OXO and Whirly Girl...

The 80's had so many great songs. But this is one of the absolute best of the best.

OXO's Whirly Girl from 1983. Go see the video on MySpace TV.

And yes, OXO actually has a MySpace page! That's a shock considering they only released one album, which spawned just one moderately successful single. And yet, there they are on MySpace as if they were a huge band in the 80's (of course in my mind, they were - but my mind can be a very strange place).

Dance All Night should have been another hit for the group. They even went so far to put together an elaborate (for the early 80's) video. See that here.

More Cloris & Nutt House...

She's the best part of Dancing With The Stars this season and hopefully she'll be staying right to the end.

Here's the clip of Cloris craziness from the second episode of the season. I love where she complains about how she's wearing a pretty costume and looking nice and still the judges give her low scores!

If you're like the women in our Traffic Department and think Cloris is off her medication or just losing her mind, check out her appearance on The Bonnie Hunt Show recently. You'll see she's really not nuts - she's just a brilliant comedienne.

And there'll be more proof of that Thursday night when she's on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

Since I keep talking about all this during the 80's After Work, I better keep things tied to that decade by also including an episode from a brilliant late 80's sitcom that Cloris starred in.

The Nutt House ran on NBC in 1989 and was so funny that it went over most people's heads and was cancelled after only 6 of its 11 episodes aired. Mel Brooks and Alan Spencer (the guy that created Sledge Hammer) were behind this - so you know it's hysterical, even if you don't get it.

Vote for Cloris Leachman!!!

The season premiere of Dancing With The Stars was absolutely hysterical last night thanks to Cloris Leachman.

She had to be censored at least twice, she threw the judges and both hosts completely off script, and made this the funniest episode of the show to date.

If you missed it, check out this 7-1/2 minute clip from last night. The beginning of the clip is funny, then there's the dancing, then the last four minutes Cloris completely takes over the show.

If you want this season to be as crazy and fun as last night's episode, don't forget to vote for Cloris to stay every week.

HBO's Video Jukebox...

Before MTV even existed, I used to watch music videos on HBO in between the movies. They were like little intermissions and were the highlight of HBO in my mind (I never really bothered with watching the movies).

Then in December of 1981, HBO started running Video Jukebox, a half hour show featuring back to back videos. MTV was already around at that point, but this show featured things that MTV never played.

There was one specific episode of the show that featured one of the greatest selections of music. I must have watched that one a few dozen times I liked it so much. See some of the videos from that episode by Tom Tom Club, Hilly Michaels, and The Police by clicking on the links.

Darien Lake this past weekend...

I had so much fun this past weekend at Darien Lake. It was a perfect weekend to go - all the rides were walk-ons!

Here's a picture of me and Scott (Vanessa's kid). He braved The Predator twice, the Ranger twice (without holding on), and then the Enterprise (Silver Bullet) three times in a row!!! And he wanted to go again, but I had to get back to our booth to go on-air.

The carload sale will be going on this weekend again. You pay 24.99 per carload - regardless of how many people you can fit in your car or SUV!

And then starting September 26th, Fright Fest begins. They keep telling me this will be the scariest Fright Fest ever. There's a possibility people will have to sign waivers to go on the Fright Night Field Trip it'll be so scary! And I'm hearing that no one under 18 will be allowed on that particular haunt.

There'll still be a lot for the under 18 crowd to do, like the Haunted House (which has been completely updated), Hay Maze, Crazy Cliff's Twisted Nightmare magic show, and all the awesome Darien Lake rides.

I'll be there a few more times before the end of next month, so maybe I'll see you there!

For now, here's some more pictures from this past weekend...

Fall Family Picnic Fun...

If you've got a family picnic coming up (I just had one this weekend), here's a fun game to try: soccer - with binoculars!

Check out these people playing it on a Japanese game show - the guy on the left has no idea the ball is right next to his foot!

Of course if you try it, be very careful about falling face first on the binoculars. That would hurt.

Why I love my job...

I show up to work today and there's a concert in one of our conference rooms.

A group called The Love Willows. Hope Partlow is the lead singer (you probably remember her from Starry Night In The Garden a couple years ago) and Ryan Wilson is on guitar.

Their first single is called "Falling Faster" and that's what they performed for us. Hope's throat was hurting a bit today and still she sounded unbelievable.

Go hear the song on their MySpace page, see them performing the song here, and then go buy the single - it's on iTunes now. Their debut album "Hey! Hey!" will be in stores November 18th.

(Hope Partlow, me, Jenn from Promotions, and Ryan Wilson)

The Barackroll....

I'm not one to follow (or care) about politics at all. But this is so clever, I had to post it.

Have you ever been Rickrolled? That's when you go to watch a video online and it turns out to be Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up" video instead of what you were expecting.

Why? Who knows. But it happens.

Now someone has taken that video and overlaid clips of Barack Obama speeches where he's saying the exact lyrics that are in the song! What's the chances of that happening AND someone realizing it and then editing it all together into one video clip?!

OK, so they just used a new video search to find the clips. But it's still impressive. And funny.

See the start of this new phenomenon here...

(Thanks to Gina and her brother for letting me know about this!)

Ghost audio...

Earlier this week, I talked with Linda Hastreiter of the Iron Island Museum. She was featured on Wednesday's episode of Ghost Hunters.

Eventually, you'll be able to see the full episode online. When you do get to see it, keep in mind that the ghost hunters were trying their hardest to disprove the haunting (this according to Linda in a recent e-mail).

For now, hear Linda's interview that aired on Star 102.5 and a clip of the ghost audio (or EVP). That's on my audio page.

And don't forget to visit the museum and see if you can hear or see the ghosts yourself! There's ghost tours by appointment on Thursdays from 7:30pm - 8:30pm and Saturdays from 11:30am - 12:30pm for $5. Or you can try the ghost hunt overnight, which is $30 (by appointment again).

RIP: Astroland in New York City

Another year - another amusement park gone forever.

It almost closed last year, but was saved at the last second. It's looking like that won't be happening this year.

A press release from one of the owners of Astroland has made it clear that Sunday will be the final day for the park in New York City. So if you want to see it before it's gone, this weekend is your last chance.

The Cyclone roller coaster will remain, but the rest of the park won't. The cool dark ride (Dante's Inferno), the insanely run spin rides (Breakdance and Top Spin being my favorites there), and the entire atmosphere gone. All so upscale condos and maybe a family amusement resort can be built.

And sadly, even the Cyclone isn't completely safe. The new owners have to keep the Cyclone - but that doesn't mean they have to run it. (For the record, I'm not a big fan of that ride. While Predator at Darien Lake is a bit rough at times, on its worst day it's nowhere close to the roughness of the Cyclone. But I'd hate to see such a classic ride go to waste.)

I do have to add that while Astroland isn't the only part of Coney Island (it's not even the only amusement park there), it is a major part of it. When it's gone, the impact on everything else there will be bad.

Read the full press release from Carol Hill Albert, one of the co-owners, here.

Ghost Hunters in Buffalo!!!

The ghost hunters from the SciFi Channel show visited Buffalo recently. They did a bunch of their ghost tests at the Iron Island Museum in Lovejoy.

See their experiences and find out if the museum really is haunted tonight at 9pm on Ghost Hunters.

After seeing the episode, I know you're going to want to visit the museum. Check out the Iron Island Museum website for info on that (click on "hauntings" for ghost tours).

Amazing Race reruns...

As we await September 28th and the 13th season debut of Amazing Race, catch up on last year's race.

I just got an e-mail from Emma who wanted everyone to know that last season's Amazing Race will be rerun on The Travel Channel Wednesday nights at 8pm.

And then on Sunday, September 28th, there'll be an all day marathon of Amazing Race on The Travel Channel leading up to the debut of the new season on CBS.

To refresh your memory on last season, here's the contestants from that race...

Darien Lake stuff...

Yesterday, I ended my Labor Day weekend at Darien Lake with family and friends. I always like to take my parents to the Cirque show every year and yesterday was the perfect day for it.

Here's my Mom, Rhonda, and me on the Giant Wheel. My Dad's taking the picture and Bob is on the ground concerned about his stomach (it wasn't the Silver Bullet that did him in - it was the car ride to the park).

The Cirque Nouveau show was amazing - especially the guys that balanced and rotated those baskets on their heads. I can't wait to see what Darien Lake will have for us next year!!!

But there's still a lot of season left and I'm psyched for what's coming up at the end of this month. On September 26th, Fright Fest returns. And this year, it'll be better than it's ever been.

The Haunted House will have a new theme and Crazy Cliff's Twisted Nightmare will feature some scary illusions. But even scarier, get ready for the brand new Fright Night Field! This will involve a trip through a deserted and haunted part of the campground. I've heard it might be so scary, they'll try to discourage anyone under 18 from even going on it!

Of course, Darien Lake isn't going to forget the younger kids. For them, there'll be a Trick Or Treat Trail, Hay Maze, and pumpkin painting.

And then there's all the rides, including of course Silver Bullet, Ranger, and UFO (my three favorites).

See you at Darien Lake...