“Honestly, shows like ‘Medium,’ they tend to foster a lot of misconceptions. The day-to-day work of being a conduit between law enforcement agencies and the supernatural world is a lot less glamorous than what most people think. It’s mostly a lot of paperwork.”

Tropical storm Hanna is due in the D.C. area tomorrow, bringing wind, rain and exaggerated news reports. A few pre-storm observations:

• People are definitely stocking up. Went into the CVS, and the shelves had been completely emptied of Bombast, Self-Importance and Feigned Sincerity. At least there was some Spin left.
• The single best German word is the verb for “to hoarde”: Hamsterkaufen, to buy like a hamster (evoking the cheek pouches). First heard it in connection with the East Germans jerking around free movement in Berlin. Better a tropical storm. 
• South Carolina will feel some of Hanna’s pique (that’s one level below a hurricane’s “wrath”). Did you know the South Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture’s name is Hugh Weathers? 
• Apparently to save electricity in case of power outages, the D.C. Metro will turn off most of the system’s escalators. But how will we tell the difference?
• In the Hobbesian state of nature into which Chevy Chase will descend, years of self-defense lessons will finally pay off. The Brazilian martial arts system of “Copacabana” was until just recently very popular around here, until this fight appeared on YouTube. So that’s who bought up all the Self-Importance.
• Finally, an unrelated happy 79th birthday to Bob Newhart. He’s playing the Warner Theater just down the street from NAM HQ tonight. Class act.

UPDATE (11:30 a.m.): The latest report from the Virginia Pilot. 65 mph winds? That’s just a weekend blow on the Oregon coast.

Not a ha-ha Friday Follies, but still amusing to at least one Garry Moore fan…

“I’ve Got a Secret,” now that was a show, back when celebrities were familiar with fine arts, popular arts and even the avant garde.

John Cale — Mr. X on the right — went on to play viola  with the ’60s demimondic Velvet Underground (ridiculous Andy Warhol “Factory” staging here) and then ventured into more traditional piano and orchestral performances. More on the 1963 TV performance here.

For more manufacturing-related “I’ve Got a Secret” clips, here’s Philo T. Farnsworth, inventor of the TV, and computer/keyboard inventor Ray Kurzweil. Henry Morgan gets Kurzweil’s secret right away.

Study: Most Children Strongly Opposed To Children’s Healthcare

Entertainment Scientists Warn Miley Cyrus Will Be Depleted by 2013

Seems like with advanced technology, we could take advantage of older, once-thought exhausted teen-star resources. Like Debbie Gibson.

Missed a few Friday Follies here the last couple of weeks, trying to be more eco-conscious since Al Gore visited Washington. Every embedded video kills a polar bear, you know.

But, well, how can you not post Smurf-related material, polar bears notwithstanding? Reviewing the British pop charts from three decades ago this month, August, 1978, we see that Father Abraham and the Smurfs were ranked No. 12 for the light-hearted, puppet-enhanced “Smurf Song.”

Perfect Euro-novelty song, accented English and sing-along chorus.

And such a funny juxtaposition, ranked right below  the tough, punk-angry, oh man it’s tough, “If the kids are united” by the aggressively rockin’ Sham 69. Part of that punk explosion.

Funny thing, though. Not a punk song at all. It’s a perfect Euro-novelty song, accented English and sing along chorus. So disillusioning.

UPDATE: From the Telegraph: “In 2005, Tony Blair chose to walk on to the Labour conference platform to the sound of Sham 69’s If the Kids are United.” Which proves the point.

Since Weird Al Yankovic is playing across the street tomorrow at the Warner Theater*, we’ll bring back an oldie, his homage to a Subterranian Homesick Bob.

If only there were a video for “I Palindrome I” from They Might Be Giants. But there’s not, so here’s a link to “Birdhouse in Your Soul” instead.

*”A $3 service charge is added to all tickets for this event purchased at the Warner Theatre Box Office.” So now there’s a service charge for buying at the performance site? What the…

Gruess Gott! A remarkable tale brought to you by the good people of Oberpfaffelbachen, Bavaria.

To watch the full documentary and for more on the Rampenfest, please visit here.

CNN explains the BMW connection.

Since Weezer’s “Pork and Beans” does such a good job of transpopularizing YouTube memes, we thought we’d keep the ball rolling with “Will It Blend,” a smart/goofy promotion by Blendtec that wound up in the Weezer video.

Tom Dickson takes great delight in blending the unblendable, which turns out to be blendable after all. At least with the 1,500-watt Total Blender.

Smart marketing.

Weezer’s “Red” album is out, including the label-mandated pop songs and potential hits. And …yet another folly-worthy video — or as The Los Angeles Times puts it, “is a seminal homage to viral video.”

“Pork and Beans” sews together all those YouTube memes that leak down upon popular culture – Dramatic Look Gopher, the Mentos and Diet Coke eruption guys, Charlie the Unicorn, the befuddled but cute Miss South Carolina Teen USA, Daft Hands, Afro Ninja, Does it Blend…on and on. Some of these must be familiar, right?

The director, Matthew Cullen, explains it all here. And there are even outtakes.