Seasons of Greatness. No. 1: Eric Heiden (1980).

"I loved watching (Brett) Favre and I love watching Aaron Rodgers. Hank Aaron is known around the world. I'm honored to be included with them."

Ranked from 1 - 10, Eric Heiden tops the list of the 10 Wisconsin-based athletes. Read the Heiden article here and see the rest of the list. FYI:  During the 1980 Winter Olympics, Heiden became the only athlete in the history of speed skating to have won all five events in a single Olympic tournament and the only one to have won a gold medal in all events.

And he's from Madison, Wisconsin. So there.

(SPOILER ALERT! Brett Favre (1996) finished #4, ahead of Aaron Rodgers.)

Separated at Birth? Thomas Langmann & Peter Lorre.

Producer Thomas Langmann (above) won the Oscar last night for Best Picture, The Artist.

Lorre. Peter.

Oscar thinks & rants.

1.   Billy Crystal. Thank God that Eddie Murphy was a dick and dropped out. Spectacular.

2.   Jennifer Lopez. It's the Oscars. Have some class - I don't wanna see your titties falling out of your dress, ok?

3.   Cirque de Soleil. Very cool. At one time I could do all that shit.

4.   Separated At Birth. One of the producers who took home the Best Picture Oscar for The Artist....looks like a young Peter Lorre. The guy who first spoke. Thomas Langmann. Google it.

5.   In Memorium. I know - you can't get everyone on the list. But here are just a few name who were ommitted (and these are just actors) - Harry Morgan, Pete Postlethwaite (unless I missed him), James Arness (his brother, Peter Graves, was also ommitted when he died), Susannah York, Michael Sarrazin, Dana Wynter, Betty Garrett, Anne Francis, and John Barry (composer). Some are known for their TV work but also have lengthy film resumes, yet Whitney Houston and all 5 of her movies made the cut. I'm tiring of this word but...REALLY?

6.   Congratulations to Christopher Plummer, who at 82, became the oldest Oscar recipient with a Best Supporting Actor nod for his role in Beginners. I've always been a Plumber fan. Check out The Return of the Pink Panther, Jesus of Nazareth and The Fall of the Roman Empire.

Signed,
Oscar

TGIF! presents....The Doors' "Peace Frog"!

Not a huge Doors fan but this may be my favorite. And I like the name. Oh - a BONUS "TGIF! presents..." can be watched here.

LIGHTFOOT! Gordo joins U.S. Songwriters Hall of Fame!

'About time' is all I gotta say. Saw him on two occasions and I was very pleased both times.

The 73-year-old Canadian, to me, is one of the most prolific "poets" in music. Ever. Read about Gordo's "feting" here. And listen to his most popular classic here - "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald".

The Really Funny Horny Goat International Short Film Festival. March 2-3.

(It's the psychedelic version.) Presented at The Horny Goat Hideaway, 2011 S. 1st Street, Milwaukee. $10 tickets and screenings begin promptly at 8 p.m. Order tickets online here.

Click on READ MORE to see the line-up.

Tooty's Wedding (UK)

0507 (UK)

The Violinist (USA)

Dinosaur Ballet (UK)

Baden Krunk (USA)

I Love Luci (Scotland)

dik (Australia)

Pass the Salt, Please (USA)

Love Birds (British Columbia, Canada)

Heavy Heads (Denmark)

More Awesome Bowling Trick Shots (USA)

Suiker/Sugar (The Netherlands)

Cataplexy (USA)

Hello Caller (USA)

TGIF! presents..."Fish Heads"!

Selected by Rolling Stone as one of the top 100 videos of all time, the song doesn't start until the 2:19 mark.

"For I am Love....", by Thomas M. Ircink

I am like the rose of red, in its purest beauty and yet

can be so ugly that on one dare look upon me.

I have shape and form, still I am found without either.

I am as happy as a river going to places not known to men,

I am as sad as all the tears that can be shed.

I am kind, yet can be harsh.

I am gentle yet can cause the greatest of hurts,

I am found in all places and in all things, yet I am found

only by those who seek me.

There is but one key that can open my door, one word that

need be spoken and I shall understand.

I am many things and still I am one.

I am more yet the least of things, but what is more true

than false is that I am that scar, which no doctor can heal.

For I am love.

My Uncle Tom (one year younger than Dad) passed away in 2003 at the age of 65. He enjoyed writing poetry. I never knew. Some of his brothers and sister were aware of Uncle Tom's penchant for writing; however, and Aunt Evelyn gave me all his papers - the plan is to put together a self-published book of Uncle Tom's poetry.

Happy Valentine's Day, Uncle Tom. I - we all miss you.

snowin'. like. a. mutha.

I was hoping we were done for the year.

TGIF! presents...The Civil Wars on Letterman!

The Civil Wars are meticulous about promoting their touring - from pics to videos. Here's one in New York prior to their appearance on Letterman. The show starts around the 1:30 mark. In anticipation of the duo performing on Sunday's Grammy's (they're nominated for two Grammys), here they are - John and Joy - performing "Poison and Wine".

More news on The Civil Wars...

Not that Civil War. These guys.

Carl Wilson Remembered.

Carl Wilson, one of the founding members of The Beach Boys (brother to Brian and Dennis) passed away 14 years ago today. I never met Carl but I've met his sons several times -Jonah and Justyn. If they are any measure of what their father was like....

Here's a Carl solo tune, "Heaven" . Enjoy.

"Terry meets Julie, Waterloo Station, every Friday night..."

Terence Stamp meets Julie Christie in "Far From the Maddening Crowd" ((1967).

3,000 feet of hosing.

That's basically what my brother and I strung out in the Northwoods in anticipation of sugaring time late March, early April. It's a more efficient way of collecting maple sap which we then burn into maple syrup. Compared to collecting sap in buckets, we increased production over 3x. It's more work now - less work later on and more syrup.

Click on READ MORE and take a look at that pictures I snapped.

Do you know the way to San Jose? PTSP does.

Check out "Pass the Salt, Please" here. Our short film at the Cinequest Film Festival 22 will screen March 2 @ 6:45 pm, March 4 @ 10:30 am and March 10 @ 6:30 pm.

San Jose, Cali. You know the way, right? If you're keeping count, that's 15 film festivals so far.

"A Modern Salon" is fin.

7 shows sold out at Brucemore in Cedar Rapids! Had a wonderful time with the SPT Theatre - Jane Pini, Gerard Estella, Doug Elliott and Janelle Lauer. Truly - thank you for inviting me to be your special guest artist. Thanks to David Janssen and Tara Richards and the volunteers at Brucemore, Megan & Steve Ginsberg & family for putting me up for a couple weeks and everyone who attended.

What a great experience. Thank you!

TGIF! presents....Shatner's "Iron Man"!