Random Acts of Thursday - Give me lots of hair

Hey, kids!  I know it's Cinco de Mayo, and I should be writing about beer, and how May 5th ties into the reason so many great Mexican beers are brewed with classic German brewing know-how.  However, that seems too predictable.  Besides, it's been almost two years since the NFG (owner and proprietor of NFG Worldwide and all known and unknown subsidiaries) shaved his face in its entirety, the first time in nearly 12 or 13 years that my chin was cold and nekkid.  That didn't last very long at all. 

For the most part lately, I've rocked a pure goatee, no moustache to strain my soup or tickle Lori's upper lip.  However, I am getting a little lazy in the shaving department, sometimes going a week or more without touching the fuzzy undergrowth.

I really want to do something 'out there' with the facial hair (thanks to La Bev for the linkage).  Handlebar moustache.  Long goatee, a la Scott Ian.  Elvis sideburns.  A la Elvis.  However, in deference to my marriage, I never go beyond joking about it.  Lori seldom laughs.

It's not much of a quiz this week, but since it seems nobody answers many of these anyway, not much risk in offending any of you.  This is a research quiz, for your benefit and mine, feel free to Google or guess, your choice.

1)  Who shaved his trademark moustache first: Alex Trebek or Tom Selleck?
2)  Who has the better beard, Billy Gibbons or Dusty Hill?
3)  For which film did Chevy Chase (known for playing Dusty Bottoms in the film 'The Three Amigos') don a wicked cool beard, Walt Whitman style?
4)  Is there anything besides Whitman's beard which qualifies him as 'cool'?  (Okay, that's a trick question.  Of course there isn't.)
4a) Which actress starred with a slightly zanier Chevy Chase after featuring in the original film production of 'Hair'?
5)  Which surrealist painter made a film about facial hair, and in which film was he dragged behind a piano alongside a fellow surrealist?

Not much this week, but you know.  Gliddy glup goopy, nibby nabby noopy la la la lo lo. Sabba sibby sabba, nooby abba nabba le le lo lo.  Feel better?  If not, go have yourself a cerveza.  That should fix it.

Random Acts of Thursday - Let the torture continue...

Happy Thursday, kids! It's opposites day here at Worldwide NFG, and since many of you struggled to find the lyrics that fit perfectly around last week's numbers quiz, I figured I'd make life ever so slightly easier. Don't know why, since as you read this, I'm probably here, in traffic.

Or possibly here, also in traffic:

I hope the tunnel's not really as blurry as it seems in the picture.






It's only a day trip for work, (and I have the Cheap Trick version of that song in my head...) but I've neglected you for so long, wouldn't want to leave you hanging for the whole week.  I was out of the house by 4:30 this morning to get to the airport.  Fun times.






Should be a simple quiz this time around for those of you who groused about the pain I caused you last week. Fill in the blanks, children! Unfortunately, as the blanks should explain themselves based on the lyrics, you have to guess at the number of digits, unlike last week where the spaces were properly counted for you on the missing words. Didn't figure that one out, did you?






The man in the coon-skin cap by the big pen wants __ dollar bills, you only got __


I'm a man, I'm __ and I like it


I would walk __ miles and I would walk __ more


Gotta be a big rock star I got it turned up to __

Work __ hours, __ days a week, just so I can come home and kiss your cheek


I'm hot-blooded, check it and see, got a fever of __


Whip out my big __-inch


It was __ years ago today


For __ years, we've been on our own.


In __ we took a little trip


Rollin' in my __.__ got the ragtop down so my hair can blow


By the time we got into Tulsa Town, we had __ trucks in all.


Marie is only __ years old, information please


__ red balloons floating in the summer sky


'Cause it's murder by numbers, __, __, __


I'm not the cat I used to be, I've got a kid, I'm __ baby.


__ holes in Blackburn, Lancashire






And yes, I know a few of these came off the same album. I grade on a curve, so here's hoping you do well.  Bonus points again for the artists.

Random Acts of Thursday - Elementary, my dear Watson!

I've been remiss.

Several weeks ago, I waxed (on, wax off) about the chronological advance of my childhood crushes.  Somehow, I neglected to include Jodie Foster on that list.  Also in that episode, despite mentioning Phoebe Cates, I failed to post the quintessence of Phoebiness, her Fast Times bikini shot.

I'm here to rectify that.

I've also been lacking in the movie and music trivia department of late. 

I'm here to rectify that.

Wait, this doesn't cut it?  Fine, then.

Something that bothers me regularly, if you'll forgive the lack of segue, is our nation's need to endlessly remake films.  Sure, there are some original ideas out there, but really, did The Karate Kid cry out for a Jackie Chan remake?  Pat Morita must be rolling over in his grave.  (Wait...is Pat Morita dead?  I should probably check that out...)  And if they're not remakes of old movies, old TV shows, or bad Saturday morning cartoons, they're sequels, which I always assume are bad.  Saves me going to the movies, my couch is far more comfortable.

It's as though we can't come up with original ideas.  I have lots of original ideas, myself, but few of them ever see completion.  I'm recruiting, Crappy Unfinished Novel Time needs more creative input.  I'll keep posting my stuff, but really, anyone is welcome to contribute, free of charge.

I'm also soliciting for reader input here at the CDS.  Email me your questions, however trivial or inane.  It's called filler, people!

Also, while I've not been writing many posts lately, the larger crime is that I haven't been reading many other blogs, either.  And commenting on fewer.  I apologize to the many talented and creative writers who bless the Internet with their work.

But finally, it's quiz time!  I'll bet you thought it would never happen.

Every time it's shown on television, I get sucked into The Fifth Element.  (Happened again last Friday, when I picked up the last ten minutes.)  Besson's editing is quick and I love every minute of it.  Milla Jovovich isn't bad, either.  As far as current science is concerned, there is no 'fifth element'.  However, there are four other elements, earth, water, air and fire, that deserve equal billing. 

Therefore, onto the quiz.

1)  Name three songs (along with the performing artist) that mention earth (or some variation on the theme) in lyrics. 

2)  Ditto for fire.

3)  Ditto for air.

4)  See where we're going with this?  List three songs that mention water in some form.

5)  A question for Bob, name a song that mentions water in addition to my favorite dessert.

6)  Name five bands that reference one of the four elements in their band name.

7)  Name two bands that reference, rather than one of these elements, an element from the periodic table, as their name.

8)  Identify the band whose song about an airborne conveyance, while lyrically not qualified for an answer above, uses two elements to achieve lift.

9)  Name the author and 1962 book whose central premise is the same as the name of that band.

10)  Finally, which band released an album by the same name as the band from question 8 (mysteriously close to the time the band in question 8 took their name)?

As always, we grade on a curve here at the great and powerful CDS.  Show your work, kids!

And with special thanks to Dave Barry (along with Strunk and White) as an early influence on my sensibilities, 'Elements of Style' would be a great name for a band.  Just sayin.

Random Acts of Thursday - The Fun Fact Fat Guy Film Finds Foodipalooza

Merry Christmas, kids!  Happy holidays, as well, should you not be of the Christmas ilk.  Winter is upon us and it's time once again for our annual trivial trivia giveaway!  We're currently driving to Wisconsin to be among family and friends for the holiday weekend.

Last year, Nej took top honors and in return, wrote a stellar review of her prize.  You could be next!  Just be the winner of the following scavenger hunt of facts and you could soon be the proud owner of greatness.

This year, first prize is one of a selection of fine art photographs, matted and framed, by Lori Mason Photography.  These works have a retail value of $75, but a current overstock due to our recent relocation means we can offer one of these to you to display proudly in your home or office.  There are a lot of different images, and if you win we'll send you a preview gallery to choose from.    

Second prize is your choice of classic films, all discussed at some point here at Ye Olde CDSe.




First, Leone's classic 'A Fistful of Dollars', a remake of 'Yojimbo!'.





 










Second, one of Hitchcock's pre-Hollywood films, 'The 39 Steps'.












Or, you can choose 'The Station Agent', one of my modern favorites.













Finally, third prize is that ever popular meat candy, BACON.  Just because it's third doesn't make it less important.  This year, it's Hungarian smoked bacon, enough for two beautiful BLT's or a hell of a lot of bean soup.  You could also opt for Wisconsin-made Nueske's if you'd like your bacon pre-sliced.  This stuff is great under the broiler, and has the true bacon flavor that seems to be missing from many of the store brands.  I fried some of this up to add to a cremini-cheddar risotto last weekend, good stuff.

Now, on to the quiz.  We grade on a curve here at CDS Enterprises, and some of these questions will take some work and creative thinking.  Since many of the questions relate to the previous answer, working in order might be better for all involved.

1) Name two films that featured two future state governors.

2) Name another that featured one future governor and a chimp.

3) Hal Holbrook has never been a governor.  Hal Holbrook has never been president either, but he's played two on TV as well as helping to topple a third in film.  Name two films where his good-guy role turns out to be a front, and he's exposed as the villain (Scooby-Doo style, if you will.)

4) Speaking of Scooby Doo (in an offhand sort of way), explain the significance of September 14, 1985 in music history.  (It has to do, marginally, with the Pointer Sisters and one of their 'upbeat' songs, if that helps.  It went to eleven.)

5) Also on that day, one of the greatest premieres in all of television occurred.  The theme song was originally released by Andrew Gold in 1978.  Name two films to feature Gold's previous hit, 'Lonely Boy'

6) Now that you're all sexed up thinking about the television show mentioned above, maybe thinking about baseball would help.  Who followed Jimmy Blake to the plate, possibly in Massachusetts but just as possibly in California, depending upon who you believe?

7) Speaking of geography, how far is Winnipeg from Montreal? 

8) Who told you that distance?

9) Why is that distance in miles instead of kilometers?  Burma!

(Sorry, I panicked.  I'm not Doctor bloody Bernofsky, you know.)

10) What do they call a Quarter Pounder with Cheese in France?

11) Finally, which actress was born on the anniversary of the Mexican Revolution, and became a global sensation after starring in one of the great films written and directed by the late Blake Edwards?

Ten questions would have been enough, but this quiz goes to eleven (like the Pointer Sisters).  Eleven answers would be impressive, eleven correct would be even better! 

To keep things fair and above-board, please email your answers here to avoid anyone using your answers to better their cause.

Winners will be announced January 1st, so get cracking!  (No pun intended, I just liked the picture...)

Role Models

Did you take the quiz? 


Good for you, score yourself with the answers below.  Didn't take the quiz?  Don't cheat.  You're only hurting yourself.













1:  Dr. Who
2:  Rusty Griswold
3:  Superman
4:  Annie Oakley
5:  Batman
6:  Eliot Ness
7:  Elvis Presley
8:  James Bond
9:  Doc Holiday
10: Wyatt Earp

The Fun Fact Fat Guy Film Finds Foodipalooza - Expurgated Version

(The one without the gannet...) 

Now I understand from some of you that last Thursday's post might not be (ahem) work-appropriate.  As such, here's an image-free version so you may still win prizes without offending the Political Correctness crowd.


Should you not give a crap, click here.  Either way, since nobody's offered any answers yet, there's still plenty of time to win.

Merry Christmas, kids!  Happy holidays, as well, should you not be of the Christmas ilk.  Winter is upon us and it's time once again for our annual trivial trivia giveaway!  We're currently driving to Wisconsin to be among family and friends for the holiday weekend.

Last year, Nej took top honors and in return, wrote a stellar review of her prize.  You could be next!  Just be the winner of the following scavenger hunt of facts and you could soon be the proud owner of greatness.

This year, first prize is one of a selection of fine art photographs, matted and framed, by Lori Mason Photography.  These works have a retail value of $75, but a current overstock due to our recent relocation means we can offer one of these to you to display proudly in your home or office.  There are a lot of different images, and if you win we'll send you a preview gallery to choose from.    

Second prize is your choice of classic films, all discussed at some point here at Ye Olde CDSe.  First, Leone's classic 'A Fistful of Dollars', a remake of 'Yojimbo!'.  Second, one of Hitchcock's pre-Hollywood films, 'The 39 Steps'.  Or, you can choose 'The Station Agent', one of my modern favorites.


Finally, third prize is that ever popular meat candy, BACON.  Just because it's third doesn't make it less important.  This year, it's Hungarian smoked bacon, enough for two beautiful BLT's or a hell of a lot of bean soup.  You could also opt for Wisconsin-made Nueske's if you'd like your bacon pre-sliced.  This stuff is great under the broiler, and has the true bacon flavor that seems to be missing from many of the store brands.  I fried some of this up to add to a cremini-cheddar risotto last weekend, good stuff.

Now, on to the quiz.  We grade on a curve here at CDS Enterprises, and some of these questions will take some work and creative thinking.  Since many of the questions relate to the previous answer, working in order might be better for all involved.

1) Name two films that featured two future state governors.

2) Name another that featured one future governor and a chimp.

3) Hal Holbrook has never been a governor.  Hal Holbrook has never been president either, but he's played two on TV as well as helping to topple a third in film.  Name two films where his good-guy role turns out to be a front, and he's exposed as the villain (Scooby-Doo style, if you will.)

4) Speaking of Scooby Doo (in an offhand sort of way), explain the significance of September 14, 1985 in music history.  (It has to do, marginally, with the Pointer Sisters and one of their 'upbeat' songs, if that helps.  It went to eleven.)

5) Also on that day, one of the greatest premieres in all of television occurred.  The theme song was originally released by Andrew Gold in 1978.  Name two films to feature Gold's previous hit, 'Lonely Boy'

6) Now that you're all sexed up thinking about the television show mentioned above, maybe thinking about baseball would help.  Who followed Jimmy Blake to the plate, possibly in Massachusetts but just as possibly in California, depending upon who you believe?

7) Speaking of geography, how far is Winnipeg from Montreal? 

8) Who told you that distance?

9) Why is that distance in miles instead of kilometers?  Burma!

(Sorry, I panicked.  I'm not Doctor bloody Bernofsky, you know.)

10) What do they call a Quarter Pounder with Cheese in France?

11) Finally, which actress was born on the anniversary of the Mexican Revolution, and became a global sensation after starring in one of the great films written and directed by the late Blake Edwards?

Ten questions would have been enough, but this quiz goes to eleven (like the Pointer Sisters).  Eleven answers would be impressive, eleven correct would be even better! 

To keep things fair and above-board, please email your answers here to avoid anyone using your answers to better their cause. 

Winners will be announced January 1st, so get cracking!

Happy Boxing Day!!!

Our great nation succumbs once again to the ogre of commercialism today, scarcely spending 24 hours with our loved ones, remembering ever so slightly the birth of our Lord's son as we stuff our faces with ham, pickled herring, salted nuts and Jell-O salad. Today is far more Christmas-like than the rainy gloom Wisconsin has bestowed upon our visit the past few days, as it snows gently as I look out to the countryside outside my mother-in-law's home.

Elsewhere, though, the burgeoning crowds line up to return their gifts, along with an assortment of used roasters and mysteriously stained tablecloths that they're certain were that way when they bought them.

Two seasons working retail the day after Christmas have hardened me. What can I say?

Enough of that, though, as we now move on to last week's winners! I could have hoped for more competition (since that would have meant more followers as well), but how could I go wrong with three strong respondents?
In first place, scoring 80% PLUS answering the Bonus Question, Nej is the Winner Most Exalted of the Mo's Bacon Chocolate bar by Vosges. Merry Christmas!!

In second place, we have a tie! Yet another Christmas miracle. Ah, to bestow bacon-y cheese upon my friends, it warms the heart. Both Bev and Sarah scored 65%, and still an impressive score since you faithful quizzees know I don't pull punches with my questions.

Of course, these winners would be so without prizes, and you should be reading each of their blogs as regularly as possible.

Dare I post the correct answers? (Dare! Dare!) Because I'm about educating you about the trivial bits and bobs of the world, here are the correct and preferred answers to the quiz:

1) Which late Canadian actor starred in films about both Thanksgiving and Christmas, among his other works? John Candy (Thanksgiving: Planes, Trains and Automobiles, Christmas: Home Alone)

2) Which American actor starred in one of those films after playing a supporting role with him one year earlier? Macaulay Culkin (Uncle Buck before Home Alone)

3) What does 'Mele Kalikimaka' mean, and what film brought the Bing Crosby version of this song to a new generation of listeners? It's Hawaii's way to say 'Merry Christmas' to you! The song featured in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

4) Far more well-known, White Christmas is nearly synonymous with Bing Crosby. In which two films did he perform this song? Holiday Inn (1942), and the eponymous White Christmas (1954)

5) Name two other films where the song is used in its recorded form. Mother Night (based on the Kurt Vonnegut book) and Bye Bye Brasil

6) Identify the actor who played Adolf Eichman in one of those films, in addition to playing another Nazi in an earlier movie. (Check previous 'RAoT' posts for a hint...) Henry Gibson played the voice of Adolf Eichman in Mother Night, in addition to being an Illinois Nazi in the Blues Brothers (also starring John Candy, by the way.)

7) How many bottles of Frooney Green Eye Wash would one need in one's medicine cabinet to qualify for the beautiful silver tea service and a night on the town with Alfred Hitchcock? One would need ten bottles of eye wash, in addition to answering a simple question, which I believe may have involved rugby.

8) After playing the Devil (hereinafter known as George Spiggot), in what 1987 film did Peter Cook play a far holier character? The Princess Bride, wherein Cook played the minister.

9) In which 1985 film did Dudley Moore, Cook's frequent collaborator, play one of Santa's elves? Santa Claus - the movie

10) As if playing Santa Claus in that film wasn't a big enough role, what 'big' character did David Huddleston go on to play? Jeffrey 'The Big' Lebowski

Bonus Question: Anita Ekberg's portrait graced Krilenku's hideout in From Russia with Love, her mouth concealing an excape hatch.

I don't know about you, but I thoroughly enjoyed our little Quiz-mas. May your days be merry and bright, and may your day after Christmas, like mine, be white.

Random Acts of Thursday - Chess, anyone?

Some time ago, during my Moon Pie post, I made mention of chess pie. And now I'm hungry for it, so I bought all the fixings for it. Yes, I was going to bake. Then I realized again why I don't bake.

I did not purchase pie crust. Yes, I was going to use frozen pie crust, because it's not fair to make Lori make pie crust for me, since I was going to take credit for the pie (and if she's making pie crust, I'm going to expect her famous apple cranberry pie). So no chess pie for me. It would appear there are as many recipes for chess pie as there are bakers. Some of them, like the one above, call for brown sugar, milk and vinegar. The Luby's recipe I was going to use calls for buttermilk and white sugar. Such pies originated in winter months, when fruit was scarce and burly pioneers craved something sweet.

But just because I don't have any chess pie in my belly, doesn't mean I can't create a quiz for you about chess itself. I miss playing chess. I have a set buried in the garage, still in my 'clean out the desk' box from my last job. Chess plays a factor in many great films, too.

And you, dear reader, get to identify the films where each of the following actors played a game of chess, the sweet science.

Oops, that's boxing. Another day.

I'm not above dropping hints, even when they're cryptic and self-serving. As such, actors names bearing an asterisk starred in films featured elsewhere in this blog.

Vladek Sheybal *

Matthew Broderick

Mel Brooks *

Max von Sydow *

Douglas Rain

Cleavon Little

Humphrey Bogart

I've named the actors, you give me the film in each case. If it helps to hum a little Murray Head ditty while you figure this one out, that's okay.

And if you just want to ogle, that's fine too. Just don't criticize her moves if you expect to mate.

Random Acts of Thursday - Santa Claus is coming to town

Happy Christmas Eve! As the real Santa is beating his elves while they polish the sleigh and clean up reindeer poop, I thought it only appropriate to give you another holiday quiz, this time themed around jolly old St. Nick himself.

This time of year, we're all accustomed to seeing psuedo-Clauses everywhere, unless you manage to avoid ever leaving your house or turning on the television. I even had one following me on my way home from work one day, and the Jeep may have thrown off lesser people, but if you have a fluffy white beard, wire-rim glasses, and you're driving in a red velvet coat and hat accented by white gloves, you're ass is getting spotted. You're watching me? Yeah, I'm watching you too, fat man....

Oops...got off-topic there a tad. That's okay, I can find dozens of uses for coal.

Anyway, many of our beloved Santa Claus memories don't stem from sitting on a creepy alcoholic's lap just to be rewarded with a sticky, previously opened candy cane (or is that just me?), but from the American film industry. With that in mind, listed below are some beloved film characters who have, among the more than 700 other actors listed on IMDB, portrayed Santa Claus at one point in their illustrious careers.

Your task is to identify 1) the actor and 2) the film where they donned red velvet for the enjoyment of young and old. For your benefit, the year(s) they played Santa are listed next to their other character name.

Waring Hudsucker (1989, 1996x2, 2002)
Capt. Albert Wiles (1947)
Albert Blossom (1994)
Jeffrey Lebowski (1985)
Buzz Lightyear (1994)
Harvey Pekar (2007)
Frank Bass (1996, 2003)

I'd love to give you a bonus question, but since it's likely going to revolve around the Coen Brothers (WI natives and creators of two characters listed above), I figure you'll probably want a pass on that, anyway.

Merry Christmas!

You two-timing sonuva...(spoilers)

Cheating are we? Take the quiz here first!
















Done now? Then check your answers.


Name Two Films...

1) ...based on board games:
Jumanji
Clue

2) ...featuring characters named Chance:
Tom Sizemore in Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man
Jean Claude Van Damme in Hard Target

3) ...based upon video games, but that DON'T feature CGI:
Street Fighter (1994)
Super Mario Bros (1993)

4) ...based on 'true stories of alien abduction'
Communion (1989)
Fire in the Sky (1993)

5) ...starring Bill McKinney and Geoffrey Lewis
Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974)
Every Which Way But Loose (1978)
Any Which Way You Can (1980)
Bronco Billy (1980)
Pink Cadillac (1989)

6) ...based in part on both Dashiell Hammett's book Red Harvest and the works of Akira Kurosawa
A Fistful of Dollars/Per un Pugno di Dollori (1964)
Last Man Standing (1996)

Actors who starred in movies from more than one category:
Jean Claude Van Damme (2 & 3)
Christopher Walken (4 & 6)
Clint Eastwood (5 & 6)

Puff Puff Pass/Fail

Don't cheat, kids!  Take the quiz here first.

1) What actor starred in a Disney film under the alias Paul Mall?



Paul Reubens (aka Pee Wee Herman) starred in the 1986 film Flight of the Navigator under the psuedonym Paul Mall.

2) Name the television show that featured a character named Salem?


Sabrina, the Teenage Witch


3) What iconic ad man did Don Johnson usurp for a 1991 film?

Don Johnson starred with Mickey Rourke as 'The Marlboro Man', with Rourke taking on the role of Harley Davidson in that film nobody ever saw.


4) What brand of cigarettes does Bruce Willis smoke in Die Hard? 


Bruce is squarely a Marlboro man in Die Hard, but picks up the villains' Gauloises 


5) What about in Pulp Fiction?


As with every Tarantino smoker, only Red Apples will do for Butch.


6) What Academy-award-winning film is set in Newport, RI?


The 1974 version of The Great Gatsby was set in Newport, and won Academy awards for Best Costume Design and Best Music.

7) Name the brand mentioned by Billy Joel in an iconic 80's song.


In 'Keeping the Faith', Joel sings about a fresh pack of Luckys. 


8) What series of code phrases does James Bond use to identify a fellow agent?


See "From Russia with Love":

James Bond: Pardon me, do you have a match?
MI6 Contact: I use a lighter.
James Bond: Better still.
MI6 Contact: Until they go wrong.
James Bond: Exactly.


9) In which film did Clint Eastwood light a match on the face of his opponent?



This took place in both Hang 'Em High and The Good, The Bad, The Ugly.


10) What is my favorite Kool and the Gang song? (Hint - it's featured in one of the films listed above.)

From Pulp Fiction:  "Tell me again about the hash bars." Background music rocks, too.

Bonus:  Kurt Vonnegut famously smoked Pall Malls his entire life, bringing us back to question number one.

Random Acts of Thursday - The original 'Pimp my Ride'

As is the nature of how my mind works, I was thinking about cars the other day, and my focus landed on Corvettes after watching 'James May on the Moon' the other night and learning that the American astronauts were bad-asses, with matching Corvettes and wicked 70's mustaches.
I considered another quiz like the Trans Am query I posed that is as yet unanswered, but obviously I need to give y'all a week off to let your brains heal from the fury that is my brilliance.

No, really.
So, anyway, as I'm looking at Corvettes in Film, I came across quite the gem: The Corvorado.

I spent my childhood lusting over custom cars, checking out the Chuck Barris/Ed Roth books from the library every chance I got, and being intrigued by any and all car mods, from the simple metalflake paint jobs to chopped tops, frenched trim, lowered suspensions and gull-wing doors. The one thing these modifications had in common was what they didn't have in common...each car was unique in every aspect.

Which brings us to the Corvorado. Designed and built by Les Dunham and Dunham Coach in New Jersey, which gave us the Superflymobile and other such blinged-out goodness in the '70's, the Corvorado was actually manufactured as a kit, meaning more than one such Corvette-cum-Cadillac was built in the world.
This is swanky, to say the least. Can't you just smell the crushed velvet, soaked with Hai Karate? One of these was even used in a Bond film, thankfully NOT by Roger Moore himself.Which brings me next to 'the Buick'. My car, despite it's relative youth in the car world, has somewhere over 250,000 miles on it, and a great deal of rust, thanks to six winters spent driving on Wisconsin roads. However, it runs perfectly, and everything critical for comfort works (A/C, radio, cruise control, power steering). It just lacks...personality. (The picture here isn't mine, just an incredible simulation...but my windows aren't tinted and the foglamp is full of water, and there's a big scrape down the side where I hit that Dumpster...) So part of my car intrigue since early childhood has included the extreme modifications, those occasional masterpieces known as Art Cars.
These little gems could be adorned as simply as changing paint, or as ornately as hot-gluing pennies or broken china to the entire car, or even adding a shark fin and monkeys playing cymbals to the roof.

Right now, Lori just shivered in her office at home, and has no idea why. Be nice and don't mention it to her, would you? It'll just be our little secret.

Random Acts of Thursday - (not so) Free Samples

Samples?  Yes, please.  My grocery store (curse upon my life though it is) has started passing out samples of brownies on my last few visits.  Doesn't make up for them raising all of their prices, but still - free brownies.  Anyhow, it got me to thinking and I thought I'd regale you all with a little quiz about samples.  (You're all excited and tingly, I know.)

Below are songs that were sampled into other music, name the artist and song.

It's a hard-knock life (The Cast of 'Annie')
Under Pressure (Queen/David Bowie)
The Ocean (Led Zepplin)
Good Times (Chic)
We Will Rock You (Queen)
Thank You (Dido)
I'll Take You There (The Staple Singers)
I'm a Man (Bo Diddley)

The following films are sampled in song as well.  Name the artist and song.

Full Metal Jacket
Performance
Young Guns
Animal House

Even Mr. Spock got sampled!  Name the song.  You know you know it.

The following bands and artists are mentioned by other bands in their songs.  Name the song where each of these artists is referenced:

Anthrax
T Rex
Falco
Moby
The Beach Boys
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Jimmy Page

Bonus question: Why bother to sample when you're great on your own?  Name three bands that mention themselves in their song titles.

As usual, you don't win anything, except maybe some fine musical trivia knowledge to try out on your friends and family.  Aren't you lucky?

Random Acts of Thursday - Pick a Side

What, me worry expound on the glory of the James Bond series of films, or the spaghetti westerns graced by Clint? You're shocked, I know. No quiz today, either, dear reader. You have plenty of work to be done on past Thursdays where you've feigned ignorance, so today is simply about adding to the growing trivial knowledge of the mundane that is Cheesehead Displacement Syndrome.

Growing up, my father would always point to someone in a movie and tell me "he's a great character actor." I didn't understand that as a kid, either you were famous or you were just there to give the famous person someone to shoot. It wasn't until I got a little older that I saw these actors again and again, filling role after role without much fanfare, and realized just what he meant.Danny Trejo has never been a marquee name, but he's everywhere in film and you know him when you see him. Same thing with Brion James. Keith David. W. Earl Brown. Anthony James. All actors who make (or made) a living working, not taking down $20 mil a picture. This started to make sense to me after a few years. What still threw me, though, were the actors who assumed assorted roles in a single series of film or television. Gian Maria Volonte played, essentially, the same character in Per Un Pugno Di Dollari and Per Qualche Dollaro In Piu. (That's A Fistful of Dollars and For a Few Dollars More, in case you were wondering.) In both films, Clint Eastwood played, essentially, the same character as well. However, The Man With No Name was timeless, and could easily have taken part in both settings. Even his wardrobe followed him through the films. Add Il Buono, Il Brutto, Il Cattivo to the list, and you have Lee Van Cleef playing, again, a similar enough character between For a Few Dollars More and this film, despite having different names (and dying in G,B,U). Can you see how this could be confusing to an eight-year-old?

Similarly, watching the entire catalog of James Bond films, secondary characters have been played by repeat actors for years. M, Q and Moneypenny, until those actors retired, were played by the same actors for decades, in many cases appearing in more films than the actors playing Bond himself. What gives me more pause, though, are the actors who switched identities and allegiances between films.
Walter Gotell started his Bond career in From Russia With Love, as the S.P.E.C.T.R.E. training camp leader, Morzeny. Then, beginning in the Moore years and carrying through several subsquent Bonds, Gotell was featured as Soviet General Gogol. This portrayal began in The Spy Who Loved Me, and continued in A View to a Kill and The Living Daylights, to name a few.
Charles Gray similarly took a break between Bonds, first showing up as Connery's quick-to-die informant in You Only Live Twice, before taking on the role of villain-to-end-all-villains Ernst Stavro Blofeld in Diamonds Are Forever. (And then going on to do the Time Warp. Again.)
Joe Don Baker showed up as the unscrupulous arms dealer Brad Whitaker in The Living Daylights, then after an eight-year absence, suddenly turned up as CIA agent Jack Wade in Goldeneye, reprising the role in Tomorrow Never Dies (the only film, near as I can tell in all my film-watching history, where the sinister, world-dominating character gets to be named Elliott, instead of the simpering, nerdy loser.)
Finally, Maud Adams. Oh, sweet Maud Adams. Succumbing to Roger Moore's charms (SERIOUS ACTING ABILITY!) in The Man With The Golden Gun, she's killed by her lover for turning to Bond. She then turns up in one of the rare 'empowered woman' roles in Bond films as Octopussy and coming to Bond's rescue not once, but three times in the film.

Hopefully this has shed some light on things you didn't know you wanted to know, this knowledge might come in handy for past or future quizzes, too. If nothing else, at least it builds character.

Oh, and I finally figured out how do do strikethrough text. My mad HTML skillz is growin', yo.

Home is where the heart is

Did you take the quiz? Good. Because otherwise, looking here would be cheating.











1) North by Northwest (Alfred Hitchcock)

2) Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House

3) Happy Days (aayyyy!)

4) Diamonds are Forever

5) Clue

6) Ferris Bueller's Day Off (John Hughes)

7) Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock)

8) Goonies

9) Secret Window

10) The Exorcist

11) Home Alone (John Hughes)

12) Miracle on 34th Street

Random Acts of Thursday - Socialism is for Twits

Despite claims to the contrary by my lovely wife, I am not a social creature. Sure, I've come out of the shell that cursed me through my entire childhood and a large part of my adult life, I talk to strangers as the character 'Social Butterfly Elliott' (or sometimes as 'Horst, the inappropriate German tourist'), but there are still parts of our lives that I prefer to be private.

And that's how it should be.

I will share a candid reaction with a stranger in line at the deli counter, or share my life's history with a waitress at the Waffle House, but these are still selective choices.

So I guess where I draw the line is with this Twitter thing the kids are doing these days.

Really, do you care to know the instant it happens that 'my second Guinness went down smoothly', or when I exclaim 'Mmmm, pie' five times a day? Doubtful. I don't judge, I know many of you have these 'Twitter' accounts, and many of you are datavores and need input. (Because Number Five is alive.) I just don't feel the need to be part of an instantaneous collective consciousness with millions of my fellow earthlings.

Anyone who knows me knows I generally shy away from any new technology. I still have a cassette deck in my car. I didn't own a cell phone until my last nearly fruitless attempt to find a pay phone in the city of Milwaukee, when I finally settled upon a greasy roadside receiver in a graffitied and recently torched phone booth, sucking bus fumes while trying to talk to my office. I have no iPod and I less-than-secretly hope our 20-year-old television dies so we can give up television, not so I can buy a 50-inch high-definition flat screen. Because I don't know the difference between plasma and LCD, since LCD is what made my Timex digital watch so cool back in 1983, and plasma has something to do with blood.

I can't be trusted to come up with something share-worthy even weekly on my Failbook account, do you really think I'm going to spend the time to share every thought I have, 140 characters at a time? Have you even seen my poor texting skills?

What sort of twit do you take me for?

(Especially since I am so clearly a nerd. Like this segue?)

Simple quiz this week, one question, one question only. Pass or fail, just like my typing class in high school:

What uncommon career opportunity do actors Sonny Chiba and Meredith Salenger share?

Show your work, kiddies.