I don't remember in front of which movie I saw the trailer for Hotel Transylvania, but it does open on a very dark and stormy night... with Dracula playing a ukulele for his daughter. So, you know, I think I might be sold at least a little.



Watch the whole trailer here.

Making documentaries about ukulele clubs: the next big thing? Filmmaker Nina Koocher is making a movie about the Santa Cruz (Ca.) Ukulele Club, and it looks like it's going to be something else. You can lean more about Under the Boardwalk: A Ukulele Love Story here; the trailer is below.

Under the Boardwalk, A Ukulele Love Story tells the story of how a small house party in an out of the way town in California grows into the biggest ukulele club in the world. It is also the story of how a small instrument makes a long journey from Portugal to Hawaii to the mainland, lands in people’s hearts, and creates a uniquely Hawaiian-American musical tradition that is currently experiencing a world wide revival.

One of the great things about YouTube is that it's chock-full of characters. You just meet people at their most enthusiastic and they're completely wonderful and captivating. In the course of trying to decide whether to invest in this little gizmo, I found the following video review of support straps for your ukulele. Stick around through the end. I adore this guy already.

Spoiler alert: I bought the Uke Thong. Will review it here once it arrives. Happy Friday, folks! And a good long weekend for those celebrating Memorial Day.

Ernie and (I think!) Cookie Monster try and make the best of a broken ukulele on an old episode of Sesame Street!

Right, folks, I'm off to points west for the next week and a half. One more thing before I skedaddle -- a great scene from Some Like It Hot (a marvelous movie with a perfect ending, if you've never seen it!). Marilyn doesn't do much actual playing, but the ukulele's certainly in there. Happy Thursday, all! And thanks so much to sporky_rat for picking up the Daily Ukulele reins.

A number of sources have picked up this story, including BoingBoing, and I have every hope that the internet will pull together to help these folks get a library that can accommodate them (not to mention refrain from melting the soles of their shoes!).

The M.N. Spear Library (MNSpearLibrary) in Shutesbury, Massachusetts, has created a video to help raise money to build a new library. It's backed with a really sweet ukulele, which is, I think, part of what made people sit up and pay attention. Clearly the uke is a mighty beast! But yes, watch the video (it's only a minute or so) and, if you can, why not throw a few dollars their way? There's a donation button on their website, and continuing with the "tiny" theme, every little bit helps!

Who's cool? heartstringsfilm is cool! She's a fourth-year art student at Cal Arts whose final project is about a girl who decides to take up the ukulele. You should spend some time with this website -- it's got animation tests, character designs, story outlines and fun reference photos. Very cute! Happy Friday, friends.

There are lots of time-honored ways to make your own ukulele, one of the most noted being with cigar boxes. But because this is the internet, someone has found a way to make what seems to me the unlikeliest uke of all.