Useless Trivial Information

Today is the last day of school here in Elko County and the day that both Elko H.S. and Spring Creek H.S. are graduating their seniors.

As thousands of graduates are preparing to walk down the aisle and accept their diplomas to the tune of Pomp and Circumstance, I googled P&C and came up with these little known factoids:

• The composer was Sir Edward Elgar of Liverpool, England
• Although Elgar composed concertos for violin and cello, he is best known for his 5 P&C marches.
• It was first performed on October 19, 1901
• Elgar was a mostly self-taught musician
• He was knighted in 1904 and appointed Master of the King's Music in 1924
• He was the first major composer to record his works for the phonograph

*culled from the website http://www.brownielocks.com/graduation.html

Wishing all grads and their families a memorable and safe graduation season.

Useless Trivial Information

In honor of Memorial Day Weekend, today's piece of Useless Trivial Info is about hot dogs, the original mystery meat!

I found a website ( http://whatscookingamerica.net ) that had all kinds of facts, trivia and legends about these weenies:

• Movie actress Marlene Dietrich once said that hot dogs and champagne were her favorite meal.
• It is said that legendary baseball player Babe Ruth once downed 24 hot dogs between games of a double header.
• Hot dogs are primarily regarded as a fun, summertime food, and most are eaten between Memorial Day and Labor Day.
• Jayne Mansfield was Miss Hot Dog Ambassador in 1950.

There are many combinations of condiments that folks use on their dogs. Catsup, mustard, relish, onions, sauerkraut, etc.

People also like them cooked many ways: Bbq'd, broiled, boiled or on a stick. And there's a restaurant somewhere that deep fries them!

Personally, I like 'em bbq'd almost to the point of being burnt. The outside is crispy and the inside is moist. On a bun with mustard and catsup. My bro in law Gus, he makes me the meanest dogs on the planet! Oh, and after tasting a Hebrew National brand dog, it's the only kind I'll eat. Most hot dogs seem really oily, not these.

Now I want you to share with me how you like your dogs. Or if you're not a hot dog eater, what's your favorite substitute.

Wishing everyone a happy and safe Memorial Day Weekend :)

Useless Trivial Information

It's once again Friday and that means it's time for Useless Trivial Information!



Roomie Jeff collects Hot Wheels. He's got ALOT of Hot Wheels. The den in our house is a shrine to little metal cars. And he's turned one of our sheds into what Roomie Shauna and I call Hot Wheel Hell, where he spends many an evening in the warmer months customizing Hot Wheels for his fellow HW buddies.

Jeff's younger brothers, Brandon and Beaux are also involved in collecting. And when they are together, the conversation will always turn to Hot Wheels. Beaux and his family live across the street from us and it's not unusal for him to call here at 8:30 at night and say "Let's go hunting!"


In honor of the little metal cars that have brought these brothers together, here's a bit of trivia about them:


1968 - The first sixteen Hot Wheels cars were introduced into the market. They featured redline tires, spectraflame paint, a metal collector button, and some had roofs painted black to look like vinyl. The public saw the Hot Wheels Custom Corvette first before the actual car was introduced by GM.

Enjoy you weekend, people!

Useless Trivial Information

I have a brain that stores mass quantities of useless information that will probably only serve me well if I was picked to be a contestant on Jeopardy. For instance, while playing Trivial Pursuit with the gang one evening, someone asked me the question "Who won the first gold medal in Women's Pole Vaulting at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney?"

"Stacey Dragila!" I blurted out...

...I was right.

I won the game.

Ha!

So now I've decided that every Friday I will share with you some Useless Trivial Information.

In honor of the opening of the new Star Trek movie:

Chris Pine, who is playing a young James T. Kirk, is the son of character actor Richard Pine.

Most of you are probably saying "Richard Who?"

Richard Pine played Sgt. Getraer, Ponch and John's boss on CHiPs. Now I bet you're all saying "oh I remember him!"

Does anyone else hum the theme from CHiPs when they see Highway Patrol Officers? I do.

And speaking of humming theme songs...here's a funny little story:

A couple of years ago, my housemates son went to church with his Aunt & Uncle. When the acolytes (don't know if this is the proper term in LDS speak) walked up the aisle looking so serious, Jesse started humming, ever so quietly, the Imperial March from Star Wars! Too funny!