In honor of Sesame Street's 40th birthday, popular characters from the show will be gracing the Google search homepage as the Google doodle.

To help celebrate, I've posted two of my favorite clips from the show: Stevie Wonder performing "Superstition" live and the Pinball Number Count.



Previously on BC:
Sesame Street Memories: Yip-Yips Skits - Link
Ernie Sings "Rubber Duckie" - Link
Galimoto: African handmade "motorcars" - Link

Marge Simpson will be gracing the cover of November's 2009 issue of Playboy and also posing in a three page spread within the magazine.  No full frontal here folks, just "implied nudity".  Click on the link to view the cover. 

Link [via digg / via Pixelated Geek]

Great news Futurama fans!  It looks like Futurama is coming back with all new episodes on Comedy Central.

Comedy Central has ordered all brand new episodes of Futurama, and the show has officially gone back into production.

An insider told Collider.com that the network has given the series an order for 13 additional episodes to air now that the network has run through all of the series' original episodes and the four full-length DVD movies. This news has sparked rumors that production has officially started again on the series and casting is underway.

Link (via digg)

For days now I've had the Sesame Street pinball countdown song in my head.  I thought I would post it today so this catchy tune can play over... and over... and over in your heads too.  You can thank me later.



Here's another vintage Sesame Street clip of "The Ladybugs' Picnic" that I thought you would enjoy.

Some famous cartoonists were asked to draw their popular comic strip characters while blindfolded in a 1947 issue of Life Magazine.  See how they did.  [via digg]

Homestar Runner creators Matt and Mike Chapman are staying true to the web and rejecting TV series offers by both Cartoon Network and Comedy Central. 

"There was a brief flirtation with Comedy Central and Adult Swim," Matt said. "The whole TV thing seemed creepy. They wanted to plug it into their model -- that all comedy was gag-related, not character-driven. They left the door open, but we liked what we were doing and kept doing it online."

With Time Warner's Cartoon Network and Adult Swim also headquartered in Atlanta, it seemed natural for Homestar to jump in with them. But a deal has failed to materialize, and the Chapmans are in no hurry to strike up conversations again.

[full article]

Earlier this year I posted a toilet training clip taken from a popular Japanese cartoon called Shimajiro.  Well, I stumbled upon more clips that are just as cute and humorous. 

I found another toilet training clip in which Shimajiro is walking through the mall with his mom and sister.  This is the first time Shimajiro uses a squatter toilet.

In this clip, Shimajiro is taught how to properly cross a street by a lion police officer who drives a flying car.  If animals were to form an animal version of The Village People, the lion would definitely fit right in.

This one isn't quite as funny, but it teaches some good lessons.  A ninja teaches Shimajiro good manners on the train and in the supermarket.

I don't know a lick of Japanese, but the cartoons are self-explanatory even without subtitles. 

Oh, here are some bonus clips of a mom who seems to be using "the power of Shimajiro" to stop her toddler from tantrumming.  More clips here and here.  I'm sure my son would stop tantrumming too if I offered up a handful of licorice and a trip to Disney World.

Adventure Time are original animation shorts created by Pendleton Ward of Frederator Studios for the Nickelodeon Network. 

This episode has snowboarding penguins, the Ice King, a princess, a flying unicorn, Abraham Lincoln on Mars, and, of course, a boy and his dog. 

This quirky-humored cartoon will leave you smiling.

Lazy Weekend Links are back in style like leggings and pirate boots so all of you better watch out!  Here are your Links for this weekend:

With some coaxing by Sir Richard Branson, Stephen Hawking is planning to go into space in 2009.

If you liked the photos of the abandoned Japanese amusement park, you will enjoy reading up on an amusement park with quite a history behind it.  Dogpatch USA is a defunct theme park located in Arkansas.  Opened to the public in 1968, it was based on the comic strip Li'l Abner.  The fictional town in which Li'l Abner was based was called Dogpatch.  You can read up about it here.

Can you keep track of the number of inappropriate racial things going on in this banned Betty Boop cartoon?  Pretty ridiculous.

Parents and doctors agree to undergo controversial treatment that keeps girl child-sized.

Cartoons which help teach autistic children about human emotions is being launched nationwide.  The DVD series is called the Transporters and uses real people's faces on cartoon vehicles.

Jealous of the man who bought a fighter jet on eBay?  Well, now is your chance to get in on the action.  Put your bid in for a MiG 21F USSR Military Aircraft on eBay. [via File22.com]

Happy weekend!

In last weekend's Lazy Weekend Links I had posted about a Korean art exhibit which is displaying skeletons (as well as sketches) of famous cartoon characters such as Road Runner and Bugs Bunny.

Here is another gallery I've found which displays skeletal sketches of current and old school cartoon characters such as the Powderpuff Girls, Pikachu, Dexter and Baby Huey.  Sketches were done by Michael Paulus.