Chromeo + Yo Gabba Gabba

In preparation for flu season, there are lots of scary signs on the Columbia University campus about how it is necessary to wash your hands in order to stop the spread of disease.

I think the most effective public health campaign would be to play this video on a jumbotron on the lawn--Nice N Clean, techno hip-hop band Chromeo's song for children's show Yo Gabba Gabba.

Yo Gabba Gabba is coming to Columbia University on October 4 for the annual Great Children's Read.

Green Porno

Green Porno is a series of very short, Sundance award-winning films in which Isabella Rossellini dresses up as various animals and explains how they do it.

Season 3 opens today. All episodes are available for free viewing through the Sundance Channel.

Soul Pancake

Rainn Wilson, the actor who plays Dwight on The Office, helped create the delightful blog Soul Pancake.

The blog explores life's biggest questions in a way that is somehow both serious and light-hearted. Wilson recently signed a book deal to have 'Soul Pancake' the book out in Fall 2010.

Watch the short video for Wilson's own explanation of Soul Pancake.

Auto Tune The News

Auto Tune The News is the most ridiculously silly thing I have ever seen. Want to know what the evening news would sound like with mad beats? Yes, yes you do.

High School Musical 2 at the Vandivort Theatre

(Photo credit: Mark Shiefelbein for The News-Leader)

Ever since I started being more honest with my Netflix ratings about what movies truly entertain me, I've been a lot happier. My Netfix movie suggestions have gone from wads of pretentious movies that I would watch in theory but not in practice, to "Hey! Want to watch High School Musical 2 again?"

Why, yes! Yes I do.

Lucky for me, High School Musical 2 is playing at the Vandivort Theatre in Springfield, MO through Aug. 2. Gretchen Teague directs a wonderful cast, and together they bring out all the campy fun (and more!) of the original movie.

Sally Trtan and Micah Scoggins play Gabriella and Troy, and in addition to having wonderful voices, the actors are great at capturing all the giddiness of teen romance.

Paige Deragowski plays the rich bitch Sharpay better than Ashley Tisdale ever did. Deragowski's Sharpay is a complex character--dominant and demanding but clearly fragile and insecure. Tisdale's Sharpay is pretty much just annoying.

I thought that the flamboyant character of Ryan would be the most difficult for an teenage actor to play, but Christian Cook does a fabulous job, with sweet dance moves to boot.

The chorus is delightful, and includes cheerleaders, poolboys, and Sharpettes (girls who follow Sharpay around). The antics of the chorus make for extra humor in the Vandivort production that was missing in the movie.

Special props go out to Malia Hu, who plays a Sharpette named Blossom. Despite not being the official understudy, Hu played the role of lead Gabriella at a moment's notice when Trtan fell ill during last Saturday's performance.

For more information on how to get tickets, check out the Vandivort's website, or RSVP to the Facebook event.

Slow and Steady Wins the Race

Slow and Steady Wins the Race is a label that is part fashion design, part witty repartee.

Every two months, the designers at Slow and Steady Wins the Race release several pieces based on one standard wardrobe staple, pushing the envelope all the while. If the topic is "the sweatshirt," they'll make a sweatshirt blazer. If the topic is "the white button-down shirt," they'll make a white shirt with a zipper down the middle.

One of the label's favorite approaches is to strip a wardrobe staple down to it's most basic recognizable characteristics. An oxford shoe is reduced to its standard shape and large, loopy shoelaces--no embellishments. A high heeled-shoe is covered in unbleached canvas. The signature quilted Chanel bag becomes a quilted cotton bag attached to a gold-colored chain.

Slow and Steady Wins the Race loves blending the line between lo-fi and hi-fi fashion. While a Chanel bag gets totally stripped, a grocery bag is made out of alligator skin and sells for $1,000.

Mike Birbiglia

Mike Birbiglia is a funny man.

There's a casual style to Birbiglia's comedy--his sketches are almost like listening to a story told by your funniest friend. Of course, every one of Birbiglia's gestures is well-planned in advance, but he makes his audience feel like they're his old friends.

If you want to listen to Birbiglia tell a story, he has a segment in this episode of This American Life, starting about 8 minutes into the broadcast.

If you want to see Birbiglia on a glowing rectangle, he's on youtube.

If you want to see Birbiglia on stage, he's going on a nationwide tour, I'm in The Future Also. Tickets for some cities are already on sale. Tickets for his performance in New York City (Nov. 5) go on sale in August.