I HAD NOT QUITE REALIZED just how carefully arranged was our final sing-along at the WITS show on Friday in St. Paul for to tempt the roving eye of the good people of bOING bOING,

BUT bOING bOING SAW RIGHT THROUGH OUR SCHEME this morning.

QUOTH MAGGIE KOERTH-BAKER, “All we need is for a unicorn to walk out on stage wearing some steampunk headgear and I’m pretty sure this video would have the BoingBoing demographic in the bag, man.”

WITNESS, and perhaps even SING ALONG

ALTOGETHER, the WITS show was a true joy, and I am terribly grateful to JOHNS MOE and MUNSON, plus my favorite backup feral mountain man JOHN RODERICK, plus the ever delightful and spooky NEIL “JOHN” GAIMAN, the surprising DAMIAN KULASH, and those singing ASCOTS for including me in the show. You can listen to the whole show HERE, or listen to it on the radio on AUGUST 1.*

AND I AGREE WITH MS. KOERTH-BAKER: Roderick has a truly soaring voice, and you should enjoy this video for NOT MOVING TO PORTLAND that she pointed out, which dates back to January, a time when Roderick was still missing a tooth, and I apparently was not using the internet.

FINALLY, A NOTE TO TRAVELERS: while St. Paul is truly a remarkable simulation of an American city, and a lovely place to visit, as I noted on Twitter, if you are playing ukulele and/or professional singers are singing quiet country songs in beautiful two part harmony after midnight in your hotel room, the hotel WILL call security on you. REPEATEDLY.

*THE REASON IT TAKES LONGER FOR RADIO is that it takes the radio engineers a long time to scrub away the DISGUSTING VIDEO from the BEAUTIFUL, UNSULLIED SOUND.

EVERY DAMN LINK IN THIS IMITATION BLOG POST COMES COURTESY: bOING bOING, as usual.

That is all.

I CANNOT EXPRESS my happiness for Henry Selick, Neil Gaiman, and all the crazy tiny-sweater-knitters and miniature-rat-wranglers, regarding the Oscar nomination of the film, CORALINE.

I HOPE THE ACADEMY LIKES CRYSTAL HEAD VODKA, because they are going to be getting a lot of it from me in a shameless attempt to buy their vote.

BUT BRIBERY IS NOT NECESSARY. It is an astonishing film, and I am so proud to be a part of it.

ONE TRAVESTY, however, is that THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS were not nominated for BEST SONG.

WITNESS:

THAT’S JOHN LINNELL SINGING, of course. Not me. I did record a version of the song, but thankfully, they came to their senses.

That is all.

WHAT YOU MAY HAVE HEARD IS TRUE: I portray the voice of the Father and Other Father in the forthcoming movie “Coraline”

I TOOK THIS JOB primarily so that I might sit for hours in a very small room with director Henry Selick, and increase my excuses for having dinner with Neil Gaiman from time to time.

BECAUSE I LIKE HANGING OUT WITH GENIUSES

ONLY NOW, however, two years after I sat in that tiny room, do I realize that THEY ACTUALLY MADE A MOVIE, and it is beautiful and creepy and brilliant.

THAT IS VERY FINE LUCK for me, and also FOR YOU. It opens on February 6. As Bruce Campbell used to say, if you like things that are good, and you want to see more good things in the future, vote with your wallet and buy a ticket.

IT WORKED FOR PAUL BLART: MALL COP!

That is all.