I was hoping by now to have a video clip of James Taylor and Randy Newman performing their Oscar-nominated song, “Our Town,” from the Disney-Pixar movie “Cars,” at Sunday’s Academy Awards.

But it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen. Variety reports that the Academy has banned YouTube from allowing any video clips from the Oscars telecast because it wants to “manage the value of our telecast and our brand.”

So the performance “Our Town” — and its remarkably moving and compact story of many Route 66 towns that were bypassed by the interstate — will remain unavailable for those who missed the telecast.

There is no chance the show will be rebroadcast. Nor does the Oscars offer its annual awards event on DVD. So I’m not sure what it’s trying to protect. This action against YouTube certainly does no promotional favors for the “Cars” soundtrack, or Route 66, for that matter.

But in the meantime, you can hear the original “Our Town” here:

You can also view the scene in which “Our Town” was featured:

And if the Oscars’ performance eventually shows up somewhere, we’ll let you know about it. And if you have an Mp4 or other format of the performance, shoot me an e-mail to let me know.

Now this is a surprise party.

Vaughn Veit of Minnesota was set to mark his 66th birthday on Route 66 in Victorville, Calif. What he didn’t know was that his wife had set up a surprise party, with about 200 friends traveling from Minnesota, at the California Route 66 Museum, reported the Victorville Daily Press.

As Veit made his way through the crowd, he encountered surprise after surprise - best friends, sisters and about eight employees from his company.

“No wonder you weren’t answering the phone,” he said with a smile and laugh as he put his arm around some of his workers. They were supposed to be at a conference in Phoenix, but that was just a cover so they could get to Victorville.

Museum president Chick Kirk said the birthday party was an unprecedented event for the museum, but they were happy to do it. They invited “car clubbers” from the area to bring their autos for a small car show, and for Veit that may have been the best gift of all.

“He says it was worth it ‘big time,’ ” Chryse reported. “He really liked the cars.”

His wife’s gift to him was a 1941 Chevrolet, purchased from an Idaho seller on eBay.

The Daily Press also has video of the event. The video was on the fritz earlier; it may be working now.

Dale’s Ole 66 Barber Shop, at Utica Street and Euclid Avenue in Joplin, Mo., was designated a historical landmark by the Joplin Historic Preservation Commission, reports the Joplin Globe.

The city will put up a sign outside the shop denoting its status. Any further changes planned for the building must be approved by the commission.

The shop has been vacant for about a year since a tenant moved out, Holly said, but business partners Stana Walker and Tammy Martin plan to reopen it in early March as a full-service salon.

Dale Holly, owner of the barbershop, told the Globe that the building was built in 1928 or ‘29 as a Shamrock gas station. The gas station closed in 1959; Holly bought the building and converted it into a barbershop in 1962 until he retired three years ago.

(Photo courtesy of Route 66 TV Online.)

Jerry Lentz was traveling in New Mexico when he saw this:

Here’s what he said:

I was at a rest area and I heard a trucker shouting to his friend to look up.

It might be space debris, shooting stars or Military Vehicles, but it was so cool to see it! […]

We watched them for about 4 minutes, but I only got them on video for a second. To my eyes, they were Silver and seemed like long thin rods that shimmered along their sides. Vapor trails were left behind them briefly.

I’m betting on military aircraft. You have Fort Bliss and the White Sands Missile Range in the southern part of the state. But I’m sure the paranormalists will have a field day with that video.

Geoff Ladd of the Route 66 Heritage Foundation of Logan County wants to get going in restoration efforts for The Mill in Lincoln, Ill., and other Route 66 projects.

To do this, he and his group are conducting a membership drive, according to a news release. Individual memberships are $15 a year, and business memberships are $25 annually. It includes a newsletter, invitations to group meetings, updates on projects, vending opportunities at events and advertising possibilities in publications.

All proceeds from memberships and donations to the organization go towards the restoration and promotion projects for Logan County’s Route 66.

“There is a lot of work to be done as far as restoring The Mill, as well as other pressing projects in need of our attention, such as The Tropics, the Texaco Station in Elkhart and the Route 66 Ghost Bridge in Lincoln,” Ladd said.

If you’re interested in joining the Route 66 Heritage Foundation of Logan County or donating to it, you can call (217) 732-8687, e-mail info@tourlogancounty.com, or mail a check to:

Route 66 Heritage Foundation of Logan County
1555 Fifth St.
Lincoln, IL 62656

My check to the foundation is going out today. Is yours?

The Bloomington (Ill.) Pantagraph recounts the history of The Filling Station, just off Route 66 in Lexington, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary.

The restaurant has been a strong Route 66 supporter for years and has its legions of fans. The Filling Station also is listed in the Route 66 Dining & Lodging Guide, published by the National Historic Route 66 Federation.

But I didn’t know how The Filling Station rose from relatively humble beginnings to become an economic force in the community.

The restaurant had five workers when it opened. Now, it’s home to 19 full- and part-time employees, Riisberg said.

The Filling Station added a delivery service about 15 years ago after some elderly customers couldn’t make it into the restaurant on a snowy day.

About six years ago, the restaurant added Outback Pizza. The name is a reference to Riisberg’s husband’s background. Ove Riisberg, co-owner of the restaurant, was born in Denmark, but he lived in Australia for a number of years.

And three years ago, the restaurant expanded its eating area and kitchen to meet growing demand. The Filling Station originally seated 46 people; after the addition of a new smoking room, it seats 75, said Ove Riisberg.

I’ve never been to the Filling Station. But the picture with the article of the bourbon chocolate chip pie is enough incentive for me to go.

Hank Billings’ column today in the Springfield (Mo.) News-Leader, often filled with interesting historical tidbits, struck me as a bit of unseemly whining.

He makes the dubious claim that “Does Joplin have a better press agent than Springfield or what?” by citing just two examples:

1. A “Beverly Hillbillies” television episode in which Granny and Jed crosses a busy New York City street. Jed says: “Doggies, this is as big as downtown Springfield!” Granny adds: “Or even Joplin.”
2. That Bobby Troup’s classic song “Route 66″ quotes “Joplin, Missouri” instead of “Springfield, Missouri” as one of the listed cities. “He could have written — he SHOULD have written — ‘Springfield, Missouri,’” Billings wrote. “The two cities have the same number of syllables in their name. More significantly, Springfield is the birthplace of the 66 title that inspired Troup’s song.”

On point No. 1, Billings notes that Springfield’s population has always been bigger than Joplin’s, which is true. However, Billings ignores the fact that Granny always was a bit addled, so it’s hard to take her pronouncements seriously.

As for Troup, I always figured that he chose “Joplin” over “Springfield” for his song simply because it sounds better. That brings us back to the “Beverly Hillbillies.” The scriptwriters chose Joplin for Granny’s punchline because it’s punchier.

After Billings gets that off his chest, he does a good job reviewing each town’s history. But considering that Springfield is one of the fastest-growing and dynamic towns in Missouri, you’d think he’d come up with a better strawman to knock down.

The hit Disney-Pixar movie “Cars” was bypassed for any Academy Awards victories on Sunday night, falling short in both the Best Animated Feature and Best Song categories.

And you can blame it on global warming. But more on that later.

“Cars” was favored to win Best Animated Feature, but “Happy Feet” scored a mild upset. After “Cars” scored a Golden Globe in that category, I initially figured it would be a lock for the Oscar.

But in recent weeks, I noticed momentum seemed to be swinging in “Happy Feet’s” direction. I suspected something was up when Entertainment Weekly picked “Happy Feet” for the Oscar in an online contest.

For Best Song, the winner wasn’t James Taylor’s performance of “Our Town” from “Cars.” Nor was it one of the three nominees from “Dreamgirls.” The one who walked away with the statuette was Melissa Etheridge for her performance of “I Need to Wake Up” in the Oscar-winning documentary, “An Inconvenient Truth.”

So what’s global warming have to do with this? Everything.

In recent months, the issue has been near the forefront of the media and watercooler discussions. And that issue no doubt was on the minds of Academy voters.

That’s why “Happy Feet,” which had a strong environmental message in its ending, edged “Cars” for Animated Feature. That’s why Etheridge’s tune, which was tied to the global-warming documentary, beat “Our Town” and songs from a Tony-winning musical.

Perhaps Academy voters thought it was someone else’s turn besides Pixar to win  Oscars for animation. Perhaps Etheridge gained sympathy votes after her recent bout with cancer. And I’m sure a few people (including myself) thought “I Need to Wake Up” was one of the best songs of her long career.

But, in the end, the global warming issue was stacked against the fossil-fuel-burning characters of “Cars.” They didn’t call Sunday night “the Green Oscars” for nothing.

I felt only mild disappointment that “Cars” went home empty-handed. I would have been crushed if the movie had been a flop when it was released back in June. With $400 million in grosses and millions more in toy and product licensing, “Cars” is anything but a failure. An Academy Award or two would have been gravy.

I don’t begrudge the global warming issue, either. For years, I’ve taken steps to reduce my energy consumption with compact fluorescent light bulbs, Energy Star appliances and fuel-efficient vehicles.

With Route 66, you can have the best of both worlds. You can cruise the Mother Road in a hybrid vehicle. With the historic highway’s lower speed limits, you conserve even more fuel. And buying from mom-and-pop businesses along the road keeps more money within the community instead of sending it to distant, often-wasteful big boxes.

Route 66ers are known as preservationists. And I count the Earth as a worthwhile preservation project, too.

Here’s a different YouTube video with a Route 66 theme. These are sepia-toned images of decaying vehicles and spots along the Mother Road, set to Lyle Lovett’s “The Truck Song.”

Canadian singer-songwriter Melissa McClelland has posted Part 4 of her video diary from last summer’s trip down Route 66.

In it, she wears a pretty white dress and belts out a bluesy tune, “Go Down Matthew,” at the grounds of the Blue Whale of Catoosa, Okla. The song comes from her “Thumbelina’s One Night Stand” album.

She says she appreciated the voodoo of the location — the sultry summer heat, chirping birds and insects and the nearby pond added to the song’s vibe.

You can view Part 4 of the documentary at this site. (A high speed connection and Internet Explorer 6 browser are required.)