Thundarr the Barbarian

The year: 1994! From out of space comes a runaway planet, hurtling between the Earth and the Moon, unleashing cosmic destruction! Man’s civilization is cast in ruin! Two thousand years later, Earth is reborn…

A strange new world rises from the old: a world of savagery, super science, and sorcery. But one man bursts his bonds to fight for justice! With his companions Ookla the Mok and Princess Ariel, he pits his strength, his courage, and his fabulous Sunsword against the forces of evil.

He is: Thundarr, the Barbarian!

When I was a boy, I loved Saturday morning cartoons. My family didn’t often own a television (which, in retrospect, was a good thing, though I didn’t like it at the time), so I had to catch my cartoons at other kids’ houses.

One of my favorites was Thundarr the Barbarian, which effectively combined everything that was great about Star Wars, Conan, and Kamandi into a delcious campy whole. Even now I’m entertained by episodes on YouTube. Here’s “The Battle of the Barbarians” (in two videos):

“Listen! The sounds of destruction, and of humans in danger!”

“Who is this Barbarian? Attack!”
“Send me all your metal warriors, wizard!”

Ah, the good ol’ days.

Kevin Spacey Explains Twitter to David Letterman

“I don’t really get Twitter,” I told Andy at lunch last week.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“Well, I try to be interesting and post useful links, but I’m finding it hard to balance between tweeting for my friends and tweeting for my readers. I only have one account, so my private and public persona are enmeshed.”

Andy shook his head. “You’re overthinking it, J.D.,” he said. “Just write what you want to write.”

At least he understood what I was talking about. Until recently, few of my friends even knew what Twitter was. Now, though, it seems to be reaching some sort of critical mass. Yesterday, for example, actor Kevin Spacey appeared on The David Letterman Show, during which he schooled Dave about Twitter:

Funny stuff. And, like I say, Twitter seems to be gaining widespread acceptance. Heck, even my mother is on Twitter now!

Sushi Cam

Here’s a fun video I discovered a couple of months ago. I’m not sure why I didn’t share it before. At a sushi bar in Japan, the dishes are served on a conveyer belt. Patrons take the food they want as it comes to them. Here, a young woman has placed her digital video camera on the conveyer to let it make its 7-1/2 minute trip through the restaurant. The result is strangely mesmerizing:

As I say, I watched this a few months ago, but dismissed it as a novelty. But I’ve thought about the video many times since. I love the way it captures so many small moments.

It’s enthralling.