san francisco Beat poet and City Lights Books founder Lawrence Ferlinghetti dead at 101 Janelle Hessig

music Instrumental rock and roll from 1960, Johnny and the Hurricanes' "Beatnik Fly" Jason Weisberger

music Dig this swingin' Japanese version of the Batman TV theme song Ruben Bolling

muppets The Muppets' iconic 'Mah Nà Mah Nà' song originated in a steamy softcore Italian film, here's how Jim Henson found it Rusty Blazenhoff

animation Dig the cool cartoon beatniks in this vintage TV commercial for a chocolate bar David Pescovitz

PSAs Young man succumbs to beatniks' peer pressure, smokes pot, gets a D on a test Mark Frauenfelder

los angeles Humans displaced as L.A. cleans beach-side handball courts Jason Weisberger

songs David Crosby's "Laughing" turns 50 Ferdinando Buscema

books New rare book catalogue features a Soviet Space Race picture book with backyard-built rocket Rebecca Romney

Young Adult The extraordinary queer life of Harriet The Spy author Louise Fitzhugh Janelle Hessig

music Juliette Gréco, French chanteuse, dies at 93 Xeni Jardin

1960s Far-out 1960s rock 'n' roll beatnik TV commercial for Hot Shots candy David Pescovitz

she blinded me with ringtones How Thomas Dolby helped create the first polyphonic ringtones Clive Thompson

videos Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac hang out with New York's beats, 1959 Cory Doctorow

language Dig this Beatnik Glossary David Pescovitz

cartoon death cults Maxwell Smart goes after the "Groovy Guru" Mark Frauenfelder

music Enjoy some sleazy beatnik jazz David Pescovitz

comedy RIP Stan Freberg, parody king and satirist extraordinaire Andrea James

The best books for nerds from 2014 Ethan Gilsdorf