It was 73 years ago today that the Hindenburg went up in flames in New Jersey.

Goodluck Jonathon was just sworn in as president of Nigeria. How awesome is that?

The Bards used to be the busiest spot on the JGT quizzo circuit, and tables there were hard to come by. These days, it is still a decent crowd of 30 or so, but I kind of miss the days of 50-60 people. Not sure what happened that caused it to quiet down. It’s still a great staff, the beer specials are awesome, the prizes are great, and it’s a damn good bar.  I mean, every bar on the quizzo circuit has its ups and downs (The ‘Vous was dead for a while and now it’s packed every week), but I’m kind of missing the way the Bards used to rock. Any theories as to why it’s been a little quieter the past few months or what we can do to get it rollin’ again? I am all ears, as I really want to get it cranking again.

Cinco de Mayo action kicks off at Locust Rendezvous at 6:15 p.m. $3 Dos Equis and $2 Lagers. Should be a good time. On to the Black Sheep, which has been bumping lately. Action starts at 8 p.m. there. And yes, the last place prizes continue to rule.

Oh, and just a little heads up. I will be out of town tomorrow night (my sister is having her 2nd baby), but the Sandman will be filling in. Keep in mind that there is a $25 bounty at the Ugly American.

It’s Big Money Tuesday, the richest night of the week in quizzo circles. At O’Neals, the prize package is up to $50 and $25, and at Bards it is still a hefty $40 and $20. Got what it takes to take down the top teams at either bar (Savage Ear at O’Neals and Steak Em Up at Bards)? Test your mettle tonight. O’Neals starts at 8 p.m., and Bards at 10:15 p.m. Cheap margaritas at O’Neals and $2.50 Miller Lites and Lagers at Bards. Hope to see you tonight!

It’s always a hoot to see how people landed on my page. The things that they type in and somehow end up on my site is ridiculous. The top search is usually the Houston 500, a gangbang that took place like 8 years ago and I wrote like one sentence about in 2004. Here are some more of my favorite search terms that brought people to the site in the past month:

Detroit Hookers where can I find

WNBA porn

paging Mr. Herman

funny facts about William McKinley

cabbage

reptilians among us

busty infomercial

alan thicke speedo

and when there was no meat we ate fowl

emotional blowjob

destroymom.com

Gary Hogeboom salary

fun facts about dysentery

johnny be good time kennel

Another good quiz at the Westbury last week. Tonight  the action continues at 10:30 p.m. Feel free to swing by the Westbury earlier to catch the Phils game, as the quiz will start as soon as it’s over. Here’s a few words from Mike Minion about tonight’s quiz:

 

Once again, there was spirited competition at The Westbury last week.  When the dust settled, Duane’s World won and the last place team chose “1980’s music” for tonight’s theme round.  This topic leaves the door open for a new team to come in and take over the top spot.  The action there kicks off tonight at 10:30 (as usual) and we expect a big crowd.  In addition to the popularity of the theme, Monday’s keg special will be Great Lakes Burning River for $3. This is a pale ale that is rated 5 stars. The featured brewery is Victory and bottles of all Victory beers are specially priced. 

 

We are working out some new specials and ideas with the folks at Ugly American, so we are going to take a week’s hiatus.  We’ll be back with the revamped quizzo next Monday. Hope to see you tonight! 

This is weird. Happy birthday Frankie!

The best quizzo in Philly rolls on tonight at the Ugly American at 8 p.m. L. Ron Hubbard’s Diabetics look to win their 6th straight, but any team that can stop them and take first place gets $15 cash in addition to their $30 prize. All drafts a dollar off during quizzo. We then move to the Bards at 10:15 p.m., where in addition to  the $40 first place money, all Miller Lites and Lagers are $2.50 during quizzo. Also, there is still time to tell me what 50/50 or Wild Card round you want to see tonight. Just join Johnny Goodtimes Quizzo over on facebook and let me know by posting a comment. Keep in mind that it is French Fry Thursday! Somebody’s going home with a brand new basket of fries! And of course, I have more roller tix to give away and more great last place prizes. Hope to see you tonight!

Yeah, I’m still tripping on Miami Vice. It acutally came on TV last night, so I watched it for the first time in 25 years. Does it hold up? Yes and no. The sets are awesome. The acting is decent, though it is at times laughably cheesy and melodramatic. The music is another story. It still sounds fresh, 25 years later. I often brush of 80s music as nostalgic but kind of lame. But this show was a reminder that there was some good stuff out there. The episode I saw was Smuggler’s Blues, which reaquainted me with a kickass song I hadn’t heard in years. Glenn Frey has plenty of cheesy songs, but this isn’t one of them. This song rocks (though the video is pretty bad.) Anyways, an article I came across from a few years ago talks about how influential Miami Vice was to television.

Mann favored neon and reflective surfaces for his night shots, even hosing down the streets so they shimmered like black glass. Combine that glossy look with striking camera angles, smash-cut editing, and dramatic use of freeze frames, and Mann had developed a powerful visual language that is still widely copied.

His ambitious accomplishment unleashed a once unthinkable exodus. In the two decades since “Miami Vice” first aired, more and more feature film talent – actors, writers, producers and directors – have moved over to work in television, resulting in a remarkable improvement in the quality of TV drama. Without “Miami Vice,” there is no “ER” or “The Sopranos” or “CSI.”

Just as important as the look of “Vice” was its sound. From the industrial-strength opening of Jan Hammer’s electronica theme, this was a show fueled by music. “If you remember what other TV show theme songs of that era sounded like, this was shock therapy,” says Hammer. Both the “Miami Vice Theme” and the “Miami Vice” soundtrack album would top the Billboard charts.

In addition to Hammer’s score, “Vice” also used a rich variety of contemporary pop and rock songs during episodes. Until that time, if a TV show wanted to employ a pop hit, it usually resorted to a sappy, elevator music version to avoid paying stiff rights fees. But “Vice” used the original recordings of artists from Eric Clapton to Depeche Mode, from U2 to Peter Gabriel.

Not only that, it often let these songs play out in their entirety over scenes without dialogue. The impact of these music video operettas, beginning with Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight” in the two-hour pilot, was unusually powerful.