Volcanicast September 11th, 2008

In this week’s Volcanicast, we discuss New Zealand’s giant squids, Maine’s giant lobsters, and Kathy Ireland’s giant… brain.

Just to name a few.

 

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SHOW NOTES

• 7.penn state football (Yeah, it’s starting) (WES, gonna skip for something on Friday)
• 6.clemson (BOB)
  
  - FOTSFTWE 9/8/07
  
  - - My notes:
  
  - Public university founded in 1889 in Clemson, South Carolina
  
  - - Currently has more than 17,000 students
  
  - - - They have a football team, the Tigers, who beat No. 19 Forida State 24-18 that weekend
  
  - Why then?
  
  - - Several bomb threats were received over the course of the week
  
  - - - There was a possibility they’d have to cancel the game (oh noes!) and evacuate the stadium
  
  - - - - Administrators knew this possibility before the game, but didn’t bother to tell anyone who might have been affected
  
  - Why now?
  
  - - College football season began
  
  - - - The #9 Tigers lost to the #24 Alabama Crimson Tide, 34-10
  
• 4.beanie wells (Ohio State running back, injured?)
• 3.big ten network (SAM)
  
  - Big ten is a football network of 11 teams in 8 states.
  
  - From Iowa to PA.
  
  - It’s football, and I am a chick, so I don’t have to care.
  
  - Why now?
  
  - Big deal with Cox to move some games to Thursday night so they can show more games.
  
  - Yay more games.
  
  - Yet another reason to never get cable.
  
  - Oh wait. Mother for 4 weeks…
  
  - have to get TLC and lifetime.
  
  - Damn.
• 2.ordinal (From previous week)
• 5.ashley ellerin (From previous week)
• 1.ashley ellerin photo (You sick bastards)

Aug 31, 2008 (SUN)

• 7.colossal squid (SAM)
  
  - I so must got stuck with this.
  
  - Cas you know this kinda thing freaks me right the F out.
  
  - - That’s the whole point of having trades… -Wesley 9/8/08 5:19 PM 
  
  - And it seems to be from my hometown!!!
  
  - Totally WFT.
  
  - It’s a squid they caught down by NZ in the Antartic.
  
  - Weighing 495 KG.
  
  - Thats 1090 lbs if we are keeping score.
  
  - Scientists say that at this size and weight, they tend to get shorter while getting wider.
  
  - KNown to the Kiwi scientests as the giant blob.
  
  - Though known to be feisty at a smaller size, once getting this large, they really can’t do too much.
  
  - The lower jaw thingie on this one measured 40cm, ones found in whale stomaches have measured up to 49cm.
  
  - Meaning this wasn’t the largest squid down there…more just medium to kinda large.
  
  - With Beach ball sized eyes and two tenticles with 25 rotating hooks and 8 arms with 19 stationary hooks in it.
  
  - A slightly smaller squid caught a few years ago used these hooks in the people that puller her aboard the ship.
  
  - This one caught is believed to be the largest whole squid landed and is housed at the National Musieum in Wellington NZ.
  
  - Te Papa.
  
  - Why now?
  
  - On the Discovery channel.
• 6.orchid lodge costa rica (BOB)
  
  - A four-room lodge in the Costa Rican mountains
  
  - - It’s pricy, but not outrageous, about $172/night
  
  - - There’s not a lot of information about the place
  
  - - - People who’ve stayed there seem to like it
  
  - Why now?
  
  - - No freakin’ clue
  
  - - - I’m certain it was mentioned on some TV show somewhere
  
  - - - - Maybe a celebrity stayed there
  
• 5.stiletto snake (BOB)
  
  - Also known as burrowing asps, burrowing vipers, mole vipers, and side-stabbing snakes
  
  - - Any of a genus of snakes called Atractaspis
  
  - - So named because they are both burrowing
  
  - - - And attack their prey with a venomous fang protruding from the side of the mouth
  
  - - - - Because of this, they are unsafe to handle like most other snakes which can be held directly behind the head
  
  - - - - - They can actually direct their long fangs out the side of the mouth to stab the hand of the person handling them
  
  - - Their venom is dangerous to humans, but not usually life threatening
  
  - - They’re located in Africa and the Arabian peninsula
  
  - - Range from 30cm to 50cm (1 to 1.6 feet) in length
  
  - Why now?
  
  - - Featured on a program called I Was Bitten on the Discovery Channel
  
• 4.catch a piece of maine (WES)
  
  - Company that lets you lease a lobster trap.
  
  - - http://catchapieceofmaine.com/
  
  - - For $2995 a year
  
  - - You get all the proceeds from the trap, which is sure to be less than $3000 or they wouldn’t make money.
  
  - - You can also instead get all the lobsters caught in the trap shipped to you.
  
  - - - With a MINIMUM of 40, even if they don’t catch 40 that year in your trap.
  
  - - - That’s $75 a lobster.
  
  - - - You also get, for each 4 lobsters, some clams, cheesecake, and lots of other stuff.
  
  - - - But still, $75 a lobster!
  
  - Why now?
  
  - - It is brand new, and looks like it either was announced on this day, or hit a national news service, or both.
  
• 3.angola prison (SAM)
  
  - Once bitten, twice shy.
  
  - New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin was critisied for the way the city was handled after Katrina hit.
  
  - The looting was horrendous.
  
  - Including the two cops, on TV in uniform looting the walmart.
  
  - This time, not only have they decided to clear out the city days before the hurricane hit, and enforce military enforced curfew.
  
  - And an instant prison stay in Angola Prison for anyone caught with stuff and no reciept.
  
  - Why now?
  
  - I guess people googled where they might be staying to see if it was worth looting.
  
  - Cable TV, Food and a roof?
  
  - Better than some locations.
• 2.two girls one cup original video (WES)
  
  - I was going to skip this.
  
  - - But then I got scared that someone would be curious and would look it up.
  
  - - - Or even worse, see it.
  
  - I have one important thing to say here:
  
  - - DO NOT WATCH THIS VIDEO
  
  - - Okay, let’s move on.
  
  - In this video, two girls deficate into a cup, onto each other, and into each others’ mouths.
  
  - - It is one of the more disgusting things I’ve seen online, and I’ve seen a lot.
  
  - Why now?
  
  - - I got nothing. It doesn’t look like a spam peak, but I can’t imagine it was on TV. If it was, it was on at 11pm.
  
  - - - Sadly, the trend graph cuts off at 9pm but the 8pm peak and 9pm trail-off looks like the first half of the TV peak.
  
• 1.snarky (Retired topic. There is nothing to say on it, except I’m sure that Dane Cook thing aired again)

Sep 1, 2008 (MON)

• 19.amy goodman (Arrested at RNC, possibly unlawfully)
  
  
• 18.sinfully delicious candy (SAM)
  
  - Guilt free candy.
  
  - Kinda an oxymoron.
  
  - It’s all the wonders of desert in a pill.
  
  - I mean peace of candy.
  
  - And only 2 caleries per pill.
  
  - Meaning you can apparently pop pills all day and feel happy.
  
  - Except they are all sugar free.
  
  - So not that happy.
  
  - Why now?
  
  - On the Today show.
  
• 17.ucla football (W/16)
• 16.rick neuheisel (UCLA Head Coach)

• 14.geoduck (BOB)
  
  - FOTSFTWE 6/16/07
  
  - - When notes sucked bad
  
  - Despite the lack of any group of letters that could produce the sound “gooey” in the English language
  
  - - They’re actually “gooey-ducks” and not “geo-ducks”
  
  - - Large saltwater clam
  
  - - - The shell is 15-20 cm (7-9 in), but its “neck”, which extends well outside the shell can be up to two meters in length
  
  - - - They’re native to the American north west coast
  
  - - - They have a life expectancy of about 146 years
  
  - - - Their necks are actually siphons with which they filter plankton out of the seawater
  
  - - - They are farmed, mainly in Washington and British Columbia, and sold for $30/pound for food
  
  - Why then?
  
  - - We didn’t know
  
  - Why now?
  
  - - I still don’t know
  
  - - They were in the news lately because of potential negative side effects of geoduck farming
  
  - - - The harvest was held up by government and then subsequently permitted in Pierce County, Washington
  
  - - - - So that’s probably it
  
• 12.terressentials (BOB)
  
  - Company that sells organic skin, hair, and baby products
  
  - - Apparently the USDA certifies organic stuff
  
  - - - And Terressentials is proud to use only 100% USDA certified organic stuff
  
  - Why then?
  
  - - On Dirty Jobs
  
  - Why now?
  
  - - On a Dirty Jobs rerun
  
• 10.raising the bar (New lawyer TV show)
• 21.google chrome (w/#4)
• 20.google chrome download (w/#4)
• 13.chrome browser (W/4)
• 4.download chrome browser (WES)
  
  - Google released a browser! OMG LIFE IS PERFECT!
  
  - It is lightweight, fast, and free.
  
  - - And I assume you can download it if you’re on a Windows platform
  
  - - On my machine it gives me a link to where I can get email updates about the browser.
  
  - It is also open source
  
  - - Or will be, when they release the source code.
  
  - - - Which I assume will be soon.
  
  - Personal opinion: Google is kinda scaring me, but more browser competition can only be a good thing. I’d try it if I could get it for Linux, and when it actually becomes open source I’m sure it’ll become available for me soon.
  
  - Why now?
  
  - - Google announced that the browser launch was imminent.
  
  - - It was not actually available to download until the 2nd.
  
• 11.cocodrie louisiana (Where Gustav hit)
• 6.cocodrie la (Where Gustav hit land)
• 5.rivergauges.com (See how N.O. is flooding)
• 2.plaquemines parish (SAM)
  
  - A parish is usually the group of a church.
  
  - Unless you live in the south.
  
  - Specifically Louisiana.
  
  - Then you name your counties a Parish.
  
  - This is the Plaquesmines County (parish).
  
  - It is the wang of LA.
  
  - Has the most water to land ratio in the US. Almost completely surrounded by water.
  
  - Named after the native word piakimin.
  
  - It’s Native American for Poke-mon.
  
  - I mean persimmon. Since there were alot of persimmon trees there.
  
  - It has a levee. Or rather a 6 foot high dirt berm  about the lenght of two old cars built by a farmer years ago to keep the cows dry.
  
  - perhaps restoring the levees that protect first before doing the ones closer to the city would be a prioriety.
  
  - Apparently not.
  
  - Why now?
  
  - Gustav ripped thru this old piece of dirt.
  
  - That is so unstable you can pull out chunks with your hands and noone will dare park a vehicle on it.
  
  - Flooding everything.
  
  - they patched it will sand bags.
  
  - Apparently this is just one of the berms that protect the entire place.
  
  - And they now all have holes in it.
  
  - Perhaps concrete is a little more permanent?
  
  - However, it wasn’t so long ago that the ocean itself wasn’t right up against these dirt piles.
  
  - It use to have a mile or so of slushy marsh land.
  
  - This also helped buffer and absorb the 15 foot storm swells.
  
  - Now they just wash over the dirt walls.
  
• 15.levi johnston (Bristol’s baby daddy)
• 9.palin daughter pregnant (Yeah we know)
• 8.bristol palin (The one who’s pregnant)
• 7.sally quinn (Liberal columnist critical of Palin and the abortion thing)
• 3.palin s daughter pregnant (OMG just like Miley Cyrus!)
• 1.daily coast (WES)
  
  - There is no “Daily Coast” blog. The blog nobody could find with their search was for “Daily KOs,” a very liberal blog.
  
  - Bristol, one of the more normally named children of Sarah Palin, is pregnant.
  
  - - Levi Johnston is the presumptive father of the child.
  
  - - They are talking marriage, but aren’t engaged.
  
  - - - Don’t rush into it, kids.
  
  - Bristol never considered abortion, which is her choice of course.
  
  - - Unless her mother gets her way.
  
  - - - Of course, with an abstinence-only policy, her mother hasn’t gotten her way yet, so why start now?
  
  - But seriously, good luck, you crazy kids. It’s bad enough to get thrust into an situation that you had no plan for, no way out of, and no control over. But then add to it that you’re pregnant and… Wow. Good luck, indeed.
  

Sep 2, 2008 (TUE)

• 28.richard collier (NFL player, shot)
• 27.nita whitaker (BOB)
  
  - Wife of Don LaFontaine
  
  - - Let’s talk about Don
  
  - - He’s the movie trailer voice over guy
  
  - - The In A World… guy
  
  - - He’s a freaking genius
  
  - - - And he has a great voice
  
  - - - - Unfortunately, I found out too late that if he had time, he’d totally record an answering machine message for you
  
  - Why now?
  
  - - Sadly, he died
  
  - - From complications due to a collapsed lung
  
  - - - He was 68
• 25.webassign (WES)
  
  - Website (http://webassign.net) that allows teachers to assign homework to students online.
  
  - - Using web-forms.
  
  - - Sounds to me like an awesome idea.
  
  - - - Except the fact that the kids can totally cheat.
  
  - - - Which they could do anyway, but parents could force the kids to do their homework at a table without a computer, if it was in a textbook. You can’t do that with this.
  
  - - - Of course, math problems and the like would still require the work be done (with Windows Calculator, probably) but questions like “What is the 5th Planet from the Sun?” are so easily Googled it’s stupid to assume the answer was derived any other way.
  
  - Anyway, why now?
  
  - - It is impossible to determine. Every single search brings up sites camping the terms.
  
  - - Due to the search graph, I’m going to assume it was in a speech at the RNC.
  
• 24.download chrome browser (From previous day)
• 26.90210 cw (W/#21)
• 21.90210 cast (I just threw up in my mouth a little)
• 20.iowa land records (Website, Dunno why now)
• 19.horace grant (Retired basketball player)
• 18.ospraie hedge fund (#17)
• 17.ospraie (Hedge fund, did really crappy, closed down)
• 16.taubl family (On America’s Got Talent)
• 15.elin nordegren (Otehr name of #11)
• 11.elin woods (SAM)
  
  - Blonde hottie.
  
  - married to Tiger woods in 2004.
  
  - Daughter Sam born just after the 2007 US open.
  
  - Why now?
  
  - With Woods off the golf circuit for a year because of surgery…
  
  - Amazing what happens when you take a year off and stay at home.
  
  - He is learning all about his daughter.
  
  - And apparently his wife.
  
  - Who is expecting another little woods late Winter.
  
• 22.flightaware.com live (w/#9)
• 12.flightaware.com (Site for #9)
• 9.flight aware (WES)
  
  - Website (http://flightaware.com) that tracks flights in the air.
  
  - - I assume using GPS or other location services on the planes themselves.
  
  - - - I must assume this because they don’t actually say it anywhere.
  
  - - It’s actually pretty cool, and I can totally see using this to track the next flight I need to know about, that I’m not on.
  
  - Why now?
  
  - - I don’t know, but there is a news story about an amusing airplane flight on this day, so I’m going to talk about that.
  
  - - A transcontinental flight blew a tire taking off from LAX, and had to make an emergency landing.
  
  - - However, they had a full tank of fuel and it’s illegal to land without using it up, unless the plane cannot fly.
  
  - - It is also illegal to dump it.
  
  - - So they had to circle between LAX and an offshore island for almost 2 hours.
  
  - - They were already an hour late to take off, and were 5 hours late by the time they took off a 2nd time.
  
  - - - There was no word, that I could find, on why they couldn’t fly to Toronto with a blown tire, seeing as they were already in the air and would have to land eventually anyway.
  
  - - Direct link to the flight path at Flight Aware.
  
• 8.confessions of a shopaholic (TV series coming in 2009, announced?)
• 7.shandi finnessey (w/#6)
• 6.shandi (On the TV show Wanna Bet)
• 4.jerry reed (BOB)
  
  - Grammy winning Country Western singer/songwriter/guitarist
  
  - - But the good kind
  
  - - Also an actor from time to time, best known as Cletus “Snowman” Snow in the Smokey and the Bandit series
  
  - - - Also the source of one of his most enduring songs, East Bound and Down
  
  - Why now?
  
  - - He also died
  
  - - Complications from emphysema
  
  - - - He was 71
  
  - - - I don’t usually take deaths if I can avoid them, but I was rather fond of the work of both men
  
• 29.nancy reagan (At RNC)
• 23.dennis bloom (Businessman, maybe at the RNC?)
• 14.joe lieberman (At RNC)
• 13.bridget mccain (At RNC)
• 5.fred thompson (At RNC)
• 3.rachael lampa (Contemporary Christian singer, at RNC)
• 2.michael monsoor (Dead navy seal, tributed to at RNC)
• 10.huntington s disease (Treated with #1)
• 1.amantadine (SAM)
  
  - A drug with a dual purpose.
  
  - Used for an antiviral drug.
  
  - Was found to have properties that helped with Parkinsons by accident when given to people for the Asain flu.
  
  - Why now?
  
  - House.
  
  - They did the last eposodes for house since the new season starts next week.
  
  - On Tuesdays.
  
  - It is the drug that Amber took right when the bus hit a dumptruck.
  
  - And because her kidneys were not able to filter the drug, it bound to the proteins and caused her body to die.
  
  - It was sad.
  
  - They woke her up to tell her she was dead and turned off the heart bypass pumps.
  
  - No more CTB.

Sep 3, 2008 (WED)

• 36.james whitey bulger (SAM)
  
  - Irish mobster from the Boston Area.
  
  - turned 79 today.
  
  - But still on the run and remains still top ten for FBI most wanted list.
  
  - He fled Boston area in 1995.
  
  - With 19 murders on his tab.
  
  - Why now?
  
  - For a birthday present, the FBI doubled his reward money from 1M to 2M.
  
  - Only Bin Lauden is worth more.
  
  - And the FBI also added molestation charges to his rap sheet.
  
  - Apparently alot of them.
  
  - And new age enhanced pictures.
  
  - In this case, they are willing to give the money to any family member or his long term girlfriend.
  
  - She has already been fined and indited for harbouring him once before, and it is through she is traveling with him now.
  
  - According to family, it would be like Whitney to have his family turn him in if he was ill or dying, just to get moeny from the government as his final act.
• 33.dorae saunders (Transexual on America’s Got Talent)
• 32.todd doxey (Dead college football player, honored)
• 30.warren zevon (Musicain, dead) (BOB traded for #13 on 9/5)
• 26.herb wilson (Chef, dating Star Jones)
• 27.palin affair (What #25 will report)
• 25.national enquirer palin (To report that Palin had an affair)
• 23.sulfur hexafluoride (BOB)
  
  - Chemistry is cool
  
  - - Generally, chemicals that have sulfur or fluorine in them are not good for animals
  
  - - - Both are fairly reactive (fluorine in particular), and
  
  - - - But when you put six fluorines and one sulfur together, you get a colorless, odorless, non-toxic, non-flammable, heavier-than-air gas
  
  - - - - Which has the interesting effect of lowering your voice if you inhale it and then speaking using it
  
  - - - - - Using the inverse of the phenomenon experienced with helium gas
  
  - Why now?
  
  - - On Mythbusters
  
  - - A myth exists that SF₆ is too heavy for the lungs to expel unassisted
  
  - - - And that after doing the lower voice trick, it’s necessary to bend over to let the gas trickle out
  
  - - - - This is untrue; the lungs mix gasses very effectively and the SF₆ will be expelled in a few breaths
• 22.peggy noonan (Republican commentator, panned Palin with her mic on, oops) (WES, skipping for something on Friday)
• 21.iron island museum (Ghost Hunters were there)
• 18.boeing strike (They’re voting on if they should)
• 17.nuttin but stringz (SAM)
  
  - A band of brothers.
  
  - From Queens NY.
  
  - Who all play the violin.
  
  - In a hiphop-classical way with a hint of rock.
  
  - Why now?
  
  - Going for one of the 5 spots for the semifinals in their group.
  
  - In the smashtastic show America’s Got Talent.
  
  - We are onto the Semis already?
  
  - Where oh where does the time go.
  
• 12.chloroform (Found in missing woman’s car)
• 34.harry reid (Guy who said Palin was shrill, #10)
• 28.community organizer (Obama was one, Palin panned it in her speech, #10)
• 15.palin speech video (W/#10)
• 14.shrill (Harry Reid said Palin’s speech was this and sarcastic, w/#10)
• 10.sarah palin speech tonight (It happened)
• 9.nobody knows it but me (Kevin Sharp song? Dunno why now)
• 8.joe klein blog (Conservative? blogger for Time magazine. Probably reported on RNC)
• 13.diane von furstenberg (Related to #7)
• 7.cfda (Council of Fashion Designers of America, dunno why now)
• 11.okc thunder (See #6)
• 6.oklahoma city thunder (New NBA team)
• 5.jillian grace (David Spade’s baby mommy)
• 4.bureaucracy (Obama referred to it in a speech)
• 3.haberdasher (WES)
  
  - One who haberdashes.
  
  - - With, I assume, haberdashery.
  
  - A haberdasher is a person who sells haberdashery.
  
  - - Haberdashery is sewing supplies, such as zippers, buttons, etc.
  
  - - Also, men’s clothing.
  
  - Why now?
  
  - - Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin compared herself to a well-known “Young farmer and haberdasher from Missouri” named Harry Truman.
  
  - - She’s also young, a farmer, and a haberdasher.
  
  - - - Actually, she’s not either of those last ones.
  
  - - - - Nor is she from Missouri.
  
  - - - - - Nor did she spend 10 years in the Senate before running for VP.
  
  - - - - - - But other than that, they’re veritable twins.
  
  - - Palin made the comparison for no reason whatsoever.
  
  - - - Though Truman did succeed Roosevelt when he died in office.
  
  - - - - I’m just sayin’.
  
• 2.rick schroder (Directing a SciFi movie, dunno if that’s the why now)
• 35.governor of hawaii (At RNC, #1)
• 31.john s mccain (Presidential hopeful, at RNC, #1)
• 29.gopac (Republican Political Action Committee, at RNC, #1)
• 24.carly fiorina (Businesswoman, at RNC, w/#1)
• 20.princella smith (Republican activist, probably at RNC, I’m lumping w/#1)
• 19.linda lingle (Hawaii governor, at RNC, w/#1)
• 16.mike huckabee (At RNC, w/#1)
• 1.rudy giuliani (ex ny mayor, at RNC)

Sep 4, 2008 (THU)

• 16.palin speech video (From previous day)
• 15.mark guardado (SAM)
  
  - San Fran big Biker Dude.
  
  - In fact the big leader of the Hells Angels.
  
  - His brother happens to be a big shot police officer for San Fran.
  
  - Both local boys.
  
  - Why now?
  
  - Gunned down today.
  
  - By a rival gang.
  
• 13.rick schroder (From previous day)
• 10.rudy giuliani (At RNC, previous day)
• 8.espn fantasy football (WES)
  
  - It’s football time again!
  
  - - (yaaay)
  
  - - The most popular fantasy football site is ESPN’s.
  
  - - So people who wanted to play it had to Google for it or they’d never find it on ESPN’s unnavigable site.
  
  - - - Did I say that out loud?
  
  - Anyway, that’s pretty much it, including the Why Now.
  
  - - Except I’ve got a fantasy football team this year, and I totally typed this exact phrase several times over the past few weeks to find the exact URL.
  
  - - - My team lost yesterday, but they put up a good fight.
  
• 7.barracuda lyrics (BOB)
  
  - Not on Don’t Forget To Pick Up Dog Food
  
  - - Believe it or not
  
  - - It’s a song from the 70s by the band Heart
  
  - - - Google the lyrics if you really want them
  
  - Why now?
  
  - - John McCain used it during his acceptance speech
  
  - - - Even after the band who created it, Heart, asked him not to
  
  - - - - Furthermore, it’s a song about “soulless” executives
  
  - - - - - Sarah Palin’s high school nickname was apparently Sarah Barracuda
  
• 6.gu 63 (honoring a dead nfl player, on each player’s jersey)
• 5.michael fuccile (SAM)
  
  - Family man that takes the train to work.
  
  - Or did.
  
  - why now?
  
  - Reportedly killed after a mugging gone wrong.
  
  - Police and bystanders think differently.
  
  - Apparently a crazy-nutso just flipped out and stabbed Michael when he got off the train.
  
  - Speaking of crazy-notso….where were you on Thursday 5th Sep?
  
  - In NY by chance?
  
  - The bystanders chased down the knife weilding crazy guy and held him until the police arrived.
  
  - Made the googles since 89% of the searches were from NY.
  
• 4.minaudiere (BOB)
  
  - FOTSFTWE 5/16/08
  
  - - Wesley’s notes
  
  - All the fashion these days.
  
  - Really small woman’s handbag.
  
  - It’s French.
  
  - Why then?
  
  - - No clue.
  
  - - The graph is all over the place, and there is no news.
  
  - Why now?
  
  - - WWTBAM
  
  - - - A minaudiere is a type of what? A. Purse, B. Sun Umbrella, C. Lightweight cape, D. Teapot
  
  - - - - Used his phone call
  
  - - - - - His friend googled and he got the right answer
  
  - - - - - - The show in question aired originally on 5/15/08, so I solved Wesley’s earlier Why Now? mystery
  
  - - - - - - - Boo-yeah
  
• 11.mccain speech (He gave one)
• 9.robert davi (Actor, narrator of McCain bio film for RNC)
• 3.pork barrel spending (McCain says he won’t in his speech)
  
  
• 14.how old is cindy mccain (12, w/#2)
• 12.john mccain s first wife (Says he divorced her because she was too old, w/#2)
• 2.roberta mccain (John’s mother, at RNC) (WES is totally trading this for something tomorrow)
• 1.vitas gerulaitis (dead tennis player, probably because of the Open?)

Sep 5, 2008 (FRI)

• 38.ball state university (w/37)
• 37.ball state (Football)
• 36.swiss family robinson (1960 Movie, no clue why now)
• 35.miley cyrus dead (SAM)
  
  - Yes please.
  
  - Oh wait…that would make me mean.
  
  - I ment Oh Hell YES!!!
  
  - Ok. Maybe not.
  
  - I am however happy this is not topic #1.
  
  - It shows that people have some sence and just a gore factor (Not the global warming gore factor).
  
  - Either that or it was after tween bed time.
  
  - Why now?
  
  - A fake truck accident for the fake teen.
  
  - Apparently it spread pretty quickly on DIGG that Miley was dead.
  
  - Even though she appeared at an awards show later Friday, the rumour went faster than she could.
• 34.us naval academy (Game show)
• 31.us constitution (WES)
  
  - The defining document for the Federal Government of the United States of America.
  
  - - Or, just a goddamned piece of paper.
  
  - - - Depending on who you ask.
  
  - - We’ve discussed the Constitution in various ways on this show before, and the document is just too large to sum up less broadly than what I said above.
  
  - - - What I said, about being the defining document. Not what Bush said about it being a piece of paper.
  
  - Why now?
  
  - - According to TV.com:
  
  - - Question #8 is for $175,000 in 4th Grade Social Studies
  
  - - What historical document begins with the words, “When in the course of human events”?
  
  - - The choices are US Declaration of Independence, US Constitution or the Magna Carta.
  
  - - [Kathy Ireland] decides to Peek at Jonathan’s answer of US Constitution.
  
  - - She answers US Declaration of Independence, which is correct.
  
• 30.investors business daily (Daily report of business. Dunno why now)
• 29.sam israel (Hedge fund manager, defrauded)

• 28.the scream (WES traded for something earlier)
  
  - Famous painting by Edvard Munch.
  
  - - One of a series of paintings entitled The Frieze of Life.
  
  - - Like many of Munch’s artworks, it was done in several forms.
  
  - - - Two of The Screams are paintings.
  
  - - - - One is pictured to the right.
  
  - - - He also made the art in pastels and did a lithograph.
  
  - Why now?
  
  - - According to the same TV.com page:
  
  - - Question #9 is for $300,000 in 5th Grade Art
  
  - - What is the name of the following painting by Norwegian artist?
  
  - - Kathy is very excited, as she knows the painting and answer “The Scream”.
  
  - - This is correct.
  
• 24.failure to launch (New TV show with Zooey Deschanel)
• 23.slackeruprising.com (Michael Moore film, released on Internet for free)
  
  
• 22.official language of switzerland (BOB)
  
  - Swiss
  
  - - Just kidding
  
  - - - They have four, depending on the region
  
  - - - - German, Italian, French, and Romansh
  
  - - - - - Romansh is derived from Vulgar Latin
  
  - Why now?
  
  - - On 5thgradertionary
  
  - - - Question #8, $175,000, 3rd Grade Cultural Studies: Which of the following is not an official language of Switzerland? German, Italian or Spanish
  
  - - - - Contestant was correct with Spanish
  
• 21.costa rica map (I think it’s the game show)
• 16.orthorexia (Obsessing over health food, on 20/20)
• 20.standuptocancer.org (w/15)
• 19.stand up to cancer (w/15)
• 18.standup2cancer.org (w/15)
• 17.stand up to cancer shirts (w/15)
• 15.stand up to cancer.org (Big upcoming benefit)
• 14.public allies (It’s political, but I don’t know why)
• 33.cornwallis (British general in rev. war, game show) (Lost #13)
  
  
• 13.battle of yorktown (BOB)
  
  - The last major battle of the American Revolutionary War
  
  - - Contested between French and American forces under Washington and de Rochambeau with about 20,000 men and many war ships
  
  - - - And a British army commanded by Cornwallis and 9,000 men
  
  - - It was a seige with the British fortified in Yorktown
  
  - - - It went from September 28, 1781 to October 17
  
  - - - - Cornwallis did not receive the relief he’d been expecting from Henry Clinton, and was forced to accept unconditional surrender
  
  - - - - - Cornwallis declined to offer his sword to Washington, as was the custom at the time
  
  - - - - - - 72 Americans were killed and 156 British, with about twice as many wounded on both sides
  
  - Why now?
  
  - - On Scatter5thgraders
  
  - - - Question #10, $500,000, 5th Grade US History: Which commanding British General surrendered to American troops at the Battle of Yorktown in 1781.
  
  - - - - Contestant peeked at student Olivia’s paper; she had General Potter, which was incorrect
  
  - - - - - She apparently pulled the right answer out of her (very fine) -Wesley ass: It’s Cornwallis
  
• 11.carol cafferty (Died, wife of CNN anchor)
• 10.magna carta (WES)
  
  - Literally, “Great Paper”
  
  - - More accurately translated, “Great Charter”
  
  - - Also called “Magna Carta Liberatum” or “Great Charter of Freedoms”
  
  - Originally issued in 1215
  
  - It required that the king had certain limits of his power, and that common people had certain rights.
  
  - - Most notably, the right to appeal unlawful imprisonment.
  
  - It is the ancestor document of every Constitution of any free nation on Earth today.
  
  - - Including our own United States Constitution
  
  - In practice, the document did little to stop the King from doing whatever he wanted
  
  - - Many of the descendant documents have that problem as well.
  
  - Why now?
  
  - - Look up. Look waaaaaay up.
  
  - - When I talked about the Constitution, the Magna Carta was another option for that same question.
  
• 9.poor richards almanac (More game show topics)
  
  
• 32.earthquakes today (W/8)
• 26.usgs earthquake (w/8)
• 25.alamo ca (W/8)
• 12.earthquake bay area (W/8)
• 8.earthquake san francisco (SAM)
  
  - Unlike the Miley Cyrus hoax, this happened but was a complete cover up.
  
  - San Fran is no longer.
  
  - It slipped into the ocean.
  
  - that reminds me…perhaps I should tell my parents so they don’t try to land on water.
  
  - Ok…you got me.
  
  - I made it up.
  
  - Not unlike nearly everything else we talk about.
  
  - I get my inspiration from the old farts arguing over stuff we care about but have no control about.
  
  - Blame them….
  
  - Or sue Wes…I have no money.
  
  - So..back to the story at hand.
  
  - As in Why now?
  
  - Funny enough, there was an earthquake in San Fran.
  
  - On an unnamed fault line.
  
  - Perhaps it was pissed because no one named it after it shook San Fran for 5 days straight a few years ago.
  
  - it wasn’t too pissed…it was only a 4.0.
  
  - But apparently all those at the Giants game felt it.
  
  - Be they wished they didn’t buy the god seats!!

• 7.kathy ireland (WES Traded for something earlier)
  
  - American hottie and hottie.
  
  - - I suppose you could call her an actress and a businessperson too.
  
  - Why now?
  
  - - She’s also smarter than a 5th grader.
  
  - - - First million-dollar winner in the history of the show
  
• 6.granddaughter (Your child’s daughter. What?)
  
  
• 5.ann kilkenny (Resident of Palin’s hometown, wrote an “open letter”)
  
  
• 4.sidney kimmel (Producer, has cancer, did a benefit)
• 3.longest reigning british monarch (Queen Victoria, Game show, What Kathy Ireland won $1M with)
  
  
• 2.era of good feelings (BOB)
  
  - A period of political history in the United States marked by only one effective political party
  
  - - Thus being without partisan politics
  
  - - The party in question: Democratic-Republican
  
  - - - The Federalist Party evaporated in the wake of the War of 1812
  
  - - - - They were accused of disloyalty because they had discussed secession from the Union for their base in New England to escape from the war, which was not in their interests
  
  - Why now?
  
  - - Whose 5th Grader Is It, Anyway?
  
  - - - Question #9, $300,000, 5th Grade US History: “The Era of Good Feeling” was a name given to the period of peace and prosperity, that immediately followed what US war?
  
  - - - - Contestant is unsure and drops out with $175,000
  
  - - - - - She would have guessed WWII, which would have been wrong
  
  - - - - - - The correct answer was the War of 1812
• 27.declaration of independence (w/1)
• 1.when in the course of human events (Dec. of Ind., game show)
  
  

• Podcast