Don’t Ask Me How…

I scored the best breakdancer in Philly, but somehow it happened. Raphael Xavier has performed in numerous spots over the past 20 years of breakdancing, including the Kennedy Center. Uh, yeah, that Kennedy Center. In one of those instances where a disaster turns into a huge triumph, yesterday I was freaking out because some guy who told me he could do it wasn’t returning my calls. Giving up on him, I was led by a friend to the Community Education Center Meeting House Theatre, who in turn put me in touch with Xavier. Unlike the previous guy I contacted, Raphael was a true pro, and we had worked out a deal in a matter of hours. I am exceptionally excited to see him perform.

For more info on Beat the Champs, click here.

I Think I’m Turning Japanese

I’ve been on this planet for over 30 years, and I have never seen anything like this. Ever. Ever. I kind of hope I never see anything like it again. Thanks to Chet for sending this link. If you know any ridiculous links that you would like to share with the quizzo community, please send them to johnny@johnnygoodtimes.com, or just post them below.

Question of the Week

What event of interest happened on August 23, 1305?

Funny piece of trivia

Just came across this and thought I’d share:
During an August 17, 1957 game, Richie Ashburn hit a foul ball into the stands and struck spectator Alice Roth, wife of Philadelphia Bulletin sports editor Earl Roth, breaking her nose. After play was resumed, Ashburn hit a ball which struck Roth again while she was being carried away in a stretcher.

Can someone take out Pat Robertson?

Johnny Goodtimes is offering a $15 gift certificate to anyone who beats the living s*** out of Pat Robertson. This messenger of God is calling on America to assassinate the president of Venezuela because he doesn’t agree with our policies. Christians wonder why so many people are leaving the church, and why we are becoming a godless nation. I wonder if it has anything to do with the fact that every time I hear a “Christian leader” speak on tv, he sounds like a bigot out of 1960’s Mississippi or just a completely clueless idiot (or, in the case of Pat Robertson, both)? Yes, Chavez is a polarizing figure, and has done business with Castro and China. He’s also instituted free health care for his nations poor and instituted major literacy and education programs. Robertson calls him a dictator. He’s not a dictator. He is the president of Venezuela, elected by popular vote and he survived a recall vote. Below is a list of some of my favorite Pat Robertson quotes. Enjoy!
(P.S. I’m not really giving away a $15 gift certificate to anyone who gives Pat Robertson a beat down. Let’s make it a $20 gift certificate.)

Continue reading “Can someone take out Pat Robertson?” →

Johnny’s boy is in the news

My boy Larry Platt is in today’s Inky for defending Philly cheesesteaks. The Philadelphia magaizne editor is one of those nitwits that seems to think that all we do here in Center City is eat cheesesteaks for lunch and Stephen Starr for dinner (there is a story about one or the other in every single freaking issue they ever do.) Anyway’s here’s his thing.:

The Aug. 1 issue of New York Magazine chronicled New York City’s recent cheesesteak boom, partly spurred by the arrival of Tony Luke’s. Them’s fighting words to Philadelphia Magazine editor Larry Platt, who shot off a missive to NY editor Adam Moss.

Platt thinks New Yorkers don’t know Whiz from shinola. “The words New York and cheesesteak together are oxymoronic, not unlike military intelligence. As a native Philadelphian, I’ve grown up with the cheesesteak. The cheesesteak is a friend of mine. Adam, New Yorkers know nothing about cheesesteaks. Consider this letter a declaration of a culinary fatwah: When it comes to gooey artery-cloggers on soft rolls, you need to back off.”

Last Tuesday, Platt dispatched staffers Richard Rys and Andrew Putz, both of whom rated cheesesteaks in Philly Mag articles, to retrace New York Mag’s steps for October’s Philly Mag.

Moss – an old pal of Platt’s, we’ll add – declined comment.

Birthday Shout outs

Hey, I’m sending birthday shout outs to two musicians I thoroughly enjoy. The first is John Lee Hooker. If you have not heard him, I highly encourage you to do so. His blues are unlike anybody else’s I’ve heard. Real raw, with little to no rhyme structure. But a great storyteller. Check out “I Cover the Waterfront,” “Tupelo”, and “I’m Bad Like Jesse James.” He was born on this date in 1917. Secondly, GZA of the Wu-Tang Clan turns 39 today. Now, I’m more about the RZA than I am the GZA, but the Genius ain’t bad. Here he discusses his chess game.

The Basics

Okay, my instructions in Beat the Champs haven’t been the clearest. Here’s the very basics:
When: August 28th, 2005 at 6:30 p.m.
Where: World Cafe Live (3025 Walnut Street)
Who: Johnny Goodtimes, a cowgirl band, a steel drum band, and you
Why: Because I think it will be a lot of fun to have a bunch of quizzo enthusiasts get together to listen to good music and play quizzo in a world class music hall.
What: Beat the Champs is your chance to knock off the champions of Quizzo Bowl I. I am giving you a head start by giving you an opportunity to earn a ten point lead over the champs. You can earn 8 of those points just by ordering your tickets early. The other two points can be earned by performing any of a number of physical challenges, found here and here. All points must be presented to me by Saturday at 12 noon. If a member of your team orders tix online, please have them email me to let me know (johnny@johnnygoodtimes.com)
Do I need to have 8 people before I can buy tickets?
No, each member of the team can buy tix seperately. Also, you do not need to have eight players on your team. Eight is the maximum. You can play by yourself if you want.
But quizzo is normally free. Why would I pay $10 to play quizzo?
Jumping out of a tree is free**, but a roller coaster is a lot more fun. There’s gonna be incredible live music, which is not normally found at quizzo. Also, over $750 worth of cash and prizes on the line, as opposed to the $35-$60 usually on the line.

If anybody has any more questions, please feel free to email me or leave a comment below. Thanks.
**Johnny does not endorse nor condone an activity as dangerous as jumping out of trees, despite the savings.

What’s the haps tonight

There’s gonna be a lot of good stuff happening this week. To kick off, A.D. Amorosi presents First Final Fringefest Gangbang tonight, featuring Fringe festers and comedians working out their acts on stage. There’s no cover, PBRs are only a buck, and SoCO shots (peach bourbon, remember) are dirt cheap. That starts at 9 p.m. at Bar Noir, on 251 South 18th Street. Also, there is quizzo at Dark Horse tonight. Not sure if I’m gonna make it or not (team superstar John is out of town, and I’m scared of being exposed for the fraud I really am).

Hunter Goes Out With a Bang

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Hunter S. Thompson’s ashes were fired out of a cannon in Woody Creek. As some of you know, I consider myself a die hard Thompson fan, and have given him various tributes in the past, including an unprecedented two questions of the week (could a third be on the horizon?). Not sure what to say about the cannon blast. Looked kind of…awkward, to be honest, though I appreciate the effort, and I’m sure it was a lot kooler live. Didn’t seem like one of those things that the boob tube can really capture. The media was kept off the ranch so the big stars (Johnny Depp, Bill Murray, George McGovern) wouldn’t be hindered. At first glimpse, that seemed a bit absurd. But I suppose I appreciate it, because the media would have made the story about Johnny Depp and Bill Murray, not about Hunter Thompson. They would have, I’m sure, missed the point, while covering a journalist who rarely did.
Related: great Hunter quotes
Related: Richard Nixon Eulogy