Tom Lehrer's birthday is approaching and I am just using this excuse to post a scrabble, produced shortly after I discovered him about a year ago. I am in no way an artist, cartoonist and have no relation whatsoever to a creative profession, I just love making fun of things and people around (this is my second and last up to date try with computer colouring!) - and wish I would have TLs sense of humour, talents and attitude to life...
I hope he'd forgive me my irreverence here!


MUCH bigger version (you were warned!)

Spring is here, ah s-p-ring is here!
Life is skittles and life is beer!

It looks like Tom Lehrer will be on American TV's again. A New York-based TV-producer working for Creative Time (New York) and making a documentary about a poet/musician named Steven Jesse Bernstein has requested permission to use "The Masochism Tango". He found the song on "The Tom Lehrer Wisdom Channel" on YouTube and was redirected to Lehrer who said "OK". It seems that "The Masochism Tango" was Bernstein's favorite. So far I don't know when that program will be on, but I'll update this message later.

Tom Lehrer will also be on German TV in full broadcast quality this year. In July the ZDF will celebrate the 40-year anniversary on the landing on the moon (1969). Of course they wanted "Wernher von Braun" after having watched the recording on YouTube. Again, they were asked to contact Lehrer who said "OK". Every time somebody wants to license out a portion of that rare tape for broadcasting purposes they need Lehrer's written permission, because the content on that tape is his exclusive property. I will assist those guys the best I can.

I think it would be nice if more TV-stations and broadcasters would want to "celebrate" the landing on the moon by playing "Wernher von Braun", and preferably WITH Lehrer's spoken intro included. Lehrer was critical of the Apollo program already in 1964, years before the landing occurred in 1969. And of course he did not miss the opportunity to repeat his spoken intro when he was recorded with three TV-cameras in 1967.

:-)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTKn1aSOyOs&fmt=18

A friend just phoned to tell me that, on tonight's episode of "Jeopardy!", three categories displayed side-by-side were:

POISONING    PIGEONS    IN THE PARK

She thought I'd get a little chuckle out of it. She was wrong; I guffawed!

I wish all the community members (and users) here a happy new year in 2009 :-)

Since I am not living in America, I do not know if this is true, but it seems that the series on PBS, in which Lehrer will appear, can also be bought on DVD from January 2009.

Please use the links on this page:

http://home.broadpark.no/~emeyn/tl/pbs.html

and correct me if I'm wrong.

Take care.

More than 1.5 million nice visitors have now watched the twelve Tom Lehrer songs from the sixties, posted as videos on The Tom Lehrer Wisdom Channel on YouTube. I am just happy and do not know what else to say. Of course I never expected this level of attention. After all, Lehrer stopped performing and became a full-time lecturer and professor in mathematics more than 40 years ago. That concert, from 1967, was one of his last paid performances, ever.

If any of you who reads this have visited that channel, I would like to say thank you very much!

I really think that the attention is well deserved for Tom Lehrer. Because, to me, he is one of the greatest musical satirists ever to have walked on this earth. His songs will stay with us for a long time, although I must confess that I wish the song "Send The Marines" would soon become outdated.

Yours sincerely,

6funswede

*FLASH!*

In early 2009, a rare high-quality Tom Lehrer video (originally broadcast in 1966 on Norwegian TV) will be shown as part of the PBS six-hour series "Make Em Laugh: The Funny Business of America."

This video features Tom singing and playing, in his inimitable fashion, the scathingly hilarious satiric piece, "Send the Marines."

Billy Crystal will host the series. This will be a DO NOT MISS for sure!

http://www.tvsquad.com/2008/07/16/billy-crystal-named-host-of-make-em-laugh/

...but I thought he had done some teaching since then...?

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Tyler says:
I hope Tom doesn't read this.
He doesn't like the attention

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( I remember... )

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It was really nice of you to quote from the blog pf the MySpace part of The Tom Lehrer Wisdom Channel. YouTube itself does not have much room for the use of text or blogs, which is why MySpace is a good thing.

Today I also became a member of this community and I like it!

And true, a portion of the original broadcast quality 1967 Lehrer performance has been licensed for use in the US. In reality I would hope that the whole performance could be broadcast in the US, but that is not up to me.

And every time a TV-producer or broadcaster wants to license out a portion of that rare recording, the kind Mr. Tom Lehrer will have to give permission.

I have no complaints whatsoever because Lehrer has been more than generous and kind to me.

I look forward to enjoy this forum!

6funswede
The quisling

The Tom Lehrer Wisdom Channel on YouTube
The Tom Lehrer Wisdom Channel on MySpace