From the 'Net: Look At This Fucking Jeopardy Contestant

Image courtesy of http://lookatthisjeopardycontestant.tumblr.com/

If someone says "classic game show," the first thing that should come to mind is the timeless quiz show known as Jeopardy! (If you said Wheel of Fortune, get the hell out of my sight.) For over four decades, Jeopardy has been a regular fixture in American households and continues to enjoy regular viewership from every demographic.We here at the Myxem staff are huge fans; I've got my DVR set to record every episode and recently took a test to appear as a contestant (a lifelong dream of mine, wish me luck!).

Now, being the cynical sort of fellow that I am, I've been known to poke fun at contestans, pick favorites, and root for others to fail miserably. I laugh at their misfortunes and revel in their successes. As such, I was absolutely thrilled when I stumbled across a Tumblr page entitled "Look At This Fucking Jeopardy Contestant", updated regularly with pithy observations, anti-contestant rants (the blogger who runs the site is particularly concerned by contestants who don't dress up to appear on television), and hilarious/perfectly timed screen captures. It's all way funnier than I'm making it sound. Be sure to stop by at http://lookatthisjeopardycontestant.tumblr.com/ and check out a few of our favorite pictures after the jump.

From The 'Net: Charles Barkley's Golf Swing

Golf aficionados, weekend warriors, and even, perhaps, those diehard Charles Barkley fans more than likely know the story. Sir Charles Barkely, The Round Mound of Rebound, has taken up golfing in the years since his retirement. Of course! Why not?! That's what retirement is for! Except in Charles Barkley's case, he has two things that distinguish him from your average plaidpant at the country club: (1) immense public recognition and (2) a golf swing that makes the Tin-Man look like a prima ballerina. Complicated analogy? Possibly, but watch:







See? If there's anything more complicated than that golf swing, it's the kind of analogy one would be forced to use to describe it. This is a golf swing that's so bad, even a novice golfer like myself, whose meager experience amounts to no more than 36 holes, can be moved to audible laughter at it. It's the kind of swing that Kevin Nealon finds "entertaining" and the kind that makes John Elway "cringe when [he] see[s] it." (link - golf.com) There has even been a reality show, The Haney Project: Charles Barkley, on the Golf Channel, where former Tiger Woods coach Hank Haney attempted (and failed) to correct the hitch in Barkley's giddy-up. In any case, there are no less than 7 danzigs of videos on YouTube celebrating Barkley's swing. More videos after the jump!

From the 'Net: Tim Tebow's Exciting Press Conference

Tim Tebow, the former Denver Broncos quarterback, has been in the news a lot recently. The football sensation that captured our nation with sheer jubilation, Tebow was recently ousted from the Mile-High City, who signed Peyton Manning. Manning had previously been under contract with the Indianapolis Colts, with whom he twice attended and once won the Superbowl. These, I imagine, are exciting times for football fans. Having been recently signed to the New York Jets (the Jets?),Tim Tebow himself is excited. So excited, in fact, at a recent press conference discussing his relationship with the aforementioned Jets of New York he managed to utter "excite" in a great deal of tenses and variations a total of 44 times. The video is below:

From The 'Net: Radiohead Returns to Basement

Radiohead's From The Basement session featuring songs
from King of Limbs was released late last week.
Click the image above to watch.

Late last week, Radiohead's return to Nigel Godrich's famed basement was released on YouTube. The band had visited previously in 2008, for the In Rainbows - From the Basement DVD and television broadcast. Featuring Optimistic, Myxomatosis and ten or so other songs, mostly from In Rainbows were performed as part of the legendary British television program. It was later aired on VH1 here in the United States.

The series features absolutely legendary artists while, as Godrich put it, "[they] are having their moment, to try and get a definitive record of what they’re doing." Featuring Sonic Youth, The White Stripes, Beck, Super Furry Animals, PJ Harvey and (obviously) Radiohead as well as many, many more, the series accomplished Godrich's goal in spades. Now, Radiohead returns to this iconic basement armed with a few additional musicians to perform King of Limbs in a stripped-down and intimate setting. It's almost an hour long, so prepare for that, but if you are even remotely interested in Radiohead, I cannot recommend highly enough that you watch this. Click the image above to watch.

From the 'Net: Affirmations of the Mindheart

Mike Leffingwell, currently tenured on both Twitter and working with the Upright Citizen's Brigade, also finds time to create "Affirmations of the Mindheart." As seen at left, they're humorous takes on the idea of inspirational photographs, not unlike the demotivational poster meme. Excluding, of course, the fact that Leffingwell is both intelligent and, on an average day, pretty hilarious. Ranging from simple jokes, as seen on the left, to more adult themed work (think copulation, horses), Leffingwell covers the gamut of humor, but is always guaranteed to make you laugh.

From the 'Net: The Galactic Empire Times

Lord Vader announced the killing of Obi-Wan Kenobi
at the Imperial Palace on Coruscant.

A pretty brilliant Star Wars-themed satire of the New York Times headline the day Osama Bin Laden was deftly dispatched, The Galactic Empire Times takes a look at a VERY well known execution from a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. Yes, Lord Darth Vader steps up to the podium to announce that "Obi-Wan Kenobi, the mastermind of some of the most devastating attacks on the Galactic Empire and the most hunted man in the galaxy, was killed in a firefight with Imperial forces near Alderaan." The article is rather lengthy, and dips in to the expanded universe at times, but it is definitely worth a look. Unfortunately, this is not a functioning paper, rather just a brief article, but it is infinitely recommendable. Link is here.

From The 'Net: "Said That, She Did"

Full disclosure: I am a complete Star Wars nerd. That being said, I am incredibly fortunate to have come across "Said That, She Did". The premise is simple: take a Star Wars quote out of context, cut to Yoda saying his broken-English equivalent of "that's what she said." Sure, it seems a bit stupid, but the results are absolutely hysterical. The site just got started on June 1st so there's not a whole lot of back catalog to go through, but judging by the gems that are on here already this will be keeping me entertained for quite some time. Check it: http://www.saidthatshedid.com.

Mountain Goats hit AV Club's Undercover

John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats.

The AV Club Undercover has a relatively simple premise. They've made up a list of 25 songs and invite artists to cover them one by one. As songs get covered, they get crossed off the list and are no longer available to be covered. I was not super excited to see "Boxcar" by Jawbreaker on this year's list. Not to say I don't like the song (though it is not among my favorites), I figure their list could be better this year all around. I was taken aback and slightly confused when I saw John Darnielle and the crew from the Mountain Goats step into the small round room that serves as the Undercover studio to cover it.

From the 'Net: The Library of Congress' National Jukebox

The Library of Congress is our nation's testament to the arts: collections of books as old as our country itself and galleries packed with monuments in visual art. Now, they've provided the general public with easy access to their impressive collection of historic musical recordings. The jukebox brings together sounds recorded all over the world between 1900 and 1929, and each culture and musical style is represented. The Library's database is categorized for easy browsing, so it's easy to find yourself getting lost listening to the array of echoes from the past. My Irish heritage inevitably led me to two Irish reels recorded by Frank Quinn in 1920s New York City (also found a "humorous song" by Billy Murray in 1904 about the Irish). There's a treasure trove of interesting material available for free at http://www.loc.gov/jukebox/.

From the 'Net: Awesome People Hanging Out Together

GZA and Bill Murray, image from APHOT

Awesome People Hanging Out Together is the best celebrity-gawker website around. It's not catching them with cocaine and hookers, or losing their minds any kind of super-public and career-ending way. It's pictures of them hanging out with their friends and colleagues. It was difficult to choose just one picture, as there are copious amounts of awesome shots, but the one at right with GZA and Bill Murray just about sums up the website. Moments of honesty and camaraderie where you would least expect it. One picture shows Michael Caine obviously having just told a successful joke to Morgan Freeman and Liam Neeson at a bar, while another shows Trent Reznor, Jon Stewart and Marilyn Manson just hanging out. If you get a chance, I highly recommend you check this phenomenal website out.