Thursday, September 30, 2010

Ask Useless Trivia!

This question comes from Carl: who is the lead singer of The Guess Who?

My answer: The lead singer is Burton Cummings, and the guitarist is Randy Bachman, who later was a part of Bachman Turner Overdrive.

-Bill

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Random Thought Of The Day

So I guess Buried has 83% on Rotten Tomatoes, which means I may have to check it out.

It looks pretty good, but I don't know if the "buried alive" concept would work for a whole movie.

-Bill

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Joke Of The Day

"You ever notice how turkey is trying to get into other meat products? Turkey bacon, turkey burgers - we like you for you, man!" - Mitch Hedberg

Monday, September 27, 2010

Ask Useless Trivia!

This question comes from Carl: Besides The Usual Suspects, what else has Chazz Palminteri been in?

My answer: A number of films, including A Bronx Tale(which he wrote) and Bullets Over Broadway. He also recently made an appearance on Modern Family.

-Bill

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Random Thought Of The Day

That Wall Street sequel looks pretty interesting; I may have to check it out one of these days.

I've always been a fan of Michael Douglas, plus Josh Brolin is usually awesome in whatever he's in, and I always wondered if the two would ever do a film together.

-Bill

Saturday, September 25, 2010

Ask Useless Trivia!

This question comes from Carl: Who is the singer of Deep Purple?

My answer: There have been a few, but the most famous is Ian Gillian, who was the lead vocalist on "Smoke On The Water", "Highway Star", "Space Truckin'", "My Woman From Tokyo", "Speed King", etc.

However, David Coverdale(lead singer of Whitesnake) was also in the band for a few years, and did "Burn" and "Lay Down, Stay Down", among others.

-Bill

Friday, September 24, 2010

Random Thought Of The Day

I'm probably going to go see Rob Riggle(and other Daily Show correspondents) do stand-up on Saturday, so that should be pretty good. Sadly, John Oliver is not involved, but Riggle is always funny when I've seen him(including his cameo as the cop with the tazer in The Hangover), and I enjoy Wyatt Cenac's work, as well.

Then again, that's just my opinion.

-Bill

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Ask Useless Trivia!

This question comes from Corey: Is there a superhero named Shazam?

My answer: No, "Shazam!" is the magic word used to turn Billy Batson into Captain Marvel. DC Comics is not allowed to use the name "Captain Marvel" in any promotional way, because Marvel Comics trademarked the name before DC settled its lawsuit with the company that Captain Marvel originally was produced by. By the time Captain Marvel became a DC hero, Marvel already had a character with a similar name. By the way, Shazam is a acronym for Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles, and Mercury - Billy Batson gets their abilities when he turns into Captain Marvel.

-Bill

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Hypothetically Speaking: If I wrote the Green Lantern movie

Watching Green Lantern: First Flight a couple of nights ago got me thinking: what villains would I use in  the live-action movie, apparently starring Ryan Reynolds as GL?

Here are my top picks:

- Sinestro: Green Lantern's arch-enemy

-Kanjar Ro: intergalactic arms dealer

- Star Sapphire: GL's girlfriend and boss Carol Ferris possessed by an evil gemstone

While there are other villains(Starro would be cool, but they might save that for if they ever do a Justice League movie), those are the main three I would focus on.

-Bill

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Random Thought Of The Day

The Tigers game was pretty good last night, thanks to a 7-5 win over the Royals and seeing Will Rhymes get his first major league home run.

Even though there didn't look to be many people there, the crowd still got into it at the end, especially at the top of the ninth inning. Plus, we ate at Nemo's, which is always a bonus.

-Bill

Monday, September 20, 2010

Ask Useless Trivia!

This question comes from Jeremy: What bands were Crosby, Stills, and Nash in before they started performing together?

My answer: David Crosby was in The Byrds, Stephen Stills was in Buffalo Springfield, and Graham Nash was in The Hollies.

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Random Thought Of The Day

Just finished watching Green Lantern: First Flight; I was pleasantly surprised.

Anyone who's a fan of the Batman, Superman or Justice League cartoons(from 1991 to 2006) should check that out.

-Bill

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Random Thought Of The Day

It's interesting that Sacha Baron Cohen has been cast to play Freddie Mercury in a biopic; However, I hope it's not just for the physical resemblance.

This may be his Good Will Hunting as far as making the transition from comedy to drama, but I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Then again, that's just my opinion.

-Bill

Friday, September 17, 2010

Ask Useless Trivia!

This question comes from Nick: Besides Boardwalk Empire and Desperado, what else has Steve Buscemi been in?

Answer: The Sopranos, Fargo, The Big Lebowski, Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Big Daddy, and Billy Madison, among other things.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Joke Of The Day

"People say 'Hey, did you know it takes less muscles to smile than frown?' And I respond 'Did you know it takes more time to say that than to leave me alone?'"- Bill Hicks

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Cheap Plug: Raul Malo's website

Besides being one of the best musicians I've ever heard, Raul Malo also has a really cool website. Not only does it have a forum, tour schedule, and videos from the various shows on his tour(among other stuff), but his journal is very well-written and interesting, especially the most recent entry titled "Three Little Pigs", where he takes a look at what's going on in today's world, and what might be done to fix it.

Here's the link: http://www.raulmalo.com/journal.html

- Bill

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Ask Useless Trivia!

This question comes from Jeremy: How many movies did Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, and Joe Pesci do together?

My answer: Three. Raging Bull, Goodfellas, and Casino.

Monday, September 13, 2010

Joke Of The Day

"I don't have a microwave oven, I just have a clock that occasionally cooks stuff." - Mitch Hedberg

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Random Thought Of The Day

Raul Malo put on a great show in Lexington last night, working in "Blue Moon" and "Cryin'"(the Roy Orbison song), as well as a number of his songs and even "Sweet Dreams", which got a big reaction from the older country fans in the audience.

He also made a True Blood reference at one point, which about fifteen people got out of the three hundred or so that were there.

-Bill

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Hypothetically Speaking: If I wrote X-Men 4

I have no idea whether or not there's going to be another entry in the X-Men series, but if there is going to be, here are ideas for villains previously unused in the first three films:

Apocalypse: The Darkseid of the Marvel Universe; also definitely one of the best villains in regard to putting the world in danger

Omega Red: Huge, strong, has adamantium whips that come out of his gloves, evil, and Russian - I don't know why they haven't used him, actually

Sauron: scientist that accidentally turns himself into an evil pterodactyl with a human brain; I'm guessing they might work in Ka-Zar and the Savage Land if they use Sauron

Then again, that's just my opinion.

-Bill

Friday, September 10, 2010

Random Thought Of The Day

While logging on to the Internet, I saw another Yahoo News bulletin that wasn't as polarizing as the "Physics vs. God" one from a while ago, but still interesting- apparently, a restaurant has made the decision to ban screaming children from the premises.

While screaming kids are not always the most pleasant audio experience(on airplanes, for example), I guess it's up to their parents to make sure they are ready for prime time, which includes going out to public places like restaurants.

Then again, that's just my opinion.

-Bill

Ask Useless Trivia!

This question comes from Jeremy, and it's another good one: how many movies have Al Pacino and Robert De Niro appeared in together?

My answer: Three. The Godfather Part II, Heat, and Righteous Kill.

-Bill

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Random Thought Of The Day

Hopefully, we're going to go see Raul Malo in Lexington on Saturday night. He's great; plus, it's going to be "MTV Unplugged" style, so that should be interesting to hear.

-Bill

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Joke Of The Day

"Sometimes, I help my friend not move. It's much easier than moving. I just go over and make sure he doesn't start loading stuff into a truck." - Mitch Hedberg

Bonus joke of the day: "Rice is good if you want two thousand of something." - Mitch Hedberg

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Random Thought Of The Day

Wow.

Getting a chance to see Allen Toussaint(for free, no less) at the Detroit Jazz Festival yesterday was definitely an unforgettable experience.

He's a singer/pianist/songwriter from New Orleans who's been covered by everyone from The Rolling Stones to Robert Palmer, and whose songs many people have probably heard without identifying him as the writer or singer(remember "Sweet Touch Of Love" from the Axe commercial where the guy turns into chocolate? That's one of his songs, too)

As for the show, it was amazing. He played many of his hits("Mother In Law", "Sweet Touch Of Love", "Workin' In A Coal Mine", and more), and talked with the crowd between every song, but my personal favorite moment came when he noted it was hard for him to describe New Orleans while speaking, so he did it via music - and went into a medley of songs on the piano including "Chopsticks", "Greensleeves", and classical music before concluding it with a great version of "City Of New Orleans".

All that combined with a feeling of rarity for the performance(as he does not tour often, if at all) made it a very special time - plus we stopped at the original Buddy's for dinner afterward(Bonus!).

-Bill

Monday, September 6, 2010

Ask Useless Trivia!

Today's question comes from my friend Morgan, and it's one I wouldn't have thought of, but a good one nonetheless: Does David Bowie sing "All The Young Dudes"?

My answer: No, David Bowie wrote "All The Young Dudes". The band who performed it is Mott The Hoople, whose  lead singer/pianist/songwriter was Ian Hunter, later famous for "Once Bitten Twice Shy", "Cleveland Rocks", and "Ships", among many other great songs.

- Bill

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Hypothetically Speaking: If I wrote the Avengers movie

While The Avengers is to come out in the next couple of years, since they still have to set the movie up with the Captain America and Thor( and possibly Ant-Man) movies, here are the characters I would include  were I to write the script:

 The Avengers:
Iron Man: original member and leader of the team(at least until Cap shows up), plus often assists the team with funding in the guise of Tony Stark

Thor: Another original member, also the most powerful of the team

Ant-Man: another of the original Avengers; thanks to his inventions, can shrink down to Ant-Man or grow up to 30 feet tall as Giant-Man

The Wasp: rounds out the original team; like Ant-Man, who she's married to, she can shrink to ant-size and  also has a "wasp sting" tazer in both of her gloves

Captain America: discovered by The Avengers after being in suspended animation for decades; leader of the team and its public face

The Hulk: while he accompanies the team on its first mission, he storms off afterward and is replaced by Cap

The Villains:

The Red Skull: Captain America's arch-enemy, and a constant threat to the team

Loki: Thor's evil half-brother, who's almost as powerful

The Mandarin: Iron Man's deadliest enemy; controls a worldwide crime syndicate as well as being quite powerful himself; could be revealed as the mastermind behind Iron Monger and Justin Hammer(from the first two Iron Man movies)

The Space Phantom: weird alien that can imitate others; convinces The Avengers that The Hulk has turned on them, which leads to him leaving the team

Other Characters:

Nick Fury: acts as an advisor to the team, and sends them on missions, including the rescue of Captain America

The Black Widow: Russian spy who assists SHIELD and The Avengers; eventually becomes an Avenger herself(maybe in the sequel)

Joke Of The Day: "You Ever Notice?" Edition

"You ever notice the first guy at a green light is the last guy to see it?"  - Bill Hicks

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Random Thought Of The Day

Anyone who's a comics fan or a fan of Clint Eastwood's westerns(I'm both, personally) should check out the recent Jonah Hex graphic novels, like No Way Back and Luck Runs Out. As violent as they are, they are also very well-written, and offer a look at(in my opinion) one of the three best anti-heroes in comics history(the other two being Wolverine and The Punisher).

-Bill

Friday, September 3, 2010

The Top Five: Singer/Guitarist Teams

(Note: this applies to bands whose lead singer does not play an instrument often or at all, thusly disqualifying some of my favorite musicians like The Beatles, Ian Hunter, CCR, Stray Cats, Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen, George Thorogood, ZZ Top, Eric Clapton, Joe Walsh, etc.)

Top Five Singer/Guitarist Teams

#1. Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend

#2. Robert Plant and Jimmy Page

#3. Freddie Mercury and Brian May

#4. David Lee Roth and Eddie Van Halen

#5. Bon Scott and Angus Young

Honorable Mentions: Joe Strummer and Mick Jones, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, Ian Gillian and Ritchie Blackmore.

- Bill

Ask Useless Trivia!

This question was posed by my old friend Jeremy, and it's a good one: Are The Clash a punk rock band?

My answer: No.  To me, they're too diverse. If you listen to "I Fought The Law", "Train In Vain", "Straight To Hell", and "Rock The Casbah", they're four totally different  songs.

It seems to me(given my limited punk experience) that the true punk rock bands like Iggy and The Stooges  and MC5 have a sound and stick to it,but are also basically credited with inventing that sound.

Then again, that's just my opinion.

-Bill

Cheap Plug: The Wire Eyes

Make sure to go over to Facebook and check out The Wire Eyes; they're good, I promise.

Plus, a kid I've known for 18 years(Brad Potts) is in the band, so yeah, I'm a little biased.

Here's the link: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/The-Wire-Eyes/142114102484796

- Bill

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Random Thought Of The Day

As I'm logging on to the Internet this morning, the first thing that appears on my screen is a Yahoo News bulletin that says something along the lines of "Hawking says God does not play role in the universe" and then a subhead of "Says physics prove it"

Just when I thought TV pundits were running out of things to yell at each other about, here we go again. Now I have to go back and watch "Man of Science, Man of Faith" and chuckle at the people who will inevitably scream themselves hoarse about this.

Then again, that's just my opinion.

-Bill

Hypothetically Speaking: If I wrote the new Spider-Man movie

I wouldn't.

I have no idea why someone feels the need to reboot the Spider-Man series, as Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2 were both very good, and to re-do the series without Sam Raimi directing seems like a mistake to me.

However, if they insist on a do-over, here are some villain ideas they didn't get around to in the first three movies:

 - Scorpion: always a cool villain and threat to Spider-Man, plus J. Jonah Jameson is partially responsible for his creation, so there's a subplot waiting to be used.

- Mysterio: probably my favorite weird Spider-Man villain, and his use of illusions to trick Spidey and commit crimes would be a cool use of CGI

- Rhino: another good mid-level villain, and a fight between the two would also probably lead to some cool CGI effects, like Spider-Man using webs to slingshot a rock back at Rhino after Rhino throws it

Also, The Vulture, Shocker, Kraven the Hunter, the Spider-Slayer robots(also masterminded by JJJ), and even obscure ones like Hydro-Man, Hammerhead, Molten Man or The Chameleon could be used, even if it's just in a montage.

-Bill

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Joke Of The Day

" I hate when people show you a picture and say 'this is a picture of me when I was younger.'  Every picture of you is when you're younger! If someone came up to me and said 'this is a picture of me when I was older', I'd be like 'how'd you do that? Gimme that camera!". - Mitch Hedberg

Bonus joke of the day: "I don't have a girlfriend, I just know a girl who'd get really mad if she heard me say that." -Mitch Hedberg.

What's going on at Useless Trivia

Before I get started, a quick disclaimer: I do not write to offend, so I want to make sure and note that everything written on here is solely my opinion.

Now then, I thought I'd give a guide to what may be popping up on the blog:

-Useless Trivia Presents: an original short story by me

- Ask Useless Trivia: questions I've heard from people, or have been emailed

- Joke Of The Day: either a joke I came up with, or one I've heard from someone else

- Hypothetically Speaking: how I would write something, either a movie, TV show, etc.

- Useless Trivia Hall Of Fame: celebrities I admire, and the reasons why

- Useless Trivia Movie Review: my thoughts on movies, complete with rating system

- Random Thought Of The Day: self-explanatory

-  Stuff No One Cares About: weird facts, statistics, etc. I come across while reading or surfing the Internet that I feel the need to share

- Cheap Plug: stuff I like enough to mention and/or link to

- The Top Five: carried over from my Facebook page, top five lists ranging from movie genres to restaurants

That's all for now.

- Bill