"I Keep it Under My Hat"

Thank you all for playing. Fantastic answers from everyone.

1 is a Bearskin, way to go Dave. Called a Bearskin because that is what they are actually made of to this day. There have been calls for changing to something other than bear skins for over 100 years, but nothing has been done so far. I can find only apocryphal trivia as to why the hat is shaped the way it is, but I like it, so I'll allow it. People say, that the hat was designed like it is, so that elite foot soldiers like grenadiers and fusiliers had some protection against the swords of mounted cavalry.

2 is indeed a top hat. Top hats are now made of silk, but used to be made of felt. They were made of felt because it was close to the feel of beaver pelts, which is what the previously popular hat style: the Beaver Hat, was made out of. They are virtually identical visually.

3 is a Kippah or Yarmulke. Kippah is the Hebrew word for dome, and Yarmulke is the Yiddish word for cap. Way to go everyone.

4 is a Fez. Originally worn in Ancient Greece, their use spread to what was the Ottoman empire. The Fez became part of the uniform of the "Shriner" since the organization's inception in the 1870s. The group was an offshoot of Freemasons that took a Middle Eastern theme, and the red Fez continues to be part of their image today.

5 is a Deerstalker, thank you Dave! The hat was an outdoorsmen hat, used by hunters and the like. The original Holmes stories do not mention a deerstalker at all, but early illustrations put him in one. In fact, Holmes never would have worn a deerstalker hat in the city, only in the country, but modern takes on the legend always include the hat, and the wearing of it, regardless of the setting.

6 is a Pork Pie Hat, way to go Jeff. The Pork pie hat is like a Fedora, but with a flat top. Often associated with jazz music, there is a great Charles Mingus tune called "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat" that is dedicated to Lester Young

7 is a Boater, also called a Skimmer or Basher. These hats are made of straw, but a "straw hat" is not really a kind of hat. It's like saying a "felt hat" or "leather hat". Straw is just a material, not a style in this case. Like I said, nowadays you only see the cheap ones at conventions, but I think I want to get one of these for the summer. Apparently the were almost "uniform" for the FBI in the days before WWII. Mush like our next hat after the war.

8 is a Fedora. Related to the Trilby and the Homburg, this classic hat is made of felt, other styles made of other materials are technically not Fedoras, we just call them that. Apparently, Jughead from Archie comics, and Goober Pyle on The Andy Griffith Show are wearing a modified Fedora style that was popular among young boys between the wars.

9 is a Bowler hat. It's also called a Derby hat. I can't find evidence to claim that they are different hats. Hard topped hats, with enough shape to give a little protection, they were popular in cities across England and America.

10 is a Kepi. Dave got real close with Shako, but they are taller. Still full points for naming a French Military hat with similar style! Mark also came close, but Bell Boy hats do not have brims. The current US Army Patrol Cap is most likely a direct decedent of the French Kepi.

11 is a Tam O'shanter. They sold them by the bucket at the Highland Games.

12 is a Campaign Hat. Ranger hat is another name for them, much like drill instructor hat, but if you want the quartermaster to sit up and take notice when you order one, call it a Campaign Hat.

13 is an Ushanka. OK that was a little hard, sorry! I had to look that one up myself, I always called them ear flap hats.

14 is a Chupalla. They are from Chile. Flat top, made of straw, wide brim.

15 Correct answers! Yeah, you can call them Newsboy caps, Gatsby caps, Fisherman's caps... I think we call them Newsie caps b/c Jeff's sister watched that movie so much it was on all the time when we came over to visit.

16 is a Montera or Bull Fighters hat. I can find no etymology for the word. I'm going to go out on a limb and say it's a region of Spain, but I've got nothing to back this up. Multiple sites agree that it is called a Montera hat, but none say why.

17 is a Beret. Good job everyone.

18 is a Trucker Hat. I just finished William Gibson's All Tomorrow's Parties. The people of that America use the slang term meshback instead of redneck. It all stems from their hats.

19 is a Toque Blanche. Yeah, I know, it means white hat. Still, it's got a certain... I don't know what, wouldn't you say?

20 is a Pith Helmet.

Thank you everyone, nice job Jeff and hemisphire getting answers done within 30 minutes of each other, and within 2 hours of my posting. Thanks go to Dave for finishing up many of the missing pieces. Mark made me laugh during a long day at work with his answers, so my thanks to him as well.

Hope you all had a great weekend, I hope I'll have pictures of mine soon.

"We're In The Money"

OK,

Great answers, and even the jokes were funny. Thanks to everyone for playing.

1.) The Photo is called Migrant Mother. Dorothea Lange took it. The woman in the picture is 32. Nice job Melissa. I can't believe no one even tried to guess the age.

2.) October 29th 1929 9/29/29 Hemisphire got the year right, and Jeff... tried really hard.

3.) President Herbert "I am not related to that damned vacuum cleaner salesman" Hoover another point for Hemisphire

4.) Jeff is correct, the FTC was not created during The Depression, it was created before it. The SEC and the FCC were created in 1934

5.) Jeff was barking up a slightly correct tree, and hemisphire got it spot on; the 21st Amendment repealed the 18th, ending prohibition. The 20th was more complex, stating the exact dates for the end of Presidential and Congressional terms of office, and spelling out what should happen if someone died before they could take their seat.

6.) FDR was elected to 4 terms. He died very soon after being elected the fourth time.

7.) Cedric Gibbons did not pose for the Oscar, but that is so close I may have to award partial credit to Hemisphire. Cedric Gibbons designed the Oscar Statue.

8.) Bob hope it was. The man hosted so many times... you would think there would be a funny punchline here.

9.) Melissa is correct, "The Royals" both played piano, and Goodman played Clarinet.

10.) Of Mice and Men is correct. The third novel he wrote during the Depression, about the Depression is called In Dubious Battle.

11.) The fictional town of Maycomb is in Alabama.

12.) "As Maine goes, so goes Vermont."

Hope you all had a good Memorial Day Weekend.

"I Can See for Miles"

Answers to the product placement quiz!

1.) E.T. got drunk on Coors Beer.

2.) Tom Hanks character worked for FedEx, and of course, his best friend was a volleyball named: WILSON!!!!!!!

3.) "Dear Eight Pound, Six Ounce, Newborn Baby Jesus, don’t even know a word yet, just a little infant, so cuddly, but still omnipotent. We’d just like to thank you for all the races I’ve won and the $21.2 million, LOVE THAT MONEY! That I have accrued over this past season. Also due to a binding endorsement contract that stipulates I mention PowerAde at each grace, I just wanna say that PowerAde is delicious and it cools you off on a hot summer day and we look forward to PowerAde’s release of mystic mountain blueberry. Thank you, for all your power and your grace, Dear Baby God, Amen"

4.) Fred, Wilma and Barney all smoked Winston Cigarettes. I have found no proof that Betty ever indulged.

5.) Through some odd chess like metaphor, the scientists of Evolution discovered that since humans were killed by arsenic, the aliens could be killed with selenium, an ingredient in many dandruff shampoos, including Head and Shoulders.

6.) Ah the Back to the Future movies. How many of us have sat down and watched most, or even all of them when TBS or TNT or USA have shown them all in a marathon. We can mention the Tab/Pepsi Free joke in the diner during the first movie; or the self tying Nike's during the second. But my favorites/most notables are: In 1 calling him Calvin Klein because it's written "all over your underwear". In 2 (and 3) the many many shots of the Mattel brand hover board. And in 3 the Frisbie pie company.

7.) Taco Bell won the franchise wars. Which considering that Pepsi owns them, makes for good news for you fans of Taco Bell, KFC, and Pizza Hut when considering your future eating needs.

8.) Pepsi payed Madonna lots of money, and then pulled the video. Noticing a pattern here? Yes, that's right, Pepsi has money, lots of it.

9.) The 1932 Ford Model B was the topic of the Beach Boys 1963 hit.

10.) Guinness and American Express billboards both directly communicated with Tom Cruise's character. Other people were accosted by Coca-cola and Gap ads.

11.) "Converse Vintage 2004"

12.) Pontiac Trans Am is the only proper answer. The new KITT has yet to prove itself.

13.) Domino's is correct. The delivery man gets a lot of screen time.

14.) Apple computers. Is there anything they can't do?

15.) The Wizard. This movie was terrible. And I didn't own a Nintendo. And I didn't watch The Wonder Years. I have no idea why I've seen it.

"Bluddle-Uddle-Um-Dum"

Great answers everyone, thanks for playing along.

1.) A dream is a wish your heart makes, specifically, when you're fast asleep. Which is how I wish I still was. Friday mornings are no place for civilized people.

2.) The human male lead in 101 Dalmatians was not, as Dave guessed, a chimney sweep, but good guess. It would be three more years before Disney glorified the humble sweep in Mary Poppins. Roger Radcliffe was a songwriter, and makes some good money as the writer of the song "Cruella de Vil" (...if she doesn't scare you, no evil thing will.)

3.) Bambi! That is correct. I had to check and re-check this quote. In my head it was always you can call me Flower... but every page I found had it sourced as he can call me Flower... . Gotta go with the internet. It has a much better memory than I do.

4.) As a lover of jazz music, I always enjoyed The Aristocrats. Scatman Crothers played a cat called Scat Cat, not the most original naming, but some good fun jazz sounds: "... everybody wants to be a cat, because a cat's the only cat, that knows where it's at..."

5.) Melissa, never put salt in your eye... and never second guess yourself! "Some Day My Prince Will Come" is from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

6.) Maleficent is the Big Bad in many if not all of the Kingdom Hearts games (I've never played them either.) If you haven't seen Sleeping Beauty recently, re watch the end, where Maleficent grows to building size, and morphs into a dragon. For my money, its still a scary scene.

7.) Dave is sort of right, in that it doesn't have a strict meaning , but come on! It's obviously an exclamation of joy! Go and make yourself a wooden sword. Then, raise it in the air, shout "Oo-De-Lally!" and chase after something, like a spouse, a cat, or a child. I guarantee your life just got a little bit better. A pox on the phony King of England! Oo-De-Lally!

8.) Full points and the bonus ball to Maren, who not only knew the specific Cocker Spaniel, but managed to quote the film as well.

9.) Piiiii Nocchio! Melissa is correct. For all you super trivia nerds, J. Worthington "Honest John" Foulfellow, is the character's name. He sings "Hi Diddle Dee Dee" with an all but mute partner, a cat called Gideon, who doesn't manage more than a hiccup. The man voicing that hiccup? Mel Blanc

10.) Alright, credit where it is due, Dave got the general idea correct. Merlin defeats Madame Mimm by turning into a germ, but lets not be pedantic. I always liked this often overlooked Disney film. None of the songs turned into classics, and the characters never really got merchandised, but it's a alright film, with a funny villain.

11.) Dumbo's mother is called Jumbo! Nice play from the left fielder, skipping the cutoff man and throwing straight for home.

12.) The Darling children fly off to Neverland, nice memory Melissa, but how Dave remembered that their mothers name is Mary is anyone's guess.

13.) AAAAA very merry Unbirthday to you (to you) a very merry unbirthday to you (to me?)
this classic scene is taking place between The Mad Hatter, the March Hare, and the much put upon Dormouse. (Remember... what the Dormouse said...) Alice shows up and they continue, until they are interrupted by the White Rabbit, whereupon Alice leaves the other three to their merrymaking.

14.) The Jungle Book. Another great one.

Thank you all for playing. Hope you enjoyed the quiz.
I've got fun plans this weekend, so if we're lucky, I'll have pictures next week.

"Centerfield"

Two games into a fairly resounding beat down by the Boston Red Socks, the Colorado Rockies are still the team I want to see win the series. Doesn't look like that's going to happen though. It also looks like I may not want to blog about baseball for too much longer. Based on comments, I'm glad I didn't start talking baseball back during the wild card race.

For those who didn't recognize the anonymous poster giving most of the answers, I'd like to welcome my Dad to the ranks of those who have played along at home.

So here are the answers to the previous quiz.

1. The Boys of Summer is a phrase that is many sports writers use to encompass all ball players. But a book by that name focuses on what team? The Brooklyn Dodgers is correct. Before these Bums packed up and left for L.A., they were the focus of a young man's dreams, not to mention every waking moment, in the well regarded book by Roger Kahn

2. What park is the home of the Green Monster? Fenway Park, where the first two games of the World Series was played this year.

3. The 1919 World Series will go down in history as "The Black Sox Scandal" where 8 members of the Chicago White Sox were accused of throwing the series. What was the other team in the series? The Cincinnati Reds is correct. They went by the name Red Stockings way back in the day, and during the "red scare" of the 50s and 60s went by Redlegs.

4. Which President threw out the first ceremonial first pitch? Hint: it was at a Senators game. It was indeed Taft, in 1910.

5. What team's ballpark was home to Roseanne's infamous rendition of the Star Spangled Banner? It was July of 1990, in Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, current home of refugees of the fires in California.

6. The 2002 film The Rookie, starring Dennis Quaid is based on the true story of Jim Morris, who at 35 years old, played in his rookie season for what team? The Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

7. An easy one for fans from my neck of the woods: Where did the Washington Nationals play before they moved here? Montreal Expos is correct, now all we have to do is get the Blue Jays to leave Toronto.

8. What state has the most MLB teams, how many teams is that, and what league has the majority of those teams? Dad is correct with the National League having 3 of the 5 California teams.

9. Match the well known player with the team he his best known for playing for.
------A.Ty Cobb----------3 Detroit Tigers
------B. Pete Rose--------5 Cincinnati Reds
------C.Hank Aaron-------2. Atlanta (formerly Milwaukee) Braves
------D.Yogi Berra---------1. New York Yankees
------E.Ted Williams-------4. Boston Red Socks

10. OK, we're talkin' baseball... Who are/were Willy, Mickey and the Duke? Willy Mays, Mickey Mantle and Duke Snider, they were the center fielders of the three New York teams at the time, The Giants, The Yankees, and the Dodgers. What about the Mets you may ask? They weren't around yet.

11. Not strictly a baseball question, but... what ball park did the Beatles play their last concert at? It was in 1966. Candlestick Park, where the Giants played, and the 49ers still do.

12. In 1962, the otherwise unremarkable Harry Chiti entered baseball history when he was traded for a "player to be named later". Who was that player? Harry Chiti. That's right, he was traded for himself. The Indians traded him to the Mets, and 20 days later, the Mets sent him back.

13. The Cleavland Indians team is the focus of the first two Major League films. What major league team, and their minor league affiliate the South Carolina Buzz are the focus of Major League: Back to the Minors? The Minnesota Twins.

14. What team has picked up the nickname "The Twinkies" The Minnesota Twins! Again! I was not running out of questions damn it!

15. Name any of "Mighty Casey"'s teammates on "The Mudville Nine" Cooney and Barrows both died at first, Flynn got a base hit, and Jimmy/Johnnie Blake got a double. Which led to Casey taking the plate.

Alright, no more Baseball, but I tell you what, you guys are missing a great game!

"Baby Don't Forget My Number"

Thank you all for playing, here are the eagerly anticipated answers to the "Don't Lose My Number" post last week. I got this as a spreadsheet, so I was able to plug something in and see if it was correct.

1. 26 L of the A -- hemisphire starting things out right with 26 letters of the Alphabet

2. 7 D of the W --7 Days of the week, another one picked up by

3. 7 W of the W--7 Wonders of the World, Melissa very nicely picking up the pass

4. 12 S of the Z--12 signs of the zodiac is correct

5. 52 C in a D (WJs)--52 cards in a deck (Without Jokers) Melissa pulls this one out, Jokers, not Jacks

6. 13 S in the USF--13 stripes in the USF is correct. One of the ones I did not include was 13=UFS which was supposedly 13 is unlucky for some. Lame.

7. 18 H on a G C--18 Holes on a Golf Course, correct

8. 5 T on a F--5 Toes on a Foot, it took me days to get this one, nice one Melissa

9. 90 D in a R A--90 Degrees in a Right Angle, Nice one Maren, it took me a while to get this one as well.

10. 3 B M ( S H T R)--Maren's placeholder is not as close as she hopes :-) 3 Blind Mice (See How They Run) I did not get this one until I was asking my father for the answer. As I said " I still don't get 3 B M" I suddenly got it. See, say it out loud works!

11. 32 is the T in D F at which W F--32 is the temperature in Degrees Fahrenheit at which water freezes. Another correct one for hemisphire. Anyone else have a science teacher who claimed we would never have to teach this to our children because within 20 years or so, everything would be metric? Oh naive science teacher of my youth, never overlook the blind stubborn aversion to change of the American People.

12. 15 P on a R T--I admit, I only got this by shear blind luck of a guess. 15 Players on a Rugby Team.

13. 3 W on a T--3 Wheels on a Tricycle, nice one Melissa, another one I admit took me days. My Dad kept calling me and saying "3 W on a T , come on!" But I couldn't do it until I took the weekend off.

14. 11 P on a F (S) T--This is the one I got that helped me guess the Rugby one. 11 Players on a Football (Soccer) Team

15. 12 M in a Y--Twelve Months in a Year is Correct

16. 8 T on an O--8 Tentacles on an Octopus. Good one Maren, I was particularly pleased when I got this one after only briefly trying to spell angles with a silent T at the beginning "8 Tangles on a Octagon" was not a correct answer.

17. 29 D in F on a L Y--29 Days in February on a Leap Year. Nice going.

18. 365 D in a Y--365 Days in a Year, another gimme

19. 13 L in a B D--13 Loaves in a Bakers Dozen. Maren sweeps up another one.

20. 52 W in a Y--52 Weeks in a Year

21. 9 L of a C-- Kind of surprised no one got this one. Maren's answer made me question her sanity until I read that it was a place holder, not a guess. Then I read it again and laughed out loud. 9 Legs on a Camel? No Maren, 9 Lives of a Cat

22. 60 M in a H--60 Minutes in an hour, correct again.

23. 23 P of C in the HB--23 Pairs of Chromosomes in the Human Body. Nice one Melissa. I got this one eventually, but only after trying to remember how many Pictures of Christ were in the Holy Bible. Or Persons of Color, or Presents of Christmas, or People of Chinese. I finally realised it wasn't Holy Bible after exhausting all of my options.

24. 64 S on a C B--Nobody? 64 squares on a Chess (or you could say checkers) Board.

25. 9 P in S A-- Best wrong answer that sounds perfectly plausible goes to Maren for 9 Pronouns in Standard Arabic. I myself kept trying to make it about South America there are 13 countries, but I was guessing ( Presidents of South America, nine Parliaments of South America. This is one of the really hard ones I left in. 9 Provinces in South Africa

26. 6 B to an O in C--Again, no one should have gotten this one. I came close ( I guessed C was Cricket, that's close right?) 6 Balls to an Over in Cricket

27. 1000 Y in a M--1000 Years in a Millennium

28. 15 M on a D M C--I'm guessing Maren deserves partial credit for this one, but every Pirate I know sings it as 15 Men on a Dead Man's Chest. But I do like Monkeys, so partial credit.

Bonus: I already told you about the stupid Unlucky for some one I left out. the others were

66 B of the B
27 B in the NT
39 B of the OT

Now with all three together, you might get these. I did, but not all faiths count them the same.
66 Books of the Bible
27 Books of the New Testament
39 Books of the Old Testament

and the one no one I know got: 100 C in a R

Hope you all enjoyed the quiz. If you are interested in taking some of the other parts, here is a link to a site. If you want to go to the Mensa sight and do their "workout" here is the link for that.

"Rocket"

So we had some good guesses, but fewer people than I thought. Guess this one was a little hard. Or maybe just not interesting enough. I tried to stray from the music quizzes a little, and the next quiz is also not music related. In addition, the next quiz I was going to do is fairly hard (I think) so maybe I'll put it on the back burner. Take a break from the quizzes, see if I can fill my blog with something else for a while. Random trivia, or a play by play on updating my resume.

Enough of that. On to the answers.

1. I like rich people. I like the way they live. I like the way I live when I'm with them. This is Richard Haydn as Max Detweiler in The Sound of Music. He's the weaselly but nice about it manager/kindly uncle.

2. We're all going to die and they're never going to give me my license! E.T. The older brother says it about the feds chasing them.

3. I can do anything, I'm the chief of police. Fletch was a good guess, I can almost hear Chevy Chase saying it, but it is from Jaws.

4. Angel, ha! She's a female! And all females is poison! They're full of wicked wiles! "What's a wile" "I don't know, but I'm agin' 'em". Oh Grumpy, one day you'll warm up to women. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

5. That's a pie crust promise. Easily made, easily broken. Julie Andrews movie number 2: Mary Poppins. Way to go Melissa.

6. Her dream had come true. She was a folk singer. Not as obscure a quote as I thought, Forest Gump it is. Big pat on the back for everyone, unless you pictured Buttercup naked in which case you are dirty. Bad readers! Hee Hee, now you're all doing it.

7. Kids, we're gonna have to eat this cake by ourselves. Your Uncle Joey didn't make parole again. Back to the Future it is, with Lea Thompson in some really great fat/age make-up.

8. I don't want to play the gender card right now. You want to play a card, let's play the "let's not die" card. I didn't expect anyone to get this. It's from Nemo! Marlin is talking to Dory about not asking for directions, then Dory speaks whale remember? Man I've watched that movie too many times for a thirty year old without kids.

9. Do you know why the number two hundred is so vitally descriptive to both you and me? It's your weight and my I.Q. Oscar winner Gene Hackman in the role I remember him best for: Lex Luthor in the first Superman film. He's bitching out his hired help Otis (Ned Beatty) in this line. Way to go Lex, biggest brain on the planet, rip on a guy for being fat.

10.When you grow up, your heart dies. Melissa is right on with Breakfast Club.

11.I want him manning a radar tower in Alaska by the end of the day. Just mail him his clothes. Ominous line from the first Mission Impossible movie.

12.Wonderful girl! Either I'm going to kill her or I'm beginning to like her. Han Solo will hunt down those of you who did not know this and revoke your geek card. Of course Lykaon gave his up of his own free will earlier this month.

13. Both hands on the wheel, Mr. Jones, I'm a very nervous passenger. Sean Connery as James Bond in Dr. No. Dude picks him up from the airport, and Bond knows its a setup the whole time.

14.This is the cleanest and nicest police car I've ever been in my life. This thing is nicer than my apartment. Axel! Eddie Murphy in the first Beverly Hills Cop. It's from earlier in the film, before they realise he's a cop.

15. Flying a plane is no different from riding a bicycle; it's just a lot harder to put baseball cards in the spokes. And last is Airplane! Melissa got this one too.

Hope everyone enjoyed this little walk down memory lane. Sorry I didn't include pics or videos, but I actually have work to do at work today! Stupid work, making Davey's few loyal readers have to stare at boring text.

"Son of a Gun (I Betcha Think This Song Is About You)"

First, I'm sorry it took song long to get these up here, but it sounds like most of you knew a lot of them anyway.

1. "American Pie" does mention characters that people have asserted are representative of Elvis, The Stones, etc. The song is about "The Day the Music Died" and is therefore about Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and the Big Bopper. Dion of Dion and the Belmonts turned down the chance to get on the plane, and Waylon Jennings, who was playing in Buddy Holly's band, gave up his seat to the Big Bopper.

2. Marilyn Monroe is the answer, the song's opening line "Goodbye Norma Jean" references her real name.

3. Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, whose story was spread even farther when Denzel Washington starred in a movie about him.

4. Marvin Gaye is one, and Jackie Wilson is the other. This song was the first hit for the Commodores after Lionel Richie went solo.

5. Aisha Morris is indeed Stevie Wonder's "less than one minute old" daughter.

6. Andy Kaufman is also right, sort of a gimmie what with the movie and all.

7. Shots rang out... MLK Jr. is right again. Hemisphire is rolling.

8. Patrick got this one right, it is about Don Mclean.

9. Pattie Boyd, one of the most interesting love triangles in Classic Rock

10. Poor Tony Kanal, everyone knows you broke Gwen's heart, no one remembers your name.

11. Joan Baez is said to have wrote this song about her relationship with Bob Dylan. Think Mitch and Mickey.

12. This song is supposed to be a about Leonard Cohen.

13. "Ring of Fire" was written by June Carter, about Johnny Cash. Did nobody watch Walk the Line?

14. Christopher Wallace, a.k.a. The Notorious B.I.G,. a.k.a Biggie Smalls, a.k.a. Big Poppa, a.k.a. Frank White.

15. Jackie Onassis indeed.

Dave Coulier from Full House is indeed the leading candidate for "You Oughta Know" and the man wearing the apricot scarf in "You're So Vain" will always be Beatty in my head.

Congrats to Hemisphire for mopping up, Lykaon for getting in first, and Patrick for adding one of the missing ones. thank you all for playing.

"You Never Give Me Your Money"

Hey!, I got the Video thing working. I'm sure all of you have done this, and I am lame, but look...I have 18 videos in one post! Previously I had gone to Youtube and told it to post to my blog and them I had to go to my blog and write the post around it. And I could only have the one video. So here are answers to the quiz. Hemisphire rocked the house on this one, with Maren picking up the pieces he missed. Together they left only one blank, and had only one wrong answer.

1. One is the loneliest number that you'll ever do. And as you'll hear, two can be as bad as one.


Three Dog Night-"One"

2. You're going to cry 96 tears.


?uestion Mark and the Mysterians-"96 Tears"

3. 8



The Beatles-"Eight Days a Week"

4. You don't have to guess, when its 3


School House Rock-"Three is a magic number"

5. She was just 17, you know what I mean.


The Beatles-"I Saw Her Standing There"

6. I'm 22 now but I won't be for long. This is a live version. I really love his early stuff.



Billy Bragg-"A New England"

7.When I was 35, it was a very good year. Shatner has a very scary version, but I'm not going to subject you to that.

Frank Sinatra-"It Was A Very Good Year"

8. Track 29! Boy you can give me a shine.

The is Dorothy Dandridge backed up by the The Nicholas Brothers and the Glenn Miller Orchestra-"Chattanooga Choo Choo"

9. 110 Cornets indeed.

From the Music Man-"Seventy-Six Trombones"

10. It's quarter to 3. The only mistake in the bunch. I love Frank's version, and Dean's, and Cab's, but I couldn't pass up this killer rendition.

Billie Holiday-"One for my Baby (and One More For the Road)"

11. The Number 13 tattooed on my neck. Glen Danzig of the Misfits wrote it and Johnny Cash sang it. I can't find a single version I like. So no video.

12. There must be 50. Paul Simon wrote it, and his version is a master piece. This is funny.
The Electric Mayhem-"50 Ways to Leave Your Lover"

13. Seven Sundays, gotta love that alliteration.

Extreme-"Seven Sundays"

14. 19 breakdowns is a lot. Seriously, you should look into some therapy.

The Rolling Stones- "19th Nervous Breakdown"

15. 150 cents. They will charge you a dollar and a half just to see the tree museum.

Joni Mitchell- "Big Yellow Taxi"

16. A 39 and a half foot pole is very long. Over 12 meters.

Thurl Ravenscroft- "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch"

17. 55 mph. This video is lame. So why bother.
Sammy Hagar-"I Can't Drive 55"

18. 92. This is the version of this song. Sure, Tony is great, and Mel wrote it, but this is the real deal.

Nat King Cole-"The Christmas Song"

19. '69. He bought it at the five and dime. Which isn't really likely in 1969, but, whatever.

Bryan Adams-"Summer of '69"

20. 99 problems. This one has many curse words. It is not the original version, but a mash-up between Jay-Z, and The Beatles. I really really really recommend The Grey Album.


DJ Dangermouse-"99 Problems"


Stupid DJ Dangermouse video not working. I'll post it later. All the others should work.

"Be a Clown"

Today you get two quarters, heck, maybe only two sixths of a post. I'm swamped at work. But Pop Candy linked me to something so scary I had to share. But first...

"Be a Clown" was written by Cole Porter, an absolute genius as far as musicals go. He wrote "I Get a Kick Out of You" and "I've Got You Under My Skin" and hundreds of others. He wrote "Be a Clown" for a 1948 film called The Pirate that I've never heard of. Gene Kelly and Judy Garland sang it. But you've probably heard "Be a Clown" It just wasn't called that. In the 1952 classic Singin' in the Rain, Donald Conner sings "Make 'Em Laugh". It is virtually the same song. I had never heard "Be a Clown" until I saw De-Lovely a few years ago. I immediately knew something was up. So after a little snooping around, it turns out that Cole Porter certainly knew he had been plagiarized, but the common belief is that Cole Porter was so thankful to the producer Arthur Freed for giving him the chance to do The Pirate, that he didn't complain when Freed and his partner did "Make 'Em Laugh" a few years later.

So here is the link from Pop Candy. I think you will see why the post is the way it is. Oh yeah, Kate, if you read this, you should not click the link. I shouldn't have.


[Yeah, so the picture is from "Moses Supposes" not "Make 'Em Laugh", sue me. You try finding a picture from Make 'Em Laugh where Donald Conner is larger than a postage stamp.]

"Yankee Doodle"

Alright, in the interest of full disclosure... My girlfriend loves Gone With the Wind and has told me that I must watch it, making it more like an assignment. I'm sure I'd like it if it was something I chose to watch. Also, she and I both thought the answer to the first question was 1960's Kennedy vs. Nixon.

What is up with the Google brand lately? Last week I couldn't get on to any of the blogspot blogs and today Youtube is slower than any site on the entire Internet. Yes, I checked.

I'll have another post later this week on the glory that is Extreme. Or not. I mean, there will be a blog posting, but... well, you'll see. Let me just say I have roommates, and I love them. But I hate the way I don't get everything I should on the day I should.

Alright here are the answers to the Presidential quiz.

1. 1952 Eisenhower vs. Adlai Stevenson was the last time neither big party nominated a previous President or Vice. In 1956 Ike ran again, in '60 Nixon was Ike's VP, in '64 Johnson ran again, in '68 Nixon ran again, in '72 Nixon again, in '76 Ford was Nixon's VP, in '80 Carter ran again, in '84 Reagan ran again, in '88 Bush was Reagan's VP, in '92 Bush ran again, in '96 Clinton ran again, in '00 Gore was Clinton's VP, in '04 Bush ran again. In the case of the 1952 election, Truman, who was eligible to run again, declined, so the Democrats looked around. The VP was considered too old at 74. Other candidates were favored, but eventually they chose Adlai Stevenson, even though he reportedly told people no. The Republicans selected WWII hero Eisenhower. The same two men faced each other 4 years later. Something that hadn't happened since the election of 1900.

2. A poorly worded question at best, but that's what I get for not having an editor. I meant to ask which President had enlisted but never attained an officer's rank. Gotta give some credit for thinking outside the box to Hemisphire, but Grant actually went to West Point, so was never an enlisted man. James Buchanan was a private during the war of 1812, and was never promoted. 15th President of the United States, a bachelor, and consistently rated in the bottom 5 as far as "all time rankings" lists. So let's just move on from this blunder of a question.

3. Bush 41 it is. George Herbert Walker Bush was 19 when he was flying. He also got more than a few medals; he got shot at and shot down a lot. The man saw a lot of combat, and ran the CIA and yet, will most likely be remembered for "No New Taxes" and being a President and father of a President who both went to war against the same guy.

4. Taft-FDR. Presidents 27-32 1909-1945 So that means WWI and II not to mention a lot of other things as well, were all presided over by men with no Military experience.

5. I thought this was an interesting question. Nixon, while Eisenhower's VP cast 8 tie breaking votes. Bush the first only cast 7. The number one VP who cast tie breaking votes and then went on to be President, is also the VP with the most tie breaking votes ever, with a record 29 (some sources say 31) votes than will most likely stay a record, the first Vice President, and second President of the United States: John Adams.

6. Maren really knocked this one out of the park. Wilson graduated with a PHD in political science before working at four different colleges and becoming governor of New Jersey. Can you imagine either party nominating a college professor now?

7. Federalist and Whig and... Democratic-Republican. Sort of the Anti-Federalist party.

8. I can't believe no one got this. I guess you are all better people than me. I always wanted one. Wilson. Woodrow Wilson was on the $100,000 bill, which was only in print for 6 years.

9. Ford is a good guess. But he was fifth shortest in office, serving out 895 days. The second shortest was indeed Garfield. Killed in his first year, and only serving 199 days in office. I think he gets remembered an awful lot for someone who served less than 200 days. I blame the fat tabby who loves lasagna.

10. As far as assassinations go, it sounds like everyone knows Kennedy and Lincoln, the other two are McKinley and Garfield. Garfield we already talked about, McKinley died after he was reelected. In an odd twist, his VP from the first term had died of heart failure and was not replaced until Teddy Roosevelt was sworn in after the reelection. We were without a VP for over a year. The Constitution had no provision for replacing the post until after Kennedy was killed. Had the assassin struck during that time, well, therein lies a story. The VP, Hobart, died in late November 1899; the speaker of the house had retired in March. A new one was sworn in in December, but Speaker David Henderson was born in Scotland. William P. Frye was President pro tempore of the Senate during that time. Had the Assassin struck early, this man would have become President. As for the list who died in office: William Henry Harrison, who died in a month, Zach Taylor, who died in 16 months, Harding who only served 29 months, and FDR who served longer than any other US President.

11. Ford it is, died December 26 2006 and buried January 3rd 2007

12. Taft. He was born in Ohio, but due to the fact that he was President and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court he was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

13. 1888 is correct! Harrison lost the popular vote but won the Electoral Congress, four years later Grover Cleavland was elected to his second term, a non consecutive term. The only time in US history that ever happened. Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn met on set. I still get some of the songs stuck in my head, but that's the Sherman Brothers for you.

14. John Quincy Adams was President when Stephen Foster was born and Lincoln was President when he died.

15. James Madison was President when Chopin was born, and Zach Taylor was President when he died.

16. Harvard is correct. Two Addams', two Roosevelts and a Kennedy.

17. Nixon was President, for a few more months anyway. Aaron broke the record in April, and Nixon was gone in August of 1974.

18. Johnson it is! Hemisphire is really shining on these sports related ones.

19. Right all around with FDR. It came out in 1939.

20. Anthony Hopkins in Nixon is also correct.

Good strong showing at the end there for Hemisphire. Plus he found this gem of a video.

Also, If you have the time, check out this video. It includes the trailer for the Disney movie with the long name I mentioned earlier. It's after Davy Crockett.

"The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band"

Fun conversations with my girlfriend yesterday (we disagree on everything) led me to think that a quiz on Presidential Trivia would be kind of cool.

A little background information: we were talking about the current crop of candidates and trying to come up with when the last time neither party would be nominating a former President or Vice President. We were wrong by the way, and both felt stupid later, but I don't want to give anything away.

So here are a few questions that everyone should be able to have a good time with.

Update: Dave said I should give you the 42 names. Here we go.


1. When was the most recent year that neither major party nominated a previous President or Vice President at the top of the ticket? Who were the candidates?

2. 42 men have held the title Commander-in-Chief. Which one held an enlisted rank in the armed forces?

3. Which President was the youngest pilot in the Navy at the time of his commission?

4 Of the 42, only 11 have no military service, but an amazing 6 of those 11 were in consecutive order! Name the major world conflicts that happened during this time in American History.

5. Many of our Presidents served as Vice President before being elected themselves. One of the duties of the Vice President is to act as President of the Senate, and cast a tie breaking vote if necessary. In the last 100 years, what VP turned Chief Executive cast the most tie breaking votes? What about in all of US History?

6. Many of our Presidents have post graduate degrees, most in law, one in business. One started medical school but did not finish. Which President attained a P.H.D.? Hint: It was at Johns Hopkins University.

7. We all know Republican and Democrat. Which other political Parties successfully saw their candidate elected President?

8. Who is on the now discontinued $100,000 bill?

9. Everyone knows that FDR was the longest serving President. Most of you probably know that William Henry Harrison served the least; he was the guy who gave his inaugural address outside in the cold without hat, gloves, or overcoat, caught pneumonia and died 31 days after taking office. There is a 10 way (soon to be 11 way) tie for second longest in office. Who holds the record for second shortest in office?

10. 8 Presidents died in office. 4 by assassination, and 4 by illness. Name them.

11. One President died in one year and was buried the next. It was recent. Who was it?

12. 8 Presidents were born in VA, 7 are buried there. 3 of the 8 are buried out of the state they were born in, but Kennedy, born in Massachusetts, is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. That brings the count up to 6. Which other president not born in Virginia was buried there, and where in the state are they buried?

So, kind of dull so far you say? Same sort of Presidential trivia questions you can get anywhere you say? Well then try these on for size:

13. The song that is the title to this post is in fact the title song to a Disney movie. It was released in 1968 during Johnson's administration but set during what historic Presidential election?

14. The picture appearing at the start of the 99 Bottles of Beer post is of Stephen Foster, famous American songwriter. He penned classics like Oh Susana, Camptown Races, and Beautiful Dreamer. Who was President when he was born? When he died?

15. The picture appearing at the start of the Camptown Races post is of Frederic Chopin. Related most famously to Stephen Foster (by me anyway) in a great bit of dialogue between Doc Holiday (Val Kilmer) and Johnny Ringo (Michael Biehn) in Tombstone. Who was President of the United States when Chopin was born? When he died?

16. We all know that Jefferson founded UVA, and we know that Yale is known for educating both Presidents Bush (Taft too), but what institution graduated the most future Presidents?

17. So Barry Bonds just broke Hank Aaron's record number of Home Runs. Who was President when Hank broke Ruth's record?

18. The game was was eventually known as Super Bowl I was played between the Green Bay Packers and the Kansas City Chiefs. Who was President?

19. The American Film Institute Released their list of the 100 greatest movie quotes of all time in 2005. Topping the list: "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn" From Gone with the Wind. Who was President when the movie came out?

20. There has been a trend lately in the Academy Awards for actors to be nominated for playing real people. Who was nominated for playing what President, in the same year Nick Cage won for Leaving Los Vegas?

I think, with only 42 names possible for most of the answers, we can say "no looking things up". Sure, it would be easier if you knew when Gone With the Wind was released, but I'm guessing most of the ladies know that one. And Dave. Because anyone who knows Moonstruck as well as he does surely knows Gone With the Wind.

Kikikiki

"Annie's Song"

Ooo ooo fun quiz.

I scored a 6. OUT OF 20! I did not do good. But it was fun!

"Camptown Races"

Answers to 99 Bottles of Beer.

First of all, Disco Mom's Mom is correct; most of these are folk songs, and not strictly camp songs. But camp songs are mainly just repetitive rounds and involve very little trivia opportunities, so I went with songs I thought people would know. Plus, I sang a lot of these at various camps.

So let's start at the very beginning ( a very good place to start)

1.
Oh I come from Alabama with a banjo on my knee,
I'm going to Louisiana, my true love for to see...
Oh! Susanna don't you cry for me.

2.
In the Big Rock Candy Mountain
the cops have wooden legs
the bulldogs all have rubber teeth
and the hens lay soft boiled eggs.
[so many different versions of this song exist. I heard it first in a children's version. No cigarette trees or lakes of alcohol. BTW the version on the O! Brother soundtrack is by Harry McClintock; the man credited with writing the piece.]

3.
... for to carry my Mother away.
[ I learned Will the Circle Be Unbroken from my father. The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band version played in my house regularly. Great parts for those of us who sing in the lower Baritone and Bass parts of the vocal spectrum.]

4.
The stars at night are big and bright {clap clap clap clap}
Deep in the Heart of Texas
[You didn't know this? But it's one of my favorite scenes from this movie!]

5.
With a knife dear Henry...
[There's a Hole in the Bucket is my favorite of the so called infinite loop songs including John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt; Found a Peanut; The Song that Never Ends etc.]

6.
He's gone to be a Soldier in the Army of the Lord...
[First one that nobody knew. Sung to the tune of The Battle Hymn of the Republic. I think I learned this one due to being a Boy Scout that lived near enough to Harper's Ferry to warrant a camp out. ]

7.
Oh you can't get to Heaven
On Roller Skates
'Cause you'd roll right by
Those Pearly Gates.
[I like ain't got no brakes, but that's not how mom taught me. My favorite lyrics from later in the song are: You can't get to Heaven in a Limousine:'cause the Lord don't sell no gasoline; and You can't get to Heaven with a bottle of Gin: 'cause the Lord don't let those spirits in.]

8.
Daisy, Daisy give me your answer true...
A Bicycle built for Two [ You might know Daisy Bell, as Melissa pointed out, from 2001 as the song HAL 9000 sings at it "dies". You might also know it as the song playing over the drunken tricycle races from Revenge of the Nerds. I know it because my Papa sings it.]

9.
On top of Spaghetti! All covered in cheese! I lost my poor Meatball! When Somebody Sneezed! [Great song. Must be sung at full volume and with as little musicality as possible. Truly a great story as well. After rolling out the door and into the garden, it is planted and grows into a spaghetti tree.]

10.
...Poor boy you're gonna' die.
[Kari's answer is best, he is indeed going to be hung, for his involvement in the death of a woman. Most interesting Trivia I found, was that the real Tom was named Tom Dula. The pronunciation of his name was akin to Dooley and so recordings of the song used that spelling.]

11.
Oh we'll all have chicken and dumplings when she comes...
[made from the old red rooster presumably. ]

12.
The Grand Old Duke of York, he had ten thousand men...
[It was the son of King George actually Maren. He invaded Flanders in April of 1794 (he marched them up the hill) and was recalled to England the next month (and marched them down again).]

13.
...At the Quartermaster's Store.
[I'm totally going to accept at the store for this one. I learned Quartermaster's store because I learned it at scout camp.]

14.
Green Grow the Rushes O!
[The Wikipedia entry has some interesting interpretations on the full verses of this song.]

15.
And he sang as he watched and waited 'til his billy boiled Who'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me?
[What is a billy you might ask? A kettle. I remember the closing ceremony to the 2000 summer Olympics included a large group of Aussie Celebs singing this song. The Camera caught many people forgetting the words. My favorite version is by Tom Waits. Of course my favorite version of many songs are by Mr. Waits. The man could sing the ABC song and I'd listen enraptured.]

16.
...down streets broad and narrow, crying cockles and mussels alive alive-0.
[Somehow I don't think that was all sweet Molly was selling]

17.
Whack for the daddy 'ol
There's Whiskey in the Jar
[Nobody huh? Either I made it a little to obscure, or I need to learn to write for my audience a bit better. It's actually a really well known Irish folk standard. It's about a criminal who is betrayed by his woman. Thin Lizzy and Metallica have both done rock versions, but my favorite remains an odd duet by the traditional folk group the Dubliners and the Punk/Folk group The Pogues.]

18.
The Cat came back the very next day.
[I thought he was a goner too Rob. I totally remember this one at summer camp. Easy to get the chorus, everyone has a good time, plus, as an added bonus, it is a song about killing a cat. I hate cats. Thus, as G-d is a humorous creator, I am living with one now, and my girlfriend has one. Oh yeah, and my best friend has three, and, and, and...]

19.
...Earl-eye in the Mornin'
[here is a link to a long list of possibilities. My favorites have always been toss him in a sinking ship and make him bail it; shave his belly (sure, we'll say belly) with a rusty razor, and throw him in with the Captain's daughter. It wasn't until long after first hearing this song that I learned the sailors term "Captain's Daughter" meant the lash.]

20.
A beautiful bunch of ripe bananas
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Hide the Deadly Black Tarantula
[Shame for not knowing this one.]

Alright, thank you all for playing, hope you enjoyed it. By the way. Anybody with a little movie trivia knowledge want to explain to the class why the picture of Mr. Chopin graces this post?

"Teardrops on My Guitar"

Answers to "While My Guitar Gently Weeps."

1. Lute, but after looking up the Oud I have got to give credit to Maren. Remarkably similar instruments. Important things to recognize a lute include the peg box bent at a 90 degree angle back from the fretboard, and the soundhole being covered by a grill. Real difference between the Lute and the Oud is the Lute has frets and the Oud does not.

2. Dulcimer is correct. Why do you all know this? I thought this one was kinda hard.

3. Banjo! You can do all kinds of things with a Banjo, but all of them involve the Banjo on your knee; not the other way around. Remember that, and all is right with the world.

4. Lyre, guess we all passed art history. I liked the star of David on this one.

5. Gusle. One of the very hard ones. A Slavic double or single string instrument. I thought it was Arab in origin, but I was wrong. Mainly I included it because it looked cool.

6. Sitar. Was it the Rolling Stones or The Beatles who helped popularize this instrument in America? Good arguments for both I think.

7. Ah, the one with the most good guesses. Zither, Hammered Dulcimer, Auto Harp. Technically the picture is of an Auto Harp. It's the buttons that make it so.

8. Gaohu. A member of the huqin family of instruments. It's like a Chinese violin. There are lots of variants. I couldn't help but put this in. There is a guy who plays one at the Rosslyn Metro station like once a week.

9. Akonting. A Banjo precursor of Western Africa.

10. Washtub Bass. I like how whoever bought this one decided to put a bass clef on it. In case with thought it was a Washtub Treble.

"Holding Out for a Hero"

Alright, gotta give props where props are due. Dave came in strong and quick with great answers delivered so fast The Noid wouldn't have stood a chance. Jeff gave his answers correctly in the form of a question, and made good use of the "Perth Defense" when stumped. And Mark took up the most space answering. Well done guys, big pat on the back for all involved. Now it is answer time.

1. Slaying the Bull of Heaven is Gilgamesh and indeed, it was Ishtar who was chasing after him. Way to go Dave.

2. Perseus did indeed slay Medusa. And yes, it is fair to say we all thank Clash of The Titans for that one.

3. The Dragon Slayer is Sigurd of Norse Mythology, who was grabbed by the Pre-Christian Germanic tribes and indeed renamed Siegfried. Yes, Wagner did include him in two operas, one named after him. Full points to Dave, and partial credit to the Strauss fan. ( Bad joke I know)

4.Gilgamesh never changed his name, but Jacob/Israel did. Nicely done again Dave. I had always heard he wrestled an angel until I read up a little and realized there is some speculation that it may have been G-d himself.

5. Brought up by his Aunt and another woman, Fionn mac Cumhaill, or Finn McCool did kill the giant fairy and took back his birthright as head of the Fianna. Dave gets it on a well placed guess.

6. I was indeed trying for Hua Mulan. Guess I blew it by not having enough specifics. Points for everyone!

7. Scáthach taught Cúchulainn most of what he know about being a warrior, and the man was a damn near unstoppable force of nature on par with Samson, Gilgamesh, Heracles and the rest.

8.Throwing off a foreign ruler is hard, but it is even harder when some say he was a demon, but Kaveh freed the Persians from this overlord and rallied them around his standard: his blacksmith apron hung on a spear.

9. One of the Vanara, Hanuman traveled with his friend Lord Rama (avatar of Vishnu) across India performing many impressive feats.

10. Various versions of this story exist, depending on the Island you are on, some say it was his sisters hair, his mothers hair, others say he beat the sun with the jawbone of his ancestor, but all agree that it was Maui who slowed the son.

Hope everyone had fun. I think we can all agree Dave won this one. And seriously: How did I leave out Sinbad?!!

" I Say a Little Prayer"

Inspired by posts on /. and many other sites for years, I thought I'd ask a rather obvious question. Where do you go everyday? Online I mean. What are your must see sites. We've talked music and movies plenty, and I've given up a few of my favored time wasters. But I want a good long list from many sources.

Do you read the news online? MSN? Yahoo? Google News? Do you read music reviews, check out early news on comic books, read celebrity blogs?

Here, in no particular order, is a list of sites I find time to visit as often as I can, and why.

First off, for general news I hit a bunch of sites. Drudge, FoxNews, CNN, NPR, Washington Post, Christian Science Monitor NewsBusters. I read as many versions of stories as I can, because most news is totally biased one way or the other, and the only way to know the truth is to assume they are all lying to you. That way you have to find the facts that they all mention, you can presume that to be truth, and assume the rest is fluffy garbage.

I read a bunch of people's blogs now, which is fairly new. The only person not linked in one or three degrees from this blog is my friend Jill in NYC. Thanks to the rest of you for constantly making my day go by easier.

I read pop candy all the time. Its on USA today. I don't read the rest of the site. It hurts my brain. I'm sure it's hard work printing a national newspaper at a third grade reading level, but it doesn't mean I have to read it. Pop Candy is a shiny gem. She is thirty, lives in this area (DC) grew up around here and has the best job in the world. She blogs about pop culture. Whatever she wants. Celebs, comics, movies, TV, live shows, albums, and ignores whatever she feels like. I would intern for her in a heart beat. But then I'd be working for USA Today. Also I wanted to marry her when I was younger. It's a blog now, but back in the day it was a weekly column. The one where she says she was getting married was such a sad day for little ol' me.

For random knowledge it's wikepidea. I love to hit the random button. And I love to read the discussion tab. People get so angry! For movies it's got to be imdb. IMDB has gone through a number of style changes over the years, but before google was google, before Wikipedia was a twinkle in somebodies eye, IMDB was the most organized site on the web, and it's still one of the best. For music I use allmusic.com not to download mind you, but to research. Great stuff.

I read Penny Arcade and xkcd every day. Order of the Stick too. Questionable Content I like to save up and read weekly. Everything else can wait. Sure I read userfriendly back in the day, and PvP and Mac Hall and tons more, but the only web comics I still read regularly are those four.

For light articles I like Slate and Salon. I'm not really sure I know when I'm at one and not the other. I'm sure they don't like to hear that, but it's the truth. I like them both. And one of them has Doonesbury!

As an aside, I love Doonesbury. Fairfax County History always stopped after WWII. Gary Trudeau taught me US history after that. Vietnam, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Civil Rights, Iran Contra. The list goes on. I know for a fact that I can trace my absolute disdain for the Federal Government, no mater who is leading it, to Doonesbury.

ESPN for sports news is kind of a gimme. Rolling Stone gets at least one read. Pitchfork is where I go for album reviews. I read slashdot a few times a day for that hard to define "tech" news. I go to comic book resources for comics news, and ain't it cool news for the latest movie stuff.

I'm sure I've forgotten plenty, but how about a few from you guys?

Festival Overture "The Year 1812"

Starting a new tradition today. The first in what I hope to be many subsequent posts on the songs you think you know. I would like to thank Dave and the National Symphony Orchestra for the idea for this one.

So the 1812 Overture. Sure, I could link you to Wikipedia and tell you to read, but then I'd loose you into the morass that is Wikipedia.
So instead, I will lay a little trivia on you in the hopes that you find it interesting and perhaps drive you to take a trip down to your public library. It's all in Books!

First the basics you should all know. The 1812 Overture is the one with the cannons at the end. Tchaikovsky wrote it. They play it all the time at Fourth of July celebrations, and in movies where stuff blowing up is a good thing.

Tchaikovsky wrote it in 1880 for the grand opening of a Cathedral. The Cathedral was commissioned to celebrate the Russian victory over Napoleon's army in 1812. This was a major turning point in the Napoleonic wars. The Cathedral went through many iterations and moved at least once, but was nearing completion in time for the 25th anniversary of the coronation of Tsar Alexander II. The plan was that the celebration would happen in the completed Cathedral with the music playing. Instead, the Tsar was assassinated days before the anniversary, and the debut of the piece was delayed; and yet it was still played in 1882, a year before the cathedral was finished.

The history of the piece being played as an American Patriotic piece is a little harder to track, but lets try. Both the Boston Pops and the National Symphony Orchestra play it at the end of their respective Fourth of July celebrations. Erich Kunzel conducts the NSO for the Fourth of July celebration. He is widely known as the conductor if the Cincinnati Pops, and before that the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. During his tenure as conductor of the CSO he was known for making THE recording of 1812, with digitally recorded canon fire. In Boston, Arthur Fiedler conducted the Boston Pops until his death in 1979. During this time he instigated the still current tradition of the Boston Fourth of July concert. Erich Kunzel was considered the front runner to replace Fiedler, but started his own Pops group instead. I have not found the bridge between the two yet, but studying photographic evidence leads me to one of two conclusions: white facial hair or bow ties. These two men are definitely the reason we play this piece at patriotic events.

Why do I care? Well, it may seem trivial to you (that's part of why I like it) but I have a fascination with America's culture of theft; of absorption if you want to use a less antagonistic term. The 1812 Overture is a Russian piece of music, composed to help celebrate the defeat of the French. In fact, it contains (rather prominently) the Old Russian national anthem God Save the Tsar! The Star-Spangled Banner is set to the tune of an old British drinking song. My Country 'Tis of Thee is set to God save the Queen. Yankee Doodle is a British song mocking Americans. We even absorb our own bloody history, singing the Battle Hymn of the Republic and Dixie both as patriotic. The Marine Hymn? Lyrics are by an unknown writer, but the song is by French Operetta Composer Offenbach for an opera about a woman falsely accused of infidelity. Hail to the Chief is a interesting amalgamation of Scottish and British lyrics and tune, having more to do with Arthurian Legend than anything American. Alright, I've gotten off topic again. I'm not sure why I named this blog after three mischief spirits. At least one of them is constantly dragging me off.

I hope you enjoyed this inaugural edition of "Davey knows a lot of worthless trivia" Hope you all had a happy fourth of July. More to come today, have to get back to work.