wikit: bobby fischer

Last week, Bobby Fischer died and since he is an elusive pop culture icon, I figured I should mention him. So here are some weird facts about Bobby Fischer from Wikipedia.

-- only American to win the World Chess Championship
-- beat a Soviet chess player at the height of the Cold War. Nifty.
-- had his US passport revoked after playing in Yugoslavia, going against an UN embargo
-- was half-Jewish but an anti-Semite near the end of his life
-- lived in St. Louis for a few years before moving to Brooklyn

But really, the reason I'm posting this is because I told someone at the office that we should post an MP3 of "One Night in Bangkok" to go along with the story and he had no clue what I was talking about. How can you not know I'm referring to a song from the musical Chess that was written by the Bs part of ABBA?

Yes, I am a geek. Why do you ask?

So here you go everyone. Enjoy some Murray Head. I think I downloaded the original musical version because it has a bit of a long instrumental intro.

Murray Head - One Night in Bangkok

wikit: a day that will live in infamy

On this date in 1920, a very very sad thing happened: Prohibition started.

Ah, the 18th amendment of the Constitution. I hardly knew you. Actually, I never knew you considering you're the only amendment to ever get repealed because you were stupid.

Let me explain it this way: My law abiding Catholic grandfather, God bless his soul, used to make moonshine in his bathtub during Prohibition. When you criminalize alcohol, it's only the criminals who have it I guess.

Now, I will admit that yes, there are bad people who don't drink in moderation or drive drunk or don't feel the need to have a properly functioning liver. But for those of us who are responsible drunks, I say screw you, 18th amendment!

So everyone have a drink tonight and make sure you make a toast to the awesomely amazing 21st amendment.

Btw, here's a picture of prescription form in case you had to get a prescription for medicinal liquor. Medicinal liquor? And I thought California was crazy for having medicinal marajuana. Apparently, there are alot of things out there that are good for you after all.

be my valentine

I don't like Valentine's Day, but I know people who do so I give you a Valentine's Day pop culture post with some links.

YouTube of NKOTB signing Valentine Girl in concert [This is from the No More Games tour, which I saw in Detroit. Twice.]

Fark.com's Valentine's Post [Share your best/worst dating stories in this thread. There are some good ones in there.]

Wikipedia's entry on St. Valentine [Apparently, there were many. So much for monogamy...or whatever.]

Dwangela's Valentine's Day Mix [Office fans, this is for you. What if Dwight gave Angela a mix tape for Valentine's Day? Right click to download this zip file for the answer.]

Pizza Express [Where The Husband and I will be ordering pizza from instead of going out in the freezing cold for a two-hour wait at a crappy restaurant where we will be shoved in to one of the extra tables said crappy restaurant squeezed in because of the crowds. The food will suck, the place will be fire code violation, and the noise level will be so high you have to yell at your honey just to get heard. So for $15, including tip, we're going to have a large pizza, breadsticks with garlic sauce, and two drinks as we watch something on our Tivo. Much better.]

wikit: marky mark

Ok, I have to say that Mark Wahlberg did a fantastic job in The Departed. I'm just saying that now so people don't get the idea that I'm ragging on him.

That being said, I saw him in concert in 1993 and yes, he did strip down to his underwear during the show. He also told the crowd what hotel he was staying at and his room number. Some friends and I took that information and called the hotel to speak to him and were denied by his entourage. Perhaps it's because we were 15 and 16 and called at 11 o'clock at night from a pay phone in a McDonald's parking lot. No, none of us had cell phones at the time because no one had cell phones at the time since it was 1992.

Oh, and that picture above? It just to hang on the back of my bedroom door -- as a huge poster. I still wonder why my parents let me do stuff like that.

Little known fact: Mark has a third nipple. Yes, it's true.

Little known fact: Mark was one of the original members of the New Kids on the Block, but dropped out. His brother Donnie, however, stayed in the group and became rich off of it.

Little known fact: The show Entourage is loosely based on Mark's life when he arrived in Hollywood and he's one of the executive producers for the show.

So with that, here is a Marky Mark song you'll all enjoy. It required me to find the CD and then rip it. Yeah, I'm a nerd who still owns the CD.

Marky Mark & the Funky Bunch - Good Vibrations

And yes, he is an Oscar nominee.

wikit: adam ant

Before Johnny Depp made pirate attire chic again, there was only one pirate: Adam Ant. Now, I didn't know too many New Wave pirates -- hell, I didn't know any -- but there is something about Adam Ant that I wish I could replicate now. Maybe Halloween this year or something.

Not so little known fact: Adam Ant is not his real name. No kidding. His real name is Stuart Goddard. He was very smart to change it.

Little known fact: The band was originally called Adam and the Ants and was managed by the Sex Pistols' former manager, Malcolm McLaren. Malcolm then talked the other three members of the band into leaving Adam to go solo. That band, Bow Wow Wow, was a one-hit wonder and never got close to the success Adam Ant had on his own.

Little known fact: He once dated Jamie Lee Curtis. At least that's what it says on Wikipedia.

Little known fact: Adam got in some legal trouble in 2002 for brandishing a firearm at a pub in London. Turns out he has bipolar disorder.

So below are two great Adam Ant songs that may not be as well known to some of you. The first -- Desperate But Not Serious -- is an '80s classic and the second -- Wonderful -- comes from Adam's 1995 album of the same name.

Adam Ant - Desperate But Not Serious
Adam Ant - Wonderful

wikit: prince

In honor of this weekend's Super Bowl, I give you a wikit for Prince, who will be playing the halftime show for the big game. By the way, the above picture is from Prince's rehearsal for the show. No, I don't know if he actually wears bright orange suits everyday or just for special occasions like Super Bowl rehearsals. I have to say though, I kind of like that chick's dress-- you know, if it was a little shorter to cover my ass.

Not little known facts about Prince: He's from Minnesota and he likes purple.

Little known fact: He once stood behind my friend Stacy's dad at the check out line at the local grocery story in Minneapolis.

Little known fact: A song by Prince made Tipper Gore start the Parents Music Resource Center, which is responsible for those Parental Advisory labels on albums. Tipper heard her 12-year-old daughter playing "Darling Nikki," a song from the Purple Rain soundtrack about a sex fiend. Well yeah, that may not be the best for a 12-year-old to be listening to. That being said, Prince ended up winning an Oscar for his work on the soundtrack.

Little known fact: The whole symbol thing wasn't to be weird and artistic or something. It was rebel against his record label at the time, whom he felt were treating him unfairly. I don't know why you need a symbol for that, but there you go.

And so I give you my favorite Prince song, which he may or may not be performing on Sunday. Let's hope he at least doesn't have some sort of wardrobe malfunction.

Prince - Let's Go Crazy

wikit: say anything

My friend Kropp made a reference the other day in a comment about the John Cusack movie High Fidelity. Great movie, but it reminded me of the best Cusack film of all time: Say Anything.

Oh, Say Anything. Many of us would have been much better off not seeing that movie. Instead, we all fell in love with Lloyd Dobler and wished we would be able to find a guy like that to marry. Unfortunately, Lloyd is not real. In fact, he's very unreal. This love for Lloyd is so crazy that Chuck Klosterman once lamented in his book Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs that no woman will ever be satisfied because of their Lloyd Dobler compex.

But really, how could you NOT love Lloyd Dobler? Yeah, he had no direction in life and yeah, it took him forever to finally ask out the girl of his dreams, but who wouldn't feel sorry for a guy so completely heartbroken when he gets dumped? Who doesn't want a guy wooing them with a boombox under her window? Because unless the guy is a creepy stalker, every girl wouldn't mind something like that and rarely, if ever, does it happen in real life.

Plus, I think this movie is quoted almost as much as Caddyshack. "I gave her my heart and she gave me a pen." Or "If you guys know so much about women, how come you're here at like Gas 'n Sip on a Saturday night, completely alone, drinking beers, no women anywhere?" Or what about Lloyd trying to explain to Diane's dad that he doesn't want to buy, sell, or repair anything for a living?

Little known fact: The band The Smithereens wrote a song called "A Girl Like You" for the movie. The movie's producers rejected it, saying the lyrics gave away too much of the plot. The band released it anyway on their own album and it was their first Top 40 hit. Here are the lyrics -- decide for yourself.

And of course, what would any Say Anything post be without this Peter Gabriel gem?

Peter Gabriel - In Your Eyes

wikit: morrissey

So I've been listening to Morrissey lately and thought I should post a little about him so you can all enjoy my wonderful taste in music.

Morrissey used to be in 80's emo band The Smiths back before emo was cool and I know you've all heard their song "How Soon is Now," which is always used in emo-type movies. So be it.

After that, Morrissey struck out on his own and recorded such songs as "The More You Ignore Me, the Closer I Get" and "We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful." True, but why do you have to keep following me to let me know that?

Little known fact: Morrissey's moodiness has made him enemies with several musicians including Madonna, George Michael, and Robert Smith of The Cure, who once was quoted as saying, "If Morrissey says don't eat meat, then I'll eat meat, because I hate Morrissey." And this is coming from one of the most goth emo singers out there. Go figure.

So here's to moody emo before it was popular. And with that, I give you one of my favorite Morrissey songs.

Morrissey - Everyday is Like Sunday

wikit: nkotb

This is the first of what will maybe be a regular feature to make you waste your time at work or at home. So you know how you can end up spending hours of time on Wikipedia? I'm going to help you!

First, I had to highlight an oldie but a dearie. As anyone who knew me when I was 13 can attest, I was in love with the New Kids on the Block. And why? Because I was a teenager with baby-sitting money to spend and they were a band that took my money.

NKOTB, as they were later called, were a successful boy band out of Boston who rocked to fame with such hits as "I'll be Loving You (Forever)" and "You Got It (The Right Stuff)" [what the hell was up with all the parenthesis?].

Little known fact: MTV at first didn't play the band's videos because the station thought they were a marketing phenom and not a music one? Now, all they play on MTV are marketing phenoms. Is that ironic or coincidental?

Little known fact: Maurice Starr also founded New Edition, but that's for another wikit.

Little known fact: I still know the full names of every single band member and their birthdays. My favorite was Joe [aka Joseph Mulrey McIntyre, born Dec. 31, 1972, and no I didn't have to look any of that up]. My first concert was the New Kids at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit on Nov. 17, 1990.

Little known fact: I know way too many little known facts.

So with that, I give you my favorite New Kids on the Block song of all time. I dare you to download it!

NKOTB - Please Don't Go Girl

And I think I had a really big button with this picture on it. Oh, New Kids. You were so dreamy once.