Fun Facts

I like to tell people things that they may not know. These things are usually fun little facts or bits of trivia that I have picked up over the years, and have stored away in my brain. Here now are some fun facts from the Cranium of Conor.

Winston Churchill used to dictate memos and written material to his secretaries from the bathtub.

Tom Selleck was the original choice to play Indiana Jones, but was unavailable because of his commitment to Magnum P.I.

Queen Elizabeth I was called the 'Virgin Queen' because of her refusal to marry and devote herself completely to her nation, and not complicate her life with a husband.

The literary character of Horatio Hornblower was Gene Roddenberry's original basis for the character of Captain Kirk, and later the basis for director Nicholas Meyer's vision for Star Trek II.

There is a rumor that the envelope containing the New York Knicks logo was chilled in 1985 to allow them to get the first pick in the draft in order to select Georgetown center Patrick Ewing. At the time, the NBA Draft Lottery was done by putting envelopes containing each team's logo in a drum and drawing them out "randomly."

Adam West was a possible replacement for Sean Connery as James Bond in Diamonds are Forever.

During the 1960 presidential election, a debate between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon garnered very different reactions from those who watched the debate on T.V. and those who listened to it on the radio. The people who saw the debate on T.V. thought that the good looking, clean cut Kennedy won over the sweaty, five o'clock shadow sporting Nixon, while those who simply heard the debate thought that Nixon had better arguments and won. T.V. eventually trumped radio as Kennedy beat Nixon.


Yours truly was in an Arctic Circle wazmo shades commercial s a kid. Oh yeah.

Movie of the Week

This week,

RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (1981)

Starring- Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman, Denholm Elliott

Who doesn't love Indiana Jones? I am of course talking about the Indiana Jones of my youth, not the crappy Crystal Skull version. For me, Indiana Jones is all about this film. I appreciate Last Crusade, and to a much lesser extent, Temple of Doom, but Raiders will always be my favorite. It has it all- a great hero, a sassy heroine, great action, evil villains and a great McGuffin in the Ark of the Covenant. From the first time we see Indy emerge from the shadows to the final scene in the warehouse, Raiders is a nearly perfect movie.

The opening keeps you on the edge of your seat as Indy combats poison darts, turncoat guides and giant boulders, and never lets up. With him every step of the way is a fabulous supporting cast led by Karen Allen as the feisty Marion Ravenwood. Paul Freeman as Belloq is a charming, but deadly adversary for Jones, as is the Peter Lorre-esque Toht played by Ronald Lacey. I also love Indy's allies Marcus and Sallah who help him in his quest for the Ark.

I think one of the reasons that I like this movie and Indiana Jones as a hero is because he isn't perfect, and he knows it. He's not sure how he's going to get out of certain situations, he's afraid of snakes and he gets beat up. I dressed up as Indy many times as a kid, and loved to act out the movie as I watched it because I wanted to be like him. Not many screen characters inspired me in that way, but Indiana Jones was one of them. Cheers to a great tough guy!

Things to watch for-

The Monkey Heiling Hitler

The scariest hanger ever

Bad Dates

That Big Boulder (How'd they get it so smooth?)

"I don't know. I'm making this up as I go."

Boo! Part II

In the last installment, I provided you with some rules for Halloween costumes. I hope it was helpful. Who am I kidding, of course it was! This time I will regale you with tales of my best Halloween costumes.

INDIANA JONES- I've been Indy twice, once when I was 8 and again at 16. I was a better Indy at 8 oddly enough. I think the key to this costume's greatness was to put some dirt and fake blood on my face. See, I think I look pretty damn good for an eight year old.

DR. PETER VENKMAN- This costume was so awesome I wore it both of the last two years. I think it might be the most accurate costume I've ever had. The real credit here goes to the wife for ordering the stuff and putting it all together. Not only was the jumpsuit cool,

I used my childhood proton pack to help build a new, super sweet proton pack. Save your toys, kids, they may come in handy some day. P.S. Ghostbusters Rule!

THE COUNT- Being a Muppet can be difficult, but you can pull it off if you don't insist on having someone put their hand up your butt. I was 6 when I was the Count, and my Grandma made me a killer costume complete with green cape and sash. Some no-nothings thought I was a Vampire, but to those with a discerning eye I was clearly the one and only Count. Idiots.

CHARLIE BROWN- This costume was easy, but cool. My wife was Lucy and we were super cute. At least that's what everyone told us at the time.

OBI WAN KENOBI- Cloak? Check. Boots? Check. Lightsaber? Check. The wife made this badass costume for me a few years back, and I've worn it well. Little known fact: Jedis love to dance.

Now is the Time to Pretend

There are many film series that I am happy to call myself a fan of, Star Trek, James Bond, Star Wars, Batman, Rocky, etc. However, within some of the great series lie a movie or two or three that suck so much you wish they had never made it. I can say that there are many films that I wish I could erase from my memory and fabricate something less awful in my mind in their place. I have worked very hard to eradicate any vestiges of these films from my mind, and you probably should too.

Here is a list of some of the films that need to be repressed.

X-MEN THE LAST STAND

The first 2 X-Men movies were great, and really made the comic book genre relevant in real life. Unlike other superhero flicks, the X-Men films were seemingly grounded in reality and the actors (Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Hugh Jackman) brought a credibility that set the bar for the new Batman films. I was so hungry to see the next installment after the Star Trek II-esque ending of X2, but could not have been more disappointed with the result. Brett Ratner took over the reins from Bryan Singer and led a great franchise into the toilet. Why? Why did Singer have to leave to make a crappy Superman movie? Only he knows, and now we are stuck pretending that The Last Stand didn't kill off Cyclops, Xavier and leave Magneto powerless. Thanks for nothing, Ratner.

SPIDERMAN 3

Again, two strong outings in a comic book series left me feeling optimistic for number 3, but again I was sooo wrong. Spiderman 3 has even less of an excuse to be awful than X-Men 3 because of the fact that the same team that brought us 1 and 2 came back to make 3. Sam Raimi did his actors no favors by muddying up the story with not one, not two, but three villians (New Goblin, Sandman and Venom) when each could have stood on their own. Also, Topher Grace stunk, as did Snaggletooth (Kirsten Dunst) who lobbied to have her character sing in the movie. What a mistake. They're planning a fourth film, but I'm not rushing to see it.

INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL

Where to begin? George Lucas has been on my shit list for so long now that I scarcely remember when I admired him for his early work. Nineteen years after the last Indy film, they made what can only be described as a cinematic stillborn. I wish I could abort the memory of the film because it effectively raped my childhood. I grew up on Indiana Jones, and dressed as him for Halloween more than once, but when I saw this film it was like watching somebody murder Santa Claus. I can't even get into specifics because it was so bad, but just let me say that in no universe, real or otherwise, is Shia LeBouf related to Harrison Ford.

ROCKY IV, V, VI

Not that I don't appreciate Dolph Lundgren's work, but they should have stopped after Rocky III. The end of the film where Rocky and Apollo fight alone in Mickey's gym is a perfect coda to the series. Even though I will watch Rocky pummel Ivan Drago when it comes on T.V., I swear I will never own anything but the first three films. Sly could never top Mr. T and Hulk Hogan as opponents even if he tried for 100 years.