New Year's Related Tid Bits

* "Auld Lang Syne" was at least partially written by Robert Burns in the 1700's and first published in 1796 after his death. Early variations of the song were sung prior to 1700 and inspired Burns to produce the modern rendition.

* An old Scotch tune, "Auld Lang Syne" literally means "old long ago," or simply, "the good old days."

* Celebrating the new year is the oldest of all holidays and was first observed in ancient Babylon about 4,000 years ago.

* Originally, the new year was celebrated after the first day of spring. The Romans continued to observe the new year in late March, but since their calendar was continually tampered by emperors the senate voted in 153 BC to declare January 1 as the beginning of the new year.

* Using a baby to signify the new year began in Greece around 600 BC. At the time, you could celebrate Dionysus, the god of wine, by parading a baby in a basket to represent the annual rebirth of the god.

* The early Babylonian's most popular resolution was to return borrowed farm equipment.

* In 1904 the first rooftop celebration atop One Times Square, complete with a fireworks display, took place produced by The New York Times to inaugurate its new headquarters.

* The first Ball Lowering celebration at One Times Square was held on December 31, 1907 and is now seen via satellite by more than one billion people worldwide each year.

* The original New Year's Eve Ball weighed 700 pounds and was 5 feet in diameter. It was made of iron and wood and was decorated with 100 25-watt light bulbs.

* In many parts of U.S. it is tradition to eat black-eyed peas on New Year's which have been considered good luck in many cultures. Cabbage is another "good luck" vegetable as it is a sign of prosperity and paper currency.

Question of the Week

Question of the week:
(Animal Planet) What is the only bird which provides us with leather?

Merry Christmas! Have Some Trivia!!!

* The Nutcracker is a fairy tale-ballet by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, composed in 1891–92.

* The ballet was based on the story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King" written in 1816 by E. T. A. Hoffmann.

* Tchaikovsky was less happy with The Nutcracker than with The Sleeping Beauty, finished beforehand.

* The of The Nutcracker story has been published in many book versions including colorful children-friendly versions. The plot revolves around a German girl named Clara (sometimes called Marie).

* The work opens with a brief "Miniature Overture" which sets the fairy mood by using upper registers of the orchestra exclusively. The curtain opens to reveal a Christmas Eve at Clara's house. She is given a nutcrakcer by her godfather, Herr Drosselmeyer, which is promptly broken by her brother Fritz.

* After the party ends, Herr Drosselmeyer repairs the nutcracker. Clara then awakens and, at the stroke of midnight, Clara becomes entangled in a fight to help the nutcracker - now alive - defeat the Mouse King.

* In the original story by E.T.A. Hoffmann, the Prince is actually Drosselmeyer's nephew, who had been turned into a Nutcracker by the Mouse King. All of the events following the Christmas party have been arranged by Drosselmeyer in order to break the spell.

* Clara and the Prince travel to a world where dancing Snowflakes greet them and fairies and queens dance, welcoming Clara and the Prince into their world. The score conveys the wondrous images by introducing a wordless children's chorus. The curtain falls on Act I.

For more on all things Nutcracker, see wiki.

Christmas Eve Eve Scores

Bearly Licorce (373 points)
Mr. Bannana Grabber (307)
Cindy Jew Hoos (294)
The DEA Busts High Men (293)
Joseph Was the Real Virgin / Vienna Council (276) Tie
Buddy the Elf - What's Your Favorite Color?
Festivus Miracle
Ortega Makes My Taco Pop
All Smilez
Buy 1 Get 1 Free
One Round Behind
No Name

Beaker Wishes You a Merry Christmas

Question of the Week

Yes the weather outside IS frightful but Trivia is so delightful!

If you are in town this week come out to Rock Bottom on Tuesday. There will be a smattering of both Holiday and regular trivia questions.

Here is your question of the week:

What son of Italian immigrants received a 1953 patent for his invention, the “Model A Ice Resurfacer”?

Christmas Covers

a. Last Christmas (Wham!) – Jimmy Eat World
b. All I Want For Christmas (Mariah Carey) – Heike Has the Giggles
c. Christmas Don't Be Late (Alvin and the Chipmunks) – Rosie Thomas
d. Merry Christmas, I Don't Wanna Fight (The Ramones) – Absosi Seksu
e. White Christmas (Bing Crosby/Irving Berlin) – Louis Armstrong
f. Blue Christmas (Ernest Tubb/Elvis) – Johnny Cash
g. Fairytale of New York (The Pogues) –
h. 2000 Miles (The Pretenders) – Coldplay
i. River (Travis) – Joni Mitchell

Jingle all the way to JRs

If the Shoe Hits (334 points)
Joey's Boyz (321)
Buff and Blue Balls (313)
Baby Jesus Can't Lose (164)
Fetus McMuffin (158)
Big D
What Would the J's Do? Anyone
Drunk Bitches Who Hate Trivia
John O

Fa La La La Rock Bottom

My Little Pony Built My Hotrod (330 points)
Betty Paige Was Still Alive? (319)
Chuck Norris Always Gets Laid on the First Date (281)
All the Hoos in Hooville (270)
Team Licorice Bears (268)
Nightmen
Nick's New Slogan: Throw Your Shoes at the President of the US. Just Do It.
Chesterfield Willows
Jenga All the Way
That's Basist
Fra Gee Lay
Antidouche Bag League
Daymen
Whatchamacarcass
Gwinet Refugees
He Wasn't Playing God He Was Being Judged by Him
I've Got This Thing and it's F'ing Golden
There's No Nation Like Donation

December Schedule for Rock Bottom Trivia

FYI, here is the schedule for the holiday season:

Tuesday, December 16 - Annual Holiday Trivia!
Tuesday, December 23 - Trivia is on; questions with a smattering of holiday trivia.
Tuesday, December 30 - New Years Eve Eve Trivia
Tuesday, January 6 - 2008 in Review Trivia!

Question of the Week

What was the name of the angel that helped James Stewart in "It's a Wonderful Life"?

I Sense a Theme...

a. Praise You – Fatboy Slim
b. Kryie – Mister Mister
c. Crucify – Tori Amos
d. Monkey Goes to Heaven - Pixies
e. Church of the Poison Mind – Culture Club
f. Jesus Take the Wheel – Carrie Underwood
g. Son of a Preacher Man – Dusty Springfield
h. Heaven – Talking Heads
i. Jesus is Just Alright With Me – Doobie Brothers
j. Dear God – XTC
k. Faith – George Michael

Strangest Christmas Tradition Ever

The “Caganer”
In Catalonia, Spain as well as in the rest of the country (and throughout much of Italy), traditional Christmas decorations include a large model of the city of Bethlehem. This are similar to Nativity scenes popular throughout the English-speaking world but show the entire city rather than just the manger scene. These scenes include the caganer who is often tucked away in a corner of the model, typically nowhere near the manger scene. The reason for his position relates to the direct translation of "caganer" which is Catalan for "pooper". Yes and that is exactly the little statue is doing; defecating.


Suggested reasons for this traditional excreting man being included in the religious scene include:
* Tradition
* Humor
* The game of "Finding the Caganer"
* The Caganer, by creating feces, is fertilizing the Earth
* The Caganer represents the equality of all people. After all, regardless of status, race, or gender, everyone defecates.
* The idea that God will manifest when s/he is ready, whether human beings are ready or not.
* The caganer reinforces that Jesus is God in human form. And that includes all the bodily functions.

Of course, you can now purchase Caganers that look like the rich and famous. See Caganer.com

Topical Team Names Strike Again

Drink the Beer (328 points)
DVDA (309)
The Walrus and the Carpenter (294)
The Economy Is So Bad You Can't Even Sell a Senate Seat (283)
The Racing Presidents (268)
Governor Perp Walk
The Scott Farkas Affair
My Other Car Is a White Bronco
I Fist a Girl and I Liked It
The Fearsome Foursome
Neil Goldberg is not Allowed to Choose Team Names Anymore
Jawbreaker Hoodie Mafia
Claudia's Sweaty Boobs
Licorce Bears
Republicunts / Auto Bailout (Tie)
I Hope They Catch the Real Killer …I Mean Kidnapper
Dr Cockblock-t-pus
Rosies a Spy
Obama's Big Caucus
The Nick Team
Greenman

Question of the Week

(TV) Which Teletubby's name is first alphabetically?

67th Annivesary of the Attack on Pearl Harbor

* The attack on Pearl Harbor (or Hawaii Operation) was a surprise strike by the Japanese navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

* The attack occurred on the morning of Sunday, December 7, 1941.

* The attack consisted of two aerial attack waves totaling 353 aircraft, launched from six Japanese aircraft carriers.

* In total, four U.S. Navy battleships sank (two of which were raised and returned to service late in the war) and damaged four more. In addition three cruisers, three destroyers, and one minelayer sank or were damaged and 188 aircraft were destroyed. 2,402 persons were killed and 1,282 were wounded.

* Japanese losses included 29 aircraft and five small submarines, with 65 servicemen killed or wounded.

* The strike was intended to neutralize the U.S. Pacific Fleet thereby protecting Japan's advance into Malaya and the Dutch East Indies.

* Prior to the attack, the U.S. had first halted shipments of airplanes, parts, machine tools, and aviation gasoline then all oil exports to Japan.

* The attack unintentionally occurred before a formal declaration of war which had been scheduled for delivery shortly prior to the attack beginning. While the attack ultimately took place first, Admiral Yamamoto originally stipulated the attack begin thirty minutes after Japan had informed the United States she considered the peace negotiations at an end thus allowing the Japanese to uphold the conventions of war while still holding on to an element of surprise.

* 14 officers and sailors were awarded the Medal of Honor. A special military award, the Pearl Harbor Commemorative Medal, was later authorized for all military veterans of the attack.

For more, see Wikipedia.

Scores de JRs

Gay Marriage Saves the Economy (304)
Isaac's Boyz (281)
Two Jerks and Squirt (262)
We Will Not Get Last Place (239)
Buff and Blue Balls (204)
Plaxico Burress Gun Club
Rumple Foreskin and Friends
The Gys

You're a Mean One, Mr Grinch

* How the Grinch Stole Christmas! was first published in 1957 and was adapted into as a short animated film in 1966.

* Frankenstein’s Monster himself, Boris Karloff, provided the voice of the Grinch and the narration for the movie.

* Dr. Seuss was initially uninterested in animating this or any of his books, but Chuck Jones managed to persuade him.

* The two voice parts sound a bit different because the sound people went back to the Grinch’s parts and removed all of the high tones in Karloff’s voice.
* Tony the Tiger (Thurl Ravenscroft) is the voice behind “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch.” He received no credit on screen causing Dr. Seuss to write to newspapers all over America to let them know exactly who had sung the song.

* Dr. Seuss wrote the lyrics to all the songs.

* The lyrics to the song "Fahoo Forays" were made to imitate classical Latin. After the special aired, the studio received letters asking for a translation from people who believed them to be real Latin.

* The Grinch's green color was decided by director Chuck Jones' experiences renting cars in the Washington-Baltimore area which he claimed always turned out to be the exact shade.

* After the Grinch's "change of heart", his pupils change from red to blue.

For all things movie, see IMDB

Still Awesome When Full of Turkey

Yes Yes Take Off Your Dress (319 points)
An Economic Turduckin with a Lame Duck (312)
Greg's Got a New Face (294)
Boxing Day Time Machine to Kill Hitler (269)
Plaxico is my Bodyguard (204)
I Shot Plaxico Burress
Attoca Astros Draft Burress
Booty Sweat / Chesterfield Willows (Tie)
You'll Shoot Your Eye Out
Here for the Consummation Prize
Plaxco Can Catch a Bullet Better than he Can Catch a Football
Jingle Balls
Half Jewish
Geek