a listen -- I'll probably be playing this on the show as well. Thanks Rob!http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif

Labels: art, cool, monsters, music

Tonight's show features voicemails and follow up galore! Lots of chat about relationships and the dynamics between women and men...trust me, it's more interesting than I'm making it sound. Check it out and thanks for listening!

NOTE: This a repost of show 167 since I made the mistake of linking the wrong file when posting. Sorry if you got this show twice!

RUNNING TIME: 54:49

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I saw the Simpsons movie this afternoon with DJ Hojo and I really, really liked it. I thought the writers did a good job of overcoming the huge expectations of the film and told a really solid, really enjoyable story. At its worst, the film felt like a mediocre episode of the show. But at it's best, it delivered incredibly heartfelt performances from the voice actors (which is amazing to me considering the amount of material and situations these characters have gone through for the past 18 years) and some good-old fashioned laugh out loud Simpson-esque humor. Be on the lookout for some nods to some ancient episodes - there are many. Also, we may lose a Simpson character along the way...that's all I'll say.

One thing I would have liked to have seen more of is the breaking of fourth wall -- having the characters talk to the audience a bit more and acknowledge their TV roots a bit more. There were a few moments like that in the film, by I, personally, would have liked it to have been a bit more self-indulgent. It's the Simpsons for crying out loud!

Regardless, if you're a fan of the show, diehard or casual, this is a good time at the movies.

What are your thoughts on the film?

Labels: movies

Tonight's show features voicemails and follow up galore! Lots of chat about relationships and the dynamics between women and men...trust me, it's more interesting than I'm making it sound. Check it out and thanks for listening!

RUNNING TIME: 54:49

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Labels: podcast

I've opened up a poll over at Monster By Mail and I'm soliciting feedback from users as to what theme they would like to see in an upcoming installment of MBM. Why don't you head on over there and use the poll on the sidebar.

BTW, Zombies are still available! I am only doing them for a lmited time and then onto something brand new. So if you've been on the fence, now would be the perfect time to snag one up.

Labels: art, monsters

I have to admit, I'm slowly becoming a fan of this Bollywood stuff. First, I thought it was a kind of goofy, with weird choreography and the wacky characters. But now, I'm warming up to it. Check out the video and read this report on how Bollywood is taking the college campuses by storm. Thanks to Monica for the link.

Labels: weird

I mean, the one kid looked like he hadn't washed his face in months. Discuss.

Labels: movies

Wanted to whet your appetites for a soon-to-be released product I'll be offering through Monster By Mail. Ever wish you could be the one coloring my drawings? Now you can, with the Monster By Mail Coloring Book!

The book won't be available for another few weeks, just putting the final touches on it, but you can at least see the cover for it.

It promises to be super cool and relatively inexpensive as well!

Labels: art, cool, monsters

Labels: captions

I think the real reason Mike Rowe left QVC was because of stupid products like this one. I wonder how many they ended up selling?

Labels: funny, videos

Saw a clip of Mike Rowe from his QVC days on Extralife yesterday and among all the videos I found this one, which affirms my love of this man. Watch and collect them all. They will make your day.

Labels: funny

I have to admit, I'm a little bit excited and I will be seeing this movie with DJ Hojo when it comes out. But how about you? Are you excited? Indifferent? What are your thoughts on the Simpsons Movie?

Labels: movies

Listen up Mr. Eyebott:

"Legion of Rock Stars (LRS) pioneered Pure Pleasure, in which the band listens to original recordings of classic rock and pop songs on 30db noise-blocking headsets, and then plays along."

Fantastic! Check out the video for Danzig's Mother. It's pure unadulterated talent. And you must listen to the other songs including a rollicking cover of Journey's "Any Way You Want It" that improves ten-fold on the orginal, imho.

Thanks to X for the link.

Labels: funny, music

Yes, it's true. All Filipinos enjoy acting like zombies and doing the Thriller Dance:

"1,500 plus CPDRC inmates of the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center, Cebu, Philippines at practice! This is not the final routine, and definitely not a punishment! just a teaser."

Bizarre to be sure, (including the one inmate who wanted the Ola Ray part). But I can't deny it's damn amazing to watch. Maybe this is what we should do in our prisons. I vote for 1,500 inmates to choreograph at routine to Avril Lavigne's "Girlfriend." Link via BB.

Labels: video, weird

On tonight's show, Bryan from Hometown Tales joins us for a roundtable discussion on a ton of different topics, including our impromptu tribute to He Pingping, the smallest man in the world. Thanks for listening!

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Labels: podcast

For Windows users, try this:

"On Your Desktop,
Hit Start Button,
Click Run,
type TELNET

A Seperate Window should open:
Frist hit enter, then
type the letter o and hit enter again,
then type towel.blinkenlights.nl and press enter"

Enjoy the show! Thanks Mark!

Labels: star wars

I'm not exactly sure who wins here, but I'm pretty sure it's the Japanese viewing public. BTW, be on the lookout for a weird Santa graphic on the wall behind these girls about midway through. Weird. Thanks to Homey for the link.

Labels: weird

Labels: video, viral

Here's a cool spinoff of the Monster By Mail project: creating music videos for unsigned musicians. For the Fictional Monster Movie series, I created a piece of art called "Soulsucking Sex Puppies of Satan". I used a song by the unsigned band Zamarro called "Satan's Arms" as the background music. Well, the band is now using it as a music video for themselves. Fun stuff! Bring it on MTV! Or VH1. Whichever is cooler.

Labels: art, monsters, music

Let me start by saying I blame Bryan from Hometown Tales for this.

Bryan visited Nora and I last week and in a passing conversation he mentioned that pop star Avril Lavigne was being sued by a defunct 70's rock group called the Rubinoos. Apparently, she horked her hit "Girlfriend" straight from the Rubinoos song "Boyfriend." It's the whole "Hey! Hey! You! You!" riff from the opening lines of the song that are causing the upset. (Not that I am a defender of Ms. Lavigne, but one can make the argument that the Rubinoos horked that riff from the Stones' "Get Off Of My Cloud". But I digress.)

It was one of those small moments in conversation where you make a mental note and promise yourself you'll check out the details next time you're online. Only this time, I did check it out.

On Monday, I went to YouTube and checked out the video comparison for "Girlfriend". Yeah, they sounded pretty similar. A few more clicks led me to the original video for the song and I watched her song in its entirety.

And that's where things went wrong.

I went about my business for most of the day when I suddenly realized that I was humming the song. Over lunch. In the bathroom brushing my teeth. While doing layouts for a client. That damned catchy "hey hey you you" riff was stuck in my brain.

I am not that naive to think that this phenomenon is anything extraordinary. I mean, that's what these idiotic bubblegum pop songs are supposed to do. They are supposed to get lodged in your subconcious and twist and turn relentlessly like a crocodile in a death roll. But what alarmed me the most was the fact that I was singing a song by a girl. To a boy. Cajoling him to dump his current flame and that it was I, in fact, dear friends, who wanted to be his new girlfriend.

This is hardly the thing a 36 year old father of five (soon to be six) is supposed to be singing.

And here is the crux of my problem. After I watched the video a few more times than I care to admit (while a Monster By Mail video was rendering; while I was waiting for a file to save; in between checking my e-mail), I came to the sad conclusion that I am, in fact, an Avril Lavigne fan.

I loathe her stupid dancing and choreography. The way she makes that stupid punching motion at the camera in that video? Lame! I hate how she pretends to be so tough. I hate the concept for the video where the preppy redhead gets shown up by the "goth girl when it would make much more sense not to mention more endearing if the preppy girl was breaking up the goth couple.

I hate the fact that I can speak somewhat intelligently about her stupid music video.

I hate that she uses poop humor at the end of the video.

I don't like the fact that the song "Girlfriend" is written for such a small demo that it makes it irrelevant to most everyone who listens to it. I can't stand that she looks like she's about to puke when she sticks her tongue out at the camera. I hate her dumbass video set and logo with the skull, crossbones and heart.

I find myself hating her hairstyles, her dumb dark eyeshadow, the stupid poser way she plays her guitar, and the faux goth look she has adopted. Yet I am this close to downloading her album off iTunes because hey, the song is really not that bad.

What the hell am I saying? She sucks!! I hated her Complicated song and that lameass Sk8tr Boi song. And that "I'm With You" ballad makes me want to blow chunks everytime I hear it. Ugh. So why are all these songs in my iTunes playlist? And why have I made mix CDs with these songs?

I hate you Avril Lavigne! I hate you with the intensity of a thousand suns!

Yet I love you too. I like your music and think you have a nice voice in some of your songs.

And the scary thing is that I know even if I were a teen growing up at this point in time, I would have the same exact feelings. I would bash her with my friends and secretly hum her songs in the car.

I hate you Avril. But I also kind of like you. But really, I hate you more.

Thanks Bryan for unleashing these conflicted feelings in me.

Labels: funny, music

Sent in from Mr. Eyebott, this is an image that I created for Coverville a few summers ago.

And now check this out. Have I been horked?

Labels: art

I love stuff like this:

During the press conference of the Russian President Vladimir Putin, that took place on G8 summit, some young man started to throw out propaganda leaflets. This incident became very popular in the Russian part of the Internet. The reason of such popularity is neither the actions of the young activist, nor the smart reaction of the Mr. President. The reason was the man sitting in the conference hall (you can see him on the picture above). They called him Glazastik (Big-Eyed Guy). Below you can see the short video of this incident - see the guy with strange eyes behind the guy with leaflets, clear at 00.58 of the video. After the video was spread around Russian Internet many photoshopped versions of him appeared, we also include them here.

Check them all out. I feel like making one myself. Link Via BB.

Labels: funny, weird

Thanks to DJ Hojo for this week's disturbing caption this photo.

Labels: caption

Hey! Len TV returns for a summer celebration of food! Bryan from Hometown Tales stops by to prepare us some authentic pork roll, egg and cheese sandwiches. We return the favor by dropping by one of the points of pride for Cleveland, the West Side Market. Watch and discover why this day was both fruity and meaty. Plus, as pokey as shakey as shakey is laugh. Enjoy!

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Labels: vidcast

Tonight, Nora and I return after a short hiatus and talk being a local celebrity, being mismatched, The Summer Of The Undead continues and or weird sleepover dilemma. Enjoy the show folks!

RUNNING TIME: 49:28

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Labels: podcast

Ahhh, she's back! See the downlow here. Thanks Sharon!

Labels: music

I've been meaning to post this for a few weeks now. Erik was having a party for his brother in law, who happens to be a code monkey. He asked Jonathan Coulton if he could use the Code Monkey artwork from his site to make decorations. JoCo said "talk to Len". Len said yes and voila! This is what we get! All hail CC! Thanks to Erik for asking permission and putting my Nimoy monkey heads all over his bro-in-laws front lawn.

Labels: cool, jonathan coulton

Well, the article that was previously transcribed here ran on the front page of our hometown paper today, the Lakewood Sun Post. It features some new art including the Flaming Monkey Metal Guitarist (pictured here). Incidentally, I got a really nice e-mail from Dave, the owner of said monkey zombie. Apparently, I have influenced him to unpack his pens and draw again. Woot! Here's to inspiration. If you want your own zombie, now would be the perfect time to order. Plus, I'd love to do some art for people in my hometown.

BTW, although this may be a bit redundant, here is the article online from the official source.

Labels: art, monsters

Hmmmm...

" The developer said his design for a 40-story resident tower proposed as a gateway to downtown San Diego looks like a flower. A city consultant said it looks like a giant phallus.
"With its rounded forms and swelling of the uppermost floors...this building structure is very phallic," wrote Gwynne Pugh, a Santa Monica architect hired by the downtown redevelopment agency to review building designs."

Read more here.

Labels: funny, weird

"Just as the Citizen Bank branch opened Saturday morning, a man walked in with leafy boughs duct-taped to his head and torso, and robbed the place."

See the story and the hilarious photo here. Thanks Dan!

Labels: funny, weird

For those who are intensely interested, here is the transciption of the article that ran in the West Side Sun News last week and will run (hopefully) in the Lakewood Sun Post this week. Thanks to Nora for the transcribing work! BTW, I hope to have a new show this week. I sound awful if I talk for any length of time, but we'll see how it goes.

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Artist’s fundraiser turns into monstrous business
By Lisa Novatny

What started as a fundraising effort for self-employed artist Len Peralta quickly evolved into a “monster of its own.”

Peralta, a Lakewood resident and the creator of monsterbymail.com, a Web site that delivers custom-designed monsters in the mail, erected the site after he and his wife found they were expecting their sixth child.

Envisioning pricey medical bills and multiple receipts for diapers and formula, Peralta made it his mission to raise some extra money.

Peralta got his idea to draw personalized monsters after witnessing a fellow artist successfully sell hobo drawings on the Internet. His love for drawing and his intrigue of beasts, superheroes and zombies, which stemmed from childhood, led him to his calling.

“I’ve always been a cartoonist,” said Peralta, who minored in art at Baldwin-Wallace College. “I’ve always enjoyed drawing and I always wanted to be an artist.”

With the help of web designer Dan Coulter, Peralta set up monsterbymail.com, opening it to the public on March 30.
The site allows monster lovers the opportunity to submit a name for their demon or brute then Peralta hand draws the 4-by-6-inch monstrosity.

Each drawing costs $20. For $30, you can purchase a drawing along with an art-in-progress video, and for $45 you can purchase a drawing, video and zombie T-shirt.

Peralta originally intended to create 150 monsters. Within a week though, he had sold out.

“I was flabbergasted, “ Peralta said. “I wasn’t sure if it was going to work. . . I’m an unknown artist. But people really took to it.”

In response to the site’s popularity, Peralta decided to create more monsters.

He again opened the site, this time promoting fictional monster movie drawings. Again, the illustrations sold like hotcakes.
“At one point, I was getting two to four orders per hour,” Peralta exclaimed. “It was ridiculous.”

The artists followed up a cryptozoology theme next. creating more than 100 drawings.

Currently, Peralta is working on zombie-themed drawings. From Vincent van Zombie to an undead Flaming Monkey Metal Guitarist, Peralta already has received more than 200 orders.

To meet demands, Peralta sometimes draws four to 12 monsters per day, from 8 a.m. to 2 a.m. the next morning, for two weeks at a time.

Each drawing is humorous and unique in its own way., Peralta advertised monsterbymail.com through his blog and his and his wife’s weekly podcast, Jawbone Radio, which was established in 2005.

Today, he receives orders from all over the world and even has created monsters for cryptozooligist Loren Coleman.

“The response to this has been so overwhelmingly positive that’s it’s been an inspiration to me to really keep going,” Peralta said. “I used to think sitting at home, drawing cartoons would be the best job ever. . . and you what—it is.”

Along with running monsterbymail.com and hosting his own podcast, Peralta illustrated a book titled ”Visual Things a Week: Art Inspired by the Music of Jonathan Coulton, “ created the Zombie Alphabet and runs his own advertising agency at home.

Labels: art, monsters

Got a good laugh from this little roundup. I'd actually want to watch some of these films. Link via ELR.

Labels: funny, movies

During a recent music festival, four DJs entered the mixing contest. Each wore a number, either 1, 2, 3 or 4 and their decks were different colours. DJ Skinf Lint came first, and only one DJ wore the same number as the position he finished in. DJ Slam Dunk wore number 1. The DJ who wore number 2 had a red deck and DJ Jam Jar didn't have a yellow deck. The DJ who came last had a blue deck. DJ Park'n Ride beat DJ Slam Dunk. The DJ who wore number 1 had a green deck and the DJ who came second wore number 3. Can you determine who came where, which number they wore and the colour of their deck?

Congrats to those who answered (both in the comments and via e-mail). The correct answer was Irving Berlin.

Labels: braingames

Tis the season for amusement parks. Perfect for Caption This. Enjoy!

Labels: caption

Too cool!

"The Kwik-E-Marts, along with the 6,000 other Seven-Elevens around North America will sell Simpsons-themed treats during the month-long promotion. Among them: Buzz Cola, Krusty-O's cereal and Squishees, the slushy Slurpees knockoff."

See a bunch of awesome photos here, a whole Flickr set of awesomeness and read an AP story about the whole promotion. Woo-hoo! Wish there were some near us. I absolutely cannot wait for this movie now. Link via BB.

Labels: cool, movies

So last night, I took my two eldest and my niece to see none other than one of our faves, "Weird Al" Yankovic. It was a bit of a family affair as a few of my brothers-in-law were in attendance with their kids. It was a great show and fun was had by all. The funniest story of the night has to be this image of my brother in law, Aaron, having his brand new 8GB iPhone signed by Weird Al himself. I don't have the whole story, but I'm sure I'll talk about it on an upcoming show.

Labels: funny, music

Well, it came as no surprise to me that after I drew Vincent Van Zombie a few weeks ago, that I would start getting some other requests for other famous works by the masters. Here is my take on "Venus On A Halfshell" better known as Sandro Boticelli's "Birth of Venus". It's just a detail of the actual painting, but what did you expect? These are only 4 x 6 cards.

These are pretty challenging to do and it makes me wonder, what other masters will I be able to butcher - er, imitate?

Labels: art, zombies

Things are getting weirder and weirder in the ocean. Case in point, the octosquid. Read more about this finding here. Thanks Mark!

Labels: cool, weird

It seems a bit retrofitted, but the local press is starting to take notice of the Monster By Mail project. There was an article that ran in the West Side News today that featured, among other things, mentions of my love of monsters and superheroes, a giant front page image of Vincent Van Zombie (shown) and even a reference to the the Whiz Kid Dan Coulter

As soon as a digital version gets posted I will link it here. Until then just imagine the newsprinty goodness.

Also, Natalie sends me this pretty cool image of her Brain Eating Zombie Slug being circled by vultures. All around her computer desktop no less. Thanks Natalie!

UPDATE: This isn't the actual article, but this was a press release that some of the information was culled from. I hope to have the actual article transcibed soon. Here ya go for now!

Labels: art. monsters, site news

Over the holiday, my eldest son (not to be outdone by his siblings with the legos) drew up some pretty sweet looking Marvel superheroes. You can see his take on Thing, Wolverine and Nightcrawler (as well as some other cool art projects by our kids right here.

Labels: art, cool, family

So, to celebrate the fourth of July, a few of us went out to see Transformers last night. Yes, it was loud. (At one point, my eardrums were making that annoying tinny sound, and that was just in the first five minutes of the film.) Yes, it was obnoxious. Yes, it was big, dumb and quintessentially American. And yes, I loved the hell out of it.

I went in expecting quick cuts and the over-the-top, ham-fisted directorial style of Michael Bay, and that's exactly what I got. I mean, come on. The scenes are laughably torn from the classic Hollywood action sequence playbook. Like the sexy pinup brunette driving a tow truck backwards through the city streets while a robot shoots missles from his arms, all to the pumping, heavy metal video game soundtrack. Or how about the Marine sliding on his back down the sidewalk, screaming like a Rambo-reject and shooting grenades up a robots underpinnings? High-larious folks. It's the movie equivalent of a fireworks display: loud chest-hurting explosions and colorful sparks leading up to a frenetic finale. And when all is said and done, you're faced with a sky full of dissapating smoke and a long drive home.

In short, it was everything I wanted in a Hollywood blockbuster and even more. And yes, I plan on seeing it again. And probably buying it on DVD, too. I'm such a sucker for this cinematic stupidity.

What did you guys think of the film?

Labels: movies

Just a little sidenote here...since Monster By Mail was started on March 30th, I've drawn over 600 original monsters for people all over this big blue marble. I believe this image "Which Brain Is MIne" was number 600. It was drawn and painted over the weekend and is now in the mail on the way to its final destination.

Incidentally, I've done over 400 videos as well.

Phew. That's a lot. Thanks to everyone for all the support.

Labels: art, monsters

In this teaser, you are to take the first letter from the people's surnames to discover the name of one of the most celebrated composers of 20th century America. Easy enough!

1. In 1871, I opened a circus billed as, "The Greatest Show On Earth."

2. I became the most famous scientist of the 20th century because of my theory of relativity. In 1921, I won the Nobel Prize for my 1905 work on the photoelectric effect.

3. Not only did I establish the British colony of Singapore, but I was an enthusiastic natural historian who also founded the "London Zoological Society."

4. I featured in several B-grade movies early on in my career, then became famous for playing the cold-blooded killer, Raven, in 1941's "This Gun For Hire."

5. I was sent to prison in 1972 and ordered to pay back $765,000 to my publishers when it was determined that my "authorized" biography of reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes was a fake.

6. I gained national fame from my 1965 book, "Unsafe At Any Speed", which exposed the automobile industry's irresponsibility when it came to designing safe cars.

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Congrats to Ollie who guessed the answer to last week's teaser correctly! Go Ollie!

Labels: braingames

This week's Caption This is sent to us from MIA Chad. Enjoy!

Labels: caption

Yes, I have fallen into the trap and created my own Simpsons Avatar. You can too! Just go here. Thanks to Ben for the heads up.

Labels: funny

Some people are just natural born idiots. Take the case of this smug woman who pays a kid $800 in cash to buy his first place in line for the iPhone. Her plan was to buy out the store and sell the phones and eBay. Too bad you were limited to one phone per customer. Oops! I wish they would have done a follow up with her. That would have been hilarious.

Labels: Apple, funny, video

Neil over at Fishbrick told me about this little clip, so I searched it out and found it for all to enjoy. I haven't seen the whole episode of Extras, but I'll be on the lookout for it.

Labels: funny

Looks like Emily might have some competition. Maybe we should stage a dance off. Anyway, enjoy the dance.

Labels: cool, video