The Brendan Leonard Show and Bruce Springsteen

This week's favorite thing is the Brendan Leonard Show.

I spent the summer of 2003 religiously watching this show. It was on ABC Family for one summer season and I think it's hysterical. For those of you who haven't seen it, it's pretty much a toned down version of Jackass. It started as a cable access show and 4 years later (in 2003) was picked up by ABC Family. It was run completely by Brendan's family and friends. His siblings and parents were regularly on the show and they did all of the filming, lighting, editing, etc. Essentially it was a group of 19 year old boys from Winnetka, IL  filming what they did everyday. Nothing fancy or high-tech. Mostly involving duct tape, water balloons, and a lot of falling down. Pretty amazing if you ask me.

 There are two clips from the show that make me laugh hysterically without fail. Felix: The Living Embodiment of Boxing Day and BLS Moment of the Day: The Slide.



I think Felix is so funny because it is so unbelievably random. I don't know how they did it without cracking up. I mean, Sal McIronBones? If we kiss through the bubble are we still kissing? To quote Liz Lemon, "What the what?"

Fun fact: Michael Carney (Felix) is now in law school


Ah the slide. Amazing. I love the commentary by Brenden's sisters. I mean, only older sisters could provide that sort of reflection on the moment. The home movie footage is great too, there's nothing quite like having embarrassing moments on film for the world to see. (And I'm once again reminded that I'm glad we never had a video camera when I was growing up.) Am I the only person who finds little kids' voices really funny? "I fell down...like dis....like dat..."

The show only lasted one season, probably because the cast didn't want to deal with the politics of being on TV and I doubt they really cared what would sell, but for that one season it was pure genius. Good work, guys.


Dear World, Stop hatin' on redheads. Bruce Springsteen loves us and you should too. Sincerely, Maggie

This week's hot jam is Red Headed Woman by Bruce Springsteen. I love that is song is unapologetically dirty and, as a redhead, I find it (oddly?) flattering. Bruce wrote it for his wife, and honestly I can't think of a better gift. Smooth, Bruce, real smooth.