I don’t know whether to laugh or cry … however, considering it is The Muppets i believe laughter is in the highest order:

Stars and stripes, indeed. Be sure to watch the surprise assessment at the end from the resident pundits!

As you know, Improv Everywhere (based in NYC) has my whole heart and demonstrates all that is best, bright, playful, and wonderful in the world. They make you love life!! Their latest performance is Human Mirror:

“Within a day we heard from over 50 pairs. Most of the twins could not make the day and time of the mission, but we were delighted to have 8 pairs turn out, nearly all of whom had never participated in one of our missions before.”

Twins on the train

Twins photo shoot before the event.

The awesome video!

This is one of over 70 different missions Improv Everywhere has executed over the past six years in New York City. Others include Frozen Grand Central, the Best Buy uniform prank, and the famous U2 Rooftop Hoax, to name a few. Visit the website to see tons of photos and video of all of their work.

Just another reason why NYC is one of the best cities on this small blue ball!

Yippeeeeee! Jesse Helms died on the 4th of July!

President-in-thief Bush called Helms “a kind, decent, and humble man and a passionate defender of what he called “the Miracle of America.” So it is fitting that this great patriot left us on the Fourth of July.”

Here are a few choice words from Helms:

“Your tax dollars are being used to pay for grade school classes that teach our children that cannibalism, wife-swapping and the murder of infants and the elderly are acceptable behavior.”

“I’ve been portrayed as a caveman by some. That’s not true. I’m a conservative progressive, and that means I think all men are equal, be they slants, beaners, or niggers.”

“White people, wake up before it is too late. Do you want Negroes working beside you, your wife and your daughters, in your mills and factories? Frank Graham favors mingling of the races.”

Another ad featured photographs Helms himself had doctored to illustrate the allegation that Graham’s wife had danced with a black man. (The News and Observer, 8/26/01; The New Republic, 6/19/95; The Observer, 5/5/96; Hard Right: The Rise of Jesse Helms, by Ernest B. Furgurson, Norton, 1986)

“Martin Luther King repeatedly refers to his ‘non-violent movement.’ It is about as non-violent as the Marines landing on Iwo Jima.”

“When Carol Moseley-Braun of Illinois became the first African-American woman to sit in the Senate, Helms followed Moseley-Braun into an elevator, announcing to Utah Senator Orrin Hatch: “Watch me make her cry. I’m going to make her cry. I’m going to sing ‘Dixie’ until she cries.“

Then, emphasizing the lines about how “good” things were before the Civil War ended slavery, Helms sang “Dixie.”"

Rest in peace … you hate-filled bigot. h/t TYTM

Teh Old Guy is guy is quickly becoming a very old joke and his marketing folks are clueless if they think this image inspires anything other than acid-reflux and thoughts of Preparation H.

A waitress at Skyline Chili must help old fart put a bib on Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., before he eats a bowl of chili in Cincinnati, Thursday, June 26, 2008. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

A great way to start a Monday …

If you’ve got 15-minutes, take a peak at this hilarious comedy film made by a young Canadian filmmaker Collin Friesen, as part of Fox Searchlight’s Searchlab project. The ending is one of the best evah!

The role the internet plays in the life of one poor looser is central to the theme. Cast includes many familiar faces including prolific character actor, Steve Hytner, best known for his role Bania from Seinfeld and Elizabeth Keener (L Word) and the very funny Lisa Ann Walter.

Question of the day: “How does his sweet ole mama know about auto-erotic asphyxiation?”

Considered ‘a lot more thoughtful than the provocative premise might seem to be at first glance, Ramona Cruz says:

“It’s Just a Plant” is a children’s book that takes a similar approach to sex education in talking about another difficult topic. That is, the book explains that marijuana can be a positive and healthy thing for adults, but it’s not for children. In twenty years I haven’t seen anything quite like this in how it approaches the topic.”

“It doesn’t really matter whether ‘It’s Just a Plant‘ is what it seems to be — a highly earnest and enthusiastic children’s book about marijuana — or a shits-’n'-giggles hoax, or a self-aggrandizing attempt to shock the bourgeosie. It is what it is: A beautifully-illustrated, hilariously multee-cultee children’s book about the history, botany, (il)legality and potency of good old Mary Jane.” -The Valley Advocate

The video for the latest release from French band Justice, is DVNO. The song is also included in the soundtrack for the movie Hitman. This Justice video is completely Yowwzalicious (i knowww, i made it up) eye-candy for us Graphites. So take a peak, grab a hanky, and let your eyes drool, my friends. The motion graphics and 80’s references will bring light to the little-one within. Smiles and groovin’ guaranteed!

Just say … “Cest Super Cool!”

I know times are tight for everyone, but if you can, show some love for the Southern California Fire Poster Project.

Designers and artists from around the globe have donated their works to raise funds for victims of the wildfires that devastated Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Diego Counties. The Salvation Army serves as administrator for the 2007 California Wildfire fund.

This project is modeled after the Hurricane Poster Project, an effort started for victims of Hurricane Katrina. Hugely successful, the project raised thousands of dollars since its inception. Its founder has graciously allowed us to use his model for helping Southern California residents.

“We are the life force power of the universe, with manual dexterity and two cognitive minds. And we have the power to choose, moment by moment, who and how we want to be in the world. Right here right now, I can step into the consciousness of my right hemisphere where we are — I am — the life force power of the universe, and the life force power of the 50 trillion beautiful molecular geniuses that make up my form. At one with all that is. Or I can choose to step into the consciousness of my left hemisphere. where I become a single individual, a solid, separate from the flow, separate from you. I am Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor, intellectual, neuroanatomist. These are the “we” inside of me.Which would you choose? Which do you choose? And when?”

This video is a must see. No video? Then read the transcript because a beautiful mind is a terrible thing to waste.