Here’s Katy Perry singing “One of the Boys,” a song that was not inspired by the book I reviewed above (and, as far as I can tell, has nothing to do with any of the book’s themes). It’s about something that might be considered impolitic today. It’s about a tomboy, who, as she moves into puberty, realizes that she really is a girl after all.

Far Out published two lists of “favorite songs” – one from Brian Wilson and the other from Robert Downey Jr. I’d have thought that I would much prefer to be friends with Robert Downey Jr., but maybe I was wrong. I thought Brian Wilson’s picks were much closer to my own.

To read about Robert Downey Jr’s favorites, click here.

To read about Brian Wilson’s, click here.

An edifying example of the range of music that derives from what one musician calls “the two-beat groove”…

Watch it here.

Remember this one? 

From SC, a high-school friend, who says, “Not sure there has ever been a music video that got me ‘jumping’ more than this one.”

It’s the Pointer Sisters singing Jump, their biggest hit, nominated for a Grammy for Best Pop Performance in 1983. What I like about it is how innocent it feels. Was our culture ever that wholesome?

Watch it here. 

I have a file marked “Old-Man Jokes.” It’s filled with jokes distributed among various groups of golfing buddies and high school friends. For most of the world, these jokes are groaners. And rightly so. Nonetheless, I like to think that the ones I like are better than average. Here’s a recent one I liked a lot. You tell me. Is this funny… or am I an old fart?!!!

Who is Chad Powers, and where did he learn to throw like that? 

I’ve seen lots of these. A high-level athlete disguises himself as old person and smokes mid-level athletes in a spontaneous competition. But this one is a bit different. Here, you have the high-level athlete disguising his look, and not his age, because he is one of the best-known athletes in the world.

Ever since the NYT turned anti-England, I’ve been pro-monarchy. My stroke prevented me from keeping up with the funeral, and so I missed this short speech by Charles III, the new king. His language is a bit strong (caveat lector), but I am completely in favor of his plans and his sentiment. Take that, NYT lovers!

Watch it here.

A good deal of the satisfaction we have with aesthetic experience is anticipation – i.e., whether the experience meets or exceeds our expectations. Those expectations are often set by critiques we’ve read or heard before. But sometimes they are established by the performance itself – how it introduces itself. Here’s a good example of how to wow your audience by purposefully establishing modest initial expectations.

On a lighter note… 

For the last several years, much to K’s chagrin, my political and social views have become more conservative. Whenever I voice such an opinion, she dismisses it by insisting that I must have an undetected brain tumor. Thus, it was inevitable, when surgery was scheduled and our moods lifted, that the subject was mentioned. K explained “the problem” and her diagnosis to Dr. Hope and asked if he could, while clearing the plaque from my artery, clear out whatever else was in the neighborhood that was causing it. Dr. Hope, unaccustomed perhaps to this depth of black humor, bowed his head and laughed noiselessly for a minute before looking up and saying, “I’ve never had such a request, but I’ll do the best I can.”

Funniest Pet Photos of the Year 

In times like these, we need something, anything, to pick up our spirits. So, for your uplifting pleasure, I present Gizmodo’s finalists from this year’s Comedy Pet Photograph awards. Click here.