Friday Timewaster: The Mindset List

Last week, the OU Parents Club had a reception for incoming freshmen before they headed off to Athens for their first quarter at college. A few of them said they had messaged their roommates on FaceBook, which is something that's mentioned on this year's Mindset List from Beloit College. (You know, the list of things that today's college freshmen have never known a world without — also known as the list that makes the rest of us shake our heads in wonder at the speed with which time flies.)

Some of my favorite items follow, but there are about fifty more tidbits on the Beloit site. Meanwhile, I'll try not to think too hard about where I was in the fall of 1990.

Beloit College Mindset List

• They have always been looking for Carmen Sandiego.
• Shampoo and conditioner have always been available in the same bottle.
• WWW has never stood for World Wide Wrestling.
• Films have never been X rated, only NC-17.
• We have always known that “All I Ever Really Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.”
• Wayne Newton has never had a mustache.
• Roseanne Barr has never been invited to sing the National Anthem again.
• They have never been able to color a tree using a raw umber Crayola.
• There has always been Pearl Jam.
• Caller ID has always been available on phones.
• The Green Bay Packers (almost) always had the same starting quarterback.
• They have never known life without Seinfeld references from a show about “nothing.”

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Now playing: Vanilla Ice - Ice Ice Baby
via FoxyTunes

Like the Great White Hunter, Stalking across the Serengeti

Typo Eradication Advancement League: Typo Hunt Across America

My new friend’s expression changed from confusion to sympathy in a flash. “Oh, of course. You know, there was another sign around here that was missing an apostrophe. . . . I wish I could remember where it was. . . .”

I hope that someday not too long from today, she will encounter that lost sign once again, and remember our conversation, and take up her own instrument of correction. We at TEAL have not been graced with superpowers, only a simple devotion to the just. Nothing separates you and us. You can do exactly the same thing in your own neighborhood. I’ve already heard from more than a few kindred souls out there who have been moved by the League to make a difference.

In April, I found the above post on Jeff Deck's blog through an ABC News story on him (Road Scholar Edits America). I saved it in my drafts folder and essentially forgot about it until his name popped up last week in a link on the Copyediting listserv.

Apparently he took things a smidge too far. Schadenfreude ensued! In the aftermath, I came across this comment, which I love mostly for the mistress reference.

August 22, 2008 at 9:31 pm

Frankie Machine says:

I worked as a copy editor and proofreader for ten years.

I was the best there ever was. Strunk and White. The Chicago Manual of Style. MLA. Even AP. I knew them all. They were my mistresses.

But I had to leave the profession because, eventually, I would have faced one of three fates:

1. I would have turned into these psychos;
2. I would have drowned in the bottle;
3. I wouldn’t have been able to pay my phone bill.

In those ten years, I came to hate amateurs like this. If they love grammar and punctuation so much, let them hold a job where they get paid to correct it for eight hours a day. That would be a fair and just punishment for them.

Let it go, Deck and Henderson. Let it go.

Sincerely,

Frankie Machine

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Now playing: Better Than Ezra - Conjunction Junction
via FoxyTunes

Fuel to the Fire of My Budding Gene Simmons Obsession

Cathy completely mocks me (and rightfully so) for being somewhat hooked on Family Jewels — although I haven't watched it for the last two weeks, so there! — but I found this nugget in an online review of Never Too Young to Die, and I can't resist.

Oh! And I left out the best part. The bad guy is Gene Simmons, overacting enormously. He's playing a hermaphrodite (... or something) named Velvet Van Ragnar, and there are times when it seems like he's trying to play Dr. Frank N. Furter. And those are his subtle moments. The scene where he tries to seduce John Stamos (!) is especially crazy.

— Monty On Movies: Never Too Young to Die

Adding this to my Netflix queue now . . .





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Now playing on iTunes: Megadeth - 99 Ways to Die
via FoxyTunes

An Item from My Inbox; Latest Entries in My Queue

Checking my e-mail last night, I noticed this subject line: "Grady Sizemore* Becomes a 30/30 Man."



The first thing that came to mind was the song "Sixty-Minute Man," which made me snicker. But when I read the message I remembered that the Indians were playing Detroit and realized that I'd already missed the first three innings because I had been watching She's Having a Baby.**

Also on the Kevin Bacon tip: I just saw He Said, She Said last week, and if I hadn't been flipping between the convention and the ball game last night, I would have been watching Diner. No plans to watch Footloose, though.***








*Or, as my grandma insists on calling him, "Grady Cute Butt." Yeah, I'm vomiting a little, too. I think I've mentioned that factoid before, but I felt the need to share the pain.

** Verdict: Hilarious and underrated. I enjoyed all the cross-casting between it and Ferris Bueller, plus the string of cameos during the closing credits. Oh, and don't forget the big song-and-dance number with the lawnmowers — one of many WTF?! dream sequences that cracked me up.

*** Last weekend my sister insisted that I've seen this movie, despite my many claims to the contrary. She says we watched it on TV one night, but I have no memory of this incident. I do know that we saw Sleepers on TV once — it was the same night Stick learned that it's not a good idea to put a wooden spoon in the blender when it's on. (Yes, he had been drinking. What's your point?)





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Now playing: Orleans - Still the One
via FoxyTunes

Idol News Flash

I'm sorta glad I tuned into Seacrest's show this morning (I haven't been listening for the last few weeks) because he just announced a new judge on this season of American Idol: Kara DioGuardi.

She seems like Diane Warren 2.0, but maybe she'll have something new to say to the contestants. When I was watching American Idol Rewind a few weeks ago, I noticed that Randy and Simon are saying the same stuff in season 8 that they were in season 2.

Ha! Kim Kardashian just said she's "the female Ryan Seacrest." I thought Ryan was "the female Ryan Seacrest." (Ba-dum-bum!)

Anyhow, all this Idol talk reminded me that I found this article the other week that I totally agree with:

Idol fancies: The 40 (or so) songs I never want to hear again - Idol Chatter - USATODAY.com





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Now playing on iTunes: The Black Crowes - Goodbye Daughters Of The Revolution
via FoxyTunes

I'm Official! And Internet Famous!

I'm out of town on vacation, but through the miracle of modern technology* Cathy got in touch with me and alerted me to the following e-mail:

----- Forwarded Message ----
From: mike d
Sent: Friday, August 22, 2008 1:14 PM
Subject: The miked Pub Quiz - Wed. Sept. 3rd - 7:30pm


Good day or evening to the avid quizzers in the crowd!

After being nagged incessantly by the vocal majority, I have created your new favorite place to waste an hour: http://www.mikedpubquiz.com/.

Why Should I Go There?
Register on the site to get:
1. A coupon valid for 2 bonus points on the quiz of your choice.
2. Access to the "Secrets" section containing a question from the next quiz!
3. My mom to hate you.

NEXT PUB QUIZ:
Wednesday, September 3rd
PJ McIntyres Irish Pub (http://www.pjmcintyres.com)
Signup is 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm. The quiz will start sharply at 7:30pm.
$5 per person, teams of 1-8 people
1st Place - 50% of the door, 2nd place - 25%, 3rd place - PJ's Gift Cards!


Questions, concerns, comments or fan fiction, email me!

Sincerely,
miked
www.mikedpubquiz.com


To be removed from this email list, please reply to this message with REMOVE in the subject, and why my mom hates you in the body of the email.

I checked out the site, which is hi-lariously awesome. I mean, my favorite Pub Quiz blog is still Geeks Who Drink, but this one is pretty good.





There are at least three shout-outs to yours truly as the original PQ blogger, part of Tom Selleck's Mustache, and part of the team who argued about the Roman goddess Diana answer.



So, I was totally cracking up over all the little in-jokes in the comments section (fish report; buying a new shirt; closing down the bar in a few months) but my sister, reading over my shoulder, was failing to find the humor in any of it. I was thinking of inviting her to next month's quiz, but now I'm not so sure.





* A phrase actually used in this year's catalog. Why they didn't mention magic sparky boxes, I don't know.

Friday Timewaster: Sorry I Missed Your Party

Sorry I Missed Your Party is pretty much your one-stop source for snarky commentary on other people's party photos.


For example:

This Party Is Full of Virgins

In movies, nerdy teenagers will try any crazy scheme to lose their virginity; it's all they think about. That's all just Hollywood movie dust. Just look at these real life virgins - these nerds aren't even trying. They couldn't even give a fuck about getting laid. They have light sabers, for Chrissakes.

I found it through a comment left on someone else's blog post about the awesomeness that is Cake Wrecks.


Note to self: Do not post any photos of my birthday party online.



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Now playing: Pure Prairie League - Amie
via FoxyTunes
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Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner

Win a year's worth of Chucks? Where do I sign up?!


I've just inched another year away from Delia's target demographic, though, so I probably wouldn't be "randomly selected" as the winner.

Besides, I have a job or two . . . if I want a dozen pairs of new shoes (and believe me, I do!), I suppose I can go out and buy them myself. Perhaps today, as a little birthday gift for yours truly.

Maybe I'll start with these . . .










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Now playing: The Kinks - Everybody's a Star (Starmaker)
via FoxyTunes
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Shuffle Off to Buffalo (Or, What's on My iPod?)

This meme is an oldie but a goodie, much like my 15GB third-generation iPod that I'm too cheap to upgrade.




Brave Astronaut did two of these posts lately, after one of his friends shared on her blog.

A few notes before I begin:

• My iPod has been edited recently to contain only my favorite songs. Hence a lot of "I love this one!" sprinkled throughout the comments.
  
  
• I tried to prune the Proustian involuntary memories so this post wouldn't be three yards long, but trust me when I tell you that I could say a lot more about each song/artist.
  
  
• I was going to link to the songs on Amazon/YouTube or perhaps make a muxtape or two featuring these tracks, but I ran out of time/energy for the first one and I couldn't violate the pop cultural rules for making a mixtape for the second. (Or tangle with the RIAA.)
  

(1) A Song for You — Aretha Franklin
I love this song, and have at least a dozen versions of it by various artists. I love Aretha — What white girl who wishes she could sing doesn't? Cf. Murphy Brown — but my favorite version is by the Temptations.

(2) Strangers in the Night — Frank Sinatra
This always makes me think of that scene in Mr. Mom, which makes me laugh.

(3) Lovers Rock — Sade
I bought this album on a whim, and I love every track. I like it when stuff like that works out.

(4) The Humpty Dance — Digital Underground
One of about a dozen hip-hop songs from 1988-92 that bring back a lot of high school memories. Mostly of Larry & Tony providing the soundtrack in one of the band buses on the way to a football game.

(5) I'm So Open — Cowboy Junkies
This one's a pretty uptempo, rockin' tune, which is not exactly typical CJ material.

(6) Waiting for the Sun to Shine — Lee Ann Womack
After many years of loudly detesting anything labeled "country," I've reluctantly come to find that I kind of enjoy some of the vintage/retro/alt-country stuff. Although released in 2005, this whole album is retro, right down to the cover art and the graphics on the CD itself.

(7) Total Eclipse of the Heart — Bonnie Tyler
Ha ha ha! This is the title track to one of the first LPs I ever owned. (Well, that didn't have "Sesame Street" in the title, anyway.) I still have it on vinyl, along with Thriller and Olivia Newton-John's Greatest Hits, Volume 2.

(8) Never Can Say Goodbye — The Jackson Five
You know what's awkward? Trying to sing along to the Isaac Hayes version after learning MJ's pitch/pacing.

(9) Hard to Handle — Black Crowes
Once upon a time, this video used to be on MTV a lot. I didn't know it was a cover of an Otis Redding song then, I just knew I liked it.

(10) I Could Never Love Another (After Loving You) — The Temptations
Not as well known as some of their other tracks, but definitely worth having on the Amythology. (My personal mix of my favorite songs by that artist: like an anthology, but better. I've made about a dozen.)

(11) Never Enough — The Cure
I still have the cassingle!

(12) Let's Hear It for the Boy — Deniece Williams
Would you believe that I about wore out my cassette of the Footloose soundtrack, but I have still never seen the movie in its entirety?

(13) See That Girl — Righteous Brothers
This guy I knew in college made me a mix tape of all these songs he loved because they were sad and depressing. This was on it. He wasn't wrong.

(14) Lay Down the Law — Switches
I came across this on iTunes the other week and took a flyer on it since the review promised a mix of Strokes, Franz Ferdinand, Arctic Monkeys, etc. Not bad.

(15) But Not for Me — Harry Connick Jr.
I love the When Harry Met Sally ... soundtrack, and I'm totally jealous of his jazzy arrangement of Winter Wonderland.

(16) Collecting You — Indigo Girls
I saw them live when they played the Convo @ OU my senior year. Great show, slightly freaky crowd. I see that they're playing Mem Aud in October — I totally want to go!

(17) Tones of Home — Blind Melon
I just saw Visually Impaired Cantaloupe (newly reconstituted with another lead singer) in St. Louis on Memorial Day Weekend. They played this, and the crowd was rockin' out.

(18) 83 — John Mayer
I love John Mayer, but I'm not sure I could see him in concert. He makes too many awkward faces.

(19) Day Tripper — The Beatles
I don't consider myself that big of a Beatles fan. I mean, I know the big hits and all, but . . .

(20) Bossa Nova Baby — Elvis Presley
You know that part in Pulp Fiction about how everybody's either a Beatles fan or an Elvis fan? I'm an Elvis fan.



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Now playing: The Cars - Shake It Up
via FoxyTunes
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Get Ready for 2009

Combining the joy of bubble wrap with my grandpa's penchant for drawing a large X through every day on the calendar . . .


Bubble Calendar, a poster-sized calendar with a bubble to pop every day.







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Now playing: Don Henley - The Boys of Summer
via FoxyTunes
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I Don't Even Know His Real Name!

Because I'm sure you were all curious . . .

I spent part of the weekend watching part of the first season of Remington Steele on Hulu. I'd never actually seen the show, but I loved what I saw: All the vintage outfits, cars, technology. . . . three-piece skinny suits, boxy Lincolns and eensy VW Rabbits, telephone booths!

And don't even get me started on foxy Pierce Brosnan. Rowr!





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Now playing: John Pizzarelli - Soares Samba
via FoxyTunes
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Friday Timewaster: Virus 2

Virus 2

Warning: Highly contagious and extremely addictive!

This opening screen should really say, "Are you ready to spend hours on this when you should be doing [insert name of high priority project here]?" To which I say, "Yes!"





I've been playing this almost non-stop for about a week. The best I've done is get to the level where the Max Attempts are limited to 28. Which is sad, really.





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Now playing on iTunes: Aretha Franklin - Dr. Feelgood
via FoxyTunes
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Thursday Timewaster: Guess the Band

Guess the Band from an Altered Album Cover

This quiz is somewhat similar to a popular picture round at Pub Quiz, back in the Brendan O'Neill's era. (Sigh. Good times.)



If you're feeling ambitiously unproductive, it is one of the zillion quizzes on Am I Wrong? — Where pop culture meets its match. So far I'm 5-0 at Band Name Hangman.







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Now playing on iTunes: America - Sister Golden Hair
via FoxyTunes
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Wednesday Timewaster: Misspelled Tattoos

---------- Forwarded message ----------
To: Amy
From: nikki
Date: Tue, Aug 12, 2008 at 4:56 PM
Subject: More Precision Language Flunkies

Misspelled Tattoos: Spelling Mistakes For Life

--
Nikki \m/

Note:
I misspelled Timewaster as Tiemwaster when I first typed the headline. I almost thought about leaving it that way, in homage to today's topic, but my better nature prevailed.





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Now playing on iTunes: Creedence Clearwater Revival - I Put a Spell on You
via FoxyTunes
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Tuesday Timewaster: Cake Wrecks

Let's begin with another installment of Yahoo! Mail Theater . . .

----- Original Message ----
From: Amy
To: Cathy; Christine
Sent: Monday, August 11, 2008 9:43 AM
Subject: Tinsel and garland are NOT the same thing. Tinsel rocks.*

Cakewrecks

I was laughing too loudly and obviously at this site and had to turn away before JoAnn realized something was up, so I didn't have a chance to search it for Tom Selleck cakes.

But since it's a blog about horrible cakes and the Selleck cake is clearly awesome, I suppose it wouldn't be there anyhow.

* Thanks, Random Subject Line Generator!



----- Next Message ----
From: Catherine
To: Amy; Christine
Sent: Monday, August 11, 2008 11:12 AM
Subject: Re: Tinsel and garland are NOT the same thing. Tinsel rocks.*

I love that site!!!

OMG, in the fruity wedding cake pic, not only is the guy in a plaid suit, but he's wearing a FEZ!!! Seriously, WTF???

But those cakes are seriously hilarious. Like someone was trying to get fired!!!

I'm a fan of this wedding cake






but that's partly because I followed the link to additional wedding photos and discovered that the entire wedding party wore Chucks — Awesome!




On top of that, it was the wedding of a guy whose Internet comic I sometimes read: Wondermark: An Illustrated Jocularity. Which makes me think that maybe I saw the Chucks-as-wedding-footgear pix before, but whatevs. I'm telling the world the three people who read this on a semi-regular basis about it.








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Now playing on iTunes: Paul and Storm - Nun Fight
via FoxyTunes
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Monday Timewaster: News Groper

This NewsGroper site is totally cracking me up.

News Groper - These Blogs Are Not Real

I don't have that much time to peruse them, however, since the office manager is back this week and I need to catch up on everything I totally slacked off on last week. Grr!

So, you'll have to check it out and let me know if there's anything so awesome that I should put down the TPS report immediately and go laugh at it.





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Now playing on iTunes: Gladys Knight and the Pips - The End of Our Road
via FoxyTunes
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Friday Timewaster: Button Hunt 3

Last week Matt sent me to the Magic Pen as payback for Fantastic Contraption, but I suck at drawing things freehand, so I gave up on level 3.

I did, however, manage to follow some links to Button Hunt 3, which I found much more fun.





Apparently the goal is to solve all the puzzles in less than 185 seconds with fewer than 110 clicks of the mouse. My best score was 233 seconds and 130 clicks.






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Now playing on iTunes: Kaiser Chiefs - Saturday Night
via FoxyTunes

Overlooked in the Kerfuffle

I meant to post this earlier, but it took longer than I thought to (a) fine-tune my recap* and (b) read everyone's comments on the recap while successfully (c) avoiding doing any actual work. Good thing the office manager is on vacation!




When I got home from Pub Quiz last night, I found this comment on one of my old posts:

Hi!

Please see a trailer and teaser clip from Come On Down! The Road to 'The Price Is Right' here:
http://comeondowndocumentary.blogspot.com/

The film will be making its festival premiere at the SF Doc Fest in late October 2008. Please contact TPIRdocumentary@aol.com if you have any questions. Thanks for the mention!

I thought I'd share it on the main page because the clip & teaser are a hoot. I can't wait to see the whole thing.






Oh, and while I'm turning dials and flipping switches in the WayBack Machine . . .

I was also informed that the bunny version of Superbad is finally live. McLovin!






* My favorite parts? Coining the phrases "Claddagh interregnum" and "allowing Mike D one brief shining moment at the top of Stump the Crowd Mountain." As this blog makes painfully obvious, I crack myself up.



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Now playing on iTunes: Kermit the Frog & Fozzie Bear - Movin' Right Along
via FoxyTunes
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And in First Place . . .

Overview

Team 11 wins again! Except this time, we were Team 11!*

So, cue Freddie and the boys! Tom Selleck's Mustache** is the mother-frakkin' champion, my (Internet) friends!***







We scored 69 points (Dirty!) to beat (the real) Team 11**** and Alpaca Lips Now***** by one and three points, respectively, to win . . . wait for it . . . $185!!!


On top of all that, we even got the frakkin' missing link! O joy! O rapture!

I cannot even begin to tell you how giddy and spazzy we were when the final scores were announced. Suffice it to say, it was awesome.

What a way to kick off Mike D Pub Quiz 3.0.****** And, since we're back to 98 percent of the original format, we have a whole month to bask in our awesomeness! Life is good.







* In a manner of speaking . . . Every team gets a number when it signs up, and we happened to be the eleventh team in the door that night, so we got a tag with "#11" on it. Said tag now resides on my cubicle divider, next to a photo of dishy John Krasinski and above a bookmark from my mom: "Since you insist upon reading this sort of sinful and scandalous material . . . [vintage photo of old-skool nuns] You're going straight to Heck!"

** A definite hit with ladies of a certain age, let me tell you. Every time I said our team name to a woman over fifty — like Mike D's mom or her friend Nancy, or the social studies editor at the office — she would giggle and compliment me on our choice of team names. Then she would get a little quiet and distracted for a few moments, with a faraway look in her eyes, before sighing deeply and resuming normal conversation.

*** Oh, there are many, many, MANY more exclamation points to come!!!

**** I know!! Are there any sweeter words in the English language?!

***** Christine had to read this name out loud to me three times and I still didn't get it, so she finally spelled it out: Apocalypse Now. Very clever, team formerly known as the Leper Colony!

****** Apparently there's a betting pool for the date that the power of the Mike D Pub Quiz will shut down the bar. His dad has money on Valentine's Day.




Scores and Standings

Round 1: Irish or Dead? — 8 points
Round 2: People and Places — 5 points
Round 3: Entertainment — 8 points
Round 4: Literature — 8 points

Picture Round: What's the Game Show? — 9 points

Round 5: Science and Math — 2 points
Round 6: Video Round — 9 points
Round 7: Useless Knowledge — 7 points
Round 8: The Missing Link — 13 points


We were in first place at halftime with 38 points. (This includes our picture round score.) Team 11 and the Flying Monkeys were tied for second with 35 points, and Alpaca Lips Now were a point behind them.

We immediately realized that we were going to crash and burn in the second half. While Mike D acknowledged that this was the likely course of events — especially after we correctly predicted our nemesis (Science and Math) as the next category — he refused to end the quiz early and let us go home with first prize. So, despite totally tanking the fifth round, we managed to display some Useless Knowledge before wreaking vengeance on our bitter adversary (the Missing Link) to close out the night on top.

After we were announced as the first-place winners — to the shock and amazement of pretty much everyone still left in the place, including us — Christine said what we were all thinking: It's all downhill from here! Cathy said I would be spending the first three hours at the office Thursday morning writing up my detailed recap. Even Mike D chimed in: "Longest blog entry ever! I can feel it!" (He's probably not wrong, because: Wait! There's more!)




Quotable Quotes & Notable Notes

• I'd never been to P.J. McIntyre's before, but when I came in the place it was like old home week. Not only did I recognize some of the furnishings from Brendan O'Neill's, but people from the Leper Colony waved hello, Mike D's mom and her friend said hi, and Team 11 member/HNBIYB reader/Love and Capes creator Thom came over to introduce himself and promise that his team would kick our butts. I felt a little like Norm at Cheers.
  
  
• As promised, this is the original Mike D Pub Quiz we came to know and love at Brendan's: Video round, missing link, and cash prizes. (I like to think that we were just biding our time during the Claddagh interregnum, letting other teams win gift baskets and other nonsense while we saved our mental energy for the big payoff. $185! Yeah, we had to split it three ways, but still . . . Ha!)
  
  There are a few changes, however. For one thing, Mike D will no longer repeat the questions, so now I'm not the only one taking notes during each round. Also, he claims that starting next month, the first-place and last-place teams from the previous month will get to sit up on the stage area with him during the quiz. Of course, once we won, he was immediately sorry that he announced this policy.
  
  Oh, and the graphics are much snazzier this time around. He's picked some amusingly appropriate photos to introduce each round, like a screencap from an episode of Mr. Wizard for the Science and Math category or images of Tom Cruise on Oprah's couch for the video round. Cathy and Christine noted that he certainly had a lot of time to come up with them. (Meow!)
  
  
• The traditional faux categories for the evening included Why Does Mike D Suck?, Wicked Cool Haircuts, Contents of Mike D's Glovebox, and World Showcase: Parma Heights.
  
  
• One of the game shows in the picture round featured Alex Trebek hosting High Rollers, which we correctly identified — unlike the teams who wrote down Let's Look at a Table, Roll Those Dice!, or Jeopardy! (Mike D: "Uh, I'll take '8' for a thousand, Alex!")
  
  As we were admiring Alex's luxurious 'stache, Christine suggested Alex Trebek's Mustache for next month's team name: "We should be a different mustache each month!" Hilarious. But we'll have to save Rollie Fingers for December, when Cathy can rejoin us. (Stoopid Wednesday night classes!)
  
  
• Despite being the focus of much discussion during the days before the quiz, there was no Tom Selleck cake in (belated) honor of Christine's birthday. (She seemed pleased with the gifts she did receive, however.) Here's a tip for everyone: Drinking and baking is just as dangerous as drinking and driving — although I suppose it was really drinking and icing that, uh, took the cake.
  
  Long story short: Through the magic of alcohol and the subsequent substitution of granulated for confectioner's sugar, Cathy's depiction of Tom in icing looked like a pedophile with scabies. Plus, the cake itself may have contained eggshells. So, it was probably better for all concerned that she threw it away.
  
  She claims she took photos before consigning her efforts to the trash, but I haven't seen them yet. In the meantime, let's feast our eyes once again on the original "Hairy Birthday" Selleck cake:
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Speaking of Hollywood hunks: I'm not sure what's fueling Mike D's Keanu obsession, but images and references to Mr. Reeves abounded. First, Keanu was featured on the opening slide for the Entertainment category, prompting Christine to suggest putting "Whoa!" for every answer.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Then, question 9A in that category was "How much does Keanu Reeves suck?" and 9B was "What's the next disaster (film) Keanu is going to unleash upon us?" (Mike D mentioned that the trailer to said movie looks pretty good, but then Keanu ruins it by speaking.) Oh, and the correct response for the person who said "The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them" was listed as Keanu Reeves or Mark Twain. (This prompted some arguments from the crowd, but my theory is that in the course of all the time-traveling for Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, Keanu said it first but then Twain stole it and got the credit.)
  
  
  
• We had a few "I said that! But you didn't believe me!!" moments when the responses were revealed, like when Christine and I picked Kelsey Grammer over Cathy's Jerry Seinfeld as the first sitcom actor to earn $1 million per episode. We should know better by know, given Cathy's scores on the SAT (Seinfeld Aptitude Test). We also didn't listen to her about Michael Flatley's non-Irishness (given the round's strict definition of "Irish" as "Born in Ireland").
  
  Also, I thought the official fossil of Illinois would not be the trilobite, since that's Ohio's official fossil (My sister is a fossil freak; I must have picked that fact up by osmosis.) but I couldn't convince Christine to write down Tully Monster. (I think she thought it sounded fake.) Meanwhile, the only one we missed in the Missing Link round was the name of the company that built its first computer for Stanford University in 1982. Christine mentioned "Sun," but we talked ourselves into Compaq, Gateway, and, finally, at my insistence, Apple — which, of course, are all wrong. Doh! (She did totally rock the Kevin Mitnick question in round 2, though.)
  
  

• It wouldn't be Pub Quiz without smart remarks in the form of wrong answers. For example, we said the Texas Congressman who started the Gore-claims-to-invent-teh-Internets rumor was J. R. Ewing. (Luckily for us, nobody else seemed to remember Dick Armey, allowing Mike D one brief shining moment at the top of Stump the Crowd Mountain.) Later on, Alpaca Lips Now shouted out that the country that uses the dong as a unit of currency is Penistan. (Heh. I said "unit.")
  
  
• And it wouldn't be a true Mike D Pub Quiz without the video round. I'll leave you with one of the clips featured this month, from one of my favorite series of commercials ever: Bud Light Presents "Real Men of Genius" — Mr. Really, Really, Really Bad Dancer. Enjoy.
  
  
  
  

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Now playing on iTunes: Switches - Lovin' It
via FoxyTunes
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Person Kevin Mitnick

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Wednesday Timewaster: Type Is Art

This is a fun little piece of mental bubble gum.

Type Is Art — An Interactive Exploration of the Typographic Form

As the title page explains, you can use parts of the lettershapes to make your own collage or image.

Check out the Gallery for examples of other people's cleverness, like "Emo Catboy" by I'm Not Ed, shown below.









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Now playing on iTunes: Cary Brothers - Waiting for Your Letter
via FoxyTunes
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Just Two Things (Thx, Lynn!)

Checking my e-mail this morning, I discovered this:

---- Forwarded Message ----
From: Lynn
To: Amy
Sent: Monday, August 4, 2008
Subject: JUST TWO THINGS


If you opened it, you have to do it. Then, send it back to the person who sent it to you, as well as the rest of your friends!

So, I filled it out and posted it here. I needed a topic for today anyhow.


Two Names You Go By
1. Amy
2. Hey, you!

Two Things You Are Wearing Right Now
1. Pink plaid Chuck Taylors
2. Somewhat scratchy contact lenses (I really need to stop sleeping in them.)


Two Things You Want Very Badly at the Moment
1. A few more hours of sleep
2. A new iPod


Two People Who Will Fill This Out (And the First to Send It Back)
1. ?
2. ??


Two Things You Did Last Night
1. Saw Harry & the Potters at the Grog Shop (Hilariously awesome, btw. I did not get my copy of the official Unlimited Enthusiasm Expo 'zine autographed after the show, but I did use my HatP toothbrush and floss this morning.)

2. Saw The Wackness at the Cedar Lee ($5 nite! Since I'm rarely over on the east side, I thought I should cram in every reason I might have for going over there into one night. To that end, I suppose I could have stopped by to see the new baby, but I didn't think I would have that much time before the concert.)


Two Things You Ate Yesterday
1. Steak fajita burrito @ Chipotle
2. Free popcorn @ the Cedar Lee


Two People You Last Talked To
1. My sister
2. The other proofreader


Two Things You're Doing Tomorrow
1. Reading
2. Going to the reconstituted, and hopefully better than ever, Pub Quiz (and I think that by "better than ever" we all know that I mean "filled with questions I know the answers to, so my team can win for once— especially now that we're back to cash prizes")


Two Longest Car Rides
1. OH to CA and back, hitting the Badlands, Wall Drug, Yellowstone, San Francisco, the Grand Canyon, the Four Corners, the Gateway Arch, and many, many points in between; known as "the Great West Tour of '85" in the annals of family vacations
2. OH to FL on spring break every year for about six years — another family tradition


Two of Your Favorite Holidays
1. Serbian Christmas
2. Opening Day


Two Favorite Vacations
1. NYC with my sister
2. Hawaii


Two Favorite Beverages
1. Arnold Palmer
2. Root beer




[Standard boilerplate from the e-mail: Please do not spoil the fun. . . Hit forward, delete my answers and type in your answers. Then send this to a whole bunch of people you know INCLUDING the person who sent it to you.]






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Now playing on iTunes: Morningwood - Nth Degree
via FoxyTunes
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Wrock On

This sounds hilariously awesome, and I totally want to go ....

Harry Potter Conference - Wrock Chicago

Wrock Chicago will feature 30 wizarding bands over three stages, celebrating both the exceptional creativity of the bands themselves and the Harry Potter series that inspired them. The concert will start at 11:00 a.m. and won’t finish until 1:00 a.m., and many of the bands will have merchandise available for purchase for anyone looking for a CD or a t-shirt for a favorite band or two.

Headliners

• Draco and the Malfoys
• Harry and the Potters
• The Remus Lupins
• The Switchblade Kittens
• Tonks and the Aurors
• The Whomping Willows

Also featuring

• The Butterbeer Experience
• Catchlove
• Celestial Warmbottom
• The Chocolate Frogs
• The Cruciatus Curse
• Danny Dementor
• Gred and Forge
• The Gringotts Grrls
• The Hinky Punks
• The House of Black
• Lord Voldi and the Dark Marks
• Ministry of Magic
• The Moaning Myrtles
• The Mudbloods
• Nagini
• Neville's Diary
• The Parselmouths
• The Quaffle Kids
• Remus and the Lupins
• RiddleTM
• Romilda Vane and the Chocolate Cauldrons
• Snidget
• Swish and Flick
• Thomas & Finnigan

I suppose I'll have to content myself with seeing Harry and the Potters at the Grog Shop tonight.





Which reminds me: I need to call my sister and make sure she can find the place.





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Now playing on iTunes: Harry and the Potters - Voldemort Can't Stop the Rock
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It's Grady Day!

Can you believe Grady Sizemore was born on this date in 1982?


I thought I'd celebrate by re-posting a few of my fave Grady pix, although I should really be sending his parents a thank-you note.

In the meantime, if you have not experienced the hilariousness that is THE Grady Sizemore III Biography over at Grady's Ladies, I highly recommend checking it out.

Oh, and I suggest eating the cake, not wearing it, for maximum enjoyment.

Friday Timewaster: Totally Looks Like

Pretty self-explanatory, no?






Let the timewasting commence!





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Now playing on iTunes: We Are Scientists - After Hours
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