years

Can you believe Jay Leno has been hosting The Tonight Show for fifteen years? Believe it, mister. On May 25, 1992, Leno stepped onto the stage as the new host, following in the footsteps of the legendary Johnny Carson.

Fans can go to this page on The Tonight Show Web site and create their own montage using clips and audio from the last fifteen years. I've been scouring the site and have not found an option that allows you to insert Carson back into every episode that has aired since his retirement, which is what myself and many others would like to do.

It was also announced about three years ago that Leno would be stepping down as host in 2009 and that Late Night host Conan O'Brien would take over as the new host. Given the mercurial nature of television, it will be interesting to see if that remains the case in two years.

If you believe James Stuart Blackton's 1906 short "Humorous Phases of Funny Faces" to be the first use of animation ever (and many do), then that means the artform hits the century mark in April of this year. Jerry over at Cartoon Brew mentions that, like Jazz, animation is a wholly American creation. He left out comic strips, but what can you do? In honor of Animation's birthday, I would now like to list every animated thing ever. Let's see, there's Cap'n Crunch; Speedy Gonzales; Mickey Mouse; Bugs Bunny; um, that tiny little ball that helps you sing along to songs... well, I'll finish the list later. In the meantime, let us raise a glass to this awesome artform. Cheers.