Robert Redford Is Not a Native Speaker of English

I am not making this up. Here is what it says on page one of the Sundance Christmas catalog (I mean “Holiday Catalog”). This is supposedly a message straight from Robert Redford. And I quote:

“Holidays again. Forgive me while I dodge the rumble of the million footed throngs that have succumbed to the marketing ether for Christmas and its days.

Holiday. Can we, without disappointing the children and others who long for the surprise of gift giving, just look to a different value to digest, wherever you are? Those details that are natural and sometimes hidden? That have a satisfying and long lasting lifespan? Things that you miss when you’re away? That when someone might remind you, you say, oh yes, how wonderful. And of course the most vivid of details: loved ones who are there in body and spirit.

Happy holidays from all of us at Sundance.”

Wait, what? It’s like he snorted a bunch of pulped Christmas cards and fragments of them shot up into his brain, and then he got really high, punched an intern in the face, and dictated this – IN CHINESE. Seriously, what happened here? $100 to the first person who can explain this to me.

Gibson Robot Guitar

Aw, come on! Are you kidding me? Thanks Michael, for calling this to my attention…

Robot Sings Still Alive

First I thought this was computer animation, but it’s footage of an actual robot built by Interbots, a crazy robot-making company that spun off from a crazy robot-making project at Carnegie Mellon. Hooray for robots!

Casual Reference in Salon

As you know, my favorite way to be mentioned is casually, as if a mention of my name requires no explanation. Imagine my delight when this snippet appeared in Salon’s Sexiest Man Living piece today (this paragraph is about the definitely very sexy Flight of the Conchords kids):

Separately, they’re adorable, but together, they enter a pantheon of witty troubadours that includes Jonathan Richman, They Might Be Giants and Jonathan Coulton — men who are a little bit Bruce, a little bit Groucho, and more than a little appealing.

I didn’t make the sexy list, but it does take two Conchords to make one of me (or one Jonathan Richman, or two Giants). And when they say “Bruce,” obviously they mean Bruce Vilanch, so you know, that’s good.