Here’s a quick teaser to a larger post tomorrow. Discovery and the BBC are about to release Life, their followup effort to Planet Earth, the massive nature documentary from a few years back. Like Earth, Life is shot in HD with lots of slow motion, bizarre locales, and — the focus this time — unusual living creatures. In the clip below, check out the stalk-eyed fly, an insect that inflates its own head with air. Super-weird, super-awesome.

More details tomorrow — suffice it to say you may want to clear your schedule this Sunday evening (March 21) at 8pm for the first two hours of Life goodness.

So, I’m pretty much done being pregnant. I mean, I’m not – I’m only 30 weeks – but mentally, I’m over this. But I really shouldn’t be complaining – 40 weeks is nothing compared to some of the animal kingdom. Of course, it’s also a really long time compared to others. By the way, when a pregnant woman tells you she’s tired or achy or {insert crappy ailment here}, don’t respond with “Be glad you’re not an elephant; they gestate for 22 months!” because you will probably get punched. Just sayin’.

1. Elephants – anywhere from 600-660 days is normal. If you’re thinking “You know, I’ve never seen an elephant give birth,” I can help you out. You know that scene in The Shining where the blood gushes out of the elevator? Yeah, it’s kind of like that. But the part after that is pretty cool.

2. Hippos – eight months. Yes, it takes less time to make a hippopotamus than it takes to make a human. COME ON!
3. Giraffe – 14-15 months. A baby giraffe made the news in December when she was born at the Calgary Zoo in Canada. She was on the small side for a baby giraffe, coming in at a mere 5’10” and 130 pounds. Another fascinating tidbit: giraffes give birth standing up, so it’s pretty normal for a baby to fall six feet to the ground. (more…)

In honor of this morning’s Jason Alexander interview, here’s a George Costanza quiz from last year.

During Seinfeld’s nine-year run, George Costanza held many jobs, from real estate agent to hand model, and he pretended to be just as many things. How well do you know Costanza’s colorful resume? We’re about to find out.

Take the Quiz: George Costanza’s Jobs

What happens when you combine a goat with a spider? It sounds like a joke set up you’d see on the back of a popsicle stick, but instead this is a real question scientists have asked. The answer to their inquiry is even more strange, the females are able to secrete milk through their udders that contains a silk more durable than Kevlar, more stretchable than nylon and stronger than steel.

Of course, these spider goats aren’t the only hybrid animal by any means. This WebEcoist article looks at a variety of cross-species creations, including wholphins, zorses, ligers and beefalos like the one seen above. The beefalo is supposedly lower in cholesterol, higher in protein and lower in fat than its standard bovine counterpart. It’s also more docile. Now if only they could work in some pig to the mix to give it the flavor of a bacon-wrapped steak without all those pesky heart-attack risks.

March Madness starts today, which means you’re going to be tossing team nicknames around like crazy for the next few weeks. Do you know where these mascots came from, though? What the heck is a Hoya? Would you know a Gaucho if you saw one? Let’s take a look at the origins of some of the tournament teams’ mascots.

1. Georgetown Hoyas
The origins of the Hoya nickname are a bit murky, but the school thinks it originated in the 1890s. Students created a mixed Greek and Latin cheer of “Hoya Saxa!” (which translates into “What Rocks!”) to inspire either the school’s baseball or football teams. By 1920, “Hoya” had become a popular saying on campus, and by 1928 the nickname was firmly stuck to the school’s teams.

Georgetown’s original dog mascot, a pit bull named Stubby, actually fought in World War I before becoming associated with the school. He earned a promotion to sergeant by capturing an enemy spy and later delighted Georgetown crowds by pushing a football around the field at halftime.

2. Temple Owls
When Temple was founded in 1884, it was a night school, so people jokingly referred to its students as “night owls.” When the school started fielding teams, it was only natural to call them the Owls.

3. Ohio State Buckeyes
A buckeye is a small, dark brown nut with a light brown patch on it. Carrying a buckeye is supposedly good luck; some superstitious people (like me) won’t leave the house without one in their pocket. The buckeye tree is Ohio’s state tree, and Ohio residents have been referred to as Buckeyes since 1788. Hence, the Ohio State Buckeyes.

4. UCSB Gauchos
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On Tuesday, David Israel introduced us to the people behind 10 famous disembodied voices. Today let’s put names and faces to four more seemingly anonymous sounds.

1. Ho-Ho-Ho

Three little words paved the road to higher education for two young girls. Those words were, simply, “Ho-ho-ho.” No, we’re not talking about Santa Claus. We are speaking of the Jolly Green Giant, who was named by Advertising Age magazine as the third most recognizable advertising icon of the 20th century (after Tony the Tiger and the Marlboro Man). Baritone singer Elmer “Len” Dresslar, Jr. stepped into a Chicago recording studio in 1959, sang his “ho-ho-ho” and left. “I’m the king of minimalists,” he would later say in an interview. Dresslar recorded 15 albums with the jazz group Singers Unlimited and appeared in a touring production of South Pacific. He also provided the voices for “Snap” of Rice Krispies fame, and Dig ‘Em frog. It was also his deep voice that admonished listeners “When you’re out of Schlitz, you’re out of beer.” But it was his Jolly Green Giant work that was beamed into households for 40-some years, earning him hundreds of thousands of dollars in royalties every year. His elder daughter, Teri Bennett, said at the time of his death (at the age of 80) that her father never got tired of “ho-ho”-ing for fans. “If nothing else, it put my sister and I through college,” she added.

2. Snap, snap

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The f-word is a tricky one – some movies or books throw it around like it’s no problem, while others shy away from it entirely. In this quiz, you simply have to identify which of two works dropped more f-bombs.

And don’t worry, this quiz is safe for work.

Take the Quiz: Way F***ing Better

The tournament tips off today, so let’s close out our series of interesting facts about the Big Dance’s schools with a look at the East region.

(1) Kentucky’s teams have been the Wildcats since 1909, but in 1994 the school’s iconic Wildcat logo underwent a bit of a change. The school had received a number of complaints about the Wildcat’s tongue in the logo; some felt the tongue looked more phallic than tongue-like. The university initially thought the complaints were a joke, but on closer inspection the roaring Wildcat’s tongue did look a little phallic. The school redesigned the logo so it would be less R-rated. (I was in middle school in Kentucky at the time, and I can tell you that to a seventh grader, this tongue uproar was a gift from the comedy gods.)

(16) East Tennessee State boasts some grads that can spin a yarn for you. The Johnson City school offers one of the country’s only accredited master’s programs in Professional and Applied Storytelling. The school’s players should also be physically prepared for their Dance game; in November ETSU began offering the country’s first doctoral program in sport science and athletic physiology.
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(8) Texas got its first live steer mascot in 1916 when grad Stephen Pickney collected $1 from 124 different alums to buy the animal. (more…)

Jason Alexander is known to TV audiences around the world, of course, as George Costanza on Seinfeld, a role which garnered him six Emmy and four Golden Globe nominations, an American Television Award and two American Comedy Awards. He’s also appeared in numerous films like Pretty Woman, in TV commercials, and in Broadway musicals where he won a Tony for his role in Jerome Robbins’ Broadway. He also starred alongside Martin Short in the acclaimed L.A. production of The Producers. More recently, he’s been directing things like Sam Shepard’s God of Hell as well as his own newly-adapted rendition of Damn Yankees for the Los Angeles Reprise Theater Company, where he serves as Artistic Director. Jason is also a spokesman for OneVoice, an organization committed to promoting peace between Israelis and Palestinians. Through his interest in giving back to the community, I had the good fortune of interviewing him after he spoke at a gala fund raising event for a charity I’m involved with. (You may recall our recent effort to eradicate hunger here in Los Angeles.) He was, as he always is, blunt and hilarious. Please feel free to drop a comment at the end of the interview telling us your all-time favorite Jason Alexander moment.

DI: You’re a man of many talents: actor, stand-up comedian, musical theater star, magician, poker player. Which do you enjoy the most?

JA: You left out: writer, director, martial artist and sex symbol. Now here’s my favorite – father.

DI: You’ve worked with some of the greats of stage and screen (big and small). From Jerry Robbins to Jerry Seinfeld, from Julia Louis-Dreyfus to Julia Roberts. Who’s been the most influential?

JA: Best director I’ve ever had – Joe Mantello (Love, Valor, Compassion); Best teacher –Larry Moss. The word genius gets thrown around a lot. I’ve only met two in my line of work –Stephen Sondheim and Jerome Robbins. They think like no other people I know. I understand more from knowing them. I am a better person because of what they have given the world.

DI: The name on your birth certificate is Jay Scott Greenspan. Okay: we get Jason from Jay S but what about Alexander? Where’d that come from?

JA: Alexander the Great, clearly. Okay, I lied. I thought I would be Jason Scott, but when I went to register in the union with that name, it was taken with every possible spelling – including Jaisin Skot. Feeling badly about not using my family name, I made a snap decision to take my dad’s first name as my last one for the stage. Hence – Jason Alexander.

DI: If you could have lunch with anyone deceased, who would it be?

JA: Mahatma Gandhi. First, he was always fasting so I doubt it would be a big bill if I had to pick up the check. Second, I want to know how so much wisdom, courage and strength could reside in a single soul. If the Mahatma couldn’t make it, I’d take Ben Kingsley for an hour – but he’s not dead.

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