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garougal · Cleverly Disguised As A Responsible Adult

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garougal · Cleverly Disguised As A Responsible Adult

7 Simple Rules For How to Take A Nap
by Ransom Riggs - June 20, 2008 - 10:14 AM

Birds do it, bees do it (we think), even educated monkeys do it. So lets do it, people. Lets fall asleep. (The musical portion of this blog is over; thanks for indulging.) But seriously: weve talked about the whys of taking naps on the blog before they improve mood, creativity, memory function, heart health, and so much else but never, to my knowledge, have we discussed how to take a nap. In fact, whenever we write about naps, we always get a few comments from people claiming theyre unable to nap during the day; they just cant fall asleep, or when they do nap they wake up groggy and unable to work. In that case, read on, my sleepy friends.

1.

The first thing you should know is, feeling sleepy in the afternoon is normal. It doesnt mean you had a big lunch, or that youre depressed, or youre not getting enough exercise. Thats just how animals cycles work every 24 hours, we have two periods of intense sleepiness. One is typically in the wee hours of the night, from about 2am to 4am, and the other is around 10 hours later, between 1pm and 3pm. If youre a night owl and wake up later in the morning, that afternoon sleepiness may come later; if youre an early bird, it may come earlier. But it happens to everyone; were physiologically hardwired to nap.

2.

Naps provide different benefits depending on how long they are. A short nap of even 20 minutes will enhance alertness and concentration, mood and coordination. A nap of 90 minutes will get you into slow wave and REM sleep, which enhances creativity. If you sleep deeply and uninterruptedly the whole time, youll go through a full 90-minute sleep cycle, and recoup sleep you might not have gotten the night before (weve all heard it a million times, but most of us dont get enough sleep at night).

3.

Try not to sleep longer than 45 minutes but less than 90 minutes; then youll wake up in the middle of a slow-wave cycle, and be groggy. I used to hate taking naps during the day for just this reason I would always wake up in a fog. My problem was I hadnt yet perfected the art of the 20-minute catnap.

4.

Find a nice dark place where you can lie down. It takes about 50% longer to fall asleep sitting up (this is why red eye flights usually live up to their name), and be armed with a blanket; you dont want to be chilly. You also dont want to be too warm, which can lead to oversleeping. (There was a kind of urban legend circulating when I was a kid: dont fall asleep in the sun, or youll never wake up. Not true but you might wake up three hours later with a ripe sunburn.)

5.

White noise can help you fall asleep, especially during the day when construction crews, garbage trucks, barking dogs and other noisy awake-world things can conspire to destroy your nap. Keep a fan on, or turn on a nearby faucet for a pleasing rushing-river sound. (Just kidding about that last one.)

6.

Dont nap too close to bedtime, or you might not be able to fall asleep later. Remember, your inbuilt sleepy window is sometime in the early to mid-afternoon try to nap then.

7.

Quit that silly job where they dont let you take naps during the day.

garougal · Cleverly Disguised As A Responsible Adult

Famous Nappers

Thomas Edison:

Talk about putting the power in power naps, inventor Thomas Edison refused to change into pajamas at night because he thought it interfered with his creativity. Instead, he kept his work clothes on and slept 2-3 hours a night. Then hed catch little naps around the clock. Despite the fact that his strange hours annoyed the Mrs., he kept doing it anyway. His favorite was to stretch out on lab tables, but Edison was known to snooze on stools when necessary.

Warren Harding:

Although he frequently stayed up until 2am, President Harding was always up at 8 sharp. His White House schedule, however, left him increasingly fatigued. And while friends told him that hed be more rested if he stayed in bed longer, the president refused, saying that sort of behavior was too much like a woman. Instead, the extraordinarily macho president countered his sleep deprivation with a very manly approach: stealing naps in the Oval Office.

Salvador Dali:

Its not entirely clear how Dali dreamed up such fantastically bizarre images, but the surrealist painter often credited his creativity to his unusual catnap technique. Reportedly, hed get himself right to the edge of deep sleep, then jerk himself out

of it. How so? Dali would hold a metal spoon in one hand, and place a metal pan next to his chair. Then hed nod off. But as soon as he was relaxed enough to let go of the spoon, it would clang loudly against the pan, and hed hop back up inspired.

Samuel Goldwyn:

One of Hollywoods most prominent film producers, Sam Goldwyn believed in hard work. He also believed that 60-minute naps were key to good health. Every day after lunch, Sam would take a siesta, disappearing into a room adjacent to his office, changing into pajamas, and sleeping for an hour. According to biographers, he even recommended the practice to 2 of his writers. Then, realizing that he didnt want the scribes sleeping on company time, he added, In your case, eat a half hour, sleep a half hour.

Ronald Reagan:

Ronald Reagan supposedly took a nap every day. In fact, it was frequently mentioned in newspaper columns, and widely accepted as fact. And while Nancy

Reagan vehemently denies the claims, old Ronald was less discrete. He often joked about falling asleep in cabinet meetings, and once dropped off in the middle of a speech by Pope John Paul II.

ZZZZZZZZ

ghostdancer · Ghost In The Machine

7.

Quit that silly job where they dont let you take naps during the day.

I can just see someone listing this on a resume as a reason why they left their last job.

3.

Try not to sleep longer than 45 minutes but less than 90 minutes; then youll wake up in the middle of a slow-wave cycle, and be groggy. I used to hate taking naps during the day for just this reason I would always wake up in a fog. My problem was I hadnt yet perfected the art of the 20-minute catnap.

This one is true....I've woke up in the middle of that cycle and felt worse than if I hadn't napped at all. hmm

MzHartz · Permanent Vacation

Salvador Dali:

Its not entirely clear how Dali dreamed up such fantastically bizarre images, but the surrealist painter often credited his creativity to his unusual catnap technique. Reportedly, hed get himself right to the edge of deep sleep, then jerk himself out

of it. How so? Dali would hold a metal spoon in one hand, and place a metal pan next to his chair. Then hed nod off. But as soon as he was relaxed enough to let go of the spoon, it would clang loudly against the pan, and hed hop back up inspired.

You can train yourself to do this too. I was studying dreams for a thesis paper and read about techniques to wake you up in the middle of your dreams. Subconsciously this sank into my brain, and I was an insomniac for a couple years until I started sleeping with (like literally sleeping) Brian.

garougal · Cleverly Disguised As A Responsible Adult

The Quick 10: The Origins of 10 of Your Favorite Muppets
by Stacy Conradt - July 2, 2008 - 3:15 PM

I, like a lot of you, grew up on Sesame Street and the Muppets. But do you ever stop to wonder where they came from? Some of the characters we know and love today were recycled from other T.V. shows and commercials Jim Henson worked on and others were invented by using whatever materials were around. Be prepared for a little nostalgia for todays Q10. And dont be offended if I left out some of your favorites (I know, Big Bird?!) not all of the characters have interesting background stories. But if you know the story behind one that I left out, share with us in the comments!

The Origins of 10 of Your Favorite Muppets

1. Cookie Monster. Jim Henson drew some monsters eating various snacks for a General Foods commercial in 1966. The commercial was never used, but Henson recycled one of the monsters (the Wheel-Stealer) for an IBM training video in 1967 and again for a Fritos commercial in 1969. By this time, he started working on Sesame Street and decided this monster would have a home there.

2. Elmo. The way its described by a Sesame Street writer, apparently this extra red puppet was just lying around. People would pick him up and try to do something with him, but nothing really panned out. In 1984, puppeteer Kevin Clash picked up the red puppet and started doing the voice and the personality and it clicked thus, Elmo was born.

3. Telly Monster was originally the Television Monster when he debuted in 1979. He was obsessed with T.V. and his eves would whirl around as if hypnotized whenever he was in front of a set. After a while, producers started worrying about his influence on youngsters, so they changed him to make him the chronic worrier he is now.

4. Count von Count made his first appearance in 1972 and was made out of an Anything Muppet pattern a blank Muppet head that could have features added to it to make various characters. He used to be more sinister he was able to hypnotize and stun people and he laughed in typical scary-villain-type fashion after completing a count of something and thunder and lightning would occur. He was quickly made more appealing to little kids, though. He is apparently quite the ladies man he has been linked to Countess von Backward, who loves to count backward; Countess Dahling von Dahling and Lady Two.

5. Kermit was born in 1955 and first showed up on Sam and Friends, a five-minute puppet show by Jim Henson. The first Kermit was made out of Hensons moms coat and some ping pong balls. At the time, he was more lizard-like than frog-like. By the time he showed up on Sesame Street in 1969, though, he had made the transition to frog. There are rumors that he got the name Kermit from a childhood friend of Hensons or a puppeteer from the early days of the Muppets, but Henson always refuted both of those rumors.

6. Real Swedish Chef Lars Kuprik Bäckman claims he was the inspiration for the Swedish Chef. He was on Good Morning America, he says, and caught Jim Hensons eye. Henson supposedly bought the rights to the Good Morning America recording and created the Swedish Chef (who DOES have a real name, but its not understandable). One of the Muppet writers, Jerry Juhl, says that in all of the years of working with Jim Henson on the Swedish Chef, he never heard that the character was based on a real person.

7. Animal - Everyones favorite member of Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem may have been inspired by Keith Moon of The Who. This is speculation, but people who support this theory will point out that Jim Henson named one of the Fraggle Rock characters Wembley, which is the town Moon was born in.

8. Miss Piggy is apparently from Iowa. Makes sense. Anyway, she started as a minor character on The Muppet Show, but anyone who knows Miss Piggy can see that she wouldnt settle for anything minor. Her first T.V. appearance was actually on an Herb Alpert special. It wasnt until 1976, when The Muppet Show premiered, that she became the glamorous blonde with a penchant for frog that we know and love today. Frank Oz once said that Miss Piggy grew up in Iowa; her dad died when she was young and her mother was mean. She had to enter beauty contests to make money.

9. Rowlf the dog, surprise, surprise, was first made in 1962 for a series of Purina Dog Chow commercials. He went on to claim fame as Jimmy Deans sidekick on The Jimmy Dean Show and was on every single episode from 1963 to 1966. Jimmy Dean said Rowlf got about 2,000 letters from fans every week. He was considered for Sesame Street but ended up becoming a regular on The Muppet Show in 1976.

10. Oscar the Grouch is performed by the same guy who does Big Bird, Carroll Spinney. Spinney said he based Oscars cranky voice on a particular NYC cab driver he once had the pleasure of riding with. He was originally an alarming shade of orange. In Pakistan, his name is Akhtar and he lives in an oil barrel. In Turkey, he is Kirpik and lives in a basket. And in Israel, its not Oscar at all its his cousin, Moishe Oofnik, who lives in an old car.

garougal · Cleverly Disguised As A Responsible Adult

The Quick 10: Muppets Part Deux
by Stacy Conradt - July 10, 2008 - 3:51 PM

The Muppet Quick 10 from last week went over so well, lots of you _flossers requested a follow-up. Ask and ye shall receive! Here are a few more tidbits I dug up on some of your favorite friendly monsters.

1. Gonzo. What exactly is Gonzo? Nobody knows. Even Jim Henson had no particular species in mind. Over the course of The Muppet Show, Muppet Babies and various Muppet movies, Gonzo has been referred to as a Whatever, a Weirdo and an alien. Whatever he is, he first appeared on the scene in 1970s The Great Santa Claus Switch. His name was Snarl the Cigar Box Frackle. In 1974, he showed up on a T.V. special for Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass. He became Gonzo the Great by the first season of The Muppet Show and developed his thing for Camilla the Chicken almost accidentally: during one episode where chickens were auditioning for the show, puppeteer Dave Goelz ad-libbed, Dont call us, well call you nice legs, though! It was decided then and there that Gonzo would have a bizarre romantic interest in chickens.

2. Statler and Waldorf.You have to love Statler and Waldorf. I couldnt find much on their particular inspiration, but I can tell you that theyve been around since the 1975 Muppet Show pilot. They are named after popular New York City hotels the Statler Hotel was renamed the Hotel Pennsylvania in 1992. Guess what Waldorfs wife name is? Yep Astoria (she looks startlingly like Statler). FYI, Waldorf is the one with the mustache and white hair. Statler has the grey hair. Apparently Waldorf has had a pacemaker for more than 30 years.

3. Beaker. I always thought of Beaker and his buddy Bunsen Honeydew as characters that came along later in the Muppet timeline, but they have been around since the second season of The Muppet Show. Although Beaker usually says things along the lines of, Mee-mee-mee-mee!, he has had a few actual lines: Sadly temporary, Bye-Bye and Make-up ready! Despite being word-challenged, he manages to do a pretty convincing Little Richard impression and, surprisingly, had mad beatbox skills. Beaker is one of the only Muppets that was never recycled from some other purpose he was created solely for The Muppet Show.

4. Fozzie Bear. Poor Fozzie. Hes the perpetual target of Statler and Waldorf because of his horrible jokes and puns. It actually created a bit of a problem during the first season of The Muppet Show, because when Fozzie got heckled, he got very upset and sometimes cried. Viewers didnt feel sympathy; they felt embarrassed. The problem was solved by making Fozzie an optimist so that even when he got heckled he was good-natured about it. Its often thought that he was named after Frank Oz, who was his puppeteer, but Frank said its just a variant of fuzzy bear. Yet another story says he was named for his builder, Faz Fazakas. Wocka wocka!!

5. Bert and Ernie are the Muppet version of Felix and Oscar (the Odd Couple, for you younguns). Lots of people think Bert and Ernie were named for some minor characters in Its A Wonderful Life, but according to the Henson company, thats just a rumor. Jim Henson always maintained that it was just a coincidence and that the names just went well together and seemed to fit the characters. Jerry Juhl, one of the head writers, corroborated this and said that Jim Henson had no memory for details like that and would have never remembered the name of the cop and the taxi cab driver in the old Jimmy Stewart movie.

Other rumors to clear up: Bert and Ernie arent gay and neither one of them are dead. Now that weve got that straightened out, here are a few more tidbits: the original Ernie used to have a gravelly voice similar to Rowlf the Dogs. Frank Oz was Berts puppeteer and rather hated him at the beginning. He thought Bert was ridiculously boring, but then realized that he could have a lot of fun with being boring. Jim Henson once said, I remember trying Bert and Frank tried Ernie for a while. I cant imagine doing Bert now, because Bert has become so much of a part of Frank.

6. Grover. Everyones favorite cute, furry little monster made his T.V. debut on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1967. At the time, he was known as Gleep and was a monster in Santas Workshop. He then appeared on the first season of Sesame Street, but sported green fur and a reddish-orange nose. He didnt have a name then, but by the second season he transformed into the Grover we know today, more or less electric blue fur and a pink nose. The original green Grover was reincarnated as Grovers Mommy for a few episodes. In Latin America and Puerto Rico Grover is known as Archibaldo, in Spain he is Coco, in Portugal he is Gualter and in Norway he is Gunnar.

7. Sweetums is one of a handful of full-body Muppets. He showed up in 1971 on the T.V. special The Frog Prince. This is where he got his name when Sir Robin the Brave is about to defeat the ogre, a witch shows up and changes him into a frog (who later becomes Robin, Kermits nephew). Apparently smitten with the ogre, the witch tells her darling Sweetums that he can have the frog for breakfast.

Bigger fame awaited Sweetums, though in 1975, he appeared on Chers variety show to do a duet with her to That Old Black Magic. He officially joined The Muppet Show cast in 1976.

8. Rizzo the Rat might sound familiar to you, especially if youve seen Midnight Cowboy he is named for Dustin Hoffmans character, Ratso Rizzo. He was created after puppeteer Steve Whitmire was inspired by rat puppets made from bottles. He first showed up on The Muppet Show as one of a group of rates following Christopher Reeve around hes easily to sport because he hams it up more than any of the other rats. He occasionally performs with Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem.

9. Pepe the King Prawns full name is Pepino Rodrigo Serrano Gonzales. I heart Pepe. He was a chef in Madrid before going Hollywood on Muppets Tonight in 1996. He was paired with Seymour the Elephant (Pepe was originally going to be a mouse) on the show, but Seymour never developed quite the same following and was only in two episodes. He rarely gets names right some of his mispronunciations include muffins instead of Muppets, Kermin instead of Kermit and Scooper instead of Scooter. Hes quite full of himself in addition to thinking that hes quite the ladies man, he also fully expects to win several Oscars.

10. Herry Monster from Sesame Street was the Big Bad Wolf in his original incarnation, which you can kind of tell by looking at his fur. Its pretty wolf-like (if wolves were blue, I mean). He became a Sesame monster in 1970 to replace the Beautiful Day Monster, who looked kind of like Sam the Eagle and existed to cause destruction wherever he went, thus ruining the beautiful day people had been having before he showed up. Herry used to have a furry nose but got upgraded to his non-furry, purple nose in 1971.

MzHartz · Permanent Vacation

Aw, I love those!

garougal · Cleverly Disguised As A Responsible Adult

I'm glad you liked them Mz! I thought it was really interesting to see what may have inspired the different characters and where they began. I was particularly amused that Keith Moon might have been the inspiration for Animal.

JD The Jazz Doctor · Grand Poobah

3. Beaker. I always thought of Beaker and his buddy Bunsen Honeydew as characters that came along later in the Muppet timeline, but they have been around since the second season of The Muppet Show. Although Beaker usually says things along the lines of, Mee-mee-mee-mee!, he has had a few actual lines: Sadly temporary, Bye-Bye and Make-up ready! Despite being word-challenged, he manages to do a pretty convincing Little Richard impression and, surprisingly, had mad beatbox skills. Beaker is one of the only Muppets that was never recycled from some other purpose he was created solely for The Muppet Show.

I can't believe Beaker actually had lines besides mee mee mee meee!

garougal · Cleverly Disguised As A Responsible Adult

6 Little-known Secrets of the Mickey Mouse Club

by Kara - July 18, 2008 - 1:18 PM

The Mickey Mouse Club which launched the careers of Britney, Christina, Justin, et al, was actually the third incarnation of the program. The original group of Mouseketeers made their TV debut 53 years ago this week, when they appeared on an ABC special on July 17, 1955, as a teaser to promote Walt Disneys newest brainchild that officially launched three months later. Those original shows have been syndicated and re-aired many times since, and even though the black-and-white images of chipper, beaming Mouse-eared kids magically transport us to a more innocent and uncomplicated time, the truth is that behind the scenes it was still Show Business with a capital B, and the youngsters were forced to grow up in a hurry.

1. The Original Kids Werent that Cute
By the time the 90s version of the MMC was being cast, the producers were actively seeking poster-perfect kids whose smile would light up a room and make every parent wish that their own children were so aesthetically appealing. But when the producers of the original MMC launched their quest to find children for the cast, Walt Disney specifically instructed them not to hire professional Shirley Temple types. He wanted regular kids that the audience could identify with and who didnt come with domineering stage mothers. That ideology looked good on paper, but with only a few months lead time, the producers had to resort to scouting local professional schools for kids who could sing and/or dance. This process led to one of the shows first stumbling blocks: Disney wanted a gender balanced cast, but it turned out that far more girls enrolled in tap and ballet school than boys did. As a result, a number of highly qualified girls were left on the sidelines while they watched boys who could barely fumble their way through a musical number land a spot in the all-important Roll Call. In the battle of testosterone over talent, there was one clear winner.

2. The Original Contracts werent exactly fair
The kids who made the final cut were required to sign contracts that were somewhat exploitive compared to those of other kid actors of that era. The Mouseketeers were each hired for one year at a time, at a flat rate of $185 per week, with 13-week options written into the contract. Translation: You and your attending parent had better mind your Ps and Qs, as you could be dropped at any time. (More than one Mouse was fired due to the behind-the-scenes badgering of an aggressive studio guardian.) In addition, the Mice were contractually bound to perform at any venue at the behest of the studio for no additional compensation. This included concerts at Disneyland, promotional photo shoots, visits to childrens hospitals, and recording sessions for Mouseketeer-related albums, all of which were scheduled on the kids days off. To complain meant risking not getting your option picked up, as well as getting blacklisted as a troublesome child actor.

3. Walt Disney stopped Annette Funicello from changing her name
Annette Funicello was one of the last Mice hired, and the only one specifically chosen by Walt Disney himself. Annette had been a very shy child, so her mother enrolled her in various dance and modeling classes to help bring her out of her shell. Uncle Walt spotted her in a school production of Swan Lake and invited her to audition for the MMC. After shed been hired, young Annette approached Mr. Disney and timidly said that shed like to change her last name to something less ethnic (a common practice for actors at the time). Walt told her to keep her name; he predicted that once the audience heard it, theyd never forget it. Of course, he was right and Annette quickly became Americas favorite Mouseketeer. Why? You tell me. I know what the first two items will be on the list of any male readers, but note that Doreens nameplate was thrust even further forward than Annettes and she never achieved the same level of fame. So what was it about Annette? Since I always thought Cheryl was the prettiest Mouseketeer, Id love to hear from Annette fans in order to better understand her appeal.

4. The Kids who Got Cut Fast
Some of the original Mouseketeers that were hired never made it past the promotional photo stage. Dallas Johann was fired after only two weeks because he cried whenever the cameras were focused on him. Paul Peterson lasted three weeks and then was dismissed when he punched a casting director in the stomach. (He later went on to star on The Donna Reed Show and later founded A Minor Consideration, an organization dedicated to upholding the rights and well-being of child actors.) Mickey Rooney, Jr., and his brother Timmy (who were probably hired more on the basis of their parentage than their talent) were canned after wreaking havoc in the studios paint department. Nancy Abbate was one of the best dancers in the cast, but was let go early in the first season due to parental misbehavior.

5. A word about the Mouse-kadults
Unleashing 24 kids at a time on a soundstage was a daunting prospect, so adult wranglers were added to the cast in an effort to keep order. Jimmie Dodd was the de facto leader of the Mice, and also the composer of the familiar Mickey Mouse Club March. In fact, hed originally been hired by the Disney studio for his ability to quickly dash off a tune about the most mundane topic (he was able to compose The Pencil Song upon request for his audition). Roy Williams had worked for Disney as an animator, but his adept ability to produce caricatures on the basis of offhand remark made him a story man he was assigned to sit in on creative meetings and develop story boards on the fly. One day while the MMC was still in pre-production, Walt Disney said to Williams, Youre big and goofy-looking, you should big the Big Mooseketeer. Rather than being offended, Williams (whod always remained loyal to Disney for giving him his first job) went to wardrobe and got fitted for his ears. Alvy Moore was the third adult hired; the producers planned for him to be the Roving Mouseketeer, acting as the host for location pieces. However, it was eventually decided to use him as a voiceover talent only for those segments. Moore eventually gained fame as the hapless county agent Hank Kimball on Green Acres. Well, not exactly fame, but more like recognition. Maybe not recognition, exactly

6. Where they Marched Forth
None of the original Mice ever achieved the level of fame of Britney or Christina, but some of them did work in the business after the MMC ended, and some are memorable simply for the hand Life dealt them. Annette Funicello, of course, went on to star in a series of Beach Party films and then was the spokeswoman for Skippy Peanut Butter. Bobby Burgess worked as a dancer and choreographer on the Lawrence Welk Show for many years. Sharon Baird was the person inside the Charlie the Owl costume on the long-running kids series The New Zoo Revue. Tommy Cole became a professional makeup artist and won an Emmy Award for his work in 1979. Cubby OBrien is a talented drummer who has worked with the Carpenters, the Carol Burnett Show and many Broadway productions. And Cheryl Holdridge made some TV appearances before marrying Lance Reventlow, the only son of Woolworth heiress Barbara Hutton. When he died in a plane crash in 1972, he left her a very wealthy widow.

garougal · Cleverly Disguised As A Responsible Adult

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Tasty Tidbits About Spam
by Chris Weber - February 7, 2008 - 3:09 PM

In a recent entry, I poked fun at a 1958 Chinese recipe printed by Good Housekeeping whose main ingredient was luncheon meat. Sounds sketchy, right? How many Chinese restaurants have you known that featured fresh deli products straight from the wok?

Then a long-time floss reader, Brian, wrote in from Barcelona. Luncheon ham (also known as Spam) is actually wildly popular with Asian people, he testified. My Japanese grandmothers would go crazy for thatso Good Housekeeping may have been more authentic than they knew.

We quickly stuck up a trans-Atlantic correspondence about our shared love of Spam (and all the generic copycats it inspired)and this story was born.

The epicenter of the Spam universe is Austin, Minnesota, home of a spam factory and a remarkable museum dedicated to the towns most famous product. Spam has such a worldwide following that Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopiato whom Rastafarians would dedicate many a songonce toured the plant.

Hormel invented Spam in 1937 and still makes it today. At first, the product had a less-than-charismatic name: Hormel Spiced Ham.

If you think theres just one flavor of Spam, youre missing out on a world of flavor. There is also hickory-smoked Spam, hot and spicy Spam, garlic Spam, andfor the dieting Spam-lovers among us light Spam. Theres even a collectors edition Spam Golden Honey Grail.

Hormel sponsors an annual recipe contest called the Great American Spam Championship, with cooks developing new recipes for this product. Some of the 2006 winners state by state: philly cheesesteak spamwich with garlic mayo (California), a-spam-agus risotto (Alabama), and a romantic country salad for two with pecan-crusted spam and sweet-and-sour dressing (Tennessee). Extra points, it seems, are given for creative puns.

Speaking of puns, author Tamar Myers has developed a series of punny murder-mysteries that feature recipes (The Crepes of Wrath, Between a Wok and a Hard Place, The Hand that Rocks the Ladle). The 2005 installment in her series: Play It Again, Spam.

In South Korea, Spam is considered an appropriate gift for a guest to give a host or vice versawhich beats the hell out of trying to choose a bottle of wine, doesnt it? In fact, Costco carries a Spam gift pack that will make a perfect holiday gift.

Hawaii consumes about 7 million cans of Spam per year, which comes out to 5 or 6 cans for every man, woman and child. Thats a lot of sodium and gelatinous fat, which in turn is thought to contribute to Hawaiis obesity problem. One very popular snack item is the Spam musubi, as shown on the front of this collectors Spam can

[photo courtesy of pomai_05].

Its a traditional Japanese rice ball with a slice of Spam on top, wrapped in a belt of seaweed to keep that sodium-laden delicacy safely attached a SEAtbelt, if you will.

Since 1997, Hormel has sponsored the Waikiki Spam Jam, where it crowns a Mr. or Miss Spam! The 2006 Mr. Spam, a Mr. Wade Balidoy, won a PlayStation and a years supply of a certain canned meat product.

Spam is so popular in some communities that its infiltrated big chain restaurants. The McDonalds breakfast platter in Hawaii includes Spam. In San Franciscos Japan Town, Dennys serves a breakfast combo with Spam, two eggs, steamed rice, and kimchee. You can also substitute Vienna sausages for the Spam or probably negotiate with the waitress to have both.

garougal · Cleverly Disguised As A Responsible Adult

Hollywood Miscalculations: 5 Famous Actors and the Roles They Turned Down
by Ransom Riggs - August 9, 2008 - 10:55 AM

Sean Connery wasnt supposed to be James Bond. Keanu wasnt supposed to be the One. So, who were the original choices? Here are 5 actors and the legendary roles they turned down.

THE ROLE: James Bond in Dr. No

WHO LET IT GET AWAY: Cary Grant. Despite being Bond producer Albert Broccolis best man, Grant said I dont to the offer, and Sean Connery got the role instead. Of course, many studio executives objected to the decision, and even Bond creator Ian Fleming said Connery wasnt exactly what I had in mind.
REGRETTABILITY METER: Low. By the 1960s, Cary Grant already had a spectacular film career. If hed accepted the role (as Broccoli later revealed), it wouldve been just a one-movie deal.

THE ROLE: Neo in The Matrix

WHO LET IT GET AWAY: Will Smith turned it down to star in the forgettable action flick Wild Wild West, and the part went to Keanu Reeves.
REGRETTABILITY METER: Low. In an interview with Wired, Smith said, I would have absolutely messed up The Matrix. At that point I wasnt smart enough as an actor to let the movie bewhereas Keanu was.

THE ROLE: Vincent Vega in Pulp Fiction

WHO LET IT GET AWAY: Michael Madsen, who was stuck in lengthy rehearsals for Wyatt Earp. John Travolta got the role instead and, almost overnight,
transformed from a Hollywood has-been into one of the most bankable stars in the business.
REGRETTABILITY METER: High. Madsen called Wyatt Earp a big waste of time.

THE ROLE: Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings trilogy

WHO LET IT GET AWAY: Sean Connery, whod never read the J.R.R. Tolkien series and claimed he didnt understand the script. (Can you say karma?)
REGRETTABILITY METER: High. In return for playing the role, New Line Cinema offered the Scottish actor up to 15 percent of worldwide box office receipts, which would have earned Connery more than any actor had ever been paid for a single roleas much as $400 million.

THE ROLES: Sundance in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Jimmy Popeye Doyle in The French Connection, and Captain Benjamin Willard in Apocalypse Now.

WHO LET THEM GET AWAY: Steve McQueen.
REGRETTABILITY METER: Tragically high. McQueen turned down the role of Sundance simply because costar Paul Newman refused to give him top billing. Later, McQueen declined the lead in The French Connection because he felt the part was too similar to the tough cop hed played in 1968s Bullitt. Gene Hackman took the part and won an Oscar for it. And finally, in 1978, McQueen told Apocalypse Now director Francis Ford Coppola to shove off when he was offered the lead. McQueens non-negotiable asking price was $3 million; plus, he didnt feel like spending four months shooting in the Philippine jungle. Instead, Martin Sheen landed the role, and despite suffering a heart attack during the stressful production, he gave one of cinemas greatest performances.

ghostdancer · Ghost In The Machine

Somehow, I don't think The Matrix would've been the same if Will Smith would've had the lead. Keanu rocked that part!!!

MzHartz · Permanent Vacation

As much as I like Sean Connery, I don't think he would've been a good Gandalf.

garougal · Cleverly Disguised As A Responsible Adult

MzHartz wrote:

As much as I like Sean Connery, I don't think he would've been a good Gandalf.

I agree. I think Connery is too...well, Connery, I guess you'd say, for me to get over it's him and really make him believable in character.

garougal · Cleverly Disguised As A Responsible Adult

5 Drinking Stories That Put Yours To Shame
by the mag - December 18, 2007 - 3:10 PM

by Ian Lendler

Turns out, the best drinking stories in history are actually, well, historical. So raise a glass to your forefathers and marvel at these tales.

1. Admiral Edward Russells 17th-Century Throwdown

Think you can drink like a sailor? Maybe you should take a moment to reflect on what that truly means.

The record for historys largest ****tail belongs to British Lord Admiral Edward Russell. In 1694, he threw an officers party that employed a gardens fountain as the punch bowl.

The concoction? A mixture that included 250 gallons of brandy, 125 gallons of Malaga wine, 1,400 pounds of sugar, 2,500 lemons, 20 gallons of lime juice, and 5 pounds of nutmeg.

A series of bartenders actually paddled around in a small wooden canoe, filling up guests cups. Not only that, but they had to work in 15-minute shifts to avoid being overcome by the fumes and falling overboard.

The party continued nonstop for a full week, pausing only briefly during rainstorms to erect a silk canopy over the punch to keep it from getting watered down. In fact, the festivities didnt end until the fountain had been drunk completely dry.

2. The London Brew-nami of 1814

The Industrial Revolution wasnt all steam engines and textile mills. Beer production increased exponentially, as well. Fortunately, the good people of England were up to the challenge and drained kegs as fast as they were made. Brewery owners became known as beer barons, and they spent their newfound wealth in an age-old manner by trying to party more than the next guy.

Case in point: In 1814, Meuxs Horse Shoe Brewery in London constructed a brewing vat that was 22 feet tall and 60 feet in diameter, with an interior big enough to seat 200 for dinner which is exactly how its completion was celebrated. (Why 200? Because a rival had built a vat that seated 100, of course.)

After the dinner, the vat was filled to its 4,000-barrel capacity. Pretty impressive, given the grand scale of the project, but pretty unfortunate given that they overlooked a faulty supporting hoop. Yup, the vat ruptured, causing other vats to break, and the resulting commotion was heard up to 5 miles away.

A wall of 1.3 million gallons of dark beer washed down the street, caving in two buildings and killing nine people by means of drowning, injury, poisoning by the porter fumes, or drunkenness.

The story gets even more unbelievable, though. Rescue attempts were blocked and delayed by the thousands who flocked to the area to drink directly off the road. And when survivors were finally brought to the hospital, the other patients became convinced from the smell that the hospital was serving beer to every ward except theirs. A riot broke out, and even more people were left injured.

Sadly, this incident was not deemed tragic enough at the time to merit an annual memorial service and/or reenactment.

3. New York State of Mind: The Dutch Ingratiate Themselves to the Natives

In 1609, the Dutch sent English explorer Henry Hudson westward for a third attempt at finding the fabled Northeast Passage. A near mutiny forced him southward, and upon reaching land, he encountered members of the Delaware Indian tribe.

To foster good relations, Hudson shared his brandy with the tribal chief, who soon passed out. But upon waking up the next day, he asked Hudson to pour some more for the rest of his tribe. From then on, the Indians referred to the island as Manahachtanienk literally, The High Island.

And not high as in tall; high as in the place where we got blotto. Most people would agree that Manhattan has stayed true to the spirit of its name ever since.

4. The D.U.I. That Roused a Nation: Paul Reveres Medford Pre-Party

The key to a good drinking story is not really how much you consumed, but what kind of idiocy you engaged in afterwards. Idiocy like, say, sparking a war.

Turns out, Paul Reveres famous ride didnt start out as a hootin hollerin wake-up-the-villagers sort of trip. According to historian Charles Taussig, Revere embarked on the stealth mission from Charlestown to Lexington in order to warn Sam Adams (the beer guy) and John Han**** (the big signature guy) that the British were coming. But by chance, his route took him through Medfordthe rum capital of America. At the time, rum was colonial Americas number one commercial industry. So naturally, Revere stopped in for a brief rest at the house of Captain Isaac Hall, the leader of the local Minutemen and distiller of Old Medford Rum.

By the time Revere saddled up again, hed sampled his fair share of Captain Halls hospitality and he who came a silent horseman, departed a virile and vociferous crusader, with a cry of defiance and not of fear. Not surprisingly, Revere was pulled over by the authorities (Redcoats) and detained for an hour before being released. So, it was actually Reveres drunken caterwauling that roused Adams and Han**** at about 4:30 in the morning, only half an hour before fighting broke out on Lexington Green. Unfortunately, history has no record of Reveres reaction when he awoke the next day (presumably nursing a hangover) and was informed of what hed done.

5. Indian Elephants Raid the Liquor Cabinet

No wonder they dont sell beer at the circus. Apparently, elephants like to get wasted. In fact, an outpost of the Indian army in the jungle region of Bagdogra has been under attack ever since a local herd of elephants raided the base in search of food and discovered the soldiers entire winter rations of rum.

Since then, the pachyderms have regularly raided the base for a drink and have smashed down all defenses put up by the army, including electrified fences and firewalls.

According to The Daily Telegraph, An officer recently posted there explained that the elephants broke the rum bottles by cleverly curling their trunks around the bottom. Then they empty the contents down their throats. They soon got drunk, he said, and swayed around. They enjoy themselves and then return to the jungle.

This is by no means a singular incident, though. The animal kingdom is well-known for its ability to identify fruit thats begun to ferment. Anthropologists even believe this is how early man discovered alcohol by observing the strange behavior of animals on a fruit bender.

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