Fun

Category: Fun

How About “Gone With the Wind?”

This morning National (that’s NATIONAL) Public Radio was poking fun at Wisconsin’s new theme: “Live Like You Mean It.” It was pointed out that this slogan is already in use by several companies and organizations. A quick search of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office reveals five “live” usages of this trademarked phrase.

Ironically, the state’s brand, created last year, is “Originality Rules.” Some may call Wisconsin’s move unoriginal. We call it responsible recycling. Our favorite alternate slogan put forth by NPR: “Wisconsin: The ‘Snow Me’ State.”

For a fascinating look at advertising in the past (1911-1955,) check out Duke University’s digital database Ad*Access.

Harper’s Index

For many of us, the best part of Harper’s Magazine is the Harper’s Index, that monthly collection of quirky facts and stats. In celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Index, all 12,058 lines are free for searching and browsing. What is the minimum number of books in Harvard’s libraries that are bound in human flesh?

And, of course, the Mudd has issues of Harper’s going back into the mists of time…

I’ll Have a…Refreshing Carbonated Beverage, Please.

Pop vs. soda. The Battle of the Ages. As a public service we offer our readers a handy map of “Generic Names for Soft Drinks by County” as compiled by Matthew T. Campbell at the Spatial Graphics and Analysis Lab, Dept. of Cartography and Geography at East Central University in Oklahoma. Talking like a native, always good.

And now for something completely different, soda in literature.

But It’s So WARM!

A word for you non-natives: beware the feelings of euphoria that will descend upon you this next week. It is predicted that temperatures will soar well into the “not freezing” portion of the spectrum. This is a tease. Here is a snapshot of what April (in this case, 2007) can look like in Appleton. Winter has a long way to go. Keep that long underwear at the ready.

In the meantime, get over your cabin fever by checking out a CD featuring the tune “Cabin fever” as performed by Michael Brecker, Pat Metheny, Jack DeJohnette, Dave Holland and Joey Calderazzo.

We’re Doing Our Part

Wisconsin’s participation in this year’s Super Bowl will be relegated to textile manufacturing, but this textile couldn’t be more important to the success of one of the contenders.

A local company is again charged with keeping the country fully supplied with Terrible Towels. One can only hope some of those towels remain in the state for those who are from Pittsburgh, lived in Pittsburgh, or always worshiped the Steelers from afar.

Read about the history of the Terrible Towel by its creator, Myron Cope.

And if you’d like to see a real TT in person, please visit the Mudd.

(P.S. Pictured are three Pittsburgh icons seen greeting visitors at Pittsburgh International: Franco, H.J. and George.)

Stanley Fish ’04, on the best American movies

In his New York Times blog for January 4, Stanley Fish (Lawrence class of 2004 honorary Doctor of Humane Letters) proposed his list of the 10 Best American Movies.

The Mudd has almost all of them:

What do you think? Are these the best American movies?

Snow, snow, snow! (snow, snow, snow, snow, etc.)

mudd snow bank

It’s fall in Appleton and you know what that means. Cool crisp days, rustling leaves, vibrant colors. Not so fast, grasshopper. Mother Nature is quite the trickster. The Wisconsin State Climatology Office reports that so far this autumn, Green Bay’s (close enough) cumulative snowfall is 2 feet. That’s two FEET, as in 12-inch increments, as in knee or thigh-depth, depending on your vertical orientation. Of course, this graph has not been update since Dec. 14, well before the dumping that occurred this morning. We can’t wait until winter!!

Da Symphony.

bear conductorOrdinarily we would not be all that excited about breathing the same air as Chicago. But our big sister to the south has been mightily honored. The highly respected magazine out of Great Britain, Gramophone, conducted a poll of classical music critics to determine the best orchestras in the world. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra ranked at the top of U.S. orchestras.

We applaud the Second City’s recognition, particularly after the embarrassment of a recent unfortunate sporting-related incident.

Read all about it on NPR.

And, needless to say, the Mudd has boatloads of CSO recordings.

Why? Because We Like You!

turkey tree

You may have noticed that the Mudd Same-As-Last-Year, Never-Will-Die, perma-green Christmas tree made its appearance yesterday. Since we will not have the pleasure of your company for too long after Thanksgiving, we decided to hurry up the season and festive-up the place. We hope you will accept this pre-pre-holiday offering and enjoy. And remember, we are not trying to sell you anything.

Orson Welles and War of the Worlds

Yesterday was the 70th anniversary of Orson Welles’ famous radio broadcast of War of the Worlds. Welles (then 23 years old) and the Mercury Theater players created a program so realistic that thousands of listeners panicked thinking that Martians had landed in Grover’s Mill, N.J. and were moving toward New York City.

Search the library catalog for recordings and more. If you’re on campus, you can also read the New York Times report of the event.