On July 6, 1887, an American militia forced Hawaiian King David Kalakaua to sign, at gunpoint, the Bayonet Constitution, giving American businessmen firm control over the Hawaiian government and leaving the Native population without a voice. The thing that’s interesting about this is that there is currently a controversial bill being presented by Hawaiian senator Daniel Akaka which would recognize the the nation’s 400,000 Native Hawaiians in the same way that it recognizes American Indians and Alaska natives. Some citizens of Hawaii see the bill as divisive, and many Native Hawaiians oppose the bill because they (and this is admirable, though impractical) think that since the land was seized illegally, it still belongs to them and should be reverted to an independant nation, not a state.
Month: July 2005
Vote for Phils
Hey, you can vote for either Brett Myers or Billy Wagner to make the All-Star team by clicking here. One Phillie who won’t be making the team will be Jason “32 Degrees” Michaels. His new theme song when coming up to hit will be NWA’s F*** the Police. Michaels, who previosuly wore number 22, will now wear #187.
We Have a Winner
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Mean Gene Overland of the Notorious Missing Heads Crew was the winner of the “Pick Johnny’s Motto” contest, coming from behind on the final day to overcome Mike, who got a bad hangover at Quizzo Bowl (He’s the dude in back with the beard). Gene’s “Where the Geeks Have No Shame” was the winner, barely knocking off Mike’s “JGT Quizzo: Slightly Kooler than Dungeons and Dragons” by 85 votes to 83. Wanna thank everybody for coming up with mottoes and for voting for your favorite. I’ll try to have t-shirts done soon, but I might have to wait until I get a Monday night slot. In the meantime, Mean Gene gets a $20 gift certificate to the Bards.
Pay to Play
The point of Live 8 was not just to see a free concert, but to raise awareness of hunger in Africa, and hopefully to try to do something about it. In keeping with that spirit, it will cost each player $1 to participate in quizzo this week, with 100% of the proceeds going to the United Nations World Food Program. You are welcome to donate more, of course. At the end of the week, I will post on the site how much we raised.
Question of the Week
What was the name of the building where the first ever Republican National Convention was held in 1856?
Happy Birthday RZA!!!
Just wanted to send a shout out to one of my favorite hip hop producers of all time, the RZA. Here’s a really good audio interview with Terry Gross on NPR’s Fresh Air a couple of months ago. And here’s a pretty interesting interview with Bobby Digital in the Onion. It’s also Huey Lewis’s birthday, but really, who gives a s***. In Atlantic City last year, I did meet Lewis’s drummer, and have a signed drumstick.
Live 8
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I arrived at the Parkway at about 11:30. My friends (Chet, Rob, Jesse, and Logan) had been there since 6, but I had hit silence on my phone when they had sent my wake up call. So I was gonna have to slice thru the crowd. They were near the front of the trees on Eakins Oval, and people were not overly pleased to let me slip thru. I got my first, “What the f*** is wrong with you” at around 11:48 as I slipped past a girls blanket. Finally, after about 45 minutes, I slithered up to my friends. By this time the show had already started.
Beat the Champs
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They are the most reviled team in quizzo, perhaps the most hated in the history of the sport. They aren’t even regulars, just a group of guys who tend to show up when there’s money on the line. They make disparaging comments about the other teams and carry themselves with a smugness that borders on conceit. One of them even accepted the loss of points during quizzo one time so he could play with his collar up! And the sick thing about it is: They can back it up. They won Quizzo Bowl, and were well on their way to winning Doc Watson’s Big $$$ Bonanza when Doc Watson’s ran out of Big $$$. They have only lost twice during regular quizzo events, and told me after each loss that it was a “fluke”. But you will have a chance to knock them off their high horse on one of the grandest stages in the city. On August 28th, 2005, you will have a chance to Beat the Champs at the World Cafe Live. And here’s the thing: they’re so confident that they will win that they told me to give the other teams points, because they’ll get bored if they don’t have a handicap. Of course, I don’t just give away points. You will have to earn them. And so, next week, I will reveal what physical challenges you will have to undertake to acquire points in your quest to Beat the Champs.
Sick of the whining
I usually love this city. I love the fact that everybody tells it like it is and wears their emotions on their sleeves and is fiercely loyal to the city, even as they insult it. But I am so sick of the whining concerning Live 8 that I gotta just say: Shut up! First, a disclosure. I have been guilty of it myself. Yeah, I was miffed that the Roots got turned away, and a band as crappy as Maroon 5 got invited. But it was put in perspective when somebody said, “Did Woodstock end up being a crappy event because Sha Na Na was there and Dylan wasn’t?” Good point.
New petition
Remember when I told you that there was a petition out there encouraging Bruce Springsteen to come to Philly? Well, Jam Master Sean has started one to keep Bruce away. It really seems to be gathering steam.