Random Lists of Random Things

[_Laurie_]

Now we know where Rayzor goes to all the time....

[Sweet Jane 61]

^^^ ^^^^

And rayzor can't find his way out!

[Farin]

[big]A Timeline of TV Censorship[/big]

[small]Link[/small]

1942: Tweety Forced to Wear Clothes

Tweety Bird first appears in "A Tale of Two Kitties." Animator Bob Clampett originally draws him without feathers but the Hays Office censorship bureau thinks the plucked bird is just a little too naked. So Clampett covers Tweety’s titillating flesh with yellow plumage. (Note: Clampett doesn’t let this pass quietly, though. In the episode, a cat yells to his partner, "Give me the bird!" To which the other cat responds, "If the Hays Office would let me, I’d give him the bird, all right!")

1952: Lucy Gets Knocked Up

Despite Lucille Ball’s pregnancy during an entire season of I Love Lucy, the actual word "pregnant" isn’t allowed on air. Instead, the show uses phrases that seem equally informative but (somehow) less fraught with sin, such as "with child," "having a baby," and "expecting."

1956: Elvis’ Pelvis Shoved Off Screen

Elvis’ first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show is seen by 60 million people (about 80 percent of America’s TV owners at the time). His hips, however, aren’t so lucky. After his cover of Little Richard’s "Ready Teddy" - complete with trademark gyrations - the camera switches to a close-up of his face as not to over-stimulate the American public. By the time he appears on the show for the third time (in January 1957), he’s only shown from the waist up.

1959: Advertisers Rewrite History

On the dramatic anthology series Playhouse 90, an episode titled "Judgment at Nuremberg" has all references to gas

chambers eliminated from its re-enactment of the Nazi trials. This is done at the behest of the show’s slightly sensitive sponsor, the American Gas Association.

1964-1966: Censors Throw Down in Navel Wars

Mary Ann from Gilligan’s Island, Jeannie from I Dream of Jeannie, and Gidget are all barred from baring their navels. Actress Mariette Hartley receives the same treatment in a 1966 episode of Star Trek, but the show’s director, Gene Roddenberry, gets his revenge in 1973. He recasts Ms. Hartley in the pilot for his new show, Genesis II, and gives her two belly buttons.

1967: Actors Successfully Hide Pot on Set

It’s a tough year for network censors struggling to keep up with the hippie culture’s profusion of drug slang. Ed Sullivan requests that the Doors change the lyric "Girl, we couldn’t get much higher," since it sounds suspiciously like a drug reference. Meanwhile, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour has a recurring skit about Goldie, a housewife with her own talk show called Share a Little Tea with Goldie. The skit constantly plays on the tea/marijuana connection, which goes straight over the censors’ heads. Goldie’s opening lines include "Hi[gh]! … And glad of it!"

1970: Studios Learn to Cope with Cannibalism

Monty Python’s Flying Circus airs "The Undertaker Sketch," in which an undertaker convinces a man that the best way to dispose of his deceased mother is to eat her (with French fries, broccoli, and horseradish sauce). Bizarrely, the BBC allows this to be shown, but only if the sketch ends with the studio audience storming the stage in disgust.

1979: Miss Piggy’s Ultimate Rejection

The Muppet Show is banned from TV in Saudi Arabia, due to Miss Piggy’s, well, pig-ness. (The Prophet Muhammad declared the flesh of swine "an abomination.") Merchandise bearing her likeness is confiscated from shops and destroyed.

2004: Nipples by the Number

We know it’s a little obvious to mention Janet Jackson’s "wardrobe malfunction" during Super Bowl XXXVIII, but it’s worth recapping a few stats:

» Amount of time the nipple spent on-air: 1.01 seconds (we actually timed it)

» FCC fines levied on CBS: $550,000

» Cost to NFL (in sponsor refunds): $10 million

» Ranking among 2004 Internet searchers: 1

» Ranking in TiVo’s "most rewound moments": 1

» Number of American complaints to the network: more than 500,000

» Number of Canadian complaints: about 50

2006: South Park Draws Up Controversy

Comedy Central prevents South Park from using the image of the Prophet Muhammad in the episode "Cartoon Wars." However, for the benefit of freeze-frame geeks everywhere, Trey Parker and Matt Stone sneak a tiny Muhammad into the opening credits in a shot that shows every resident of the town.

[big]Bonus: The Turbulent Life of the TV Toilet[/big]

1957: Before it airs, CBS yanks the pilot episode of Leave It To Beaver because of its plot: Wally and the Beav mail-order a baby alligator and are forced to hide it in the tank of the family’s toilet. CBS finally decides the show can air, but only if all shots of the toilet seat are excised. The toilet tank is left unharmed, marking the first time a toilet (or half of one, anyway) appears on TV.

1960: Host Jack Paar walks off the set of The Tonight Show in the middle of taping an episode. He would not return for a month. The reason? Censors cut a joke that used the phrase "water closet."

1971: A major breakthrough occurs as the toilet is finally allowed to perform its function. The first flush is heard, but not seen, on the first-season episode of All in the Family. TV’s first flusher is, of course, Archie Bunker.

1973: Jack Paar’s censors are proven right about the toilet’s power over The Tonight Show audience. In the era of gasoline shortages, Johnny Carson jokes about an imminent shortage of toilet paper. Across the country, panicked viewers go on a hoarding spree, emptying store shelves and forcing Carson to publicly apologize the next night.

[Farin]

50 Funniest Films (as voted by readers of the Observer)

and

50 funniest films: the top 20 (in reverse order)

fun

[Tenacious_Peaches]

I'm generally pleased by this list except that I've never understood the appeal of Annie Hall and unless I'm drunk, I didn't see Animal House on the list. Other than that, the list rocks!

[TheLizard]

I like all the movies on that list that I've watched, but the lack of Animal House is almost inexcusable.

[Rayzor]

I always thought Animal House was the greatest movie ever made... how could these people forget that??!!??

[Farin]

well, I haven't seen that movie - never even heard about it in fact...

maybe it's not as known in the UK either?

[Rayzor]

Belushi? The toga party scene? It's a classic! Rent it and you'll be rolling on the floor!

[The Seeker]

well, I haven't seen that movie - never even heard about it in fact...

maybe it's not as known in the UK either?

I'm glad you said that. I've never heard of it.

[Kevin]

Das Boot is the best movie ever made - though the girls likely won't like it .

[Farin]

absolutly

did you see the 3 and a half hour Director's Cut?

[Kevin]

I've got it here- especially for those times I want my wife to shut up -sleep , read a book or go to bed ! ( Husband Lesson 103.1 )

[c_s_1987]

Here's another list of the best beers in the world , although I imagine most people here wouldn't have heard of most of the beers on that list. Nor would they be willing to dish out the money required to buy many of the beers on the list. Although I admittedly spent $9 Australian on a bottle of St. Bernardus Abt 12 recently. It was worth it. My review is currently the 22nd one on the list.

[MarcM]

Not surprisingly, I have not heard of any of those beers. I read the review of the Rouge Chocolate Stout. I want to try it now and see how it compares to Young's Double Chocolate Luxury Stout.

[edna]

I'm glad you said that. I've never heard of it.

I didn´t even know there was a movie about "Animal Farm"...

[c_s_1987]

I believe that everyone who likes beer should try Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier (which is about #46 on the list I linked to). It's amazing that a beer with such a great flavour could be brewed under Germany's strict beer laws. Hopefully Martin agrees with me.

[Farin]

I don't know this particular beer, but it's true about the Beer Law (called Reinheitsgebot ) dating from 1516. Simplified it states that a 'beer' may only use water, hops and and barley - no other additives are permitted

[Super Ry 71]

Here's another list of the best beers in the world...

I've got a video for people who want THE BEST.

[c_s_1987]

Weihenstephan is actually the oldest brewery in the world, founded in 1040. I know two outlets in Perth were Weihenstephaner beers can be purchased.

I guess I was wrong in assuming Weihenstephaner beers are very popular in Germany. They probably should be, because they taste great.

[Farin]

oh no, I didn't say that of course I know/have heard of Weihenstephan - I just never tried the beer

you have to know that beer in Germany is mostly a regional product, people generally only drink the brands from (more or less) local brewerys (with exceptions of course)

and THEN it's also the different kinds of beer - in Northern Germany people drink mostly Pils, while Weissbier is mostly drunk in Bavaria/Southern Germany

[miamisammy29]

Mmmmm...bier.

[Farin]

12 Things to Do with Coca Cola

Coca Cola (the real one) is not only great to drink, it also has many uses around the home.

This list of uses was tested on ordinary, original Coca Cola, not the diet kind, or any of the variations there are available.

1. Cleaned a burned saucepan by pouring Coke into it and boiling. This takes out all the staining.

2. It's easy to make a modern photograph look like an old sepia one. Just lightly brush the photograph with Coca Cola and dry quickly. Don't wet it too much or it will buckle. Photocopied black and white pictures make great looking "antique" prints, if you treat them in the same way. Maps photocopied and treated this way, look fantastic in antique style frames.

3. If you dye your hair and the result is too intense, flat Coca Cola will help to lighten it.

4. Give old coins a soak in Coke. This gives a brilliant shine for collections and decorative items.

5. Pour Coca Cola into your kettle and leave all day. This will remove limescale and leaves it clean inside.

6. A can of Coke poured into the toilet will clean it. The acid in the drink gets to work right away.

7. Make an excellent barbecue sauce by mixing Coke and Ketchup , half and half. Coat chicken, meat, etc with this before cooking. It's mouthwatering.

8. Flat Coke makes a good hair conditioner. Pour it over your hair, rinse and dry.

9. Put Coke into flat wide dishes in the garden and it will help to rid your plants of slugs. They are attracted by the sweet smell and once they fall in, they can't get out.

10. Rusty bolts can be loosened by soaking a rag in Coca Cola, and wrapping it around the bolt. Leave for a few hours and it will be easier to move.

11. Clean your jewelery in a glass of Coke. Brush with a toothbrush and rinse well. (Not recommended for valuable items, or those with gem stones in them.)

12. Flat Coca Cola helps to settle upset stomachs. Don't use fresh, fizzy Coke as this could irritate the condition. (Take the fizz out by adding a little sugar, if you need to.)

[Rayzor]

We used Coke on the farm to remove the rust from nails that were left outside. After a good soaking for a few hours then a quick rinse with the garden hose they're as good as new. Soaking for too long eats right through the nails, however, so keep an eye on it

[The Seeker]

It's funny how we drink we the same thing that's acidic enough to clean toilets and saucepans and kettles and stuff.