The Wheezer Society

Lethal Combination - Mesi & Bradley

From Steve Lindstedt - An independent film that was shot about a year ago was recently aired on PBS. The Loser's Club chronicles the trials of two local blues-guys trying to make a living by doing music in the Portland, Oregon area. I have yet to see it, but my parents have, and they thought it was wonderful. (Leverenz did an recent post in September). Shown here is some artwork I did for Mesi several years ago, featuring a caricature of the short Italian guitar-god Jim on the left and the expert on every surf-guitar recording that was ever released in the early sixties Steve Bradley on the right.

© 2004 Steve Lindstedt

© 2004 Steve Lindstedt

Howlin' 58 Gibson

Stratocasters come and go, but there are guitars that go on forever, my beloved baby is my '58 Gibson ES 225 T. I've had it for quite some time now, the neck is PERFECT, the problem is that it's a hollow-body guitar, so, I can't get too loud with it 'cause it howls like a sonofabitch. But this P-90 delivers wonderful tone. Tone, baby, tone. This remarkable photo is of my beloved Gibson that I took at the Oregon Coast. -Steve Lindstedt

Top Cat Due on DVD

Part of the Hanna-Barbera Classic Collection, Top Cat: The Complete Series will be in stores December 7th. "Hanna-Barbera are legendary artists who re-defined the look of animation, paving the way for much of the animation that is on TV today, and ultimately leading cartoons straight into primetime television," commented Christine Martinez, with Warner Home Video. She added, "'Top Cat' classics definitely will be a must-have for all cartoon fans and will have viewers feeling like a kid again."

Exclusive special features included with "Top Cat: The Complete Series" four disc DVD set will be:
- Commentaries on three episodes by several experts in the animation field including: Animation historian, Jerry Beck, writer/animation historians Earl Kress and Mark Evanier as well as Leo de Lyon, who voiced the show's Spook and The Brain characters.
- Storyboard Showcase
- Retrospective Featurette entitled "Hoagy's Alley: The Making of Top Cat"
- Cool Cats in Interview Alley featuring Arnold Stang (Top Cat), Leo de Lyon (Spook and the Brain), Marvin Kaplan (Choo, Choo) and Barry Blitzer ("Top Cat" writer)
- "Top Cat" sing-along
- "Top Cat" art collection
- "Top Cat" Kellogg's commercials

Featuring its signature swinging big band theme song, "Top Cat" is one of Hanna-Barbera's most enduring creations. Inspired by the hit '50's TV comedy series "The Phil Silvers Show," "Top Cat" premiered in 1961 and ran for 30 episodes. Top Cat is the smooth-talking New York City cat known as T.C. to his merry bunch of Manhattan alley cats --Benny the Ball, Choo-Choo, Spook, the Brain and Fancy-Fancy. They are always on the make towards a big score or swindle. And the bothersome and ever exasperated Office Dibble is relentlessly on his case trying to evict the gang from Hoagy's Alley. Like "The Flintstones," "Top Cat" was first screened primetime on US television.

Tanglin' Texans - Bush vs Leatherface

British film fans have voted US President George W Bush "Movie Villain of the Year" ahead of a fellow Texan, psychotic chainsaw murderer Leatherface. ABC NEWS

Yassar Arafat in for Medical Treatment

Yassar Arafat arrives in Paris for emergency medical treatment...

Phone-O-Vision

Digital TV will be coming to your mobile phone in 2007. Texas Instruments has developed an advanced chip that will allow digital TV broadcasts to reach mobile phones and handheld PCs at a rate twice as fast as current high-end video phones.

Happy Halloween-ie!

Remember the old "Spook Cards" from the early 60's? I still have my collection! The "Spook Stories" had jokes and puns on the back of each card, like Question: If you lived in a cemetary, how would you open the gate? (see answer below)
Here are a few to enjoy....




Answer: With a skeleton key!
You can see the larger, clearer versions in the SPOOK ALBUM (see right column)

Color Cola - Silver Slurper

Virgin, best known here in the States for its mobile phones, has launched a beverage line in 7 Elevens across the country. Jumping in on the flavored cola trend, the silver bottles which are said to stay cool longer, come in Black (cola), Cherry Lee (black cherry cola), Blonde (vanilla) and Jade (lime). from TrendCentral

Digital Obsession Anything Anywhere Anytime

Those obsessed by digital media may soon breathe a sigh of relief. As if having an iPod, a digital camera, and portable DVD player wasn’t enough, it looks like those dependent on digital media files will soon be able to access their entertainment when not sitting in front of the computer at home. Orb Networks Inc., a California startup company, is introducing a service that allows subscribers to remotely access their music, video, or photo files from any device with a media player and an internet connection, including laptops, mobile phones, and PDAs. Satellite or cable TV that’s hooked up to a home computer network will also be accessible. The service will reportedly be available in mid-November.

On-demand culture, whether it be TiVo or Apple’s iTunes Music Store, is increasingly becoming the norm among our media hungry society. It’s not enough to just give consumers what they want anymore; in order to keep up with technology, more companies are going to have to give consumers what they want whenever and wherever they want it. - from TrendCentral

John Scarry Halloween

"I'm John Kerry and I'm reporting for duty."