HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MRS. G!

Have you wish Janelle's mom a happy birthday yet? Well, get on that shit!

Quiz results

Thanks for playing.

1. Where did the title of this blog come from:
A) Bloc Party (the band)
B) Denny Terrio's Dance Party (yuck!!!!!)
C) Dance parties in the dorm
D) There is no source for this name

For a while, hearing "Baby Got Back" coming out of room 705 was like a conch shell inviting you to the White Boy Dance Party. I've kept that as one of my nicknames.

Made me giggle: "Also from dance Parties in the small and tight LondonNet headquarters, while a small collection of befuddled Londoners looked on." -- Megan

2. I have two aliases. Name one or both of them.

I was thinking White Boy Blog Party and Marty O'Hara. The latter comes from my grandpa's cousin, whom I'm named after. But Sarah wisely answered, "Ronin," and for that, I'll give her a point, too. I wasn't even thinking of that one. But it is true.

Made me giggle: "Shit, I don't know. PMG? Not really an alias, though, right? Cuz it's your real initials." -- Erica

AND:

"I don't really understand aliases. Are these like the Jennifer Garner ones? Because I clearly don't know you well enough to know that you're a secret-spy-double-agent-single-agent." -- Erin

3. Since I started using Haloscan comments, my comments have had references to all of these artists, except:
A) Eric B. and Rakim ("On this journey, you're the journal/I'm the journalist/Am I eternal?/Or an eternalist?")
B) The Dixie Chicks ("Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition")
C) Ben Folds
D) The Magnetic Fields ("What a time of right and reason/The consumer's king/And unhappiness is treason")

"I honestly can't imagine why you'd comment about the Dixie Chicks. But I'm not very good with details." -- Erin

She's right that I wouldn't normally quote them. As I had the lyrics of "Goodbye Earl" taped to my door. But when Dan and I switched blog formats for a week, I went with his comment feature, which quoted "Sin Wagon." I threw Ben Folds in there because I knew that my rep as a Ben fan would throw you!

4. I had six roommates in college. Name all of them.

"Jake, Crank, Keith, whoever you lived with in London and then those girls you lived with after I left. What an unfair question. I never even met those girls. Now you try naming all my roommates from the past four years." -- Erin

She more or less nailed it, without the names. But she nailed it. Jake, Josh, Keith, Jake (again), Mary, Gillian, Patrick (London roommate). But I lived with Josh for the longest span.

As for Erin, in the past four years, you've lived by yourself (at Schurz) but also with B-Watts and Jen. And not sure beyond that. But that covers most of it. Boo-yah.

5. What was my minor?
A) English
B) Sociology
C) History
D) Irish studies
E) Graphic design
F) Didn't have one

6. What concert have I seen more than any other? (Extra points if you name how often I've seen each)
A) George Clinton (2)
B) Ben Folds (4)
C) The Magnetic Fields (0)
D) New Order (0)
E) Better Than Ezra (1)

7. I've been to all these countries except...
A) Canada (U2 concert in Montreal, May 2001)
B) Ireland (March 2004)
C) Italy (April 2004)
D) Spain

8. I've met all of these famous people, except:
A) Clarence Thomas (my sister worked in the offices handling his nomination)
B) Jack Danforth (my sister's boss in 1991)
C) Mike Hall (ESPN-U anchor and MU alum)
D) Ben Folds (twice after concerts)
E) Kevin Griffin (lead singer of Better Than Ezra, with Katy and Ashlee)
F) John Ashcroft (back when my dad was politically involved)
G) Ozzie Smith (his son was in my kindergarten)
H) Stan Musial (goes to church with my parents)
I) Sir Mix-A-Lot (interviewed him for a J105 story after he played at Jesse Hall)
J) Lex Luger (wrestler, met him in 1990 on his Americana tour and he came to Union Station)
K) Ric Flair (June 2005 at Crocodile Rocks)

Mike Hall was a broadcast kid and his claim to fame of winning that contest occurred when I was in Europe. I know a bunch of you all wanted to make out with him, but that's all I know about him.

"You know, I don't even know who a lot of those people are. Why are you always asking questions about obscure celebrities? How come you never ask questions I should know, like stuff about Garth Brooks songs or the Kinks?" -- Erin

9. Name my favorite Madonna song.

"Well, it's not "Like a [Prayer]." And mine isn't either since you ruined it by sacreligiously trying to convince me it's about a blowjob. NO, no, no it isn't. Stop." -- Erin

Indeed. I posted a little while back that "Like A Prayer" might be one of my LEAST favorites. Though if it comes on the radio, I would listen. The correct answer? "Into The Groove." Ever since I was 8. Close contenders are "Holiday," "Express Yourself," "Cherish" and "Spotlight." And "Ray of Light," but for sentimental reasons. Oh, and the remix "Into The Hollywood Groove" she did with Missy. Hot shit.

10. Name my favorite graphics person.

OK, this one might have to get thrown out. I was thinking J0hn T*lf*rd from the STL P-D, because his stuff has given me so many ideas and he's easy to read and he's really nice. But now I realize that would be if I had said "graphic artist." As for person (editor, whatever), most of you all picked up on my loyalty to my Obi-Wan (Reu) and so those of you who put Reu (most of you) will get the same point as those of you who put the right answer (none of you).

11. Name all three of my brothers.

John, Brian, Dan. Erica correctly identified my brother-in-law: Brad.

12. If I had to pick one favorite Cardinal out of all my favorite Cardinals, it would be:
A) Mark McGwire
B) Ozzie Smith
C) Stan Musial
D) Bob Gibson
E) Albert Pujols

"And this could be one of the last chances Stan the Man could see the Cardinals get back in the series. He's not on his deathbed, but he's no spring chicken. Still, he will go down as the greatest Cardinal ever. And not because of his game, but because of his character and sense of decency. That, and his final game was the game at which my parents met, on a double date, on Sept. 29, 1963. Two years ago, the final game of the season was also on Sun., Sept. 29, so Mom and Dad got four tickets and sent me, Brian, John and Kerry to the game. That day at Mass, Mom was bragging that it was the 39th anniversary that she and Dad met, so they were sending their kids to the "scene of the crime," as it were. Someone at Mass teased my Dad, saying, "I bet he doesn't even remember that, does he?" Well, Dad pulls out his wallet, and from behind a picture of my brother Dan, he pulls out a faded ticket to Sportsman's Park, dated Sept. 29, 1963. And who should drive by in the church parking lot and honk, but Stan the Man himself, who's a member of the parish." -
White Boy Blog Party, Oct. 25, 2004

13. Who got me into The Magnetic Fields?
A) Keith (fan)
B) Josh (not really a fan)
C) Baristas at The Artisan
D) David (downloaded a few songs)
E) Hilary (sings along on car rides)

Megan asked if they were one of those "new lame skinny tie bands," which I find funny. You will get a CD, Ms. Indie Rock. They are the shit. I was in the Artisan one day in Spring 2003 and I asked Gia what CD was playing. It's something I asked a lot. Well, she, Beth, Dan, Aaron and even Derrick surrounded me and told me about The Magnetic Fields. And they lent me CDs and played them for me a lot when I came in there. Sigh...

14. Who got me into Ben Folds?
A) Keith
B) Josh
C) Baristas at The Artisan
D) Jake
E) Erica

"not me! I can cross that option off the list! And The Artisan wasn't open when you first got into Ben Folds. I'm thinking Keith or Josh, because I think they were both at the concert we went to in KC sophomore year, and I know that Keith was at the concert we went to junior year. So my guess is Keith." -- Erica

Actually, I think I've been to more Ben Folds concerts with Erica than with Keith! In November 2000, when Ben Folds Five broke up, Josh wore black for a week. And everyone played "Brick" for him. And Kat kept talking about abortion. But when the solo album came out on Sept. 11, 2001, I really clicked with that album and got into the stuff he did with Ben Folds Five, too.

15. I share a birthday with two famous musicians, both of whom first came on the scene in the '80s. Name one or both of them.

"I don't know. See, these quizzes are never fair. Josh and Jake and Erica and Hilary can answer all this stuff because they're on your pop culture wavelength. I can answer stuff like ... Why do I love my mom so much?" -- Erin

"According to FamousBirthdays.net: Donnie Wahlberg and Belinda Carlisle (Also, Sean Penn and Robert DeNiro) Madonna's is the day before yours." -- Erica

Boo-yah. She's right on all counts. She didn't even get tripped up by the clue that could make you think it was Madonna. She's a smart cookie. Which makes sense, because she's about to get a whole bunch of cookies.

THE WINNER: ERICA

She got 13 points. I'm not sure how many points were possible, but she got the most. Next was Erin, with 7, then Sarah and Megan, each with 6. Janelle's mom got 5, and Fiscus got 3.

So, yeah. What a big ego I have. Thanks for playing.

Ach, no more Stronach!
Lukiwski is just a wuss-ky.
Guergis might make some men smoulder, but to me, she looks like Ann Coulter.
At most, Ambrose looks gross!
But for whom do I continue to holla? That would be Dhalla!
--Me to Dan last week

OK, you all really need to vote for the hottest Canadian MP. And I really hope you vote for Dhalla. If you don't, God will kill a kitten. And I'll cry racism. And all that fun stuff.

Seriously, Ambrose looks like Daphne Zuniga mated with The Incredible Mr. Limpet. I love "Melrose Place" and I love Don Knotts, but not together. Yuck.

So don't let Trout-face beat out Dhalla. And Lukiwski? I don't mind older men, but he's gross.

"W-A-S-H-I-N-G! T-O-N, baby, D.C.!"
-The Magnetic Fields, "Washington, D.C."

So, Jake is finishing up grad school in a great way... Going to D.C. for the J-school program there. Thing is, he needs a place to live. I know that at least two of my lovely readers reside in D.C., and so I have told Jake I'd post on the blog to pick your brains. He's found some OK leads on Craigslist. I can tell him what bands are from D.C., but I can't tell him where to live.

Conversation I had this week

Pharmacist: So what does a graphic artist do?
Pat: Well, we make the maps, charts, and diagrams, and the occasional illustration.
Pharmacist: Ahhh.
Pat: But I really like the diagrams and processes. The more complex graphics. We did a "Star Wars" family tree that showed how all the characters connected.
Pharmacist: Oh, that sounds important.

Don't forget

Kate posted her quiz answers today. Reminding all of you that you get until Monday.

I'm OK

I went to the doctor today. I'm OK, I just was feeling sick this morning and my boss told me to take today off and go to the doctor. The doctor eventually just chalked it up to acid reflex. I'll be OK.

Because I got a fun story out of it.

So, I walked in and saw a cute nurse. Then I had this other nurse who looked like the mother-in-law from "Desperate Housewives." (Dan, for your reference, this is a short, dumpy, frumpy Hispanic woman with a horrible red dye job.) So this woman leads me in, and then I meet with the doctor, and that's when she decides to do the X-Ray. She sends in the cute nurse.

"Joo wanna kumm wid meee?"

Character actors could not do a better stereotypical southern accent. People drunkenly talking shit on the south could not do a better job.

She leads me into the lab to do the X-ray and I make sure she gives me the thing that you put over your bits and pieces. Don't want my kids to have three heads, ya know. She positions me just up against the wall, and then asks me to scoot up, back up a bit, move, etc. That's fine, I understand you have to get those things lined up. "Can you move just a baby for me?" Interesting Southern-ism. I guessed it meant baby-step.

Then, back in the other room, she takes my blood and it's not working. So she calls the dumpy frumpy lady and she pokes me again. Turns out this Southern nurse had never done the blood-prick thing and had never done an X-ray before. And then when she hooked me up to the EKG, they put on these things that looked like leaches. Or Nicoderm patches. And hooked me up. I wanted to scare them by pretending to go into a seizure, but that probably would not have been good. Because it turns out I was really a guinea pig. Every single thing she was doing today was something she was doing for the first time.

So, anyone betting on my kids being odd now have better odds. Damn, that was good. Almost Dan-calibur.

Don't forget

Baby Jesus will cry if you don't take my quiz. Answers due by Monday.

I normally don't link to news articles, as that's Fiscus' job, but for some reason, I felt compelled to post these links. And yes, I do put the death of James Doohan on the same level as the attacks on the shield laws.

Scotty beamed up [CNN]
If You Don't Reveal Your Sources, You're With the Terrorists [WaPo]
Journos to Judy: Eat it [E&P]

OK, OK, OK...

So, sometimes, if I have a really great story, I'll send it a friend and at the beginning of the story, I'll write, "I thought you'd really enjoy this..." And then after some thought, I'll think of someone else who will enjoy it, so I forward that e-mail to them but cut out any possible reference to the fact that it is a forward. I mean, a great story about drag queens calling people "fish" is a great story no matter what, whether you're person #1 to hear it or #37. (37! Try not to tell anyone on your way to the parking lot!)

Or, if it's a highly personal story that I wouldn't want to retype a few times, I just copy and paste it. Why? Because the story is the same. I might add a detail here or there, depending on who my audience is.

And sometimes, I'll take one of those stories I've e-mailed to someone and pare it down and put it on the blog. Why? A funny story is a funny story. Even if it has most of the same wording.

That's my confession. It's not as juicy as doing lines of coke off strippers or being involved in a mafia-run donkey show circuit, but those confessions will come later. When Erica confesses to those on her blog, I'll confess to those on my blog.

Blame it on Canadia, part deux

Canadians might make shitty movies and have some dumbass radio hosts, but they have some hot MPs.

Round 2 has just finished, and I am glad to say that Ruby Dhalla is still in the running. Regrettably, Belinda Stronach is out. Guergis took a good picture once but no one seems to realize she looks like Ann Coulter. Mona Ambrose took a decent picture once, but in the current picture on the site, she looks like what would result if Daphne Zuniga mated with a fish. Yuck.

Forget the others. Holla for Dhalla.

Dudley Dursley, Michael Kennedy, it's all the same

Guess who stood in line for almost two hours the other night, waiting for the new Harry Potter book with kids dressed in cloaks and robes?

Not me!

But, I will say this: I am finally trying again at reading the first book. I think this will work. I've read the first two chapters (the chapters I had read the first time) and I must say, I like thus far. I like the word "Muggle" and I'm wondering if the Muggles are anything like The Fraggles.

Kate and I agreed, though, that instead of "The Goblet of Fire," that book should have been "The Ring of Fire," and could have featured The Man In Black.

(pause)

Johnny Cash reference for those of you who didn't get that.

(pause)

Anywho, here's to Harry Potter. And the Harry Pothead spin-offs.

Now listening to:
Al Green, "Greatest Hits," "More Greatest Hits"
Bright Eyes, "Digital Ash In A Digital Urn"
The Magnetic Fields, "69 Love Songs, Vol. 1, 2 and 3"
The Smiths, "Best of Vol. 1"

I'm now addicted to a website that tracks your playlists and updates a profile for you, and makes recommendations.

AudioScrobbler works in that you download a plug-in and run it through your media player. So, everytime I play a song on Winamp, on my computer, my profile logs it, and then the profile is periodically updated such that they are represented in bar chart form.

You can click on "Network" and see who my "friends" are. So far, I have Paige and a girl from the coffee house.

I like that it uses bar charts to show what your most listened-to tracks are. It's a dream for a music nut who makes graphics. And listens to music when making graphics. If only I could make a graphic about music.

In case you were wondering...

The quiz is still on.

If you're in CoMo, give a high five to Tuttle, because she apparently is a big fan of New Order's "Temptation," too. If I were making my list of my top eleven all-time favorite songs, I'd put that one on there, too. Well done, Tuttle.

Sorta speaking of which...

Take my quiz.

LOL

Certain people on MAFIA need to find new topics to bitch about. Or switch to Syracuse's listserv. I wonder if the people at Newhouse debate photo captions in the form of 20+ e-mails. Hot.

Again...

Take my quiz.

The Quiz!

I love stealing things from Erica. Funny sentences, things you never knew about me, money, etc.

I've stolen yet another thing from her, and that's a quiz.

Submissions should be by email. Deadline is 11:59 EST on Monday, July 25. That's two weeks from today. Whoever gets the most right (or the first perfect score) by then will be declared the winner. The winner gets homemade cookies (which is what I got for winning Erica's quiz). Don't worry, I'll be sending new cookies and I will not be recycling Erica's cookies.

Incorrect multiple choice answers will not penalize you. Answers to the questions are not limited to this blog. Have no fear, Janelle will not be allowed to cheat. Nor will her mom. As you can tell, I'm bored and have a big ego, which is bound to be said of any blogger, I guess.

And enough bed bugs and ballyhoo. On with the show.

1. Where did the title of this blog come from:
A) Bloc Party (the band)
B) Denny Terrio's Dance Party
C) Dance parties in the dorm
D) There is no source for this name

2. I have two aliases. Name one or both of them.

3. Since I started using Haloscan comments, my comments have had references to all of these artists, except:
A) Eric B. and Rakim
B) The Dixie Chicks
C) Ben Folds
D) The Magnetic Fields

4. I had six roommates in college. Name all of them.

5. What was my minor?
A) English
B) Sociology
C) History
D) Irish studies
E) Graphic design
F) Didn't have one

6. What concert have I seen more than any other? (Extra points if you name how often I've seen each)
A) George Clinton
B) Ben Folds
C) The Magnetic Fields
D) New Order
E) Better Than Ezra

7. I've been to all these countries except...
A) Canada
B) Ireland
C) Italy
D) Spain

8. I've met all of these famous people, except:
A) Clarence Thomas
B) Jack Danforth
C) Mike Hall
D) Ben Folds
E) Kevin Griffin
F) John Ashcroft
G) Ozzie Smith
H) Stan Musial
I) Sir Mix-A-Lot
J) Lex Luger
K) Ric Flair

9. Name my favorite Madonna song.

10. Name my favorite graphics person.

11. Name all three of my brothers.

12. If I had to pick one favorite Cardinal out of all my favorite Cardinals, it would be:
A) Mark McGwire
B) Ozzie Smith
C) Stan Musial
D) Bob Gibson
E) Albert Pujols

13. Who got me into The Magnetic Fields?
A) Keith
B) Josh
C) Baristas at The Artisan
D) David
E) Hilary

14. Who got me into Ben Folds?
A) Keith
B) Josh
C) Baristas at The Artisan
D) Jake
E) Erica

15. I share a birthday with two famous musicians, both of whom first came on the scene in the '80s. Name one or both of them.

Again, submissions should be by email. Not by comments. Deadline is 11:59 EST on Monday, July 25. That's two weeks from today. Whoever gets the most right (or the first perfect score) by then will be declared the winner.

"Summer, Buddy Holly, the working folly
Good golly Miss Molly and boats
Hammersmith Palais, the Bolshoi Ballet
Jump back in the alley and nanny goats
18-wheeler Scammels, Domenecker camels
All other mammals plus equal votes
Seeing Piccadilly, Fanny Smith and Willy
Being rather silly, and porridge oats"
-Ian Dury and the Blockheads, "Reasons to be Cheerful, Pt. 3"

Favorite things about London...

*The voice saying "Mind the Gap" and "This is a District line train..."

*Going to The Underworld with Becca, Jenny and Erin. The best 80s dance club. In the world.

*Nelson's Column.

*The Chinese Buffet Man who held the sign outside the Earl's Court tube entrance. He was later replaced by The Chinese Buffet Woman.

*The fact that even though it rained all the time, it was not heavy rain. It was rather light. I don't remember there being horrible downpours.

*Hyde Park.

*The "tkts" booth that sold cheap(er) tickets on the day of the show.

*Carling.

*Benjy's, the diner down the street. God bless those sausages. And those eggs.

*Red phone booths.

*Hearing Junior Senior on the radio (even though Capitol Radio was evil).

*Strongbow!

*The ad with the word "Poo!" really big next to a little girl. And that ad was everywhere.

*Londonnet.

*The student union pub at Imperial College.

*Trafalgar Square.

These aren't all of my favorites, of course, just a handful. It's a list that grows as I dwell on it. Feel free to add yours, or make your own.

Blame it on Canadia

I was a little disappointed with the public's opinion on the hottest U.S. senator. Seriously, I was a Hagel man from day one. But apparently, he was not meant to be dubbed the hottest.

For those of us who were disappointed, then, we have a chance to start anew: Ultimate Hottest Canadian MP Besides Ken Dryden.

So, vote by Monday. The top 8 will be announced on Tuesday. I don't mean to persuade anyone, per se, but I am planning on giving my "holla" to Dhalla. Trost and Rodriguez are not hard on the eyes, though. They'll be my back-ups. In case Dhalla drops out of the race. Or she's eaten by bobcats.