Amazing Trivial Coincidence

Note: links go to YouTube videos of the songs. Four embedded videos in one post is a bit too much.

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Did you know "I Think We’re Alone Now", a #1 hit in the U.S. for Tiffany in 1987, was written by Ritchie Cordell and first released by Tommy James & The Shondells in 1967? You did?

Well, I bet you didn't know that the #2 hit on the U.S. charts that year was Billy Idol's "Mony Mony"...which was also written by Ritchie Cordell and first recorded by Tommy James & The Shondells.

Scare Tactics

I've seen some strange spam, most of it sexual in nature, but this one is just about the strangest I've ever seen. It came from "Expess Pharmacy" and in the subject line was this:

I don't know what could cause that (outside of getting on the bad side of Lorena Bobbitt), but I sure don't want it happening to me. I don't use mine for much, but I'm still fond of it.   I'm attached to it and I want it to remain attached to me.

Egypt Blocks YouTube

I normally don't delve into serious news or into religious issues, but when I read this earlier: Egypt court orders YouTube blocked for a month I had to see what all the fuss was about.  It seems the Egyptians are all butt-hurt over a movie, Innocence of Muslims.  I won't embed it, but here's the trailer (with a disclaimer by YouTube).

The following content has been identified by the YouTube community as being potentially offensive or inappropriate. Viewer discretion is advised.

The full-length movie has also been uploaded, so if you want to see it before it's taken down, you'd best hurry.

Those Muslims...they're always getting their panties in wad over something trivial in the grand scheme of things.   I see Christianity mocked all the time, from frequent segments on Family Guy and American Dad! to "artists" calling a crucifix in urine "art".  You didn't see ME rioting in the streets and you never will.  I doubt I'll ever even dash off an an angry email to the network.  I'm damn sure not blowing myself up and/or killing someone over it.

Oh well, what can you expect from a bunch of savages? I've done a lot of reading on Islam, but everything I really ever needed to know I learned on 9/11.

Someone better not tell them about THESE two videos;  they'd really get all bent out of shape.

King Tut - Steve Martin


Little Egypt - Elvis Presley

Igor Presnyakov

One of my newest subscribed-to channels on YouTube and rapidly becoming one of my favorites. Igor Presnyakov covers all sorts of tunes, from Metallica to Adele, from AC/DC to The Beatles in an inimitable fashion. If you like songs played with a finger-style guitar, then be sure to give Igor's channel a try!

From his official website: 

Born in Moscow, Russia, Igor Presnyakov studied classical music at a nearby academy and would eventually graduate as both a guitarist and a conductor for ensembles. He relocated to the Netherlands to further his career, which has now spanned over 35 years. His unique acoustic guitar-style is influenced by various musical genres from Reggae, Rock and Roll, R&B, Country-western, Jazz and Heavy Metal. His most noticeable attribute, is his creative style of “beating” the percussion of the song, onto the body of his acoustic guitar while playing. This replicates the sound of multiple musicians, while only Igor is playing. While he sometimes sings on many of his original and cover-songs, Igor is more famous for mimicking the vocal parts of a song, into guitar-solos, while often adding a softer, jazzier sound.

Igor’s popularity has risen since he first debuted on YouTube in 2007. He currently has over 132 million total upload views, in addition to over 256,000 subscribers.

I could have embedded any one of his 244 videos (at the time of this writing) but this is one of his latest and most beautiful.

Here Comes the Sun

For The Record, I'm a Guy

Not so sure about the rest of it, but....

You Are a Girl or Guy Next Door

You are as all American as apple pie, and you're so normal that you belong in a TV sitcom. And really, that's a pretty great thing. You're a solid person, and you pride yourself on being quite down to earth. You value your friends and family, and you don't need much in life to be content. You feel grateful for what you have. You are honest and you have a great work ethic. You believe in giving back as much as you can.

What's Your Stereotype?

Here's my favorite stereotype:

wiseGEEK Widgets

From wiseGeek, a couple of great widgets for your blog or website.

Did You Know?

This Day in History

I follow the site on Facebook as well as subscribe to it in my reader. They have all sorts of categories with some fascinating facts (and to be honest, some NOT so fascinating) For example, from today's posts, this question is posed:

Why Does It Hurt to Pull Off an Adhesive Bandage? They give you the explanation and also ask if you knew this fact: Did you know about 1.5 million injuries a year are caused by removing adhesive bandages? It's not just trivia; in this case, they explain the most pain-free way of removing a bandage.

Great site, great widgets!