What's the origin of the name "Skid Row"?

Search: skid row

Why: In Ryan O'Connell's "Living and Working in a Very Modern Family" on Thought Catalog, which I've been reading nonstop for the last 2 weeks:

My brother’s success surprised us all. After he barely graduated high school, my parents cut him off in a tough love attempt to foster motivation, and he moved into an apartment in Skid Row with his meager savings and no job prospects. When his money quickly depleted, he decided to start a website that would feature the grossest and most disturbing porn videos. In the first month, he made $2000 by cutting deals with advertisers, and everyone in my family was just like, “What?”

Answer: From the term "skid road"! In the 19th century, loggers in the Pacific Northwest made skid roads of old railroad ties or heavy wooden planks to get felled trees down to the mill. These are tied to the corduroy road:

A type of road made by placing sand-covered logs perpendicular to the direction of the road over a low or swampy area

Anyway, "skid roads" eventually became associated with the areas where loggers hung out, and everyone knows that lumberjacks are burly men's men who only like booze and hookers. Stay away from Skid Road, ladies.

Source: Yahoo! Answers, Wikipedia

The More You Know: Speaking of things that I have been obsessed with in my lifetime, according to my brother, I watched this movie every day when I was a little child. Here's a relevant song!

Recognize those gals? You saw two of them every Tuesday night on "Martin." They're named after popular doo-wop girl groups of the '60s.

What is the theme song to "Entourage"?

Search: entourage theme

Why: I hate it. Like, so much. It's so noisy and awful. Every time it comes on - which is often, because I am always watching channels that play "Entourage" re-runs (because they are also the channels that play "Friends" re-runs) - I experience a few horrible seconds where I'm all cringing and frantic to find the remote - like Alex would be upon hearing Ludwig Van, if there were remotes in the once and future '60s.

Answer: "Superhero" by Jane's Addiction. Figures. Download it on iTunes here.

Lyrics go like:

My mind had been enabled
In the memory you overflow
Wanna be your super hero
Even if i tumble fall

I'm OK
(you have that affect on me
but i need you desperately)
You know i need you desperately

Source: Yahoo! Answers

The More You Know: That is the second worst theme song ever. The first is from "Mama's Family." Oh, the late-90s nights it ruined!

I want to see the leaked set photos for "The Hunger Games"

Search: Fangirltanstic for more The Hunger Games set photos

Why: I finished the 3rd book last night finally. It was... um...

Then I was looking for more casting info, and I saw this:

New set photos from The Hunger Games, Piranha 3DD, and Gravity have leaked online. The Hunger Games photos show some of the buildings like the Hall of Justice, an insignia that fans of the book will probably recognize (I’m reading the book soon! I have a long plane ride ahead of me!), and a first look at Elizabeth Banks as Effie Trinket.

Answer: Inneresting. I think I imagined the Hall of Justice to be a bit more grandiose. And cream-colored. All of them. Which is, I guess, why you read books first. There's also Willow Shields as Prim.

Source: FanGirltastic

The More You Know: Also,

The Piranha 3DD set photos show the water park where the sequel’s mayhem will go down (how does a freshwater fish survive in a chlorinated water park? Fuck you, that’s how) as well as some grisly corpses.

I was in a waterpark just last week! I lost my sunnies, but not my life. Shots:

Oooh! Poor Big Dave.

What is the surname of the family in 'Swiss Family Robinson'?

Search: swiss family robinson

Why: I'm looking at this chart on I Love Charts:

(It's based on this list.) And underneath it says:

just as the family in the swiss family robinson was not named robinson in the book, the 7 dwarfs from snow white and the 7 dwarfs also had no names until disney got involved. these now iconic dwarf aptronyms have since been translated into every language in which disney has found a market

I never read that book. But that link says:

back when i was just a small fry named i was obsessed with the desert island genre*. my nurse would read to me every night from the adventures of robinson crusoe. when i turned six and was able to pour my own milk, i began reading the swiss family robinson, and was like: “what’s with all these robinsons getting shipwrecked on fabulous islands?”

it turns out that robinson wasn’t just an oddly appropriate name for a stranded character. dafoe’s work was so popular, that it defined the genre which became known as the robinsonade.

about 100 years later, a swiss pastor wrote der schweizerische robinson which really just translates into the swiss [version of the] robinson [genre]. the family in the book is not named robinson, nor is robinson a swiss name.

Answer: They don't have a last name! These are the characters:

• The Father: He is the narrator of the story and leads the family. He knows a great deal of information on everything from roots to hunting, demonstrating bravery and self-reliance.
• Elizabeth: The mother in the story. She stays at home and cooks, grows, and prepares food. Her focus is the well-being of her four sons.
• Fritz: The oldest of the four boys. Though he is not the most intelligent, he is the strongest and accompanies his father on many quests.
• Ernest: The second oldest of the boys, Ernest is intelligent, but a less physically active boy. He adores reading and is usually found in the library lost in a book.
• Jack: The third oldest of the boys. He is thoughtless, bold, vivacious, and the quickest of the group.
• Franz: The youngest of the boys. He usually stays home with his mother, although he is quite capable on a buffalo.
• Jenny: An English girl found on Smoking Rock near the end of the novel. She is shy but soon becomes adopted into the family.
• Knips: An orphan monkey adopted by the family after their dogs killed its mother.

They sound very Swiss indeed. I superdug that genre, too.

Source: Wikipedia

The More You Know: Anyway, back to the name thing. That chart reminded me of an earlier discussion about the names in Harry Potter.

Here are some of the Dutch names that sound/look nothing like the English names:

Hermione Granger - Hermelien Griffel
Albus Dumbledore - Albus Perkamentus
Neville Longbottom - Marcel Lubbermans
Luna Lovegood - Loena Leeflang
Cedric Diggory - Carlo Kannewasser
Vernon Dursley - Herman Duffeling
Minerva McGonagall - Minerva Anderling
Dolores Umbridge - Dorothea Omber

Some names are only changed slightly:

Draco Malfoy - Draco Malfidus
Sirius Black - Sirius Zwarts
Severus Snape - Severus Sneep
Ron Weasley - Ron Wemel

Why? Because Hermione, Albus, and Hagrid just aren't Dutch names. But they're not really English, either, so I dunno. I just dunno. Marcel Lubbermans.

What is Noah Hathaway up to?

Search: noah hathaway

Why: Re: Childhood crushes who fell off the face of the earth, one answer:

The kid from Neverending Story-- Atreyu (Noah Hathaway)

Right? Remember when Artax died?

Answer: BFN! He hasn't done anything since 1994, BUT I think you'll be pleased to learn that he is working on (starring in?) !3! movies that are slated to come out in 2012.

1. Mondo Holocausto! - In 1977, a lovely NYC photojournalist heads to the Amazon but encounters a tribe of misanthropic cannibals. Yipes! Also featuring James Duval, the guy who played the real-life Frank in Donnie Darko. Adventure / Horror / Might be animated.
2. The Critic - "A film critic loses himself into an immoral wasteland and does bad things to people." Starring Dominique Swain and ALSO James Duval. Are they best friends?
3. Sushi Girl - The night he is released from prison, the guys with whom Fish (Hathaway) robbed a bank throw him that kind of party where everyone eats sushi off a naked girl. Also starring:

• Mark Hammil
• Danny Trejo
• Michael Beihn / Johnny Ringo
• Jeff Fahey
• And fucking James Duval! WHAT! Somebody is fucking with me.
  

He is 39 now, looking something like this. On second thought, maybe he and James Duval are more than best friends.

He is married with two sons.

Source: IMDb

The More You Know: In the 1986 movie Troll, he played a character named Harry Potter, Jr. (There was also a Harry Potter, Sr.) I have never seen / heard of this movie (though I have a feeling it's really popular among people I know), but it also features Elaine Benes, Sonny Bono, and the Mom from "Lassie," so maybe it's worth a Netflix. Anyway, about the Harry Potter thing:

In one of two interviews, producer Charles Band stated that "there are certain scenes in Troll, not to mention the name of the main character, and this of course predates the Harry Potter books by many, many years. So there's that strange connection." In 2008, John Buechler's partner in the Troll remake, Peter Davy, said about Harry Potter: "In John's opinion, he created the first Harry Potter. J. K. Rowling says the idea just came to her. John doesn't think so"

Them's fightin words! I just can't believe I haven't heard this factoid before. The original Harry Potter:

I want to watch the wedding scene in "The Little Mermaid"

Search: little mermaid wedding

Why: On HelloGiggles "Top 10 Best Outfits in Disney Films":

10. Vanessa (Evil Human Ursula) and Prince Eric's Wedding Outfits

Watch out, Wills & Kate! It’s all about Vanessa & Eric! Come to think of it, I see your wedding gown inspiration, Kate. The long brown hair let down? The long sleeved white dress? Admit it, kate. You just want to be…PART OF HIS WORLD. YOU WANT THINGAMAMABOBS? HE’S GOT TWENTY! Ariel had a fantastic pink dress, no doubt, but Vanessa’s wedding ensamble takes the wedding cake (I know, that one hurt me just typing it) and it’s mostly because of that gorgeous hair and sinister look. Say yes to the dress indeed!

I haven't seen that movie in at least 2 decades. I don't remember Ursula ever becoming human. I can't see the dress / outfit, anyway.

Answer: Well, here it is. You can see the whole thing around 0:38.

That looks like a pretty fun movie.

Source: YouTube

The More You Know: HelloGiggles just launched today, everyone. There are some posts dated a few days ago - like Which BabySitters Club Member Are You? - but don't be fooled; it's all brand new. Anyway, here is the About section:

Founded by actress/musician Zooey Deschanel, producer Sophia Rossi and blogger/Internet Sensation Molly McAleer, hellogiggles.com is the ultimate entertainment destination for smart, independent and creative females. Everything hosted on the site will be lady-friendly, so visitors need not worry about finding the standard Boys Club content that makes many entertainment sites unappealing to so many of us.

While I am the kind of person who doesn't want to care about / like something like this, I'm about to read every post on it. Join me!