Friday, July 27, 2007

Thomas Jefferson: The Sage of Monticello


Thomas Jefferson (13 April 1743 – 4 July 1826) was the third President of the United States (1801–1809), the author of the Declaration of Independence (1776), and the primary character influence for two of the four sweathogs on Welcome Back Kotter.

The two most important events during his presidency are generally considered to be the Louisiana Purchase (1803) and the Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804–1806).



IMPORTANT EVENTS DURING THE JEFFERSON PRESIDENCY:

1. The Louisiana Purchase: This is where they bought Louisiana for a handful of beads. They were actually only trying to get Louisiana to lift up it's shirt.

2. The Lewis and Clark Expedition: An expedition featuring the magic of Lewis and Clark and their talented white tigers.



UNIMPORTANT EVENTS DURING THE JEFFERSON PRESIDENCY:

1. Ben Franklin put chocolate on a mint leaf creating the Franklin Mint.

2. John Adams staged a multi-state "Concert for Peace" featuring over 100 flautists.

3. Ben Franklin rolled himself in chocolate and mint leaves and dared Babe Ruth to "eat a Franklin Mint."


After that incident Jefferson replaced Benjamin Franklin as minister to France in 1785. Jefferson had sympathy for the French Revolution which led him into conflict with Alexander Hamilton.

The two organized a 4 hour Dance Dance Revolution contest to determine who's ideas would be supported. Then they waited for Dance Dance Revolution to be invented.

Luckily the French Revolution ended when the French ran out of cheese and wine the next morning.

During Jefferson's second term, he spent much of his time keeping the U.S. out of the Napoleonic wars. Jefferson attempted an embargo upon American shipping. This was unpopular since only 1 out of every 20 people alive knew what the word "embargo" meant.

Many people assumed it meant "wearing your pants really low."

He died on July 4, 1826.



FUN FACTS ABOUT THOMAS JEFFERSON:

Jefferson was the first President to shake hands instead of bow to people.

His nickname was "Sage of Monticello".

Jefferson kept a mockingbird named Dick in the White House study.


FUN FACTS I JUST MADE UP ABOUT THOMAS JEFFERSON:

Midway through his first term he watched Austin Powers and quoted the movie for a year afterwards. He wrote in his memoirs that is was "a regrettable time."

Had a brother named George Jefferson.

Jefferson was fond of his brother's wife Wheezie and would visit her when his brother was working at the dry cleaners.

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

The Big Abe

I love the Internet. Isn't it cool? It's full of stupid bizarre things you would never ever get to see if it didn't exist.

Like The Big Abe. I was searching for photos of Jessica Alba (or Bea Arthur... I don't recall) and I found him.

The Big Abe.

But, I am getting ahead of myself. Let's take a look at his website:

At the very top of the page the title is listed as "mascott."

See, The Big Abe is a mascot. He's not a "mascott" but maybe that's an intentional thing, like Krispy Kreme.




Uh oh. The Big Abe - Lincoln High School's New Mascot. "Mascott" was a typo- and THIS IS A HIGH SCHOOL.

So, the first image is a teacher seated on a chair in the Gymnasium.

It all began during our Homecomming 2000 Pep Session, Mrs. Doyel began to tell us of our schools rich history of mascots.


I know I am treading on dangerous territory here (since I once misspelled the word "taco") but this sentence looks like it was written by a... a... stupid person who writes like that guy who Oprah got mad at.

We were told of the St. Bernard that proudly wore the cape of The Alice's, of the 3 foot statue the graced our basketball court.

I am not even sure what they are talking about. I just like the image of a proud St. Bernard in a cape. Most dogs that are forced to wear clothes never look proud. They just look ashamed.

I also like the idea of kids playing basketball and then tripping over a statue that someone erected on a basketball court.

But for a long time, we had no mascot to represent the mighty Alices. In 1984, a new mascot entered, a mascot that would bring energy back to the crowd, Enter The Big A!


The Big A? What the Ida Lupino is going on here?? I was promised THE BIG ABE!


Here we see a picture of The Big A's back. We get a good look Don Mattingly in the passenger seat and that might be Michael Stipe frowning on the front lawn as The Big A tries to get his attention.

The Big A brought a energy back to the fans at Lincoln High School,

Maybe they wrote "a energy" on purpose. After all, he is The Big A! Maybe it's his gimmick, kinda like how the Smurfs always say "Smurf" in place of random nouns.

Or maybe this was hastily written and in the SEVEN YEARS since no one has bothered to proofread it.

It represented the enthusiasm of the school, by its mere presence. With its outrageous dances and energetic rallies. The Big A rode with many a football and basketball team to victory.

He rode with them. Plus he rode with Don Mattingly in the parade. He was in every winner's carpool.




But those days are gone now.

Oh no. Now, I am sad. WHY ARE THOSE DAYS GONE! I am a little afraid to scroll down. What happened to The Big A? I hope it's not polio.



Jeez! This is the saddest picture I saw all day. His little had came off and now he has crutches and one arm in a sling. Worst of all, The Big A now has human hands.

The Big A has grown old, and is feeling its age. The Big A decided that it may be time to find our school a new mascot. The Big A searched far and wide, and turned down hundreds of offers. Finally, one stood out from the rest, a new mascot had been found.


I am in such anticipation I am going to forgo a pretty good comedic paragraph about him searching "far and wide" actually meaning he frisked Jamie Farr and Dom Deluise.

Let's see THE BIG ABE!




What in the hell is that?



I can forgive bad grammar, bizarre sentence structure and forcing dogs to wear capes. Hell, I can forgive the callus treatment of the elderly displayed here.

BUT I CANNOT FORGIVE THIS.

He looks NOTHING like Abe! He looks like Bill Parcells with green hair. Plus his face looks like it's made out of funnel cake.

Ah well.

Oh wait! There is one more thing:



Wow. I thought I was slow at updating this site. Well, I can't wait to hear the ENTIRE story. Maybe it will be up by the end of the decade.

John Adams: First President in the White House


John Adams, Jr. served as America's first Vice President (1789–1797) and as its second President (1797–1801). Adams was also the 1st President to reside in the newly-built White House in Washington, D.C..

It should be noted that although he was the first to reside in the White House he was NOT the first to "take a tinkle" in the White House. This was due to the White Out House being separate from the main house. Indoor plumbing was not installed in the White House until James Buchanan's term over 50 years later.

Despite the lack of indoor plumbing any historian's credit 68 year old William Henry Harrison with being the first President to exudate in the White House. But, that was an accident and all three times it was promptly mopped up.

Anyway, Adams was a sponsor of the American Revolution in Massachusetts. As part of his sponsorship deal, the soldiers wore his logo on their jackets and several of them appeared in his commercials.

He was a leader of the independence movement in 1776. Jefferson called him the "Colossus of Independence" which, oddly enough was pro wrestler Steve Austin's nickname (in between "The Ringmaster" and "Stone Cold."

As a statesman and author, he helped define a set of core republican ideals that became central to America's political value system. But enough about Stone Cold, let's get back to talking about John Adams.

As President, Adams was frustrated by battles inside the Federalist party. But he did his best to unite them. Once they were fighting about how the party name should be pronounced. Adams and others felt it should be Federal-ist. The rest of the party thought it should be Federa-list. So Adams painted "Federal" on one cheek and "list on the other. Then he mooned everyone. It was a compramise they could live with and laugh at.


Fun Facts about John Adams:

During his term the Library of Congress was established.

Mrs. Adams would hang her laundry in the East Room to dry.

John Adams was a second cousin to Samuel Adams, and a third cousin to his wife, Abigail Smith Adams.



Fun Facts I just made up about John Adams:

Got a full face tattoo (like Mike Tyson) after leaving office.

Wore fancy pants every day of the week. People would always holler "hey, fancy pants" when they saw him.

Once laughed so hard milk came out of his nose. Oddly enough this was 14 years before milk was invented.

Monday, July 23, 2007

George Washington: The Dude on the Dollar President


George Washington (February 22, 1732 – December 14, 1799 )was a critical figure in the founding of the United States, and is commonly referred to as father of the nation.

He led America's Continental Army to victory over Britain in the Revolutionary War. In 1789 he was elected the first President of the United States of America. He was the overwhelming popular choice finishing 200,000 votes ahead of his opponents "some guy from Hoboken" and a powdered wig (who garnered 7 votes... and 1 marriage request.)

Washington served two four-year terms from 1789 to 1797. His devotion to republicanism and civic virtue made him an exemplary figure among early American politicians. Still, CNN gave him zero coverage during his term. Sure, they wouldn't exist for almost 200 years but it still reeks of a left-wing bias.

In his youth, Washington worked as a surveyor of rural lands gaining him valuable knowledge of the terrain around of Virginia. Of course, being that this was BEFORE the internet many people think that he spent very little time ACTUALLY surveying this land. Many believe that he spent much of his time eating tacos and playing with a rock he called Mister Cuddlebounds. When asked to survey something, he would just sleep in the barn for a day or two before returning to file a report that read "looks good" or something like that. If someone tried to check on him, they would probably die before they ever got there on foot (remember, this was before the invention of the automobile or the horse.)

Of course when I say "many people" I just mean me and Andre the Giant. Yup, Andre believed this too. I swear he did. You could ask him, but he's dead.

In the early 1750's Washington was sent as an ambassador to ambasatate some French traders and Indians really far from his house. It was here that he met Wilma who later became his wife and knitted the country's first flag. George and Wilma Washington (or Washingstone as it was pronounced back then) lived in a house made of rocks. Every day George would ride his foot powered sedan to the gravel pit where he would break rocks for Mr. Slate. At the end of the day some guy would pull on the tail of a bird causing the bird to yelp and alerting George that it was time to go home. He would then eat a brontosaurus burger and read the evening's paper (which was actually not printed on paper but rather carved into stone.) Paper had yet to be invented... although the paper airplane industry was thriving.

In 1776, George led the army that forced the British out of Boston, proclaiming "this town is only big enough for one annoying accent!"

But later that same year, he was defeated and lost New York City. That night the British troops celebrated by hosting soccer games at Madison Square Garden (which had just opened.) Oddly enough the building was named as such after the wife of it's Virgina born owner Frank Square Garden. It is also important to note that although the name is just gibberish today, it made less sense then because the concept of gardening has not been established and the idea of things forming a specific geometric shape had not been discussed often (since those that tried would usually start to bleed from the ears.)

MEANWHILE, when we last left George Washington he was tired and defeated. WHAT COULD HE DO?
Washington decide to cross the Delaware River in New Jersey and defeated the surprised enemy units.

Their last words were "what the bloomin' onion?"

In 1783 following the end of the war in retired to his plantation on Mount Vernon. The large plantation (today a private residence owned by rapper Biz Markee) gave him ample room to grow corn and play the "greatest game of double dutch you could imagine."

He mounted a bit of a comeback a few years late 1780s when he presided over the Constitutional Convention that drafted the United States Constitution and he released a greatest hits album.

In 1789, Washington became President of the United States and established many of the customs of the government we have today. Scholars usually rank him among the three greatest U.S. Presidents (alongside William H. Taft and Sy Sperling.) During Washington's funeral oration, Henry Lee said that of all Americans, he was "first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen." During my research I had trouble finding out who Henry Lee was. I think he may have been that guy that screwed up the blood samples during the O.J. trial.



Fun Facts about George Washington:

-There were 13 stars on the United States flag when Washington became President in 1789.

-Only President that did not live in the White House. He was involved in the planning of the Capitol.

-Washington did his own bookkeeping and recorded every penny of expense or profit. His ledgers still exist today.

-George Washington's salary was $25,000?




Fun Facts I just made up about George Washington:

-He spent about 80% of his salary on powdered wigs and duck tape.

-He was allergic to Teddy Roosevelt.

-His face is one the quarter and the dollar. His right leg is on the back of a $20 bill and his lip marks are on the $75 bill.

-Whenever he would bathe with the troops he would point to his groin and say "look boys! I am washing a ton!"

Monday, July 02, 2007

Some Phat Movies

When I was a lad I worked in a video store.

It was a really awesome. I just sat around and watched G and PG rated films all day.

Occasionally people would ask for my recommendations. If you are familiar with this site, you would know what a dangerous idea that is.

Still, it happened. And, after a few weeks of telling people to watch movies starring talking chimps I realized I should keep my opinions to myself.

So, when asked I simply recommended whatever mainstream nonsense was new and not renting well.

This too proved dangerous.

One day a couple came in to the store. The lady walked up to me and asked:

"What's good?"

I told her "we have Primal Fear, Clean Slate, Phat Beach..."

Suddenly the man turned to me with anger.

"Whoa, meng! Did yoo jus' call my wife a fat beeetch?"

I started stuttering "uh, no. That- uh-"

"Because," he continued "she's really not that fat."

Then we hi-fived and went out for a cold sarsaparilla.

Actually, that never happened. To be honest with you I worked as a dental hygienist when I was younger.


Still, there is a movie called "Phat Beach."

Image Hosted by ImageShack.us

It features Coolio and a guy named Jermaine "Huggy" Hopkins.

I bet he's Anthony "Huggy" Hopkins' kid.

Image Hosted by ImageShack.us

I wonder if you met him and asked for a hug if he would be legally obligated to do so.

I checked his IMDB page, and he seems to be pretty active in the movie business. He also occasionally goes by Jermaine "Big Hugg" Hopkins.

Why is it that people either have NO nickname or they have several.

Like Sean Combs. He's Puffy, Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, Diddy, Pooty Pau Duex and Shemp.

Or "Weird" Al Yankovic. Actually, he just has one nickname. I'm sorry I brought this whole thing up.

Image Hosted by ImageShack.us
Phat Girlz is a new movie. The poster claims "She's proving that BIG is beautiful."

She proves this by sitting on a bunch of hot chicks.

Here is a thread about Phat Girlz from IMDB.

On a scale of 1 to 10

by rick_spinelli (Thu Mar 8 2007 18:43:26)


ON A SCALE OF 1 TO 10 HOW PHATT WAZ THIS MOVIE??

I SAY A 10
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Re: On a scale of 1 to 10

by rick_spinelli (Sun Mar 11 2007 16:39:07)



YALL IGNORANT

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Re: On a scale of 1 to 10

by nodnarb232001 (Mon Mar 12 2007 02:13:26)



YALL MADE A POINTLESS TOPIC!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Re: On a scale of 1 to 10

by bilsnod (Mon Mar 12 2007 06:41:34)



Definitely 10!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Re: On a scale of 1 to 10

by rick_spinelli (Mon Mar 12 2007 08:08:13)


STILL IGNORANT


10 IS TEH PHATTEST!!!!!!!!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Re: On a scale of 1 to 10

by rick_spinelli (Wed Mar 14 2007 10:17:13)



by the way, if anyone wants 2 see britney spears shaving her head goto www.______.com <-----CRAZY HOW SHE DOES IT
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Re: On a scale of 1 to 10

by rick_spinelli (Thu Apr 5 2007 11:25:50)


Girl, I wanna waller in the back of my Impala
Woooo


I can't believe no one made a joke about the scale being broken.

Stupid posters.


The next film is My Big Phat Hip Hop Family
Image Hosted by ImageShack.us

The DVD claims they "put the dis in dysfunctional."

I would have said they "put the funk in dysfunctional."

Then I would have admitted to being a bad speller.

Finally, there is a movie from 1916 called The Phable of the Phat Woman.

Don't believe me? See for yourself: click here.

Sorry, wrong link. Click here.

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Mystery Date



A few years ago I was watching a Simpson's re-run.

It was the one where the family goes to Ned Flanders' beach house and Lisa meets some "cool kids" and for a few weeks SHE is cool and Bart is the unpopular Simpson kid.

In one of the scenes Homer, Marge, Bart and Milhaus all play (the only board game the could find in the house) Mystery Date.





The scene featured this memorable exchange:


Marge:
Come on Homer. Open the door for your mystery date.


Homer:
Ooh, captain of the football team. He's a dream boat. Don't wait up Marge...



As a board game fan I checked eBay and found that Mystery Date was indeed a real (and very popular) game from the 1960s.


Here is a write up from boardgamegeek.com


Quote:


A large white door located in the centre of the board has five 'dates' waiting inside. Depending on how the doorknob is rotated, a different guy will 'appear' when the door is opened.
Players try to collect a set of four cards. Each set of four cards corresponds to one of the 'dates' hidden behind the door (apart from the infamous 'dud').
Gameplay is determined by the instructions on the square a particular player lands on. Cards may be taken from the draw or discard pile, or from other players. When a player holds a correct set of four cards and lands on an 'open door' square the door is opened, revealing the date.
If the cards do not correspond to the date, the player's turn ends but their set of cards are retained. If the 'dud' date is revealed, all cards held by the player are lost and replaced with a fresh set from the draw pile.
If the correct date appears when the door is opened the game is over and the player opening the door wins the game.
This game was first released in a white box in 1965 and had a 'groovy' upgrade in the early seventies with new artwork.




Well, this weekend I got to try the brand new High School Musical edition of the classic board game (on sale at Target for $15.)



As far as I can tell from photos, the layout of the board and the gameplay is the same.


You choose a playing piece (all female) and you go around the board trying to collect 3 matching outfit cards. Once you get (for example) your "skating outfit" you must land on the "open the door" space and hope that you open it to reveal your skating date.


The door is cleverly designed to open to a different date at random due to the shapes of the "date cards" and how they correspond to the turn of the door knob.


The "dud" is a female school administrator with the words "detention" on the card.


If you open the door to find her, you lose your outfit (no... you don't have to play naked) and lose a turn.

There is also an odd twist to this versions. Two of the characters are siblings. It's not addressed in the rules, but if you play as Sharpay Evans you can open the door and win a date with her brother Ryan.

Yeah.