What'a a 5150?

Search: 5150

Why: In Ryan O'Connell's "Top Ten Celebrity Excuses for Acting Completely Bat Shit Insane" on Thought Catalog (I wasn't exaggerating):

Liar: Mischa Barton

Bullshit Meter: 9

Remember when Mischa Barton was placed under a 51/50 and spent two weeks in a mental hospital last year? Now, she’s telling everyone that it all stemmed from having her wisdom teeth removed. She explains, “I’d had enough (of the pain) and I went to the hospital. I am terrified of needles and they wanted to pump me full of drugs and I said, “No, absolutely not. I don’t want to be here,” and got into a fight with the nurses, and that led to my 5150.’ Okay, Mischa. No one’s going to believe that you’re afraid of needles because you look like Amy Winehouse’s wacky cousin. Also, it’s hard to believe that someone could be placed under a 51/50 for simply arguing with a nurse. Liar, Liar, skinny jeans on fire!

Answer: An involuntary psychiatric hold! Police code for "crazy on the loose"!

CALIFORNIA WELFARE AND INSTITUTIONS CODE, SECTION 5150, second paragraph:

"... an application in writing stating the circumstances under which the person's condition was called to the attention of the officer, member of the attending staff, or professional person, and stating that the officer, member of the attending staff, or professional person has probable cause to believe that the person is, as a result of mental disorder, a danger to others, or to himself or herself, or gravely disabled."

Source: Urban Dictionary, Wikipedia

The More You Know: Also the name of the 1986 Van Halen album that featured "Why Can't This Be Love," and also the name of a song on it.

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!

What's the premise of "Halo"?

Search: halo

Why: We were just watching some commercial, and some guy on it looked like Iron Man, and I said, "Is that a Power Ranger?" and Chandler said, "That's Halo," and I asked if Halo was a person?, because I guess I always thought of it ("Halo") as some sort of place or universe or something, and he said he didn't really know... I think that brings us up to speed.

Answer: This is as much as I'm willing to read at this hour. You guys, I was woken up at 7:30 CST this morning because Sadie was catching a lizard, and then I went on 2 airplanes and to 3 airports, and now it's 12:30 PST...

In the past, an intelligent race called The Forerunners used their advanced technology to protect life, but were caught off-guard by an alien parasite known as the Flood. The Flood, which spread through infestation of sentient life, threatened and overran many worlds in the galaxy before the Forerunners could attempt to contain the threat. A group of Forerunners conceived a final solution—using an installation known as the Ark, they built seven large ring-shaped megastructures known as Halos. The Halo Array, when activated, would destroy all sentient life in the galaxy—depriving the Flood of their food. Delaying as long as they could, the Forerunners finally activated the rings and disappeared.

Here's the "Halo Array," I think:

Source: Wikipedia

The More You Know: Speaking of getting up at dawn, here is Ben's new favorite song. Get it out of your head!

What's the song on the Vitamin Water Zero Glow commercial?

Search: vitamin water zero

Why: I just saw it during "GLEE." There's a frog or toad in it. The lyrics and voices sound French, like Stereolab.

Answer: It's Stereolab! The song is is "Lo Boob Oscillator" from the 1995 album Refried Ectoplasm, which I owned at some point in my life but haven't seen in years. Buy it here on iTunes.

Maybe you also know that song because it's in High Fidelity. Remember? Caroline Fortis asks, "Is this Stereolab?"

Source: Yahoo! Answers, Popisms

The More You Know: A better album is Emperor Tomato Ketchup. I bet you would like this song, "Cybele's Reverie."

I watch to hear the song "The General" by Dispatch

Search: dispatch the general

Why: Keely just posted this article about their first album in 10 years, which is probably how long it's been since I heard that song.

Answer: Well, here it is! What a nice jam.

Source: YouTube

The More You Know: Dispatch used to be called One Fell Swoop. When I was in 9th grade or whatever, I probably told people that I had known them since the name change, but that wasn't even a little bit true. Not even a little bit! That was probably before I ever even had my first Discman.

Anyway, all the people in that band went to Middlebury (and graduated before I hit middle school!). They are playing at the Greek Theatre in June; maybe I will go.

When does the new Danger Mouse album come out?

Search: danger mouse

Why: They've been playing the shit out of it all week on "Morning Becomes Eclectic." Here is "Two Against One" featuring Jack White:

Answer: May 16th! It's called Rome, and it's actually by both Danger Mouse and Italian composer Danielle Luppi. Jack White sings on 3 tracks, and Norah Jones sings on 3 others - one of which Jason Bentley played yesterday and the day before. It will probably be the first album I buy in 2011.

Source: Wikipedia

The More You Know: We bowled next to Danger Mouse (Brian Joseph Burton, 1977, White Plains, NY) one time at The Spare Room. His friends were kind of dicks.

Wow, did you know he produced all these albums? It's true!

• Gorillaz – Demon Days (2005)
• Danger Doom – The Mouse & The Mask (2005)
• The Rapture – Pieces of the People We Love (2006)
• Sparklehorse – Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain (2006)
• Gnarls Barkley – St. Elsewhere (2006)
• The Good, the Bad and the Queen (2007)
• The Black Keys – Attack & Release (2008)
• Gnarls Barkley – The Odd Couple (2008)
• The Shortwave Set – Replica Sun Machine (2008)
• Martina Topley-Bird – The Blue God (2008)
• Beck – Modern Guilt (2008)
• Joker's Daughter – The Last Laugh (2009)
• Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse – Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse Present: Dark Night of the Soul (2010)
• Broken Bells – Broken Bells (2010)
• The Black Keys – Brothers (2010)
• Broken Bells – Meyrin Fields - EP (2011)
• Danger Mouse and Daniele Luppi – Rome (2011)
• U2 – TBA (2011)

Who are some famous lady directors?

Search: female directors

Why: We finally watched Winter's Boner last night. As I was Googling halfway through, I learned that the director Debra Granik is from Cambridge, MA, and graduated from both Brandeis and Tisch. None of those places is anything like crank haven rural Missoura. And it kind of makes me hate her / the movie / everyone who had anything to do with it.

Anyway, we started naming female directors, and we got as far as Kathryn Bigelow and "the girl who did 1492" (who turned out to be Ridley Scott).

Answer: Here are some!

• Kathryn Bigelow!

The Hurt Locker (2008; first woman to win Academy Award for Best Director), Point Break (1991), 1 hour of "Wild Palms," married to James Cameron 1989-1991

• Jane Campion!

The Piano (1993; second woman ever to be nominated for Best Director), Portrait of a Lady (1996)

• Lisa Cholodenko!

The Kids Are All Right (2010), Laurel Canyon (2002)

• Sofia Coppola!

Lost in Translation (2003; nominated for Best Director), Marie Antoinette (2006), The Virgin Suicides (1999), Somewhere (2010), married to Spike Jonze 1999-2003

• Nora Ephron!

Sleepless in Seattle (1993), You've Got Mail (1998), Julie & Julia (2009), Bewitched (2005); also wrote When Harry Met Sally (1989) but didn't direct it

• Catherine Hardwicke!
  

Twilight (2008), Red Riding Hood (2011), Lords of Dogtown (2005), Thirteen (2003)

• Mary Harron!

American Psycho (2000) [WHAT!]

• Amy Heckerling!
  

Clueless (1995), Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982), Look Who's Talking (1989), Vamps (2011)!!!!!

• Nicole Holofcener!

Lovely and Amazing (2001), Friends with Money (2006), Please Give (2010) [<-- we actually watched this not long ago because it was free on OnDemand; it's pretty dece]

• Penny Marshall!

Big (1988), A League of Their Own (1992), Awakenings (1990), The Preacher's Wife (1996)

• Nancy Meyers!

It's Complicated (2009), The Holiday (2006), Something's Gotta Give (2003), What Women Want (2000), The Parent Trap (1998)

• Mira Nair!
  

Monsoon Wedding (2001), Amelia (2009) Vanity Fair (2004), The Namesake (2006)

• Kimberly Peirce!

Boys Don't Cry (1999)

• Lone Scherfig!

An Education (2009)

• Penelope Spheeris!

Wayne's World (1992), Black Sheep (1996), The Little Rascals (1994), The Beverly Hillbillies (1993)

• Julie Taymor!

Frida (2002), Across the Universe (2007)

Source: MovieFone, Film.com, MetaCritic

The More You Know: Totally unrelated, but every time, every time I hear someone say "Winter's Bone," I sing this song "Winterlong," which is apparently by Neil Young, but I only know it by The Pixies. It's like a disease.

What's the sample on "Black Magic" by Jarvis Cocker?

Search: black magic jarvis

Why: I am listening to it now and blanking. Blanking! It kind of reminds me of... I dunno, Rocky Horror Show?

Answer: "Crimson and Clover"! Doy! This jam was recorded by Tommy James and the Shondells in 1968.

Source: Pulp Wiki

The More You Know: Also, only because I have been thinking about it for a while and just listened to it for the first time in a long time, maybe years, here is my favorite song "Sugar Spun Sister" by The Stone Roses.

Is "Morning's Here" a real song?

Search: morning's here

Why: Joey's neighbor sang it every morning. I swear I heard an instrumental version of it tonight in Nature Mart.

Answer: Oh my jesus, YES!!! Except not with those words. Not with any words, in fact. The tune is from a 1977 track called "Feels So Good" by Chuck Mangione, who plays the flugelhorn.

That record was nominated for a Grammy.

Source: Yahoo! Answers

The More You Know: Now I bet you're going, "Wait, I've also heard the name Chuck Mangione on 'Friends,'" and you're totally right. Phoebe's birthmom Phoebe had a picture of him on her refrigerator. She sold him a house last year.

What is Paradise Circus?

Search: Paradise Circus

Why: On PostSecret:

-----Email-----
Paradise Circus

Answer: It's a song by Massive Attack! Listen here:

Did you know that the opening theme to "House" is by Massive Attack? It's called "Teardrop."

Source: YouTube

The More You Know: The image of that postcard is labeled "pinkmoonsmine." "Pink Moon" is by Nick Drake, who died in 1974 at age 26. Maybe you remember that song from this awesome Volkswagen Cabrio commercial from 1999:

What are the words to "Friday I'm in Love"?

Search: friday im in love

Why: I just saw this on Urlesque in "Top Ten Song Charts (By the 'I Love Charts' Master)":

It's a Threadless shirt from several years ago that I'm just getting around to seeing.

I know most of the words, but apparently not all of them.

Answer: Here are the important parts:

I don't care if Monday's blue
Tuesday's gray and Wednesday too
Thursday I don't care about you
It's Friday, I'm in love

Monday you can fall apart
Tuesday, Wednesday break my heart
Oh, Thursday doesn't even start
It's Friday I'm in love

(Saturday, wait
And Sunday always comes too late
But Friday, never hesitate)

I don't care if Mondays black
Tuesday, Wednesday - heart attack
Thursday, never looking back
It's Friday, I'm in love

Monday, you can hold your head
Tuesday, Wednesday stay in bed
Or Thursday - watch the walls instead
It's Friday, I'm in love

Listen along and contemplate Robert Smith's hair and wardrobe here.

Source: Sing365

The More You Know: I also like this one.

Who is that actress in the "Day-O" scene in Beetlejuice?

Search: beetlejuice

Why: Katrina went to see Twin Sister in concert, which I kind of can't believe because when we saw them open for The Morning Benders, we couldn't stop talking about how they were the worst opening band in all of history. The lead singer Andrea Estella reminds me of that lady.

Answer: Adelle Lutz! She is a costume designer by day. And she was - get this - married to David Byrne from 1987-2004! WHAT! Together, they have a daughter named Malu Valentine (b. 1990).

(Their kid: )

Lutz also played a TV anchorwoman in Silence of the Lambs, so now I guess that's what I'll be looking for for the rest of the evening.

Source: IMDb

The More You Know: That character's name is Beryl, by the way. Pretty!

Day o, beetlejuice by speedy94200

Kids! You know I love them. Fun fact: Harry Belafonte is my favorite singer.

Why is the last little part of a joint called a roach?

Search: roach

Why: On "1001 rules for my unborn son":

16. You are what you do, not what you say.

"On matters of style, swim with the current. On matters of principle, stand like a rock."
Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson's Airplane

And then, of course, I went rooting around for the origin of the name Jefferson Airplane (because - according to my brother - my favorite song when I was 5 was "We Built This City" by Starship), and I saw this:

The origin of the group's name is often disputed. "Jefferson airplane" is slang for a used paper match split to hold a marijuana joint that has been smoked too short to hold without burning the fingers - an improvised roach clip.

Answer: It comes from Mexican slang! Tobacco adulterated with marijuana or a cigarette stub of marijuana is called cucaracha (cockroach).

In Spanish, tabaco de cucaracha refers to adulterated tobacco generally.

Source: Wikipedia

The More You Know: So yes, there are a bunch of different versions of the song "La Cucaracha," but this is the one verse I learned when I took Spanish when I was, like, 10. I remember the first 3 lines, but not the 4th:

La cucaracha, la cucaracha
Ya no puede caminar
Porque no tiene, porque le falta
Marihuana pa' fumar

The cockroach, the cockroach
Can't walk anymore
Because it doesn't have, because it's lacking
Marijuana to smoke

It's some sort of satire about the Mexican Revolution, and lyrics and stanzas have changed and developed over time to fit the mood of the country. In general, the cockroach represents President Victoriano Huerta, a notorious drunk who was considered a villain and traitor due to his part in the death of revolutionary President Francisco Madero in 1913.

Who sings the song in the Chevy Traverse commercial?

Search: it's raining but i love the rain

Why: I always want the lyrics to be "I walk the line."

Answer: A band called The Real Tuesday Weld! It's called "I Love the Rain." Buy it here on iTunes - the one you want is on the album Where Psyche Meets Cupid.

Lyrics go like:

It's raining
It's pouring
But I ain't complaining
'Cause I love the rain

Source: YouTube

The More You Know: Do you know who Tuesday Weld is? She is kind of the only reason I bothered to blog this. I first Googled her after I saw Once Upon a Time in America - one of my favorite movies ever - but I later saw her play jaded Maria in the adaptation of Joan Didion's Play It As It Lays, which is a pretty good book that I had to read for grad school. She was also in a movie called I Walk the Line. WHAT!

She was born Aug. 27, 1943, which was exactly 4 years before my dad's birthday.

Have I ever heard of anyone buried in Hollywood Forever Cemetery?

Search: hollywood forever

Why: We might go to another premiere of Insidious there tonight. (We went to one last night, and the film was awesome. Totes the scariest thing I've ever seen. I could not get out of my house fast enough this morning.) I have only been one time - to Día de los Muertos - and I didn't recognize a single name there. But I did do this:

(It was unseasonably warm.)

Answer: There are a few! These are on the official Interactive Site Map (and some have cenotaphs but aren't really buried there):

• Mel Blanc (1908–1989)
• Charles Chaplin Jr. (1925–1968) - son of Charlie
• Hannah Chaplin (1865–1928) - mother of Charlie
• Lana Clarkson (1962–2003) - murdered by Phil Spector
  
• Cecil B. DeMille (1881–1959)
• William C. DeMille (1878–1955) - Cecil's brother
• Douglas Fairbanks (1883–1939) - There is a building on my street named after him.
• Estelle Getty (1923–2008)
• Griffith J. Griffith (1850–1919) - as in Griffith Park
• John Huston (1906–1987)
• Don LaFontaine (1940–2008) - the "in a world" movie trailer guy :(
• Peter Lorre (1904–1964)
• Hattie McDaniel (1895–1952) - Mammy in Gone with the Wind
  
• Darren McGavin (1922–2006) - the dad in Billy Madison
• Dee Dee Ramone (1952–2002)
• Johnny Ramone (1948–2004)
• Bugsy Siegel (1906–1947)
• Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer (1927–1959)
• Norma Talmadge (1893–1957) and her sisters Natalie and Constance - I have only heard of these people because I used to live on Talmadge Street in Los Feliz
  
• Rudolph Valentino (1895–1926)
• Fay Wray (1907–2004)

and also:

• Gidget Gein (1969-2008) - one of the guys from Marilyn Manson
• Pauline Pfeiffer Hemingway (1895–1951) - wife of Ernest
  

And probably some other people whose names I either didn't notice or didn't recognize, but you know who they are - like Elmer Berger (1891–1952), inventor of the rear-view mirror.

Source: HollywoodForever.com, Wikipedia

The More You Know: Incidentally, I once made a spreadsheet about Hattie McDaniel and her family (her brother and sister were both actors) because I couldn't believe the number of times they were each credited as Mammy, Porter, or Maid. Rude! Read about her cenotaph and the horrible reason it exists here.

What are the four humors and what do they do?

Search: the four bile

Why: Marcel said The Smiths are great because everyone needs a little melancholy in his life (even though I called them "pretty goddamn melodramatic," not melancholy).

That word comes from Greek melas, "black" + khole "bile."

Medieval physiology attributed depression to excess of "black bile," a secretion of the spleen and one of the body's four "humors."

(Also, the name Chloe comes from the word for the greenish-yellow color of bile, too.)

Answer: First, they are outlined the Hippocratic Corpus as a way to balance bodily fluids.

They are!

1. Yellow bile! (gall bladder)
   
2. Black bile! (spleen)
   
3. Phlegm! (brain/lungs)
   
4. Blood! (liver)
   

Each is associated with a season and a quality:

• Yellow bile: Summer; hot & dry
• Black bile: Autumn; cold & dry
• Phlegm: Winter; cold & moist
• Blood: Spring; hot & moist
  

They are also associated with elements and hypochondriac diseases:

• Yellow bile: Fire; too much fire made a person choleric
• Black bile: Earth; too much earth made him melancholic
• Phlegm: Water; too much water, phlegmatic
• Blood: Air; too much air, sanguine

Each had a corresponding body type and complexion:

• Yellow bile: Red-haired, thin
• Black bile: Sallow, thin
• Phlegm: Corpulent
• Blood: Red-cheeked, corpulent
  

and a temperament or personality:

• Yellow bile: Ambitious, bad tempered, vengeful violent
• Black bile: Despondent, introspective, irritable, sentimental, sleepless
• Phlegm: Calm, cowardly, unemotional, pallid, sluggish
• Blood: Amorous, generous, happy, hopeful, responsible
  

and also:

Source: About.com/ancienthistory, Wikipedia,

The More You Know: They also have suggested modern equivalents, as well as Myers-Briggs types:

• Yellow bile: Idealist; NF (intuition-feeling)
• Black bile: Guardian; SJ (sensing-judgment)
• Phlegm: Rational; NT (intuition-thinking)
• Blood: Artisan; SP (sensing-perception)

Which one are you? (I am phlegm.)

I want to see a picture of Kurt Cobain and RuPaul

Search: rupaul cobain

Why: Ever since my hairdresser told me that Logotv.com has full episodes online, I have been watching the everliving shit out of "RuPaul's Drag Race." Last night while watching Delta Work and Shangela act the fool on the runway, Chandler queried aloud whether RuPaul had penned the lyrics to her 1992 hit "Supermodel (You Better Work)" herself. (She did.)

But then we saw this:

Singer Kurt Cobain of Nirvana cited the song as one of his favorites of 1993 and the two were photographed together at the MTV Video Music Awards that year.

Answer: Oh lor, there are tons!

Source: Google Images

The More You Know: Speaking of Dave Grohl, he is apparently the most recent "rock star" to get all pissy because he doesn't want his songs to be on "Glee." Remember: the Kings of Leon people did that a few months ago, telling NME:

"We got an offer to appear on an episode of Ugly Betty. They wanted us to play ourselves. We were supposed to come in and help her out with some problem or other."

The band also confirmed they had rejected an offer from Glee, with Jared saying: "We could have sold out so much more. We turn stuff down constantly."

Here's the thing, though. I have it on pretty excellent authority that nobody ever asked Kings of Leon if "Glee" could use their songs in the first place. They were saying that to sound fancy, and since Ryan Murphy is an idiot, it caused a whole heap of drama. Anyway, I'm just saying. It makes me wonder about Dave Grohl, who otherwise hasn't been in the news much lately. Slash, too.

What are the words to the Princeton fight song?

Search: princeton fight song

Why: On "30 Rock," Jack says there's nothing gay about the Princeton theme song:

Oh, the merry men of Princeton are charging up the rear
Holding all the balls-

Answer: They go like this!

In Princeton town, we've got a team
that knows the way to play.
With Princeton spirit back of them,
they're sure to win the day.
With cheers and song we'll rally 'round
the cannon as of yore,
And Nassau's walls will echo with
the Princeton Tiger's roar:
(And then we'll)
Crash through that line of blue,
and send the back on 'round the end!
Fight, fight for ev'ry yard,
Princeton's honor to defend.
Rah! Rah! Rah!
Rah! Tiger sis boom ah!
And locomotives by the score!
For we'll fight with a vim
that is dead sure to win,
for Old Nassau.

Source: Lyrics on Demand

The More You Know: And sound like this!

What videos did Sum 41 make before I was in college?

Search: sum 41 discography

Why: Daniel asked what everyone thinks of them. The only time I've ever had even one thought about Sum 41 was once when I looked up at the television and saw that a guy in one of their videos was wearing the exact same shirt that I'm wearing in this gem from 1998.

Answer: There are only a few, so this should be easy!

• "Makes No Difference" (2000)
• "Fat Lip" (2001)
• "Pain for Pleasure" (2001)
• "In Too Deep" (2001)
  

And the winner is "Pain for Pleasure," which is only 1 minute long. The video for that song is sometimes - but not always - tacked onto the end of the video for "Fat Lip," like it is below. You can see the shirt in action right at the 3:30 mark. It's got the Kanji and everything!

Source: Wikipedia

The More You Know: In case you were wondering, the band was originally called Kaspir, but then they changed the name. Sum 41 = the 41st day of summer, when the band got together.

I like that name, except when it's spelled Casper. Maybe I will name a kid that.