Yank Blog

What better way to ring in the new year than a fresh new desktop wallpaper for your machine? Since this is still the season of giving, we’re giving you the January calendar a few days early because we’re just that nice. Our monthly calendar submission contest is now starting it’s second year, and veteran winner Aron Shay has drawn us a playful snowscape with Al and the band having a bit of wintertime fun. You don’t need to have a lot of talent to create wonderful works like this. If you have a scanner, some Al bits lying around and access to a graphic editing tool like Paint Shop Pro, Gimp, or Photoshop then you can start letting your imagination run wild, even if you’re stuck inside because it’s 40 below zero outside. Just make sure you know what you’re getting into before you submit your own calendar for February or any other month. Good luck!

Have a great birthday Rubén!

If you’re looking for something to do this holiday season, The Longway Planetarium in Flint, MI is offering a laser light animation show.

“Laser Laughs,” hilarious songs and laser animation featuring music from Weird Al Yankovic, the Simpsons, Cookie Monster, Monty Python and others. Show times are at 1 and 3 p.m. daily.

The show runs from December 26 to January 2

Ah, there’s nothing like a picture of Al giving that jolly St. Nick a good punch in the face, is there? Well, the folks here at Yank Blog HQ would like to wish all you readers a very happy holiday. And to quote Al from the Obligatory Holiday Episode on The Weird Al Show:

I want to wish you all the very best Christmas, New Year’s, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Easter, Passover, Rosh Hashanah, and Cinco de Mayo… *gasp* as well as the happiest Groundhog’s, Valentine’s, Presidents’, St. Patrick’s, Mother’s, Father’s, Veterans, Memorial, Flag, Independence, Labor, Arbor, Boxing, Columbus and Bastille Day ever!

Well said, Al!

Very happy birthday wishes to Jim West!

To help get your Al multimedia fix in for today, here are some movie trailers you can check out:

• UHF
• Naked Gun 2 1/2 (Al plays the guy holding the detectives at gunpoint)
• Tapeheads
• Desperation Boulevard

What’s That Song?

Listen to a song, guess which one it is from the list on the right. Apparently, they have a Weird Al edition. Share the link with your friends!

The 2005 Weird Al Star Fund 12-month ALendar is ready… and WOW does it look awesome!!

This year, once again, we have a few more rare pictures from the personal collection of Jon “Bermuda” Schwartz, Al’s drummer from the very beginning. In addition, we’ve got some great stuff from Dr. Demento, the novelty music DJ who discovered Al and continues to make us laugh every week on his syndicated radio show. Dr. Demento dug into his personal files and gave us some rare and unique stuff that you’ll not want to miss!

Also, the luckiest fan in the world, Jason Altschul, has shared some really cool behind the scenes photos from when Al came to his house and redecorated his room! VH1 was there to tape it as part of their “Rock The House” series, but Jason gave us the stuff you won’t see on TV!

And once again, we recruited a very talented artist, Allison Corbin, to design an exclusive cover for the 2005 Al-endar.

Pick up a copy, or 27, here.

One stop shopping for all your holiday needs.

Yo, homeboy. Al’s cousins “Novigo” and “Afropics” (notice the resemblance?) have just released their debut album. Along with “Eikaiwa Dave,” they make up the Japanese rap group, Nice Guy Jin. And get this, they do satire! Ha! How appropriate, must run in the family! You can read a little more about “Novigo” here.

Thanks to Alison C-Nason for passing along the information.

Wow! It’s December already! This year has flown by. Concluding the first annual calendar submission contest is Sean “ItsNotArt” Peterson who also gave us the touching tribute back in May. This time he’s got a non-holiday but very festive desktop that everyone can enjoy, although just remember where all your desktop icons are before slapping this wallpaper up. Thanks to everyone who’s submitted calendar entries this year. You’ve really been creative. If you submitted one and it wasn’t used, don’t worry. It may still show up some month in the future. The rest of you slackers, get to work! They don’t need to be entirely complicated. Maybe just scan an album cover, or some inner photos, do a little tweaking and you are done. Still images from videos or tv appearances also are good starting material.
Just make sure you know what you’re getting into before you submit your own calendar for January or any other month. Good luck!