Greetings and Salutations, people!
Tweet of the Week:
drewmagary Drew Magary – “Muh Gary”
Kid to me: "Dad, your butt smells like burgers." I'll take it.
Today on VSR – The sky is the limit for the career aims of television clowns…we’ll discuss, I have some more wankers to card this week in “A very special” Week in Wankery, we have a Great Moment in BlogTalk history on tap, and of course, another meeting of the He-Man movie watchers club.
Give out the phone number - (646) 716-6831 OR 6-HOP-1-MOVE-1
To contact VSR via email:
Email address: radio@verticallystripedsocks.com
Twitter: @socnorb777
Let’s get to the news… (Play News Music – Clip 03)
Let’s get to the news… (Play News Music – Clip 03)
RIO DE JANERIO, Brazil (Reuters) - A former clown who won a seat in Brazil's Congress by a landslide has stayed true to his former profession by accidentally messing up his first vote.
Francisco Everardo Oliveira Silva, better known by his clown name Tiririca, had pledged to back the government's austerity proposal for a new national minimum wage in a crucial vote on Wednesday night.
When the time came, however, Tiririca pressed the wrong button on the computerized system and accidentally voted for against the proposal.
The leader of the opposition PSDB party in Congress' lower house, Duarte Nogueira, said he was grateful for the unexpected support against the bill although the bill still passed despite Tiririca’s accidental vote against it.
We’ll be hearing a bit more about Tiririca a bit later in the show…
Uganda - (Reuters) – Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni says he might release an album after a rap he performed became a smash hit on Uganda's radio stations and in its nightclubs.
"I was very happy with the reaction of the youth because that means they are very thirsty for the music of their ancestors," the 67-year-old told a news conference before elections on Friday.
"So after the election you may get quite a big album of the classics."
The leader performed two children's folk chants from his birthplace in Western Uganda at several election rallies over the last few months -- "Naatema akati" (I cut a stick) and "Mp'enkoni" (Give me the stick).
Record producers then mixed the performances with hip-hop beats and audio of Museveni talking to the crowd about a genre of music that he said was new to him.
"Today these young people taught me about this 'rap'. I was not following what they were saying. Well, I can even give you some rap myself," he says, before launching into a rhythmic rendition of the chants in his distinctive gravelly voice.
The song was titled, "You want another rap?" after a question Museveni shouted to crowds of young people and the song quickly appeared for sale in Kampala.
"Those poems which I gave to the youth are classical poems that were being recited before colonialism," Museveni told reporters. "There are quite a number of other songs and recitals which I will make available to them."
Ruling party officials were pleased with the popularity of the song before the poll but issued warnings to some newspapers after they published doctored photographs of a topless Museveni with a muscled and heavily tattooed torso.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) -- The good news about a giant fiberglass cactus reported stolen in New Mexico is that it wasn't the target of thieves.
The bad news is that the $50,000 cactus is in a landfill and won't be returning to the park where it once stood.
Albuquerque city officials reported the statue stolen this week after it was vandalized. Two city employees quickly came forward, saying they removed the bright-green cactus from the park and mistakenly had it sent to the dump.
City spokesman Chris Ramirez said Wednesday that the employees didn't realize the cactus was part of a public art project.
High school students spent a summer building the art piece shaped like a prickly pear cactus. They were part of a nonprofit group that provides art education for at-risk kids.
DETROIT, Michigan (Reuters Life!) - From sci-fi cult film, to Twitter phenomenon to Detroit landmark-in-the-making.
Plans for a statue honoring RoboCop, the half-man, half-machine crime fighter of the 1987 movie, are moving ahead after a group of artists and entrepreneurs in Detroit, Michigan raised more than $50,000 via Facebook and an online fund-raising site.
"It hit a sweet spot. It's a fun and funny idea to build a statue of RoboCop," said Jeff Paffendorf, who helped lead the project inspired by a whimsical suggestion sent to Detroit Mayor Dave Bing via Twitter last week.
Bing tweeted back at the time that there were no plans for a RoboCop statue, an off-hand remark that bounced around the Internet and generated calls for him to reconsider.
"There's violence in 'RoboCop,' but through the film RoboCop tries to do the right thing," Paffendorf said.
Mayor Bing's office is still not convinced, but a spokeswoman said the city is studying how it could accept and display a gift RoboCop statue.
"We know there are a lot of people that care deeply about the issue, and we respect that," said a representative from Mayor Bing's office. "But I'm still not sure that RoboCop is the best message for the city of Detroit."
Paffendorf said the RoboCop statue could go somewhere downtown if the city approves, perhaps near the landmark fist statue honoring legendary boxer Joe Louis.
But if Detroit will not allow RoboCop on city-owned land, a nonprofit arts group has already made plans to display the statue. So one way or another, coming soon to Detroit: The RoboCop statue.
I’m Craig, and that is the news… (Play News Music – Clip 03)
Bring on Face and The Whale:
Would you rather have a cactus statue that city workers mistake for garbage that needs to be hauled away to a landfill or a RoboCop statue in your city?
Would you rather have a statesman for your country be a clown or a rapper?
Tiririca
In 2010, Tiririca hit the headlines in Brazil when he announced he would run for congress after being invited by the Partido da República. He appeared on TV ads in his "Tiririca" persona and used slogans like "What does a federal congressman do? I really don't know - but if you vote for me, I'll tell ya" and "It can't get any worse - vote Tiririca" and even "If elected I promise I will help all Brazilian families... especially mine"
Such slogans moved a group of state congressional candidates to complain with the electoral attorney's office that Tiririca was insulting the National Congress and all public offices because of his lack of political projects and also his satirical approach to the traditionally corrupt Brazilian political system. The complaint, however, was filed away and basically ignored.
Tiririca was denounced as illiterate by Época magazine in its September 24, 2010 edition. This statement, if true, would invalidate his candidacy. Soon after the magazine article that claimed Tiririca was illiterate was released, prosecutor Maurício Lopes sued Tiririca for forging his signature in his candidacy forms.
Despite the trial having not yet taken place and all the negative propaganda about his alleged illiteracy, on October 3, 2010, Tiririca became the most voted-for Congressman in the 2010 Brazilian general elections (and the second most voted-for in Brazilian history), winning his seat for São Paulo state 1,348,295 votes.
On October 30, 2010, Tiririca's defense team alleged that he suffered from dysgraphia, which prevented him from holding a pen firmly. They further alleged that Tiririca's wife helped him write the literacy statement in his own hand, as demanded by Brazilian electoral law. She is said to have placed her hand over his to help him hold the pen firmly as he was writing. Also because of this condition, the defense said, Silva could not take any writing tests.
The explanation, however, runs counter to a video that was unearthed in September that gave rise to the suspicions of illiteracy. The video shows Tiririca giving his autograph to a fan. On foot, suddenly, Tiririca secures a notebook with his left hand and scribbles a circular signature with his right hand. He further writes the letters for his name. He shows no trouble whatsoever holding the pen.
After many discussions and judicial tribulations, Tiririca underwent a simple reading and writing test and on November 11, 2010 he finally proved that he was indeed literate. Although the prosecutor appealed against this decision, claiming that his 30% score in the test was too low to prove anything, a federal judge rejected the appeal.
Thus, Tiririca received his federal congressman certificate to the sound heavy applause by the people present in the ceremony on December 17, 2010. That same day Tiririca revealed his political project, focused primarily in helping circus artists, financing cultural projects, helping fight the prejudice against Northeastern people that is present in the southern regions of Brazil and increasing funds to primary education.
A curious fact is that two days before he received his certificate (December 15, 2010), during his first visit to the Brazilian Congress building, the Brazilian congressmen had approved a salary raise of 60% for themselves. When asked about the fact by a news reporter, Tiririca said "I guess I'm lucky... on my first day I got a raise!!"
Great Moments in the History of Blogtalk Radio: (Clip 11)
2nd hand Liver disease – (Clip 27)
Week in Wankery:
A hair transplant patient in the UK had a swear word branded on his scalp for 19 YEARS without knowing.
Darren Hope, age 40, finally found the word "Wanker" which had been engraved into his scalp when he recently shaved his head.
19 years previously, a surgeon left the two-inch capital letters across the back of his head by removing tiny hair roots. But the word had been hidden for nearly two decades by the new locks he implanted.
Darren was a balding 21-year-old when he had the £7,000 hair plug surgery at a London clinic. He recently changed to a short hairstyle – and his pals discovered the word when he took his cap off while playing cricket.
After finding out about the alteration, Darren said: "It is about five inches long - I can't believe I never knew.
"I'd love to sue the surgeon but the clinic has closed down."
The electrician, who has been told that the word “Wanker” cannot be removed from his head has said, "I'll have to keep my hair long."
Week in Wankery:
-Westboro Baptist Terror Cell
-Radio DJ’s who “talk up” songs.
-Photo Radar/Photo Stoplights
-People without diabetes discussing diabetes.
- Man of the Match -
Uncertainty
Toilet Paper: Crumple or Fold?
Zambia, Armenia, Nicaragua, and Romania – Getting Steelers Championship gear.
Questions to ponder:
1. Why don't they show total number of tickets sold rather than how much money the movie made when doing box-office records?
2. Does anyone go to the Wikipedia Home page first? I always end up on it when I google search for something.
3. What would be the scariest animal if it turned into a vampire?
Vampire Walrus
Band Name of the Week: Vampire Walrus
Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? – Egregious omission.
My new idea for a calendar – Every day a new picture of a dead cat.
My donkey basketball experience.
Mr. Potato-Head used to just be eyes/nose/mouth, etc. You’d use a real potato.
Annually the United States spends:
7 Billion on Potato Chips
2 Billion on Energy research and development
Googling myself:
1. Dodge Dealership:
Craig Dodge in Gastonia, North Carolina (704) 864-7786
2. CraigDodge.com (NOT ME) – Post about squirrel eating
3. Deputy Craig Dodge – Nebraska Police officer shot in the line of duty in 1987
4. Craig Dodge on Linked In:
1. Portland, Oregon – Architecture and Planning
2. Boston, Mass - Medical Devices
3. Reading, UK – IT (Account Manager at McAfee)
4. Price Edward Island, Canada – Video Game Composer/Sound Designer
5. Me
5. Me on Facebook
6. Me on Twitter
7. Police Officer shot
8. Dude teaching English in Taiwan
9. Craig “Dodge” Lile – Indie Music promoter
10. Real Estate listing on “Craig Dodge” road in Lincoln, NE. (Probably named after the cop shot in the line of duty)
He-Man Movie Watchers Club:
The Warriors -1979
Gangs –
Black dudes in Pink vests and hats with feathers.
Mimes in red shirts
Asian Gang with hats like Attila the Hun
Dudes in Grey shirts and jeans that pay for the subway
Electric Eliminators – Yellow satin jackets with Skulls that have Lightning Bolts shooting out of them.
Dudes with Black tank tops lined in red and grey sweatpants.
Dudes with Silver windbreakers, red shirts, and jeans
Dudes in Black with red headbands – Karate Kids?
Dudes with grey slacks, black tank tops outlined in white, and medallions
Purple tank tops and purple hair nets
Facts:
Loosely based on Xenophon's "Anabasis", the account of an army of Greek mercenaries who, after aligning themselves with Cyrus the Younger in the battle of Cunaxa (401 BC) in his attempt to seize the Persian throne, found themselves isolated behind Persian enemy lines.
The only scene shot on a set was the battle with the punks in the mens room.
The Warriors vests were made of fake leather.
The Warriors sign painted on the bath house for one of the photos was painted over a real gang's tag. The gang didn't take to lightly to this, so the producers paid them to be in the film.
Walter Hill wanted the Warriors to be an all-black gang. Producers disagreed. He also wanted an initial subtitle which read "Sometime in the future" but Paramount thought it sounded too much like Star Wars.
After several violent incidents that occurred at various showings of the film, the producers decided to change the poster as a way of cutting down on the violence. The original poster featured the logo as well as a picture of several tough looking gang members. The second poster just featured the logo against a white background.
The script, as written, was a realistic take on street gangs but the director was a huge fan of comic books and wanted to divide the film into chapters and then have each chapter "come to life starting with a splash panel". However, Hill was working on a low budget and a tight post-production schedule because of a fixed release date as the studio wanted to release The Warriors before a rival gang picture called The Wanderers. As a result, Hill was unable to realize this comic book look.
Here are the gangs that were listed in the script (some made it into the movie; others didn't): - The Alleycats, - The Amsterdam All-Stars, - The Baseball Furies, - The Black Hands, - The Blackjacks, - The Big Trains, - The Boppers, - The Boyle Avenue Runners, - The Charlemagnes, - The Colt 45's, - The Dealers, - The Delaney Rovers, - The Dingos, - The E Street Shufflers, - The Easy Aces, - The Electric Eliminators, - The Eighth Avenue Apaches, - The Fastballs, - The Fifth Street Bombers, - The Filmores, - The Firetasters, - The Five Points, - The Gerrards, - The Gladiators, - The Go Hards, - The Gun Hill Dancers, - The Gramercy Riffs, - The High Hats, - The High Rollers, - The Homeboys, - The Hoplites, - The Howitzers, - The Huks, - The Hurricanes, - The Imps, - The Jesters, - The Jones Street Boys, - The Judas Bunch, - The Jupiters, - The Knockdowns, - The Knuckles, - The Lizzies, - The Locos, - The Magicians, - The Meatpackers, - The Mongols, - The Moonrunners, - The Napoleons, - The Nickel Steaks, - The Nightriders, - The Ninth Avenue Razors, - The Orphans, - The Panzers, - The Phillies, - The Plainsmen, - The Punks, - The Queen's Bridge Mutilators, - The Real Boys, - The Red Hook Shooters, - The Roadmasters, - The Rogues, - The Romans, - The Runaways, - The Saracens, - The Saratogas, - The Savage Huns, - The Shanghai Sultans, - The Southern Cross, - The Speedwagons, - The Sports, - The Stevedores, - The Stilletos, - The Stonebreakers, - The Terriers, - The Turks, - The Turnbull AC's, - The Van Cortlandt Rangers, - The Warriors, - The Whispers, - The Xenophones, - The Xylophones, - The Yo-Yo's, - The Youngbloods, - The Zodiacs, - The Zulus.
Characters:
Cyrus – Leader of the Gramercy Riffs
Luther – Leader of the Rogues – Crazy eyed killer – Whiny – Weird – Probably the best character in the film
Fox – Warrior who sees Luther get shot – Big Deer eyes – Has Puffy 70’s Hair - Gets run over by a subway train. He was originally going to be the love interest of Mercy, but the two actors had no chemistry, so they changed the love interest to Swan, and The actor Thomas Waites had a lot of clashes with Walter Hill the director/producer, so they wrote him out of the movie early by having him get killed by a cop in the subway.
Cleon – Leader of the Warriors, probably beaten to death by the Riffs. Wears a head covering that looks like he cut it out of his grandmothers curtains.
Radio DJ (Played by Lynne Thigpen) – Calls out other gangs to take down the Warriors
Swan – Emotionless blonde leader of the return and flatter than a wall performance
Ajax – Likes calling others gay slurs, Kind of rapey. Gets arrested in the park by a weird cop woman who sounds like Princess Leia.
Mercy – The girl who randomly joins the Warriors after starting out as apparently part of the Orphans. Seriously, get a bra. Attempts to make out with Swan in the weirdest theoretically romantic scene in movie history.
Policewoman in Central Park (Mercedes Ruehl – Won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for “The Fisher King” she also plays Vincent and Drama’s mother on Entourage, apparently) – Sounded like Princess Leia in the movie. Seemed very out of place in the film.
Vermin – The white kid who makes out with the frizzy headed Lizzy. Somewhat comic relief, goofball character. He played his role comically so that he would get more screen time, and his tactic worked so well that although he was originally scheduled to be killed by one of the Lizzies, they rewrote the scene so that he could make it to the end. Originally the producers wanted to have Tony Danza play this role, but he was filming “Taxi” and passed.
Gangs:
The Turnbull AC's: Chase the Warriors onto a train from a van that looks like it was taken directly from the Playstation game Twisted Metal. A gang with shaved heads, they travel in large numbers in a spray-painted bus and wear denim jackets with matching jeans and patches. Their turf is around Gun Hill Road in The Bronx. According to Rembrandt, even the Gramercy Riffs are afraid to go toe-to-toe with the Bulls.
The Orphans: Lame low level gang led by a guy who looks like Ross from Friends after a stroke. Their outfits are perhaps the worst of any gang in the city too. They are chasing after the Warriors after at first saying that the Warriors would be allowed to pass through because Mercy makes chicken noises. They stop chasing the Warriors because the Warriors throw a Molotov cocktail at a car blowing it up. (Where did the Warriors get a Molotov Cocktail?)A poor, cowardly, and little-known gang from the Bronx. They are not part of the "network" of the Gramercy Riffs so therefore they are not invited to the meeting with Cyrus.
The Baseball Furies: This gang was apparently created because Producer/Director Walter Hill loved baseball and the band Kiss. A gang whose members always wears baseball uniforms with uniquely painted faces and carry baseball bats. Their main building resembles a dugout with bats lining the exit. Though a respected and formidable gang, they lose a fight against the Warriors despite outnumbering them 2 to 1.
The Lizzies: An all-female gang whose name may double as a reference to Lizzie Borden. It may also suggest lesbianism ("lezzies" being derogatory slang for lesbians), implied by a suggestive dance scene between two of the gang members. They also represent the mythical Sirens.[citation needed]
The Punks: Wear denim overalls with oversized shirts with stripes. A gang whose leader strolls around on rollerskates. The members are all tall, broad, resembling hockey players. They are only referred to by name in the credits. They share the Bowery neighborhood with the Lizzies.
The Rogues: A gang led by Luther and the Warriors' primary enemies as they framed the Warriors for Cyrus' murder, starting the events of the film.
The Gramercy Riffs: The largest and most respected gang in New York. Each member wears orange karate Gi with the exception of their leader who wears black. It is assumed that they are skilled in martial arts due to their attire and the martial arts style kicks they employ in a fight with Warriors leader Cleon.
The Police: Technically not a gang, but they seem to be pretty inept. The Warriors have no trouble escaping from large groups of them. Except for Fox who ends up getting thrown onto the Subway tracks and being run over by the train. We assume he’s dead. We never hear from or about him again.
Vertically Striped Music Recommendation:
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros - Home
Shalom and Good Evening to you all!
